Picture of Gold Mine, W2 3RR

Historical version 12 of Gold Mine, W2 3RR (view current version)

Small Chinese restaurant on Queensway in Bayswater.

It specialises in roast meats, particularly Cantonese-style roast duck. In this, it's in some degree of competition with Four Seasons, down the road at number 84; according to a couple of the reviews linked below, Gold Mine was actually opened by the ex-barbecue chef from Four Seasons.

Inside, it's long and narrow, with a low ceiling, basic decor, crammed-in tables, and very little natural light. A mirrored wall in the back section helps to open up the space a little.

Kake, Leon, bob, and other Perlmongers visited on a Thursday lunchtime in December 2009. Arriving at 1pm, there was a short wait for a table even when we thought there were only four of us; however even when another four arrived, we weren't kept hanging around for too long as a large round table became free and they squeezed us in around it.

We shared a couple of orders of roast duck, a plate of crispy roast pork, a plate of seasonal vegetables, and rice/noodles. The roast duck was very good, moist without being overly fatty. Kake was pleased with the sauce, since it wasn't too sweet; Leon points out that the sauce at Four Seasons is sweeter, which some people may prefer. The pork was disappointing and inconsistent; some pieces had chewy skin rather than crispy crackling, and the meat was very dry and hard in places. Seasonal vegetables — large, nicely chewy mushrooms on a bed of greens (looked like gai lan) — were fine. The rice was also fine; not mushy or dried out at all, perfectly good.

Including tea all round (not sure if this was charged for) we paid £12/head.

Note: according to Chowhound, they also do a "grandma style" roast pork, which is stirfried in chillies and garlic and isn't on the menu.

Kake's verdict: This is not somewhere to linger over a meal, and I suspect the rest of the menu may not be worth bothering with, but I would happily eat more of that duck.

Accessibility: One step up to get in. Toilets are down a flight of stairs with at least one bend in it (not sure about handrails).

See also:

Last visited by Kake, Leon, bob, and other Perlmongers, December 2009. Opening hours taken from the Time Out website, December 2009.
OS X co-ord: 525872 OS Y co-ord: 180925 (Latitude: 51.512729 Longitude: -0.185868)
This is version 12 (as of 2018-12-07 16:43:01). View current version. List all versions.