The Red Teapot

Below average Chinese food. The Red Teapot used to have stand out dishes such as the famous prosperous chicken, but no more. I ventured in tonight with great memories of the food here, but upon review of the menu realised that the restaurant must have changed hands. I decided to give it a go, and I was really disappointed.
The salt & chilli squid tentacles weren’t crisp and had a funny msg taste to them. The special fried rice had frozen peas, carrots and corn with an egg and some small frozen prawns mixed in and was unworthy of the $ 13 price. The vegetable dumplings were ok and the beef and Chinese veg dish wasn’t really anything to rave about.
I won’t be heading back again.

The Red Teapot up the top of William Street has been around for a long time so last week, with fond memories of it we went along for the first time in many years. It has the same feel and look about it, although with new owners the menu has changed from my recall.
A picture book menu with glossy reproductions of the dishes helps those unfamiliar with the cuisine to order; it is BYO but supply ice buckets and glasses for your wine.
We kicked off with what was described as potato salad, and came as thinly shredded potato, lightly cooked to retain a little crunch and mixed through with oil and slices of mild red and green chilli and capsicum. Served warm it was different and enjoyable, a little more spice would have helped.
Our second starter — vegetarian dumplings — green dough filled with very mild mixed vegetables– were reasonable; the skin a little chewy, the filling a little under-​seasoned.
Two mains were next — the first, spicy salted fish — a generous serve of crispy fried fish, in a salty batter, sprinkled with chopped chilli was again a reasonable dish without reaching any heights. The fish was tender and moist, although the batter had perhaps spent a little too long in the oil and was a little too crisp in parts, and again the chilli component too mild.
Finally we had sizzling grlic prawns — again a generous serving — the prawns were well cooked, still with a little firmness to the bite and the creamy garlic sauce provided a good aromatic and flavour lift. This was the best dish of the day we thought.
All in all, the Red Teapot is a standard middle of the road Chinese restaurant; the food is sound and in generous proportions; the service pleasant and friendly. One suggestion would be to provide bowls to eat from rather than the very small saucers that came with the food, and serving spoons to distribute the food. And perhaps spice it up a bit.

You have to do the chefs specialty: bread with lamb. Not what you expect from an Asian restaurant in Northbridge but my it is sooooo good

Used to be one of our favourites but the owners have changed and so has the menu (we were told it is based on a different region in China). They also got rid of some great dishes, including the Salt & Pepper Tofu. Service was ok.

Love this little place. Salt and chilli squid to start and prosperous chicken for main are a must. BYO. Very reasonable prices and a friendly welcome. Make sure you book to avoid disappointment as it’s only a little place

Here’s a a few tips, Teapot.
1.) As soon as I sit down don’t say, «I hope your party eats fast because we need this table again in an hour and a half.»
2.) If you’re BYO, you should probably have wine buckets to keep whites cold. Having none isn’t really going to cut it.
The food? Just okay. The phosphorous chicken was epic but that’s the only dish that rocked my socks. Everything else was good, but average. Chinese restaurants often fail to wow me.
I’d say it’s okay for a quick meal with a friend, but if you bring a date here, don’t expect a happy ending. There’s really nothing about the Red Teapot that astounds. Sorry guys, but a Unilocaler can’t lie!

We turned up on a Friday night without a booking and it was pretty busy, they still found room for us and the service was quite good. We got a wonton soup and a noodle soup, they arrived quickly and were both delicious. The tea comes in a beautiful Red Teapot and is lovely. Dinner was super cheap, quick and satisfying. We will definitely be back to try more of the menu.

In my most recent visit the food was delicious, reasonably priced and the staff were very attentive. A good place for a casual catch up.

I’d heard good things about The Red Teapot, and thought I’d be visiting an eatery that would be very different to the average Chinese restaurant, but despite it’s cute name and the hip (almost downtrodden) look of the place, the food here is normal fare.
We ordered two chicken dishes but kind of wish we hadn’t since the sauce tasted pretty much the same in each. So much for ‘prosperous’ in the title of one of them. But the squid tentacles I could eat a popcorn bucket’s worth! Better than most I’ve tried along William and James Street combined.
I also hope that if I dine here again, the food would be a little more substantial. Even if they’d chopped up more capsicum as filler instead of onions, I’d be more satisfied.
Great tea, though, so I suppose their living up to their name in that regard.

Okay so normally I’m a big fan of this place. For the past four years, it’s been my first-​date spot, my catching-​up-​with-​old-​friends spot, even my impressing-​new-​friends spot. And it’s never failed me. The service is attentive, the vibe is pulsing, and the food (especially the Fried Tentacles and Prosperous Chicken) is oh so very good. You can only imagine then how disappointed I was when I received sub-​par standards across the board on a recent visit with friends. The waitress barely acknowledged us (by the end of it we thought she was actually mad at us for something), and some of the eats were just a bit… well… blah. The Fried Tofu tasted like it had been soaking in oil for years (and not in a good way), and the cashew chicken was seriously devoid of flavour. Perhaps this was a lesson in always ordering what you know, but we genuinely thought we’d be safe branching out a bit here. Anyway, had I reviewed the Red Teapot a week ago, you would have been seeing five stars up there. Here’s hoping my recent experience was just a one-​off.