Ever since the owners of Masa upped sticks and chose to open Bento Boss on Whiteladies Road, their old premises at 42-46 Baldwin Street has been empty. Now switching from Japanese to Chinese, a brand new restaurant will be opening soon in the form of Han Dynasty.
The mini-chain already has restaurants in Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester and Manchester, with Bristol their first opening down south. “Authentic Chinese food in contemporary surroundings” is what they promise, with every one of their restaurants apparently featuring its own unique food style.
Exactly what that food style is…well who knows. The “sample menu” section on their website is a little sparse and pictorial only, but it appears that hot pot and BBQ may well feature on the menu – which would make sense with the grilling equipment that Masa already had in place.
There are signs up outside the premises, although the fact that I can’t read any Chinese makes it difficult to know exactly what they say. If anyone can translate and can let me know if they give any more useful information, I’d be most grateful!
For more information about Han Dynasty, visit their website at handynasty.co.uk.
I had a look around on Saturday and was shown the extensive range of ingredients forthe hot pot menu, with various base booths. Picked up a copy of the menu which has a few nonstandard Chinese dishes. Didn’t think the inside looked and felt dramatically different from its Japanese predecessor, just changed the lines of the tables. They were very friendly. Not sure I’m massively drawn to it given the other Chinese options in Bristol but may well try it sometime.
good luck
We went to Han Dynasty last night as a recommendation by my Shanghainese friend. When I saw the menu I was already quite pleased and when I went inside it just reminded me of my travels to Asia. The atmosphere, the people. It was lovely. The staff are very friendly – much better than some trad restaurants in Bristol.
We ordered the sautéed Lamb, Ma po tofu, szechuan green beans, spicy fish and grilled pork with mango sago and pumpkin pie as dessert to share for four people. The portions were very generous (we had to take some home), fairly priced and it was really good eating. The beans, fish & sago were my favourite.
We’ve sampled a lot of trad restaurants around Bristol & I think Han Dynasty is definitely in my top 5 now. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves traditional Chinese food that is good value for money to boot.