Meriden, Chinese Restaurant Guide

This “always reliable” and “slightly upmarket” Cantonese group “remains the standard that all other dim sum places should be judged against – exemplary is an overused term here but is very much justified”. But a somewhat dark cloud has hung over the operation since its prominent Baker Street branch was stripped of its licence to sell alcohol and fined £360,000 after a series of Home Office raids over six years discovered multiple cases of illegal immigrants working, in one case for 66 hours a week at almost half the minimum wage. As of August 2024, the Fulham Road branch is ‘Temporarily Closed’.

“It might not be for a true aficionado of Asian food, but the welcome is genuine, the food is always meticulously cooked and presented, service standards are high, and it has pleased us for many years” – one report neatly encapsulates the strong virtues of this rather “glamorous”, “good-but-pricey” Chinese group: a family-owned chain with branches in Knightsbridge, Mill Hill, Wandsworth Common and Esher. “Why not save yourself the trip to Chinatown and enjoy a meal without the crowds, bad service, and soulless dining rooms!”

“Very large Chinese restaurant” on the ground floor of Colindale’s Bang Bang Oriental Food Hall (with a sister venue in Chinatown) that has an “extensive menu” focused mainly on Cantonese cuisine. It’s “frequented by lots of Chinese diners” (always a good sign). Top Tip – it’s an easy visit as the site has a “large underground free car park”.

“If you’re talking street food, then just go along and take it all in!” – this vast Oriental food court in Colindale offers “20+ options, huge flavours and huge portions”. It’s “so much fun” but can be “hit and miss between the different units” – and watch the prices as “certain dishes are more expensive than in the Golden Dragon restaurant downstairs”. Top Tip – “bring Tupperware to take any left-over food home”.

“Well-supported and popular for its high quality” – this offbeat kosher Chinese has long been Hendon’s main contribution to London gastronomy. It’s always had a reputation for pushing the envelope pricewise, which it justifies with its consistent standards and relatively plush interior (panelled, paintings, table cloths).

This Wembley fixture (with spinoffs in Hatch End and Kingsbury) is best known for its all-you-can-eat Indian vegetarian buffet with a choice of 45 items, including an Indo-Chinese selection with dishes such as chilli paneer. The family-owned business started out 40 years ago as a market stall.

The Lou family’s stalwart fixture is approaching its half a century in Acton (it opened in 1976). What’s sustained it over all these years? – a “consistently high standard of cooking, which combines with friendly service in a well-decorated dining room that’s usually nicely buzzing”. Top Menu Tip – “I’ve yet to have better spare ribs anywhere – including China!”

A Swiss Cottage institution for more than half a century, this local Chinese venue (est. 1972) is in the classic (for London) Cantonese mould and still dependably well-rated on the food front.

“So consistent after all these years” – this “old-school local Malaysian-Chinese” in Swiss Cottage has “been going for ages”, but “you never tire of dining here” because “you know what you’re going to get and you enjoy it immensely”. Giles Coren, restaurant critic for The Times, was born in the next street and is a long-term regular, returning again and again for the “superb Singaporean laksa”. But while it’s “a cut above” and one of north London’s most popular destinations, don’t go expecting the earth (“everything is done well but it’s not amazing”).

At the foot of a large, Hong Kong-owned hotel beside Shepherd’s Bush Green gyratory, this modern (rather anodyne) dining room has built a reputation, since it opened nearly ten years ago, for “absolutely wonderful” dim sum and superior roast duck from a wide-ranging menu. The food rating dropped a notch this year on the back of one or two reports of “average” results.

“Good-to-very-good dim sum”, “excellent seafood” and “good duck” are the hallmarks of this “wonderful Cantonese” venue in a modern basement setting in Paddington Basin – although it has yet to recover the stellar ratings it achieved before the pandemic. Top Tip – it’s often recommended for a family meal with kids in tow.

Some of “the best Chinese roast duck and excellent char siu” can be found at this no-frills Cantonese in Queensway (with a sibling in Chinatown) – “if you can put up with the surroundings”.

“The best roast duck in the world? I have no idea, but it’s certainly superb” at these Cantonese canteens… and “you definitely don’t go for the ambience. No, You go for the duck… if you’re really smart, the roast pork… or even better, the pork and the duck!”. “But the service is comically, disastrously rude – and your arteries will probably thank you if you don’t go too often”. Launched 35 years ago in Queensway, the group now has outlets in Chinatown, Soho, the Hippodrome (Chop Chop), Colindale’s Bang Bang Oriental food hall and Oxford.

Almost everyone has walked past this 30-year fixture next-door to Queensway tube station at some point. Those who have dropped in for a meal have found “delicious and authentic Cantonese food”, including roast duck and seafood – “but don’t expect friendly service”. Top Menu Tip – “beef with black bean sauce and crispy noodles”.

“Just love this authentic busy Chinese!” – Since 1978, this “bustling” linchpin of Queensway has won a huge following and is a “favourite Chinese” for many Londoners. Despite its grungy, ’70s-tastic interior and brusque service, it’s actually known for high-quality seafood: in particular, lobster and noodles with ginger. That said, its ratings were more middling this year, on the back of some who say “the positivity this resto attracts continues to puzzle me”; or who find dishes “solid but uninspiring”. Top Menu Tip – “We always eat exactly the same things: salt and pepper asparagus, lobster with ginger and spring onions, Peking duck, chicken with dry chilli and ginger… because they’re so damned delicious; and fantastic value!”

A “great traditional Chinese restaurant” seating 250, with “striking décor” near Baker Street tube that boasts “a huge menu”, listing more than 300 dishes, including dim sum. Of its type, it’s one of London’s best and draws fans in our annual diners’ poll from all points of the compass. Top Menu Tip – “the crispy noodles are the best in town”.

“Excellent dumplings” and other Cantonese and Shanghainese dishes are served in “good portions” at this London outpost of a Shanghai-based group. Harsher voices say the Marylebone office-block interior is “miserable but spacious”, but it’s a popular destination nonetheless.

This “always reliable” and “slightly upmarket” Cantonese group “remains the standard that all other dim sum places should be judged against – exemplary is an overused term here but is very much justified”. But a somewhat dark cloud has hung over the operation since its prominent Baker Street branch was stripped of its licence to sell alcohol and fined £360,000 after a series of Home Office raids over six years discovered multiple cases of illegal immigrants working, in one case for 66 hours a week at almost half the minimum wage. As of August 2024, the Fulham Road branch is ‘Temporarily Closed’.

“The food is always good” at the Marylebone flagship of the Royal China group, while the “well-spaced tables, attractive presentation and attentive service” contribute to a somewhat more stately atmosphere than at other branches. It is, though, “pricey”: “it feels like the same food as Royal China but costing 30% more”.