Reviews Liu Xiaomian

Pleasant find hidden in a cute mews in Central London. Barely 5min walk from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Circus is this authentic no frills Chinese Noodle eatery located in a fantastic pub. The noodles are well flavoured and come with a range of toppings suitable for vegetarians, vegans and meat eaters. The portions are in keeping with central London so will be adequate but you will not struggle to finish a bowl (and trust me, you will want to). Spicy Congqing noodles are well cooked with a bit of bounce in the noodle and can be tailored spice level wise. Mild is a good level if you are unsure with enough heat to make you notice but no much you will be running to the nearest fire extinguisher. Spicy beef is the pick of the toppings for me with its tender and umami flavour edging out a more neutral pork mince. The hot & sour glass noodles are phenomenal at any spice level and are thick which gives a satisfying taste when paired with the hot and sour broth and toppings. The numbing wontons are a little disappointing given how good their noodles are, the flavour comes mostly from the numbing chilli oil it is served in (this can also be tailored). It is a tasty combination and worth a try to give you variety, but on my next visit I think I will order two noodles instead! Ample seating is available as you can eat in the dedicated seating area in the basement (where you order) or any of the seating in the pub on the ground floor. Premises are kept clean and tidy and staff are friendly and helpful. To add to this, the pub stocks a great selection of drinks, lagers being a great accompaniment to a bowl of heart warming noodles.

Down the rabbit hole and into a wonderful land of authentic Chongqing noodles. 😋 The way into this restaurant is a fun adventure in itself as it is located underneath a pub which you have to enter through. Almost like a secret mahjong den underground. Amazing xiaomian! I ordered the vegan xiaomian mild and it was the perfect heat level for me. You have to choose between mild, spicy, or extra spicy. Most people were ordering the xiaomian when I was there but they also serve glass noodles which can be ordered vegan & gluten free. The glass noodles have a more sour flavored broth and contain cilantro. Pretty loud both upstairs and down. You can bring a beer to drink with your food from the pub upstairs.

Restaurant below the pub with some seating on ground level for food. Interesting set up. We had a booking and were seated pretty quickly, however we weren't told how to order the food. We had to go downstairs to order and pay, they then gave us a buzzer. When it buzzes you can go down and collect your food. We ordered hot & sour noodles, the beef Chongqing Xiaomian, wontons, and the jelly dessert 🍜🍜🍜🌶️🌶️ the food wasn't very spicy even though we ordered hot. So for those who are scared of spice, don't worry! You'll be safe with mild. It was busy and had a constant flow of customers. We originally booked the ground floor seating but it was too noisy so we moved downstairs. I noticed this place is dog friendly as I saw someone with their dog in the restaurant. Would love to visit again maybe with my dog 🐶

My friend and I decided to come here one evening after seeing all of the hype of the spicy noodles. We had a good experience here but there were some hits and some misses in our experience. The hits outweigh the misses but the misses are of note. Food: This is where we found that it not only hit, but it hit hard. My friend got the pork noodles and I got the beef noodles and both of them were good. He was pleasantly surprised and said it was a really good experience food wise. I thought it was pretty good, we both got hot and thought it was the right amount for us. Service: This is where the miss for me came as when we got there at 1930, we saw that there was a sign outside which stated 'Please wait to be seated' but no one came to the wait queue. I appreciate the space is small, the crowd is big and crowded but it was a bit weird for us to have booked a table and waited there for a fair bit and not have anyone come up to us to tell us - especially when other diners just walked in past us and we saw that our table was taken by a party of four. It's understandable why and how it happened, but I'd still wish it was slightly more organised. Atmosphere: Electric. Simply electric. The place was filled with energy and you could tell, every table that was in there you could tell was having a lovely time and outside of the food, the vibe here is wonderful. We had a pretty good time here tonight but the service could have been slightly better. We will come again.

The restaurant hidden on the lower floor of a pub. The service was quick and I love spicy noodle here so I'll definitely visit again.