If you've ever visited Disney's House of Blues in Orlando, Florida, then you will know exactly what to expect from the Blues Room.

The bar is fun, and the music is respectable, but the place feels like a well-planned replica of an actual blues bar and soul food restaurant. This is somewhat unsettling. Overall though, the effort made in the Blues Room kitchen is admirable, even if the cornbread (RMB 15) was dry.

As for the bar, the hair on the back of our red necks bristles at the thought of a blues bars with floor-to-ceiling windows serving Stella (RMB 35, bottle) and Hoegaarden (RMB 50, small draft). Still, it seems Shanghai drinkers prefer their linens clean and their beers European, so perhaps those of us from the Bible Belt should bite our tongues and show this venue some Southern hospitality.

The Blues Room
Open: Daily 24 hours
Location: 146 Tongren Lu, by Nanjing Xi Lu
Tel: 021-62892978

(That's Shanghai January 15, 2008)