Andrew Wong and Dishoom’s Amar Radia to open London pub

Andrew Wong and Amar Radia are set to open Kong, a Chinese pub, in Shoreditch this summer.

Kong will be the anchor tenant at British Land’s Norton Folgate development, bringing together the history of the East London pub with the food culture of the Chinese kitchen.

The new opening comes from Andrew, chef patron of two-Michelin-starred A.Wong in Victoria, and Amar, co-founder of Dishoom.

A Chinese Public House for East London

Kong will open in a former pub site that first opened its doors in 1792, the same period the first Chinese settlers arrived in East London.

Over the years, the pub has traded as the Pewter Platter, The Poet and the Water Poet. In 2026, it will become Kong.

The concept has been described as “a Chinese Public House”, combining two histories under one roof: the grand East London pub and the Chinese kitchen.

The all-day offer will include dumplings at dawn, noodles at lunch and grills with a cold pint at dusk, positioning Kong as a broad, open and accessible hospitality space rather than a traditional restaurant format.

Andrew Wong on Kong

Andrew is one of the UK’s most important Chinese chefs, with A.Wong becoming the first Chinese restaurant outside Asia to hold two Michelin stars.

Based in Victoria, A.Wong opened in 2012 after Andrew took over the family restaurant, creating a highly personal expression of Chinese cuisine shaped by research, regionality, history and modern London.

Speaking about Kong, Andrew said: “Kong is a Chinese kitchen reflecting our personality, shaped by London, the East End, China, and A.Wong. Untraditional, instinctive, fearless, all-day cooking.”

The project marks a significant new direction for Andrew, taking his expertise associated with A.Wong into a more public house-led setting.

A new chapter for Norton Folgate

Amar Radia, who co-founded Dishoom, brings major experience in creating restaurant concepts rooted in hospitality, cultural storytelling and London dining.

Speaking about the opening, Amar said: “The grand East London pub and the Chinese kitchen have been part of London for over 200 years. Kong honours that history while writing the next chapter - a Chinese Public House with a warm, wide welcome.”

The interiors and design are being led by Afroditi Krassa, whose studio has worked across a number of major restaurant and hospitality projects.

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A major London opening

Kong will add another high-profile restaurant name to the Norton Folgate development and is likely to be one of London’s most closely watched openings of the summer.

For Andrew, it offers a very different platform from A.Wong, moving from the precision of two-Michelin-starred Chinese fine dining into a looser, pub-led format shaped by all-day eating, the East End and the shared history of Chinese food in London.

For the wider industry, the opening also reflects the continued appetite for ambitious, chef-led London restaurant projects, even against a difficult trading backdrop for hospitality.