After a few hours at Madame Tussaud's I had a craving for some good Chinese food. After a quick google, we found this place nearby. Little did we know that it was a really famous place, visiting by many celebrities. This was a great find! First, let me start out by saying that upon entering it's the most beautiful Chinese restaurant. It's super colorful and makes you feel like you are inside a Chinese grand palace. Upon entering we were greeted and seated at our table. We ordered the shrimp dumplings and shumai to start, and then the prawn fried rice and Kung pao lamb dish for our entrees. We also got tea and coke. The food was the perfect portion size for the two of us. We were full but not stuffed, and the food was so flavorful and delicious. This was hands down one of the best Chinese food I've had in a while, and I can't wait to come back and try some of their other dishes! From service to food everything was great! I'm honestly shocked at the low ratings on yelp! I'd definitely recommend this place as a must! read more

Phoenix Palace - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

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Yummy. That's a word someone should say for this place. Look the servers can be nasty. The service can blow, and reviews will support this, but the food was quite good. I opened up with Wasabi Prawns dim sum. Fantastic. The dipping sauce was lame. Next, King Prawns with Pepper and Black Bean sauce. Another home run. The fried rice wasn't good, just average, otherwise a winner. This place isn't cheap. But sefin6 worth it. Oh if you use Deliveroo, you can order as well. The prices are the same as going direct. I know. I ordered a few nights later. This time, from my hotel. read more

This Chinese restaurant serves good-old Cantonese-style food...with a Marylebone price tag, of course. I've been here a few times now - both for Dim Sum and for dinner, and every time it was pretty good. On my last visit, we ordered the spicy chicken, which from a taste-point-of-view was really nice. What I didn't love as much, was that it was relatively small pieces of chicken, with even smaller bones still in them. The other dish, also excellent, was a kind of stew of aubergine & pork in a sauce flavoured with Chinese sweet olives. The Phoenix Palace is a traditional banquet-style restaurant, so don't be surprised if there's a big birthday party going on or if it seems like you're crashing someone's wedding...just enjoy the buzz and the cultural experience! read more

The food was really really good. It is worth the cost considering some restaurants in London cost more for less of the taste. Was lucky to be there right after they opened, less people and better attention from the staff. They are more Hong Kong like flavour. I believe this is what people call the 'umami flavour.' As the depth of the flavour is so nice. read more

Craving Cantonese food on my last night in London and came here. Of course they cater to yt folx and offer to debone and remove any lingering signs that the food used to be an animal (they asked if we wanted the head of our fish dish as well and being Asian, I said leave it lol.) they did filet everything. Service is fine, food is pretty good. Is it expensive? Quite so, but frankly, the location in Zone 1 makes up for it. I'd come here again, especially given the staff speaks Cantonese and can give you suggestions. Decorated like a grand dim sum place too-- will be a pick for me for Cantonese in London for the future read more

Ambiance: 4+ stars Food: 4 stars (for the most part) Service: zero stars Dined here two times in the last month and both times we were completely ignored, despite ordering in excess of £180 in food and drink. We had to physically stand up to flag down anyone to take our orders, refill drinks and deliver totally forgotten dinners (that had to be resubmitted to the kitchen). Staff was rude and dismissive. It took hours to finish a meal while tables around us arrived, ate and left. And I even left an excess tip after the first visit! One time may be a fluke. Two times is a problem. read more

Huge restaurant near Baker Street, perfect for groups. Food was good, not great, as was the service. About £30 pp without booze, best dishes were the starters which is usually the norm for most Chinese restaurants. Recommend the calamari with chilli and the Peking pork spare ribs. read more

Phoenix Palace - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

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Over all great experience here. I am a New Yorker visiting London and I've been looking for a great place to eat some dumplings and someone recommended me this place. The design is extravagant, but in a good way, I enjoyed it as it gave a more authentic feel to it. Its colorful and big. We came at lunch time and we were seated very quickly. The place was not full, but there were many locals there. We got a chicken sweet corn soup that was great. This is what is known as egg drop soup. Then we got a lot of dumplings: Spinach dumplings (or dim sum) - were absolutely delicious. 5/5 Shrimp (prawn) dumplings - delicious and delicate w/ big chunks of shrimp in it. 5/5 Shanghai pork dumplings - juicy, steamy and delicious. 5/5 Sea food dumplings in soup, which I thought was soup dumpling and its not - its a big dumpling with shrimp and crab in some clear broth w/ a piece of crab meat stick. The soup was bland but the dumpling was quite tasty. 2/5 Chicken and mushroom buns - steamy, soft, fluffy and sweet. A must. 5/5 Beef ball dumplings - its a meatball basically.. and not a dumpling. The beef is good but its a meatball and not a dumpling. 2/5 Service was quick and efficient, though not very welcoming or nice. Prices are high and service was included (13%) I would recommend it and come again read more

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Do you dodge Chinese restaurants like the plague because of bad memories of MSG-sodden egg fried rice and consumer reports about how unhealthy a cuisine it is? Well, you shouldn't if you know where to go and what to eat. Phoenix Palace's mastery lies in the sheer size of their menu and quality of their produce. There is something for every taste here, from classic Dim-Sum to a full Rotisserie to sumptuous dishes like Belly Pork and Oyster casserole. I was completely agog at the extensive drinks menu too, which also includes cocktails and spirits alongside the wines and traditional beers. The portions are generous and the atmosphere, with 80s decor and low-level lantern lighting, is enchanting. The prices for mains are around the £10-12 mark, but worth it. read more

Phoenix Palace - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

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This is the first Chinese restaurant I tried in London and therefore keep coming back, purely due to nostalgic reasons. However, after today I won't be returning any time soon. They had added things to my bill, that I didn't order and argued when I pointed it out, as if I'm not sure what I had just put in my mouth. After some going back and forth they agreed with me and still had the audacity to ask for service charge - lol! Their food is usually quite good and they have hosted some what important people, like Tony Blair. Today unfortunately I was less impressed as it was the first time I tried their dimsum lunch menu. The steamed cheung fun was overcooked, now I'm not of Cantonese origin but it doesn't take a local or noteable food critic to judge that this was some slimey substance with prawns in it. Their shanghai pork dumpling which they advertised as soup dumplings were missing soup, it was just an unfortunate experience all together. Would never go here again for lunch but pick up or delivery dinner maybe as their ma po tofu is quite nice. read more

Phoenix Palace - Shanghai pork & crabmeat dumpling - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

Reserved a table for the dim sum menu at noon sharp at the end of the Chinese New Year week. This proved wise as the multi level banquet hall filled to the brim over the course of the next two hours (we observed the ratio of Asian to Caucasian patrons to be roughly 40/60 w a handful of mixed tables; we took this to be a good sign w the general profile to be locally sourced or business but no tourists which is key despite its proximity to Madame Tussaud's). This was my first non cart (non nyc) dim sum experience and I have to say I didn't miss the jostle and tart exchanges that much. We v civilly marked off our selections - the well worn classics, ie sticky rice in lotus leaf, pork and shrimp dumplings, prawn crackers, a noodle dish w cabbage and glass prawn dumplings - and were brought them in reasonably quick succession. We were stuffed and at £40 total including tea and service, I have no complaints. We weren't rushed even though the place was humming and enjoyed what will be the first of many leisurely dim sum meals at PP! read more

Professional and slick service but the location is a bit meh As you walk in, you notice that this is certainly a celebrity hotspot. I don't think there is a prime minister that hasn't eaten here, and they even get christmas cards from Tony Blair! If your party hasn't arrived yet, you are sat in an area with really nice thai prawn crackers. To be honest I don't mind people arriving late when I can be left alone with those bad boys for a good 20 minutes. They also do takeaway in which case you're also left with this dangerously addictive prawn crackers. Score. The venue looks extremely nice, with lots of traditional design cues, think traditional chinese fancy restaurant. Lots of wooden panelling and mystic meg orbs :) Service is super efficient and prompt. Despite the size of the place, you never feel watched, nor are you waiting long to get the attention of a member of staff. The food is nothing spectacular but the ingredients are good but then for the price you hope so! The scallops were the biggest I'd ever laid eyes on and were cooked perfectly. Nice and charred on the outside, but soft in the centre flesh without tasting raw. Portions were also decent. My favourite item being the yam cake which is done close to what you'd get in asia, if a little lacking in flavour. It's cantonese style so expect a LOT of cornstarch in your dishes and plenty of shiny thick sauces. Taste wise, nothing was very salty, a positive in my mind. When the bill came, it was about as expected about £30 per head. It would have been slightly cheaper in Chinatown, but this restaurant is much nicer than any of those, it's just a shame the location in quite out the way. In all, worth a try if you're in the area, or looking to impress somebody with the decor. Oh and the prawn crackers. YUM read more

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My new favourite place in London, well for dim sum and authentic Hong Kong style Chinese. Loved it! Very authentic, very good! It was also very clean and not oily, both of which are important qualities in good dim sum or yum cha. You can also make a reservation here, which is amazing as well. We got basically everything! The usual suspects include har gow, shu mai, xiao long bao, turnip cake, shar shiu bao, custard buns, black sesame balls, and more! It was all so incredible. Service was good too and with a smile. I can really see why this place is popular. I'll be back... And often! read more

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Solid Dim Sum; not the best I've had but solid and satisfying. I would go back. In order of re-orderability: Turnip Patties with XO Sauce - not fishy enough to be a proper XO sauce, but these little fried cubes of Turnip Cake with chili and chopped Chinese broccoli were delicious and a texture medley. The plain Turnip Patties, speckled with fermented sausage, were good, too. Custard Buns were fantastic. Noodle Rolls, their specialty, held up better than usual giving them more bite. Delicious, though the shrimp was overcooked. Black Sesame balls were a wonderful texture and mildly salty dessert. These are not the fried ones - they're more like Korean Tteok with a very tender mochi outside, filled with runny black sesame paste. These were rolled in chopped peanuts, which I didn't like, but could easily brush off. Har Gaw - solid Glutinous Rice - a little softer than ideal, but great flavor Pork in Yam Croquettes - perfect texture, but served a little cold. Bummer. Siu Mai - I found these fishy, but flavorful and big. They were steamed in a way that they all stuck together. Egg tart was okay - light and delicate, but the crust was a little dry. Might just get the Custard Bun next time. However, really nice to have Dim Sum Egg Tarts after all the flourey Nata in London. Lamb Dumplings in Chili Dressing - was like a plain, dry, dense meatball in a wrapper. Skip. read more

Fabulous place. Visiting London from Australia, was up for a classic Chinese meal on a Sunday evening (27th of November 2022). This restaurant delivered exactly that. Friendly & attentive staff, great food. And great to see big families seated around large tables enjoying a fine feast. Very end of our meal waiter brings over the Eftpos machine for the credit card tap when we sheepishly asked is it okay with cash wish I had taken a photo of his big smile "oh yes cash is good". My best wishes to everyone at the Phoenix Palace. read more

First, the positives. As a HK native and avid foodie, my expectations are high. The dim sum menu featured the usual fare plus a couple of "specials" which were pleasing to find. The deep fried items like sesame prawn rolls and beancurd sheet rolls were good - easy to get right as deep frying is a forgiving cooking method. We also had a braised noodle dish which was beef brisket braised in soya sauce served with spring onions, ginger and cantonese style egg noodles (believe it or not, a typical HK "dai pai dong" dish which everybody loves); this was good. The beef brisket was most tender and flavoursome. Now, a lesser positive. The chive dumplings contained very little chives and the dumpling wrapper was thick and doughy, as opposed to thin, translucent and al dente. The pulled pork and thousand year egg congee was lacking in both feature ingredients and the congee was gloppy, which was a sign of starch thickening having been used to effect the porridge like texture of congee and which was WRONG. Actually, it was cheating. Congee is made from long simmering in order to make the rice's starch granules burst thus yielding a porridge like consistency. Second, the negatives. Both the Xiao Lung Bao (Shanghainess dumplings) and Xiu Mai were clearly bought in wholesale, frozen and steamed to order. The Xiao Lung Bao had NO BROTH inside!!! It was plain dry mushy seasoned minced pork meat. Sacrilege! The Xiu Mai were just lumps of mushy meat. Yuk. Next, the pan fried turnip pudding slices. They were mushy, had no cured meat/chinese sausage bits, shrimps nor mushroom pieces inside them. Another sacrilege. Finally, the service. PLEASE TEACH THE FRONT OF HOUSE STAFF ADEQUATE POLITE ENGLISH TO COMMUNICATE WITH CUSTOMERS. I cringed listening to them in both Cantonese and English. We booked and arrived 5 minutes early, only to be told to wait (which we did for over half an hour) and when followed up, the male maitre d' bluntly said in broken English that we had to wait because we were late arriving. Totally untrue!! He also told us to "be patient" in a blunt manner. Could he not have said "please bear with us"?? All in all, I felt that the dim sum was of a good enough standard to satisfy a need but really, one had better elsewhere. read more

Phoenix Palace - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

"Great Food, Great Service, Big Menu" It has been a long time since i have been here and glad to say the food and service is second to none. They have had a refurb since the time i visited but it has been done well. I do believe they might now have a private dining area so do ask if this is something you would be interested in. From the entrance lobby you will see a board of all the celebrities that have visited. This time i ordered the following: 1. Chicken in Black Bean on Crispy noodle 2. Lime Freeze Mocktail to drink Mocktail was like a lemon and lime sorbet and was great, it lasted the whole meal as it melts slowly and very re-freshing. They have a few mocktails but glad we went for this one. Food arrived promptly and hot and Pheonix Palace is where you get food the way you think it will taste and does not disappoint. There is no twist or infusion just what you order is what you get and nothing wrong with that. Pleasant surrounding and lighting is good. The ambient sound can be a little loud but you can still hear when in conversation but you have to pay a little attention.... I would be happy to re-visit and walking distance from Baker Street station so very easy to get to. I found we had great service but we did go on Wednesday at 6.30pm so it was only starting to get busy so maybe the best time to go. Menu is vast with great selection for all including dim sum and vegi options read more

It's all about the dim sum, boys and girls. We go nearly every Sunday morning--er afternoon. And while it's still too expensive for dim sum and starts far too late in the day (what is with the cost of dim sum in this city!?), it's still one of my favourite places to chill on the weekends. The fare is a very standard dim sum offering, everything from har gao to chicken feet, but it's done solidly and in a timely fashion. Go and sit among the tables of multi-generational Chinese families, while they enjoy one another's company over jasmine tea, pork pastries, and congee. They don't take reservatios, but the wait is never very long. Be prepared for screaming babies; they're everywhere. But this place is loud in general, due to the sheer size and number of people they've managed to cram into a room. While you wait, make sure you check out the photos on the north wall... hey look, it's Yoko! read more

Dinner on 3.12.10. Started with (no, not aromatic duck but I'll have to search for the name of this dish later......) duck, which came on shrimp crackers, alongside with pancakes for the duck, and lettuce cups for the vegetable/duck stir-fry. The duck was delicious while the crackers were on the stale side. Next we had an order of their spicy scallop and leek shoots--absolutely perfect combo of spice and flavor. We had a huge dish next......Lobster Noodles. Gingery, savory heaven with succulent juicy pieces of lobster in the shell. Then we had this dish of Pork in Plum & Champagne Sauce...ZOMG. Sweet heaven. That's all you need to know. No, it did not end there. We also had their Steamed Chicken with Shiitake Mushroom & Ham, followed by their steamed Chilean Sea Bass topped with red dates, wood ear mushrooms and dried lily flowers. Both were very flavorful, beautiful presentation, and just filling. And then we had one more dish, pea shoots with wolfberry (goji), which I was so saddened to not be able to eat much of, as I was already too stuffed by then. Around the time of the fish, they finally served us some rice...hahaha, they were dreaming if they thought we'd be able to eat much of it! By the way, all of that food above was for our table of 7 adults, and there was another table of us (with 6 adults), with the same amount of food!! Dessert was mango pudding for those not wanting to try the red bean seaweed soup. (Trust me, I was skeptical about the seaweed bit, but it was sweet and delicious!!!) Service = friendly enough. Decor = very upscale cushy chinese with plenty of red carpeting, red decoration, chinese characters, white and black marble stairs, and a very clean loo!! Prices = high, as expected. But worth it for such great Chinese cuisine! Totally worth coming here for a very nice dinner (albeit it was a sad day for us) but the dinner was a very nice finish though. read more

I came here once long ago for dim sum, and I don't really remember what it was like. Certainly, nothing that stands out in my memory. However, I went in over Chinese New Year for dinner, and pleased to report that it was really good! We had a couple of really nice Chinese New Year dishes - the new year cake dish was pretty good, and very unusual as it was savoury rather than sweet. We also had salt baked chicken, pigeon, tofu, soft-shell crab and a whole host of other yummy dishes. Because it was Chinese New Year, the place was absolutely packed and completely buzzing! There were a lot of families eating new year's noodles and sashimi (apparently all traditional new year's dishes) and the new year was seen in with style! Our waiter also deserves a special mention - really very attentive, and quite funny at times - particularly when he tried to convince my mum that the "virgin" pina colada didn't have alcohol, when it quite clearly did. It's whetted my appetite to remind myself of the dim sum, so I'll be back! read more

A friend and I stopped by this place for supper, as we were in the area visiting another friend. I had had dinner, so was just planning to have a soup and a starter, while she had not had dinner, and was planning to order a big plate of noodles. Initially, the place itself was very impressive, the decoration inside was amazing and service was quick and prompt. However, when it came to ordering, we were told that there was a £10 minimum charge per person even though the restaurant was half full and this was at 8:30pm on a Tuesday night! We then politely asked to leave, as the £10 minimum was written in font size 8 right at the bottom of the menu, and there were no warnings at the entrance bar the same small warning at the bottom of the massive billboard menu outside. To our shock, the manager came over and insisted that we pay for our chinese tea, which came up to £3.30 for the two of us, even though we only had a small cup each. Although I am sure the food is good and the atmosphere was indeed amazing, the reluctance of the manager to allow an exception to a rule on what was clearly a very slow night was shocking, as well as the insistence to pay for tea. In addition, the prices were rather high, I would say at least a good 30% more than other good chinese restaurants in London. Dim Sum was being served at £4.80 a basket; most other good dim sum places charge between £2.50 and £3. read more

Phoenix Palace is somewhere I go fairly often as it's a convenient place to meet my parents before we go home via Marylebone, and I've had my fair share of both dim sum and evening meals here. It's a hard one to review for me though - when I recall the food, I usually think very favourably about it, yet I can't quite shake a feeling of slight disappointment straight after eating there. It's a weird one. Phoenix Palace very much prides itself on being a classy eating establishment. Whilst places such as Royal China may look glossy on the outside with its faux lacquer walls, there are certain noticeable things which come from corner-cutting (such as chipped teapots). Not Phoenix - head to tail, it's pretty prim, with a wide open central dining bit, as well as some tables tucked in a separate room at the back. So, after sitting down, you get the menu. This is my first gripe - the menu is colossal. It goes on forever. And just when you think it's finished, ooh, look, 4 more pages of Chef's Specials! Oh, and there's usually another specials card on the table too, just for funsies (currently featuring Chinese tapas dishes, or something like that). I know this is not a problem exclusive to Phoenix Palace, but the length of the menu combined with the vagueness of description makes it very very hard to choose what you want to eat. The staff also aren't always so hot at elaborating on what a dish is, so asking for recommendations kind of goes out of the window too. Maybe I'm being too harsh on a place which tries hard to do a lot of things well and has a diverse range of dishes (from standard Hong Kong fare to Szechaun-tinged dishes, and even Singapore-style chilli crab), but I find it very difficult to really get the best out of the menu. That and I can never remember what I've eaten there, especially not by the exact menu name. In spite of this, we usually have decent meals there, but even after 10 or so meals here as a family, we still have no definite go-to dishes (save for hot and sour soup), and - as a highly indecisive family - we're often left scrambling trying to put our order together. Generally - for both dinner and dim sum - the food is well prepared and quite fresh. The dim sum is good (the fried ones don't taste like the oil is constantly reused which is always a big plus in my book), and this is currently our go-to dim sum branch, especially as it means we don't have to brave Piccadilly Circus at the weekends. I will say that it's fairly pricey, and the bill usually turns out to be more than you'd expect albeit not outrageous - around £30 a head for food at dinner. In the end, I really want to love this place (especially given its convenience)...I just don't think I'll ever get to that point. However, it's still a solid place for both dim sum and dinner. And hey, if you guys go and have some really tasty dishes, please send some recommendations my way. read more

I used to love this place, and it used to be my go to place for Dim Sum. I've been there with family, and with friends. But after yesterday, I might start looking elsewhere. The Dim Sum yesterday was decent, it's okay for London, but you have to understand that it used to be so much better. The dough stick Cheung fan tasted like it'd sat around for a while, what should be crunchy dough with a fluffy exterior was chewy and dense. Xiao Long Bao dough was thick compared to previous occasions when it barely held back the soup and meat inside. Octopus patty was chewy but had good flavour. Thankfully other items we ordered were good, beef ho fun was well cooked and tasty, the congee was similarly well prepared. Turnip cake - good as ever, a beacon in our meal. Also the place was NOISY! Not sure what's happened but we could barely talk to each other, where we used to have good catch ups. Probably a victim of its own success. Service was good. Hopefully it's just an off day, we shall see, but I'm going to one of my alternate dim sum restaurants next time. read more

Best yum cha restaurant in London. I'm Australian, so yum cha is pretty good back home. But yum cha is well known as having terrible service! I've lived in London 9 years and in general service is pretty poor lol. This place spins me out coz service is AMAZINGLY good and the food is the best yum cha in London too. read more

I have been a loyal customer at Phoenix Palace for almost 10 years. It is arguably my favorite restaurant in the whole world. It is authentic Chinese food and they have a very extensive menu. Some of my favorite items on the menu are the Crispy smoked chicken, vegetable dumplings, chicken spring rolls, chicken with cashew nuts, spicy schezuan chicken, e-fu noodles with mushrooms and crispy peking duck with pancakes. This is definitely always a first choice for me when in London. I could legitimately eat every meal here. read more

Best dim sum I've had in a very long time. This place is located in London, England. Comparable to some of the best places in Los Angeles. Great place to go for large groups and good service. read more

The perfect place to experience amazing atmosphere in an oriental setting. This restaurant spare no expense on the decoration, from the fabric on the chairs to the dragon shaped chopstick holders. The staff will make you feel like a VIP, giving attention to the table even if the place is full, serving your rice individually and making sure you have everything you need. The food is good, you can find a lot of local Chinese dishes like duck tongue and jelly fish. I recommend the hot and sour soup with lobster. It might be a bit pricey but this restaurant has earn a spot in the Star studded wall, having hosted loads of celebrities and public figures. read more

I love dim sum and this place is a must go to when in London. The dim sum dishes are tasty and decent sized. Although this is for a review a while back, I still salivate thinking about all the yummy food here. It's classy looking, clean and staff are friendly. read more

It was a nice fancy Chinese restaurant. The food was good but the service was so-so. It was difficult to understand the server. She never asked if we were fine. When we needed something, we asked another server but we found out he was a busboy that's why we never got what we needed. The busboy never told our server what we needed. Oh well. It was a nice meal. read more

It was a rainy night and looked like we were all running late for our reservation at Pearl Liang. The service sucks there but at least we know the food is quite good there. So as plan B, a friend recommended this place. It looked quite hopeful. One of the few places where you really feel like you've stepped into China. We ordered a series of dishes ranging from beef with black bean sauce, stir fried noodles, crispy fried chicken, mixed veggies. As I was trying each dish, I started to feel nostalgic... but not in a good way. There was a taste I distinctively remember from chinese restaurants in NY. The taste of food that's been fried in reused oil. Totally fine if it's a $5 fast food joint but not when you're paying close to 15 pounds for a main dish. Everything tasted okay but didn't think it was at all worth the price they were charging - thinking it was the premium for the location. 2*s for the food. Don't think I would be back when Royal China is just a bit further down the street. Service was okay - not your usually brisk Chinese restaurant service so earned 1 extra *. all just meh read more

Went back recently and wow, so shocked.. I believe the chef changed and every dish is slightly nicer... I was there for dimsum and tried: Hargow: It is juicier and bigger Turnip cake: okay, it was good to begin with Charsiu soh (bbq pork puff pastry): it is no longer puff pastriy but rather an authentic chinese puff pastry Chong fun: Indeed, much better and texture overall - very positive experience and also service? wow, it got so much better. It is very attentive and also nice, classy. Everything is all around so much better!!! read more

I've been here twice now and will be in no hurry to come back. Noon is about as late as you can come on a weekend without a booking without massive waits. When we left, the entrance area was well crowded. The food was fine. If you're in the area and need food, you could do worse, but I wouldn't put it on my dim sum destination list. Nothing really standout except maybe the char siew soh. The first time I came, we had a really good deep fried prawn pastry with spicy mango paste (a totally fusion creation, I know), but I couldn't find it on the menu this time. The experience doesn't feel as high quality as it should for the price. Seemingly little things like taking a while to fetch our dim sum sheet, or multiple people bringing more food and then ignoring the empty plates. For six people at dim sum, it was about £17pp. read more

The main reason I visited here was because it was pretty much the only place in the immediate area that was open at 11am on a Sunday. I was out with a group of seven friends to support my wife and one of her colleagues having participated in a morning 10K race around Regents Park. Needless to say, she and her workmate were HUNGRY afterwards. Most of the good places I knew around there didn't open until noon. No was against dim sum, and the only person among us that had tried it was keen to go. Going here turned out for the best. Having a huge round table with a Lazy Susan packed will a wide variety of dim sum was perfect for our varying appetites and tastes. I found the food to be yummy too. Not the best dim sum (even within walking distance) but not bad at all. A somewhat celebratory atmosphere,cheap prices, quick service, tasty and plentiful dim sum options with a space that can accommodate large groups in comfort - I would not be averse to returning to Phoenix Palace and will definitely keep it in mind for future occasions. read more

Phoenix Palace - Pics at The London Foodie (http://www.thelondonfoodie.co.uk ) After a disappointing dim sum experience at Royal China Bayswater (until now my gold standard dim sum venue in London) over the Christmas period, I thought I should broaden my repertoire and so recently decided to give Phoenix Palace a try. Louise of Penguinette Cooks and a few Italian friends accompanied me to this well known Chinese restaurant in the Baker Street area. Despite our 2pm booking, we waited in the restaurant's cramped entrance for 45 minutes before being seated. As a table of 6, we could order a large variety of different dishes. Carefully chosen by Louise, who is a native Cantonese speaker, these were: Spicy baby octopus in chilli, garlic and pickled onion dressing @ £3.80 this was a recommendation by Mr Noodles and was indeed one of the best dishes we had the octopus was very soft, it was also sour and sweet from the marinated sauce with a gentle burn from the chillies. Salty pork and black egg congee @ £4.20 I love congee, and this was as good as the ones I tried in many cafes in Hong Kong. Pork and prawn turnip cake @ £2.60 this was disappointing as the texture was slightly floury and there was little pork or prawn to be seen. Cheung fun with crispy dough stick @ £3.40 I normally go for prawn cheung fun, but this was a pleasant change I enjoyed the crunchy texture of the crispy dough stick against the delicate cheung fun skin. Some of the fried items like Sesame prawn roll, Mashed prawn in soya pastry roll and Octopus patty with vinaigrette all @ £3 were competently made but were rather unexciting. Prawn and chives dumpling @ £3 I always order this dish but Phoenix Palace's was a big let down. The skin was white and very thick and filled with little if any chives or prawns. They looked like they had come straight out of the freezer. Shanghai dumpling with pork @ £2.60 - this was the most disappointing item on the table the skin was again very thick and the dumplings were completely devoid of broth. They ought to go down as the worst Shanghai dumplings I have ever eaten. Noodles, beef brisket with ginger and scallions @ £7.50 the brisket was very tender and sweet, making for a delicious dish that went well with our choices of dim sum. Glutinous rice in lotus leaf @ £3.50 these were smaller than the ones from Royal China and with an ungenerous filling. I would not recommend this at Phoenix Palace. Egg tarts @ £2.60 I am not a huge fan of these little tarts, preferring the original Portuguese pastel de nata. Phoenix Palace's version had a strong taste of eggs yolk (not custard); they were lacking in sugar and were not to my taste. Mini onion pancake @ £2.60 we were expecting small, flat pancakes and were surprised when these little morsels arrived. The pastry was crisp and delicious, and filled with fried spring onions. Pork and prawn dumpling @ £2.60 these were hard and rubbery, and tasted as if they had been sitting on the steamer for a few hours. Char siu pork bun @ £2.60 these were surprisingly light and with a delicious filling of char siu pork. Black sesame glutinous ball £2.80 the glutinous outer layer was a tad thick on these sweets although I enjoyed both the texture and nutty flavour of this dessert. Front of house staff were unfriendly and brusque when inquiring about our table, we were simply told to be patient. It baffles me why the restaurant would bother taking bookings for dim sum if these cannot be honoured. Since my visit to Phoenix Palace I read a positive review of their a la carte menu by Mr Noodles of Eat Noodles Love Noodles which made me think that standards might be better at dinner time. I hope to try this later in the year and report back. Cost: total bill came to £75.60 (or £12.80 per person) including £9 for tea, and 12.5% service @ £8.40. Likes: large & spacious restaurant, good central location, some recommended dishes are spicy baby octopus in chilli, garlic and pickled onion dressing, salty pork and black egg congee and cheung fun with crispy dough stick. Dislikes: rude service particularly front-of-house staff, not honouring bookings, slightly pricier than other venues in Bayswater or Chinatown, some dishes to avoid are the Shanghai dumplings and the pork and prawn dumplings. Verdict: Mediocre and forgettable dim sum experience, rude staff, pricier than other similar venues. To my surprise, the place was heaving. Not recommended. read more

I was recommended this place as I have been on a quest to find the best Dim Sum in London Town and it did not disappoint. The menu is humongous with anything you may want and then some. The food is so fresh and absolutely delicious, and the portions guarantee you get some to take home as a night grub if you are planning to go out the next day ;) This place is very popular so you may want to book to avoid disappointment. read more

As another reviewer has mentioned, the quality of the courses here has fallen. First started going here around 2005, it was Tony Blair's go to apparently. The food was remarkable and the atmosphere pleasant and now neither is true. A victim of its own success as my contemporary stated. Hope it gets its mojo back someday. I won't bother listing the various plates and dim sum we had. All middling to less than. The third star is in deference to its pedigree. read more

Small and expensive dishes. Food was below average for a dim sum place. Especially disappointing was the chasu cheong fun which was terribly overcooked. I didn't even know you could do that. Very large restaurant that is very ugly inside. Somehow popular and crowded. Bad service. Waited over 10 minutes to get the bill. Wtf. read more

This place is really good. Efficient service, authentic and tasty food, reasonably priced, and accessible. We go every Sunday and really enjoy it. Favorite dishes include Char Siu Bao, Har Gao, Lo Pak Ko, Salted pork and egg congee, and Hot & Sour Soup. Their special fried rice is also very good. I'm not so happy that they charge 1.50 per person for tea, but that is my biggest complaint. I highly recommend Phoenix Palace for anyone who likes authentic dim sum or wants to try it for the first time, as well as for large groups. read more

This place is a find, for this dimsum afficonado. After the Princess Garden disappointment of a fortnight ago, my dimsum chum Helena and I went to this place. It's in an odd area for it, you'd think, just by Baker Street station, but then again so is a branch of Royal China. We went for the dimsum. Unlike most such places, the service was actually quite good, and the interior decoration is so OTT it's actually.... good?!? The bill was a bit higher than usual for such fare, at 23 pounds a head, but then we had an absolute feast (no wine tho, we both drank tea, NB). The dimsum were fresh and refined, yet very tasty and well-balanced. Most of them were there, and the menu was -- if not quite Chinatown-like -- relatively broad, which allowed us to actually try a few dim-sum we'd not had before. All in all a top place which would be perfect if it was a little bit cheaper. read more

Favourite dim sum restaurant ? Mine is Phoenix Palace (on Glentworth St just off Marylebone Rd near Baker St tube). Its charms aren't immediately obvious from the slightly gaudy exterior and identikit Chinese restaurant interior design. However when it's busy and it usually is, there's a great buzz which combined with quality Cantonese cooking makes it one of my favourites. On a recent visit, we ordered bbq pork bun (cha siu bao), beef ball dumpling (sai choi ngau), shanghai dumplings with pork (xiao long bao), bbq pork puff pastry (cha siu sao), octopus patty (mak yu beng), pork in yam croquette (wu gok), rice pasta roll with crispy dough stick (zhaliang) and from the specials menu, steamed wasabi prawn dumpling. Being growing lads, we bulked out the order with a platter of roast belly pork & roast duck and some fried noodles with beansprouts. To finish, we ordered some egg tarts (dan taat) and cream custard buns (lai wong bao). Highlights? The zhaliang transported me to Hong Kong - perfectly cooked cheung fun (rice pasta roll) filled with crispy (not greasy) dough stick. I don't usually care for fusion dim sum but the steamed wasabi prawn dumpling (the green ones in the photo) was different class with a real kick from the wasabi inside the dumpling. Of the desserts, the sweet dense coconutty filling of the steamed cream custard buns won us over. We were also impressed by the quality of fried dim sum like wu gok - so much better than the greasy oily crap often served up in Chinatown. The Cantonese BBQ was spot-on too, particularly the crispy crackling on the roast belly pork (siu yuk). UPDATE: Returned here for dinner with two mates. We kicked off with the lai tong or soup of the day (£3.50/bowl) a consommé with chunks of carrot, mooli, and belly pork. It was a great palate cleanser, very flavoursome without being overly salty. To follow, we ordered steamed sea bass with ginger & scallions (£24.80), and three kinds rotisserie (£13.80) consisting of siu yuk (crispy belly pork), cha siu (bbq pork) and siu aap (roast duck). These Cantonese classics were the stars of the night. My mate reckoned the sea bass was the best fish he had in years whilst the three roasts were as good as ever. We also ordered the minced beef & garlic spring in XO sauce (£10.80), and winter melon, dry shrimp, and vermicelli hot pot (£11.80) aka dong gua har mai fensi bo. These dishes were from the chef's selection at the back of the comprehensive menu. It is to Phoenix Palace's credit that their entire menu is in both Chinese and English as many places hide dishes like these on their 'Chinese-only' menu. Nothing wrong with these dishes but sadly neither hit the same heights as the sea bass or the three roasts. Once we ordered rice and drinks, the bill crept up to a shade under £150 including 12.5% service. This seems expensive but bear in mind we did have two bottles of a rather excellent 2008 Sancerre Domaine Gerard Millet (£26/bottle). With a more modest drinks order, the bill would've dropped down to between £30 and £40 per head. This may still seem pricey to some but it was worth every penny given the overall quality read more