Soho, Chinese Restaurant Guide

“Dim sum are top class – beautifully presented and all of them delicious” – at this slick, “fun” and hugely popular Chinese-inspired duo (originally created by Hakkasan and Wagamama founder, Alan Yau), whose stylish looks are “verging on bling, but well done”. Both branches score highly, although the well-established Soho original still has the edge over the relatively new Broadgate Circle branch. “Great cocktails” too – “their tea is also exquisite”. Top Tip: cool terrace in EC2.

Chinese-meets-gastropub is the formula under test at this three-year-old venture on Soho’s atmospheric Berwick Street Market – the brainchild of serial restaurant creator Alan Yau. The “delightful dishes” and “lovely” contemporary design do go down well with most reporters, but there’s little sign just yet that he has another tearaway hit like Wagamama on his hands.

“My go-to place for dim sum”, this substantial Chinatown operation looks “rather touristy” but pleases the crowd with Cantonese favourites including “the best roast duck in town”. It now has an offshoot in the new Bang Bang Oriental food hall in Colindale.

“It’s a bit of a dive” with “charmless” service (“you have to queue even if you’ve booked”) but everyone raves about the “divine” duck – “the best in London” – and other “brilliant barbecued meats and roast pork” at these clattery canteens in Chinatown and Bayswater.

“Always an experience… so long as you are prepared for shared tables and bordering-on-rude staff” – this “functional” multi-storey Chinatown canteen “is the perfect place for a quick, filling, tasty meal amidst a chaotic, bustling backdrop” and as you can get “unlimited free tea” and “a massive plate of food for under a tenner – you can’t go wrong!” “OK, it’s not for the lingering, romantic tete-a-tete… so what?”