Red Pocket is a brand new Chinese restaurant located in Battersea, it’s a very good restaurant. Very, very good in fact. The only thing that stops it from being great is the absence of any ambiance. The food was fabulous and served in generous portions which meant that while prices weren’t cheap it still felt like great value for money. The staff were friendly, approachable and knowledgeable, with a kitchen that clearly know exactly what to do, but the restaurant itself lacks atmosphere.
Housed within the Hotel Verta, so called because it is directly next to the London heliport (because helicopters rise vertically, get it?!), the restaurant has lovely views over the Thames with the intriguing spectacle of helicopters landing next door, and the fun of guessing which celeb might be inside.
We started with starters of salt and pepper squid and giant scallops, both served in huge portions. The squid is possibly the best we’ve had in the city – and we’ve had a lot! The super-crispy batter, fresh from the fryer contained large chunks of the freshest squid meat. The scallops were super sized too, topped with crispy vermicelli and drizzled with XO sauce. It’s very easy to get scallops wrong – overcook them even slightly and they are ruined – but these melted in the mouth.
Main courses were equally as large, we opted for roast Pi Pa duck, a tender duck breast in a sweetly spiced sauce served with pancakes, hoi sin, cucumber and spring onion. Usually, we’d expect the pancakes to be large, round and flat but theses are thick and rectangular, not at all suitable for wrapping, but certainly delicious alongside the duck.
We also sampled the roast champagne black cod, another of our favourite dishes, and to serve it in faintly fruity, thick Champagne sauce made it even more spesh. Everything we tasted was flawless, not a single dish could be criticised. The only thing keeping Red Pocket from being a grade-A restaurant was the lack of atmosphere. If the restaurant can somehow tempt more people through their doors and down to the depths of Battersea, then this could be a truly great restaurant
Hotel Verta, Bridges Wharf, SW11 3BE
www.redpocketrestaurant.com