About this place

For coffee aficionados, Boonna is a perfect finish after a day of shopping in the French Concession and at Xiang Yang market.  This alternative café and late night hangout is popular among the trendy Shanghai crowd looking for something a little different. Perhaps, it is even a little more Soho than Shanghai.  

The coffee menu offers the normal cappuccino and latte, but also offers beans from Vietnam, Yunnan, Columbia and Ethiopia. The tea menu is just as extensive and fun to explore. We love the Jasmine for its great aroma and health benefits, as Jasmine tea is said to have great digestive and weight loss benefits. The food menu is less extensive, but healthy, cheap, and yummy nonetheless. Try the vegetable or tuna sandwich, both of which are piled high with fresh cut veggies on whole wheat bread.  Be aware that the vegetables are literally cut for your order, so the service can be a little slow.  There is an afternoon snack special of cake and the house coffee for 20RMB, perfect for that lag that always hits after a day of sightseeing.

Boonna café is also a popular “office” among Shanghai free-lancers. The cafe boasts wireless internet and a “stay as long as you like” atmosphere, illustrated by the fact that a second cup of coffee is half price.  Grab the window seat if you enjoy people watching. Xinle Lu provides an entertaining crowd of shoppers. 

Take metro line 1 to the Shanxi Lu stop, and then take the Huaihai Lu exit.  Follow Huaihai Lu one block west to Xiangyang Lu, and take a right. One block up, take a left on Xinle Road. Boonna is about 5 storefronts down the block.