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Oriental Canteen

2.9 (49 reviews)
InexpensiveChinese
Closed 12:00 pm - 9:30 PM

Oriental Canteen Photos

ORIENTAL CANTEEN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating

Recommended Reviews - Oriental Canteen

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Kung Pao chicken. Chicken was dry, dish was tasteless.
Kate C.

Located in the main restaurant row near the museums. Terrible food! Terrible service! Terrible ambience! I would give minus 5 stars if I could. My bad for going in.

This has got to be one of the worst Chinese places I've ever been -- there were people in my party visiting from Hong Kong and they were appalled. First off, the portions (we ordered main dishes from the backside of the menu) are ridiculously tiny, and are served on plastic plates that bring Parks and Rec flashbacks of April and Andy eating turkey chili from frisbees. Yes, it was that bad. The bowls and cups we were given were also of the same cheap, colorful plastic. The food we ordered was not good. That kung pao chicken was the sorriest excuse for a kung pao chicken that I've ever seen. You could probably get better at Panda Express. The fried rice was bad as well. The only thing that was mildly alright was the eggplant dish. The service was absolute rubbish and the restaurant itself lacks severely in cleanliness. All in all I was extremely dissatisfied with this restaurant and do not recommend anyone to come here lest they experience the same disappointment.

Roti canai- the only good starter
Kinoy Blog O.

Eat only the rice meals and not the noodles. Service was appalling. Shame this was one of the firsts Chinese restaurants we've been to since arriving London. It was not like this 5-6 years ago... For starters- Roti canai was good.

Derry N.

The Oriental Canteen does precisely what it says on the tin: its serves basic Chinese and other popular Asian dishes in a very pared-down but clean setting. Seating is shared with other customers and service is to the point: there is normally a waitress waiting to take your order before you sit down. Now in most restaurants I would find that a supremely annoying trait. But it's just a part of the no-nonsense vibe in the Canteen. Sit down, shut up, stuff your face, then be on your way. The food itself ticks all the boxes for those in search of a cheap and filling meal for around a fiver. There is tofu and ginger stir fry, special fried rice, lots of noodle dishes, even Peking duck, and many dozens more. Other pluses are they serve Tsingtao beer, which is excellent with any Chinese food, and that the plain sticky rice served with most meals is delicious even on its own.

Beef stew with noodle soup
Meaghan M.

The food was so delicious. I tried the spring rolls, I ordered the beef stew with noodle soup myself and tried the duck that my friend got, all of which were fantastic. We also tried the jasmine tea which I would recommend. The food was very filling and well priced. The place is small but it makes for a good intimate atmosphere. I wouldn't recommend for a group larger than four; it really is best for one to three people. The people working there were kind and helpful. Quick service as well

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4 years ago

Food took forever, as did ordering, as did getting the check. Super small portions. Meat was dry. Would stay away

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14 years ago

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9 years ago

Excellent roast duck, also loved #51 shredded beef(crispy) which has an orange/scallion sauce.

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18 years ago

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13 years ago

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12 years ago

We were absolutely starving and made the mistake of eating here. Microwave food, rude service and place just didn't feel clean.

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14 years ago

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18 years ago

Cheap chinese and malaysian food in this basic restaurant. The roti canai is great. Good for a quick, reasonably-priced meal.

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Oriental Canteen Reviews in Other Languages

Review Highlights - Oriental Canteen

Food is straightforward Chinese, mostly based around the meat and rice or noodles formula for around £5.

Mentioned in 6 reviews

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A. Wong - @endoedibles on Instagram 11/29/25 Shanxi pulled lamb 'burger' with Xinjiang pomegranate salad

A. Wong

4.0(72 reviews)
1.4 miVictoria
££££

Opened as Kym's in 1985 it was in 2012 that Andrew Wong took over the space at 70 Wilton Road from…read morehis late father, a lifetime in the Restaurant suddenly a full time job informed by his parents and centuries of Chinese cuisine from Shanghai to Chengdu and Beijing. Awarded 2* from Michelin, a Tasting Menu only affair dubbed 'Collections of China' offering over one hundred Ingredients across six courses and thirty items, guests are greeted warmly at a space that looks largely like any other celebratory Chinese Restaurant featuring a pleasant but professional staff. A work of passion, all of it orchestrated by Chef Wong who has used travel to pursue his own interpretation of regional cuisine, servers are careful to explain each course and the order in which it should be consumed to maximize the experience. Seated close to the kitchen, Wong manning the pass with bright aromas and flashes of flame occasionally drawing eyes, Cocktails are a highlight and Teas are carefully selected to match 'The Banquet', 'Dim Sum', 'Fish', 'Snacks', 'Five Flavours' and 'Fruits' to finish. Fast paced but never rushed, the entire experience lasting roughly three hours, "Scalded Oysters" and "Smacked" Cucumbers offer a bold introduction while two types of Sweet Potato give way to succulent roast Pork glazed with Honey and topped by nuts adjacent dried and grated Duck Liver. Occasionally adding some theater, a Scallop beneath flaky Pastry sliced into halves before Millefeuille of Char Siu and Scallop, Dim Sum offers XLB, Har Gow and Siu Mai plus fragrant Broth and Crispy Youtiao with Sea Whelk Curry. Next unveiling Peking Duck in a puff of smoke, delicate Pancakes consumed in two bites with Truffles and Caviar, Fish courses include Abalone, Bass and Prawns plus a whimsical Soup that Alex uses to explain why it is no longer necessary to butcher Sharks for their fins. Growing even more complex with "Five Flavours," instructions to eat subtle dishes first most prudent here as the Lamb "Burger" and "Hot Pot" Chicken are best appreciated before seared Beef with Chilis and Lemongrass, when Dessert arrives nuance and detail again take center stage from show-stopping Chrysanthemum Tofu to Coconut Water Ice with Bird's Nest.

My last meal of this trip to London, and it was a good one. I reserved my solo seat at A. Wong as…read moresoon as the reservations opened. I was seated upon arrival. Food: I reserved the vegetarian tasting menu. It was very good. Each plate was tasty, but admittedly a little forgetful. I know I enjoyed my meal, but I could not tell you which dish was my favorite. Every thing was well plated and pleasing to the eye though. Service: Service was generally good. I was seated at the bar area, understandable as a solo reservation. However, given how the dishes came out, I didn't have enough space most of the time for the dishes. The servers and such were all nice and knowledgeable. They were trained well. My main server did stand uncomfortably close to me a few times to describe my meal. He also asked pointedly why I chose the vegetarian option that evening. He seemed bothered when I said it was because I was vegetarian. However, even with these minor details, it was still good service overall. TL;DR - a michelin take on Chinese food that was tasty with decent service.

Photos
A. Wong - @endoedibles on Instagram 11/29/25

@endoedibles on Instagram 11/29/25

A. Wong - @endoedibles on Instagram 11/29/25 'Memories of Peking Duck', foie gras and smoked duck, truffle, caviar

@endoedibles on Instagram 11/29/25 'Memories of Peking Duck', foie gras and smoked duck, truffle, caviar

A. Wong - @endoedibles on Instagram 11/29/25 Cheese, Walnut, Fruit Vinegar
 Dragons Beard Candy

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@endoedibles on Instagram 11/29/25 Cheese, Walnut, Fruit Vinegar Dragons Beard Candy

Hunan

Hunan

4.2(52 reviews)
0.9 mi
££££

Hunan London is a true gem for Chinese food enthusiasts! This restaurant has been serving authentic…read moreHunanese 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!

London Food When…read morepeople 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.

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Hunan
Hunan - Sea Bass

Sea Bass

Hunan

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Rosa's Thai Cafe - Pad see ewe with Prawns

Rosa's Thai Cafe

3.9(64 reviews)
1.4 miVictoria
££

Thought about giving this place a 3 because of the rather young woman who was not very nice when…read moretrying to usher me out the door...she was snappy with some customers outside as well. Clearly feeling overwhelmed. Placed an online order that was projected to be ready at 8:10 pm. I got there at about 8:15pm and the woman that greeted me was pretty calm cool and collected even though the place was JAM PACKED- with several people waiting outside to pick up delivery orders or waiting to be seated. She was multitasking for sure- taking orders at tables, dealing with Uber Eats folks, as well as people coming in for a table, and me picking up my online order. It was a bit of chaos but she said to give her 2 mins. I said I'll give you 5 trying to be cool because she was working hard. About 13 mins later a young woman (20s or so) came over and asked me to step outside. I politely told her 'that woman' (pointed in the nice lady's direction) said I could wait here, so I'd rather stay here to get my order. Based on her facial expression and the fact that she went to another employee to obviously complain about me - I wasn't going to budge - and get sent outside to be forgotten about. My order was given to me by the nice woman about 8:45pm- 35 mins after the time stated online. A bit aggravating for sure but thanked the nice lady for being so nice. Speaking from my personal and professional experience people can generally forgive a lot of things if the person they are dealing with is nice. All that to let you know that my family and I thought the food was pretty darn good. I will definitely get the chicken wings again as they were cooked perfectly and with just the right amount of crispness to them.

This was and is the best Thai food I have ever eaten in my life. The flavors of the food were…read moreincredible. We didn't have reservations, but they were friendly and got us a table quickly! The restaurant is set up very neat. I loved the decor of the place. The thai tea was not overly sweet or bitter. We also had veggie spring rolls that were so crispy! The pad thai and the pad see ewe had perfectly cooked noodles and the sauce was so flavorful. The coconut rice was delicious. We have been back in the US now for 2 weeks and we are still talking about this place! Can't wait for our next trip to London so we can visit again!

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Rosa's Thai Cafe - Front

Front

Rosa's Thai Cafe - Thai Fried Chicken

Thai Fried Chicken

Rosa's Thai Cafe - Pad Thai.

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Pad Thai.

Firecracker

Firecracker

3.9(55 reviews)
2.0 miWestminster
££

Firecracker is close to one of our offices which is to say that it's great because we generally…read morehave very limited options around where we are on the River. I loved their bento boxes because you can do many variety of options and pick and choose as you wish. In my case I had all proteins and few vegetables. Our office has avocados and fruits so I didn't feel that I needed that extra layer of veggies. For 9 £, or under 12 bucks, one can get a whole lot more lunch than one would get, say from San Francisco. I also found the decor surprisingly pan Asia which is neat. This is one of the approachable places you could get by Westminster Abbey, and given how sad and limited the food choices are around here, I would give it a four star - simply it's within walking distance from work and it's what you'd expect from an Asian fusion restaurant.

On most trips, I actually keep a spreadsheet of our itinerary. Normally, this includes where we…read morewill be eating that day. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that this time. So, we just decided to eat at places based on where we were at. Since we were around Westminster Abbey, I looked on Yelp and saw Firecracker. It was a few blocks down from where we were, but since I was planning on going to the Tesco Superstore later, it was actually on the way. We found the door to the restaurant and walked in. The restaurant was actually down the stairs. We walked downstairs and saw more than enough seating. The place was pretty clean, albeit a little darker than expected. Not good for the Yelper who likes to take pictures. LOL! We were greeted and seated promptly. They took our order and we waited for our food. While waiting for our food, we noticed there was a room next to us that had a karaoke party going on. Being the only Filipino on earth that doesn't do karaoke, this wasn't a big deal to me. I do, however, like watching people have fun doing karaoke and it looked like everyone was having a blast. They picked some really good karaoke songs (Living On A Prayer by Bon Jovi, anyone?). The food started coming out now. We started off with some Salt And Pepper Tofu. It came on a bed of veggies and was topped with fried garlic and slice peppers. We devoured everything. In fact, it might have been our favorite dish. For our main course, we essentially had a dim sum meal with some noodles throw in. We had Har Gau, Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai, Pork Belly Bao, Char Siu Bun, and Gyoza. We added a little bit more with noodles, corn soup, and Kai Lan with ginger sauce. The Pork Belly was super good and it probably wouldn't been better to order a few more. The other dim sum items were good, but living in the Bay Area, I've come accustomed to eating really good Chinese food. The noodles, soup, and Kai Lan were all good, too. The entire meal, as a whole, was extremely enjoyable. Service here is a great. We didn't have a regular waitress assigned to our table as a few people checked in on us. They were all great though. Being in London, of course they had an English accent. My daughter's loved it! They kept trying to copy them. I guess they channeled their inner Peppa Pig!

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Firecracker - Meaty Jasmine smoked ribs....

Meaty Jasmine smoked ribs....

Firecracker - Main dining area

Main dining area

Firecracker - Main Dining area

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Main Dining area

Oriental Canteen - chinese - Updated May 2026

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