Awana

I came here with a group of friends as we got one of those discount deals. The deal that we got was for the Festive Menu which is advertised at £63 per person. The festive menu denotes a 3 course meal.

With the starters, the bergedil ayam was crispy but bland. The loin of beef came in bamboo skewers with a side of peanut sauce. This is basically beef satay. The meat was rubbery and insipid, I wasn't impressed. The prawn popiah or otherwise known as fried prawn spring roll was fried well and had a crispy exterior but was too doughy.

With the mains, the overall consensus was again that it was a very brief one note dish. You get a hint of flavour right at the beginning but it disappears quickly into nothingness. There was none of that depth of spices and flavour that is affiliated with these dishes.

By this stage, I wasn't really looking forward to dessert anymore but you never know right?

The kuih dadar was surprisingly tasty and was the best out of the trio ordered.

My summary of Awana? Overpriced with anglo-sized dishes. You're not missing out.
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Chopstix2Steaknives - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Friday, December 02, 2011

I went to Awana last night using my groupon voucher (total value of £67) for 3 course meal for 2 people. The goupon voucher was at a cost of £26. I will not be going to Awana and will not recommend it to anyone. The food was poor and the service was horrible. The food was not authentic and there's nothing fine dining about the experience. Food presentation was mediocre for that level of price they're charging. The waiter kept looking at us and hovering near us and when he took our order he seemed obviously unhappy when we asked for another 1 minute to look at the menu. After my friend has finished her starter the waiter took her plate away while I was still eating mine(how rude, is that fine dining?). And they even took the basket of crips away from our table before serving our main course and half way doing that only then did they bother to ask us if we're still eating the crisps. I replied by saying YES I AM. I am going to eat those expensive crisps no matter what i thought.

The worst part of the experience is the fact that on top of the amount already paid through groupon at £26, we have to order side dishes to complete our meals. We have to as the main course does not include rice (isn't rice the main staple of asian food, why is it not included in the mains?). There was only one noodle dish from the main course groupon set menu which didn't sound appealing to us. The biryani rice came at £4, plain steamed rice came at £3.50 and stir fry morning glory vegetable at almost £8. Biryani was tasteless, nothing compared to my local indian takeaway version at all. Bottled mineral water came at £4.50. Dessert of chocolate mousse was okay, nothing amazingly spectacular. And finally there's a 12.5% service charge for the poor service that we get on the whole bill. This 12.5% was calculated based on the £67 value plus side dishes and water and not on the groupon purchase amount of £26 pkus side dishes and water. All in all our meal cost last night came at almost £100 excluding groupon. Taking into groupon 'saving' it came to around £60. Really not worth it. They did mention this on the face of the voucher though. What bothers me about the whole thing more is the service. I expect at that price and the fact that the restaurant is marketed as fine dining, there should be better service. I don't mind paying expensive price for excellent food and service. Never will I ever come here again and customers on Groupon - be aware of all the extra charges that comes with it.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 02, 2011

I visited this restaurant recently after reading positive reviews and looking at there website.

Well what a major dissapointment. Bad / Slow service, unattentive staff /some with attitude,Cold Food /bought after long wait! All recieved with a highly priced bill with service charge added! What a joke, the service at a MacDonalds is more prompt and courteous! And for such a high end restaurant, the food price definately does not replicate the quality! would not recommend anyone to waste there money here, there are so many better places worth paying good money for!
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Saturday, September 17, 2011

I love this restaurant!

This is the fifth time that we have been to AWANA and have always been very pleased with the service and excellent food.

The food is lovely and i haven't had a bad meal to date. I have dined in some lovely and highly rated London restaurants and others around the world and i would consider this a happy and fun place to dine. Food has always been of very high quality, expecially awana beef rendang and the corn-fed chicken satay……yummy !!

If sometimes you have to wait for a while before orders are taken or drinks served - that's because the place is always full!! I've been there on Tuesday nights, Wednesday lunchtimes and Saturday nights - one key similarity between the services? They're always rammed!! Can you guess why? Perhaps it's because people love it and they keep on coming back!!!?

The waiting staff and manager are a large part of what makes AWANA tick. The service is phenomenal, fun and friendly - the best I've ever experienced.

For people that don't like this wonderful place - get a life and stay in to eat in front of your TV - there you'll be peaceful and quiet!

If you want to eat real good Malaysian food out of Malaysia, you should visit AWANA……..
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J.CHAO
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, June 17, 2011

sorely dissapointed by this last night! extremely overpriced for what was pretty average food! not one of us could even eat our puddings they were that disgusting!

Not at all like the food in malaysia, Awana is essentially a commercial machine which caters for birthdays etc, not a serious restuarant!
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6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Thursday, June 16, 2011

I visited Awana located at Chelsea....Awesome service friendly staff and the most very attentive.....

To speak about the food.....very good concept of live satay bar....chicken satay were awesome.....with different varieties of Malaysian bread....frankly speaking the food is really good....last but not least...the dessert roti...a unique and mouth watering dessert.

Frankly speaking its true value for money.....

I will surely visit again.....
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sandip dhage
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Second time here and it was a much better experience. I went in the evening this time so there were more people - I feared we would be the only table like last time. The food was good, staff were friendly and it was a good deal. I had enough points to use the reward menu for two people and they even let the third person use the toptable 50% off deal, so the final bill was a nice shock! Likely to go back
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Marie- Susanne Kann
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, May 19, 2011

We visited this restaurant last week April 2011. Probably the worst experience we have ever encountered.

To start with the staff are so rude that it is unbelievable. It is like they are doing you a favour for letting you eat at their establishment.

Then comes the most amazing surprise. After endiuring such rude behaviour you are presented with dishes that neither look presentable or are edible. We ordered two starters, a chicken patte and chicken skewers. Both were dry to the point they crumbled . The only nice bit was the peanut sauce which I think they bought ready made from a chineese wholesaler.

The came the mains. My partner ordered Rendang daging awana - slow cooked tender beef curry with coconut milk and awana blended herbs and I ordered Laksa - corn-fed chicken, crab meat, prawn, tofu and bean sprouts served with vermicelli noodles and a mild broth of lemongrass, curry leaf and coconut. Despite the lovely description both dishes were a total disaster. The beef was overcooked and tasted like burnt stew and the laska was home made noodles the cheap variety witha two or 3 shrips thrown in for good measure,

We ordered deserts which were just about edible.

My honest and sincere advise would be dont waste your money on such an expensive restaraunt to order food which isn't fit to be served.

In all honestly i can't believe how this place has achieved any recognition by any reputable establishment.
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Karin
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Saturday, April 16, 2011

What more can i say apart from the fact that the reputation is well deserved. A fine Malaysian restaurant, food and service were excellent. I cannot wait for my next visit which hopefully will be very soon.
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Geeta Vara
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Thursday, April 14, 2011

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