Alan Yau’s flagship style emporium sits in the unlikeliest of locations – in a seedy looking backstreet in the Oxford Street hinterland.

The Venue
Dark and brooding, with music so loud as to almost deafen, Hakkasan is looking a little lacklustre now that the wow’s died down and the competition has upped the stakes.

With seating in screened areas to give that opium den effect, it’s a sultry venue. Birdcages throw a nod to the old Hong Kong belief that birds are lucky, and harks back to a time when people used to carry them as pets.

The Atmosphere
The clientele don’t excite much although Hakkasan does welcome older patrons, and the service is still attentive and fresh. To the side is capsule bar Ling Ling, once one of the hottest spaces in town, now looking a little empty and decidedly like a holding bar.

The Food
The food is so so – dishes such as black cod still taste sublime but others are merely satisfactory, and the dim sum at sister restaurant Yauatcha’s much better.

The Last Word
Over all Hakkasan still presents a satisfactory dining experience, although it doesn’t justify the price tag, and with competition in the form of venues such as Yauatcha and China Tang you might be better off spending your money elsewhere.

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