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Red Pepper
17 Edgell Road (off Route 9 west)
Framingham, MA
508-620-9998
http://redpepperroute9.com
Category: Chinese
Reviews
After reading several posts about the restaurant we decided to give it a try and make our own decision. The service was quick and efficient and we took the liberty of asking our waiter to recommend an authentic chicness meal. I told him I liked seafood and my wife said she preferred a chicken dish. He walked away and shortly thereafter returned with both meals that were absolutely delicious I'm still not sure what My meal was called but I can assure you that I will be back there again and ask for a recommendation on a traditional Chinese Meal. Unfortunately there were not to many people in the restaurant, surely not enough to cover the overhead.
This great restaurant needs patrons, so If you would like to try real Chinese Food give it a try. I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised.
Frank Genova 12/21/07
I went to Red Pepper for lunch. There service was excellent - many managers kept coming over to see if we wanted anything. We had a luncheon special which was like any other place but good.
Joel Winett 12/19/07
I've been to Red Pepper with my kids and I thought it was terrific. We had very attentive service and the food was absolutely delicious. The fact that my 7 and 9 year olds actually ate and enjoyed their meals speaks volumes. We'll definately go again. I recommend it.
Ronda Yeoman 12/16/07
I have been there once. They were out of 2 different wines that we ordered, and out of Tsing Tao beer, And it took forever to finally get a drink served. The food was good but the service was very slow and the staff seemed disorganized as if no one was in charge.
Jan Slocum 12/16/07
I've eaten at Red Pepper twice and it is among the top of my list for area restaurants. Yes, the service the first time was a little slow, but my wife and I also asked the waiter for suggestions and were thrilled with his recommendations. The second time, they were extremely attentive, perhaps spurred by the Globe reviews.
Between the two meals tasted 4 entrees that were among the best, reasonably priced Chinese food I've ever had. Ignore the "usual" and try some of their specialties! Wonderful and different cuisine.
Adam Zahler 12/16/07
The manager offered and actually brought me a cup of tea while I was waiting up front for my dinner companion to arrive. I call that extraordinary hospitality. Also, they have some dishes I'd never encountered before: Try the potato with green pepper or the cucumbers with garlic.
I like to think that the service is slow because they are actually preparing dishes with fresh ingredients from scratch, as opposed to reheating something that comes from a supplier in China Town or out of a pot that's been bubbling for awhile...What's that rhyme?...Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old!.
I agree with what Adam wrote.
Nancy Wilson 12/16/07
We also ate dinner at Red Pepper before the Globe review and truly enjoyed the entire experience, especially the food itself. Unlike the Globe reviewer, we had abundant attention from the staff, including a discussion with the (I believe) owner about the authenticity of the menu. I agree with Adam -- we deliberately ordered "non-mainstay" items, and absolutely loved them (much to the delight of the staff). Fans of spicy food (as we are) will find plenty of great options. Fortunately, same goes for the non-hot-heads, like our young daughter.
It's unfortunate that the Globe reviewer had such an unpleasant experience, given how positive the other reviews have been. I'd heartily recommend it. (Perfect for cold weather, too!)
Jay Burke 12/17/07
Well my son had no school today so we ventured out to Red Pepper for lunch. Jennifer, the owner, greeted us and remembered Matt's name, even though we had been in a month prior. I spent at least 20 minutes talking with her and found out that she's been in this country for 10 years - not just arrived. Nevertheless, she really seems passionate about her concept and her restaurant. She told me that she's planning on offering entertainment - possibly karaoke, piano bar.
There aren't that many places for adults over 35 to go out for an evening - so this may be a good option. If you would be up for karaoke, piano bar, comedy or something else - please reply to this email and I'll get that info to Jennifer.
Now for the food. We ordered steamed dumplings with ginger dipping sauce to start - the dumplings were actually made in house - unlike many Asian restaurants - where they're pulled out of a bag of frozen dumplings. The dumplings were tasty and the dipping sauce - delicious. Then I ordered off the lunch menu - chicken with green beans and ginger sauce, it came with soup and rice. My son ordered pork tenderloin with sweet and sour sauce. Everything was very good. The string beans in the chicken were perfectly cooked and the sauce good, the chicken tender, not dry.
Overall, a very pleasant experience. Jennifer told me that she is working on the fact that people may have waited a bit for food, she's trying to get her team stabilized and better at customer service.
I have no personal stake in this restaurant - just a passion for food - and the desire to help smaller entrepreneurs make a go of it.
Lee Ann Price 12/17/07
I went there last night with six friends and we had a great experience. They encouraged us to try some of the traditional (not American Chinese) dishes and we were really glad we did! Loved the salt and pepper shrimp, by the way. Our service was excellent, altho it wasn't busy there so maybe that was why. At any rate, I'll definitely go again!
Alison Quackenbush 12/17/07
I realize that this may have been metioned before, but I was just there for the first time and had to tell you all about one of the hottest and newest restaurants in town. Red Pepper is located at 17 Edgell Rd (formerly Ipanema and before that Liam's Irish Tavern) here in town. They have been open only 6 weeks and are going strong. Downstairs they have a bar and Function Room. Upstairs is a bar with many TVs and tables. The food is very good. I was there for a function, so I had the opportunity to try different things. Chicken Wings were cooked to perfection. Delicious Spring Rolls and Potstickers. Seaweed Salad and General Gau's Chicken among ohters were good too. They tell me that they do not deliver, but if there is a large order that they will most likely be able to accomodate and deliver. Also, they are about to apply for an entertainment license. Thinking of featuring bands/DJ/karaoke.
Chris Lorant 11/5/07
Yes, we tried Red Pepper and the food is excellent and very authentic as advertised.
Highly recommended.
Diane Juhas 10/2/07
We did try the Red Pepper on Sunday evening. Got there early and were the only ones seated at first. Soon after, the place filled up! Almost overwhelmingly Asian clientele. If the Pork Blood Pudding Delicacy and Beef Tendons aren't to your liking there are lots of other interesting things to try. It's a refreshing and spicy change from the ordinary. Perhaps not the right place to go if you're looking for "American" Chinese food although they do offer a dozen or so dishes of that variety. If you're anywhere adventurous it's certainly worth a try. A bit of Chinatown in Framingham.
Best Regards,
Bob Zakrzewski 10/2/07
So we tried this place -- got take-out twice, no dine-in yet. The verdict: it's only OK. The “authentic” part is indeed authentic (read: pork blood soup and dishes of beef tendon). We lived in San Francisco for a while, and this does seem like true authentic Chinese food in our experience, so kudos for taking that brave business step. But it probably doesn’t have a huge audience around here since from what I've read and heard, people tend to want spare ribs, dumpling, appetizers and the like. The host/owners are very nice, genuine, and energetic. But the Americanized part of the menu is hit or miss, so I'm not sure it can maintain a stable following. Just my opinion.
Jeff Zaref 10/2/07
We decided to follow the FramCom trail of applause for the new Red Pepper Chinese Restaurant (Edgell Road) and we were totally blown out of the water by the wonder of this experience!
Someone had mentioned the spring rolls so we started with those and egg drop soup. Just your run of the mill appetizers, right? Wrong! These were subtle yet sure - honestly surprisingly fresh tasting! - you knew you were eating things you know and expect but they were NOT just the old tastes - so fresh, so delicious!
And then we tried the Piba Tofu. We have had Piba Tofu in Chinatown... NOTHING like this! This texture and flavor was exquisite! The tofu had a delightful amazing mix of fluffy and creamy texture as it melted in your mouth - and then you tasted the seafood filling ....well.....you know how at the end of a long work day you can find yourself just processing the day and talking about it as you put food in your mouth? These dishes were so compelling it stopped the day's chatter and we found ourselves going from silence with mindful eating experience to smiling and speaking of our enjoyment of the food!! It literally stopped the day and allowed us to be totally in the moment with our meal and each other.
We asked about the chef and found out that Executive Chef Shao, from the Chinese province of Sichuan, has won recognition in his native land - and we felt honestly grateful he has now brought his skills to MetroWest!!!!
And the service? We felt pampered. We were greeted, served, offered dinner suggestions (and while their specialty is Sichuan cuisine, they will tailor your food to your exact request), and were overall spoken to like respected guests... just boggling in today's world where the art of service is a dying art.
All that to say - we will be telling everyone we know about this dining experience - fresh food cooked to perfection and served with gentility.
As a last note - I asked about options for holiday or family meals - they not only have the full dining area downstairs where you enter but have an upstairs that can hold a group function.
Offered for your enjoyment...
Doe West 14 Nov 2007
I tried Red Pepper too the other night. I ordered take out - shredded pork in Yuxiang sauce - it was fabulous! Like I used to get when I worked in Chinatown. Not at all like the boring Yu Hsiang? - forget my spelling - pork you usually get. I will be trying more of their dishes. I hope they stick with their program of offering authentic Chinese and don't get forced into a more limited menu with the Usual Suspects.
Kathleen Pendergast 12/21/07
We just returned from eating at the Red Pepper this evening. The food was excellent!! We ordered mostly authentic Chinese dishes and loved every one of them. We will be going back to try some of the other interesting sounding, original dishes. We found the servers very pleasant, helpful and courteous.
When we arrived around 6pm there was plenty of seating. By the time we left the place was full and there was a group waiting to be seated..
Kathy Vassar 12/22/07
In the 12 years I've been married, I've resisted going out for Chinese for various reasons, but mostly because I've had really poor experiences with Chinese food (It probably started with the LaChoy canned Chinese my dad used to make me as a child). So it was with some reluctance I took our family of four out to Red Pepper on a recent snowy Sunday evening.
I liked the mood once we got inside. It seemed inviting. The service was great, with our server helping us discover new things (since I only knew the basic LaChoy canned food names, like Chow Mien), and suggesting some dishes our 9 and 6 year-olds may like. Everything was in stock, and the beer was cold, and the place was pretty full.
The portions were large, and smelled great. Kandace and I had a very spicy chicken dish, with lots of little red peppers. the kids had the sweet & sour chicken, and loved it. The fried rice was classic. Our bellies were so satisfied, and we had enough leftovers, we enjoyed a great lunch the next day.
The woman at the front desk was very friendly and gave our kids those kid-friendly plastic chopsticks that are connected at the top. The kids were impressed enough that they request going back.
At long last, we had a successful dinner out that didn't involve a Clown or a King. And no canned LaChoy in site.
Chuck Matzker 12/22/07
Since we had an excellent dinner at the Red Pepper Restaurant yesterday evening, I felt I had to reply to the latest email on this topic. When we arrived, the restaurant was quite crowded, and it take take about five minutes for the owner to show up at the desk to put our names on her waiting list. She told us we were looking at a twenty minute wait which turned out to be accurate. We were seated upstairs with four other groups of customers, and once the heat warmed the room up, it was quite pleasant. A waiter took our order in a reasonable amount of time and the food came in a reasonable amount of time.
The food was excellent!
The owner came by our table at the end of the meal to explain that the past weekend had been slow so they weren't prepared for the volume of business they had this Friday evening. We explained that people generally don't eat out around Christmas, but do around New Year's. She agreed and added that she has already gotten several reservations for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
This is really an excellent, not run of the mill American-style Chinese restaurant. Almost the entire clientele was Chinese. Along with the Szechuan Gourmet, it is a wonderful addition to dining out choices in the MetroWest area--we won't be driving into Boston for Chinese food any more!
Happy New Year! Sybil Schlesinger 29 Dec 2007
After reading the rave reviews on framcom and frambors about The Red Pepper, my daughter & I decided to try it last Thursday evening. I am reporting back to all of you that the service was excellent, the food was superb, and the wait staff could not have been more helpful or attentive. There was no wait to be seated, service was polite and prompt, delicious food was served by course in a very orderly manner, and all the leftovers were cordially packaged for us to take home. It was a lovely outing and we enjoyed it very much.
We join in the chorus of those who recommend this new addition to the Framigham restaurant scene. We wish the Red Pepper a very happy New Year and hope they will be with us for a long, long time.
Joan Rastani 30 Dec 2007
My daughter (13) & I enjoyed the entertainment at the Red Pepper tonight! There was a young girl that did a beautiful dance with a drum, and another older girl that played the flute. Both were equally talented. We experienced a new culture firsthand without trekking all the way to Boston. Would like to thank Jennifer (the owner/manger) again for announcing it to the general public so we could witness it ourselves.
The food was great and we liked both the decor and the service! We will go back!
Sara Harding 10 Feb 2008
Red Pepper, our favorite Chinese restaurant has jazz on Friday nights and some Sundays.
Marina Whall 6 Jan 2009
If it has closed, then it is probably because they know nothing about running a restaurant from a customer service perspective. My husband and I went there once to celebrate our anniversary and I've never had worse service.
Since it was a special occasion (one without children), we decided to have a drink before dinner. I ordered a 7&7, a very standard drink. Our waitress who didn't really speak english didn't understand what I wanted so she finally sent over the bartender. The bartender didn't know what a 7&7 was and didn't know how to make it.
We ordered 2 meals and some rice. The rice never was delivered, but we were charged for it. The dinners came out at different times and there were no serving utensils.
Also, since we had never been there, we didn't know that they had hotpot dinners. The restaurant has a separate menu for the hotpots, but they didn't give us one. We most likely would have liked to have tried it, but didn't know about it until after we had placed our order and then saw it delivered to another table.
Now they are "expanding" to Brazilian food. Strange combo - Chinese and Brazilian. Sounds like this was a last ditch effort to increase their business.
Regards, Carolyn Limeri 9 Jan 2009
I like Red Pepper, as I have indicated previously. The food is different and most of what I've had has been delicious. We each have to decide what matters most to us in eating out. I'll stick by them as long as the food remains good.
Adam Zahler 9 Jan 2009
Thank you Adam for all the understanding and forgiveness! Running and keeping a small business is especially difficult these days.
Since we were hit hard by the bleak economy and the very low demand on our beverage offerings, we had to let the professional bartender go. In addition, we have been struggling with finding the competent serving staff since our extensive authentic menu demands more knowledge and most people we have hired (both native English speaker or non) seemed getting frustrated very easily. The high turnover rate is indeed killing the business. Where are the good people they enjoy working in a restaurant? We had tons of human resources available in China, as an employer in USA, it is so hard to do the same like the peers in other countries.
Anyway, we might re-start Chinese food soon depending on the market conditions.
Our Brazilian food operation will continue to open. Its overhead and maintenance are more manageable.
Please kindly keep coming back if you like our food. Meanwhile, please go to our web site to join our mailing list. We will further update you with more related information.
Thank you again for all your support!
Jennifer Wang 9 Jan 2009
We had a wonderful traditional Jewish Christmas dinner at Red Pepper. The wait staff was sort of weird, but the food was great. We live downtown so we don't need to go up there for good Brazilain...We Have so many great Brazilian places near here. I hope they will keep the Chinese food going.
Amy Bernstein 09 Jan 2009