Southwark, Chinese Restaurant Guide

“Brilliant, lip-numbing” northern Chinese cooking has put this Soho fixture from Wei Shao firmly on the map, and it serves a flexible menu of skewers, noodles and rice, wok dishes and other dim sum options. Some feel its Borough Market offshoot is “weak” by comparison (“it’s as if the Soho one benefits from the proximity of Chinatown but they don’t expect anyone with any discernment in SE1!”).

“Really stunning panoramas of course” are a high point of this 35th-floor perch, high up The Shard, which is open all day from early on, and which fans say is “a brilliant breakfast venue”. English-style Afternoon Tea is also a feature, but by night the cuisine turns Asian. Fans say “presentation here is first class and if you get a view it’s worth every penny”. There’s not sufficient feedback, though, for a really wholehearted recommendation as a culinary destination.

“Arriving before sunset and watching London as it transforms from day to night is of itself superb and worth the visit”, say fans of this swish Chinese venue (part of Hong Kong’s Aqua group) on the 33rd floor of The Shard (“stunning if an important client is being entertained”, making it a favourite for schmoozy business occasions). Unsurprisingly it’s not a cheap meal, and does inspire the occasional accusation that it is “overpriced and average” – however, a majority of diners consider it “consistent” and “surprisingly good” for somewhere with such a “knockout view”. One hazard, though, can be “the number of other diners taking photos of anything and everything!”