One of London Chinatown's most-loved Hong Kong-style eateries is shutting up shop. Cafe TPT, the no-frills cha chaan teng on Wardour Street known for its Hong Kong comfort food, has announced its closure — news that will land hard with the regulars who have been queuing for its congee, roast meats and milk tea for years.
For the uninitiated, a cha chaan teng is Hong Kong's answer to the neighbourhood diner: fast, loud, cheap and endlessly satisfying. Cafe TPT followed that formula faithfully. The menu leaned on Cantonese classics — silky congee topped with fried dough sticks, wonton and beef noodle dishes, crispy-skin roast pork and soy sauce chicken, washed down with the famously strong Hong Kong-style milk tea. Portions were generous, service brisk, and prices far kinder than much of what surrounds Gerrard Street.
Its departure is the latest reminder that London's Chinatown keeps shifting. The neighbourhood between Leicester Square and Soho remains the capital's densest cluster of East and Southeast Asian food, but rents on Wardour Street and the streets around it are among the highest in the country, and long-standing family-run spots have been giving way to newer, trendier openings. Every closure of a place like Cafe TPT — a restaurant that felt closer to Kowloon than to the West End — chips away at that old-school character.
If you want a final bowl before the shutters come down, it's worth moving quickly. Chinatown still has plenty to keep you fed: the bakery windows along Gerrard Street, the late-night dessert houses, and a handful of other Hong Kong-style cafes carrying the same torch. Go at off-peak hours — mid-afternoon is ideal — if you want a table without a wait, and don't be shy about ordering the congee-plus-noodle combo that regulars swear by.
For travellers, this one matters because Chinatown is on nearly every first-time London itinerary, and the places worth eating at change faster than guidebooks can keep up. A beloved, affordable fixture disappearing is a nudge to explore beyond the main drag and to check opening news before you build a food itinerary around a single name. Secret London reported the closure.
