Red Pepper

Worst Chinese food ever. Ate a little bit, paid, left, went somewhere else and had dinner.

Found live baby cockroaches in the menu today for lunch. Mortified and left immediately! Should have read reviews before walking into the restaurant!

It is obvious they do not have enough business to support such a large menu.
Due to this, many of their dishes are not fresh. My Dim Sum was stale, along with everything else. When I pay for food I like to know it is fresh, that is not even close to what you get here.
The restaurant itself is charming but they are in need of help in terms of the customer experience they deliver. i.e. When you walk in the hostess is asleep on a messy couch…
Wish them the best of luck but you are really trying your luck eating here.

I haven’t been here in over ten years — the fact that it’s still around is a good sign. They specialize in spicier cuisine like Hunan style. I had craving for a rice dish, since my usual sandwich place was packed today.
Just like in Project Management, restaurant food can often be two of the following: good, cheap, and fast. I ordered sweet and sour pork over white rice and I definitely think it was cheap and fast — under $ 7 for a good size dish with a fried egg roll thrown in. Pork was crispy, and the sauce had a good strong tangy flavor. Not the best I’ve had but not too shabby either.
There’s far better Asian food if you are willing to drive a few miles to Pacific East Mall, but if you happen to be near Point Richmond, Red Pepper isn’t a bad option — I even remember the Mongolian Beef being decent.

The food was alright. The service was very friendly. The prices for lunch specials are cheap and if you take that route you might walk away feeling that it did the job at little pocketbook damage. Although I think the people who run this place are sweet, I probably won’t return. The light was burned out in the bathroom — –you could see, but you wondered what you weren’t seeing. At one point someone working in the restaurant turned on a TV which ruined what was previously a nice quality of the place — — it’s relative quietness. I can forgive a lot if the food rocks, but this food is average — –probably 3 STARS — –it’s not bad, as some Unilocalers have perhaps exaggerated, but if you combine all factors here, it’s difficult to recommend it, except that it stays open between 3pm and 5pm, unlike its Asian competitors in the area.

Food was delicious, fresh, and natural tasting — no MSG, no excessive sugars — very REAL tasting for Chinese. (It’s actually Hunan) Went with a group and everything ordered was wonderful (sharing is caring). The dining area felt a little Big Trouble in Little China, but it was a decent joint for lunching.
The only real downfall was that our order was a little messed up, but to be fair it was totally my fault for misunderstanding the hostess due to a language barrier confusion she tried to clarify several times. Just means it’s all that more authentic! And still, it turned out all the better for the group.
Will definitely go back if I’m back in the area and looking for similar stuff for my stomach.

When the yearning for a hot bowl of congee becomes overwhelming, Hubby and I hightail it to Red Pepper. True, the dining room’s décor is dreary and the ambiance light years away from festive, but the congee’s homey flavor is very comforting. However, on three occasions in the last few months, the restaurant was closed when it was supposed to be open. No explanations, just a cardboard sign.
Red Pepper, this is no way to run a business! People seized by congee-​lust who just braved a freeway teeming with gasoline trailer trucks won’t put up with it!

why are they still in business– barf and disgusting. Little China miles ahead and they are mediocre…

I’m a frequent luncher in point richmond due to its proximity to my work. One day, with a hankering for chinese, I decided to try this place. What a mistake.
The potstickers, orange chicken and chow mein were literally inedible. I usually can eat most chinese food happily, even if it is sub par, but not this place. I instantly thought I was going to get food poisoning from the unidentifiable meats and off flavor. Me and my dining companion were so turned off, we left most of the food.
I’m not sure if it was a bad day, because there seemed to be other patrons enjoying themselves, but I will not give this place a second chance. Sorry.

Gross.

The food was good, but the dinning room is way too dark and really empty. If you like eating your meals in a cave, then go ahead. However it’s just kinda weird.
It’s probably the location (back side of Point Richmond) that hurts this place so much.

Stopped in just for tea & cakes. Tea was served before it was steeped, and as a result was really weak. The sweet cakes, however, were really good and very moist! When I walked in I was the only customer there, and it was pleasantly silent. Then they turned the radio on; whether for me or for themselves is anyone’s guess. In any case, all this rating is based on is their tea and cakes.

So the only reason why I stepped foot here was because it was chosen by my parents. I’m a big fan of dim sum so I was thinking how bad could it be… Well when we arrived at the location it was next to a pub tucked away in a questionable neighborhood, the décor was really tacky even for a Chinese place, and there was only one table there no offense but 2 white guys for lunch only. You could tell that either the food was never great to begin with or the economy has hit this place hard.
We ordered a few dishes to try only cause my dad really wanted to give it a chance, so the tea arrived and bad sign already dingy looking kettle with luke warm water and the tea with no flavor. Lady that served seemed nice but really nervous even stepped on my foot while leaning over the table to put the dishes on it. I have never seen a menu like theirs where the dim could be order in combo platters of 1 – 2 pieces of a fixed selection on a big plate. You get what you pay for cause their prices were ridiculously low as it is and they gave you an additional 10% off for some coupon in the Chinese news paper.
Kitchen staff was rudely staring from the side room and the textures of the dim sum were odd to the point that my mom was arguing with me that the lo mai gai had vegetarian meat in in whereas i was trying to explain it was just old meat that has lost its texture probably from being frozen for so long. I hardly finish any of the dishes after a bite. Neverless they had one thing that wasn’t bad and it was a red bean pastry recommended by the lady.
Overall this is not a good dim sum place for people looking for good food but it you want value and don’t care about much else then you hit the jackpot.

Wow… they were dead quiet… he smiles, sits me, brings me chopsticks, small salad, and tea then she shows up and ‘they’ say «we close now, you take to go?» Monday at 2:10. What gives? They say they are closing «Monday only half day». Ok, here I am despite the so/​so reviews. Gave them a shot, our local dim sum… Guess I should have trusted the Unilocal.Meanwhile the lady is sitting down to eat in front of me with nice loud smacks and slurps. Ok, food finally comes she shoves me out the door. Hmmm, to immediately throw in the trash and bag the whole concept? Nah, I am starving and I will investigate (for Unilocal sake, sure?!) in the car. Hmmm, yup try a bite, yup… dang it… tasty. Dang it, dang it!
It must be the Dim Sum version of Seinfelds Soup Nazi… the portions were small, the food was tasty. I do like the Shrimp Dumplings at L&L much better, but still for Pt. Richmond… it was good. As much as I wanted not to like it… I did. The buns with mushroom and onion were yummy with the vinegary sauce.
I will find out which day the guy is working without her… that’ll be my day. Can’t wait to see what it is like with the full sauces, etc.
I guess I understand… it was a Monday. Oh and they say they deliver… hmmm maybe? But, probably only if they feel like it.

Their eggplant in garlic sauce lunch special is completely decent.
After trying another Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood, I was afraid the sauce would taste too much like vinegar and the dish would be ⁶⁰⁄₄₀ rice. Instead, I was relieved to find that portions were balanced, sauce wasn’t bad, and the dish was even garnished with green onions.
Prices are reasonable at about $ 5 a plate. Take out comes in eco-​friendly containers. Service is quick. Haven’t been there for dinner.
I am glad to have read the Unilocal reviews after trying it out, because Red Pepper must have listened to their customers and made some good changes. All in all, an excellent value.

While it may not be fine dinining Chinese food, of the two chinese restaurants in the area, this one is my favorite. If your craving Chinese, I’d choose this one for good, quick service.

I sometimes come to the neighborhood for work and I happened upon this place on and was craving dim sum. Very nice XLB dumplings and great soup. I’d recommend it if you’re in the neighborhood.
I hadn’t read the reviews beforehand, but all I can say is I bet the chef has changed recently and/​or they’ve stepped up their game, because what I experienced is much better that what I read.

HORRIBLE!!!
No wonder my friends called this place «THE RED SHITTER».
All the bad reviews are TRUE… avoid this place like the plague!
Meat is slimy and kinda tastes like it just came from a can.
If you want to spend the rest of your night with your stomach reving like a V8 because it is not sure whether it’s digesting spoiled meat or something really weird, then GO FOR IT!
Some say «oooh it’s true authentic Chinese food», well we better ship that entire kitchen back to where it came from because that food is nasty.
By the way, don’t look at the old lady’s hands when she is serving your food, it will make you vomit.
I have no idea what those flaky white scabs were but I hope none of them landed in my food.
Someone please send this restaurant back to where it came from… and make sure the old lady takes her flaky scabs and the slime with it.
…the fortune cookie was good… so 1 star.
Never again.
Nevaaaaaaa!!!

If I could give this place –10 stars, I would. The WORST food I have ever had, in my life. The slimy-​est icky-​est food — ew. I ordered sesame beef that had a sheet of slime gooped on it, it made me want to throw up. We also ordered a beef noodle dish where the beef wasn’t even cooked. We tried to salvage it and it was still inedible. The crab puffs were dry with fake crab that must have been made a week prior. The generals chicken was in a soup of peas and carrots and the chicken was soggy. I have never been so dissapointed and felt so robbed in my life. We tried to return the food and were told we could have a $ 10 refund for our $ 50 purchase. DO NOT ever eat here. ever. Save yourself from food poisening. seriously.

I didn’t actually eat here, thank God. But my brother and sister-​in-​law stopped by my house tonight, and rode down the hill into town (Pt. Richmond) and decided to try Red Pepper, as we had eaten at Little China earlier this week, and my brother is thorough about these investigations.
Forty-​five minutes later, my sister in law called me from the car and told me do not ever set foot in in Red Pepper. She said it was the worst Chinese food she had ever had in her 57 years. They had the Sesame beef which came with a flannel grey gravy. The other dish was made from frozen peas and carrots.
On the other hand Little China, while no gourmet feast, is perfectly acceptable food for a reasonable price. In this case, the smaller the sign, the better the food.