Went late one evening Place was pretty packed... and neat... noise level was okay. We were promptly seated. The food was just okay. They didn't seem to have chicken fried rice in the menu but said they could do it. It was awful!!! Like just plain rice with a few pieces of chicken basically. I regret that purchase. Everything else was okay. I was under the impression that the UK doesn't do 'tips' so was surprised to see that on the receipt. It seems to be a popular spot but I likely won't be back. read more

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Good quality Chinese food. Stir fry vegetables is a very nice option for travel week and wants to get some good fiber into the diet. Bean paste beef is also very good with high quality meat. Not sure why the rating is so low. Very happy to be eating here . read more

We were hoping for dim sum for dinner, but they only do dim sum for lunch, so don't expect your soup dumplings later on. We were still hoping for some great Chinese food, though. Unfortunately, everything we had was very oily. It is also very spicy, which I love. We had a half roast Cantonese duck, steamed chili pork dumplings. Chinese broccoli. Hot and sour soup (meat and vegetarian), Black pepper seafood udon noodles, and Green tea. The duck was super oily, as were the broccoli and hot and sour soup. The udon was a hit as were the chili pork dumplings. The hostess wasn't very friendly and we felt rushed, but I have yet to find a Chinese restaurant in London where that isn't the case. It's part of the "charm." I would have liked to have tried the dim sum. read more

After seeing the 3.25 star review status, we were hesitant to try this incredible Cantonese/DimSum restaurant out; yet, due to its ideal location in Canary Wharf over looking the Thames river we decided to give it a shot! Needless to say, Beyond Enamored!! Polished service delivering incredible dim sum and an elevated dining platform with views!! We came just after opening at Noon and the restaurant started filling up with a variety of demographic including business from neighboring commercial sky towers and residences.. we ordered siu mai which was full of shrimp, flavorful and exquisitely executed steaming out of a fresh bamboo pot; pork steam buns meaty, flavorful and perfectly balanced between dense and fluffy; my favorite the steamed beef meatballs full of garlic and scallions.. So so good and interestingly perfect with the British Worcestershire sauce on the side I expected to be a soy/black vinegar as per tradition yet it worked perfectly!! Requested complimentary chili oil with sambal another uniquely different addition to sides and of course soy sauce. Overall, fairly priced elevated Cantonese on the Thames!! read more

Update 2.0: Came back for anothet dimsum here and it wasnt disappointing. It was still good and its always gonnna be my comfort dim sum place in london. Recommended! Cheers! read more

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I grew up eating dim sum along the West and East coasts of the USA, and I thought I knew good dim sum. However, our experience here was eye-openingly delicious, definitely a step above all the other dim sum in my past. All the items we ordered were hot and fresh tasting, flavorful with just the right balance of textures. The scallop and shrimp/chive dumplings were particularly unique (har gow and shu mai also did not disappoint). The cheung fun, radish cakes and steamed pork buns were also well done. Server suggested the morning glory (cooked with bean paste) as a vegetable dish. I would understand if some people may not like the umami-rich taste of this preparation. But for us, this was such a highlight of the meal that we ordered a second serving. Highly suggested for delicious dim sum! Edit: Just tried this restaurant for dinner. Dishes were good, not great, with most too salty and too sweet foe my tastes (though kids loved them). I will definitely return for dim sum but not for the other items on the menu. read more

The dimsum is Soooo good and fresh here!!! I will definitely come back when I am in London and crave dimsum. It's maybe a 10 min walk from the tube but an easy walk. It's right next to the water so it's a good place for a walk if it's nice out. The service was good and everything arrived really quickly even though it was prime lunch hour and it was packed. I did not have reservations but there was only two of us. We got sat within 5 minutes. There were lots of corporate lunches that were ordering normal dishes so maybe they were the reason it's so packed. I recommend this dim sum place if you aren't too far from canary wharf! read more

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The location was great. We were able to sit on the water while we waited for our table. It was very busy and the place was filled with Asian people, which I think is always a great sign. I didn't think the staff was overly friendly or warm, but the food was good. The fried noodles were great and so were the dumplings. read more

Very good, high quality Chinese cuisine with a great location right by the Thames. There's plenty of outdoor seating to take advantage of the water views, too. Service is polite and timely, though can be a little on the brisk side. However, the quality and flavor of the food more than makes up for it. On our first visit, we had salt & pepper squid (simply delicious, with really nice hot peppers); spicy pork chili steamed dumplings (very good); really tiny baby bok choi in delicate garlic sauce; Chinese broccoli; and steamed scallops in black bean sauce (a nice combination of the subtle fresh scallop flavor and the funky fermented black beans - though not overpowering at all); and an excellent Peking duck. We liked the food so much we came back a second time and tried their steamed sea bass in ginger and scallion which was also excellent, spanking fresh, and I liked the exquisite way in which they deboned (not filleted!) the fish so that there no bones to deal with yet maintaining the presentation of the whole fish. Well done! Unfortunately, we didn't get to try their dim sum as it was only available during lunch hours but if we ever get back there, we'll make time for it as they looked mouth-wateringly good. The place fills up fast - and much of the clientele is Asian (which is a good sign for its quality) - so I do recommend reservations. read more

Royal China - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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I would like to give this restaurant 0 star but Yelp requires at least 1 star to post the review. First, we asked the server if there is any private room there. She said "I don't know". We also ask her if the other Royal China locations offer private room since there are 4 other locations in London. She also replied "I don't know". Seems like she doesn't know anything about the company she works for. After we sat down at a table, we were served by someone who looks like a supervisor. We asked her the same questions. She told us that if we want a private room. We need to have a minimum spending of $100 per person. Finally someone can answer our question. We ordered a "Beef with Cashew nuts" and a "Royal China Lotus Leaf Rice". Both were very disappointed . The beef doesn't taste like beef. It has a little bit of beef favor but the texture is like a chewing gum. My wife couldn't even swallow it. The cashew nuts were ok. The tiny corns were very sour(not sure if it's really supposed to taste like that?) The rice in the "Royal China Lotus Leaf Rice" is undercooked and it is tasteless. The shrimps that come with the rice is fresh though. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone due to the quality of the food. read more

Royal China - Beef with Cashew Nuts - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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Overpriced dim sum as bill came in at more than £20 per person for a dim sum meal. The quality is similar to Chinatown or nearby china boat restaurant (near south Quay Station). I can recommend the glazed pork buns as they seemed to be more fresh and genuinely worth its value. Another thing I don't like is that they don't have a check box style menu ordering AND they had 3 different menu cards. Very confusing. Drop the price, increase the quantity or quality. Very bad price / quality combo. read more

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I like Royal China, as they do consistently good dim sum...although a pricey one. What I particularly like about this location is...the location. Right by the Westferry Terminal in Canary Wharf, I heartily recommend to take the ferry from Embankment or Tower Bridge all the way over here...that way you combine a little sightseeing tour with some really good food. Afterwards, and please refer to the other reviews on what to order etc., I recommend you walk back along the Thames. There are some truly wonderful views to be admired and some lovely pubs along the way - my favorite being The Grapes. As for the dim sum, be prepared to wait and be prepared to receive mediocre service... read more

This is restaurant serves up your typical dim sum. All the stuff they offer is well made. But they lack other things like tripe. I like tripe. It is a bit more pricey than other places for dim sum. Kinda upscale like other reviewers mentioned. If you go around noon (when it opens on the weekend) then you should be able to get a seat. The reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of just 3 is due to the fact that it has an outdoor seating area along the Thames. Eating good dim sum on a sunny day along the river? Blissful The map location given by google maps is not correct. It is closer to the river. read more

Royal China - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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Ate here 10/2012 with 1 friend so I recall neither the dishes ordered nor their review other than: * immense construction outside was totally not heard indoors, kudos to that as locals know it was an immense amount of construction * very nice interior design, very comfortable * attentive high levels of service, commensurate with the price point * you get what you pay for so it was as good as hoped Sorry I couldn't provide more detail, but wanted to record these for others. read more

Royal China, Canary Wharf Riverside - we had a simple midweek dim sum lunch. If you are around Canary Wharf for lunch, notice the amount of people lunching outdoors when the sun is shinning. The square, park and along the river side are filled with people. You would think that would be no one dining in the restaurants. Oh yes, they were there too! I always felt that Royal China was somewhat classier. It was probably the colour scheme that gave that impression - gold against the black. Stepping into the restaurant, it was just an average Chinese restaurant. Perhaps with a slight touch of elegance, only a slight. I didn't know why I felt intimidated. Prices of the dim sum dishes were quite reasonable around £3.50 per dish and rice/noodle dishes at £10.00. The menu, like a book, had quite a good selection of dishes and not just an endless list of shifty combinations of meat and sauce. The recommended set menu also looks like a good combination of food if you want to feast on. Royal China is quite a classic Chinese restaurant in England with the usual favourites of aromatic crispy duck, lemon chicken, marinated shiitake mushrooms and Singapore noodles. crispy noodles with chicken £9.50 - the noodles had a good crunch, not undercooked, and the gravy sauce not too strachy or salty. Just the perfect balance with an assortment of crunchy vegetables. roast pork buns £3.50 - quite a meagre filling but I liked the bao. Soft, fluffy and steaming hot. Yummy! turnip cake with cured meat £3.50 - not a good texture. Looked good but failed to deliver in taste and the texture was mushy and felt wrong. fried yam paste meat dumplings £3.50 - my favourite dim sum! The pastry was a little too oily and filling, too salty. Not pleasant. honey roast pork puff £3.50 - another must order dish for me at my dim sum outings. Nice! shanghai pork dumplings £3.50 - the pastry was quite thin and the soup in the dumpling was flavoursome. Pretty much average. plain chee cheung fun with peanut sauce £3.80 - I am always glad to try new variety of dim sums offered and I felt quite western when ordering this fusion dish. Well, I can say that I am definitely not ordering this dish again. The chee cheung fun alone also had a very funny texture - mushy, felt as though the proportion of flour was wrong or a substandard rice flour was used. Although I did enjoy the light afternoon dim sum lunch, I thought that the recommended service charge of 13% was quite steep. A simple midweek dim sum lunch does not count. Definitely heading for my weekend dim sum lunch for a proper dim sum fix! read more

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There's some very fine dim sum here. The prawn dumplings and Shanghai soup dumplings were particularly good. Squid cakes not so good. It's quite expensive for dim sum, but it's in canary wharf overlooking the river, whaddya expect?! Another couple who came after into a largely empty restaurant (at 3pm) asked not to sit between the few busy tables and asked to sit a couple of tables away, but the waiter said rest of the restaurant is closed and insisted they sit between two other tables. That seemed mean. However they treated us well throughout. And they were cool about us sitting chatting for over an hour after we'd finished eating (it was raining very hard outside). read more

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meh.. Being a Taiwanese and had Chinese food throughout my life, this place is pretty dreadful. The rice was flat and mushy like baby food. The dumpling wrapper was so thick and so much dough that I felt like I was eating fried bread rolls. The service was abysmal. We ordered Prawn & Pork Wonton Soup, mixed vegetables noodles, Dumplings, and "Shaolin Monks" Vegetables served in Clay Pot. The wonton soup and clay plot were actually not too bad (hence the two stars). The dinner came with complimentary small sides: fried peanuts and cucumbers. The cucumbers had been submerged in the water/seasoning for too long though so they were sour (not from vinegar) and soggy, not crunchy or fresh. The restaurant is located at a prime location right next to the water. The view is amazing. The food is meh.. read more

Royal China - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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We stopped at the Royal China Canary Wharf prior to popping over to a movie at West India Quay. Right on the water and a short walk from the DLR Westferry stop, it is a nice walk and view if you have some time to spare. The food and ambiance is the same quality as the Bayswater location and was quite busy on a Saturday around almost 2pm. Our order was taken quickly and came out piping out. The egg tarts here are probably one the best dim sum items they have. Flaky pastry and light creamy custard! read more

This is an upscale Chinese restaurant with the atmosphere and décor to match... black lacquered accents and linen tablecloths - the ambiance is very nice. The location is especially great since you're overlooking the water... charming views of Canary Wharf and the city... I was on a date and found this be a fabulous date-like setting. Service is very attentive and patient - they were happy to answer all of our questions and they gave us a great wine recommendation. Even though it was super-busy the food came out quite fast. I had a kung pao broccoli dish, which was sufficiently spicy - exactly what you'd want it to be. My date had a pork and cashew dish, which he said was also flavourful. Neither one was a let-down. They seem to have a lot of regular customers here, or else there're a few recommended dishes that we didn't know about, since most of the people seemed to be ordering the same thing. There was an especially interesting sculptural bird-looking thing that kept coming out on plates. We didn't ask what it was... but I'll definitely inquire about it the next time I go back! read more

Royal China - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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The best-positioned of the Royal China chain, beside the Thames at Canary Wharf and with a stunning view of the City three miles upstream. Go early at weekends as there is no booking at lunchtime; instead soak up the sun afterwards with a stroll by the river. But you don't go for the view but for the superb fresh food, and particularly excellent dim sum. But don't forget to have the the chicken's feet in black bean sauce; you won't be disappointed, even if your non-Chinese friends back away. Interestingly, the waiters here speak Mandarin, while in most of the other Royal China group, they speak Cantonese (ie they are from Hong Kong). read more

Royal China - Royal China. Next door is a Gaucho - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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I've been putting off writing a review but I'm finally getting down to it fresh off the back of a weekend dinner with a party of 7. I booked the table just 4 hours earlier (because I'm not a square...) and there was no problem at all. We were able to be seated immediately after our arrival during peak weekend dinner rush. On my previous visits I'd only dined at lunch and ordered from the dim sum menu. I encourage everyone to come and try it. It's a great experience and much better than the vast majority of places in Central. There will be a line though... so arrive early or arrive late. This time because it was evening and we had so many people I was really able to go crazy with the menu. We ordered Peking duck, soup, so many different types of dishes and even dessert. So here's the skinny: This place gets busy... although booking isn't essential especially on week days, it's a good idea to call ahead even by an hour or two and make a booking anyway. You'll be really glad you did once you see the line going out of the door during meal rush because if there's one thing everyone can agree on about us Chinese folk... it's that we LOVE to eat and will queue for a ridiculous amount of time for a good meal. Although I rate this restaurant highly, I will say that you should steer away from Northern Chinese or Sichuanese dishes here since this restaurant (and its associated restaurants around London) specialises in Canton cuisine. This means yes on dim sums, soups, stir fried greens, seafood and anything that's not spicey but no on anything that resembles Sichuanese cuisine or spicy 'fragrant' dishes (mapo tofu is a good example.) This is not a criticism of the restaurant but rather a reflection of the fact that China is a LARGE country and the food varies vastly between each region so it's unreasonable to expect a Canton restaurant to make really good Sichuanese or Northern style food. Instead, order all the dim sum you can eat because it's excellent here. Cantonese roast duck is a delight. Scallops, steamed fish, soups and stir fried greens (my favourite is gai lan, a kale like vegetable). If you're longing for a taste of Beijing, I'd avoid the Beijing duck here. Although is it passable I would only call it 'Beijing' duck when feeling generous. It is more like a Cantonese roast duck served up 'Beijing' style and at around £50 it's an expensive mistake to make if you are not prepared. Service at Royal China is top notch. I always seem to catch May when she's working and she's always been so kind and attentive. It really makes the experience worthwhile since finding a Chinese/Cantonese restaurant with good food AND good service is almost impossible. An added bonus is that you can hop on the River Bus at Westferry right on their doorstep to Westminster Pier! This goes the other way too of course. :P read more

We came here for lunch and the restaurant was busy and crowded. A very popular spot! The dim sum was good but everything was just slightly off. Har gow was filled with big chunks of shrimp but the wrapper was too thin and broke easily. Siu mai looked great but weren't as tasty as I was hoping. Beef cheung fun needed more seasoning and the soy sauce dressing could have been sweeter. Glutinous rice wrapped lotus leaf seemed to have the wrong kind of rice - too long, not sweet enough. Everything we ordered was missing just a little something. Nothing was awful but nothing stood out either. I was hoping for better quality dim sum given the higher end nature of Royal China. read more

Wow. Had an awful experience with them just now. Wanting to order some take away from them I called up and checked they do it - nice woman says yes - they only do delivery on weekdays though. No problems, we think. We work through their website which is half chinese so quite promising in terms of food quality and authentic charm. All the prices are on it even if it still has a page inviting people to their Christmas dinner. My colleague calls back to place the order, about 17 quid for me and 35 quid for him. At the end my colleague asks how much it will be and the telephone man wanders off to get a calculator and then comes back saying it's £106. Gob-smacked we laugh a bit and say, "No, really - how much?". Then he just won't back down. First he says that they are already cooking the first order - which is a bit of blackmail we didn't really need - but that's ok. We know it's just a simple mistake somewhere and then soon we can be enjoying wonderful chinese food. My colleague is trying to find out if the guy has taken down something wrong since the price seems to have doubled so he goes through the items and prices and they're all about right (the rice was 20p more expensive - it doesn't matter when we're talking about a surcharge of £50). So are the quantities. However the guy on the phone keeps on repeating that it's £106 and that my colleague had better pay this. Then he starts shouting. So my colleague hangs up. Then his mobile goes - yes - they called him back to shout at him some more so my colleague says, "I don't want to talk to you just now". After a few minutes of fuming, then he calmly calls up the restaurant again and speaking to the woman who answers the phone he says he had just put in an order and wants to talk to the manager to explain what just happened. Nope - she starts shouting down the phone that he'd better pay for his food and that we owe them £106. Shouting over my colleagues attempts to explain that we didn't order that much and that we'd got them to repeat the prices and quantities. All I can say is to avoid these stupid bullies. No matter what has happened (and we definitely were right as we confirmed with the first guy) there is no excuse for people shouting down the phone. read more

Please note: this reivew is for dinner only. After a lovely couple of cocktails at Camino, hubby and I ventured over to get a bite at Royal China. The servers were busy but really seemed too rushed to get our orders. Minis one point right there! Every time I tried to get my waitresses' attention, she barely looked at me! We ordered a glass of sauv blanc and rose sparking wine, both light and delicious. I had the hot and sour soup, vegetarian. This was NOT recommended. had no flavor--had to douse it in soy sauce and vinegar to get it to an eatable state When I mentioned that it wasnt good, I got a nasty look. OK sorrrrry, then please dont ask! As a starter we also ordered the pork dumplings, and they were awesome. I would come back just for those. hubby ordered a spicy chicken dish that was really not spicy but tasted good, All in all, I might go for the dumplings and try the dim sum but dinner? not so much. read more

The main reason why I'd visit this place again is the fact that in summer you can eat al fresco with a beautiful view of the Thames and the close proximity to Canary Wharf. You can certainly expect the meal to be served in proper Chinese style with all parts of the course being presented on the table separately. Although the food is well prepared the price is disproportionally high in comparison to the amounts served. It is however one of the restaurants I would think of when planning to eat in fresh open air. read more

I stopped in here after spotting it on a nice walk along Canary Warf. The restaurant was fairly packed, which is always a good sign. I must say, the food was fantastic. I had the crispy beef and it was very tasty. The atmosphere was lovely too. The service wasn't great, the waitress who took our order was very abrupt, with little patience. Mind you, the other staff who served us were very friendly so maybe she was just having a bad day. What i didn't particularly like was the recommended service charge of 13% which was automatically added to the bill. When I tip, I like to feel I have the choice and that it is based on service, rather than it being assumed that they will receive the tip Overall, it was a great meal! read more

We went with a big group for dim sum on a Sunday, and grabbed a table just before 12. They were full by 12:15, and there was a pretty long queue after that, so worth arriving early or late on Sundays if possible! We shared a number of options, and service was professional and quick although brusque as at other locations. As a vegetarian, I was pleased that there are more veggie options than at some places, particularly as they offer both their full menu as well as a dim sum menu (which only has a couple vegetarian options, really). Between the two, I was able to eat plenty. One point off for not having the crispy vegetarian duck, which is a personal favourite. It's located right at the Westferry Canary Wharf TfL riverboat service, so after you've had your meal, you can walk out to a boat and be back at London Bridge or Embankment way faster than you could on the tube or DLR, plus a great view! We had one small child with the group, and they didn't seem phased by her running around a bit, and there were loads of families with kids, so I would say this is a kid-friendly spot at brunch, at least. read more

Last day of full day in London, lunch on 3.14.10. Dim sum = limited selection, and you have to order it, no carts! Food was average, unsurprisingly. And this place also seems tourist-y...as evidenced by the drunk couple in the booth next to us, nursing glasses of white wine......... Freakin long wait in queues. Prices = expensive! Decor =simple, appears roomy with lots of glass. Views= spectacular Save your quid and go elsewhere, plenty of great places in London for Chinese food, especially dim sum! read more

Quick review: + ok food - very pricey - small portion - service could be better Full review: I came here for dinner on a Saturday night and was encouraged by the venue packed with Chinese diners, but somehow it didn't live up to my expectation. The prices are very dear for Chinese food, but perhaps not for the location. Still, £20 for a plate of fish in cream corn sauce was enough to put me off, as lovely as the picture menu makes out the food to be. Some of the staff extended warm service, particularly those who greeted and welcomed diners at the door. But once seated, the waitress seemed more impatient. For example, when taking our drinks order, we asked which wine we should try, and the waitress bluntly said she didn't know anything about wine. And as we examined the drinks menu, she took off without a word, instead of uttering something nice like "I'll give you a few minutes," as one could expect from a "posh" restaurant (come on, £20 for a main dish, that's posh, right?). The food itself tasted good, but portion size is very small and given the price, it's not great value. read more

I hate leaving a one star review, but Royal China dearly deserved it. I wanted to try something in Canary Wharf which wasn't a national restaurant chain, so we settled on Royal China. Right from the off, I could tell something was dubious about this place. It had the pretence of a traditional Chinese restaurant, with none of the charming decor. It all felt off-colour, inside, as though they'd tried to modernise the interior but it just ended up looking a bit dated. Royal China's biggest downfall however, is their service. We hadn't reserved, so were duly told we had to be out within 80 minutes. Not a big deal, sure, but the restaurant was largely empty and we were only a table of two. As it happens, the restaurant did get busier, but there were still plenty of free tables as we left. I'm pretty certain our waitress absolutely hated us. She didn't welcome us, was very abrupt, barely gave us time to look at the menu and didn't crack a single smile all night. And then I noticed all the staff were exactly the same. I decided to try something new, and settled on Eel. My partner decided to go for a chicken noodle dish. Reading the menu, it listed one of the ingredients in my dish as containing MSG, and I politely requested to have my food without it. The waitress honked "HUH?" at me twice before swiftly turning away, returning to write something in Mandarin on the table and walking off again. Wow. The food came out after a short wait, and neither dish was particularly appetising. The noodles in the chicken dish were overly greasy and a mixture of crunchy and soggy. The Eel dish left me feeling rather ill afterwards. Bad food, horrific service and an awkward atmosphere. Hilarously, they included their service charge in the bill. Whilst this is standard practice across London's dining establishments, such places also offer.. y'know.. service. On our way out, the staff didn't bother saying bye or wishing us a good evening. I can't recommend you avoid this restaurant enough. Worst restaurant I've ever been to. read more

I am not sure this branch lives up to its Royal China reputation that it's other branches does in Baker Street and Bayswater. The dim sum was ok, but overpriced and service was slow and lacking. Tea and hot water was brought to our table after the dim sum arrived and half way through our meal, and only after I chased it several times. Not sure why it took so long, the restaurant was not even busy. There is seating outside, with a view of the Thames, so would have been nice on a good day, but it had been raining when we arrived so we sat inside. I probably will not hurry back or make the trek across London, only went there as I wanted to try Yi-Ban in Docklands but it was closed for a private function, and this was nearby. read more

Went here last weekend while I was in London and really enjoyed the food. I had never been before so the other people who had been there before ordered. The chicken dish was particular tasty. Mmmmmm!! Other dishes was sea bass which was a particular large one and very nice. As well as a veg dish we also had a beef dish. Not sure what its called but it was beef in a very hot sandpot which kept the food hot all the way through meal. With the beef were Japanese mushrooms (Enokitake). The beef does was also DELICIOUS!! I have rated this 5/5. If honest its not 5/5 as its not "perfect". Nothing is perfect!! The veg dish was very nice but not "spectacular" and it was more expensive than a normal Chinese restaurant in somewhere like Chinatown. (Well Chinatown in Manchester anyway!!) The restaurant was by the Thames so sure the view was good but it was too dark to see anything when we went. (Just realised there are 2 instances of this Royal China restaurant. This instance already had 6 reviews so I have added mine here. I have notified Yelp about the other one which only had my review). (Sorry if this has caused any problems!!) read more

It was a birthday treat and I had chosen Royal China Canary Wharf out of pure laziness and also due to the fact that the branch at Baker Street require reservations most of the time. While it was good, i can't help but feel that the standards are not up to scratch to the branch at Baker Street. My Chee Chong Fun had a pathetic amount of soy sauce and it was so dry it stuck together. What about the rest of my dim sum..? It was okayish. Oh and my food came lukewarm, not sure why. Sorry Royal China, I love the Baker Street branch but maybe not the one at Canary Wharf and it pains me to leave a bad review for this experience. However above all, the service here is decent. ;) read more

Rather decent Cantonese grub for Canary Wharf, comparable with what one would find in high-brow establishments in Hong Kong, in my opinion. I had expected to pay over five pounds an order of dim sum, turns out they hover between three to four. Doors open at 1130 on Saturdays but be warned that tables fill up quickly. Outdoor seating is not recommended on exceptionally windy days, unless you enjoy drinking tea with fresh tree leaves in it. read more

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I recently brought some colleagues to Royal China for a meal and I think it was enjoyed by all. I love Royal China and have been coming with my family since I was a little girl, both for dim sum and evening meals. I don't think I've ever had a bad meal here. On this occasion, we had various starters, including salt and chili squid (personal favourite), sesame prawn toast and chicken satay. The squid didn't disappoint. For mains we had deep fried chicken, prawn cakes and Chinese broccoli, Cantonese beef and topped off with Portuguese seafood rice, which is by far the star dish at Royal China. I have had this at other restaurants around London, and it is always best here - the seafood tastes fresh and the sauce has the right level of coconut and sweetness - it's well worth trying (although you probably won't see it on the menu...). I can't fault the service, the food or the location of this Royal China, since it is right by the river which allows you to have an alfresco meal, if you choose to. read more

There aren't many places to go to around the Canary Wharf area if you are looking for Chinese food. Royal China is the most prominent one that is located at Westferry Circus. I came here for dinner a while ago before they had a refurbishment. Pan fried stuffed eggplant with minced shrimp in black bean sauce £9.8 Eggplant cooked until it was soft and soaking in the black bean sauce. This had a slight spicy kick to it. Mixed seafood stir fried with fresh milk £14.80 When I saw this on the menu, I Just HAD to order it. I mean stir fried fresh milk? The dish came out in a blanket of fluffy snow interspersed with seafood. The texture was like the filling in egg tarts with hints of sweet coconut if I'm not mistaken. I really enjoyed this. Squid with garlic and chilli £11.50 This was unmemorable. Overall dinner was satisfying though the prices here are a little more on the £££ side. On another occasion, I came back during the May long weekend for some dim sum with friends. Usually this wouldn't be my first pick but they were having a promotion for the month of May with 25% off. With a large table, we got down to ordering and they have some new items introduced into the menu. Where do I begin? Having had dim sum here in the past, I always thought it was respectable if not ever a tad expensive for the quality. Let's start with the newcomers. Underwhelmingly disappointing. The fish dumplings were over steamed and dry. The taro cake was slices of taro that were pressed together but doesn't gel as it should like a turnip cake and lacked any taste. The green tea sponge cake? There are no words. Back to the regulars, the quality and standard were inconsistent with some being good and others disappointing. Compared to my previous visits, there is a distinct drop in quality. We finished the dim sum with dessert with one of the party ordering the sago cream with yam and the rest had the sweet dumplings. Desserts itself took over half an hour to arrive and having made these sweet dumplings before, it doesn't take half an hour. When it arrived, I was so disappointed that I couldn't bring myself to finish it. The dumpling had a crackling texture instead of being chewy and QQ; the soup did not even have any hint of ginger! Having spent that long waiting for our dessert, it was another 20 minutes for our bill to arrive. With a young child in tow, you bet the little boy was pretty restless by this stage. We finally went to the counter to pay our bill and to our surprise, there was no discount. We queried with the lady who served us and the answer we got was the bill is generated via a machine that is maintained by head office and it seems that head office had excluded the discount from the machine and sales today. Lady, how difficult is it to whip out a calculator and manually write or deduct the discount if your machine is malfunctioning? I don't know about you but when I am greeted by this discount advert sign when walking through canary wharf after the dim sum with no discount, bad service and disappointing food, something is seriously wrong and disappointing here. Misleading advertising is what I will begin with. read more

Other than the novelty of being able to eat yum cha Al fresco in the summer and the rare instance that lotus is closed (this being the case) i just don't get why anybody would eat here. The main plus is the decor which is nice and opulent and they have very plush restrooms. Unfortunately these are not my main criteria for choice of yum cha. Ordered similar dishes to always. The char siu sou had a very stingy char siu to sou ratio. Siu long bao - the skin was very good but the soup and filling were very bland. Gon chau ngou hor (beef ho fun) was the best dish we had, I would have liked it to have more soy/seasoning but apparently that's just my gwai lo taste buds. The turnip paste was mushy, bland and just not nice. The veggie cheung fun was horrible - bad consistency of the Cheung fun and just a weird taste and aftertaste. The chicken feet were ok but let's be honest we're talking about chicken feet. The beef balls again were very bland. read more

Did you know that the most expensive food ever was an Italian truffle, sold at over $200,000? This restaurant probably puts Italian truffle powder in their food, that's the only explanation for the price. Anyway, we had some trouble finding this place. For some reason Google Maps gave us the wrong directions. For those that need help finding this place, go to the roundabout a Westferry Circus. Then, go towards the river and walk down the stairs. Royal China is next to the outdoor elevator. Service is average. The staff weren't particularly nice, but they weren't mean either. Although, for something this fancy, I'd expect better. Also, while all the waiters and hosts speak Mandarin, the menus have Chinese, and the dishes are authentically Asian, this restaurant felt like a Western establishment. The table set-up and aesthetics are Western-style, and dishes are ordered per person, rather than shared for the group. The food was fairly average. It's decent, but not extra good or special, when compared to a restaurant that costs two times less. For two people, we ordered 2 bowls of seafood soup, 2 bowls of white rice, and split 1 beef dish. That came out to be £27.57. That's 0.014% of the world's most expensive food. Estimating our dinner to be "worth" about half the price, I can only imagine that the other £15 in cost came from the 0.1035 grams of Italian truffle they added to our meal. read more

This has the same name as the one in Bayswater and they look related to me... I've been lucky enough to have both eaten here and had take out for a late night at work. Both times have been very good. I had the pleasure of taking some colleagues to dine in - some of which had never had dim sum before?! I know right?! Suffice to say, they enjoyed it a lot, bar the cost which is to be expected in this area. As for take out - they delivered on time and correctly. The food was also still hot which is a must for delivered food, especially Asian. read more

This is the first Chinese food restaurant that I visited in London. It's along the Thames River in Canary Wharf, so it offers great views on the patio! The food selections are mostly Cantonese style dishes, including dim sum items. I went here for lunch and ordered mostly dim sum foods. The food is decent, I think the menu selection is a bit limited. Otherwise, I really enjoy the atmosphere there. read more

Royal China - Seafood fried noodles - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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