Hakkasan

Great Buzz, alright food.

When I walk down to this place, I keep thinking of New York. We were greeted on street level by the door lady holding the bookings for the evening, it always makes me feel like trying to get into a club “if your name isn't on the door, you can't get in” but in this case, of course you can. Down a fly of grey stairs smelling of encens we were greeted by a small crowd of people taking our coats away, asking for names, wanting to show us our table. I have to say, I like the red dresses worn as uniform by the female staff and quite enjoy the buzz of the place. It wasn't hectic but it was still full, the service seemed good, friendly and fairly seemless.
We opted for cocktails and we found them all too sweet or slightly watery. We went for a selection of smaller dishes and a couple of main, we thought that for three, it would be ideal, however the waiter, when prompted, indicated that they usually advised a smaller dish and a main for each guest. Needless to say it way too much food although it was nice to try out the different flavours. I highly recommend the duck salad and the fish dishes in general were really tasty. I thought that the meat dishes were too sweet and we didn't go for dessert. Oh and the dumplings ? Tasty but a tad soggy and sticky.

Not what I expected and seriously let down.

Upon arrival greeted by a rude door lady checking reservations, more concerned with talking to the man looking after the (over priced and sub standard) cars. After grumping at us to confirm we had a reservation, down the stairs and the stench of toilets made me want to leave. I thought it could be a communal walkway and continued to what felt more like a tacky hotel than a nice restaurant.

A handful of staff behind the counter taking coats and checking in. The staff more concerned with talking amongst themselves than looking after the now growing presence of customers bustling for space. After catching attention of one member of staff managed to hand my coat in and then the queue to be checked in! Why something so simple has such a bizarre and inefficient process is beyond me.

We were 10 minutes early so we were shown to the bar, walked past a couple of men in suits who looked like they worked there and they managed to muster a welcoming smile (well, I hope they work there!). The bar looks great, fantastic selection of cocktails and spirits. Their recommendation of The Hakka was a splendid one. Really nice cocktail, vodka, lychee, coconut and passion fruit, had to wait around 15 minutes before we could get the attention of someone behind the bar but the cocktail was made very quickly and efficiently.

People came, people went, we continued to wait for our table, the bar staff trying to be attentive, every single new person that arrived at the bar was recommended The Hakka and I turned around and it's all anyone was drinking so not the most personal of services. More people came, more people went, and after a fresh turnaround of people around the bar who were taken to their tables we eventually were taken to our seat after 45 minutes.

The tables are all extremely close to each other and in rows, more reminiscent of a chinese street market than the fine dining experience I thought this was supposed to be. We were a table for 2 sat between two larger tables, so close together (half a centimetre either side?) that it seemed like one long intrusive table. If it wasn't for the thumping music I would have been able to hear people's deepest thoughts.

I asked to move and after a short wait we were and then had to wait another 15 minutes before we were even given a menu.

We went for one of the ‘signature menus’ and additional waygu beef. The starter came quickly, duck salad and prawn toast, was very nice but the portions were huge! The mains followed, again seriously huge portions. Now I'm a big guy with a big appetite but this was too much. Food in general was distinctly average, I've had nicer chinese takeaways to be honest. The waygu was a good benchmark for me, eat the waygu at Zuma and Hakkasan waygu tastes like a McDonalds beef patty. The desserts came and they were reminiscent of what you'd find in an average London pub.

The music continued to get louder and louder to the point I couldn't hear what my partner was saying despite raising voices and leaning very close. I love music, I work in it, nice food is not meant to be enjoyed in a loud club it's an abuse of the senses and almost offensive. Speaking of offensive – the toilets! Oh my dear god. Hand towels all over the floor, taps that are so pressurised that my trousers got covered in water, no hand lotion… wtf!!! The final insult was the bill, food for two, two cocktails, one bottle of wine and service for £350.

Almost feels more like a stylish nightclub (given the subterrainian setting) than a restaurant. By comparison the newer Mayfair location works slightly better although the food offering is pretty much the same between both of them – great quality modern Chinese fusion food at its own high price mark. But this is a place you will enjoy a nice evening out

In “Down and Out in Paris and London”, George Orwell gives a gut-wrenching account of his experience of washing dishes in the kitchen of a Paris Hotel. In Fawlty Towers, Terry the chef identifies the kitchen as being that of Maxim's, when asking whether or not Basil, following a health inspection of the hotel, has read the book ("no, do you have a copy? I'll read it out in Court!").

I am not sure that Terry was right to identify “Hotel X” as Maxim's (it was probably the Crillon) but in any event my visit to Hakkasan, Mayfair the other night reminded me of the fate of Maxim's, once a venerable institution (est. 1893), now a brand rolled out by Pierre Cardin in London, Monaco, Geneva, Brussels, Tokyo, Hefei, Beijing, Shanghai and New York. Hakkasan is equally well a “brand” restaurant with branches in the US, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Mumbai. It shows.

This is an operation that turns on the importance of the brand, not the value of the diner and the importance of his or her experience.

Although the occasion was my 41st birthday, I wasn't particularly grumpy, I do not think. My darling wife had booked the table for 8.30pm (table back by 10.30pm). I had not been to the Mayfair branch but had enjoyed drinks on occasion over the years in Hanway Place. On our arrival at 8.35pm, we were told (no eye contact) by the front of house that the table would be a “little while.”

So a drink in the bar – it's like a nightclub but that's ok as I like nightclubs (and do not get to go to them often enough anymore). One drink in, a further query of the front of house (no up-date in the interim) yields a similar response to the initial one.

Foot tap, foot tap: – 9.15pm rolls around and by now pretty hungry I call the ball and decide that I have had enough. At that moment, a waitress/ hostess/ server (this is a brand restaurant) arrives in the bar to tell us that the table is ready. No sign of the front of house whose job one assumes it is is to do the PR and see off any potential customer dissatisfaction.

The waitress/ server/ hostess listens to my complaint with a sort of tearful expression which made me row back on what I really want to say. I am careful not to shout – as much as that is possible competing with Rhianna on the sound system (did I say I liked nightclubs? Not for complaining in, I don't). So we left, our departure apparently unlamented by anybody who should be responsible for such things.

So I can't tell you what the food is like. I can tell you that a Vodka and Tonic cost £10.74 inc tip (which is not outrageous for a nightclub/ brand restaurant/ Mammon's dining room).

How do I feel? Thoroughly depressed (and no, it's still not the birthday). It's not that I want to be an oligarch; it's just that when I go to a restaurant I want it to make me feel as though it cares about my custom. The brand means there is no warmth, no soul, no humour, no “class,” just Rhianna and lamentations for Maxim's.

We went to Cote instead: the service was excellent and we both enjoyed decent steaks and a couple of glasses of Claret. Cote has a brand: it also understands that it needs to have more than that to make a good restaurant.

Hakkasan has two faces (three if you include Yauatcha, I think they are part of the same group).

Hanway place – perfect for long lunched with clients/prospective clients who you get on well with and will not “stick to mineral water”. Just finding the place is a measure of success and people will feel equally horrified with the alleyway entrance (behind Sainsbury) then excited with the black suit/incense dark stairs leading down into the dark.

After wrestling with a pretty heavy door you will be greeted, de-coated and seated. It always feels quite exciting (a bit like the introduction of John Travolta in Swordfish) the dark wood, swishy people, music and smell of food all prepare you for a good meal.

They have wooden tables in the main restaurant and an area on the left with bench and chair seating, originally used for drinks/waiting for tables, now it is used full time for eating. There is a fabulous bar that runs the entire back wall and again is visually very beautiful. The whole design ramps up your excitement and I think they have done a fantastic job in designing and keeping the place looking fresh (I think I have gone for over 10 years?).

The Drinks
This is the genius of the place – the cocktails are fantastic – mixed properly/shaved ice and delivered perfectly at the bar and table. The wine list as expected, generous and some “haha look at that one…” before choosing something reasonable.

The food
Starters – just the best dim sum in London (XO scallop dumpling, scallop shumia) /the duck rolls are without doubt the most duck you will ever see outside a duck – dry and fantastic/ the crispy duck salad is beautifully off-set with pomelo (a southeast asia citrus fruit) – the dry crispy fat of the duck against the citrous contrast perfectly)/ another of my favourites salt and pepper squid – dried slivers of garlic with chilli and super fresh quid cooked in clean oil.
Main course – really depends on your tastes – i like hot food so go for the hotter dishes but all are very good. One surprise vegetabel must is the Morning glory – a great side order.

Areas for improvement
So why haven't i given this place a 10 out of 10?

Two aspects
1. The 2 hour time slots (not at lunch which is why i recommended this slot). Everybody likes to feel special and looked after in a restaurant, if you turn up late you do not want to be reminded that you have to give the table back at 10.00pm) this spoils the whole romance of being spoilt! In practice they normally let me overrun but I think the “slots” should be longer.
2. Too cool attitude – some get it right but some get it wrong. As per the other reviews – you do get some attitude from some of the people. It is unfair to say all – most of the people cant do enough to help.

Summary
I tend to go at lunch and stay 3 or 4 hours – when you leave blinking in the sunlight (it is all underground) you might be tempted to either carry on drinking or just head home! It is still one of my favourite restaurants but is best enjoyed whilst drinking and relaxing with plenty of time rather than tight schedule and on water!

While Hakkasan is a rare case of a restaurant that it is all that it is made out to be, what has been impressive, is the way they have maintained their level of cooking through the various stages of their development. It it no longer owned by Alain Yau, but by private equity investors, however it has gone from strength to strength since! Few places make as lasting an impression as this interesting space in a side street in Soho. Now there is a Brook Street Sybling too. I was really quite sceptical that the high standarts would persists after Alain Yau sold Hakkasan, but it is almost unchanged. Well done.

What a shock.

My first visit to Hakkasan was when it first opened and was fabulous and unique as were subsequent visits my last being about 4 years ago. What has happened?

I received an email on the day that my table had been cancelled, no explanation just cancelled, I called to find out why and received no apology but my booking was reinstated.

Our reservation was for 7.30pm – it had been made clear to me that they needed the table back by 9.30pm so we had made plans to go onto another bar after dinner. However, that did not stop the waitress reminding me on arrival and every time she came to the table thrusting menus in my face. The service throughout was pushy, rude and charmless.

I ordered Morel mushroom spring rolls to start with and at £16 was expecting something a little special, what arrived was 4 spring-rolls on a “bed” of grated carrot, they tasted just like the ones from my local chinese, no finesse with regard to the presentation, no dipping sauces to add flavour to the bland beauties.

Next up was the Stir-fried Chilean Sea Bass with Chinese Celery at £37..it arrived all shinny and glossy (not in a good way) and more tasteless than the spring rolls, once again a “dumped on the plate” style of presentation added to my misery. I am very annoyed with myself for falling for the hype and ordering on overfished fish, if you can’t do this fish just leave it in the ocean.

I had to ask for soya sauce for each dish to try and add some flavour otherwise I would have just been eating textures.

We did not have desert and I will never be going back. At over £100 per head with water, wine and service you expect and should receive so much more.

I have spent the last 20 years eating in gorgeous restaurants in our fabulous city and loath the thought that people may book this restaurant for a special meal whilst visiting – don’t we can do so much better.

A bit disappointing after frequently visiting the new hakkasan in mayfair, this hakkasan seem to have lost the edge. The taste of food was great but the waitress's was acting like its a chinese takeaway. she cleared the soup bowl before i could even finish it, brought the orders separately and was very eager to present the bill. I think i will stick to the hakkasan mayfair and not go back to this one.

I’d been warned by friends: it’s dark, it’s noisy and it’s expensive. And yes, it was all of the above and I might have added that it also has the kind of waiters tasked with guaranteeing a quick turn-round of tables and ensuring that water and wine glasses were topped up pretty well between every sip. (I’m also slightly suspicious of places where a lot of people drink either cocktails or champagne with their entire meal.) But the food was imaginative, very flavoursome and reasonably plentiful (at a price). This was real fusion rather than over-confident confusion.

Situated rather unpromisingly at the end of a cul-de-sac off a rather grotty alley near the junction of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street (ie the wrong end!), Hakkasan’s initial impression is rather like curb-side check-in for Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class (only with the lights out!). Be-suited men, and red uniformed greeters check your reservation before allowing you downstairs. Then another half dozen staff check your coat, re-check your reservation and take you to your table. Even mid-week it was packed. It was dark. And it was very noisy (every surface is hard; there’s not a piece of fabric to absorb sound anywhere but the dark wood screens look great). There’s a nice vibe and a real sense of people having fun. It’s the kind of place to take a potential mistress, a business contact who needs to be impressed or a couple of lively friends. It’s probably not the sort of place for an intimate evening with someone for whom constant banter is not necessary. Oh, and do wear black!

We started with a glorious lamb salad – slivers of crispy, sweet, spicy meat piled ziggurat-like on a plate and interspersed with thin slices of melon and various unidentified crisp and rather discreetly flavoured vegetables (kohl rabi, perhaps?). We also had the dim sum selection – two each of four nicely contrasted steamed dumplings. Mains were the spicy Ma Ce chicken of which they’d managed to get the skin to resemble that of a Peking duck. It was very tasty. The braised pork belly in plum sauce was infused with the flavour of kumquat and was a triumph, a real fusion of flavours and textures. For a side we ordered a mix of crispy lotus root, asparagus and various other vegetables, as well as a bowl of fried rice. Puddings were a trio of ice-creams (banana, chestnut and chocolate) and a rather disappointing coconut rice-pudding.

The wine list, cleverly divided by style, is pricey, climbing fast from a rare bottle or two in the £30s to the £50s and then up to bottles in the hundreds. We went for a New Zealand pint noir at £50. Throw in a couple of cocktails (£11 each) and a bottle of fizzy water (£4.60), plus service at 13% and we left having spent £183.96 – quite a lot for a mid-week dinner but, on balance, it was a good meal and I’ll probably be going back. The only alarming note was the relentlessness of the assault on the two diners to our side who’d overstepped their two-hour dining slot by a couple of minutes. I was quite expecting them to be carried out… I downed my ice-cream rather faster than normal.

Great food but its a real shame about the service. The waitor that took our order insisted that we had only ordered 1 vege dim sum when our food cam ealthough we'd actually ordered two. No apology, instead complete rudeness making the point that he would get us another dim sum as a new order but that we had not ordered it in the first place. What happened to the customer is always right?

Then we get told at 9pm that they need the table back and if we wanted dessert we had 10 minutes to order them and eat them – nice! I enquired as to why they had not told us when we arrived that they would need the table back at 9pm or made sure that they ran the service in a way where we would have time for dessert. I was told that we would have been told when we booked. I'm not sure we were but even if we were I would have thought someone would have menioned at some point that evening. Especially as they new we were having desert as I'd pre-ordered one as it was a birthday!

The manager was rude and told me we wouldhave been told when the table was confirmed – i insisted we weren't and was told that it would be on a recording if I wanted to listen – nothing like being called a liar by a mIchelin star restuarant! I asked for the recording and was told that it could be heard now…ummm. Probably does not exist!

All in awful service – shame as the food is excellent!