Royal China (Queensway)

We'd booked a table and we settled in. The meny was ok, but quite pricy. We choose the set meny (fish). I enjoyed the food, but not the atmospere. We were meeting friends we haven't seen for ages. We weren't able to talk, we had to shout in order to conversate, Overall it was to much noise and resembled more the school canteen. I don't think I'll go there again.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Monday, July 21, 2008

Well, where do I start. We arrived and were told the table we had booked was not available and we'd have to wait. No apology, just a matter of fact statement. A few minutes later the waitress started shouting out our name rather than politely approaching us. The food was okay, but the service is dire. For the entire evening you get the feeling they are just rushing you through as quickly as possible to free the table. They start clearing up the starter dishes as soon as the first person at the table has finished eating and hover over the other people while they finish. The waitress was clearly unimpressed when my husband ordered dessert as it meant we would be occupying the table for a bit longer, and the desserts are cheaper than the main courses.

Although the food is better than average Chinese, the prices more than compensate and the diabolical service destroys the experience. One to avoid.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Friday, April 25, 2008

A favorite of mine- I happen to really like the black lacquer (not marble) interior and the restaurants generous size stops it feeling claustrophobic.

The staff don't smile that much and its probably best not to wonder why- its the same as most chinese restaurants in central London. But I have never found the service to be bad or uncourteous.

The food is average to good Dim Sum, with plenty of variety. Prices are a little higher than normal.

My favorite thing about this place is the variety of diners- its a great place for people watching.
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Will
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Monday, March 24, 2008

It was after Parents’ Evening and we wanted an excuse to celebrate, so my father took us to the Queensway branch. Apparently it’s his favourite place to eat in London, so I reluctantly agreed despite the hefty bill I was dreading.

First impressions were good: it was evident from the décor that we were entering the world of haute cuisine. The room was fringed with black marble and specked with gold; there were mirrors everywhere to make the area seem larger than it actually is. Surrounding us were haughty Chinese businessmen there on (expense-paid, no doubt) corporate dinners over which many deals were surely made. Our table was spacious and at no time did I feel claustrophobic.

Unfortunately it seems like they did not pay as much attention to the food as they did to the design. We started off with a selection of cold cuts which included pork belly, jelly fish and some others. It was delicious, certes, probably the best dish of the evening, but still far too expensive for that small of a quantity. Next we had stir-fried water spinach in beancurd sauce (the parents just had to order some vegetables), again a rip-off at £8. I could make the same dish for less than £2.

Like most pretentiously posh restaurants they don’t give you the actual price of some of the most expensive dishes – you are teased by the label “seasonal price” and left to wonder how much that fish actually took out of your wallet. An impressive and generous gesture on a date, yes, but for some reason my father decided to order the steamed sea bass with ginger and scallion anyway, despite it being something we can easily cook ourselves. What arrived was an unimpressive, undercooked fish which was too mild for my tastes.

Lastly we had a sizzling sautéed beef with chilli and black bean sauce. Sizzling dishes being new to me, it did look very cool when it arrived but then quickly lost its novelty. The annoying thing was that it was even burnt at the bottom and I had to scrape some of the meat out. Not what you want to be doing at a £100 restaurant: shatters the whole illusion of grandeur.

The grand total came up to about £80 for three people without wine, which to be honest isn’t too bad in retrospect. It wasn’t that the food at Royal China was bad by any means; it’s simply that it isn’t good enough to warrant the price tags it waves about. I could get just as decent food in a Chinese restaurant for a fraction of the price. The brand and the décor is certainly not enough to bring me back to this place, except maybe on a date to impress or to try their dim sum at lunch (I still have high hopes for that).

Oh, and don’t invite your parents the next time you go fine dining – they make terrible choices!
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Arthur
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Sunday, February 17, 2008

The food is excellent. The dim sum is the freshest and tastiest and it is very light. Their pastry is to die for as it melts in the mouth and try their custard tarts, freshly made and incomparable.
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Janice Luby
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, December 09, 2007

Went there in mid-November to catch up with friends for yum cha. Note, we are all Chinese and frequent yum cha places in HK, Australia and other places.

I've heard rumoured reviews through other Chinese friends that Royal China (the Canary Wharf one anyway) was quite good but cost a bit more than the usual yum cha places we frequented in London so I was kinda keen to try this place out.

The staff seemed friendly enough when we first arrived as they liked to play with my baby daughter and helped us get a baby seat. From that point on, things went downhill.

Food was just typical dim sum like any other yum cha/dim sum restaurant of a bearable standard. Service from the staff was rather odd and seemed understaffed for a Sunday lunch. We asked 4 times for another pair of chopsticks and nothing happened so we picked a new pair off another table. The food we ordered were sent to the table next to ours and no mention was made of the error. Since we weren't too impressed by the service, we chose not to pay the FULL "discretionary" charge stated on the bill, to which the girl asked us WHY we weren't paying the amount and we explained. Her response became quite short and unhappy with us for this.

On top of that, I don't understand how anyone can eat in what seemed like total darkness since the walls and ceiling are all BLACK. I don't know about you but I'm not a fan for eating food inside what seems like a coffin room.

Not very impressed with this place.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Sunday, December 02, 2007

I was a little apprehensive about going here because of the previous reviews. We arrived at 7:30 for out booked table, the receptionist was polite, courteous, and even made some small jokes on the way to the table........

Some of our party were running a little late, the waiter took our drinks order and provided nibbles while we waited....

When the waiter came to take our order, we advised him that we were have a lot of difficulty in choose because and needed some help, he said not a problem and brought a senior waiter over, who made some recommendations to us, based on our like dislikes.........

The starter arrived promptly, all of the courses (all 4) arrived in a timely fashion, and with an unobtrusive service.

We spent 3 hours at the table and at no point felt rushed to leave, the food was some of the best I have tasted in London.

As a party of 6 people with a variety of taste / view is was heart warming to see that no one could think of one thing they didn't like

I will return to Royal China again, and I will recommend it......

The one tip I would offer is to book!!!
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Clayps
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 26, 2007

Waitresses are stern and unfriendly. They do not smile!!! It is weird!!! Some also do not seem to speak English. They gave us the wrong order. We ordered spare ribs, but they gave us something else which looked like knobbly pigs feet. We tried to explain the error twice, but no one seemed to understand. So we paid for something we did not eat and left it at that. Food was great, but this place could do so much better with better waitstaff.
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jenny
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Saturday, September 22, 2007

The service and attitude is extremely poor. Do not go to this restaurant (Canary Wharf branch) if you want to have a pleasant evening. We have decided that we are not prepared to put up with it anymore.
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warren
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 5
Sunday, August 19, 2007

I have been going to the Queenway branch of Royal China for five years now & I have never been badly treated. That's why I found some of your reader's comments a bit unfair. OK. Their staffs might not be the most curteous in london but they have never been rude, not in my experience anyway. I enjoy eating out regularly and I found their seasonal dishes always interesting. (Don't always stick to the same old sweet & sour or crispy duck-there is a lot more to Chinese food than that) In term of price, this place is not cheap but not unreasonably expensive like some places where you are only paying for the decoration, not the food. Having lived in Hong Kong for 10 years I can honestly say this place is the closest you can get to an authentic Hong Kong style restaurant, i.e. wonderful Dim Sum at lunch and a comprehaensive menu at night to suit all pockets. Me& my friends spend on average £10.00 per person for Dim Sum & about £20.00 per person for dinner which I think is resonable for london. Since you can share all the dishes in Chinese restaurant I find it works out cheaper the more people you invite and, of course more fun too.
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lee - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, August 15, 2007