Red Star certainly has a bit of a schizophrenic feel about it. It has only recently opened, replacing the (once all-vegetarian) Soundbite Café that used to exist between Polar Bear and Fred's on Cowley Road. The friend who told me about it described it as a 'new Japanese noodle bar'.

Well, it definitely borrows heavily from Wagamamma's, the Japanese noodle chain - the menu seem oddly familiar, in layout and in content. Starters range from gyozas (meat or vegetable grilled dumplings) to chilli and garlic chips to edamamé (some very special beans that the Japanese restaurant on Holywell Street is named after), all reasonably priced at around £2 - £3. Then the main courses are divided into soup ramen, rice dishes, fried ramen, and Red Star boxes a la Rice Box. My companion had deep-fried tofu (£2.50) with a main of battered veg with rice and curry sauce (£5.00); I opted for the chicken ramen special, with chicken soup ramen, 3 gyozas and a drink at £8.

However, Japanese it really isn't. The specials board all had Chinese, not Japanese translations, and the specials comprised many of prawn chow mein and lemon chicken. The Japanese named gyozas also just turned out to be Chinese grilled dumplings. My guess is that it does not really want to compete with Rice Box across the road. And to be honest, the price premium at Red Star isn't really worth it. The food was fair but variable; the battered veg were lovely and crisp, but the chicken in my ramen was overcooked, and the tofu dripping in oil. As regards to service, I would prefer to be shouted at at the Rice Box. The waitresses tried to be very courteous, but one of them couldn't really speak English, and as a result, my chicken ramen was 'forgotten', such that my eating partner had finished his meal by the time mine arrived. The pineapple juice I ordered also turned into an orange juice.

So my advice would be to stick to the cheap and cheerful. Red Star has really nice decor, with wood and lanterns all over the place. But at least with Rice Box you know exactly what you're getting.

Connie Kwok, 12.05.03