Bill Poon, the influential London restaurateur who played a significant role in popularizing authentic Cantonese cuisine in Britain, has died at the age of 81. Born on December 3, 1944, in Shunde, Guangdong province, China, Poon established his eponymous restaurants in the 1970s and 1980s, earning widespread acclaim and attracting a high-profile clientele from the worlds of politics, entertainment, and society.
Poon arrived in the United Kingdom in 1967 during a period when Chinese food in Britain was largely limited to Anglo-Chinese adaptations served in takeaway shops. Alongside his wife Cecilia, he opened the original Poon’s restaurant on Lisle Street in Chinatown, London, in 1973. The establishment quickly gained a reputation for dishes that showcased traditional techniques and recipes, including wind-dried meats prepared from a secret family method, clay pot rice, and complex dishes such as baked crab with spring onion and ginger, stewed pig trotters with sea cucumber, and braised black Chinese mushrooms with dried scallops.
The restaurant’s success led to an expansion in 1976 when Lord and Lady Tanlaw joined Poon as partners to open Poon’s of Covent Garden at 41 King Street. This new venue featured a brasserie-style layout with a glassed-in kitchen, allowing diners to observe the craftsmanship of the chefs, and attracted notable patrons including Mick Jagger, Sean Connery, Barbra Streisand, and Frank Sinatra, the latter reportedly ordering food delivered to his room at the Savoy hotel. In 1980, Poon’s achieved a milestone as the second Chinese restaurant in Britain to be awarded a Michelin star.
Bill Poon was part of a long lineage of chefs, being the seventh generation in his family to pursue the craft of Cantonese cooking. His family fled Guangdong during the communist takeover in 1949, settling in Portuguese Macau, where his parents operated a well-known restaurant. After initial work as a kitchen porter and training as a pâtissier in Hong Kong, Poon came to Britain and established himself in the restaurant industry, maintaining a focus on preserving authentic Cantonese culinary traditions.
Beyond his restaurants, which at their peak numbered seven across London and Geneva, Poon was known for his rigorous standards and dedication to teaching. He trained numerous chefs, often looking for signs of practical skill such as scars or callouses that evidenced their experience in traditional Chinese cooking techniques. He also contributed to charitable causes, regularly donating unused food to the homeless and supporting community initiatives.
Poon retired in 2003, with most of his restaurants closing by that time. The original Lisle Street venue remained until 2004. In recent years, his legacy has been revived by his daughter Amy, who launched a pop-up Poon’s in Clerkenwell in 2018 followed by a permanent location at Somerset House in 2025.
Bill Poon is survived by his wife Cecilia, their daughter Amy, and their son. He passed away on June 16, 2026.