Chung Ying Central Bar & Restaurant

Reviews

• Helen F.

  star star star star star 3 June 2026

  I can't believe I haven't already reviewed Chung Ying Central! One of my favourite restaurants in Birmingham. The food is excellent quality and an absolute bargain. The cocktails are unusual but made with excellent ingredients. The service is good, the decoration is stylish, it's in a great location on Colmore Row.
  
  I've had the set menu which was good and very generous but the star of the show is the Dim Sum selection. The pork and prawn dumplings are my absolute favourites.
  
  Perfect for a meal and drinks with friends or a quick bite.

• Caroline C.

  star star star star star_border 27 May 2026

  Not tried it yet, but food looks great too:)
  -Ok so since having the amazing zodiac cocktails, I have been back for another amazing Yelp event which involved sampling some of the restaurants amazing dim sum - wow! I can't eat prawns, but nevertheless the rest of the choice were amazing; so light and full of flavour. The staff were again welcoming an friendly and ofcourse keen to hear what we thought. The atmosphere is relaxed and quite calm, which makes a change from some places in the City. I would definitely  go back for a full/proper meal.
  They do an Express lunch too, so worth checking out at lunchtime:)

• Emma S.

  star star star star star_border 20 May 2026

  I can't believe it's taken me this long to review Chung Ying, I could have sworn I'd done it already! This place has great food, drinks and location...what more can you ask for! At happy hour, you can get the whole food menu for £16, it couldn't be more of a bargain. It also buy one get one free on cocktails as well.
  
  If you check in on Yelp and spend just £10, you can get a free cocktail. The cocktails are based on the Chinese zodiac so you can pick the one that matches your year of birth. Even though its not my year, the Horse cocktail is one of my favourites as its based on a Cosmopolitan. The service is good, they'll bring the cocktails to the table so there is no need to hand around at the bar.
  
  They do an express lunch throughout the week and you are perfectly able to get in and out in 45 minutes and there's no compromising on the food. There are numerous options you can have - you can create your own or select your own dish. There's options for dim sum or soup and a selection of drinks.
  
  Chung Ying is based on Colmore Row so catches the work crowd and is large enough to cater for it. I've been here for a few yelp events and we have been welcomed every single time.

• Simon C.

  star star star star star_border 12 May 2026

  From the third branch of the long established Chung Ying group they claim to serve the best Dim Sum in the city. Never mind pigeon-holing into it just the city or small dumplings, I would go so far as saying it is some of the best Chinese food I have ever eaten, though how seriously you wish to take that depends on how much you trust a man whose hangover meal is curry sauce and chips in a tray. All of the dishes we ordered sang of authenticity; a bold move in a country that has basterdised the food of every nation to suit our own primitive palette.  Every Dim Sum dish was a success, from the Chiu Chow's translucent skin with a lean minced pork perked by rice wine and ginger, to the beef packed with ginger and spring onion.  These steamed pieces have a texture that may not to be everyone's liking.  Its their loss.
  
  They do street food equally well; Char Sui buns are little pillows of rice flour buns, hiding long braised pieces of unctuous pork belly that call out for regular revisits.  Crisp spring rolls filled with curried chicken is reminiscent of the roadside snacks we purchased for pennies on a recent visit to Ho Chi Minh.  Here, at £4.00 for a substantial portion, they are not much more and are far superior.Yuk Shung with coarsely minced lamb is full of umami notes and aromatics.  The meat has bite in all the right places and is quickly piled high on to crisp sheets of lettuce which soon disappears from the table. A wonton soup had a stock deep with shellfish bones, soured with vinegar and tempered with soy.  The prawn and pork dumplings with good flavour and substance whilst never making the dish too heavy.
  
  A couple of mains are ordered because we are greedy and also to satisfy my partners curiosity of whether or not Chung Ying's chicken in black bean sauce lives up to the dish she orders weekly as a takeaway.  It does.  The chicken is of higher quality, the sauce more complex.  She scrapes the plate clean.  Had we not been with friends she probably would have licked it clean.  Crispy chicken with salt and chilli is perhaps too restrained; it would be nice to see this with the brakes taken off.  Dishes like this should leave a mark on the soul, whereas this was a gentle hug of heat.
  
  With a bill that works out at approximately thirty quid each, including beers and a cocktail or two thrown in for good measure, Chung Ying is exceptionally good value.  It transports the true essence of Cantonese cooking from China Town into the heart of the city centre, never flinching from its roots for fear of alienating its cliental.

• Rebecca S.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 11 May 2026

  I didn't like the place at all. Firstly I ordered the 2 for 1 cocktails and kindly asked them to bring one right away and the other 20 mins later. Even though the restaurant was completely empty they could t do it. When I asked why the waitress said 'I don't know but we can't do it'. Great customer service. The Bellini cocktails that came were horrible too. The glasses were dirty and no effort was put into the cocktail - again the restaurant was almost empty. I ordered two different dim sums the fried was was ok but the steamed one wasn't very nice. It was almost only dough and not very good. In my opinion it's not worth it.