Maybe not the dim sum powerhouse it once was but the old-style trolley carts are still just about worth going for.
New World serve a variety of Chinese dishes including Dim Sum, Cantonese and Provincial cuisine. Dim Sum trolleys trawl through the restaurant between 11am and 6pm, and a number of Dim Sum starters are available after 6pm. Catering for private parties of up to 200 guests is available upon request, and there are private banqueting rooms for both small and large parties.
New World Chinese Restaurant Picture Gallery
All In London Review
The New World looks great but isn't quite matching the aesthetics with the food right now.
It might be something to do with the restaurant’s dynamic size but The New World seems to have been a family favourite for a whole generation of Londoners some time back in the 2000’s. Now, it seems to be trading on its majesty and tradition rather than any of its present-day qualities.
Located at the end of Gerrard Street, The New World is old school Cantonese. A multi-floored banqueting restaurant, it goes all the way with a décor that incorporates lanterns, gold and red colour scheme, grand statues and various other Hong Kong/Cantonese touches. It certainly looks the part. With separate kitchens covering dining rooms on different floors the service is swift.
The problems at The New World seem to begin and end with the food – a fact that’s not going to endear it to anyone, no matter how many Saturday mornings they spent here when they were growing up. The dim sum is particularly bad. While the presence of the trolleys is a traditional touch, it seems to be at the expense of what’s on board. Tepid, tough and dry is all that can be said for some of the dishes. Perhaps taking orders and serving straight from the kitchen could be a future alternative? We order Chinese greens and pork belly from the menu, a good call since the greens come out hot and steaming, with a rich oyster sauce and the pork comes crisp, fatty and salty – perfect. What’s not perfect is when the bill arrives at the end of the meal. Having managed to swallow down a few dim sum dishes (avoid the cha siu bao and siu mai!) and ordered only the pork and greens we expected a reasonable total. To our surprise, the pork belly was amongst the most expensive we’d ever seen and the greens were priced way beyond their quality even with some leeway for import.
Sadly, The New World is a shadow of its former self. The prices went up as the quality went down. Chinatown is full of quality establishments and though it’s a sad state of affairs to have to say goodbye to this old favourite, good bye it is…
We've put together a list of the best places to get your Dim Sum fix
Hong Kong is a killer place to eat up dim sum and some of the best places you’ll find are sat - rather strangely – in shopping malls. Think vast round tables, thick carpet and trolleys of dumplings wheeled to your table. The New World may not be plonked in a Westfield (thank God) but it’s still the place to find the appeal of traditional HK dim sum in London and an experience worth paying for. The soft red décor is dotted with gold detailing and there’s a level of service that beats most China Town establishments. Chicken feet dumplings are an interesting choice.
User Reviews
T.A.O
Sep 24, 2013
It's difficult to write anything critical of the New World as I've been eating there for so many years. However, the food and service has changed - for the worse.
Prices are higher and yet food quality is down. The staff are fine but this place has unfortunately become a victim of its own success. It's still classy and I'll always love the dim sum trolleys but I'm no longer a regular.
Been going for around 10 years now the dim sum quality has slipped down but i still love the push trolly serving my dim sum! still enjoyable but wish the food standard goes back to where it wants was!
After a tasteless and way below average meal, I waited outside the restaurant whilst my other half went to the restroom. I noticed whilst standing there that there was an abundance of stickers on the windows claiming past accolades such as "Restaurant of the year 1986" and "Great places to eat 1987" etc, etc. All of which looked very out of date (as did the restaurant itself).
With so many stickers there was no sticker showing their "Scores on the Doors" rating.
A restaurant rating system that gives the public some kind of idea as to the cleanliness and food hygiene levels of a restaurant or place where food is prepared. From Zero to 5 stars, 5 being the best, I don't think I've seen anywhere with less than 3 stars and I try not to eat anywhere with less than 4 stars....well, all that was about to change!!!
I took out my iPhone, went on the web and searched for the scores of our recently visited establishment to find a July 2011 grand score of ZERO stars!!! For a moment, I felt like Maggie from Little Britain having tasted the village marmalade.
To get a score of Zero, you have to be really, really, really bad!
More research into this place brought up (no pun intended) notices that it was closed down in 2010 due to mice infestation.
From now on, I won't risk going into a place before checking their scores first, it's not worth it.
Hi, I lived in Hong Kong for three years and I have travelled in China very extensively. It is difficult to find authentic Cantonese dim sum in UK but I did find it at NW - superb food, fresh, served by friendly staff at good prices in an authentic setting. Returned for dinner the same night and, apart from the multiple TV screens booming out pop music (YUK!), this was an equally good experience. Please get rid of the TVs and put on some traditional Chinese music!!!!!
I have been going to New World fopr a number of years, the service has always been
excellent with friendly staff always willing to help.
The dim sum trolley are excellent value and quality, a large selection were you can eat as little as possible or as much as possible. Do not order everything at the same time as it will get cold and the trolley do come around constantly.
Certainly recomended to everyone.
Hands down the best dim sum anywhere! I grew up in a very traditional Chinese family eating dim sum almost every weekend with my parents and I can honestly say this place has the most authentic dim sum on par with dim sum places in Hong Kong. I've always been treated to excellent service here, from the lovely girls who greet you at the door to the trolley girls, wait staff, etc. When we lived in London, we used to eat here at least 3 times a week. Now that we live in the US, whenever we return to visit the UK, this is always the first place we eat at! This place is definitely for those who seek AUTHENTIC Chinese food, not the fusion type.
Great Dim Sum fresh from the trolley. It's not a 5 star restaurant by any means but the food makes up for decor or any semblance of giving a damn other than to get fresh food on your plate. The staff seem to be getting friendlier every year and I've never felt ripped off even though the bill is a characteristic mystery. The tea's often a little too strong but with trial and error you'll love many of their dishes and keep going back for them and others. For reference it is worth asking for the greens rather than waiting for a trolley.
I am surprised when I hear that people have not enjoyed the food here...suspicious that they haven't a clue or haven't been or where expecting something a bit posher, not really interested in the food.
Absolutely awful! Worst meal I've had in a long time! Food was completely tasteless, the ceiling was dripping on us and the service was rude and slow. Parts of the meal came 15 minutes apart with the vegetarian of the group sitting with nothing to eat!
We were in the restaurant on Sunday 14th February 2010 and enjoyed it so much we returned on Tuesday 16th. The food was delicious throughout and the service happy and jovial ...
We would recommend it as an experience not to be missed if you're in London, especially at Chinese New Year
This is the worst chinese meal I have had in my life. The meat wasn't even edible and the attitude of the waitress was awful too, the most miserable eating experience ever, there were 15 of us eating and no one could even bring themselves to eat the beef which looked like spam and the sweet & sour chicken was just pink grissle, awful. :(
Have visited this restaurant twice now and on each occasion the food has been outstanding, the restaurant is large and airy compared to many others locally and there is never a feeling of being rushed as is the case in the majority of chinese restaurants in the area.
Freshly made dim sum, we've been told it's the only trolley service dim sum resturant in London. Great for big group and family. ( we had 10 adults and 3 small children, but we were seated quickly without any fuss )
We had a lovely lunch last week, the aromatic duck was very very good. Will go back to try more dishes soon !
Best yum cha in London (and I'm very hard to please). Be brave. Take the plunge. Just say YES to the unidentifiable wonders that trundle past you on steaming hot trollies.
This place is always a winner. The food is fresh. Best seats are (of course) in front of the kitchen - otherwise it can take a while to get served, so best to take something from every trolly that goes past. Vegetarians can order off the a la carte menu.
Personal favourites are the Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce and the rice noodles with prawns.
Used to frequent this tired, shabby restaurant as the food/service was always very good. Went yesterday and was very disappointed.
Spring rolls were overcooked. Dim sum nothing special (it's all bought frozen anyway, not made on the premises), and the Peking Duck served on a bed of prawn crackers, whereas lettuce may have been nice/appealing. The hot pepper sauce was off as was the chilli oil.
The waitress was pleasant enough but stood over us the whole time, removing dishes from right under us whilst we're still chewing the last piece of each dish. It wasn't that busy (Mon evening) but we felt they were rushing to get us out.
The bill wasn't itemised, it seemed a lot for what we'd had - jasmine tea, Peking duck and four dim sum dishes = £36.50. After putting down the correct money, the waitress, who'd been standing over us the whole time we got the money out, pointed out that service was not included and placed the saucer back on the table. I told her that was fine and we left.
Tip - don't EXPECT a tip from your customers, esp. if the food is not great, service is hurried and over-zealous and you're possibly over-charging them anyway.
Having used the New World often over the last 30 years, we were in the UK again recently and visited for Dim Sum on Saturday April 19th. The food and service were up to their normal standard and our guests were very impressed.
Keep up the good work
Richard P
Last Chinese New Year(2007), I was introduced to this restaurant by a Chinese friend. The service and food was good. I went again with another Chinese friend- my first impression remained. However, this Chinese New Year(2008), I went with a group of non-Chinese. The waiters ignored us, it took forever to get a bowl of steamed rice (I had to demand for it in a loud voice)and one waiter was even downright rude! I understand that it was a busy day, but you don't have to be rude. Our complaint about his behaviour was not taken seriously. It seems that you only get good service when you go with Chinese people. I do not want to call the waiters 'racist' but it sure felt that way! Never again
I "discovered" the New World through some Chinese friends about 12 years ago and have eaten there at least every couple of months ever since.
The food is always excellent, service friendly and efficient and prices incredibly cheap considering the West End location.
Invariably, the majority of diners is Chinese, which speaks for itself!
Excellent and authentic Chinese Food, especially the Dim Sum, which is served in the traditional way with trollies coming round for you to choose from. The fact that it is almost always half full of Chinese is the best advert possible. House wines are palatable and reasonably priced. Thoroughly recommended.
