Dim sum, not a cake stand
Gouqi's afternoon tea is a dim sum afternoon tea: savoury dim sum and grilled plates, then a dessert trio, with Premium Jasmine Dragon Pearls tea from Fujian. It is served for a minimum of two guests and has to be ordered at least 24 hours ahead. The dining room is at 25–34 Cockspur Street, St James's, near Trafalgar Square.
What is on the stand
There is no traditional cake stand of finger sandwiches and scones. The savoury sequence is dim sum, pork, beef, prawn, squid and chicken, and the sweet course is one plated trio. A beverage package, with sparkling jasmine tea, a cocktail or champagne, can be added when you order.
- Royal Dim Sum Quartet: Black Truffle Har Gau and XO King Crab Dumpling, Octopus Dumpling, and Prawn and Spinach Dumpling
- Crispy Iberico Pork Belly
- Honey-Glazed Iberico Char Siu
- Angus Tenderloin Beef with Black Pepper Sauce
- Sesame Prawn Toast
- Salt and Pepper Squid Stuffed with Minced Prawn
- Five Spice Crispy Chicken with Thai Basil
- Drunken Chicken Roll with Mung Bean Noodle
- Botan Prawn Tartare with Mango and Pink Grapefruit
- Gouqi Symphony No. 3: dark chocolate with passion fruit and mango; mango with black sesame and passion fruit; osmanthus mousse with fermented rice and oolong
How it differs from the other menus
The eight-course tasting menu is a single progression, from tuna tartare to osmanthus mousse, for guests who want dinner as a sequence. Dim sum afternoon tea is a sharing tea built from dumplings, grilled plates and one dessert. The à la carte royal dim sum platter, eight types with a vegetarian option, is a separate lunch and dinner dish, not this tea.
Lunch at Gouqi starts at 12:00 and dinner at 16:30, every day. The kitchen closes at 22:00 from Monday to Thursday and on Sunday, and at 22:30 on Friday and Saturday. Book the tea inside those hours, and place the order at least a day before. The 24-hour notice is the same rule as the tableside Peking duck: the kitchen prepares it for a named table, not as a walk-in.
Dietary notes and larger tables
Tell the restaurant about allergies and dietary requirements when you book. Vegetarian and gluten-free options exist on the wider menu, and the team will say which parts of the tea can be adjusted. The chicken is halal; the Peking duck is halal as well, though that duck is not part of this tea, and in both cases the sauce is excluded from the halal note.
The tea is for a minimum of two. A bigger celebration, a birthday or a meeting that needs a closed room, belongs in Crimson or Ruby rather than on a dining-room table. Those rooms seat 10, 12 or 22, and a standing reception can use dim sum among the canapés. For that, use the private dining enquiry and pre-order at least three working days ahead.
How to order
Book at least 24 hours in advance by phone or email, or start with the reservation page and state that the booking is for dim sum afternoon tea. The menus page has the full list beside the tasting menu, the theatre menu and the festive menu.
Reserve on the reservation page, call 0203 771 8886, or email reservations@gouqi-restaurants.co.uk.