Chinese

14-16 Queensway, London W2 3RX

There’s really one main dish that you cross town to try at this Queensway Cantonese - the famous lobster noodles. They’re deservedly well-known, but there’s plenty more on this seafood-focused restaurant that you’re going to want to try from the Dover sole to the salt and pepper squid.

First floor, Kingly Ct, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW

Previously popping up in residencies, Liu Xiaomian's popular noodle restaurant is now a permanent fixture in Carnaby. Run by Chongqing expats Liu Qian and Charlene Liu, it features their spicy signature dishes like Xiaomian wheat noodles and hot and sour glass noodles with various toppings. Numbing Pork Wontons are also available.

88 Upper Street, London N1 0NP

Hainan House, previously known for pop-ups and supperclubs, has now settled in Islington. Founded by Sunny Wu, the restaurant showcases Southern Chinese cuisine with influences from Qiong, Canton, Hakka, and Min regions. The menu, crafted with head chef Irene Hua, offers dishes like steamed aubergine and tiger skin quail's eggs, making it a unique addition to Upper Street.

70 Wilton Road, Victoria, London SW1V 1DE

This two-Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant is one of the city’s best. In a pared-back room, the menu travels the broad spectrum of Chinese cooking and has a lunchtime dim sum menu that's absolutely worth crossing town for.

51 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8NE

Hunan is rated as one of London's best Chinese restaurants, loved by chefs and critics alike. As the name suggests, you can expect Hunanese cooking here - so there's going to be plenty of heat.

37 Monck St, London SW1P 2BL

This is the place for modern Sichuan cuisine and dim sum. Expect lots of sizzle and spicy flavours in a relatively minimalist and sleek space with service that errs on the formal side. There are two set menus as well as à la carte; it’s particularly good for groups.

9-10 Waterloo Pl, St. James's, London SW1Y 4BE

The London outpost of one of Asia’s most Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant groups, Imperial Treasure is perhaps best known for its Peking Duck although its dim sum selection is also very refined. Here in London, you’ll find it in a Grade II listed building which suitably matches the high-end food.

14-16 Camden High St, London NW1 0JH

Owner, Yi Fei, comes from Chengdu in Sichuan so Jinli really specialises in Sichuan food. Its spicy hot pots are revered, such as the braised beef brisket, along with other typical regional dishes. The Camden restaurant is the group’s latest outpost to open outside of London's Chinatown.

Unit 199, Hawley Wharf, 2nd Floor Foodhall, Camden, London, NW1 8AA

Set up by three childhood friends, Three Uncles is an ode to their beloved memories of visiting roast meat cafes back in 1970s Hong Kong. The newer Hawley Wharf location is an upgrade from their takeaway siu mei kiosk in Liverpool Street and their chopped-to-order roast duck, crispy pork belly and char siu pork are all cooked using traditional Cantonese methods.

301 Upper St, London N1 2TU

This Chinese restaurant on Upper Street not only serves up top drawer dim sum, but stands out for its halal menu, which means there’s no pork on the menu. Standout dishes include the chef’s own creation - mango golden floss prawn.

2 Westgate St, London E8 3RN

This double business sees Sichuan’s fiery chicken buns upstairs while downstairs is the latest outpost of the much-loved Dumpling Shack.

Unit 19 & 20, Brixton Village, London SW9 8PR

Three Uncles started life as a takeaway restaurant, but their Brixton opening was the first time they launched a more traditional restaurant. Here they concentrate on the Cantonese roasted meats that have won them a great reputation, so expect roasted duck, crispy pork belly, char siu BBQ pork and lots more.

1a Bayford Street London E8 3SE

Facing Heaven is Julian Denis' sequel to Mao Chow, moving just around the corner from the previous restaurant. The vegan menu takes influences from Cantonese, Yunnan and Shaanxi cuisines as well as adding in a few Puerto-Rican, American and Portuguese flavours into the mix. They have hot pots at the weekend too.

17 Berkeley St, London W1J 8EA

Park Chinois plays homage to the opulence and decadence of 1930s Shanghai, with regional Chinese food and live entertainment. It's very OTT, but no less fun for all that.

55 Curzon Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8PG

This is from Samyukta Nair, the restaurateur who brought us Jamavar and Bombay Bustle. With this Mayfair restaurant, she wants to take Londoners on a journey to 1920s Shanghai. Expect a glitzy high-end Chinese menu in this three-floored building which also has an excellent (but small) bar in the basement.

117 Benwell Rd, London N7 7BW

This Holloway restaurant (it's just across the road from the Emirates stadium) has won a deserved reputation for cooking up some of the best Shang Xi-inspired street food in London. Yes, that means there's a bit of heat involved here, but their hand-pulled noodles are among the best in town. Their pork/beef "burgers" are not to be missed.

5 Glentworth St, Marylebone, London NW1 5PG

This upmarket Chinese restaurant in Marylebone certainy hasn't stinted on the opulence, with a flamboyant look and feel throughout. The menu is huge, but the weekend and lunchtime dim-sum is what it's all about. It's very popular with families and larger groups alike.

141-142 Upper St, London N1 1QY

Sichuan House on Islington's Upper Stret is all about authentic Sichuan and Chinese cuisine, with a focus on traditional cooking and recipes.

105-106 Upper St, London N1 1QN

This restaurant comes with the backing of Zhang Chao of Xi’an Impression. The team behind the restaurant are aiming to cover multiple regions of China, all helped by the fact that they have chefs in the kitchen who originate from different regions and bring with them varying experiences and knowledge. Here you can expect an excellent pan-Chinese meal, that just happens to be plant-based too.

15 Broadwick Street, W1F 0DL

People may complain about the sharp table-turning at this subterranean Chinese restaurant - Alan Yau's follow-up to Hakkkasan, but you'll never hear a bad word about the dim sum. If it's something sweet you're after, head for the street-level patisserie and tea shop.

23 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4DZ

The duo behind Bun House and Pleasant Lady have turned their original site into a bar and restaurant inspired by the late-night scene of 1960s Hong Kong. The sugar skin Iberico char siu is a revelation.

9 Russell Street, London WC2B 5HZ

The people behind New York's infamous Pac Man dumplings have made it to London. The menu here is a modern take on Chinese dim sum with a few NYC influences too.

124 King's Cross Rd, London WC1X 9DS

Everyone’s raving about Dim Sum Duck, a tiny gem in Kings Cross. It's run by a dim sum chef with more than 30 years in the business and specialises in hand-made dim sum and in-house roasted duck. Critic Fay Maschler said it was the best Cantonese cooking in London.

152 Old Street, London, EC1V 9BJ

This all-day Old Street bar comes from Alex Kratena, the bartender who ran the World's Best Bar for years and who has teamed up with fellow top class mixologist Monica Berg. And in charge of the food is the mighty TÁ TÁ Eatery.

13 Cosmo Pl, London WC1N 3AP

The chef behind popular Chinese restaurant Xi'an Impression has opened her first solo restaurant. It features some of the favourites from the original restaurant by Arsenal's Emirates stadium as well as more traditional dishes.

125 Caledonian Rd, London N1 9RG

This canalside restaurant on Caledonian Road has a menu full of authentic Chinese dishes that you don't see all that much of outside of Chinatown. Particularly good for groups.

70-72 Liverpool Rd, The Angel, London N1 0QD

Set on Liverpool Road, this critically-acclaimed restaurant specialises in Hunanese and Sichuan cuisine, so while the menu is huge it's best to concentrate on those sections.

33 Cranbourn St, Covent Garden, London WC2H 7AD

Lanzhou Lamian Noodle Bar serves up hand-pulled noodles in its location near Leicester Square tube. It's definitely the noodles that you're coming here for (stick to those), served up into the early hours of the morning.

1 Broadgate Circle, London EC2M 2QS

Famed for its dim sum menu and Cantonese cuisine, this is the second London outlet of Yauatcha, an upmarket Chinese restaurant that began life in Soho in 2004 but now has global homes in Saudi Arabia and India. Expect a high-class dining experience.

64 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6LU

This Chinatown restaurant specialises in hot-pots, with boiling broth pots sunk into tables and the ingredients to throw in snaking around you on conveyor belts.