Ping Pong (Soho)

Forget this palce, the food is precooked on mass (not to order), and kept warm. It's bland, expensive for it's low quality and arrived within minutes of us ordering. I paid £70 for dinner for two people, with a couple of sickly cocktails on a Friday night. Would not go back.
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A.T
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Saturday, August 09, 2008

I have been meaning to go to Ping Pong for months and eventually got round to it last night on the spur of the moment. I was hugely disappointed, the quality of the food is very poor. The dim sum is very bland and sparsely filled. The char siu buns were stodgy with little filling, the duck buns were all pastry, the prawn and bamboo shoot steamed had no flavour. It cost me £24 for dim sum for one person which was way too much to spend on a meal so tasteless. The decor is nice but I wouldn't go back.
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Catherine M
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I've never reviewed a restaurant on a website before but compelled to write about the Ping Pong experience as it made me so angry!

The 3 of us arrived about 6.45 last Wednesday and took our place in the (smallish) queue. After about 15 minutes we were at the front. We were told that there were no 'threes' available so we moved to the bar to wait. By this time a queue of at least 50 people had formed behind us, snaking out of the restaurant. Gladly we moved to the bar and ordered delicious cocktails - though no waiter could seemingly handle an order for more than one drink.

After about 20 minutes the queue had gone down but we were still waiting. We enquired when a space might be available and the waitress bustled off - and didn't come back. We waited ... and asked again. She said it wouldn't be long but could give us no exact time. After a while our glasses were empty and we still had no seats. Meanwhile, the queue had dwindled to nothing.

Eventually, after just over an hour with no straight answer (otherwise we'd have left earlier) and no food, we left. The only consolation is that we didn't pay for our drinks. I don't know if this is because the staff were so shamefaced or so inept but whatever.

All I can surmise is that Ping Pong must operate on a full houses basis ALL THE TIME. There were blatently groups of four leaving, but we were not seated because that would have meant one empty seat in the restaurant. And I know from previous visits that the tables downstairs sit 8 people, sharing and leaving at different times. So this was just inexcusable - and discriminatory I would say, against people that aren't in a group of 2 or 4.

As my brother said, it looked like the fast food of the dim sum world anyway, but at least you leave with a full stomach after a trip to Subway. And who wants to eat being watched by a queue of 50 people anyway? It's a total joke - on the customer.
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Lulu bear
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, May 19, 2008

As a Chinese living in London all my life, I regulary eat at dim sum joints across the city so I generally know what to expect. However, Ping Pong was totally unexpected and a disappointment after a friends suggestion to go there. Dishes were of tiny portion compared to the norm and many dim sum choices were experimental and average tasting at best. For example, the Chefs Special - Scallop with Asparagus fried dumpling (107 on the menu) came on a plate looking like 3 supermini scotch eggs and each one I would say is 90% filled with a mushroom. How much? £3.99. O My God! Also, you would expect a chinese restaurant with dim sum to serve noodle dishes. Don't expect any here.

To be fair the decor was okay, it was clean and the staff were generally friendly. I guess you pay mainly for the scenery and service and not for a good meal. Dim Sum for 6 = £90 + half full stomach

Nevertheless, experience counts and I'm glad I did try Ping Pong because now I know not to go there anymore and because it makes me appreciate proper dim sum places in London.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

I went along last night with a group of friends and really enjoyed it. The service was great - very speedy and friendly too. Went for the dumpling fix menu which was great value and yummy to boot. Atmosphere was buzzy and we all had a thoroughly lovely time. I will definately go back!
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, March 28, 2008

It's okay. The food is average, prices are average, some are on the expensive side, service is typically pretty bad, in line with normal pathetic London service I would say. Restaurant decor is very modern and fresh. A good place to go for dim sum that's not cripplingly expensive.
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DJC - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Saturday, March 08, 2008

Visited ping pong with my boyfriend last night and we were both utterly disappointed. The food was average, but I would recommend the steamed scallops with black bean (although £5 for 2 small scallops seemed a bit on the steep side). The service on the other hand was awful, after waiting 15 mintues for a table we then had to wait a further 15 mintues before anyone brought us a menu or took a drinks order. The drinks subsequently arrived after the food! After having to ask 3 times for our bill I was desperately ready to leave and after saying that I didn't want to pay the 12.5% service charge I was quizzed by the barman of all people as to why!!!! Very bizarre restaurant, if you want average dum sim and awful service then this is the place to go, I however will not be returning!
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laura
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Friday, February 22, 2008

I am Singaporean, and absolutely love tim-sum. Having heard some very positive comments and recommendations from my colleagues in London, I decided to give it a go.

It is a very trendy place, dimly lit, nice upbeat music, and attracts a very affluent younger clientele. When I was there, I had a rum coconut lychee cocktail which was absolutely divine! As for tim-sum, I have to say that there are far better quality tim-sum restaurants in London's Chinatown. Although the portions are charged at the same price as most restaurants in Chinatown, you are actually getting much less in terms of the actual ingredients. Take the sticky rice, there is hardly any meat or seafood in it, the same applies for the steamed tim-sum and the spring rolls.

It scores in terms of atmosphere and cocktails but tim-sum wise, I am afraid it is a no for me. Service wise was neutral. I rate Joy King Lau in London's Chinatown as one of the best for tim-sum.

Go there if you are after a trendy place. I must say when I stepped-in I was bowled over by the atmosphere and the contemporary decor.
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Dave
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Friday, February 15, 2008

So, me and my man visited Ping-Pong. We arrived and had to wait at the bar four ten minutes before being seated. He had an overpriced lager and i passed on the cocktails. We were seated downstairs on a cramped table. I could almost taste the food on the table next to us. When we ordered is was very unclear what we were supposed to do. The staff were as i have come to expect in over priced 'trendy' london hang outs, incompetent and foreign. I will never return.

yours unfaithfully

Daniel
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

This place is truly awful, I decided to pay Ping Pong a visit after some rather positive recommendations however I was bitterly disappointed. I only had the Won Ton Soup which was by far the worst I've ever had. No flavour, tiny portion ( I realise its only £3) but Wong Kei in Chinatown serves much larger and better quality version. On top of that the service was not exactly top quality either. All in all I will not be going back to this place anytime soon.
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Nadeem Saumtally
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, January 22, 2008