Taiwan Village

An inauspicious location near the junction of Lillie Road and North End Road is not where you would expect to find one of London's best and most authentic dining experiences. Indeed, to find Chinese food that even approaches this quality, you would typically plan a trip to Central London, park or travel at great expense and subject yourself to the rudest service known to man, Because that folks, is Soho, London. Taiwan Village is very different. Not only is the service attentive and gentle, but the place lacks the bustle and the conventional ‘hurry-up-we-can-get-another-cover-in’ attitude that most Chinese restaurants espouse . There were seven at the table and we had the downstairs area to ourselves. As most of us are avowed Fuchsia Dunlop groupies, being next to the kitchen more than made up for any perceived lack of atmosphere .Who needs glamour? We were here to eat! Our research had encouraged us to leave the ordering to the chef. What followed was dish-after-fiery dish of the best Hunan and Szechuan food I've eaten in London, rivalled only by ‘My Old Place’ in Farringdon. The only ‘miss’ being a sweet and sourish effort that came when we asked for something other than the inevitable crispy duck. While I guess that punished us for being food snobs, unless you are a genuine expert on this type of cuisine, the chef's choice really is a must. Don't interfere and let him do his thing. If you are a fussy eater or a vegetarian, just head somewhere else.

We've taken basket of appetizers, and although it wasn't an actual basket, every single appetizer was fantastic. Mains were very good as well, with exception of sweet&sour pork, which was just average (my bad — I should have chosen Taiwanese dish).

Decor is very nice. We sat in a cosy corner where staff forgot about us for a while…

The restaurant has minimum charge of £15 per person. Although we'd cross this limit anyway, I don't like that such rule exists at all.