The view was pretty incredible even though we weren't seated by a window. Really slow service even though there's tons of staff everywhere. We were hoping to grab a bite to eat after going on the London Eye and before going out to a club. My companion kept saying "excuse me" to staff as they walk by. They basically just ignored him, even though it was obvious they could hear him. He had one soda the entire meal, and he always orders two or three, but he just couldn't get anyone to wait on him. I liked the soup. The chicken fried rice was nothing special. The pina colada wasn't bad. I wish I could have talked my friends into sharing the Peking duck. The staff spoke almost no English and didn't understand our requests at all. I told three different people that I wanted my check separate from the couple I dined with. This can't possibly be an unusual request but they screwed it up. A normal one hour meal ended up taking two hours, and we had VIP tickets to a club at 10:30 so we were a little annoyed that they couldn't get their shit together. We wanted to go back to the hotel and change into cute club clothes. read more

Very pleasantly surprised! The food was excellent, and incredibly authentic for non-Chinatown London Chinese food. Ordered the seafood stir fry which was fantastic (but medium is far too spicy - go with mild!!). Very good variety of seafood (shrimp, squid, fish) and veggies (all the classics + lotus root!). Was additionally very impressed with the aubergine and greens / veggies we ordered as sides. Knocking down 1 star because of wine menu - the vintage they have in the cellar does not match with what's on the menu, and they refused to budge on price. With that said, wasn't too expensive to begin with - just seemed like false advertising to me. Service has never been an issue, generally fairly empty establishment. Overall, would recommend - solid Chinese food and great views. read more

Zen China Restaurant - Aubergine - so delicious! - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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After enjoying the views from the London Eye, I got hungry. I was craving Chinese food and little did I know that this place was in super close proximity - County Hall. Hard to find if you aren't looking for it but there were signs advertising this place and a nice fellow who told us exactly where to go. The inside is nice and big. There was only one group at a table. Felt like me and my mom had this place to ourselves! The view of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament is a huge plus. Lucky for us, it started to rain while we were enjoying our dinner. As for the food itself, loved the fried rice with beef. The chicken with the sweet and sour sauce on the side was pretty tasty and the vegetable egg rolls were amazing. The food got an A. Taking one star off because I felt like we were a burden to the servers. read more

Zen China Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

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The experience was very lackluster and had zero order, sadly. We were immediately seated and our "waiter" (who was actually their bartender) took our drink order right away. When I asked what came on the dim sum platter, he didn't have a clue what it came with and got the manager to which I appreciated. The manager leaned in to explain the ingredients but his breath nearly wiped me out. I actually leaned away during his explanation. We decided to go a la carte and again, the waiter didn't seem to have any answers to simple questions. The food...sadly better going off with a Panda Express (and I'm not a fan of that place). The manager decided to start an argument with a waitress who had seated a very large group and while I applaud her for demanding respect and standing her ground, the manager should have the decency to address issues off the floor. The large group must've had the manager flustered because he seemed to be. When my dirty martini came at the end of my meal, it tasted exactly like fish vinegar!!! Disgusting! I took it upon myself to ask the bartender to remake it and was met by the manager explaining the bartender would be back within 5 mins. Sadly I didn't have 5 mins to spare. He apologized and said he would take the drink off my bill and give me a new receipt. I waited as he printed it out and ran back and forth from the large group, forgetting about me. Thankfully the waitress reprinted the receipt so we could just leave. The manager then looked at her like she was to do it the whole time, but he explained to me that he'd do it. We were starving and honestly wish we Would've kept walking for better food and service!! read more

Visiting London for the first time. Great location! At the south bank of the Thames, near the London Eye, beautiful window view of the Big Ben, the Westminister bridge, and the Abby. Tried take out yesterday, the presentation of food was understandably not too good, but the taste of the food is pretty authentic. Totally wiped off the rumor of bad Chinese food in London before my visit. When facing the question of where to eat, we came again. A simple bowel of beef noodle (which we consider 验金石 how food is in Chinese restaurant) was made really appealing in a cute bowel and really delicious! My son finished it all including the last drop of soup. The only issue now is that it is late night and what time he is going to bed. read more

Zen China Restaurant - Great location! Great food! - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

Summary: + Great location to take out of town guests, amazing view of Big Ben and the Thames + Really good food, authentic pecking duck + Reasonable price for central London (esp for half of a duck) + Off menu specialties are very tasty : spicy stir fry pot(麻辣香锅), spicy crayfish pot(麻辣小龙虾) - Don't expect great service I discovered this place on Chinese Twitter. They happen to make two of my fav dishes: pecking duck/北京烤鸭，and spicy pot stir fry (麻辣香锅）. Despite the underwhelming reviews, the food is actually really good! The pecking duck is authentic. The slice it in front of you, separated the skin and the meat, and it's served with shredded green onion, cucumber, wraps (in a steamer) and two different dipping sauces. The sauce was a bit sweet to my taste, but it's an insignificant problem comparing to the joy of eating REAL pecking duck outside of China. They also ask you to choose a way to prepare the leftover duck meat (and bones), I'd always opt for soup. The stir fry clay pot was really good as well! Spicy, numbing, full of flavour, and it has lotus root in it (my fav stir fry veggie). They are not on the menu but you can ask for them. There are a few different types: beef, pork, chicken, seafood and mixed, all accompanied by assorted vegetables. But I do understand why it has such a bad rating on Yelp: the service! Our server didn't seem too patient and had no smile at all, but he did take the order right and delivered pretty fast. I don't usually care too much about services for a regular eating out so wasn't really disappointed. However, it all went down hill when a large group of people walked in. They didn't make a reservation and was hoping to get two adjacent big tables. The restaurant was quite empty but there were only 2 big tables at the back, and one was currently occupied. The servers were obviously annoyed and they didn't hide it, outraged by the guests who forgot to make reservation, and refuse to seat them. After a lengthy discussion between the organizer or the group and a waiter, he finally agreed to let them wait, very unwillingly. What makes the situation worse was that he refuse to let them sit at smaller tables while waiting, but also didn't tell them to wait outside, so about 20 people were just standing in the middle of the restaurant chatting with each other, while other guests were trying to enjoy a private dinner conversation with the view of Big Ben... While they are waiting several people sat down at the small tables, and one of the waiters looked furious because he had to cleanup after. When the big tables were finally ready and the guests moved over, the waiter intentionally threw menus around loudly to show his anger, again ignoring the fact that there were other innocent guests around trying to enjoy their dinner. I was amused, but I don't think others were feeling quite the same. The whole attitude was unnecessary and completely unprofessional. The restaurant is at a great location with a perfect view of London landmarks at night, the venue is spacious and decently decorated, and the food is good. I can see that it's trying to create a fine dining ambiance, but the service is seriously below par, which ruined all the other effort. My advice for the restaurant would be to train the servers how to act professionally, or pay them better so they can stop being grumpy all the time. That being said, if you are not going with a giant party without reservation ahead of time, you are probably fine =P. read more

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OK food, not great service. But the views are spectacular. If you're a Londoner, I would not bother with this place. The food was not bad - in fact the Peking duck (real Peking duck, not the crispy duck you usually get in Chinese restaurants) was spectacular. But the service was inattentive with a lick of pretend politeness that almost smacked of feelings of superiority. And you can get similarly good Chinese food elsewhere. But if you are a visitor, the setting is great. Located inside County Hall, a grand old building by the river that formerly housed the headquarters of the London County Council. You get great views of Big Ben and the houses of Parliament, which in the evening are beautifully lit up. Just don't go expecting too much. read more

Really lovely place... perhaps one of the best dining views in all London. The food was "pretty" and very elaborated and was actually good. We were a group of 4 and we all ask different things and end up trying each other dishes and was everything lovely. Price was ok too. Will go back. read more

As a big fan of chinese food I can say that I've tried a lot of restaurants serving that type of food. The only one I can recommend is Zen China Restaurant! Fantastic food and service! read more

I came here for the crayfish. But not as good as I expected and not the same as the one in China. Noisy and the service is just so so. read more

Zen China Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

Came here in late March for a friend's birthday. This place was really hard to find even though it's near somewhere iconic like the London Eye. If not for the guy who wears a Zen China vest I wouldn't have known which way to enter the restaurant. We came here mainly for my friend's craving for Peking Duck. Needless to say, the Peking Duck met expectations. The last I had Peking Duck was my trip to HK in 2009/2010. This is the only Chinese northern-style cuisine I love (my tastes are more Southern) and it was really good. The rest of the food was not so memorable and even though the interior was really nice (as well as the amazing views of Elizabeth Tower and Westminister Abbey) there weren't many people there and it was pretty much a quiet atmosphere (we were easily the noisiest and biggest group of customers). I recommend this place for Peking Duck, interior and excellent night views. Be prepared to fork out a decent sum of money for it though! read more

My Husband and I decided to give this place a go as we were staying in Marriott wonderful quick service and the food was extremely authentic. Do not understand the other review of a takeaway as all the food was prepared fresh. My husband's father owns lots of restaurants in Paris and has a keen eye for quality and a gripe of bad service. He was impressed and would take his business clients here to wine and dine during the week. The only thing was this place was hidden and quite quiet when we went for a weekend. We are both from London and eat out very regularly so we understand what to expect from a restaurant with a panoramic view. Would say if your regard voluminous food as being 'good' then this place is not for you. It's all about cute cutlery, lovely portion sizes and freshly prepared foods. It is also very clean which, sadly for London, is not the norm! read more

Very good quality food and superb service in my opinion. I may not be a total expert in how a person should be served and what not, but I felt as been treated very well. I'll definitely go back. read more

I don't mind the dated decor even at such price level. The view is great of course but almost nothing else. Steamed scallops in shell were over-cooked and rubbery. Har gau was passable as skin was starchy tasting. Veg hot n sour soup tasted like they accidentally dropped the entire pepper shaker into it. Sweet and sour pork was scarlet red and I don't even think the meat is fresh. The biggest let down was the stir fried mix veg and egg fried rice. Simple and basic they could be but really looked and tasted like they can't care less in that kitchen. Sorry, didn't bother with the photos. Was watching them slice the Beijing duck skins off the birds for other table... Will feel better if they had trained the guy with the knife. One star up as the waitresses do try hard. And the rose by glass saved my evening. I hope they read this and resolved to get better... For the sake of the spectacular view on Big Ben and Westminister Bridge outside the windows. read more

Zen China Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

It was not exactly what I expected. Food was great (some of the best duck I've had in a long time) but way overpriced. Another blip is the staff's inadequate behaviour. They did not have knowledge of some of their dishes and also managed to mix up our order. Well, it was rectified and all but did we really have to go through all that on our private night out? The space was not that big and quite noisy actually. read more

Not that impressed by the quality of food.. Used a Groupon which gave £120 worth of value for £39 but the food was something you could get at the local takeaway store for £5.. read more

Almost tasteless food. There was no indication for an extra charge for non tap water. And they also didn't indicate a £4 charge for each serving of rice. Terrible service. I would have rather gone hungry/given my money to McDonald's. Don't.go. read more

If all you are going for is the views and a nice looking restaurant then you will be fine. If you want any kind of service or good food, go elsewhere. This place seems like a tourist trap and being tourists we fell into it. The restaurant itself is beautiful. The dining room is the kind you would expect for a very high end establishment. Furthermore, the views of the Thames, parliament and Big Ben are all breathtaking. Unfortunately the food was completely uninspiring. It wasn't bad it just wasn't nearly as good as some fast food chinese like Panda Express. The service was bad however. Basically they take your order and return with your food with nothing in between. If you need something you have to almost yell across the restaurant to have come over with a heavy air of annoyance. To top it off they included a mandatory service chargeon our lunch of fifteen percent. I would stay away. read more

We went to Zen China on a Saturday evening, restaurant was a little quiet. We were staying at the Park Plaza and this was a few minutes walk. Our table was on the raised level and we had fantastic views across Westminster Bridge. We ordered a few drinks, crispy duck, beef in oyster sauce and a chicken curry with steamed and egg fried rice. We were expecting a lot from the restaurant but have to say that it was over priced for the quality of the food. Interesting that previous reviews rate this as one of the best Chinese restaurants in London, I would have to say there are many that are better. read more

Stopped here last month with a friend of mine and it was a pretty nice experience. My friend is a Chinese food addict and she was eager to try this place out, so we went there. Frankly I've got to say that I wasn't expecting much, but when we got close to place I was mind blown. First of all its a spectacular building both inside and outside, adding to that its huge. Also the design inside is authentic maybe from the 18th or 19th century, cant tell for sure. The staff are friendly and welcoming, also they are Chinese as well as the band that plays in the restaurant, I suppose same goes for the chefs. I like how there's a strict discipline and yet style. Everything is being served like in a top notch restaurant, which doesnt mean that this one isnt. Food is fairly nice, cooked and served from really experienced people, making sure you enjoy your stay and dishes. The prices are average for a Chinese restaurant in this part of London. I'm looking forward to visit this place again and have even better experience. read more

Evening Meal for 2 on Saturday 17 March 2012. Absolutely excellent. Service was attentive, not rushed, and we were able to enjoy the meal throughout the evening over a period of 2 hours or so. How Chinese should be enjoyed. Sat on the top tier of tables, overlooking St. Stephen's Tower (Big Ben). We found choosing from the menu better than the Set Menus. Really enjoyed the food and wine. We had lowered our expectations due to reviews on here, but our experience was a meal to remmber. Excellent. read more

It was only OK. Decent views but spotty service- could hardly get our glasses of water refilled and it wasn't even crowded. And they were slow to take our order and slow to bring the food. Also the food was ok but nowhere near worth the price. And maybe this is standard in London but £3 for an 8 oz diet coke with no refills is a joke. And the bathroom in the basement was out of order so we were directed to the staff bathrooms. These things happen but it was not handled gracefully. If you want to charge such high prices, the service should be great. read more

Excellent views, great photo opportunity right outside on their terrace away from the public crowds near the London eye! The decor was rather fancy and is a quite beautiful environment. Bathrooms were clean. My husband loved the Peking Duck. I had King Pao King Prawns dish. The food was really tasty. The prawns were large, but our portions were a little small. We supplemented our meal with fried rice and steamed dumplings. My husband ordered two large bottles of sparkling water for our table. We thought the customer service was very fast and friendly. I thought it was worth it for the view as well as the delicious Peking Duck. read more

This restaurant has changed names recently but still have the zen name on the receipt so I can't update it. The staff was friendly but seemed unsure of how to wait on people. The food was bland. I ordered the dumplings and watched the server take them to another table where the guest touched them, after realizing her mistake she went over picked them up and then tried to bring them to our table. Another table got the duck and when the server brought it out to carve it he dropped his gloves on the ground picked them up made sure the table didn't see him do it, put them on and used them to handle the duck. We only had 2 small bowls of soup, one order of dumplings and an order of stir fried noodles which totaled in 77£.. after waiting 25 minutes for the bill and paid, we spoke with the manager about the whole experience and he said sorry and that he had to be on the other side of the restaurant and was to busy. I would encourage you to steer clear of this place. The food isn't worth the price and it's unsanitary. read more

I went here after finding a special offer online which offered a £120 six-course meal for £39. Thinking it was a bargain, me and the missus went along and were really impressed by the location. Right opposite the Houses of Parliament with a gorgeous moonlit view of the river. We thought we were going to be in for a bit of a pampered evening. When we entered, we were shown to a really nice table on a raised platform. From here we could see the rest of the restaurant and whilst the room was an impressive size (part of the County Hall building), the decor was a bit naff. We were handed a cheap A4 photocopied sheet of paper without any accompanied explanation and were expected to tick off six dishes from a choice of twelve items. Remember, this was supposed to be a £60 a head meal we were about to receive from the restaurant's 'tasting menu'. No drinks list until we requested it (twice). Staff were smiley but obviously rushed despite the restaurant only being at a third capacity. After selecting the six dishes that were were to share (we were prevented from choosing six dishes each and had to choose six for both of us) we waited. And waited. The duck dish came and the chef carved at our table and we were presented with the usual pancake paraphernalia. I have to say that this was the best dish of the evening although for the price it was advertised at £20 for two, the portions were a bit on the meagre side and the duck skin lacked crispiness. The remaining five dishes were extremely disappointing especially as everything seemed to be deep fried. Even the beef strips which were supposed to be braised. The sea bass was also fried to death. In fact, the only taste was that of oil and batter. For everything. On top of that, we had a forty minute wait between some courses and the staff seemed really unorganised when we complained about the timings. Overall, what was supposed to be a romantic evening of fine wine and good food turned into a really dodgy, overpriced meal which we ended up rejecting most f the dishes after a few mouthfulls - not out of fullness but because it felt as if everything had been cooked five days ago in the same deep fat fryer. When we told the manager at the end of the food that we weren't that impressed with the food, he told us that we should have ordered a la carte! Not likely matey! OK, so we only paid £39 for a meal for two but that promo was supposed to reflect a meal that cost £120. I could have got the same menu from my local chinese takeaway at a fraction of the cost and still have had a better meal. Be wared: good views cost dear! read more

I loved my stay at this restaurant. My husband and I both love Chinese food and we often visit different places around London. However, we've never been treated this well and with such respect. The food is freshly prepared and served with a smile. I highly recommend the place, as it's the best we've ever been to. read more

Horrible. Just horrible. Every so often we go to a Chinese restaurant whose staff treats us like garbage for the offense of my wife being from China too. No free appetizer to munch on like the tables surrounding us. Large party next to us who arrived 5 minutes later all had their drinks and appetizers before we get anything. No tea. No water. In fact they never got us anything. We'd made a simple request to get a bowl of rice for our baby daughter before our food. They never managed to get us that in the 20 minutes before we left. They gave us the laughable excuse the rice was still cooking. Rice... in a Chinese restaurant... Congrats Zen China, you were the worst part of our trip to London. read more

This place is in a very great location with wonderful views of Big Ben and the river. The food was cheaper than we expected and was very good. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting London. read more

Went and I felt really sorry for the owners. I'd be heartbroken if this were my restaurant with beautiful views of the river and only three tables filled at 7:30 on a Friday eve. As you can imagine it was eerily quiet with all of us speaking in hushed tones as if in a library. Chinese spa music was softly playing in the background. Service was awkward. Most of the food was not very good. The hot and sour soup was thick like hair gel and tasted old. The spring rolls bland. The salt and pepper squid was soggy. The Peking duck however was pretty damn good. The third best I've had in London after Hutong and min Jiang. They serve it here with a fair bit of duck meat and the second course as a salt and pepper duck was rich and tasty. The duck was well trimmed of fat. It's also the only time I've ever had Peking duck and not wondered what happened to the rest of the duck. Alas, i would not go back. It is just too awkward to have dinner and all you can think about is how they can afford this location. The other dishes are what I can get from the local takeaway. read more

Beijing duck was amazing. I was surprised at the soup which followed duck dishes. it was so tasty. the staff are friendly and the window view was so nice. read more

The food there is fabulous!! This is not just another Chinese restaurant in town, in fact, I think it offers the best Chinese food in London. It was first recommended by a friend of mine from HK. We went there together to try the Peking Duck but saddly on that day it was sold out. So we order some seafood instead, and it didn't let me down. It was so tasty with full flavours. And good thing is , by the end of the day, the manganer gave us a discount voucher of 20% off. So I went there last Saturday to try the duck. This time I called in advance to secured a table by the window and yeah, I should definitely recommand the duck to everyone. Firstly it came with pan cakes and a chief carved the meat off the bones by your table and then we had the rest of the meat in a lecttuce wrap. And the meat is very juicy, well cooked, really works out with the ho sin sauce! read more

I liked the restaurant very much, the food were deliciously served, the services were friendly and the best of best was the Beijing (peking) Duck. Me and my wife ordered a half duck and bottle of wine. Few minutes later the chef came with our duck and started slice it in front of us. I'm always a fun of Asian food, love the crispy duck in Chinatown so I asked what was the difference between those two ducks, why Beijing duck is much more expensice than the other. The manager explained to us that their chef spent three days to prepare each duck before it served, many procedure, like stuff it, boil it, put special ingredients on it, peel the skin and so on. Anyway I would recommend the duck to everyone. Also love the Sea Bass with ginger and spring onion, and their special cold dishes were surprisingly nice to start a meal with. Although, I would suggest a sweeter and fruiter wine to go with Beijing cuisine. Will absolutely return with friends and family for Christmas! New Year would be the best place to watch the fireworks. read more

When ever I order from here, it usually takes no longer then 20 minutes for them. The food is consistantly good and they are always nice and efficient. If you like Chinese you will love this place! read more

I love Chinese food especially the kids they are mad about the noodles they have on menu. We had a nice dinner here. Staff were also very friendly. read more

expensive but delicious chinese food! I really had a good time with my partner, he loved it.