“A real go-to for fantastic dim sum”, cool Yauatcha still provides thrills galore – whether you’re grazing in the noisy street-level canteen or dining in the more atmospheric brick-lined basement room with its illuminated fish tank, candlelit tables and twinkling lights. Wherever you sit, expect ultra-professional service, but with lots of winning smiles.
The comprehensive menu is populated by “consistently good” dumplings ranging from prawn sui mai with chicken to ‘crystal wraps’ with pumpkin and pine nuts, but it also pays to consider other luxe Chinese morsels such as spicy soft-shell crab with almond, Wagyu beef puffs or pork and preserved egg congee.
Elsewhere, the kitchen shows its mastery of forward-thinking Chinese cuisine with bigger plates ranging from stir-fried scallops with fried tofu and winter bamboo shoots or braised Yangchun noodles with roasted duck to spicy aubergine with sato beans, okra, French beans and peanut. To finish, the pretty macarons “are to die for”, although gorgeous-looking chocolates and petits gateaux such as lemon sesame tart or a toasted hazelnut and yuzu Paris-Brest (from the in-house patisserie counter) are equally hard to resist.
Given that Yauatcha is also billed as a teahouse, you’d expect a stellar selection of rare and fragrant teas – and you wouldn’t be wrong. Otherwise, imbibers can look forward to an impressive line-up of sophisticated sips including a top-drawer list of classy international wines, premium sakés and a host of killer cocktails. In short, this is a consistently exciting and diverting Soho package.