London's 'best' Chinese restaurant where you can bring your own beer and wine

When Xi'an Impression first opened just outside the Emirates Stadium, owner Chao Zhang found the location very challenging. It required patience to persuade hungry Arsenal fans to try the food, who were unfamiliar with the menu and were used to 'westernised' dishes like chow mein and sweet and sour chicken balls.

When one by one, people were willing to sit down and give the food a try, they would then keep coming back with friends and family. This is how the business grew, and is exactly how he intends his success to continue.

According to the owner, he lets the food speak for itself: "We don't invest in marketing, social media, we just invest in food and labour.

"I don't want people queuing outside the door," he explained, when he described the restaurant as "'residential."

Xi'an Impression has regular customers, who mostly live local to the restaurant, and to him, when a restaurant gets busier the service has to go down.

Since opening Xi'an impression alongside Guirong Wei 11 years ago, he has continued to spread his love of food. But what is it that makes the food taste so good?

"The recipe is nothing special, just the traditional way", he humbly insists.

Chao says there is no secret, only handmade things in the customary way: "It's time wasting, time consuming, labour costs. Not many people want to do it that way but we will keep it this way."

This, he says, is what keeps his customers coming back. His aim was to bring the food to London from his hometown in Xi'an, a city in Northwestern China. The smashed cucumber is a hit, but his most popular dish is the biang biang noodles.

These are made from a simple dough of plain flour, salt, and water. It is then hand-pulled and stretched, into wide, belt-like strips.

The most expensive menu item at Impressions is £13.90, with the restaurant also allowing "BYOB," so those wanting to bring their own wine or beer can do so and pay a corkage fee. As well as dining in, they also offer delivery and takeout options.

One happy customer wrote on TripAdvisor: "Small "street food" eatery in front of the Arsenal stadium. Just follow where the two guns are pointing! Delicious and authentic spicy Chinese food."

A second added: "This is a Chinese restaurant that prepares delicious Chinese food. The pork burgers, beef burgers and noodles were very nicely prepared and delicious. The veg dumplings and pork dumplings were delicious."

A third chimed in: "Tiny gem. We went after my sister saw a review on TikTok and it did not disappoint! As space is limited it's more of a casual vibe - the food comes really quickly and the table turnover is high. People queue along the street so be prepared to wait for 15 mins or so. Not many vegetarian options would be my only negative feedback, but the biang biang noodles were a treat."