Opened: Soft opening started on July 20, and the Grand Opening was August 26.

What: A classic Italian restaurant living in a villa on the western end of Julu Lu.

Look: Simple, clean, and modern with a few private rooms upstairs and a large patio perfect for their planned September barbeques. The only distraction from the focused design are odd, Sinatraera stained glass lamps.

Food: The Shanghainese/Taiwanese chef spent 16 years cooking in Italy, and now sticks to simple and hearty Italian favorites. A quite straightforward beef carpaccio is very solid, but the osso bucco, a braised veal shank, is a real winner.

People: For lunch, it’s mostly executives from the nearby office buildings. For dinner, it’s been popular with Japanese businessmen staying at hotels in the vicinity.

Bill: Lunch ranges from ¥50-100, and three courses at dinner should add up to ¥250-350.

Hours: Sun-Thu 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11am-1am.

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This is our favorite new place for a fast sandwich with style. iiit! is Eduardo Vargas’ newest venture and he brings his flavorful, casual style of food to this project, which sits in an apartment complex just behind The Center, a towering office block on Changle Lu. While the space leaves a bit to be desired (it’s inside the fitness center, just above the swimming pool) the food is attractively priced, creative and delicious. A grilled cheese with gruyere, onions, and whole grain mustard on flatbread is hearty and filling; and a salty ham and cheese with parma ham and brie has us pining for another half (sandwiches around ¥38-48). Greek tzaziki with plenty of dill and garlic is served with piping hot breadsticks and is a bargain at ¥18. Pizzas are filling and served with a tangy, basilinfused sauce with a chewy crust. They also serve smoothies, coffees and fresh sqeezed juices, fresh baked desserts and sides like southwest potato salad and pasta with pinenuts and pesto. Delivery available.

Opened: July 2.

What: The new store of this popular lunch stop, relocated from their old haunt near the Pearl Tower.

Look: It’s simple, casual, and stylish. Wood floors, glass fronts, and a big orange sign out front, declaring in no uncertain terms that this part of Jing An’s sandwich market now belongs to the Italians.

Food: Sandwiches are what they do best here, and sandwich you shall. Wonderfully toasty ones full of cured meats, cheeses, arugula, tomatoes, grilled vegetables, and good olive oil. Not all in the same one, but all delicious. They’re justifiably proud of their tiramisu, and with reason. One might not expect it from a sandwich shop, but it’s one of the best in town.

People: Yes. And lots of them.

Bill: That ¥50 in your pocket will cover a sandwich, and the salad that rides sidecar to it.

Straightforward food. Plenty of wines. Totally reasonable prices. We think Indalo is doing something special here; and we hope it catches on. Indalo offers 24 wines by the glass, many at ¥35, and there are at least five bottles for ¥170 as well – something that has always been possible here, but rarely attempted. It’s not revolutionary, it’s just honest. So is the food; the house bread comes with three dips, including a delicious red pepper and a sharp, addictive aioli. We tried wonderful medallions of cured pork tenderloin with tomato-smeared rounds of toasted baguette, rich mushroom caps stuffed with Spanish ham and a mix of peppers and breadcrumbs, and greasy Portuguese chorizo. Our meal was capped by a very good seafood paella; the grains of rice were firm and separate, and it was capped with fresh mussels and clams. Indalo, with its casual, brick-layed space and great food and wines will definitely draw us back for more.