Shanghai Blues in Camden

这家餐厅算是伦敦中餐厅中档次比较高的一家，主打上海菜。整家店的装修以蓝色为主色调，服务员都穿着旗袍，特别有味道。菜式比较精致份量较少，但是味道都不错。

Lovely place, amazing food, wonderful dim sum selection. Fast service, good staff, but sometimes not so helpful with the choice of dishes. Good to dine with friends or in a couple I definitely recommend it!

The marketing of the restaurant is a joke.They advertise 50% off Dim Sum but all the dishes are heavily overpriced so the discount just brings the prices down to standard prices.The food has no effort or passion put into it.Dan Tarts (Egg tarts) are TINY for the price and the XiaoLongBao were badly pleated and the dough still raw on top. The inside was Just a chewy meatball with no soup!The staff are useless. Most of the waiters/waitresses are westerners and cant understand Chinese which made ordering the dishes a choir. Not worth visiting as there is slightly better Dim Sum in Chinatown and much better elsewhere in London

Reservé una mesa en este restaurante para celebrar el Día de San Valentín 2 semanas antes.

así que presentamos esta noche para encontrar el personal sentado en los papeles de su cara interior no es consciente de lo que estaba ocurriendo; el lugar estaba cerrado. Reservé una mesa para dos y nos llevaron a mi número de móvil pero obviamente no podría encontrar el tiempo para comunicarse con los clientes o incluso su propio personal sobre el cierre. Lo que un pobre nivel de servicio al cliente. Quizás ya que reservé con Tastecard que yo no estaba suficientemente importante. Muy decepcionado y yo no se reserva en el futuro.

普段はラクジュアリーで多少値が張るものの、日曜昼ランチは割安感があります。

Fuimos a un cumpleaños. No creo que el menú era enormemente caro, pero usamos un sabor de tarjeta de Londres al 50% de descuento en la comida. No estoy seguro de cómo pueden justificar algunas de sus precios, el 50% de descuento comprado a "servicio normal

The food was bland, the shrimp chips tasted peppery. Avoid this restaurant at all cost. The sesame chicken had a three times thicker fat skin crust than the size of the breast.

I came here for a Company Dinner and I was not impressed. The food is overpriced but the staff was amazing.

Fui con mis amigos a este restaurante porque yo se los recomendé por sabor, decoración y ambiente, calidad y precio, pero en mi segunda visita ya con mis amigos ocurrio que venía un pequeño insecto en el plato de una amiga, lo cual es algo desagradable y que le quita muchos puntos a este restaurante, sin embargo tienen buena atención, buenos precios, comida que si es como en China y miy buena.

Pasamos un fin de año cena muy agradable aquí. El interior del comedor es muy bien hecho; el servicio es bastante bueno, y todos nuestros platos era excelente. Cada uno tenía un toque ligeramente único/fusión que hizo que los platos más memorable. Lo recomiendo encarecidamente.

I was here for a birthday dinner with family and friends. The staff were amazing with the service and the help and effort that was added into making the day special with a karaoke during dinner. Very pleased with the food and happy with the service.

Dimsum ok, and amount of food was sufficient. Service level lower than expected. Noisy room. Ok since food was 50% off.

throughly enjoyed our second visit to this restaurant and got a discount as it was between christmas and new year, which we didn't know about until we got the bill! Thoroughly delicious food, dim sum, crispy duck, noodles, rice, crispy chill beef, all of it was some of the best I have had and all with great service.

Used this venue for the first time this year. Spacious clean and accomodating as a venue. Food ok given pre agreed buffet menu but not enough. Drinks bill very expensive. Overall a good night. Should add as a team we do Karoke every year and whilst i enjoyed the venue the song choice was very poor and not a patch on other London karoke bars. Was also hard to use. In summary depends on your priorities ;)

Just a very short walk from the British Museum, Shanghai Blues is the perfect place to dine and relax following a museum visit. The extensive Dim Sum menu and excellent service make this restaurant a very pleasurable experience. Added to the good food and service is the fact that paying in cash results in a 50% discount from the menu price. A great choice for both couples and families.

We went on a Sunday when the menu is half price. Luckily, as the menu is pricey - most individual dishes cost over £10, including vegetable sides and some starters. The food was good rather than excellent - I'd give the soft shell crab a wide berth in future. Nice decor.

"Sadly this place has gone down a lot. Some of the food is still top notch, but it can be poor, the service is patchy, and the prices getting silly."

Pretty decent quality dim sum. Fast service and nice atmosphere. Weekday offers and weekend offers at selected times are worth going for.Crispy Turnip Puff (V) is yummy (there are only 4 places in London that serve this on their dim sum menu)

Passed by this place a few months ago and made a mental note to come here sometime. Well the day came and four of us took a cousin to Shanghai Blues for her birthday.In a nutshell I would say in my humble opinion:* Excellent food* Excellent service* Divine atmosphere and ambiance* Friendly and attentive staff* Good value for money* 10 thumbs up (even though I only have 2)* I will definitely recommend this one!And to top it all ... when they found out it was my cousin's birthday (after we had our meal and dessert) they laid on a spread of assorted tropical fruit which looked too fantastic to eat.=======================================================================Only downside really, be aware for the 12.5% compulsory service charge. I knew in advance so was not alarmed=======================================================================

We have been to many Chinese restaurants in Chinatown over the years and they have incresingly become generic low grade tourist rip off joints. Discovered this restaurant a year ago. It's now become a regular haunt. Great decor. Great serene ambiance with excelent coice of backgrond music. It feels like being in Shanghai in the 30's. Great food and great service. Generally go for dim sum lunch as it's good value. Lets hope the owner and management keep the good standards and offers available.

Went for Lunch on an Amazon Local voucher for two and took an extra person. The food is excellent but the service comes over as uninterested/offhand. The place is busy and seems to have many people from china eating there which supports how good the food is. However, due to the poor level of service I am not sure I would return

quality and quantity of the food was excellent, as was the atmosphere.Good value for what we paid.At the beginning the service was a little slow but when we made a gently remark it was heeded, so no complaints.Definitely recommend a visit .For our group of 4 it was a first visit but we will be back when next in London.

Yes the title is true. I came into the restaurant with my girlfriend for a meal before a show. My first bite of prawn crackers was hard and sharp! I spit out a few shards of glass the size of my pinky fingernail, and a few shards smaller. Honestly, I am quite easy going about these situations. I did not get hurt, nor did I swallow any of the glass. Instances like these are surprisingly common (awful, I know!), and are for the most part the fault of the supplier (whoever makes/delivers the prawn crackers). The actual incident could have been worse, and didn't upset me. What upset me was the lack of response or caring from the restaurant staff. I made my waiter aware of the situation. He promptly took the glass away and never spoke of it again. As he passed again I asked to see a supervisor or manager. Not to try to nab a free meal or press charges, but to make them aware of the situation and hope it does not happen in the future. The manager he directed me to did not seem like manager. She literally said nothing, took the final glass piece, and walked away. This was unbelievable. Now, some of you may disagree with this, but we stayed for the rest of the meal! Honestly, the atmosphere, food, and value were great. I believe this was an isolated incident and the fault of the cracker manufacturer... but the apathy of the restaurant staff was quite disturbing! If you eat here, beware the crackers.

this is an average place, the food served was not HOT, I expect hot food not luke warm, the service was good, and nice settings for a restaurant, abit pricey but that's london

Went to this restaurant for a friends surprise birthday dinner. Checked out the restaurant with a friend beforehand and it wasn't too bad but when it came to the actual day oh dear! Poor service, very poor. They gave out one set menu to be shared between 9 people!! Bearing in mind we all paid £42 for our meal and what we got was a disgrace. They really did let themselves down. After explaining to them our grievances, they only offered to half the service charge (even though I believe they weren't entitled to it) . Very overpriced, service was appalling we only had one waiter to deal with 30 people, and rude management. Left the restaurant unimpressed and still hungry!! If possible please stay away

We went here on impulse, was just passing on a night out and our tummys were rumbling. We met a couple on the way in and asked what they thought, we were advised it was lovely food, but very expensive! Can't fault the food, but was expensive, cheapest set meal (min 2 persons), is £30 upwards, each. Where you need to be very careful is on the drinks, £35 for a (screwtop) bottle of Pinot but, more inexcusable, £4.50 for a bottle of water! £126 for a dinner for 2 = breaking the bank for what should've been a relatively cheap night out (we won tickets to TFI Friday which, if I could've rated on Trip Avusor would've got 5 stars, great night out... Thank you Chris Evans and Channel 4!).

When we arrived, there was only one table with diners however, it took ages for us to be served. By this time other diners had arrived and were receiving their orders. We eventually were able to attract the attention of a member of staff to place our order after which I cannot fault him in terms of paying attention. We ordered a selection of dim sum amongst others for the starter. The dim sum was ok but for me the best of the starters was the mandarin ribs. Second course, crispy duck was good. For the main I ordered the sea bass in ginger and spring onions which was ok. The special fried rice was very bland. One of us ordered the Singapore noodles which tasted burnt. The only constellations here was that it was 50% off the a la carte menu. I do not think I will be returning, not even with the reduce rate. On a whole the food was mediocre all of which I could find in any of my local take away of a better quality.

a nice dimsum restaurant with a quaint interior, believe it was a library before and hence the low balconies! The place was very clean and the food was authentic. The menu is comprehensive. Was really surprised when the bill came with 50% off!!! Amazing place. So much value for the price. Will definitely go again!

Almost every time I'm in London we have dinner at Shanghai Blues, located on High Holborn. The food is great, the menu is diverse and the owners always remember me. I highly recommend Shaghai Blues.

A fabulous lunch just a stone's throw from Holborn station and Oxford Street.Beautiful food in a tranquil setting. One of my favourite places for a working lunch.The menu choice is amazing and if you like spicy food the Pork belly is a must try.... You will not be disappointed.I have heard that this is fun in the evening as on some nights they have live jazz music...

Lunch on a deal of 6 baskets of dim sum with a glass of wine was very good. Tasty bite size of selected dim sum chosen from the a la carte menu with guidance from the waitress was very helpful. Glass of white wine was perfectly chilled and drinkable.Not too busy on a weekday.Attentive service.

We visited Shanghai Blues using an Amazon Local deal, but the restaurant offers other promotions (check their website). The decor was attractive, contemporary with an Asian influence. We were seated in the ground floor dining room, which was spacious with a high ceiling.We ordered from the dim sum menu. The food was well cooked and tasty - as good as any we have sampled in London. We particularly enjoyed the turnip paste and the pork and chive dumplings.The service was effective and polite.

"Great Sunday lunch deal - 50% off. Dim sum and main dishes didn't disappoint, much better than the average but no real fireworks. Service friendly but a little slow. Very pretty room."

Why don't I ever learn? I suppose I deserved it for breaking my own rules. The first is never go to a restaurant offering substantial discounts. The fact that they offer discounts should be obvious. The second is I do not go to a restaurant without checking its reviews first on tripadvisor. Again, obvious why.Shanghai Blues looked too good to to be true. 50% off the a la carte menu for Saturday from 12pm to 3 pm. The menu looked great so I decided to try it. I was on my way to Chinatown anyway after visiting the museum so it was convenient. I ordered a big lobster deep fried with black bean, chili and garlic and a stir fried scallop and abalone dish. First the lobster. It was clear that they had not given me the big lobster, it was a small size. The big lobster is supposed to be 1kg. This thing would not have made 700g. To make matters worse, the lobster had been nuked in the deep fryer. It was way overcooked. Second was the abalone and scallop dish. This wasn't a bad dish excepting it was a very small serve and the abalone was relatively tasteless (i.e. not particularly fresh).I was already unhappy with the meal when the bill came out notwithstanding that the service had actually been pretty good. I looked at the bill and noted the mandatory 12.5% service charge was charged on the full amount of the bill, not the so-called 50% discounted amount. Anyway, I decided i just wanted out of there so I gave the waiter the credit card. He said he had to get the waitress who had the credit card machine. She came to me and said that they do not take credit card. Sorry? What type of self-respecting restaurant does not take credit card? The other waiter had said that the waitress had the credit card machine so clearly they were up to something. Anyway, I paid cash and when I got my change, I pocketed it. After all, restaurants charge 12.5% service charge in London and nothing at the restaurant had warranted a further tip. The waiter who came and removed the bill made a point of checking it for the change and giving me a dirty look when walking away. That was when i realised why they played the game with the credit card. It is hoping you pay cash and pay more by way of tip. The manager did not thank me when I left. He just ignored me. Overall, a really poor experience and it is hard to imagine that one can feel ripped off with a 50% discount. I've written hundreds of reviews on tripadvisor and this one has the privilege of being the worst. Looking at the number of really poor reviews this restaurant has received, it only brings home the need to do your research before you commit to going to a restaurant.Would I go back? Honestly, I would rather go for a big mac.

went with four friends to try the dim sum. the venue is very nice with proper tables, u don't feel cramp and its not noisy. Alcohol here is very exp. The menu had some nice dim sum and the presentation was very nice. Tea was by person and quite expensive at 2.5 GBP. They became crowded so service slowed down when more people arrived

Popped in on a Monday for lunch, which was very nice. Obviously being the start of the week it was very quiet, but to the point with 5 or so tables, it still felt very stilted of atmosphere.The food was good, but not sure how freshly cooked it all is, presume it's all pre prepared and then defrosted? 2 of my dishes came out clearly all stuck together like its from a pack. I could be wrong, but that's what it looked like.It was tasty, but service was slow.Better dim sum in Chinatown

We had an excellent dinner at this restaurant. The DimSum menu is interesting and tasty, and the decor is very nice. Great welcome by the maitre d' and the service staff. We enjoyed our evening. Recommended !

Enjoyed dinner here, reasonably cooked and presented. I haven't been here for a couple of years and the place looked a little tired. Pity really. Perhaps some attention to detail is needed. But on the plus side, the service was quite good.

We paid £35 for a set menu to celebrate a friends bday. Food was really average. I grew up in Asia and I know a fair bit about Asian cuisine and this was really not worth £35. Alcohol prices were ridiculous - £10 for a glass of wine? Absolutely shocking. We were there for karaoke and at 11:15pm the waitress came over and promptly told us that was that, the end, because they had to get up at 8am in the morning. She was incredibly rude, rolling her eyes and scowling at our party. I really don't know what to make of this place - we paid around £70 each for a couple of dimsum, a duck pancake, some egg fried rice, a couple of spoonfuls of a chicken dish and a beef dish, a bottle of wine, and some very average service. All in all, won't be going back and a shame that our party spent so much money here. If you want good Asian food at a fair price, go to Chinatown.

Although we didn't book, we were given a table for the 6 of us, but was kept reminded that we have to vacate by the allotted time.Food was good but not exceptional, doesn't justify the high price. We had dimsum only answer with the cash discount came to just over £140. Particularly good was the turnip puff and fried tofu. Whilst most dimsum places provided four dumplings per portion here they only gave three dumplings per portion. Also at 5am, the dimsum menu was a limited version. We were also abruptly reminded Chinese tea was charged per head!

My wife is a Chinese food junkie, slash aficionado. We've been coming to Shanghai Blues ever since our first date here nearly four years ago and have never been disappointed. We started with a cocktail - they do 'great' cocktails. The dim sum is very good; especially the superior spicy dumplings which are very hot; the staff warn you each time you order them! Seafood rolls with mango are beautiful little pockets to pop in your mouth, the dry ribs are salty and sweet and the Long Bao dumplings are a favourite. In fact, we've tried pretty much all the dumplings, both steamed and grilled and they're all great. It's advisable to book as it can get really busy. The service is usually brilliant but on the last occasion we visited, our friend asked for a Tsingtao beer and got a ginger beer and it then took four further attempts to get what she'd asked for, but we won't hold that against them. Burns a bigger hole in your slacks than the average Chinese, but worth it when you can't afford Min Jiang that night.

Had lunch with a friend on a cold ,wet rainy day. Went on a deal consisting of a basket with 4 different dim sum, 8 in total followed by a plate of shredded duck meat with pancake rolls. Duck was slightly dry but tasty with the usual sauce A glass of wine was included in the deal which was very good. Fairly quiet for a Monday lunch time. Service good. Very nice décor in the restaurant

Knowing that this was Lewis Hamiltons favourite restaurant we expected great things, & were not disappointed. The selection of starters were very good, but the main course dishes were even better, plenty of chilli, but without being completely overpowering. we sat in the right-hand side of the restaurant surrounded completely with chinese eating in, they were mainly going for dim sum, but it was comforting to see how well supported it is by people who know what they are eating!

We have had lunch, seafood platter to share, very nice tea and ice cream. Everything was very beautifully presented and very tasteful. Many thanks!

店構えは多少入店を考えてしまうものでしたが、平日の昼は飲茶メニューがどれも3.50ポンドということだったので飛び込んでみました。お茶は有料です。海老蒸し餃子や蓮の葉巻きご飯がとても美味しかったです。

The dim sum were delicious, the fried vegetables with garlic were very good. The portions are sufficient for two people.

The quality of the food here was OK. We liked the duck wraps. A few things about the service were strange. We were a party of 4 and when the duck came, instead of shredding it between 2 of us or on the table, the waitress stood right behind me and shredded it about 20 cm behind my head which was odd. Also they wouldn't put the bottle of wine on the table or in an ice bucket next to our table, but in the corner of the room so "when you want some, you tell me" and then of course we sat with empty glasses because the servers vanished. But... the food wasn't bad.

My partner had been here before years ago and wanted to go back so I made reservations about 2 months in advance as this place appears to be very popular so wanted to make sure we got a table. Making the reservation was really easy and was no problem to make a change a day before the booking. The food is amazing and portion sizes are very good. Waiting staff and bar staff are very attentive and polite, also if a drink isn't on the menu there is no problem in making it for you. Overall a fab dinner and very reasonably priced, I would recommend this restaurant.

Average food, but rude staff. I would still go for 50pct discount though on sunday. The location is convenient

Good experience at the restaurant after getting the idea from the concierge. Must have the dimsum. The service was also very good and fast.Definitely a must do again

I went to this restaurant using an amazon local voucher, never know what to expect with vouchers but this was great value as the food was excellent. Started with a dim sum basket followed by crispy duck. If I was choosing to go there and pay full price, I would be put off by the dark decor (especially down to the loos),

We ate here as part of a large group of 30 friends. It was booked a long time ago and we were promised a live Jazz band as entertainment but were told this was cancelled. We were then hoping to get a private room with karaoke.They insisted that we could only have the set menu even though we were not given a private room or karaoke.They then insisted that everyone paid for the meal up front including the 12.5% service charge even though we had not been served any food or drinks at that time.When the food finally arrived and everyone was eating it the staff came round and wanted everyone to pay their drinks bill there and then. They even stood over us with the card reader while we were trying to enjoy our meal.There was far too little food for everyone and we had to ask them to make more for us. It was the most unpleasant experience. We all ended up paying a lot of money for a poor service and an average meal and felt like we were not trusted by the staff..There was far too little food for everyone and we had to ask them to make more for us.There are many far better Chinese restaurants in London with much better service and costing less money I would avoid at all cost.

Rude staff, crap food - essentially everything you don't want in a restaurant in one place! There are plenty of nice Chinese / Japanese restaurants in London so don't go here.

Went to this place first ten years ago and it was nice, but boy has it gone down hill! Just went back for a friend's party and got treated really badly. Firstly, they made us pay in full on arrival for all the food plus 12.5% service charge. Who does that?!! Then we had to wait an hour before they took drinks orders, then a further 50 minutes before these delivered!! We were parched and hungry! Next the food was pretty average but the menu was not as per the website and one course was missed out. Would really never go back, as thought this was a pretty rubbish experience for the amount of money we had to pay, which was expensive! A shame what's happened to this place.

I am not normally one to write reviews, but the service in this place was so bad, it was comical and had to be reported!A friend booked a large group of us into this restaurant several weeks back, but when calling to confirm the booking the day before, was told that we had not been booked in and plenty of excuses were offered up, employees sacked etc. However they could still fit us in but only on a set menu option, something we had previously specifically said we did not want. We suspect that they just didn't want to give our large group the standard menu so conveniently 'lost' our booking.We had been pre warned, but on arrival it became apparent that we were expected to pay the set menu price (£25 which was a £10 discount on the normal price) plus the 12.5% tip - up front! I have never been asked to pay at a restaurant up front and I am not sure how you can be expected to pay a tip up front - but we were! This was pointed out to them - but it fell on deaf ears.They were very fast to take our money, but then very slow to take our drinks orders, in fact it was a good hour between arrival and our drinks finally arriving on our tables. There was two waiters assigned to us, although not unpleasant, one was yawning and leaning up against the wall, whilst the other was taking all the orders. When I motioned to the one not doing anything to come over and take our drinks orders, he made it clear that we had to wait for the other guy!The food, although of good quality, wasn't too plentiful and again came out very slowly and sporadically at first. We were getting one nibble each then having to wait another 10 mins for the next nibble! Although the main course did at least come all together I certainly did not feel satisfied at the end of the meal and I think some of the other tables on our group had fared even worse.At around the time when the main courses finally arrived, so also did our individual bills for the first round of drinks, half way through dinner! Our group leader lost it with them at this point ranting that we weren't going to do a runner! They hastily collected them all up again! However I had already spied the 12.5% service charge on the drinks that had taken over an hour to arrive!The 2nd drink did arrive much faster, but I did have to ask for it twice.When it finally did become time to pay the drinks bill at the end of the night, I pointed out the service charge and said that it had taken over an hour to get the first drinks. I bluntly got the response that they had been very busy and the card machine shoved towards me. - The restaurant had in fact been half empty all night long.Overall although the food was tasty, the lack of it, high cost and really really bad and bizarre service make this a place to avoid. We had a good time anyway though as it gave our substantial group something to have a laugh at! Although the total cost for 2 of us coming to £86 for 2 cocktails, 2 soft drinks and a lack of food and terrible service... maybe it's not so funny after all...

Visited this restaurant by chance on the first night of our midweek break. They were quite busy which is always a good sign, but we managed to get a table for 4 immediately. Service was excellent, waiter answered any questions we had while making our orders. Food arrived quickly, piping hot and well presented. We all ordered different dishes and it was all delicious. Would eat here again.

This restaurant was recommended to us but was not impressed at all. Arrived there after ten on a Saturday night and although seated by the owner or manager was soon told by the waiter to hurry up and choose our meal as the kitchen closes soon. Not a good start. I initially chose soup which was with me pretty quickly and tasted fine. I then order chicken with crispy noodles and a chicken soya sauce dish. The noodle dish and my rice dish came soon enough but no sign of my chicken dish. I tried to attract the attention of the manager but he was seemed more interested in drinking his wine at the bar. When my dish finally arrived after advising a waiter my rice was cold and my dish consisted of some chicken and onions in a sauce and for £ 14 expected a bit better than that. I did mention to the waiter that it was cold but that went on deaf ears. When the bill arived the staff had the nerve to charge 12.5 % service charge which I did not pay. I half finished my meal and left very disappointed. Will not visit there again on my return to London.

Shanghai Blues was on our list of places to have lunch in London, and I'm so glad it was! We had excellent dim sum in a beautiful setting. We visited the restaurant on Bank Holiday Monday when there was an offer of 50% off all food, however even at full price the meal would have been excellent quality. As it was, our bill came to about the price of Nandos!

This used to be a rather exotic and glamorous modern Chinese restaurant. It has changed very much away from this glossy approach to a rather more rustic approach, but the prices and decor remain the same. Waiting staff have definitely deteriorated. Overall, pretty good food at a high price. Could probably do better in Chinatown now.

We were stating in Holborn and walked past this place. We decided to book on the spur of the moment for that evening. Went back to hotel and read some reviews that nearly made us cancel ! Glad we didn't the place was unexpectedly good. The service was quick and friendly. The menu was extensive and the food well cooked. Would go back!

this was our 4th visit. I read reviews that food was on decline, but figured we liked it in the past, so we went on Sun. around 5PMSeated immediately, since only 3 other tables were occupied. Dim Sum was OK. Soup was so so and ribs were good. Ordered special rice-nothing special and a sweet& sour chx dish- is was sooo goopy and overly sweet. Dont think we'll return next time

A comida é saborosa e de alta qualidade cada vez! Os garçons, por vezes, não são muito amigáveis, mas sempre muito serviço atencioso. Eu recomendo

This place has great dim sum. I was a bit annoyed because we wanted to order dessert and they instructed us that they don't do dessert with no explanation.

Посещаю это место несколько раз в год с друзьями. Еда очень вкусная и качественная каждый раз! Официанты иногда могут быть не очень приветливы, но всегда очень внимательны в обслуживании. Рекомендую особенно для обедов/ужинов в компании с друзей - круглые столы отлично располагают к общению с любым собеседником в компании.

Excellent food in an atmospheric setting and attentive and friendly staff . This was my third visit in the last four months - work dinners and the last on with friends ; on every occasion the food was great and the overall experience satisfying !

Where should I start?! Multiple waiters taking different orders. Constantly having to chase orders. Waiters not knowing which table food had been ordered to. Food came at various times. Some never came at all. Had to send back three dishes as they were all undercooked (two fried dim sum and one steamed chicken ricepot). Sent the same ricepot back again because the chicken was even more raw the second time! When it came to asking the whereabouts of our food I had to ask the same guy twice to which he then replied he only deals with the serving. Asked for the manager and was greeted by another waiter who apologised and offered us some free food and checked the bill for us. Turns out that some food we ordered was never even added and some things that we'd been charged for never came! Even my niece had one bite of the mini egg tart and had to leave the rest on her plate. The only saving grace was that it was 50% off if we paid cash. A forgettable Mother's Day with the family. My advice; AVOID at all costs!

Shanghai Blues was always a favourite and while the food remains excellent, the last two visits have seen the sheen come off the service.For some reason, there are now boards outside showing pictures of the food, like a seaside resort restaurant. I am not sure that this adds to the classy experience we once had.On the last visit, some of our food didn't arrive and some arrived so late that we had to send it back as it was so out of sync with the other dishes and we were past wanting it. The service was sweet but disorganised.I love you, Shanghai Blues, but please revert to the good old days of being a really classy establishment - a treat.

The food here can be really good but the various on-line set menu offers are really poor value and well avoided. The normal menu is pretty expensive compared with China Town however.

We had booked a table and were there on time, but were still made to wait over 40 minutes. We had asked quite a number of times on how long it would be but the host didn't care at all. He kept on saying 5 minutes. After 40 minutes we told them we are leaving but they said it would only be 5 more minutes and they offered us drinks on the house, we made our way to the bar but no one even bothered to serve us. Instead they just left the bar, despite fully well knowing the situation. Despite asking the host multiple times he didn't care at all and kept saying 5 more minutes. He was more interested in trying to look "cool". In the beginning when we all had arrived we had gone to let him know that but he rudely told us to go sit down as if we had done something wrong and once while I was speaking to him he walked off.We were not a huge group only three of us, and yet people that came after us with larger groups were seated before us. Even after letting him know that we would leave, we were still not offered a table and we ended up leaving. I've never had such a terrible experience at a restaurant before and will never recommend this place to anyone. Awful service!

Yesterday I booked a table for 2:30 but had to wait 40 minutes. Me and my friends were fed up and asked if we would get a table soon. We were told to wait a minute. We actually waited 10 minutes. Once again I asked and they said the table will be ready in 5 minutes and we can get a drink on the house. We waited at the bar, they saw us but didn't service us. They actually didn't seem to care. The even let larger groups who came after us have a table. That was it. We were not going to take it so we left. I will never be going here! I bet there is better dim sum in london especially with friendly staff! Also 1 number is too much. They deserve 0 for not caring

We went there for a business dinner and had two tables of 10. Service was slow and the food was just okay. Good location and some of the choices on other tables looked pretty interesting

I have eaten at this restaurant perhaps a dozen times over the past 9 years or so. It is still a better-than-average Chinese restaurant, but at the prices charged it should be more than that; it should be exceptional, which it has been on previous visits. This time the food was not as hot as it should be, the service was slower (it was a Saturday night, but it wasn't too busy and we were by no means expecting our food in a rush) and some of the previous "sparkle" was missing. I couldn't fault the staff, who were attentive and polite, but I felt they were understaffed for a Saturday night. That could have been a one-off due to staff absence, but other reviews on this site would suggest otherwise.Maybe we were unlucky, but for the moment it has slipped from the list of my half-dozen favourite restaurants. It would be nice if it made it back there.

Overall a lovely dim lit romantic restaurant. If your looking for a romantic spot. Was taken to the restaurant for valentines for a surprise dinner. Food was absolutely tasteful and cocktails was a compliment to my dishes. Service was exceptional and would go back again.

Book a deal with a set course menu. The restaurant looks a bit shabby from the outside but the decor was ok inside. We booked a set menu deal and when the waiter (slim guy with glasses, may have been the head waiter as he had a grey shirt where as the others had black ones) came to our table I asked if he could change one of the courses as with dietary requirements neither of us could eat it, his answer was " no you can't change anything and you have to have it, or I can take it off your menu but you still pay for it!", he was so rude and abrupt and never cracked a smile. We were not asking for a superior item, it could have been a cheeper dish that we could have eaten, it spoiled the whole meal which was a special occasion. I will never return to this restaurant as they do not care about their customers which is a shame as the food is quite good. I would not recommend this place to anyone!

A nice little place where you can listen to live jazz as you eat chinese food. The food is nice but the addition of the music makes the place. Worth a visit but food isn't anything special.

The restaurant is by no means Average but it also is not exceptional. Its a good solid place to eat. The staff were attentive, the food was fresh and tasty we had set meal for 4, at the end loads of food was left. As we were stuffed!!! 3.5 out of 5.

Very reserved and quiet atmosphere, and great choice on a "want to order it all" menu. It is not a standard menu, it has exquisite choices, and I loved what I ordered, something with prawns and a lovely sauce, which I completely forgot the name...It is expensive though, if you order starter and main. But worth it.

Having read the very mixed reviews we decided to take a chance on this place. We enquired at the door around 7pm on Saturday 03/01/15 and were told that we could have a table. We asked for confirmation that the " pre or post theatre menu" at £19.80 per head would be available and were told "yes no problem". We returned at 7.30 and were seated in the middle of the main area with the other 3 or 4 groups who were dining on side tables that looked much nicer. The menus were presented but the theatre one was missing - just the much more expensive a la carte and set menus. I asked why and was told " Ok we will bring that one now". No more than 2 minutes after ordering our first course arrived with our drinks. Three staff then began constantly circling our table fussing over cutlery, topping up our glasses and wiping the table. Our second courses were put on the table half way through the first course! The circling continued without more than 30 seconds ever passing without one of the staff fussing over us. It was impossible to have any kind of private conversation. We showed our irritation clearly but they just carried on regardless. We felt like helpless occupants of a wagon train being surrounded by hostile native Indians! The main course dishes were brought out long before we were ready and only around 10 minutes after we had sat down and our table was constantly wiped. We were asked about 10 times if "everything was OK" It was literally driving us mad, so after less than 30 minutes I called for the bill. It included a "discretionary" service charge of 12.5% (as clearly stated on the menu) I told the waiter that I would not pay that as we had been made to feel very unwelcome and rushed. He started shouting at me that we "should have said that we wanted to eat slowly when we first arrived" . When I tried to answer that he walked away! This has to be just about the rudest most unpleasant service that we have experienced in such an establishment. The food was Ok but not special but we suspect that they really rented us paying "only" £45 despite the place being almost empty. It was my wife's birthday and not exactly a relaxing quality experience. Not going back.

My friend introduced me to visit this restaurant and said this is one of the best Chinese restaurant in town.From my point of view, the food is awful. I didn't even take any picture of the food.The dining environment is so noisy since there was a band performing on that night.The service is okay. Nothing to complain.The bill is "impressive" considering the food quality and dining environment.Anyway, I won't come again for sure.

We went here in December 2014 , and immediately were ushered into the small side room rather than the main area... We had a number of dishes but everyone was was not nice, like a cheap chinese takeaway rather than a restaurant meal.The service was also poor withe the waiters not speaking very good English and not attentive.Bad restaurant and bad food and very expensive .....I don't know why probably because it's quite central. Thinking back I should have asked for my money back and complained.

A first time visit to this restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. There were three in our party and all our needs were catered for. All staff were great from being greeted on arrival and great service at our table. The food was delicious, especially the king prawns with green peppers and black bean sauce. We got a mixture Starters and the dumplings were very tasty. The portion size was perfect and even then we didn't eat everything. We will definately come back again!

Went for dinner with nine friends for Christmas. Started ok with nice service and food but went downhill rapidly. There simply wasn't enough food despite ordering the set menu for all of us. Ended up finding my own wine to pour for everyone, the waitress brought the bill to me before we had been offered coffees and deserts! We left at 11 but they had already turned the lights off at 10.45. It was an expensive meal and in my opinion you can go somewhere much nicer for the same money!

Ate here before and checked out comments before buying a Groupon deal!! Will not even consider as they have NOT remedied the huge weaknesses we found. Public Health inspectors - PLEASE visit!!

Doesn't even deserve a one star. This restaurant was awful. At 1st you walk in and it looks very good and have good expectations but as soon as we sit down it all went downhill. the sofa thing I was sitting on was old with the plastic covering peeling back, a smelly and horrible looking fountain next to me (the smell was actually really powerful like dirty water smell) We started with prawn crackers and the quality was dreadful which made me think if they cant get prawn crackers right then don't get to excited for my starter and mains. I was right! the wonton soup was cold and the prawn dumplings made me gag and the chicken floating around in the water looks fluffy. I ordered a rose Chinese tea and unless I am wrong its usually served in a filter tea pot?! mine arrived with rose buds simply floating in my glass, just taking a sip I had a mouth full or leaves. I couldn't even touch my mains. Don't go there is you don't want to be ill.

My Bday was ruined in this restaurant. The staff are so rude. The food is awful and over priced. Their booking management is terrible. There are girls called Angeline (Who is apparently the manager) and Victoria who are in charge of the booking and they made a mess. They changed my booking without letting me know and they ruined my Bday night.

The sound system could not hack our pace as we had quite a few technical issues on the night but the staff were excellent and kept the food and beers flowing all night, better than anticipated and we would return again for sure!

Visited this evening for an early dinner. The quality of the food and cocktails was very poor and the staff extremely rude. Overpriced. Please seek alternative.

Before I start my review, I will try to put into context some why we came and who came to the restaurant. I like this restaurant and have been here before with good experiences for the evening meals. I think the décor is good and the overall atmosphere /friendliness of the restaurant staff is good. I came because there were 11 of us in our group and that there was a 50% deal on, I presumed that there was a deal because the restaurant is not in China town and they wanted to drum up some business.We were sat down quickly enough and given our menus. The Dim sum selection was lacking to say the least and that was fine, however it was a little discouraging. We ordered for 11 people, various dishes including har gau, pork and prawn cheung fun and siu mai. If you don’t know what these are, they are prawn dumplings, pork and prawn dishes which are similar to cannelloni, and steamed pork and prawn. Oh and we also did order some char siu bau aka steamed pork buns. These are staple dishes when ordering dimsum. All of these items were substandard. The har gau and siu mai steamed from frozen. The pork cheung fun, with only three small pieces of pork in there. The char siu bau, didn’t even have the right colour. Even the dan tat of custard egg tarts were served with sizes no bigger than a 10p piece. They should be the size of a proper tart such as the Portuguese egg tarts you see in nandos as a comparison. We ordered rice for 11 of us and they gave us enough rice for 5 people. Then there was the service. The lady who took our order seemed to be quite rude and also pretentious. She kept on constantly looking around not with our full attention when speaking to her. I think what really upset myself the most was the belly pork dish we ordered. We ordered a pork dish which is a speciality of Shanghainese cuisine. This tasted awful and was sour rather than sweet. Now on my table, I had my parents, sister in law, her parents and my girlfriend who all have eaten this dish in China. They all unanimously agreed it tasted wrong but then we brought this up with the waitress she told us that it is how it tasted. She did not offer to replace the dish or take it off our bill. In the end we did complain and then the waitress gave us a platter of fruit. Now the way she put the fruit on the table and the way she told us was so rude…. It wasn’t I apologise please accept this as a token of our appreciation. It was more like here you go and slammed the plate on the table. We settled the bill and wasn’t happy. The 50% was applied but did I forget to mention that the bill could only be paid in cash?... Presumably so that the owner can pocket all of the money and not pay tax on it. To sum up… Food was terrible not authentic, even their signature dishes. Staff especially our waitress was rude and insulting. The bill was 260 pounds before discount. Please do not come here, their evening service is fine but the lunchtime dim sum is probably the worst I have had. I would even say ping pong was better and trust me as a Chinese person that is saying a lot. Thanks for reading and please rate as helpful if you can. I am also a manager for a Chinese restaurant which our family owns, I respond to the feedback that our customers leave. I have eaten food across Asia and the UK for the last 30 years. I wouldn’t say I am an expert, but I know a few things about Chinese cuisine.

I was worried after reading some of these reviews as my husband had already paid for the groupon voucher. So I went along on Saturday night with no great expectations. The barman made us a Singapore Sling and a Cosmopolitan. Both excellent. The meal was surprisingly good and reminded me of restaurants in Shanghai and Wuxi. I loved the dim sum really yummy and it was fun to have lots of different courses to try a taste of different things. Perfect for my appetite. The lady blues singer and bass player piano combo made for a great atmosphere. Staff were polite and attentive. Really enjoyed the Champagne Bellini too so all in all a great night, must admit was slightly squiffy when I left. I forgave my husband eventually for booking for my Birthday with a groupon offer!

Went for some real Chinese food, having lived in various parts of China for several years we were looking forward to something authentic. Unfortunately, although the dim sum was fine and is no doubt worth a try when on special offer on Sundays, the rest of the dishes were horrifically overpriced, for example £15 for a small plate of what was essentially British "chinese" takeaway food. The egg fried rice was bland and full of peas, and the portion sizes were disappointing.Service overall was fine, save for the moment when one of the staff shouted an obscenity in Mandarin (basically yelling "F***!) across the restaurant at full volume. Evidently they were unaware that they could be understood.Overall it was a great shame as we had looked forward to coming here for some time, but could have saved ourselves the effort, not to mention the money, by staying in and ordering from our local Chinese takeaway, who at least don't stuff their rice full of peas. If you're looking for authentic Shanghai fare, perhaps find somewhere else.

The food was good but that extra something was missing. It could have been a bit more tasty. The atmosphere was comfortable. And the service was good

Dined here on a sunday. Went for the dim sum menu, which was £3.50 for all dishes except the abalone ones. Nice decor, friendly staff, and the food was fantastic. We had 6 different dim sum and jasmine tea for 2 people, and the bill came to £25 including service charge. Excellent value for quality food. They have the dim sum at the £3.50 price during the week as well 12 noon till 5.00, and saturday 12 noon till 6.00. There was crab on the menu at a very good price, which would normally have tried, but we were pushed for time as we had a train to catch

This was a few doors away from our hotel. Didn't look very clean or inspiring from outside but there was a sandwich board offering all dim sum on a Sunday for £3.50 - well what a shock - cash only, but the dim sum were decent sizes, really fresh & tasty - lovely surprise, nice inside too, and the majority of customers were Chinese which was a great sign.

Terrible. I went for lunch by myself and ordered 2 dishes. The first one came after 15 minutes, but the 2nd - Pork Buns- never appeared. I waited and waited- about 30 minutes, and asked about 4 times. Pork buns came and went to other tables. I got hungrier and hungrier, checking my watch. I had to leave in 10 minutes.One of the staff brought me some buns eventually, removing them from another diner's table?!But they were custard buns.I pointed out the mistake and nothing happened. I was so hungry I ate them anyway. Yuck. Then I left after a whole palaver was made about them being a Cash only establishment and being told I had to go the cashpoint. How tempting to walk out never to return! They could sense I was bristling with anger and was a flight risk- Magically!... a card machine materialised.I felt ill afterwards.Never again.

My husband and I had been staying in Holburn for the weekend, and had been passing this restaurant every day. The outside belies what's inside. On our last day, we decided to visit for lunch. What a lovely surprise we got when we walked in. We were the first customers of the day, and we were greeted by lovely friendly staff. The decor is totally unexpected. Beautiful, calming and intimate at the same. The food was the best Asian food my husband and I had ever tasted. Next time we are in London, we definitely be back. Don't be fooled by the exterior. Worth a visit.

Shanghai Blues is a stunning restaurant with an adventurous menu and the food is wonderful. The surprise is the delightful jazz combo. The music, the food and the attentive service combine to create a memorable evening.

To be fair, I have eaten here many times but always with a voucher of one sort or another. I have no issue with the quality and preparation of the food which is very good, nor with the venue which is very stylish but without a voucher or special deal the menu prices are very high. The service is often a bit patchy - some of the staff don't appear to understand or speak English very well - but are always polite and fairly attentive. The dim sum are excellent and while the portions are not large, I always find the quantity of food in a voucher deal to be more than sufficient. Wines are also fairly reasonably priced. There was a live singer and accompanist who were very good (if a little loud as we were seated right by the stage). Overall another pleasant experience which I shall repeat whenever there's a voucher deal. Highly recommended.

We booked a table in order to have lunch quickly after a British Museum exhibition. I was cautious about visiting this restaurant after seeing so many negative reviews regarding the small portion sizes and poor service. However our friends wanted a Chinese meal. We were a group with 3 children and did not have any problems whatsoever. The 50% discount made the whole meal extremely good value about half the price of dim sum at Royal China. Admittedly, it wasn't as tasty as Royal China but it was tasty. Finally, much more authentic than Ping Pong !

We first came here on the recommendation for a Chinese meal that was a bit higher market than going to China Town. It didn't disappoint and we have since been back a few times with family and friends. The dishes are much the same as that which can be found in the better Chinese restaurants in London however the attention to detail with each dish does set it apart. The restaurant isn't the busiest in the week days which does mean that you can get a table however due to the dark interior it can make you feel like you're sat in the dark somewhat! All in all the food is great and I look forward to my next visit!