A Wong

*A Wong will be closing from 1 August and will be decamping to the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair for a six-week residency from 18 August to 26 September, while refurbishment of the Pimlico restaurant is underway. The original site is expected to reopen at the end of September 2026. * Since 2012, Andrew Wong’s Pimlico restaurant has re-defined high-end Chinese dining not only in the UK but, arguably, for anywhere outside Asia. The no-choice, 30-dish tasting menu takes inspiration from far and wide – Hong Kong for the dim sum, Shaanxi province for the bao, Anhui for the fermented wild sea bass – but the result is unmistakably Wong’s own vision, not least in its striking presentation. A martini glass suspended over ice, for instance, contains finely chopped green beans spiked with wasabi soy encased by a quivering shell of osmanthus jelly, while ribbons of tofu wave in a limpid soup like the fronds of a sea anemone. At its best, Wong’s cooking melds astonishing creativity with the most alluring of flavours and sublime contrasts of textures, everything held in a delicate balance by the surest of touches. Consider a candied walnut stuck onto a trio of honey-roast roast pork slices, each daubed with gravy to glue onto shavings of frozen foie gras, grated as finely as sherbet; or wagyu tartare, presented in a caviar tin and adorned with shards of crisp potato, its chilli heat balanced by the citrus jolt of yuzu when dolloped onto a barely-there ‘pancake’ of pear. Wong’s contemporary interpretation of Chinese cooking is so compelling that when a faultless nugget of sweet-and-sour chicken arrives (an affectionate nod to his parents’ Cantonese restaurant, Kym’s), it feels like an uninvited old friend gatecrashing the party. At £200 a head for food, however, it is not unreasonable to expect this level of perfection throughout, and our most recent meal fell short of that. There were basic errors (prawns not properly shelled) and some dishes tasted of very little at all – even if they looked lovely (cheung fun refashioned as an inside-out wafer of pork or an al dente roll of Peking duck, for example). Overall, we longed for more nuance to the flavours rather than an insistent, unremitting savouriness. These criticisms might have been easier to stomach had there been more charm to the service. Empty plates were whisked away with lickety-split haste, a neighbouring table was brought Pouilly-Fumé not Fuissé, and being moved to the empty bar to eat dessert in solitude seemed ungracious while our seat upstairs was filled with the next round of punters. Perhaps we visited on a rare off-night; certainly, the advance planning required to secure a table here (or a seat at the counter, with its direct view into the kitchen) indicates there is no shortage of takers.

This, on first inspection at least, unremarkable-looking Chinese restaurants is one of the capital’s most interesting and progressive restaurants. Oxford graduate Andrew Wong took over his parents’ common-or-garden Anglo Chinese in 2012 following the death of his father. Originally planning a life far removed from restaurants, Wong says it was pure luck he ended up falling in love with cooking. Run by Wong’s wife Nathalie, the 42-cover dining room is relaxed and unpretentious while a downstairs Forbidden City bar is a darker, more atmospheric space. Wong's menus showcase a mix of the familiar – there are takes on Cantonese restaurant classics such as sweet and sour chicken and crispy duck with pancakes – with Chinese flavours and dishes that are virtually unknown in the UK. The restaurant points to the fact that China has 14 international borders with each one offering a diverse cuisine, and at A Wong the intention is to give a flavour of them. Menu options include a multi-course option served in the evening and a lunch tasting menu, but for those who wish to be in total control there is an a la carte dim sum lunch menu featuring signatures such as Wong's 999 layered scallop puff with XO oil.

3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence