Sieving through the minefield of restaurants in London’s Chinatown is like chucking a handful of pick-up lines at a highly inebriated Blackpool hen party. Whichever one swoons, that’s the one you go home with. Luckily, you needn’t worry about a poor selection process; after one evening inside, you don’t have to call again.

This here is only my opinion of course, it’s not the be all and end all of good and bad restaurants, pubs, bars, and clubs. I can only advise. The only way to navigate your way around Chinatown is to play it like a holiday to Amsterdam, and ‘try it all’. With this in my mind, Corean Chilli, sitting on the eastern edge of the tiny area of the West End, is worth a punt.

The mix of Eastern and Western trends and styles is authentic and charming enough to give you the experience of Oriental Cuisine, without actually offending your Western expectations, which is nice. All in all it makes the place have a pretty good feel to it. However if you take a look elsewhere online [Why would you?] you’ll find reviews of poor service, and an angry, shouty manager. I saw no sign of him, but just to be safe, order in a few jars of Lemon Sake and don’t worry about it. By the end of your meal, you’ll be toasty enough to not give a toss.

The food itself is pretty hit and miss if I’m honest. Something tells me I got the clean end of the shitstick when I ordered something pork (I think it was pork) based. That was very nice. But my starter, I’ve got no idea what it was, and it was horrible. Far too spicy and tasteless for me, but that I guess is what it comes down to. If you want to go to a place where you know exactly what you want with a mere glance over the menu, where you know the cost, taste, and atmosphere before setting foot inside, you’d be happier at Pizza Express. If you want to broaden your horizons (without being pretentious, if you just want to go somewhere you’ve not been too before to see if it’s any good), then Corean Chilli is just as good a place as any.

Plus they do karaoke!

BEER SELECTION: Pretty poor, even for an Oriental restaurant, however I did really like their range of Sake. **

COST OF A MEAL: Quite expensive really at around £10-13 per main. Doesn’t seem like you get that much either, but I ended up pretty full after £20. Not bad. ***

STAFF: Get a bad rap for not speaking English, and fucking up orders. But I saw no problems at all. Very polite and capable. Perhaps avoid the manager. ***

FOOD: Just order something and hope for the best. Worked for me. Just remember what it was so you can get it, or avoid it next time. ***

SKIRT RATIO: Not a fabulous atmosphere, quiet tourists mainly. Just get on that Sake jar early, and then who’s bothered? ***

Overall: I had a pretty good time in there, but something tells me it was more luck than judgement. I’d recommend giving it a go. ***

Corean Chilli - Chinatown - Brought to you by James Wormald -