Lacto
Beer/Wine
Spanish
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Spanish tapas restaurant on the Bund with view looking out over the Huangpu. Added a separate vegan menu in 2019. The menu can be ordered as a set or as individual tapas. Reported closed, Mar 2020.


Venue map for El Willy
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7 Reviews

First Review by MichaelRobinson

JacobShu

Points +38

Vegan
30 Oct 2019

Lobsters As Decor...so sad

We sat at the bar for a drink and were face to face with 6 live lobsters on ice. WTF is the point of that? These animals are just used for bar decor and then eaten. 100% disappointed in you guys. With a vegan menu sitting in front of them, acting like you care. Then the ticket came and i learned the 2 margarittas cost 140RMB. We left immediately. Decent view though and the drinks were solid.

Pros: Good drank, decent view.

Cons: No respect for the lives of animals.

VickiB

Points +104

Vegan
21 Oct 2019

Some very good some bad

My husband and I was really looking forward to this meal due to the reviews. The place is a little hard to find - there is no sign outside. Look for the building “the Bund 22” and take the elevator to the 5th floor. The service is nice and we ordered the setmenu with all 10 dishes for 400 rmb. Ask for the veganmenu to se this. Everything is in english. The chef even introduce some of the courses.
The first courses were really good. Little tasty bites of goodness. The calesalat also nice but then it went downhill. The next three dishes were very oily and it was the same vegetables in al three not leaving much variation on the palet. The paella was very bland and boring and we didn’t even eat half of it. The dessert was really good! So it was a mix of good and bad. The worse was the noise in the restaurant. It was so loud at times, and made it impossible to have a cosy conversation. And it was both upbeat music and noisy guests. So all and all it was not a place for us. Should we ever return, we would order some of the dishes and not the hole setmenu.

Pros: Some very good vegandishes, Nice service , Beautiful view

Cons: Very noisy, To many bad dishes in the set menu, To much oil

SP

Points +1401

Vegetarian
20 Oct 2019

Very creative!

A friend and I went for an early dinner and weren't able to get a table by the window because apparently they'd all been reserved.

I ordered the vegan set, my friend did not but wished she had😄The first few dishes were single serve, but as you go on the dishes get bigger and are totally shareable. I wasn't able to finish everything, my friend helped me with some of it and the rest I took to go, though it didn't taste as good the next day so I don't recommend doing that. A lot of creativity was put into these dishes and while some might complain about the cost I'd say it's totally worth it for what it is, and for the location even if you don't have a view.

Pros: creative, delicious, location

Cons: service was not great

sgriffgor

Points +259

Vegan
08 Jun 2019

Incredible.

My partner and I split one set vegan menu for 400 yuan. Neither of us were super hungry, so it was plenty of food for us! The food was AMAZING — authentic Spanish tapas with 0 animal products in Shanghai... just magical. We arrived at 11:30 am (opening time) to secure a seat with a view. Totally worth the cost.

Pros: Delicious vegan menu, Attentive staff

Cons: Expensive

sam31786

Points +517

Vegan
12 May 2019

Scrumptious food is worth the price

Pros:
My friend and I each ordered the whole vegan menu (400 RMB per person to try each dish) and the food was absolutely delicious. My favorites were the eggplant on crispy bread with rocket and the paella, but there wasn’t one dish I wasn’t absolutely stunned by.
I’m not an accurate judge of portion size since I tend to stuff myself as much as possible when I go out to enjoy food such as this, so we ordered two bread baskets in addition to our meal (each of which came in a paper bag containing 4 freshly baked rolls). Oh, my god. The bread was piping hot and so incredibly scrumptious. That bread is probably what heaven is made of. The server also brought us olive oil and balsamic upon our request to eat with the bread.
Needless to say, we left quite full and satisfied.
The staff is really warm and friendly, and they seem to be trying really hard in terms of service. Even some of the chefs walked around and asked us how things were going and if we needed anything.

Cons:
1. Something weird was going on in terms of the bread. We ordered it at the beginning, and were told it would take about ten minutes, as they bake it fresh. We reminded several servers about our bread as we waited at minimum thirty minutes for it to finally arrive, and each time we were told the same thing, that it would take about 10 minutes. Weird situation, and not great.
2. When we first arrived and were looking at the menu in entirety, I asked a server if there were any items in the vegetarian section that were actually vegan. She told me that all the items in the vegetarian section are vegan, which is untrue, as some of them listed cheese as part of the dish. I asked another server, and he told me the same exact thing. I specified to him that I was looking for something without egg or cheese in the ingredients, he apologized, and told me that one of the items in the vegetarian section could be made without egg or cheese.

Pros: Maybe the best vegan food in Shanghai , See above

Cons: Prices are pretty astronomical, but worth it, See above

ClaireSch

Points +69

Vegan
24 Mar 2019

When inspirational chefs get excited about vegan food, this is the result!

The latest menu took me on a taste journey from crispy and spicy, through smoky and comforting, ending on a high note of fresh and zesty with citrus cream, berries and crumble. Chef Koen’s enthusiasm for vegan food is obvious, each dish is explained to you and leaves you desperate to dive right in! I particularly enjoyed the tomato crackers topped with avocado and marinated watermelon plus the vegan paella. A focus on fresh seasonal produce but remains firmly rooted in it’s Spanish heritage.

Pros: Can order complete menu as “tasting” menu, Great Bund location with spectacular views, Cool Mediterranean fun vibe

Cons: Expensive but worth every penny!

MichaelRobinson

Points +2985

Vegan
15 Mar 2019

Forget about the price tag.

My friend Wendy & her friend Claire worked with the head chef to create this vegan menu, I was lucky enough to be invited to sample it. For a not fully vegan place the chef did an outstanding job with food. I won't go into every dish as there were around ten in total, but every one was absolutely delicious. If you're going here I would recommend doing the vegan sampler menu where you will get to try everything for 400rmb, yes it is pricey but the food is worth it plus the view from inside the restaurant is spectacular. I think it's great that places here are recognising the demand for vegan options and really making the effort.

Pros: Amazingly delicious., Location

Cons: Price, Not fully vegan




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