The Best Chinese Restaurants in London

The Best Chinese Restaurants In London | Hole-In-The-Wall Spots To High-End Glitz

Luckily there’s no great walls between you and some top-notch Chinese food in London.

From dumpling specialists to tongue-numbing Sichuan spice, Chinatown stalwarts to itinerant pop up eateries, the city’s spoilt for choice. But if you’re only after the best Chinese restaurants in London, here they are…
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Liu Xiaomian | Marylebone

Liu Xiaomian is a street food outfit specialising in the mouth-numbingly spicy cuisine of Chongqing. The two chefs behind it, Charlene Liu and Liu Qian, originally hail from the Sichuanese city and have turned a pub basement into one of the best Chinese restaurants in London, pouring their no-holds-barred spicy know-how into dishes like chickpea and minced pork noodles; braised beef; and chilli pig trotters. And don’t worry, there’s some very icy desserts to follow.

Details: The Jackalope, 43 Weymouth Mews, W1G 7EG |  Book here | More of the best restaurants in Marylebone
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A. Wong | Pimlico

Andrew Wong didn’t particularly want to become a chef. He studied at both Oxford and LSE before it fell to him to take the reins of the family business – Chinese restaurant Kym’s, on Wilton Road. A decade later, that restaurant is now Wong’s own Michelin starred, critically praise-showered eatery. The glorious, showstopper cooking here is the result of Wong’s pilgrimage around China’s many provinces, learning directly from the masters all the tips and tricks of regional specialities. The 10-course “Taste of China” tasting menu is a love letter to the country’s many influences, quirks and unique flavour pairings, and to miss it would be a crime.

Details: 70 Wilton Road, SW1V 1DE | Book here | More Michelin star restaurants in London
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Hakkasan | Fitzrovia, Mayfair

Nowhere does high-end Chinese dining quite like Hakkasan. Eminently successful, the Fitzrovia original is the first of 11 Hakkasans that have since cropped up around the world – though they’re not quite as ubiquitous as founder Alan Yau’s other venture, Wagamama. Hakkasan is a gloss-covered jewel of a restaurant – the atmosphere’s dark and vibey; the cocktails strong and the Cantonese dishes unparalleled in their delicacy. There’s a lunch set menu (a reasonable £38), or if you want the full Michelin star experience, head there in the evening for lobster har gau with caviar; the famous Peking duck; or smoked beef ribs with jasmine tea.

Details: 8 Hanway Place, W1T 1HD | Book here
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Xi’an Impression | Highbury

An unpretentious local spot that’s one of the best value Chinese restaurants in London. Xi’an Impression’s known for its biang biang noodles (Sichuan spicy, ribbon-thick, hand-pulled noods) and Xi’an beef burger with its slow-cooked, spice-infused, Silk Road-whispering meaty juices. The dishes are fiery, unctuous, and messy to eat. Roll your sleeves up, accept the fiery sauces running down your chin, and throw any hopes of making a good impression on your date out the window. Xi’an Impression’s already got it covered.

Details: 117 Benwell Road, London, N7 7BW | Book here | More of the best cheap eats in London
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Tofu Vegan | Islington, Golders Green, Spitalfields

Ensuring that veggies don’t have to miss out on the joys of Chinese cooking, Tofu Vegan offers a sprawling menu of entirely plant-based dishes. They range from the vegetable-focussed to takes on meaty classics with (genuinely delicious) substitutes – and of course, the tofu here seriously hits the mark. Don’t skip it.

Details: 105 Upper Street, London N1 1QN | Book here | More of London’s best vegan restaurants
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Noodle & Beer | Spitalfields

As restaurant names go, Noodle & Beer is a real time-saver, because it’s what you’re going to end up ordering too. It’s a regional Chinese restaurant that specialises in Sichuan & Chongqing cooking, throwing all of the area’s traditional herbs & spices into hot, nourishing bowls of noodles. Which, of course, you can wash down with some beer.

Details: 31 Bell Lane, Shoreditch, E1 7LA | Book here
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Din Tai Fung | Covent Garden, Selfridges, Centre Point

One word: xiaolongbao, or three words… steamed soup dumplings, or three different words… scientifically optimised dumplings. But, no matter what kind of word association goes on inside your brain in regards to this legendary dumpling chain, it’s a global phenomenon for a reason: perfectly-packaged dumplings (in flavours like pork, crab and beef) that take 40 minutes to make, chicken soup on the side (very necessary) and Taiwanese-inspired cocktails or bubble milk tea as your cleanser to finish.

Details: 5 Henrietta St, WC2E 8PS | Book here
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Master Wei | Bloomsbury

Having effortlessly taken Xi’an Impression into the hearts of Londoners, chef Guirong Wei continues to shine the spotlight on her native Shaanxi cooking with her first solo venture, Master Wei. The highlight here is, again, the biang biang noodles – lovely, chilli-slicked ribbons served with buttery smooth pak choi, textured morsels of pork and tomato and egg – but they should be savoured alongside a slew of Xi’an street food classics, like the potsticker dumplings and rou jia mo flatbread-style burgers.

Details: 13 Cosmo Place, WC1N 3AP | Book here
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Hutong | London Bridge

Perched hundreds of metres above the rest of the city on the 33rd floor of the Shard, Hutong is one of the more glamorous Chinese restaurants in London; filled with red lanterns, dramatic mood lighting and a wishing tree. You can have high hopes for the meal, too – it’ll set you back a fair sum but if you’re splashing out, the table-side Peking duck carving, Champagne-soaked shrimp dumplings and Shandong shredded chicken in butterfly buns is the way to go.

Details: Level 33, The Shard, 31 St Thomas Street, SE1 9RY | Book here
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Wun’s | Soho 

Just when you thought London was going to have to do without a chic, 1960s-Hong-Kong-styled tea room and bar…

…we went and found Wun.

It comes to us courtesy of Z He and Alex Peffly, the same husband and wife team behind Bun House. Z herself is from Hong Kong and apparently felt strongly about creating a place that gave Londoners a taste of the nostalgic Cantonese dishes from her childhood, in a space inspired by what she’d consider to be two classic components of life in HK. It’s a two-floor space, so you can slip into both casual and moody gears, and it’s got excellent food…

Details: 23-24 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4DZ |  Book here | More of the best restaurants in Soho
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Silk Road | Camberwell

Amidst London’s preponderance of Cantonese restaurants comes something completely different. Silk Road takes its culinary influences from Guandong’s polar opposite, Xinjiang (over on the northwestern side of China, bordering Mongolia and Kazakhstan). This region was (spoiler!) at the nexus of the Silk Road trading routes back in the day, and its unique, flavourful cuisine can be hard to track down in London. Silk Road does it justice: chicken gizzards are stir-fried with cumin and chilli; ox tripe, kidneys and lamb fat shish are grilled over charcoal; and Xinjiang’s signature dish is perfectly executed, with on-the-bone chicken floating in a broth singing with green chilli. Order a bowl of noodles to pour into the left-over liquor, and settle in for the evening.

Details: 49 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR | Book here
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Facing Heaven | Hackney

Mao Chow’s vegan Chinese dishes were an instant hit – so much so, that it’s now closed, moved round the corner, and reopened as Facing Heaven. Now, they can accommodate almost twice as many people chowing down on their spicy dan dan noodles, veg and fennel dumplings, Chongqing-style cauliflower and smacked cucumber with garlic – which, ironically, is a breath of fresh air.

Details: 1a Bayford Street, Hackney, E8 3SE | Book here
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My Neighbours The Dumplings | Clapton, Victoria Park

MNTD proved so popular in their Clapton home that a second branch of their dumpling-focussed eatery was only a matter of time. Both the original and My Neighbours The Dumplings Victoria Park are some of the best Chinese restaurants in London for dim sum – potstickers, crispy prawn wonton, scallop & spinach and pork & prawn siu mai – though you’ll also find traditional sides, some Japanese-influenced skewers and a two-page sake menu.

Details: 178-180 Victoria Park Road, Hackney, London, E9 7HD | Book here
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Lucky & Joy | Clapton

Lucky & Joy is swathed in a colourfully tongue-in-cheek aesthetic of purple, green, and blue fluoro-style spot lighting, as well as a flatscreen TV purely playing pictures of animals, just to give it that gloriously kitschy edge. And the food? Is about 50% vegetarian, and 100% straight-up delicious…

Details: 95 Lower Clapton Road, E5 0NP | Book here
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Chinatown | Soho

Unsurprisingly, home to some of the best Chinese restaurants in London. Buckle in for a feast of dim sum or all-you-can-eat buffet, or go on a food crawl. Gerrard Street (and the little alleys spinning off it) is home to specialists in Peking duck, xiaolongbao, hotpot and Cantonese classics – as well as a couple of Chinese bakeries serving tasty buns to go. Check out our Chinatown Guide

Like discovering London’s best restaurants? Peruse our pick of the best restaurants in every London neighbourhood