Reviews Sichuan-folk Chinese Restaurant

This restaurant was a great find. I love Sichuan food and so to discover this place in Brick Lane was a must try.

The ambiance is very busy full of life, there are always many diners so expect to wait or book in advance.

In this occasion I tried the boiled traditional fish and saliva chicken which were both full of flavour and very enjoyable to eat.

Great restaurant for a dinner and casual dining, will definitely be back again.

I went because I was in the area and had seen the good reviews, otherwise I would have been put off by the dark lighting and decor. Very glad I did. We had the ma po tofu and Szechuan fish which were both full of flavour. Atmosphere-wise it doesn't really win for me, it just feels a little sparse, but the food is good and not at all pricey.

I did warn my co-diners this would be spicy. Most understood me but a couple didn't really heed my warning... I think they will next time! You leave Sichuan Folk with a very satisfying chilli induced endorphin hit. And a sometimes worrying temporary lack of sensation in you tongue from the tongue numbing Sichuan peppers. We sampled wood ear mushrooms with Sichuan peppers, chicken in spicy tongue numbing sauce, sliced whelks, little duck things in steamed bun, green beans with spicy minced pork and my favourite the boiled fish in ridiculously spicy broth. Miso high on chillies!!

The subject of getting a Chinese is a funny thing in our household. I love Chinese food. I always have and so I loved my trip to China in 2011 when I was able to sample the real deal (or at least the most Western of their dishes - however much I love Chinese food I can't convince myself to try the more offal-ly dishes). We sampled a dumpling feast in Xi'an, a mouth-numbing hotpot in Chengdu, Peking duck in Beijing (where else?) and amazing Kung Pao chicken. Ever since then I've searched for great Chinese food wherever I've been. I found a great place in Nottingham, Shanghai Shanghai, thanks to a high profile review (for Nottingham) from Giles Coren and I've been wanting to find somewhere similar in London. I know that Chinatown is full of Chinese restaurants but many tend to be Cantonese rather than the Sichuan food I craved.

The problem though is my boyfriend. He doesn't eat meat and has remained adamant that Chinese food is not a cuisine for non-meat eaters (he's not a big tofu person either). I can see his point that other Asian cuisines, like Thai or Japanese, cater much better for the fish eaters but I have tried to reason with him that China does have a coastline and so there will be good fish dishes. In fact, one of the best dishes I had when I visited China was Squirrelfish. However, he has firmly resisted, claiming that it is my contrary nature that makes me claim I like Chinese food so much. It's not, I just like Chinese food.

We've walked down Hanbury Street loads (mostly to get to DF Mexico or Poppies) and every time we've walked past Sichuan Folk and I've pointed it out to my boyfriend but I've never convinced him to go in.

Back in May I finished my Postgraduate Diploma exam and came back home to an empty flat as my boyfriend was away on holiday with his family. So, seizing full advantage of my chance, I got online and ordered myself a takeaway from Sichuan Folk which I planned on eating before heading straight to bed as I'd been awake for over 30 hours by that point. While I was waiting for my food to be delivered I decided to do some tidying up and take out a bag of rubbish and recycling to the big dumpsters belonging to our block of flats. So far, so good. Until I lobbed the rubbish bag in and the bottle opener keyring that is attached to my keys got caught on the bag (they were also in my hand) and sailed into the dumpster with the bag of rubbish. Brilliant. I had to climb in (and keep in mind these things come up to my chest) in order to reach my keys. For one terrifying moment once I'd retrieved my keys I feared I might actually be stuck in there but I did manage to clamber out. So, by this point I was super tired and smelled of rubbish, it was one of those great days when I realised that I was a year off being 30 and had been defeated by a very small every day task. Then my food arrived and everything was made better. I vowed to persuade my boyfriend to actually visit Sichuan Folk so I could take advantage of their full menu and to get the food fresh from the kitchen.

The other week I guilted him into going on a Friday night straight from work.

It's a tiny looking place from the front but really is Tardis-like inside. It isn't anything fancy to look at but you should never judge a book by its cover, or a restaurant by its decor.

Our waiter asked if we'd ever been there before and when we said we hadn't he talked us through some of the most popular dishes on the menu, taking into account our dietary preferences and spicy food tolerance. It turns out that most of the dishes we were considering were ones that he recommended.

Not pictured on the menu (many dishes are), so they're easy to miss, the sweets and sour ribs are little nuggets of chewy but not tough meat covered in a wonderfully sticky marinade. To steal a phrase from the Colonel, they are finger licking good and the perfect nibbly starter.

Vegetable dumplings might not look like much from the picture below but as they were tossed through some sauce practically right under my nose, they gave off the most amazing smell. Slippery little suckers but once you've got a hold on one, so good.

As a side dish to our mains, and to share, we ordered dry-fried green beans (without pork mince). They were the first of the main dishes to arrive and so we sat picking at them and both agreed that they were the nicest beans we'd had. It's rare that I could enjoy a vegetable dish on its own as I tend to see meat as the star of a meal, but we both agreed that we could have almost had these as a main and been happy. I'm sure that means there's no goodness left in the beans, but I don't care, they tasted damn good.

My main of gong bao chicken was delicious, although oddly it was definitely less spicy than the version I'd had delivered to me following my exam. Maybe they catered to my Western tastebuds, maybe they had a different chef on, I'm not sure. Good regardless though.

My boyfriend, after attempting a rather intimidating fish in chilli oil dish at Shanghai Shanghai in Nottingham and struggling with the heat, toned it down here and went with the fish in Sichuan style. What kind of fish? I have no idea but the soft little battered bits of fish melted in your mouth. Perfect.

Full and happy, we paid the bill and my Chinese food sceptical boyfriend was won over. If somewhere can make a plate of regular green beans something special, then they apparently have his heart. He's already been talking of a return visit to Sichuan Folk. Why didn't I convince him this was a good idea much sooner?

The food was authentic and spicy, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere as it was full of young people. A bit expensive but its really worth it

Sichuan cuisine has gained soaring popularity in the last couple of years, and restaurants all conveniently have similar names, especially the Barshu and BaShan in Soho. Sichuan Folks (BarShu Folks in Chinese) is apparently a spin off from one of the former two, and handily located on the Spitalfields-end of Brick Lane... Dishes here are promising; they all arrive looking exactly the same as the photos on the menu. Greasy? Yes - it’s kinda inevitable when chilli oil is one of the main ingredients. Intolerable? Nah.

I thought I should put way up front in case you are one of those who'll glaze over paragraphs of words. Sichuan Folk's food is easily the best Sichuan food I have come across in London (more on that below). We were served by two young staff in their twenties and I rarely come across such warm service. Then again, it might be that we were the only customers at Sichuan Folk that afternoon. I was told of Sichuan Folk Chinese Restaurant by a fellow Singaporean. There's a running joke among us: Singaporeans especially look forward to lunchtime and take great joys in discovering new eats in the vicinity. I know some people who can survive on just crisps and Pret for lunch but coming from an island where eating is the national pastime, that's sheer torture. Well, if y

Very ordinary looking restaurant that's so easy to miss unless you're actually looking for it. We went on week night. For the starters we called for their signature dumplings, some sort of battered and stir fried frog legs, and the chili flavored scallops with beanthread noodles . The were all good but the scallops were exceptional...really hot but just mindblowing. For the mains we ordered the twice cooked pork (but they were all out of the buns they serve with it) and a bowl of the special fried rice. This was good too but I imagine the buns (if only) would have made the pork a better dish. All in all a really good Chinese meal. Lots on the menu that you'd want to sample.

Sichuan is not your typical Chinese fare - it embraces spiciness and chillies (and also offal but if that's not your bag there's always plenty else on offer) in abundance. And London has probably more than its fair share of places that do this cuisine really well - there's the Bar Shu/Ba Shan/Baozi Inn triumvirate, Chilli Cool and the amazing Silk Road. Sichuan Folk are well deserving of their place amongst these illustrious restaurants.

They're serving up some really interesting-sounding dishes, many of which I hadn't seen in the other places, as well as some more familiar dishes. The dish of spicy and lip tingling beef is quite similar to others I've had but the twice cooked pork was a new one to me and featured the steamed buns everyone loves so much these days. There was definitely heat in all the dishes, but not overwhelmingly so (though I admit I have quite a high tolerance). It just left your mouth with a warm, and yes, lip tingling sensation.

All of this came with really friendly, helpful service in a pleasant setting, and prices were typical of your normal Chinese place - ie very reasonable! It's great to have this in the local area.

Everything we ordered was great! Initially thought we ordered too much, but it all tasted so good we finished every last bit of it! Service was friendly enough. Will definitely be going back.

The food was so so delicious but what let it down was how long it took for the food to come out. It came out "as ready" but that meant I had my stew but waited another 10mins for the rice and after I finished my meal, my friend was still waiting on theirs to arrive.

This is probably the best Chinese restaurant in London. No one in my family ever misses out on an opportunity to eat here when we are in the area, and every time the dishes are perfection. I recommend the Twice-Cooked Pork and the Kung Pao Prawns.

"Recently, I had the opportunity to try the Grilled Fish and cold appetizer at a Sichuan restaurant. Overall, the meal was decent, with the Grilled Fish being the standout dish. The fish was well-seasoned and grilled to perfection, with a crispy skin and juicy flesh. The flavors were typical of Sichuan cuisine, with a good balance of spices and saltiness. The cold appetizer platter was also a nice addition, providing a refreshing and crisp contrast to the heat from the main dish.

I have been here a few times. The food and services are consistently good and tasty. We order 3 starters and 7 mains, all very good!

Straight down the line good food. Ants climbing noodles, smashed cucumber, morning glory, mapo tofu.

Ordered their food by Deliveroo few times and really love it. This time, we are a group of people tried the All you can eat hot pot, to be honest, I would stick with the single dishes on their menu and I won’t have the hot pot again. For the hot pot, they don’t have various choices of meats and veggies. What they offered are some cheap and low quality food. Anyways, their dishes really worth a try. If you are looking for authentic Chinese cuisines, there it is!