Lovely prefixed menu. Dining w/family. Reservations needed. Tiny place with great service. Delicious modern Asian food with a tea tasting! Would return when in the city. read more

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If you are looking for a bit of refinement for your next Chinese dinner, Xu will tick that box. The decor is reminiscent of what I imagine post-war Shanghai looked like for the upper crust - Art Deco infused with Chinese touches. It's a gorgeous space. The service is also top notch so take advantage of their wine knowledge. Their cocktails are pretty good as well. The food is more hit or miss. The steamed egg custard reminded me of what my mother would make for dinner but with a more elegant take. The cuttlefish toast was fun and I liked the use of black ink and the side of roe. The seasonal greens were also perfectly cooked. I felt our other dishes didn't quite meet the mark. The chilled clams had too much granita on them and lacked the saltiness expected from the shellfish. The XO scallops had too much tartness which oddly overwhelmed the XO sauce. The mushroom rice was a disappointment. The salted duck egg had zero flavour and the whole dish just fell flat. So while we had a good visit, I would come more for atmosphere than food. The food wasn't consistent and given the hype, a bit of a disappointment. read more

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Amazing Taiwanese food! If you like spicy Chinese food this is the place. One of the most refined Ive eating outside of China (I know Taiwan is not exactly China but you get what I mean) We went for the set menu which for 35£ comprises of a snack, starters and a main! Snack: peanut lotus roots crips, very good! Starters: Crispy chicken wings and caviar, a bit salty for me but still very enjoyable Xian bin: some sort of friend xiao long bao (dim sum with the soup inside) delicious! Bone marrow and beef crepes, very good as well Mains: Shou Pa Chicken, Char siu iberico pork collar, Chilli egg drop crab and Grilled seabass with chilli pickles and bone vinegar. All were extremely good!!!! Its been a while since an Asian restaurant amazed me that much. I will come back!!!! read more

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A nice change of pace from the China Town options nearby. Xu is a little nicer inside with professional service but the difference is that the cuisine has a Taiwanese angle. Started with Xian Bing, pan fried dumplings. Very nice, juicy with a crunch exterior. The star of the evening was Char Siu Iberico Pork. I expected somewhat dried out pork but it was two large pork steaks served on (spicy) zucchini. The pork was tasty, tender and a robust portion. Great dish. Also had lardo lard onion rice, perfect accompaniment. Overall, an excellent meal. read more

What a find!!! On a business trip to London this spot was recommended to me by a colleague and it was amazing. Located in the heart of Chinatown this hidden gem is like stepping back in time- retro art deco decor coupled with amazing service and food. Tiny cocktail bar turns out fabulous drinks and watching the bartender prepare them is part of the experience. Restaurant is small and I had the tasting menu which featured around 10-12 dishes that were all wonderful but the grand finale of the roast pork and lardo rice was by far the best. Highly recommend for locals and foreigners alike. read more

In our short time in London, we only intended to go once but we liked it so much - we visited a second time! Appetizers - The cuttlefish sandwich is to die for! We got this twice and it was perfect every time. We also ordered the 16-spice ribs (flavorful) and the oysters with caviar (the perfect bite). Fennel and glass noodle xian bing was a haaaard pass for me, the fennel flavor is way too overwhelming that just stuck in your mouth for too long. Wasn't balanced enough. Entrees - We ordered the 手趴雞 (Shou pa chicken) and the first night it was perfect, the skin was nice and crispy. When we ordered a second time, it was a little sloppy but the flavor was still good. Chili egg drop crab was also good but the spice was a bit too much - not for everyone. 3-cup artichokes was so delicious, a tad heavy on the soy but it went so well with rice. Drinks - I got the oolong gin & tonic was perfect and light. I think overall this might be considered refined Western-style Taiwanese dining, it has very subtle touches of Taiwanese cuisine. If I tasted the food without context, I wouldn't have guessed it was Taiwanese at all. Don't come with authentic expectations and you won't be disappointed! That being said - the quality and design of its food is undeniably delicious. Highly recommended. read more

The only reason this review gets four stars instead of five is due to the service - things were really really slow and it took the server forever to even take my order. That being said, the food was amazing! I did the tasting menu and drink pairing, and each dish was perfect (and came out timely). I was STUFFED by the end - the last course was super filling. All in all I'd definitely recommend it and would go back! read more

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Awful service Low quality food Awful experience Don't come to here unless you want a bad dinning experience! read more

Most dishes are unusual by UK standards, and good, even if not extraordinary. However, the menu is short, so how often can you visit this place? The décor is elegant for SoHo, but it is quite cramped. Service is several notches above the normal Chinatown level, but except for the excellent French receptionist and the lady tea preparation expert, not terribly pro-active. More a 3-and-a-half star than a 4-star one. read more

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Delicate Taiwanese food. Every dish is prepared with care and each brings unique combinations of taste. I recommend the jerky starter - a very good sampling of warm meats. The dumplings were also delicious. Have never tasted a dumpling of this quality. They were quite different from cheap ones because the outer dough is chewier, which I really enjoyed. You won't find any fatty, greasy Asian food here and portions aren't huge. Not cheap, but really nice for a night out. The decor is calming and warm with a retro feel read more

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I had high expectations of this place, because I love their sister restaurant, "Bao." However, it was a little bit disappointing. The thing is, everything tasted fine... but that was it... it was only "fine." When I am paying £30 for suckling pig that is meant for 2 people, I am expecting the skin to be crispy and the portion to actually BE for 2. The taste was ok, and of course, the gua baos were nice. As for the famous "Shoupa Chicken," it was flavorful but a bit greasy for my taste. The special soy milk drink was actually my fave part of the meal. We ended up paying £90 for food that we could have made at home, and left slightly hungry. read more

Xu Restaurant - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

Out of all the Taiwanese inspired restaurants I've been to, this is the best in the world. Unfortunately I don't live close enough to eat their frequently but I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to try some authentic. read more

We've visited this restaurant (a more fancy sister of the trendy Bao eatery) just a couple of days after it's opening, for lunch. It was EXCELLENT. Great new flavors unknown to us from other Asian restaurants. This was something completely different. And the service was very pampering too! Also wonderful cocktails. In total: Go go go! read more

With interiors reminiscent of 1920s Shanghai and neatly uniformed waiters, this restaurant definitely makes a unique visual impression just at the edge of Chinatown. We popped in for a quick visit pre-show and luckily we grabbed a table (definitely need to book in advance, even midweek!). We had the vegetarian xian bing (a large pan fried dumpling with plum vinegar packed with fresh greens), the shou pa chicken and chilli egg drop crab with mushroom sticky rice. The boyfriend had the Taiwanese sausage dumplings. The shou pa chicken was lovely - tender cuts of chicken with flavourful dripping and crispy chicken skin crumb (yum!). However the star was definitely the chilli egg drop crab accompanied by soft mantou buns, perfect for wiping up all that amazing rich sauce. If it weren't for that dish, I would definitely question the hefty pricing (ended up being £75 for two of us including one glass of wine and one soft drink).. but I can't say it will put me off coming back to try more! read more

Xu Restaurant - Chilli egg drop crab - Taiwanese Near Me - London, XGL

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Terrible service. The waiters' services are all depending on how much you order. Every dish is quite small and the waiter keeps pushing you ordering meals and drinks/beverages as much as you can. Do not recommend to go to this restaurant. read more

The food wasn't bad but it was very fusion-esque and not traditional like at all. The portions were also very small. I loved the setting though, the rustic chinese vibe was very nice. Unfortunately they didn't have the famous peach buns when I went so we didn't try the dessert. read more

I don't write bad reviews but....I couldn't help myself. My friend and I (both professional women in our 50s) are traveling from the US. We arrived at about 6pm on a Tuesday evening. The host asked what we wanted. We requested a table for 2. He said he could not seat us. The restaurant was almost empty. We asked how long and he said they were booked for the night. He clearly had no intention of seating us under any circumstances. This was not a big deal for us---we've eaten in great restaurants around the world, that are pleased to share their food---the best aren't snooty. The host saved us. I'm glad I did not give them my business. read more

Meh. Quite fancy in the interior decor and food presentation. But the taste is just ok. I think they may put quite a lot of effort in branding. Yet not enough effort on the food. We had been to 3 Chinese restaurant in London and non of them are worth second visiting. Disappointed. read more

I finally made it to the long-awaited Xu last night, and it did not disappoint. This is the new place by the people behind Bao, but it has a very Duck & Rice type of vibe to it, with sleek interiors and a fusion take on traditional Asian cuisine. We were recommended to get 6 of the Xiao Tsai "small plates," but none of them spoke to us, so we skipped straight to the Mian Shi section and got the Cuttlefish Toast, Xian Bing, and Beef Pancake. All of them were amazing, but I would also probably rank them in that order. While I am a massive fan of shortrib and bone marrow, that was the least interesting of the bunch and didn't wow me. On the other hand, the cuttlefish toast tastes like a cross between prawn toast and squid ink risotto. The xian bing are eaten like soup dumplings - this is pretty traditional and I haven't had it for ages! For the mains, we got the shou pa chicken, the char shui iberico pork, and the chili egg drop crab. I would also probably rank them in that order. The Shou pa chicken is a must order - it seems very simple with a ginger and scallion dressing, but somehow is just so tasty. The iberico pork collar is very fatty and only comes with enough for a large bite (split between 3 people). And the chili egg drop crab was interesting, especially since I love salmon roe, but I didn't like that it was served lukewarm (I suppose that could have just been our server). It went great with plain steamed rice. We also ordered the bamboo chilli fat rice, which was more like the dim sum sticky rice dish, and in hindsight I wouldn't order again. And for vegetables, we got the kale and lap yuk, and a mushroom vermicelli dish. My friend didn't like that the kale tasted very raw (would recommend that they blanch it), and the mushroom vermicelli was cold and that didn't do it for me. But overall, I was very happy with the whole dining experience and would definitely come back for the Mian Shi dishes and mains! read more