I find that there is something comforting about Chinese food. I can’t really explain it, but Asian cuisine just warms my heart. If you too are comforted by a big pot of noodles, love the sound of crunchy spring rolls and crave moist dumplings, Red Chilli is your go-to.
One of York’s most original Chinese places, Red Chilli is favoured by Asian locals which is a good sign for a regional-cuisine restaurant. I would recommend Red Chilli for almost every occasion. I went there on a casual lunch date to find out to my surprise that there was a ridiculously cheap offer of £9 per person for three courses (a soup, a dim sum and a main). The atmosphere of the restaurant is always very relaxed- even at their busiest hour; that’s one of the reasons I love it. Service was very fast and efficient, although it would’t be what I’d call pristine hospitality, maybe because many of the waiters don’t speak good English.
In any case, the food was great. I had a seaweed starter, a traditional chicken and sweet corn soup and sweet and sour chicken as my main dish. The fried seaweed salad was salty and amazingly crispy, although not very filling; which was great, as it was followed by the soup. Although a simple dish, chicken and corn soup always takes me back to that day in my early adolescence(think of Disney’s Ratatouille-type of flashback) when I first ate it with my best friend at our local Chinese place. My sweet and sour chicken dish was enormous, and although I have a very healthy appetite I could barely finish my portion.
As a whole, I would say Red Chilli is a great choice for students. The food is good, the prices even more so. It’s appropriate for numerous circumstances such as dinner and lunch dates, but also friendly encounters. The restaurant is quite large, so it’s most likely you will not need a reservation.
