London Chinatown Restaurant is a long established Cantonese dining room on Gerrard Street in the centre of Chinatown. The restaurant has occupied the address since 1980, inside a nineteenth century building whose tiled stairs still carry the words Hotel de Boulogne. Its setting and extensive menu make it suitable for a quick dim sum lunch, a family meal or a larger Chinese banquet.
Daytime dim sum brings together many of the best known Cantonese favourites. Char siu buns, steamed dumplings and smooth cheung fun rice rolls can be ordered in several baskets for the whole table to share. The combination of soft steamed dough, delicate fillings and savoury sauces creates a varied opening to the meal without requiring every diner to choose a separate starter.
The main menu covers seafood, meat and vegetables in traditional Cantonese preparations. Fresh scallops are gently steamed, prawns are stir fried with seasonal vegetables, and barbecued roast duck supplies a richer centrepiece. Sizzling platters arrive at the table hot and aromatic, adding theatre as well as keeping meat, seafood and vegetables warm throughout a shared dinner.
Rice and noodle dishes can turn a selection of smaller plates into a complete meal, while vegetable choices make it easy to balance richer roast and seafood dishes. Sweet dim sum includes chrysanthemum pudding and egg custard tarts, offering a distinctly Cantonese finish. This breadth, together with the historic Gerrard Street location and long service hours, explains the restaurant’s enduring place in London’s Chinatown.
Address: 27 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, London W1D 6JN, United Kingdom