Banquet 88 review finds bold flavours and a warm welcome at St Katharine Docks
Original report:
Grace Dent’s November 2026 Guardian review praised Banquet 88’s attentive service and expansive Chinese menu. The large St Katharine Docks restaurant impressed her with chilli-laced aubergine, mapo tofu and a light mango dessert, despite its restrained, functional surroundings.
In a review published on 8 November 2026, the Guardian’s Grace Dent described Banquet 88 at London’s St Katharine Docks as a spacious Chinese restaurant whose cooking outshone its austere decor. Run by the Good Fortune Club group, it offered roughly 200 dishes, principally Cantonese but drawing on several other regional cuisines. Dent, visiting alone for lunch, reported attentive service and a large table overlooking the marina.
Her favourites included dragonfruit-wrapped vegetarian dumplings, hot-and-sour sesame aubergine and beef mapo tofu, followed by mango and pomelo sago. The review listed à la carte dining from about £40 per person and set menus at £38–68, excluding drinks and service.
The restaurant’s scale and menu make group dining central to Dent’s assessment: she highlighted its 140 seats, another substantial upstairs room and a 50-person private dining space. Her positive experience as a solo diner provides a contrasting perspective, though the review reflects one lunch rather than a comprehensive assessment of the extensive menu.
Source
the Guardian — 8 November 2026
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