Speak Low

Speak Low opened in 2014 under Shingo Gokan, a Japanese bartender who made his name at Angel's Share in New York, and it blends American drinks, Japanese service and a dash of British style. Gokan's group has since opened other bars in the city, including Sober Company, but this is where the story began.

Finding the entrance is part of the fun. From Middle Fuxing Road you walk into what looks like a shop selling bar tools and glassware. At the back, a bookcase that is in fact a door opens into a narrow brick tunnel, which leads past a curtained smoking area and up the stairs to the bars. The venue is spread over three floors that grow more exclusive as you climb.

The first floor is the liveliest and most affordable, with classically led cocktails. The second floor, entered through a sliding wooden panel, has a more inventive list and a calmer, seated atmosphere, and reservations are needed most nights. The third floor is the most private level, with exposed rafters and whisky lockers. Drinks are served in unusually shaped glassware, and the bartenders are happy to personalise a cocktail to your taste. Recent signatures have included a matcha rum drink, a smoky whisky take on the colada, a pandan milk punch and a Parmesan sour, and a tea ceremony cocktail nods to the bar's Japanese roots.

The bar is busy seven nights a week and can be hard to get into, so book ahead if you want the second floor, or arrive early in the evening. It suits couples, cocktail enthusiasts and small groups rather than large parties.

The second-floor room has a pressed tin ceiling and is seated only, with no standing at the bar, while the third floor is reached past a door marked Employees Only.

The city government's 2025 bar guide lists opening hours of 6pm to 1.30am from Sunday to Thursday and 6pm to 2.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. Speak Low is on Middle Fuxing Road near Ruijin No. 2 Road, in the heart of the former French Concession, and a taxi with the address is the simplest way to arrive. The same team runs Sober Company on Yandang Road if you want to continue the evening.