Dim Sum Duck
An owner-couple runs this 20-odd-seat room on King's Cross Road, hand-making dumplings that carry a Michelin Guide listing since February 2022 and a queue that forms at noon daily.
Why go
The dumpling craft is the story: The Infatuation's 9.0 review calls the xiaolongbao the best in London, "wrappers so delicate they're virtually translucent," and Time Out's 5/5 backs the har gau. Michelin's inspectors credit "great tasting, authentic Cantonese dishes cooked carefully using good quality ingredients." Demand outran the room so thoroughly that in January 2026 the team opened a second site at 180 Pentonville Road, two minutes away, running the same menu.
Order this / avoid
- Order: xiaolongbao and har gau first, then the char siu cheung fun,
glistening and truly packed to the rafters
per The Infatuation, with salt and pepper squid alongside. - Avoid: building the meal on the roast duck. The same review calls it "a mixed bag," fine when the fat renders gelatinous, beatable in Chinatown when it does not.
What locals & experts say
- Time Out London (Oct 2023, 5/5):
feast like there's no tomorrow on their particularly plump hargau (prawn dumplings) and huge xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).
1 - The Infatuation (Jake Missing, Sep 2023, 9.0):
The best xiaolongbao we've had in London.
2 - Michelin Guide (listed since Feb 2022):
an enthusiastic couple run this small, simply furnished restaurant.
3
Good to know
- Timing: doors at 12pm and 6pm; be there at opening or expect an hour in line.
- Booking: none taken at the original; the Pentonville Road site absorbs overflow with the same menu.
- Getting there: ten minutes on foot from King's Cross St Pancras.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: Michelin rec. Expect a queue
Verdict
should-visit — A couple-run 20-seater producing what The Infatuation calls the best xiaolongbao in London at single-dollar prices, with a Michelin listing since 2022 and queues so constant they opened a second room around the corner. The craft-to-price ratio is close to unbeatable; the duck inconsistency and the utilitarian room keep it off the top rung.