Royal China Club — Restaurant in London

If you like being treated like a second class citizens then this is the restaurant for you. These are the most vile, racist and unprofessional establishment I've ever been to. I went there with a couple of friends who were (people of colour) for her birthday. The moment we arrived we were immediately corned. We waited 10 minutes before we could be seated. Once we were seated and tried to make an order we were told we had wait for the manager which I didn't understand, I've never been to a restaurant were I've had to be seen by the manager before placing an order. Once the manager arrived she informed us that we had to make payments before our food would arrive. This was a very unusual method, so I asked the group of people who were sitting beside us and asked them if they had to make payments before dining which they replied "no" they pay after dinning. So I confronted the manager who ironically didn't have an answer and started to pretend like she couldn't understand English. The manager then said "it's because it's a group dinner" which made no sense because the group sitting beside had not been asked the same request. Now I've heard of restaurants asking for a credit card to hold and this usually mandatory for all customers not for a specific group of people. Because it was my friends birthday she didn't want to book another venue so I had no choice. So me and my friends refused to pay service charge, were the manager then said "everyone else pays" which was even more ironic, considering the fact we were not being treated like "everyone else" we ended up not paying and I refused to pay service charge because I refuse to pay for service that is not met. Every time we ordered a drink we were told to make payments first, it was absolutely disgusting how we were being treated. So after my meal one of my friends approached on of the waiters, to where she confronted him about the ill treatment. The waiter replied "it usually you people who don't like to pay" obvious statement meaning black people. Whether that was a regular recurrence at their restaurant, that is still no excuse to treat and judge people based on colour. At that moment I really wished my friend had recorded that conversation but she wasn't with her phone. The only reason why I stayed was because it was my friends birthday and she just wanted to celebrate and she had already made reservations and it was too late to make last minute arrangement. If not, I would have picked up and left. I refuse as black woman to still be judged based on the colour of my skin. Being treated differently and publicly humiliated. This restaurant is trash and their food isn't even that great. If you want to support racists...

I have been coming to Royal China Group’s restaurants since around 2008, when my cousin invited me for dinner. The baker street, the queensway, canary wharf, and both the restaurants at baker street. I remember that back in those days, there weren’t many good chinese food restaurants in London. Royal China was the restaurant I went to with my cousin and her family. I would then start bringing my friends and family there. And when another cousin came to London for university, I took them here too. It has been a restaurant that I prized to everyone not just for the amazing food, but also for the fact that it feels like family restaurants, where you would go to for generations, and people remembers your face. After graduating from a nearby Business School, as expected, I booked the Royal China Club to celebrate my graduation and to have my close friends and family dine at my favourite restaurant. Alas, there was a problem. There was a hefty minimum spend that I agreed to with the resto to have the private room where 12 of us can sit in one table, and after generously ordering food and wine that I thought my folks would love, I realised that we would struggle to meet the min spend. Eventhough I did not mind spending it, my folks are not the type to drink £500 wine or eat £££ abalone/lobster at a chinese restaurant. We just love the usual dimsum, noodles, seabass and ducks. So i asked to speak with the manager to plead that they give some leeway with the min spend as it is a meaningful day for me. They were genuinely quite heartless and upset and told me that I should have told them beforehand if I cannot meet the spend so they can put us (12 ppl) on the regular seats. I understand that the manager n the lady at the reception are just doing their job but their reception to my plead were heart breaking and it broke years and years of warmth I felt to this place. The manager gave me a leeway of £1000 out if £1500 in the end but with very very sour face n continually repeating that I don’t deserve the private room if I cannot spend the min. In the end, I managed to spend just over £1250 out £1500 for 12 of us. My guests were very happy, and sadly not I. I was terribly heart broken.

My consolation was that Royal China had always hire several staffs that were always incredibly kind and courteous with their guests, including our server (and few others) for this occasion. He did not say anything about my situation but gave me a really kind smile. I am going to bed crying a little because I understood that the attitude that I received today was “just business” and perhaps due to time, Royal China is no longer a place I could call home as I am just another faceless customer...

There are days you just have to do dim sum!

I have loved Royal China Club for many years now. The fun and welcoming team, the decor and some of the finest and different dim sum I’ve had anywhere in the world, that take me back to Hong Kong and Macau.

On the outside, is a quiet and hidden exterior, like the misty visage of a har gau dumpling that conceals a delicious adventure inside. Light pours into the shiny red interior that’s decadently laid out with ponds of large banquet tables, brimming and bustling with choreographed staff and happy feasting guests.

We’re warmly greeted by Peter, who welcomes me back. He’s the nicest person and seeing Carmen too, they both bring back too many good memories here.

When getting the menu, I truly enjoy knowing that it will always have a page of seasonal dim sum specials, but am delighted to see so many additions throughout the menu, that I will say right now are incredible, vibrant and expertly created.

First to land… the duck and black pepper pasties, which are light and buttery, are greeted with wagyu beef rolls in a spicy broth and fronds of mushrooms that give the dish a fine noodle texture. A similar familiar favourite are the sea bass rolls filled with cucumber and dressed in glass noodles. A punchy roasted chilli broth meets the fresh sea, which annunciates the whole meal of textures, colours and flavours to come.

The traffic light party of steamed dumplings were stacked with a variety of orange translucent wine and lobster baubles, spicy prawn and green bean shoot style siu mai, and Shanghai soup dumplings filled with crab and pork that popped in the mouth. All too damn excellent that we couldn’t pick a favourite.

A jazzy pink cheung fun with crisp tofu and mixed seafood bounced on the table like Elton John at the piano, whilst we enjoyed plump ravioli-like scallop dumplings, a staircase to heaven of radish cake, and the ever favourite prawn and mango rolls that are a bit like a more funky prawn toast, where the sesame seeds give a great nutty flavour.

After commenting on the BBC’s ‘Great British Menu’ and a chef contestants custard lava buns, we had to finish off with some for dessert. Dark black, decorated in gold, the hot sweet custard excitedly exited the bun. A fitting end to all the pleasurable build up!

I regret it’s been too long since I’ve returned with friends, family and my partner, who visited for the very first time and shared my love. Royal China Club does really ‘touch the heart’. I’ll keep coming back for the magical dim sum and seeing the team, who are a key ingredient to what makes this restaurant so special....