Canton Table by Neri&Hu: A Shanghai Brasserie Built from Urban Memory
Canton Table and the layers of Shanghai
Canton Table is a restaurant interior shaped by the history of its city. On the fifth floor of Three on the Bund, Neri&Hu transformed the former Whampoa Club into a Chinese brasserie whose atmosphere combines the sociability of Shanghai's traditional streets with the crafted luxury of its early-twentieth-century interiors. The architects sought a quieter, more rooted alternative to the grandiose spaces left by earlier renovations.
A historic window returned to view
By removing later surface finishes, the architects revealed an original circular window in the exterior wall. Natural light again enters the reception area through this architectural survivor. Its cast-iron geometry also informs the restaurant's identity and decorative patterns, allowing an inherited feature of the building to become the starting point for contemporary graphic and interior design.
The Shikumen alley as a welcome
Visitors follow a corridor lined with textured grey brick. The material refers to Shanghai's historic Shikumen houses, while hand-painted portraits and floral motifs add domestic warmth to the rugged surfaces. Rather than approach the dining room through a conventional formal foyer, guests encounter something more like the varied passage of a city lane.
The corridor becomes an archive
Glass vitrines containing antiques line the central route. Their carefully lit displays introduce different objects and stories as diners move through the restaurant. On the floor, geometric green-and-white terrazzo, patterned after the restaurant's graphic identity, is accented with bronze characters carrying wishes of good fortune. Circulation becomes an experience of material and memory.
The public dining room
In the principal dining room, contemporary chairs take inspiration from Ming-dynasty forms. Deep red leather upholstery provides a vivid counterpoint to the brick and terrazzo, while custom curved lights recall the streamlined motifs of Art Deco. The furniture is composed to support the informal warmth of a brasserie without losing a sense of occasion.
Private rooms with another atmosphere
The private dining spaces offer a more intimate and opulent interior vocabulary. Jewel-toned wallpaper, herringbone and basket-weave timber details, and specially designed lantern-like lighting evoke Shanghai's old mansions. Their richness contrasts with the rougher public corridor, giving each part of the restaurant an identity suited to its social function.
Material, hospitality and craft
The project's strength is its ability to combine different experiences through a shared architectural narrative. Brick, timber, terrazzo, bronze and upholstered seating are used for reasons that relate to the city's history and to the practical experience of dining. Canton Table demonstrates how an established hospitality address can gain a new cultural character through preservation and contemporary craft.
Project information and photography
Canton Table. Fifth floor, Three on the Bund, 3 Zhongshan East First Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai. Designer: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. Area: 1,000 square metres. Completion: November 2017. Photography: Pedro Pegenaute. Each photograph is credited in its caption.
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