Mr Kuo, the owner

Mr Kuo (Kuo Te’Lu), was born in the early twentieth century and started work as a chef at the age of 15. He worked at many well-known restaurants in China before moving to London in the 1950s as the Embassy chef under Huan Xiang (right), the Charge d'Affaires at London's Chinese Embassy.

In 1962, Huan Xiang accepted a more senior post in the Foreign Ministry in China. At this time, Mao’s Cultural Revolution was underway and the future for many returning to China was uncertain. Some Embassy staff, including Mr Kuo, looked for opportunities to remain in the UK.

In an interview in The Tatler magazine in 1965 he is quoted as saying that he ‘defected’ because he ‘disliked indulging in bouts of ritualistic self criticism’ and was frustrated by the ‘repetitive nature of Embassy food’.

We know he applied for ‘naturalisation’ as British Citizen in 1974 and stayed in London as a restaurateur until his death in 1989.

As a background, it is clear that from the late 1950s there was growing interest in the UK in Chinese food. Former embassy clerk, Ken Lo published his first cookery book Cooking the Chinese Way in 1958 (right); the first edition sold 10,000 copies.

With an entrepreneurial colleague, a Mr Wu who had previous restaurant experience (according to Cheap Eats 1975), Mr Kuo set about opening the Kuo Yuan. It was to be the first Peking restaurant in London.

About the Kuo Yuan Restaurant

The Kuo Yuan restaurant opened in 1962. Kuo Yuan translated literally means the Garden of Mr Kuo.

Simon Napier Bell’s Substack indicates it was a rushed opening. After Mr Kuo moved in “he didn’t even bother to redecorate...it took three months to get a phone line installed and the owner couldn’t wait - neither did it have a licence to serve alcohol, you had to bring your own.”

We don’t know what happened to the partnership with Mr Wu, or why Willesden was chosen as the location for this extraordinary restaurant. From what we know of Willesden in the 1960s, we can assume it was because of the very low rents.

It may also have been because Mr Kuo rented rooms at nearby 100 Strode Road in Willesden (according to the census) so it was a short walk to work. He later moved to a house on Dewsbury Road.

In 1963 we know that Michael Kerr started working at Kuo Yan as an assistant chef. Michael was recent immigrant from Taiwan and a student at Willesden Technical College at the time. In July 2025, we tracked Michael down at his restaurant in Cambridge (right) - you can read more about his memories here.

The restaurant was an instant hit on the London restaurant scene and local people recall queues down the street and flashy cars parked outside - which was highly unusual for Willesden at the time.

1960s: a producer’s memories of Kuo Yuan

Simon Napier Bell, a record producer who worked in music studios in Willesden from the mid 1960s, has recently written about his memories of eating at Kuo Yuan on his Substack.

Over several decades his clients included: The Yardbirds, Ultravox, T Rex, Marc Bolan, Japan, Asia, Candi Staton, Boney M, Sinéad O'Connor, Wham, and George Michael. Although we can not be certain which of his bands and musicians accompanied him to eat there, he has vivid recollections of the dining experience and the food.

1970s: childhood memories of Kuo Yuan

As a child growing up on the Dollis Hill Estate in the 1970s Ian Latham attended many family celebrations at Kuo Yuan in Willesden.His parents’ wedding reception (below and right) and all the family birthdays were celebrated there with elaborate set menus that included a wide range of dishes from sweet and sour pork to almond chicken.

His Chinese-Malaysian mother, Yeoh Saw Kin, who took the English name Frances, had been sent to boarding school in the UK and lived in Dollis Hill between the 1950s and 1980s. She met her husband Peter Latham in London and their wedding was in September 1967. For some guests at the wedding reception at Kuo Yuan it was their first time trying Chinese food and eating with chopsticks!

While the Chinese community around the neighbourhood was small, Ian’s remembers many family members passing through (including Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh - right) and his memories of visits to Kuo Yuan are strong.

Because the community was small in the 1970s, it was rare to bump into people who looked Chinese - so bumping into the famous actor/comedian Burt Kwouk at Dollis Hill station was a favourite childhood memory. Visits to Mr Chang, the local Chinese dentist (located in a building next to Willesden Green library has also stayed imprinted in his memory.

As a child, Ian remembers Kuo Yuan being smart, with approximately ten tables adorned with white tablecloths, and unparalleled theatrical menus: impressive hors d’ouevres, duck sliced at the table and toffee apples dramatically dipped in icy water in front of diners, to harden the toffee crunch.

The restaurant was always busy and he remembers that the restaurant expanded into the next door shop in the late 1970s.

As an adult Ian says he has travelled a lot and eaten at many Chinese restaurants but has never found a menu to rival that of Kuo Yuan.

1960s & 1970s: the rich and famous clientele

Jean Shrimpton (left), actress, model and 'icon’ of Swinging London, selected Kuo Yuan as one of her favourite London restaurants in a 1965 interview in The Tatler.