Jen Cafe in City of London

Very bad experience last evening in the Jen Cafe.-- No sign of CASH ONLY in the restaurant , and I was being asked to leave my smart phone in the restuarant if I can't paid by cash.-- Roasted Duck Rice : one third of the roasted duck meat are the bad part and not editable.-- Dumping : thick dumping and not much in the meat-- Milk Tea: it is an ordinary tea with milk, totally NOT authentic Hong Kong Milk Tea.-- Not good in hypiene in general

I normally don’t like to post bad reviews as I’m sure some places are struggling after Covid to bring their client base back, but sadly I have to share my experience on this occasion. Came here last night after reading about Jen Cafe on the Chinatown website. Having read some of the reviews here, I noticed a huge disparity between them...we decided to risk it anyway, assuming that the complaints were blown out of proportion. Oh how wrong we were. We ordered a duck and rice bowl each, a portion of Beijing dumplings (the house special) and a portion of fried vegetable dumplings. They didn’t have half the drinks we wanted so we ordered alternatives, a Green tea and a soy milk. We received a 7up and a mug of warm yellow/green water that tasted vaguely of tea. The rice bowls arrived: the rice was hard and lukewarm, the duck was full of cartilage, bits of bone and had no flavour. We are huge fans of Chinese cooking and understand that it isn’t traditionally the prettiest food and often can involve the parts of meat that the English dislike but this was a whole other level. This wasn’t o!al prepared well, it was meant to be a tender piece of meat. We made a valiant e!ort to try and eat it and we simply couldn’t bring ourselves to finish the plate. As more people arrived I felt pity for them as they ordered what we had just attempted to stomach. The dumplings arrived, also tepid and sweaty, containing unidentifiable mushy substances. If we hadn’t ordered one set fried, I wouldn’t have known which was which. I decided to get up and pay, as our server (an older lady) had been sweet enough and I was too tired to try and refuse paying for food we couldn’t eat. I made my way to the counter, and witnessed a fellow diner also pick his way through the duck and then evidently give up. A waitress came back with a new order, and as I saw the chef place a plate of meat and rice into the microwave, I gave up on any hope that this place was had an ounce of credibility left. I sincerely wish I had asked for my money back as I paid £31.50 for the privilege but I had no energy to try and argue with our server. I’ve come to the conclusion that since 2021 there has been either a new owner or a new menu at this cafe and, while it pains me to say it, I cannot possibly recommend Jen’s Cafe to anyone. Save your money. If you want an authentic meal I can tell you to go to literally ANY OTHER place in Chinatown.

A no thrills restaurant where you go there to eat and then leave swiftly. The portions are big and good value and it's a reminder of a typical hong kong cafe.

This was a truly unique dining experience: fast, slightly intense, borderline rude service, and really, really great food. Jen Café is the perfect place to have a quick bite after a drink in Soho - I wish there were more places like this in the UK. I'll be returning!

It really is all about the dumplings! We had the fried and the boiled dumplings and they were all so delicious. We also tried the BBQ pork with rice which was really nice. It is a small, cosy place but with great comfort food. And seeing the dumplings being made in front of your eyes just makes it even more special. Will definitely be visiting again!

Popped into Jen’s Cafe this evening before the Theatre (Life of Pi (you probably didn’t care 😏)) for something quick and tasty, and we weren’t disappointed!!This place is a bit of a gem and a China Town institution. Definitely no airs and graces…Upon entering you’re guided to your seat at a speed that could well incur whiplash…Menu’s are laminated card and the choices are short and simple.Customer service isn’t high on the agenda, when we asked to keep hold of a menu after we’d ordered we got a look of disdain and it frisbee’d back at us 😂However, the food is so bloody good all of the above paled into insignificance.The dumplings were cooked to perfection and packed full of flavours and filling!!One of the chefs beavers away making more dumplings in the corner of the cafe as you eat…Our fave things: The Fried Dumplings, and how care free the service is - all the effort goes into making the food so great!✊🏻👌🏻👊🏻📍🚇| 2/3 mins walk from Leicester Square Tube Station

Got the pork dumplings (北京饺子), the fried dumplings (锅贴), and the shredded pork with pickled vegetable (雪菜肉丝). Thought the pork/pickle soup was great, but the dumplings' filling was a bit too porky for me, so didn't enjoy these as much...

It's all about the dumplings. Fresh. Home made. Good value. Tasty. Best fried - though you need to specify that. Been snacking on dumplings at Jen's for decades. The dumplings have gotten a bit smaller over the years, but are still yummy. (And to be fair I have also gotten larger.) Every time I strayed into the menu I wished I had had dumplings. So. Dumplings. That's all you need to know.

With it's vivid jade green hue, Jen Cafe is very easy to find. Their specialty is tea – and lots of it. From the floral sweet Chrysanthemum Honey to fruity Lemon Kumquat, most of their Asian teas can be served hot or cold to suit your mood – or temperature. Bubble teas of all colors, flavors and sweetness can also be enjoyed at Jen Café.Outside of this, there’s enough variety on their menu to give many of Chinatown’s restaurants a run for their money. Their barbecue options are especially plentiful.

Came here pre-movie, seen a review from social media and wanted to try here, a meal can go for as little as £6 per dish which I went for three of them cos I’m a hungry eater!!Fried Dumplings were lovely and fresh as a staple popular with patrons as they make their own dumplings here they were juicy and luscious.Duck with rice was tasty and had a nice sauce with the rice.Finally after seeing another patron order this I went for it and finished up with Crispy Fried Pork, great crispness on the skin and juicy succulent pork.I felt more stuffed than one of their dumplings wash it down with some green tea.