Yauatcha

Rude, abrupt, obnoxious staff, overpriced for what you get and left feeling like we had been totally ripped off. Take a big red flag with you if you want to get your waiter's attention. You are given 2 hours (which is not told to you at the time of booking) and if you outstay your 2 hour slot by even a few minutes (even though we were not seated on time) you will be humiliated in front of your fellow diners by being told to give up your table. The only time the staff were particularly attentive was when they wanted us to leave. The food is not bad but the portion sizes are ridiculously small for what you pay. All in all, a thoroughly opressive and unpleasant dining experience.
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Madmax - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Friday, November 27, 2009

The other half and I used to patronise Yauatcha very frequently and although it was always slightly on the expensive side, the food and drinks were so good that you did not mind overpaying by a few quid. We went back last night and I must say that although the food is still ok (the quality seems to have marginally gone downhill), I felt that the whole experience was slightly disappointing. A lot of favourite dishes have disappeared from the menu and it appears to me that, on one hand the prices have been put up, whilst on the other the portion size has been reduced. A tiny lump of braised veal for GBP 16 and GBP 9.25 for a Cha La Lai cocktail that is now mostly ice, hints that the focus seems to have shifted from providing a nice experience for customers to exclusively making money… Shame really
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5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Friday, November 20, 2009

I have long been a fan of Yauatcha, I have eaten there for over 2 years now and I adore it.

I recently went back to Yauatcha after a 3 month break and Whoa!!! has it changed.

Firstly the drinks have increased in price I love my Cha La La cocktails, however it is now 9.25 which I think is way overpriced.

Secondly most of the menu has disappeared no more Cheung Fun which I love, they now only have one type of rice as part of the dimsum menu. The noodles have disappeared, as has the Wagyu beef and others.

The place is now looking tarnished and the service which was not always the best is now dismal.

The quality or pride in appearance seems to have disappered and I mourn the loss of the wonderful food and atmosphere the place used to have.

I am now searching high and low for another dimsum restaurant that used to make me feel the way Yauatcha made me feel.

I am very disappointed.
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Honey
3 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 4
Friday, October 30, 2009

Well, before sitting down here make sure the computer system works.

There we were, ready for a great Sunday lunch. 40 minutes and two Virgin Mary's later, there was still no food. Why? Well, the computer system had a bug but our hot and sour soup will be right up.

20 minutes later, still no hot and sour soup, still no dim sum, still no nothing. Imagine, a waitress can't tell a chef to fix some hot and sour soup and some dim sum for delivery to our table. Humans just can't do anything without a computer anymore, at least not at Yauatcha.

Looks good, but make sure the computer system is working. Otherwise, the 15 humans in the restaurant can't seem to get any food out without it.
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ParisMike - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I took my parents to Yauatcha for lunch today, despite reading loads of negative reviews - especially around the service, but I thought I'd try it as I have wanted to go for years.

I was not disappointed in any way - the food was AMAZING - really tasty, great depth of flavours, innovative presentation & combinations of ingredients. The service was perfect - attentive but not pushy, we weren't rushed or asked to move from our table, drinks were refilled when necessary etc. The Baked venison puff and crispy duck rolls were our favourites and the puddings taste just as amazing as they look

All in all, a really great experience and I would go back.
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Claire R
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, September 06, 2009

Maybe it's because of the change in ownership, but Yauatcha isn't what it used to be. The portions have shrunken considerably. Even back when I was able to enjoy their stir fried beef ho fun or Singapore fried noodles, the portions were incredibly small for such high prices. The noodle dishes could barely be divided between two people so as to be filling, but prices remained at £8-11 per dish. This is a far cry from when the restaurant first opened, and the chefs had heaped so much noodles onto a single plate that a few friends could share it nicely. Still, I've always sung their praises for the delicious ho fun, jasmine smoked organic rips, mango spring rolls and salt and pepper squid.

Yesterday I returned to Yauatcha, glanced at the menu for less than a minute and promptly left the restaurant without ordering a single dish. For one, they've removed every single noodle dish from the menu. No more beef ho fun, hand pulled noodles with shimeji mushrooms, Singapore fried noodles or any of the previous classics. Apparently we're meant to forgo noodles while eating dim sum now, which is ridiculous considering that practically every dim sum restaurant in town has noodle dishes available. I asked the waiter and was simply informed that they've been taken off the menu. For another, they've also removed salt and pepper squid from the menu - one of my favourite dishes and (I'm sure) a popular choice for many people who visit Yauatcha. This is really the icing on the cake, after they removed two other dishes I've enjoyed in the past: steamed glutinous sesame rice puffs and the black sesame balls. The new menu looks slightly different from the old one but offers very little choice in comparison. For their sake, I seriously hope that this is only a temporary change and not a permanent one, or else it's a great way to shoot themselves in the foot. Yauatcha has been my favourite place for dim sum for years, but I won't be going back now.
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Lyn - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Sunday, August 30, 2009

Yauatcha is one of my favourite restaurants in London and I've been a regular visitor since it opened. I went last night having not dined there for a few months.

The food was just as delicious and the service from our waiter was probably the friendliest I've ever encountered at Yauatcha (although I've never had a bad experience with the service at Yauatcha)

The one thing I noticed was that the food portions seem to have shrunk.

We only had 4 pieces of pickles on the table which meant we only got one each. I remember the pickles dish being quite plentiful. Where did they go?

Also the chicken taro croquettes now come in 3 small pieces whereas previously they were 2 very large pieces which could easily be divided to feed four people. In their current form we felt robbed!

I loathe it when owners attempt to cut costs by surreptitiously reducing food portions. I know we are in a recession at the moment but loyal diners shouldn't be alienated.
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Ewok
7 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, August 05, 2009

I've been going to Yauatcha for years just for the amazing looking cakes. it is a nice treat after an afternoon of shopping or if i have people visiting me in London.

Staff can be a bit slow and you can't really rely on them to explain anything on the menu. They just don't know or make it up as they go along. They are very friendly though.

This is one of my favourite cake places in London.

I have never been to the dim sum restaurant - mainly because most of the dishes involve pork and i don't eat that, so there's not much to choose from for me.
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Dame Edna - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Thursday, July 30, 2009

great food. will go there again for the mongolian style beef stir fry, date and prawn dimsum and fried veggies. worth giving the cocktails a try. atmosphere was also better than hakkasan for me, not in your face. no tourists with luggage to hand to concierge.

the service was not that quick and i understand that it can be a problem in conjunction with limited time provided. but we were not expected to leave before finishing the food and it takes a long time to get the bill anyway. so their problem if they can not manage it within the time they provided.
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evrim - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Expensive but excellent food !... a great experience and a nice atmosphere
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Guillermo Puelles
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, April 01, 2009