Shanghai Shikumen Restaurant

Reviews

• Allison Y.

  star star star star star_border 3 June 2026

  I have a relative who is from Shanghai.  I have brought her to a great many Shanghainese restaurants in Toronto/GTA.  Most are popular and some are highly rated on Yelp and other review sites.  Let's say Shikumen is the second restaurant she has asked for a business card after a year or so of showing her around.
  
  Good food: My relative placed all the orders: 3 appetizers, a smoked fish, a shrimp dish, a steamed fish, a sea cucumber dish and a vegetable dish.  Other than the steamed fish being too small (maybe a pound to share among 6 people), she was happy with all the orders.  The sea cucumber ($41) was the winner of the evening.  The cucumber was big, and the sauce was savory with a hint of oyster flavor.  Pricey as it was, I would re-order it.  The shrimp was the runner-up.  Thumb up that they used mature vinegar for dipping.  The shrimps could be more "crisp", however.  Overall, the authenticity screamed loud and clear, and she was won over.  
  
  Price:  Above average.  $170 including tax, before tips, for 6 people.
  
  Good service:  We arrived on time for our reservation.  Our table wasn't ready because the customers were still at the table.  Instead of keeping us waiting and standing, the server let us sit at a bigger table, serving us tea, taking our order, while waiting for our table to be ready.  The considerate services were consistent throughout the evening.  +1 star for service.

• Anna N.

  star star star star_border star_border 28 May 2026

  Our family of 9 came into Shanghai Shikumen Restaurant at around 6pm and there was not much of a wait which was great. The interior is definitely more old school, with wooden chairs and decor. Some of the items we ordered were:
  1. Scallion noodles (a little too oily and not much flavor)
  2. Fried Bao (good size, juicy and has the perfect bottom layer crunch)
  3. Mince Wild Chinese Veggie w/ Dried Bean Curd (this has quickly become one of my favorite Shanghainese dish- it was done very well here, with similar taste to Shanghai)
  4. Jelly fish mixed with Shredded Radish (vinegary + sweet taste, there was definitely more radish than jellyfish)
  
  I definitely prefer Shanghai Nook across the street over this spot, at Shanghai Shikumen, their menu offers two different pricing (members + non members). We ended up buying their membership for $20 to get member pricing. But probably wont be back.

• Amanda L.

  star star star star_border star_border 25 May 2026

  This is a more 'refined' shanghai restaurant with private rooms and a historic/modern seating.
  
  The restaurant is small so if you are coming on weekends, I recommend getting a reservation as this place can get a little busy.
  
  Generally, their dishes range from super spicy meat and seafood dishes, to other classics like soup dumplings, fried bao, chilli cold noodles, braised soy sauce pork belly with egg etc.
  
  They offer two types of pricing, the normal pricing and a special VIP pricing (you need to get a membership card that costs $20 to get anywhere from $1 to $2 off per dish).
  
  My go to dishes at this place are:
  Soup dumplings $7.99 for 5
  Chilli oil cold noodles $6.99
  Scallion Noodles $11.99
  Braised pork bell with egg $15.99
  Chilli oil beef cold dish $9.99
  Pork hock braised on soy sauce $11.99
  Shanghai fried noodles $10.99
  Sweet and sour shrimp $15.99
  
  The dishes are more expensive than the average dumpling place and some are tapa style size, so you may have to order a few more dishes in order to be 'full'.
  
  This is a nice place to go every-so often if you are craving better quality shanghai food. The service is okay, but not as attentive as I'd like it to be.

• Jenny Y.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 22 May 2026

  Be warned: "pictures are for references only".
  
  This is especially particular to the Baby Cabbage braised in broth we ordered. According to the picture on their menu, there should be large slices of ham on the cabbage. Instead, we found tiny bite size pieces, maybe 4-5 pieces of ham, in the entire dish. Hmm, disappointing much?
  
  Prices are high considering the portions are small, unless you get their $20 membership and with that, it'll save you a buck or two per dish. Not worth getting IMO if you're only coming here once or twice.
  
  This place really caters to large groups as they only have four booths to seat smaller groups, tucked away on the side.
  
  Might also be a good idea to train the staff not to use profanity when conversing amongst themselves right next to the customers. Whatever happened to professionalism?
  
  I'll give two stars as the food does taste relatively good and authentic. As for the rest, sorry but not sorry.

• Wynne L.

  star star star star star_border 21 May 2026

  I've been here a few times now. I'm not sure how long this restaurant has been open but it's a nice addition to First Markham Place. I made a reservation and was immediately sent a text, presumably with information about my reservation, but seeing as I don't understand Mandarin I had no idea what it said and ignored it. The staff also only speak Mandarin so communicating what you need may be an issue.
  
  We ordered the pork shank and the photo in the menu is most definitely misleading. We had expected a whole lot more than what was actually served. This happened with the other meat dish as well. Whoever took the photos is really good at making the dishes appear way larger then they are. Just beware. The only dish that was larger then we expected was the pumpkin dessert. We thought they'd be one bite sized each but were much larger.
  
  The dishes were all very flavourful so you don't need to worry about anything being bland.