Oriental Canteen in Kensington and Chelsea

The food was horrendous. The chow main tasted like tesco noodles chucked on a pan, not even hot, partially undercooked.

Went here for a more low key, simple and affordable meal. I love it's atmosphere - it's a bit run down, but it feels much more easy going, intimate and characterful than the other restaurants in this area, and it's independent. Really friendly staff, and the Malaysian menu is so so good. The two of us had the cumin lamb special, the dumplings, then the Malaysian fish stew (it was so richly flavoured) and roti, plus 2 beers. Filling, and only £36.60 in total (inc. service charge). Highly recommend.

I don't recommend it, no asepsis. I saw the man clean a spoon with his fingernail.

I should have checked the reviews first. If not because my dad wanted noodle in soup, I would haven't even thought about this place. There was literally no one at 5.30pm, but other restaurants around were fully booked. The noodle was just ok, but the beef was chewy. The doufu with mixed meat rice was very average, especially the rice was not fresh. It's just hard to imagine a restaurant at this level can survive in South Kensington.

Delicious crispy pork rice and king prawn noodles. Chill and cheap.

It’s not the greatest of places I would say, certainly acts as a quick comfort get away from the rain. Prices are not too high for the area, however the quality is not the best. The noodles were soggy, the dumplings were a bit too oily . The young lady in the service role was lovely and did her best.

Come here with my family before visiting the museum. Restaurant have a variety of Chinese and Malaysian cuisine. We order chinese pork dishes and it was great, the spice level is enough for us. The price is also great compared to nearby restaurant The owner who managed the restaurant was really friendly and happily explain the best dishes that they have

The food was delicious and classic! Really recommend the pork menus. We forgot to take the pictures of the pork menus since we could not resist the temptation :) The hospitality was really nice. It was lovely to meet the lady and had the meals here.

We ordered beef noodle soup and fired rice. The noodle and the soup are alright but the carrot in the soup is ice cold and the beef needed to be sliced smaller. The fried rice tastes very bad and partial cold too! I believe those are pre-made and not enough microwaves! Pretty bad experience! But the services are ok!

Wow, I took a browse through recent reviews and gosh, people can be a little harsh. To be fair, one reviewer suggested rebranding towards more Malaysian... I totally agree. The first time I saw it, I thought it was going to be like any other canteen that one could find in Chinatown. But further inspecting the menu, I realized that it was primarily Malaysian! I was automatically delighted. This is a very relaxed corner spot, not meant for fine dining. It's simple & affordable. And perhaps I am that lucky, the food has always hit the spot. I just make sure I am only going for anything specifically Malaysian. Get the picture now? :)

Dishes reheated in the microwave, not exceptional in terms of taste but it's OK. On the other hand, there is no heating in the restaurant, everyone wears their coats and there is no music…

Microwaved rice. Crudely prepared pork belly. Ate in absolute silence while staff stared at us.

WORSE CHINESE FOOD OF THE WORLD

Seven years ago I gave this place 5 stars. Shame to see how far it’s fallen.

They serve local Malaysian dishes like char kuay teow and wat tan hor. But without the smokey wok element (wok hei). Disappointed

Ordered pork chop rice and my wife ordered crispy pork rice for lunch today. My pork chops came in less than two minutes. It was deep fried and rock hard, three miserable curled up stale reheated meat. I rejected it. The woman was upset but allowed a change. So I went for the Malaysian curry chicken. This was also a disaster. The first bite into the chicken, I had to spit it out... this curry was not Malaysian curry but Indian spiced. A few fragments of chicken parts was boosted in volume with onions and carrots. I began to taste decayed chicken upon tasting a couple more pieces. I had to leave the rest. My wife suffered in silence, her crispy pork was rubbery, the skin was hard not crispy, probably resulting from microwave action. After paying £23.70 we left the unfinished meal. On our way home, we felt traumatised by this horrible experience. They should not be allowed to trade. Never again.

It really is a canteen style place, don't expect to sit comfortably. Stick to the Chinese food, it is adequate, don't try the Japanese, Korean or Malaysian dishes, you will regret it.

One of the worst food that I had in my life. Also, the owner was so rude to us, she walked off before we could order our food.

this is the only 1 star review I've ever given. sweet and sour pork? more like slightly tangy balls of stale fried dough with a crumb of pork inside 😔 and they still only give you like 4 pieces. the rest of the dish was raw onions?? rice was cooked with too much water and tasted old as hell. sauce was thin and watery. I usually have pretty low standards of eating but this was actually terrible. had to walk up to the counter to pay because the people working were too busy looking outside (it was a nice day tbf) put in a little more heart, I know you can do better.

Good food. Good relationship between quality and price. It is the cheapest in the area.

Food quality is not a Chinese restaurant Koreans should never go there ㅡㅡ I don't even want to rate the taste.

Had the laksa soup and it was yummy and spicy. Service was fast and easy efficient.

If I could, I wouldn't give a single star. The worst thing my husband and I have ever tasted. The food is not fresh. The taste and smell of the food was strange. Soup poorly heated. Leaky and dirty premises. I was worried about my health.

Great to return after 15 years (with our 3 kids!) to the OC, brought back lots of memories from student days. They no longer have a downstairs! Good food, portions and prices, kids especially enjoyed the chicken chow mein. Cheerful friendly staff too, still under the same ownership. Hopefully not our last visit!

Really amazing across the board. Came with my wife and baby following a morning at the Natural History Museum. Great seating outside if the weather permits. Friendly, knowledgeable and fast service. Finally, delicious Chinese-Malay food. Rotis were fresh, curries tasty and the crispy pork was perfect. Also, really great prices, especially for the location!

This must be one of the worst Chinese I had for years! Ordered a fried flat noodle with beef. Beef bland and chewy, no idea how did they managed to cook it with next to no seasoning. Very small portion of noodle and bulked up with oily and cheap veg. And finally if you just reheat leftovers, please at least heat it up evenly. Part of the dish is cold with hard noodle and part of it is hot. I tried my best to eat the few strands of noodles and headed out to another place to eat proper food. The only good thing is the cup of warm water they gave me, which was why I gave them 3 stars for their service.

Can't believe how bad this place is, and its in a prime place All food served on plastic plate which I can live with, but the food was unbelievably rotten and tasteless It felt like everything was boiled. We had crispy duck and crispy pork with rice, but there was nothing crispy about it. it just looked boiled. We would never go back to place.and To me, it needs closing down, and the service was also.bad no smiles at all.O yes one more thing we had onions in the dish with the outer skin on it still

The food was homemade, and the man treated us very kindly. Being so close to the museum area was very well priced.

Absolutely love, this please have been coming here for 10 years. It’s super simple and authentic and they are very friend.

Good food and with a very fast and kind service!

Just leave my truth opinion - taste bad. Visit a few Chinese cuisines every week , but I'll never go back here again.

I was glad to find this restaurant on exhibition road in a busy shopping area, many tourists were enjoying all different kinds of food, this restaurant was empty. I was craving a bowl of wonton soup, the service was great but the food wasn’t as tasty as I expected

The food was terrible, I barely touched my plate. If you want good Asian food there’s some nice restaurants around China town and Tottenham court. I gave 5 star for service cause the old lady was nice.

Will never use again, sat in ordered 3 dishes and 3 drinks. Drinks never arrived and two of the dishes were not what we ordered, tried to bill me for drinks that never arrived. Poor.

Not worth paying for the amount of food and service they give and they had the audacity of charging extra for service fee? What a joke never coming back plus food felt like if it was microwaved not even fresh 👎🏽

The roti is just amazing, and the food is very reasonably priced

Very bad food with very bad service. I won't say it Chinese dishes at all...... It is totally different from the authentic Chinese dishes, and the portions are too small for adults.

worst food I have ever had, poor service, bad cleaning. Would never come again!

A very standard Asian restaurant. Most menu items were what any local Chinese restaurant offers, and there were some Korean, Japanese and Malaysian options as well. The Malaysian curry was by far the most exciting dish, beating the teriyaki chicken by a mile (it should be said, the elderly lady working there did recommend the curry and said it was the best option). I think the place should rebrand into a Malaysian restaurant if that is what they do well (as it seems based off of other reviews and our own experience). Turn a mid-tier generalist into a top-tier specialists offering a more unique culinary experience. Prices were okay, especially for such a busy tourist location, but there wasn't exactly an abundance of chicken.

Really sweet place! Tasty Chinese/Malaysian food. The people are really sweet and hard working and is a great place to go when visiting high touristy areas. The siu yuk and duck are very yummy. Once again, shout-out to the great Malaysia food that did not feel as westernized as many places in London.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!! Doesn't deserve even 1 star!! We've eaten out at many Oriental places before..but the food tasted so bad here! Spring rolls were very oily. Thai red curry and roti canai with mutton curry was AWFUL. The vegetarian Singapore noodles were bland. The waitress lady was rude and charged us service fee to our total bill which we refused to pay. Honestly the worst place I have eaten and we are so surprised it's located in south Kensington!! Very disappointed and left this place very hungry.

Really bad food - greasy and tasted weird - and service was miserable. Oh, and we both got ill after eating there. Avoid like the plague.

I ordered braised beef with rice for take away. Sadly the food is not fresh and had to be discarded.

Until the dishes arrive... completely casual. The main spice is oil

Amazing place . They couldn't do enough to make you feel welcome. The food being served was 10/10 . I ordered the Malaysian curry with roti and it tasted like it came straight from Malaysia 🇲🇾

We have enjoyed the Roti vegetarian which cimes with very crisp and tasty 'pancakes'/ bread. This seems to have been watered down recently so not as good as previously. Good sweetcorn soup. Green curry not mild as advised! It is extremely chilli hot!! I could not tolerate the chilli heat. I was told it could be reduced. In the meantime my partner had virtually finished his meal and I only had rice to consume. Nice people, but I was misinformed about how hot the veg/tofu curry would be. We ended up not eating a meal properly together. Also, due to the misunderstanding or misinterpretation it was not a meal out together. No reduction was offered. I think it should have been . If you cant eat hot chilli in curry dont order the ones on this menu classified as'' Thai'. Dont compare this food to Waggamamma. Both are flavourful and taste authentic but the curry sauce is extremely hot. Unsuitable for some of us. A popular place with Chinese and Malaysian people/students it seems. Stools uncomfortable after 20 mins. A unique place. Nice people. Some food hotter than expected.

DO NOT!!! please don’t eat here, it’s very high up there on the worse place I’ve eaten, worse than mac ds! Tastes like those microwave meals in Sainsbury’s. Firstly the toilets are down stairs outside, which is attached to the kitchen, horrid, deep dark basement, they couldn’t have passed any hygiene laws. It’s dark and each meal is preheated separately, they literally bring you out one plate at a time. Because it’s not a real kitchen. It’s next to a dark toilet. We found paper in our food. It only that but you receive 3 pieces of meat. A ton of veg and so much onion. The meals do not resemble anything from China, or the typical Chinese, the noodles and ingredients they use are cheap and pre-made. I genuinely saw the skim on the sauce from being in a microwave. A waste of £50 on 1 adult and 2 kids. In total we counted 10 pieces of meat in total, yet all our dishes should have contained meat. The meat was also about the size of a nail. I genuinely can’t express how bad this was. We left half the food. The rice is like bag microwave rice 😂😂 we had to laugh.

Overpriced, below average food. £6 for prawn toast and all you get is 2 small triangles. Absolute rip off. Avoid this place.

Very bad service and quality. Very Small portion of food and bad tase. And they need to charge 10% of service charge. Do Not Come !!!

I had the pork and rice. Overpriced for the bad quality. Food came out too quickly as if it was microwaved instead of prepared. Rice was dry and felt like it had been made 3 days ago. The pork, which I expected to be pork belly, was actually slices of pork sausage which was again, dry, hard to chew and felt like it had been left out for a while. Overall, very bad experience for the expensive price and quality.

Absolutely banging black bean, tofu, veg and rice. Super tasty bean sprouts too, and very sweet service. My companion had a veggie red curry and that was good too. And all for less than 30 quid with drinks.

Horrible food. Tried sweet and sour pork. Was made with ketchup!

Ordered the kung Pao chicken, and there was absolutely no taste. And, the rice that was served tasted like it was made days ago and reheated.

I got food poisoning after ordering the ‘Nasi Lemak’ in this place, the rice was noticeably old and the sauce was disgusting…everything in that dish was horrendous. My friend ordered the rice and roast duck, and similar to mine, both the rice and duck was old and smelled sour. Not to mention how expensive this place is! My advice for everyone who wants to eat in this place, DON’T!

Really good for a quick bite! We had the duck and chicken chow mein and it was very tasty

Absolutely horrible. Stay away.

You get only onion whatever you order. We ordere sweat and sour chicken and couldnt find chicken in it.

Unfriendly older lady serving me. Rice grains were precooked and stuck in clumps. Minimal meat in dish. Expensive and disappointing meal for what I was served.

I’m always excited and delighted to see places that sell Malaysian food so keen to try food out at this place. After entering the restaurant with only one other person inside and perhaps four people outside I ordered a laksa. After waiting for 40 minutes, the laksa still hadn’t arrived and the restaurant was getting packed. All the people who came in after me were served food. When I asked for an update, the server looked at me as if I was a nuisance when in fact I had been waiting for my food for 30 minutes at this point. I wasn’t offered a drink. There was no hospitality or any effort made. Even if the food is good (which I wouldn’t know given that my food never arrived) the attitude, extremely slow service and lack of hospitality really has put me off for life. Given the location I’m sure it will do well but I’ve had one of the worst experiences ever. Truly appalling.

I ordered Yangzhou fried rice, and the rice grains were all hard. It was so slow when I wanted to place my order, and I felt dizzy when I collected the money. It may be the most unpalatable fried rice I have ever eaten. The rice obviously costs 9 pounds, but I was told it was 10 pounds. There was no mention of service charges, but the service was actually very poor. I’m sorry for the trouble of so many Asian people coming to London.

Genuinely the worst food I’ve ever had. Bad food, bad service, bad prices. I have to use a few more letters to write the review but I’ve said all I had to say.

Burnt dumplings not great at all

No fuss no frills, cheap food. Good quality food (although bowel movements may question it at times)

I went there for lunch. The portions were good but they tasted okay and quite heavily seasoned.

Used to be an institution in South Ken. Now unfortunately a bit rubbish with average food, service and zero atmosphere. I think I saw rat droppings on the floor.

The only thing that is more terrible than the food is their customer service. 0/5

Your better off getting a Macdonalds.

Found the hair on roti and chicken chow mein and the chicken curry is so stingy. And the staff there they don’t use the hair net while preparing the food..

Fortunately, we will never try this "restaurant" again. Food of dubious quality served on plastic plates with the wrong cutlery. Teriyaki chicken looks like about 200g of rice, 100g of onions, 50g of cabbage and 50g of meat full of sinew and gristle. No "more expensive" vegetables to please the palate and the eye. The hot and sour soup absolutely disgusting. Crispy duck is imagined by the restaurant as about 200g of rice and 70g of duck skin and 50g of meat. Little sauce, no vegetables at all. Appearance-wise a disaster, taste-wise a disaster, nobody even asked us anything. Tourist trap. Terrible place with no standards.

RUN!!!!! THIS IS A SCAM! I paid 12.50 and got one bite of chicken (looked like it’s leftover Worst food you couldn’t imagine

Awful food quality, duck tasted fishy, soup tasted like nothing, very rude service. I've never left a review anywhere, but it was so poor here that I had to.

Portion sizes were small, meat content was tiny, not very clean, service was slow, I think food was being microwaved, I noticed lots of cleaning cloths on the worktops and prayed they were clean. Not good value for money, menus and food posters were old and faded. Food was burnt and didn't taste authentic. Toilet was outside, down the stairs and past the kitchen and dirty. The best thing was the great location near all the museums.

On a street full of tourists and overpriced competitions oriental canteen offerd me Great food, quick service and catering staff got nothing to complain abt here. If your in the area save yourself a buck and grab a bite here

Very basic restaurant with a pan Asian menu. The seafood noodles were loaded with garlic, had one piece of shrimp, sliced minced fish balls and two carrot slices with cabbage. 🤷‍♂️ The hot & sour soup was neither of those things. Summary: much better, higher quality “Asian”food to be found near by.

quality of food was shockingly low especially for the price. please do not order any soups

I usually find that Asian restaurants that look that dodgy from the outside have really delicious food inside, I was wrong. The place is very dirty, unappealing, menu is basic. I asked for not too oily and I ended up with noodles soaking in oil. The “seafood” was basically one shrimp. It wasn’t disgusting but £14 for a dish like this… won’t come back

Pas de chichis dans ce restaurant asiatique avec plats chinois mais également malaysien. Nouilles sautées pas mal, bien assaisonnés. Les RIBS BBQ sont bons. Canard grillé un peu fade et certainement trop cuit, riz bof. Accueil souriant, service rapide, prix doux. Esprit va gêné avec repas cantine

Food was fantastic, great taste and brought out quickly. Great value for money too and Terry was a great welcome. We spoke about Nirvana, haha. 10/10 service

The food was disgusting. We couldn't eat it. It's also pricey for such low quality. All served up with a dash of owner rudeness. A scam restaurant. Avoid at all costs

Dont use this place! Rude staff,order took ages to come then was informed what i ordered was not available...other customers also had to wait to place orders then took ages to arrive despite the place not being busy....one party of six got so fed up waiting they just left....plus if you want to take uneaten food away in a container the charge £1.....but this is not stated anywhere in writing in the restaurant!

19 pounds per person it's a bit abusive for dried pork, darker egg harder than bite the moon and medium size of rize... Not approved!

Lovely place with some good food and fast and nice service.

Good for a quick take away- inexpensive and satisfies the cravings!

At first this looked like a nice place with friendly prices. It’s not! You get an extremely bad deal. Ordered what they called “fish curry” on the menu. They give me some decent amount of bread, which is nice. But: There is almost NOTHING in the soup. Two tiny parts of a potato, a TINY part of some fish, and some small pieces of vegetables. I feel immensely disappointed. This is like a starter at best. Not particularly tasty either. If I could give 0 stars, I would. NEVER again.

Lovely place that I stumbled upon by chance after going to the museums. The food was delicious and the staff was very friendly. Also great for vegans and vegetarians as there is a variety of dishes and they are clearly labeled. Dishes were all budget-friendly.

Looked promising as a classic little Chinese restaurant, but that wasn’t the case. We confusingly got given 3 different menus with different cuisines. Waited 40 mins at a cold drafty table in the back corner for dinner that didn’t come. Had to leave or we’d miss our exhibition time, grabbed a panini over the road instead! Do not recommend!

Stewed beef chow mein was delicious and tried roti for the first time with mutton curry, also very flavoursome. Would definitely recommend

Small portions, food ok, door constantly opened and closed in winter time. Even the rice is not too much (rice is normally the most affordable ingredient). Not really a good value for money anymore. Bit disappointing.

Terrible meal, had spring rolls, nothing in them greasy and very small, chicken satay all dried up and small portions. Special fried rice nothing hardly in it. Sat on uncomfortable stools small table had to keep our coats on as it was cold in there. Really don’t know why we went in there think I was just hungry and fancied Chinese

The pork was extremely unpalatable and disgusting, with a noticeable sour taste and an off-putting smell that was evident even before consumption. The quality of the meat was far below acceptable standards. I felt like to throw up all the afternoon after eating the meat.

Really enjoyed the Malaysian dishes here which included half a dozen roti canai variations, a rare opportunity in London. Portions are generous and fairly priced, especially for the surrounding area. Friendly and helpful service enhanced the experience. Seating is basic due to the small floorspace but at least this encourages diners to move on once finished, to leave space for the next hungry Malaysian food fan.

The food was very reasonably priced and the taste was good too! I especially loved the roti canai - the bread was extremely soft, yet flaky, and the mutton in the curry was extremely soft and tender. Highly recommend!

Not great - soggy rice, overcooked crispy pork & burnt garlic in the broccoli. Very nice and efficient service though.

Rude staff, small portions, and not worth it. Should have seen the reviews first.

Waited 45 minutes to get served, food was bland, not worth the price. I wish I'd read the reviews first.

环境确实朴素了一些，感觉外国人是不是不太会点，只是看上去不咋地，吃起来还是很正宗的烧腊饭的，奶茶也不错，很浓郁。

We’ve been coming here for years. The food has always been enjoyable and good value for money. It’s a basic cafe inside but very endearing. The staff are sweet. Today we ordered 2 plates of chicken chow mein and although I ordered sweet and sour noodles, I was given veg and noodles. The food was nice but the chicken dishes were smaller than last time. No drinks were ordered. £39 for 3 plates of basic food. The prices have massively increased. We had to ask what the breakdown was as there is no detailed bill given. Service charge at 10% is now added which is fine but the cost of our food unfortunately, just wasn’t worth it. I don’t understand how my veg and noodles cost £13.50 and the chicken dishes £11? We won’t be going back sadly.

Wow..so great in South Ken had Chinese restaurant.Delicious and big portion. Like their special menu from chef's recommended.Staffs very friendly,service good and polite. The Chinese ladies pretty and nice too. Will come back again.good luck. 🥂

难得逛了一圈和博物馆，既然发现south Ken这里有间中餐厅.这边中国料理蛮好吃，份量超大份的. 这边还得赞赞服务员，service超棒的.知道天气转凉,会自动拿杯温水递给我喝。还会主动问我外面会不会太冷，需不需要换桌到室内。值得称赞👍👍👍👍

The food was delicious and the staff was very polite. I enjoyed sitting in their restaurant it was a lovely atmosphere.