Jan Moir's review of Yauatcha (The Telegraph)
Giles Coren's review of Yauatcha (The Times)
Jay Rayner's review of Yauatcha (The Observer)
A Hedonist's guide to London: Editor's picks
Michelin Star Restaurants in London - 2011
Yauatcha reviews
The service was going okay until there was still no sign of our drinks order after a 10 minute wait. We had to keep stopping passing waiters to ask about our drinks. Oops, another 10 mins without even an apology...
Food was okay, but friends were not so keen on the fried noodles. We asked a waiter whether we could change the dish and he replied that we still had to pay for the noodle dish if we wanted to change it for another one. I asked if the waiter could ask the chef, but we were told the chef was VERY busy.
It would be nice if Yauatcha could manage a little flexibility, and perhaps even begin with "I am sorry" when there is a complaint. Ours wasn't a very pleasant experience. I think it is a simple courtesy to value customers.
by nicklondon, 02 Nov 2010
Food was okay, but friends were not so keen on the fried noodles. We asked a waiter whether we could change the dish and he replied that we still had to pay for the noodle dish if we wanted to change it for another one. I asked if the waiter could ask the chef, but we were told the chef was VERY busy.
It would be nice if Yauatcha could manage a little flexibility, and perhaps even begin with "I am sorry" when there is a complaint. Ours wasn't a very pleasant experience. I think it is a simple courtesy to value customers.
by nicklondon, 02 Nov 2010
I have been coming up to London and introducing friends and family to Yauatcha, my most favourite restaurant for several years. However I was so disappointed to see they had changed, the meal was not as good and where are the wonderful desserts? After enjoying our wonderful meal we all looked forward to choosing the best desserts ever, but they have gone. When I enquired why, the waitress said no more macaroons. It wasn't just the macaroons! I have not been in since and I miss the Yauatcha I used to know.
by shirleyanngeorge, 08 Aug 2010
by shirleyanngeorge, 08 Aug 2010
Incredible food, great cocktails, gorgeous interior and really attentive staff. I absolutely loved this place. For any dim sum lover, this is a MUST!!
by sophstyli, 31 Jul 2010
by sophstyli, 31 Jul 2010
Excellent cocktails and dim sum, chic setting. Service a little patchy though - our table was not ready and we had to wait for 5 mins by the front door; waiter brought bill to us when we had asked to see the cocktail menu. Staff could have been a bit more attentive generally.
by velvetrabbit (7 reviews), 07 Jun 2010
by velvetrabbit (7 reviews), 07 Jun 2010
The meal was going great until the chicken dish came out pink in the middle. Took a while to get anyone's attention. No apology, just took it away and brought it back out cooked properly. Sorry, once you see chicken pink in the middle it puts you off the dish. Would have been nice if they had offered us an alternative, especially when we were charged for the dish and the meal came to £55 per head. Could be wonderful, but at that price sort the service out and cook the chicken thoroughly before you poison someone!
by pcheev, 09 Mar 2010
by pcheev, 09 Mar 2010
Went there last night in a party of 6, having read the reviews, and was a bit worried by the almost unanimous bad service reports. Don't know what they are talking about. Our waiter was helpful and courteous. Food was brilliant and we did not feel hurried at all. We had 3 courses and asked for a small pause between the main course and pudding. At no time were we made to feel that time was running out, even though we exceeded our 2 hour time slot. The restaurant looks gorgeous and although it's a bit expensive it's Soho, just before Christmas, and to be expected. A great night out. If you want cheap, get a take-away and veg out in front of the TV. No fifth star because of the price and the timing policy.
by Roamie, 12 Dec 2009
by Roamie, 12 Dec 2009
I was in London just for the weekend and had booked this restaurant a week before. Excellent food, nice atmosphere, very polite, fast and helpful service. £100 for two people and we ate a lot (4 cocktails included). I was satisfied.
by thanos_vas, 09 Nov 2009
by thanos_vas, 09 Nov 2009
My husband and I walked in to have a look at the cakes, as I was hoping to buy some to take away with us or sit down if they had space. But as soon as we walked in there, a woman said "No space, no space". We went "OK, well can we even have a look and see, maybe we could buy some?". Again "NO!", and then she walked away. So we went in anyway and had a pick of the cakes.
To be honest, it's not much different to having high tea in Bath City or getting cakes from Pauls. So why pay that much more for cakes that, in my opinion, aren't as good as Pauls'? At least Pauls don't give you a hard time for walking in. I am truly not impressed with the customer service here. It's worse than that restaurant in Chinatown that throws dishes of food at you - at least you expect that kind of service for the price. At Yauatcha, on the other hand, it's high price for bad experience.
by liukimy, 05 Nov 2009
To be honest, it's not much different to having high tea in Bath City or getting cakes from Pauls. So why pay that much more for cakes that, in my opinion, aren't as good as Pauls'? At least Pauls don't give you a hard time for walking in. I am truly not impressed with the customer service here. It's worse than that restaurant in Chinatown that throws dishes of food at you - at least you expect that kind of service for the price. At Yauatcha, on the other hand, it's high price for bad experience.
by liukimy, 05 Nov 2009
Visited this restaurant a few years ago and had a reasonably good evening so thought it worth another go. Made a reservation for 8.15pm on a Friday and received a message the day before confirming the booking for Saturday - not a good sign! This was rectified and I was told to arrive promptly at the restaurant due to time restrictions imposed on each sitting.
On arrival we were told that the table was just being laid up and that we should wait and look at the menu. There is no bar area to wait so you stand awkwardly in the way of the door. No one offered to take coats or provide a drink. Fifteen minutes later I checked with the waitress whether or not the table had been laid and she said that it was still occupied and that people were paying the bill. So previous excuses had been lies...
I was not willing to wait any longer and said that we would be leaving. This caused a smirk coupled with a mumbled 'sorry'. I'm sure they had no trouble filling the table, which is why they don't value their customers whatsoever.
by MC70, 19 Oct 2009
On arrival we were told that the table was just being laid up and that we should wait and look at the menu. There is no bar area to wait so you stand awkwardly in the way of the door. No one offered to take coats or provide a drink. Fifteen minutes later I checked with the waitress whether or not the table had been laid and she said that it was still occupied and that people were paying the bill. So previous excuses had been lies...
I was not willing to wait any longer and said that we would be leaving. This caused a smirk coupled with a mumbled 'sorry'. I'm sure they had no trouble filling the table, which is why they don't value their customers whatsoever.
by MC70, 19 Oct 2009
A friend of mine suggested a meal there and it proved to be a HUGE disappointment! The service was appalling! We had to wait for at least 20 minutes just to order something, another 20 minutes for getting some water, and being elbowed by the busy waitresses who apologised without even turning round and facing us! As for the food, well, both my friend and I are Chinese, and personally I was not impressed. Plus the restaurant was so noisy that making conversation was virtually impossible. It was surely my first and last visit!
by jennymxiong (5 reviews), 16 Oct 2009
by jennymxiong (5 reviews), 16 Oct 2009
Great food but I've had better service from the Vietnamese restaurants I frequent in Hackney. It took nearly 30 minutes to get our order in, and one waitress was quite rude in telling us that she wasn't ours - fair enough, but it had gone so long since sitting down we didn't know who our service was. Took another 20 minutes to get the bill. Poor service really took away from the quality of the meal.
by waterliliesss, 23 Jun 2009
by waterliliesss, 23 Jun 2009
Best restaurant in London, without a doubt. It has the best dim sum I have ever tried and the service is excellent.
by ernesto.plevisani, 27 Mar 2009
by ernesto.plevisani, 27 Mar 2009
All I can say is, this is the best place for dim sum. Order the prawn and date dumpling, venison puff, shanghai dumplings, crispy duck roll...
It's a bit noisy if you're going with friends to have a chat, as you'll probably have to shout to be heard. But other than that it's fine and - most importantly - the food is great. The service has slacked a bit since they opened many years ago, but its popularity has perhaps affected this as it can get really busy.
by Lamis (4 reviews), 10 Mar 2009
It's a bit noisy if you're going with friends to have a chat, as you'll probably have to shout to be heard. But other than that it's fine and - most importantly - the food is great. The service has slacked a bit since they opened many years ago, but its popularity has perhaps affected this as it can get really busy.
by Lamis (4 reviews), 10 Mar 2009
Went last night and the service wasn't good at all. Having had to call over waiter service after 15 minutes and insist they take our order, they were then rude and we had to wait a further 20 mins for the drinks to arrive, which was after the first lot of food.
Having said that, the food was great. We had cocktails, plenty of dim sum and dessert for £40 a head, which didn't seem bad for Soho. The venison puffs were fantastic, as was the roasted pineapple with peanut icecream - delicious! In spite of the service, I would definitely go back.
by rebeccae, 01 Mar 2009
Having said that, the food was great. We had cocktails, plenty of dim sum and dessert for £40 a head, which didn't seem bad for Soho. The venison puffs were fantastic, as was the roasted pineapple with peanut icecream - delicious! In spite of the service, I would definitely go back.
by rebeccae, 01 Mar 2009
Absolutely no idea why this venue has received such negative reviews?!?
We booked in for lunch upstairs (which in my opinion is preferable to sitting downstairs, but each to their own) and were treated with EXCELLENT unobtrusive service throughout our meal.
The food was absolutely superb and used delicious fresh ingredients, a real treat in London - especially when such quality of food generally comes with a rather hefty price tag! As mentioned, the food was very reasonably priced and we enjoyed our selection of tea. Average price of dim-sum was between £3-£5. Definitely order the salt & pepper squid - divine!
I would have to say that the wine list is very pricey and I would not go there expecting to have wine with my dinner unless it was a super special occasion (eg. glass of wine starts at £12). However, there are plenty of fantastic bars around the corner on Wardour St where you can easily get quality £5 cocktails.
Overall: the staff and service are excellent; VERY impressed, will return again and I thoroughly recommend to all!
by sweetpea_suki, 15 Feb 2009
We booked in for lunch upstairs (which in my opinion is preferable to sitting downstairs, but each to their own) and were treated with EXCELLENT unobtrusive service throughout our meal.
The food was absolutely superb and used delicious fresh ingredients, a real treat in London - especially when such quality of food generally comes with a rather hefty price tag! As mentioned, the food was very reasonably priced and we enjoyed our selection of tea. Average price of dim-sum was between £3-£5. Definitely order the salt & pepper squid - divine!
I would have to say that the wine list is very pricey and I would not go there expecting to have wine with my dinner unless it was a super special occasion (eg. glass of wine starts at £12). However, there are plenty of fantastic bars around the corner on Wardour St where you can easily get quality £5 cocktails.
Overall: the staff and service are excellent; VERY impressed, will return again and I thoroughly recommend to all!
by sweetpea_suki, 15 Feb 2009
We had excellent food but incredibly rude service. I mean really rude. We were seated and given menus and it was a full half hour before anyone stopped by to take an order for tea. And we had to wave a server over at that point. Once we had the waiter, he walked over to our table and stood silently until we just started telling him our orders. At first I thought he was mute, but apparently not. The family next to us had the same problem, and they seemed to be regulars.
by teamschwartz, 01 Feb 2009
by teamschwartz, 01 Feb 2009
Look, ultimately, one doesn't come here for the sparkling service, one comes for the food. And as a Chinese person who is quite discerning (read: snob) about Chinese food, I can attest to the fact that Yauatcha serves top quality dim sum. My only criticism was that a couple of our dishes were warm rather than piping hot, and at one point the individual I assumed to be floor manager began pacing around the restaurant checking out tables in circles, which was quite bizarre (I likened the experience to being on a plane). When she noticed our empty plates, she quickly swooped down and asked "Dessert?" I squeaked a "Yes, please" out of fright rather than desire, but was so glad I did - the gorgeous cake we had was sumptuous.
by bigestivediscuit, 19 Jan 2009
by bigestivediscuit, 19 Jan 2009
We've eaten here several times and it was always good. Good food - we tried something new each time - and the service was friendly and fast.(To the person who wrote that all 150 teas tasted the same: how did you find that out?)
by reinierb, 01 Jan 2009
by reinierb, 01 Jan 2009
The service is horrendous. The staff are rude, arrogant and extremely unfriendly – and this starts from when you make the reservation. It took almost 10 minutes just to make the booking on the phone, including asking us to pre-order our meals! How am I going to guess what 6 people will order 5 days in advance? It was a confusing, draining and frustrating experience from the very start. Food is average, service is awful and the 150 types of tea all taste the same. Nothing there justifies the price.
by Elise, 31 Dec 2008
by Elise, 31 Dec 2008
Have we missed a great restaurant in London? Let us know.
