Hunan London is a true gem for Chinese food enthusiasts! This restaurant has been serving authentic Hunanese cuisine for over 35 years, and its reputation precedes it. With no menu to choose from, you'll be treated to a culinary journey of around 12-18 courses, carefully crafted by Chef Michael Peng and his team. The food is exceptional, with dishes like crispy green beans, chilli ginger beef, and steamed scallops with cucumber, all expertly prepared and presented ². The standout feature, however, is the unique dining experience. With no choices to make, you'll be free to relax and enjoy the ride, as the staff take care of everything. flavors and spices of Hunan Province. - _Expertly Crafted Menu_: Chef Michael Peng's carefully curated selection of dishes. - _Unique Dining Experience_: No menu choices, just sit back and enjoy. Overall, Hunan London is a must-visit for anyone looking for an authentic and exciting Chinese dining experience. Be prepared for a culinary adventure like no other! read more

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London Food When people say that London often has mediocre food, they're most often referring to British food, known for their fried, mashed and more bland foods But London itself is a metropolitan city with cuisine reflective of its worldwide influence and influx on many cultures While Indian cuisine is most well-known (and represented from food to tea culture), I also found Thai and Chinese cuisine excellent Hunan is a unique restaurant in which the menu is up to the chef and features upwards of 20 dishes While their name refers to a region of China, the cooking is more reflective of a broader region including Cantonese, Sichuan, and Hunan flavors Each bite was distinguished by high quality ingredients, bold spices and flavors (though nothing is spicy), and stellar wok hei (or heat) Leave-it-to-us menu £94.80 per person Hunan (London, UK) Dining is indoor only and all credit cards are accepted. read more

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Hunan has some of the most authentic Chinese food I've ever found at a restaurant. We had the tasting menu for about £55 for almost 15+ dishes. All the plates were to be shared, however, the last dish is a large main entree that comes with generous sides of steamed rice, noodles, or fried rice. The food was so delicious, especially the steamed chicken with scallions and ginger, and the fried green beans with garlic, chilis, and green onions. The service was also amazing. They offered us free lychee wine because they ran out of plum sake, which we had originally requested, and they also gave us free refills of the side dishes for the last main tasting dish. We were able to pick 2 out of the 4 possible options for the main, and they were more than enough food for 4 people in addition to all the other plates. Everyone was so attentive and the food came out really quickly in rapid succession. Highly recommend Hunan for anyone who wants true authentic Chinese food. read more

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Hunan is a valuable place serving small chinese dishes in which menu changes every month so that the customers can try different chinese food. The servers were really great here. The food is amazing nothing wrong with it. I do not have much to comment because they were super good. Just one feedback though. Even though i am a salt fan, i found some of the food a bit salty. Moreover, food is very similar with one another, and those are why i cannot give 5 stars. I feel like more specialised food is better than having to serve many food but they are not specialised. This is just my opinion though. I hope this review helps the restaurant and future customers. I would love to go here again and this is very recommended to try and go back all the time. Cheers! read more

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Holy YUM. This is the only 5-star review we are giving for our trip to Europe. Some complain about the price, but for the quality, variety and unique experience, it is worth every penny. As others mentioned, the place is very small and they treat you like family. The presumed owner is friendly and all are helpful and open to offering advice. Make a reservation and do not show up early or you will be turned away until your time is up. The Orange next door has wonderful drinks, including delicious pitchers of Pimms while you wait. We did wish that the place had its own bar we could sit at while we waited, but this did not change our amazing experience. For anyone with a physical disability, use the restroom before you go, as the only restrooms are up long flights of stairs. Bottles of wine are affordable and while not listed, you can ask for wine by the glass as well. Don't waste your time like we did and bring a list of "yes" and "no" based on the Yelp pictures. The wait staff will walk through a list to see what you do and don't like and how much spice you like. Do yourself a favor and try something that you otherwise wouldn't. For us, this was frog legs. We loved the crispy green beans, lettuce wraps, stuffed shrimp, tilapia, duck wraps, etc. We were underwhelmed with the dessert of fried sesame banana and apple but the rest of the meal was so delicious and satisfying that we didn't care. read more

Hunan - Final savory dish of duck, cucumber, onion and thin wraps with a delicious sauce - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

In Chinese culture, food typically comes in big portions around a dinner-table turntable ("Lazy Susan") -- Hunan's transition to little portions on little plates somewhat works, though the plating feels odd and lacks finesse. Taste-wise, the regular tasting menu (i.e., no dietary restrictions) had many highlights and did a great job of showcasing Chinese flavors and textures. The vegetarian menu did well in parts (mock duck kaoya, aubergine) but felt almost like a joke at other times (a few leafy stalks in a little sauce, nothing creative). Across both tasting menus, we were full by the time the main course came along, making it hard not to waste food, especially given the policy of not being able to take food home. The service was friendly and attentive, but surprisingly sloppy (spilt wine, sometimes up to 3 courses coming all at the same time, mumbled/rushed introductions to food by servers who didn't seem to know what was being served, constant pacing back and forth and looks from staff). This is what one might expect from a new restaurant going through growing pains, not from Hunan, which claims to have been around since 1982. For the price tag (nearly $300 for two, including wine and a 15% "discretionary" gratuity), we expected somewhat more but overall still enjoyed ourselves given the unique concept/experience. read more

I wanted to like Hunan but I just couldn't. The concept was very interesting, a restaurant with no menu, you just tell them what sort of food you like, if you like spicy food, have any allergies, etc. Then they start bringing you food, about 18 dishes in total. So far so good. At various points throughout the dinner we had to ask them to slow down as they were putting more dishes on the tables than we could have at a time. Overall the food was quite bland and not that exciting. For me it felt like it was "generic Chinese" food, not from Hunan province, nor Taiwanese inspired like their website says. Some wasn't really that hot when served, the dishes were just thrown on the table (actually thrown, splashing on the tablecloth) and we weren't told what we were having most of the time. In the end I felt a bit let down by the experience since it was quite expensive, for what we got, and the food was like I could get in any Chinese restaurant. read more

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The ordering at Hunan is simple: "what do you not like?" Just let the waiter know if there's anything you can't or won't eat, and Hunan takes it from there. Small dish after small dish comes out at a relaxed pace, and each seems to be more incredible than the one before--which seems impossible. Right when you think you're done, out comes the main course and then the dessert. I've been going to Hunan since 2005, and there simply isn't a better Chinese food experience. No, it's not cheap, but I promise you'll be raving about it for years to come. read more

Seriously good, rather spicy chinese food. A nice little restaurant on a square in Pimlico. As the other reviewers said, just go for the chef's selection and you'll get a seemingly never-ending flow of wonderful food. You'll probably spend £50 per person or so. read more

Take an unassuming little dining room on Pimlico Square. Add some customarily abrupt Chinese serving staff. And that's where anything 'ordinary' about this place ends. Because it also has one hell of a chef and no food menus. Say what?! That's right, control freaks and overly fussy eaters look elsewhere - you don't get to choose what you eat. But anyone willing to go with the flow will be well rewarded for placing themselves in the hands of Chef Peng. You're asked if there's anything you don't eat (nope!) and if you like things spicy (very!). Then waves of tapas sized dishes arrive at the table, 3 or 4 at a time, and disappear in just a few flavour packed munches. It wasn't all the tongue-numbing hotness and flavours I'd associate with the word hunan; think there are influences taken from all over China here. The dishes build from a variety of small bites to larger plates like the beautiful peking duck served with paper thin pancakes. We teamed it all with a delish gewurztraminer wine from their very serious list. Word to the wise: make friends with your server!! Else you might not get all the dishes you see on your neighbours' table - seems like they get to decide how long your journey of culinary surprises lasts. We had a lady tell us it was dessert time as they needed the table back, only for a different waiter to then say we had to try the seabass next! *fistpump* Very glad he liked us as that dish was a lemongrass and gingery delight :) Hot banana and apple fritters were surprisingly good to round off, before we squeezed past the queue forming in the hallway to get back outside. Not cheap at £50pp for the food but a great experience all-in - surrender to the unknown and you'll have a great time! read more

Hunan was an unexpected delight! Dinner was a truly decadent affair. The BEST meal I have ever had in London. Let me give you some background. I am Asian. I grew up on Chinese food. I spent many quality teenage years in the kitchen of a Chinese takeout. I even lived in Asia for a while and sampled many ridiculously tasty delights. We were rather delighted to see that there was no menu. Rather, for £39 and change, the restaurant would provide course after course until we were full. I think there is a £3 supplement if you exceed 18 courses. We ordered a half bottle of wine (£16) and prepared for feasting. Despite my admitted snobbishness when it comes to Chinese food, I found Hunan to be of the highest caliber. The service was brilliant. We were coddled like a little princeling and princess. Course after delicious course (I think we finally threw in the towel at 18 courses) was brought out for our pleasure. The manager (the owner's son) hovered nervously (yet unobtrusively) nearby, as if his entire happiness hinged on our enjoyment of his food. Everything was delectable, but I especially enjoyed the calamari in spicy sauce, many of the various dumplings, the fried green beans, the incredible crispy duck and the frog legs. The fried banana and apple dessert with vanilla ice cream was stunning. There is a crispy sugar coating with sesame seeds on the outside. It was perfect! PARTING THOUGHT: I will definitely be back!!! read more

This is a continuation of the one below so read that part first if you are interested: Deep fried spinach roll A weird choice again to use the same hard dense dough pastry to wrap the spinach around. I did enjoy it but I felt it didn't leave much room for the soft juicy spinach inside to shine being very dense and quite thick. Most of the flavours were taken over by the sweet and sour sauce unless you're lucky enough to bite into a sesame seed to get a whiff of nuttiness. Fried pig's intestine Pig's intestine cut into two bite sizes, fried to give it a slight crispiness against the chewy rubbery texture of the intestine. It was still very offaly in flavour which Ren found too overwhelming but I very much enjoyed it. Wrapped round with water spinach for a nice contrast of texture as well as to counteract the strong flavour. Fillet lamb with Chinese celery A lovely homely dish but made special with the use of grass fed scottish lamb. The lamb was incredibly sweet and tender and made an excellent pair against the strong peppery pungent flavours of the chinese celery. Simmered in a light ginger, garlic soy sauce mixture to add depth and complexity. Bean salad with dried shrimps Their take on the classic sichuan dry fried green bean. Skilfully cooked with patience to allow the green bean to shrivel and taking on the smokiness of the wok. The dried shrimp help give it's distinctive salty seafood flavour as well as umami. A nice change from all the wet dishes we have been having. Chilli squid Quite disappointed with this dish. Firstly it was deep fried too much that the squid has lost it's tenderness and freshness and instead became chewy and dense. Secondly it was smoothered again in that generic sweet chilli sauce that overtakes any flavour present in the squid itself. Steamed sea bass with ginger scallion and toasted soy A fine dish, perfectly steamed with a few simple ingredients to enhance the natural flavours of the sea bass itself. The seasoning was spot on and the method of steaming highlights the freshness of the dish itself. They showed it to us before they deboned it and split it across two plates and it was truly delicious, soft, tender and fleshy. Stir fried pak choi in garlic A lovely simple stir fried of pak choi, fresh, tender and sweet. Generous amount of garlic to offer flavour and seasoned well. A refreshing break from all the deep fried and meat dishes. Egg fried rice Usually I'm not a big fan of fried rice but this one was kept moist by the thin layer of sesame which also offered it flavour. It was cooked to al dente, giving it a lovely bite and good wok energy to give it a subtle rounded smokiness throughout. A nice side to have with the pak choi and sea bass. Red bean pancake and almond jelly A nice thin crispy chewy pastry filled with a smooth red beans before being pan fried until golden brown and dusted with crumbs for a nice change in texture. The cooler almond jelly was a nice contrast to the warm pancake, adding moisture and a subtle edge of almond. Deep fried banana and apple fritters in syrup, served with ice cream As much as I enjoyed this I was a bit upset that they couldn't be creative enough to offer a more authentic dessert from all the puddings that Chinese cuisine have to offer. Instead they opt for something heavily influenced by the western cuisine. I did enjoy that it was very well made, crispy and light with a nice coating of crunchy syrup and sesame seeds before cracking into a lovely piece of apple or banana. The cold ice cream gave it a nice creamy contrast against the heat of the freshly fried fritters. The problem I have with Hunan is that too many of the dishes taste the same in that red sweet and sour sauce. Many dishes were also deep fried which shows they lack creativity. Looking back it seems they serve more the western palate with their choice of dishes such as lettuce wrap, chilli squid and fritters for dessert. The advantage is that it is all cooked skilfully, greaseless and in a tasting menu so you can lots of it. Is it worth it's price? No. Definitely not but if you want to treat someone who's not too adventurous with their tastebuds but likes excitement then take them here. Just don't expect authentic Chinese food you get from China itself. read more

The secret to Hunan is to go hungry and to ask Michael for the special dinner, which is generally available nightly. What ensues is about 10-15 small dishes, all varied, that represent the best of what's available that day. About US$80/per person, including a couple of beers. Here's my best guess at a recent meal. Sorry for the imprecision. --starter of peanuts and cucumber --deep fried peas --soup served in bamboo --kimchee or equivalent --wrapped, steamed fish --sesame crusted vegetable --cold pork salad --spicy prawns --cold salad of dark meat chicken prepared with camphor --squid with ground meat (pork?) --roast duck with sesame sauce --roast chicken --white rolled vegetable in a mild sauce with peppers --prawn dumplings --almond gelatin dessert; flat filled pasty The food is Hong Kong quality, which is saying something. Service is fine, though you can sometimes strike out finding out the English name of the dish. Reservations difficult, but walk ins are sometimes possible, especially for solo dining. Dress is not really casual, but men don't need a jacket. It's somewhat amusing to see people try to deal with some of the more exotic items that they're served. Just for calibration I should probably say I've dined extensively in Asia, including Hong Kong, China, and Singapore. Sloane Street tube read more

A really good restuarant. They do traditional Hunan cuisine here, which is great. Although they also include a more or less obligatory set of Cantonese dishes. You can't get away from this in England, so I say enjoy it. Both the Hunanese and Cantonese stuff is great - though it certainly isn't the cheapest place to eat Chinese in London. However, I really do recommend it simply for the excellent quality of many of the dishes. In particular, their many and varied ways to cook tofu are wonderful. Westerners sometimes don't realise just how much tofu East Asian people eat - but it's a lot. Hunan is one of the best places for producing these dishes and it shows in what this restaruant is able to provide. Excellent! read more

Very disappointed. Walked in at 7pm with no reservation and asked to sit. Proprietor said it wouldn't be til 9pm til he could seat us. Asked for my telephone number and said he would ring when a table was ready. My phone never rang. Therefore I can't review the food. I can only assume that it is so good that the owners couldn't care less if they disappointed someone or not. read more

Incredible experience from start to finish. Food is extraordinary --small plates come out one after the other, each with its own unique flavour followed by the grand finale, the main course, which in our case was crispy duck. Service is impeccable--charming staff clearly knows the food and flow of the restaurant. Total team work. Really a treat though admittedly pricey so be prepared. In my view it's well worth a splurge. Enjoy! read more

Most Chinese restaurants in Europe serve Cantonese food - the food of Southern China and Hong Kong - and although generally light and fresh, it can also be rather bland. Other regions of China feature more robust and spicy dishes . particularly the Sichuan and Hunanese styles. Hunan is an outstanding example of the latter and an entertaining experience as well. We began our evening with a glass of champagne at Carole Bamford's Dayleford Organic deli-cafe opposite the restaurant and arrived at Hunan smartly on time, as the owner, Mr Peng, is known to chew his guests up for breaches of etiquette. In fact he wasn't in attendance the night we went, but his son, who maintains his father's old-fashioned courtesy, was. As recommended, we didn't ask for a menu, but said that we would leave it to him to bring us whatever he wished, save only for one of the party prefering to have vegetarian dishes. This is also to be recommended since they excel at vegetarian cooking and as all dishes can be shared, all can try everything. A eight-course banquet followed that was some of the best Chinese food I have ever had - even in China. Fortunately somewhat 'nouvelle' in portion and style, the dishes flowed smoothly one by one (rather than being piled up on the table all at once) from our attentive waitress with the spicing light and interesting and never fierce. Superb lamb, minced pork, salmon and seabream rolled together, double cooked pork, crunchy tofu and superbly sauced vegetables made for an outstanding meal. There was a full wine list, and Mr Peng is known to be an expert, but we washed the meal down with tea, the Chinese way. The room is quite small and simply decorated with paintings of Chinese emperors and empresses and the atmosphere more French than Chinese, so don't go for a noisy convivial evening; just appreciate the superlative cooking and courtesy. Young Mr Peng shook our hands on leaving and wished us to return, which we certainly will. read more

I really wanted to like this place, I did. After reading lots of good reviews, I had my hopes up. Chinese restaurant, no menu, tapas-style bites. Fantastic idea! Sadly, I came away from it disappointed. The service was good, fast and very polite, and the dishes came out at a furious pace (a little too fast for my liking, to be honest). My main gripe is that all the food didn't taste very fresh - something that came through in the fish and the starter pickles. It wasn't all bad though - there were some dishes I liked and which reminded me of home, like the soup in a bamboo cup, sizzling beef, tempura green beans, deep fried pigs intestines, eel, seaweed tofu and the dessert of red bean pancake and almond jelly (it was strangely served together, tastes which I think don't gel well together). Is the food good? It's not bad, but I don't think it's worth paying £50 for. I'd much rather spend that money at Min Jiang or Royal China. read more

Went a while ago after reading rave reviews of this place from notable food critics and was reminded of this unmemorable experience by the disappointing meal I just had at A Wong tonight. Firstly the good: attentive service in a clean and classy restaurant in a classy neighbourhood. The most important thing: the food. Ok so we were brought many dishes one by one that filled us up. Most dishes however were just decent versions of something you get from a chop suey house. The tempura string beans were great, everything else was quite unexceptional, as I said something you'll get from a decent takeaway. The wind dried sausage was horrible, too much aniseed flavour, nothing like how a good lap cheung should taste. It appears their marketing ploy of giving you a "surprise chef selection feast" works and gets people to enjoy the whole experience more. Sure ypu'll roll out the door stuffed from a restaurant in a classy neighbourhood but in terms of pure food though it's very average, and at the price charged, simply not good enough. Another Asian restaurant exclusively for western tastes?? read more

Finally visited this place, the long queue was our first experience. Waited 20 min beyond our booking time, we made our way to the table. The food are not bad, equally not surprisingly good neither. I loved 'the pork with bitter melon' the most, a hint of ginger on top of the pork lightened it up. The 'jelly fish with drunken chicken' is too salty, it would be better to combine jelly fish with baby Chinese leaves. 'Preserved egg stir fry with long beans' is too salty too. The crab noodles was normal but the soup is wonderful! Final impression of Hunan has been good but so so. It's 'leave it to me' menu was a new concept in Chinese hospitality, which made it fame. read more

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Absolutely the best meal in London!!! Every dish is stunning and out of this world, it's an experience one should definitely have!!!!!!!!!

Hunan consistently serves up a feast! No need to look at the menu just tell them what you don't eat/like, if you have any allergies or if you really fancy eating something, and leave it to them to keep bringing you surprise after surprise until you're full. You should leave the place feeling completely indulged. read more

Seriously, this is eat & eat & eat like there's no tomorrow. Altogether we had 22 courses, not kidding! Small plates though but very fun to try so many varieties of dishes & at around 47£, it's totally worth it. I can't say that I like all of the dishes but most were good. More towards Taiwanese cooking. highly recommend. Hunan is a tiny restaurant, make sure you book ahead of time. read more

What an amazing place! Each dish was better than the next. Sixteen courses in all. Pricey (140 for two with a half bottle of wine), but felt it was well worth it. The crispy duck was outstanding, and the lightly battered green beans were so very tasty. Reservations a must and plan on a two hour meal. You can ask them to slow things up, and they will oblige. We will be back , read more

Mr Peng the Chef Patron is a genius who does not compromise on quality. He hails from Taiwan but has been taught to cook Hunanese food by a fellow gastro black belt. Mr Peng has passed on his knowledge and skills to his son Michael and together with Mrs Peng they run a superb operation. The food is superb and cooked with a light delicate touch despite the fact that Garlic , Ginger, Chilli and Corriander prevail. There is a well chosen wine list to compliment the food - try the outstanding Feluga Pinot Grigio. There are a couple of menus but just ignore them and put yourself in Mr Pengs good hands and he will just keep sending a barrage of small dishes. Circa £35-£50 per head ex wine depending on how much and what you eat. If you are looking for the standard Cantonese heavy MSG food with lots of rice and noodles stay clear of this place. read more

Hunan is a bit posh as you might expect with a Pimlico Road address and being 2 minutes from Sloane Square tube. Famously (or infamously), there is no menu here and you leave yourself at the mercy of the chef although you are given a chance to state your dislikes. Although we knew there'd be dishes we might not like, we said 'bring it on' albeit politely, we were in Belgravia after all. The lack of menu is compensated by a weighty wine list. We ordered a 2008 Schloss Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner (£29) which swiftly arrived with some nibbles of nuts, kimchi and cucumber. I'm no wine expert but I thought it complemented the food very well. Not long after, the first of what turned out to be 16 courses arrived. Everybody loved the minced pork & ginger soup served in a bamboo mini-keg and the lettuce wrap with minced chicken was also well received if a tad generic. The next course was described as water-cooked pork dumpling (shui jian bao). With it's crispy bottom and vinegar dip, it reminded me a bit of the sheng jian bao I had in Shanghai although these dumplings were soupless. I'm sure I'd have liked these more if I hadn't just returned from China but I couldn't help comparing them to the dumplings in Shanghai. Although I was a tad disappointed, no one else was. A quick succession of dishes then arrived, salmon rolls, crispy beans with chilli, jellyfish rolls, pig's ears & pig's tongue and king prawn & minced pork rolls. Of these dishes, the crispy beans were the star turn with its moreish light tempura batter. The pig's ear didn't have many fans although the accompanying pig's tongue was wolfed down. My personal favourite was served next, spicy frogs legs, which reminded me of a similar dish I once had in a Hunanese restaurant in Beijing. The legs had a light crispy coating and were served with bamboo shoots, chilli and spring onion. The next dish was easily the worse of the evening. The chilli beef was like a refugee from a bad take away, tough chewy beef served in a gloopy sauce. After the beef nightmare, things picked up with the steamed duck with ginger and spinach rolls. Then some more offal in the form of Chinese 'haggis', well that's what the waiter called it after we sent him back to find out. We weren't sure what this dish consisted of but we weren't fans of the texture. The chilli sauce it was served with was also too potent overpowering the taste of the dish. None of us really liked it although it was more to do with personal taste rather than the dish being a complete nightmare like the beef. It was at this point (13 courses in) that we asked to stop. However, we were told there would be two more courses. The fried baby squid was spoiled a bit by its sauce but I have no complaints about the excellent steamed scallops served on top of cucumber filled with minced pork and topped with garlic. So after 15 rounds, we said 'no mas' and asked about dessert. I'm not sure if we were allowed to choose but we only asked for the toffee apple with ice cream and toffee banana with ice cream with the emphasis on ice cream. Anyway the one dessert we didn't want was brought out on the basis it was more 'Chinese'. It undoubtedly was but we did say we didn't want it. The rogue dessert was sent back and our order was wheeled out but without the ice cream. If I gave marks out of ten, I'd deduct a point for this slightly farcical end to our meal. The only other (minor) grumble was the inadequate description of the dishes in English or Chinese. If you're serving what is essentially a tasting menu, it'd be nice to have an description of each dish and in some cases how best to eat it. It'd also have been good to be given more warning as to when we might want to stop. Dinner for four cost £240 including two bottles of wine and 12.5% service. If you describe it as a Chinese meal then it seems pricey but if you think of it as a tasting menu in a Belgravia restaurant, it seems reasonable. read more

Tucked away near Victoria Station is a very good restaurant serving authentic Hunan cuisine in the heart of London. This used to be almost an unofficial members only restaurant as the guests were all regular visitors who passed the good word onto friends and the owner was well known to all the customers. Prices are relatively high but then again you are in the center of London and for the quality of food, there's no debate. Approx £60 per person including drinks. A lot of the specials they serve aren't on the menu so if you speak Mandarin, you may actually request stuff that are too tasty to be written down. A little gem that all foodies must visit. Food 10/10 Value 8/10 Location 7/10 Atmosphere 8/10 Service 10/10 read more

One of the best and authentic Chinese restaurants in London serving Hunan plus food. I have been going there over the years. I think the son is managing the restaurant. Dad used to run a tight ship and was a huggable curmudgeon of a guy. I think family hails from Taiwan originally. Best to describe Hunan is to bring your appetite and they will serve you tapas style course after course until you beg for mercy. Minced chicken in bamboo is delectable with subtle fragrance of bamboo and babuska's chicken soup. Not cheap but it is well worth the experience. I recall Viscount Linley used to have his wood box / curio / cabinetry shop nearby. read more

Hunan is an amazing family run restaurant, serves Chinese food at its best, delicious, spicy , inter sting flavours that create a celebration in your mouth! Its fresh, varied and wonderful.The staff is nice, kind and helpful,which makes it even more enjoyable.Fantastic place! read more

The BEST food EVER! My family have been eating in London's best Chinese places since before I was born but this place trumps it all. Ask Mikey what wine will go with your food he's great, and meeting Mr Peng is another highlight! read more

My boyfriend and I celebrated our birthday's/Valentine's Day at Hunan a few months ago as a recommendation from my cousin and his friends. They raved about the owner introducing himself and asking your maximum budget for the endless flow of delicious authentic Chinese/Taiwanese foods. When we were seated, no one special came to the table and there was no questioning about our budget only if we liked spicy food which is yes, of course. The food is unbelievable with a very unique and authentic taste. Since it was only the 2 of us we got full very quickly and asked for the bill. A few minutes later, I see a huge bowl of crab with noodles come out of the kitchen. Apparently the waiter forgot to tell them we had finished. It looked sooo good but we just couldn't do it, we had to send it back. They were bickering at each other in Chinese which I understood very clearly and it was NOT nice. So they gave us a hefty un-itemized bill of £100 which included a bottle of wine and we left unsure if it was as great as everyone says. My cousin also went back recently and was disappointed as they brought out repeats of the same dishes and the same thing happened with the big bowl of crab/noodle dish where they had to send it back because they just couldn't eat anymore. I think the son recently took over the restaurant and from my experience, the new management can be improved by asking their guests if they can eat more before bringing out the huge bowl of crab/noodle dish. Hunan if you are reading this, why didn't you bring the crab out in the beginning??? read more

3.5 stars. i don't usually eat chinese food out. it's never as good as eating it at home, and it's usually very greasy. i went here w/ some friends from work last night, one of whom has raved about this place and really wanted to get my chinese (and hunan) opinion. there was so much food that i can't even remember what we had. there is no menu, and they just ask you what you like, dislike, are allergic to, etc. i thought we said we didn't want lamb and frog legs, but they showed up at the table anyway. we said we wanted duck for sure, as well as the crab, but the crab never made it to the table. however, up to that point, we had little nibbles and delights that were really delicious. standouts for me were the various dumplings, fried green beans, and the steamed seabass in pancake. i could have done w/o the chicken w/ sticky rice and lamb (neither of which i tried). when you're full, you just tell them you're done, and they bring you dessert (apple and banana fritters w/ vanilla ice cream). the server said he would also bring us a chinese dessert of sticky rice and red bean, and again, it never made it to the table. food is good, but by the end, a lot of the stuff started tasting the same/similar. service was also spotty. initially the courses came one after the next, but towards the middle and end, it really slowed down. also, even tho we told them we wanted particular dishes for sure and didn't want others, they didn't really heed our requests, and since we're paying a ton of $ for the food, i do think they could have been a bit more accommodating. read more

Awesome place. Favorite stop in London. Not cheap but worth it!

One never forgets the first time he ate frog. Which is exactly why I could never forget Hunan, the restaurant. Situated peacefully on Pimlico Rd., Hunan serves some solid Chinese food that isn't cheap but that's okay; if you're willing to pay for quality. In fact, I think this was the best Chinese restaurant I visited on my last trip to London. read more

I'm really reluctant to write this review, because this place is a gem. I really loved it. And since it's a tiny restaurant, which is already pretty crowded with devoted fans, I'm hesitant to fan the flames even more, making it harder for me to get in when i want to. But there is just nothing wrong with this place. The food is excellent. I've only ordered the "chef choice menu" which just goes on and on and on, until you beg them to stop. I don't think I've had one dish that I didn't immensely enjoy. Some dishes were out of this world good. The service is also very good, not at all cloying but very precise and friendly. The room is small but very bright and airy. And the manager does a fab. job of helping to match the wine. There is a very well thought out wine list. read more

Delicious, VERY spicy Chinese food in Belgravia.Worth the trip even if you live across town. Do not order - just ask for dinner for however many people and the chef will check allerigies and tastes and come up with something great. Just trust the chef's special. Nobody looks at the menu. Awesome! read more

Went here for a business lunch and got the option where you basically just sit down and taste 10+ different items that the chef cooks up for you. The individual dishes are tiny so you can go through all the courses and enjoy each. Eating here was NOT what I would have expected from a Chinese food place. It was WAAAYYY better. More like gourmet Chinese. They really celebrated food and I felt like I was on a taste excursion. Would definitely go back and trust the chef to feed me. Only downside could be the price and that you need to take a bit of a longer lunch to enjoy each item. But again - it's worth it! read more

This place was tricky, we did the chef's menu and of 18 or so courses half were delicious and the other half lacked flavour or were over cooked. I had high expectations and was a bit disappointed. The bill was outrageous - almost £500 for 6 of us with no wine and a very few cocktails. We won't return. read more

Please refer to my blog for pictures and more! http://hungryinlondon.com/2011/11/hunan-pimlico/ Hunan on Pimlico Road is contrary to what the name suggests,not a Hunanese restaurant. In my limited knowledge of Chinese cuisines,I would have placed it as being Cantonese,as dishes were rather mild and a some reminded me of upmarket versions of stir fries I had in Chinatown. According to their website,Hunan's food is mainly the chef's own creations,chiefly influenced by Taiwanese. Without any doubt,it is fun to eat at Hunan,particularly if you are not bothered by their strange pricing policy and if you enjoy being surprised. You get around 15 courses of tapas-sized Chinese dishes,most of the time you have no idea what you are eating (the waiters are not exactly forthcoming with explanations) and you will leave absolutely stuffed. Regarding the pricing,there is no a la carte menu at Hunan. My understanding is that there is one set menu each evening which costs 45 pounds,regardless of how many dishes you are actually eating. Food allergies and likes/dislikes are taking into consideration. I just guess that the menu is 45 pounds,calculating from our non-itemised bill (even though it doesn't say on the bill,the tip is included,so don't pay double!),as the prices are nowhere to be found,neither in the restaurant nor on Hunan's website. So in the end,if you like to know what you are paying and are a wary person,you might at some stage have a slight feeling of being ripped off. I am not saying at all that Hunan rips off its customers,just that the pricing seems rather obscure. 2. course:chicken wrap To food started off very strong. Enjoying the first few courses I thought I have found my Chinese culinary nirvana and if I had been called away halfway through the meal,I would have given a raving review. However,the quality was not maintained throughout the meal and the last few dishes sadly were on the level of a tourist trap Chinatown restaurant. 3. course Dumplings in chili oil The chicken and mushroom soup refined with ginger and lemongrass served in a little bamboo pot was a beautiful winter warmer. This was followed by the fresh and flavoursome chicken wrap pieces of minced chicken rolled into a green salad leave and served with a soy based dipping sauce. Some Sichuan influence then,in the form of the dumpling served in chili oil. Not overly spicy,it still was very satisfying and sadly gone in one bite. We also liked the lightly fried,crispy green beans with chili and garlic. 4. course fried green beans 5. course prawns in light soy sauce and lemongrass The 5th course of plump and tender prawns was beautifully prepared and subtly seasoned,allowing for the sweet prawn flavour to shine through. I think the 6th course was tofu,we didn't like it very much and it marked the moment,when things were starting to deteriorate. 6. course tofu? 7. course some sort of pancake/fishcake thing The fishcake was more like an omlette with pieces of fish in it,rather tasteless and of questionable texture. I was not keen on any of the stir fries. The beef in black bean sauce (I think) was perfectly edible but that's about it. Absolutely unmemorable. 8. course beef in black bean sauce I did like the scallops,even though I found the idea of serving them on slices of cooked cucumber more 'interesting'than actually working very well. 9. course scallops on cucumber 10. course I have no idea 11. course some meat with some green beans (forgettable) 12. course fried chicken ? When courses 10,11 and 12 arrived,conversation at our table came to a halt and disappointment took over. We didn't like any of them and also the sea bass that came after,did not appear very appetizing being dumped on this mini plate. I usually love Chinese steamed sea bass,but here the sauce was a bit bland and the fish overdone. 13. course steamed sea bass The stunning start of the meal and it's dreadful end could not have been further apart. The crispy duck with pancakes was the driest and most flavourless duck I have ever tasted. And can you believe,the dessert really was fried bananas! I thought by now this massive waste of calories would have been banned from all upmarket Chinese restaurants. If at least they would have been NICE bananas,but no,big chunks of greasy batter and a minus 10 for presentation. I have a burning question directed towards Chinese foodies out there,do you actually eat fried bananas in China or has this developed in Chinese restaurants in the Western world? 14. course crispy duck 15. course fried bananas with vanilla ice cream What a shame that the food standard dipped,because Hunan does tick a lot of boxes. It is surprisingly comfortable with remarkably little kitsch for a Chinese restaurant,the waiters are so much more friendly than what I am used to from Chinese eateries (apart from the overfilling of wine glasses) and the food shows some exciting interpretations of traditional Chinese. Still,this dinner left us strangely read more

This restaurant is truly fantastic. For only £50 ahead four of us sat through 21 amazing courses of Chinese delight. Fantastic service, friendly, polite and welcoming, amazing food, fresh, clean tasting and a plethora of dishes, amazing wine list. I suggest any foody should try this place. read more