The Sichuan

Real fans of Chinese cuisine will, for one, know that China’s vast terrain comprises many distinct regional cuisines and, secondly, that if you like spice, Sichuan cookery is the way to go. In London, there’s one restaurant that is confidently laying claim to be the epitome of this particular style, aptly naming itself The Sichuan. And, with one of China and London’s most celebrated chefs at the helm in this prominent Islington kitchen, you know that The Sichuan is the real deal. Reservations at this top-ranked Chinese restaurant’s City Road premises are strongly advised.

A righteous amount of fuss has been made about the defection of leading Sichuanese chef Zhang Xiao Zhong from HuTong in The Shard to Islington’s The Sichuan. Zhang is a peerless talent when it comes to the famously spicy cuisine that originated in his hometown of Chengdu. He himself is from a long line of celebrated chefs, and has proved his own merits over a decades-long career that has seen him showered with awards and prestigious appointments around the world. Now that he is ensconced at The Sichuan, whose premises down the City Road stretch if Islington match Zhang’s high calibre Chinese cuisine with a luxurious sense of Far Eastern style, it’s time you made a booking to experience Sichuanese cuisine at its very best.

Islington locals and City of London workers know that a good time to catch a table at The Sichuan is at lunchtime. And we don’t mean it’s not busy – given the quality of the Chinese cuisine on offer here it reliably is at all times – but rather that you can experience the power of chef Zhang’s Sichuanese cookery for a great price thanks to the restaurant's lunchtime lunch sets. Grab a mixed dim sum platter, the humorously titled Numb and Spicy Wontons, or the so-called Legendary Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles. Perhaps the best way to experience The Sichuan is to hire the large function room and have a banquet, but even a la carte dining, with views out over the canal, is an experience that’s hard to match no matter how hard you scour the city.