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Stiller’s Restaurant & Cooking School

Address: Bldg 13, 6-7/F, The Cool Docks, 505 Zhongshan Nan Lu, near Fuxing Dong Lu / 老码头, 中山南路505号6-7楼, 近复兴东路
Tel: 6152 6501
Hours: [Dinner] 6:00~10:30pm [Sunday Brunch] 12:00~2:30pm
Price: Brunch 348 RMB/person, Dinner 500+ RMB/person
Website: www.stillers-restaurant.cn

Stiller’s, located in “The Cool Docks” (close to Table No. 1 at the Waterhouse Boutique Hotel), is modern European fine-dining brought forth by Stefan Stiller. The sleek dining room is spacious and elegantly decorated with white tablecloths and roses, a much-welcomed space away from the hustle and bustle of Shanghai. The interior exudes an air of sophistication that matches perfectly with the beautiful dishes conjured up by the Michelin-starred chef.

An inviting interior with an abundance of natural light

Sleek and and elegant

Open kitchen

Lazy Sunday Lunch Menu
(Changes regularly with the season)

Bread basket and a trio of whipped butter: curry, sesame, and cilantro

~Cold Dishes~

Starter Variation: cilantro mousse, tuna steak, deviled egg, foie gras terrine, mozzarella and tomato

Beef Carpaccio with Parmesan Mousse
“Gazpacho Soup”, Olive Tapenade, Pine Nuts and Basil

Turbot Herbs Mousse with Sweet Wine Jelly
Fennel and Shallot-Saffron Vinaigrette

Glass Noodles Salad with Bell Pepper
Sesame, Coriander, and Sweet Sour Sauce

The appetizers were beautiful art pieces.  The turbot mousse was the prettiest dish of the day (and quite appetizing too!), but  I was more intrigued by the beef carpaccio because of its unusual architecture – the gazpacho was enveloped in the tiny bulb made from I-don’t-know-what, which was sitting on top of the parmesan mousse, which was wrapped in a thin, crunchy pastry, which was placed on top of the beef carpaccio, which was covered with olive tapenade. Sophisticated? Definitely very complicated. In terms of flavor, it had a strong olive accent balanced by the refreshing basil leave, both interacting well with the thinly sliced beef carpaccio. The glass noodles salad, despite its underwhelming appearance, was dressed in a perfect sweet and sour sauce. The starter variations was an attractive plate of dainty bites, though nothing left a memorable mark.

~Soups~

Back: Chilled Tomato Gin Soup, Parma Ham Grissini and Marinated Mozzarella
Front: Champagne-Fish Soup with Garlic Bread

I was not terribly impressed by either soup because I’m not a big fan of strong alcohol flavors.

~Hot Dishes~

Beef Tenderloin with Truffle Potato Mash, Summer Vegetables and Beef Jus

Herbs Gnocchi with Tomato Ragout, Parmesan, Parsley and Garlic Sauce

Slow Cooked Black Cod Fillet, Olive Oil Mash and Capers Sauce

Chicken “Coq Au Vin”, Picked Onions, Potato Cubes and Bacon

Turbot Stripes, Linguini, Peas and Curry Sauce

Lamb Leg “Kofte”, Mascarpone-Herbs Polenta, Mushrooms and Thyme Jus

Seared Duck Foie Gras, Caramelized Calvados Apple

Our favorites were the beef tenderloin and the seared duck foie gras. The beef tenderloin was scrumptious and had a smokey flavor to it that just made me want to put another piece in my mouth even though I was stuffed near beyond capacity after our second rounds of hot dishes. The duck foie gras was seared perfectly, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Caramelized apple makes a seamless pairing. I also really liked the hearty herbs gnocchi and the succulent cod fillet. My least favorite was the coq au vin – it was rather bland in comparison to the other provoking dishes.

~Desserts~

Green Tea Mousse with Citrus Fruits

Cheese Cake

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Marinated Berries

Chocolate Milk Shake

The green tea mousse was a pleasant surprise – the blueberry compote deftly transformed each bite from being simply rich and creamy into a refreshing mouthful. Who would’ve known that green tea and blueberries make such a great combination? Everything else was divine as well – the cheesecake had a subtle hint of lemon to balance out the heaviness, the panna cotta with marinated berries was adequately tart and creamy (though a bit firmer than I would’ve preferred), and the chocolate milkshake, though not very photogenic, was a superb interpretation of the all-time crowd-pleaser.

Stefan Stiller

Since the age of 17, Stiller has worked in a number of Michelin-starred restaurants before opening his own (also Michelin-starred) restaurant. You can read more about him here.

Outdoor seating with an impressive view of the Pudong skyline

Brunch at Stiller’s impresses. The artfully presented dishes were innovative and most worked very well. The best part about it is the free-flow of tiny portions so you can try everything and then have seconds. So yes, you can order foie gras until you puke.