Harden's survey result
Summary
“It’s worth the spartan interior and mixed service to eat the roast duck and/or char siu pork” at these Cantonese canteens, where “the best roast duck in the world is the claim” – from no less an authority than The FT – “and it must be up there” with “meat and crispy skin so well done (no pun intended)”; and don’t forget “the crispy pork belly – an especial fat-lover’s treat!”. Launched in Queensway 34 years ago, the group now has three venues around Chinatown plus the new Chop Chop nearby in the Hippodrome Casino. Further afield there are outlets in Colindale’s Bang Bang Oriental food hall, Oxford and Leicester.
Summary
“The roast duck is extraordinarily delicious and just melts in the mouth” (and the rest of the menu is worthy of exploration too) at these “squashed in” Cantonese pit stops in Bayswater and Chinatown, which waste little energy on interior design or customer service. (A new branch ‘Chop Chop’, is set to open in the basement of the Hippodrome casino, near Leicester Square, over summer 2022).
Summary
“Cheap ’n’ cheerful roast duck and other Cantonese roast meats” have won a big following for this Chinese quartet, with the “mothership” in Bayswater hailed as “still the best roast duck in the country”. But the “excellent food is let down by indifferent service” – a steady theme over the years; likewise, the interiors are unlikely to grace the pages of a design magazine any time soon.
Summary
“The service is passable and the ambience is poor” at this group in Chinatown and Bayswater – “but you only go for one thing: the barbecued/roast meat”, especially the “famous” and “perfect Cantonese roast duck and the char siu pork”. They might be “a bit too authentic these days”, but they’re still “hard to beat for Chinese food”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Four Seasons (Gerrard Street)?
Restaurant details
Four Seasons (Gerrard Street) Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Had a lunch to celebrate Chinese New Year. All very tasty."
"It’s true, the duck is very good, and the pork equally so, but the service is comically, disastrously rude, and the downstairs area so devoid of atmosphere you could be eating in a refectory. Is it worth the rudeness to eat the delicious duck and pork? Your arteries will probably thank you if you don’t go too often. "
"You don't go for the service. You definitely don't go for the ambience. You go for the duck. Or, if you're really smart, the roast pork. Or even better, the pork and the duck. Enjoy."
Opening hours
Last orders: 1 am
Best Chinese restaurants nearby
Chinese restaurant in Chinatown
Chinese restaurant in Soho
Chinese restaurant in Soho
Best similarly priced restaurants nearby
Chinese restaurant in Chinatown
Chinese restaurant in Soho
Chinese restaurant in Soho
