Park Chinois is a Chinese restaurant in the heart of Mayfair. Shiima and I had walked past its red doors several times on our way to other Mayfair restaurants but we had no idea it was even a restaurant – seemed more like a private members club. We’d also been hearing a ton about Park Chinois, so when we researched the restaurant and realised it beyond the red doors we were very intrigued. Shiima also looked through the menu and was very keen.

Park Chinois is impressively focused on the dining experience – it’s an “entertainment restaurant.” You have a choice of rooms, Salon De Chine or Club Chinois, which both have dedicated in house entertainment. Shiima picked Club Chinois. From the red door down to our table at Club Chinois, the restaurant is beautiful with a very opulent period Chinese vibe.

It’s also very darkly lit, which gives it a very romantic aura and provides perfect setting for the entertainment…

The entertainment

It was enjoyable and unique, and definitely furthers your dining experience. I’ll admit that at the start I thought I could do without it, but it quickly grew on me, especially because the entertainers were evidently highly skilled and looked to be enjoying themselves as well. There were several performances, and all were perfectly timed – which is very important because Park Chinois is first and foremost a restaurant.

 

But for us a restaurant is all about the food…

What we ordered

For starters we ordered chilli chicken with spicy Sichuan red pepper, chef’s selection dim sum, venison puff, and Sichuan vegetable dumplings. For mains, I ordered braised Chilean wagyu beef short ribs with classic black bean sauce, and Shiima ordered crispy corn-fed chicken with in chilli mango sauce and steamed rice.

 

The Food

Starters

We both loved the chilli chicken with spicy Sichuan pepper. Shiima was initially worried because of a Sichuan pepper experience at Hutong, but after the first bite of chicken she was all in, and I was too. No doubt it was spicy, but the chicken was also very delicious and perfectly cooked.

Shiima tried to negotiate with the venison puff – I could have three of them, if I let her finish the chilli chicken in peace, but I wasn’t going for that. That’s not to say the venison puff wasn’t really good, because it was – sweet puff pastry and tasty venison filling. The chilli chicken was just that good.

The Sichuan vegetable dumplings were for Shiima and the chef’s selection dim sum was mine. They were all fantastic, but Shiima’s vegetable dumplings were the best of the lot, and sadly, I only had one lol.

Mains

My braised wagyu beef short ribs with black bean sauce was really good. If you like beef you’d love this because it was excellently braised – so soft and succulent. It lacked a bit of spice for me though, but that’s just my preference, and the back bean sauce really complimented the beef.

Neither Shiima nor I particularly enjoyed the crispy chicken in chilli mango sauce. The chicken itself seemed to lack flavour, although the mango chilli sauce was decent. It’s essentially sweet and sour sauce, which Shiima enjoyed with her steamed rice, but she preferred my black bean sauce with the rice.

Dessert

There are a few intriguing desserts on the dessert menu, but we decided to share the granny smith apple cheesecake.

We weren’t fans. Mostly because of the green fondant around the cheese mix. The cheese mix itself was good and the oat biscuit crumb was decent.

 

Verdict

Park Chinois is a standout dining experience – it’s opulently beautiful, the service is professional, the entertainment is uniquely good, and the food is mostly superb. It’s very expensive though, and there is a £15 charge for the entertainment in Club Chinois. We recommend for a special occasion and an extravagant romantic date.

Cuisine: Chinese Restaurant
Dress Code: Smart/Smart Casual
Shiima & Amen’s Star Dish: Chilli Chicken with Spicy Sichuan Pepper
Price: Over £50pp
Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Park Chinois
N°17 Berkeley Street
Mayfair, London
W1J 8EA
Reserve online,
or call 020 3327 8888