Gerrard's Corner

Chinese

30 Wardour St W1D 6QW

££

Gerrard's corner was the first Chinese restaurant I've ever eaten at, and I've been going ever since. A favourite of my parents, it's been around forever and serves traditional Chinese food to the hungry British public and tourists alike.

The staff here are always super friendly and more than willing to accommodate. It is probably worth booking, especially if you're in a big group, but when Tom and I went on a Tuesday evening we only needed to wait 5 minutes before we were seated. After spilling a bit of our egg fried rice before it hit the table, our waiter turned around with a superhuman speed and brought a fresh batch over within minutes. Efficiency is the main attribute of the staff here - despite being ridiculously busy serving two full floors of customers, they are keen to make sure everything is to your liking.

Tom and I ordered the sesame prawn toast £5.50, egg fried rice £3, 1/4 aromatic duck £9.80, crispy shredded beef £9 and some deep fried squid with sweet and sour sauce £9.50 (without fail I have ordered this particular dish every single time I've been). Despite an increase in prices over the years, nothing has changed. The decor is old school white tablecloth style without being pretentious, the food is just as good as it has always been.

Despite the great mains, I wouldn't recommend the desserts here. If you have any stomach space left, turn left and you'll find 'Bake' which sells green tea ice cream (delicious), as well as some interesting fish shaped cakes filled with custard. It's a palette cleanser and perfect ending to a meal - and it's open late!

Chinatown is a difficult place to decide on a place to eat - everywhere serves pretty much exactly the same food and so many people have different recommendations. My advice is once you find somewhere you like, stick with it. Although I rarely follow my own advice, I've never strayed from Gerrard's Corner, which means it must truly be a gem.