China Boulevard

A behemoth of an eatery overlooking the river, China Boulevard is as loud & brash as you like, decked out for its other purpose: a wedding & corporate-entertaining venue for the Chinese community, complete with flowers, karaoke rooms & red ribbons. It’s not a look that sits comfortably with stiff-upper-lipped Brits, but that doesn’t bother the plentiful clientele, who provide the place with a constant buzz of Mandarin & Cantonese chatter. They come for the enormous range of food from across China: excellent dim sum, varied set menus & interesting vegetarian food. Innovation isn’t a forte, but for dishes such as gai lan with ginger, Suzhou beef with dried lemon zest, & Hokkaido scallop soup, there’s nowhere better for miles. Half-price dim sum on weekdays adds to the appeal.