Dim sum all day, every way
When it comes to new dim sum spots, we are like moths to a flame. So it was with great excitement that we headed down to Aqua Restaurant Group’s Dim Sum Library, which recently opened on Long Acre. The concept started in Hong Kong back in 2016, and this London sibling is its first international outpost. The site itself is pretty huge, having taken over an Italian spot called Luci, which only lasted a coupe of years. Aqua clearly didn’t want to spend much money getting it open as the interiors are largely untouched, including the huge gold pizza oven, and open deli counters – except now there are fresh dim sum being rolled, and instead of vintage Martini prints on the walls, there’s photographs of Dim Sum. It feels a little strange but perhaps they will switch it up at some point.
Eat This
There are some main dishes and appetisers on offer, but we largely stuck to the dumplings. There is a whole page of signature dim sum when you first open the menu – and we got the lot. Must orders from here include the dan dan xiao long bao which infuses the nutty richness of Sichuan Dan Dan broth into a soup dumpling; the baked barbecue pork puff; and the yu xiang crispy pork dumplings. The only one we weren’t really feeling from the signatures section was the wild mushroom and beetroot dumpling, which looked very pretty but wasn’t the most exciting flavour-wise.
Elsewhere though we can certainly recommend the sea bass shunde-style dumplings, the cheung fun, the wagyu beef puff, black garlic sui mai, and the smashed cucumber salad.
For dessert, it’s got to be the classic egg tarts.
Drink This
We were off the booze, but had a very nice sparkling jasmine tea from Saicho, as well as kombucha and hot green tea with dessert. If you are drinking, there are several tea-inspired cocktails on the menu too.
Why Go
There’s a good mix of classic and inventive dim sum on the menu, most of which is very good. If you’re a dim sum fan, this is definitely one to check out.
Key Information
Address | 136 Long Acre, London WC2E 9AD
For more information | dimsumlibrary.co.uk
