Wong Kei () is a Chinese restaurant in London's Chinatown, once described as "the rudest restaurant in London". It is one of the largest Chinese restaurants in the UK with seating for around 500 diners.

Restaurant

Wong Kei was once known for the rudeness of its staff, who would shout "Sit down with them!" or "Go upstairs!" to arriving patrons, insult customers who asked for a knife and fork, and chase those who failed to leave a sufficient tip. This aspect was seen as a positive and enjoyable feature rather than a criticism of the restaurant. After a renovation, the restaurant reopened in 2001 with friendlier waiters, and when it reopened under new management in March 2014, new owner Daniel Luc said: "Maybe there was an issue with rude staff 20 to 30 years ago, but I don't think so any more. I don't know whether that's a good thing or not."

Building

Wong Kei originally occupied two shops on nearby Rupert Court but is currently situated at 41–43

Wardour Street Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the ...

. This building was originally built by

Willy Clarkson William Berry "Willy" Clarkson (31 March 1861 - 12/13 October 1934) was a British theatrical costume designer and wigmaker. Career Clarkson's father had been making wigs since 1833. Willie Clarkson was educated in Paris but left school at the ...

(1861–1934), at the time a well-known theatrical wig-maker and costumier. It was designed by the architect H. M. Wakeley in a mixed

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style.

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

laid the foundation stone in 1904 and

Sir Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

laid the coping stone in 1905. Clarkson's business operated there from 1905 until it ceased trading in 1940. The building retains an original clock over the entrance, advertising it as the premises of a ''Costumer'' and ''Perruquier'' (one who makes and sells wigs). In 1966, a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was fixed to the façade to commemorate Clarkson. When Terence Dalley sketched the building in 1972, another Chinese restaurant, Lee Ho Fook, occupied the ground floor. WILLY CLARKSON 1861-1934 THEATRICAL WIGMAKER lived and died here.jpg, Blue plaque to Willy Clarkson Wongkei2.JPG, Plaques on either side of the entrance

References

External links

History of the Building and Clarkson's Wigs
{{Restaurants in London 1905 establishments in England Art Nouveau architecture in London Art Nouveau commercial buildings Art Nouveau restaurants Chinatown, London Chinese restaurants in London Commercial buildings completed in 1905 Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster

Restaurant

Building

See also

References

External links