Bloomsbury, Chinese Restaurant Guide

“The texture of the perfect hand-pulled wheat noodles is wonderful – toothsome and delicious with just the right amount of chew – and in fragrant and spicy sauces”, all “freshly prepared and swiftly served” at Wei Guirong’s “always busy and excellent value” Shaanxi canteen near Russell Square, which now has a lesser-known sibling in a modern unit just off Hammersmith Broadway (as well as Xi’an Impression and Dream Xi’an). Top Menu Tip – “don’t miss the simple deep, peppery and comforting beef pao-mo soup and the ‘burgers’ with Silk Road spice”.

2022 Review: “A basic restaurant with many fiery dishes” – this student-friendly canteen in Bloomsbury is known for its good prices and lip-tingling Sichuan noodle dishes.

It turns out the ‘infamous cherry blossom’ (their words) at this "stylish" pan-Asian was not inspired by Instagram after all, but, according to its website, by the traditional Chinese Courtyard House of which this splashy venue in the heart of Oxford Street boasts four such areas (each blessed with aforementioned blossom). Fans love it, particularly for the “romantic” potential for an “upscale Asian meal with high-quality classic dishes”. Less starry-eyed folk can feel “you’re paying a lot for the view!” and say “the food is just glorified British/Chinese cuisine”. There’s a wide variety of menus: if you don’t go for the cheaper lunch or two-course evening options, you are quickly into the big bucks.

“Inventive and high-quality Chinese cooking” finds favour for this high-end Cantonese and Hubei venture, near Goodge Street station, run by chef Yipeng Qian, formerly of Hakkasan, MiMi Mei Fair and Gouqi. It uses luxury ingredients including abalone, lobster and geoduck (a giant Pacific clam) and the only concern expressed in our diner feedback is that “while delicious, they may struggle with such expensive set menus for this area”. Thus, we’ve marked it optimistically (despite a stinker of a March 2025 review from The Times’s Giles Coren, who dismissed elements of his experience as ‘Mum’s gone to Iceland’).

In Old Compton Street just off Charing Cross Road, this offshoot of nearby Kung Fu Noodle specialises in biang biang noodles with generous toppings and quickly became something of an online fave rave. In her November 2024 review, the Guardian’s Grace Dent endured long queues, military-style service, and little time to savour the ‘delicious’ dishes (the braised chicken was “a dream… I think of it often”) but even she notes “there are equally wonderful noodles available just streets away” – the limited feedback in our annual diners’ poll errs more to the latter view, dubbing results “average all round”.