Choy’s of Frith Street
Posted: February 13th, 2016 | 5 Comments »A couple of photographs showing Choy’s Chinese Restaurant on Soho’s Frith Street – the street shot showing Choy’s alongside Parmigiani’s Italian deli and the Cote D’Azur restaurant is from 1956 while the close up shot is from the early 1960s. Choy’s was often regarded as one of the best Chinese restaurants in London after the war – along with the actor Ley On’s place over on Wardour Street and, perhaps slightly bizarely, a Chinese restaurant up on Tottenham Court Road run by the boxer Freddie Mills and actor Andy ho (which is a whole other, very messy, story)! Choy’s got great reviews – Cue: The Weekly Magazine of New York Life described it as the best Chinese food in London in 1955 with “world famous egg-foo-ying”. In 1958 Fodor’s described Choy’s as the best Chinese food in Britain and praised its “authentic Oriental atmosphere”. Additionally, and unlike most Chinese restaurants of the pre-war and immediate post-war era Choy’s was licensed and Fodor’s considered them to have a good cellar. They were open noon till 11pm including on Sundays in the late 1950s (which was quite something!).
Photo by Daily Mail/REX – Corner of Old Compton Street and Frith Street, Soho, 1956
I have just found this by accident when looking for Choy’s Chinese Restaurant on Google.
I visited the restaurant in 1955 aged 11, on my first visit to London, with my mum and dad.
It was dad who took us there. My very first taste of Chinese food and I loved it.Dad wrote down the menu in my autograph book which I have just found. I was hoping to send you a photo so you could translate the menu into English, but can’t find a link to send it.
Incidentally the next time I tasted Chinese food was many years later from a local takeaway. I was horrified as it tasted nothing like the wonderful food I remembered!
Hi Valerie. I had a similar experience. I used to go to Choy’s with my parents in the early 1960s. It was my first experience with Chinese food and I too loved it. I used to have a dish called Cantonese chicken, which was sort of red in colour and absolutely delicious. Of course there are about 1000 Cantonese ways to cook chicken and I’ve never been able to work out what this dish was.
It’s a good memory though.
Hi Lynn. Not sure if you will read my reply.this is such a coincidence as two days ago we were in a Chinese Supermarket in Leeds, and I asked a young Chinese couple if they could tell me what we had to eat on that day back in 1955. I had a copy of what my dad had written in my autograph book.
One of the dishes was a chicken dish which the young lady said was very complicated to make. She showed me a photo on her mobile phone and the colour was very red! So probably the same dish you remember.
Must say they were a lovely young couple and we had a nice chat with them. They were enjoying living in England.
Happy memories.
Hello everyone,
This restaurant was opened by my great Uncle I believe who came to England from Hong Kong in 1952.
My Grandad and Grandma would have came here and worked here too.
There is a good chance my Grandad cooked some of the food you ate.
I only found out today after the recent passing of my Grandparents.
If you have any photos of Choys or the food you ate, please let me know. I am happy you have good memories of the place.
Hi Guy,
I have a menu from Choys which my mum had visited in what I believe was the early fifties with her fiancée. Mum had told me when I was young that it was a real treat and so new to her .