Silk Road in Southwark

I came here in 2020 and a lot of things changed. My main disappointment was the menu misleading with the meat dishes and a bit flavourless. The plates are filled with vegs with hardly any meat. They definitely cover them up with lots of sauce and vegs and go cheap on the meat so you don't notice. It's unfortunate typical from London restaurants nowaday.

national treasure. go for big plate chicken (very big), home style aubergine and chicken with green chilli for larger plates - have some rice or hand pulled noodles on the side. it's crucial that you top this off with as many lamb shish skewers as you can manage, cannot recommend this combination enough. dumplings also excellent

Absolutely fantastic, authentic, well priced, quick. The skewers are an absolute must

I had high expectations, as many of my friends recommended Silk Road to me, and it more than exceeded them! Delicious food, generous portions and a great atmosphere. The home-style aubergine was delicious, I can't wait to go back and have it again.

Good job we booked as this place was rammed. Great veggie options available; we ordered a few & shared. Food & service were very good.

Good job we booked as this place was rammed. Great veggie options available; we ordered a few & shared. Food & service were very good.

Phenomenal each and every time.

If you are Chinese, do not eat here. 不好吃👎🏼 Flavours are watered down for a western palette. We should have known better when we saw no other Asians eating in this restaurant. Heard good things about this place from friends who have come here for years, so I am wondering if the management has changed. No spice, no msg, and many filler vegetables in all dishes. Tomato egg noodles were tasteless, where is the spring onion? Price was decent. Lamb skewers were very good, probably the only thing we would order here.

New look, same amazing food and insane value for money.

Not sure why they’ve “upgraded” but it’s completely ruined the atmosphere and authenticity of what Silk Road used to be. Maybe you’re trying to reach a different clientele? Weird anyhow, don’t think I’ll ever sit in again. The food however is just as good but just not the same.

Noodles are good but quite salty

Silk road lives up to the hype. The short menu provides a wake-up after endlessly similar restaurants. The skewered lamb pieces are sandwiched between cubes of pure joy/fat. The dumplings feel like they were made by grandma moments ago. The hand pull r noodles and sides we had were perfectly sweet and sour without being sweet'n'sour. Our only whine after our bellys were bursting was that there could have been a dessert to quench the fire on our lips.

First time at the new location (next door to the old one) and it’s even better than before. Great food and service. Loved the lamb noodles and twice cooked pork. Buzzing atmosphere and still great value.

I have been a fan of this restaurant for years and was glad that after a few months it had reopened. The atmosphere is casual and the food is delicious! The home style cabbage, lab skewers and homemade noodles were the highlights. Would highly recommend for family and friends outings and casual dates. The front dinning area gets a bit chilly with the delivery drivers opening the door, but it does not disturb the atmosphere of the restaurant. I would recommend booking ahead of time, especially on weekends.

Well, as a first timer for this place I can honestly say I was left with a very sour taste. Went with my partner this last Friday 8/3/24. The guy at reception was extremely cold and no eye contact whatsoever. He was like “nothing available until certain time” he could have done it in a more humane way and not like a computer! Won’t bother to try again.

Delicious food, excellent service, great atmosphere and well priced. Could not fault

First time ordering take away from this restaurant. I Orderd Special cooked lamb noodle and there was barely any lamb in there. The noodles were not nice, quite dry. 😕

Great to be able to go back to Silk Road after reopening, more space and the place was buzzing last Saturday night. The food was delicious, even better than I remember it from a previous time a while back. Will definitely be coming back. Great value as well

Been wanting to come for years - and it was worth it. Service was quick. Recommend booking.

Great restaurant with authentic food. Plain and simpel prepared. Nice staff, willing to help with the menu. I can suggest the red wine.

Home style aub, lamb skewers, chicken in green chilli = 10/10

I've been enjoying eating at Silk Road for over 10 years and couldn't wait for the re-opening. The new restaurant (next door to the old one) is larger and has a more modern feel. I do miss the old place but I'm sure I will grow to love the new restaurant. I ordered my favourites, Chicken with Green Chili, Homestyle Aubergine, hand pulled noodles with a side of lamb skewers. It was super tasty and I can't wait to go back!

A triumphant re-opening - here's to many more great meals at Silk Road.

Any idea when it will reopen? My Sundays are not the same without my chinese favourite food!!!

Excellent restaurant! Very unique dishes and always great flavor. It is always packed, so they must be doing something right.

TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN They are moving next door. Check before travelling. Worth it when they reopen.

20 years ago We spent a month zig-zagging our way from the north to south of China. This is the first authentic Chinese food that we’ve had in London that can compare to our experience. So good. Fresh and tasty.

Had cucumber salad, beef and onion dumplings, noodles with lamb and cabbage, pork belly hot dish. Dishes were tasty and spicy.

The food here warms both your belly and heart. Has hand-pulled noodles and veggie options. So good!

Amazing food. Very good prices. Big portions. The lamb skewers were juicy and exploding with flavour. The Middle Plate Chicken was a little too sweet for me but HUGE and still delicious. Cucumber salad was a nice side. Dumplings were hot and delicious. Service was good, will be coming back here.

I was quite disappointed. The dumplings were probably already boiled before we ordered. They came straight away and not hot and presentation was terrible. I had to look for lamb in lamb noodle. It was pathetic amount of small peices of lamb in it. Chicken with green chilli was way too hot and chicken was again cut in very small like minced chicken. Lamb shish was also disappointing as the meat was so small. I had many skewers with meat in my life but that was the smallest peices of meat!

I was disappointed and won’t go again. 1. Dumplings were served more less straight away. They were already boiled some time ago so they were not hot. The way they put the dumplings on the plate was not professional like. 2. Lamb noodle - I had to look for lamb. The volume of noodle was fine but I guess lamb was just 30g if not less. 3. Lamb shish - I have never seen shish with so small meat peices. I am sorry if that is normal size in China. The only dish I liked was cucumber dalad. Chicken with green chilli was super super hot and chicken was cut so so small like minced chicken!

Excellent food. Great prices. Lamb skewers are a must have.

Amazing food at great prices. Always try and book a table or ring ahead if you can as if gets very busy even on a week days. The food service comes out very quickly making it great choice if you want a meal before heading out for drinks!

经典的新疆菜，非常经济实惠的餐馆，点的炝莲白带辣的，小朋友都说好吃的停不下来。羊肉串嫩到爆汁，羊油配着羊肉简直太好吃啦！大盘鸡给孩子点的微辣的，还没等我拍照就被孩子们夹了很多，非常推荐

Brilliant place for food. Good service but no frills

Superb. I was advised to try the Lamb Shish, drenched in cumin and chilli, with hand pulled noodles it tastes as good as it sounds. Some dumplings, three Tigers, Son No2 and his partner are regular diners and their bowls looked fantastic. So lots of ideas for my next visit. Which will be soon!

Always perfect, can be loud and busy but so worth it. Home style cabbage is no.1 🥇

Tried take away from here for the first time last night, everything was incredible! Will definitely be ordering again.

Quick service, efficient staff, and amazing food! There's nothing else to ask for!!

Great food, well worth a trip, might wanna book though

This is not the same place. Went for lunch with few friends on Saturday. Ordered all our favourite dishes. None of them was the same. Fried dumplings arrived as soon as we ordered them. They were not the same dumplings we are used to. They were not hot either. Noodles are not as good as they used to be. Chicken and chilli was bitter, very strange taste. Aubergines? Just few mostly tomatoes tasteless. Middle plate chicken disappointing. Home style cabbage again no taste. What happened to Silk Road???!!! What a shame. We were really looking forward to this lunch. Or it depends who cooks on the day?! Probably! But then, that is a gamble not worth taking.

Lively place. Very nice food at good price. Noodles are amazing.

No frills & amazing value for money (£25 a head including a few beers). Food served quickly and in generous portions. Food highlights: pork & celery dumplings, cucumber salad & home-style aubergines

Cabbage course fairly oily. Dumplings average. Cubed lamb chewy, 80% fat, pretty appalling. Inedible basically.

No frills authentic Chinese, big flavours and good portion sizes, cabbage is a must. Service is poor but thats part of the charm 🤪

Not ur average Chinese takeaway! Best Chinese meal I had in London. They are very busy so make sure to book a table.

Really good noodles, worth the wait for sure!

Love the food here! Really good authentic Chinese in Camberwell

Delicious Chinese food, different to any Chinese I have eaten previously. We shared the aubergines, cucumber and cabbage and a noodles. All were fresh and packed with flavour. Portions are BIG and dishes come fast. Cheap, nice casual vibe, no frills service but the food speaks for itself

The meals were delicious, the staff were really polite and the atmosphere was welcoming. Perfect for families with children! I would definitely visit it again!

Ordered Garlic Pork (seriously expecting a few more slices) and Special Cooked Lamb Noodle. Altogether paid around £13.80, pretty good value for what it is. Not sure how authentic it really is though, but really enjoyed the noodles there.

This tiny little restaurant of very curious Chinese food has not changed in many years. We enjoy it every single time we visit. If you like exotic tastes, spicy food, handstretched noodles, loud atmospheric environments, cosy seating and non pretentious places this eatery is for you! Service is blunt but traditional!

I heard great stuff about this place, but was really disappointed. Food is not the worst, a bit greasy and average, but the service was appalling. Rude, dismissive staff who rushed us out of the restaurant before we even finish our drinks. One of the servers slammed his hands on the table and told us it’s time to leave. The upside is that it’s cheap but I wouldn’t bother, it’s not worth their attitude.

I heard great stuff about this place but while the food was ok the service is shocking. I understand they were busy but it wasn’t necessary to kick us out before we even finished our wine because they wanted the table for the next group.

The food was good but the service was beyond appalling. Apart from the fact we had to keep on flagging staff over to ask for water refills which they did very begrudgingly, the owner smashed his hands down on our table and stared at us in the most intimidating manner. When we asked what was going on he said we had been at the table for too long and he wanted us to get out. We booked a table for 5:30 and it was 7:00. He said “get out- there isn’t a service charge so leave now” - our bill had been paid and we had added 15% service- I told him this and he said “I don’t care- get out.” Never in my life have I had such an awful restaurant experience. Appalling.

Great place to chow down on something spicy, the skewers are a must with a bowl of noodles Price isnt too expensive, can be quite crowded during peak times and seating by the door can be a little chilly Wait time was around 15-20 mins

Food is so bad. We ordered from uber eats and the items are missing! 4 of 8 are missing. We cannot contact the restaurant! Food tastes so bad.

unfortunately my friend from inner Mongolia said the food was not good. we were rushed out after 30 minutes. the place was extremely busy on Friday.

Very disappointed that the Dapanji served here is far from authentic. Not even close to what traditional Xinjiang Dapanju should be like. Service was swift and food was reasonably priced.

The food was amazing but few of their staff were really rude.

Pretty good. Food will be served in 5 mins. Tasty and fine :-)

The shish lamb was nice and charcoal tasting, but the "Luxury noodles" were the greasiest noodles I've ever eaten. I honestly couldn't eat them, it made me feel sick after eating ~25% and I threw it away.. absolutely gross and sad as my friend advertised them to me and she was shocked how bad it was!

Great, affordable food of a more unique style of cuisine than I was used to, but am now a big fan! Definitely will frequent more often.

My dish wasn't great. Felt like the spices were raw and just very oily. Seems there are better dishes maybe

I used to love this restaurant- really interesting Xinjiang cuisine (I used to live in China so it was great to eat something so authentic) but I went last night and it had totally changed. They were in a real hurry to get us out (only 1 and 1/4 hour allotted to eat dinner!) and the food has now become bad, and cynically so. Our starter dumplings were stodgy, cold, flavourless. Our mains were a chicken and chilli dish with mostly chillies and almost no chicken, and a shredded pork and mushroom dish which again, had almost no pork at ALL. I was so disappointed I didn't even know what to say , I just thought I'd get it all down here! Be warned, this place is a cynical rip off now.

Authentic, delicious food that made us not miss China so much! We ordered lots of vegetarian options and a couple of meat dishes and all were excellent! Super quick, friendly, no fuss service, and Tsing Tao on the drinks menu too! Will definitely be returning!

Quick good food for a good price.

I love this place. It’s really tasty food at ridiculously good value prices. The service is always great and super fast. It’s BYBO if you want but there are a few beers and wine on the menu. It’s basic but that’s the vibe and I love the honesty of this place in the current climate of overpriced pretentious restaurants in south London. It is always packed and so the conversation is loud and buzzing so a great place to go with mates. The TEP noodles, smacked cucumber and cabbage are my favs

It was the best noodles I have ever had. The price was also great. If I get the chance I will definitely visit it again.

Can’t recommend this place enough. Amazing quality food and such good value. We definitely over ordered and only came to £20 each!

Ordered takeaway, so can't comment on the interior or customer service, however the portions were very small, with the actual amount of meat being about a third of what is advertised. Very disappointed..

Always love this place, get the lamb skewers x100 they are incredible

Lovely experience here; we were seated promptly and the service was fast and friendly. This is definitely different from your typical Chinese and the menu is completely authentic, originating from northern china, so don’t be expecting fried rice, spring rolls, calamari etc. we ordered the Xinjiang style noodles and the special cooked lamb noodles and it was delicious.

Favourite restaurant in London. Home style cabbage, aubergine, hand pulled noodles, cucumber - all highlights. Silk Road is always amazing.

Incredible food at a reasonable price with fast service and a warm 'home cooked' atmosphere.

省流版：对中国人脸难看，菜难吃，千万别来。 I've been here last week and all I can recommend you is not to eat here. We had stir fried noodles here. All I can taste is salty. I guess the cook put salt twice so it tasted so salty. I drink a whole bottle of water in order to feel my tongue again. The second dish we had was the lamb screwers. I had to say it is ok, just the meat is dry occasionally. But generally I'd come again just for the screwers, if I haven't had the third dish. And, here we go the legendary dish, big plate chicken. For the ones who don't know what it should look like, it's stir fried chicken with potatoes and chillies, then stew for a while to reduce the soup and serve with wide noodles. In here, hah, it is basically a soup! So watery! So not authentic! And the chicken, unless I ate a mutant chicken, it is no way I'm so lucky that found 4 chicken necks in the same dish. And the rest are chicken ribs and spinal bones. Obviously they are trying to save cost and put less-meaty chicken parts in the dish so that they can still call it "chicken" and you can hardly find a way to argue. On top of all this bad experience, the service is awful. Every waiter/waitress I came cross were having poker faces. The attitude they talk to you makes you feel you are not welcome here. So, again, turn around and find another place to eat. Don't step in the pit which stumbled me already.

This place is wonderful, the belt noodles, the home style cabbage, home style aubergine, lamb sish noodles, fungus with pork, big plate chicken.

I used to eat a lot of Xinjiang food in Shanghai but this place really does it justice. Amazing quality, super fast service in a great location and CHEAP. Do come, one of the most unique style of foods in the UK in my opinion.

Haven’t been back here for almost 8 years and I am glad to see that they are still around and busy as ever. Food as good as I remembered and prices haven’t increased that much so still a bargain. Only issue I felt was the lamb skewers not as good as I remembered it and toilet facilities a bit dirty.

There are not many Xinjiang restaurants in London. I have passed by this restaurant many times and have not tried it. Today I finally have the opportunity. There were already a lot of people at 2pm on a Sunday, but the food was served quickly. My friend said that he couldn't taste the Xinjiang flavor, and the dishes were all spicy, but we all felt that the taste was good, and the price was affordable.

Tasty, reasonably priced and great service.

Went there to try the CABBAGE homestyle (£8.80) as recommended and it did not disappoint. I am a meat eater but I can happily eat this with a bowl of pulled noodles (£2.50). Prices are okay for certain things. I would definitely get the lamb skewers (£1.50 each) they are divine. I wouldn't order the special noodles (£10) comes with egg. I enjoyed the plain noodles with Cabbage more than the £10 special lamb noodles. Everything else was too spicy and full of onions ginger and chili. It dulled my taste buds. I would not recommend those with a chili rating of 2. The pork belly slices (£9) there were hardly any pork. The cucumber salad (£6) was a bit bland, I would have preferred if it had a bit of salt and vinegar. The fried beef dumplings (£6.50) had a funny ginger taste om the inside. I did not enjoy it, they did give a lot for the price though, but the inside tasted like frozen cheap meat. Too bad they didn't have soya milk when I went. It was recommended by a friend. I would go again, but avoid all the chili dishes. I would try the aubergine homestyle next time. Service is quick, food comes out quickly.

Authentic Chinese cuisine from XinJiang province. Lots of warm spices and chili, not too much cumin, which can be very overwhelming. Big Plate Chicken was a must have. Or if you are alone or only two people, get Medium Plated Chicken. The broth was flavorful, the chicken was well seasoned, and the hand pulled belt noodles had a great texture. Beef and lamb dumplings were both excellent as well.

It was so bussin that my mate bussed on his sleeve

This is the worst place I have ever order from. The belt noodles was half cooked and soggy. The portion was terrible it didn't even feel up the box. We order lamb and fish parts and we got like a portion you would give a 1year old. They over seasoned the whole food. Even the chilli oil how can you do that wrong, that's like messing up toast and we paid over £40. DO NOT ORDER FROM THIS PLACE!!!! Their picture are selling a dream

Small and tight seating area however the food is amazing

Not sure why people are snarking about this place. Went in a group of 5 around 9:30 on a weeknight. They were warm and welcoming. Did not get the skewers but tried the other greatest hits.The only misses were the two appetisers of kelp and cold beef which were inedibly salty. Everything else was brilliant. Prices remain low.

没去过新疆，但是从来没吃过 清汤宽面的大盘鸡… 没啥味道。烤腰子也没羊味。可能老外喜欢吃吧，

One of the best places to get food in London and I have been to a lot of them.

A welcome relief from the usual Cantonese fare. Almost everything on the menu is good and comes out fast. It used to be donkey cheap but prices have gone up with the area and the COL, however, it's still reasonable. Highlights include lamb shish skewers, home style cabbage and Xingjing lamb fried noodles. A lot of people order the big plate chicken/beef/ lamb which is a hearty broth of meat, noodles and potatoes which is more appropriate for sharing. The decor is basic and not really much more sophisticated than an extended takeaway shop. Benches and a makeshift outdoor area are what you are getting. It gets busy so booking in advance is advised.

10/10 service but the food was awful 😢

Excellent meal, friendly staff. We were there for my daughter's birthday, manager said her first drink was on the house and the bill reflected that. Lovely gesture, thank you, will definitely come again.

Best Xinjiang food in London ever

Not your average Chinese takeaway but an actual trip to China. I need to have their noodles at least once a week, and every time is like going back to the good old days in China! Absolutely recommended if you like authentic food.

This place was featured on YouTube recently - search for "“Big Plate Chicken” Stew: Bringing Authentic Xinjiang Food to London"

The lamb shish noodles are the best thing you’ve never eaten

Quality authentic food in the heart of Camberwell

Me and my girlfriend ordered some dim sum and noodles take away, given the restaurant looked quite full. I rarely complain about food, however the dumplings were clearly old and the noodles were appalling. The pan-fried lamb was just a joke. Plain dry udon noodles with 4 small pieces of something resembling dry meat on top, all covered in spicy powder. It felt like someone couldn’t care less of that order. After 2 bites it went straight into the bin as the taste was really bad. Sad as I’m a big fan of asian cuisine and I’ve also lived in HK. The plates in the restaurant looked okay, however they don’t seem to care at all about take away clients.

We used to be weekly regulars pre-covid. We haven't been for a couple of years and thought we'd try it again. Disappointing to say the least. The original flavours have gone to be replaced by heavy msg. Suffice to say we won't be going back.