Ayesha de Kretser/Shanghai Daily news

There are two distinct groups of people in Shanghai. Those who love Bar Rouge and those who don’t.
Located atop the new Bund18 complex, which is filled with luxury brands and stratospherically high end restaurants, Bar Rouge has the most splendid river view along with the biggest terrace of any building along the Bund.
It could be the perfect place to take out of towners for a drink, or to enjoy brunch in the sun on a weekend. There are, however, a few creases to be ironed out before this venue lives up to its billing.
Firstly, Bar Rouge is legendarily expensive and while this city has enough high rollers to sustain such a place, these discerning patrons should expect proportionally high quality service to accompany the prices.
Handsomely priced eggs benedict might be acceptable if they were served warm instead of cold and the plate contained two rather than just one lonely egg. Paying 80 to 100 yuan for a cocktail light on alcohol and heavy on ice, however, just won’t do.
Arrive after 9pm on a weekend and you can expect to pay 50 yuan just to enter. With no drink included in the entrance fee, you could be forgiven for feeling a little aggrieved especially when two mojitos cost an additional 160 yuan. Even sitting down comes at a price — a minimum charge of 1,000 yuan if guests would like a table.
So why is Bar Rouge perpetually packed to the rafters?
Bar Rouge fits the image of Shanghai as boom town down to a tee. It exemplifies a return to the Shanghai of old and the extravagant lifestyles that came with it. Some people, quite simply, love the place for its opulent red decor and the "fabulous” crowd that fill it.
Queues at the bar frequently exceed half an hour, and if one was greeted with a smile when one’s drink was finally served, or offered some kind of apology for being herded like cattle, this would be almost forgivable. Instead, frosty staff throw change in their tip jar.
This bar thinks of itself as the ruby jewel in the Bund’s crown, and those who frequent it are likely to agree. Alt09hough it attracts a steady stream of foreigners and trendy Shanghainese who like to be seen as much as to see, this is one bar that could do with applying a little less rouge.