Royal China Club

The transformation of the St John’s Wood branch of the upmarket Chinese chain into its swankier Royal China Club brand has not been a success. Gone are the charmingly chintzy surrounds of golden geese on black lacquered walls, replaced by a dull, muted colour scheme. And instead of above-average Cantonese cooking at just-above-average prices, the much shorter new menu touts £18 soups, lobster a number of ways & whole abalone. Some of it is good: Kobe beef in five spices, pork cake (minced pork in a light soy sauce) & lamb chops (wrongly billed as lamb shank) marinated in plum sauce would merit a visit if only they weren’t so expensive. And, with certain dishes falling way below expectation – seafood noodles with spicy XO sauce that tasted more like bland oyster sauce, for instance – & patchy service, a meal at this restaurant now ends with a sense of dissatisfaction unthinkable in its previous incarnation. Lunchtime dim sum is a cheaper way to visit.