A stellar restaurant for a stellar hotel
The Peninsula Hotel finally opened in London in 2023, and with it came a crop of great restaurants, including Claude Bosi’s Brooklands (which quickly won 2 Michelin stars) and the modern Cantonese concept, Canton Blue. It’s a beautifully designed space, peaceful and softly lit, and decorated with Chinese porcelain plates and cups; a central blue porcelain fireplace; and a backlit ceiling panel depicting a celestial navigation map. All of which makes you feel a world away from London once you’re tucked away inside.
Eat This
The dim sum is an absolute must here. We started with some of the best xiao long bao (soup dumplings) we’ve ever had, followed by the beautiful steamed crab and cuttlefish dumplings; the baked duck puffs; and the signature steamed lobster dumpling with caviar. All were seriously good and we loved that they came in servings of four rather than the usual three – no more fighting over the last dumpling.
We’d also recommend the super soft barbecued pork, glazed with sweet honey sauce; the double boiled chicken soup with cep mushrooms, which had an incredible depth of flavour; the wok fried king prawn with XO sauce; and the braised E-Fu noodles (slightly thicker egg noodles) with Alaskan king crab.
The rest of the menu sounded amazing too, and we’re already planning a return visit to try the signature Peking duck, which we spied been delivered to a neighbouring table.
Drink This
The sommelier recommended pairing champagne with dim sum, an idea we didn’t need much convincing on. We had a glass (ok maybe two) of The Peninsula’s own label champagne, a fresh, crisp fizz that did indeed work brilliantly with the dumplings. We then went all in for a couple of very interesting Chinese drinks, starting with a 20 year old Shao Xing rice wine that was somewhere between a sake and a sherry; and then a punchy (53%) Wu Laing Ye Baiju made using a mix of five cereal grains: sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, wheat and corn. Strong stuff, but super complex and flavourful. Of course, if you don’t fancy this there are lots of regular wines, beers and sakes, as well as some very special Chinese teas.
Why Go
There were already some very strong high-end Chinese restaurant in London, such as Yauatcha, Park Chinois, and Gouqi, and Canton Blue is right up there with the best. With pitch perfect service, fantastic food and a lovely dining room, Canton Blue is undoubtedly going to become a firm favourite for us.
From December 20th – 23rd Canton Blue will offer a Winter Solstice menu (£168) featuring many of the dishes mentioned above
Key Information
Address | The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Pl, London SW1X 7HJ
For more information | peninsula.com