Top 3 Affordable Asian Restaurants in Chinatown London
Ever since I first moved to London in 2019, I have been obsessed with finding the best Chinese restaurants in Chinatown London. But not just Chinese food, actually – Asian cuisine is so tasty, and the many different cultures have smashed into the most delicious menus. It’s easy – I’ve been crazy about pho soup, Vietnamese bao buns, and Chinese dumplings ever since I can remember. It seems like I was always looking for great Asian restaurants in Central London during my time there – and I’ve found quite a few that could qualify as the best Asian in London. Now that I’ve moved back to London, I will write other mini-guides about Asian restaurants in Chinatown, including their amazing bakeries, the best bubble waffles, and bubble teas.
3 Best Affordable Asian Restaurants in Chinatown London
Today, we’ve got three Vietnamese and Chinese names under our scope for the best oriental restaurants in London. I have not included Ivy Asia London nor P.F. Chang’s Asian Table, and I have kept it to affordable Asian restaurants in London. For sure, these will get your tastebuds working.
Plus, these are all Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants in Chinatown London – which means that you’re very near Piccadilly Circus, Soho, Covent Garden, and Leicester Square for an after-dinner stroll!
Let’s get to the best affordable, yet high-end Asian restaurants London!
Chinatown Bakery London
In this article, I’ve decided to keep it to what I think to be the three best Asian restaurants Central London. We won’t be talking about Asian food London Bridge or in restaurants and eateries in East London.
All will happen within a mere three or four streets, and the first of these best Asian street food restaurants in London is Chinatown Bakery.
I had never eaten Asian pastries in London before – nor in Paris, nor in Rome. The taiyaki machine in the window shop is a pure attraction. It blurts out cute fish-shaped waffles dripping with almost-chewy custard that you just want to have dozens of.
Still, if I see Chinatown Bakery as one of the top Asian restaurants in London, it is because of its street food feel. There, you can buy cakes and pastries by the slice – or whole if you dare! – filled with peanut paste, red bean paste, or coconut. There are many more pastry options than you could imagine. I often had a walk in the area and stopped by Chinatown Bakery to get a chicken curry-filled bun that would be a highlight of my day.
The prices you pay at Chinatown Bakery are nothing like what you’d expect walking in a Central London bakery. For three pastries (fluffy and huge), you’ll only be set back a fiver, sometimes less. Definitely one of the best restaurants for Asian street food London.
Best Vietnamese Restaurant in London: Pho & Bun London
From the first time I stepped foot in Pho & Bun on Shaftesbury Avenue, I’ve seen it as one of the best Asian restaurants Central London. It’s located just outside of the proper Chinatown area delimitated with huge arches.
So yes – as I was saying, Pho & Bun is one of the top Asian restaurants in London. Their offer is wide and varied, and you can get anything from tasty sticky chicken wings to a delicious, homemade pho soup. Pho is my favorite dish, and I’m always on the lookout for the best oriental restaurants in London for this reason also.
It’s a proper Vietnamese restaurant in Central London with all the tasty combinations you expect from such a varied cuisine. The prices are very affordable – I am always down to pay around a tenner for a pho soup in London. I usually also take the sticky wings I was mentioning above, because this is a crucial – delicious – element that would make even the high end Asian restaurants in London blush.
The atmosphere is nice and lively, and you just feel like taking your partner or your friends there before a play or a movie on a Saturday night. Best Asian in London – check.
Best Dumplings in London: Beijing Dumpling London
Ah, Beijing Dumpling – Asian street food in London at its finest. Dumplings are a sort of Asian ravioli filled with vegetables or meat preparations. All you need to do is pierce a hole in the dumpling so the inside cools down. Then, you suck in the juice and start biting in. Pure please.
Beijing Dumpling was introduced to me by a friend who’d been living in London for years before she moved back to France. To this day, it’s one of the best Chinese restaurants in Chinatown and nothing can top it.
There are vegetarian options for those who don’t eat meat – and lots of fish options too. My favorite dishes to order from Beijing Dumpling are the crispy duck and its rice pancakes, the sautéed veggies, and the dumplings – of course.
You can’t book at Beijing Dumpling and the often (very) long line of people waiting outside even in winter will tell you all you need to know about the food’s quality. As you’re waiting, though, you can see the cooks preparing the dumpling dough in the window and that is a show that you really don’t want to miss.
Top 3 Affordable Asian Restaurants in Chinatown London
Here they are – the three top Asian restaurants in London you should try out today. These are restaurants made even for beginner tastebuds when it comes to Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants in London. You can add more spice, but you don’t have to – all the dishes are perfectly balanced for you to enjoy another type of cuisine in London on a bud(get).
Having previously lived in both Paris and Rome as a fashion makeup artist, she enjoys the freedom that freelancing offers and loves to spend her time seeking out new and exciting spots in London.
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