RFK Cuisine · Dim Sum · London
Best Dim Sum Restaurants in London 2026
Cantonese & Taiwanese dim sum · London · 7 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
London has exactly one dim sum lunch with two Michelin stars behind it, and it is the best in Europe. Andrew Wong serves his "Touch of the Heart" menu at midday on Wilton Road, reinventing the steamer-basket canon dish by dish, and nothing else in the city is on that level. But the depth below it is the real story: a glamorous Soho tea house, a Cantonese dining room inside The Peninsula, a Taiwanese soup-dumpling phenomenon, and a clutch of old-school rooms in Marylebone and Paddington pushing trolleys of har gow at neighbourhood prices. London dim sum runs from a £20 weekend spread to a £60 tasting, and the gap is enormous. Ranked here on the cooking, the room and value, with the order to make at each.
1.A. Wong
The only two-star dim sum lunch in London; book the midday 'Touch of the Heart' menu for the most inventive steamer basket in Europe.
A. Wong, at 70 Wilton Road in Victoria, is the most decorated Chinese restaurant in London, holding two Michelin stars under chef-owner Andrew Wong, who travelled across China and brought the research home to his parents' old site. Dim sum is a lunch service here, through the à la carte and the "Touch of the Heart" dim sum tasting, and every dish is a recognisable form pushed somewhere new: a Shanghai steamed dumpling with ginger-infused vinegar, a crispy quail's egg croquette, a char siu puff with proper lacquer. The room is smart but unstuffy, the cooking serious without ceremony. It is the dim sum to build a trip around and the one against which the rest are measured. Book the lunch sitting weeks ahead.
Book lunch weeks ahead; the 'Touch of the Heart' menu and the Shanghai steamed dumpling.
2.Yauatcha
The glamorous Soho tea house that brought modern dim sum to London; book for scallop shui mai, venison puffs and a patisserie counter.
Yauatcha, on Broadwick Street in Soho, opened in 2004 and remains London's defining all-day dim sum tea house, a Michelin-recognised room from the Hakkasan group that pairs steamer baskets with cocktails, tea and a French-style patisserie counter. The dim sum is polished and consistent: the scallop shui mai, the venison puff and the prawn and lobster dumpling are the markers, served from morning through late in a dark, glamorous downstairs and a lighter tea room above. It is the most stylish dim sum in central London and the easiest to fold into a Soho night, with the macarons and a glass of something to finish. It runs pricier than the Cantonese stalwarts but earns the room. Book ahead, especially for the evening.
Book ahead; the scallop shui mai, the venison puff and a few patisserie pieces to finish.
3.Canton Blue
The Cantonese dining room inside The Peninsula; book for refined, classical dim sum in the most glamorous hotel setting in London.
Canton Blue sits inside The Peninsula London near Hyde Park Corner, the Cantonese dining room of the city's most lavish recent hotel opening, and it carries a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025. The room is the draw as much as the cooking, an elegant, clubby space with sumptuous furnishings and an adjoining cocktail bar, Little Blue, and the relatively short dim sum menu is executed with a real degree of delicacy, classical dishes done precisely rather than reinvented. It is the pick when the occasion calls for grandeur, a hotel-level lunch where the setting does half the work. Expect the highest dim sum bill in the city after A. Wong's tasting. Book through The Peninsula well in advance.
Reserve through The Peninsula; the classical steamed dim sum and a cocktail at Little Blue.
4.Phoenix Palace
The 250-seat Marylebone institution beloved by Chinese tourists and politicians alike; go for classic har gow and cheung fun at honest prices.
Phoenix Palace, at 3 to 5 Glentworth Street near Baker Street, has served grand-old-style Cantonese food for more than twenty years, a 250-seat room with striking décor and a menu of more than 300 dishes. It is the traditional dim sum benchmark in central London: har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, cheung fun and turnip cake done properly and priced for a real lunch rather than an occasion, which is why it draws a famously mixed crowd of Chinese tourists and Westminster regulars. There is nothing modern about it, and that is the appeal, a big, busy, dependable room doing the canon at neighbourhood prices. Book a weekend table and come before 1pm to beat the rush.
Book a weekend lunch, arrive before 1pm; the har gow, the cheung fun and a baked char siu bun.
5.Din Tai Fung
The Taiwanese soup-dumpling phenomenon, eighteen folds a dumpling; go for the xiao long bao when you want the city's best dumpling in a canteen.
Din Tai Fung, with London rooms in Covent Garden and at Centre Point, is the first UK outpost of the Taiwanese chain whose first Hong Kong branch won a Michelin star, and it is listed in the Michelin Guide here. The order is the xiao long bao, the soup dumpling pleated with exactly eighteen folds and filled with a scalding pork broth, watched through a glass kitchen window as the cooks turn them out. Set over two bustling floors, it is fast, canteen-style and reliably excellent, with sticky ribs, greens and fried rice to round it out. It is not Cantonese dim sum but the best dumpling in the city for the money, and the most fun with a group. Walk in or book; both rooms run lines.
Walk in or book; the xiao long bao, the truffle pork dumplings and a side of greens.
6.Pearl Liang
The Paddington Cantonese with a strong, well-priced weekend dim sum; go for roast meats and steamer baskets a short walk from the station.
Pearl Liang, tucked into Sheldon Square in Paddington Central, is the dependable West London Cantonese that locals book for dim sum, a large, comfortable room a few minutes from Paddington station. The weekend dim sum lunch is the draw: har gow, scallop dumplings, char siu bao, cheung fun and a good range of fried and baked pieces, alongside the Cantonese roast meats and seafood the kitchen does well the rest of the week. Prices sit in the honest middle, below the starred rooms and on par with the Chinatown stalwarts, and the room is calmer than the central crush. It is the practical pick for West London or a pre-train lunch. Book the weekend sitting ahead.
Book the weekend dim sum; the har gow, the scallop dumplings and a plate of char siu.
7.Dim Sum Duck
The tiny King's Cross cult room in the Michelin Guide; go for handmade dumplings and roast duck when you want the best cheap dim sum in town.
Dim Sum Duck, a small, no-frills room on King's Cross Road, has become the cult budget pick and is listed in the Michelin Guide for its handmade dumplings and Cantonese roast meats. The kitchen folds its own dim sum to order, har gow, prawn cheung fun, pork and prawn dumplings, and the roast duck and char siu hanging in the window are the reason to add a plate of rice. It is cash-friendly, often full and barely bigger than a takeaway, which is exactly the appeal: serious, handmade dim sum at the lowest serious prices in central London. Go early or off-peak, expect to queue, and bring cash. This is the value champion of the list.
Walk in early, bring cash; the handmade har gow, prawn cheung fun and a plate of roast duck.
How London eats dim sum
London dim sum splits three ways, and knowing which you want sorts the city fast. The fine-dining tier, A. Wong, Yauatcha and Canton Blue, treats dim sum as a destination meal, reinvented or set in a luxury room, and asks £40 to £60 a head; book ahead and expect a lunch service. The traditional Cantonese rooms, Phoenix Palace and Pearl Liang, run the classic canon at honest prices in big, busy dining rooms, best at weekend lunch before 1pm when the carts and kitchens are at full tilt. The specialists, Din Tai Fung for Taiwanese soup dumplings and Dim Sum Duck for handmade budget dim sum, do one thing brilliantly. Tea is part of the meal, so order a pot of jasmine or pu-erh to cut the richness, and at the traditional rooms, dim sum is a daytime affair.
Booking divides by tier. The starred and hotel rooms need reserving days or weeks ahead; the Cantonese stalwarts take weekend bookings; the specialists run on walk-ins and queues. For the wider city, the London dining guide maps it by neighbourhood and occasion, the best dim sum restaurants worldwide pillar sets London against Hong Kong, and the best Chinese restaurants in London cover the full Cantonese, Sichuan and regional spread beyond the steamer basket.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for serious London dim sum
Tourist-trap Chinatown rooms. A few of the brightly lit Gerrard Street windows trade on location and reheat frozen dumplings; the dim sum is gummy and the service rushed. For genuine Cantonese dim sum near the centre, walk to Phoenix Palace in Marylebone or down to A. Wong in Victoria, where the kitchens fold to order.
All-you-can-eat dim sum buffets. The unlimited-dumpling deals that have spread across the city trade on volume, not skill; the wrappers are thick and the fillings generic. For dim sum worth the money, pay à la carte at Dim Sum Duck or Pearl Liang and order specific pieces, or compare how it is done at the source in the best dim sum in Hong Kong.
Frequently asked
What is the best dim sum in London?
A. Wong at 70 Wilton Road in Victoria is the best dim sum in London and arguably in Europe: chef-owner Andrew Wong holds two Michelin stars, and his lunchtime "Touch of the Heart" menu reinvents recognisable dim sum, from a Shanghai steamed dumpling with ginger-infused vinegar to a crispy quail's egg croquette. For an all-day Soho tea house, Yauatcha is the glamorous alternative. A. Wong for the ambition, Yauatcha for the room. Book A. Wong well ahead; the dim sum is a lunch service.
Where can I get cheap, traditional dim sum in London?
For traditional Cantonese dim sum without the fine-dining bill, Phoenix Palace near Baker Street runs a huge classic menu in a grand old-school room, with har gow and cheung fun at neighbourhood prices. Dim Sum Duck in King's Cross is the tiny, cash-friendly cult pick for handmade dumplings and roast duck. Pearl Liang in Paddington does a strong, well-priced weekend dim sum lunch. Expect to spend £20 to £30 a head at these rather than the £50-plus of the starred rooms. Go before 1pm at weekends to skip the queue.
Does A. Wong have a Michelin star?
Yes, two. A. Wong on Wilton Road in Victoria holds two Michelin stars under chef-owner Andrew Wong, making it the most decorated Chinese restaurant in London. The dim sum is served at lunch through the à la carte and the "Touch of the Heart" dim sum tasting menu, while dinner is a separate, more elaborate tasting. It is the only place in the city to eat genuinely two-star dim sum, so book the lunch sitting well ahead. The evening tasting and the dim sum lunch are different experiences; for dim sum specifically, come at midday.
How much does dim sum cost in London?
It spans a wide band. Traditional rooms like Phoenix Palace, Pearl Liang and Dim Sum Duck run £20 to £30 a head for a generous spread. Din Tai Fung lands around £25 to £35 for a run of xiao long bao and sides. The fine-dining tier is higher: a dim sum lunch at A. Wong is roughly £40 to £60 before the tasting menu, and Canton Blue at The Peninsula is the priciest, a luxury hotel setting. Set the budget first, because the gap between the cheapest and dearest dim sum in London is large.
What dim sum dishes should I order in London?
Order the "Touch of the Heart" menu and the Shanghai steamed dumpling at A. Wong; the scallop shui mai and venison puff at Yauatcha; the xiao long bao soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung, made with eighteen folds each; and classic har gow, char siu bao and cheung fun at Phoenix Palace or Pearl Liang. At Dim Sum Duck, add the roast duck to the handmade dumplings. As a rule, order one steamed, one fried and one baked dim sum per person, plus a plate of greens and a pot of jasmine or pu-erh tea.
More dim sum, by city
More from RFK
Browse the full London dining guide, compare the global picks in the best dim sum restaurants worldwide, see the best dim sum in Hong Kong, read up on the best dim sum in Singapore, browse the best Chinese in London, book a table to impress clients, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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