Royal China

I have been to this restaurant on many occasions. I was mostly satisfied with everything. I consider food to be quite good and environment pleasant. I did, however, had a “cold shower” (20/07/2011) in this restaurant today. I have come there with my parents. We had a nice meal. When my father wanted to pay his card didn’t go through and the waitress whose English was almost non-existent tried to explain the reason why it didn’t, asking him to sign something. When he refused to do that, she tried to tell him that he had to. When I was done with trying to guess the mixture of her Chinese and other god knows what language she called her manager. The Manager! And the whole saga began. As I was translating the whole thing to my father I obviously needed time to digest what he was saying to me then deliver it to my parent and after back to the manager. But for whatever reason the manager was cutting me short, interrupting me, trying to take the receipts off my father’s hands and when I told him to calm down he started to lose his temper completely. When I tried to enquire what exactly he needed, he ripped the receipt from my father’s hands and said that I am not listening and don’t understand anything. By that time the manager was completely white in his face. I tried to settle the situation and explain to him that we have money to pay and handed over my card to him. But he wasn’t done with empty accusations and continued attacking me verbally and when the payment gone through he just stormed off the restaurant floor. My parents, including me, were left completely dumb stricken. By that time I was furious. Not only has he ruined the whole thing for my parents, but he was also behaving in a completely unprofessional way. I stood up, came up to him and asked for a complaint form. He threw Royal China card at me with the comment: “call and complain”. When I tried to take a piece of paper from his desk he shouted at me “don’t you dare touch our property”. And when I completely lost myself and said that his behaviour is completely unprofessional he said that I am drunk and he is going to call the police. Well, I was very very sober…and maybe that is why when I told him to go ahead and do so he retreated, repeating that I have to leave the restaurant, that he doesn’t understand me because he doesn’t speak English. To which I replied, leaving the premises, that if he didn’t then maybe he should go back to China.
What can I say? Unacceptable. The food is OK. However, it is definitely not worth the horrific and very stressful environment staff and The Manager create by their ignorance, self-righteousness and stupidity. DO NOT GO THERE, Unless you want to be humiliated.

Superb environment !! food is excellent too would strongly recommend if you fancy Chinese food Dim Sum is also my favourite and Peking duck is superb!!

I've been going for dim sum to Royal China at least once or twice a month for the last 12 years and there's never a flicker of recognition from any of the longer-serving staff. But no matter, you're not here for the service — tho it is a lot better than many Chinatown places — nor are you here for the decor unless your most treasured cultural reference is Jackie Collins' “The Stud”. You're here for what is probably the best dim sum in London. The queues, however annoying they may be, are testament to that. Go for a weekday if you can because the weekend rush is not for the fainthearted. You go in, get a number and then wait in a small area by the bar with loads of people who have never heard the word “orderly”. They'll probably have a stroller in tow too. The food makes it worth the 40-minute wait. Sesame paper prawn rolls are just right, not greasy at all. The same is true for the Roast Pork Puff and the steamed dim sum like prawn and coriander or prawn and chive explode with fresh flavour. All for about 15 pounds a head. Things can get more expensive in the evening when the whole place becomes much smarter (in its black and gold kind of way) but the food — mostly standard Cantonese fare — remains top-notch and well worth seeking out among Queensway's many Chinese restaurants.

Simply put the BEST DIM SUM in all of London and in fact, even better than Hong Kong. Even my friends from Hong Kong say it is better and I couldn't agree more. Some people favour the Baker Street branch, but I have been a devotee of Queensway for the best part of two decades and for very good reason. The food is simply wonderful. It's no secret that Royal China dim sum is so good that they actually supply most of London's Chinese restaurants with their fare, but they seem to keep the best for themselves, ensuring they remain a cut above the rest.

The A La Carte menu offers lots of beautifully executed exotic dishes like Abalone, Jellyfish and some of the best crispy duck I have ever had… Another of the house specials is the Lobster and spring onion crispy noodles, which is really delicious.

Its not the cheapest Chinese restaurant, but it is not overpriced and you get what you pay for. It is most definitely a cut above the rest and having eaten in China towns across the globe, as well as both Hong Kong and Beijing, I find it difficult to equal the quality and variety of delicious dishes served at this branch of Royal China. Service can be a tad brusque at times, but it is still very efficient.

Definitely more expensive than your average Chinese restaurant, with food not any greater quality than most others in Soho.

We go to Royal China for its dim sum and it's great for brunch on a Sunday. It's best to get to Royal China early as you could wait up to 40 minutes for a table. However, it is worth the wait as the dim sum is delicious and the atmosphere is great. Do try the specials!

We love the dim sum at Royal China for years now. But in this past year, we have noticed a slip in the quality of their dim sum. On more than a few occasion, when the dumplings arrive in their bamboo steamer, the delicate skin is mushy and just falls apart as soon as the chopsticks touches it. A restaurant friend pointed out that these were not made properly or had been frozen previously. Shame on the carelessness of consistency on food quality, but when they do it right, it is still superb.