Din Tai Fung Centre Point to open in September - Updated
Opening on 22 September*, Din Tai Fung Centre Point will serve the same menu as its sister sites in Covent Garden and Selfridges, specialising in the brand's iconic xiao long bao.
The 13,500 sq ft site will hold 218 covers, feature an open kitchen in the centre of the restaurant, and - like the Selfridges restaurant - use robot waiters to help deliver dishes to tables.
Unique to the site will be a large separate bar area, serving the brand’s 'signature' cocktails Din, Tai, and Fung.
In addition to various xiao long bao iterations, Din Tai Fung Centre Point will offer a varied menu of handmade dumplings and rice and noodle dishes.
"We are honoured to be opening our third site here in London, a reflection of the ongoing loyalty of our customers," says XueFeng Bai, UK Director at Din Tai Fung.
"Having come from humble beginnings, our cooking remains true to that with unchanged recipes for over half a century. We look forward to more people discovering our brand and are excited to grow the Din Tai Fung family."
Din Tai Fung, which operates more than 170 locations in 13 countries around the world, first announced its intention to open a restaurant at Centre Point back in the summer of 2018, but that initial plan was eventually abandoned.
The group, whose UK rollout is part of a joint venture with the Singapore-based food and beverage company BreadTalk Group, launched its first UK restaurant in Covent Garden in late 2018, and eventually followed it with a second site within Oxford Street department store Selfridges that opened earlier this year.
Din Tai Fung's roots date back to Taiwan 50 years ago. Founded by Mr Bingyi Yang in 1958, the brand started off as a cooking oil retail business, before re-inventing itself in 1972 into a full-fledged restaurant.
The group's arrival at Centre Point will come hot on the heels of the launch of Arcade Food Hall, the JKS-backed reinvention of Arcade Food Theatre.
*Update: Din Tai Fung has since announced it would be postponing the launch of its Centre Point restaurant until 1 October in light of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
