Peony Star Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in London

Really delicious food - fancy Chinese with some fusion innovations, but at a really reasonable price. The chef is apparently from Hong Kong, so practiced and inspired by the cuisine there. I got the vegetarian set menu since there's a minimum of 2 people necessary for a set menu (my husband is vegetarian) - there's a nice-looking meat set menu for those who are not vegetarian.

The whole menu was absolutely brilliant, I usually can rank my favorite dishes, but I think each of the dishes were so uniquely good, that I really can't in this case. The appetizer was delicious, the mock Beijing duck was brilliant (the wraps won't feel like enough, but it absolutely is - split the duck and toppings evenly across the 4 or so wraps and it's perfect. Don't forget to try one with the mint!), and the family style main was great as well, with an impressive sizzling dish and a couple more simple stir fry vegetables.

We finished off with the "fried cheesecake", which is more like a richer version of fried ice cream.

Everything was delicious. I can't wait to come back with more non-vegetarians to try the other set menu!

Edit: I went back and got non-vegetarian set menu and I don't know what happened, it was slightly disappointing compared to the vegetarian one.

The most disappointing was the Peking duck. It was brought out as a leg and then butchered in front of us. I've had Peking duck in multiple places and this is NOT how it should be carved up. Ideally, they slice the crispy skin off, then carve the meat into slightly thicker deli slices. I've seen pictures of it at Poeny where they at least just slice it with both skin and meat. I'd be happy with either. Instead, our waiter shredded it so I couldn't tell what was skin and what was meat. It didn't help that the meat was cooked a bit dry to make the skin especially crispy. The skin was great in the pancake wrapper - a bit too crunchy for easy chewing, but nice texture and flavor. But the meat was not pleasant - stringy and dry. I couldn't even fix it by cooking the leftovers in congee.

Other than this, the rest of the meat set menu was good. The best part was the dimsum starter - the chewy rice skin was absolutely perfect. I didn't really like the chicken dumpling but they excelled at the truffle and the shrimp ones.

The actual meal was also decent - I liked the chicken dish - about tender though it was a bit salty. The fried beef sticks was interesting, but I think after the dry and crispy duck, I wasn't really in the mood for more fried dishes. The vegetables were all pleasant and nice contrast to the heavier meat dishes.

I also ordered xiaolongbao and it was good - not exploding with juice, but juicy enough and good proportion of meat to skin. It's on the smaller side, which is good considering we didn't get soup spoons to eat them in.

I also ordered mala tofu and that was superb. Very ma spicy. I brought back some of the left over sauce and onions and it was delicious stir fried...

We had an exceptional and well executed, DELICIOUS lunch with a party of 4 family members. The food is delectable, well presented and just divine - there is an extensive menu (some set menu options which looked to be very good value) but we went off piste on this occasion. We ordered the Dim Sum assortment (comprising jad chive and prawn toast, kimchi chicken, XO scallops, black truffle vegetarian), the Hors D'Oeuvres assortment followed by Taiwanese San Bei chicken, Braised Aubergine and Tofu with Sichuan sauce, braised lamb and braised pork belly for mains all accompanied by egg fried rice with spring onions and a side dish of green veg. It was of such a high standard and quality with melt in the mouth meats - just so yummy. And our cups of jasmine tea were continually replenished. Cathy who welcomed and served us was just so lovely, friendly, patient and made helpful suggestions. This is a beautifully decorated and impressive restaurant setting (lots of gleaming marble and the toliets are so clean and pristine) and is as far from a Chinatown restaurant as you can imagine. We were there mid week at lunchtime so it was quiet but I imagine that the weekends are very busy here. Please do make the time and effort to come and dine here - it's such a wonderful experience and the Food an absolute delight! We will be coming back to the restaurant and you can also order through Deliveroo and similar but this is no substitute for dining in the restaurant and the exceptional...

Just one word - wow! 😍 As someone who grew up with Cantonese cuisine, I can confidently say this hidden gem sets a new standard for Chinese food in London. Really refreshing fusion twist on classic Cantonese dishes without losing authenticity. The dishes are visually vibrant, yet the flavours remain clean and refined - a testament to the chef’s skill and craftsmanship. We’ve been here 3 times now and we’ve tried a few different dishes every time - all consistently excellent.

My husband is gluten free/celiac and eating Chinese food at a restaurant is always a challenge. The staff has been so accommodating and understanding, ensuring that all our dishes are cooked GF. Communication on this front has been exceptional. Now my husband is finally able to try and enjoy dim sum, roasted duck, honey bbq spare ribs, and crispy shredded beef (he is one of the luckiest gf people in the world 😆). They even have a handy allergen chart. Very thoughtful and professional.

Echoing many of the other reviews here, the service is truly exceptional and they really go the extra mile to ensure you have the best experience possible. Cathy is a star and we really enjoy her company when we are here. Everything is super clean and tidy and your glass is always full 😄

This is now one of our favourite restaurants in London and we can’t...