Roxie

Roxie operates from Yongfu Lu — one of the French Concession's most beautiful plane-tree-lined streets — as one of Shanghai's more polished gay-identified venues in the post-2021 environment. The bar occupies a renovated shikumen building and runs a serious craft cocktail programme. The crowd reflects the Former French Concession's pre-2021 character: Shanghai-based LGBTQ+-friendly expats alongside local Chinese LGBTQ+-friendly men, a mix that became harder to find after many international visitors left during the pandemic and didn't return. The bar maintains a discreet exterior — no rainbow signage — in keeping with the current operating environment. Staff are professional and the bar is reliably well-run. The most comfortable recommendation for a first evening on the Shanghai scene.