There is no shortage of exotic restaurants with a different style on the streets of Shanghai, and half of them are Spanish restaurants that combine the romance of the Mediterranean and the sophistication of France. It is not easy to choose one of the many Spanish restaurants to be the leader. With its back-to-basics Spanish cuisine and creative space design, The Commune Social has become a popular Spanish restaurant in Shanghai and foreigners willing to queue up with the casual concept of founder Jason Atherton's "no reservations, no service charge".

The Commune Social is no slouch for embroidered pillows, it's Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton's second restaurant in Shanghai after Table No.1, and his latest creation in Shanghai with renowned design firm Neri&Hu Design Lab and renowned Singaporean hotelier Loh Lik Peng. Since its opening in April 2012, the restaurant has won many awards, including the 2013 Shanghai Food & Beverage Awards Restaurant of the Year, the 2014 City Weekend "Best Mediterranean Restaurant – Readers' Choice", the 2017 That's Shanghai "Readers' Favorite Western Restaurant", the 2017 Timeout "Best Terrace Restaurant", the 2017 City Weekend "Restaurant of the Year – Editor's Choice", and was listed in the 2018 Michelin Guide. Jonathan Kite, the actor of Chef Oleg in the American drama "Sisters of Bankruptcy", also dined at the restaurant.

The restaurant's founder, Jason Atherton, is a successful businessman, but that doesn't overshadow his brilliance as a Michelin-starred chef. Jason began his career in 1998 at elBulli, the first British chef in Spain, and has since honed his studies with Michelin-starred chefs such as Pierre offmann, Nico Ladenis, and Marco Pierre White. In 2001, Jason joined the Gordon Ramsay Group as Head Chef at the renowned Verre restaurant in Dubai, before leaving the group in 2010 to create his own Jason Atherton restaurant company. Then he officially started his restaurant legend in Shanghai.

The restaurant's Executive Chef, Scott Melvin, is originally from Malaga, Spain, having worked under renowned chefs Rubén Trincado, Edorta Lamo and Victor Ibañez, and was the Executive Chef of Table No. 1. The dessert section is headed by former Table No.1 pastry chef Kim Melvin. It's worth mentioning that Chef Sergio Moreno and Pastry Chef Kim Melvin are a husband and wife, and they will surely have a better understanding when it comes to cooking for diners.

The main paper menu is divided into six sections: food, eggs, sea, meat, grilled and vegetables, as well as a chef's selection, set lunch and wine and dessert menus, which are printed on both sides in Chinese and English. The restaurant's dishes are mainly tapas, the portion is small, and it is shared by default, and it is served when it is ready, without distinguishing between the main dishes. Tapas are Spanish tapas, known as the quintessence of Spanish cuisine, and can be found in almost all large restaurants and small restaurants. The Spanish word "Tapa" means lid. It is widely believed that the earliest tapas were mostly small loaves of bread, which were used by the Andalusians as a lid to cover the rim of the cup when drinking, to deter fruit flies, and various ingredients were stacked on this small bread to form the original tapas. Over the years, Tapas have evolved beyond the boundaries of the lid of a wine glass, the chef has given it a variety of variations, and any combination of ingredients can become a tapas.

When it comes to Spanish cuisine, Libyan pork is not a must, and the restaurant's Libyan ham cold cuts and Spanish Libyan sausage platter are both smoked meats, cut into thin slices and eaten with crispy toast. The Spanish breakfast egg is simple in shape, the bowl is made of organic poached eggs made by slow-cooking at 65°C hot water for 45 minutes, the taste is soft and glutinous, and then spread with Spanish pepperoni and butter baked diced potatoes, a bite contains crispy and warm glutinous, rich and layered. The Libyan pork foie gras burger also has a good performance, the miniature shape of the miniature version is very cute, the bread is fluffy and crunchy, the Libyan pork and foie gras mix is plump and plump, with a tender and juicy texture, the avocado sauce blends in with a smooth milky flavor, and the crisp pickled cucumber neutralizes the whole burger flavor.

Sea urchin goat cheese butter with Charbieta bread is one of the most popular tapas in the restaurant, and the presentation is mainly red and yellow, which is very bright, reflecting the rich and fresh color of Spanish cuisine. The bread is baked in butter until crispy, the side dishes are rich, the sea urchin is cooked until it is soft and delicious, the red bell pepper is full of juice, and the combination of cheese and special sauce is very refreshing. The raw beef tartar is delicately presented with fine dining, the pink beef balls are inlaid with white onions, and the greasy raw beef is neutralized with pickled mushrooms, coriander leaves and other side dishes, sprinkled with red chili peppers, and the salted egg yolk is also decorated between the plates.

In addition, classic meat dishes such as Spanish charcoal-grilled spring chicken, roast suckling pig, pan-fried lamb chops, and curry-flavored slow-cooked chicken thighs are also not to be missed. There are not many varieties of sweets in the restaurant, and each dish is made on the spot in the semi-open kitchen. Peanut ice cream is one of the must-haves for diners, the whole dessert is very rich, the color is bright, the red fruit is added with ice cream to taste cold and sour, and because of the addition of peanut milk candy, the taste is very rich. Pastry chef Kim Melvin says it's so popular that it's almost never taken off the menu. The restaurant's new products are launched quickly and abundantly, constantly bringing different surprises to diners.

Shanghai is a city that pays special attention to aesthetics, and the sense of design is one of the major selling points of the restaurant. The restaurant is next door to the "Design Republic" furniture store, and relying on it, it can truly be called a restaurant for cross-border cooperation between design and food. The design concept of the restaurant space emphasizes the concept of "sharing" of the tapas restaurant, and the interior part is divided into three areas: snack bar, dining area and dessert bar, which are not completely separated from each other, and guests can shuttle around the building at will, and sit in different areas according to different foods, but most diners will choose to complete the whole dining process in a fixed seat. In addition to the indoor dining area, the outdoor courtyard is surrounded by the red brick walls of the republican design and the black walls of the food club. The restaurant's second-floor terrace has a great view and a bar counter, making it a great place to enjoy a Brunch on a sunny afternoon. The service staff of the restaurant are both foreign and Chinese, and they are very friendly, so that diners can have a relaxed and free dining atmosphere, but when they are busy, they can obviously feel that they are understaffed and slightly rushed. Restaurants are so popular that there is usually a queue at the door half an hour before closing hours, so be prepared for those who plan to go on weekends. It is worth noting that the restaurant is closed on Mondays and is closed on national holidays.