Arthur (17 February 2008)

All the raving about Royal China’s dim sum made me visit them. Unfortunately we were there for dinner so there was no dim sum available. It was evident from the décor that we were entering the world of haute cuisine. The room was fringed with black marble and specked with gold, there were mirrors everywhere to make the area seem larger than it actually is.

Unfortunately it seems like they did not pay as much attention to the food as they did to the ambience. Cold cut starters were delicious - probably the best dish of the evening, but still far too expensive for the quantity.

Like most pretentiously posh restaurants, they don’t give you the actual price of some of the most expensive dishes – you are teased by the label 'seasonal price' and left to wonder how much that fish actually took out of your wallet. The steamed sea bass with ginger and scallion was an unimpressive, undercooked fish which was too mild for my tastes. The sizzling sautéed beef with chilli and black bean sauce was burnt at the bottom and I had to scrape some of the meat out. Not what you want to be doing at a £100 restaurant.

The grand total came up to about £80 for three people without wine, which to be honest isn’t too bad in retrospect. It wasn’t that the food at Royal China was bad by any means, it’s simply that it isn’t good enough to warrant the price tags it waves about. I could get just as decent food in a Chinese restaurant for a fraction of the price.

Claypz (26 November 2007)

I was a little apprehensive about going there because of the previous reviews. We arrived at 7:30 for our booked table, the receptionist was polite, courteous, and even made some small jokes on the way to the table. Some of our party were running a little late, the waiter took our drinks order and provided nibbles while we waited. When the waiter came to take our order, we advised him that we were having a lot of difficulty in choosing and needed some help, he said not a problem and brought a senior waiter over, who made some recommendations to us, based on our like dislikes.

The starter arrived promptly all of the courses - all four arrived in a timely fashion, and with an unobtrusive service. We spent three hours at the table and at no point felt rushed to leave. The food was some of the best I have tasted in London. As a party of six people with a variety of taste / view was heart warming to see that no one could think of one thing they didn't like. I would return to Royal China again, and I would recommend it. The one tip I would offer is to book.