Hakkasan (SkypeFind reviews) has been on my to-go list for a long time. Can't even remember who was the very first to recommend it (and maybe the place was just better a year+ ago?). It is right around the corner from our London office, but for a reason or another I never made it.
Now I did and what a complete disappointment it was.
GOOD:
- Those who had 'em, praised the cocktails.
- Dimsum & duck appetizers were nice.
- That's it.
BAD:
- Well manned (headcount-wise), but careless service. The wet wiping cloth coming between you and your food kind.
- Robotic sommelier who says his lines and just does not listen if you ask something about the wine. As in ignoring you.
- Loud and overcrowded as a cocktail bar... on the restaurant side on Monday night.
- Most appetizers could not compete on Cheap Chinese Takeaway championships if they tried.
- My crab (pictured above) tasted like paper towels. I rarely leave my seafood uneaten.
- All this and more for about 100 pounds per head.
Who exactly decides on Michelin stars these days? Some Anatoli Michelinovski running a parallel business in some dark alley?
And #19 in the 50 World's Best Restaurants list??? Come on...
PS: my friends say that the same owner's Yauatcha is still a good place for dimsum.
