TAKO

A place where babes and baddies hang out, Tākō is the nightlife equivalent of that goth girl in your high school geography class who seemed too cool for school but, as you found out after being put on the same project, turned out to be the biggest sweetheart, and fast became your new best friend.

Roxie’s reincarnation has literally gone through a facelift in that its façade is now a smouldering red and opens up on to a tattoo and piercing parlour — but it is still very much the space that regulars know and love.

Even the iconic spinning pole that has supported the weight of countless customers is there, though tattoos and cocktails (hence ta-ko) are now the bar’s centrepiece.

“One reason we’re (offering tattoos and piercing services) is to provide the artists with a playground. I think this is even more important now that lots of Shanghai’s underground stuff is no more...”

TingTing, Tākō’s co-founder and head bartender, vehemently believes that it is important to, “let the artists make art — and we’ll take care of the promotional side of things.”

An artist herself, TingTing taps into different tools of the trade: instead of ink and needles, she wields stirrers, shakers and strainers, and has whipped up 10 ‘kocktails’ for Tākō (75 RMB each) that riff on classics. 

Sidestepping the traditionally ‘sludgy’ texture of the Bloody Mary cocktail in favour of clarity and cleanness, the Mary Not Bloody uses five different tomatoes and is rimmed with a Greek spice mix — pick this if you have a predilection for savoury cocktails.

Other ‘same same but different cocktails’ include the Humble Artist Whisky Sour with delicious nutty afternotes from almond; the OCD Mojito with48-hour mint-washed rum; and the Smoked Cosmo with more character than the classic cranberry-laced member of the Gimlet family — delicious doses of liquid courage before you give the bar’s spinning pole a go.

Shot for Timeout Shanghai

Writer: Sammi

URBAN BEEKEEPING SHANGHAI

We’re not ‘pollen’ your leg: you can try beekeeping in Shanghai! 🍯〰️🐝
This buzzworthy activity is made possible by Urban Bees Shanghai, which was founded by Marco Sentinelli in 2023.
As the most efficient pollinators, did you know that if bees were to disappear, our planet would be at peril? They are pivotal to food security, which makes ethical beekeeping all the more important.

Shot for Timeout Shanghai

Writer: Sammi