MiMi Mei Fair

Who Should Book MiMi Mei Fair

MiMi Mei Fair is built for the kind of evening where the setting is as important as the food. If you are planning a date night, a birthday dinner, or a client meal that needs to feel considered rather than corporate, this is one of the strongest options in Mayfair at the £££ price point. The theatrical Georgian townhouse format, Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025, a kitchen led by Peter Ho (formerly of Hakkasan Mayfair) combine to make it a reliable special-occasion booking. It is less suited to a quick business lunch or a large group that wants a traditional Chinese banquet format; the room leans intimate and the experience rewards those who slow down.

The Experience

The mood inside MiMi Mei Fair is immediately arresting. A Michelin inspector described the visit as feeling like stepping onto a Wong Kar-Wai film set, that is a fair summary of what you are walking into. Each of the three floors has been designed independently; ground floor booths offer a more enclosed, cinematic atmosphere, while the first-floor Parlour is brighter and slightly more relaxed. The narrow staircase connecting them is itself part of the theatre. Floral wall coverings, peachy leather seating, Ming-inspired porcelain set a tone that sits somewhere between a 1920s Shanghai apartment and a high-concept Mayfair dining room. The noise level is animated rather than loud, this is not a place for quiet conversation, but it is not a room where you will need to raise your voice either. The staff are described consistently as engaging, which matters in a venue where so much of the experience depends on atmosphere being actively maintained.

The concept is built around the fictional private residence of Empress MiMi, keeper of Chinese culinary secrets. It is an unusual device for a London restaurant, but the team behind Jamavar and Bombay Bustle has executed it with enough conviction that it reads as immersive rather than gimmicky. The result is a dining room that has genuine character, the kind of place that generates conversation before the food arrives.

The Food

Peter Ho's menu takes a wide-ranging approach to Chinese cuisine, with sharing encouraged throughout. The Peking duck, roasted over applewood and carved theatrically at the table, is the dish to order, it is the centrepiece of the menu and the reason most regulars return. The dim sum section is strong, with colourful xiao long bao presented in bamboo boxes, king crab dumplings with Chinese garlic, sea urchin turnip puffs. Among the main dishes, langoustines wrapped in angel-hair pasta and deep-fried, paired with black Périgord truffle, is a technically precise dish that justifies the price tier. The menu covers considerable ground across Chinese regional cuisine, more so than the tighter, Cantonese-focused approach you get at Hakkasan Mayfair or the Hunanese specificity of Hunan. For Sichuanese depth, Barshu remains the stronger call. The cocktail list is creative and worth exploring. The wine list has been flagged as poor value, so if wine matters to you, factor that in or plan accordingly.

The Michelin Plate designation, held in both 2024 and 2025, signals food that is cooking at a high standard without carrying the price premium of a starred venue. That is a useful positioning: you get genuine kitchen ambition at a price that is firm but not punishing. For context, comparable evenings at Imperial Treasure or Four Seasons in London will cost you less per head, but neither matches MiMi's atmosphere or production level.

Brunch and Weekend Visits

The dim sum menu makes MiMi Mei Fair a credible weekend brunch destination, though the theatrical setting works slightly harder at dinner when the lighting and atmosphere fully come into their own. If you are considering a weekend lunch visit, the first-floor Parlour is the better call, it is brighter and better suited to daytime dining than the ground-floor booths. The xiao long bao and king crab dumplings make a strong brunch centrepiece, the sharing format translates well to a relaxed weekend table. That said, if a pure dim sum brunch is the primary goal, the value proposition is less clear at this price point compared to more dedicated dim sum houses. MiMi earns its premium through atmosphere as much as through the kitchen, come for both, not just one.

Practical Details

MiMi Mei Fair is at 55 Curzon St, London W1J 8PG, in the heart of Mayfair. Booking difficulty is moderate, this is not a venue where you need to plan months in advance, but weekend evenings and peak times will require reservations. Aim for at least two to three weeks ahead for a Friday or Saturday dinner. The price range sits at £££, which for London Mayfair places it below the £££££ tasting-menu tier of nearby competitors but above casual Chinese dining. Smart-casual dress reads correctly for the room, the setting is formal enough that overly casual attire would feel out of place, but there is no strict dress code on record. The Michelin Plate (2025) remains the most authoritative credential on record.

For more on eating and drinking in the area, see our full London restaurants guide, our full London bars guide, our full London hotels guide, our full London wineries guide, and our full London experiences guide. If you are exploring Chinese restaurants beyond London, Restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin and Mister Jiu's in San Francisco are strong reference points for how high-concept Chinese cooking performs in other major cities.

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