Jujube Tree (Songshan Road)

Jujube Tree, or Zaozishu, is a casual vegetarian restaurant off Huaihai Middle Road in Huangpu, and it is the one most people here recommend first to a newly arrived vegetarian. The menu runs to modern Chinese vegetarian and vegan cooking across several regional styles, with mock meats built from tofu, seitan and yam alongside straightforward mushroom and vegetable dishes. It is written in English with photographs, which removes most of the guesswork. The group has run in Shanghai since 2001 on a no-meat, no-egg, no-alcohol premise, so a vegan can order from the whole menu rather than three corners of it.