LDNReview
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Dim Sum & Duck
Included In
The first time we ate at Dim Sum & Duck it was a Wednesday evening. The sun was setting tangerine and lilac down King’s Cross Road, James Turrell-ing the empty tables outside this tiny Cantonese restaurant. We ordered some dim sum. Rich and delicate xiaolongbao, slippery cheung fun, artful prawn and chive dumplings. It wasn’t just good. It was fantastic. We devoured it, and then we ordered more.
The last time we ate at Dim Sum & Duck it was a Tuesday night. There was a hungry queue of people waiting for a table snaking down the pavement and a visibly flustered Liverpudlian woman was desperately trying (and failing) to make a booking because “their phone always rings out”. This, reader, is the hype machine. And it’s part and parcel of recommending restaurants. Especially when they’re among the best in the city.
photo credit: Koray Firat
Getting a table is no mean feat. It’s walk-in only and every day from 12pm there is a queue. Locals, big wheely suitcases, the lot. Now that the masses know about this pokey, 20-odd seater spot, it can be easy to dismiss Dim Sum & Duck as a wardrobe-sized fad restaurant. Yes, there’s barely enough room to roll a cigarette inside and no, the makeshift gazebo doesn't look like it will survive a gust of wind. But in place of niceties, there's the food. You can’t ignore it. The pork xiaolongbao, wobbling with broth inside, is too delicate. Its mountainous plates of wok hei-flavoured beef ho fun much superior to all others. The crispy chilli beef a more lurid-tasting masterclass than the one down your road.
The highest echelon of IYKYK London restaurant hype has long since passed for Dim Sum & Duck, but its food is just as good as when it first opened. For the impatient this is a nightmarish restaurant and for those suffering from teenage, NME-era hang-ups about the coolest band and most unlistenable unreleased demo tracks, there are less busy, lesser-known restaurants in London.
Even if the meaty part of its name isn’t an essential order, Dim Sum & Duck is still worth shouting about. That's the thing about the best restaurants. They’re always compelling and should always be celebrated. And there’s no doubt that Dim Sum & Duck is making the best all-round Cantonese food in London.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Prawn & Chive Dumplings
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Shanghai Soup Dumpling
photo credit: Jake Missing
Cheung Fun
photo credit: Jake Missing
Pork Dumplings In Chilli Oil
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Roast Duck
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli