My Neighbours the Dumplings - Clapton - (Near Hackney, South East)

5 /5 Amber: This place has been on my list for a while and I happened to be in the area yesterday so finally visited. The menu is very extensive with a lot of great things and new things to try. The waiter was so friendly and informative regarding the menu as my friend has an allergy and he knew straight away everything that she could and couldn’t eat which is so refreshing to see. The food itself was amazing, everything we ate was so delicious and great value for money. I’d definitely come back just for those lamb noodles!

3 /5 M T: I’ve visited this restaurant several times since it first opened, but this was the first time we were given a time limit (about 90 minutes). The time limit itself wasn’t an issue. However, given that constraint, I felt the food took far too long to arrive. When the dishes finally came out, they were all slightly cold. As a result, we had to finish many of the dishes in the last 30–40 minutes, which felt rushed and didn’t pair well with the cocktail we had ordered at the beginning of the meal. The pork dish served at the end was also too large, and we ended up leaving some of it. I wish the staff had offered a bit of guidance when we placed the order. In terms of both flavor and texture, it’s a dish that likely divides opinion, and unfortunately it wasn’t to my taste. Although we were told toward the end that we didn’t need to worry about the time, it didn’t fully erase the frustration of waiting so long for the food earlier in the meal. Having visited several times over the years, I would say that two things remain unchanged: the shrimp shumai wrappers are still not quite right, while the Madame Butterfly cocktail continues to be excellent.

3 /5 GCP: The food was lovely — everything we ordered was really well done and full of flavour. A small point, but our table felt quite cramped. We were 3 people on a table really designed for 2, up against the kitchen wall. Dishes were placed down wherever there was space and things felt a little squeezed in, which took away slightly from what could have felt like a more special experience. Given that most of the dishes are sharing, and we had booked in advance so they knew the size of our party, it felt very tight. More importantly, when we arrived we were told there was a time limit on the table. That in itself is absolutely fine, but when I told our waitress that this should be made clear before at the time of booking - as we only found out about the time limit after we booked - she told us quite firmly that this information had been made clear beforehand. It actually isn’t and only appeared after we had entered our card details to secure the reservation - so too late to cancel without a penalty. It wasn’t visible prior to that - but she wouldn’t believe us. As it happened, we were able to stay a little longer, which we really appreciated as we were meeting a friend visiting London whom we hadn’t seen in a year. But the initial insistence that we had been informed — when we hadn’t — wasn’t handled particularly well. Just something to be mindful of: there is a 1 hour 45 minute table limit, which will suit most people, but if you’re planning a longer catch-up, it’s worth being aware in advance.

5 /5 RED: the pork belly is really crispy and tender, well cooked! and the prawn fried dumplings has this unique green seafood sauce, quite unique but surprisingly works well. its not you usual traditional dumplings.