Royal China Club

Royal China Club, Baker Street: The Verdict

If you have been to Royal China Club once, the question on a return visit is not whether the food will impress — it is whether it will match the memory. The honest answer is yes, reliably. This is one of the most consistent addresses for serious Cantonese cooking in London, and the lunchtime dim sum in particular holds up visit after visit. The Michelin Plate (2025) and consecutive Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe rankings — including a #216 placing in 2025 , are not decorations; they reflect a kitchen that does not coast.

The Room

Walk in and the visual register is immediately clear: gold leaf detailing, red lacquer, white tablecloths, generous spacing between tables. This is not the slick minimalism of Hakkasan Mayfair, nor the stripped-back informality of Barshu. Royal China Club occupies a register that is dignified and expansive , five private dining rooms, a room that reads as occasion-ready without being stiff. The visual cues signal a certain kind of Chinese dining institution: formal enough to bring a client, relaxed enough to bring family.

The Dim Sum Case

The editorial angle here matters: if you are considering a weekend lunch or a midweek dim sum session, this is where Royal China Club earns its strongest recommendation. The Royal China group built its London reputation on dim sum, and the Baker Street flagship delivers the most dependable daytime selection in the group. Spicy prawn and pea shoot dumplings, taro croquettes with mushroom and truffle, scallop and preserved cabbage cheung fun , these are not generic trolley items but carefully executed Cantonese standards. The sweet offerings extend the case: steamed red date buns and coconut moss dumplings with black sesame round out a dim sum service that sits comfortably at the leading of the London field. For weekend brunch specifically, the format works well for groups of four or more who want variety across a shared table. Compared to the dim sum at Four Seasons on Gerrard Street in Chinatown, the Club trades some of the old-school Chinatown energy for more room and more attentive service , a trade-off many diners will prefer.

Dinner: When to Push Further

The dinner menu is where Royal China Club separates itself from the broader Royal China chain. Classic Cantonese roast meats , duck, crispy pork belly , anchor the reliable middle of the menu. Push into the upper registers and the offering becomes more unusual: pan-fried king scallops with foie gras, whole Dover sole with XO sauce, live shellfish from seawater tanks, and dry-aged abalone priced at market rate. The ceremonial end of the menu includes whole suckling pig at £400 , relevant for groups planning a celebration rather than a standard dinner. This is not a menu designed to be read quickly. For explorers who want to go beyond the standard Cantonese repertoire, the more unusual regional dishes at dinner are the reason to return after an initial dim sum visit. Hunan and Imperial Treasure offer different angles on Chinese cooking in London , Hunan for a set-menu, no-choice format, Imperial Treasure for a Singapore-rooted approach to Cantonese , but neither occupies exactly the same ground as the Club at dinner.

Service and Booking

Service here is fast and task-focused , described by diners as Chinese-style service at its leading: attentive, efficient, not conversational. Do not expect the tableside ceremony of a fine-dining European restaurant. Expect to be looked after practically and promptly. Booking difficulty sits at moderate: reservations are advisable, particularly for weekend dim sum where the room fills. Loose-leaf teas and an international wine list cover the drinks side; the tea is the better call with dim sum.

Price and Value

At £££, Royal China Club sits in the middle tier of London Chinese dining , above Chinatown staples, below the luxury pricing of Hakkasan. The value case is strong at lunch, where dim sum across a shared table keeps the per-head cost manageable. At dinner, the bill can escalate quickly if you move into the seafood and abalone sections of the menu, so it is worth scanning prices before ordering. For context on the wider London dining scene, see our full London restaurants guide. If you are planning a broader trip, our London hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest.

The Global Context

For food-focused travellers who have eaten Chinese at a high level internationally, Royal China Club holds up well. It is not attempting what Restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin does with Asian-inflected European fine dining, nor the contemporary American-Chinese register of Mister Jiu's in San Francisco. It is a Cantonese institution doing Cantonese cooking seriously , and at that, it delivers. If your London itinerary also reaches beyond the city, The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood are all worth plotting into the wider trip. For London wineries and beyond, see our London wineries guide.

Bottom Line

Book Royal China Club for weekend dim sum if you want one of the most reliable Cantonese brunch sessions in London, with enough room and service quality to make it comfortable for groups. Return for dinner if the more unusual Cantonese dishes , or the ceremonial end of the menu , are what you are after. At £££, the value is genuine at lunch. At dinner, know the menu before you order. Google rating of 4.2 across 1,121 reviews signals consistent crowd satisfaction, not just critical approval.

Quick reference: 40-42 Baker St, London W1U 7AJ | £££ | Moderate booking difficulty | Dim sum at lunch is the priority booking | Google: 4.2 (1,121 reviews) | Michelin Plate 2025 | OAD Casual Europe #216 (2025)