It might not boast the Midas touch of restaurateur extraordinaire Alan Yau, but this brand new incarnation of the world-famous Hakkasan is every bit as stylish, trendy and expensive as you would expect, even if the food doesn’t always match the lofty prices.

The Venue
Located in really rather fine company on Bruton Street in Mayfair, Hakkasan shares its enviable postcode with luminaries as grand as Rolls Royce, Alfred Dunhill, Jack Barclay and… Nicky Clarke. Once you’ve located the tiny door guarded by some very courteous muscle, you’re gently ushered into a very impressive venue that invokes an authentic hit of the Orient, even if the burning incense might remind you more of a teenager’s bedroom than an opium den. A bevy of beautiful women garbed in red silk dresses politely deal with your booking, escorting you either into the ground floor bar for some exceptional cocktails or downstairs into the atmospheric, dimly lit restaurant full of carved mahogany, swooping Chinese lanterns, clean lines and animated chatter.

The Atmosphere
The dining experience is certainly something that Hakkasan has got spot on, balancing refinement with enough informal and trendy elements to ensure that - much like its sister locations – it’ll be somewhere to be seen. Inoffensive house provides the perfectly weighted soundtrack, adding to a bustling environment where relaxed conversation is encouraged by those swooping lights that offer intimacy amidst the dark, atmospheric dining room. As for the clientele, you can expect destination diners checking out the trendy new hot spot, generous department heads taking out their team and well-off men doing a very good job at impressing their dates. And everyone seems to be having a very nice time indeed – a testament to the general feel of this very impressively designed restaurant.

The Food
Essentially, it’s refined and inventive Cantonese food served at prices that reflect the kind of clientele Hakassan will no doubt attract, so it’s not the biggest surprise to see dishes such as the native lobster salad and the Peking duck served with Royal Beluga caviar coming in at over a hundred pounds. These though, are described as Hakkasan’s ‘supreme special dishes’, and there are plenty of (relatively) more pocket-pleasing alternatives.

Starters such as the lamb salad in a spicy peanut sauce (£11) are decent, with tender lamb served with lightly pickled vegetables and a fragrant sauce that offers an admirable amount of kick. The dim sum (£13.50) are well crafted, look pretty as a picture and show a delicate hand in the kitchen, with a scallop shumai, a har gau (shrimp), a prawn with Chinese chive dumpling, and a shimeji mushroom dumpling all perfectly agreeable.

The roasted silver cod (£35) for main is cooked to absolute perfection with a crisp edge giving way to large flakes of soft, fresh fish, even if the Champagne and Chinese honey sauce it bathes in is perhaps too sickly sweet for some. The black truffle roast duck with teaplant mushrooms (£28) is again cooked well, with tender duck delicately flavoured by the truffle and hints of star anise, but the duck is very fatty, which will again, put some diners off. The very average veggie fried rice isn’t on the menu, so you don’t know how much you’re going to be charged, whilst a crunchy little vegetable medley (£11) of sugar snap peas, water chestnuts and cloud ear mushrooms is good and serves as a nicely crisp and refreshing antidote to the heavy mains.

The Drinks
The excellent cocktails in the upstairs bar display precision and obvious attention to detail, so they’re a great place to start. The lemongrass martini (£11) is served in a chilled glass and boasts a perfectly balanced mix of muddled lemongrass, sugar, martini and a squeeze of lemon. The Hakka (£11), features a similarly impressive combination of Belvedere vodka, Akashi-tai sake, lychee juice, lime, coconut and passion fruit, and is well worth a try. If you are looking for something a little less complicated then the bar stocks an incredible selection of whiskies, vodkas, brandies and other spirits, with prices ranging from the affordable to the remarkable.

Once in the restaurant, there’s an extensive wine list with an admirable number of drops available by the glass. If you want to be extravagant there’s plenty of scope to do just that, with bins stacked up carefully to one side of the restaurant, with a dedicated decantering area for the sommelier to do his work. Of particular note are a sweet Reisling at £7.20 for a glass and an excellent, weighty Rioja at £16, with legs to rival those attached to the statuesque ladies at the front desk.

The Last Word
The food won’t necessarily wow everyone but dining at Hakkasan is about more than just what’s on your plate. A stunning setting, incredible atmosphere and a fashionable reputation make this a great place in which to treat yourself.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (3) image gallery (3)