13DE Marzo Café – Is this Viral Teddy Bear Café in Shanghai Worth It? 

If you’re heading to Shanghai, then you must make a stop at the whimsical 13DE Marzo Café.

It’s a very popular coffee shop as each order is served with a signature teddy bear hugging the cup!

This enchanting experience often goes viral on social media, so you can expect big queues for drinks throughout the day. But, is it worth it? 

Here is a complete guide to the teddy bear café in Shanghai, including how to find it, ordering drinks and some helpful visitor tips. 

What is 13DE Marzo Café in Shanghai?

13DE Marzo Café is one of the most popular coffee shops in Shanghai, tucked away in the former French Concession.  

It often goes viral on social media due to its signature, where every drink comes with a little teddy bear that hugs your coffee cup. 

It’s the cutest fluffy toy that you can take home with you, and it makes an adorable souvenir! 

This ‘paw-some’ signature makes it a very crowded place, with people lining up for hours to receive one. 

Where is the teddy bear café in Shanghai?

You can find the 13DE Marzo Café at their flagship store on Anfu Road in Shanghai. 

The best way to explore the city is by using the metro, and you can stop at Changshu Road Station on lines 1 and 7.

Use Exit 8, and then it’s around a 10-minute walk to the café on Anfu Road.

Alternatively, you can alight at Jiaotong University Station (near Wukang Mansion) on Exit 3 and walk 12 minutes. 

Make sure to have Alipay downloaded before you visit, as you can download a travel card through the app to pay for public transport.  

Alternatively, you can book a DiDi (Chinese Uber) through Alipay as journeys are very affordable. 

Google Maps doesn’t work in China, so make sure to download AMap to guide you.

Do you need to make a reservation?

As there is no seating at the teddy bear café in Shanghai, you cannot make a reservation to visit. It’s takeaway only. 

However, you can download their mini-programme on either Alipay/WeChat and pre-order your coffee on there.

This can help to avoid waiting in some of the long queues, especially on weekends. 

Arriving at 13DE Marzo Café

You’ll know when you’ve arrived at 13DE Marzo on Anfu Road by the huge row of teddy bears waving at you out of the windows. 

Most people know 13DE Marzo today for their viral teddy bear café, but it started as a popular streetwear brand. 

You’ll find three floors at the Anfu Market with a photo booth, clothing and home items. 

You’ll also know you’ve arrived as you’ll see a long queue of people waiting in line for their teddy bear coffees!

What’s on the menu?

I knew I wanted to visit this ‘beary-cute’ café due to the adorable teddy bear you received with each cup.

But I wasn’t entirely sure what drinks they had on the menu at 13DE Marzo Café.

They had a whole range of coffees, including Americanos and lattes, their rose petal latte sounded especially delicious (alas, I’m lactose intolerant).

If you’re not a coffee drinker, they also had a range of milk teas, including grape flavour, and hot or iced cocoa.

As I had already had quite a lot of caffeine that morning, I went for one of their refreshers. 

I decided to order an adorable pink guava lime fizz. But, they also had grapefruit, pear, green apple and grape on the menu. 

Every so often, they have seasonal menu items. On my visit, they had a range of loquat fruit (Chinese plum) drinks. 

The drinks here do come at a slight premium compared to regular cafés in China at 26 – 39 CNY, but that’s to offset the cost of the teddies. 

How do you order? 

Like most places in China, you cannot order and pay for drinks with a credit card or cash.

Most cafés and shops use apps like Alipay and WeChat to take payments.

It can be intimidating at first, as it’s a different process. But it’s very easy once you’ve done it a few times, and it eventually becomes natural. 

I highly recommend having both of these apps downloaded and set up before your trip to save time and confusion.

When you arrive at 13DE Marzo, step inside, and you’ll see QR codes for both apps on the counter. 

Make sure to open either AliPay or WeChat and use the scan feature in the app, not your camera.

Scanning the code will bring you to their mini-programme, where you can browse the drinks menu and add items to your basket.

You can then pay for your items in the app, and you’ll receive an order confirmation.

You’ll see an order number appear on the mini-programme with a status of ‘preparing’. 

The staff don’t always call out numbers. But when your drink order says ‘ready’, you can pick up your teddy bear coffee from the window out front.  

Receiving my teddy bear drink 

Unlike other experiences with this café, I was thankful that my wait time wasn’t too long.

I only had to wait around 20 minutes for my drink to be ready, but I have heard queue times can be well over an hour at busy times.

I visited around 10.30 am on a weekday, and the line wasn’t too bad at this point. However, it definitely started to get crowded once I had left. 

I was so excited to finally receive my pink drink with a fluffy teddy bear hugging the cup.

It was honestly adorable, and I couldn’t stop taking photos of it inside and outside the store.

The teddy bear is also easy to remove as it’s only attached via velcro on its paws. It makes such a great souvenir to take home!

I’m also happy to report that my drink was delicious. I had read reviews about the drinks being ‘mid’, but I’m glad that wasn’t the case for me. 

Exploring the 13DE Marzo store

If you are visiting the Anfu Road flagship store in Shanghai, then you have to explore their Anfu Market. There are three floors in this building: 

1. Floor 1: Café & Photo Booth
2. Floor 2: Clothing Range
3. Floor 3: Home items & craft market

I loved exploring the second floor, as this is where you can meet their giant teddy bears that are waving out of the window. 

If you are having to wait a long time for your drinks, the store is a great way to pass the time.

There are plenty of photo opportunities and, of course, you can explore their cute range of teddy bear streetwear.  

Is 13DE Marzo Café worth it?

Yes, 13DE Marzo is definitely worth the hype. This paw-some coffee shop was easily one of my favourite places I visited in Shanghai.

The store on Anfu Road is utterly adorable, with all the giant waving teddies and receiving a plush bear hugging my cup made me so happy. 

Would I wait several hours for a drink at this place? Probably not.

But, would I go back again for one of their teddy bears if given the chance? Most definitely. 

Don’t skip this kawaii café in Shanghai, these bear-licious drinks are waiting for you!

Helpful tips for the teddy bear café in Shanghai

• As this café is so popular, it often has long queues throughout the day. Arrive before 10 am on a weekday to avoid waiting too long.

• Have Alipay/WeChat downloaded before you visit to seamlessly pay for drinks.

• You can pre-order your drinks via the Mini-Programme in Alipay/WeChat to avoid a long queue.

• There is more than one 13 DE Marzo store in China; there are 27 currently. But the flagship on Anfu Road in Shanghai is always busiest.

• Don’t forget to take your fluffy teddy bear off the cup and take it home with you; it makes such an adorable souvenir! 

Things to do nearby

After you visit the teddy bear café in Shanghai, you can explore more of the former French Concession area.

I would take a stroll on Anfu Road with its gorgeous rows of Plane Trees to discover European-style villas, eateries and clothing boutiques. 

Apoli Itabakery is a magical café just around the corner from one of the most famous buildings in Shanghai, Wukang Mansion.

Jing’an Temple is a great stop to experience some culture, and you can visit Tianzifang, a tourist market filled with shopping stalls. 

Also, I would stop by Wiggle Wiggle and Gentle Monster / Haus Nowhere / Nudake to see the amazing robots and quirky statues.

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