Red Chilli

Another lively cosmopolitan addition to the fast-evolving Civic Quarter which now offers just about every cuisine. Descend the stairs of the restored Victorian chambers to a contemporary basement themed in gleaming black & red. Beijing & Szechuan dishes feature in a rewarding menu of dim sum, clay pot dishes, sizzling plates & home-style items along with familiar Cantonese classics, which to the chef's credit are far from run-of-the-mill. Coyly named set menus - First Date, Courtship & True Love - steer the timid away from chicken satay & aromatic crispy duck, & towards Painter Daqian spring chicken & stir-fried Shanghai bacai (Chinese cabbage). True adventurers should take on the home-style dishes like Mrs Spotty’s beancurd, Big Grandma’s stir-fried whelk, & for pudding, djonkey rolled in mud. Also in Manchester (see separate review).