Imperial China in City of London, Westminster

Friendly employees, smiling and attentive to the customer, the only negative thing is that the staff is in too much of a hurry to clear the dishes.

Discretionary charge is not optional! Asked to remove it and the waitress refused and stared at me.

Love this place! 3rd time in 8 years. Came with a large family group of 30 for lunch, and then with my 10 year old son before a show and now with my husband before a show. Great tasting food, reasonably priced for London and super fast service.

I used to come here all the time, shirt queues, & really gives me Cantonese vibes. Sometimes I think of the Peking duck they serve and I can kinda taste it, and I love it because the Peking duck is delish.

Good portion sizes & very attentive staff

I ate here once and came back two weeks later because I liked it so much. Both times the taste was excellent. I had the vegan Singapore noodles. The service was very fast as well and the restaurant is more spacious than other places in Chinatown I've been to. It's even got a Koi pond at the entrance.

5 stars from me. One of my favourite places for dim sum, specifically. It is easy to give the score seeing as I always find myself back here. The decor is great, especially the koi pond. The dim sum is delicious; however, it can vary with how busy the restaurant is. Very reasonably priced.

One of the worst experiences!!! Waitresses ignoring our concerns of food order being wrong. Food was cold and the wrong order. When we explained to the only person who spoke to us a male he was SO RUDE! Ordered chicken given pork and when we told him so his response is this is white meat so it must be chicken. PORK IS ALSO WHITE MEAT. I paid bill minus the PORK I didn’t order only to be chased by said man accusing me of not paying my bill. WORST SERVICE EVER!! Also to be honest food wasn’t even that good very bland. Will never be returning or recommending!!

Terrible food size for the price. Tiny portions for the food.

Wednesday night and it was busy! (I dare say that it was the end of Chinese new year and it was valentines day as well!) Food was great, fresh ingredients, and very tasty. We will go beak!

Went here for dinner on Chinese new year, it's a hidden gem the initial bridge over the koi pond creates enough distance for you not to hear anything from the restaurant and it gives a vibe the staff are fast and friendly the food is nothing special it's like most other restaurants slightly more expensive then others in Chinatown but it's a nice restaurant to visit

I chose this restaurant for a get together and lunch with a couple of friends. We were not disappointed. The set menu provided us with a good selection of dishes we knew. The food was ample and good value for money. Service was friendly and efficient. If in the area again and looking for an authentic Chinese restaurant to dine in, I would not hesitate to return.

Dreadful, save your money and go somewhere else one word underwhelming. Soggy undercooked chicken like plastic £85 and walked out, hungry

I used to be a regular at this restaurant like 15 years ago. I went back recently for old times sake. The food was ok. But not as good as it used to be and not as good as some of the newer dim sum places. But the fact that the restaurant is still there after all these years is a testament to the fact that they must be doing something right.

We have been visiting this restaurant regularly for the past 15 years and have always found the quality of the food to be excellent and the service good. We were there again recently and enjoyed a lovely meal. I would thoroughly recommend Imperial China if you are looking for a place to eat in Chinatown.

We had a set meal. It was good but the spare ribs in the starter were very dry and disappointing; I'd give them 2/10. Everything else was a 7/10. Service was very friendly and it's a nice place with the little bridge over the Koi Carp fishpond.

Fast and furious authentic dim sum and more in China Town. The entrance is small and unassuming, but only leads to a narrow corridor from which you can access toilets, and then the second entrance into the actual restaurant. Once there you find a bustling restaurant with tables across two floors. The upper floor overlooks the ground floor. The place is hectic, the service staff rush around and explain in broken half English half Chinese what things are. Luckily there is a menu with pictures. We got a wide selection of dim sum. The good thing is everything that we tried was delicious and the visit didn't break the bank.

After many years absence I returned to visit an old favourite haunt in Chinatown. What a disappointment. The food here is ghastly. It feels like everything is fried in stale oil (even the cutlery) and everything we ordered tasted of the same bland and acrid flavour. Seriously some of the worst Chinese food I've ever eaten. The staff are typically brisk and disinterested and the room poorly lit with the ambience of a unevenly lit bus station. I recommend going any where else. Awful!

One of my regulars in China Town. Great food, good service and friendly atmosphere

Solid china town choice on the far superior Lisle Street

Great food, moreover the staff was very friendly!

Been a couple of times now. Great food. Friendly staff and very efficient. Lovely traditional menu to suit all tastes and ages

Decent service and atmosphere but very mediocre food.

Nice place to eat but food disappointing - was expecting more flavour. It was nice enough but the hot soup lacked spice and the chicken spring rolls were gristly. The noodles and chilli beef were ok.

We went for a family dinner out with kids. Waiter/waitress were all very attentive and friendly. Food quality superb. Very satisfied. A little pricey though with 12.5% service charge, which was fine with us, but better to know ahead of time for those who keep a tight budget. Would recommend to anyone who is happy with the above service charge.

It was truly amazing and strongly recommend this restaurant

Good problem to have a queue, but manage it please and don’t let people skip the lines. Junior staff need training

Plastic tasting food, came out very quick, we asked if the food was made on the day manager said yes but the quality said otherwise. Food had a pale off colour and looked very old. Crispy shredded beef tasted like soggy pork scratchings.

Where do i start, what a disappointing experience. The food and service was well below what you would expect. Egg fried rice old and dry, mock chicken in black bean sauce tasteless, my 8 yr old could have done better. Sweet and sour chicken was dry, no sauce and the chicken tasted as if it had been fried multiple times. I would definitely avoid this place and suggest others do aswell.

One of the worst Chinese meals I’ve ever had. Two of the dishes arrive cold, and anything that was battered, just taste the same, because the batter was too thick and overcooked.

Ordered a variety of dimsum for Boxing Day expecting fantastic food as advertised. However,most of the food tasted of MSG. We only like the taro croquettes out the 10 dishes we ordered.

Came here late December to have an indulgent Dim Sum lunch. Food and service were both excellent. The sim sim is the best dim sum I have eaten in London, always very hot, tasty and served quickly but not so quickly that you know it wasn’t made to order. The roast duck is especially good as is the pork belly. Fantastic value and service and a firm favourite

Ate at this place and spent close to a £100, which for a family who rarely dines out is a lot. The service was disgraceful!!!!!! Was actually shocked with the lack of poor basic manners to the point I absolutely couldn't pay the £10 service fee they asked on top of the £100! Absolutely not, there was no service!!!! Weren’t acknowledged, rude, blunt, not friendly at all, had to be asked to be served. Food poor, waiter walked right in front of me, chef rude as passed. The worst restaurant I have been to and i plea you not to waste your money like we felt we had!!!!! Go somewhere, where your presence is appreciated or at least basic manners are used.

Imperial China in central London offers an authentically Chinese dining experience. Our reservation for one of the private rooms on the second floor ensured a unique setting, complete with a large TV and Karaoke setup, although we opted for a formal discussion instead. The food, rich in authentic flavors, delighted our taste buds, and the presence of our Chinese friends enhanced the overall ambiance. Amidst a bustling crowd, the place buzzed with energy, with a sizable queue outside. However, our advance booking ensured a swift entry upon arrival, bypassing the waiting crowd. Despite the bustling atmosphere, once inside, the restaurant provided a tranquil setting for our memorable dining experience. A highlight was indulging in Maotai, a special Chinese liquor, adding to the delight of our visit. The courteous staff further complemented the evening, making it a delightful experience within the heart of London.

The food did not taste too good, I also found hair on my food. I would not recommend.

The best in Chinatown. Fabulous fresh dishes and exquisite service. The owner takes pride in providing the very best service. Can't wait to go back.

El servicio es muy malo, no son nada amables y hemos probado otros muchos sitios mucho mejores en todos los aspectos. La verdad es que bastante decepcionados.

Surprised to read some recent poor reviews on here because that in no way reflects our experience. We booked a private room for 12 with set menu for a pre-theatre meal on a works outing. The booking/reservation process was a little clunky but when we got there after only a short wait we were taken up to our room, The room was clean and pleasant and our server was congenial, polite and efficient. Drinks arrived quickly and when the food started coming soon after it was delicious and was universally enjoyed by, the crispy duck, dim sum, fried beef with black pepper and sea bass were particular favourites. Certainly not the cheapest meal you’ll find, but not expensive either and we felt it was good value considering the location and quality of the food and service. The room also had karaoke, the performances were terrible but I don’t think we can blame the venue for that ! Already planning another visit.

Definitely do not recommend. No structured system regarding wait times, bad service (we were sat down and not acknowledged for 30 minutes), & food not worth the price. Will not be coming back.

We were recommended by a friend to go there but would not bother again. Even though we had a reservation we had to wait to be seated as they were also tending to the large queue of walk ins! Food was not that great and seemed as if reheated! Portions are quite big and prices are good but i would nor visit again

Very busy on a saturday lunchtime. Resturant is split across 2 levels. Extra seating upstairs. Nice atmosphëre and very nice staff. For a northerner the prices were rather high. Good wine list but also pricey. Food was very good. Considering how busy it was there was no real wait. Washrooms were a bit grim in my opinion. No fortune cookies after bill payment so that was a bit disappointing. Nice enough experience but theres hundreds more resturants to choose from.

Estupenda la comida, la o el cocinero saben lo que hacen, volveremos! La atención genial, me han dejado cargar mi teléfono.

Very busy , lovely food and staff

If you love Chinese food, please stay away.

Worst restaurant I’ve been to. Disgusting food well over priced. £12:50 serves charge! For absolute rubbish service. Avoid. Much better and cheaper places around.

Have been here a few times for dim sum and would say the place has an authentic vibe to it. Although the dim sum menu could have more options they do the classic ones really good, especially the siu mai. Definitely recommend for dim sum brunch with the family.

Excellent dimsum and stir fried beef hofun with Maillard wok chi.

Been coming here since I was little. Making it my mission to bring all of my friends here. Amazing food!

Wir wurden sehr freundlich reingebeten. Danach war es sehr ungemütlich. Wir wurden sehr unfreundlich rausgeworfen während wir aßen wurden Teller abgeräumt und uns gesagt das der tisch reserviert sei. und wir zahlen und gehen müssen Nie wieder …

Une nourriture correcte même si certains plats ont été servi tiède. Le service est quand à lui pas terrible et les tables sont très proches les unes des autres. Ambiance pas terrible. Bref, rien de mémorable...

Great food with lots of options in the middle of China Town. Fish and dumplings were amazing!

Placé a cote de l entree dans le froid. Demande 12.5% de taxe pour le service. Une honte.

Dim Sum Win Everything you want in a Chinatown dim sum lunch

The noodles were very greasy , little flavour . I had the beef fried ho fun. Hot and sour soup wasnt great. And crispy noodles with beef I think. And the deep fried soft shell crab had hardly any crab in. The wine was actually surprisingly ok . We spent about 45 quid each . Was so not worth it .

Bardzo przyjemna restauracja, jadłem zupę z krewetkami oraz krabowa do tego pierożki wszystko było oki bardzo szybko podane , posiłek bardzo smaczny obsługa miła ceny ok , polecam

Good old Dim Sum place in China town, very good air con, saved me on the hottest day in London this year. Authentic dishes! Not the top notch but decent. Tea was good too. Very friendly service. They don’t rush you to pay or leave. Nice and quiet environment inside the busy China town.

Lunch with roast duck and pork, below expectation, beef with papers and black beans sources HO Fun are very good, nice setting and environment plus good services worthy to come again. Overall 4*

Disappointing. Starters were dry and uninteresting. Half a duck with pancakes must have been more a duckling with mostly filler of white polystyrene. Main dishes unappealing and tasteless. Wine tasted like £4 from cash and carry but was £40 12.5% mandatory tip for mediocrity

Food tastes pretty good and authentic. The chicken was in my opinion a little overdone. Otherwise the rest were great. We were here around dinner time, location was busy but spaced out well. In the heart of Chinatown, worth a visit if looking for Chinese food.

I used to visit this restaurant over 10 years ago and it was decent. Returned last night and it was far from decent. Food was terrible. The restaurant we wanted to go to post theatre was shut, so came here instead. Admittedly it was late, but the re-heated / overcooked dishes we received were unacceptable any time of day. Worst Chinese meal I've had anywhere. Plus, the prices are a complete rip off. Should have complained, but was too tired. They get 1 star for the jasmin tea. Disappointed. Will never return.

Been here before and been very good, but tonight's visit was not the best. Lemon chicken did not have enough sauce and noodles were left in a hot pan too long so they burnt. Service still very good, especially for China town.

Disappointed with our meal having eaten here before. Duck & pancakes were delicious but our mains were rather dry, one was definitely overcooked and all were lacking in sauce. The meat content was generally very low and in one dish barely visible. However, service was good and efficient.

Service was slow, food as so overly meh, I got food poisoning, some of the meat wasn't the meat I ordered, extreamly bad quality

A huge disappointment: one dish sent back as inedible. The replacement dish hardly better. Slow, inattentive service. There are great restaurants in Chinatown: this isn't one of them. Go elsewhere.

Our friend had memories of this place as being good, both food and price wise. Sally those memories were dim and distant. Food was poor; one dish returned as inedible and the replacement hardly better. Slow, inattentive service. Tired decor. At £34 per person with no alcohol or soft drinks (just jasmine tea), not good value either. There's far better in Chinatown; give this place a miss.

One of the most disappointing Chinese meals I’ve experienced. Some where served cold and others didn’t turn up. The special fired rice was like boiled rice with a few prawns thrown in for good measure. The staff were rude and dismissive, you need to be more attentive to your dining customers. I’ll never return.

Great tasting food. Perfectly cooked and hot. Service excellent and had a lovely ambience in the restaurant. Duck on the bone particularly excellent

Busy as usual even when you visit on a weekday during lunch hours which is not surprised in China Town. Definitely would recommend roast duck!

Have been coming here for years since a friend recommended this place. Love the authentic Cantonese dim sum selection in the afternoon available until 5pm daily. The price is very reasonable. The restaurant is clean and comfortable with Chinese deco. Service is prompt and attentive. Love this hidden gem! 👍🏼

We had a very late dinner after catching a play at the Westend. Staff were great..food arrived quickly. All dome under 15mins.

Sehr lecker und sehr schönes Restaurant, das bestellen geht sehr schnell

Great place for a dim sum lunch.

Best in Chinatown ! My opinion!

I’ve tried so many dimsum spots in London but Imperial China always gets it right! Large range of dimsum dishes to choose from, amazing service, food came super quick and flavours were spot on.

Great service, authentic feel, good quality food...... the food nealry got 5* Dim sum ribs were tasty as... but not enough meat. It's definitely one of the better ones in Chinatown. Would I go again.... Definitely, yes.

Handy for the soho theatres and reasonably good food but everything else was decidedly second rate. The place is tired at best, the views from our upstairs table were dire. If I am going to have to look at an oversized lampshade for the evening, I would prefer that it was at least clean. Likewise the view generally. I was looking at a brick wall, views of towel-laundry was evident in an overlooking window belonging to the venue. The top of a bridge to the front entrance was littered with debris. There were electrical cables and weeds evident on the brick wall that was my view. I would not put up with this in my own back yard, so paying to look at it was really annoying. The staff seemed to find everything troublesome, culminating in an audible sigh when we asked for a doggy bag as we were put off eating there by the uncomfortable environment. The acoustics upstairs were bad, just people talking. No background music. All in all it was utter rubbish as a restaurantand we did not pay the service charge as a result. We will not be going back.

Lot of references on door. Table was upstairs with a view of a wall . Food was plentiful but bland. Service was surly and discourteous. Won’t be going back

Booked but on arrival didn’t check just seated us, waiter was very nice and showed us what to do as you need to tick the food you want on the menu. Our starters were great no problem,with the exception of our mains starting to come out whilst we were still finishing off our starter!! my husbands main was supposed to be szechuan chicken but he was convinced it was pork and so over cooked he couldn’t eat it, mine and my daughters meals were ok but bland, not once did anyone come over and ask if everything was ok which is pretty standard customer service, they only came over to see if everything was ok when I grabbed a menu on the next table to check I’d ordered my husband the right meal (which I had) he did take the price of the meal off the bill but to be honest the whole meal was definitely not worth what we paid which was quite expensive we remove the discretionary tip that they added as our experience definitely didn’t warrant it. Would not go back and will not recommend totally spoilt our daughters first visit to china town, much nicer looking places around wish we’d gone to one of them 🙁

A belated input. I have been to Imperial China alone three times. On two occasions I was served with chipped plates and bowls. On the last occasion, I instantly told the waiter who was serving the dish, “How can food be served on chipped crockery?” The waiter left and returned with the dish on a changed plate. However, he was seen muttering to the floor manager immediately after leaving my table. It is unbelievable that the restaurant served food on chipped crockeries. Chipped crockery harbours bacteria and it is risk for handlers and users. Not to mention it looked terrible. These are basic knowledge. Though, I like the braised beef and turnip there but I will never return. I am a Chinese. We do not eat from chipped crockery. I rarely write review but I have to for this.

Definitely a hidden gem. Really good food and reasonably priced. Dim sum and duck pancakes are a must try!

Forgot a dish, expensive for skimpy portions, table Service was ok, but when it came to the bill the lady who did ours was extremely unpleasant and rude. Sadly won't be returning.

Barely speak any English, that is not a big deal being it's in Chinatown. Buuuuut this should definitely NOT be on your list. Food was bland, portions were skimpy and over priced. Save yourself the trouble and just go to Dumplings' Legend.

Food ok but wasn't blown away Better food in my local takeaway

We had a lovely Sunday brunch. The staff were friendly and helpful and the food was delicious.

I love chinese food and this restorant is really great place to eat good! Highly recomand it!

Genuine Cantonese food in the heart of China Town. Don't be put off by the tiny entrance. This is an enormous restaurant with excellent service and good food

Not sure why the negative reviews, the service was impeccable. the food arrived very quickly and teapot refilled without us even noticing. duck was beautifully presented and best roast duck ive eaten in the UK. sweet and sour prawns delicious and dim sum also excellent. ordered whole turbot as my wife's mums birthday and perfectly cooked and delicious. staff very friendly but discreet. will definitely be returning. the entrance made me feel like being back in china when we used to travel alot.

Good selection of delicious dim sum at reasonable prices. Service was prompt and polite. Will be back the next time I'm in London.

Enjoyed our dinner. Would have liked to get some recommendations on dishes from the staff, but most struggled a bit with English. We enjoyed the aromatic duck, which was our top priority to try while in London.

Overpriced and food is a bit salty. I've had better Chinese food for much much less

After a day’s shopping, we fancied a nice Chinese meal. We’ve been to many restaurants in Gerard Street and Lisle Street, but we heard a couple talking about Imperial China and thought we would go and check it out. It’s just off Lisle Street. The entrance is very small, but on walking in (and over a bridge of a Koi pond) the restaurant opens into a rather large space! Like many of the restaurants in the area, there isn’t much by way of window seats, so the restaurant itself could be quite dark, but there is lots of lighting and lovely lanterns hanging everywhere. We were seated on the ground floor and a nice-sized table – not a tiny table for two! There were so many staff, watching and being attentive, but very professional and not over-powering. We ordered a bottle of wine, whilst choosing our meal. We don’t have dim sum on a regular basis, but as we’d walked in at 4.15pm, we were greeted with both the main menu and a dim sum menu. Well, everything sounded delicious and every dish, which was being served around us, looked wonderful. I kept wondering why there were so many staff, but within an hour, the restaurant was getting so busy. Lots of shoppers, tourists and people out for an early dins. The place was buzzing! We opted for the steamed dim sum seafood platter, whilst contemplating what to choose for mains. The platter was to die for! Four dumplings each, which really were the nicest dumplings we’ve ever tasted; Soft with prawns and scallops – oh, I could have ordered another portion, but we knew we’d never eat our mains! They came with a soy and chilli sauce, but I opted out of the chilli sauce – I can’t eat too much spice! Our server’s English wasn’t very good, but that’s our fault!!!!! But, the great thing is, you get a menu, with tick boxes – what a great idea! The food comes up pretty quickly, but that suited us on this occasion. We opted for Kung Po King Prawn, Crispy Shredded Beef with Chilli Sauce, Dry Fried Udon (noodles) with Assorted Seafood in XO Sauce, Ribs and a small bowl of Steamed Rice. Well, every mouthful was wonderful. The Kung Po Prawn we normally order (at home) is served in a soft batter, but not here – big, juicy prawns, fresh vegetables, and not too overly spicy. The Udon noodles with assorted seafood – the prawns and scallops – we were truly spoilt – scrumptious. The crispy beef was fresh and sticky and crunchy – oooh, we loved that! We couldn’t quite make our way through the ribs, so our server was kind enough to put our leftovers into a container and we took them away with us! For us, the service was perfect! And, you know in some restaurants where they keep rushing over to fill up your wine glass, not here – we were left alone, to savour our early dinner! By the time we left, the place was packed – hence all the staff. So many restaurants to choose from, in the area, but the food here – I don’t think you could beat it. OK, not cheap – go to one of the Chinese buffets if you want cheap (with mediocre food!), but this food was quality and truly absolutely delicious. Will we be re-visiting – most definitely! Time and time again, no doubt. I’d love to go a bit early and try more dim sum, so maybe, that’s what we will do next time.

We've eaten here a fair few times and spent a great deal of money here over the years. While the food is of a good standard, the attitude towards customers is not great. We had a party of FOURTEEN people and we spent £470, and yet, they still had the audacity to tell us that they could only give us one tiny dish of chilli oil for all of us, and that any more would be £1 per dish more. At the end, when we asked for some boxes to take home the rest of the food, they would only give us two boxes (no bag), and said any more would incur £1 more per box. Again, there were 14 people on our table, spending almost £500. Not to mention that several of the dishes we ordered did not turn up, and no mention was ever made of them. While the food here is good, their attitude very much is not, and this will make me reconsider bringing people to this restaurant in future.

The food is good but a bit overpriced… I’ve eaten there twice and on both occasion the waitress overcharged us by a few pence on the card machine. When pointed out, they replied “little tip”

It’s Chinese food it’s very tasty and healthy food for everyone

The food is lovely although it was a bit pricey but it was worth it. I took my cousin out from lunch

Great food and great service for a family of 8.

Before leaving London, i wanted my son and his family to see Soho and enjoy a genuine Chinese dim sum meal. We got a reservation for six and reached well in tine after a brief walk thru Chinatown. This a place identified on a previous visit. We ordered prawn dumplings, pork and prawn dumplings, spareribs in black bean sauce, steamed pork buns, steamed pork dumplings, prawn and chive dumplings, char sui cheung fun, vegetarian dumplings, pan fried pork dumplings, vietnamese spring roll, and a spicy aubergine tofu dish. The food was just divine. The pork buns and cheung fun were unbelievable. The service was aloof. The staff functional. We were charged £1.00 for a small dish of chili sauce ! It was a good memory to have for all: the dim sums making it so! Definitely recommended.

We went there after a museum visit with the kids. Not a trendy restaurant. But Dim Sum are nice. Normal London price. Both of my kids liked it very much and they wanted to go again!

Very good! Traditional food. Very accommodating.

Nine of us visited this relaxed restaurant for my birthday. Booking was easy even when I made a mistake. We were welcomed shown to our table in a quiet corner. The pushchairs were stored away safely. I was uncertain what order but a really helpful waitress helped. My three little grandchildren loved the chicken and sweetcorn soup. The duck pancakes were popular. The little ones had not been to a Chinese restaurant before and everything worked as I hoped. An occasion to remember.