Harry's Cantonese Restaurant

Harry's Cantonese Restaurant

Thursday lunchtime meal with Sandro. We had originally decided to try Chilli Banana in Alderley Edge but found they were closed on Thursday lunchtime (I think they are open on Friday though, but please check with the restaurant, as I cannot guarantee this information). However we had a quick chat with somebody watering the hanging baskets, and were recommended to try Harry’s Cantonese in Wilmslow if we wanted an Oriental or Chinese lunch. I take it that it was the owner or manager of Chilli Banana who gave us this recommendation, which was very good of him. We have still to repay this favour by visiting and reviewing Chilli Banana. I’ll add it to the list for 2003.

I’d almost forgotten that I was writing about Harry’s in Wilmslow. Anyway, we found the restaurant, which has a very narrow downstairs frontage off the corner of the main pedestrianised shopping street in Wilmslow. You enter and go upstairs into a first floor restaurant, which is on slightly split-levels across the shops below.

The restaurant is very neat and tidily presented with comfortable seating and nice linen tableclothes. I wouldn’t expect anything other than top-notch presentation in this area, which is renowned for being a very affluent are of Cheshire, bordering onto South Manchester. Harry’s certainly lived up to that expectation.

We ordered a couple of pints of lager whilst we decided what to order. The set lunches seemed the best be idea, and there was a choice of three, each offering different combinations. The prices were £5, £7 and £9 – we decided that for lunch the £5 two course choice was perfectly suitable. I think the £7 and £9 choices may have been three courses, but I’m blowed if I can remember after the event. If I’m wrong, I’m sure somebody will correct me.

We had spring rolls to start, served with a sweet chilli dip. I chose the sweet and sour chicken and Sandro had beef and green peppers in a blackbean sauce for main courses. They were both served with egg fried rice.

The food was fine, rather typical of decent Chinese restaurant cooking. We would not go as far as to say that there was anything exceptional about what we had, although neither of us could fault it either. I would suspect that to get the best out of Harry’s you would need to visit in the evening and try a banquet or a la carte menu.

The bill for the two of us came to £19.60, which was very reasonable and included two rounds of drinks at £2.40 per pint.

The verdict is that I can offer a tentative recommendation based on the limited experience of eating off the lunchtime special menu. In all other respects it looks the part. I will definitely return.