Soho closes a lot of doors at 10pm. Restaurants stop seating. Kitchens shut. The good places hand out a polite "sorry, last orders were 30 minutes ago" and you are back on Wardour Street wondering what happens next.
Chinatown has more late-night options than most parts of central London. Here is the lay of the land.
When Chinatown actually closes
A few facts to set expectations:
- Most full-service restaurants in Chinatown close their kitchens between 10pm and 11pm
- A small group of late-night spots run kitchens until midnight or later
- Bakeries and bubble tea shops often run until 11pm
- Properly 24-hour Chinese restaurants do not really exist in central London any more
- The cluster of late-night options is densest on Wardour Street, Lisle Street, and Gerrard Street
If you want food after midnight in central London, your best bets are kebab shops on Old Compton Street, the all-night spots in Edgware Road, or a bus to Whitechapel.
The Greedy Sheep at night
We close kitchen at 10pm sharp. Last orders are 9:45pm. If you walk through the door at 9:55pm we will absolutely seat you, but you will be ordering quickly.
For late dinner in Chinatown, the trick is to time it. We are busiest around 7-8:30pm. Walk in at 9pm and you will usually find a table without waiting.
What to order late
If you have been drinking or working long, you want food that is:
- Hot. Soup-based or noodle-based
- Carby. Hand-pulled noodles, biang biang, takeaway-friendly dumplings
- Easy on the stomach. Avoid heavy fried dishes if it is past 10pm
- Quick. Order one or two dishes, not a tasting menu
Our recommendations for a late dinner:
1. Lamb noodle soup - rehydrating, warming, deeply satisfying 2. Pan-fried dumplings - quick to cook, easy to share 3. Cold sesame noodles - if it is summer or you have been drinking spicy 4. Rou jia mo - the original Chinese burger - one-handed, fast, perfect with a friend
Late night food and alcohol
We do not serve alcohol. We are a 100% halal restaurant. If you have been drinking and want food to absorb it, you are absolutely welcome - just expect a soft drink with your meal.
Some Chinatown spots serve alcohol until 11pm or 1am. We just are not one of them.
Late night culture in Chinatown
Worth noting if you are new to the area: Chinatown stays alive later than the rest of Soho on weekends. The streets around Gerrard Street are still busy at midnight on Friday and Saturday. There is street food, late-night Chinese supermarkets, and a steady flow of post-theatre and post-club traffic.
It is one of the safer parts of central London at night. Well-lit. Always populated. Plenty of CCTV.
Pre-club, post-club, post-theatre
Different needs:
- Pre-club (8-10pm): dumplings, sharing plates, anything fast
- Post-club (1am+): kebab shops on Old Compton Street are your friend. Chinatown is mostly closed
- [Post-theatre (10-11pm)](/blog/pre-theatre-dining-chinatown): noodle soup, rou jia mo, anything one-bowl
The West End theatres come out around 10pm. Booking a table for 10:15pm at a place that takes late seatings is wise.
Find us
8 Little Newport Street, just off Charing Cross Road. Two minutes walk from Leicester Square tube. Open 12pm to 10pm daily.
Come hungry. Leave greedy.
