Haozhan

Last night I took a group of friends and have never been so embarrassed! The service was so unbelievably rude I was incensed!

We were hassled every minute and a half as to whether we wanted to order a bottle of wine, then interrogated as to why not! As soon as we got back to our conversation they would hassle us again and interrupt, tutting and puffing when we ‘only’ ordered beers and soft drinks! When we had had one sip of our beers we were hassled as to whether we wanted another round of beers! We had to ask them to stop hassling us and leave us alone! – not what you want when trying to have a get together with friends.

But the nadir of the evening was when one of my guests ordered a coca cola! The waiter interrogated him why he wasn't drinking alcohol when the girls were – “What is wrong with you? Are you a ‘Lady Man’?”!!! I was mortified and my table were horrified. He is a muslim and he doesn't drink.

Frankly we shouldn't have left any tip at all, but we left about two thirds of the discretionary amount they added to the bill as it was a busy night. The waiter then angrily complained that we hadn't left the full bill amount, and it had to be pointed out to him that not only had we left the full amount for the food we had also left a tip, although the amount was discretionary. I should have said that he was lucky to get anything at all after the appalling service, but we just left, our night having been considerably ruined.

I am really sad to report this as I have always thought Haozhan was great. But I am seriously thinking that I need to vote with my feet on this one. I'm really disappointed that on the back of all their success, the staff no longer feel that their customers deserve any respect, seeing them only as a cash cow, and who can be bullied into buying things they don't want, and their choices insulted. Appalling.

Have never eaten in a worse Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, or even London. The manager is horribly rude – the other staff were okay though, but the manager can totally ruin your meal with his dominating ‘service’.

The portions are really small, especially if you're unlucky like me and order the roast duck – we had 8 pieces of meat for 15+ quid (can't remember exactly but it's definitely not cheap). We asked about the portion and were told because it's deboned, so 8 pieces = half a roast duck. Like I don't know how big a roast duck is?!

I have read many reviews praising this restaurant's ‘innovative’ dishes which are different from the normal Chinese food you get in Chinatown or anywhere else in London. I would say, if you're prepared to be ripped off and treated like a complete idiot and still sing praises of this place, to each his own.

The food here tastes delicious. It isn't traditional and it isn't huge portions but it tastes delicious. The decor is a little tired and the staff get busy – however they are friendly and polite. But most of all the food is delicious – Excellent meat and tasty prawns. Prices range – but most courses are about £11, rice is a couple more pounds on top – a little bottle of sake – its just a taste sensation – even since the famous chef left the food is just as good and they haven't changed the menu which for me is a good thing, I've been here about eight times and haven't ever been let down.

good food, terrible, indifferent service – zero atmosphere… food saved the day!

First time I have eaten in Gerard St for decades and what a very pleasant surprise! The room is very narrow but provided the quota of American tourists is low, just about avoids feeling cramped. The sevice is very efficient, quick, smiley and knowledgable. There house rose was perfectly drinkable, not a big wine list to chose from but reasonably priced and a thoughtful selection. The food menu has, a befits the background of the two main chefs, a Kakassan feel to it and it dosesnt disappoint. Crispy duck with pancakes was prefect, wafer thin pancakes and duck that was crispy without being dried out. Soft shell crab was fantastic. Signature dish of Champagne cod was spectacularly good, big thick juicy bit of cod, perfectly cooked.

Will definately be going back, highly recommend it to anyone.

great food and value for money- my favorites the wasabi prawns and the home made tofu with scallops. The chilli quail is so beautiful and the champange cod is to die for. other recommendations are the sanpei chicken and mongolian beef. and for dessert try the pumpkin cream and the lemongrass jelly. definatelly one of the best places to eat in london.

Went here Tuesday night whilst cautiously wandering through chinatown looking for a quick bite to eat. Menu looked fairly decently priced (£9.80 for quarter of crispy duck compared to over £12 in other similar restaurants). Pleasantly suprised by the friendly, welcoming, knowledgable staff – the restaurant was good value for money coming in at around £40 for two (although that was just one glass of wine and a beer).

A good crispy duck, with home made pancakes and a not too sweet plum sauce, was following by a succelent steak dish and excellent special fried rice with large prawns rather than tiny shrimp. Complimentary edamame was a nice touch to start the meal in place of the usual greasy prawn crackers.

All in all good value. Has some old favourites on the menu as well as some new dishes to encourage you to try something new.

everything was poor.
Dont recommend it to anyone. We were told to leave after one hour and paid 100+ for 3.