Song Qi – Monaco's Art Deco homage to 1930s Shanghai

Song Qi opened in May 2014 on Avenue Princesse Grace as the first gourmet Chinese restaurant in the principality, founded by Monaco restaurateur Riccardo Giraudi together with Hong Kong-born chef Alan Yau, the restaurateur behind London's Hakkasan, which holds two MICHELIN Stars. Facing one of Monte-Carlo's grand seafront avenues, the room was shaped by Paris-based architects Emil Humbert and Christophe Poyet, who gave the space a sleek, contemporary twist on Shanghai's golden age of the 1930s. The name itself is a small lesson in Chinese history: Song, the dynasty that ruled China at the height of its strength between 960 and 1279, paired with qi, the vital energy said to move and shape the universe. Song Qi is selected in the MICHELIN Guide, one of only a handful of serious Asian tables in a city built on French and Italian menus. More than a decade on, it remains Monaco's reference address for Chinese fine dining — a room of lacquer and brass built around sharing plates and a whole roast duck carved tableside.

01The room and the setting

The roughly 1,000 sq ft dining room was built to recreate the golden age of 1930s Shanghai, arranged around a circle of brass rods dropping from ceiling to floor around a central table ringed with chairs upholstered in green velvet. The surrounding walls are finished in polished black lacquer, inlaid with brass frames and rectangular lamps, while a black-and-white tiled star spreads across the floor, its points flowing through the room like a tide. It was the tenth restaurant project for Humbert & Poyet since they founded their practice in 2008, following Mozza, Avenue 31 and Beefbar Monaco.

The address carries its own weight: Avenue Princesse Grace is counted among the most expensive streets in the world, and the restaurant sits a few steps from the Mediterranean, with a terrace that lets the dining room spill outdoors on mild evenings.

02The chef

Song Qi's kitchen was shaped by Hong Kong-born chef Alan Yau, who co-founded the restaurant alongside Monegasque entrepreneur Riccardo Giraudi. Yau built his reputation in London with Hakkasan, which holds two MICHELIN Stars, and Giraudi has said he "wanted to call upon the best" when he set out to build an upmarket Chinese restaurant for Monaco. Yau's menu was conceived around dishes meant to be shared, in keeping with Chinese custom, treated with the same precision as the room's architecture. The footer of today's menu still credits the "concept" to Riccardo Giraudi, a reminder that the restaurant, now with sister addresses in São Paulo and Malta, remains very much his idea.

Insider tip

Open daily for lunch and dinner; book ahead for the whole Peking duck, served to share.

03The cooking and what to order

The cooking runs on a traditional blend of Chinese technique with ingredients sourced from France and spices from China, a formula that stretches from the dim sum steamer to the duck oven.

04Wine and drinks

The restaurant carries a wine list drawn from producers around the world, a strength that earned Song Qi 88 Falstaff points. By the glass, the list runs from Burgundy and Saint-Estèphe to a house Champagne, Jeeper 'Song Qi' Blanc de Blancs, made for the restaurant. The bar leans into its own theme with cocktails such as the Dragon Mule, built on blanco tequila, kiwi cordial and ginger beer, and an Imperial Negroni that swaps in roku gin, black rice vermouth and Sichuan pepper for a Chinese-spiced finish.

05The neighbourhood

Avenue Princesse Grace is one of the most expensive avenues in the world, running along Monte-Carlo's seafront a few steps from the Mediterranean, in the Larvotto district where Monaco's grand hotels and private clinics give way to the shoreline. It is a stretch built for passing on foot after dinner, with the beach and the principality's cultural venues within easy walking distance of the restaurant's door.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.