Dining
The 5 Best Dim Sum in London
Steaming baskets and trolley service: where to eat the best dim sum in London.
In short: our top picks are Yauatcha, Royal China and A. Wong. 5 places in total, chosen on merit, with the full reasoning below.
Dim sum is a whole way of eating, unhurried, sociable, best on a Sunday with a pot of tea and too many baskets. London does it from grand Cantonese rooms to weekend trolley service. These are the places worth gathering people around a big table for.
| Place | Area | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Yauatcha | Soho | £££ |
| Royal China | Bayswater | £££ |
| A. Wong | Victoria | £££ |
| Phoenix Palace | Marylebone | £££ |
| Plum Valley | Soho | £££ |
-
Editor’s choice
Yauatcha
Why we pick itA glamorous Soho dim sum teahouse with a Michelin star; the prawn dumplings and the patisserie both shine.
-
Royal China
Why we pick itOld-school Cantonese dim sum done at volume and done well; go early at the weekend.
-
A. Wong
Why we pick itTwo Michelin stars and the most refined dim sum in London; the lunch is a masterclass.
-
Phoenix Palace
Why we pick itA grand, bustling Cantonese hall near Baker Street; trolleys, tanks and proper dim sum.
-
Plum Valley
Why we pick itA sleek Chinatown favourite for refined dim sum and Cantonese cooking.
Before you book
Go at lunch and at the weekend for the full experience and the freshest steaming, and book the popular rooms. Order more than feels sensible and share everything. And take the tea seriously; the right brew cuts the richness and keeps the table going.
Common questions
What are the top picks in this guide?
Yauatcha is our editor's choice: A glamorous Soho dim sum teahouse with a Michelin star; the prawn dumplings and the patisserie both shine. Yauatcha, Royal China and A. Wong lead the guide, with 5 places in total, all chosen on merit.
How does Lamplit London choose its recommendations?
Every place is chosen on merit, after first-hand visits where possible, with no pay-for-placement. Read our full method at https://www.lamplitlondon.com/how-we-choose/.
Related guides
Dining The Best Restaurants in South Kensington
Museum-quarter dining done well: where to eat around South Kensington, from grand to neighbourhood.
5 places Read guide →
Dining The Best Outdoor Dining in London
Terraces, gardens and riverside tables: where to eat outside in London when the weather turns.
5 places Read guide →
Dining Dog-Friendly Restaurants in London
Where to eat well with the dog in tow: the London restaurants and pubs that welcome both of you.
5 places Read guide →
Dining The Best Breakfast in London
From grand hotel rooms to the perfect greasy spoon: where to start the day well in London.
5 places Read guide →From the Journal
Eating
Dinner as the Main Event: The Case for the Tasting Menu
Most great dinners in London are a means to an end. You eat, you talk, you move on to the bar, the show, the rest of the night. The tasting menu refuses to be that. It is not the warm-up. It is the whole event, the curtain up and the curtain down, three hours that […]
13 Jun 2026Read →
Eating
The Enduring Ritual of London Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea is not a tourist trap. It is one of the last unhurried things London does on purpose. Lunch is rushed and dinner is a production, but the hours between belong to nobody, and that is precisely the point. You sit. You stay. You let an afternoon become long. In a city that measures […]
2 Jun 2026Read →
Eating
London’s Quiet Obsession with Japanese Food
London does not fall for things loudly. It just keeps showing up. And over the last decade or so, the city has shown up for Japanese food again and again, until it stopped feeling like a special occasion and started feeling like a default. You see it everywhere now. The counter where one chef feeds […]
28 Apr 2026Read →Readers also viewed
Dining The Best Pies in London
From a Bermondsey marble counter pouring parsley liquor to a Mayfair pie room with nine in-house varieties, here are six London places that still treat the pie as a serious thing.
6 places Read guide →
Dining The Best Restaurants With a View in London
Six London restaurants where the skyline or the Thames does real work, from Level 31 of the Shard to a riverside igloo at Tower Bridge. Where the cooking earns the view.
6 places Read guide →
Dining The Best Birthday Restaurants in London
Six London restaurants built for a birthday that people actually remember: pink rooms, jungle grills, Greco-Roman drama and two Big Mamma blockbusters, across budgets.
6 places Read guide →
Dining The Most Quirky Restaurants in London
Six London restaurants where the room is the event, from a pink loo and a champagne button to dinner in pitch dark. Good food first, gimmick second.
6 places Read guide →