Dim T

Being of oriental background, I tend to steer away from any establishment labeling themselves as ‘Pan-​Asian’ or ‘Asian Fusion’ as this usually means an inability to cook any dish from any of the regions well — more like con-​fusion!
For a place that primarily advertises itself as a ‘Dim Sum’ restaurant, the ‘hand made’ Dim Sum dishes were limited in choice, poorly steamed, extremely bland and served with inadequate dipping sauces — cheap soy sauce and a chilli condiment that had no relevance in being there. I had to specifically request sesame oil but decided against asking the waitress for the more traditional Chinkiang vinegar, knowing full well I would have been shot a blank, clueless stare.
In an attempt to spruce up the poor selection, we also ordered Five Spiced Squid — which barely tasted of one spice, overpowered by the generic taste of wholesale sweet chilli dip sold by the gallon; Grilled Gyoza — a completely average ‘defrost to order’ type, and Won-​Ton soup that actually never arrived despite numerous polite reminders.
The decision by committee type of à la carte menu which spans the six of its London chains read like a backpacker’s hop around a Hong Kong food court and seemed to cater to those that believe a pack of Nissin instant noodles are a sophisticated taste of the orient.
The Crispy Shredded Chilli Beef was not even on par with the cheapest of local takeaways and contained more batter than any contentious meat content (note the inadvertent alliteration of ‘con’).
The Katsu Chicken Curry, although seemingly generous in portion, had a mere dribble of curry sauce, no accompanying vegetables and in each case, we had to unconventionally order separate sides of steamed rice — «we recommend a side order of rice, coconut rice or stir-​fry noodles with these dishes». Well of course they would; the model of selling rice as a side order at an extortionate mark up is savvy business, but since when did Japanese Katsu Curry go with stir-​fried noodles?!
The Crispy Duck, ordered for the younger contingent of our group was about as good/​bad as one would find from a ready-​made supermarket dinner set, marred by the perpetual misjudgement of pancake to duck ratio, a foible endured not only by this establishment.
Only after everyone was nearing the end of their course, did my mother finally receive her Seafood Laksa (on Mother’s Day of all things!). The broth did not have enough heat or coconut milk, nor any of the ingredients that are usually to be found in a Laksa — lack of fishcakes, tofu puffs or even beansprouts were noticeable, as was the inclusion of Pak Choi (sigh). Yet more affirmation of uneducated, condescending menu writing.
This led me to wonder how the western chefs* in the kitchen got recruited and the type of ‘training’ in oriental cuisine and kitchen management they received — evidently none. (*Yes, this was confirmed when the continental looking head chef had the chutzpah to waltz his smug self out, in a bid for approving looks from us, the only Oriental’s in the restaurant.)
Regarding the service, upon arrival they were adequately gracious and inviting enough, but once we were seated and secured in (for this nauseous theme park ride), it became progressively worse. Our conversation was punctuated at every opportunity by the waitress’ persistent hard sell of Edamame beans.
During the meal, the staff had an air of «hurry up because my shift is almost over» about them which was oddly contradictory to their level of attentiveness and I couldn’t help but notice the head waitress kept picking her itching nose then handling the fresh ingredients for the cocktails.
On the subject of drinks, they took forever to arrive, with a Mandarin Mojito failing to even make the table although able to make a brief guest appearance on the bill. My ‘Fresh Mint’ infused Lemonade tasted as if the mint had been chopped by the same knife as the dim sum filling — an indistinct «raw meat» taste, (perhaps the aforementioned head waitress had prepared it), at which point I asked for it to be replaced by a Lychee beverage — an unimpressive, overpriced soda; even the synthetic brand of Rubicon canned drink has a more authentic taste. I was offered to try a sip of Hot Sake — now I do not profess to be an expert in alcoholic beverages, but even that tasted of pure profit, i.e. the cheapest brand they could lay their hands on.
While I concede that to compare this venture to any authentic Oriental establishment may be imprudent; if the proprietors believe that this is a representation of our cuisines, then they are severely patronising their customers and insulting the so-​called ‘western palate’ which by now has acclimatised to these exotic tastes. To even call this the McDonald’s of the Hakkasan world is an insult to McDonald’s! A disaster of a chain, probably owned by some Tim ‘Nice but Dim (sum)’ type.
«Hang on, now I know what the ‘T’ stands for.»

Rather good for lunch especially with the e-​mailed vouchers.
Everything is fresh and nicely done, and there is a good choice of dishes.

Not good. I have already made comments attached to my check in. This is my star rating.
Bellow average. Amateur service

Hard to write a review of my dinner here.
First thing to say is that I used to go to this branch of the chain years ago when it first opened, but had not been back in a while until my latest visit.
Service was excellent. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful. The food came quickly and we were in and out in roughly an hour.
The food itself was more mixed, we ordered some prawn dim sum and this was fine. I was disappointed with the lack of spice of the Kung Pao chicken sauce — the spice all came from a few bits of chilli which meant that the taste of the dish was inconsistent — I ended up adding rather a lot of the lovely spicy sauce which is available on the tables. On the other hand, my girlfriend enjoyed her «superfood» stir fry, and liked the fact there were a couple of specially-​marked healthy items on the menu
Pricewise, I think it is pretty good: 2 mains + 2 tea + 1 dim sum came to £30 including tip. I wouldn’t say we were completely full after the meal, but we do have large appetites and could have ordered starters + desert and price would still have been reasonable.
Ambience /​atmosphere: I like the contemporary décor and it was nice to be sat at a booth. The place was quite busy with a strange mix of a young teen girl’s birthday, couples of various ages and a few families.
Conclusion: Not one of my best experiences in terms of taste, but this could have been due to dish choice — I saw the servers carrying various other dishes which I liked to look of. I probably will return to try a «noodle bar» dish, which was my standard choice when I was a regular all those years ago.

Dim T is one of my favourite Dim Sum restaurants. Arguably better than Ping Pong. Friendlier, better service and more varied food. They do great curries and alternative options (butternut squash curry and Thai red are particularly good) The duck spring rolls are also brilliant. Fewer options for dim sum but those they do have are excellent. I love the little teapots the tea comes in (hot tip: try the white tea refreshing and subtle and very good for you). The fortune cookies you get at the end of the meal are hilarious usually badly written but a great laugh as some are quite depressing, others cheesy, and all give you lottery numbers.

Went here recently for a late Sunday lunch. Décor-​wise this place probably works better in the evening; it is quite dark which is a bit of a shame on a sunny day.
We were drawn in by the offer of special lunch deal (cheapskate, I know). A bit of a surprise that there was no mention of it on the menu. Oh well, I know no shame and asked. Still don’t know what the original deal would have entailed but we ended up with a starter and main course for under £10. Actually, not a great saving on the regular prices, as the menu is quite reasonably priced.
The spinach dim sum was one of the most tasty I have had, the main courses did exactly what they said on the tin.
The fresh mint lemonade did not quite live up to expectations. I am always on the hunt for interesting soft drinks, but this was just a bit too sweet. The mint was indeed fresh, but seemed to have just been mixed into some cheap lemonade.
Staff seemed to be quite tired which wasn’t surprising. Even at 4pm the place was still quite busy with diners — a more reasonable lunch hour must be ultra busy.
We were the only couple without children, so this is obviously very popular with families.
I don’t live in Highgate but would definitely go again if I did.

A great modern restaurant in well to do Highgate village offering a good value selection of oriental cuisine. You can choose from many different styles of noodle, rice, sauce and meat to concuct whatever meal you fancy from all available ingredients. Clean, fast and efficient service with excellent food is most probably the reason that this place is always busy. Upholds a nice quiet atmosphere to enjoy your meal nevertheless. Very good food.