Hunan
The wine list ran to 216 labels at Andy Hayler's February 2023 visit, priced at roughly 2.1 times retail, a markup he measured as well below the London average, which is an unusual thing to find in a Chinese restaurant in Belgravia (Andy Hayler, 2023).
Why go
Mr Peng arrived in Britain from Taiwan in the 1970s and opened this room on Pimlico Road in 1982, cooking Taiwanese and Hunanese food when London Chinese food meant Cantonese. His son Michael runs it now, and the family has held the same address for 44 years (Harden's, 2026). There is no menu. You tell them what you dislike and how much chilli you can take, then 12 to 18 small courses arrive, and everyone at the table eats the same thing. Michael Peng is the oenophile in the family, and the list he built is the reason a cook books here rather than at the other Chinese restaurants in this bracket. At the February 2023 visit the kitchen was run by Sam Wong, previously senior sous chef at Ming Court in Hong Kong, with Mr Peng senior still stepping onto the stove.
Order this / avoid
- Order: you do not, and that is the format. What arrives is worth knowing about. The Infatuation rated the pork in a bag highly enough to write
Your favourite chippie now has a serious rival,
and called the crispy green beansas crispy and fresh as clothes you get back from the dry cleaners
and the steamed scallopsmelt-in-your-mouth good.
Do choose your wine, because that list is where the value is. - Avoid: the sea bass roe if it comes round. Andy Hayler scored it 10 out of 20 and wrote that it was
seriously overcooked
anddry and disappointing,
and he found the ribeye overcooked in the same meal. Sunday is dark.
What locals & experts say
- Andy Hayler (2023), 13/20: the sharpest reading of the kitchen's range in one sitting. The crisp beans were
one of the best of the meal
at 14/20 and the black cod with vinegar had anatural buttery flavour
and wasnicely balanced,
while the sea bass roe wasseriously overcooked
at 10/20.1 - Harden's (2026 edition):
Veteran Pimlico Chinese, run by the Peng family, famed for its banquet-style service,
Food 4/5, average spend GBP 152. The 2025 edition's survey line wasThe dishes just keep coming and not one of them disappoints.
2 - Jake Missing, The Infatuation (2022), 8.2/10: on why the format works,
By eliminating choice, Hunan also removes any capacity for food envy or jealousy.
3 - Hot Dinners: files it as
one of London's best Chinese restaurants, loved by chefs and critics alike,
and warns thatthere's going to be plenty of heat, but you can also warn them just how much heat you can take.
5 - Local rec: Jeff's list records a chef's recommendation carried by Vittles. Neither the article nor the chef could be traced in this pass, so treat it as his provenance rather than a citation.
Good to know
- Timing: Monday to Saturday, two services, lunch from 12.30pm and dinner from 6pm. Closed Sunday.
- Booking: essential, through the restaurant or SevenRooms. Tell them your dislikes and your heat tolerance when you book, because that is what the kitchen cooks to.
- Price: GBP 69.80 a head at lunch, GBP 119.80 at dinner. Same format, so lunch is the way in.
- Corkage: GBP 60 per 750ml bottle, though with a list priced near retail there is little reason to bring your own.
- Dietary: a vegetarian version of the feast is published on the venue's site. There is no allergen or cross-contamination statement, and 18 shared courses is the wrong setting to assume one, so a celiac diner should call ahead.
- Address: 51 Pimlico Road, on the Belgravia edge rather than in Pimlico proper. Sloane Square is the station.
- Hygiene: FSA rating 5, Westminster, inspected 7 February 20266.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Rec via: "Vittles rec from chef." REAL.
Verdict
should-visit — Mr Peng came from Taiwan and opened this room in 1982 to cook Taiwanese and Hunanese food at a time when London Chinese meant Cantonese, and the family has held the site for 44 years. There is no menu. You say what you dislike and how much heat you can take, and 12 to 18 courses arrive. His son Michael runs it now and prices the wine at roughly twice retail, which in this postcode is close to charity, so the pairing you would never risk elsewhere is affordable here. It falls short of must-visit because the cooking is not consistently at the level the price implies: Andy Hayler, going dish by dish, found the beans and the black cod excellent and the sea bass roe and the ribeye overcooked in the same sitting.