Ba Shan

Such a shame as most of the food was lovely when it eventually came. The manager was incredibly rude - we were a large party and a couple of people were ill. As it became apparent there were two spaces he came marching downstairs to shout at us that we had ruined his service as he could have used more tables (the place was empty). In order to stay we had to promise that we would leave in two hours. After two minutes of finally sitting down we were being pressed for our order and told to hurry. The food comes as it is cooked which is fine normally but the rice was served after a lot of the courses had already come out. Many of our orders were wrong but we were so concerned over time we took them as they were thrown at us. We had one lovely waitress who was clearly embarressed but everyone else was just plain rude. The whole time we were looking at our watches and made sure we were ready to leave after a couple of hours. At which point they were trying to encourage more drinking - we looked upstairs and it was empty so they were keen to keep us spending hence the change in tune. When the bill came they wouldn't give us an itemised bill - at which point we were exhausted with arguing over our dinner we gave up. They had clearly overcharged and neglected to take off the food that was never delivered to the table.
I'm not one for fussy service - all I ask is that you are made to feel a little welcome - just a smile is fine. This was a horrible night, overpriced (a plate of steamed greens was £8.90 - and that is all they were) and we all felt pretty miserable when we left. Some of the food was lovely though, it is 'authentic' as I used to eat in China, however there are several places within spitting distance that are cheaper, and you may even get a smile.
You have been warned!

Sat there for fifteen minutes. Nobody came to ask what I might like to eat or drink. I left.

a gr8 way 2 celebr8 the coming of the year of the dragon - nice & spicy ;-P xx

Possibly the best Chinese I've ever had - although if you don't like chilli, think twice! The steamed fish was absolutely delicious, and pretty good value too. Some of the staff were a little stern and without a sense of humour, but the food made up for it and I'll go again

Possibly the best Chinese I've ever had - although if you don't like chilli, think twice! The steamed fish was absolutely delicious, and pretty good value too. Some of the staff were a little stern and without a sense of humour, but the food made up for it and I'll go again

An oasis of hot meaty things and "slippery wood ear fungus". Oh, and really nice wine.

I'm Chinese and I would highly recommend the food here. Ignore the service - for most Chinese people restaurant is just a place for food not a place for service. Also this is not szechuan cuisine - it's more like Hunan, which is also hot and spicy, but without too much peppercorn. If you can't stand hot and spicy food, i doubt there's anything good on the menu. But if you do love hot and spicy food, like me, I'm sure you'll love this place!

The rudeness of the staff was only matched by the rudeness of the manager. We went as a group of four, one of us was a vegan and discovered that there was nothing on the menu she could eat. The rest of us placed our order. We were then informed by the waiter than our order should come to a minimum of GBP 10 per person. While this annoyed us slightly, we ordered some more food anyway. We were then told that it still didn't come to GBP 10 per person because there were 4 of us and so the total bill should be GBP40. We explained that one of us wasn't eating because she's a vegan. The waiter was rude and said that it was the restaurant policy, if four people have booked a table, the minimum bill must be 40 pounds. I asked to speak with the manager and explained to him our situation. I was then told then I was not his problem, my friend was not his problem, and that he was running a business and so must stick to his policy. I asked if i could complain somewhere about this policy. He told me to go to the police if I had a complaint. There was absolutely no regard for customer satisfaction. I am never going back there again.

Restaurant for professional Chinese food lovers only. Laowai will not eat it. Real Chinese food from Hunan and Sichuan. 5 stars!

The food was good, steamed pak choi excellent, portions generous. It's mostly spicy but the spice level is graded 1, 2 or 3 and you can remove the chillies from the food if they are served on top. Steamed rice only. West End prices but the food was tasty, the service quick and they have nice non-alcoholic juices such as lychee and strawberry.

the food is spicy, but that's a good thing for a szechuan restaurant and it's easy to form an addiction to the menu.

we came to ba shan when it first opened and were slightly disappointed. the menu back then featured some random dumplings (overpriced and teeny tiny) and some momofuku style pork buns (which we miss dearly). when barshu was closed, we came here for our fix and now can't stay away.

whilst it felt like they sold out when the shiny picture menus appeared, the food is still good and becomes even more authentically tasty when you look at the amount of oriental diners happily noshing next to you.

ba shan is best enjoyed with a small group of food loving friends with huge appetites so you can order all of the delicious starters, and still have room for the mains, of which the soupy beef thing and any of the beans are a sure bet. the ma po tofu was a bit disappointing - until you order the dish from any other restaurant and realise this is probably the best ma po tofu in town.

service here is really touch and go. nine out of ten times the captain extends a cold greeting and waiting diners are made to feel like pests and hustled like cattle around the tiny foyer to the restaurant. this type of attitude is very irritating at a place with their price point. they also table turn, which is quite annoying if you forget when ordering and end up with too much food and not enough time to eat it.

but most of the time the waiters and waitresses we've had are attentive and polite, which makes the dining experience bearable. so until a new place opens with the same caliber of food and better service opens in chinatown, ba shan will have to do.

Service was lightning fast, but the staff was rather stern. The five of us were made to squeeze in at a table for four. Food was a little spicy but very good.

Disappointing and totally over priced. I won't go back again.

Went a few months ago - like the set up - was in a quite room with 3 or 4 other tables. There is a great variety of food - enjoyed the selection of dishes - I disagree with the proceeding comments - I did not think anything was overly spicey and considering you are in the middle of London, prices were not that bad.

Went there for a dinner with my friend. Food was probably excellent, i just couldnt enjoy it as it was very soicy, even if I ordered a dish supposed not to be medium !
on the upside, the dumplings were amazing ...
but i wouldnt go back

Extremely spicy food, no taste at all. Very expensive too. What a Waste of time and money:(