A long overdue food journal |||
✕ A long overdue food journal
Michelin Star Soho, London Soho Japanese Seafood Sri Lankan Mayfair, London Tokyo, Japan French Modern European Fusion Covent Garden, London Omakase Copenhagen, Denmark Indian Shoreditch, London European Casual Colombo, Sri Lanka Tokyo Thai Spicy Covent Garden Middle Eastern South American Cantonese Italian Camden Mayfair Copenhagen Tenerife, Spain Ramen West African Steak Kaiseki Korean Camden, London Asian Fusion Fitzrovia, London Authentic Portuguese East London, London small plates BBQ Punjabi Buenos Aires, Argentina Porto White City, London Grill Hot Pot Shoredtich, London Basque Roast Baps Fitzrovia Kentish Town, London Calpe, Spain South Kensington, London East London Asian Hakka Victoria, London Mexican Chinatown Pizza North London North London, London China West London, London Crouch End, London City, London City of London, London Gastropub London Bridge, London grilled meat Fine Dining Calpe Izakaya Chinese Tasting Menu Dim Sum Stockwell, South London Taiwanese Modena, Italy Sustainable Spanish skewers Aoyama, Tokyo West London Brazil Shepherds Bush, London Comfort London Bridge Local Notting Hill, London London Thali Dessert Parsi Ginza, Tokyo Open fire meat Indo-Chinese San Francisco, USA Amsterdam, Netherlands South London Intimate Dining Porto, Portugal Ebisu Japan Ocean Grills Yakiniku Chops Wagyu Las Vegas, USA London Bridge, South London Mediterranean Shoreditch Gakugei-daigaku, Tokyo Breakfast Charcoal decor Soho, Chinatown, London North African Marylebone, London Iranian St James Place, London Islington, London British Sushi Sichuan Lisbon, Portugal Japanese Fusion Bank, London Spain Pub food Seasonal
Home Archives Search LinkedIn RSS Biography About ↑
March 30, 2023 Sichuan, Soho, Soho, London

BarShu

My buddy Ben told me his team from Hong Kong that would come to London looking for Sichuan food would always go to BarShu. Over the years we have dined at BarShu, and it feels like an institution in Soho given it’s been around for more than 20 years now. Be warned though, with chilli and numbing peppers in most dishes this place is not for the faint of heart! To start I’d suggest a cold/room temperature starter, “man and wife offal slices”, a mix of thin beef slices, beef offal, tendon all mixed with spices, sichuan pepper, and coriander. You’ll probably want to get a beer or something to help with the spice, unfortunately for you BarShu does charge £9.80 for a pint of beer! When it comes to mains, there are two iconic dishes to try, “Fragrant chicken in a pile of chillies” and “boiled sea bass in chilli oil”. The chicken dish is literally small pieces of fried chicken that are served on a bed of chillies where the oil of the chilli is soaking into the chicken, super moreish and flavourful, you’ll spend the latter part of the meal digging around the chillies trying to find pieces of chicken. For the seafood dish, thinly sliced pieces of sea bass cooked in a rich chilli oil which is full of sichuan peppercorns and chilli. The sea bass here is extremely soft and flavourful, the restaurant now offers options of half and full portion so you can decide if you wanna try other things instead of going all in. You need a veg option to balance out this level of spice, I would suggest the morning glory in garlic, but if you want to continue on the spice train I would recommend the green beans with shredded pork. The only dessert here is the fried rice cake, it’s nothing Earth shattering but a welcome dish after all that heat.

I would suggest after settling the bill, walking over to the Dog and Duck and getting a sensibly priced pint of beer! Jokes aside, BarShu is an institution and the spot to go to for Sichuan food, give it a go and let me know your thoughts!

Price per head: £40 and up depending on drinks

Fragrant chicken in a bed of chillisFragrant chicken in a bed of chillis

Boiled fish in chilli oilBoiled fish in chilli oil

Rice cakeRice cake

Up next Senor Ceviche Mr.Ji
Latest posts Gymkhana Amber Le Bab Le Relais de Venise The Barbary next door Stud!o ILUKA The Pearly Queen Taku Jikoni Chet’s Ministry of Crab Brawn The Gallery Cafe Palmyrah Restaurant Humble Chicken Fatt Pundit Speedboat Bar A.Wong The Barbary Frenchie Orasay Narisawa The X Pot Claude Bosi at Bibendum Hélène Darroze at The Connaught Osteria Francescana Endo at Rotunda La Dame de Pic Landeau Chocolate Lyon’s Seafood Restaurant & Wine Bar