Review: Yauatcha, Soho

To celebrate Chinese New Year recently, we took a little trip to a place called Yauatcha in Soho.  It describes itself as a "contemporary dim sum teahouse", and that is exactly what we got.  Yauatcha opened in London in 2004 (it also has a branch in India) and received a Michelin star within its first year.  


Dim Sum in Hong Kong is usually a breakfast thing, and so naturally we arrived in stirring Soho on a Saturday evening. 

This is what we had (rule of thumb when ordering dim sum is 3 dishes per person which everyone can pick and share):


蠔皇叉燒包 that's Char sui bun for those who can't read Chinese

叉燒滑腸粉 Char sui cheung fun

黑椒火鴨金瓜酥 Roasted duck pumpkin puff with pine nut

避風塘軟殼蟹 Spicy soft shell crab
皮蛋瘦肉粥 Pork and preserved egg congee
琵琶豆腐 Pipa tofu with shrimp and baby asparagus

From top, clockwise: congee, char sui bun, cheung fun

Dessert:
Matcha Dobos (matcha tea, lemon, lemon confit, almond)
Jasmine honey (milk chocolate, caramelized honey, almond)

To drink:

Iced tea - Lime and passion passion fruit, lime, apple juice and jasmine tea

Cocktail - Cha la lai (Belvedere vodka, black grapes, oolong tea, apple juice and Champagne)

Congee and Cha La Lai cocktail with the fish tank bar in the background

I'm (Hayley) a bit of a snob when it comes to chinese food - coming from home cooked, real chinese food and spending weeks at my Grandad's house in the middle of nowhere in Hong Kong every 4 years of my life; the main thing for me is that chinese food outside Hong Kong or my family's house has to be authentic enough.  And I mean that in every sense of the dining experience, from decor to the way a menu is set out, to the size and quality of the food.  

Yauatcha already stands out as it isn't trying to recreate the traditional dim sum experience, it's adding a modern twist to every meal, and of course the Michelin star automatically raises your standards before even stepping inside.  

The menu offered many dishes.  The selection is wide and it also includes bigger dishes such as noodle and rice for those who assume dim sum won't fill you up (believe me - it is enough).  The food generally was great, the portions were good, presentation was excellent - the simplicity meets upmarket suited Yauatcha's self-description perfectly.  The dish that stood out for me was the pipa tofu - the tofu was a sort of mashed up version and the sauce is incredible and moorish.

pipa tofu. Yum yum. 

Pickled cucumber comes with the tap water
(which is refilled endlessly by the way) 

Duck and pumpkin puff. 

Gluttony overtook us and we ordered desserts.  It's very rich, and like chinese desserts, it's not the size that matters - it is DEFINITELY enough.  My lemony dessert was divine, sour, sweet, fluffy.  A cute little touch on the desserts is that there is a small chocolate plaque placed with the logo on it.

Signed dessert

Booking is definitely recommended for this place - a busy, lively atmosphere, this is a place where you would spot model type/industry people...everyday.  The downstairs dining offers the cocktail bar made out of a fish tank - which is quite distracting but provides a sort of calm and serene feel amongst the music and chatter.  We were given good service, although it is sometimes difficult to hear over the music.  A new glass of tap water is replaced regularly so that you never quite finish a glass before you're given a new one.  I must admit I was a bit sceptical as many of the staff were not asian, but the kitchen staff are.  Prices are reasonable - they do edge towards the higher end of the scale, and for a Michelin starred restaurant in Central London, I guess it's pretty good.  There was a slight delay in collecting our coats from the cloakroom - you are given a swish tag with a number on it to collect them at the end.  Good idea but trying not to lose the tag is a feat, and when you are waiting for the staff who can't find your coat along a narrow corridor in the direction of the bathrooms, that's when you start to feel the stress radiating from the hard-working staff. 

Overall, it was a fun experience.  There's nothing bad about the food or service, but for me personally, that was just it, there wasn't anything special about it.  The little quirks and touches to the traditional dim sum dishes were good - but they were almost like a novelty because I knew I would be dining in here as a 'one-off'.  I would recommend this place to others however, just to see what they think of it - I just have exceptional high standards when it comes to chinese food.

When I left, I said I never wanted to eat again - which is what you want to be feeling when you leave a restaurant, so that's no bad thing.  Rating: 3.5 out of 5.