By Douglas Williams (Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-02 09:56

A day that begins firm in the knowledge that a decent lunch lies ahead is almost always a good day. That rushed breakfast with thoughts already cantering on ahead pondering whether to have dessert or not lends the morning a pleasant hue.

Three not-so-new but popular downtown Continental-style restaurants will be looked at in this article. They're all within a short distance of each other and have plenty to offer those who like to lunch.

The three will be categorized thus: It's Tuesday but I don't care, I'm lunching; Thank Crunchie it's Friday, I'm out to lunch and Hey, hey, hey, it's pay day today, let's lunch.

So in that orderPastihas been providing a reliable lunch stop to many for a number of years now. There are few surprises with this Beijing Road eatery, but at the same time, and perhaps more importantly, the disappointments are over-look-able.

One of the surprises, and they don't get much more pleasant than this, is the quality of the pizzas on offer. These are the real deal, thin, bubbly and crunchy and some of the best available in Shanghai, quite a claim I'm aware. Certain areas of the service could be improved, and that's not a recent observation, but it's difficult as many catering ventures in China will attest.

Owner Moritz Fischer's space is still great, the colors, the light, the layout, and there's always a healthy hubbub from the good mix of diners. For 48 yuan (US$6.20) there is a truly bewildering number of pasta dishes to choose from. These come with either a soup or a salad starter and for an added 15 yuan, dessert can be had too. The pizzas are around 70 yuan. The pizza and the desserts are most heartily recommended. Three courses are just possible within an hour.

Bella Napoliis compact and bijou to be sure; it's also very popular with Italians, never a bad sign. This is probably not entirely unconnected to the amiable and able manager Severino Bassani from Rome. The cluttered and noisy little restaurant actually feels like an Italian restaurant, in Italy. A 75-yuan lunch deal affords soup, salad or bruschetta with a superior pasta or gnocchi dish and a glass of wine or pop. There is a lesser 50-yuan menu too.

Like Pasti, Bella Napoli goes like a train at lunch, the service is similarly erratic and the salads can also show signs of fatigue. The asparagus soup though, when the chefs do it right, can be worth the trip alone.

The overall feel is a little slicker and more professional than Pasti but then again, it's also more cramped and the view of Xikang Road is less than enthralling. Again, when done right (out of my four, two have been right), Bella Napoli's tagliatelle Bolognese is comparable to the very best served in Bologna but it's not, strictly speaking, part of the lunch deal. Realistically, 90 minutes should be allowed for three courses.

Whilst the previous two are places to lunch with friends and colleaguesMesais more the sort of venue to dine with seduction as the subtext. Long regarded as one of the city's finer dining destinations, the restaurant, located in an old electronics factory, is now venturing (reluctantly per chance?) into "business lunch" territory. Such a shame to cloud a Mesa lunch with such trifling matters as business.

Two courses here are 98 yuan, three for 128 yuan. Service is accordingly on a different level, the cuisine more Australian/modern French than Italian; ingredients like veal, lamb and steak give the proceedings added gravitas.

The likes of a cauliflower soup, polenta as a side and a rhubarb dessert marks chef and co-owner Steve Baker's menu out as a cut above. There is evidence of some wear and tear about Mesa, hopefully the increased revenue that the new menu is sure to bring will be appropriated accordingly.

Water-tight excuses and alibis at the ready and lunch at Mesa could happily segue into the 4pm-8pm half-price happy hour at Manifesto next door where discussions, seductions or both could continue in some conviviality.

Pasti
Address: 1228 Beijing Road
Tel: 021-62794726

Bella Napoli
Address: 140 Xikang Road
Tel: 021-62538358

Mesa
Address: 748 Julu Road
Tel: 021-62899108