China Tang at The Dorchester

This is by far the worst Chinese I have ever been to in my life and I was fortunate to dine in many Chinese restaurants across the globe. In London Princess Garden, Kai, Yautcha and Hakkasan are all much better than China Tang. The food was on the whole tasteless and way below my expectations. The service was pathetic as the waiters were rude and seemed disinterested in their work. On the whole, I would not recommend this restaurant as it is a huge waste of time, if I wanted to enjoy the same dishes I would go to Princess Garden in Mayfair as the food is far superior there.
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Thursday, January 26, 2012

We were surprised to read some of the reviews so wanted to inform readers of our experiences of China Tang for a more balanced review. Good experiences are seldom written about, it's mainly the bad you hear about.

Having visited China Tang 4 times (well spaced out, as this restaurant is for special occasions only unless you have limitless funds) we were met with friendly but efficient staff. Once we had to wait for a table and were happy to sit in the cosy bar area and enjoy some of the yummy cocktails. Can we just point out here that other inconsiderate diners are responsible for tables being late, it is rarely the restaurants fault. They can't kick people out!

We have never had the same waitress therefore do not get special service as implied by a previous reviewer who mentioned "regular diners".

Having eaten in many excellent Asian restaurants and visited many Asian countries we have a good understanding of the vast range of Asian cuisine and still believe China Tang is up there with the best. Sadly many of the reviewers did not sample their best. Their speciality Peking Duck is delicious as well as the squid, lobster, beef - we could go on and on - and the staff have always recommended dishes when asked.

And the desserts? Wow, a very clever chef indeed. We have tried 10 different desserts during our visits (due to the occasional menu changes) and all have been amazing. From the warm chocolate pudding and the exotic fruit plate which always hit the spot to the scrumptious banana cake (my favourite) but there are many more to enjoy.

Our only "bad experience" was when we heard the Australian general manager's rant at a waitress which was completely uncalled for. Dealing with the public is difficult enough without having a manager like that! Luckily we have never seen the woman since but all credit to the waitress who put a cheerful smile on afterwards and just got on with the job.

All in all we love China Tang, the setting is beautiful and we would highly recommend the food and the staff (apart from the GM who isn't there often by all accounts so shouldn't spoil your experience!).

Don't be put off by other people's bad reviews, this really is a restaurant for a special occasion.
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Jo
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, March 23, 2011

This is probably one of the worst dining experiences my wife and i have had for a very long time. Celebrating my wifes birthday we decided to take 2 friends to China Tang. Our table was booked for 9pm and on arriving we were told to take a drink in the bar as the table wasnt ready, After one hour and 15 minutes and many conversations with the useless manager we finally sat down.

The service we received from our waitress was rushed and unhelpful especially as we asked for her advice as we hadnt been before, she wasnt interested in our helping us. After trying tasteless dim sum and watered chicken soup the duck and pancakes were served, it was now 11pm. The duck costing £45.00 was sliced before our eyes and tasted lovely however we were given just half of the duck. When we asked why we couldnt have the rest the manager advised us that the second half of the duck would come later. "Why", we said "we want it now.

By 11.30pm our main courses still hadnt come and so we kindly told the manager that we were leaving and after some discussion we did not pay for what we had. The manger of the restaurant was extremely rude and did not care about how we were treated often interupting us to kiss hello "regular diners" as he put it, instead of trying to make our dining experience worth while.

I strongly advise people against this overpriced badly managed restaurant and will tell anyone that askes never to go there.
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Richard
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, February 27, 2011

We went to this restaurant two weeks ago, on a Saturday night. We managed to find a table for 6 the day before, at 9.30 pm. We were received at the bar, which has a very good feel, but left there until around 10.30! The restaurant is very big but packed and noisy. The food was great, I disagree with the other reviews in this sense. We had several dishes including Pecking duck, crab fritters, chicken with vegetables, lamb, noodles..they were all great. I was also impressed by the chocolate desserts, including the chocolate dumplings. I would go back every day only for those! Overall a place worth going back to
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Marta
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, October 24, 2010

We ate at CT on Sunday 26th Sept. A treat by a friend, sadly, I suggested it going on what I had previously heard.

1st of all, we arrived at 17:30 hours, we were asked if we had a reservation, pouir answer was no, but were showed to a table right outside the kitchen which was noisy, we changed tables.

The room was cold, the a/c was to cold. We had the table for 1,5 hours, and it took them ages to complete the meal w hich was just a starter each & 3 main courses.

LONG wait, ill advised menu and what the food was. Starters arrived 25 mins after ordering. Then the main courses arrived in dribs and drabs. one meat dish, then noodles, then 10 mins more before other mains arrived. the noodles were cold by then..

OK food, too expensive for the service and quality. Theyre catering for people with more money than taste.

Not a good choice and wouldnt recommend going there, choose Royal China or other chinese that have been recommended here by other reviews.

NO apologies for the delays, quite the opposite of questioning us on our views.
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Anton
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Love the Dorchester and wanted to love CT

Been twice, once social and once with work, so it had its chances to impress. Disappointing - good but not great Chinese for £££.

Too crowded tables unless you are special in some way e.g. hotel guests/loads of cash

For the money far better going elsewhere like Hakkasan for special food & great surroundings or Hunan in Pimlico better food at half the price
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mcgregor - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Terrible service, terrible food, terrible atmosphere. Waste of time, waste of money.

This place is designed for people with more money than sense, the botox must be tampering with their tastebuds. The owners should be ashamed at their extortion. What ever happened to opening a restaurant because you make good food and people welcome. How has it come to this?! Eating at China Tang makes me despair. Don't go! Support your local Chinese instead.
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Alma Patterson
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, July 20, 2010

rude and inpolite! i asked for the soup to be reheated because it wasnt hot enough, poor attitude... bad service... fish wasnt fresh so i asked the manager if i can get some compliment, he said its not his fault the food wasnt up to my standards! did not enjoy the experience at all...!!!!
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fred
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Sunday, May 09, 2010

Visited the restaurant for a dinner with my wife and a visiting friend. We had a big afternoon tea before hand so we didn't go for a big course but kept it rather simple. Although the interior of the restaurant was not my cup of tea, the service was good. Certainly comparable with the other up market Chinese in Town. Having read the comments by others on this site, I was bit worried about the food, but all of us felt it was quite good. I've had lots of Chinese in my life, in this country and elsewhere (HK, Singapore, US, Japan, etc) and I really thought it was quite ok. Naturally, I've had better and the China Club in HK is in a different league, but for London, it was quite good. As for the price, what do you expect. Its in the Dorchester!
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Michael
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 5
Monday, April 06, 2009

After reading all the bad reviews and "some" good ones I decided to see it for myself. It was a big mistake, the food was awful and totally overpriced. Royal China is so much better and cheaper than this restaurant.

If this was my restaurant or I was working in it I would feel embarrassed to serve this food. I would agree with other people' s comments that waiting staff tried to force us into ordering more expensive drinks and more expensive food. The service was terrible food even worst. Needless to say I will never go back....
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Monday, February 16, 2009