Snazz Sichuan

I am not sure whether the previous reviewer (Kit) has much idea about Chinese cuisine specifically Sichuan cuisine. I have been to Snazz Sichuan on numerous occasions and whilst some of the dishes are a bit rustic in presentation, I have not had a bad meal.

Twice cooked pork is similar to bacon as it uses the same cut of pork. And you do not have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out that it would be served with chilli sauce as it is a Sichuan restaurant. I am not surprised the waitress mocked him about sending this back for being "like bacon and in a chilli sauce". This is akin to sending sashimi back in a Japanese restaurant for being raw.

As for his friends, why did they select prawns with sweetcorn - not a particularly great choice given the wide selection on offer. I have ordered the dumplings and they taste fine and £6 is reasonable as it was quite a healthy portion.

Perhaps the last reviewer would feel more at home eating tired stereotypical Anglo-Chinese fare such as sesame prawn toast, crispy duck and sweet & sour pork leaving more sophisticated regional Chinese cuisine for those who appreciate it.
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- View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Thursday, August 07, 2008

I recently visited Snazz Sichuan for lunch and had, without doubt, the worst meal I have ever eaten.

The twice-cooked pork turned out to be bacon cooked in greasy chilli sauce. My friends had prawns with sweetcorn - an overflowing plate of gloop - and small dishes of dumplings and soup (£6 each), which were both greasy, flavourless and tepid.

I sent back the bacon, despite being laughably told by the waitress that it was how they prepared their pork dish, yet was charged for it at the end. Only by getting the unhelpful (or should that read, downright rude) waitress to call the manager did I avoid having to pay the £9.80 they were charging for it.

Overall, the food and the service was atrocious and vastly over-priced.
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Kit
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, July 28, 2008

Good food, service and value for money. The atmosphere is relaxed and quiet - it wasn't busy at all and we were there on a Saturday night. Come here to eat, not for a "night out". This restaurant needs to re-locate.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 11, 2008

Enjoyable and authentic sichuan cuisine. The drifting fragrant chicken is truly excellent. Other dishes also good. In terms of presentation, it is more earthy than say Bar Shu.
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SC - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Friday, June 20, 2008

After reading Fuschia Dunlop's Shark's fin and Szechuan Pepper I was hankering after some Szechuan cuisine. The Fire-exploded kidney flowers were utterly delicious and the Gong Po chicken is nothing like the ones you find in Cantonese restaurants, it's spicier and sweeter. The highlight for me was the Fish soup with pickled greens, one of only but a very few things that's not listed as hot on the menu. My companions thought the Chengdu style twice-cooked pork was delicious which I shied away from because of the copious amount of fatty pork. I loved the food! I loved the service! But poor location.
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bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Sunday, March 30, 2008

When booking a table the receptionist I spoke to was incredibly friendly, polite, helpful. A great start.

Snazz Sichaun is tucked away close to King's Cross on a fairly quiet street. Before going in had a quick drink in the Somerstown Coffee House - excellent and friendly pub - just up the road.

Waiters were a little slow to attend to us at our table, especially as the place was only 1/3 full. But it wasn't too bad.

The menu is a delight - full of wonderful sounding dishes - who could refuse to order dishes like 'strange flavour rabbit'?

In the end we settled for 2 dishes each - the rabbit was delicious, also had Guan gong beef which was sensational, as were a vermicelli dish in black bean sauce, and Sautéed king prawns with hot pepper and cashew nuts.

The marvellously named boiled and numbing fish was so-so, and there was another bland mushroom dish which didn't stand up to the rest of the meal either, but we didn't mind as the former dishes were just so delicious.

Of course, many of the dishes are quite spicy, as they're laden with chillies. But not overpoweringly so. I was very impressed with the addition of other key ingredients, peppercorns for instance. The dishes actually came over as being very subtle, complex creations. Top marks go to the chefs.

The service during the meal was very prompt and friendly, bill came quickly, and a reasonable, for what we had £30 per head inc beer and service charge. We even took a couple of doggy bags home laden with chillis.

Highly recommended, especially for larger groups.
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Paul Cockerton
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, February 14, 2008

went there tonight with a few friends, proprietor friendly and attentive and brought the chef out to meet us at the end of a well sized meal, best Chinese food I've had in a long time
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steve morris
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

We were a group of seven, and we had a memorable feast after going to a art show opening at the gallery downstairs. I don't know the names of anything we ate because we had two Mandarin speakers in our party who did the ordering, but I remember especially that there was some splendid seafood among the dishes that arrived, and a lovely aubergine stew. Very friendly staff, and the owner came by to explain things and make recommendations in both languages.

I'll be back with a less knowledgeable group soon, and see how we get on (maybe explore the less spicey zones of the menu - be careful of the chillies!), but I'm very pleased to know about this place.
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Andrew - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Sunday, September 09, 2007

Having just returned from a 3 months stay and China and craving some authentic Sichuan cuisine, I decided to try Snazz to celebrate my birthday with 5 friends.

Although more expensive than the average Chinese restaurant you can find in Chinatown, I was not dissapointed by the tasty dishes which tasted almost as good as in China. We tried the Hot Pot at £18 (a big pot with two different boiling broths, one spicy, one mild) into which you drop different raw ingrediences (like a fondue) to boil. We had slices of beef and lamb, cabbage, potatoes, noodles, mushrooms to go with it. Very tasty! We also ordered a spicy beef dish, fried dry green beans, Ma Po to-fu and fish spiced aubergine which were all very delicious.

The service was attentive and happy to explain the dishes on the menu. Their recommendations were very good as well.

I also noticed that many Chinese families were eating at the restaurant which is always a good sign that the food is authentic.

The only downside is that some of the dishes are a bit pricey, especially the vegetables ones (£6-£8). But if you are in the mood to try something different and love really spicy food - try Snazz. I would recommend coming with a big group of friends and this way share and sample different dishes of the fantastic menu.

I am definately planning to return.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Monday, September 03, 2007

Coming to a restaurant claiming to ooze rustic charm of Si CHuna china, I was not expecting any palatial decor or royal service. In truth I got neither, but the surrounding and service was friendly and cordial enough to not get in the way of some genuinely authentic and spicky cooking!

The menu was varied enough and seemed to contain a wide variety of familiar Si Chuan cooking as well as some more innovative fares. For me, I thought the spice and numb levels were a dumbed down to a level acceptable to the populace, but no to the great detriment of the food. Overall, the cooking was authentic and full of flavour. Certainly does not do shame to the wonderful Si Chuan food.

Better value and overall a better experience than Bar Shu but still a notch below Angeles at Kilburn.
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JHon - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Saturday, June 02, 2007