Yauatcha

lenalouise

Tastiest dim sum in london! 30th November 2007

10 found this helpful

I've been wanting to go to Yauatcha for ages and was put off by how expensive everyone claims it is...oh why did I listen? lol. This place is great! I'm not sure I like the decor though, it feels like sitting in the jazzed-up courtyard of a church and the fishtank set into the bar is too brightly lit up.

The food is spot on. The dishes that I tried that I haven't had elsewhere were delicious and the ones I have regularly in other places matched the level of dim sum in China. Plus the accompanying chilli sauces were mouthwateringly divine. For me, a good chilli sauce is something with flavour as well as being fiery and they certainly managed to achieve this. I ended up just eating the chilli sauce by itself :p

We had pork and prawn shu mai, prawn and enoki mushroom dumpling, pork and century egg congee, prawn cheung fan and fried taro cake. We were trying intentionally not to order too much because I usually do but we knew the dishes were more expensive. However, this amount was actually enough to fill us up.

One thing I was surprised about was how big some of the dishes were. The fried taro cake was one big square (about the size of 2 normal portions) and the dumplings were huge. They crammed so much prawn into them that they were well worth the £4.80 we paid really. The congee was more flavoursome than the watery stuff you usually find in Chinatown and I was glad to see they had some authentic toppings on it. For those who don't know what congee is, it's basically rice cooked for ages in loads of water until the rice grains break down and you end up with a sort of porridge. (It's also what the chinese eat when they're ill lol).

They don't have any desserts in the restaurant (I was disappointed to see they don't do egg custard tarts) but we were allowed to go upstairs and choose some cakes to eat downstairs because there was a private function on in the teahouse. They look so pretty! I didn't really want to dig in and ruin it. They were nice but they tasted quite similar to each other. Both of them were some sort of mousse with a raspberry coulis centre. I definately think that they look better than they taste.

Anyway, all the food with green tea came to about £50 which is not bad for a 1 star michelin restaurant! It is twice as much than your normal dim sum but it's probably twice as nice in the majority of places. Will be back to try more of their exciting menu!

P.S. Almost forgot to add that I've tried their scallop shu mai at taste of London and it's highly recommended!!!

nikosk

Excellent food at reasonable prices 8th November 2007

6 found this helpful

I was surprised to see people suggest Yauatcha was expensive for what it is...sure, prices are higher than most Chinese restaurants in China Town, but then again none of the restaurants in China Town have a Michelin star... When compared to other places in its league, I would say that, if anything, Yauatcha is quite reasonable. And with pots of tea starting at £3-4, one could get away with less than £30 a head without wine, for fine dining quality food.

As far as the food is concerned, Yauatcha is excellent. The traditional dim sum dishes are made to perfection, and the menu features a wide range of more unusual options that are well worth trying. I would recommend trying the following dumplings:

steamed plain prawn
fried prawn and date
some of the cheong fun
venison puff
crispy duck roll
the one with lobster and something else

I would normally not bother with the noodle dishes. Not that they were bad, but they never impressed (and were always far inferior to the dim sum).

Also, the cocktails are very good. Try the kumquatcha (there's another really good one but can't remember the name...something with "lai" in it).

Finally, the cakes at the tea room upstairs taste nearly as good as they look. Although not for daily consumption (due to their price being somewhat higher than a block of cadbury's), the chocolates and truffles are also really good.

Table-turning can be a bit annoying, service is sometimes on the cold side, the basement can sometimes be a bit noisy and I still don't get why they insist on not serving the upstairs cakes in the basement. The quality of the food though in my opinion more than compensates these relatively minor problems. Have been there numerous times and I expect I will continue to visit yauatcha semi-regularly.

ramanauskas

Beautiful and reasonable value 23rd October 2007

2 found this helpful

Go for:
- the steamed venison buns
- the cocktails
- the very cool slate sink in the ladies loo
- the aquarium bar
- the sticky rice
- a box of chocolates from the shop on the ground floor

Do not go for:
- a night out with the lads
- the beer

cpque1

Dimsum pockets of delight 7th October 2007

6 found this helpful

A treasure find of all the dimsum places in London I have eaten so far! Snazzy exteriors and even more impressive interiors, this place with a weird-sounding name serves up equally matched fine dimsum cuisine. Until Yauatcha, I never knew dimsum could exist in the form of little pockets of delights and oozes from heaven ;) Interesting menu options cater to the more adventurous types that wouldn't mind a spin to the traditional dumpling (with a twist of venison, crab or lobster) but good ole traditional dimsum fare nevertheless also secure a firm place in the menu. I didn't quite get a chance yet to try the beautiful pastry, pretty tarts and maccaroons that line the display counters next to the entrance, but judging by the doses of delight the dimsum brought, I am already blown away by it before I even make my next visit back to sink my teeth into it. Mind you, this place may set you back above the average dimsum joint, but it's well worth the money spent.

sblow

Nice restaurant, good food. 13th September 2007

4 found this helpful

I had the pleasure of attending Yauatcha last night. Having read the reviews from many different sources I did wonder how the service would have been. There was no wait when we arrived, we were seated quickly and efficiently. The waiting staff were attentive but not on top of you all the time. All you needed to do was make a point of getting their attention when you needed them.

The food itself was absolutely first rate. We had one dish that wasn't really to our taste but that was more down to personal taste than anything else. We took advice from the staff on the choice of foods and they really do know the foods well. I can understand why it got the Michelin Star rating and I'd definitely go back again!

This venue is not a cheap chinese restaurant but it is great quality. There is only one thing to really bear in mind, make sure you book and expect to be asked to go after 90 mins if you are seated before 8:45. However after that guess what... there's no limit on the time! We found that out by accident.

gilka

18th July 2007

2 found this helpful

nice place- the design is great even from outside! I had good dim sum. it is a bit pricy for what you get. Should be busaba eathai prices... been there once and I think it is enough.

amandakate

Delightful Dim Sum 11th May 2007

2 found this helpful

Every dish at Yauatcha is a work of art, the surroundings are stunning, the service is appalling. Takes forever to get a drink, the bill and everything else in between and the staff are all just too cool for a school - the general attitude apprarently being that they're doing you the biggest favour ever just by letting you eat there - to serve you too is almost a step too far.

That said, don't let it put you off going as the food - which is created by the chef from Hakkasan - is fabulous. Perfectly cooked sea bass and wonderful scallps being particularly worthy of a mention.

Great drinks list - both alcoholic and non-alcoholic - and perfectly located too.

Definitely worth a visit and a good place to take visitors who don't get to the smoke very often.

shelo9

5th May 2007

2 found this helpful

Expensive dumplings but its worth it when want to spoil yourself. The gold leaf dumpling is decandent. The prawn dumpling is really lovely. Usually choose the non fried dumplings as the fried ones are a bit too greasy. Non alcoholic cocktails are good. Service can sometimes be a bit cold (supposed to be cool but is not) but if you treat them mean as well, you get proper service.

The cakes on the ground floor are also cool. Unusual and tasty but very expensive. Also a once in a blue moon extravaganze.

JenMac

4th April 2007

0 found this helpful

amazing food but horrendously expensive - and they kick you off the tables really quickly!

Cosmogirl

Fab dim sum 18th March 2007

1 found this helpful

venison puffs are to die for. Funky cocktails and great interior but a tiny bit bright and they turn tables which isn't brilliant but I guess ok if you are going to the theatre. Overall its really good. Expensive but worth it