Won Kei, London

Advantages: Cheap, fast, fun
Disadvantages: Arguably, not the highest quality food (but not bad either)

Wong Kei’s (pronounced “wonky’s”) is a well-known Chinese restaurant on Wardour Street, off Leicester Square in London. I had the pleasure of eating there last night, and this is a review of that visit. I have eaten at Wong Kei several times but had not visited for a number of years before last night. The restaurant is famous for its cheap food, fun and informal atmosphere, and most of all, rude waiters and I was interested to see whether the place ...
...over several floors and sure enough, when my husband and I entered, we were told “upstairs…please”. We joined the queue on the stairs, and after a few minutes, we were shown to two spare seats on the first floor. One thing to note about Wong Kei is that you do share tables with other diners, and this is usually part of the fun. However, we noticed immediately that most of the old, large tables for eight or more people had been replaced by a larger ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap, entertaining, unique
Disadvantages: Don't worry too much about hygiene

...no atmosphere and high prices. Won Keis bucks that trend completely. It's also the most eccentric restaurant in London and so an entertainment fest to boot. Let me explain. Here's what'll happen when you walk in. You'll be one of several parties shuffling throught the door. Quite fast, you catch the eye of one of the notoriously rude waiters, who will look you up and down and snap. "How many?". Give the number of your party and however many it is ...
...surprised by the bill. And whatever has happened to the waiters, a trip here is still a quite unique experience: the ritual entry, the mad decor, the fantastical mix of diners - Won Keis is a London institution and long may it remain so. Miss it at your peril. ... Read review

Advantages: great food at great prices
Disadvantages: service is very poor

...Sqaure. When my family found Won Kei it was great because we knew their was a great restaurant where you could go to get delicious chinese food without spending a fortune. This restraunt is surrounded by millions of other chinese restraunts but it is always busy because everyone knows its a cut above the rest. Won Kei is open till very late at night so you can always get a meal after watching a late night film in Leicesters Square. The food at Won ...
...though the service is bad people still continue to re-visit Won Kei because the food is so wonderful and the prices are so reasonable. I you are ever in London I would definatley recommend this restaurant to anyone who'd love to have a great meal for an extremley reasonable price. ... Read review

Advantages: Very cheap, very good food
Disadvantages: Rude service, ugly decor

...out!) the food at the Won Kei is *very* good, and considered by many to be the best Chinese in London. I usually go for a big one-dish-meal, as these seem to be the best - my favourite is the Chow Ho Fun (fat rice noodles) with Beef in Blackbean Sauce. This is the perfect place to go with a quick (perhaps rushed if you're sat in the basement) informal lunch with friends (though expect to be sat on a large communal table with strangers, filling up ... Read review

Advantages: Rude Food!
Disadvantages: Queues

This huge Chinese restaurant on Wardour Street has a cult following in London. Although as a chef I normally won’t go near a place that serves indifferent food, for this place occasionally I will make an exception, if I am drunk or up for a laugh. So I will add my Wong Kei story to the others, I think everyone who goes there must have one. I have been chatting on the Net for a few years now. When a lady that I chat to regularly in Bianca’s ...
...some of the UK chatters agreed to meet up with her. None of us had met all the others previously. As a couple of us are Londoners we decided that Wong Kei was the place to go to break the ice. As usual we were told by a surly waiter to join the queue of people snaking up the stairs, before grudgingly being given a table. We ordered the set meal, and settled down to our nosh, one of our party struggling because he was not allowed a knife and fork ... Read review