Chi Kitchen London - Restaurant Review!

After a theatre visit with my friend this weekend we dined in the gorgeous Chi Kitchen which is based on the ground floor of Debenhams on Oxford Street. It’s actually tucked away right at the side and back meaning it doesn’t feel like it’s inside a department store on the busiest shopping street in London.one jot and with views down the side street looking over the rich folk of our capital city as they meander home to their fab pads, it has the perfect people watching vista!

We had a table at 6pm on a Saturday evening and we sat and ate until half past 8 but at no point did we feel the place was crowded, in fact, quite the opposite. It was a beautiful reverie from a frantic day of rushing around a sun soaked and bustling London, sitting in a crowded Hyde Park had followed a walk through theatre district with inevitable tourists bursting from every corner and the contrast of leaving Oxford Street and indeed the department store to enter the cool and calm atmosphere of Chi Kitchen was markedly noticeable.

We started, as all good gals about town do, with a cocktail. For me, clearly, a mocktail but my friend got to fully indulge in the harder stuff. Both were extremely welcome and both were absolutely delicious. So deliicious in fact that I would absolutely choose this venue as a cocktail stop alone without even considering food. So lovely to find somewhere which cares about making a non alcoholic cocktail as much as the real deal… So often I have found orange juice with a splash of grenadine is about as much as the bar can be bothered to muster when they don’t have the delights of some spirit to add to the mix but not here. Cold and delicious served over crushed ice I enjoyed two very fruity house specials and the alcoholic versions also looked rather dreamy.

Mine was on the left and contained lychee juice which really made it a stunner! The mohito on the right was equally enjoyed by my friend and more than a little bit lusted over by me. I think I have reached the stage of pregnancy where I am back to wanting what I would have normally… Goodness, I still have quite a few week’s left which is rather annoying for summer when drinks like this are on offer!

At Chi Kitchen Breakfast is served until 11am and thereafter the lunch and dinner menu is offered. This is made up of a variety of offerings from all over Asia including Thai curries, sushi and dim sum, three of my favourite things to eat! You can order lots of small plates or be more traditional and opt for a small plate starter followed by something substantial. We in fact opted for both because A) I am pregnant and always hungry and B) we were there to do a job of reviewing so by Jove we did our best to eat everything on the menu – ever the professional me! You can choose extras to accompany your meal such as noodles, rice or vegetables and of course we had a bit of everything once again… I really don’t like to leave any stone unturned when it comes to food reviewing…

Dim sum is one of my favourite things to eat. Healthy AND delicious means double ticks in my book and this plate contains one of each from the menu. I couldn’t pick a favourite but I could eat them all again… They were amazing!

This is the popcorn shrimp (less shrimpy and more giant prawny if you ask me) which came in a wasabi dressing. It was an Asian take on a the classic British prawn cocktail and was out of this world good!

We also enjoyed some salt and pepper squid!

And the soft shell crab sushi… My word this was yummy and it was also rather dramatic in its appearance with a fountain of dry ice surrounding it in drama!

So as you can see, we chose enough starters to have taken us through a whole meal but we were not going to be beaten and asked for some recommendations on main courses too. Our waitress gave us some fantastic ideas and I am so glad that we asked for her input as the menu is extensive. She advised us that the chef is a previous master chef winner and that we were in good hands. we most certainly were…

The prawn Cha Keow Teow – flat noodles stir-fried with bean sprouts, egg and Chinese chives, topped with deep fried shallots. This was particularly delicious and one of our waitress recommendations!

As was this curry which came with a tearing bread of many thin layers to dip in. Thai and hot, this was rather up my street!

We ordered rice and asparagus to go with our meal, neither were needed but both were absolutely enjoyed and when we finally had to admit defeat in order to be able to share a pud, they boxed u our left overs so that nothing went to waste. I hate waste and Jonny was particularly happy about this fact when he got to polish off the rest after I arrived home. He said it was wonderful at 5 hours old and reheated in a microwave, he has no idea how delicious it was freshly served!

For pudding we went for possibly the most chocolatey desert I have ever had (desert isn’t desert if it’s not chocolate for me) and with ice cream inside a chocolate sphere with hot caramel poured all over it for more at the table drama it was the perfect way to finish of an absolutely terrific meal!

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The restaurant offer signature dishes but my personal recommendations, my top two (although it was very hard to choose) were the popcorn prawns with a wasabi dressing and the soft shell crab. I also HAVE to say that you MUST enjoy a cocktail at Chi Kitchen and go for that pud – I mean, WOW! I want to go back with my husband soon to show him how delicious the food is when it comes out fresh to the table. He will love it. It’s the perfect little reverie from a day on the shopping circuit, the ideal location for a romantic meal and a brilliant choice for apres theatre dining. Yes, it really is all those things and I highly recommend it!

Chi Kitchen London is situated on the Ground Floor inside Debenhams on Oxford Street (closest tube station is Bond Street on the Central and Jubilee lines). Opening times: Monday – Friday 7.30am – 11pm, Saturdays – 9.30am – 11pm & Sundays – 11.30am – 10pm.

We were invited to dine at Chi Kitchen, London in return for an honest review.