Ma La Sichuan

This has to be the best Sichuan restaurant in the world. I was a regular when I worked in Westminster, now I travel all the way from the Isle of Wight to eat here 🤤🤤🤤 The food is amazing, the staff are friendly, attentive and make every visit memorable. The only problem I have is choosing what to order as everything is so tasty.

Excellent food. Great service. Good for groups. Super tasty and good portions. Very fresh. Lisa was so welcoming. She helped me with the menu and showed me how to enjoy my dishes. She frequently checked on me to make sure I was happy. I got chili beef (less numb) and dim sum platter. I felt like an instant regular. All the staff going above and beyond. Boxed up my leftovers too, didn’t just leave a box. Highly recommended. Become a regular! Lisa and team are great. Hard to find the entrance with construction but it’s worth it.

Ma La Sichuan serves authentic Sichuan-style Chinese food with bold, spicy flavours and lots of variety on the menu. We tried the Dim Sum Platter - average, Fragrant Chilli Chicken - delicious, and Boiled Pork in Chilli Oil - tasty, and all the dishes were full of flavour. The spices were well balanced and truly authentic. The toilet was clean. •expect a queue during busy times. I recommend making a RSVP to avoid waiting.

What a lovely vibrant atmosphere, authentic Chinese food and really good portions of food! I did not expect to find a place like this at all behind the huzz and buzz of Big Ben and Westminster areas! We were sight seeing with our friends from Canada and Belgium and we stumbled upon this restaurant, with 8 of us walk in and no reservations on a lunchtime and was quite busy but we’re still accomodated despite the circumstances that we had. The location was only a few meters away from Westminster abbey which someone would thought this place did not exist . The food was served quick and fast and simply irresistible flavours . The service was simply handled by Judy , genuinely attentive, respectful and friendly. Food prices I thought was expensive which I thought it’s London price but I was proven wrong as the portions were actually for 2-3 people eating and I was gobsmocked to see the quality and quantity of it! It was indeed a very good value of our money ! Definitely will be back here if we are in London and it was truly an amazing experience! Highly recommended.

This place is delicious. The Fragrant Chili Chicken was one of the best Chinese dishes I’ve eaten. Other standouts were the salt and pepper squid as part of the sampler platter and the Aromatic Duck. Service was outstanding, cannot recommend this place enough. Wouldn’t order the Crispy Beef again but it was interesting. Unless you open the place at 5:30 for dinner, you should make a reservation.

Loved this asian restaurant, we ate all sorts of plates (all to share, group of 7) and they were all quite yummy. We walked in without a reservation and they treated us very politely, sat us down immediately. The food was great, our favorite was the fried rice and the sweet and sour chicken.

The restaurant is lively and always decently full which is a great sign. The service is efficient and friendly, and the waiters are all very attentive with regards to drinks. I will say that the food is rather good, the fried noodles, squid, and soft shell crab all recommended. Will be back soon!

The staff here are truly warm and attentive. They went out of their way to pamper my young kids, helping them settle down at the table. The rotating center table is brilliant —you don’t have to stretch for food; it effortlessly comes to you. I was delighted that my favorite Sichuan dish, cumin lamb, did not disappoint. The bold flavors paired perfectly with a steaming bowl of white rice. If the spice gets too intense, you can balance it out with Cantonese dim sum. And for a taste of Shanghai, their soup dumplings are a must-try—all in the same place! The chefs are incredibly talented, crafting authentic dishes from different Chinese cuisines with remarkable skill. Their food rivals the best I’ve had in Flushing, New York, which is home to some of the finest Chinese cuisine in the U.S.

We were looking for a quick bite after visiting Westminster Abbey and found this place a short walk away. Excellent Chinese food, friendly service and reasonable prices. We like a little spice, but were wary of it being too hot so we ordered dishes that were not labeled spicy--Shanghai dumplings and stir fried rice noodles with chicken. They were great on their own, and also came with soy sauce and a dish of chili sauce, so we could add our own dash of spice to our taste. A very nice addition we were not expecting. The service is also very friendly. They asked us if we were OK with chopsticks (so we didn't have to plead for a fork.) We saw some great dishes served at other tables and wished we were hungrier to try a few more things. Highly recommend stopping here when you're visiting London.

Wandering through London and found this Schezuan place that was not touristy. If you want a fast meal, this is the place. Our food came out immediately. Lovers of spice will have a field day here, however not too many options for those that do not like spicy food at all. I have had better dim sum in NY. The Imperial Gongbao King Prawns were excellent and the Dry Wok Chicken was one of the best Chinese dishes I have ever had. Service was super fast. Seems off the touristy track.

Had made a reservation a day prior and was super quick and easy. Restaurant emailed to confirm my reservation a couple hours after my request. Arrived at 6 for my reservation and was seated very quick. It wasn't too busy when I arrived but started to pick up as the time went. The restaurant has a very modern chinese restaurant feel to it. Had gotten the Beef chow mein, Mapo Tofu, broccoli and Salt and pepper prawns. The salt and pepper prawns are definitely made differently than the states which are more salt and peppery. We had gotten 4 dishes and was more than enough for 2 people. There were also menu sets for those in groups that are a bit indecisive! Would definitely recommend trying this place out!

Exceptional Szechwan food, beautiful dining room, and great service. Dim sum was freshly made, and authentic. The chicken in fish sauce was both tasty and texturally delightful. The fish soup was bland, and the fish was overcooked, but a little salt kicked it up to good. The cumin beef was a star too. Simple and tasty. In Westminster, not far from Parliament.

After walking to some tourist destinations close to our hotel, we weee starving for some Chinese cuisine, so we decided to have some for our first dinner in London. Found this place on yelp and decided to tried it. We ordered crispy beef, sweet and sour tofu and sweet and sour chicken (sorry I forgot to take pics as we were so hungry already lol). It was a busy time but they're very organized. We were seated right away, service was timely, we're glad all our orders came out in less than ten minutes ( I'm thinking they have a lot of employees in the kitchen working). I personally love the tofu, it's softly fried yet silky. All our foods are good, I love that it's not oily which is very common for Chinese foods. Service is prompt, place is so clean and organized.

We were yanks who crossed the pond and "wanted to have a Chinese" (ironic). Mission accomplished. Everything was soo wet. Somehow there were peppers and garlic which imparted no flavor. I guess not to our tastes 4.5 google rating 1.3k reviews.

Food quality of ingredients good, flavor delicate and not spicy enough for my taste. Portions are small. Need to order additional dishes to have expected amount of food for a meal. Service was very good. Very attentive. Tables and restaurants very clean with ample room and pleasing decor.

After exploring nearby tourist attractions near our hotel, we got quite an appetite and craved Chinese cuisine for our inaugural dinner in London. Discovering a highly-rated spot on Yelp, we opted to give it a try. Our order included crispy beef, sweet and sour tofu, and sweet and sour chicken (although we were too famished to remember taking photos, apologies!). We eagerly indulged in our meal. We love the food it was fantastic.

What a great place to enjoy Dim Sum and asian cuisine. I had a chance to visit here for dinner. I do recommend reservations for this location as they get pretty busy. I did not have reservations for my group but they were able to accommodate after a 8-10 minute wait. The host and wait staff were great. The appetizers were fresh and interesting to try. Dim Sum was fantastic as well. The drinks were asian inspired to add to the overall ambiance of dining at Ma La. If you are in the area (near or in Westminster), it is worth the visit. Bon Apetit.

Service was amazing, the waiters were so friendly and topped off our waters many times. The food was also very delicious and with authentic spicy peppers and the dessert was so delicious too!

We were a "walk-in" party without reservations but they were able to accommodate us and boy oh boy am I happy they did. This was the best Chinese food we've ever had except possibly one dinner in Hong Kong 35 years ago, but even that one was no better than Ma La. The garlicky broccoli was SO good. My broccoli hating husband couldn't get enough of it. I'm not a fan of sweet and sour but the s&s chicken was excellent. The beef with vegetables was also delicious, as was the shredded pork. And the dumplings and the sour & hot soup. Wow. I am still thinking about this meal a couple of days later. I recommend trying to make a reservation, as we just got lucky without one. A+++++

This locals only restaurant not far from Westminster Abbey was our best meal on this trip to London. We read some Yelp reviews and decided to go and it was the best choice of the trip and that is comparing it to one of Gordon Ramsay's top end restaurants. The food was absolutely delicious and in large portions so we loaded the table and shared wonderful flavors. The staff was attentive and constantly on point recommending great dishes that we totally enjoyed.

maybe I'm just used to American cheap Chinese food but this was a bit greasy, overcooked and Uber saucy. we had crispy beef, should have been called "left in the pan for way too long, dried out then drowned in sweet sauce" beef. we also had sweet and sour chicken which is best described as sauce soup with chicken, and for a side we had garlic broccoli, also swimming unexpectedly in some sort of sauce that was more sweet than garlicky. the bao we had at the beginning were good though, got to give them some credit for those. service was good though and clean atmosphere so not all horrible. I don't need to eat here again.

The food here is DELICIOUS!!!! We popped in for dinner on a Friday night and almost didn't get seated because we didn't have a reservation. Luckily we were seated with the condition that we would free-up the table within 70min. The service was so quick and efficient that we were done with over 20 min to spare. We started our meal with the xiao long bao dumplings and they were juicy and very tasty. We then shared the fragrant chili chicken, white rice and stir fried noodles with vegetables. The chicken was perfectly spicy and intensely flavored. It was so good that it set all my taste buds a-tingling! The noodles were the perfect counterbalance to such intensity. We purposely ordered a non-spicy noodle dish and it worked out perfectly. For dessert we ordered the salty egg custard bun and the mango pudding. The egg custard bun was sooo good. My husband appropriately described it as "warm cake batter". The mango pudding was just right....it had a very natural sweetness akin to eating a ripe mango. In short, if you're looking for a great meal in Westminster, don't hesitate to pop into this gem.

We stopped in here for some dim sum at lunchtime (we had had a big breakfast so wanted a lighter lunch). The service is very attentive. It is a bright and airy restaurant that had a mix of business people, families and tourists the day we were there. We did not get entrees but seeing some of the options at the tables around us, they all looked amazing. It is about a 5 minute walk from Westminster Abbey but on a quieter street, away from all the crowds.

Excellent service, food was fresh and delicious. Family restaurant... pleasant ambiance! If we are back in this area we will definitely visit again

Excellent Asian restaurant. Food was perfectly prepared and very flavorful. Staff was very helpful and kept our water glasses full. Wonderful meal.

I found Ma La online when searching for "Crispy Aromatic Duck," a dish that is a particular favorite of my wife's and mine when we're in the UK. When we entered we knew we were in a great restaurant because of the marvelous smell. It was also nicely decorated and very clean. Ma La was not the typical tourist-oriented Chinese restaurant, and seemed to be a favorite of locals and regulars. Had we known, we would have reserved a table in advance. The restaurant stayed fully booked until after 9:00PM, but the owners and staff seemed to appreciate that we were willing to wait 45 minutes for a table. They treated us most kindly and were very friendly. Our patience was well rewarded, as this was the best Crispy Aromatic Duck we've had. The duck itself was very moist, while the skin was delightfully crispy. While there was a gentle buzz in the restaurant, it was remarkable that my wife and I could still converse easily across the table. Truly an outstanding dining experience at a reasonable cost, and worth the slight effort to get there. I highly recommend Ma La!

Excellent taste of Sichuan food in London. Amazing, absolutely amazing service. We only had to wait a few minutes for a table without a booking, and they took great care of us - even showing us Americans how to eat their aromatic duck pancakes. The black pepper ribeye was incredibly flavorful, and the dumplings in chili oil were full of yum. But the rice was to die for. I didn't think rice could stand out, but this fried rice did. Incredibly happy with our visit.

Travelling with a family of 5 from America, and it was an amazing stop for lunch. We were sat quickly, everyone was very nice and the food was delicious and came within 7 minutes of ordering it. Fantastic.

I came across this restaurant after just arriving in London, and walked in to get dim sum takeout. Very happy with the food and the service. The dim sum were delicious, they were neatly packed, and they were ready rather quickly. The staff were friendly. The menu was a bit on the expensive side but the food were worth it. I highly recommend this restaurant!

When we got here, we were the only ones in the restaurant. We got a few of the dim sun items, Dan Dan mien, spicy wonton and calamari. My favorite was the calamari! It was delicious. So flavorful. My least favorite was the spicy wonton. However it was still good by comparing it to the ones from Din Tai Fu, it is no comparison. All in all, everything was good. I would come back for calamari...MMmmMM

Convenient location since a colleague recommended this place for "good Asian food". For someone who just flew 7 hours straight from NYC, you took it for granted. The food is subpar. Maybe because I ordered sweet and sour chicken. It was super sour. I was not able to finish it. I'm usually good with Chinese food. On the upside, the server is very sweet and the lunch set is quite generous. It gave two spring rolls and soup.

The food is amazing. Get reservations. It is a hot and happening place. We had such a great meal, we came back the following night to savor the goodness. Just one off-putting thing. We had a 20.30 reservation. We were wrapping the meal 45 min later at 9:15 when the hostess came over to say "I have many people waiting for a long time -- I'm so sorry, can you finish up now please." We had the last dish leave the table 3 minutes earlier. I had paid the bill 4 minutes earlier. There was a couple that had come in from Bath and we were visiting briefly. I was shocked -- otherwise I would have said, "Why did you go do that?" We were out the door in 53 minutes. I'm not sure the hostess knew how brief we had really stayed. I know the pressure must be high to turn the table. I still don't think this is how a guest should end the meal. The comment might have saved a wait of a minute or two for someone else. Not the way to end an otherwise great experience.

This place was a hidden gem. I was looking for a good Chinese restaurant and I didn't want to have to go all the way to Chinatown. We ordered the sweet and sour shrimp, wonton soup, dim sum sampler, dry fried green beans with pork, and the chicken rice noodles. Everything was delicious and I don't normally love sweet and sour shrimp. My daughter said the wontons were the best and wanted to have them again. The service was super friendly and the restaurant was nice and clean. My husband who doesn't even love chinese food said it was one of the best meals we had in London.

I was going to give this restaurants 3 stars but I changed my mind. My brother & I are visiting from NY (America). When we first walked in we were greeted quickly and it smelled really good. We overheard the couple next to us say this was the best Asian restaurant in town. We were excited. Until we noticed that everyone coming in after us was getting their food before us. I asked a waiter how much longer and he could not give us an answer. About ten minutes later he said 2 minutes. After 5 passed I asked the older woman (who kept circling us) how much longer because we were waiting a HOUR AND HALF. The food finally came out right before we were going to get up and leave. My food was OK but my brothers came out cold. It was probably sitting there for the hour. And not to mention they never offered my brother a drink with his food. When we got back to our hotel the bartender told us this was not polite and we should have left after 30 minutes.

We come to London often and try different restaurants and this time wanted a new Chinese restaurant to try but the key criteria was taste. I found this place on yelp and frankly was happy with the food and service. It's in a quiet neighborhood and I was quite happy with the attentive service. We tried the Mouth Watering chicken and the Duck for appetizers and both were excellent. I would recommend steamed rice with the chicken as the sauce is very tasty. For the main dish you MUST get the Ma La Prawns which were delicious. The last dish we tried was the Chicken in Black Bean and that needed some salt but still good. Overall a good place for a tasty meal. There is a 12.5% service charge but for us the staff earned it.

A special call out to our lovely waiter who was super helpful as we ordered. One person at our table had a severe egg allergy and he was particularly helpful in recommending dishes that were suitable. Very helpful and attentive service! The good was also very good. Fish dishes were a particular standout and we tried the classic Sichuan preparation as well as the Cantonese steamed version. Other highlights were the cloud ear fungus. The dan dan mian was too soupy for my liking and the shredded tofu needed more seasoning. Cabbage with pork belly was yummy and the green beans were tasty. While the food was all very well prepared, I would have liked more heat. Even the menu items that were marked super hot (i.e. three chillis) were very mild. I wanted to suffer a bit but in reality, barely noticed any spice. Crank it up! Definitely would return. It's a lovely restaurant with a nice ambiance. A pleasant change from normal Chinese venues!

Awesome foods!! We happened to find on our way to a pub. Glad we stopped here instead. Great atmosphere and excellent service!!

A very smart Chinese restaurant with excellent service. I guess you could call it high-end compared with a lot of the buffet style Asian eateries around that area but it's by no means stiff or will send you bankrupt. The decor is clean and bright, black and sparkly. It has a nice atmosphere and whilst it is missing Chinese diners (the best way to find a good Chinese restaurant is to look for Chinese eaters right?!?), it does have a nice buzz. The food is spicy and flavoursome and not too greasy. It's a typically big menu so give it to your most trusted food ordering friend and get them to chose away. I particularly loved the tofu with pork mince (hot hot hot yum) and the beans with garlic. The cummin lamb stir fry we had was so delicious and the lamb always tender and juicy. The dumplings were OK, not the best I've ever had, but clearly house made and clean. They're probably better for you than most! So yes highly recommended.

This is a *fantastic* restaurant. I visited as a solo diner during a short vacation to London, and it was so phenomenal I came back a second time two days later (i.e, for two of my six dinners). The flavors are incredible and it's also cosy and relaxed. Service is very attentive and helpful with suggestions. Finally, unlike most other places in the area, nothing is over- priced. Good portions and...I can't reiterate this enough--SO DELICIOUS. Thanks for being so welcoming, Ma La! Try: Dan Dan, boiled beef (extra spicy), Ma La Prawns, and fried soft shell crab.

We stayed at Conrad in Westminster in st james and walked to ma la, few minutes in residential area. It was late 8:30p, looking for light meal. Made reservations for Sunday night but others walked rt in. Service was good and we waited 10min for food to arrive. My hubby had hot and sour soup, it was ok, spicy. I had prawn spinach dumplings, it was very good but eat with chili oil condiment, it's not that spicy. We shared the hot appetizer mixed sampler which included small portions of crispy seaweed, it was good, calamari was very good, fried strips of chicken, it was good, small sweet sour spare ribs (4), very good, spring rolls, it was ok. We would have come back to try real meal but we had to go home but next time, I would have definitely ordered the calamari.

Eh, don't understand the high reviews here. It's definitely a nice location and decorated very nicely but the service was just 'meh' and the food too. We ordered one of the most well known, traditional Sichuan dishes, 'shui zhu yu' which this restaurant calls 'Drifting fragrant sea bass in sizzling chili oil'. What makes this dish is the array of spices that make up the base broth / oil. This dish lacked all of them and was essentially just fish, in oil, with chili and sichuan peppercorns. Completely tasteless.

We went there twice in two consecutive days although we stayed in London for only two and half days. The dishes taste great, the service is great. For $38 we ordered a new dish called "new style spice fish" which is little bit expensive with limited quantity of fish meat buried under a bowl of cooking oil with a thick layer of floating chili pepper and pericarpium zanthoxyli. Other than that, we also ordered periwinkie meat with Sichuan sauce which is our favorite there. The waiters and the manager are nice. They offered free ice cream and even helped us to recharge the mobiles because we didn't have our power adapter to use. We will go back there if we come back to London.

I'm giving it 1 star because the coca cola was cold, and had a lemon in it. We overheard the table next to us state that this was the best Asian cuisine place in London. We waited 1.25 hours for our food. And the host and waitress how much longer it would take and did not get a reply. Finally a bus boy told us 2 minutes (took 10). Other tables who arrived after us and ordered kitchen food received theirs well ahead of us. The food arrived, my dish was cold. There was nothing special about it. The rice however was decent.

An absolutely excellent sichuan restaurant tucked away in a largely residential area, yet only five minutes from Big Ben and from Victoria. Good food; good service; good enough wine list. Staying in St. James, and wanted something other than the usual British "stuff". The quality of the food, and the friendliness of the staff were a surprise. We went back a second night!

Great option near Westminster. I went twice during my ten day stay in the area and it was excellent each time. The chao shou dumplings and dry wok chicken were favorites, and the lamb with cumin was also delicious. I would highly recommend trying this place out.

Excellent pork intestine and aubergine dish, shrimp was a bit too sweet for me fried rice was ok.

Once again, thank you Yelpers! After a long day of touristing we were hungry and decided upon this restaurant. Hands down the best Chinese food I have had in years. The Ma Po Tofu was delicious! We also enjoyed their Dim Sum appetizer and a fried chicken dish I can't recall because I was enjoying the Ma Po so much! They have a full bar and a wine list. Service was very professional. Before we even ate a single bite, I knew it would be delicious because I spotted two people finishing up their meal and they already had a massive amount of food for takeaway sitting on their table. Good sign! Anyway this place is divine and not in the middle of any tourist action. In fact, the staff asked us how we found them! lol Just so happy we did.

This restaurant deserves more reviews. Super nice setting. Friendly staff. Our order was takeaway, but wished we stayed. Tasty food and generous portions. Highly recommended.

I live across the street from Ma La, and I can honestly say I am there at least twice a week. It's the best Chinese food I've ever had, and certainly the best in London. The crispy duck is out of this world, and the chicken fried rice is always delicious and perfect to take home and heat up the next day, as well. Lisa is the best and is always so sweet! GO HERE!!!

We were craving for Chinese food and we also wanted a restaurant within walking distance from Conrad St. James. We were very happy with the food. Authentic and delicious. The dining environment was also very pleasant.

When I walked in I was greeted and seated right away. I ordered the Peppered Ribeye and it was cut up into tiny pieces and was super spicy. Also ordered the braised pork belly and that wasn't spicy but was delicious. The pork belly was savory and tender. They didn't come with rice, so I had to order rice on the side. The place was clean and ambiance was just right.

This is the best chinese restaurant in the world!!! Nothing more to say!!! Promise me :)

Wonder, authentic meal with great service and energy. It's a gem in this neighborhood.

Travelled from the States to London, stayed close to St James park. After 3 days, I started craving for authentic Chinese food. This restaurant exceeds my expectation in all aspects. Glad to find some authentic Sichuan food in the central location of London

My mum and I were both craving some spicy sichuan food so this place was perfect. The restaurant itself is much bigger than expected and the waiters were very nice about removing meat from some of their dishes. We got a tofu dish, a noodle dish, veggies, an eggplant stew, and my mum ordered a meat dish for herself. Everything was very authentic and actually spicy for once. Super delicious and I would definitely recommend it if you're craving si chuan food.

My girlfriend is Chinese and we've both agreed that it's the best and most authentic Sichuan food we've had in London. You won't be disappointed by the spicy level. Price is reasonable.

I loved this restaurant! Small restaurant with very attentive staff. Everyone was very friendly and the restaurant was very presentable. The food was great as well. Decent portion sizes and priced right. Will defiantly return if ever back in England

About a 10 minute walk from Westminster Abbey, and worth it if you're looking for good Chinese food. We ordered the Dim Sum appetizer, spicy fried squid (calamari), chicken dumplings, pork dumplings, kung pao chicken, and chicken chow mein. The kung pao was just okay, but the rest was delicious and flavorful. The staff was attentive and accommodating. Definitely worth the short walk even when your feet are as tired as ours were on our 3rd day in London.