Yi-Ban in East London

I booked a table for 10 people for my birthday dinner. The food was so delicious and I cant wait to go back. The chicken in black bean sauce and tempura asparagus were amazing! My brother took his in laws a few weeks later, because the food was wonderful and staff were very friendly.

You have to get in early to avoid the queues on Sunday but its worth it. Really fast service and the food is great here. Plenty of options for dimsum. Plus you can have a nice view of the airport across the river if you are there when the planes are taking off

Best dim sum for the locals in London 🇬🇧Update: salt and pepper squid and pork are both really tasty 😋

Not a single dish that wasnt fantastic, but wait times were long (Saturday evening so not unexpected), and its rather loud when full

We love this place, visited numerous times and taking visitors there too. Nice view on City Airport, you can watch the planes taking off whilst you eat authentic Chinese food. Always very yummy with fresh ingredients.Please call before your visit as they may close for occasional weddings, gatherings.

No such thing as friendly staff in this restaurant. Dont let that put you off though. Been coming back for years since food is very good. Staff are not friendly but its the best dim sum. View of City Airport and on a sunny day you can walk on the river to digest after lunch.Most of the time there will be a queue if you arrive around 1am so be prepared to wait.

Invited to a birthday party! Waited ages for our order to be taken then ages for food.It was cold! The curry sauce came after we had eaten our food.Then expect to pay a service charge.I will never go there again, paid 5.00 to park for 4 hours but left an hour early.

Tasty food, good portions, okay prices, good for sharing, some of the staff not too friendly

Loved the ambiance, the view, the cuisine *chefs kiss, the VIEW! The reviews made me expect to have to deal with bad attitudes but we were pleasantly surprised. The staff were all very welcoming and attentive, we really couldnt have asked for more. A very pleasant afternoons treat!

Food here is amazing!Not all the staff understand fluent english but they are always very polite and will get someone who can fully understand you to come over and help if you need it. I have been to this restaurant may times and not once have I ever had a complaint about the food! The service might be a little slow sometimes but the food always comes out hot and extremely tasty! And when you consider how busy the place gets you still dont get left waiting like some restaurants do.

One of the best Chinese restaurants, serving very good food. Almost all the dishes on the menu are well prepared and taste good.The location is very good overlooking the river and the city airport.On the negative side, some times the service can be a little slow, perhaps due to staff shortage.However, highly recommended if you want good food. They havent dissappointed us yet, we have been there on numerous occasions.

Good food, good prices, nice to go enjoy with family or friends!

Dinner was great there, pretty relaxed atmosphere and service was good. Had the lamb hot pot, pork belly, ho fun and salt and pepper squid. Nothing was disappointing. We tend to visit here for dimsum which is usually good, but gets very busy on Sundays.

Lots of choice of dim sums @ reasonable prices+ sea/airport view. 🫖🚣🛫🛬🛩

Amazing dim sum. Arrived on a very busy Sunday but were seated within 5 minutes. The best dim sum Ive tasted and good value as well. Fast and efficient service. Will be back!

This was a wonderful find. We ate here several times and were disappointed to find out they are closed on Thursdays. They were wonderfully accommodating to our food issues, so we were able to find gluten free and vegan options.

My experience at Yi-Ban was alright.The food was nice but a bit too plain.The menu items were also very expensive.A few of the workers were nice but some were too impatient.One thing I really enjoyed was the view. You would have a very clear view of the sea and London City Airport.You will be able to see the planes taking off and landing.If you go to Yi-Ban, you might have Kelly as your waitress. She is very respectful, kind and caring.She has time for your order and she makes sure you are satisfied with your food.Overall, this restaurant wasnt too bad, but I think there should be some changes.

Overall really good experience. Assorted dim sum, baos, and hor fun were super tasty and fresh. The best in my opinion would be the shrimp Cheong fun which is really tender and tasty. The shrimp within is not too tough/overcooked. Good service as well.However, be prepared to wait for 30 mins or more during peak hours.

we went there because it was close to our hotel and regretted it. We love Chinese food and everything was pretty disappointing… we had to send back the sesame chicken because it was not cooked enough and the ribs and the Cantonese beef tasted the same. It was pretty expensive for the quality, especially considering the rice is not served with the plates, you have to order some (5£for having rice with your food (the quantities were fine though). The service was fine but they charged it 9,80£ (for what I know tipping that much for the service is not an institution in the UK unlike in the US so not expected and doesn’t have to be specified on the bill). The spot is in front of the city airport and was enjoyable, it’s fun to see the planes taking off while you are eating, but I would not recommend this place which has nothing special in therms of food, which was pretty tasteless, especially for the price.

Went there for lunch Saturday afternoon and it was quite busy. As mentioned in some other reviews the entrance and parking area is scruffy to say the least. The restaurant also is not very clean and probably hasnt been decorated for some time. It took a few tries to get a waitress to come and take our order. The starters arrived over a period of 20 minutes one at a time! Main course dishes were also served in the same manner for our group of 6. Food was not that great and portions half the amount of other Chinese restaurants for the same price! For a group of 6 just under £200! Suffice to say that we will not be going there again!

Extremely poor service. I asked to change my cocktail (long island ice teaand the waiter tried to argue and debate with me instead of replacing the drink that I thought was poor quality. We then waiting 20+ minutes without any starter yet a table which had been seated 10mins after our arrival had been given their food. I asked the waiter where our food was and she said she would check but disappeared and never came back. I havent experienced such poor customer service in a while and ended up walking out of the restaurant.

Have been coming here for dimsum regularly and definitely our go-to place for authentic HK dimsum. Just like what you find in the better eateries in Hong Kong. One of the best in London and I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for the real stuff!!

Ive only been here a total of three times during the past 7/8 years as I do not live nearby. Although the dim sum is very good, there are a few things they really need to improve on. Its always chaotic with no signs explaining how the system works, youre left standing outside with about 30 people waiting. The waitress/receptionist was really stressed out handing out ticketed numbers while at the same time trying to help out serving dishes. The place was really warm, air conditioning didnt seem to be working. As the building faces directly south, youll be roasting if you are seated near the window, and youll need wear sunglasses. Ill remember to visit this place only on cooler and cloudier days.

This seems to be a Hong Kong styled Chinese restaurant. The servers greet by Cantonese and Chinese menus are in traditional Chinese. So it all seems great. Whole restaurant has the full view of the London city airport and even thou it’s a Tuesday it’s already 50% seated within 30 minutes of opening for lunch. Food was ok I had Shanghai dumplings, XO sauce turnip cake, rice with pork and salted fish and beef fried hor fun (flat noodlesand I didn’t think it’s very well done it was just average. The dumplings also tasted good on the inside, the skin is too thick and not smooth so that failed miserable. However lots of tables ordered dim sum which is served till 4.30pm. Seems like a very authentic Chinese dim sum restaurant that doesn’t taste like some British Asian food.

Food is excellent but slightly pricy. A good choice of traditional Cantonese but didnt like the service charge added to the bill, it should be my choice.

Terrible serviceWaited 30min for food. Informed a staff. Waited a further 10min. Informed another staff. (At this point tables that had come after us had already been served and eating). Still nothing had been communicated back to us on the eta of our food. We waited another 10min, had to walk up to the bar to get the attention of the staff. We explained that it was getting close to an hour since ordering food and tables that arrived after us are already eating. Finally, a staff admitted there was a issue with their system. 5min later the food started to arrive. When it came to paying the bill, we refused to pay the service charge. The waiter taking our payment looked in disbelief and went on the explain that if you go to a busy McDonalds you might have to wait 50min for your food too. Wow.. not someone who normally writes reviews, but this one was earned.

Nice food, typical of a Chinese restaurant. It tasted fresh and was very enjoyable. Theres a good view of the planes landing at City airport. Very convenient for the local hotels but it does get busy. We turned up at 6.30 and got a table easily but later in the evening would have been difficult.

Food was good until after leaving i could barely keep my eyes open. I felt so sleepy. My 3 year old who only ate egg fried rice never naps in the day but slept for 2 hours and 15 minutes even though i tried wake him up he would sit up and fall asleep again. Bit of googling suggested this may be due to a flavour enhancer used. Not coming back i have a dissertation to write if my head works and child wont sleep for bedtime now due to crazy long day nap.

Authentic Chinese restaurant. Located near London City Airport. Nice views. Food was great, service was good. Lots of seats available inside. Parking outside reasonably priced.

Probably the best Hong Kong style dishes in London and stunning scenery.

Great food. Nice people. The location is not at the top but the food which is the most important is really good. One of the best chinese Restaurant i was.

Very nice food reasonably priced but the portions are really small. We ordered seafood mix, lemon chicken, pork, vegetable noodles and special fried rice two people. Before we see the portions we thought wed take some home but we finished everything. Also, the staff was very polite and helpful. Finally, parking is not free as I read on some reviews.

Delicious Chinese food which is affordable and in a great location around the Excel London area. Food is delivered on time after order. Cheers 🍻

Tasty, good service, plenty of options.Good view to watch planes taking off

We came here about 4-5 years ago. It was a let down. We like to give restaurants a benefit of the doubt. Perhaps theyve change.But no, things have not become improved.1. The car park used to be free, but the restaurant website does not state you have to pay.2. There is litter around the car park and on Yi-Bans on front door. Come on, is the the standard we should expect?3. The food is inconsistent. Some dishes are OK some are poor.4. The price of the roast piglet was listed at £16, but was told its gone up to £20. Unprofessional and it should be stated on the menu.5. Its not cheap, other restaurants are better.6. Service is hardly great and not worth a tip.7. There were lots of tables, but nobody seems to know whats going on.8. The atmosphere is just awful, so noisy.9. The toilets are filthy and no soap or hot water.Some reviewers might think this restaurant is good. But people who know their Chinese food will tell you likewise. The owners need to eat out a bit more and see how other restaurants do it and do it better. We definitely wont be back.

Went for fathers day and wow this was a busy venue. We have been before a few times and every time we go we get very tasty authentic Chinese food.The service isnt great and its really loud on a busy day but the food is spot on.If you have children that love watching planes land and take off this is perfect with great views over London City Airport.

Our waitress was polite and helpful serving us however, it seemed we were lucky as other servers were inconsiderate with their tables and not very polite. There was a longer wait than expected for the food which also came out more expensive than expected. Once out the food was lovely. The lemon chicken and Kung pow chicken were very tasty. The Sea-bass was also really good but it was the only gluten free thing available on the menu and ridiculously expensive at £30 for the dish. Very good if you have no intolerances and have a fair bit of money to spend.

Really nice place with a superb view. I wish there were more vegetarian options and the menu was a little clearer, but nevertheless I really enjoyed my food and experience!

Great Chinese restaurant for Dim Sum overlooking the rowing course and London City Airport. Strongly recommended

Im Chinese and Ive lived in London for 15+ years, I can tell you that this is hands down the BEST Dim Sum youll find in London.Massive capacity and they do well to accomodate at all times but worth booking in advance for big parties.The quality of flavour in all of their dishes will knock your socks off, but personal favourites are the Shanghai Dumplings, Taro Croquettes and Barbeque Pork Buns. Try the Vietnamese Ice Coffees too. Prices are affordable, even with an appetite, expect to pay £20-25 per head and be stuffed silly.

Very good quality and tasty food. Best Chinese food i have eaten. I would eat a lot there if I were based in London. They do take 12.5% extra for tip but i have seen this other places in London too. I went there 5 nights and each night was good. Even their piña colada was superb.

Chinese restaurant with one of the most beautiful views in London. We come here for food every time I visit Excel. The food is always great, we were never disappointed. Especially dim sum dumplings and pickled beef noodles. Unfortunately I have never met a pleasant staff at this place. I almost always feel that we bother the staff with our presence. Nobody welcomes you, nobody smiles, nobody cares if you want to make another order. But great cuisine will always bring us back.

Great food. Good prices. The only thing I didnt like is that you cannot reserve. You have to go and queue up waiting to be seated. We had to wait for around 20 minutes.

Frequent this restaurant whenever I crave for dim sum. Attractive view by the river! I Food is reasonably priced, fresh and delicious. The service is quite good too. However, I feel car parking is expensive for that location!

A nice restaurant with some good quality food.The location is great and has nice views if you get a seat by the window.Parking is not free so make sure to have some change or use the app to pay for parking or can use the nearby DLR station.To be honest the only problem with this restaurant is the customer service, which is dreadful that’s why I’m giving it 3 stars. The service I got was very bad and decided not to pay service charge and after that they treat you even worse.However if you want some nice food, with nice views and don’t mind about the service you get then this is the place.

Went out with wife for dinner here. Nice location by the river, brilliant service, each course on time and nice atmosphere. Could be full, but that does not disturb. Will go again.

It was one of my favourite dim sum restaurants in London. However after a few occasions, food quality have deteriorated. I think it’s time to explore other dim sum restaurants.

Nice dim sum place by the Thames, simple deco, but a view over the City Airport. Car parking costly at £3 for 2 hours. No soaps in3 out of 4 dispensers, but the toilets are clean. Overall a nice riverside dim dum/dinner restaurant.

Went there to try if the restaurant is any good before we decide to go their again for my wifes birthday next month.Food was very nice but their staff really need training in hospitality and courtesy.We were seated but didnt give us the menu.Our food was served without any enthusiasm at all, staff would just take some of the empty plates without asking for permission while we are still eating.After paying the bill, staff left without even saying thank you nor asking if I want a copy of the receipt.Reading some of the old comments here, I think the management cant be bothered.Giving it 3 stars because I enjoyed the food but not the experience.

Queue time was within 20mins without booking on Saturday.Location was within walking distance from Royal Albert DLR station.Food quality was acceptable without WOW factor.Service speed was good and table was spacious.Price level was similar as other Dim Sum restaurants.