Stag City

The O2 Centre is one of north London’s great, gleaming eyesores but wander up the relentlessly grey Finchley Road and you’ll find one of London’s best north western Chinese specialists. As far as good-value group restaurants in north west London go, Stag City is an excellent one, and it’s deceptively big—full of comfy banquettes for twos, fours, or more. Come here safe in the knowledge that this homely space can fit serious numbers. The menu extends to favourites like kung pao chicken and mapo tofu, but it’s the Xinjiang dishes you should concentrate on. The ding ding noodles (hand-pulled noodles that start out whole before being chopped into bouncy little chunks) are deliciously stir-fried in an umami-ish tomato sauce with lamb and vegetables, and the big plate chicken is suitably elastic and filling.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch