Shanghai Bistro

Fantastic food and the egg rolls were amazing! Our server Julia was incredible! She made sure we were more than happy and took the time to talk with us. Haven’t had that great of service in a long time!

This place is overrated. The food is marginal at best. It has little to do with the claim Asian origins. At that, it simply isn’t that good. Beats me why anyone would go here instead of Osaka right down the street. It is a fun atmosphere and with enough alcohol anything seems fine, but in your more sober moments, avoid this place.

The food is great. Ours came out hot and tasty. The cheese wontons are quite good; they have a different, subtler flavour than you find at take-​out places. Kids meals come with the same amount of rice as regular entrees. Tap beer selection is good.
But the service and ambiance are lousy. Servers are very slow and disinterested, and the music is loud and obnoxious. We’ve eaten here several times, but I think we won’t be back. We might get take-​out next time and maybe eat by the river.

Great outdoor seating, there is a bonfire pit and outdoor bar. We didn’t have food but it all looked very good. They had a live band that was very good. We had drinks. The bush wacker frozen drink was really good. Kind of slow service.

I wish you could give half stars, because this would be a 2.5. The biggest redeeming factor is it’s beautiful rooftop patio. Although quite buggy because it is surrounded by woods, the live music and great weather made up for it. We showed up with (6) of us on a Saturday night, and were able to snag a table out there fairly quickly. Our server, unfortunately, was not on the same level of speed.
It took approximately 10 minutes before anyone came to take our drink order. Then another 15 minutes for our drinks to arrive. I understand it is saturday night, but the restaurant was not that busy and they seemed adequately staffed. We did find out later that their entire keg system went out (huge bummer and pain in the butt for their staff!), but no apology was given for the delay.
We ordered some plates of sushi and I had the mango stir fry with chicken. It took about an hour for our food to arrive. Again, we wouldn’t have minded had our server been attentive to our water and other beverages for refills. The stir fry had more of a consistency of a mango salsa, but was quite tasty nonetheless! The sushi left something to be desired from all parties at our table.
Overall, a little overpriced for quality of both service and food. Not sure that I would be back.

Loved the outdoor patio on a Friday evening, with live music which was great. Enjoyed a specialty martini and the ‘House Special’ from the menu was excellent. The wontons weren’t as crisp as we expected and the chicken and mixed vegetables was underwhelming. There is a wide variety on the menu; the red dragon sushi was ranked ‘good’. But the ambience was excellent and overall really enjoyed the evening.

I went here with a party of 25. From beginning to end, the service took three hours. The server was very attentive. I started with the cream cheese wontons. Pretty yummy with the scallions. Next, I had the worst Pad Thai of my life. It was very tangy and tasted like it was soaked in lime juice. The chicken did not taste fresh. I could not eat more than a couple of bites. I tried my friend’s sesame chicken. It was better than my dish. The portions are generous, at least. If you like Pad Thai, avoid their version. It seems like a fun place for drinks and appetizers.

After a difficult week, Saturday night was a much awaited date night. I was promised Shanghai Bistro, and the promise certainly delivered. Stillwater, where the bistro is located, offers an almost «West Coast» atmosphere where the winding, broad waterfront meets declivitous streets and cobblestone walkways. This lends a twist of atmosphere for a low-​key, casual outdoor patio and an asian fusion-​esque interior dining area.
We sat on the patio, which is spacious and has cabanas that were not open yet, but are available for rent during the warmer months. There were many tables on the patio and at 6:00pm on Saturday we were sat promptly (we had a reservation, but there was ample seating).
The patio is first come, first serve, and has a small bar. Be warned, ladies in strapless dresses and men in tank-​tops: The closer to the back wall of the patio, the cooler it gets as there is more shade.
There are warmers around the doors and against the wall of the building, along with a ‘firepit’ and some lounge chairs. Scout a spot, down a drink, and relax by the fire before you start your meal… Gan Bei!
Onto the food!
We started with an order of cream cheese wontons and sweet and sour sauce. The wontons were delicious, not too crispy (I have baby bird teeth) but not soggy or under cooked. I do believe they had onions in them, so clarify that for the picky eaters. The sweet and sour sauce was thin, almost watery and a bright hue of artificial, flamingo pink. Still good, but I don’t suspect its house-​made.
We shared the Shrimp Tempura roll, and it was delicious! 6 pieces of crispy tempura goodness is something I hard a hard time sharing. It was modest in price too, and the ingredients were fresh. I wish I would have ordered more sushi, but now I have an excuse for a 2^nd visit ;)
I ordered the fried Udon Noodle bowl with Tofu, and I was impressed with the size and price. I’m a huge fan of tofu, especially done correctly. The cuts of tofu were large, thick and perfectly fried. The sauce was savory and sweet, yummy, and complemented the udon noodles properly. Broocoli, carrots and snow pea pods were mixed in as well.
My boyfriend got the Coconut Curry Shrimp, which was phenomenal. The coconut was as flavorful as it was fragrant, which always accompanies a good yellow curry. The shrimp were large, juicy, and a meal in and of themselves. Broccoli, carrots and peapods were also included, as was a small side of rice. A little more rice would have gone a long way, as the entrée was so large it needed more than a small side.
Our server was attentive and upbeat, however, the service was a little slow. The patio was not packed to the gills by any means, so I would worry that in the summer at peak hours it could be a bit of a wait for food. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic dinner and I’m excited to go back for more.

By far my favorite place to stop when I’m boating in still water. The best sushi in the area. The patio is beautiful, the atmosphere is casual but classy. The service is spot on. You leave knowing you got your monies worth.

Food was very good! We had two of the signature rolls as recommended by the server and there was nothing left when we finished! I would come back here!

Ate here for lunch today. There was only us and one other table in the whole restaurant which would make you think we would of had exceptional service. Quite the opposite. I think we had the manager serving us and he was not very Attentive. Very slow service. Took forever to even come over and take our order. He was apparently too busy talking to a guy at the bar. He didn’t remember one of our drinks and never came and checked to see how our food was. Everything was very slow for him to achieve from clearing our dishes, to taking our order, to refilling our drinks, especially when we knew he was just standing around. My friend and I are both in the service industry and could of probably taught him a thing or two. On a better note, the food was great! So kudos to the sushi chef!

Been here twice for dinner, not impressed at all. 1^st time (2014) food was OK, service OK. Second try, Jan 2015, food just OK, table sticky, service, very slow and the place was empty. would not waste my time or money to go back.

I was here for a party and was able to taste a few things.
I ordered the Maui Roll which was amazing! So fresh and delicious.
The sampler platters were fun for everyone.
Wontons are OK, I’ve had better.
The asian pear martini is really tasty!
We had a good time with good food.
(Music was EDM which I liked but didn’t really suit the atmosphere).

This place sucks so bad it is not even possible. To say they serve sushi, is an insult. Wow, I would rather go down to the river bed and find a washed up carp and start gnawing on it than to ever go eat at this train wreck.
However, to be nice, their happy hour wasn’t terrible. +1 star.
I bet the Jones’ love this place!

Love and love this place! The BEST in the Twin Cities. I have tried many entrees and have never been disappointed. The staff is so much fun and personable. Try the Spider roll and the pork egg foo young. The owner is onsite quite a bit and makes sure things are top notch. The Martinis are awesome. Ask for Philthy!

This is my favorite place for sushi. The more you go the more you’re like family. Tony is an excellent sushi chef. He will create something that anyone will like. Eugene is very helpful with all the annoying questions I had. They’re both easy going gentlemen who know what they’re doing.
The servers are welcoming, even though I find myself always at the sushi bar they still come by with refreshments.
Thursday in Stillwater, this is where you need to be.

Stopped by tonight as we were looking for a place we haven’t tried in Stillwater. Despite the many wait staff wandering about, it took forever to get waited on, then another forever to get our drinks. By then we were so fed up we paid for the drinks and left. Can’t comment on the food quality, but I don’t have high hopes based on the lousy service. We won’t be back.

Here for lunch on a very slow day. Gyoza was cold, spicy tuna was blah! The Szechuan chicken was mediocre. We asked for new gyoza which was replaced. However nothing was comped for our poor dining experience. Staff was friendly but forgetful. Wouldn’t recommend a lunch or dinner but rooftop drinks would be fun!

Visited shanghai bistro for the first time for lunch with my mom. It was a nice day so there were people on the patio. There is a very large patio, a lot of seating but nicely landscaped. Our food (sushi rolls) were delicious. Would visit this place again.

In this town today for a little holiday shopping with my companion. It was mid-​afternoon and we were a bit peckish. We wandered into this very cool «mall» and climbed the stairs to see the menu at this place. They had a bloody mary bar set up and it caught my attention (even though I didn’t feel like drinking one at the time). It’s not too often you encounter a fix-​it-​yourself bloody mary bar.
Their Christmas tunes were playing a bit loud for my liking, and then we just happened to be sat at a booth underneath a speaker.
I ordered a bowl of their miso soup. It arrived with a dirty porcelain spoon. I just picked up the bowl and began sipping, and then asked the server for another spoon when she came around again. Their miso soup was decent. Satisfying.
Next I ordered their Gyozo — Japanese fried pork-​filled «dumplings» (think pot stickers). They were good, although just barely warm. But maybe that’s the way they should be. I don’t know. I would have liked them better «hot». They were good, not great.
Our server was plenty helpful and informative, if even too much so.
This place would not be a «destination» place for me, but iff I was in town, I’d consider stopping in again.