Park Chinois, London: Grab grub and a club at Mayfair’s seductive subterranean Chinese restaurant

The Chinese Lunar New Year has a way of making you want to do things properly. Not “grab a takeaway and call it festive” properly. If you’re going to lean into the Year of the Fire Horse in all its majesty, you may as well do it somewhere that understands theatrics.

Enter Park Chinois, and its Club Chinois hideaway.

This isn’t the quiet, incense-and-teapot kind of Chinese restaurant. This is velvet booths, golden glow lighting, and a House DJ spinning beats while you decide how many dumplings is one too many.

If you’re going to manifest abundance for the year ahead, you might as well start with crispy duck in Mayfair and a soundtrack that makes you feel like you’re having your dinner in the middle of a rave. Here’s why a night out at Park Chinois, and its Club Chinois dining space in particular, is like no other Chinese restaurant in London.

WHERE IS IT?

Right in the thick of Mayfair — just off Berkeley Square — which means it’s surrounded by sports cars, Rolexes and designer clobber. You know, the discreet kind of wealth. People who definitely own more than one blazer. Green Park tube is your nearest stop, and from there it’s a short little stroll.

Inside Park Chinois, it’s all 1930s Shanghai fantasy. Deep reds, gold accents, tassels, lacquer, plush banquettes — the sort of decor that makes you instinctively sit up straighter. It’s a Lynchian lounge — retro glamour but without the cosmic horror.

It’s a tale of two halves though — upstairs is the traditional, elegant dining room (Salon de Chine), downstairs is Club Chinois, where things get a lot louder and a touch rowdier. We dined at the latter.

WHAT’S SPECIAL?

Park Chinois is a supper club with serious Cantonese credentials. The menu leans into classic Cantonese technique but isn’t afraid of a little glamour. There’s truffle in the dim sum and rice. There’s theatrically carved duck. There are dishes that sound like (and are priced as if) they belong on a yacht in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour.

On the drinks side there are award winning cocktails and bottles of wine that would cost the Average Joe a couple of month’s wages. There’s the opportunity to be really decadent here if you're feeling flush.

But really, you come here because you want dinner plus entertainment. Though the upstairs dining space is serene, downstairs is opulent and OTT — gold trim and velvet curtains, with a soundsystem that’ll shake your champagne glass off the edge of the table. Club Chinois used to be known for its live entertainment while you dined, but that’s been traded for DJ decks and big beats. Which you’d prefer is up for debate — but I think I’ll take the tunes over the aerial acrobats of Park Chinois’s past.

WHAT’S NEW?

Right now it’s all about the new Lunar New Year menu. The à la carte menu has ten dishes specifically designed to ring in the Year of the Fire Horse, with plated priced between £20 and £68. Highlights include Fortune Glazed Wagyu Chae Sui (£68), Steamed Sea ​Bass Fillets with Cured Ham and Mushrooms (£48), and Stir-fried Kailan, Sakura Shrimp with Shrimp Cake sides (£33).

WHO SHOULD YOU BRING?

This is not your quiet catch-up-over-a-cup-of-tea spot.

Bring:

• A date you’re not wholly convinced will be bringing raconteur-grade chat to the table — the speakers will give you a perfect excuse to simply smile and nod along
• Old friends of which you’ve heard all their best stories many times over anyway
• Out-of-towners who want a taste of Mayfair glamour at its most flamboyant

It’s lively, sometimes loud, and definitely sociable. If you’re looking for deep emotional vulnerability and whispered conversation, maybe not. If you’re looking for “remember that mad night in Mayfair?” — absolutely.

WHAT SHOULD YOU WEAR?

Make an effort. Not black-tie, but don’t roll in like you’ve just done a Tesco run.

Smart trainers? Probably fine. A hoodie? Maybe reconsider. The crowd tends to skew glam — heels, blazers, sharp shirts, the occasional full-tilt fashion moment. It’s Mayfair. People dress like they mean it.

When in doubt: slightly overdressed beats underdressed here.

WHAT WILL YOU PAY?

Let’s not pretend this is a budget dumpling stop.

For dinner with a couple of cocktails each, you’re realistically looking at £90–£120 per person, possibly more if you get excited (and you will). Add in premium wine or a few tempting cocktails and that number climbs steeply, fast.

Is it cheap? No. Is it a full night out rather than just a meal? Yes. You’re paying for the velvet as much as the bao.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DRINK?

The cocktails are genuinely good — not just pretty, but balanced and interesting. The bartenders know their stuff, and you can go off-menu and get a classic served to perfection.

The wine list is extensive and is unashamedly premium and showy — though there are £60-ish reds here, you can drop £6,750 on a 2012 Libournais Petrus if that lottery syndicate has finally come good. But staff are helpful rather than intimidating. You won’t be made to feel silly for not knowing your Burgundy from your Bordeaux.

And honestly? The cocktails are a great draw here. The Macallan Highball (Macallan 12 Years Double Cask, Aberfeldy 12 Years Single Malt, Briottet Passion Fruit Liqueur, Plum Bitter, Grapefruit Soda, £23) is a great tall, taking the edge off the whiskey with a slightly floral finish. But the star is the award winning Moulin Rouge (Belvedere Vodka, Rhubarb Liqueur, Lavender Honey, Raspberry Cordial, Lime Juice, £19). It picked up the inaugural Michelin Bar Award in 2023 and is every bit worth the accolade — a rich, smooth, taste-bud-awaking berry blast.

MUST-TRY DISHES?

THE WAGYU. We’ll get into the specifics in a second, but just imprint that in your mind — GET THE WAGYU.

• Sea Bass Tartare (£23): Light, citric and with a generous portion of delicately chopped, deeply satisfying sea bass.

• Chef’s Selection Dim Sum (£22): Har Gau, Lobster Shumai, a seasonal Truffle bite, Atlantic Sea Scallop & Mui Choi dumplings, in a wafer-light wrapping. You won’t want to share, so consider ordering double.
• Grilled Black Cod, Sacha Sauce (£54): A beautifully-presented cut, with a BBQ-sweet sauce.
• Chilean Wagyu Rib-Eye Beef, Black Pepper Sauce (£75): The standout of the night — melt-in-your mouth chunks of Chilean Wagyu, soft and tender with a lightly peppery finish that doesn’t overpower the richness of the meat.

• Potted Rice with Seasonal Black Truffle (£56): Rice for more than £50? Worth it — a huge bowl of sticky rice infused with huge amounts of truffle. The most decadent rice you’re likely to have.

GET ON THE GUESTLIST?

Make that reservation. Park Chinois works best when you treat it like an occasion — it’s a bold, sometimes brash, venue, and one that meets energy with energy. The Club Chinois space is in your face — if you’re looking for a sedate night out, you’ll want to look elsewhere, or at least head upstairs. But if you’re feeling like celebrating, want to shake off your meek-and-mild office persona and step into a more decadent slice of London, it’s the one. Excellent cocktails, very good food —go for the story, stay for the wagyu, and it’s guaranteed to be a memorable night.

Park Chinois is at 17 Berkeley St, London W1J 8EA. Make a reservation direct at parkchinois.com, or via OpenTable.

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