The celebration of Chinese New Year and the dawning of the Year of the Monkey is just around the corner. This year the movable lunar festival begins on Monday 8 February, although festivities here in London (the biggest outside of China) will start in earnest on Valentine’s Day. If you’re planning to welcome the Year of the Monkey in style, or you want somewhere to enjoy a cheap n cheerful meal with friends, look no further than our top 10 list of Chinese restaurants in London. We’ve got suggestions to suit every budget…
£55 and over
£70
“Challenging, interesting and fun” – the Chinese cuisine (much of it served from extensive multi-course tasting menus) at this Hakkasan-cousin, near Liverpool Street, is London’s highest rated; the interior “looks lovely” but is “a little quiet”. Top Menu Tip – “the best duck ever”.
£76
“Perfectly executed” and “creative” dim sum – probably “the best in London” – have made the “trendy” Soho basement original a “classic” destination, and its new more “airy” sibling in Broadgate fully lives up. W1 also boasts an “HK-style pâtisserie selection – both breathtakingly beautiful and very delicious”.
£79
“Let the owner order for you”, then sit back for “a roller coaster ride of endless one-mouthful plates” when you visit this “cramped” Pimlico veteran. The “truly original and exciting” cooking is arguably “London’s best Chinese food” and the Peng family’s “haphazard, grace-under-pressure” service helps create “an experience like no other”.
£89
“Dark”, “seductive” and “very sexy” styling – “like a nightclub” (and with “loud” noise levels to match) – provide a “funky” backdrop to a meal at these “dramatic” venues (the cradle of what’s a growing global franchise). Though “not cheap”, the Chinese cuisine’s “top notch” too, especially the “superbly original” dim sum.
£77
“Peking duck to die for”, “fantastic dim sum”, and “a superb panorama as a bonus” – that’s the “rare combination” at this 8th-floor dining room overlooking Kensington Gardens, which – as one of London’s top Chinese destinations – breaks all the rules for rooms with a view.
Under £55
£24
“A whole new take on Chinese food” – the “bold” and “amazingly unusual” Xinjiang dishes shine at this Camberwell café; “it’s all a bit spit and sawdust” though, and “the line of hipsters outside the door can be tedious”.
£35
“Beats Chinatown any day!”; “stunningly good” cooking (not least “fabulous dim sum”) and “helpful, non-hassling” service have helped win a huge fan club for this canteen-style Chinese two-year-old – “part of Pimlico’s improving food scene”.
£47
A hotspot for dim sum – this big, dim-lit basement Chinese has an out-on-a-limb, Paddington Basin location, but is worth truffling out for its “top notch” cooking.
£54
It’s “not for the faint-hearted”, but for a “fragrant chilli fix”, the “uncompromisingly” fiery Sichuan cuisine at this Soho café makes it “one of the best Chinese options in town”; you don’t go for the ambience however, and service is “curt”.
£34
“Amazing value, hidden gem off the gritty North End Road”, with supremely “helpful” service, and where the “consistently delicious” Chinese cooking comes with “interesting” – and spicy – Taiwanese variations; “go with the superb let-us-feed-you chef’s menu”.
