Shanghai Modern in City of London, Westminster

After a long day sightseeing, this was the perfect place to sit outside and enjoy great Chinese food and soak up the atmosphere. The fried dumplings, pork rolls and chicken noodle soup were very tasty. Ordered fried submerging with salted fish and pork - it was delicious. The mapo tofu with minced pork was much less appetizing and the spice-hotness left a strange tingling taste and a tongue-numbing effect (quite off putting) Service was excellent and despite the mapo tofu dish, we derfinitely want to go back and try other dishes.

WORM in our food!!! We ordered a veg soup and there was a worm. They didn’t seem bothered or even surprised that this happened. No sorry till I kept saying how we aren’t comfortable eating here anymore. They didn’t charge us for our food. But the experience was ruined by then.

Efficient service (quick to understand and lacks a bit of a smile), excellent food and very reasonable prices

Vegetarian menu was very tasty and really well priced. The service was great and the employees were very attentive. My friend found the soup a little too spicy but that's a matter of taste. I can only recommend the restaurant

Nice restaurant Good service BUT Duck Bone and the rest of left cut off bit and piece on the rice is not what I expected. ( not a normal pieces of duck as you may expect. Sadly they gave me only lot of bones with barely duck meat left + duck bottom skin ( as s) + bones ss Maybe if you oder a whole duck, they might give you the real portion of duck meat. Dim Sum was nice. Nice restaurant The service was good, but the duck bones and the remaining duck meat on the rice were not what I expected. Sadly they only gave me a lot of duck bones and almost no duck meat and duck bottom skin (like s) Maybe if you order a whole duck they might give you real duck meat. The dim sum was delicious.

This is probably one of the best Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, London. Came here second time around and ordered the special fried rice, roast duck & seafood dim sum and all were very delicious! Good customer service too, friendly and welcoming guy who served us from the time we walked in and even opened the door as we were about to go. The interior is aesthetically pleasing and place seems clean!

Good food, good service. Nice and clean.

The staff wasn’t friendly or welcoming. We felt like beeing monitored while eating, because they had way too much staff for these couple guests. They have been very close to our table and always monitored us. The food was not that good. The fried chicken which tiryaki wasn’t fresh made. The egg rice was ok, but could have been better. We had way better asian food in the past. At the end the staff didn’t even asked for anything else, she just gave us the invoice we haven’t already asked for. For these high rates you expect way better food and an authentic welcoming atmosphere. We can’t recommend this place! This is not the right way to run a restaurant.

Lovely service, very attentive and friendly. Suprised at bad reviews but loved the place.

The food is good and delicious. The staff are friendly and the prices are reasonable. I will recommend it to my friends.

Absolutely lovely lov d the atmosphere/environment and was the best Chinese I have ever had! Will definitely be coming back

woman who is inviting wasn't nice we didn't get inside

China Modern (was Shanghai Modern) is a fantastic restaurant in Chinatown. As opposed to many others in the area, it is bright, spacious and always super clean. Staff are friendly and have always provide great service. The manager remembers customers and is always welcoming. Also standout about the food it's not oily or greasy. I'm not crazy about crispy chilli beef, but I've had two separate groups of friends say it's the best they ever had. I really like the beef ribs and fried pork dumplings. I really recommend both. Also if you are a bit adventurous, try something off the special menus when they have it. It's the kind of place all the food is great, it's just down to whether you fancy trying something new.

Average food, take away quality, tourist trap.

The noodles are much under expectation. Perhaps that’s the Shanghai style, which we are not used to. If you want noodles of typical northern China, this is not the right place. Other foods I haven’t ordered.

Excellent food and very friendly service. Super accommodating from the get go, and the serving sizes were pretty good! Would love to come back to try more dishes.

The teriyaki steak was really delicious. Dim sum v good. We were in a hurry and the staff helped us a lot👍

So disappointed from the new prices which almost like fancy restaurants which is not, manager need to arrange the menu again, small dishes with a really high price for food and again you can find many other taste things in the area instead. Will never come back.

A restaurant I will never go to again or recommend. My friend and I both got food poisoning that night after eating it - we vomited all the food and had an on and off fever all day, with symptoms of poisoning on my face. The Tongcai was very oily, and the oil used seemed not very good. The Dongpo pork was cold and the lean meat was very hard. What made us most suspicious was the salted egg tofu. The tofu and shrimp were very stale and unsettling. hard to swallow.

Food is always tasty and hot, and it's great value for money,quality food 😋 that everyone will enjoy, and one of my kids' favourite spots.

This Shanghai modern restaurant is spacious with two floors. All the pictures in this post are very tasty.. the chicken corn soup, pork dumplings, mushroom dumpling ( green color), wonton noodle soup with bbq pork and crispy fried beef-my personal favorite, the flavorful fried beef are especially delightful when paired with soft jasmine rice. The service is fast, and the restaurant is notably clean. Moreover, each table is equipped with hand sanitizers for added hygiene. The staff is attentive, friendly, and provides excellent customer service. Highly recommended!

Disappointed with this restaurant....the food was of poor quality...noodles in chicken noodle dish ...where was the chicken? Half the plate with cooked noodle, half not cooked! Poor....tasteless...ate it because I was hungry. A can of coke dumped on the table with a straw. The sweet and sour pork was cuts of poor quality meet. So annoyed we paid over 50 pounds...meant to be a well earned treat....strange how some reviews highlight the food taste and quality as good and others say poor. Will not return again....persuaded my other half you can usually find a decent Chinese restaurant in town and be able to walk in...nope...do a proper search every time from here on now. Fifty pounds or not its a lot of money and no one should have to part with it here.

We ate lunch here midweek. Very tasty food at reasonable prices. Custard buns in particular were excellent. The per person spend may seem excessive but I ate a lot much to my wife's dismay! Would come again.

The food was delicious! Staff were very friendly and attentive and the dishes were cooked to perfection. Would visit here again 😇

Het eten was koud. Ik eet graag pekingeend, maar heb nog nooit eend gehad met bot. Mijn vriendin had soep met eend, waar ook alle botten in zaten. Smaken waren erg vlak. Personeel was niet vriendelijk.

This restaurant has the best food, my friend and I had dinner there and asked for the optional service charge add on to be removed and the server a lady there told us that most people paid and if you don't want to pay service charge please take a take away, well is it not optional, how can they tell me that they would prefer me to have food taken to home rather than eating in, when it was a matter of small money only, for a consumer £4 is sufficient, but as a business is it right to loose customers over such a small amount, when you are located near Picadilly and earn so much in revenue, need to rethink... Really dismayed on the service

The food was fantastic and the service was great. They have authentic traditional dishes here. We had a great time and it was affordable too.

Restaurant Nice , staff attentive , food was very nice but could have been bit warmer , would be nice if they had bowls or warming dishes to keep courses hot . Will go again , bill not too bad for Central London .

Good food. The staff really made a difference yesterday. Our waiter had such an amazing sense of humour. Than you

Lovely restaurant with an amazing selection of food and the service was impeccable. Big portions of food for a very affordable price. The interior was also very beautiful and clean.

Bardzo dużo pozycji w menu, jednak ciężko wybrać, gdyż dania nie miały opisów. Każde mięso, które dostaliśmy, smakowało sztucznie, miało konsystencję nie mięsa. Kelner do ceny dopisał podatek o którym nie wiedzieliśmy.

We came upon this place by chance. Very impressed with the establishment. Spotlessly clean. A warm welcome. Excellent food. First rate service. Plenty of space not crammed in like sardines. Not the cheapest of places but worth that little extra.

Pre New Year night and we are desperately hungry, but still looking for some good Chinese restaurants. This is it…. Awesome food. We had Chicken noodle soup, king prawns chilli, honey and lemon chicken, some noodles and fried rice. Excellent service and great food… and again

Extremely rude staff. Food was average. Will not recommend or return here

Really not the best, the main dishes we ordered were ok, nothing special, there are definitely better places. The pork xiao long bao was really horrible, the taste was really bad and I had to spit it out. Some waiters were not very nice others were very friendly. I definitely would not come here again.

Terrible food - the spicy noodles weren't spicy and the food was bland !!!!

Fantastisch gegeten! Ik heb hier met een groep van 7 mensen vanalles besteld en alles was van topkwaliteit, zowel de vleesgerechten als de vegetarische opties. Prijs-kwaliteit verhouding was excellent, service was prima. Echt een aanrader!

Great food and good proportions. The menu is rich in choices from beef, duck, chicken, veggie options, rice dishes, noodles, etc. The decor is modern, sleek, and clean. The food is well prepared and presented and the sauces offer a variety of flavors. Would highly recommend.

Excellent will definitely be going back

Very very good good and perfect service. Highly recommend to anyone visiting Chinatown! You won’t regret it.

Peking duck was good although portion didn't really match what was requested Hotpot very bland even the tomato one... Service is horrendous, you ask for something they just walk away and do it like robots no acknowledgement or questions. We asked for a little more water in the hotpot - they filled it up to the top which made the bland soup even worse. Didn't even listen when we said stop. No instructions or guidance on the hot pot, small table so not enough space for the minimum dishes they required us to get. Would avoid hot pot...definitely not worth the price

I’ve eaten here on my last two visits to London and both times the food and service have been 1st class. We sat outside both times which was really nice as it was warm and sunny on both visits. There’s an excellent choice of food and the service is friendly and attentive. The food came quickly after ordering and was delicious, hot and there was plenty of it. Prior to our visits to this restaurant we’d had a couple of pretty poor experiences at other restaurants in Chinatown so it was great that this one was so good. I’ll definitely return next time I’m in London.

Probably the worst Chinese restaurant I have ever been to! The prices were outrageously expensive. Zero gluten-free options. Very rude waitresses. She aggressively put our plates on the table and never returned. I had to get up and find her to pay the bill. The food was very salty and very poor quality. Avoid Avoid Avoid!

Rude and aggressive staff, so many better places surrounding it.

Food lukewarm. We ordered what we thought was sweet and sour chicken turned out to be mock chicken pieces(tofu I think) I asked the waitress she said she didn't know! Ordered 2 egg fried rice which was served as 1, bland and sticky!

I’ve never had something so vile; I’m convinced the food gave my partner food poisoning. The waitress was incredibly rude. Honestly I don’t know if other things on the menu are good, but I would not risk having anything from here again.

Очень не вкусно, даже странно как в китайском ресторане, могут так плохо готовить. Выберите другой ресторан, тем более их много очень)

Service rapide mais serveurs impatients lors de la commande ! Le plat que j'ai mangé était excellent.

The staff was really rude. The food was not good enough comparing to the prices was expensive and the waitress got our dishes without our permission before finished our food.

We're the spanish couple (the ones with tattoos) and we are totally in love with the place, its service and the amazing food. We'll definetely come back bc the experience has been unbeatable, thank you!!

one of my favourite places to get chinese food!! especially since they have so many vegetarian options which is often a struggle for me in other restaurants. the food is excellent and the portions are generally large. i always end up taking away. if there is a queue outside, go find another place if you are very hungry. you will be waiting for an hour once you are sat down for the food.

I do not recommend this restaurant to anyone. The service of the waiters are terrible and they are very rude, it is radical. They also have a discretionary service charge of 15% of the original price, absolutely ludicrous. If I can give a negative star, I would give a minus 100.

Was greeted by lovely Ken yesterday afternoon, he made us feel so welcomed. Food was great, we couldn’t fault any dish, everything had flavour to it and was good portions. Waited about 7/8mins for the food. We will definitely be back for another visit. Thank you for your kind service!

Oh my god, if I could choose a last meal, the soup dumplings would be it. My favourite are the pork ones. I've been here several times and could not reccomend it more. The staff serve you the food and let you get on with the meal without hovering. I like that. Fantastic place for a family meal or for a.meal with friends / colleagues.

We had superb service and absolutely excellent food. We sat outside to eat and it was wonderful. Can’t say enough about the restaurant and staff. The restaurant is currently China Modern although website and email remain Shanghai Modern. Don’t miss it!

Clean tables. Got a menu, starter dish was ok. Next dish had reheated duck verry dry with non fresh raw vegetables. Next disch the same.. gross🤮 For us it was a verry disappointed experience. Never again!

We have visited many of the Reston China town over the years. Yes they are a little touristy but you’ll be getting a good, mainly authentic, meal. The Shanghai modern is a busy but friendly restaurant with a big menu. We ordered (too much) and the food was on the table in 15 minutes. Everything was super tasty and just as expected. Each dish was plentiful and they are happy to give you takeout containers if you can’t finish everything.

Had dinner here before going to the Lyceum. Fantastic food. Service was good if not a bit strange that our order came out in parts & we waited a little while for the last dish. Only marked Atmosphere down a star because it was quiet - which has it's good points to be fair in London

Was here a week ago. Great service and superb food. Would definitely visit again. Highly recommended 👍🏻

The food taste good. The texture of the meat is also soft. All of the food is also seasoned well. The place is also quite comfortable.

Have had the pleasure of dining here a few times. The service is excellent and the menu is extensive and varied, which is useful for myself being vegetarian. The food portions tend to be quite generous, so be careful when ordering multiple dishes!

Been here twice and the food and service quality were perfect on both occassions. Great value for meney 💯

awful staff ! to the rude waitress with very yellow teeth "you are ugly inside and out"

So good we cleaned up the dishes

Rude staff, especially the waitress here is rude.

We've dined at Shanghai Modern a few times now and it's by far one of the best restaurants in Chinatown. The food & service has consistently been great, and the staff are super friendly.

Stopped off for a quick bite to eat (steamed dumplings) & a cold, crisp Tsing Tao beer. Clean, airy restaurant with a relaxing atmosphere - great for dining alone or with company. Prompt service from the staff. Vegetarian options available (including "mock" chicken as well as a couple of the dumpling options).

Lugar ótimo! Comida maravilhosa, tudo perfeito! Recomendamos!😘Leila e Jorge Cachoeira 😘

Great place for a tasty Chinese meal of Shanghai Zai.

Amazing food. Friendly staff. Great experience all around.

Ordered way too much and got a big tut from the waiter when we couldn’t finish it all. Anyways was delicious, good service, and good price.

Simplesmente sensacional! Ambiente, atendimento e comida nota 10.0!

The dumplings are prepared in a part of the kitchen which you can watch through a screen. Absolutely delicious dumplings.

Food is tasty, small amount of outdoor seats which look over the Chinatown plaza. Service is quite slow but food makes up for it.

We went there quite late, 9:40. They told us the kitchen was still open but we couldn’t order the dumplings. Fine. They squeezed in a table not fit for the group we were, treated in a awful way to speed up the orders, didn’t even ask for drinks which we had to order only after repetitive calls. No sauces served. Food was mediocre, they couldn’t recognise what was beef and what was mock chicken (veg option) so I had to taste meat after 12 years of being vegetarian. Thank you. We had to eat in 15 minutes, rude waiters, they were clearing up everything literally jumping on us to speed up the clearance. I’ll say it again, if you want to close do not take 11 people in, I will go to a fast food instead, where at least I won’t be treated like trash and the food is more tasty. 25£ wasted. Improve your manners and the quality of your food.

Very welcome staff! They get you seated fast, friendly and accomodating. The food taste great and comes in large quantities. I'll definetely be back during my next visit to London!

I used to love this place although it’s a bit of a hit or miss. I was served terrible food today, didn’t eat half and they charged me for every dishes, fair, although will probably never come back.

Es literalmente el peor restaurante chino en el que he comido. Con suerte no pillo algún parásito intestinal. Comida malísima, casi de la basura y súper caro.

This place is terrible, do not come here. The staff are rude and very pushy, especially if you come an hour before closing. They want your business but do NOT provide any type of service. London isn't known for Chinese food but this food is just disgusting 🤢🤮. Steer clear! - a concerned member of the asian community

Had dinner here with friends, nice Chinese-styled decor, food and drinks were really good with nice, attentive staff. Also had an ice cream machine!

First time dining here and will be back again! The food was tasty and staff were very friendly and attentive. I just wish I had space in my belly to try their desserts!!

very nice authentic soup dumpling. They were moist and had a very well balanced sauce. However I whoosh the meat inside and was more seasoned, except for that everything was great! 👍. It was quite cheap as well.

Good Lunch . Nice and big restaurant, there are many kinds of food, the price is very reasonable, and the portions are large. The staff are all helpful . We chose to sit at a table by the window. The waiters are friendly,. we will come back again when we travel to London:

The service was somewhat abrupt, but we enjoyed our meal here. They serve dim sum all day/evening, and it was pretty good. The "piggy" buns look like actual pigs which may appeal to kids etc. There's a good range of main meals and roast meats too. The decor has an air of a (budget) European Grand Cafe.

Lekker eten, wel druk gezellig vertoeven wij hebben het menu genomen veel maar je kan de rest meekrijgen

A superb place for a beginner's introduction to Chinese food. At reception they presented the food as fusion, ie toned down Chinese food more relatable to the European palate. And they deliver. Lemon chicken Superb. Duck Cantonese aromatic and flavorful. Friend chicken noodles excellent. Special fried rice average. Szechuan beef superb. Prices very good for the area. It was a very good experience. Will visit again.

Please avoid this place . We were definitely scammed with our orders we (we are south asians but not Chinese) we ordered steam fish sea bass which said 18 pounds and we got a fried fish with sweet chilli coated on it. I’ll add a picture below of the steamed (the word itself says steamed) and the picture i will add that was served. I normally let things slide but come-on stop fooling your customers.Everything else was “ok” . We spend 164 pounds for 3 people and we were fooled or lets just say scammed . Sounds harsh but that blatantly trying to fool your customers who are not accustomed to authentic Chinese food . Waiter was helpful and the food was okay once again. A big disappointment typically because of fooling people from different backgrounds.

It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten such delicious food. The spiciness is just right. I’ll definitely come back again. Thanks

First Chinese food in London, but very good. Do not regret the my decision to try. Services was great for the UK.

Thank you for a great meal, and service!

Food is a nightmare. I had never eaten such bad chinese food. Restaurant is a tourist trap.

Not bad. Good selection of dim sum. Nothing special either though.

Would be at least three stars if it wasn’t for the xiao long bao. Service was average and so was the food. What made it worse was the unbearably fishy taste of the xiao long bao.

Average restaurant. The staff seemed under pressure, not very welcoming and not very smiling. I don't know if it's common here, but a majority of the team doesn't even seem to speak basic English. The waitress was overwhelmed and directly called her manager (I guess?) because she didn't understand anything we were saying, when we just wanted to know how the menu worked. As a result, it's quite complicated to order and know what you want, especially since the menu is very heavy and way too complete. It’s difficult to make a choice. The chicken noodles were good but nothing special either. Quite expensive for what it is, especially since there’s a automatic tip for service fee. Not very welcoming, I prefer other Chinese restaurants where I ate. It’s a shame because it has a lot of potential.

A pleasant place to visit and enjoy meals

Been visiting Chinatown London for 30 years and this restaurant is a breath of fresh air. Friendly staff and freshly cooked dishes.

Food tasted appalling and so overpriced for portion size. 15 quid for chilli squid where 50% of the platter was onions with only 8 small squid peices. Same for chilli chicken, 3/4 of the platter filled with chillies. Very empty restaurant but nice looking interior. Definitely not worth the money.

Ironically it can often be hard to find a really good Chinese restaurant in Chinatown but this one is certainly up there. Located literally on the main square in Chinatown, the place is decorated nicely and has a pretty good vibe, both feeling distinctly traditionally Chinese but also modern. The staff are friendly and attentive and the main thing, the food, doesn’t disappoint. Great range across the menu meaning you’re bound to find something you like. The best thing is to come with a group of people and order a few main dishes and some Dim Sum. The Chili Beef, Fried Squid and Mango Chicken were particularly tasty. I went as a party of three and after spending only £30 each we all had more food than we could eat, an amazing range of dishes and left full… in central London these days that’s not a bad result

When we first entered the restaurant the waitress threw the menu on the table. My friend try his green tea and it was a cheap green tea from convenience stores that not even cost half of the price. After we ate the roasted duck, Our top lips started to get itchy and red. A few minutes after leaving the restaurant we started to notice that our lips started to get swollen. So we return to the restaurant to use the restroom to check it. But when the manager saw us carrying food from outside into the restaurant, He stopped us and told us to leave in a very rudely way, The restroom is only for customers. Even though we just spent almost £60 there but the waitress explained that we actually ate there otherwise he wouldn’t let us use the restroom. Over all NOT RECOMMENDED AT ALL!!!!!!

For us one of the best in China town. Nice and big. Doesn’t get too crowded. Our favourites are Xiao Long Boa and Salt & Pepper tofu