Chop Chop at the Hippodrome is the perfect spot for some late-night Chinese in London

The Hippodrome, located in London's Leicester Square, may not be the Las Vegas strip, but there was certainly a buzz about the place for a Wednesday evening.

At London’s “Little Las Vegas” you’ll find five floors of gaming with three themed casinos, a Magic Mike residency, Heliot steak house and Chop Chop, where we visited.

Chop Chop is a late night Chinese restaurant, owned by the Four Seasons group and is open from 6pm until 4am.

The restaurant is located in the basement of the building, which means we needed to walk through the vibrant gaming floor to find it.

Apart from having a nosey at a Pachinko while visiting Japan, this was my first time stepping inside a casino and it was an exhilarating experience. Perhaps next time I’ll try a hand at blackjack before dinner.

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Chop Chop

We were greeted warmly by William Sin, a legend in the Soho food scene, who previously served as general manager at Y Ming on Greek Street and were shown to our seats in a neon booth.

The Cantonese style menu offers a range of choice from dim sum to the Four Seasons’ renowned Hong Kong style roast duck.

To kick off our meal we enjoyed some signature cocktails. I opted for the Dragon Fruit Margarita, which was sour but refreshing.

For starters we ordered a steamed mixed platter of multi coloured Dim Sum buns and dumplings, which were served in a beautiful bamboo basket.

We tried the Char Siu BBQ pork and chicken buns, which were soft and pillowy and the minced pork and prawn dumplings which were spicy and delicious.

For our mains there was no question about what we would be getting. Bring on the roast meat!

We opted for a mixed platter of the Cantonese Style Roast Duck and the Crispy Pork Belly, which were both tender, crispy and very moreish.

We were informed that the duck is made with a secret recipe, where it is thoroughly dried before it is marinated with a special mix of spices and herbs.

It's then cooked in a specially built roasting furnace, which results in the duck's crispy outer skin.

We ordered egg fried rice and stir fried broccoli to accompany the meat and the combinations worked beautifully.

While there was an inviting selection of Asian desserts to choose from, my dining companion and I were too stuffed from our decadent meal to indulge.

Our verdict

Being located right next to Chinatown it would seem futile to open yet another Chinese restaurant nearby.

But given its quirky location in the underbelly of a casino and its excellent food and service Chop Chop stands out on its own.

Given its late opening hours it serves as a perfect option for a night/ early morning meal after a night out in central London or a late night on the casino floor.

Address: Chop Chop by Four Seasons, Hippodrome, Cranbourn Street, London, WC2H 7JH