Hakkasan Hakkasan

Hakkasan Awards

The first Chinese restaurant to go seriously upmarket is as chic as ever.
Openings: Lunch Sat.-Sun., Dinner Tues.-Sun.

Features

Hakkasan, London, uk


Hakkasan Restaurant Review:


When Hakkasan burst on the scene, it broke all the rules. Here was a basement venue in a less than attractive back alley, serving Chinese cooking that shook London's mainly conservative Chinese taste buds. Its success has not diminished, partly due to owner Alan Yau who has the golden touch with restaurants. It's very stylish---a dark, sexy interior of all black furniture and the room divided from the kitchen area by black wooden frames. Low-level lighting and cool music adds couples to the suited business and laid-back media clientele. Dim sum is topnotch; try Chinese chive dumplings and light, fresh prawns and scallop parcels. À la carte extends the repertoire beyond the usual Chinese dishes. Want to impress? Then order the famous and difficult to find “Monk jumps over the wall”---double-boiled soup with abalone, fish maw, dried scallop, sea cucumber and dried shiitake. It will set you back a mere £80 per person. The less ambitious will be just as pleased with Chinese wild mushroom soup, jasmine tea-smoked organic pork ribs or roast chicken in satay sauce. You can get the same buzz at the busy cocktail bar where the barmen really know their stuff.