China Tang at The Dorchester Hotel

went there for a business lunch. Despite us being the only guests in the restaurant for the first hour of our lunch, the service we experienced was unbelievably slow and disinterested. We almost had to waive our hands to attract the attention of many waiters passing by. Food was nothing special, and all four of us ordered different stuff and shared so we tasted a wide selection from the menu. I only went there for the name of it and to experience China Tang, but I find it not much different from lower price bracket Chinese restaurants. Overall, it was nice but i won't go there again. Good decor overall, but the picture of a dead chambermaid in the foyer is disturbing and a big turn off.

It is at the Dorchester – this is probably the highlight lol. I had high hopes for China Tang, institution of chinese food in a glam location. However the restaurant itself is tired and uninspiring, and the food is quite average. There is no real atmosphere and the staff are not great. I really cant understand why it has the reputation that it does as I feel more that this was maybe once a colonial style outpost for chinese food for the British and now with the comparison for everyman's palate with good local chinese, this place is struggling to compete (I have no idea about its history, this is just my impression). I would be surprised if they dont feel the need to up their game sooner or later. I wouildnt bother going… head to the Dorchester bar for a far better experience in the same building I would say.

I have to be completely honest…I would definately think twice before coming here again.

The bar was really busy so they advised us that we couldn't have a drink and needed to go straight to the table…they then ignored us and we waited in the lobby whilst about 3 or 4 other members of staff asked us to go and sit in the bar…it was all very confusing until they worked out what was happening and who we were and then a table was found for us immediately in the bar.

The food was really good,…but I have also paid a lot less and had just as good food. Celeb spotting for those who enjoy that kind of thing was one of the highest (we dined on a Friday night) but the service just really lacked.

When I was invited to China Tang with a good friend of mine I was initially reluctant, Im not a huge fan of Chinese food but I was assured this was as good as it gets.

I must say I was very pleasantly surprised, the food was delicious. It was much lighter (although still filling) and the flavours were clean and fresh. We shared a selection of dishes, including ‘stir fried minced pigeon wrapped in lettuce’ which was surprisingly very good. The peking duck pancakes were the best I have ever tasted and the pork belly in the clay pot were wonderful!

By no means is this place value for money but it was a lovely evening with delicious food. A good place to come with friends!

if you think this is a glizy razzle do da restuarant then you will be very dissapointed!! but the food in my view was great, the best duck pankakes i have had ever, not schreaded to oblivion put lovley tender chunks, yummy, noodles where great as was lobster and prawn dishes, soo fresh, sometime the simplest things can taste great. But be prepared to pay for it as it very expensive..a little to expensive, but worth a treat now and again.

Went with work, thank god, as the bill was unbelievable for what we had. The food isnt too bad, but it didnt really taste any better than your local chinese restaurant, which considering it is 4x or 5x the price, isnt really that great. The decor is nice and the service was good (other reviews i see had really poor service, so maybe we were lucky). Overall, we had a good time, but i wouldnt go running back, and certainly not on my own account!

I am a chef at the landmark hotel and a gorup of 9 of us, including some chefs went a few weeks ago. We went because someone reading heston blumenthel's book read he said it was the best chinese in london, really??? We were there for 3 and a half hours and spent £90 each. We couldn't find an easy way into the restaurant form the outside that looked open so went throught the main entrance and ended up having to walk through the lounge where people were having dinner and drinks etc, very odd and uncomfortable! The dishes were stupidly tiny and the service was some of the slowest ive had even though there were loads of them. We ordered £40 worth of peking duck and even after getting it again in our main course we were wandering where the other half went form a whole duck! We had 2 bottles of white and one red wine which were both expensive and nothing special at all. By the end of it, half of the table were still hungry but we didnt want to be there any longer-it was too expenisve, too noisy, way too slow and the actual restaurant was old and in need of some serious refurbishment! A few months before, some of us had eaten at a chinese restaurant in soho, spent half the time there, only £30 and the food was much better and the service was just amazing. i would not recommend at all!

The food is truly very good. Apart from that both the space and the service disappoint, which is a pity and not worthy of the grand venue the Dorchester is in general. Especially poor grades go to the bar – or should I call it “waiting area” – which disappoints completely. Definitely to be avoided on busy evenings, late lunches just focused on the food may be an option for the true fan of high end Chinese food.

Visited 22.09.09
China Tang in the Dorchester.

The lead up to China Tang, through the Dorchester is an impressive runway of plump Regency sofas, expensive looking tables and lots of rich folks all enjoying tea and cake, or ordinary folk out for a special day.. and more of that later.

As we're headed for China Tang which is at the end of all the Louis XIV opulence – we leave 18th century aristocratic decor behind and are ushered into the dark underbelly of the hotel where China Tang is located. The decor as you walk in feels special there's the dark wood walls the silk dressed chairs in the secret booths – however we were whisked past this particular slice of luxury and into the plush, but tired, main room with its heavy wood and carp motif. I got over the crystal and silver chopsticks pretty quick I have to say.

The wine cellar came first and clearly the Tang want us to enjoy some very, very, very fine wines – but rather than spend £2,700 on a bottle I found a not bad Barbera for £35 – there were not many cheaper. Recession anyone?? Clearly not. The vodka martini I had from the bar was also excellent, as was the beer I was reliably informed.

What then unfolded was the equivalent of a gastronomic nightmare without the relief that you can wake up. The good bit was the shared starter which was a main dish we shared – Dry Chili Squid, which was fine and wholly absolutely unremarkable & I can get the same standard for approximately 1/5 of the price on my high street. The true horror started when a main dish of sauteed chicken with cashew nuts turned up – not only was the dish's predominant colour grey and looked like something Ronnie Barker would have enjoyed at Her Majesty's pleasure – but even by the subdued lighting I could tell that the chicken was not cooked. Slicing into one particular piece told me all I needed to know & I called the waitress over to inform her of the unsatisfactory dish what then followed beggared belief. Ignoring the fact the the dish was grey (sautee'ing browns things I'd always thought! silly me) I told the waitress that it was uncooked and was rather guardedly informed that the marinade made it that colour and that even though it might look uncooked it was in fact cooked. Truly remarkable to be told that pink, raw watery chicken is cooked when it is not. Customer always right anyone? Not in the Tang – I was clearly some hick who knew nothing about food – au contraire Tang and from reading other reviews on this restaurant I fear my experience is not a one-off.

The other main of sweet and sour was fine but not remarkable in an shape nor form. Noodles were as good as I can make myself, same for the rice which may as well have been from M&S for all I noticed any discernible quality.

Puddings were a dull affair of chocolate thing with ice-cream and a little wafer which said Happy Birthday – for my guest. For whom I was paying as it was a treat and she loves Chinese. She said it was good but I fear this was all hiding our acute disappointment.

One of the worst dining experiences I have had in a long time. For people with no palate whatsoever and for whom going out the local Chinese simply isn't expensive enough. As I left, £140 lighter but wiser, I happily reflected that at least I was leaving & that I'd never be back.

So this is Kate Moss's favourite restaurant? I'm not surprised, the toilets are great. However, for us non-supermodel mortals who actually want to eat decent food without spending buckets of cash, there is much better Chinese food to be had in London or Manchester's Chinatowns, and you can leave with change from a £50 note.