St James's, Chinese Restaurant Guide

This glossy Mayfair venue modelled on ‘the supper clubs of 1930s Shanghai’ “has a real buzz” with “wonderful singers and a band to add to a great night”. But while some diners feel the food is outstanding, ratings are undercut by the view that it’s “middle-of-the-road Chinese that’s well executed but nothing special and soured by the bill”.

“Our Hong Kong and Singaporean friends rate this as the best in London!” – this “top-drawer” West End venture is now over five years old and the first European outpost of a 20-strong Singapore-based group with spin-offs in HK, Shanghai, Beijing and also one in Tokyo. It occupies a swish, converted banking hall in the West End, where the styling is “modern and chic while still being comfortable”. “The Peking Duck (which must be ordered in advance) is delicious, but the other menu choices are also terrific”. The catch is obvious – notwithstanding its excellence, “it feels expensive for the experience”.

“Divine dim sum” served in a moody, nightclubby setting (“very dark basement lighting” at the original) has helped this slick pan-Asian chain go from an obscure basement near Tottenham Court Road tube (which opened in 2001) to become a glam, international chain with 11 locations from Miami to Mumbai. Prices have always seemed a bit “excruciating” and performance generally is “not as good as it once was”, but this remains one of the Top-50 commented-on brands in our annual diners’ poll; and there’s still lots of praise for its “attractive” style, “fantastic” cooking (the dim sum in particular, as well as the duck) and “wonderful cocktails”. Less so for the “perfunctory” or “artificially polite” service, which, over the years, is increasingly acknowledged as just part of the package.

“Great dim sum” backed up by more substantial Cantonese and Sichuan dishes have established this unshowy venue as one of the area‘s best bets. It’s easy to find: it’s right by the archway at the entrance to Chinatown!

“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.

Many long-in-the-tooth Londoners regard this “no-nonsense”, multi-floor Chinatown veteran as their “go-to Chinese restaurant in the West End”. “The legend of Wong Kei was the sheer rudeness of the staff. Nowadays they are just casually brusque but still provide a wide range of well-priced Chinese dishes” – “where else to have a complete meal in the West End under a tenner? Wonton Soup with noodles is ordered even before the menu gets slapped on the table”. Top Tip – “all dishes come with free green tea”.

“Fantastic dim sum with good-quality ingredients” make this family-run Cantonese “a good Gerrard Street standby”. Now entering its fifth decade, the decor is “slightly cooler than in your average Chinatown restaurant”.

2021 Review: “In a crowded Chinatown field”, this three-story Cantonese institution just off Leicester Square “is a dependable crowd-pleaser” with a “good price-to-quality ratio”: “the queues outside speak for its popularity”. Highlights from the “reliable menu” include “fab dim sum every time”, “yummy char sui” and “legendary soft shell crab”, all delivered by staff who “although rushed off their feet are generally smiley and friendly”. Top Tip – “the ground floor is a better experience than the higher floors”.

“The signature duck and rice is delicious” at this Oriental gastropub on Berwick Street in Soho, which offers a broad range of options from dim sum and ‘small chow’ to Lobster Cantonese at £68. And the stylish interior works well too. But, despite consistently solid marks, this place (created by Hakkasan and Yauatcha impresario, Alan Yau) has never made huge waves. Indian-in-a-pub is finally starting to work as a concept – maybe Chinese-in-a-pub will have its day too…

“Consistently excellent dim sum” served in a vibey setting that “even after so many years is still a fun, cool place to be” ensures continuing plaudits for these sleek venues (founded by Alan Yau in 2004 and nowadays an international brand owned by Tao Group Hospitality with three siblings in India and one in Saudi Arabia). Food aside, its two London branches are very different – the original, intimate ground floor and basement in Soho contrasting with the more “spectacular”, large, “light-filled” modern unit in the City’s Broadgate development. Both scored highly this year – “service appears to have become a bit less standoffish”; and “the only drawback is eating too much!”. Top Menu Tips – “Cheung fun, Venison Puff, Sichuan pork wonton and Wagyu beef puff are some of the tastiest things you can eat”.

“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.

“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.

“Huge Cantonese restaurant” over two floors on Chinatown’s main drag, praised for its “sensibly priced and fine-quality dim sum”, along with “good crispy duck with pancakes”. “Service is brisk but friendly”, and its capacity makes it “good for walk-ins”.

“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”.

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”.

An “interesting menu” – with “the spicing just right” – is offered at this “great concept”, serving the cuisine developed by the historic Hakka Chinese community in Kolkata. The only complaint relates to the “very cramped tables” at its two venues, in Soho and Covent Garden.

“Sublime” and “well-executed Sichuan dishes in all their spiciness” (“crazy Chinese cooking like I’ve never experienced anywhere else!”) make this “a sensational go-to” foodie destination for its many long-term fans (who reckon it’s “back to late-noughties form”). The decor is relatively “soothing” by the standards of the area, with no agreement over whether sitting upstairs or downstairs is best.

Empress MiMi – keeper of the most revered Chinese culinary secrets – is the fictional inspiration for Samyukta Nair’s chic, Shanghai-inspired three-year-old: “an old converted Mayfair townhouse turned into a really charming three-storey restaurant”. Feedback on its luxurious Chinese cuisine is relatively limited, but says that “every dish is spot-on”. It is fully priced though, especially if you start straying into the ‘signature’ parts of the menu featuring lobster, caviar and Peking duck.

This two-year-old café on the edge of Chinatown won high praise this year as a “fantastic choice for modern Hong Kong-style cuisine”, served in a “contemporary designer interior”. There’s a huge selection of dishes on the menu, and service is “very efficient”. Top Menu Tip – “fabulous crispy pork with rice (better than a lot of local competition)”.

Tipped for “cheap ’n’ cheerful” chow in the heart of Theatreland, Alex Xu’s two-year-old Chinese pitstop on the borders of Chinatown specialises in hand-pulled noodles and dishes from Gansu province in the North West of China; and in an October 2023 review, The Times’s Giles Coren described its soupy dishes as “vast and authentic”.