Cafe Opium

Okay food but terrible service; given the other nearby eateries it is a wonder they have any customers. A meal always ends bad here when you see that a 10 percent service charge has been added to the meal’s total so you are denied the satisfaction of not tipping.

I know you’re supposed to review the food on Unilocal,but I just can’t ignore how racist the name of Opium Den is. I also recognize that Britain is not the most politically correct country in the world and that I am imposing American values toward political correctness on this British restaurant. However, I still can’t believe that a restauranteur, anywhere in the world, would name a Chinese restaurant «the Opium Den.» How tasteless do you have to be?
I will give a nod to the food and that for a Chinese restaurant in Europe, it is decent. Definitely not authentic, but you get your sweet and sour whatever with some Tsingtao. But the name of the restaurant – the trivializing and thoughtless nod to a complicated portion of Chinese history – leaves a foul taste in my mouth that ruins even the most tasty dish on the menu.
And on their website, on the very front page, they wrote: «These dishes will seem unusual to you, but they are in fact what Chinese eat in their homeland which is why you will see many Chinese customers in our restaurant. This is a testimony of our success.»
Translation: «Look how many Chinese people eat here! Look how different they look from white people! Let’s ogle how strange and exotic and ‘unusual’ they are through the window!»
Really, Opium Den? Really?
I’m really curious as to who actually owns and runs this restaurant and which marketing genius thought it’d be really funny to reference an awful period of history that trivializes Chinese culture, including Chinese food. Plus, whoever wrote that copy on the website sounds like a complete moron who’s never left the Isle of Great Britain.

Well, I’d disagree with the other reviewer (incidentally also from SF!). There are far better restaurants in Chinatown Oakland/​Richmond/​Fremont or basically around the SF bay area. But then again, there are probably 100x more Chinese people in the SF Bay area as well. Regardless, this is the best I’ve gotten in Europe so far (but I’m sure there are better Chinese restaurants in London… I guess I’ll find out soon enough!). It might not be that great, but it’s as good as it gets in little Oxford…

Ok, so I have to admit, I haven’t been here in almost 8 years, but the fact that I even remember the name of this place, and the fact that it’s still open, speaks for itself. I was studying abroad for the summer at St. John’s College and a group of classmates and myself went here for dinner and the Chinese food was some of the best I’ve ever had — in the UK or US. I wanted to go back for a second dinner, but let’s just say I was financially challenged that summer. We ordered a lot of things that evening (that I definitely can’t remember the names of right now) but all of it was tasty. Hopefully, things haven’t changed too much…