Joy King Lau in City of London, Westminster

Probably the worst dim sum I've tried in Soho. Gummy texture, strange aftertaste in the mouth.. Would advise going elsewhere

the food was absolutely incredible!! best chinese food i’ve ever had which is quite the accomplishment! even weeks later i couldn’t stop thinking about it. the staff were also incredibly friendly

Very good place and food. Very charming Host Tan, Thank you very much for making our experience so good.

Don't understand why this is rated only 4 stars. What a gem. Really delicious dumplings, great/quick/kind service, very nice and relaced atmosphere. Loved it.

The dim sum is always delicious. Service is fast and very affordable prices. This has become my go-to restaurant in China Town.

Very efficient service and order taking. Loved the sui mai dumplings and a reasonable wine selection !

Very nice waitress and nice food!

Food amazing and staff very friendly lovely experience

Recommended by the Savoy. The food was amazingly fresh. We had Szechuan beef, sweet and sour chicken, egg fried rice, noodles, dim sum. Best shrimp spring rolls I've ever had. It was so good we came back the next day. 5 times in London the only restaurant we have gone to twice! Delicious!

Efficient service and ordering was quick as we pre-theatre dinner option. The Sui mai was very good.

This is a wonderful Chinese restaurant in the centre of town. Best pork/prawn dumplings in Soho. Sweet and kind service.

Such a great place and such a good atmosphere. Many thanks to Mr. Tan for taking care of us!

Need a dim sum fix? This is your place. Been a few times, great selection

One of the best spots for dim sum in Chinatown. Delicious fresh food, reasonable prices, very speedy and friendly service in a lovely laidback atmosphere. Don’t miss the turnip paste dumplings!

Friendly staff, good food away from the busy crowds

What a bloody disgrace!! We had a deeply disappointing experience at this restaurant due to what felt like outright DISCRIMINATION, RACIST ra and unprofessional service. From the very beginning, the manager’s attitude was shockingly hostile. We decided to order six starters to begin with, and instead of accommodating our request, the manager looked visibly annoyed and questioned us with a tone of judgment, asking why we would order only six dishes when there were four of us at the table. This comment alone felt unnecessarily rude and discriminatory. After placing our order, we waited for nearly an hour with no update or explanation. When we repeatedly asked why it was taking so long, the manager eventually claimed that steamed dishes take more time. However, we later found out that they hadn’t even entered our order into the system yet—something that became clear when another table who arrived after us received their food much earlier. Throughout the entire waiting period, not once did we receive a proper explanation or even a basic apology for the delay. We were left feeling ignored, disrespected, and unfairly treated. Dining out should be a pleasant experience, but what we encountered here was anything but. We surely not be returning, and we hope the management seriously reflects on how they treat their customers.

We love Joy King Lau, it’s become our regular dim sum spot and never disappoints. Fast service, good prices and delicious food. Ever since New World closed we’ve searched for our new favourite - now it’s not trolley service and I understand that we’re unlikely to see another trolley service dim sum - but it has the perfect vibe and I’m sure we’ll be coming here for years to come.

The food and service was lovely! I took my elderly chinese parents and they thought it was very authentic!

Everything spectacular! The best Chinese food in London!

The food is delicious with traditional flavors and good quality. The service is exceptional. All the staff are very attentive and willing to suggest the best options. We had a 100% recommendable experience. The best Chinese food in London!!

Absolutely Fantastic Food, and very friendly staff.

Our favourite restaurant. We've been coming for over ten years and the food is consistently amazing. On our most recent visit we took along my Romanian mother-in-law, and the staff couldn't have been more welcoming amd helpful for her first dim sum meal! We love it.

We have been coming to joy king lau for years, everytime we visit London. The quality, service and food have always been great and hold strong. The staff is friendly and welcoming. Highly recommend

Great food, lovely atmosphere, not been here for a while but will return

This restaurant(Joy King Lau) is really long established, I come to this restaurant every time when I come to London China Town, the food and atmosphere is great, very friendly staffs. Highly recommended 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Environmental hygiene, Hong Kong style taste, salt and pepper squid are like Hong Kong Friendly staff and worthy of support

The service was good and the staff were friendly. We had chicken satay skewers for a starter. They were a bit dry but ok. My wife had Kung Po and it was to was just ok. The chicken curry was a huge let down. It unfortunately had no flavour. Sadly a first and last.

lovely food, big portions, great staff

Lovely staff. Food was nice decent price taste was okay nothing particularly to rave about though. Portions were good

Yummy food, it is in my mouth, it tasty. mmmm mmmmm

Had a great experience! One of our faves

super authentic dim sum, third time back now, service is really good everyone is smiley and you can tell the staffs are happy there.

Good food at a reasonable price

We had lunch together in this newly refurbished Chinese restaurant, lots of dim sum choices, food were very tasty, service was super, price is very reasonable compare with the other Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Highly recommend to Chinese dim sum lover.

I eat Chinese food often in the West End but here is the best yet! Food is first class. Lady Manager was first rate. Definitely go back!

I ordered the wonton noodle soup which tasted great. I also ordered some pan fried pork dumplings. I bit into one and saw inside that they had given me vegetable dumplings instead. I mentioned this and they took the dish away and brought it back after several minutes Except it was the same dish with 2 pork dumplings and the rest were vegetable dumplings. They probably didn't think I could understand Chinese, but I heard one of the waitress say to the owner "yes he ate them all", thinking that I didn't notice the rest were vegetable ones. Good food let down by scammy behaviour.

Ci sono stato a pranzo con un amico. Abbiamo preso solamente dim sum che non sono solamente i ravioli al vapore. È un modo cinese di mangiare a pranzo, arrivano ravioli o piattini. Abbiamo preso piatti cinesi, trippa, polipo, seppioline e ravioli. Molto buoni, un po' piccanti. Servizio essenziale, prezzo nella norma.

I’ve been here a few times in my life. The food is always good. The standouts for me were the roast duck and the dumplings. Both sumptuous. Service was efficient, smiley and friendly. My daughter had sweet and sour chicken and she said it was great. There was a lot of rice for one dish though. I will go again

Good restaurant in Chinatown! Definitely take the pekin duck its great (sorry my picture sucks). The food is coming fast and its very tasty! Would come back for sure

Amazing food - liked it really - I suggest the sizzling platters .. yummiiii 😍

The food servings were good but the quality isn’t. We had the wonton noodle soup and it was bland. The king prawn fried rice was 2/5 stars, if it wasn’t for the prawns it will be tasteless. The food is lacking of authentic Chinese flavours. Additionally, upon payment, we explicitly stated that we were not contributing to the discretionary gratuity. However, they still charged an additional amount.

The food servings were good but the quality isn’t. We had the wonton noodle soup and it was bland. The king prawn fried rice was 2/5 stars, if it wasn’t for the prawns it will be tasteless. The food is lacking of authentic Chinese flavours. Additionally, upon payment, we explicitly stated that we were not contributing to the discretionary gratuity. However, they still charged an additional amount.

Good variety, attentive staffs and friendly. And the food quality is good. And easy to get a table bc they have multiple floors.

One of my go to dim sum places in London. Convenient location with lots of seating and friendly staff.

Change of boss and whole kitchen in last 1 year. Not as good as before. Not bad anyway.

Food was just okay, service really not good.

Been to a few places around China town and this is the best one for Dim sum on par with Hong Kong, other dishes looked very good too so must come back Will definitely be coming back

The food was good in terms of variety and flavor, and we enjoyed the meal. However, there were several issues that left us disappointed. The items on the menu didn’t match those on the order sheet or what we actually received, which created confusion. Communication in English was also difficult, making the experience more frustrating. The worst part was that, in an illegal and completely unjustified manner, they added a service charge of over 10% to the final bill as a tip, without informing us anywhere. This imposed gratuity left us feeling upset, and due to this unfair practice, we will neither return nor recommend this place.

Muy buen lugar para el almuerzo. Personal amable. Buena comida a precios razonables. Plenty Dim sum más cursos de hombres para elegir. Opté por un poco de cada uno. El personal muy atento y regularmente recarga el té sin tener que ser preguntado. Recomiendo encarecidamente una visita aquí.

They were nice before we order food, once we ordered less amount as they expected they get mad....and the food quality is not worth for the price range !

Staff is very bad and very rudely behave and no management

the lady manager is very nice and friendly, felt very comfortable and food was amazing. service was excellent.

When to this restaurant with friends on Thursday, the food was fantastic along with the service it was 10/10. The lady serving us was the sweetest and gave us great suggestions❤️ would definitely come again !

The food was authentic and sublime. The service was speedy and friendly.

A wonderful place to have food at. The service was absolutely amazing, especially from the new manager. She was remarkable. Super attentive, super friendly and super professional. Not only is the service great, the food is impeccable too. From the Dim Sum, to the Braised Beef, to the Mouth Watering Chicken, every dish was delicious. I will definitely continue to come here and recommend everyone to too!

Great food and good service although they forgot some things - and the service charge was put up to 20% for that day we visited.

One of the best dim sum in Chinatown.

Gran comida y a un precio muy razonable. Selección muy grande con algo para todos. Siempre es bueno terminar con una cerveza Tiger.

Food is not bad. Me and the waiter had some misunderstanding for paying the bill. It's not even a big deal. I mean, the waiter didn't have to express his emotion by taking a 'SIGH'. This is soooo unexpectable situation in UK hospitality business. No matter how you feel, DON'T EXPRESS YOUR EMOTION TO CUSTOMER UNLESS THEY'RE RUDE.

Expensive for what it is. If I order a certain fizzy beverage and ask if it is available before ordering and I am told "yes we have it", then I expect my beverage to be served and something else because "they are the same"

Decent Chinese food in Chinatown

Best meal in China town for many years. Really tasty , sauces were fresh and clean, fantastic service and very reasonable

El restaurante era muy servicial a nuestras necesidades, tuvimos una fiesta de 10 personas, pero el personal era bastante antipático. La comida era buena, en términos generales, ya que estábamos en la ciudad de Londres China. Lo muy decepcionante fue que se sirvió en un estado cálido, en absoluto caliente. Era como si la comida se hubiera dejado enfriar antes de servir. No volveremos, cuando hay tantas opciones en la zona.

Dim sum is very delicious!! The wonton noodles were also good haha. The portion of fried rice was too much. All the food was good. The atmosphere is good too

Don't go. Really unfriendly, food not very good. I wanted to eat soup, but since I was alone, many of the tables in the store were empty, so they gave me a corner seat at a small table inside. Doesn't a guy like the male boss climb up on the table with his shoes to hang decorations on the wall even though business isn't over? I ordered fried rice, but they didn't give me steamed rice... This is the first time since I came to London that I paid money and received such poor treatment. Don't do business like that, charging high prices. Let's stick to the basics...

I like this place and was a big fan before it shut down during Covid. The staff were (mostly) friendly and the food was great. It wasn’t too busy but sometimes service was a little slow. Had to ask for the menu after waiting 15 min. And it was absolutely freezing upstairs! We could see our own breath. One of the waitresses was lovely and warmed the place up eventually. I’d return for the food definitely.

We love this restaurant's "xiao long bao"! The staff was very friendly. On the other hand, the wait is a little long but it's worth it.

Rating solely based on this visit as we came for dim sum only. Food was good and was during non peak hour of 4pm. Food came fast and pretty decent too.

Habíamos estado viniendo a este restaurante al menos dos veces al mes algunas veces más durante más de 20 años Con amigos y socios de negocios 5 estrellas cada vez. Luego hace 3 años los nuevos dueños nuevos chefs y el personal, lo intentaron 3 veces con el personal nuevo y los propietarios realmente mal servicio, pero la semana pasada lo probamos de nuevo con la esperanza de que había mejorado OMG lo que un desastre de comida terrible personal todavía grosero se quejó y le dijeron que tal vez no volver de nuevo si no te gusta. Esto es una trampa turística Solía ser un restaurante maravilloso, pero ¿por qué los nuevos propietarios lo arruinan? Ricky Rogers

The place has changed compared to pre covid. Different owners, decor. Food is significantly less tasty ( don't order any soups! You've been warned). And everything is more expensive. Service was alright. We won't come again.

Nice restaurant with 3-4 floors. Good selection dim sum around on the menu. Not too pack or noisy in the restaurant that you cannot have conversation. Food was average, wouldn’t expect the best but good enough for craving dim sum here. Didn’t like some cigarette smell from downstairs that came in the room. Overall, still decent restaurant. I love the fact the restaurant allows you to book larger group online and has a lift to other floors. Hidden from Main Street of Chinatown.

Food was bland, no atmosphere, presentation was shocking, chow mein was microwaved as parts steaming and other parts stone cold, place not very clean and toilets were disgusting!

Similar to what others have already described. Food has hardly any taste, food does not correspond to the description on the menu and questions about the food cannot be answered. In addition, there are long waiting times and language barriers for the waiters. Overall very disappointing for the price!

Si quieres la verdadera trampa turística es esta. Todo está mal El arroz frito es malo Pollo Rey Pao muy malo Dumplings malo No te molestes en entrar. Créeme.

Joy King Lau offers a delightful dive into authentic Chinese cuisine with its traditional dim sum and classic dishes. Here’s a snapshot of our experience: 1. Dim Sum:The har gow (prawn dumplings) were fresh and well-made, with a delicate wrapper and juicy filling. A simple, satisfying start. • The siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) packed a flavorful punch but didn’t feel overwhelming—perfect for sharing. 2. Vegetables:The sautéed bok choy was light, crisp, and well-seasoned. A refreshing, healthy addition that balanced the heavier dishes. 3. Noodles:The barbecue pork noodles were hearty and comforting, with tender meat and a savory broth. Delicious, but best to share to leave room for other dishes. 4. Peking Duck:The duck had wonderfully crispy skin and tender meat. A classic dish that shines here, but one portion goes a long way—don’t try to finish it solo. Final Thoughts: Joy King Lau impresses with its variety, authenticity, and quality. However, the portions are generous, so pace yourself and share the dishes to avoid feeling overstuffed. A great place for a balanced, flavorful meal—just remember, moderation is key!

We were pleasantly surprised that Joy King Lau was open again, we thought it had closed after Covid. Last time we ate there was in 2019 and previously we had always had great experiences and very good food. So when we chanced upon it yesterday we were excited to experience that good food again. We were solely disappointed. We had dim sum which was passable, the mains dry beef hofun was tasteless, we had to ask for soya sauce to add some flavour. The Japanese bean curd again similar situation and tasted eggy. Too much cornstarch in the sauce so gloopy. The Szechuan prawns more like sweet and sour prawns which were overpowering in flavour. Stir fried crispy seafood noodles were again gloopy and such a let down. Such a shame really loved this restaurant and now will never visit it again.

Boiled vegetables are just blanched in boiling water, no seasonings

Utterly ridiculous. Service was abysmal if not quite lacking. Not only did they fail to take our order once, but they canceled it a second time! We waited for that order for over 30 minutes and when we asked them about it, they didn’t even order it! I told them, one of my family members didn’t get to eat due to their error and they just laughed. I was extremely displeased. Worse, they made no amends for this error. Food was alright, nothing above average. The presentation was appalling, however. I was shocked to find my crispy duck BUTCHERED. As you know, Peking duck should be finely and delicately sliced, but instead it was a carnival (not the fun kind as you’ll see below). I don’t frequently review restaurants, but I felt compelled to write this one (that’s when you know it’s either really good or REALLY NOT GOOD. Overall, I would not recommend eating here. There’s better out there.

We ordered pork steamed buns, roasted pork with rice, and Vietnamese pork and shrimp egg rolls. The pork steamed buns were too soft and gooey. The pork was okay in my opinion, awful to my wife. The egg rolls were brought 10-15 minutes after the first two items, and were not very tasty and the outside was excessively chewy. A waste of L32. Should have tried a buffet down the road.

Very good experience, excellent service, very good food, crispy duck amazing, probably the best sweet and sour chicken I have had in a very long time, will visit again

Great food, friendly staff, good ambience! 🍲👌

I booked and dined in here yesterday, we were a party of 10 and I'm happy to say that JKL did not disappoint! It's always overwhelming knowing where in Chinatown to eat, with so many options that all appear more or less the same and all having quite low review ratings (less than 4 for almost all of them). With an expansive menu that would surely please all, I decided on JKL. After arriving 5-10 mins after our booking time, we did have to wait another 10-15 to be seated. We were given a lovely big round spinning table for 10 on the second floor, which was lovely and allowed for good chat round the table as well as easy access for food. The service was efficient, prompt and accurate, which is impressive for the number of items ordered. The dishes came as they were ready, which worked great for us. Upon request the bill also came swiftly. The staff were pleasant and helpful and one of the waitresses took a photo of the group which was really appreciated amongst the busy and hectic environment... they were full on all floors! The food was spot on and we enjoyed everything, I look forward to returning soon.

The food was good, but I ordered a duck noodle soup and they didn't bring it. We told him up to 3 times that the soup was missing. And finally he comes and tells us...the soup has been cancelled. And being an hour a little late I had to eat the remains of the others at the table because they didn't bring me my dinner. The worst thing of all is that they were so comfortable and laughed at me…. The service is unfortunate and the worst of all is that on top of that you have to pay the tip for a somewhat bad service.

This is just simply a bad restaurant.Poor quality food, unattractive presentation, slow service and rude staff.There are many other better Chinese restaurants in London.Avoid this one.

Rice rolls and lychee roll jelly Shrimp Dumplings, Siomai Xiao Long Bao, Thick Skin and Tasteless The teapot Tieguanyin is colorless and tasteless. I don’t know how many times it will be reused.

Este era nuestro ir - restaurante cuando en Londres, así que como estábamos con una nueva amiga la llevamos allí para impresionar. Justo decir que no, que no lo estábamos y no volveremos. No estoy seguro de si el personal ha cambiado, pero tomó 3 veces de preguntar antes de que el agua fue casi "tirado" en la mesa por un servidor descontento. Mi comida estaba bien, pero los vegetarianos entre nosotros mencionaron sin sabor y agua, algo que no habíamos experimentado antes. Cuando se le mencionó al camarero, esto se encontró con una respuesta similar a cuando llegó el agua. Al pagar la factura decidimos no pagar el cargo por servicio discrecional, ya que sentimos que no habíamos recibido un buen servicio y aquí fue cuando comenzó una discusión en toda regla. No volveremos aquí nunca más.

Tourist Trap! Since management has changed a couple of years ago, Joy King Lau has turned into a tourist trap. Food and service is below average. Prices are already high (around 15 GBP for a main dish), the main dishes dont even come with rice (you have to pay extra for it) and they charge an additional 12,5 % service fee on everything. They also try to make you order more and more additional items (for example their chinese tea or more food). Hygiene in the bathroom was bad as well.

This restaurant has been a china town go to place for years. The food is always fresh and well prepared. The pricing is average for the area. If you’re feeling like dim sum you won’t be disappointed.

Tried to pay with a card but got declined either it was the server or something but I tried to offer to do it with my phone and the lady server was just huffing and saying HUHH really loudly like WOMAN IM LITERALLY A PAYING CUSTOMER IM PAYING YOUR WAGES AND YOURE JUST HUFFING YOUR STRESS TO ME I swear hospitality and customer service is down in the sewer in London. They’re acting as if im an inconvenience to them even though im a paying customer. Left such a bad taste to me.

This is one of the restaurants some of my old friends like to go for dim sums. I hadn’t gone for quite a while & was attracted by its promotion outside for lobsters. We went in & ordered a dish between the two of us. When it came we found the lobster pretty small. It was OK for two small eaters, but someone with bigger appetite might find it wanting. Noodle was not the smooth & soft ‘e-noodle’ we normally have with the dish. Instead it was the kind that was served with wantons which had a more stringy texture. We were told this was the case because of local clients preference. I must admit we weren’t totally convinced but didn’t pursue the issue further. All in all, the half price lobster noodle was OK, but not what I would call exciting or impressive. At half price it was fine, but I was not sure I would choose the crustacean dish if otherwise.

Food felt reheated and service very slow it seemed popular not for me

The wonderful, delicious old restaurant has gone. The new owners have gutted food and decor, replacing hand made character with wipe down surfaces and worse food. A tragedy.

TERRIBLE Este restaurante merece cerrar. Vengo de Hong Kong, donde la comida y el servicio excelentes se dan por sentado. He estado viniendo a Joy King Lau con familiares y amigos por más de 15 años. Las normas generales han disminuido notablemente en los últimos años. ¿Un cambio de dueño tal vez? Mi hermana dejó de ir allí hace 2 años, pero pensé en darle otra oportunidad al restaurante. Un gran error. El servicio era casi inexistente y la camarera no tenía esperanza. No chino de Hong Kong, sino un continental que hablaba solo mandarín, muy poco inglés y nada de cantonés. Ella me interrumpió cuando traté de ordenar como si quisiera terminar mi frase por mí - extremadamente grosero. Soy mitad chino y sé perfectamente cómo pedir comida! También hablo cantonés con fluidez. El restaurante estaba medio vacío, pero esperamos 20 minutos para el primer plato que era tibia cuando llegó, luego esperamos otros 20 minutos y no hay señales de nuestra comida principal. Nos levantamos y nos fuimos. Le diré a todos los que conozco que eviten este lugar.

We went to Joy King Lau yesterday for dinner. Can absolutely not recommend this place. I got terrible food poising, presumably from the duck, which I only I had eaten. We ordered a quarter duck with plum sauce as a starter, cucumber salad, vegetarian gyoza and egg fried rice. On top of the food poisoning the food tasted only mediocre and came late.

Despite hearing great things the meal didn’t live up to expectation. Sadly the food had little flavour and many of the vegetables didn’t seem that fresh - the morning glory was tough and the ginger and spring onions in the ginger and spring onion chicken were the parts you’d probably have thrown away at home.

Muy horrible. Esperábamos siglos a que se tomara nuestra orden. La comida de mi marido fue tibia, mi comida fue sosa y parte de nuestro pedido fue olvidado. Un miembro más joven del personal gritaba constantemente a una funcionaria delante de los clientes. Varias mujeres dijeron lo asqueroso que era el inodoro. Y para añadir insultos a las lesiones hay un cargo por servicio en la factura. ¡EVITA!

Really bad since the management changed hands a few years ago. Cold and dried up food. Overall terrible service.

Unfortunately terrible experience. Food arrived in wrong order. Rice 10 minutes after food. Duck arrived after asking and it was the wrong one. Food quality is really good though. But very disappointing visit today.

The food was super greasy and had hardly any vegetables. Rice cost extra although it was already quite expensive. The service was very unfriendly and disinterested. There was an additional 12.6% service fee. I can't recommend it.

We have eaten here a number of times and the service has always been good. Today however, we asked for a table on the ground floor which was confirmed. We waited 5-10 minutes for it be cleared and prepared when a senior male waiter came over and shouted for us to go upstairs. I told him we had a table already and he shouted ‘don’t you understand? Get upstairs’. I said we just wanted the table we’d been waiting for. He told me numerous times he was IN CHARGE and quickly became aggressive and intimidating. This went on and on. We then left the restaurant and had a lovely meal elsewhere where we weren’t screamed at. The rudest restaurant encounter I’ve ever had. We will not be visiting ever again.