Shanghainese at the top of its game. Xiao Long Bao to die for. Dim sum as good as any I've had in the NY/NJ metro area. Lobster was amazingly fresh and served over perfect ginger scallion sauce. The greens were as fresh as any I've tried. Top tip: Reserve in advance. This place fills up quick from walk ins. Sits in Chinatown near all the tourist spots. read more

Joy King Lau - Lobster over ginger garlic noodles. - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

Stumbled upon this spot because we just needed to rest for a bit, and they had patio seats. We were pleasantly surprised, I'm always on the hunt for some good rice noodle rolls, and they were pretty good. Service was excellent as well. This was my first Chinese restaurant experience in the UK, I'd say it was not bad at all. Come for dim sum if you're in Chinatown or Leicester Square area. read more

Joy King Lau - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

I've been coming here for 20+ years. After four years, since the last visit, it is still a deep menu and the choice of Chinese women friends, whom I know to be the exceedingly picky about Chinese restaurants tell me to look for them. They're here. That's a great sign. It's followed by a menu full of legit food. This time I'm a solo. Ordered the duck noodle soup and some dim sum. 1st time downstairs, in their three story restaurant. Always clean. No one outside hustling you to come in. Today, the food was a bit off. A ton of little shattered bones in the duck in the duck noodle soup. Broth was weak, and flavorless. Dim sum was tasty but overcooked. Hard stuck on the paper. No leading edge quality anymore. Service has all the warmth of an ice cave. Manager is arguing with one of her dishwashers during service. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sad. It's been a place of many good memories. read more

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I was looking forward to eating here based on some of the positive reviews, especially regarding the Peking Duck. Bottom line: nothing special at all here. The duck was simply average and nothing better than other spots in Chinatown. Definitely not worth any detour to dine here. read more

Every time or every visit to London We always come to Chinese restaurant . My favorite dishes are cold duck tongues and crispy pork belly . It can be very busy with people waiting to get in during peak hours read more

Joy King Lau - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

Service is very slow. The servers would ignore you. Inattentive of the orders. They forgot some of our orders. Food was just ok. I've had better read more

Chinese restaurants are not known for their service especially busy ones like this. The dim sum is quite alright but I have tried a few dim sum places in Chinatown and they all tastes alright so don't bother queuing up for it if there's a huge queue, anyone in Chinatown would do tbh. Highlight was their wine. It wasn't bad at all and it was a good pour - they charged around 6 quid for it which is very surprising. Other than that, nothing really special. We ordered not too much but end up paying around 23 pp so not the cheapest. read more

Joy King Lau - Dim sum - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

Awesome food Authentic. Personal. Warm and comfortable I would return here. I have no more words but I want to recommend this place but I need 85 read more

I had high hopes for this place since it was rated four stars. My rating is two and a half Stars. Certainly with all the other options in Chinatown this is not a four-star rated restaurant. Like many of the other reviewers I agree the service is terrible and rude. That's probably why they automatically add the tip into the bill. The food was not terrible it was decent. But considering that when we walked in it was probably only around 20% full he would think that they would be happier and friendlier to their customers. I guess if all the other restaurants in Chinatown are full and this one has open seats it would be an option. read more

It's a small Chinese restaurant with outdoor seating. Food was good. Chicken feet were little tougher. Vermicelli was good but portions were small. Other than that it was good Chinese food read more

Joy King Lau - Singapore spicy vermicelli - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

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Great food, service and reasonably priced. They were very busy but were able to sit us upstairs. I keep thinking that I want to go back

Multi-level restaurant in Chinatown/Leicester Square. They were somewhat busy for dinner on a weekend. A good extensive menu. We ordered white rice, Asian veggie, brisket pot, and salt and pepper porkchop. Food came out at a good place. Servers were really nice and spoke English, Cantonese, and Chinese Mandarin. Food was really good, slightly on the pricier side compare to USA. read more

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Food was great as expected but, what we didn't like is that the establishment is small and tight. Tables are to close to each other and tables are small. It was hard to maneuver the plates cause we ordered many plates. read more

The Chinatown in London is so lit! Many places had long lines. Luckily this place didn't so we stopped by for a light dinner. We ordered the Cantonese style duck and a vegetable dish. The duck was quite tasty with lots of fatty skin, but the pieces didn't have much meat on them. The veggies were nice and garlicky. Huge portion of veggies. Food came super quick. read more

Joy King Lau - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

Great food and great service. The dumplings and chicken with vegetables were delicious.

I have a friend who is even more obsessed with dumplings, including dim sum, then I am, so we were excited to get together to eat some! The food came out a little erratically but generally was enjoyable - the classic har gau, siu mai, cheong fun, char sui buns etc were all good, although I think some of their cooking is a bit sloppy (possibly also they are cooking from frozen). I didn't like the turnip cake but I guess that's probably personal taste. Price is fine. Overall I don't think you'll do much better in Chinatown for dim sum. It's interesting to see from other reviews how mixed the experiences are though. They seemed really keen for us to leave even though no one was waiting for a table - at least you know you won't be waiting for the bill! read more

Worst Chinese food I have ever had. Ordered the Kung Pao Chicken. It was not Kung Pao. It was gritty. The egg fried rice was ok, until I crunched on an eggshell. The service was rude....even by London standards. From the greeter that didn't greet, just shouted "how many?!" To the waitress who didn't crack a smile. The prices are almost as disgusting as the food and service. I do not like to write bad reviews but I felt completely misled by the 4star rating on this app. Something's fishy and I wanted to warn others not to waste their money here. read more

We stayed at the W London and so this was right around the corner from us. It is steps off the beaten path but well worth it for the adventurer. We arrived soon after opening and were seated right away. I advise getting there early as they have a very small number of tables, which filled up quickly. I grew up on and looove Dim Sum. It is the Chinese answer to brunch with a nice full hot pot of tea. We order the Bolay or Pu-Erh tea for its health benefits because this is what my YengYeng (grandmother in my father's side) would order. I like drinking this tea because I feel it helps cut through any fatty/greasy/ fried food. On the white tablecloth, there is a typical menu along with a checklist for Dim Sum, where you mark the items you would like. On average, around €5.50 per dish. The staff quickly provided the hot tea and were eager to take our checklist of goodies. The first item to arrive was our egg custard tart. This arrived warm which was nice. This had a nice flaky crust (my favorite) with a not too sweet custard. You do have to ask for any condiments and I always have hot chili oil and soy sauce with my Dim Sum. The next dish to arrive is my husband's favorite, which is the Pan Fried Turnip Paste with pork and shrimp (The English description is not very appetizing but is similar to potato latkes, I think). The edges were very crispy and nicely browned with the inside being very creamy. The cooking technique was perfect. My only minor disappointment for this dish was the lack of dried shrimp and sausage bits that I normally would find in this dish. Otherwise, still delicious when dipped into the hot chili oil mixed with soy sauce. The deep fried Savory Pork and Shrimp Croquettes for €5 was perfectly cooked as well. If you like the texture of mochi, this may be the dish for you. The outside was light and crispy from being deep fried. The chewy white ground rice enveloped a minced pork and shrimp filling. Lovely. I have eaten many a steamed or baked BBQ pork bao. However, not having Dim Sum for several years, my expectations were very high. As soon as I picked up the steaming hot bao, I knew it was going to be good. Why? Because, the texture of the bao was so light and fluffy not only in my hand, but in my mouth as well. An epic BBQ pork bao! The tables were clean with white tablecloths. The walls were painted a nice soft color accented by large Asian art on the walls that created a lovely and appropriate environment for their very authentic food. You could feel the satisfaction of everyone eating in the room, including me and hubby. Enjoy. read more

Food was a solid 3.5 stars. The crispy beef is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. Asked for dishes that had no shrimp in them due to someone being allergic. Fried rice came with shrimp when I had asked twice for no shrimp. The attitude was just eat around it. If you have severe food allergies I don't recommend this restaurant. read more

We came here for dim sum since I haven't had dim sum in forever. I thought the service was fine (but then again, I spoke Chinese to them so I think that helped). We got the following dishes for 2 adults and 2 kids: Choi Sum with Garlic - Good Plain Porridge - Good. They don't add salt, so add as you please Har Gow & Siu Mai - Good. Family approved. Shanghai dumplings - Good. They were pretty big, moist with the soup and tasty Steamed pork buns - Good. We ordered 3 of these bc the kids loved them Egg tart - You get 2 of them, but it was perfect amount for the kids I'd like to try other dishes so we may be back! read more

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EXCELLENT! ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT! Four of us went to celebrate lunar new year and could not have asked for a better experience. We were seated very quickly despite our mid/large party. We were expecting to wait a while due to the holiday and we're pleasantly surprised when the wait was so short. We ordered Set menu B, a bottle of sake for the table and a small order of assorted dim sum. Everything we ate was INCREDIBLE. If I could give six stars I would. The courses were very well paced and the staff was kind and respectful. We couldn't be more happy and are excited to return soon. read more

Joy King Lau - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

Mapo tofu is good. The clay pot chicken is bad. It is not even in the clay pot. There is almost no service, but they charge default high tips. Crazy expensive. 6＋pounds for each bowl of rice. read more

We were working in Leicester Square and had a craving for an easy lunch that wasn't going to weigh us down. The reviews looked great for Joy King Lau and I'm glad we stumbled across it. It was still busy for a Thursday at 2pm, but there was additional seating upstairs we were able to be seated at. The restaurant was buzzing, but I could tell from the decor and table settings we were in for a for a good meal. The service was quick and you select your dishes on a piece of paper. We went with a variety of steamed dumplings, a chicken noodle dish and a vegetables with garlic / oyster sauce. Everything came out quickly, piping hot and delicious. If you're looking for a quick and delicious meal slightly away from the tourist trappings of Leicester Square this is the spot. read more

Joy King Lau is located on Leicester St (China town) London. It has 3 floor Chinese restaurant and pretty old fashioned dim sim. We came here for lunch to meet my old friend in London. I couldn't compare the size, taste and price with other Chinese restaurant in London coz this is the first Chinese dim sim restaurant we visited. The deep fired taro cake so crispy and tasty. The sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf pretty wet (mushy) but still tasty. The shrimp dumping just mediocre. Overall, the dim sims were good but not great. I start missing HK and Vancouver's dim sim restaurants. read more

Joy King Lau - Chinatown - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

The service here was helpful and welcoming and the dim sum was just as I'd expect at a good restaurant. The roasted pork bao was probably my favorite. Second to that was the yam croquettes. Also wouldnt kick the prawn d dumplings or garlic prawn eggrolls out of bed. We also tried the seafood noodle soup which was a generous portion. Would have liked more depth of flavor in the broth but it was good. A nice little spot in Chinatown for anyone looking for dim sum. I'd go again! read more

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I was discriminated by my own kind! =O The moment you walk in, I feel like they vet who stays on the main floor and who they send upstairs to the second floor. I noticed if you're coloured, you're on the second floor. I had the equivalent of what is considered Cantonese fried noodles. It was unimpressive. The meat was cheaper, like fish balls, cut in half. There was 1 shrimp. The portion wasn't a lot. Maybe I'm used to the Toronto standard (i.e. Congee Queen)? They also charge for tea!!! £2.10 per person. It's hot water with a few tea leaves. Come to Toronto. Chinese food and dim sum is much better and cheaper. read more

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Great dim sum and reasonably priced. Very casual environment and small interior, so it may be difficult to fit large groups. Steamed pork buns were my favorite! read more

The dim sum was five stars! Even though I've had good dimsum before it wasn't this fresh and juicy tasting. We got the grilled chive cake, scallops and prawn dumpling, pork ribs, stuffed bean curd, and pork and prawn siu Mai. I would recommend sticking with the small dim sum tapas because they are only around 4 pounds. We also got a sautéed vegetable which turned out to be 11 pounds. The service was a three star. When we first came in they asked what tea we wanted and we just said no tea just water. They brought out hot water and when we got the bill it was 2 pounds. Just specify that you want tap water if you don't want to get charged. read more

I ate here because the view from my hotel room was this place. I didn't know what exactly they had, but after seeing a picture list of dim sum from a distance I said why not. They didn't have the carts rolling around, but they had an extensive dim sum menu. I walked in about 5 minutes before they were going to stop serving dim sum and I was able to get a few items. I tried the shu mai, bbq pork bun, beef meatballs, and black bean pork ribs. This was some of the best dim sum I've ever had, and for about 15 pounds. Everything seemed like they made it fresh in house, and the portions were slightly larger than what i'm used to. read more

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If you took Windsor Dim Sum Café in Boston and duplicated it over four or five storeys, you'd pretty much end up with Joy King Lau. Same delicious food, same brusque and business-like service, and shockingly... Cantonese-speaking staff. I was particularly impressed with the perfect consistency and crispiness of the luo buo gao. Their do miu ended up being just the tops of the more mature plants - I draw this conclusion from the fact that there were no stems, and the leaves were much heartier (yet still tender) than the veggies I'm used to. Pass on their Shanghai xiao long bao. Whilst they're satisfying and have the right taste, -none- of the dumplings that came out in our steamer tray had the 'soup' part of 'soup dumplings' going on. Disappointing. As far as the food goes, Joy King Lau probably ranks at the top of my list for London dim sum. There's still plenty to explore, but I'd be totally willing to come back here for another round. read more

Joy King Lau - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

The following conversation took place before we went to have dim sum at Joy King Lau: Me: Let's go for dim sum today, shall we? I've found this place on Yelp called Joy King Lau and their reviews are really promising?! A: Oh no, let's go to our usual place (New World), at least we know that it's good... Me: Oh come on, let's give it a try...we should broaden our horizon and try out new places...here, read these wonderful reviews... A: Mmm...only one Chinese person has reviewed this place...I don't know...plus they don't have the push carts, and I really prefer dimsum places where they serve the food on trolleys...it's so much more authentic! Me: Let's at least have a look, shall we? We can always go to New World, but let's at least have a look from the outside...ok? A: Mmm...if you really want to...but... In any case, as you might have guessed, we ended up having dim sum at Joy King Lau and believe it or not but even A ended up liking the food very much: A: Yummy...their food is really tasty! And even the chicken feet, which are my ultimate test for a place, are delicious! So, even though I'm yet another Caucasian reviewing this place, I was accompanied by two very picky Taiwanese friends and they both have approved of this place! By the way, as for ordering dim sum, I particularly liked the BBQ pork buns, the sticky rice in lotus leaves, the tarot croquette and the meatballs. As for dessert, I can highly recommend the taro-tapioca soup (aka Cold Yum Pudding)...that was absolutely delicious! read more

Joy King Lau - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

Excellent Cantonese style food! Try the Braised Fish with Bittermelon in Black Bean sauce is sooo good! The crab soup for a starter was tasty. Definitely would come back if I didn't live in Texas. read more

Whenever we travel to London, a meal at Joy King Lau is mandatory! We were afraid it had closed but disclovered last week that it is OPEN. As always, everything was fresh and delicious. Our favorite dishes are the salt and pepper prawns, aubergine with garlic sauce and the 3 meat roast. The roasts are pork belly, char sui and duck...so flavorful and moist. We will be back in December!!!! read more

AT LAST. A five-star dim sum place. I was beginning to wonder if they existed after being in Seattle so long. (No offense, Sea-Town, I got nothin' but love for ya, baby.) A local friend of ours recommended Joy King Lau and he did not lead us wrong. I had planned on going to Yuatcha, but its format of serving dim sum sounded... un dim sum-like. I wanted a huge variety of well-executed dishes to choose from. Price, location, or the level of service made no difference to me. Outside their door, I read the stickers plastered all over the window, 'Best of this' and 'Best of that.' Upon entry inside, the door is opened for us. And... and... they SMILED at us. What kind of dim sum parallel universe have I fallen into?? I touch my chest and legs to make sure I'm not dead. We are the first people in the restaurant, and promptly served Oolong tea. The menu is so expansive, I forgot what I read by the time I got to the end of the menu. You'll want to write your choices down; trust me. - Rice noodle roll filled with shrimp covered in fried bean curd sheet. PERFECT. - Roast duck with bok choy served over rice. Standard dish and solid here - Tong Choi - stir fried greens in garlic. They did an awesome job of cooking these; they weren't slimy from overcooking and had the right amount of salt and broth - Curry octopus: the octopus are so teeny and adorable you may feel bad about eating them. But then you take a bite of the tender body and all bets are off - Sticky glutinous rice - my date loves this dish. Sticky rice steamed in leaves; I don't think he counts it as dim sum unless he orders this. What was DIFFERENT about this one was the filling. Huge chunks of meats are inside! One inch+ chunks of pork, fat cuts of Chinese sausages (not the teensy eensy cubes) Dishes are cleared quickly, without feeling like they're rushing you. Teacups are continuously topped off, and all around, the service was far above what I'm used to. All these dishes were under 38.00 GBP. Wicked deal plus the quality (and service!) means I'll be heading back here. read more

Joy King Lau - Sticky rice, tong choi, roast duck with bok choy, deep fried shrimp bean curd roll in rice noodle - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

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Joy King Lay is one of the staple dim sum restaurants in Chinatown (and all of London), and it does not disappoint. It's stacked four stories high and still has a hole-in-the-wall vibe despite having obviously grown to accommodate quite a number of customers! The fare was all excellent, including great siu mai, har gow, meatballs, bao, and more. We came with quite a big group of around 15, and we were able to get seated at two adjacent tables (we had a reservation of course). So whether you're a big ensemble or just a couple (though you need at least ~3 people to really make dim sum work!), come eat here. read more

I take back what I said before, I love this place! You just need to come for the dim sum, forget the rest of the menu (which I reviewed with just two stars). I think dim sum is served until 5pm and it is served steaming hot and delicious. The prawn dumpling is my favourite but the prawn cheung fun is also really good and very satisfying. This place is seriously yummy in my tummy and is my go-to spot for good dim sum in London. The room is a nice place to sit down and I like going upstairs here to enjoy a leisurely weekend afternoon of dim sum in a spacious room with endless refills of hot tea and good company. The service is good and I would say this is my favourite place in Chinatown. read more

This place is hands down the worst Chinese food I have ever had! If I could submit a letter to the city asking them to condemn the restaurant I would but nothing would come of it. The chicken with chili peanut sauce tastes like cough syrup and ketchup. The hot and sour soup might as well be motor oil.... Oh and the dim sum, more like dumb summed because they were over cooked and stuck to the paper. Expect zero flavor from all dishes except for the cough syrup ketchup with peanuts sauce! That sauce is going to have you screaming "don't give me more!". read more

Had dinner here with my family and the food was very good. I can't remember everything we ordered, but we had Cashew Chicken, Salt and Pepper Prawns, Chicken Fried Rice, and a couple other dishes and all were very good. Servers aren't overly friendly, but they are very efficient and quick. read more

I went to Joy King Lau today and it was absolutely delicious I highly recommend coming here with friends and family and the service and environment is absolutely amazing. The egg tarts are extremely good and addictive. read more

I really like this place. I was in London for almost two weeks and ate here three nights while I was there. I'm hoping that next time I'm in London I'll have a chance to try their dim sum. On a regular night it's not too busy, and their staff is very quick. But you have to understand that you're going to an authentic Chinese place, the service is not going to be super friendly. Since it was cold all the nights I visited, I kept ordering different versions of their rice noodle soup. And that's the best thing about this place, you can kind of create your own dish with all the broth flavors and noodle options that they give you. The one night that I ordered to-go the waiter was rude and lied to me, telling me that they didn't give out to-go chopsticks when a few nights before I was given a set of chopsticks with my leftovers. I didn't let that bother me, even though it was a to-go (takeaway) order, they warmed it up well that I was still able to enjoy hot soup back at my hotel. This place is good, the service is what it is, I would ignore it for good Chinese food. read more