This is definitely a yum-cha at the top of the price ladder. Situated just off Oxford Street I don’t think it is positioned to capture the hordes of “common” people after ordinary yum-cha – I think its more about capturing the dinner crowd or the business meal crowd. It is posh, modern, stylish and almost too polite. Real yum-cha should be a noisy and dirty affair. You will definitely know you’re in Mayfair when you sit down in Princess Gardens.

That is not to say that the Princess Gardens experience was necessarily negative. The food is delicious and fairly good quality. The service is efficient and extremely polite. However, you will definitely pay for all of this including what I believed to be 13% service charge (optional I’m sure? Yea right.) Even the current 12.5% standard across London is ridiculous.

So, go to Princess Gardens if you want to maybe impress someone or have a pleasant, if not genuine, yum-cha experience. Be sure to bring your platinum credit card though as you may end up paying a fairly high price.