Plum Valley

first of all i would like to write this review from a chefs perspective, i have trained in some of the most prestigious french and english catering colleges so i do know my stuff. albiet i am a trained french chef not trained in far eastern cuisine, but that does not mean i cannot see the quality.

i am a londoner, i have been for the past 19 years now. and when i find a new chinese restaurant in china town, trying to show itself apart from the other dribble (only calling it dribble in comparison to this particular restaurant) This is a place that is not conforming in with the others where in amongst them serve very similar dishes but who are in fact doing what hasn't been seen in chinatown from since i came to london, for example a competent chef who is able to use a french favourite, foie gras, in a chinese dish. i certaintly have never heard of a way that this can be pulled off as chinese food has always in my mind been somewhat of a light meal.

i have seen some of the earlier reviews and cannot understand the attitude of some other londoners expecting so much from restaurants, its a hard job, but its our passion, dont ruin it for us please. this restaurant can pull off some pretty decent dishes however this does not set things right in terms of the service, when we arrived, we were greeted quite pleasantly and sat down on an ok table. recieved our drinks promptly....and this is when the mistakes started to happen. when ordering our meal, the order was taken by a waitress who seemed competent however knowing some front of house staff i feel somewhat most problems are on their part, she attempted to take our rather large order (even for two people it all looked too good so we took almost everything) without a pad, unless you are me, good luck in remembering it all. all the dishes were fine but when it comes to two different styles of crab on the menu, it would be nice to ask which style we wanted. so obviously we sent it back to the kitchen so we can get what we wanted. however at the end of the meal, not only did they give us the wrong dish, they attempted to charge us for that dish as well as the new one we originally asked for. on top of that there was one garnish on a starter that had gone slightly stale but we didnt eat it. even with these service mistakes, we left happy and full. and will be coming back to try the other half of the menu.

its sad to say but the service is killing what this restaurant could potentially be.
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7 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, July 22, 2010

My family has been regular diners at Plum Valley, particularly on the Top Table offers, which are good value. However, we have noticed a marked dip in service recently - and problems with honouring top table bookings. The last 2 experiences were memorable for their astoundingly poor customer service. When lunching as a family on a top table deal, our 11-year old daughter chose to only order a starter and a bowl of rice. The staff insisted we order a main course in her name since we had booked on top table, otherwise they would lose out on the commission they paid. We offered to pay full price for that particular order and the commission on top. They were unable to tell us how much it was. They advised us to book separately if we wanted to split in future. We left. On the last occasion, I decided to treat a guest and booked for 2 on the top table dim sum offer - with one person on the offer and one paying full price. On arrival we were told this wasn't acceptable, although this had been confirmed by them and I had rung up top table to check with them before attending. If we wanted to get the offers, we had to sit at separate tables, or both order from the dim sum menu on the offer. We were also told as we sat down that we had to leave after 1.5 hours. What breaks my heart is that this is the best food in china town. The chef is cooking his little soul out in the basement kitchen and the management is just dishonouring his talent. Go by all means - you'll love the food. The question is whether you're prepared to suffer the appalling customer service.
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3 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, July 15, 2010

I couldn't agree with you more. My boyfriend and me decided to go to Plum Valley after reading great reviews about the dim sum there. The girl at the front door was super nice, but apparently the girl who was in charge of the tables/service didn't like us that much (did we look too young? weren't we dress up enough? I am sorry, we had a really nice walk around Hyde Park, I forgot my high heels at home)

They sat us in a table for 4 people, warning us that at some point another couple would have to sit there with us (when my boyfriend went to the bathroom he saw the rest of the restaurant completely empty). Not only this woman couldn't recommend us something after asking her (she definitely didn't want to serve us!) they actually asked us 5 TIMES if we were done eating. They even put their hands inside a plate TWICE thinking it was empty when we had already said them that there was still food left. They completely ruined what could have been an amazing experience because the food was DELICIOUS.
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Mati
4 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 7
Thursday, July 01, 2010

went to plum valley as a walk in with my tastelondon 50% discount card and they said normally we dont accept walk ins and ill check with the manager...we then got seated.

we had salt and pepper squid and soft shell crab for starter, which were very good, then followed by black cod (normal price £32) which considering it does not come with any veg or anything is very expensive but very good. we ordered alaskan crab claws which turned up as lobster, then waited 20 minutes for the crab to come and it was cooked the wrong way, i asked for fried and it came steamed.....with lots of garlic, which did not taste like garlic (it must be the dried stuff) anyway wasnt great for £32. then we had chilean seabass which again was very good. i got the bill and they had the cheek of putting the lobster on it as well.??? anyway for 2 with the discount we spent £70 and left half the expected tip.

i would go back and order just the fish, because thats the only thing they are good at.
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5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Thursday, June 17, 2010

I ate here last night and have to say I was very VERY disappointed in the service. The front of house lady was lovely, the gentleman that took our order was very nice but the woman that was lording around the floor of the restaurant was just awful! She forgot our drinks, didn't know the ingredients of the desserts on her own menu and brought us the bill long before we'd even thought of asking for it. It's an expensive place for a Chinese in London and that kind of behaviour will ensure I never return even though the food was nice!
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Emma Hunter
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Thursday, April 15, 2010

Today is the birthday for 2 of my colleagues, so we (around 30 people) went to this restaurant for dinner to celebrate. to avoid wasting too much time for taking orders one by one we all go for the set menu

for starters we had deep fried squid, prawn toast, chicken satay and some prawn dumplings. in terms of quality and quantity, they are all fine...but the wasabi in the prawn dumplings had completely ruined the taste of it, they put far too much in it and i would say the ordinary prawn dumplings without wasabi are so much better

after the starters, we had an aromatic duck. it was over-cooked and very dry. for the rest of the main course, we had prawns and peppers with green curry sause, Singapore chicken, deep fried beef etc,, they are all just avg, and not special.

authentic?... no (i am from Hong Kong), atmosphere?..... good, at least it looks posh, taste?..... fair, service?.... fair, Do we expect more?....... yes

with couple bottles of wine at the end, we paid £45pp. if you are a frequent Chinese food diner, i wouldn't recommend this place, just too pricey. there are so many Chinese around can do better food and far cheaper. Chinese food should be cheap and cheerful!
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CFL
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 1
Saturday, February 20, 2010

Plum Valley was recommended by friends as having good dimsum but a bit pricey, "posh Chinese" in Soho. We booked for 12 though in fact were 13 people. But were seated initially at one table that would comfortably only seat 6-8. We had to push quite hard for 2 round tables to be joined together.

Food was good/ok. Nothing so special.

However when the bill came, as you can imagine, we paid a hefty total including service charge (optional 12.5%). But we could not believe when the waitress came after us for 80pence missing! It spoilt the experience that this restaurant should be so petty. I queried that as service charge is optional, they might have let us off the 80pence? But no, not the case. It then became petty of us to continue a discourse, so we gave them £1, but were sadly never offered the 20pence change!
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7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, February 11, 2010

We went to Plum Valley for a friend’s birthday & we were utterly disappointed. I have often walked past Plum Valley which never fits in with your regular Chinatown restaurant since it deems itself as Chinese fine dining. I was looking forward to this visit and I have to say it wasn't worth the anticipation.

Upon arrival we were told that our party of 6 which had turned into 7 would not be able to take advantage of the 50% discount on food from Top Table even though we explained that our one friend was only having drinks therefore she wouldn't be having any food. The best the manager could do would be to give us 25% off our food instead of the 50% advertised on top table.

Two of our starters arrived & the other four followed after ten minutes & even then a few of the items were luke warm. The prawn toast was tasteless and greasy. The best starter was the steamed dim sum which came with the mixed platter.

As one of our friends were still eating her starter the server came to remove her plate while she was still eating! We were horrified to see her trying to swallow her food since it seems they were ready to serve the main course which arrived a minute after.

I ordered the grilled black cod which I read in other reviews to be their signature dish. I couldn't eat most of it as it tasted very fishy and was luke warm. The best dish was the prawn with chili and Thai basil but even that was nothing spectacular.

I spoke to the server to let her know that the cod was very fishy and didn't taste fresh. We also asked to speak to the manager as she was in a meeting before and couldn't speak to us regarding the discount issue. When she arrived she explained that the fish is caught fresh & then frozen and therefore perhaps that was the reason why it wasn't so "fresh". She agreed that it was not up to scratch and offered to take it off the bill.

We expressed our disappointment on the service and food as well as how they dealt with the discount issue. We gave her a chance to rectify the issues we brought up but her response to that was if we chose to write a bad review about the restaurant then it was a democratic world and totally up to us!

With such poor management, mediocre food, below average service and in general bad attitude please do not waste your money on this place. I would rather have a cheap and cheerful meal at one of the other Chinese restaurant then waste my time at Plum Valley.
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Linda
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Saturday, January 16, 2010

I've now been to this restaurant twice with my partner, both times I have enjoyed every bit of the restaurant from the decor to the food. Both times I've been the bill has been over a hundred pounds but completely worth it. The first time I went my cocktail was too strong but the manager noticed and asked me if I would like another one, but with a little less alcohol. She was great.

Every chinese I've had since, I've compared to the meals I've had here, and none have them have been anywhere near the quality that Plum Valley offers.

Can't wait to go again.
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Lucy
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, November 15, 2009

Plum Valley is situated right in the heart of Chinatown but bares no resemblance to its counterparts in terms of cuisine, décor and service. The restaurant serves a variety of Dim Sum dishes all day along with popular and also new innovative main Chinese dishes. The menu was not as expansive as other Chinese restaurants on Gerrard street, but there was a good choice nonetheless, with well thought-out dishes sitting beside tried and tested favourites.

As it was lunchtime, my friend and I opted for the Dim Sum menu. Being of Chinese origin we both think it is a bit odd to eat Dim Sum in the evenings but welcomed a restaurant to do so in Chinatown. In my opinion, Plum Valley fills the narrow void left between the Ping Pong dim sum restaurant chain and traditional Chinese restaurants. I would say that it is similar to Yauatcha but holds on to its Chinese identity far better with dishes averaging at £3.80 which most Chinese people are not likely to baulk at, whereas the bill at Yauatcha would make many choke on their tea.

The décor and style of the restaurant was most impressive with dark wooden walls, tables and slate grey floors – lighting was low in keeping with the ambience of the restaurant (a feature that may not be too popular in the Summer). Waitresses and the hostess were friendly and unobtrusive. My friend and I chose our dishes, our rule of thumb is 3 dishes per person and one for luck. Instead of opting for the usual Vietnamese spring rolls, turnip paste, har gau, shao mai, cheung fun etc we decided to choose some more eccentric dishes - scallop dumplings, wasabi prawn dumpling, black cod rolls, thai chicken dumplings, beancurd wrapped shrimp in cheung fun, fish and squid rolls with preserved egg. All were delicious and presented beautifully – the freshness and quality of the ingredients were easily identifiable. I particularly liked the fish and squid rolls with preserved egg – all the flavours worked really well and it looked amazing on the plate. The scallop dumplings and the cheung fun were also a highlight. We were happily full at the end of the meal with the bill working out to a very reasonable £33 including service. My only small gripe was the jasmine flower tea served in oversized wine glasses - very unusual but this really did not offend too much. Unsurprisingly we left the restuarant smiling from the whole experience.
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Lucy A
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, November 09, 2009