Mandarin Kitchen

The food is good ~~but wirhout good service~~go to The other restaurant is the same~~

I stayed a block away from this place when on a trip. I wasn’t sure about it at first because it doesn’t look like much from the outside, and it’s on pretty touristy street, but after looking up reviews we decided to give it a shot. Also, the place was packed on a Wednesday afternoon for lunch which was a great sign.
We ordered hot and sour soup, which is a favorite of mine, and theirs did not disappoint. We also got two beef dishes, crispy fried, and some other sweet and tangy kind and both were delicious. My friend ordered an eel dish and loved her entrée. Definitely a must if you are in the area. I could have ordered the whole menu.

Excellent lobster noodles… Best I’ve ever had. Other cuisines are also delicious. Prices fairly reasonable and the attitude of waiters way better than Chinatown. So far my favourite Chinese restaurant in London

I have been coming to Mandarin Kitchen for years and when I visit London on business or vacation.
As a Trinidadian, we love Chinese food and their Aromatic Duck and the Lobster and noodles are absolutely divine and to our taste.
Highly recommend them and the service is great.

I have been coming to this restaurant since 1994, this place is truly amazing the Lobster with noodles is to die for and the scallops are amazing. Definitely worth the money.
I will definitely visit this place again when I am in London.

Mmmmmmmmmmm. We came here and ordered an absolute feast! My favourite were the chilli prawns and squid and toffee apple and pancakes for dessert!

Very very Disappointing. Got prawn noodles. Totally bland. I mean, honestly. Is this really the best Chinese in London? How sad. I’m a former new yorker, now living in zurich, and recently returned from Beijing. This is among the blandest Chinese I’ve ever eaten.

The ‘Mandarin Kitchen’ is opposite my favourite Chinese restaurant in the area, ‘Royal China’.
I think BOTH are among the best in London and easily surpass the many others in Queensway.
The Seafood is the reason to go here instead of ‘Royal China’ in my opinion. I have had lobster on a number of occasions and have always been impressed.
The service is good, the ambience is generally busy.
If you are in the area and are in the mood for chinese seafood this is a great option.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This place is famous for their Lobster Noodles. It’s just really delicious. A must try! Their scallops aren’t too bad neither.

I’d like to echo the praises for the lobster noodles. Just really delicious. We also had one of the beancurd dishes (forget which one), the kai-​lan, the red snapper with ginger and the Cantonese fried roasted chicken, all of which were very good. The beancurd in particular was great, very silky. The portions are fairly substantial, don’t let your eyes get too greedy, which was our mistake. We all had to waddle out the door by the time we were through.
We went there for a dinner the weekend of Chinese New Year and just be warned that for busy nights like that their reservations will only be for an hour and a half. Not that the staff were hovering and being very strict about the time limit by any means but just something to keep in mind.

I was unfortunately very disappointed with the restaurant, regardless of the fact that the food on everyone else’s table looked excellent! All the dishes had that gooey, gelatinous texture that I absolutely can’t stand. The Chicken Friend Noodle was tiny ramen noodles, half of which were fried, the other half were undercooked, as was the chicken itself. I had one bite of this dish and pushed it aside. Gross.
What is cool is how there is a while part of the menu for Lobster, Crab and Dover Sole, cooked in a variety of ways. We had the Sole steamed in a garlic and spring onion sauce which we loved — very healthy and tasty while still keeping the full taste of the fish in tact. Only thing is that when we asked what the dish was more exactly, it was descripbed completely differently — I guess I don’t speak Chinese which is a downside here.
I think this could be a good place, but the service is rude and the menu needs far more explanation.
Maybe I’ll be back, but probably not. Too bad Royal China was closed last night.

The best Chinese seafood in London. Which isn’t that grand a claim, since there’s not much competition. The lobster noodles are probably the best thing on offer here, though recently it seems they’re using less ginger. This upsets me. You literally cannot have enough ginger in any dish involving either noodles or lobster. With a dish consisting entirely of noodles and lobster it would take the entire ginger output of a small nation to reach the optimal amount in my eyes, so possibly take this advice with a pinch of salt.
The small scallops are masterful, the larger scallops less so but worth eating if they’re claiming to have run out of the wee ones. They haven’t, they’re just hoarding them for the staff to eat when the place closes. I’M ONTO THEM.
The drunken chicken is also worth a mention.

Have been a fan of this restaurant for quite some time since I arrived in the UK back in 1996. However, the last time I went before recently was around 2001 and since then there has been a change of management. The head chef, owner and general manager have all left and although the menu is the same and the restaurants’ initial look hasn’t changed, the food certainly have.
The famed lobster noodle is no longer as good as it used to be. From gastronomical, it has turned ordinary. To be exact, the lobster was overcooked and the «Jian Mian» noodles its cooked with isn’t texturally as good as it used to. Also, the restaurant’s old décor might have been good in the 90s, but now it just looks tatty and rather dreary. The other seafood are still pretty good. If you go, go for the seafood as the typical Chinese meat dishes are all too common.
Food ⁷⁄₁₀
Value ⁶⁄₁₀
Location ⁵⁄₁₀
Atmosphere ⁷⁄₁₀
Service ⁶⁄₁₀

Full post and photos @

Our mission for the night: lobster noodle. But we first indulged in some traditional starters (which do not frequent my little Chinese palate nearly as often as I would like): jellyfish with cucumber (and a not-​too-​heavy sprinkling of sesame oil), sliced pork knuckle, and deep fried baby squid in garlic & chilli (incredibly tender, in a light and peppery batter).
The starters were followed by another recommended dish: shredded duck with hoisin sauce, cucumber and shallots, wrapped in a light floury pancake. The duck moist, crispy, very fresh was tasty but at this point I was a bit like, dude, lobster. I came for lobster!
My vibes must have sent a little pin-​prick pulse straight into the waitress’s behind because suddenly there she was and lo’ and behold because we love food, because we’re greedy, and most of all because it was lobster, we ordered twice as much as any normal person would two enormous lobsters to be shared between the five of us, atop a five tonne plate of egg noodles.
Ok not five tonnes, but definitely two big red lobsters.
Nom nom nom!
Having been presented with plates of lobster-​heaven, our conversation hit an abrupt stop as we all literally threw our faces into the goodness. What can I say? The lobsters were big, meaty, soft, sweet and with roe ~ quite simply orgasmic ~ and the perfectly cooked noodles were coated in a not-​too-​sticky gravy containing a good hearty decent amount of shallots.
Because here at the catty life there is no such thing as too much shallots.
Two lobsters really hit the spot. We toyed with the idea of fighting over da-​bao (take-​out) if we couldn’t finish, but really, who are we kidding here? Lock, stock, barrel and all of the gravy, inhaled within five solid minutes of gastro-​induced conversation strike.
It really wasn’t like there was anything in this world that could have followed up the amazing lobster meal, but the troopers that we are, we gave it a go.
On the dessert menu was red bean pancakes (fresh, crispy edges and packed full of red bean paste), toffee banana (too cute as individual banana balls) and almond jelly (great solid texture, not the soft crumbly stuff) but what impressed me most of all was the complimentary fruit platter which was OMG not just oranges, but a pseudo fruit salad of strawberries, kiwi fruit, melon, pineapple and well, oranges.
Big thumbs up to Mandarin Kitchen!

One thing I missed about London: the lobster noodle from this place!
Generous portion of lobster, and its meat is juicy and fresh.
I have been to many places in the US, UK, Hong Kong, China, yet have never tasted anything better than their lobster noodle and this is not an exaggeration.

I’m glad that my friends from Sin took me to Mandarin Kitchens for dinner and is my first visit to Chinese Seafood Restaurant. I strongly recommended the Lobster Noodles, is the biggest lobster i’ve had in London, very tasty and the sauce was perfect !
After that, we had Almond Fruit Curd and Red Bean Pancakes as a dessert. The Red Bean Pancakes was just alright for me as i’m not a red bean fan. I love Almond Curd not too sweet just my taste.

Enter a realm of superior seafood, where lobster and other shellfish of exquisite freshness and expert preparation will boldly take you to worlds where no humans have gone before!
After 4+ miles of fun-​filled sightseeing and urban hiking from the London Eye, we were so glad to see our destination: dinner! We love seafood and were like sweet-​toothed kids in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory! The heavenly and varied selection of crustaceans, bivalves, mollusks (sea cucumber, abalone), and fish made us uncharacteristically indecisive – but in a good way.
Our server recommended the lobster, and after seeing a neighboring couple savor it, we were sold! Normally, we enjoy our seafood as pure and simple as possible, so we were considering to have it raw or just steamed. Our server seemed a bit more than suggestive in getting us to order it with ginger, scallion, and noodles – a popular choice – which we were really glad we did :-D
To start, we had Phoenix Prawns with Chili and Scallions. At first, it was a sight to behold: each prawn was BIGGER than most lobster tails! The accompanying sauce appeared to be strong, but served to complement the incredibly flavorful crustacean.
Then, the lobster arrived and we were stunned by how incredibly flavorful it was: totally superior, cleaner, and more succulent than any of its Maine relatives served at $$$$+ restaurants!
The ginger and scallions complemented the meat incredibly well, and the noodles were just perfect texture and seasoning as a complementary component for the star crustacean.
Not only could you taste the pristine freshness, it was clearly visible as the meat was plump in every crevice right down to the tiny swimmerets. Another point that stuck was how easy it was to extract the meat from the shells.
When we asked our server how the lobster was so tasty and so fresh, he pointed out that they get them straight from the Scottish Sea and the chef is an expert in carving up the lobster so that all of the pieces cook perfectly and the patrons have an easy time eating their meal.
By that time, we were quite satisfied but curious to try dessert. Since our server was perfect so far, we asked him to select our dessert: a hearty and palate balancing red bean pancake.
All in all, this was a seafoodie’s dream. I understand how the service can be perceived as brusque to efficient (the bus persons are a bit blunt), but showing an earnest interest in the restaurant and having a great server made for a wonderful evening of food and service.
When we stayed in London, the currency exchange rate was far more disadvantageous for Americans – everything seemed to cost double. The exceptions to the rule were with Starbucks (everything was half the quids as supposed dollars, and their sandwiches were amazing!) and Mandarin Kitchen, which proved to be a relative value for such a memorable experience (~47 quid for 3 amazing courses).
I just wish I could teleport to Mandarin Kitchen every now and then :-P

By the end of my three week trip to Europe I actually had a yearning for Chinese food. The only other Chinese meal I had in the previous three weeks was at Crispy Duck on my second night in London. So here I was back in London on my final night, and my cousin suggested Mandarin Kitchens.
I was told that Mandarin Kitchens is one of the higher end Chinese restuarants in London with its white tablecloths. I soon found out they charge pretty high end as well. For our party of three we had a Fish Soup, Steamed Seabass, and Lobster Noodles. The soup was flavorful yet pretty standard, the steamed seabass was good, and you’d be hard pressed to screw up a dish that’s laced with a whole lobster. While I know we may have ordered some of the higher price items on the menu, I never would have thought three items would cost 65 bucks. Oh waaaait, it was 65 quid. And back then that equated to $ 130. So there ya go, $ 130 for a three item meal for three.

Delicious seafood, fresh soups, and perfectly cooked noodles are just a few of the pros about Mandarin Kitchen. The service is quick and efficient, but seems to be more of a team effort and it can become difficult to know exactly which one of the employees is your server. I feel like we had 10 different people bringing things to the table and such.
A good meal very close to the tube station.

This is a specialist seafood restaurant with an extensive menu and good value for money. The restaurant is decorated very simply but the atmosphere (evening-​time) was buzzing.
The main focus of the menu was the lobster, which was offered in a variety of ways, such as cooked with ginger and chilli, or you can even request for any sauce.
The other shellfish on offer was also extremely tasty and the food was all imbeccably presented and some of the dishes looked like works of art.
The prices may seem a little higher than the other Chinese restaurants in Queensway, but it is good value for money as the food is perfectly cooked and there are so many new things to try.
This restaurant is perfect for a get-​together with friends, or even for a business lunch/​dinner as the food is perfect for ordering big amounts and sharing between everyone.