Ultraviolet / Mr & Mrs Bund / Polux / Nonos & Comestibles / Moutarde / Sundae Royale
Born and trained in France, Paul Pairet runs several restaurants of different natures. Apart from the legendary 3 Michelin starred “Ultraviolet”, he helms the timeless seafood and steak house “Mr & Mrs Bund”, and French café “Polux” in Shanghai; the French grill with a chic deli “Nonos & Comestibles” at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris; the French carvery “Moutarde” and ice cream parlour “Sundae Royale” at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore.
Pairet first came of notice at Paris’s Cafe Mosaic, where the influences of his wandering career – by that point, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Jakarta – began to crystallize into a French-but-not-French style all his own.
Critics talked of Mosaic and of Alain Ducasse’s Spoon in equal terms. In fact, Pairet’s cooking at Mosaic made such an impression on Ducasse that it was the master chef himself who subsequently plucked Pairet out and arranged his next move: Istanbul. Pairet then took his talents to the Ritz-Carlton’s Cam, where he turned the hotel outfit into the city’s first cutting-edge restaurant. He was to repeat the task in Shanghai.
Pairet came to the city in 2005 to open Jade on 36, the flagship restaurant of the Shangri-La Hotel Pudong. Under his guidance and in three years only, he staked out an international reputation for his “highly personal and completely original cuisine: often exaggerated, highly technical plays on texture, temperature, and preconceived expectations”.
Where Pairet had formed the vocabulary – surprise, precision, wit, reduction – the years at Jade on 36 saw him develop these into a fluent, singular cuisine that spoke on many levels. His food started conversations, inspired articles and collected awards. Jade on 36 became not another hotel restaurant, but a “beacon for sophisticated, avant-garde cuisine in Asia”, and a destination for many.
Cooking, in part, to provoke and challenge, Pairet elicited ecstatic guest response from the moment Jade on 36 opened. The sentiment that his food was both exceptionally unique and essentially delicious echoed in media. His rejection of rigid culinary convention won over gourmands and went to scoop numerous honors and awards, while his cuisine was profiled internationally.
For years Pairet has circled the earth to present his unique vision at gatherings of the world’s culinary heavyweights. From San Sebastian’s Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia (The Best of Gastronomy) in 2007, Madrid Fusion in 2008 – where, at both, Pairet was the sole Asia-based chef invited to speak; the World Gourmet Summit 2008 in Singapore; the participation in 2009 in the “Guest Chef Concept” by Ikarus of Hanger-7 Salzburg; the Omnivore Food Festival in Pairs and Shanghai along the years; to Identità Golose Milan Congress in 2017, Pairet shares with no reservations his belief and study in food.
In April 2009 Pairet brought to Shanghai “Mr & Mrs Bund”. This neo-classic French eatery perched on the historic Bund, more significantly, is a quite different expression of the chef’s passion.
The theme here is simplicity and popularity, a democratic flourish that embraces French and gloabl classics. Pairet has never been two things: 1. A stranger to simple, popular dishes, and 2. Easy to classify. With Mr & Mrs Bund, Pairet has tailored a populist concept of sharing simple & well-executed dishes to both critical and popular success. It is French, in the way Pairet himself is — born, traveled, globally stamped, and stubbornly perfectionist.
Within four months of opening, That’s Shanghai magazine declared Mr & Mrs Bund the “Best French” restaurant in the city. Since then, it has gone on collecting a slew of awards and international accolades, including No. 43 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2013 and being among Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants from 2013 to 2016.
This retro, timeless eatery was a u-turn for the “Avant-Garde” chef – until Ultraviolet opened.
Conceived by Pairet since 1996 and supported by his long-time back-up VOL Group, Ultraviolet is the first restaurant of its kind uniting food with multi-sensorial technology, in order to create a fully immersive dining experience.
This pioneering project of the industry was first presented to the world in 2010 Omnivore Food Festival in Deauville. After 3 years of making, it opened in May 2012, somewhere in Shanghai.
A single table of 10, a 20-course avant-garde set menu, 5 senses. Supported by the multi sensorial technologies, each course is enhanced with its own taste-tailored atmosphere, including visual, audio and olfactory compositions. Almost instantly, Ultraviolet wows Shanghai, and has been blessed with passionate reviews from the diners, trade and critics, and described as “the best dining experience ever”.
Ultraviolet caused quite a stir in the culinary world. It was one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants from 2013 to 2022, and of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants from 2015 to 2021. It became the 2nd restaurant from Mainland China, right after Mr & Mrs Bund’s entry into the list in 2013.
From September 2017 to 2025, Ultraviolet held 3 Michelin stars awarded by Shanghai Michelin Guide; it was listed in 2018 The World’s Greatest Places by TIME.
March 2019 marked the birth of Polux – Pairet’s first casual all-day concept, in the heart of lifestyle hub Xintiandi.
Polux is a French café, a bar, a bistro with a terrace; a hangout to drop in for a hearty brunch, all day munchies and cozy dinner. No fuss, no rush – just basics done with Pairet’s touch and stripped to the core.
“Eternally untrendy and forever in fashion”, as Pairet described, Polux has been listed as Bib Gourmand by Michelin Guide Shanghai since 2019, 6 months after opening.
Celebrated as the Chef’s return to Paris since the 2000s, Nonos & Comestibles is a significant collaboration between Pairet and the emblematic Hôtel de Crillon.
Opened in January 2023, Nonos is a lively, city dining room, putting a spin on hearty fare, and transforming retro and classic dishes a sheer delight. Beyond fashion, this urban grill rejoices a timeless style of dining: convivial, comforting, and unmistakably French.
Making his debut into Singapore dining scene in November 2025, Pairet launched two complementary concepts at WEAVE, Resorts World Sentosa: Moutarde – a French carvery-bistro, and Sundae Royale – an ice cream parlour.
The former celebrates whole-piece cooking, carving, and sharing, with vibrant flavours designed for convivial gatherings. The latter delivers a premium, playful twist on artisanal soft-serve and sweets.
Recognized for his “talent, innovation and contribution to Asia’s restaurant industry”, Pairet received the first ever Lifetime Achievement Award by 2013 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. Voted by fellow chefs on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Pairet was given in 2016 the “Chefs’ Choice” Award. “Provocative and innovative, his creative flair, daring experimentation and inspired dishes continue to influence chefs around the world.”
His further accolades include Restaurateur of the Year 2018 by Les Grandes Tables du Monde, and The World’s 50 Most Influential French People 2019 by Vanity Fair France. He participates as one of the juries and mentors in France’s Top Chef since 2020.
Pairet could be “turbulent, unpredictable, unconventional” for many in the culinary world. No matter it’s for the personal originality, self-assured fun dining, or simply casual fares, “In the end”, says Pairet, “It is the feeling, emotion that evoked by the dish that counts.”
Ultraviolet
www.uvbypp.cc
Mr & Mrs Bund
www.mmbund.com
Polux
www.poluxbypp.com
Nonos & Comestibles
www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/hotel-de-crillon/dining/nonos-comestibles-paul-pairet
Moutard
www.rwsentosa.com/en/dine/signature-restaurants/moutarde
Sundae Royale
www.rwsentosa.com/en/dine/signature-restaurants/sundae-royale
Hidden away in an old shanghai neighborhood is arguably one of the most innovative restaurants in the world. (…) it was a revelation for all senses, and an immersive dining adventure
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Aug 2016
Paul Pairet, l’étoile montante de la gastronomie à shanghai. Il est aujourd’hui, avec deux restaurants –Mr & Mrs Bund et Ultraviolet – le chef le plus respecté de la ville.
The Good Life (France), November 2016
Ce chef français a ouvert à Shanghaï un restaurant singulier, Ultraviolet, sans équivalent sur la planète gastronomique.
Sébastien Falletti, Le Figaro, Dec 2016
Provocative and innovative, his creative flair, daring experimentation and inspired dishes continue to influence chefs around the world.
Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, 2016
In Shanghai, a table serving only ten guests is now the centrepiece of one of the most extraordinary dining experiences anywhere on the planet.
Four Magazine, 2015
Paul Pairet breaks the rules, has fun in reinventing the meal, update the social concept of food, and keeps on climbing to the top of the most incredible chefs of his time.
Alice Béguet, Le Figaro, Feb 2012
When Ultraviolet finally opened, it was one of the very few restaurants in the history of gastronomy that truly made a difference (…) It is the first gesamtkunstwerk in modern gastronomy.
Felix Hirsch, QLI, Feb 2014
Ultraviolet is certainly much more than a restaurant. This is a unique tasting getaway magnified by digital technology. A moment where time stops. (…) the illumination from Paul Pairet is, by itself alone, worth the trip.
Thibaut Danancher, Le Point, Oct 2013
It was the most unbelievable meal i have ever had, with wildly inventive dishes that were never inventive just for the sake of invention.
Cindy Chupack, Afar, Dec 2013
With sights, sounds, scents and a secret location, chef Paul Pairet’s immersive dining experience could be the next great leap in culinary evolution.
Howie Kahn, T of The New York Times, Aug 2013
Pairet’s Ultraviolet, an incredible psycho-gustative odyssey (…) one of the most experimental and challenging, one of the most fun and accomplished.
Claudio Grillenzoni, Identita Golose (Italy), Jun 2013
Ultraviolet finally breaks the rules, reinvents the restaurant, not to mention the cuisine. (…) this crazy work on rhythm, image, surprise, a complete rewrite of what can be the hospitality, the service, the cuisine of the 21st century.
Luc Dubanchet, Omnivore (France), Winter 2012
The dishes’ conception is frequently playful and witty, their presentation theatrical in the extreme. (…) It takes the idea of the multi-sensory consumption of food – blurring taste with emotion – to an unprecedented and inspirational level.
William Drew, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Nov 2012
Ultraviolet – an odyssey into the psyche of Paul Pairet… is an OCD perfectionist with the soul of an artist.
Monica Liau, That’s Shanghai, Jun 2012
You’ll ooh and ahh and forget any effort to contain your excitement. It’s dinner as theater, it’s food as you’ve never experienced it before… it’s totally, utterly worth it.
Geoff Ng, City Weekend, May 2012
Ultraviolet is radical and it was very much worth the wait… the food is central to the night, never just a prop; each meticulously crafted bite is so delectable, we’re left craving more after nearly every course.
Crystyl Mo, Time Out Shanghai, May 2012
Matching the greatest stars of the culinary world. (…) If he had stayed in France, Paul Pairet would probably be by far the leader of the contemporary cuisine.
J.P. Gabriel, Gentleman (Belgium), Dec 2007
Paul Pairet is the missing link between the 90’s and the third millennium.
Omnivore Deauville 2010 (France), Feb 2010
The chef is masterful, turbulent and totally unpredictable. His products are top-notch.
François Simon, Air France magazine, May 2007
I know that for my last meal on earth, nothing but Jade on 36 will suffice.
Joanne Harris, The Times (UK), Oct 2006
Paul Pairet cooks like a dream… Perhaps the best meal of my life.
Lucy Waverman, The Globe & Mail (Toronto), Oct 2006
The maximum leader – Paul Pairet, the mastermind in culinary, has redefined fine dining in Shanghai.
Jürgen Franke, Eat magazine (Germany), Dec 2009