Joy King Lau
Chinese restaurant · Leicester Square ·
Daily dim sum & Cantonese classics; roast meats, curries, soups
Daily dim sum & Cantonese classics; roast meats, curries, soups
"A place tied up with nostalgia and cultural significance for Chinatown, with commentators especially saddened by the loss of its original iteration because of what it symbolised for the community and for long-standing residents." - Adam Coghlan
"A long-running Chinatown Cantonese institution known for daytime dim sum and a full dinner menu of roast meats, fried dishes, curries and soups, it is particularly celebrated for its siu mai and har gau. The owners announced an early-July closure and change of management, with the current team—many staff having served for nearly 30 years—leaving; they expressed deep gratitude to customers for their support, especially during the pandemic, and said the brand’s future is uncertain though the name may live on under new operators. The closure is described as part of a broader wave of longtime Cantonese restaurants in the area being forced to shut amid rising rents, landlord-led “placemaking” and shifting commercial and demographic pressures; the business is not directly a tenant of Shaftesbury PLC, despite appearing in the landlord’s “Chinatown London” portfolio." - Adam Coghlan
"A large banquet and dim sum restaurant on the smaller streets off the main strip, with seating capacity geared toward hundreds; the venue has so far not embraced outdoor dining to the same extent as other nearby businesses, meaning a handful of alfresco tables would have limited impact on its ability to recover lost trade." - Angela Hui
"A multi-story Cantonese restaurant whose scale contrasts with smaller neighbours and has highlighted the landlord’s two-tier approach to tenants, causing friction among restaurateurs over unequal rules and negotiations. Its size and prominence make it representative of longstanding Cantonese establishments whose recovery depends on manageable future rent liabilities amid lower demand and social-distancing constraints." - Angela Hui
"I note that Chinatown restaurant Joy King Lau has closed for “maintenance.”" - James Hansen
