China Tang at The Dorchester turns 20: review

China Tang at The Dorchester

(Image credit: Courtesy of China Tang)

China Tang has been an uplifting pocket of colour and Cantonese cuisine beneath London’s Dorchester hotel since 2005, when the late Hong Kong-born businessman and restaurateur Sir David Tang opened the restaurant as a cinematic homage to 1930s Shanghai. The idea was simple yet audacious: to revive the romance of the city’s Haipai era – that heady fusion of Chinese tradition and Western modernity – through a restaurant that married elegance with wit.

Two decades later, the mood endures. China Tang at The Dorchester remains a lavishly detailed time capsule, where art deco geometry meets the allure of an old-Shanghai salon; a space that still hums with cosmopolitan decadence and after-hours intrigue.

Wallpaper* dines at China Tang at The Dorchester

The mood: art deco meets old-Shanghai salon

To mark its 20th anniversary, local studio Burrwood has refreshed the restaurant with a deft touch, retaining its distinctive patina while re-energising its key moments. The entry staircase now stages a ‘dramatic arrival’, lined with bespoke geometric carpet runners and stair rods that descend directly into the emblematic yellow cocktail bar.

In the main dining room, a new deco-inspired carpet anchors the space beneath a shimmering quartz crystal chandelier by Dimitri Stefanov. Private rooms are dressed in softer lighting, lacquered Chinese greens, and bespoke carpets that vary just enough to lend each its own rhythm. Throughout, Tang’s personal art collection remains intact, from Luis Chan’s vivid Psychedelic Psychos diptych and Fish to Yu Youhan’s politically charged Portrait of Mao, touchstones of modern Chinese art.

The food: theatre at the table

If the mise-en-scène is a dialogue between East and West, the menu remains firmly anchored in Cantonese tradition. Over 30 varieties of freshly prepared dim sum open the meal – from the prawn-filled Har Kau to the barbecue-flavoured Cha Siu Bao – followed by a succulent Peking Duck topped with Kristal Caviar and served alongside handmade pancakes, all dished up by staff in new uniforms designed by Huishan Zhang.

Those lingering over dinner should settle in for the ‘Art Deco Cocktail Flight’ – three miniature creations by the bar teams across China Tang’s outposts, evoking the character of each city: the complex China Tang Martinez (London), the silky Tang 12 (Hong Kong), and the bright, fruity Chishui Flow (Dubai).

China Tang at The Dorchester is located at 53 Park Ln, London W1K 1QA, UK.

TOPICS

Sofia de la Cruz is the Travel Editor at Wallpaper*. A self-declared flâneuse, she feels most inspired when taking the role of a cultural observer – chronicling the essence of cities and remote corners through their nuances, rituals, and people. Her work lives at the intersection of art, design, and culture, often shaped by conversations with the photographers who capture these worlds through their lens.