Lawry's The Prime Rib

01What to order

• Lawry Cut, 280 g / 10 oz¥595 in March 2024, with or without the bone. The middle of the five prime rib cuts on that menu.
• Diamond Jim Brady Cut, 650 g / 23 oz¥875 in March 2024: the extra-thick, bone-in cut.
• Shanghai Family Cut, 1 kg / 2.2 lb¥1,480 in March 2024. Nomfluence describes it as double-sized and bone-in, the largest on the list.
• Spinning saladIncluded with a prime rib order and sold on its own for ¥98: spinach, romaine, iceberg, beets, croutons and egg, spun in a large bowl over ice at the table.
• Yorkshire puddingComes with every prime rib, along with mashed potatoes, gravy and whipped cream horseradish.
• Crab cakes¥215 for two and ¥295 for three in March 2024, served with a tomato pickled sauce.
• Weekend brunch¥398 a person in July 2026, until the end of August: a 110 g / 4 oz Jade Cut of prime rib, a barbecue trolley, a salad bar and one drink. Upgrades to 170 g / 6 oz cost ¥168 and to 280 g / 10 oz ¥298.

02The beef

The beef is USDA certified, per Nomfluence. Prime rib is the bone-in ribeye roast from roughly the 6th to the 12th rib. The whole slab is seasoned with Lawry's seasoned salt and roasted slowly on a bed of rock salt, then rested in silver trolleys. The city government's guide says the signature ribeye is heated slowly to 45 °C / 113 °F. No source gives the origin of the animals, breed, grade beyond "certified" or any aging.

03The fire

A roast, not a grill. Prime rib here is cooked slowly in the oven on rock salt and carved to order, and no source describes a flame or embers. The carvers belong to the Royal Order of Carvers, a title earned after six months of hands-on training.

04The story

Lawrence "Lawry" Frank and Walter Van de Kamp opened the original on La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills in 1938; the spinning salad dates from that year. The company says it is family owned and has franchised since 1996. A first Shanghai restaurant, in Xintiandi with m.a.x. concepts, was reported in March 2008 as the brand's first in mainland China, fifth in Asia and ninth in the world; Nomfluence says it closed more than a decade ago. The WYSH complex opened in June, and the city's own guide of December 2024 calls this house the brand's first store in mainland China, which does not match the 2008 branch.

05The practical

B1, 168 Wuyi Road (武夷路168号B1), Changning. Phone 021 6211 1778. Nomfluence lists daily hours of 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 22:00, with no date on the listing. A weekday three-course lunch started at ¥188 in July 2026, a 10% service charge applies, and the weekend free-flow add-on is ¥188 for four hours, 11:00 to 15:00. Booking by phone for the evening, and asking about private rooms for a group, is the safe course.

Address

B1, WYSH, 168 Wuyi Road, Changning, Shanghai

Phone

+86 21 6211 1778

Directions

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