Best restaurants in Chinatown: where to eat and drink

Best restaurants in Chinatown

Chinatown Bakery – best bakery in Chinatown

Situated right next to the Chinatown gate, this is the perfect spot for a baked treat. Grab a plastic tray and load it up with one of everything, from the soft and delicate pandan cake with its pastel green hue, to Hello Kitty mooncakes filled with salted egg yolk (the salty and sweet combo is wonderful). If you’re more of a savoury person, the chicken and pork floss buns are excellent. Of course, you can get the famous taiyaki fish-shaped treats, filled with everything from red bean paste to ice cream or Nutella. There’s also a branch round the corner on Newport Place, so you’re never too far from these delicious baked goods.

Good Friend – for fried chicken

Chinatown’s fried chicken joint has a Taiwanese twist. Queue up at this small takeaway for fried-to-order pieces of chicken in a variety of shapes and sizes. The owners brought their oven over from Taiwan to ensure authenticity, and the chicken is cooked in the oven then fried at two different temperatures to make extra juicy and tender. The ultimate crumb is achieved by tossing the chicken in three different flours before frying, making this the one of the crunchiest fried chickens we’ve tasted.

Pimp your snack with a sprinkling of one or a mixture of seven seasonings – Thai spice, salt and pepper, chilli, or the more unusual but popular plum.

14 Little Newport Street, Chinatown London

Pochawa Grill – for Korean food

This Korean BBQ spot is a great place to take groups of friends for an interactive eating experience, but it is still excellent if you don’t fancy firing up the grill. If you do then you can choose from delicious bulgogi (thin beef slices marinated in sweet soy sauce), pork belly, tongue and short ribs with spicy gochujang, chilli and garlic to serve once it’s been grilled to perfection. In traditional Korean style, anything you order will come with a selection of banchan, which are a variety of small side dishes which are full of flavour and texture. The cheese kimchi jeon is funky, salty and oozing with cheese. Not to miss are the bowls of bibimbap, which are fresh and full of texture. There is also a great selection of cocktails made with the rice liquor soju. They don’t take reservations for eating, so get there early to avoid the queues. Pochawa Grill does take bookings for karaoke downstairs, if you’re looking for both dinner and entertainment. pochawagrill.com

Dumplings Legend – for dumplings

This large Cantonese restaurant lives up to its name, making approximately 8,000 dumplings a day. With 27 dim sum varieties to choose from, the menu can be overwhelming, but peer into the glass-fronted dedicated dumpling station to watch chefs roll out, fill and weave together intricate little parcels. Take your pick from comet-shaped prawn wontons, tightly-packed juicy sui mai garnished with cod’s roe, and plump steamed prawn dumplings.

There are eight varieties of xiu loung bao soup dumplings (spicy pork, pork and crab, veggie to name a few), and there’s even a guide to eating these slippery little mouthfuls alongside the menu. The fragrant meaty stock liquefies in the steamer and then bursts out of its case, so be careful not to burn your mouth.

15-16 Gerrard Street, Chinatown London

Golden Phoenix – for Chinese classics

Every establishment in Chinatown has a remarkable diasporic story to tell and Golden Phoenix – right in the heart of Gerrard Street – has one that spans generations. Today it’s Maria Lai Lentz who oversees things – the daughter of the original owner, who established the restaurant over 30 years ago after arriving in London from Hong Kong. He was one of the original Chinatown pioneers but sadly passed away during Covid. Today, their handmade dim sum, Cantonese style roast duck, and congees are amongst some of the best around. Try the crab, scallop and pumpkin dumplings, the BBQ pork puff pastries, or the deep-fried prawn dumplings served with salad cream! goldenphoenixchinatown.co.uk

KOVA – for Japanese patisserie

Kova is the master of delicate Japanese patisserie and especially famous for its mille crêpe cakes. These are elegant cakes made from layers of thin crêpes with cream fillings, in flavours such as earl grey, matcha, taro and Oreo. The matcha flavour is delicately balanced with a good level of sweetness. It also offers shokupan bread – a fluffy type of Japanese milk bread – and bubble tea to wash it all down. kovapatisserie.com

Bun House – for a sweet treat

The salted egg yolk custard buns at Bun House are famous for a reason. They are filled to the brim with a salted egg yolk custard, which oozes out when you bite it, so handle with caution! The kaya toast is an absolute highlight – kaya is a coconut spread, which is sweet and caramelly. The flavour is balanced with the floral lightness of the jasmine clotted cream. The savoury options are extensive, too, if you wanted to make a meal out of it. bun.house

Tsujiri – for matcha

These guys really know their matcha. Serving ceremonial-grade matcha with a variety of flavour add-ons and milk choices, you can tailor your drink to suit you. Tsujiri also does a variety of desserts, such as soft serve, sundaes and shaved ice, all with matcha at the forefront. If you’re getting into matcha, why not try it with strawberry or red bean, for a sweeter intro to the drink. tsujiri.co.uk

Viet Lounge – for cocktails

Fans of speakeasy-style bars should check out Viet Lounge, a slinky drinks den tucked away on the third floor of Viet Food. Here, mixologist Alex Loois (The Dorchester, Park Chinois and Hakkasan) uses ingredient such as yuzu and szechuan pepper to create syrups and cordials for his drinks. Enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail or two (try the Hakuna Matata, made with homemade yuzu syrup, limoncello, lemon curd and champagne) before heading downstairs to the restaurant to feast on head chef Jeff Tan's Vietnamese dishes, from slow-cooked phos to octopus salsa and seafood pancakes.

34-36 Wardour Street, Chinatown

YiQi – for pan-Asian dishes

YiQi, which translates to ‘together’ in Mandarin, is the latest addition to an ever-evolving London Chinatown with a focus on dishes hand-picked from across Southeast Asia. At the helm is executive chef Stanley Lum Wah Cheok, who was formerly chef de cuisine at Hakkasan Group, the first Chinese restaurant to be given a Michelin star. Set over two floors with sleek, contemporary décor – including a wall made entirely of abacuses – the 80-cover restaurant adds a modern spark to an area that is famed for upholding traditions and, in the process, might create new ones of its own. yiqipanasia.co.uk

14 Lisle Street, Chinatown

C&R Café – for laksa

Hidden away down a narrow side street, this no-frills Malaysian restaurant has somewhat of a cult following for its laksa, a spicy, sumptuous noodle soup (C&R offers two regional variations, sour assam laksa and sweeter, coconut-milk-based Singapore laksa). You can also find other Malaysian classics on the menu, including Hainanese poached chicken with rice, nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk with dried anchovies, peanuts, boiled eggs, sambal and chicken curry) and roti canai (flaky, buttery flatbreads). cnrcaferestaurant.com

4-5 Rupert Court, Chinatown

Shu Xiangge – for hot pot

Hugely popular in China, hot pot is as it sounds: a pot of broth bubbles away on a burner in the middle of a table, and diners (carefully) toss in raw ingredients to cook and eat. Shu Xiangge specialises in the fiery Szechuan style – chilli-laced broths (with numbing szechuanese peppercorns, to balance the heat), although gentler options are also available for the heat-averse. Perfect for groups, order a selection of finely sliced raw meat and fish, tofu and vegetables (offal fans should try the more traditional offerings, which include the likes of tripe, brains and aorta) and get cooking. shuxiangge.uk

43 New Oxford Street, Chinatown

Jinli – for Szechuanese food

Spice lovers should make a beeline to this much-garlanded restaurant for its hyper-local take on Szechuanese cuisine. Focussing on the dishes of Chengdu (the capital of Sichuan province), Jinli is named after a thoroughfare in the city famous for its street-food dishes. Discover a wealth of well-executed regional classics (and some interesting twists), from grilled cumin-spiked lamb to blistered, stir-fried green beans with minced pork and sour and spicy braised aubergines. jinli.co.uk/en

4 Leicester Street, Chinatown

Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream – for Filipino desserts

People may head to Chinatown in search of bronzed roast duck or sumptuous dim sum, but the area is also a hot spot for quirky, interesting desserts, from Tsujiri's black sesame soft serve and Bake's fish-shaped Japanese taiyaki cakes filled with custard (see below), to Yolkin's ice cream macaron sandwiches. One of the newer arrivals is ice cream parlour Mamasons, where Filipino ingredients such as ube (purple yam) and calamansi (a cross between a lime and a kumquat) are used to make colourful ice creams. It also offers other treats such as bilogs (ice cream in a toasted milk bun), halo halo shakes (coconut strands, sweet red bean, shaved ice, egg flan and ube ice cream) and freshly baked Filipino bread. dirtyicecream.co.uk

32 Newport Court, Chinatown

Opium – for a unique cocktail bar

It’s easy to miss the subtly-marked entrance to the best cocktail bar in Chinatown, as it’s just a black door between two restaurants on busy Gerrard Street. Venture up the narrow stairway, however, and the space opens out into a warren of cocktail dens spread over two floors.

The first floor is the apothecary, where Chinese medicine bottles sit behind the red and green wooden bar, each filled with a decanted spirit for signature cocktails. Try the bitter sweet boulevardier; a concoction of Michter’s bourbon, bitter Cocchi Americano and vanilla Campari that gives the drink its name. The separate zodiac cocktail menu showcases cocktails in elaborate vessels. The rat is a ceramic vase-like pot that overflows with smoke on arrival, filled with a punchy combination of vodka and smoky mezcal with spiced apple, ginger and lemon tea.

Upstairs in the attic, portraits of the owner’s ancestors watch over as you snuggle into comfy mismatched chairs. There’s a little area (and yet another bar) tucked away around the corner decked out like an old Chinese train carriage, complete with suitcases and wooden-clad ceilings. The menu up here reflects the surroundings – salted caramel sazeracs twisted with coffee liqueur, and apricot and cardamom old fashioneds with chocolate bitters.

Wherever you choose to park, order a round of dim sum to accompany your cocktails. Go for seabass and fennel dim sum for something a bit different, or taste all the classics (siu mai, har gau, fluffy char siu bau) on a platter. opiumchinatown.com

15-16 Gerrard Street, Chinatown London

Rasa Sayang – for Malaysian food

Rasa Sayang means “loving feeling” in Malaysian, and this simple café provides just that to their customers. Pretty tiffin boxes and kitsch ornaments (tiny red and white plastic chairs) lining the shelves, and an extensive menu of authentic, halal Malaysian dishes are true to Malaysian cafés.

Get stuck into the comfort food and dip super light and chewy pull-apart roti into curry sauce to scoop up tender pieces of chicken, or indulge in melting pieces of beef coated in fragrant rendang curry. We’ve heard the Singapore chilli crab is pretty epic, too. rasasayangfood.com

5 Macclesfield Street, Chinatown London

Plum Valley – for Chinese fusion

If you’re looking for a contemporary fusion meal in Chinatown, Plum Valley is the place. Owners Iris and Stanley turned quite a few heads in the Chinese community when they threw tradition out the window and revamped Stanley’s dad’s bookshop to create this modern restaurant. The multi-storey building is separated by candlelit staircases and dark corridors that open out into small dining rooms with slick interiors brightened up by Gaudi-esque touches reminiscent of Chinese gardens (tile effects at the windows, lattice floor dividers, mosaics).

Start with a refreshing lychee martini and order a selection of dim sum. The head dim sum chef has a team of seven, and they play around with traditional recipes to create modern twists such as wasabi prawn dumplings, vibrant green spinach cases, and cod rolls wrapped in wispy strands of kataifi pastry. plumvalley.co.uk

20 Gerrard Street, Chinatown London

Orient London – for Cantonese

Orient London serves three menus – dim sum, Chinese, and a set menu. If you want to try something adventurous (including braised sea cucumber with fish lips, marinated spicy duck tongues, and fresh lobster with turnip paste and pepper sauce), make sure you ask your waiter for the ‘Chinese’ menu.

The set menu sticks to the classics – hot & sour soup, crispy duck, sizzling king prawn – and delivers them well, at good prices. Cantonese style sweet & sour pork is coated in a thick, glossy sauce with just the right level of sweetness, and sticky pan fried fillet of sea bass with teriyaki marinade comes in bite-size pieces. orientlondon.com

Read our full review of Orient London here.

Hovarda – for Turkish food

A sophisticated Aegean-inspired restaurant in Chinatown serving refined Turkish food in a relaxed setting. Leave room for a plate of lokma – Turkish doughnuts that came light and crunchy, with a sticky honey syrup, topped with crunchy walnuts and a gently spiced cinnamon ice cream. hovarda.london

We chat about the best dumplings in Chinatown on our podcast here:

For more information, visit Chinatown.co.uk

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