RFK Cuisine · Chinese · London
Best Chinese Restaurants in London 2026
Chinese · London · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
In 2021 a restaurant in Pimlico became the first Chinese kitchen anywhere outside Asia to hold two Michelin stars. That restaurant, Andrew Wong's A.Wong, still stands alone: it is the only Chinese room in London with a star at all in 2026, after the grand Cantonese names of the 2000s, Hakkasan, Yauatcha, Kai, quietly lost theirs. London's Chinese dining is in an odd, interesting moment, with one kitchen far out ahead and a clutch of opulent rooms below it trading on history, view and the city's best Peking duck. This guide ranks the six worth a serious evening, judged on the cooking, the room and what the bill buys, with what to order at each.
1.A.Wong
The first Chinese restaurant outside Asia to win two stars; book weeks ahead for the most ambitious Chinese cooking in Britain.
A.Wong is the clear best Chinese restaurant in London and one of the most important in the Western world, holding two Michelin stars since 2021, the first Chinese kitchen outside Asia to do so. Chef Andrew Wong runs it from his family's old site at 70 Wilton Road in Pimlico, cooking a modern survey of regional China that moves from Cantonese dim sum to Sichuan, Yunnan and beyond. The signatures are dazzling: Memories of Peking Duck, the classic reworked with seared foie gras, and the 999-layer scallop puff. The "Taste of China" tasting menu is the full statement, the a la carte and lunchtime dim sum a more affordable way in. This is the reservation to build an evening around. Book several weeks ahead through the restaurant.
Book weeks ahead; the Taste of China tasting and the Peking duck.
2.Hakkasan Mayfair
The room that won Britain's first Chinese Michelin star; book for glamorous, dark-glass Cantonese dining that still delivers.
Hakkasan changed how Britain ate Chinese food: its original Hanway Place site became the first Chinese restaurant in the country to win a Michelin star in 2003. The Mayfair branch at 17 Bruton Street carries that legacy in a glamorous, low-lit room of dark wood and blue glass, and although the group lost its star in 2024 the cooking remains seriously good. Order the crispy duck salad, the Peking duck with caviar, and the grilled Chilean sea bass in honey, the dishes that built the reputation. It is a night out as much as a meal, the room as much the point as the plate. Go for a dressed-up dinner with a cocktail-bar prelude. Book a week or two ahead through OpenTable.
Reserve a week or two ahead; the crispy duck salad and the sea bass.
3.Kai Mayfair
Fifteen years of Michelin stardom and a famously indulgent menu; book ahead for Mayfair Chinese at full, unapologetic luxury.
Kai Mayfair held a Michelin star for fifteen unbroken years, from 2009 to 2024, the longest run of any Chinese restaurant in London, under chef Alex Chow at 65 South Audley Street. The cooking is unapologetically rich and luxury-led: the celebrated "Rich Uncle's beef," the wasabi prawns, and slow-cooked abalone and lobster dishes that read like a Hong Kong banquet menu translated for Mayfair. The room is plush and discreet, built for special occasions and expense-account dinners rather than a casual bite. The lost star has not changed the kitchen's ambition. Go when you want Chinese cooking at its most indulgent and the bill is not the deciding factor. Book several days to a week ahead.
Book ahead; the Rich Uncle's beef and the wasabi prawns.
4.Yauatcha Soho
London's defining modern dim sum room, starred for fourteen years; walk in to the bar for the city's most stylish lunch.
Yauatcha is the dim sum room that taught London to take the form seriously, opened by Alan Yau in 2004 at 15-17 Broadwick Street in Soho and holding a Michelin star from 2005 to 2019. The all-day teahouse format is its own thing: delicate steamed and fried dumplings, prawn and beancurd cheung fun, venison puffs, alongside a patisserie counter of jewel-like cakes and macarons that few Chinese restaurants attempt. It is the most accessible room on this list and the easiest to drop into, the bar seating designed for walk-ins. Go for a long, stylish lunch or an early evening of dim sum and tea. Reserve at peak times, but the bar will usually take a single diner or a pair.
Walk in to the bar or book peak times; the cheung fun and the dim sum.
5.Min Jiang
London's best wood-fired Beijing duck, carved tableside ten floors up; book a window table for the duck and the Kensington view.
Min Jiang is the duck specialist, on the tenth floor of the Royal Garden Hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Open since 2008, its signature is the wood-fired Beijing duck, roasted in a traditional oven and carved at the table in two courses, the crisp skin served first with sugar, then the meat in pancakes, and it is widely held to be the best version in the city. The wider Cantonese menu is strong, but the duck, which should be pre-ordered, is the reason to come. The view over the royal parks is the other. Go for a duck dinner with one of London's best dining-room outlooks. Book a window table a week or two ahead and order the duck when you reserve.
Book a window table and pre-order the duck; the two-course Beijing duck.
6.Hutong
Fiery northern Chinese cooking thirty-three floors up The Shard; book sunset for a view that does half the work.
Hutong sits on Level 33 of The Shard at 31 St Thomas Street, one of the highest dining rooms in London, serving northern Chinese cooking with a sister restaurant in Hong Kong. The kitchen leans spicy and dramatic, the red lantern soft-shell crab in a heap of dried chillies, the Peking duck, the cumin-spiced lamb, food built to match the theatre of the room and the view across the city to St Paul's. It is unapologetically a destination, priced and positioned for an occasion rather than a quiet local dinner. Go at dusk, when the light over London is the second course. Book a window table well ahead through the restaurant or OpenTable, sunset slots first to go.
Reserve a sunset window table; the red lantern soft-shell crab and the duck.
How London eats Chinese
London's Chinese dining splits into three layers. At the top is the modern, regional fine dining of A.Wong, the only starred Chinese kitchen left in the city and the one pushing the cooking forward. Below it are the glamorous Cantonese institutions, Hakkasan, Kai, Yauatcha, that defined upscale Chinese dining in the 2000s and still deliver even after losing their stars. And alongside them sit the specialists, Min Jiang and Hutong, where a single dish, the wood-fired Beijing duck, or a single asset, the view, is the draw. Soho's Chinatown is a separate, more casual world worth its own trip.
The etiquette is straightforward. Most of these rooms expect smart-casual dress, with Kai and the Shard a notch up, and service is added at the usual London 12.5 percent. Pre-order the duck at Min Jiang and Hutong, since it is roasted to order, and book window tables at the view rooms well ahead. A.Wong is the only one that needs weeks of notice. The London dining guide maps the wider city, and the best Chinese restaurants worldwide set these rooms against Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for serious Chinese in London
Chinatown, if you want fine dining. Soho's Chinatown is a genuine pleasure for roast meats, hand-pulled noodles and late-night bowls, but it is a different category from the rooms above. Go there for atmosphere and value, not for a starred dinner; do not expect the two to overlap.
Hutong, if the food matters more than the height. The Shard view is spectacular and the cooking is good, but you are paying a premium for the altitude. If it is the best Chinese cooking you want rather than the best outlook, A.Wong and Min Jiang deliver more on the plate for the money.
Frequently asked
What is the best Chinese restaurant in London?
A.Wong in Pimlico is the best Chinese restaurant in London and the only one in the city currently holding Michelin stars, with two. Chef Andrew Wong made it the first Chinese restaurant outside Asia to earn two stars in 2021, and it cooks a modern survey of regional China across its tasting menus. Behind it sit the grand Cantonese rooms, Hakkasan Mayfair, Kai Mayfair and Yauatcha Soho, all former star holders, plus the duck specialists Min Jiang and Hutong.
Which London Chinese restaurants have Michelin stars?
As of the 2026 Michelin Guide, A.Wong is the only Chinese restaurant in London holding stars, with two. The city's other grand Chinese rooms have lost theirs over recent years: Hakkasan, which in 2003 became the first Chinese restaurant in Britain to win a star, dropped it in 2024; Yauatcha held one from 2005 to 2019; and Kai Mayfair held one from 2009 to 2024. They remain excellent, but A.Wong now stands alone at the top of the city's starred Chinese cooking.
Where is the best Peking duck in London?
Min Jiang, on the tenth floor of the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, is the specialist: its wood-fired Beijing duck is carved tableside and served in two courses, and it is widely considered London's best. Hutong, high in The Shard, also does a strong northern-style duck with a view. For a more modern take, A.Wong's Memories of Peking Duck reworks the dish with seared foie gras. Min Jiang's is the one to book if the duck itself is the point.
How much do London's best Chinese restaurants cost?
It varies widely by format. A.Wong's tasting menus run roughly 150 pounds and up per person, while its a la carte and dim sum are far cheaper. Hakkasan and Kai are firmly fine-dining, around 80 to 140 pounds a head before drinks; Min Jiang and Hutong sit a little below. Yauatcha's dim sum is the most accessible, often 40 to 70 pounds. Across all of them, drinks, the duck supplement and service push the final bill higher.
Do you need to book Chinese restaurants in London?
For these six, yes. A.Wong is the hardest seat in the city's Chinese scene and needs booking several weeks ahead, especially for its tasting menus. Hakkasan, Kai, Min Jiang and Hutong take OpenTable or direct bookings a week or two out, with weekend evenings and window tables at Hutong and Min Jiang the first to go. Yauatcha is more walk-in friendly at the bar but worth reserving at peak times. Note dietary needs when you book.
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