Chinese
If you like dim sum and duck, you’re gonna love Dim Sum & Duck. Located in King’s Cross, the simple, small Chinese restaurant serves some of the best dumplings in London – it’s just off the main drag so look out for the queue, which you’ll spot well before the bright blue restaurant. Once seated you can take your pick of fresh translucent dumplings, including the Shanghai pork soup dumplings, which just might be our favourite xiaolongbao in London; the crispy sesame prawn roll, a spin on sesame prawn toast; prawn & chive dumplings; fried duck bao; char siu honey roast pork; and the BBQ roast duck. Then there’s the char siu bao steamed pork bun, custard bun, crunchy tofu skin roll, cheung fun…we could go on and on and that’s before we’ve even mentioned the other Cantonese noodles, soups and rice dishes. It’s BYOB, service is fast and, like the queuing process, it’s also a little manic at times with orders and wrong dishes flying out, but it’s all part of the charm. Absolute gem this one.
Ellen Parr and Pete Kelly have been popping up across town for the past few years with Lucky & Joy and now the duo have opened a permanent place in Clapton. There’s a retro, kitsch aesthetic, with check box menus, bright neon chopsticks and colourful artworks on the walls so it’s a fun place to be. On the menu, you can expect similar Chinese-inspired dishes to those served up at the pop-ups, with all ordering done via a paper checkbox system. We’d definitely recommend the cold sesame noodles, the cumin-drenched mushroom skewers, the roasted aubergine, and the amazing fried brussel sprouts chopped with plenty of chilli and coriander. We also love the fresh spicy salads such as the Yunan smacked cucumber and the tiger salad (tip: keep both the bowls with all the extra dressing and pour it over your rice at the end).
Murger Han is a X’ian Chinese restaurant with branches in Euston, Mayfair and the City that seriously delivers the goods, and is super cheap too. The speciality here is Biang Biang noodles. They are made fresh in house every day and hand pulled by the chef into one giant 12 foot sheet and then cut into wide, thick strands before cooking. The noodles are spot on and come with some epic sauces – we particularly love the braised pork, tomato, egg, and chilli sauce. Sides such as gyoza are excellent too, as well as the murgers themselves – a flat bread stuffed with stewed beef or pork.
To cut right to the chase, BaoziInn has some of the best dim sum in London. The all-day menu features a range of Cantonese-style dim sum but mixed with a few touches from Sichuan and Hunan. Across the board, the dumplings are well made, fresh, and delicious so you can’t really go wrong… but we do have some top tips. From the ‘steamed’ section get the Fragrant Chilli Pork Baozi in Beetroot Juice Dough, and the Ruby Prawn Dumplings in Beetroot Pastry. From the Cheng Fen rice rolls section there are only two options, but the Dan Dan ‘Chang Fen’ with Minced Pork and Sichuan Preserved Sprout was a winner, and you should definitely get a plate of the classic pork wontons. There’s also a whole other massive menu of noodles and street food dishes too.
Asian fusion joint ULI is a real neighbourhood gem. It’s been around the block, first coming onto the scene in 1997 and their twists on Chinese, Thai, Malay and Singaporean favourites has kept ULI as a staple for locals and visitors for years. We love the Thai sea bass fillet steamed with chilli and lemongrass and the stir-fried beef fillet with spicy black pepper sauce, again with lots of red chilli, is also a beaut – sticky parcels of juicy meat drenched in a sweet and fiery sauce. For great, simple Asian food in Notting Hill, ULI is a great shout.
In case you’re not already familiar with Din Tai Fung, it’s a multinational chain originally founded in Taiwan that specialises in dim sum, particularly Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings). For its first ever European outpost, DTF has landed in Covent Garden. With close to 250 covers you (hopefully) shouldn’t have to queue too long and there is the first ever Din Tai Fung cocktail bar inside, serving Taiwanese-inspired cocktails and Chinese tea while you wait. The Xiao Long Bao here are indeed incredible; the skins just the right thickness, the soup full of flavour and the filling fresh as you like. Probably our favourite dumplings are the prawn and pork shao mai, made with a fresh prawn topping off the dumpling and with soup inside too, and we also love the pork and veg wontons in black vinegar and chilli oil, and the crispy golden prawn pancake. For dessert it’s worth trying the red bean and chocolate xiao long bao too.
LU LU SHANGHAI DELICACY & SAKE BAR
Searching for a place to get your Chinese fix in Stokey? Lu Lu is the place. The restaurant’s chefs are from Shanghai and there’s a decent dim sum section. The dumplings are all made fresh and by no means are they perfect – the casings are pretty thick but they are tasty and there’s no added MSG. They’re not badly priced either at just under £4 for three. Shout out to their lip-numbing cucumber salad too.
Dragon Inn Club is just round the corner from A Wong in Victoria and although they are both on this Chinese restaurants map, Dragon Inn Club is a very different kind of place. Decorated in traditional style, this is more of a classic Chinese spot where you can tuck in to roast Beijing duck, a variety of spicy hot pots, rice and noodle dishes and all those other favourites. It’s a comforting place and a good backup to know about if you’re in the badlands of Victoria and can’t get a table at A Wong.
Sister to Yauatcha, Hakkasan also knocks out some beautifully refined Chinese food at its two locations in Mayfair and Hanway Place. It loses minor points for the permanent nightclub soundtrack but the cooking more than makes up for it. A meal at Hakkasan doesn’t come cheap but there are a range of set menus on offer (with one at the Fitzrovia branch coming in at £39 per person) so you don’t necessarily have to break the bank to eat here. But if you’re going all out, don’t miss the venison puff, crispy duck salad, the roasted silver cod or the truffle roasted duck.
Located on the 10th floor of the Royal Garden Hotel, overlooking Kensington Gardens, Min Jiang wins big points for setting. It also wins big points for its wood-fired Beijing duck, which is surely the best you can find in London. First they bring you a plate of duck meat and pancakes (you know what to do) and also slices of thin crispy duck skin which you dip into sugar, which is so good you’ll dream of it for months to come. You have an option of how the second serving of duck comes but we recommend getting it with the fried rice or noodles. Out of this world.
Beloved of foodies everywhere for years, A Wong finally won a Michelin star in 2017 and in 2021 it earned a second, making it the first Chinese restaurant in the UK to hold two stars. This is not a place to indulge in the classics as Andrew Wong cooks up a creative storm of modern twists of dim sum – think rabbit and carrot puffs shaped like little carrots or wagyu tart with truffle. It’s fun, it’s delicious and even though it’s in Victoria you should still go there.
BEIJING DUMPLING
It’s easy to go wrong in Chinatown but we’ve never gone wrong at Beijing Dumpling on Lisle Street. You know it’s going to be good when you spot the chefs in the window, mostly hidden by huge bamboo baskets and bellowing steam, and it doesn’t disappoint. The dumplings are fresh, the service is brisk, and it won’t cost the earth – just how Chinatown should be.
Having started out at the Dorsett Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush, Shikumen now has a very respectable mini-chain of restaurants across London. The dim sum here is of a very good standard and priced well enough that you could become a regular without flexing the credit card once. You can’t go wrong with the classics on the menu but we also like some of the more fun dishes too, such as the multi-coloured ‘rainbow’ dim sum selection and the eel cheung fun – it’s eely eely good.
Looking to try the food from the Xi’an region of China? This is the spot. It’s cheap and cheerful and you can’t go wrong with the pork and veg dumplings, the hand pulled noodles with chunky beef and chilli sauce, and the Xi’an pork ‘burger’. Highly recommended if you’re in the area.
No prizes for guessing which region these guys specialise in and yes there are mouth-numbing Sichuan peppers all over the menu. This is seriously exciting Chinese food and a good place for shaking up your mate who only ever orders lemon chicken. There’s offal dishes galore, meaty stews, whole deep-fried fish stuffed with Sichuan pepper, and all you can eat hot pot for £22.80. An absolute winner.
Like Yauatcha and Hakkasan, Park Chinois was originally set up by Alan Yau before he moved on to other things (as he always does). Park Chinois might just be his magnum opus, a ridiculously lavish palace that sticks two fingers up to austerity Britain – well it is in Mayfair after all. Dining here, with its chandeliers, red velvet drapes and gold taps shaped like flying ducks, feels like stepping back to another era and we completely adore it. There’s incredible dim sum, whole roast Peking duck, lobster, crab, and even some modern creations such as the Park Carbonara made with sea urchin. This place, more than the others even, could break the bank but check out the Prix Fie lunch menu if you want to keep it tidy. Or just forget it and go all out.
When it comes to the finest dim sum in town, Yauatcha is pretty hard to beat in our book. It now has two locations, the original in Soho and the newer one in Broadgate Circle, and we never tire of going in for some prawn and bean curd cheung fun, xiao long bao, or char sui buns. Admittedly it’s not the cheapest but you can have the Taste of Yauatcha menu, surely one of the most insanely good value eating experiences you can have in London. Aside from dim sum, Yauatcha makes some pretty mean cakes and macaroons too.
My Neighbours The Dumplings is an intimate, simple space that serves up handmade dumplings and home-cooked Asian dishes. Making waves running a pop-up in Hackney, this is their first permanent home with informal interiors and shared communal tables. The crispy prawn wontons are addictive, Shumai are the signature (and rightly so) and if you luck out and there’s belly pork on the specials menu when you visit be sure to order it. Besides the food, you can also find Chinese teas and sake on offer.