Chilli Kitchen 蜀香園 in Birmingham

Tasting great with traditional Sichuan flavor. Unfortunately, I have to lower the star rating from 3 to 2 due to poor service and finding plastic in the food.

Good spot for spicy Sichuan style food

AVOID！ I have visited thousands of restaurants, and Chilli Kitchen is easily one of the worst I’ve encountered! The service here is absolutely terrible. When it’s busy, the staff respond with noticeable impatience. On two separate occasions, I waited an hour for my food, and when I politely asked how much longer it would take, I was rudely told that ‘everyone waits, so why can’t you?’ Is this the kind of service a restaurant should provide? It was an incredibly frustrating and unpleasant experience! I strongly advise against dining here if you don’t want your entire day ruined by bad service!

Poor service- 4 dishes and rice all served separately. Finished curry before we got rice. Waited 40 mins on meal Also Food standards agency rating worth checking out- should have checked before and would have avoided

I came to the restaurant and ordered 2 dishes to take away, and I waited for even 45 minutes. The service is bad. I sit there wait and wait sit at a bigger table. They thought I disturbed their business, asked me rude to sit somewhere else to wait. The dishes are too greasy.

Authentic Sichuan cuisine, large portion, great value for price. Quick service. Highly recommended.

Been in the UK for more than two years now, tried dozens of Chinese restaurant, and after none of those, I felt as terrible as this one. Yes, there were restaurants that only accept cash, but they’d all told you in advance. But this one, they first ask me if I have cash, or some other chinese payment methods, which i have none. Unwillingly they let me pay by card but then asked which bank Im using. After knowing im using a french bank they refused to let me pay, and strongly insisted that I must pay in cash, with reasons that are unheard of. Then my friend came and ask to pay by card, using CHASE, but they’ve somehow come to a conclusion that, we, despite using a card issued by an English bank, have to pay by cash or direct transfer to their employee. In conclusion, terrible attitude, food was ok but terrible attitude that, to me, have not experienced before in this country. Sad, unfortunate, do not recommend.

Serves tasty but extremely spicy and oily food. Solemn atmosphere. Servers cannot speak English but were friendly in helping with the menu. Accepts cash only.

This restaurant refused service dog, and even said my dog's certification was a "cheat" for easy access to supermarkets and restaurants. And when I said as I know the restaurant in the UK couldn’t refuse service dogs, they replied me: every restaurant won’t accept every dog inside. But my dog as a medicine assistant dog, her job is to remind me to take my medicine on time, I think this restaurant is offensive and rude.

Place is nice. Food is authentic Sichuan/Chongqing cuisine, and the shredded chicken and cold noodle (鸡丝凉面) and the 回锅肉 are absolutely delicious. However, the Chongqing beef noodles (重庆牛肉小面) is not very nice and has overly fatty and chewy meat. Service is very slow so if it’s busy, expect to wait a while before you get your food. Alright place for families. Important note: You do not have to agree to pay in advance, and you do not have to pay by cash only or wetransfer either. They have a card reader at the restaurant and they will accept card if you insist. The rating could be higher and this place would overall have a better reputation if the customer service improved. Hope they can work on it because they can make some really good food 🫶🏼

Not bad but can have better Sichuan cuisine in Birmingham with similar prices

OF ALL PEOPLE, for the second time this Chinese Restaurant in Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter asked me to pay before I’d have my meal. I’ve been there 4 times in the past. Last time I paid in advance (no problem) At this time, i said: - I know this is not how this restaurant works, and I asked: Did every single customer here paid in advance? The waiter didn’t justify and persisted that I must pay in advance. He then asked me if I have an UK Bank card, which I confirmed. Then the waiter walked away. So I had chosen my meal, and he again asked me to pay in advance. Which I replied, there’s no way all these people here paid in advance. Bear in mind I noticed that I was the only black customer in this small but full restaurant. So, of course I left the venue. Just at the corner I met 3 Police officers (1 Black + 1 Caucasion females and 1 Caucasian male) The Black female, never opened her mouth (youngest and clearly new to the Force) and the Caucasian male Police officer (early 40’s) said on his own words - Its a discrimination, then he asked me to write a review: which I said: I thought you’d go there and see it and sort it out yourselves. A REVIEW???? ARE YOU MAD??? The Police male laughed, and they walked away. What I mean is: There’s not need to look for it, as it’s right and easily spotted. Different from London’s Underground slogan: If you see it, say it, sorted. This ain’t sorted, trust me.

delicious! Winter melon and meat slices soup and farm-style stir-fried pork are both delicious! The taste of Di Sanxian is a bit weak After ordering, I waited for half an hour before the food was served😠

Just had a drop in last minute late lunch. Very nice indeed. The pork belly was fantastic and melt in in the mouth. Definitely going back next time I'm up in Birmingham. The staff were really nice too!!

Always been good food and good portions. Prices are fair.

I am utterly disappointed and appalled by the service I received during my recent visit. The staff's behaviour was completely unacceptable, rude, and disrespectful towards customers. When dining out, we should never experience discomfort, disrespect, or yelling. The server's behaviour was inexcusable and went against all standards of customer service and hospitality. We are the ones keeping the business operating by choosing to dine there and spend our money there. It is unacceptable to receive such open hostility and rudeness. Regardless of any mistakes or misunderstandings, service staff should never subject anyone to yelling at or disrespecting them. I expect much higher standards of politeness, decorum, and conflict resolution. The staff's conduct portrayed a complete lack of hospitality training or care for providing a pleasant dining experience. I rarely write negative reviews, but this incident was so intensely frustrating that I felt compelled to share it publicly. I caution others to use their money more wisely at an establishment that actually values its customers through courteous and respectful service.

The customer service at this establishment is shockingly poor. I went in to order take away, but mid-order, the phone rang. The waitress stopped taking my order, answered the phone, and left me standing there without any explanation or apologies. She spoke on the phone for about 3 minutes. I had to get the attention of another waiter and explain what had just happened to reorder. Again, there was no explanation provided. Considering the high prices of the food (£13+ for a basic fried), one would expect at least basic customer service. I ordered fried rice and salt and pepper squid. £25 total bill .

It’s creative, it’s my first time to eat pea noodles with soup.

This is the worst restaurant we have ever eaten. Every dish is very oily and very salty. The most important thing is that the attitude of the old woman at the cashier is extremely bad. I do not recommend going to this restaurant.

Aye there last night with my family. I really enjoyed a very tasty lamb dish served with spring onions and their fish in spicy Sichuan oils with vegetables. Most definitely recommend this place for lunch or dinner.

Food is pretty good , but bit difficult to explain the order to staff if you aren't chinese

Poor service, not kid friendly,they won’t get you any seat or even space for your baby even the shop wasn’t full. I ended up holding the baby in my arm throughout the whole meal. And all the dishes so salty and full of MSG.Never again.

The chef must have changed, the food is not delicious.

I’m not a Mala typa girl but ngl the dish was pretty good. It's not as hot as you see😂

My go to spot for Chinese food in Birminingham until today. Went in on a surprisingly quiet Thursday night. Ordered my regulars 香辣烤鱼(grilled fish) and deep fried fish fillets tossed in chilli oil. Both dishes lacked basic seasoning and mala flavours. First impressions, the grilled fish looked visibly different from what I've had in the past. The grilled fish tasted nothing like what I had before. A swarm of oil and lack of its base mala flavours. Mala cuisine is known for pouring hot oil over the finished product but this was just too much oil. The service was dreadful like usual, the Chinese man and hk lady. The old Chinese lady was nice and friendly as always tho, spoke to her a little and got to know that they changed chefs. Changing chefs isn't a issue but a drastic drop in standards are. Adding on, the food took a long time to come on a quiet night(30-45mins). A female customer beside our table was visibly frustrated with the slow kitchen. I've only had good things to say abt the food in the past but this has been a huge let down.

Authentic Chinese food, with generous portion size.

This is authentic Sichuan food, spicy and strong flavours. If you want less spicy then tell them to lessen all flavours especially the salt. If not just have it normal and get a drink and have taste and pain in your mouth as it becomes numb through the peppers. I would suggest that non Chinese will find the food, service different and not the typical Chinese food for westerners. So don’t moan expecting typical service and takeaway food. This is real spice in mouth.

The braised eggplant is very good and goes well with rice. Hot waist flower is okay. My family doesn't like it very much. The portion of beef noodles is quite large.

Had lunch here twice. First time with the family and second time just by myself as I was around the restaurant. First time both food and service were 4/5. On my second visit both the food and service were bad. A chewy meet, cold rice, and I have to ask three times to make payment.

A restaurant with lots of charm and delicious food at an unbeatable price. Un restaurante con mucho encanto y una comida deliciosa además con un precio inmejorable.

No service at all. Extremely salty. Try to aviod tax and push customer pay by cash.

I love this place, even though we live in Cheltenham, we often come here to have this authentic food. Every time feel like I’m back to China. 非常好吃

Absolutely love this place. My partner and I always visit our favourite restaurant in Birmingham. The food is sublime and very authentic. We have been here 3 times and intend to visit again. Very reasonable priced. The service is always satisfactory but the food far outweighs any issues of social niceties.

Huge portions, but the quality was disappointing. No reason to go back.

Unfortunately we had an awful service yesterday (been here 3 times now, second visit they forgot one dish off our order so we had to cancel it in the end). Lady that took our order confirmed our braised pork belly (learnt our lesson from last time) and we even pointed it on the menu and she nodded her head and said ok. Fast forward to when the food came out we still didn’t receive our pork belly so we ask 2 more staff to confirm if it’s still on its way and they both said yes (in separate occasions, about 15 mins apart). The third lady then came so we asked about the dish and she said it wasn’t written in the order so we said to cancel it as we were about to finish the other 2 dishes we ordered (luckily we over ordered because of what we experienced last time). When we went to pay the bill we can clearly see that the pork belly we ordered was scrubbed off the list (they write down orders hence was able to see it) so I questioned it and said “why was we told it wasn’t ordered when it’s clearly written down” staff was speechless because they didn’t know what to say when it’s in plain site. She proceeded to tell me our total bill. I made sure the pork belly wasn’t on the bill so I manually calculated it before paying. When I started to calculate it one of the staff said “ow there’s a 10% service charge on your bill”. So I said in a calm manner “Isn’t the service charge optional? If the service we received today was good then I wouldn’t hesitate to pay it but today is not the day so can you take that off the bill”. She tried to say the service charge wasn’t optional so I challenge it before I handed my card to pay the bill. In the end they gave up and only charged for the food we had. In the past (not just in this restaurant) I give either 10% or £10 tips because the services was great (even if they just get me a glass of water, simple things that make a difference in someone’s dine in). The moral of the story is: DON’T LIE (just be honest and say you can’t make the dish because it takes a long time to do or if it’s too busy (I’ve seen busier restaurants and a simple solution is to hire more staff, which on this occasion it wasn’t super busy). Note: if you want to charge service charge then mention it before the customer orders and do a good job at serving please. I hope this constructive criticism will help you realise why your score is what it is and can only hope you take it on board for a better dine in. PS. Food was good so no complaints there ~

Worst place ever!!!!bad food, poor service, horrible experience. They even threatened their customers to shut their mouth about the terrible quality of food, otherwise they will “meet you and have a talk in the face.” Avoid!!!

Had a really bad experience, rude customer service, they would serve frequent customers and takeaways as first priority. Food had been ordered & waited more than 40 minutes even without a ordered drinks served. Only 3 tables of customers at the busy lunch time when we were in, we were first arrived, but the food served to the other 2 tables first because of they are the frequency customers, know the owner well.... Ridiculously was, when we try to find out the reason, the waitress( a woman in her 50s) was shouting loudly and rudely to rebuk back in saying "I'm serving you now......." Unbelievable.... Byw, the food not as good as before..... Do not recommend this restaurant at all. Avoid......

从来没吃过如此难吃的水煮牛和鱼香茄子，我也是做川菜的第一次听说鱼香茄子是酸甜的，酸甜就算了吧甜的我无法下口连打包想法都没，我让服务员帮我改一下味她居然告诉我没办法改！？这就是你们服务的态度么？水煮牛更不要提了，咸到尿，我想问下什么水煮牛需要花40多分钟来煮？3个服务员一个都没有个样全部呆在酒吧聊天一点服务都没甚至连最基本的服务态度都没怎么做的生意？实在太失望！餐做成这样居然还敢收60多英镑！？失望透底！

It’s very spicy, so don’t recommend anyone who doesn’t like spicy, it’s very traditional Chinese food

Good service on a very crowded night. The food overall is ok ( speaking as a Chengduer) not like super authentic or good. But the people who take our order and serving us js pretty nice and helpful.

Very spicy! The heat is no joke. I had the rabbit which was delicious but also so spicy. In a good way. The Sichuan peppercorns hit hard and you'll be sent to a spicy heaven of sweaty tears. Must try for authentic, spicy Chinese food.

Literally the best Chinese food in brum

Need to pay 10% service charge if I pay card, and the attitude is bad. I won't go to this restaurant ever again.

It is too oil! I've order grilled fish here. I just came from China and I feel like the dish is much more oil than most dishes I had in China.

Avoid!!!! They refused card payment unless we pay 15% more. Ridiculous. HMRC should investigate these restaurants

Best place ever. I love how they present the food. The way they cook it. And they make it fresh and hot. Definitely recommend 👍

Authentic I travel from dudley for this food that's how good it is

* Charged 10% extra , as paid by card . They just want cash or charge you extra 10 % ! ** The food served not warm. Resturant is very cold. *** Shocked to see restaurant staff was sorting raw meat in the restaurant entrance. It really made me feel sick seeing so many big pieces of raw pork ribs on the dinner table just in front of entrance !

Amazing authentic Chinese food. Friendly staff. Definitely recommend.

I have waited very long time, they have even served other customers before bringing my chew mein, in the dish there were literally 5 small chunks of chicken for 10£, filled with macaroni, still tasty and fresh, not too much msg, just right. Too bad service took so long and that they don't provide portions that you pay for, otherwise would come back.

best chilli taste, very authentic cooking style, the seasoning is from China which has the best flavour. Not only the spicy dishes, the edible tree fungus and yam taste so nice. Grilled fish is a big portion and Every piece of fish is delicious. The fragrance of the seasoning penetrates into it. I will say it tastes the same as what I could order in China.

菜品：笋烧牛肉，水煮鱼 食材：够新鲜 来自地地道道的成都人的评价：完完全全的鬼佬菜。过于油腻，与成都的口味完全不一样。甚至不是一个系列。当然仅限于这两道菜。其它的菜没吃过不好评价。

The best in UK !!! I live in London and went o Birmingham once for the food. Pickle seabass is a must ( only cod used in London). Please open one in London!!!!

事先打了电话问，被告之6点以后才忙。我们5点到店里，刚坐下菜单还没看完就被催着快点点菜，而且一次次的催。 一个看似老板娘的中年阿姨毫不避讳地在客人面前训斥服务员。 菜还没上，米饭就先入。 记忆中家乡的夫妻肺片好像不是那个味儿。烤鱼和凉面的味道还勉强。

I just went there with my 2 kids and husband,I’m not from Birmingham and was looking for a Chinese restaurant,I opened the door and noticed only two table was occupied a older Chinese lady said something in her language to a younger girl I don’t understand the language but her facial expression said it all the younger girl said the wait was 45 min . Just put up a sign said no Black people in your restaurant and stop looking and talking down to Black people.

Food is ok, service is terrible

Food is ok but the attitude is disgusting! Yelled at me for asking for another packing bag.👍 literally, yelling!!!!

In to a burning ring of chilli I love going to restaurants where I feel transported to another culture. I’m not sure if Chilli Kitchen replicates the “original” Chinese city restaurant experience. It does share a similar feel to that of it’s sibling restaurants on hurst street, a few doors down. As I was lead to my table the waitress quickly saw to my order. No messing around, no warmth of service, just efficiency. Arguably, this should be an area for improvement, then again, if all you want is fast food with minimal interactions, this is perfect. I ordered Cabbage with Cellophane Noodles on Iron Plate and BaSu special hot and spicy charcoal grilled fish. From my experience, order one dish or the other, not both like I regretfully did. I would definitely recommend the fish. Cooked on the bone, swimming in chillies, Chinese vegetables and oil. It was quite the experience for me using chop sticks to extricate the meat from the carcass. I loved every minute of it. Not the prettiest of dishes. It is expensive, £33 for both dishes, but they were portioned for a small family. Given the amount of chilli in the fish dish, I am nervous about how my insides will cope in the coming days. All the best lower intestine!

The price is not expensive, the taste is OK, just so so.

Chilli Kitchen is a nice place for large groups and the menu definitely caters for that. All dishes are 'large' dishes, so rather than ordering per person, you just order a few dishes and share them all in the middle of the table. I went with 3 other people so about 5-6 dishes + rice was enough for us. The quality of the food is decent overall but a couple of dishes such as the fish, chicken and mapodofu are my favourites for sure. Westerners may find the food a bit hard on their stomachs until they get used to it due to the high oil content and spice levels. The restaurant is Szechuan based so most of the dishes are spicy. It was fine for me but only because I've lived in China and am used to the spices. The waiting staff were very friendly and thanked us for eating there.

Rubbish quality and poor service

Can't say it is brilliant. Service is close to none but charged 10% service charge. Asked why one particular dish is not cooked in proper way, simply got ignored, felt like I shouldnt ask in the first place. If you are fine with okay food with poor service, go ahead with your first attempt...

Really rude couldn’t order at 8:30 so had to leave. need to order before :(

Very rude attitude and service, also refused to take British bank card??!

Nice Sichuan spicy food. Also offer non-spicy dishes for the kids.

Really good traditional Chinese dishes. Recommend spicy dishes if you never try it before.

Once your mouth gets used to the chilli, Szechuan pepper onslaught of Szechuanese food. This place is hard to beat. The fish especially

So good. Get the Chongqing chicken. And the deep fried mochi.

I ordered two dishes, the sweet and sour pork ribs and the chilli boiled fish. The ribs were cold but the fish is amazing; tender, juicy and so flavourful, it is pretty hot though. I have come back 3 times for the fish. Food is well priced for the portion, rice portion is so big 1 is enough for two people.

We had spicy fish. It’s very spicy and delicious. Price is reasonable. A bit crowded when we visited.

Authentic Sczichuan food, proved by 四川人

Blown away! Authentic food and unlike other spots Chilli Kitchen give huge portions. One dish is enough for 2/3 people. Great family business.

Huge portions! Friendly and funny family business, authentic Chinese food and great prices 🤑 can be spicy 🌶 (duh) (picture was already half done)

Awful food!! Spent £30 on my first Chinese in a long time. Normally go to a different restaurant but is closed due to corona. Food is flavourless and lacks any sort of punch. Avoid!!!!!!

Been there before and food is good. Very different from the normal Cantonese cuisine you get from most takeaways and restaurants. However, went there last night and they wanted to spray all of our clothes and shoes with kitchen surface cleaner!!!! We walked out

Really authentic Chinese ;) love it

Me and a friend go here regularly because it's fabulous food

This is the best restaurant in Chinatown if you want to eat authentic mainland Chinese food, which is completely different to your standard Cantonese restaurant. Highly recommended.

Great quality of food, authentic Sichuan flavour

All the staff were friendly and the food was authentic and really delicious.

범이가 안에서 가장 맛있는 사천요리 전문점 카드가 되지 않아 단점이지만 그래도 적당한 가격에 가성비를 보인다

Authentic food in a very nice and clean restaurant. Staff is helpful and food portions are big. Overall great experience!

Best Chinese restaurant of its kind in Birmingham, if not the West Midlands 😎

best chinese in Birmingham. spicy Chengdu food. definitely recommend

Really good. They were able to cater for vegans but you have to be very clear.

The food was very good and it came very quick.

Lovely food and fantastic helpful service

没法吃 坐着等了40分钟 从20分钟就开始问 就可乐上的快 喝了两听可乐走人 比我晚来半小时的都能吃上 原因就是前面的人点了这道菜 大锅菜呗 根本不在乎顾客的感受 随机吃饭 运气好10分钟吃完 运气差根本没得吃 这种点我想不出来怎么去形容 我已经不想说他味道什么的了 如果一个商家连基本的做人处事都不会的话 这样的商家也没有存在的意义了 在我看来 这样的人 就是垃圾

Very good authentic Chinese food

Forget those in London China town, this one is a truly authentic great Chinese restaurant.

They have this buffet hotpot for £17.99 which is not cheap but there are not that many choices available to order. Not only that, the portion for each order was only enough for 1 person when there were two of us. We ordered the second time after finishing the first dish which came quite promptly. Then, when we ordered the third time, it didn't come until 20 mins later. For the fourth time we ordered, the waitor was stopped by the woman in charge of the cash register who came over and "reminded" us in an arrogant manner to finish off the remaining 3 or 4 pieces of meat on the plate before re-ordering (I committed the inexcusable error of ordering with food still on the plate in view of the 20 minutes wait in the 3rd order!). Most unbelievably, that woman picked up a spoon and stirred in the hotpot to see if there were any food left hidden in the soup! What sort of attitude is this! We will never ever go to this restaurant again.

Really good Cantonese style food. Different to your usual China Town experience.

Authentic food, including some of my favourite spicy dishes. Really extensive menu, friendly staff and quick service. The popularity of this place is self evident!

Pretty full restaurant in hours like 7pm. Authentic Chinese food quite good and with large portions but unfortunately a little too oily. You must have a strong stomach. In general I would say that it can go, even if it would take a little more organization.

Amazing eat all you can hot pot definitely going back in there staff are so nice and make sure to get everything you need!!!

Everything is super SALTY. Be prepared for yourself. Cannot recommend this place due this extremely unhealthy reason. Wondering if they have ever tried their own food recipes.

FULL OF SUGAR AND MSG 夫妻肺片用的鸡丝凉面的汁，而且糖太多。咸蛋南瓜几乎没有咸蛋黄味，而且太甜，而且是切条，说白了就是南瓜薯条。水煮肉片满满的味精味，味精放的太多以至于吃不出肉片的味道了。 这家店的口味与风格都是实打实的鬼佬菜，很好奇说这家店正宗的人是有多久没回国吃到正宗川菜了？

We went about 3pm to miss the lunchtime craze. The food was very tasty but spicy. You can ask to customise your dish also eg to make less spicy or not to substitute the meat for tofu! Overall it is a thumbs up from us!

Good cheap Chinese food. Don't expect anything extraordinary.

amazing 🤩🤩🤩🤩 defo gonna be back 😍