Chinese Restaurants in London
1. Kai Mayfair
Chinese restaurant in Mayfair
65 South Audley St - W1
“Chinese cuisine at its finest, with service to match” helps inspire high ratings this year for Bernard Yeoh’s luxurious Mayfair fixture – now of two decades’ standing – which describes its culinary focus as ‘Liberated Nanyang Cooking’. Part of this freewheeling approach is the curation of a very comprehensive cellar: perhaps wash down your roasted Peking duck with a 1990 Château Pétrus at over £9,000 per bottle…
2. Uli
Pan-Asian restaurant in Notting Hill
5 Ladbroke Road - W11
“Relaxed and busy”, Michael Lim’s Notting Hill venue is “always a treat”, with “great Singaporean and other Asian dishes”. It has notched up 26 years, first in All Saints Road and more recently in smart new premises on Ladbroke Road. A second branch opened in Seymour Place, Marylebone, in June 2023. Top Tip – “fantastic in the summer with the roof open”.
3. Yauatcha City
Chinese restaurant in City
Broadgate Circle - EC2
“Cheung fun… just wow” – a highlight of the “brilliant” dim sum at this cool modern take on Cantonese cuisine, created by Alan Yau, the restaurant whizz behind Hakkasan and Wagamama. Now in its 20th anniversary year, there are two sites in the capital – a Soho basement (with ground-floor tea room) and a very much bigger and glossier venue in the City’s Broadgate development (plus satellites in the Middle East and India). But even fans of the “delicious food” sometimes say, “I like it here, but the bill always surprises me… not in a good way!”
4. Three Uncles
Chinese restaurant in
12 Devonshire Row - EC2M
“Fantastic roast duck” and quite possibly “the best chicken rice in London” earn full marks for this Cantonese roast meat specialist with outlets near Liverpool Street, in Hawley Wharf, Camden, and Brixton Market. Founders Pui Sing, Cheong Yew and Mo Kwok were inspired by childhood memories of eating sui mei near Wan Chai market in Hong Kong. Their venues may be “cramped and busy”, but the cooking is “consistently delicious, generously portioned and great value”.
5. The Sichuan
Chinese restaurant in City
14 City Road - EC1
“Authentically fiery dishes” light up the menu at this City Road restaurant where head chef Zhang Xiao Zhong hails from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan – a third-generation chef, his grandfather was personal chef to Deng Xiaoping, China’s leader through the 1980s.
6. Mei Ume
Japanese restaurant in City
10 Trinity Square - EC3N
2021 Review: Delectable Asian-fusion delicacies – combining dishes of both Chinese and Japanese inspiration – win nothing but bouquets for this palatial dining room in a City five-star hotel, near the Tower of London. On the downside, cynics say “it feels like a business hotel restaurant”, and one or two diners “expected more, considering the big-ticket prices”.
7. Baozi Inn
Chinese restaurant in Southwark
34-36 Southwark Street - SE1
Northern Chinese fare including “authentic and tasty dumplings and noodles” make either of Wei Shao’s duo (Borough Market and Soho) “a great standby for a quick and fun meal”. “A Chinese that’s worth a visit for an evening bite and not just for dim sum – and which doesn’t break the bank – is a rare find in London.”
8. TING
British, Modern restaurant in London Bridge
Level 35, 31 St Thomas St - SE1
“What could be nicer than sitting on the 38th floor of the Shard with fantastic views of London”, while lingering over a “lovely unrushed afternoon tea” or – later in the day when the mood is “very romantic” – sampling its “fresh Asian-inspired dishes”. Not a huge volume of feedback, but ratings are better this year as it escaped the customary complaints for overpricing.
9. Hutong, The Shard
Chinese restaurant in London Bridge
31 St Thomas St - SE1
“You pay for the view… it stings the wallet…”, but they seem to have pulled their socks up at this well-known Asian venue on the 33rd floor of the famous London landmark. True, “large numbers of diners seem more interested in taking photos of themselves and their food rather than eating it… it’s definitely an Insta trophy”. But it avoided the usual harsh critiques this year and practically all reports acknowledged the “surprisingly good Chinese cooking AND nighttime vistas over London”.
10. Xi'an Biang Biang
Chinese restaurant in Tower Hamlets
62 Wentworth Street - E1
2021 Review: “Oodles of noodles… and fun, too”: this “bustling, happy-making eatery” – year-old sibling to Highbury’s Xi’an Impression – occupies a canteen-style space in Spitalfields and “specialises in spicy, hand-pulled noodles”; “yum!”.
11. Sichuan Folk
Chinese restaurant in Whitechapel
32 Hanbury St - E1
2023 Review: This “tiny place near Truman’s old brewery” serves an “excellent and authentic take on Sichuan cuisine, in a calm atmosphere, away from the agitation of Brick Lane”. Top Tip – “‘numb and spicy’ dumplings live up to their name”.
12. Red Farm
Chinese restaurant in Covent Garden
9 Russell Street - WC2B
2023 Review: This modern pan-Asian in Covent Garden – an import from NYC – offers “playful dim sum”, alongside other “cut-above” dishes. There are “relaxed long tables for groups or cosy red-checked spots for two diners”, and the atmosphere is set by the “fun 90s playlist and friendly team”.
13. Master Wei
Chinese restaurant in Camden
13 Cosmo Place - WC1N
“Hand-made and pulled noodles are the stars of the show” at this “authentic” canteen in a side-street near Russell Square, offering “fantastic Xi’an cooking” from chef-proprietor Wei Guirong. It attracts an “odd but pleasing mix of mainland Chinese businessmen & students, with tourists and the odd culinary adventurer” – and is much easier for most to visit than its sibling, Xi’an Impression near Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
14. Dragon Castle
Chinese restaurant in Elephant & Castle
100 Walworth Road - SE17
“You could be in Hong Kong” at this “barn-like” Chinese venue near Elephant & Castle, where you’ll find “truly authentic”, “super-fresh dim sum, alongside old-school Cantonese favourites”. “So pleased it has found its mojo again” after a long post-pandemic closure.
15. Shanghai Modern
Chinese restaurant in Westminster
Central Cross, 12 Newport Place - WC2H
2021 Review: In Chinatown’s shiny, new, Central Cross development, this “functional but bright and clean” 150-seater opened in spring 2019, and early days feedback says it’s a good, modern addition to the area. “My wife and I know Shanghai food from both Hong Kong and Shanghai – this is good, with generous portions at good-value prices”. “Staff, despite being rushed off their feet, were pleasant and helpful, though few spoke English”.
16. Imperial China
Chinese restaurant in Chinatown
25a Lisle St - WC2
“Fresh and very tasty dim sum” ensures that this 30-year-old Cantonese over three storeys on the edge of Chinatown “soon fills up with regulars”. “It may be a blessing that the ambience is not exactly chic – it keeps the tourists away”.
17. Bun House
Chinese restaurant in Westminster
26-27 Lisle Street - WC2H
2023 Review: “Top egg yolk buns” are a big draw at China-born architect Z He and chef Alex Peffly’s well-known Chinatown pit stop, which provides an “excellent bustling ambience and wonderful heart-filling food”.
18. Chilli Cool
Chinese restaurant in King's Cross
15 Leigh St - WC1
2022 Review: “A basic restaurant with many fiery dishes” – this student-friendly canteen in Bloomsbury is known for its good prices and lip-tingling Sichuan noodle dishes.
19. Wun's
Chinese restaurant in Westminster
24 Greek Street - W1D
2023 Review: A “very good” modern take on classic Cantonese cuisine from Z He and Alex Peffly (of Bun House) is presented in an atmospheric “neon-lit underground parlour in Soho, with the menus on newspapers, giving a gentlemen’s club/opium den vibe”.
20. Barshu
Chinese restaurant in Soho
28 Frith St - W1
“Spicy, authentic Sichuan cuisine” makes this Chinatown destination “worth hunting out” – it’s “way above the bog-standard fare nearby”, with “amazing taste sensations including a lot more besides the fragrant heat of the eponymous Sichuan pepper”. And “friendly staff made choosing from the huge menu easier”. Top Tip – find a table downstairs if you can, to avoid the “weak ambience on the first floor”.
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