Review: Seme

Seme is a simple, laid-back café serving up a fine cup of coffee and a curious assortment of Western dishes. Their prawn cup (RMB32) misses with half a dozen limp prawns accompanying a simple potato salad. Better, but seriously vampire resistant, is a tomato Seme salad (RMB24) drenched in a garlic and oil dressing. Sparse on the ingredients and without proper bacon or plump tomatoes, their club sandwich (RMB38) is barren. Better composed are their handmade tagliatelles (RMB42), especially an impressively loaded and creamy carbonara.

All of these are mere distractions for what is a great coffee. Seme has them just right. Order a flat white (RMB32) and watch the world saunter by in the quiet end of the former French Concession.