Randomness Guide to London Menu

Sichuan restaurant in Deptford, with other branches in Bromley and on Goodge Street.

The decor is little-changed from its previous incarnation, with plain walls, a tiled floor, and paper Chinese lanterns hanging from the low ceiling. A couple of geometric wooden screens divide up the room, making it seem a little less institutional.

Kake visited on a Friday lunchtime in May 2019. I was the only eat-in customer during my visit, though the staff were also finishing up their lunch at one of the tables when I arrived just after noon, and several people came in for takeaways while I was there. Peaceful music was playing, not too loud.

I ordered from their lunch menu, choosing sea spiced aubergine with minced pork (鱼香茄子; £7.20 including rice) photo. The aubergines were cooked just right: soft but not falling apart, and rich but not greasy. The proportions of pork and aubergine were well balanced, and the sauce had a decent balance between sweet, salty, and spicy, with a good hit of ginger flavour too. The rice was fine, and the portion was just right for lunch.

Service was fine. A 10% service charge was auto-added to the bill.

Kake's verdict: I'd happily come back to this and both of the other branches.

Accessibility: No step to get in, and no steps to the toilets.

See also:

• Photos of the menu as of May 2019: main page 1, main page 2, main page 3, lunch
• The Observer review (Jay Rayner)