Awana

I am a regular customer at Awana, and I will continue to dine there right until the very end. The food has never been a dissapointment nor has the service. I always go there for the satay and beef rendang, both dishes are mouth watering. The staff are very friendly and never fail to make me feel welcome.
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Spencer N V Todd
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Not anything special, laksa tasted a little bland, needed more flavour, service was good, desserts were small and not that special, coupon menu was very limited so wont be going back there again, didn't like the 12.5% service charge and vat on top of prices which added up to 50 % more than my bill as a coupon customer.
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Ashlu
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Saturday, April 09, 2011

very disappointing experience I would not recommend this place to my friends. Food was very late, cold and my partner and I received our meals at different times. They brought the wrong bottle of wine twice (much pricier ones than we ordered) and the bill was 20% more than it should have been. Food tasted great but cold so we couldn't enjoy as much as we wanted.
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Ziniko
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Thursday, April 07, 2011

VERY DISAPPOINTED, will not recommend. Went with Malaysians and none of them had any idea what they are eating, absolutely tasteless, unauthentic, over priced, will definitely not go again!!
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3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Sunday, March 27, 2011

Food is ok -- but not real Malaysian.
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M
7 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Monday, February 07, 2011

I decided to go to Awana for my birthday and having family back in Malaysia has meant that I have always been around Malaysian cuisine.

The good points first... The staff were polite and quite attentive.

However, the food was average to below average. For starters we had rojak, roti canai and satay. All of which were ok but not very authentic at all. I decided to choose the nasi lemak for my main and the only redeeming part of the meal was the coconut rice... but the dish was not really nasi lemak at all....it had battered prawns and a semi-fried egg. My fellow diners also had issue with their dishes, namely their fish and chicken being overcooked.

Everything was also way too overpriced....£8.00 for 4 sticks of satay and £8.00 for a small bowl of rojak?!?!?!?! Luckily, I had a View card so there was 50% off food. Would not have been worth it otherwise.

This restaurant does not have authentic Malaysian food...despite what they say. I don't think I will be returning!!
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4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I would not criticise too much! As a malaysian living in London, my husband and I wanted to try ' Malaysian authentic food ( as we around the area). After ordering some food, my roti canai okay, could have taste better if slightly crisp. Satay was okay .. Overall our foods was okay.. and edible..

Overall , i find the food portion is quite small , maybe because it is a high fine dining restaurant..We have a taste of london card.. Luckily with 50% offer..our bill is not that expensive.. If you enjoy malaysian food, it is quiet restaurant and nice decor.. excellent for couples and families..
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enjoyfoodlady - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Monday, November 08, 2010

only go if 50% off. food is ok, nothing stands out.

ambience is trendy and very nice. cocktails were good.

not somewhere i would go again. chicken was not cooked properly. bland flavour overall.

Service was good and prompt.
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5 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 1
Monday, October 11, 2010

We went to the restaurant for an evening meal yesterday. We always wanted to try the food at the Awana as it is not far from our flat, even though most of malaysian friends who went there didn't really like the food. I am from Malaysia.

The reception was very pleasant and welcoming. We were seated promptly, the decor was okay - not too OTT, just nice. The "live tv" from the satay bar was a nice touch especially for those who sit far from the bar

We ordered three starters to share between two of us - rojak buah (fruit salad), chicken satay, and otak-otak (minced mixed seafood - grill and put on top of banana leaf); and prawn curry and grill seabass (ikan bakar) for our mains with rice.

Their interpretation of rojak buah is quite simple, and not quite the definition of rojak - in which normally all the ingredients are mixed together. Awana rojak buah was served with all the cut fruits (pineapple, mango and other fruit cuts) on a wooden plate, with a rojak sauce topped with peanuts and cut chillies on the side). It was nice and i think probably one of the best dishes we had that evening. The satay was quite disappointing - the chicken was slightly undercooked with not enough marinated taste to them. The sauce was okay - nothing to rave about, slightly better than yeo's jar. The otak-otak was odd to put it mildly. It's more like flattened fish cakes- grilled with no sauce or anything to go with. Very unusual interpretation of otak-otak - avoid it.

After quite disappointing starters - we were so looking forward to our mains. Our sea-bass was grilled to perfection with nice tangy taste to the sauce. It's quite different from the description of ikan bakar in the menu - but we enjoyed it. The second main was prawn curry served in pineapple (carved). It looked good but the taste was rather bland and disappointing. It's like the shallots, garlic and chillies were half-cooked, and not ready yet - and not much taste of curry to it either. We did mention to our waitress, she said she will mention it to the manager. He didn't come to our table but gave us a scoop of calamansi sorbet (a type of lime) each as a token for our complaint (?).

Anyway - the bill for two including a bottle of sparkling water and a non-alcoholic cocktail was £82 - which was quite steep, but i supposed it's a chelsea restaurant eh. All in all - not an exciting eatery experience, the service was efficient but impersonal - and tad expensive for what you're getting. Now i understand why most of my malaysian friends are not so keen on Awana - and i concur with them now.
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PelangiBiru
5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Sunday, September 26, 2010

Awana appears to be offering an increasingly unauthentic experience cuisine. This anglicised version is such a poor representation of reality that it only serves to disappoint.

The only highlights were the roti cani and the satay, though both were accompanied by weak sauces. Every single main course was underseasoned and underflavoured.

For anything like full price, Awana should be avoided. At 50% off, it is still bad value, but you feel relieved to have escaped without too much damage.

The service unfortunately also poor. For example, having been offered a taste of the wine, I asked for an ice bucket as it was too warm, but having felt the bottle the waiter thought it sensible to suggest that it was, in fact, very cold. No, my friend, I've tasted what's inside the bottle and it's as warm as luke.

En route to Awana, I read an unfortunately timed review in the Evening Standard recommending to avoid Awana and head to the cheaper Malaysia options elsewhere.

That Fay Maschler lass talks sense
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M Nicholson
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, August 24, 2010