Haozhan

Terrible terrible service.

Food not much above that you'd expect from a greasy takeaway.

Avoid avoid avoid.
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Jay Dhillon
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Friday, October 28, 2011

This is my worst experience at a Chinese restaurant in London, and I have to say I have almost eaten in ALL Chinatown restaurants.

Service was definitely horrible. The manager, in particular, makes a point to make your meal miserable.

We ordered 4 dishes and didn't have to wait long for them to arrive, but we were really startled by the portions. The wasabi prawns were okay, we didn't expect too much to be honest but it turned out to be fine. The steamed fish was okay too - but then you really can't go wrong with steamed fish, can you? The veg was also okay. It's the roast duck that shocked us - there were just a few pieces of meat on the plate but I remembered on the menu it says 'half' a roast duck. The manager insisted the few pieces were half the duck. Wow. When we asked to change the dish (without eating it of course), he bluntly refused, saying we made the order and they would not take it back. You're right - I ordered it, half a roast duck, but I didn't think I would be given 7 pieces of meat for 15 quid.

Anyway, what I could see is that (1) it's useless trying to reason with this 'manager' because he doesn't care what you think (2) the restaurant's quite busy with a 99.9% Western clientele. Don't get me wrong, but from my experience of eating in Chinatown this is not a good sign. Think the place is suitable for those who don't know their Chinese food and don't mind being ripped off.
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Eli - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 2
Saturday, August 13, 2011

We visited Haozhan a couple of days ago with my father-in-law who was visiting from out of town. He wanted to go to Chinatown so I set to work to try and find somewhere which wasn't just a rat-infested tourist trap....

I had seen mixed reviews about Haozhan but liked their innovative menu and we definitely weren't disappointed! Starting with the service, which has taken a bit of a bashing in previous reviews - I found them polite, courteous and attentive and certainly better than a host of places elsewhere in London. They were clearly focussed on the job in hand but nothing was too much trouble and I have no complaints.

On to the food: to start we had the jasmine ribs which were divine and offered a nice quirky twist on a Chinese staple, a quarter duck with pancakes which was well-cooked and tasty and vegetable spring rolls which were good, although nothing out of the ordinary.

For mains, we shared the rib-eye steak dish which was peppery and so tender that it could only have been the best quality beef - no fatty sinew here! We also had the venison which was an unusual addition to a Chinese menu but again, well-cooked and tasty. Lastly we had the clay-pot chicken with chilli which was soft and tender with just the right amount of heat and a sauce which was really delicious. All mains were presented in a really high-end way and got the mouth watering before they were even tasted! Even the egg fried rice was perfect - a staple which is so often forgotten and overly claggy.

For all of the above, plus prawn crackers, three alcoholic drinks and one soft drink the bill came to £105 which included service. In my opinion, and as someone who eats out in London regularly, you will be hard-pushed to find such great food at such reasonable prices in a central location.

Perfectly located for theatre-goers and shoppers alike, Haozhan is certainly a cut-above the usual Chinese 'takeaway' fare that a lot of Chinatown has to offer!
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SJP
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, December 06, 2010

I am actually quite baffled as to why this restaurant has scored so low !

My boyfriend and I went a few days ago for my birthday , and I have to say it was the nicest Chinese meal I've had in ages.

The restaurant wasn't that packed when we arrived, but started to get busier as the evening went on. The service, however, did not falter and the staff were as smily and attentive as when we arrive.

The starter of ribs and pork dumplings were both of good portions and great quality. Our main of Green Chicken Curry and Assam Tiger Prawns, in a nutty rich sauce ( which were presented brilliantly) we sooo delicious, we felt reluctant to leave a single morsel on the plates !

As I have seen that the last review was written in April, I think that the have obviously tried to put things right - and they have !
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Jen Bascombe
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, November 11, 2010

terrible, terrible service.

the food was alright, although in quite small portions. the décor was an improvement compared to your average chinese restaurant but the green walls just look so gaudy. this restaurant is obviously aimed at attracting an almost exclusive clientèle of Caucasian people with their mish-mash menu of the familiar and just-about unfamiliar - coffee ribs anyone?!

well, anyway, the main problem we found with this restaurant is how they handle their customers. being a tastelondon customer and this restaurant being one of their clients we were expecting to only have to pay 2for1 for our meal, however, this was not the case when we asked for the bill and were told that this only applies to all meals except rice and noodle dishes. we talked it over with the 'manager' (not sure if he was just lying so it he wouldn't get in trouble) and it basically came down to this: a) no where on the tastelondon website, restaurant book, haozhan website, or the haozhan menu did it state that this offer excluded rice/noodle dishes, we both agreed that this was the case and that it was their problem as a restaurant to rectify as they should have told of this before we ordered as we could have possibly known otherwise, still they refused to waive the amount off and insisted we pay even though we both agreed it was their problem.

pretty poor business logic seeing as we won't ever be going back there again.
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2 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Thursday, April 08, 2010

Last night we went to Haozhan with a group of friends. When we were waiting for the latecomer we ordered some tea that is called Hangzhou green tea, because Hangzhou is where I come from and it is famous for its tea. When the tea pot was empty we asked the waitress to refill it, but we were told that we had to re-order another pot of tea because the tea-leaves had to be thrown away. Later the manager explained that the reason for throwing out the tea leaves was because the second pouring would be too strong.

I have been drinking green tea for more than 35 years and this is the first time I have ever heard such nonsense: the second and third pouring of green tea are the most treasured. Simply, this restaurant has deprived us of the full pleasure of tea drinking.

The food portions were meagre, and the taste was not too bad, but not authentic. The place is cramped and noisy.

There were hardly any Asian customers there, which is quite telling.

On the whole, this is the worst dining experience I have ever had in London.
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Jin Jun
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Saturday, March 27, 2010

Had dinner last night with 4 others at Haozhan in Soho-ChinaTown. Did enjoy the meal and food with a great wine list that was very reasonable. The chinese food was very similar in quality to Four Seasons in Bayswater without the lineups for a table which was great. However rather than paying a pricetag of £15 a person at Four Seasons (Bayswater), it was £30 a person thus i guess why the lack of lines up for similar food at this restaurant.

Particularly enjoyed the cod, quail starter, and kailan vegetable dish again half the portion size to Four Seasons thus double the price. Will likely wait in line the next time and return to Four Seasons for good authentic chinese food at a reasonable price.
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7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Friday, October 09, 2009

I really miss good Chinese food and have been in dire search for good Chinese restaurants. My perennial favourite is Royal China on Bayswater. Having read that Haozhan is one of the top Chinese restaurant, I decided to give it a try. My husband and I went to Haozhan for dinner last night. My first impression on the menu is that there are some interesting dish. We had the chili soft shell crab. Whilst the deep frying was good, it lacked enough salt, pepper and chilli seasoning. The seafood crispy noodle was good and the XO black cod was also ok with large pieces of fish, but lacking sufficient XO sauce. The gai lan was crunchy with enough ginger and wine. Overall, it was ok but this is not your traditional Chinese restaurant. This is more a Western style restaurant doing Chinese food. Some of the staff was friendly, while some were a bit snobby. I would still stick with Royal China. In my book, I would not consider this on the top list for Chinese restaurant. Be wary when you read reviews for Chinese restaurants writen by food critics who are Westerners and are used to western food and probably have less experience with real good Chinese food. Get opinion from real Chinese people who knows what real Chinese food taste like.
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TP
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Sunday, February 22, 2009