Chilli Cool

Sometimes it pays off to walk off the beaten track and drift along some side streets. Especially when you start the night in Kings Cross and don’t fancy an open plan dining experience but are just after a decent meal over which to finish a conversation.
How wonderful to stumble across Chilli Cool — mind you, my date may have known about it all along and didn’t want to make me feel bad for having missed out for all these years …
Chilli Cool is two restaurants right next to each other. We went to the one on the left first which specilises in Sechuan hot pots. Almost all tables were taken with steaming fondue-​type pots surrounded by massive selections of skewers yet to be cooked. And a lot of happy diners. At £20 per person this looks like extremely good value — for another night when you haven’t eaten all day …
Next door serves a more conventional menu of individual dishes. We were lucky to find a table, just like next door the place was packed — with an encouraging mix of Chinese and locals. The couple next to us looked like they knew what they were doing and I ordered by pointing at one of their orders rather than trying to make a choice based on the menu. As a lapsed vegetarian some of the dishes posed a bit of a challenge (pigs intesintes, anyone?!) but I think they really have something for everyone — provided you like chilli.
The portions are massive, and one main course between the two of us would have been plenty. My pork stir fry (fresh green and red chillies) was delicious and my friend’s seafood dish looked amazing too (I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a large amount of dried chilli in one serving!).
I always thought Chinese food was my least favourite Asian cuisine — until now, a new favourite!

Exactly what you’ll get in China. Not Westernized at all. You will definitely be sweating buckets from the chillis. If you ever catch a cold, have one meal here and it will be gone the next day.

This was my first visit here and it was definitely what I needed to satisfy my chilli cravings.
We ordered three dishes to share between the three of us plus steamed rice.
The ‘Sea Spicy Pork’ was really tasty, marinated in fish sauce. Nice minced pork and a good level of spiciness.
We ordered a bowl of mixed chef special soup (can’t remember the exact name!) which was a huge bowl and definitely enough to be shared between us! There were plenty of different ingredients in it: beef, mushrooms, beancurd, black fungus, potatoes, tripe, cabbage, prawns etc… and the soup was also very moreish, so make sure you ask for a spoon to drink up!
The third dish was a side of veg with garlic so we had a good balance of meat and veg…
The food is good and also quite cheap (decent portions too!), coming up to about £12 per person for what we ordered.
About a five minute walk from Kings Cross station so also a really convenient location.
I would definitely recommend if you love spicy food as much as I do :)

Food taste good & Terrible service.

Chili cool brings you the authentic flavor of the shihuan kitchen, spicy is an understatement. Always people eating here even though it is on quite a dodgy looking street. Menu is reasonably priced although some may label it as expensive for chinese food — but if I may offer my humble opinion: worth every penny! Buy it, do it, download it, book mark it, I don’t know put it in your Ipad — just make it your business to come.

Worst Service I have ever got among restaurants, Let me explain. First, I am Chinese, this Chinese restaurant certainly has discrimination against Chinese because they won’t allow Chinese pay by card while they allowed non-​Chinese ppl pay by card, Anyone got idea why they prefer Cash??? The quality of the food is below average, not the kind of authentic Chinese food. Their waiter and waitress always got this ‘you owns me money’ look on their face, hate it! I won’t step in that restaurant again and I would not recommend any of you who saw this review go there for your own sake.

Quick glance:
+ authentic Sichuan cuisine
+ attractively priced
+ good portion size
— service can be slow
Full review:
I came here for a colleague’s leaving party and was pleasantly surprised that this part of London harbours this little gem of a restaurant. The food is authentically Sichuan, packs a great flavour and even has hot pot on offer. The dishes don’t hold back on the chili peppers but isn’t killer hot in an unpleasant way. If you don’t like spicy food then you won’t get the full Sichaun experience, but there are some non-​spicy dishes on offer too.
Service could be slow and at times it felt like we had to wave madly to get the waitress’s attention. Perhaps it was an off-​night or we had a new waitress, but we had the wrong plates delivered to our table only to be promptly seized by the next waiter abruptly who realised it was for the next table.
That aside, the food is faultless and not too oily as could be from some Sichaun restaurants. The price is right and it feels like I was momentarily transported to Sichuan as I tucked into tasty kung pao chicken and ma po tofu while hearing snippets of neighbouring conversations taking place in Chinese.

The best Sichuan food I’ve had outside of China. Nice and spicy, although can’t comment on the hot pot as I haven’t had it.

just had dinner with a friend here this evening didnt book had to wait half hour to be seated. Got seated by the door which was constantly in use and being November a brisk draft swept directly through our table. We asked to be reseated which wasnt a problem. No bottle water was offered on the menu dissapointing so opted for Jasmin tea
ordered the tofu in sichaun sauce bolid rice green beans with minced pork sichaune chicken with dried chilli and a portion of water spinach. All dishes came out at different times scattered intervals of five minutes per dish the order barely fitted on the small table for two. There was no interaction with the staff the food tasted repetertive just varying depths of chilli.
It was busy and waiting customers standing over us throughout our meal.
We have said we will return for an afternoon meal before we give a final judgement. I hope they fix the door by the way if you are unfortunate to be seated on the room to the right your meal is brought to you via the main door via the street

We had the hot pot. The staff helped us with our questions of how to eat it (first time hot potters!) and other Chinese guests also pitched in to help. An overall great introduction to the hot pot and Sechuan cuisine. Thank you!

We were brought here by some Chinese friends, who said they come here every month or so. I think I may join them.
The highlight for me was the giant cauldron of sliced fish soup. I really could have had just that with rice, though it’s really a 2 – 3 person portion. I would go back just for that. The aubergine was another hit. We also ordered something like a salt and pepper prawn, which was a bit overdone.
Despite having been warned about it, I didn’t find the food to be that spicy. A lot of chillies, yes, but not actually very spicy if you just eat the underlying food. I think I was disappointed, and the boy was relieved!
The waiter told us it was cash only for lunch, which I’m pretty sure is wrong if you’re not a cash-​only establishment, but whatever. Service was functional, and we came for a very late lunch, so we had to chase down a waiter to get the bill, since I think they were eating their own lunch. Atmosphere is plain, but you’re really just here for the food anyway.

最好吃！Living in China was one of the best eating experiences of my life, but when I left, oh how I struggled to fill the hunger for authentic, spicy, Chinese food!
But then, out of the darkness came Chilli Cool. Everything about it was what I had longed for: no pretense of formality, servers with a mild grasp of English, family style meals, and tasty, tasty food. There are so many items on the menu that I have barely made progress trying them all. Some of my favorites are the Mapo tofu, spicy cold cucumbers, and the northern dumplings.
Really really seriously definitely check out Chilli Cool.

Easily in my top 3 Sichuan favorites.
Prices are competitive to Chinatown and servings are fit for families.
Patronage among non-​Chinese is growing, speaking to Chilli Cool’s appeal to the wider neighborhood. Good to see spicy food commanding such popularity.
They’re great with big cauldrons of sliced fish, the more elaborate the better. Spicy pork ears are served with an equal measure of chopped garlic, making it one of the zestiest openers in the menu. The house chicken is a bit on the lean side but the marinade goes great with rice.
Consider yourself warned: the chefs can be quite liberal in their use of chili and garlic, which makes for extreme deliciousness but also exacts price to be paid later on. Think about that.

This is probably the best Sichuan restaurant I have been in London, very tasty, big portion and reasonable price. but it’s a bit out of way, so can’t go there often.

I wonder what people who have eaten Sichuan food outside London think about this place. We found the food unpalatable.
Meat: Ugh :(
Rice: Not sure how it can be quite as gross as it was. Probably because it was very stale.
Flavors: Not right. Too much fish sauce and vinegar in the wrong places
Service: After all of the above, I’m not sure how they can afford that attitude! Rude, uninterested, unwelcoming, sloppy.
Space: The best part of the experience.
Sadly, it seems this might be one of the better places for Sichuan food in London. So end result, no more Sichuan food for us in London :(And definitely not here.

Perfect place for a big group dinner (as long as you’re with people who don’t mind eating family style!) I brought a group of 11 people here and we all fit snugly around the round table at the back of the restaurant. Was a bit cozy, sometimes our chopsticks hit one another as we ate, but that added to the fun!
We ordered 8 dishes to split among us, with a big steaming pot of rice to pass around as well. Everything was delicious, spicy spicy spicy, but the perfect amount of food to try more than a little of everything and walk away feeling completely sated. In the end it came out to less tan £17 each, and that was with everyone having at least one beer (two options: Tiger or Tsing Tao) to wash away the heat.

Chilli Cool is an aptly named semi-​hole in the wall type of place. It’s definitely worth a visit as it serves up some delicious food (mostly Chinese I think) in generous portions at reasonable prices.
At least half the dishes help support the name choice as they are absolutely loaded down with dried chillies stir fried or simmered with the dish. This isn’t a place to eat daintily. Rather, one must aim to determinedly continue to stuff food done one’s gullet while mopping away the chilli sweats. The heat builds gradually in the way of scotch bonnets rather than smacking you upside the face like habeneros.
I’d love to tell you what I ate, but to be honest I’m not quite sure as we just pointed at the pictures that looked the tastiest and asked for those. The menu is in Chinese and the English translations don’t quite always make sense. I will say the meat was tender, the veggies crunchy and fresh, and the sauces bursting with flavour. And of course the plethora of chillies adding all the spice you could want.
Service is okay but requires a bit of confidence and assertion as they will tend to ignore you unless you make yourself noticed. The bathrooms are possibly the dingiest dirtiest place possible so avoid if you can.
Overall, it’s a good place for a meal (especially after a day of drinking) but not somewhere I’d consider worthy of a trek on its own accord.

Aw guys! Whats with the low ratings here? I’m LOVING this place!
7 of us came to this place, and we were sat near the end of the restaurant (near the backyard). There are two parts to this restaurant, making it easier if you have big groups. I could tell the authenticity of the food here by the amount of Chinese/​locals you see eating here.
The smell of hot hot chili… mmmmm!
We ordered 8 dishes to split between the 7 of us. Cabbage, chili dumplings and four season beans came first. It took around 15 – 20 minutes but that’s fine with me. Then came beef tendons– chewy and jelly-​textured but flavorful yet spicy. Hot and spicy spare ribs cooked fried with chili smelled amazing, and tasted heavenly. It was crispy, spicy, and the sesame that it was cooked with brought out the best of the ribs. Highly recommended.
The hot and spicy cold noodle (with shredded chicken and cucumber) was refreshing. The cold glass noodle was spicy and cooked to the right chewy-​ness.
Then came the delicious fish dish– it wasn’t the water cooked fish. It’s called sliced fish in homemade twin chili sauce– BEYOND!!! The fish was SO smooth and tender, fresh and just, indescribably delicious. Highly highly recommend again. The dish was HUGE, cooked with tons of fish meat and some vegetables. Not to mention, the chili had a sweet aftertaste… mmm.
The beef with chili and Sichuan pepper was alright, with a fair amount of bean spout, but also spare amount of beef– it was alright.
The total we spent for 9 dishes plus 6 bowls of rice equals to around £88.
10% off cash payments!!!
Overall, a wide range of amazing classic Sichuan food, would definitely recommend this restaurant to all my friends who LOVES spicy food.
PS. VERY SPICY. VERY DELICIOUS. AUTHENTIC GOOD FOOD, and 10% off cash payments.
DOUBLE THUMBS UP!!!

Do you like spicy food? Leave now if your answer be negative… I don’t think China’s Sichuan Province wanted to feed you anything that didn’t make you sweat.
Really tasty Sichuan cuisine, everything I’ve had here has been delicious, but my staple orders must include the double-​cooked pork belly with Chinese leeks, cold chilli-​noodles and aubergine in yellow bean sauce.
Oh dear, I just ate my weight in pork fat and chilli oil again…

Chilli Cool — Pics @ The London Foodie
I first learnt of Sichuanese Cuisine when reading Fuchsia Dunlop’s book «Sharks Fin and Sichuan Pepper». Fuchsia is an engaging writer — it was great fun reading about her adventures as a Westerner living in Chengdu, and learning about Sichuan and its cuisine. I have bought both her cookery books which are also very good.
After reading a positive write up by Mr Noodles of Eat Noodles Love Noodles (this is his favourite Sichuanese restaurant in London), I decided to try Chilli Cool last week. Mr Noodles is a real authority on regional Chinese cooking, and his blog is an excellent source of information on the subject.
Dr G and I arrived and headed to the wrong entrance of Chilli Cool — there are two: one for the Sichuanese hot pot restaurant on the left hand side, and another for the a la carte menu on the right. We were directed to the correct entrance (a la carte), and were soon seated.
The staff’s level of English isn’t great, although I found them to be efficient and polite. The décor was simple and with no frills, and the lighting was strong and bright. One unnerving aspect of the restaurant is how greasy the floor was — I could hardly stand on one spot without sliding away. If you can put that to the back of your mind though, you are in for a culinary experience.
The menu is well laid out and contains many pictures of the dishes to assist ordering which I found very helpful. Following the recommendations of Mr Noodles, we ordered a selection of dishes from the menu.
We started the meal with the less hot «Sea Spicy Shredded Pork» @ £7.80. This was utterly delicious, with the slivers of pork, julienned bamboo shoots and black fungus making for a sensational combination of flavours.
The sauce was rich and very flavoursome (I believe this to be also translated as «Fish Fragrant Sauce»), and despite the name, it has no fish ingredients — it is sour, sweet and spicy and made from ginger, soy sauce, garlic, chinkiang vinegar among other ingredients.
We also ordered «Sliced Beef Sichuan Style Lavishly Topped with Chillies and Sichuan Pepper» @ £8.80 (Also known as «Boiled Beef Slices in a Fiery Sauce» — shui zhu niu rou). This was another rich and delicious dish, and one of the highlights of the evening.
The beef was coated in flour and then boiled in stock and soya sauce giving it a silken texture. The addition of finely julienned celery and spring onions to the rich sauce made it hearty.
It was fiery but bearably so. It was about zero degrees outside but I was pouring with sweat — a perfect dish for this type of weather.
To accompany the meat dishes, we ordered some plain steamed rice @ £1.50 a portion, and two of my favourite Sichuanese vegetable dishes — «Dry Fried Green Bean with Minced Pork» @ £6.80 and «Sea Spicy/​Fish Fragrant Aubergines» @ £6.80.
The greens were dry fried until tender and slightly wrinkled, and tasted delicious with the minced pork, Shaoxing wine and soya sauce. This was a simple but very satisfying dish.
The aubergine dish was the better of the two though — the fish fragrant sauce was complex and bursting with flavour. I have made this dish many times at home but have never managed to come close to the richness and concentration of flavour of Chilli Cool’s version.
We also ordered their «Chengdu Dan Dan Noodles» @ £5.80. I have tried this dish at several restaurants but Chilli Cool’s was I think the most authentic. It was seriously spicy and delicious with a generous helping of «Ya Cai» a type of Sichuanese preserved mustard green, and a rich sauce made from an assortment of spices.
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, and it cost only £44. We ordered enough to feed 4 or 5 people as the portions were rather generous.
Verdict — Authentic Sichuanese cuisine in Central London at very reasonable prices. A must for anyone who appreciates this type of cooking. Delicious fish fragrant aubergines, sliced beef and shredded pork and charming service. Highly recommended.