Belgravia, Chinese Restaurant Guide

Dating from an era (1982) when Asian cuisine was seldom associated with fine dining, the Peng family’s popular Pimlico veteran – benefiting from a recent refurb – continues to plough its idiosyncratic but accomplished course as “one of London’s best Chinese restaurants”. It helps that “the need to decide is taken out of your hands” with their ‘no menu policy’ – having told the team your likes and dislikes “you get what you are given! And this means that you get to try something different that’s always totally delicious” (typically over 12-18 courses, for £119.80 per person). There’s also a “remarkable wine list at very reasonable prices”.

This luxurious international hotel chain (whose 300-room original is the oldest hotel in Hong Kong) opened just south of trafficky Hyde Park Corner in September 2023. Its “extravagantly decorated” ground-floor Cantonese dining room has received a mixed rep in the newspapers (in his January 2024 review, Giles Coren in The Times said it “didn’t pass muster”) but our reports suggest a fair performance by the standards of posh hotel chains. Its advocates say it’s “very expensive but faultless” with “amazing” and “perfectly served” cuisine (particularly classic dishes such as seafood dumplings, char sui and Peking Duck, which all receive a thumbs-up). And service is praised as “really helpful, accommodating and professional”. Those who are less convinced don’t damn it but say “it’s overpriced for food that’s only OK, and served in a windowless room”. (There’s also Brooklands at roof level, see also).