Yauatcha is pretty much an upmarket yum cha (dim sum) restaurant. Our evening there was a mix of good and bad, so this is why I have given it an average rating. When I make a booking at a restaurant for 8pm, I expect to be seated at the table when I turn up on time. Instead, we were waiting at the bar for half an hour before our table was ready. If they are intending for you to buy drinks at the bar before your meal, then I feel they should have a no reservations policy. When I made the booking, they told me that I would need to vacate the table by 10pm. Fortunately this wasn't an issue for us tonight. The restaurant is pretty loud and it didn't help that the tables were so close together. I think this is a trendy restaurant. There were a few parties of friends who had come for drinks and to try the nice-looking desserts. Notwithstanding all this, I thought the dishes were excellent. We got 8 dishes for dinner, a dessert each and a pot of jasmine tea (and a refill). The prices ranged from £4.60 for a plate of 3 venison puffs to £13.50 for a plate of jasmine ribs. The ribs were really delicious - the meat fell of the bones and was very tasty. The desserts were very nice, but not outstanding. read more

Food: 5+ Atmosphere: 4 Service: 2 Price: 4 I've been here three times, and let me start by saying it is absolutely delicious. Definitely a place to get a bunch of dishes with friends and try everything. In particular, you absolutely must get the venison puffs (sorry, Bambi); they are quite possibly my favorite food in London. The sticky leaf rice is heavenly too...as is everything else, so just order away and be prepared to be impressed! Atmosphere varies between upstairs and downstairs. Downstairs has a cooler vibe; while both areas are a bit on the noisy side, it comes across as lively in the downstairs area whereas it was a little more uncomfortable upstairs. This place loses a 5th star on service. Of my three visits, the service was awful on two of them and acceptable on the third. For the two bad times, they just seemed woefully understaffed -- it was impossible to get a waiter's attention, and they were rushed and unsmiling if you eventually succeeded in talking to someone. Several times we were told someone would "come over in a minute", and then no one did. Moreover, on one of the reservations, we had to wait for 45 min before they seated us... Prices are reasonable for a trendy restaurant with nice food. It's not cheap, but you get a large dim sum serving in each order. Last time I was there, the four of us had ~10 dim sum courses + 3 desserts + 4 cocktails for ~45 per person and were very full by the end. So all-in-all, I'd definitely go back and eat the delicious food, but only if I was with patient friends who wouldn't be bothered by the sub-standard service. read more

Really great place for date night with the wife. All the dim sum was absolutely outstanding; I do have to admit that having dim sum in a fancy setting and not being served by an extremely waitress is somewhat alienating :) Anyways, my highlights were the Szechuan Pork Dumplings (cheap and very good), Prawn Chengfun (I know it has beancurd but yes it tastes awesome), Wagyu Beef Puff (awesome beef taste). Will most certainly come here again if I am in London and you should do the same... read more

By a happy accident, I ended up here on my last night in London. After trying a place close by with an insane wait, my group was fortunate to stumble upon a free table at exactly the right time. Usually when I think of dim sim, I think of carts coming by or offering delicious, but often unsophisticated looking dumplings and buns. Yauatcha is a dim sum restaurant that made me feel like a grownup (and that is not something that I say lightly). The dishes here were excellent. My group and I ate about 8-10 plates between us, and each item was fantastic. The char siu buns were steamed to perfection. The shrimp and bean curd cheng du...I could have eaten like three plates of that. The dumplings (considering I had about 3 different kinds) were all inhaled. And the turnip cake was the best turnip cake in the history of turnip cakes. The plates are small, but shareable with about 3-4 pieces per dumpling and buns. Topping off our meal with some delicious sake made the entire experience complete. I felt a little out of place with my jeans here, and had I known this is where we were going to end up, I would have opted for something dressier. The wait staff and FOH managers were very accommodating, and would check up on us often. Or suggest another delicious dish for our meal. So many stars. I'm sad I had to stop at five. This place was one of the best meals that I have ever had. read more

We went with the hype and tried this popular dim sum restaurant on our first night in London. Make a reservation, it was full on a Wednesday night. Tons of style and ambiance. Request to be seated in the lower level if youre going for a romantic night out, the ceiling is designed to look like the night sky. Stunning. It's very Vegetarian friendly. Try the vegan "duck" - sweet, spicy and smoky with the most gorgeous mushrooms. What are those mushrooms called??! My carnivorous spouse had the venison puffs, he said that they totally deserve an award. Every other dish we tried was very good but not great. If you're looking for a traditional dim sum place, this isn't for you. But if you want good dim sum-ish goodness in an upscale environment, book a table. read more

Yauatcha - Vegan duck with the best mushrooms of my life. - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

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I came to this location because of the high yelp reviews. Atmosphere was very nice. The food portion was tiny though. I'd say the food was better than the dim sum back in the US (Bay Area), but pretty pricey for teeny tiny pieces. But I guess this restaurant is one of those places you should try if you're in London. Service was okay, but I expect more especially if I'm paying that much for dim sum. read more

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UH-MAZING. Crazy expensive, but fantastic ambiance, delicious food and friendly, kind and attentive waitstaff. A+'s all around. Order the Hakka or Lychee martini; they're both delicious. The roasted duck pumpkin puff, Jasmine tea smoked ribs and crispy aromatic duck are all delectable. Also, just realized that once you think "Yauatcha" is "Yamcha" from DBZ, it's impossible not to see it. Possibly worth a bonus star for nostalgia. read more

I've only had the desserts so far as we popped in after a late lunch at my favourite Vietnamese restaurant nearby, and if I were judging solely on desserts I'd give the place 5 stars... But the service here sucks, big time. Despite the place being half empty they were really cagey about giving us a table in the first place, and when we sat down it took some time for them to take our order. It then took considerably longer for them to serve us our desserts and tea, which is the only thing we ordered. When it came to paying we asked for the bill 3 times and it never came, and it was only when we got up and went to what looked like the manager that we got our bill, obviously with an 'optional' service charge already included. We also wanted to buy some sweets to take away but that took absolutely ages too, despite me going behind the counter and actually jumping up and down to try and attract their attention. The only redemption was that the same person who looked like the manager didn't charge for some of the chocolates, but I think that's actually because he was just trying to be nice to my lady friend (who is of course, a hottie)! Annoyingly though, I will have to return to try the dim sum because of all the other badass reviews saying how great it is! read more

Went for dinner and ordered the dim sum. It was delicious. The presentation and flavors were on point. I was def impressed as I've always thought of dim sum as greasy and a bit heavy and the innards always ground up in some mystery combination. Here, it was actual pieces of vegetables and meats that you can see and distinguish...and taste! I would mark for 4 stars, but I felt that 3 pieces per dim sum for the price was a rip off. Also, when you order a pot of tea, you don't get hot water top up. Gotta pay for another (small) pot. Awesome. The ambiance was very nice. I'd say it has a better decor than Hakkasan. I'd revisit this place on special occasions when it warrants me to splurge on dim sum. read more

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Love love love this place, even more so that there's a new branch opening soon, just near HK in Liverpool street. Their mushroom rolls were the one, so tender and yummy. Dim sum was really good, cocktails were amazing. Need to go back and revisit. Also their jaffa Macaron is the best, like you're eating a jaffa cake straight out the box. Incredible read more

After eating at the wonder ground, we wanted something sweet, I jumped to search yelp for desserts, and of course, this place popped up. We headed in, they took our coats and luggage, and we were sat in the blue lit bar area since we were just having pud. We giggled struggling to read the menu in the low light and candles (who knew blue light made it so difficult?) Picking cocktails and elaborate puds. The seats were tall and oddly comfy, and the atmosphere in both the bar and the restaurant were lovely, and the view into the kitchen gave us a peek at what we were waiting for. (also, people watching through the one way wall kept us entertained too!) Things didn't take long to arrive, and they were presented beautifully, and tasted even better. We plumped for things with ingredients that weren't every day, and there was a nice range to choose from, but ours were just lovely, tart, and well balanced, with a really nice mix of textures too. I'd like to come back and eat more than just puddings, because it all smelt great! read more

The main reason i like this place is for their amazing desserts. Just one peek through their window and you'll see some beautiful creations staring back at you. The blue-cubed blueberry one is divine though i only chose it for the colour so can't be more specific in what was in it. Second best thing is that you can get the cakes to go, which is preferable to having to actually dine in. Not that the food or the dim sum is bad but as pointed out below the service is slow slow slow! Recently went with a friend. We said we just wanted cakes and were told we had 40 minutes, which would have been fine if we hadn't been ignored by all the staff having an impromptu staff meeting for 20 minutes. We sauntered over to the dessert area and ordered our cakes and the lady placed them on a nice dish each and said someone would bring them over. We should have taken them ourselves as we waited over 5 minutes and we severely pushed for time. For quality of food this places rates highly but it has a long way to go to even be close to an enjoyable experience. read more

I've now been to this restaurant twice and I've never been disappointed. My first experience was for dinner. A co-worker had highly recommended the dim sum and it was absolutely delicious. My favorite were the ribs. Being from Chicago, I'm a huge fan of ribs and these were amazing. My second experience was for lunch with girlfriends. Three hours later, 12 dishes ordered and 2 desserts -- we called it a successful outing. Their cakes are beautifully made and as tasty as they look. I recommend the violeta (sp?). read more

Great place for dim sum... I've always wanted to try it and went a couple of weeks ago. While I have eaten many a dim sum in my lifetime, this was truly exceptional - from the creative and refreshing of traditional dishes, to the high quality of everything, including the steamed dumpling skins. Its definitely more expensive than what you would pay at other good dim sum restaurants in London, but in my mind it was also still worth the money. Reviewed by The London Insider http://www.london-insider.co.uk/ read more

If you like upmarket Dim Sum, Yauatcha will be right up your street. It's not Chinatown as we know it but rather some kind of newly minted sparkling 21st century version of an old Chinese favorite. We called in at 7.00 on a Sunday and we were given a table for 2. The tables are close together and as it was quietish, I requested a four-top for us as they were all empty. The hostess kindly seated us on a larger table after checking her table plan. Our waitress was excellent. I had an idea of what we wanted as I have had Dim sum before but she was great at giving us suggestions. We ended up ordering six dishes all recommended by her and I was very happy with all of them. The cocktail I had, called Lalu, was gorgeous and full of lime and zesty flavours. My favorite dim sum was the Szechaun Beef parcel and the prawn Cheung Fun. Our bill was a £70 for 6 dim sum, a cocktail and a beer, 2 espressos and dessert. It was all amazing and I will be back. read more

Perfect place for afternoon Dim Sum! Light, easy and flavourful delicacies made for everyone. You cannot not enjoy Yauatcha! read more

I walked by this place for about a year until I realized that it was in fact a restaurant. Prior to that, I thought that maybe it was a post-production house (they're close to Technicolor and Deluxe) or maybe a bar or club. Or some other kind of trendy office type place. Turns out, it's a dim sum restaurant. And a good one, too! I went here with a lady who didn't seem to understand what good dim sum was. That's OK. I did. Or I pretended to. The menu is a little expensive but worthwhile, though I'd go to Ping Pong over this, any day. Really. Awesome bathroom sink in the men's room. I know, who gives a shit? I don't know. It's the coolest bathroom sink I've seen in a restaurant. So, take that for what it's worth. Sit upstairs if you can. Downstairs is darker and louder. read more

Whenever I'm in town, Yauatcha is "must go" place on my list. My family and I have been going for years, and are always very pleased with the quality of the food. We love the unique twists on classic dim sum that they create. Some of our favorites include any cheung fun (especially the prawn and bean curd one), jasmine smoked ribs, aromatic duck, and the venison puffs. Between the 6 of us, we have likely tried almost everything on the menu at one point or another, and always leave satisfied. Always a standout! read more

A favourite. Posh dim sum sums it up. The food is fresh - you can see it being made and then cooked. The decor is superb - sleek and sophisticated. The service is really efficient and pleasant - never pushy, always attentive and precise. A huge range of green, blue, and smoked teas are available and the staff are always happy to recommend something that goes well with the food you've ordered. The food is classic Chinese fusion but steers clear of the outlandish or merely sensational. Quality and flavour is the keynote. To finish, select gold leaf topped violet and rose flavoured cakes or light chocoloate mousses topped with lime flower and candied cinammon. Just looking at the cakes makes you think you've gone to some kind of food heaven. Innovative cocktails and soft drinks complete the 'event' that each meal here inevitably becomes. It's a treat. read more

Oh my goodness I'm soooo in love with Yauatcha. I don't think I was a fan of dimsum before I ate here and now I love. Love love love. Even if i can't pronounce the name. I let my friends order whatever the felt was right and they did a damn good job. Highlights were Salt and Pepper squid, Deep fried Quail (it was like posh KFC - fatty and sweet and brilliant) and the sea bass and crab dumplings were pretty amazing too. This is the best Chinese food I've eaten in London. There's a great atmosphere. It's buzzy enough to be fun, but dark and quiet enough to be romantic if you wanted to come here with your other half (and it would impress on a date as well - take note people). Cocktails are amazing. Huge. With flowers in and stuff. But you don't get drunk. You drink them because they're yummy. They do a ginger mojito thing which is great. I love it here. I really love it here. It's not cheap - drinks and dinner will set you back about fifty quid a head (although I reckon if you were a couple it would be much less as you wouldn't order so many dishes between you - maybe about £30?), but it doesn't matter once you're here. It's all worth every penny. Can someone please take me back there? read more

My friend took me here as a birthday treat and i was pleasantly surprised. The dim sum dishes offered are quite innovative and the noodle dishes were nice and a good size. There is a wonderful selection of teas also. The only thing I didn't like too much was the slightly rushed service during the meal. Other than that I would probably go back again for a special occasion, and even more so just to visit the shop upstairs that sells the wonderful macaroons. Lots of different flavours, the Pandan flavour is awesome! read more

I have a confession to make. I have a major dim sum weakness. So has my sister. So it only made sense that her birthday dinner should involve cakes that look so pretty it would be a crying shame to defile them by eating them (we didn't take much convincing though, no arm-twisting required) and guzzling our collective bodyweight in har gau and venison puffs. Don't do what I did and do a last minute booking (sister decided to change plans on my a day before) or you'll be put upstairs, which is very nice but not quite as pleasing on the beautifully designed basement floor. It's always packed to the rafters from Thursday onwards too, which is great when you want to have raucuous conversation with someone you've not seen in ages, without offending anyone. The service is ultra efficient and attentive. They even top up your tea for you. My view is this: Yauatcha is a treat for the special people in your life. So far the only people who have been taken under my steam are my mum, my sister and an ex with whom I am still friends. So if I take you to a place with a blue glass wall, you've got to be doing something right! I acknowledge the fact that the aforementioned statement is unavoidably political and likely to result in 300 odd- demands from my facebook friends to take them too, or risk being de-listed. I'll take you all when I'm a millionaire. I promise! read more

Pants-wettingly expensive dainty plates of cute, asian perfection. With macaroons. Yauatcha is deserving of all its credentials, and is an oasis of calm cleanliness in a particularly filthy bit of Soho. It's mind bogglingly expensive though, with no real set menu, so you can really rack up the bill if you're not paying attention. I have been in to pick up macaroons, since they're nigh-on perfect for London. Go for lunch if you can persuade someone richer to pay for it, otherwise just go for tea and cake. It's lovely. read more

Food was good. The wait for the food and service was not great. We waited about 35-40 min for our food without any explanation. The waiter was terrible, perhaps there was a language barrier but he was rude to us. Seems like he was rude to Asian patrons. Also, they can't pack up leftover food to go apparently because they don't have a license to, says the waiter. And they brought out sparkling water even though we asked for still and still charged us for it. Not impressed. read more

Possibly the best dim sum I've had in my life. I've had my fair share of dim sum, the typical kind where they push the cart around and you gawk at the plates and point. This is not that type of shop. Yauatcha is super modern and the food is exceptional. The prices are a bit on the higher side but the quality is worth it. Must have: Prawn and beancurd cheung fun, seafood dumpling soup, venison puff, spicy pork szechuan wontons, and king crab shanghai siew long bao. Service was great, make a reservation if you plan on coming on a weekend. read more

Modus: telling customers that they have tables and wait time is 15 minutes. Bring them to the bar to order drinks. Ending up ordering expensive drinks. 1 hour later. No table available. Closing time. Restaurant does not deserve michelin star. Do not come here. Horrible. read more

I simply love dim sum and I will go all out to try different venues and types of dim sum. This is an amazing place for dim sum another of Alan Yau's creation! Good things never come cheap, so expect about £40-£50 per head. However expensive, the exceptional food is well worth it! The interior is quite charming, dark and modern opposing to the usual Chinese restaurant setting. It provides quite a pleasant twist from the mundane which complemented the unusual ingredients for some of the dim sum selection as well. The variety of tea leaves available is huge including hand rolled ones as well! One downside of this restaurant is the service. The place is constantly packed during peak hours and the number of waiters / waitresses is insufficient to cope with the crowded, very often you will need to wait for quite a while before being served! read more

I have eaten at better restaurants, I have eaten better dim sum, I have had better service. But somehow this restaurant still gets 5 stars because I always come out feeling like I've had the loveliest treat ever. The quality of the teas (and tea cocktails), the beauty of the dim sum, the ritual of it all, and the fish and flowers. Yauatcha is a hybrid of a swanky dim sum restaurant and a very posh tea house. Although it's possible to eat dim sum upstairs, the restaurant is technically downstairs, and tea and cake upstairs. The two are very different in character; upstairs is light and airy and downstairs is dark and sexy. When you book to eat, you can choose upstairs or downstairs. Evening meals go downstairs, light snacks, afternoon tea, upstairs. You cannot choose the exact spot when you book, however I recommend once you get there that you specify you would like to sit in the main section downstairs, not around the side. In fact you should insist upon this, and prepare to wait a bit longer. Although this may be a hassle, you will enjoy it far more, I promise. As a reasonably critical person who has visited Yauatcha countless times over the last six years, which is akin to giving the place spot checks throughout its history, I can say one thing: Yauatcha is consistent. As such it's a great place to entertain friends, treat clients, or take one's partner. The style of decor, food, and service treads that fine line between being suitable for business and for romance. One can equally bring one's glamorous Persian girlfriend here late on a Friday night, and one's aging mother for a Sunday afternoon tea. (Currently one has the latter, not the former...) You may find the front of house snooty. Personally I love it. I don't want to be greeted and subsequently ignored by anyone other than the impossibly (I'm not allowed to say "pathologically" am I? No) slim, beautiful girls who do it so brilliantly. I like my FOH efficient, with that edge of slight disdain that says "you do realise where you are, don't you?" The dim sum is inventive and seasonal, the ingredients are fresh. The menu has naturally changed over the last few years but the favourites still exist to this day; the Baked Venison Puff is a must, although the venison is a little more stodgy than it used to be but the pastry has got even better. Sadly the shark fin soup appears to be off the menu - it's probably best though, isn't it? Oh and I love the latest (Autumn 2010?) addition of the Crystal Dumplings - lovely little translucent steamed things stuffed with pumpkin and pine nut. The Lotus Leaf Rice is another simple, well-executed crowd-pleaser. Mooli puffs are fun little creatures to behold, they are vegetable dumplings with a pastry exterior rolled into the exact shape (and presumably dyed to the same colour) as a little carrot, with some spinach coming out the top. This is high-end-pastry-chef-meets-Roger-Rabbit and I heartily approve. It's a terrible shame their cake counter has been replaced. Yauatcha staff say this is because the cake chef left in Autumn 2009. Oh, the gold-flecked chocolate ganaches - I mourn their passing. (I'm not serious. Actually no yes I am.) Nevertheless the macaroons are still great. The downstairs decor is stunning. You know how some people, when they walk out of the house, they put on a suit and look smart, at all times? Even if they put on a bit of a shabby jacket, they still look ridiculously hot? The interior decor of Yauatcha is that person. It could never become a bit tatty, because it's so hot in the first place. The tropical fish and the flower displays are very special indeed. Music is ambient and always at the perfect level for conversation, and the restaurant's acoustic allows it to become quite lively when busy, but never too loud. It has a lovely bustly feel, but I never get offended by loud groups here. (I usually hate loud groups.) I personally love to enjoy food at Yauatcha on a Sunday afternoon, post-lunch, when the service is relaxed and the downstairs restaurant is quiet. I'm sure it's possible to bring children, but really it's not that kind of place - in case you hadn't guessed. Personally I find it nice to get away from restaurants (especially Sunday afternoons!) that are brimming with prams and cots and toys and screams. Oh, and the bill? It's not pricey especially compared to a number of notably inferior chain dim sum restaurants I could name (some are very nearby...) It caters for all appetites and tastes in food. You simply can't go wrong. Go! read more

Yauatcha - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

This is a superb restaurant, the food is quite tasty. But I was a bit disappointed with the service. Be sure you bring a lot of patience. Didn't want to - but was forced to knock down two stars - customer service is everything. read more

Yauatcha - Dim Sum Near Me - London, XGL

Excellent. Service top notch and nice. Food fabulous, with exceptionally creative dim sums. Not too expensive for what it is, in addition. Highly recommended. (only minus for me was desserts,,, whereas cakes look good, their tastes were just ok) read more

Congratulations Yauatcha. You managed to kill your reputation in one single swoop upon our latest visit. We booked a table for our anniversary dinner WEEKS ago. As requested, we re-confirmed the day before for 8pm. So far business as usual. We arrived at exactly 8pm, and got our table downstairs as requested. Upon ordering, our waiter seemed quite uninterested, and was almost 'bitchy' when I asked about a dish we had the previous time. Hmmm. The music was extremely loud, even more so than previous times, which made conversation quite strenuous. We overheard the table next to us complain about the same problem. (On a separate note, they were annoyed as well about getting their main course before their starters). The food quality was excellent, as always. Nothing to say about that. HOWEVER .. when we decided to order desserts at 9pm (one hour after arriving, ordering, and getting our dishes), we were told that "our table was booked only until 9:15pm, so it would be almost impossible to serve us desserts". Wait. WHAT? So we called the maitre d' to enquire about this. He first started asking us if we were walk-ins. Then proceeded to tell us that our reservation was for 7pm and we'd been an hour late. SERIOUSLY? How UNPROFESSIONAL can one be? If we'd been an hour late, our table would have been gone for 45 mins, since they have a 15min holding policy, so that excuse didn't fly! And not knowing we booked several weeks in advance, and then making us feel like it was our fault? NO WAY! As said, the quality of the food was excellent, but the service is an absolute disgrace! In the end, the desserts were on the house, but a situation like this should NEVER have occurred in a Michelin-star restaurant! The whole experience left us leaving quite annoyed and bitter, and ruined what should have been a memorable anniversary dinner. We'll give Yauatcha another try next time, but if this is the standard they're holding up now, it's bye-bye, never again. read more

Love Yauatcha and will recommend to anyone looking for a great night out. The service is excellent and they handled all our changes (adding 2 seats a night in advance for a Friday booking is no joke) with no difficulties and even made sure to på extra attention to my mum who celebrated her birthday. We had the signature menu and was more than full and happy walking out. The ambiance is quite noisy, so if you are looking for a quiet dinner I would save this for another time. read more

Let me start by saying how excited I was to try my first Michelin Star restaurant. My overall experience was great but I just couldn't see how this is a Michelin Star Restaurant. I've traveled across the world for food, been to many upscale venues, and have had much better dim sum. I'm mind blown that this place received such a prestigious award over other establishments. The ambiance was elegant and modern. The service was standard for a high-end restaurant but the food was not that impressive. We ordered five a la carte dim sum dishes to share between the two of us for lunch. We got Har Gow, Wagyu Puff, Shrimp Cheung Fan, Crab and Pork Soup Dumplings, and Scallop Shumai. The food was subpar but the dessert was pretty good! We got the Chocolate Pebbles cake. Hmmm... maybe they got their Michelin Star for their desserts? read more

Situated on one of the crappiest streets in London, honestly the market is a dive, is a gem of a Chinese restaurant. It's stylish design stands out amongst the fish-sellers and spread over two floors you should always manage to get a table, though it's advisable to book for large parties. Food wise there is a wealth of choice, from gorgeous dim sum to set meals. The drinks menu also offers a wide choice but the main attraction, for me at least, are the beautiful desserts that they have. Glorious creations beautifully presented and, though at £4.50 each, they are a bit pricey one bite will assure you that it's worth it You can also by desserts to take out which is perfect for any special occasion or indulgent snacking. As stated, prices aren't cheap but not overly extortionate either. Service can be a bit slow considering the wealth of staff that they employ but on all occasions I've been there staff have been very helpful, offering suggestions to compliment choices rather than to run up the bill. Definitely a place to try read more

Hot on the heels, okay well two weeks after, of Yauatcha being sold by creator Alan Yau to a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority I decided to finally check out the dim sum on offer by the restaurant. The premium price tag on the dim sum has previously prevented us from treating this place as an every day dim sum dining experience but we thought we better get in to check it out before there was any change to the formula that has so far proven to be a major success for Alan Yau. Blue is the overriding colour when you first behold the sight that is Yauatcha. Upon entering the restaurant you will see before you an elegant brightly lit modern and cleanly designed room. I'm not sure if bookings are still essential but today at just after noon we were able to dine as walk-ins. We were actually taken downstairs today where there is still a theme of blue from the frosted glass that covers the kitchen and the chefs to the long aquarium running across the front of the bar filled with bright colourful goldfish but suddenly we were plunged into darkness - a Ping Pong-ish style of decor. The service is as you would expect in a restaurant of this calibre - efficient, friendly and accommodating. Upon first sitting you are presented with the drinks menu which is an almost overwhelming list of teas and wines. You won't find bottomless pots of simple tea here - not like the pots of tea you get at regular dim sum places at any rate. There's a large variety of blue tea, black tea, green tea and flower tea on also. Not to mention they also have a wide selection of iced teas amongst which I can recommend the Lime and Passion Ice Tea which is my dining partner had and the Melon Ice Tea - both of where were extremely refreshing. The dim sum menu features some of the regulars such as Har Gau, Shumai, Cheung Fun, and Steam Pork Bun. There were also a number of items I'd never seen before on a dim sum menu a couple of which we tried out including Ostrich Dumplings (quite delicious and self-saucing) and Baked Venison Puff (very similar to Barbecue Pork Puff but obviously with venison.) As the prices were quite high we couldn't be too adventurous but it would have been interesting to try other dishes such as Chilean Sea Bass Mooli Roll, Native Lobster in Black Bean Sauce, Wagyu Beef Cheung Fun, and Box Dumpling. We couldn't resist the Jasmine Tea Smoked Organic Ribs, which we also sampled when we went to sister restaurant Hakkasan. They weren't too bad but not nearly as tasty or fall off the bone as the ones from Hakkasan. The price tag for our one meal today would have bought us two meals at any other restaurant but it was worth it to check out the hype that is Yauatcha. read more

Even though this place is known for its dim sum, it definitely brings a few twists to the entire experience. The atmosphere is so much more different to those you'd find not too far away in Chinatown, a combination between dark wooden panels, bright blue colours and a very colourful fishtank (I'm assuming filled with tropical fish). The dim sum is definitely of a much higher standard with some different twists including a number of dumplings with game meats in them. Of course, you will end up spending a little bit more on dim sum compared to other places, but it's great for something out of the ordinary. Their tea selection is also significantly different for those that want something other than the standard Chinese selection. read more

Yauatcha is the place to go for meticulously made morsels of dim sum gorgeousness. I'm not experienced enough with dim sum - although I've enjoyed my fair share - to know just how experimental or creative it can be without departing from its essence or origins. But Yauatcha appears to both retain the familiar core of dim sum and push the boundaries of taste and presentation. At Yauatcha you could dine out on presentation alone: they take visual beauty very seriously. Each element is artfully combined to play colour against texture against size and shape. But most memorably, the clever an unusual combinations of basic ingredients (pork, prawns, scallops, soft-shelled crab, for example) with subtle spices and seasonings, encased in truly world-class pastry, amount to a sparkling dim sum fantasia beyond reasonable expectation. The highlight of the afternoon was quite possibly a lovely, moist, spongy, buttery pastry sprinkled with sesame seeds with a venison (yes, venison) stuffing that just oozed with sinful suggestiveness. Jade dumplings, so-called because of their green hue, stuffed with wild mushrooms were another inspired marvel. The tea menu is equally staggering in its breadth - we practically got high on so many delicate, aromatic teas. And all of this happens under the watchful eye of slightly dopey goldfish and miniature carp in a long fishtank. Service is somewhat erratic and indifferent, but when the dim sum starts flowing, coming at you in waves of colour, you are past caring. This is a damn fine restaurant. read more

You get a 45 minute booking at this place to scoff your grub and sod off. Fantastic food though. read more

A great way of getting some of Alan Yau's quality food without the Hakkasan heart attack inducing prices. Most people talk about the "funkier" items like the venison puffs but I actually enjoy the more traditional items like the rice noodles and Singaporean chili crab which are tasty and (shockingly!) pretty authentic. Recommend sharing a pot of tea which runs least almost 10 pounds the last time I checked. Close out with the matcha macarons. read more

The atmosphere at this restaurant was probably the highlight of the experience. you could tell a lot of thought went into the decor, which was very modern. The service here was just okay. Our waiter was a little bit weird about letting us hold onto the menu after we ordered. As for the food, it is "fancy" dim sum. I didn't really feel the price premium was proportional to the improvement in taste or quality over more typical dim sum restaurants. I ordered the spicy pork dumplings, which were not really spicy and the pork filling didn't have a lot of flavor. The three mushroom cheung fun was probably my favorite. The roasted duck pumpkin puff was very cute in the way it was presented, but I didn't think the combination was the best texturally inside the fried rice exterior. All in all, I think the price premium is mostly for the atmosphere and not necessarily for better food quality. read more