Chinatown

We LOVE China Town in London! We have another trip to plan and we are going to spend at least half of a day in China Town! There is so much to see and do and the food is so good! Definitely a must do in London!

I’ve been to Chinatowns in a few different countries, and London’s felt pretty familiar — in a good way. It’s lively, colorful, and full of great food options, from dim sum and roast duck to street snacks. Nestled in the heart of the West End, just a stone’s throw from Soho, it has the same bustling energy, vibrant lanterns, and inviting aromas I’ve come to expect from these cultural hubs. The area is small but packed with life. It’s fun to walk through, especially with lanterns overhead and the mix of smells from all the restaurants. Some spots definitely cater more to tourists, but there are also great places serving authentic flavors. Overall, it’s a solid Chinatown experience — not wildly different from others, but definitely worth a visit if you’re in central London and craving Asian food or just want to explore somewhere vibrant.

This vibrant area is full of life with colorful signs, delicious smells, and tons of great food options. It’s a fun place to explore, especially if you love trying different Asian cuisines. The lively atmosphere and unique shops make it a cool spot to hang out

London Chinatown is full of lively atmosphere and delicious fresh Chinese snacks. Walking through the streets, you can feel the rich cultural vibe that makes you want to try everything. It’s a great place to enjoy authentic Chinese food and experience the vibrant multicultural side of London.

The best place to find best value food. Come with an empty stomach and fill it up with fine food. There are many Chinese all you can eat buffet restaurant, price ranging from $10 to $16. There are Chinese fine dinning restaurants as well. Bbq shops look awesome. Make sure you end the meal with one of the sweet treats. Yummy Yummy.

Chinatown in London is a lively and vibrant area, full of culture and amazing food. Located in the heart of the city, near Leicester Square, Chinatown is a popular destination for both locals and tourists. It is known for its beautiful, colorful streets filled with traditional Chinese lanterns and signs. The atmosphere is always busy, with the sounds of people enjoying the area, shopping, and eating. One of the main attractions of Chinatown is its wide range of restaurants. You’ll find many places serving delicious Chinese food, from dim sum and noodles to roast duck and sweet and sour dishes. Many restaurants are family-run, offering authentic Chinese flavors and a true taste of China. Whether you're looking for a quick bite or a sit-down meal, there are plenty of options to suit your taste. Chinatown is also a great place to shop. There are many stores selling Chinese goods, from teas and herbs to kitchenware and traditional clothing. The area also has a variety of supermarkets where you can buy unique ingredients to cook Chinese food at home. The streets of Chinatown are beautifully decorated, especially during Chinese New Year when you’ll see even more lanterns, decorations, and celebrations. It’s a great place to visit for anyone looking to experience authentic Chinese culture, enjoy tasty food, and explore something a little different in the heart of London.

Bustling, vibrant, and full of flavour! London’s Chinatown is a feast for the senses, from the glowing red lanterns to the incredible smells wafting from every corner. Whether you’re craving authentic dim sum, bubble tea, or street food buns, there’s something for every craving. Always busy, always buzzing — and somehow still magical every time I visit. A must for food lovers and culture seekers!

I loved visiting China Town! A lot of amazing food here. They even have custard filled fish cakes, melon bread and Mozarella cheese coins. If you're looking for authentic Asian snacks and food, this is the perfect place in London.

We were making our way to Leicester Square when I spotted the Chinese gate. We walked around for a bit. There was a map showing all the different food available here- not just Chinese but a variety of Asian food. Look for the "The Lion" sculpture when you see the Kung Fu Noodle restaurant.

Perfect go to eat everyday and you will say a ton of money. Great entertainment also . You will love it

Right next to Leicester Square, Chinatown London is a collection of restaurants (varying in price), with most being related to Asian cuisine. Chinese and Hong Kong cuisine are the majority, but there are quite a few Korean and Vietnamese restaurants, with a few Japanese ones as well. I liked that there weren't many fusion type restaurants...they must get enough business to not have to create mixed dishes just to attract tourists. We didn't see any open air markets, or other types of non-food related stores. They were preparing for the Chinese New Year with some decorations, but didn't see anything big. Perhaps it will pick up next week when the change comes closer.

Quality/Quantity - What a cool Chinatown! Check out all the pictures. Plenty of choices to eat, from fast casual to fine dining. Many bars also. Many indoor/outdoor options. Atmosphere - Good size Chinatown. Very well decorated throughout. Bustling and very active environment. Service - Good, tourist and locals support here, so businesses have to give the appropriate service. Price - Depends what you buy and/or eat. Owner Comment - Congrats on all your 200+ years of success. We visit every time we are in London.

It's not as big as San Francisco Chinatown but it's far cleaner and less crowded, which makes it more enjoyable to visit. There are multiple restaurants specializing in a variety of styles of Chinese cuisine. The buffet restaurants are very popular and they have a lot of options if you're not sure what you want. The steamed buns are a great choice because they are very delicious.

Everything that you hear about from others and from what is depicted in movies and social media. A ton of Chinese restaurants to choose from. They all smell good and offer very similar menus. I loved the crowded atmosphere. Despite the crowd on a Sunday evening the waits were minimal. Would revisit Chinatown here again!

I was pleasantly surprised at the stores and restaurants as well as the many tourists and people walking around Chinatown in London.

Bustling little enclave in the center of London. A array of restaurants, supermarkets, little shops make up Chinatown , London Red lantern are hung high above the streets reflecting festive mood of a Chinese Lunar Year. I has Dinner in a restaurant that was reviewed separately. I also did some heavy shopping for Chinese items(Clothing & Accessories)

London's Chinatown is one of the better ones that I have seen around the world. It is fairly clean, organized and is large as well. There are lots of restaurants to choose from. It is conveniently located in the middle of the city close to places like Leicester Square and Soho too. I have to offer a word of warning though. I noticed a few all you can eat Chinese buffets here that were crowded with people. Out of curiosity, we tried one of them one night and the food was terrible. Everything was old and was as bad as any American Chinese takeout place. Another night, we ended up going to an actual sit down table cloth restaurant and the food was far better and authentic.

4/4/23 - found Chinatown is just 1 stop from our hotel. We are there. Rivals SF, CA, USA Chinatown. Has 99% food there. Just 1 store to go by trinkets in. SF is about 2/3 retail stores and the rest is food. Several all you can Chinese places with in 50 years of one another. I counter 4 at least. Bakeries were good as well. Have fun there

The liveliest Chinatown that I have visited in my recent years. It is populated with a plethora of eating spots for both sit-down restaurants and take-outs. The area is packed with people that you sometimes have to squeeze through or shuffle your way down the streets, but is better than it being a dirty, deserted homeless center like I have encountered with other Chinatowns in the states. We did a short walkthrough of the couple of blocks it spans since we had just eaten lunch elsewhere. I spotted a couple of grocery stores and local businesses such as barbershops, not so much of general shops however. The place is between Soho and Covent Garden if looking for nearby entertainment.

The best Chinatown that I have been to is this one. I grew up in San Francisco Chinatown, and that place has seen better days. Same with Oakland Chinatown and LA Chinatown. NYC Chinatown was bustling with activity and is a great place to walk around. Houston Chinatown is a large stretch of road with a lot of restaurants and markets. It definitely is growing and revitalizing. Seattle Chinatown, was meh.... I was absolutely awed by this Chinatown. It's only a few blocks, but the supermarkets, restaurants and shops are great. The food is great quality and or worth it for the price. It's clean, busy and crowded, but not overly crowded. I think what it benefits from the most is the location. There are a lot of other shopping areas nearby and they add up to like a great 5 mile radius to walk and shop. The theater district is also nearby.

The red-hot-colored string lights and hundreds of hanging Chinese lanterns overhead will pull you in. The yummy food smells keep you there a bit, then you'll want to dip out of the big crowds. There's a lot of street food options, including a new matcha ice cream shop opening soon, that are served in fish-shaped cones. In the surrounding area, there are tons of bubble tea walk-up shops, dumpling spots, hot pot and more. This is a big touristy area, but they are also having a big moon festival celebration for Chinese New Year soon too. Fun!

This is the best Chinatown I like. Clean, organized! I went to many Chinatown and this one in London is the best! London Chinatown is not very big, but big enough for tourists and the locals who want to have a good meal or shop for the Chinese merchandise here. London is same as many Chinatowns in other cities is located in the mid-town area. Very convenient and many shipping area near by. London Underground (subway) station is also very close. Many restaurants here and they almost all looks good and all tastes good. I don't recommend some Chinatown in the other cities for people who are traveling. But I'm highly recommend the London Chinatown for all tourists. This is a must visit tourist location if you like Chinese food or you want to just check out the areas!

In A Nutshell: -Chinatown London is probably the cleanest Chinatown in the world. -I noticed that there are ZERO garbage cans in Chinatown & most of London, maybe this is the reason why this city is so clean. -Intermingled w/ the LGBTQI part of town this area is filled w/ delicious foods & fun bars. -Come during the evening to have a fun time people watching. Overall, this is one of the best Chinatown's in the world, along w/ Vancouver B.C.'s.

Wherever I vacation, I always find the Chinatown. We arrived here and strolled up and down the streets scoping out a place to eat. I was surprised with the size of this Chinatown - many restaurants, bakeries & gift shops. This Chinatown had many options to dine - Dim Sum to all you can eat buffets which I usually don't see at Chinatowns. We did find a small, decent and reasonable restaurant called Canton which displayed Peking Duck, Bbq pork and roast pork which were hanging in the storefront window. We didn't try dim sum due to timing but be aware - all the restaurants all add a tax or service charge to the prices. Another pro here was this was cleaner than most other Chinatowns I've visited.

Always as must-do When in London....well, Chinatown surely is on the to-do list. It's not as big as in SF or NYC. It's mainly on Gerrard Street and some of its side streets. But it's a cute little area with lots of restaurants....of different quality. The last time quite enjoyed the food at the Feng Shui Inn. Besides the restaurants the most interesting part for us were the grocery shops (like the Oriental Delight, the New Loon Moon and others). They got great products from all over Asia. Surely worth spending an hour or two. It's also a nice place to visit when it gets a bit darker, makes some good pics. The very best Asian restaurans you won't find on Gerrard Street though, but that shouldn't stop you from visiting.

What a pleasant stroll through Chinatown of London, UK! They have the main Hong Kong style food, noodles and boba drinks served up here. Sichuan cuisine, if you like that type of Chinese food, is a wee bit hard to find, but still can be found! Good area to stop by if you are looking for a temporary change in scenery in London!

It's like a little piece of China right in the heart of London with Chinese Lanterns and Dragon sculptures adorning the alley. You have a good selection of Chinese and Cantonese restaurants around here as well.

I don't know if it's the best Dim Sum in London because it's the only Dim Sum I've ever had in London. That said, it's excellent. Large variety of items available with a helpful picture menu. The food did take a bit to arrive, but quality takes time. We ordered a massive quantity of food, sticking to a lot of the classics and avoiding the true "ethnic" items. Chicken feet? Pass. Pork buns? Please! Meat dumplings? Yes! Egg custard tarts? Very! Squid paste? Okay, I'll try it. When the damage was done, we had a pile of empty plates and steaming bowls and full tummies. For six of us, it wasn't even £50. How can that be? I know I'll regret it, but I do need to try some of the other Dim Sum places in the area. I'm sure I'll be back to this one though!

Wedged between Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, and Soho, it's the place to go for Chinese food. Not quite the same as Chinatown in Los Angeles (or the 'newer" Chinatown in San Gabriel Valley), but they have the obligatory red lanterns and dragon entrance gates. We wandered around Chinatown for an afternoon and passed through on other days as we went to Soho and Leicester Square. We tried Hung's (Chinese), Joy King Lau (dim sum), New World (dim sum), Kowloon (bakery) ,and Biju (bubble tea, though Biju is on the outskirts of Chinatown bordering Soho). I couldn't pass up a chance to wander through when in London since I've visited the other Chinatowns in places like Japan, New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. While each city's Chinatown is different, I love seeing the commonality in food and environment.

We came here last year in April one morning to celebrate a birthday. The food is lovely and the staff are very helpful too. The range of dishes that are on offer never fail to disappoint me. Prices are fair. Best trip ever really. The restaurant itself is spread out over two or three floors. I ordered a plate of egg fried rice and the others had seafood and duck for lunch. Afterwards we explored the area on foot and visited a shop that was selling various Chinese oddities. It was totally worth the longish drive. If you are in the area visiting or merely love to eat Chinese food, this is the best place in London. The shops also live up to my expectations too in terms of the strange products that are on sale. Recommended. Just make sure your stomach is fairly empty before coming however. You must also spend some time in the shops nearby after eating. One shop sold all kinds of things like a waving cat and other unusual items. In terms of authentic tasty Chinese food, Chinatown is one of the best.

I rememer the tall red gates since I was a little kid. At that time my naive mind thought that China owned this part of London. It's clean here and not as chaotic as the NYC Chinatown. So many Asian dining options. Chinese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Indonesian. Although there are a few British pubs added in between the Asian establishment if you want to end the evening with a pint. Don't even bother eating at all those generic American chains in nearby Leicester square and Picadilly circus, the value is so much better in Chinatown.

When I was in UK, I had to come to London! I looove London. My friends took me to Chinatown to check it out. Although we didn't purchase anything, I did like just walking through and seeing everything. I really love London. I just need more time so I could explore it all. That too with Chinatown. 155/2017

I like seeing the "Chinatown" in different cities and we randomly ended up at the one in London while we were searching for somewhere to eat. We ate at a small Chinese place that had normal types of Chinese fare and it was pretty good. They also had a bathroom which was very much needed at the time. We didn't spend too much time here, but I snapped a few shots and we had lunch and then moved on our way.

Going to a new place and a different country is always fun. I enjoyed my time during China Town in London. Got to see lots of busy restaurants and cafes. People walking around and jut looking at the old school buildings all around. Even though it was a rainy day I would say this place is nice if you want to go eat some Chinese food. If you wanted to buy some things and go shopping, there really isn't much to buy unless you want local foods and grocery items. A nice place to get lost and just take it all in.

Woah, has this last reviewer got it wrong! If you want dim sum in Chinatown, this is THE place to go. Egg tarts, BBQ pork buns, rice wrapped in leaves, all fresh, cheap and served up quick. Three of us ate here for just under a tenner each so it's pretty great value for money if you ask me. I don't think you can eat for that cheap anywhere in Soho without possibly eating deep fried pigeon. (Mr. Wu, I'm looking at you mate!) Apparently they do a dim sun happy hour between 1 - 4pm but you'll have to phone and check. The place itself is nothing to write home about and the service is a little sketchy to say the least... "We ordered spring rolls, could we please have them?" "You sure, they will be on your bill?" "Yes, we know, that is why we have ordered them. So that we can eat and then pay you for them" "Erm, if you are sure." "Yes, I believe we are most certainly sure." Still it has it's charm and as far as I'm concerned it's a pretty authentic joint.

Oh, Chinatown! I like that, there is a place to show the oversea Chinese culture and of course also because they offer quite a lot great restaurant. I saw those delicious roast ducks hanging on the showcase window of couple places. I could find many different Chinese cuisines here, Cantonese, Dongbei, Sichuan, Hubei and so on. Just so many options all in one place. Also I like the style of the building here as well, really cultural. one minute ago I was still walking on the street full of English signs and just one turn all ad boards became Chinese. I spoted some pretty cool decorations on the wall as well. My partner and I had visited the one in Boston before, Somehow I do feel like this one is bigger here, probably just a feeling. Since it really close to Piccadilly Circus and Soho, this area also is really busy. Fully of people, but it was still fine to walk around. I saw the Asian supermarket as well, great for people try to pick up some Chinese ingredients and other stuff. Also been to the Chinatown bakery, nice place to try out some breads. I found the usually, the Chinatown is more traditional and cultural than the city I grew up with. So I find it very interesting to visit. If you are like Chinese cultural as well, but didn't want to travel all the way to China for that , this could great place to have yourself a pre tour.

So I have been abroad for 2.5 months now and this was HEAVEN when I found it!! I have had pretty mediocre Chinese food throughout Europe and this was true Chinese food. OMG PORK BUN! I've bought 4 (all at different times) in one day and I've been here in London for only 24 hours. Check it out, you can get Pork bun for 1.20 euro, coconut bun (.90) and tons of other Chinese snacks/food! I would watch out for pick pocketers here, as it gets pretty crowded especially inside the shops.

Visited London's Chinatown during Chinese New Year this past year and one word can describe it: INSANITY. When we first arrived in the main plaza, we noticed lots of typical retailers selling art, Chinese figurines, rabbits toys, balloons shaped as bugs bunny (year of the Rabbit), Ninja and Karate apparrel, silk dresses and more. They were also selling many types of Chinese food along the streets such as pork, chicken, beef buns, sweet buns, fish balls, noodles, eggrolls, you name it, they sold it. At a euro a bun, they were delicious, fresh and warm! The stores in Chinatown resemble many other stores you'll find at Chinatowns around the world: dim sum, seafood restaurants, pastry shops, roasted ducks hanging from store windows, medicinal and herbal stores, and yes BOBA! We found a boba and juice bar in Chinatown (on the second floor of a building) making great drinks at reasonable or higher prices (3-4 euros per drink) compared to the US Dollar. The person taking our order was VERY chinese but talked with a thick Brittish accent. Very strange but interesting! I like that some stores hung, "No MSG" outside their windows displaying the fact that they did not cook their food with Monosodium glutamate, a common food additive which my boyfriend hates! There was a Chinese New Year parade happening when we visited which made the walk around the Chinatown very SLOW and cramped. Strollers, people and performers everywhere. Absolutely chaos. I'd love to go here when there are not so many people, I'm sure I'd like my visit a lot more.

All greatest cities have China Towns and London isn't the exception :) Especially, comparing with SF China Town, the one in London is much more clean and comfortable for tourists. We were walking there with my daughter, and we liked it! Lots of restaurants with delicious food and reasonable prices. If you won't be sure - just pick up the restaurant by counting how many asians are sitting inside - more is better :) One of the best choices that we've made for our dinner was London Chinatown Restaurant which is situated on 27 Gerard Street. The food was incredible, portions were big and you are full with only one dish, waiters are fast and pleasant :) We ordered Spicy Chili Ribs and felt in love with them - absolutely coming back on our next trip! Btw, there is a good bakery - don't refuse to step by :)

The reviews for this location are mostly for the dim sum and that appears to be great. We came in and tried one of the pre-set menus. It was only ok. The service was quick - and a man at the table next to me mentioned that his beer was a little flat and the replaced it quickly.

I make it a point to visit the Chinatowns whenever I am traveling because I like learning about the history of my people in the community & enjoying good food. I understand that the London Chinatown is comparably smaller than the ones in NY and San Francisco, which are the largest in the U.S. and also my personal favs. The London Chinatown is indeed smaller but much cleaner. Food wise, the selections are similar to what I've had in the U.S. and back home in HK, but the flavors are noticeably different. I suppose the restaurants have to tweak it a bit to suit the English's taste. I walked into a few grocery markets here & noted the selection of seafood, fruits & vegetables are limited. No fresh seafood to be had. No live carp, crabs, catfish, soft shell turtles, shrimp, prawns, sole fish. Only the frozen dead ones. Sigh... The folks here are friendlier & more reserved than their counterparts in the states, I suppose this is a reflection of the British culture as a whole, isn't it?1

I love checking out Chinatowns around the world and while they all share similar characteristics, they also all seem to have their own vibe and London's is no different. There are the requisite open air produce sellers, a lot of Chinese people hacking and spitting on the street while yammering in their home language at such a fast pace and with an intensity that you often feel like they are berating you behind your back, and a lot of visible hanging pork bellies and ducks in windows. There is also good food to be had here with a lot of all-day dim sum joints and at least 1 homemade dumpling joint. This being London with tourists everywhere and the fact that the Chinatown here bumps up against the Soho theater and sex district really is what makes this Chinatown stand out in my mind because there are a lot cultural collisions occurring as you walk through and just watch daily life in London occur. It is easily accessible via the Leicester Square tube stop off the Northern Line and some really interesting things to see include the legal open door walk up prostitute businesses, a lot of tourist groups and tree-hugger teens trying to find themselves through a Europe travel phase, a lot of late-night partygoers, pubs and LGBT friendly bars ensuring that there is no shortage of people getting their drunk on, and a ton of Chinese people doing deals over tea and noodles. Weirdly enough, it all works and it is fun to just walk around and people watch/window shop. Most Chinatowns I go to are completely Chinese culture centric (which is to be totally expected) but this one gets all the stars from me just because it has so much more to offer in terms of social psychology in addition to the expected food choices. Another plus is that it is relatively small, really only about 3-4 square blocks so you can literally pas through it on the way to the theater in a couple of minutes. But I recommend that you take some time to go up and down the small alleyways and pay attention to each business because the observant person will be rewarded with so many interesting things that are not immediately apparent on first glance. While I love all Chinatowns I have been to and some have had better food in my opinion, I love London's for its all-around quirkiness and would never pass up an opportunity to come here to visit.

If you're running on an empty stomach and happen to be in the vicinity of Chinatown - beware, you *will* want to stop by and eat in one of this area's many restaurants and cafes. The sheer choice for diners is really phenomenal. I never know where to start but I've had great experiences in places like China China and Ikkyusan (Ikkyusan serves Japanese, Thai *and* Chinese food - a really great place to eat). Another highlight for me are the Chinese grocery shops - there are quite a few here and a great place to get your fresh chinese veg (bok choi, pak choi etc), fishballs, sauces, noodles etc. It's a shame there's not a Chinatown in ever area of London! The cake shops are something else as well... tasty Chinese cakes and most do my favourite - the custard tart! Yummy! The Golden Gate Cake Shop is the *best* of the bunch. You simply must visit Chinatown for the food, the feel the vibe and especially for Chinese New Year when this area is really at its' best. Fantastic...

The name is "London Chinatown" @ 27 Gerrard Street London, W1D 6JN T: 020 7437 3186. It's a very cool place. We wanted to try the hot pot and was taken to a semi private 3rd floor dining area. We ordered the all you can eat hot pot. The portions were generous. They had all the food you would want in a hot pot, lamb, beef, chicken, fish, fish balls, shrimp, squid, golden mushroom and plenty of vegetables. if you wanted extra portions of seafood you had to pay $5.00? which seemed more than fair to me. For four people i think it cost 45-50 us dollars per person. The service was good, their was always at least one waitress on the floor even thought there was a total of 3 party's in the room. The food was tasty as home cooked Chinese hot pot where everything is fresh and colorful.

I remember when I first moved to London being so excited at the thought of going to Chinatown. Well it pretty much lives up to it's expectations as far as it's got enough Chinese restaurants, shops, supermarkets to keep you coming back to sample some more time and time again. I love the see woo Chinese supermarket which is right beside the Prince Charles Cinema.

I like to come to China Town and have a look in New China Gate. New China Gate sells aloe vera juice and really fresh pak choy. I also wander into the mall at look at obscure dangling earrings in hamburger and robot shapes. I've also bought my favourite pseudo stripper boots (mostly just for indoor wear here). They were 12 pounds. You'll love China Town but you may pay more on the main drag.

It's a small Chinatown compared to the one here in New York and does not feel as authentic but still a great place to visit and walk by on your way to Leicester square, especially for me because the new year is coming up so there were a lot of performances and outside decorations. Not was very nice and added to my experience

Nothing Like china or a town I found the experience rather disappointing I found a huge diarrhoea on my floor when I got in and I believe this was the cause.

Fact of the day: "Dim sum" owes its name to a lunch bill so small, it's barely worth dividing up. Six of us stuffed our fat little faces (some fatter than others, admittedly) for £48 (including service charge). Per person, that comes to only... Well, it's hardly worth working out, is it? And we ate well. Very well: - The char siu buns were awesome. My wife claims to not like them, but ate two. - Egg tarts were warm and gooey perfection. Apparently, dim sum snobs claim this is the true bench-mark of quality. - The shrimp ectoplasm*? Surprisingly tasty! - The turnip cake was delicious. I've never used "turnip" and "delicious" together in a sentence before - it feels weird. - The entire spectrum of dumplings was tested and approved. Just to prove I'm not in the employ of LCTR - the tea was tepid. I think I'll forgive them. *May not have been the exact term used on the menu.

I love me some Chinatown. Let me count the reasons. 1) Killer food (duh). Getting the obvious one out of the way, I'm a total noodle-holic and Chinatown has plenty of places to satisfy that craving. 2) Grocery shopping. There is no place in London more convenient or affordable to get a ton of specialty ingredients for pan-asian cooking and also random delicious snacks and sweets. Also fruit and veg here can be very cheap. 3) Lovely stroll. Though it can be crowded in the evening, Chinatown is a great place to walk around and take in the sights and smells of a unique pocket of central London. 4) Open crazy late. Like insanely late. My favorite spot is open until 5am! On my first visit to London, I remember being surprised when a walk from Westminster to the National Gallery led me to bump right into London's Chinatown. Fast forward many years and I have come to greatly appreciate Chinatown's centrality as it has become my go-to dining district for any time of day or night.

I wasn't expecting it, but Chinatown was extremely lively, vibrant, and full of life, especially at night. There were more people in London's Chinatown at night than any Chinese night market I've visited in North America, so there was something special about it. I couldn't even believe the amount of Chinese restaurants too. There were more Chinese restaurants at this Chinatown than any other Chinatown in North America!! I swear, there were a lot more Chinese restaurants in London's Chinatown than the Chinatown in Vancouver, BC, Canada too. There were lots of colourful lanterns and the exterior of the Chinese restaurants looked a lot more cool than the Chinese restaurants in North America.

London Chinatown for all things Chinese! Great for Chinese New Year Celebrations or other Chinese festivals too.

Aesthetically, this is far and away the nicest, cleanest Chinatown I have ever seen. Maybe not the biggest, definitely not the cheapest, and I can't yet speak to the quality or authenticity of its restaurants, but I was still impressed by the level of and regard given to appearances here, given the usual filthiness of various Chinatowns (read about my negative-2-second-rule here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/dick-lee-pastry-shop-san-francisco#hrid:n0d_Jl_VNHrf8TlcaBZfew/). I look forward to going back for some char siu bao!

Located right next to, or more likely behind Piccadilly circus, this Chinatown felt like a a hidden gem when I came upon it. Compared to a lot of other Chinatowns I've been to, I've got to say that this one is probably one of the most pedestrian/tourist friendly. Definitely well lit. Lots of big clean pathways for people to walk through, and coming from the Chinatowns of California and New York, that's saying something. Not the largest Chinatown I've visited, but there's lots to see, a lot of restaurants, a few bakeries to try out here and a good number of supermarkets to explore.

Dim Sum on Sunday? Yes please. Some of the other restaurants in china town had a massive queue and at 1pm, we were getting impatient for a seat. Luckily, London Chinatown, had no queue and were seated promptly. Menu: The Dim Sum menu was very generic. In other words, nothing stood out as overly amazing. They have the typical dishes of shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, turnip cake, rice rolls, BBQ pork buns, etc. There were a a lot of Chinese people there, so I will argue it was authentic Chinese cuisine. Service: The people were nice and happy to serve us. Yes, we may have to wave them down from time to time, but I always felt that was part of the Chinese restaurant experience. More importantly, we never felt rushed to order, eat and leave. They let us sit there for a few hours. The only slight annoyance is that the kitchen seems to be forgetful. In one instance, a waitress approached us and asked if we had our shanghai dumplings. When we did our final food order (we ordered multiple times because we were hungry) the kitchen forgot one of our dishes. But when it came time to settle the bill, they happily took it off the final total without a fuss. All in all, we had a wonderful Sunday there and expect to come back in the near future.

While I would never say China Town is on the top of my list of fun nights out, it does make a great place to visit if you're in the area because there is so much atmosphere to soak up. During the day you can find market stalls randomly positioned along the main street selling vegetables most of us wouldn't recognise in a million years. A top tip though if you're ever looking for fresh green peppercorns (I know this sounds very specific but I can't be the only one!), a stall most often outside the Loon Fung Chinese supermarket sells them by the arm full for pennies! At night China Town takes on a very different vibe with every building housing another buzzing restaurant. Unfortunately it can be quite difficult to tell the good from the bad especially since there are so many £5 buffet places. My personal recommendation would be the Four Seasons which does great Crispy Duck in what feels like the attic of someones house. Worth a particular mention is the Loon Fung supermarket which seems to hold every vegetable and spice ever known to man. This place is dirt cheap and great for those hard to get ingredients. China Town can get very touristy so expect to take the good with the bad. Nonetheless, trawling these streets makes for a fun couple of hours and if you are looking out for it you can find a great bargain.

The full name of this place is London Chinatown. Fellow Yelper Hazel N. and I decided to grace this restaurant for some post-Curzon film food. After a short walk up and down Gerrard Street to decide, this one appeared to fit the bill...but in the end it fell somewhat short. In sum: Service: Only slightly above the angry service famously found at Wong Kei's. We tried to order drinks and couldn't get the attention of literally *5* staff standing within 4 meters of us. They were then alternately impatient or not available. Food: The squid dish left the remnants of 'defrosted from frozen' on my palate. The accompanying black bean sauce was good but couldn't cover up the rubbery, chewy bits. I must admit the bean curd with crab meat was quite tasty...but was that just the MSG fooling me? Atmosphere: It's ok, typical of many restaurants in the area-- a bit overlit, with lots of tables covered in clean white tablecloths. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't memorable either. Would not bother to return.