Ping Pong, Fitzrovia, London

I’d heard quite a lot (of good things) about Ping Pong, so popped in for a dim sum lunch last saturday. I found the whole thing a little disappointing to be honest. The ordering process, which is like a multiple choice exam, is quick and easy but didn’t really promote the opportunity to ask about various dishes with which I was unfamiliar, or for the staff to enthuse about particular dishes.

Our choices made, we awaited our cocktails which, though they arrived toward the end our light lunch, were delicious. The puff pastry chicken parcel was like pukka pies chicken and mushroon slice, limp and bland, and tasted like it had been heated in a microwave. Next course – the dim sum proper: chicken and coriander steamed parcels, the filling was not melt-in-the-mouth, as it should be but was bland and like a slippery bullet, overpowered by the liberal use of coriander. Steamed spicy pork dim sum, was better, a tasty mixture but unceremoniously arranged so that the sticy dough, did just that – stuck to the side of the bamboo steamer so that when I tried to lift the parcel it split and the contents just spilled out. Incidently, this happened with the chicken ones too. I thought I was just being inept, but my partner had exactly the same problem. Cripsy duck spring rolls, fared better, but still way too average – good filling, but outer casing a little cardboard.

I found the interiors to be tired and unkempt – could really do with a re-paint and a little more contemporary pan asian design. The asian influenced garden was covered with an ugly blue tarpaulin, which rather spoils the whole Zen serenity thing! Ping Pong has long queues almost every night, have i missed its charms or does it owe its popularity to the paucity of decent places to eat in that nether region of west soh

I had never thought of going here before, having walked past it hundreds of times, until a friend really wanted to go here for an early evening meal.

I was surprised by what a lively atmosphere it had inside. We were sat by the bar, which was comfortable and made it feel like we were in the middle of the action.

There was a bit of a wait for the food, but when it did turn up it was very very good.

I haven’t been back since, nor am I particularly interested in doing so - so it obviously didn’t capture my imagination THAT much, but I wouldn’t rule out going again if someone suggested it.

Now and again a retaurant comes along that captures people’s interest… when this place first opened a few years back everyone seemed to be flocking there. They do awesome jasmine tea that grows a flower in your glass and the interior is stylish and cool and a good environment to be in. Two things let this place down - the food and the service.
Food - this is not great dim sum. It’s not even good dim sum. It’s clunky and chewy and doesn’t resemble the fresh food it should be. The tastes all merged together after a couple of pieces and was very disappointing.
The service was lousy from the word go. We were seated at a bar type table despite asking for a regular table (and seeing them empty throughout the meal) which was very uncomfortable after a long day at the office. It took 10 mins just to get drinks and the food came in bits and peices over 25 mins. Finally we were given the wrong bill TWICE and when we gave up asking and paid the last bill we were stopped on the way out by a waiter to come and 'finish paying’ which was hugely insulting. The actual bill was under a quid less than the one we paid.

As with most of the posters on here, I love Dim Sum and have been to most Ping Pong restaurants in London! The food itself is great, the selection is pretty vast and so there is always something new to try.

I brought my parents, who have never really had dim sum, here and it was probably not the best place to introduce them to it! We had to wait a long time for a table, but did eventually get a great seat. We were given a time limit before we had already sat down, which,although standard practice for this chain, didn’t go down to well purely because of the wait we had already endured. Because it was busy, the service wasn’t great and when I didn’t know what something was, there was really much help forthcoming. As such, we stuck to the old favourites (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).

As it is, the food was great as always, but the experience wasn’t. I don’t think this location is always like this, but won’t be going back peak time to find out.

Dim sum is hot and delicious but service is bad. If you come for the sunday buffet expect long waits in between dishes.

This is definitely the busiest of the Ping Pong branches. The service reflects this. They seem to always be in a hurry, but they often forget things (I had to ask for a fork 4 times before I got up and retrieved it myself). But it’s fairly priced and you get what you pay for. Don’t go with a large party--you’ll wait forever for a table. Drinks at the bar are just okay--definitely not worth the money. Definitely some of the coolest toilets in London. The men’s and women’s are sort of connected and so you can eavesdrop on the ladies gossiping in the toilet next door. Add to that the futuristic doors and it makes for one cool urination experience.

Oh yeah, back to the food…
The dim-sum value menu is good if you want to taste lots of things, but if you’re in a group you are better off ordering a bunch of different dishes and sharing. On Sunday they have an all-you-can-eat deal for about £16.

I love dim sum & took a friend here for his first time ever trying dim sum food out (he hates seafood!). We both enjoyed our lunch here. They had a deal on which made it a bit cheaper & easier to try out numerous dishes without it costing a fortune. It was busy but there were tables available. The cocktails were on the expensive side - but also VERY tasty! Has a sleek interior design. Was the first time either of us had seen a blooming flower tea & were both really impressed (like kids!!) with it. I have asian friends who detest the chain saying the food is bad - but we enjoyed it & I think it’s a great way to introduce someone who’s never eaten dim sum before to that type of menu.

This place is very popular, being one of the first of a the Ping Pong chain.

Sure, it’s slightly pricey, but if you want somewhere to go that serves good Dim Sum and has that classy Cocktail bar feel about it, then this is the place.

Can get very busy at the weekends, so worth planning ahead. The cocktails are very good, the flowering tea is a nice gimmick that also happens to taste very good and the Dim Sum is good (not the best you’ll ever taste, but if you want to sample a bit of something different then this is the place).

The all you can eat Sundays are a good deal - though you will need to be extra hungry.

I’ve been to Ping Pong a few times and whilst the decor is very unusual for a dim sum place in a nice way, I have to say that the dim sum itself is not so good.

Food selction is adequate, and the dim sum itself quite edible and the fact that it is available late is obviously a great thing (unlike most restaurants where it finishes mid afternoon). Drinks are nice, and atmosphere is slightly swanky wine bar.

A nice place to take a date, but there are much better (and cheaper) places to get good dim sum!

I find it hard to be objective with this restaurant because i was taken there by a friend but im not the biggest fan of dim sum, which isnt really fair now is it, but i can appreciate that for those who like dim sum, it’s a very good restaurant. the dtaff are friendly, the food is hot and varied, and it’s got a great atmosphere at all times of the day.

Attempting only to get in at a quiet time of the evening, to avoid an expectable lining up, we finally got seated in one of the multiple restaurants this youthful franchise has opened in the blink of an eye, relying on a bold formula: unusual gameplay and an upfront first approach to customers, that turned out not to backfire so far. The waiting staff jokes and teases- in a good sense-from the beginning, the ambience is flashy but doesn’t jar, the music is perfectly pitched and the way they walk you through the menu, suggesting the dishes and sauces, is sort of exciting and keeps you guessing. Are you tired of ultra-busy eateries that make their motto out of the seat them quick, kick them out quicker line?Tell me about it. One thing is for granted, everything happens in its own time. A word to the wise is sufficient…

One of the best places for lunch, you can go for a month and never have the same thing twice!
I love the tea and warm sake.

The most fantastic place for dim sum I’ve ever been to.

Unlike most dim sum places, this restaurant excells at producing high quality, fresh food with the most unique jasmine tea which if you are a tea drinker you must try.

Offering small baskets of different types of dim sum, anyone in a group will find something they like from their extensive menu.

The staff are always friendly and helpful, the atmosphere is both communal and intimate and everything lends itself to having a fantastic time.

I have eaten here several times and have never had a bad meal. Any problems are quickly handled and the service is second to none.

My only complaint would be at lunch at the busiest point of the lunch rush it took 10 minutes to fill an additional order for dim sum. Hardly earth shattering.

Even if just for the jasmine flowering tea, do check this place out!

I really like dim-sum and was looking forward to getting to Ping Pong. An afternoon of shopping on Oxford Street and achy feet provided me with the perfect excuse to visit. Such a disappointment..

Some of the food was good, none of it was great.. I did like the pick ’n’ mix thing, but I’m not sure the price is worth what you get and everything comes in 3’s, so that doesn’t make it easy to split between 2!

Perhaps the food was really good and my perception of it was skewed by some of the worst service I’ve ever experience in my life.. The waitresses didn’t crack a smile once, the rushed us through our orders, snatched steamer baskets away from our table as soon as they were empty whether we wanted them to or not and brought the bill to us as soon as we’d declined dessert. We were in the restaurant for a total on 20 minutes! It would be slightly forgivable if there was a queue of people waiting to be seated, but it was 6.30 and there was only one other table in the whole place!

I won’t be going back.