Chop Chop

Loved the dumplings here! The chilli oil is delicious, especially mixed with a little soy sauce and fresh garlic. I had the chicken chow mein, it had slightly too much coriander (which I never thought I'd ever say, it's my favourite). The dumpling soup was also really delicious. My friend ordered the spicy chips and they were really lovely!! Definitely worth a visit.

Does the picture have reflected my disappointment? It's literally THE WORST Chinese restaurant I have ever been to! OMG, never had such big disappointments towards Chinese food before. Seriously, instant noodles from the Chinese store are much better than the noodles in this place. What about the so called 'award winning' dumplings? Just take a look at the picture I have uploaded and go to the nearby Chinese store and buy frozen dumplings from there. You'll get much better dumplings! 1. We ordered dumplings because it says it's the award winning dumplings! Can you see any award winning dumplings from the picture?? It tastes just like frozen dumplings from the store. Not even better than the frozen dumplings from the store at all! 2. Spicy noodles that the menu says it's marinated in the sauce... what sauce? Marinated? Perhaps the person who wrote the menu book doesn't understand what "marinated" mean... 3. The floor was very slippery! The chopsticks case was dirty... (too bad I didn't take the picture of this dirty chopsticks case) Anyway, the most important to know is that the food was way below any of my minimum standard. My biggest mistake was that we were allured by all the 'award winning' posters shown on the front window and decided to go there without reading the Google review first. I honestly feel really stupid and strongly regret my decision to go there. Avoid if you can!

Probably the worst Asian restaurant I've ever been, even including take aways. Super small portion of plain boiled noodles with some (looks like) canned beans on top. And the restaurant had awards on the wall, which tricked me. They also pointed on the menu that they specialised in home made dumplings. I've been in places where chef makes dumpling in front of you and its not it. Definitelly frozen dumplings from shop. I got chilli chicken ones. First - no chilli, second - super low quality chicken filling that you can't even feel the chicken. Now I see why restaurant was nearly empty. Should have believed other reviews and not awards on a wall. May be I was on a bad day, when all chefs were away.

I'm biased towards restaurants with large portion sizes, and this place definitely did not have that. The food was pretty good though. Our ice cream dumpling sounded exciting but was kind of disappointing. If you want to pay a pretty good amount of money (I spent £17.7) for a small amount of pretty good food, this is the place for you. If you're hungry though, not so much :) Photo is of the ice cream dumpling (broken by us).

Holy moly what a spot. Friends took us to try a banquet. Place wasn't busy at all on a Saturday night, but you'd honestly want to keep this place a secret if you know about it. Opted for the veggie banquet and everything (bar the rice because that's cheating) was devoured. The green beans and fried dumpling were a standout. The restaurant sits just off Haymarket and doesn't look at fancy as nearby spots, but the food does it justice.

What's the point of calling yourself 'King of the dumplings (餃子王') ' while don't even use fresh dumplings for the dish? A bit disappointed with my second visits. Food quality wasn't as good as I remenber. I personally think the dishes are too salty overall, the dumplings weren't fresh.

Really nice food. Polite service. Really worth it if you get the endless/unlimited banquet.

Fantastic northern Chinese food in the heart of Edinburgh. Try the various types of dumplings, pork and prawn is my favourite!!

Wonderful meal! 10 of us dined at Cop Chop last night. I hadn't been there for awhile and was so delighted with everything we ordered. From the moderately priced very nice Sauvignon Blanc to the delicious candied apples for dessert, we were so pleased. We were sighing with happiness. I certainly won't wait as long to return to the great restaurant. BY THE WAY, the food originated from Northern China and the fishes are quite unique. Such a lovely change from everything being covered in the same brown sauce!

Super food! Great service, fun place. Everything as advertised, must have the dumplings, variety is extraordinary.

We came here because of Gordon Ramsay and left disappointed. We tried their steamed vegetable dumpings, aubergines, and spicy noodles. The dumplings were over salted and the spicy noodles were flavorless with lots of oil. The saving grace was the aubergines, but it was quite pricey for the portion. The service and atmosphere were alright. There were no lines and plenty of open tables.

Chop chop offers both fried and steamed dumplings with various fillings. I have given them a 3/5 review because the service was very bad. I ordered two dishes and only one came. I was the only patron in the restaurant at the time and after wasting an hour of my time just sitting at the table, hoping someone would stop by and bring the food I ordered or refill my glass of tap water, I decided to pay for the one dumpling dish and leave. Long story short, the dumplings are pretty decent but not worth the bad service.

The Dumplings are a 5/5 - great The rest, not so great. a 2 or 1 The Atmosphere = 1 The waiters stomping down the aisle so heavy footed that me tea bounced=1 The waiter forgetting my order, and getting it wrong on the second go.=1 The decor =1 The prices =1 . One Pound per dumpling is excessive. The decor = 1. Blank dirty walls, filthy floor. Harried wait staff - always in training. Owner, working hard, but milking for profit. Thank you Great food, but not in a nice atmosphere

I hate people who have been once who now claim it's the best Chinese in Edinburgh because it was made famous on Gordon Ramsey's 'The F Word', it really is excellent but there's no need to be a tosser about it. However, by the time I'd booked a table it was at least 2 months wait, luckily my friend has already planned ahead and got one before - clever sausage. Except the people who go on and on about it, there's nothing pretentious about it - the staff are humble and friendly. A real authentic experience.

Me and my family of 11 went here tonight, we had ordered in advance so the table was set when we arrived. Ordering was hard because of the noice level in the restaurant and it was Even harder to hear what the waiters Said when they were handing out the food because the talked so Low. The same waiter spilled on us twice, once it was just some rice but the other time it was some cucumber salad which stained my grandpa pants. We missed one order and got a squid dish no one had ordered. This could have been corrected but it was Impossible to get contact with the waiters after "all" the food was handed out. Not once during the 60-70 min stay at Chop chop did they ask any of us if the food was ok, did we need more to drink or anything Else you might expect. Some of the pork pieces was just fat or cartilage. When it came to dessert 4 of us ordered ice Cream dumpling. They server all 4 on one plate when we who ordered sat at different ends of the table. During all of this, they didnt clean up after any of the courses... Service was just horrible.

Disclaimer: I love Chinese food. I'm more familiar with the Szechuan style of cooking, rather than the Northern Chinese that Chop Chop is famous for, so eating here was a nice learning experience as well as a great culinary one. The decor is fairly good for a Chinese restaurant - I'm used to them slapping some formica on the tables and red pleather on the booths and calling it a day, but Chop Chop seems to have gone the extra mile to make theirs modern and clean, and that's always appreciated. We were sat immediately, around 5pm on a Friday, but were warned that we'd only have the table for an hour and a half. Sure thing - how long does it take to eat dinner, anyway? We ordered the pork & prawn jiao zi (steamed dumplings), green beans with chili and pork with garlic and coriander. I think the standout dish for me was the green beans - light and crunchy, flavorful with green onion, chili and ginger. The dumplings were juicy and you could definitely taste the prawn with the pork - yum. The pork was good - good but not great - shredded into thin strips with quite a lot of ginger (more than I could eat, sadly) and more of the green onion and garlic. Overall, definitely a solid meal and I think I'll be back to try the aubergine and some noodles. The one detracting factor was the service. Our three dishes seemed to come out a lot slower than the food of the tables around us, and they'd ordered twice as much food as we did. On one hand, it was good to get a bit of a break between courses, but at the same time, I had to wonder - why was our service slower than everyone else's? Once we'd finished our meal, our dishes were cleared and we confirmed with the server that we were indeed done - then sat there for a good fifteen minutes, sipping on our cooling tea whilst offered neither the check nor the dessert menu. It was a bit odd. Still, the food was good enough that I'd return to sample more of the menu.

On our recent trip to Edinburgh, hubbo and I did an all day tour up to Loch Ness and Inverness and got back to Edinburgh around 8 PM. We were cold and starving and craving some good food. I remember reading about Chop Chop and already, was drooling about yummy dumplings. So off we went. Did I enjoy Chop Chop's food... well... yes. Sorta yes I did. But there were a few problems with Chop Chop. First of all, the service was, well, really awkward. The host (who was in full suit, I might add) seated us. Then a very timid (or is he just soft spoken) server came to take our orders. Both the host and server had presumed, and I don't know why, that my husband and I are going to be shocked by the food they served. First by comments like, "are you here to be adventurous" or asking whether we've had dumplings before and suggesting we try their unlimited banquet. I assured him that both my husband and I are VERY familiar with Chinese food and that nothing they serve us will surprise us. And no, we don't want the unlimited banquet. At any rate, we placed our orders. The dumplings and pot stickers were pretty tasty, though I am not a big fan of prawn dumplings (a bit too mushy and bland). The minced pork noodle was also bland, which I added more garlic and spicy chili sauce they provided, and it tasted fine. The fish balls in chili sauce wasn't great (had much better) as it was hard and bland. And then nothing came with steam rice, so I had to order a bowl of steam rice. Which comes to the biggest issue I have with Chop Chop, the price. Ok, I understand that in UK, everything is more expensive. I get that, really I do. But Chop Chop's price is jacked way up, even by UK standard in my opinion. If the restaurant is going high end and has some kind of decor or having servers all dressed in Ming Dynasty getups, I might have understood it more. But no, while it's not quite a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, it's by no means, invested in any high end decor. And I would much rather dine in a humble hole-in-the-wall with a hot steaming bowl of noodle soup for 8 bucks anyway,... just saying, not sure how they justify charging so much for pork & veggie dumplings. Maybe there is a general lack of this type of cuisine in Edinburgh? I don't know. So, if I live in Edinburgh and when I have a serious dumpling craving and have no where else to go, I can see myself just have to suck it up and pay it cause I'd have no choice. But certainly, not a fan of Chop Chop for high-priced, decent dumplings.

I have been to chop chop quite a lot over the years and it is always good. The staff are really nice but the service can be a little slow. Tonight especially the service was slow. We knew that food comes out at different times but my other halfs main food arrived well after I had finished mine. At this point he had eaten a lot of rice and dumplings so was fairly full. Having said this they clearly realised it was slow as gave us a free rice at the same time to apologise for the wait. I really appreciated this as I was hungry even if my other half was not! The food really is tasty. The boiled dumplings (especially the pork and coriander) are lovely. If you are in a group I would recommend the banquet. You can just order more of what ever dish you like. At the end of the day as their slogan says: can a billion people be wrong?

My first & favourite dumpling go-to joint in Edinburgh. Steamed or fried, these parcels are full of flavour in every bite. Great take-away if you are in the westend @yelpedinburgh #yelpreboot

After hearing loads of things about the dumplings at Chop Chop, i finally managed to get myself there for a friend's birthday dinner. after a brief discussion we all decided to go for the unlimited banquet as we were a large group and this seemed the best option to get a range of dishes. for a group of 6 or more there was probably around a dozen dishes that came out for us to try. i found a lot of them mediocre to be honest and the only stand outs were the crispy beef and a cucumber salad that was really quite good. the dumplings were ok, but i've had better and i was left a bit underwhelmed... i'm not sure if it was the hype around how good the food was to be or that it just wasn't quite to my liking but i left with a really meh impression of the dinner. i think what really took the experience down for me was the wait staff. they always acted as if they were in a massive hurry although the restaurant was only half full. i ordered a beer which never arrived and then they tried to charge us for it on the bill (the manager did apologise and take it off and also gave us a 5 percent discount for the error). as our group was split across two tables which meant it was hard to socialise with the larger group and even more difficult for me as i was sat in a corner and really only had the ability to talk with the people right next to me. however, the dinner only cost me just over £20 and i did enjoy so of the dishes. i won't rush back to Chop Chop as i think there are better chinese restaurants in edinburgh but it's completely A-OK.

Stupid chopchop closing their leith restaurant. Now I have to come ALL THE WAY TO HAYMARKET for all their delicious food. Ok, so all the food is the same here. There are/were differences between the 2 restaurants but the food isn't one of them. The service however seems WAY slower at this place. Short review this one. Pros are amazing, unlimited food. To die for stuff Cons, only in haymarket now, limited GF/Veggie stuff.

Very disappointed. I hate being ripped off. Low quality meat, small portions, large aubergine with garlic was tiny and swimming in cheap veg oil. Dumplings were not special. Ordered 3 rice and only got one. Ordered 24 dumplings (two orders) and only got one small dipping sauce enough for 8 dumplings max. This was a major rip off. I lived in china and usa and this place would be out of business with quality and small sizes. Shocked people here liked it. Will not order from here again. Unfortunately not found high quality chinese in Edinburgh yet.

When I was a little girl and I was lagging behind, my mother would often say to me, 'Chop chop!' Basically in my book it meant to hurry up. Well, hurry up and get yourselves here because Chop Chop's a treat worth rushing to. It's food served the way I love, in little sharing portions so everyone can have a try. The menu is a bible of epic proportions, so ensure to get an experienced friend to help you out, like mine and Jenny L's compadre Chris M. That doesn't mean he's available to hire for these sorts of things. He's *our* friend. Anyway, the sheer variety means that veggies or pescetarians like myself are amply catered for, and there's plenty for the carnivores to dig their teeth into as well. Decor-wise (and bathroom-wise) it might be a little rough around the edges, but it reminded me of Mien Tay in London in that respect, adding to the character and atmosphere. Plus the prices really are reasonable. Just like San Francisco changed my opinion on cauliflower, Chop Chop made me fall in love with aubergine all over again. Get involved, quick sharp, chop chop!

Let me start off by saying this - I love Chop Chop. It's always the first place I suggest for eating out when friends come up to Edinburgh to visit and is genuinely one of my favourite places to eat in the city. Unlike some of the other reviewers though I had no awareness of Gordon Ramsay's visit or any of the other positive publicity the restaurant has received in the past and my first visit was fuelled more by the proclamation in the window over anything else... "Can a billion people be wrong?" it boldly declares - in my books you have to have substance to back up confident decrees like that, and in that respect Chop Chop does not disappoint. Choosing to serve what in layman's terms amounts to "Chinese tapas," the menu largely consists of a hefty number of different style dumplings with the requisite noodle, rice and meat dishes making up the rest. Don't be fooled into thinking that a chow mein for example will be the same greasy mess you get down the nearest takeaway; everything I've sampled on the menu has been sufficiently different to what I've eaten at other Chinese restaurants for me to leave my preconceptions at the door (stand up sweet and sour ribs you wonderful treat you). The star of the show though is undoubtedly the dumplings themselves - especially the fried ones - they're generously filled, great tasting and weighing in at around £4 a serving won't break the bank either; I always opt for two different kinds of them rather than another accompanying main dish for the same price. Still got some room after all the mains? Why not try the sugar string apples? Sure they might seem a little expensive at around £7 but the portion comfortably serves two and they're different enough from anything else you may have had for dessert recently. Quibbles? A few times that I've visited there has been a rather obnoxious front of house/floor manager whose sole purpose seems to have been being concurrently flippant to customers and rude to the sterling waiting staff. Less of him please. One major point to make though is make sure you book in advance - The place is always packed and I've tried to sneak in at times I would have thought would be quieter (half six on a Tuesday night springs to mind) only to be turned away at the door. If you're anywhere near the city centre and haven't yet ventured to Chop Chop then you should put it straight to the top of your list. It's fresh, delicious, affordable and there should be enough on the menu to cater for any palate and all sizes of appetite - plus there's a new outlet just opened down in Leith and they've just started opening on Saturdays for lunch. There really is no excuse! Can a billion people be wrong? In this case I don't think so but if they are, I'm happy to be amongst their number. The Water Situation: my requests for tap water here are always happily met, more often than not with a whole jug being provided rather than a tiny glass. Good work!

My friend highly recommended that I should go there and try the dumplings so today he took me there. And after I finished all my dishes I told him "Now I highly doubt your taste for Chinese food". If there was a scale from 1-10, I'd give it a 5. Expensive and loud place to go without good food.

Aubergine. It's one of those vegetables that I've struggled with in my life. I always wanted to like it but so often it just tasted of nothingness. Mushy, bland nothingness. I might still feel like this if it wasn't for Chop Chop. Aubergine has never tasted this good. Doused in fresh garlic and Chinese spices, Chop Chop does Aubergine like no one else. And it's not just vegetables that this restaurant does well- dumplings are phenomenal and the ribs sticky, sweet and melt in the mouth. Chop Chop is not your run of the mill, Chicken chow mein-MSG, Chinese restaurant, in my opinion it is the best in Edinburgh. However, you might not get this impression from the outside of this place. Painted red and yellow, garish might almost be too kind a description. Inside the strip lighting and plastic tables make it feel a bit like a canteen. This odd approach to interior design might not be to everyone's tastes but trust me, it's worth it. The staff are lovely. There's rarely a long wait for food and a great selection of Chinese beers. Chop Chop gets top marks!

Nothing better than a free meal, right? Right? We shall see.... Missus took me along to Chop Chop at the west end as her +1 when those lovely folks were nice enough to invite her along for a complimentary meal in return for a review. I had no idea the Leith branch had closed down, but if anything the Haymarket iteration has benefitted from it. The money saved has clearly gone on an expanded space. They've knocked down walls at the back and put in loads more tables, nowhere near as crammed as they used to be (although I sort of liked that about it!). Speaking of the tables, those sparkly, glittery numbers certainly looked familiar. Anyhoo, after a short explanation of what we were entitled to on the evening we got to ordering. A toss up between one of their banquet menus or simply order our own mini feast, we decided we probably wouldn't indulge in all-you-can-eat fayre and opted for the latter. We'd done the banquet before so this meant we could explore the menu a little more. Anyone who's been to Chop Chop knows they pride themselves on their dumplings. And it would've been rude not to, so we went with 4 Beef and Chilli (fried) and 8 Pork and Chive (boiled). Twelve little soldiers on the plate and not a one of them disappointed. If I had a quibble, I'd like it if the restaurant supplied their own take on a dipping sauce, perhaps a couple of flavour variations, rather than only offering the soy sauce, garlic and chilli on our table. But this is minor; they were lovely as expected. Next up the missus chose a personal favourite of Northern Crispy Beef, a staple from the banquet menu which alluded to the fact I was the a'la carte snob on the night! I chose the Marinated Pork and we shared an accompaniment of Aubergine with Garlic (yet ANOTHER banquet dish...!) and Fried Rice all round. The Marinated Pork was not what I expected. An oversight on my part in choosing my pork dish, however I was not disappointed when I was met with a long dish stacked to the brim with what looked like diced pork belly. Too fatty for the missus' palate but for me.... yes! The titular marinade was lush, an element of heat without being too spicy and sweet without being too sweet. Great balance and the succulence of the meat was spot on. What fat-less morsels we managed to scour for Jen was met with a nod of approval. The Northern Crispy Beef came in a sweet and sour-esque sauce. Little sweeter than I like but that did not stop me get wired in about it. The texture was fantastic and overall it was quite moreish. The Aubergine's were aubergines. And I love aubergines. Winner. For dessert, the waiter recommended a deep fried pastry number with an encasement of ice cream within. Sounded like a Scotsman's paradise but was a bit too dense for us so it went half eaten. Some lovely sorbets finished us off. The service, predictably, was impeccable, although I will say the waiter - although knowing who we were - struck a good balance of attention and leaving us alone to enjoy our meal. Well played, sir. The food was great. Really can't fault it and continues to merit repeat visits. So... in truth... yes. There really is nothing better than a free meal.

For all Chop Chop's flaws, its good points shine through like an aubergine-tinted beacon of tastiness. Pros - Unlimited banquet, which features my two fave Chop Chop dishes - lamb and cumin, and the garlic marinated aubergines. Holy moly. - Dumplings of the type that I haven't found anywhere else in Edinburgh - Loyalty card - Tonnes of discounts showered upon loyalty card holders - Service, which is pleasant and friendly - Aubergines. Again. Cons - Food arrives when it's ready, which for some could be considered a negative - Can get supremely busy - Decor a bit... erm... cheap and cheerful - The hype surrounding this place would make you think its some miracle restaurant. It's not, so people leave disappointed. I, for one, salute the cult of Chop Chop. It's not the best thing since sliced bread, but it does a bloomin' good job trying.

This visited was for someone's birthday and it was my first time, so double cause for celebration. We ordered the buffet menu for over 12 people. I think the waiters did a fine job getting all the dishes out one after the other. The Sauvignon blanc was nice. So pretty pleased the have a good wine. Fell in love with the dumplings, fried or boiled - they are all delicious! The crispy squid was tasty too. Quite chuffed at myself for using the chop sticks that were on hand instead of asking for cutlery, I almost got the hang of it. I think I will be back to get more dumplings very soon!

We all remember this place from Gordon Ramsay's programme, right? But do you also remember that it didn't win? No? Well it didn't. Lets just remind ouselves of that. It's obviously done very well for itself following the TV debut, and people are flocking to this place to try this amazing chinese food. Yeah it's really delicious, but I worry that it's becoming a victim of its own success. It has put the prices up and the food is becoming a bit dull to be honest. The dumplings are amazing though - you can't deny that. Simply delicious!! If the prices were a bit lower and maybe a special every week, it would get itself out of the lul its found itself in.

To be honest, the only reason I returned to Chop Chop after a long hiatus was because they sent me a voucher for free food... I tried 7 dishes which they were to be putting on their new menu and can't say I was overly blown away by any of them. There was a beef stew that was quite authentically Asian but chances of people going to Chop Chop and ordering "beef stew" seem rather slim! If it has however made it onto the menu, try it! With a few tweaks, it had the potential to be fantastic and hearty enough to steel you through the Edinburgh winter! Last time we went, the couple at the table next to us had the unlimited banquet but asked to change up 2 of the dishes (which had I known I was allowed to do on previous visits, I would have taken full advantage of! and maybe had a much better time). I think Chop Chop have reached an impass where they rely far too heavily on their reputation and aren't really producing very TOP quality food. I do however like the house/hand made noodles they have, as nowhere else in Edinburgh do this. All the noodles are funny shapes and look a bit higgledy piggledy but it is because it is shaved off a giant block of 'noodle' dough into the boiling hot water to cook. (I assume this on the basis I've seen it done this way in Asia). Their unlimited banquet is undoubtedly good value for those with a healthy appetite and their dumplings are worth a try if you've not had them before. But if you want dumplings on a tighter budget, may I recommend visiting one of the Asian supermarkets on Leith Walk and buying them from the frozen goods section and making them yourself at home!

Unlimited banquet. Boom. There were seven of us so we took the £19.95 version and I was pretty pleased let me tell you. Salad, prawn crackers, dumplings (chicken, pork, prawn, beef), ribs, fish stew, rice, delicious fried potato that I ate all of and no one else got any, loads of other stuff that was all well prepared and well spiced. Oy. I loved every second I was filling my greedy face. The set up is that you receive your first round of dishes (outlined vaguely above) and then you're asked if you would like seconds (annnnd thirds and fourths...) of any particular dish. So it's good to think of round one as your 'tasting' round. While we were there we also had a chance to taste some of the dishes that are to be included on next years menu, on the house, and I must say that Chop Chop just seems to be getting better!

Great! REAL Chinese food. We used to live in Beijing and there were dishes at Chop Chop that we haven't had or seen at any other restaurant outside of China. Highly recommend this for authentic Chinese food.

I was here last night with a gathering of Yelpers. We all arrived starving and sodden and were eager to tuck into the goodness we'd been hearing so much about. After perusing the menu for what the wait staff clearly thought was a ridiculous amount of time -they tried to take our orders a number of times - we finally decided on a number of dishes. We each ordered a main, and then chose some veggie and dumpling sides to go with our rice. One member of our group ordered a fish dish which apparently takes "up to 50 minutes to prepare" 50 minutes for fish? Seriously? Well, we weren't bothered to just went with it. It was one of the first mains to come out. Soooooo when you say "up to 50 minutes" you mean, "if we wait 35 minutes to start cooking it, then it could take 50 minutes" In any case, we were all very keen on our starters. I absolutely loved the green beans which had the most magically amazing seasoning on them. I have to admit that I ate most of the order. Oops. The dumplings were very tasty as well. The mains, though, kind of let me down. I had spicy beef which was nice but the flavour got pretty old and boring after a few bites. I literally just ate half of it and became too uninterested to eat the rest. If I'm sitting in front of amazing food, I'll stuff myself until I feel unwell, but while I liked the beef, let's just say I wouldn't order it again. I tried Jenny L's squid which had an ok flavour but I thought it was a bit overdone because it was tough and bordering on rubbery. I think that Chinese food is meant to be eaten family style. Yes we all shared our food, but it was more of a "would you like to try what I ordered" kind of scenario. On top of the food, I felt the staff were a bit disjointed. They were all very nice, but I get tired of being interrupted several times during my meal, and I'm not keen on being visited by four different staff members all asking the same thing. I would definitely give Chop Chop another chance if a dinner was organized, because the food does have some serious tasty potential, but I wouldn't choose it myself.

I ate here before Gordon Ramsey came and made them famous and shouted praises from the heavens. You will not find a better Chinese restaurant in the city, no, the country! The food, if you can get a table, is remarkable. Get the Beef Noodle soup and your tongue will thank you. They could have so easily bumped the prices after all the fanfare, but its great to see they're sticking to the moderate prices. The only problem is that every Chinese you'll have until the end of your days will pale in comparison.

I first visited Chop Chop with my Kung Fu school for Chinese New Year celebrations. We had the banquet which turned out to be fantastic. They kept bringing food out as long as we were hungry (which given my school meant quite a while). It was a really wonderful evening of great food and service. A perfect place to spend Chinese New Year. I can't comment on the Gordon Ramsey thing because I know nothing about it and didn't visit it before it was apparently aired. Either way my first experience there and my visits since have all been great. The basic idea of Chop Chop is to try first hand real Chinese food, in a traditional manner, ordering several small dishes which are brought to you as and when they are ready. This really is a far cry from your usual greasy takeaway. Equally, expect to pay a little more. But when you take into account the quality in comparison, it is more than worth it (it averages out to usually around average to just above average for Edinburgh). I should also add that as a vegetarian there was plenty for me to choose from, and at that first banquet they went out of their way to ensure there was an equal amount of dishes to try. I found their vegetarian dumplings a little strange at first, but ever since I've started craving them. I also agree Evelyn's comment on the aubergine! I should add that the staff are really friendly and if you've never been before they will help you with the menu and give you any advice you might need. A fantastic Chinese restaurant where you can experience some great Asian cuisine in a traditional manner. Oh but do book early! This place can get heaving!

We came back for dinner this time- it's the beansprout salad that rocks our socks. The northern style beef was yummy too and the staff as always were very friendly. Luckily we had a voucher cause it's not the cheapest of places and we (the boyfriend especially) needed two mains to start feeling a bit more full. Will be coming back again though!

Eh. I dont get the hype. After reading all these reviews and the positive review by the friend I went with, I was expecting better. Much, much better. The good: the service was fast and very friendly. The service alone would get five stars. Also, lots of menu options and the business lunch is a good deal. Sadly, this is where the positives ended for me. I just found the food to be seriously subpar. Even the things people raved about like the aubergines and dumplings were subpar. The aubergines were ok, but they were pretty bland and burning hot. I just kept thinking, "Whats so great? Yes, this is what happens when you cook aubergines." The dumplings were just ok too, definitely nothing to get excited about. The rest of the meal I just found confusing. My ribs and green beans were questionable, fatty meat and soggy green beans floating in a mess of gloopy, salty random brown sauce. The fried potatoes were literally just tiny, deep fried pieces of shredded potato that you were supposed to eat with chopsticks? It was so confusing, more like a topper for a jacket potato or something (if you are American it was exactly like the fried onions you put on green bean casserole, but in tiny confetti-like pieces). The worst were the spicy noodles, which had such an inedible flavor that I could not stomach more than one bite of and a smell made me sick. Sooooo, overall, not a good experience and I will not return unless forced. Sadly, the staff is nice, so it is a shame, but otherwise steer clear of this place and find yourself some decent Chinese.

I really liked Chop Chop. They specialise in authentic Chinese food which means lots of dumplings! It also means dishes arrive when they are ready, rather than everything brought out at once. The hot and sour soup was really delicious. The dumplings were wide-ranging (we competed in the Dumpling Games - attempting to identify 10 different types of dumpling) and very enjoyable to eat. Service was friendly and efficient. Prices reasonable. Definitely recomended. Actually just writing about it has made me fancy going there - shame it's all the way in Edinburgh :(

I was a bit apprehensive about visiting Chop Chop so soon after it appeared on TV, as I was worried it would be overwhelmed with demand. It was extremely busy, and anyone without a booking wouldn't have stood a chance. The service was a bit slow and haphazard as a result, but not too bad given how packed the place was. The food didn't arrive in any particular order, which didn't bother us too much. We'd ordered a combination of dumplings, salads, stir fries and stews, and planned to share them all. I wouldn't go here for a prim and proper 3 course meal, but for a casual 'tapas' style meal it was ideal. The dumplings were the stars, and something I would never consider making at home (I'm sure I could, but I'm way too lazy). The beef stir fry was particularly delicious. The beef was tender, and the sauce wasn't the dreaded MSG gloop that some Chinese places serve. The tofu salad was surprisingly refreshing, and balanced the other dishes well. The prices weren't too bad, we paid about £20 per head for an enormous amount of food, plenty of beer, and endless refills of tea. Ideal for a night out with friends where you don't mind all digging in.

I'm really torn with Chop Chop having been a number of times. I love the idea ... it's a very different type of chinese food to most other restaurants, however, I often leave not being completely sure who much I enjoyed the food. It's very original but maybe could do with a facelift.

To me Chop Chop fills quite a unique space in the Edinburgh Chinese restaurant scene. Rather than breaking he wide ranging menu in starters and main courses it offers most dishes in both small and large portions. This lets you choose a much wider variety of dishes. In true asian style these are delivered to your table as an when they are ready so. It makes for a great group eating experience as everyone just tucks into whatever turns up next. Dumplings are a speciality and come either fried or steamed. Each of these comes in several different combinations of meat and veg. The staff will happily show you how to mix up your own dumpling dipping sauce from soy sauce, vinegar, chilli an garlic but you can probably figure out how to do it yourself. My last visit with work colleagues had us eating four kinds of dumplings, spare ribs, chicken wings, fish balls in chilli sauce, glass noodle salad, sliced beef with garlic and spring onions and spicy noodles. There wasn't a bit of food left on the table when we were done. Chop Chop's reputation seems to be growing steadily judging by how busy it was when we visited on a Tuesday night. As their advertising caption says..Can a Billion People be wrong?

I was initially attracted to this restaurant since they had a picture of Gordon Ramsey taken with the owners (?). I naturally assumed something had to be good about it. My partner and I ordered a couple of different dumplings and then the eggplant dish and spare ribs. The food overall wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that great either. The flavor is more "mainland" style. The dumplings were not consistent and came out in different sizes. The eggplant was pretty good though. The staff were friendly though!

Dumplings - Heavenly and addictive! Egg Fried Rice - Moist, Eggy, Flavourful Aubergines - Thank goodness - finally someone did something amazing with aubergines. Chicken Wings - Must have Staff - Outstanding Price - Excellent value BYOB - Yes, but try an imported beer - they are great Atmosphere - lively, welcoming, clean Dessert: Fruit Dumplings with S. Luca ice cream My partner also loves the Lamb and Cumin. They also run the most amazing loyalty points scheme and always remember my birthday. Seriously it's a must do for anyone looking for amazing, truly mouth watering (slightly addictive) food in Edinburgh! I also hear they are opening a new location in Leith - very exciting!

I'm afraid I'm siding with the latest few negative reviews of this place. I ate there with a group and we ordered the feast, so a big mix of everything. The dumplings were bland, the tastiest of dishes were far too salty and greasy, even the veggie dishes like aubergine - you can't escape it. The staff were very friendly but service was slow and inconsistent, you didn't get the impression they were particularly interested in the food they served. The gents toilets were what you'd expect from a grotty pub, full of flies and a sticky floor. Eww. The phrase "a billion Chinese people can't be wrong" springs to mind; and the fact there were no Chinese people eating there speaks volumes.

I used to go there when they opened 5 yrs ago or more but went there with my g--f and food was awful! May be chief was in the wrong mood!?! The garlic cloves in cumin seeds were over salty , the Peanut sauce butter noodles were sickening: a jar of peanut butter with watery noodles! the cucumber salad watery . At last the prawn dumpling were tasting off the taste.

As made famous on Gordon Ramsey's 'The F Word', Chop Chop really is an outstanding restaurant, except that now you definitely need to book in advance now if you want to get a table. The food is amazing (the chinese dumplings are especially recommended), although it is served differently than in most restaurants; all of the food comes out just as soon as it's ready. The staff are friendly and helpful, and explain how to mix the sauce for the dumplings. Totally authentic, not pretentious in the least, I really can't say enough good things about Chop Chop.

Excellent meal here. Superb food and service. Lots of bad reviews about Chop Chop but we really enjoyed it. The food is amazing! Very attentive service!

Good and ok. Not the best dim sum but we had a nice variety. Fed 7 people (3 kids) on the 4 person ultimate banquet thing

The beef and chili dumplings were amazing! As was the chicken and spicy potatoes. So different from the Chinese food you normally fine with heaps of sauce. The food was well spiced and different, full of flavour and amazingly good! We had two guests from Holland with us who had seen it in the Lonely Planet, which is why we went, and they also loved it! The service was also super attentive and professional, they were very busy and still managed to come back and get our second order. Also the vegetarian green bean dish was super yum!

One of my favourite Edinburgh restaurants. Food is always fresh with an authentic Asian style. I have lived many years in South East Asia and what you get at Chop Chop is good, no fuss, food full of flavour and without additives.

Excellent food. The random delivery of dishes and fairly basic surroundings were of no consequence as the staff were great and the food deliciously different.

I used to have one of those Gourmet Society cards and their website told me I could get a 25% discount at Chop Chop. Excellent. I had friends coming to stay and they had all heard of the place and wanted to try it. So I rang and booked a table and told them on the phone that I had the card. They said it would be fine to use it. You've got to love a discount! There were four of us and we are not good decision makers so we ended up opting for the unlimited banquet for four. Lots of variety and you can have seconds (and thirds, fourths and probably fifths if you could fit them in - it's unlimited after all) at no extra cost. Hurrah! The food arrived in a higgledy piggledy kind of way in no particular order but that was fine as there were so many different dishes it was rather nice to be able to sample them a couple at a time. It was all delicious and we had second helpings of several different things. I was tempted by third helpings but was pretty full at that point so exercised some restraint. And then we asked for the bill. And this is where it all went wrong. When I got out my Gourmet Society card I was abruptly told that they no longer accepted them and we couldn't have our discount. I protested saying that I had been told on the phone that it would be ok. The waiter went to get the manager who came out and spent some time angrily grilling me on who I had spoken to when I booked the table (what day did I call, what time, did I speak to a man or woman, what accent did they have...?). I tried to be as vague as possible because, clearly, someone was going to be in a lot of trouble and I didn't want to be responsible for that. Eventually he grudgingly let us have the discount but by then the damage had been done. I had high hopes for Chop Chop but now have the impression that, though they serve lovely food, they treat their staff really really badly. Never say never... but I'd certainly be reluctant to spend my money there again.

Very ordinary. Don't believe the hype. We summed it up: "Anyone who can succinctly explain to me what it is that I'm missing with Chop Chop would be welcomed with open arms. For me it's totally ordinary, completely mediocre, bland and inoffensive, much like their food. I just can't see what it is that inspires the level of adulation it attracts."

I heard a lot of good things about this restaurant and both my wife and I were interested to try this. We arrived just after afternoon opening time and although the restaurant filled up quickly service was quick. That was however the only positive about Chop Chop. We ordered three plates of dumplings and they were really poor in both taste, quality and portion. The dumpling skins are too thick and the fillings really small and tasteless. I read that the person who started this restaurant worked in a dumpling making factory and it really tastes like factory dumplings. I've eaten dumplings in China and a billion people are right eating dumplings there because they can be incredibly tasty but Chop Chop isn't. Just a quick note. One thing we noticed is Chop Chop didn't have any Chinese customers at all.

The dumpling was surprisingly delicious, but the lo mein noodle was unimpressive. Will give another entree a try next time, but the menu doesn't have as many varieties as others. Servers were great.

totally over rated! i heard some good reviews and went their accordingly with my husband . well the first problem was that the menu is not so great especially if you are not a pork eater , we were left with few choices and most of them were the vegetarian options. we had aubergines with garlic , it was nice but it was soaked in oil ! the only good thing was the nice staff and decorations . other than that it was not as great as expected

I was looking forward to eating at Chop Chop because of the rave review my friends gave it (to me) 7 weeks ago. I booked to eat on a Thursday night, as it was my last night in Edinburgh and i decided to treat myself. What a Disappointment! When i arrived the restaurant was empty, apart from the 4 waiting staff. When i was seated at my table i discovered that the plates were made of plastic. Really not what i was expecting at all. I started off by ordering 16 boiled Pork and Coriander dumplings with 8 Chicken Fried dumpling. I also had a Chicken Chow Mian and deep fried aubergines. The Pork and Coriander dumplings were very bland, which I'm guessing is why you have soy sauce and vinegar on your table, there was no taste what so ever. The fried chicken dumplings tasted better, I could actually taste the chicken. The Chow Mien, again was very bland and the chicken was like rubber. I had to resort to pouring my dumpling dipping sauce over the Chow Mian to give it some flavour. plus, the portion of Chow Mian is huge for one person, I couldn't finish it as there was so much. Lastly, the Aubergines. They were absolutely disgusting. Completely soaked in oil, so much so I could not taste the spring onion and garlic that the aubergines I paid £30 for all this and a small bottle of spring water, not the great value i was told about. Their website states that they make their own noodle and dumplings, in fact the dumplings are not made in the restaurant, but in a custom built factory in Edinburgh's suburbs. The staff are the only reason why I am not giving Chop Chop 1 star, they were great. Very friendly and helpful. So all in all, a grand disappointment. It does seem that the owners have spent so much time and effort with the new restaurant in Leith that they have all but forgotten the original Haymarket restaurant.