Name: Chinese Cricket Club
Address: Crowne Plaza, 19 New Bridge Street, London, The City, EC4V 6DB, UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 438 8051
Rating: 7

An autumnal Tuesday evening was the setting for a visit to the intriguingly named Chinese Cricket Club. The restaurant is situated in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, opposite Blackfriars station, and the setting and location may mean some passers-by could miss it. However, we knew what we were looking for, and after playing ourselves in with a couple of excellent cocktails in the Voltaire bar downstairs we took our seats for dinner.

The restaurant space is slightly confusing, blending the odd cricket artifact pinned to the wall here and there, with classic high-end hotel decor. It may be possible that this review has more cricketing references than the restaurant (no Century egg on the menu? A classic pun dropped in the slips there...) Ultimately, the darkly lit, sleek look room could be found in hotels the world over. That will appeal to some, others may be looking for more identity in a dining room.

However, even if where you sit to eat is slightly wide of the mark the food comes to save the day. The kitchen clearly has a lot of skill. The dim sum starter was beautifully crafted, and very tasty. The Cricket Club's Dim Sum Chef Mai Lin is ex-Hakkasan, and the calibre shows. Our stand out performer was the prawn and scallop dumpling, however, the star of the starters was the soft-shell crab salad. An appealing pile of fresh ingredients, bursting with flavour, and pitched with just the right amount of spice, it was a real shame when the dish was over.

On to the mains with two of Chef Wang's signature dishes. During this course, it was a lovely touch from the Head Chef to come out from the kitchen to greet us and explain a bit about their inspiration for the food. Food fit for an emperor apparently, Emperor Qianlong to be precise. His favourite dish was a surf and turf, crispy duck with prawns, and who are we to argue with an 18th century Emperor of the Qing dynasty. Our only problem was probably a lack of imperial etiquette, trying to drive too much duck into the pancakes, when a sensibly placed cut or two would have definitely helped our constructions. The duck and the prawn were a surprisingly great partnership and the presentation was a really refreshing change from the classic duck pancakes served all over the capital.

The other dish we tried was Chef Wang's special sea bass, which arrived smothered in a thick layer of sauce. On first inspection, it looked like the sauce might overpower the fish. How wrong we were. The huge fillet was perfectly cooked and the "secret" sauce consisting of ginger, garlic, mushrooms and bamboo awoke the palate with freshness. How secret that sauce is when the ingredients are listed on the menu is puzzling however! A side bowl of Sichuan special fried rice pulled everything together.

One point to note is that the food isn't cheap, but then again this isn't surprising when serving dishes fit for an emperor. The decor is perhaps a little anonymous and this just might be missing a trick. A more followed through theme of a cricketing pavilion could transform this place into a destination restaurant, giving it a real edge.

Ultimately, a trip to the CCC shouldn't be dismissed. If you are passing through Blackfriars on the Circle or District line and you fancy some really good Chinese food, you could run out to visit the Cricket Club, it would be worth the short detour for the food alone.

Footnote: congratulations if you caught all the cricketing references dotted throughout this review. It was just too appealing to leave them out.

Chinese Cricket Club

Disabled Facilities

Children Welcome

Credit Cards Accepted

Music Played

Private Area

Booking Advisable

Chinese Cricket Club Picture Gallery

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