Chop Chop

My first & favourite dumpling go-​to joint in Edinburgh. Steamed or fried, these parcels are full of flavour in every bite.
Great take-​away if you are in the westend
@yelpedinburgh #yelpreboot

I have been to chop chop quite a lot over the years and it is always good. The staff are really nice but the service can be a little slow.
Tonight especially the service was slow. We knew that food comes out at different times but my other halfs main food arrived well after I had finished mine. At this point he had eaten a lot of rice and dumplings so was fairly full. Having said this they clearly realised it was slow as gave us a free rice at the same time to apologise for the wait. I really appreciated this as I was hungry even if my other half was not!
The food really is tasty. The boiled dumplings (especially the pork and coriander) are lovely. If you are in a group I would recommend the banquet. You can just order more of what ever dish you like.
At the end of the day as their slogan says: can a billion people be wrong?

We ended up going here after all the great reviews and recommendations. We arrived, it seemed a pleasant place and the staff seemed friendly. We ordered food, a mix mainly of the dumplings because that was the ‘thing to do’. The dumplings came separately as I guess it comes to order to remain fresh. The dumplings felt really heavy and very doughy. Some of the dumplings had hardly any filling in. Overall from the mix we got I would say that the fried dumplings where better than the steamed. The dumplings didn’t live up to our expectations. We also got the shredded potatoes with sesame seeds which was epic. The fish balls in Chinese sauce was horrible. The sauce tasted like Bisto gravy. After all this it just got worse. We tried to get the staffs attention to get a bill but they had all literally disappeared. After ten minutes someone came out of the kitchen who then sorted out the new customers who had been standing waiting to be seated. We waited patiently and the same thing happened again. We then ended up going to the bar at the back of the restaurant to pay and leave. We asked one of the waiters for the bill and he said ok, wait there and went into the kitchen. When he came back after 5 minutes he carried on doing what his was doing before and completely ignored our request. The manager then came out of the kitchen and finally gave us the bill, didn’t allow us to check the bill and just said how much. It was roughly what we were expecting so we just paid and left. (Visit — 01/​01/​2015 Dinner)

Stupid chopchop closing their leith restaurant. Now I have to come ALL THE WAY TO HAYMARKET for all their delicious food.
Ok, so all the food is the same here. There are/​were differences between the 2 restaurants but the food isn’t one of them. The service however seems WAY slower at this place.
Short review this one.
Pros are amazing, unlimited food. To die for stuff
Cons, only in haymarket now, limited GF/​Veggie stuff.

Bar none Best Goyza I’ve had outside Asia.

This visited was for someone’s birthday and it was my first time, so double cause for celebration.
We ordered the buffet menu for over 12 people. I think the waiters did a fine job getting all the dishes out one after the other.
The Sauvignon blanc was nice. So pretty pleased the have a good wine.
Fell in love with the dumplings, fried or boiled — they are all delicious! The crispy squid was tasty too.
Quite chuffed at myself for using the chop sticks that were on hand instead of asking for cutlery, I almost got the hang of it.
I think I will be back to get more dumplings very soon!

After hearing loads of things about the dumplings at Chop Chop, i finally managed to get myself there for a friend’s birthday dinner. after a brief discussion we all decided to go for the unlimited banquet as we were a large group and this seemed the best option to get a range of dishes.
for a group of 6 or more there was probably around a dozen dishes that came out for us to try. i found a lot of them mediocre to be honest and the only stand outs were the crispy beef and a cucumber salad that was really quite good. the dumplings were ok, but i’ve had better and i was left a bit underwhelmed… i’m not sure if it was the hype around how good the food was to be or that it just wasn’t quite to my liking but i left with a really meh impression of the dinner.
i think what really took the experience down for me was the wait staff. they always acted as if they were in a massive hurry although the restaurant was only half full. i ordered a beer which never arrived and then they tried to charge us for it on the bill (the manager did apologise and take it off and also gave us a 5 percent discount for the error). as our group was split across two tables which meant it was hard to socialise with the larger group and even more difficult for me as i was sat in a corner and really only had the ability to talk with the people right next to me.
however, the dinner only cost me just over £20 and i did enjoy so of the dishes. i won’t rush back to Chop Chop as i think there are better chinese restaurants in edinburgh but it’s completely A-​OK.

Nothing better than a free meal, right?
Right?
We shall see…
Missus took me along to Chop Chop at the west end as her +1 when those lovely folks were nice enough to invite her along for a complimentary meal in return for a review.
I had no idea the Leith branch had closed down, but if anything the Haymarket iteration has benefitted from it. The money saved has clearly gone on an expanded space. They’ve knocked down walls at the back and put in loads more tables, nowhere near as crammed as they used to be (although I sort of liked that about it!). Speaking of the tables, those sparkly, glittery numbers certainly looked familiar.
Anyhoo, after a short explanation of what we were entitled to on the evening we got to ordering. A toss up between one of their banquet menus or simply order our own mini feast, we decided we probably wouldn’t indulge in all-​you-​can-​eat fayre and opted for the latter. We’d done the banquet before so this meant we could explore the menu a little more.
Anyone who’s been to Chop Chop knows they pride themselves on their dumplings. And it would’ve been rude not to, so we went with 4 Beef and Chilli (fried) and 8 Pork and Chive (boiled). Twelve little soldiers on the plate and not a one of them disappointed. If I had a quibble, I’d like it if the restaurant supplied their own take on a dipping sauce, perhaps a couple of flavour variations, rather than only offering the soy sauce, garlic and chilli on our table. But this is minor; they were lovely as expected.
Next up the missus chose a personal favourite of Northern Crispy Beef, a staple from the banquet menu which alluded to the fact I was the a’la carte snob on the night! I chose the Marinated Pork and we shared an accompaniment of Aubergine with Garlic (yet ANOTHER banquet dish!!!) and Fried Rice all round.
The Marinated Pork was not what I expected. An oversight on my part in choosing my pork dish, however I was not disappointed when I was met with a long dish stacked to the brim with what looked like diced pork belly. Too fatty for the missus’ palate but for me… yes! The titular marinade was lush, an element of heat without being too spicy and sweet without being too sweet. Great balance and the succulence of the meat was spot on. What fat-​less morsels we managed to scour for Jen was met with a nod of approval.
The Northern Crispy Beef came in a sweet and sour-​esque sauce. Little sweeter than I like but that did not stop me get wired in about it. The texture was fantastic and overall it was quite moreish. The Aubergine’s were aubergines. And I love aubergines. Winner.
For dessert, the waiter recommended a deep fried pastry number with an encasement of ice cream within. Sounded like a Scotsman’s paradise but was a bit too dense for us so it went half eaten. Some lovely sorbets finished us off.
The service, predictably, was impeccable, although I will say the waiter — although knowing who we were — struck a good balance of attention and leaving us alone to enjoy our meal. Well played, sir. The food was great. Really can’t fault it and continues to merit repeat visits.
So… in truth… yes.
There really is nothing better than a free meal.

When you think of Chinese food, you tend to picture the meals you phone in or the modern (often buffet) restaurants with their bachelor pad décor, fountains and statues. Chop Chop is neither. The bright yellow exterior and dated interior gave me a slight cause for concern, although I don’t judge books by their covers. Often traditional restaurants are there to serve locals from that culture and don’t prescribe to western dining décor, so you need to give them a try because the food is often in a different league. An example is the Taj Mahal whose food I love, but physically the restaurant doesn’t look great!
Chop Chop looks a bit dated but it is in every sense of the word, traditional. I was very pleasantly surprised by the food! We ordered the unlimited banquet which allows you to reorder anything that you’ve tried and enjoyed — an amazing offer. If you’d rather just explore they have loads and loads of options across the menu.
In Chop Chop you can expect very quick and attentive service, friendly staff who understand the menu and are happy to explain (and re-​explain) how it all works. They’re even on hand to teach chopstick operation! I’m a total loser with chopsticks — I know how to work them but I’m just rubbish. The child/​idiot friendly ones in Wagamama are what I need, otherwise my food will go cold whilst I fight with the sticks! I’m a quitter and opted for a fork, to the tutting of my waiter!
I’d definitely recommend Chop Chop for a casual meal or if you want to try authentic Chinese cuisine rather than the greasy westernised versions we’ve adopted. It’s just round the corner from Haymarket station and the trams also make it easily accessible!

Excellent meal here. Superb food and service. Lots of bad reviews about Chop Chop but we really enjoyed it. The food is amazing! Very attentive service!

Great place, second time here and I must say it was much better than the first time. We had a fee plates to share, not on the all you can eat but just a share everything type of meal. The squid is the best, love it and can’t stop eating it. We also tried the Aubergine and cucumber salad as they got rave reviews but both are nothing to shoot about and wouldn’t get them again. The chicken wings are delicious, I am addicted to chicken wings so these met my craving :). We also shared a chow mein and some dim sum. The three of us left satisfied but not too full and didn’t feel like we have anything unhealthy, greasy or heavy. The service was good and it was full to the last table, service was attentive and friendly but the waitress didn’t understand us and it took some time to order. The only reason i haven’t given 5 stars is the lack of main meal dish variety and the portion size is small. I look forward to going back.

One of my favourite Edinburgh restaurants. Food is always fresh with an authentic Asian style. I have lived many years in South East Asia and what you get at Chop Chop is good, no fuss, food full of flavour and without additives.

The beef and chili dumplings were amazing! As was the chicken and spicy potatoes. So different from the Chinese food you normally fine with heaps of sauce. The food was well spiced and different, full of flavour and amazingly good! We had two guests from Holland with us who had seen it in the Lonely Planet, which is why we went, and they also loved it! The service was also super attentive and professional, they were very busy and still managed to come back and get our second order. Also the vegetarian green bean dish was super yum!

I used to go there when they opened 5 yrs ago or more but went there with my g – f and food was awful!
May be chief was in the wrong mood!?!
The garlic cloves in cumin seeds were over salty, the Peanut sauce butter noodles were sickening: a jar of peanut butter with watery noodles!
the cucumber salad watery .
At last the prawn dumpling were tasting off the taste.

Eh. I dont get the hype. After reading all these reviews and the positive review by the friend I went with, I was expecting better. Much, much better.
The good: the service was fast and very friendly. The service alone would get five stars. Also, lots of menu options and the business lunch is a good deal.
Sadly, this is where the positives ended for me. I just found the food to be seriously subpar. Even the things people raved about like the aubergines and dumplings were subpar. The aubergines were ok, but they were pretty bland and burning hot. I just kept thinking, «Whats so great? Yes, this is what happens when you cook aubergines.» The dumplings were just ok too, definitely nothing to get excited about.
The rest of the meal I just found confusing. My ribs and green beans were questionable, fatty meat and soggy green beans floating in a mess of gloopy, salty random brown sauce. The fried potatoes were literally just tiny, deep fried pieces of shredded potato that you were supposed to eat with chopsticks? It was so confusing, more like a topper for a jacket potato or something (if you are American it was exactly like the fried onions you put on green bean casserole, but in tiny confetti-​like pieces). The worst were the spicy noodles, which had such an inedible flavor that I could not stomach more than one bite of and a smell made me sick.
Sooooo, overall, not a good experience and I will not return unless forced. Sadly, the staff is nice, so it is a shame, but otherwise steer clear of this place and find yourself some decent Chinese.

To be honest, the only reason I returned to Chop Chop after a long hiatus was because they sent me a voucher for free food…
I tried 7 dishes which they were to be putting on their new menu and can’t say I was overly blown away by any of them. There was a beef stew that was quite authentically Asian but chances of people going to Chop Chop and ordering «beef stew» seem rather slim! If it has however made it onto the menu, try it! With a few tweaks, it had the potential to be fantastic and hearty enough to steel you through the Edinburgh winter!
Last time we went, the couple at the table next to us had the unlimited banquet but asked to change up 2 of the dishes (which had I known I was allowed to do on previous visits, I would have taken full advantage of! and maybe had a much better time).
I think Chop Chop have reached an impass where they rely far too heavily on their reputation and aren’t really producing very TOP quality food. I do however like the house/​hand made noodles they have, as nowhere else in Edinburgh do this. All the noodles are funny shapes and look a bit higgledy piggledy but it is because it is shaved off a giant block of ‘noodle’ dough into the boiling hot water to cook. (I assume this on the basis I’ve seen it done this way in Asia).
Their unlimited banquet is undoubtedly good value for those with a healthy appetite and their dumplings are worth a try if you’ve not had them before. But if you want dumplings on a tighter budget, may I recommend visiting one of the Asian supermarkets on Leith Walk and buying them from the frozen goods section and making them yourself at home!

For all Chop Chop’s flaws, its good points shine through like an aubergine-​tinted beacon of tastiness.
Pros
— Unlimited banquet, which features my two fave Chop Chop dishes — lamb and cumin, and the garlic marinated aubergines. Holy moly.
— Dumplings of the type that I haven’t found anywhere else in Edinburgh
— Loyalty card
— Tonnes of discounts showered upon loyalty card holders
— Service, which is pleasant and friendly
— Aubergines. Again.
Cons
— Food arrives when it’s ready, which for some could be considered a negative
— Can get supremely busy
— Décor a bit… erm… cheap and cheerful
— The hype surrounding this place would make you think its some miracle restaurant. It’s not, so people leave disappointed.
I, for one, salute the cult of Chop Chop. It’s not the best thing since sliced bread, but it does a bloomin’ good job trying.

On our recent trip to Edinburgh, hubbo and I did an all day tour up to Loch Ness and Inverness and got back to Edinburgh around 8 PM. We were cold and starving and craving some good food. I remember reading about Chop Chop and already, was drooling about yummy dumplings. So off we went.
Did I enjoy Chop Chop’s food… well… yes. Sorta yes I did. But there were a few problems with Chop Chop. First of all, the service was, well, really awkward. The host (who was in full suit, I might add) seated us. Then a very timid (or is he just soft spoken) server came to take our orders. Both the host and server had presumed, and I don’t know why, that my husband and I are going to be shocked by the food they served. First by comments like, «are you here to be adventurous» or asking whether we’ve had dumplings before and suggesting we try their unlimited banquet. I assured him that both my husband and I are VERY familiar with Chinese food and that nothing they serve us will surprise us. And no, we don’t want the unlimited banquet.
At any rate, we placed our orders. The dumplings and pot stickers were pretty tasty, though I am not a big fan of prawn dumplings (a bit too mushy and bland). The minced pork noodle was also bland, which I added more garlic and spicy chili sauce they provided, and it tasted fine. The fish balls in chili sauce wasn’t great (had much better) as it was hard and bland. And then nothing came with steam rice, so I had to order a bowl of steam rice. Which comes to the biggest issue I have with Chop Chop, the price.
Ok, I understand that in UK, everything is more expensive. I get that, really I do. But Chop Chop’s price is jacked way up, even by UK standard in my opinion. If the restaurant is going high end and has some kind of décor or having servers all dressed in Ming Dynasty getups, I might have understood it more. But no, while it’s not quite a hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant, it’s by no means, invested in any high end décor. And I would much rather dine in a humble hole-​in-​the-​wall with a hot steaming bowl of noodle soup for 8 bucks anyway,… just saying, not sure how they justify charging so much for pork & veggie dumplings. Maybe there is a general lack of this type of cuisine in Edinburgh? I don’t know.
So, if I live in Edinburgh and when I have a serious dumpling craving and have no where else to go, I can see myself just have to suck it up and pay it cause I’d have no choice. But certainly, not a fan of Chop Chop for high-​priced, decent dumplings.

Unlimited banquet.
Boom.
There were seven of us so we took the £19.95 version and I was pretty pleased let me tell you. Salad, prawn crackers, dumplings (chicken, pork, prawn, beef), ribs, fish stew, rice, delicious fried potato that I ate all of and no one else got any, loads of other stuff that was all well prepared and well spiced. Oy. I loved every second I was filling my greedy face.
The set up is that you receive your first round of dishes (outlined vaguely above) and then you’re asked if you would like seconds (annnnd thirds and fourths…) of any particular dish. So it’s good to think of round one as your ‘tasting’ round.
While we were there we also had a chance to taste some of the dishes that are to be included on next years menu, on the house, and I must say that Chop Chop just seems to be getting better!

Service is a bit bumpy, but very hearty.
The food is good, but what they serve as large is a bit pidding. So everything togehter I think the prices are to high for what you get, where your are and how you sit.
If they imporve a bit it could really be a place to come twice.
P.S.
Hot means hot ;-)

Disclaimer: I love Chinese food. I’m more familiar with the Szechuan style of cooking, rather than the Northern Chinese that Chop Chop is famous for, so eating here was a nice learning experience as well as a great culinary one.
The décor is fairly good for a Chinese restaurant — I’m used to them slapping some formica on the tables and red pleather on the booths and calling it a day, but Chop Chop seems to have gone the extra mile to make theirs modern and clean, and that’s always appreciated. We were sat immediately, around 5pm on a Friday, but were warned that we’d only have the table for an hour and a half. Sure thing — how long does it take to eat dinner, anyway?
We ordered the pork & prawn jiao zi (steamed dumplings), green beans with chili and pork with garlic and coriander. I think the standout dish for me was the green beans — light and crunchy, flavorful with green onion, chili and ginger. The dumplings were juicy and you could definitely taste the prawn with the pork — yum. The pork was good — good but not great — shredded into thin strips with quite a lot of ginger (more than I could eat, sadly) and more of the green onion and garlic. Overall, definitely a solid meal and I think I’ll be back to try the aubergine and some noodles.
The one detracting factor was the service. Our three dishes seemed to come out a lot slower than the food of the tables around us, and they’d ordered twice as much food as we did. On one hand, it was good to get a bit of a break between courses, but at the same time, I had to wonder — why was our service slower than everyone else’s? Once we’d finished our meal, our dishes were cleared and we confirmed with the server that we were indeed done — then sat there for a good fifteen minutes, sipping on our cooling tea whilst offered neither the check nor the dessert menu. It was a bit odd. Still, the food was good enough that I’d return to sample more of the menu.