London’s Chinatown, one bowl at a time.

The place

Why London’s Chinatown.

London’s first Chinatown was in Limehouse, in the East End, where Chinese sailors and the businesses that served them settled in the early twentieth century, and much of it was damaged in the Blitz. Restaurants opened in Soho — probably on Lisle Street first — and by the 1970s the streets around Gerrard Street were known as Chinatown.

Today Gerrard Street is its spine, with Wardour, Lisle, Macclesfield and Little Newport Streets around it. A Qing-style gate on Wardour Street opened in 2016. The food is mostly Cantonese, with Sichuan, northern Chinese, Malaysian and Korean kitchens in the mix.

Seven stops

Seven Chinatown stops and what to order.

All seven were on Time Out’s January 2026 or The Infatuation’s February 2026 Chinatown lists. Two have more than one shop in the area.

The route

The order that works.

1. Start with street foodChinese Tapas House on Little Newport Street makes jianbing to order — egg, sauce and a crisp cracker folded in a crepe. Share one while you walk.
2. Popcorn chicken next doorGood Friend Chicken is a few doors along. One box for the group is plenty.
3. Dumplings on Gerrard StreetSit down at Leong’s Legend for a basket of xiaolongbao. Bite a small hole, sip the soup, then eat the rest.
4. Malaysian detourTurn onto Macclesfield Street for Rasa Sayang: one plate of char kway teow, smoky from the wok, and a teh tarik.
5. Roast meat finaleEnd at Wong Kei or Four Seasons for roast duck over rice or wonton noodle soup — the meal Chinatown has been serving for decades.
6. The bag homeOn the way to the tube, stop at Chinatown Bakery for pineapple buns and taiyaki.

Take home

What to carry back.

• Buns from Chinatown Bakery. Pineapple buns and wife cakes are tomorrow’s breakfast.
• Roast duck to go. The roast-meat canteens will box it up for later.

Timing and getting there

How to do Chinatown well.

• Take the Tube. Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus are the nearest stations; Chinatown is a short walk from both.
• Go between meals. Early afternoon is calmer than the pre-theatre dinner rush, when the West End fills up.
• Expect canteen service. Some of the classics are fast, busy and brisk. That is part of the charm.
• Lunar New Year is peak Chinatown. It is the busiest time of the year; go early if you want a table.
• Mix old and new. A roast-duck canteen and a newer street-food counter make a better day than either alone.

Sharing math

How to eat Chinatown with friends.

• Street food: one per two. Jianbing and popcorn chicken are snacks, not meals.
• Dumplings: one basket per two. Everyone gets a couple.
• Noodles and roast meats: one plate each at the last stop. Here a full plate is the point.
• One person pays at each stop. Sort it out after with the split bill calculator, then check our tipping guide if you’re unsure about service charges.

Copy this

Your London Chinatown checklist.

Screenshot it and compare notes on the Tube home. New to dim sum? Read how to order dim sum.

• ☐ Jianbing — crunch out of 5: ___
• ☐ Soup dumplings — soup on my chin? ___
• ☐ Char kway teow — wok smoke verdict: ___
• ☐ Roast duck or roast pork: ___
• ☐ Wonton noodle soup, broth out of 5: ___
• ☐ Bakery bun for the bag: ___
• ☐ Walked under the Wardour Street gate: ___

Keep the trip

Five streets, one map.

Chinatown restaurants sit shoulder to shoulder, which is exactly why they blur together later. Snap each table in PlateDiary and every dumpling basket and duck plate is cut out on your phone into a save. Each stop becomes its own moment, and the map keeps them apart.

Give each one a stamp in Stamps, your stamp book of places you’ve eaten, and next visit its page shows your usual. Add your friends as companions so their pages remember this afternoon too.