The Best CHINESE Restaurants in London
Join us on a food tour of London’s best Chinese eateries - there are so many that you can sometimes do with a helping hand to point you in the right direction. Fancy some dim sum, maybe some bao, how about some duck? We’ve got you covered here.
📷 @goodearthgroup
10. The Good Earth
Kicking things off with a place that does such good Aromatic Duck that some of our friends from Switzerland would often fly to London just to eat here. And maybe also see us. No kidding. That’s one helluva good recommendation. And they’re right, it is exceptional. Is there anything quite as enjoyable as putting together your own duck pancakes, with the perfect amount of sauce, a few sprinkles of cucumber of spring onion, and a buttload of duck (*official measurement of duck). At least that’s what we do.
Plus that’s just the start. They’ve got all the traditional Chinese dishes that we know and love. Karaage, sweet & sour chicken, beef with black beans, char sui pork, chicken chow mein. It’s all here. Just waiting for you. Go on. Treat yourself.
📷 @mamalans
9. MamaLan
Right here we’ve got you a no-nonsense bona fide street food eatery that’s going to make your day, and probably the rest of your week. Bringing you food that their family has been carefully honing over the past 3 generations back in Beijing, they are now in a lovely little spot in Brixton, and they are thriving. You can absolutely feel the homely family passion in everything they do - they care about their heritage and that means that we win because they are brining these gifts to us.
Following the mantra that variety is the spice of life you’ll find all sorts of wonderful dishes on their menu - roasted meats with noodles, rice, bao, dumplings, they’ve got it all. So come hungry and leave happy.
📷 @dumplingshack
8. Dumpling Shack
When it comes to street food you're not going to do much better than Dumpling Shack. Setting up shop in Spitafields Market a few years ago this is a must for all you food lovers out there. And as the name suggests it's all about their dumplings. Different from other world famous dumplings (*see #2) Dumpling Shack's Pork Pan Fried Soup Dumplings are unlike anything else you will have tried before, and in fact we haven't come across these anywhere else in London.
Made fresh every day, these doughy balls of goodness are just a big ol' hug in a mouthful of flavour. Be careful though - they are as filling as they are delicious so don't let your eyes get bigger than your stomach! A handful of these for lunch alongside their equally delicious dan dan noodles will get you through the rest of your day.
📷 @royalchinagroupuk
7. Royal China
You know a Chinese restaurant here in London is good when it gets so popular that it gets exported TO CHINA. That’s right. Most famous for its dim sum, Royal China has seven locations all across the city, with our favourite sitting on Baker Street. The venues themselves are gorgeous, and as soon as you’re handed the book of a menu you know you’ve come to the right place.
Pan fried gyoza and spring rolls. Roast pork buns and honey roast pork puffs. Dumplings for days. All the usual suspects are here, and they are fabulous.
📷 @hakkasanlondon
6. Hakkasan
Of all our foodie experiences here at TL100 one of the very earliest memories to put us on the path to gastronomic fascination was here at Hakkasan. This is years ago now but we can still remember it like it was yesterday. The beautiful oriental decor was unlike anything we’d seen before, the attention to detail was on point, and the food… the food! We can still taste the roast duck served with mango and an exquisite sauce. Lives were changed.
Of course places do change over time. Thankfully not this one. Hakkasan pushes on as one of the very best restaurants in London, as they continue to improve on perfection with their food, with their welcome staff, and with their beautiful locations. This one is an absolute treat.
📷 @three.uncles
5. Three Uncles
Cantonese roast meat specialists Three Uncles have over the past few years garnered themselves something of a cult following. Making incredibly delicious food at affordable prices is not something that easy to find nowadays.
Moving away from the need to have a menu so big that it could kill someone if thrown with enough force, as far as choice goes the menu is roast duck, roast pork belly, char sui barbeque pork, or hainan chicken. Plus some noodles and some dim sum. It’s simple, yet every single item is delicious. You can’t go wrong. If you’re looking for a new work lunch venue and you happen to be near one of these venues, oh boy are you in for a treat!
📷 @bao_london
4. Bao
How can something so small and cute bring us so much joy and happiness? This restaurant group does exactly what it says on the tin. Expertly crafted little dough sandwiches, made by hand every day in their bakeries. These nuggets of deliciousness come in all shapes and flavours, but at their core you know you’re always going to win. Confit pork bao, fried chicken bao, beef short rib bao, we’ll eat them all.
And don’t forget the special dishes you can only find in each specific location! Our faves are the beef rice with taipei butter in Borough and the prawn dumpling in kelp broth in Marylebone. Oh and the sad face custard bao in Kings Cross, lol. In fact just go try all their sites, gotta catch ‘em all!
📷 @a.wong_londonuk
3. A.WONG
This is high end Chinese cooking. Andrew Wong is one of London’s shining stars and brings his own flavour, design, and flair to the city’s scene. His evening tasting menus are really tough to get a reservation for, and for good reason. Every one of the 30 dishes in the tasting menu is a masterpiece in its own right, picking at the subtleties of different regions of China.
A quick look through their gallery on social media will confirm your thoughts that this will be a meal to remember. Got a Valentine date to impress, an important birthday coming up or just got that big bonus you’ve been waiting for? This is the place to go to celebrate.
📷 @dintaifunguk
2. Din Tai Fung
Home of the world's best Xiao Long Bao. Din Tai Fung's soup dumplings are one of life's greatest gifts and no-one can make them better than DTF. From the moment you step into their restaurant you can see their team in the open kitchen intricately making these delicacies. You'll be forgiven if you start drooling even before you get to your table.
There is a real artistry about how these are made, and the staff are expertly trained - each dumpling has exactly 18 folds, all the dumplings are freshly made, and they arrive at your table at the perfect temperature (which is slightly too hot to eat so you need to take your time to enjoy them rather than wolfing them all down in seconds). This is such a treat and I'm honestly aggressively jealous if you've never experienced these xiao long bao as I would love to go back in time to try them for the very first time again, mmmmmmmmmmmmm....
📷 @fourseasons_uk
1. Four Seasons
Oh hello there old friend. Chinatown is known for having so many food options, although none of them quite hit the mark, but Four Seasons will always come through for you. We have been enjoying the exceptional Four Seasons for many a year and continue to be delighted by the quality (and quantity) of their food, the fun-loving (and sometimes chaotic) nature of their staff, the hustle and bustle of their kitchen, oh, and their duck.
Self-proclaimed as the Best Roast Duck in the World, they may well be right. We return again and again and are never disappointed. That’s the true mark of brilliance.