Imperial China — Restaurant in London

The eight Dim Sums we had were quite authentic Cantonese. Rice noodle rolls 腸粉 were lovely. However, the chicken feet were less spicy and tasty as expected. My friend who brought us there and a regular customer was a bit disappointed too. She thought different chefs may have different preferences of preparing this dish. When a waiter put down a dish, he accidentally spitted a few pork spare ribs onto the table. The way he and his colleague handled the incident (clearing them immediately, bringing away the whole dish and promising giving a new replacement, etc.) showed that they were well trained. Like in many other Chinese restaurants (a tradition??!), the man toilet needed a bit of cleansing. The manager should maintain the space at least a similar standard of hygiene as English pubs'. Besides this blind spot, the restaurant was clean, a breathing space in the busy town with a welcoming and pleasant place to dine in. An old couple next table were having a bottle of red wine, relaxingly eating crispy duck pieces (sorry the way duck meat is prepared is a waste of good food), having small talks, taking their time. On the other side, a table of five customers (not Chinese) were enjoying a number of dim sum and beef stir fried rice noodle 乾炒牛河. Seemingly they knew very well what people should have in a Chinese restaurant. The last point: I don't know why the front is in black, normally not a good colour for Chinese. By contrast the tank of golden fish at the waiting area is a sort of...

This has been our go to Dim Sum restaurant almost a decade. The chef and the owner have always been excellent. Dim Sum is excellent and authentic Cantonese. The rock star dish is the stir fry beef ho fun is fantastic. Definitely a good dinner menu too.

If my review is based on food alone, they will get 4+ stars.

Staff and service is what you will expect in most Chinese restaurants. However a recent staff change resulted this poor review.

As long as you are not Chinese, the head waiter/manager will happily greet you. You can’t miss this middle age with quite a distinctive hair style, thinning hair, pointy in the middle. Yes, the new staffs discriminate their own kind. If you made no prior booking, despite only 1/4 of the restaurant is occupied they will turn you away by putting you off by saying it is cash only (they do accept card of course).

There is a cash point nearby, however it’s 800m away and out of service most of the time.

It’s understandable if he made the assumption my family of 3 will order fewer dishes (less than £40). But being a fairly regular customer, other staff would recognise my family on average order 10+ dishes, bill comes to £80+.

Honestly, I can’t remember when was the last time I carried £100+ cash on me since contactless and Apple Pay has been around.

Perhaps bring along a non-Chinese in your party to be safe?

It’s really a shame the recent experiences we had encountered meant we won’t be returning...

Food ok but unremarkable. Front of house staff very unpleasant, especially the man who seems to be in charge. No standard welcome or acknowledgement upon entering, you have to approach the staff to ask if it is OK to take a seat! On a first occasion we were turned away with the excuse that the wait would be too long because we hadn't booked (the restaurant was busy, but not full). On the second occasion, with just a couple of tables occupied, we were told we could take a seat but that we would have to order quickly because kitchen would be closing in 1h 15' (!?!). As it happened, due to dreadful ambience, we ate and were out well within 35 minutes. Everything served in a cold clinical manner. Staff hovering by, like an execution squad. We were reminded that the orange slices brought with the bill were "on the house". Ironically, SERVICE charge was added automatically (I suppose nobody would tip them otherwise). Two small fried starters, two mains and a shared bowl of rice + 2 cokes amounted to over £60, with service charge on top. Never going to visit again. I think the staff inspire themselves to the "renowned brusque manners" of Wong Keyi in Chinatown, but without having the ambience, the location, the good quality food and generous portions of that restaurant. Poor, very...