For pictures, see Greedy Diva @http://greedydiva.blogspot.com/2010/11/dumplings-legend-chinatown.html Sometimes you just need to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon eating dim sum. Last week, I wrote about Leong's Legends, a decent Taiwanese restaurant in Chinatown which recently opened a dim sum offshoot, Dumplings' Legend, just around the corner on Gerrard Street. Reading comments on my post about LL's excellent Siu Loung Bao (or Xiao Long Bao) brought on cravings. It was time to investigate the newbie's offerings. On the site of the former Golden Harvest, the downstairs room is large and airy with white walls and minimalistic touches. It's fresher looking than some of its neighbours - quite like an Asian St John's in terms of decor. We were lucky to be seated at the front, where the whole wall is a window and the sunshine flitted in over our lunch as we watched the characters of Chinatown amble by. Upstairs is more poky, but does the job. We arrived about 2pm - prime time it seems. The dining room was packed and a small queue was growing rapidly. However, 3 dumpling makers were at work behind a glass panel at the entrance, rolling, folding and stuffing delicate dumpling wrappers. It's mesmerising to watch while you wait - although I do wonder how long it takes before RSI sets in. "Whatever", you say. To the food, the food... Our knobbly cheung-fun arrive first - three generous, slinky, slug-like noodles stuffed with ample slices of sea bass and picked vegetables. A fair price at £3.30. The next table orders the spicy stir fried cheung-fun which looks good and appears to be a popular choice around the room. Steamed sticky rice in a bamboo tube is delicious but so thick it borders on congealed - a decent set of biceps is required to scoop it out (£4.50). Barbecued pork buns are excellent - fluffy and filled with big, juicy splashes of sweet, red barbecued meat (3 for £2.50). Crystal prawn dumplings are small, pretty things, sweet and plump - but nothing which stands out above the norm here (£2.50). Chicken wrapped in banana leaf with Chinese is a highlight - deliciously moist, with satisfying chunks of chicken and Chinese sausage (£2.20). Finally, out come the pork Siu Loung Bao, for which Leong's Legends are renowed (£6.00). At Dumplings' Legend, they're also fantastic - the little smurf's hut shaped wrapper is quite delicate and so you have to be careful not to pierce it, spilling broth onto the table. It snuggles a parcel of meat within as well as a warm soupy broth which explodes into your mouth on first bite. These should be an essential part of your dim sum order here. The accompanying soy sauce contains thick slithers of shredded ginger - a lovely touch. We finish with a serve of 3 tiny egg tarts (£2.20) - these are TPG's thing more than mine. They're nothing special, but I quite like the fact they don't taste overly eggy, Service is efficient and friendlier than you might experience at some Chinatown restaurants. We paid around £15 per head including tea and service, although we could have done with 1 less dish and 1 less pot of tea (at £2.20 each) had we not been feeling so greedy. Both Leong's Legends and Dumplings' Legend highlight their "highly recommended" dishes with 2 stars on the menu. Interestingly, "Legends specialties" are distinguished with 1 star. I'm not sure what the distinction means. Dumplings' Legend is good, and it's already popular. I think it may become my cheap and cheerful dim sum restaurant of choice when those Sunday afternoon cravings set in. read more

There are hits and misses but overall is a good bet when in chinatown. http://chopstix2steaknives.blogspot.com/2010/11/and-legend-continues-withdumplings.html read more

Dumpling were pretty good, dont eat anything else..like foreals, if they dont got anymore legendary stuff!walk out. Im doing you a favor read more

Dumplings' Legend - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

What we ate: - dim sum platter 8 pieces, 12£ - bbq pork buns, 3 pieces 3£ - chicken noodles, around 8£ - tsing tao beer - green tea bottle, 3.50£ pros: - dim sum was nice, although primarily prawn based - the ambience is quite hip, with fish tanks and china, although you get paper napkins - you can see the chefs hand making the dumplings - good service with friendly staff - the owner greets and is very nice Cons: - quite overpriced for what you get - the green tea bottle was one of those imported teas that taste quite artificial - when you walk in the smell is a bit heavy, but fades over time - the chicken noodles were pretty standard and not really special or worth 8£ Overall I am neutral about this location. read more

I've recently read a good review about this place and since I've walked past it so many times I decided to give it a go. I went with two friends for dinner a couple of days ago and I was left more than slightly disappointed. Given that the place was named after dumplings, I was eager to order some to show my friends what traditional Chinese dumplings were like. To my disappointment, they didn't have dumplings on the menu, instead they had Xiao Long Baos, which are stuffed Shanghai buns. Was it that difficult to get the name right? Dumplings are dumplings and buns are buns, they are different things. Dumplings originated from Beijing whilst Xiao Long Baos are from Shanghai, they made in completely different ways. It's like calling a haggis a Cumberland sausage this has already got me started on the wrong note. I scanned down the menu and was left confused because most of the dishes were Cantonese, but there were some Malay curries and some Szechuan cold starters. I really didn't know what to order, so I suggested we order something my friends haven't tried before. So we ordered vegetarian Xiao Long Baos, drunken chicken, Malay chicken curry and a vegetable dish. To be fair, the vegetarian Xiao Long Baos were nice they were well made, nicely seasoned and had tasty filling. But rest of the dishes were just bog standard China town. I had hoped with the opening of places like Bar Shu and Empress of Szechuan (though both Szechuan style food) signalled the arrival of more authentic Chinese food but Legend just felt like a step backwards. (sigh.) To finish the meal off, when the bill came it was headed Golden Harvest seriously could you get anymore careless I at least expected the name on the bill to say 'Dumplings Legend' not the old Chinese restaurant that was once here and had shut down two years ago! My friends were left unimpressed too and had set me a challenge for a better suggestion next time sorry! read more

An average restaurant for Chinese dim sum. Lower your expectation especially for their service. read more

Dumplings' Legend - Chipped sprout used in serving their Chinese tea - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

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Spicy xiao long bao had a nice peppercorn flavor. Chicken noodle soup was perfect for the cold weather and spicy ground pork with spinach was on point. Will go there again. read more

Best xiao long bao I've ever had. Highly recommend the stir fried bok choy and the pork belly as well. I unfortunately don't live in London anymore, but I think about this place monthly at the very least; NOTHING in the states beats this place when it comes to soup dumplings. I used to go here and follow up my visit with some Happy Lemon and creme taiyaki from a nearby bakery (custard-filled waffle fish). Will return some day, I'm sure of it! read more

The food came out really fast, I wish so did I... The only thing legendary about this place is the inability of EVERY single waiter to speak English. Waitress got angry when we she didn't know how to answer our questions and just left. Food was ok nothing more, service was awful! Food was thrown to the table and waiters just disappeared into thin air, but soon as we put down our utensils the checks magically appeared. Bottom line, spare yourself. read more

Outrageously expensive and worst dumplings ever. Avoid at all cost. Don't believe the hype. It might have been good in the past, no longer. £14 for 6 disgusting dim sum? No thank you. read more

The staff was rude. When I got there by myself and saw the line, I asked the male host how long the wait was and he sarcastically said "can you guess?" and kept walking away . read more

Service was good, but the food was not. Also very pricey compare to what we are used to.

This place opened in Aug, 2010 and is owned by Leong of Leong's Legends, so the food is going to be very similar. The Xiaolongbao (shanghai dumplings) are good and so is the beef noodle soup. Don't expect much from the ambiance, but the service is really good. For better ambiance and better overall experience Leong's Legends around the corner is better. read more

Solid soup dumplings. The make them fresh which makes all of the difference. The non dumpling dishs are ok but not the Star of the show. Get a couple of veg dishes as a side but stick with the dumplings. read more

This place charges 12.5% service fee, but they even did not serve guests. The waitresses were rude and ignored us, seemed very unhappy when we tried to order some water. When we asked about the service fee since it is not necessarily required in the UK, they were mad and told us that everyone has to pay the tips in restaurants, it is same in the United States. And did not even listen to us, they were like: pay the service fee otherwise you could not leave. Really disgusting experience in this restaurant. 服务员没素质又冷漠，从进门到最后买单不会说一个你好和谢谢，一脸不高兴嫌麻烦，最后还无理强加小费，说英国美国都一样都要给小费，一副高高在上无所谓的样子 read more

Prices are ok. Food is ok. Service is poor. Would think twice before going back.

I had the pork dumplings, steamed ribs and chicken feet for dimsum. They were all REALLY good. Filling was flavorful and wrap texture was perfect. The other items were also well done. But the item I LOVED was the spicy beef soup!!! Meat was tender and there was lots of it. Noodles were chewy and cooked perfectly and the broth was so tasty and spicy and full of fresh herbs! I'd go back just for the soup! read more

Dumplings were really good. Service was not on par with the food and final touch came when they asked us to leave quickly after we paid as they needed our table for the next customers. read more

Had the grilled pork dumplings, they were served without a day e which I thought was odd. But the shrimp and pork dumpling soup was amazing, fantastic e flavored soup and the thin dumplings were filled with delicious pork and shrimp. Could have eaten another bowl. Service was unimpressive read more

for a place that has Dumplings in the name, one would expect a menu full of just that: dumplings. and yet. there was far less then i hoped for. the food was pretty good, although several of the dishes tasted pretty similar, and there were not nearly enough sauces (in my world, everythign is a vehicle for sauce), the service was lack luster, but all in all it did hit the spot. a bit more expensive then i would have warrented, but whatever. read more

Though I had my doubts about this place, we came here for dim sum recently, and were pleasantly surprised! Like my inner-fatty, we ordered too much food, but everything we ordered was delicious. I especially loved the crystal shrimp dumplings. It was pretty clear that everything was made in house... unlike some other "dim sum" places in Chinatown. read more

Dumplings' Legend should get 4 stars, and its food does, though the ambience lets it down. Dumplings' Legend is described as Cantonese style restaurant, that said, chilli laden Sichuan dishes, as well as dishes from the Chinese diaspora also feature as do the legendary Northern Chinese Xiao Long Bao (pronounced Siu Loong Bao). Xiao Long Bao are large steamed dumplings - a bit like classic dim-sum with the robust and earthy flavours of salted pork, turnip and spring onions. There were many Chinese diners there, often young, but also prosperous and (I imagine) either students or workers in Chinese enterprises setting up in London. That's the sort of place Dumplings' Legend is at once homely, but also aspirational in style an expression of where China is at now. We ate there in the evening so used the evening menu, but I gather there is also a good dim-sum menu earlier in the day. Food & Service We were pleasantly dealt with and seated after a few minutes (the restaurant was v. busy). Unfortunately we were seated right next to the washing up station for small porcelain bowls and spoons the noise! That small negative aside, the food more than redeemed our faith on choosing Dumplings' Legend. We started with cucumber in chilli and Sichuan style WonTon both delicious beyond belief and a masterclass in blending various types of soy sauce, sugar and oils to create super flavoursome relishes. We moved on to Venison in Ginger Wine, Malaysian style Chicken Curry, Salt and Pepper Tofu (stuffed with minced prawn), and Choi Sum with garlic with one bowl of rice between us. All the dishes were delicious and a world away from the brightly coloured sticky pastes that seem to pass for 'Chinese' food in indifferent places across the land. This food absolutely sang with flavours. We washed the lot down with Orange Juice and Mineral Water. We didn't try the Xiao Long Bao, we will next time though :-) Facilities I can see what's being reached for here a kind of modern Chinese aesthetic; clean, modern and confident. And by and large that is what the facilities are, but there is a sense of things starting to look worn (stair carpet) and cluttered (all those notices haphazardly stuck to the walls at the waiters' ordering terminals). What's needed is a Mary Portas style ruthless makeover keeping the best of what is there and improving what isn't so good. Toilets are upstairs so not disabled friendly, and access to the restaurant is up three steps too (no ramp). Price We paid approx £32 each not expensive, not cheap but a fair price for what we had. We didn't feel we had been taken advantage of. Overall I like this place. I will go back to try the Xiao Long Bao and soups! read more

Four stars for the soup dumplings (as good as the ones i had in Hong Kong) and that's about it. The service isn't good but the dumplings are worth the trip. read more

Amazing dim sum and noodles! That is all I had but I enjoyed every bite and it was def a good surprise because I normally am not so happy after a meal in Chinatown! Must go if you want to go for Chinese esp dumplings! read more

The Dim Sum in Dumplings' Legend is of high standards for a Chinese restaurant in Europe. The famous pork soup dumplings (£6 for 8 dumplings) were good, but could have been served hotter, like most of the dishes I had. The Pork buns (3 for £2.50) and crystal prawn dumplings (8 for £6) were good. What I think was Fried Vermicelli Noodles & Hofen with mixed seafood and scrambled eggs had a few hard, uncooked bits, and the sauce was over-gooey - that dish did not impress me. Otherwise, Dumplings' Legend is a great place to go for acceptable-quality dim sum with a wide variety of dishes, as it has large tables, a bright and cool interior, and steaming bamboo skyscrapers. read more

We came here during our trip to London in August. We really liked the xiao long bao, which was basically the only dish we ordered since we were so eager to try it! Our favourite xiao long bao was the spicy pork which was delicious! We also liked the green tea pudding with smoked plum. The staff was ok, they were quite friendly but as usual in chinatown after you have finished your meal it always seems like they immediately want you to pay in order to kick you out.. The Restaurant itself and the restrooms were very clean, which is definitely a plus!! read more

Worst service ever! Waited 30 minutes to get the waitress attention without any success. When we arrive, the table next to ours was empty for 10 min, an Asian family sits and 5 min later their order was done and their dishes on the table when we were still waiting to place our order! Unacceptable for any kind of restaurant, especially when it wasn't even full! They are racist and rude. We left after 30 minutes having ask 4 times for the waitress to take our order. Avoid this place at all cost!! read more

I think this is probably the best Chinese Dim sum restaurant in the UK, I love everything especially the Durian pastry.

This has been my favourite dumpling restaurant in London and it used to give me my xiao long biao fix which I have missed having moved from Sydney which has amazing asian food! I went last night and was extremely disappointed. We were seated near the kitchen and could see packets and packets of pre-fab, identically packaged frozen dumplings being brought out from a freezer. The dumpling chefs were not making dumplings as usual but were sitting behind the glass, reheating the frozen dumplings. The dumplings that are usually heavenly were tasteless and were leaking goopy fatty liquid. Not happy! read more

There are definitely better places if you are looking to get full. The dishes are little expensive and the amount is very small! We had San Bei Ji(Three Cup Chicken) for 10GBP and it was only like 5 small pieces of chicken. We ordered a steam fish for 19GBP and it was only a half of the fish. They used the other parts of the fish for other dishes. Settings and atmosphere was pretty good for a Chinese restaurant, modern feel. But totally not recommended!! We spent about 50GBP(Two People) and had to get Burger King right after we leave the restaurant. read more

Very nice dumplings and the manager had amazing service! Really on the ball. I would highly recommend this place.

The xiao long bao was good but the chili dumplings were cold and doughy. Duck was too dry and they shredded it to hide it. Wouldn't go back... read more

complete utter garbage, i ordered rice w 3 bbq meats. the chicken & pork were completely fat lard. absolutely no meat. disgusting. also ordered the "egg fried rice". never had a plainer fried rice. literally white rice w -8 eggs in it & was 5 pounds. what a rip. una mierda completa (a complete shit). waitress was also AWOL. only good thing was that the food came out quick but if i cooked that mediocre my food would be done in 3 minutes too. stay away. read more

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Pretty decent food but service was slow and they mixed up the order. The spicy pork soup dumplings were good so I'd be happy to eat 100 more. read more

Specifically rated for xiaolongbao. Excellent broth, thin dough, delicious pork. Even though the place is in the middle of touristy area, the dumplings were excellent. I cannot attest to the rest of their menu. read more

Good value, swift service, and great xiao long bao. Spicy pork was a-ok, but their signature pork and crab meat dumplings were ridiculous and out of this world. I wish I lived in London just to have this great dim sum joint nearby. read more

Dumplings Legend is a Chinese restaurant in China Town serving a mixture of Cantonese and Shanghainese cuisine, it positioned itself as a specialist in Siu Loung Bao, a steamed dumpling with pork and hot broth. However the quality is extremely questionable, as the dumpling pastry is thick and rubbery which is totally opposite to what a good plate of Siu Loung Bao should be, other dim sums are also very average as far as China Town standard goes. You can get far better value elsewhere nearby. read more

Went here because the other place I was supposed to go to had unfriendly service. This one was a lot nicer even though we only ordered three mains for four person sharing. We tried the dumplings and roast duck noodle. The noodle was not special but the dumplings were so good as they told. So it seems that dumpling is their specialty (from the restaurant name, doh!). read more

Had the Xiao Long Bao with Pork and Crab meat, it was ok. Stuff here wasn't that legendary.

Yummy dumplings- do the steamed, don't bother with fried- to claggy. There is questionable service. To be fair, it was a Saturday and packed to the hilt. The pork belly was delicious as was the roast duck&pork combo / also, they do not accept American Express read more