Cuisine: Chinese, Cantonese
Nearest station: Knightsbridge
Hoteliers have been catching on… gone are the days of relying on standalone restaurants, cafes or bars for stellar food and drinks.
Berner’s Tavern at London Edition, The Ned boasting eight restaurants, Shangri-La Hotel next to the Shard (Hutong, Aqua), Nobu Shoreditch, Ace Hotel with Hoi Polloi, Boundary restaurant and The Albion at Boundary House Shoreditch… I mean the list is endless ???♀️
Little did I know the Millennium Hotel in Knightsbridge was hiding a little gem by the name of Le Chinois.
Nestled in between the designer shops (it’s all Faaash-un dahlings ??♀️??), you can get your Chinese (Cantonese to be precise) food fix you haven’t been able to get at China Tang or Park Chinios for that matter ? the queues, the hype, the la Dee da – yep without all that!
So when I was asked to come review Le Chinois (forever grateful for such opportunities might I add?) I didn’t really know what to expect. Firstly, I’d never heard about Le Chinois. Second, I thought what’s Le Chinois going to be like ? in the middle of Knightsbridge, how’s the food going to be? Overly pretentious, expensive and hurried service? Yeah- ain’t I a freaking beam of sunshine and positivity?! ?
Come Friday evening and off we ventured onto Sloane Street. Having walked past Millennium Hotel countless times, I never thought I’d be walking in to review a restaurant ?
I have to say, growing up, Chinese food was one of my favourite cuisines. My mum knew the way to my stomach ??
First impressions of the restaurant:
- Open and spacious
- Friendly staff
- Fairly busy with groups of people scattered around
- Plenty of space to entertain bigger parties and corporate events
- Choice of bigger tables or cosy seating
I also didn’t think getting a table here would be an issue as you could pretty much walk in here and get a table. A rare find in London, I know. ?
This eve- the chef, Anthony, decided to spoil us and serve us his favourite dishes. It’s important to mention the chef behind this restaurant – Anthony Kong. A young chef who just loves cooking and has a real passion for food. He likes to serve typical Chinese dishes but with a twist. You will see what I mean by that…
Now, coming to a Chinese restaurant you would expect to be presented the typical dishes you would order…
Nope, not here. A welcome surprise came in the form of no sight of chowmein or stir fry beef.
We feasted on wasabi mayonnaise coated prawns…
…this delicious platter of lemon chicken
And this platter of dim sum, vegetable spring rolls and the surprise hero on this platter- prawn toast ??
As you can tell, this isn’t your typical Chinese meal. Of course you can order Cantonese dishes off their menu but I’m glad the chef decided to make the choice for us and serve us dishes we wouldn’t normally order like this Baked Cod with Champagne sauce ?
This sautéed Wagyu rib eye in red wine and black pepper sauce was pretty insane ? literally melted in my mouth! ?
However, I had to do that thing where you can’t resist but order the typical Chinese dishes you would order ??♀️?
So we ordered the Peking Duck and Beef Ho Fun.
I have to say the duck and the pancakes were quite average. The duck meat could’ve done with more flavour where as the pancakes were very doughy. The beef ho Fun was delicious but did not rock my world. I’ve had better of both! Should’ve stuck to the chef’s choice of dishes ?
Overall a food coma inducing experience. It was heartening to see the dining area get busier and busier over the next few hours- and it wasn’t just Hotel guests.
Our server Vincent took such good care of us. I obviously prefer reviewing places without making it known I’m doing a review but if I’m invited, there’s no way to avoid it. However, I noticed everyone was being looked after.
London has become so busy and I still can’t get over the fact that you have to queue at least an hour or so before you get a damn table in this town (unless the place is nice enough to take bookings) so it’s a pleasant surprise to come across places where you won’t require booking and can walk in with a table waiting for you! Ha! Not quite and not always, but one can hope ?
