Five top London restaurants hosting a Chinese New Year extravaganza

Chinese New Year of the Dog is taking the lead with highlights including a Michelin chef, lion dances and a dim sum symphony

Hutong With stunning views across London on The Shard’s 33rd floor, Hutong will welcome guests with a cocktail named after Pan Hu, a dragon dog from Chinese mythology. The set menu will include beef tenderloin, konnyaku and sweet chilli Chinese yam; whole sea bass steamed with spicy garlic sauce; Red Lantern crispy soft-shell crab with Sichuan dried chilli; Chinese five-spiced crispy duck; braised ma la pork ribs with nori and peppercorn wok-fried choy sum with seafood fried rice. And finally for pudding, ginger sweet New Year’s sticky milk cake. (Available on Friday February 16; £88 per person)

Hutong’s whole sea bass steamed with spicy garlic sauce

Bubbledogs Sommelier and co-founder Sandia Chang will be joined in her kitchen for the first time by her husband, James Knappett, the head chef of Michelin-starred Kitchen Table. For one night only – February 20 – this gourmet hot dog and champagne bar in London’s Fitzrovia is transforming into a Chinese restaurant, Chappett’s Café. The couple’s menu will feature their favourite home-style Chinese dishes, including satay roasted cauliflower, spiced fried rabbit and three cup English clams. Following the Chinese tradition of exchanging Hong Baos, the little red envelopes containing money, any guest who brings a dog will receive one – with a difference – filled with homemade treats for their four-legged friend. (Prices are to be confirmed; but small dishes will range from £5-12, premium dishes around £28 and sharing dishes approximately £35)

Duddell’s At Duddell’s, the New Year menu, designed by head chef Daren Liew, will showcase the best in Cantonese cuisine. The restaurant’s signature “royal dim sum symphony”, including lobster and asparagus dumplings and spicy turbot with pickled chilli, will start the feast. Main course sharing plates include black cod with crispy radish and supreme soy; and abalone with smoked chestnut and corn-fed chicken toban. On New Year’s Day (February 16) diners will see a traditional dragon dance, believed to bring good fortune. (Available from Friday February 16 to Sunday March 4; £88 per person)

Serge et le Phoque With a nod to its Hong Kong origins, Serge et le Phoque at the Mandrake Hotel will celebrate the New Year with a five-course tasting menu. Diners will feast on oysters with soy, black vinegar, cedrot, coriander, and buckwheat; sesame focaccia; tapioca crackers; followed by pork and prawn dumplings; salt-and-pepper prawn; and scallops with turnip, shitake, century egg and chilli. Turbot with ginger, shallots and oyster mushrooms will also feature, plus dishes of salt-baked pork char siu. The grande finale of puddings include pomelo with shiso and jasmine ice cream with lychee. (Available on Friday February 16 and Saturday 17 February; £75 per head)

China Tang The late Sir David Tang’s restaurant, China Tang, will be decorated with traditional Chinese lanterns and host lion dance performances for this New Year. The à la carte menu will include a one-pot rice noodle broth with shredded duck and salted snow vegetable; wine braised wagyu short ribs; bamboo heart and seaweed with mushrooms, fungus and juju bi; and Chef Fong’s ying yang lobster. (Available from Thursday February 15 to Monday February 19)