Zuma Hong Kong — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

We booked a table for weekend brunch to celebrate a friend’s special occasion. Arriving 5 minutes before our 12pm reservation, we were seated near the window—an area we’ve found to be quite stuffy in previous visits due to poor air circulation. Noticing several vacant tables, we politely inquired if we could move to one of them for a more comfortable experience.

Unfortunately, the manager, Mr. Carlos, stepped in and presented us with three options. The first was counter seating, which is clearly unsuitable for a group of four. The second was to switch the air conditioning back on, though he mentioned it might take some time and added that we were the “only group feeling too energetic” and were an “exception,” as other customers apparently found the temperature too cold (despite it being 23°C in Hong Kong today). The third option was to move to the terrace, but we would have to return the table earlier than our original dining time—a compromise we didn’t feel was fair or reasonable.

It’s puzzling why, as one of the first groups to arrive, we couldn’t have the preference to choose a more comfortable table, especially when no special requests were made by other guests. However, the real disappointment wasn’t the refusal itself but the attitude and demeanor of Mr. Carlos. As a manager, he came across as arrogant and condescending, speaking to us as if he were lecturing us on how to manage and operate the restaurant. He even emphasized that this was the “standard of Zuma service,” which he had upheld across various locations.

While I’ve always held Zuma in high regard for its quality and service, today’s experience with Mr. Carlos has shaken that confidence. When I politely asked for his name to provide follow-up feedback, he responded fiercely, telling me not to “continue playing this game.” This interaction felt more suited to a random street restaurant in a less-than-ideal area, not a fine dining establishment like Zuma.

Ultimately, what ruined the experience wasn’t the table or the air circulation—it was the service from Mr. Carlos. It’s truly unfortunate that what was meant to be a memorable birthday celebration turned into an unforgettable disappointment.

I’ve always admired the Azumi Group for its exceptional standards, but after today, I’m afraid my friends and I may have to reconsider our patronage of Zuma Hong Kong. I sincerely hope the group reflects carefully on the service level and the talent they select, as this experience has left a lasting negative impression.

Good luck, and I hope future guests have a better experience...

Decided to go there for an anniversary dinner with my girlfriend as a bit of a splurge. Booked for 8:30pm which I understand is late but thought it would be ok since we can have an enjoyable dinner together trying the tasting menu and possibly return for brunch. Nowhere along the booking journey was there any information about not being able to order the tasting menu past 8:00pm. I thought that was ok and I’ll go with a la carte. I expressed to the waitress that it’s a bit poor user experience to not be advised this early. Suddenly a wild manager appears! He just said “is there any issue?” with a bit of a tone which I thought fine I must be wrong and stupid. Great way to welcome guests. I reiterated that it was quite poor that the booking service didn’t address the limitation of menu selectionHe didn’t address my concern and just asked if I am ok with the menu as though I might struggle to read. I just said give me a few minutes. I ended up paying twice the amount for a la carte menu but alas the food was disappointing. The most expensive dish, the A4 Wagyu came marinating in its own blood. Thought it was still alive. The lobster came was slightly fishy as well. We had a lot of unexpected guests in the form of mosquitos flying about too. To their defence not much you can do but wasn’t great. The staff gave me the impression that they were just keen to finish up for the night. By the time I ordered before 9:00pm, the kitchen staff were already covering up their stations. Previously I had arranged a dessert hoping to have it as a celebratory ending to what I thought was going to be a good night however after this eventful night I advised the staff multiple times I wanted to cancel this. The manager came over and placed the dessert on the table whilst handing me the bill and even as I said that I wanted to cancel this he just said “we’re going to throw it out anyways so might as well eat it”. First time hearing this type of response. When my girlfriend ate the dessert, the molten cake had more water in it than chocolate and felt like it was a puddle cake. Upon leaving, there was no one showing us out. Felt like leaving a McDonalds. The manager looked up, saw me leaving and went back...

Went here for a deal, izakaya night for snacks and free flow drinks for 1.5 hours which sounded interesting until you met this guy -Yuda he claimed he called, he was the Malay/filipino/napal youngster who knows nothing about hospitality. He was treating you like you are there to steal. He needed a long way to learn to be in par to the standards of the same level of hospitality in the restaurants in HK and the lady manager, surprisingly, did not make anything better. To tell you the substance, they treated us like beggers for the all you can drink as if we were having them for free, and we were stealing from them, even from the start of it — to be explicit, Yuda exclaimed bluntly no sake cups of you wantef whisky sodas, although the 3 of us which my friend was having sake, but it’s a sin to share if we were also having our highball at the same time?! This yuda was having a real attitude like a school master, which ruined my night totally, arigatou. We were there 6:45pm for 1.5 hours free flow but by 7:45pm, we were told this was the last sake we could have for the night, oh wow, thank you so much and thank you for telling us to not coming back again. There were too many other better options in Central, period. Zuma as an international reputable F&B brand you have disappointed us big time. If you were as stingy as that, just don’t offer this kind of deals. We used to like zuma for its generosity when we tried their brunches, but this era was gone. Maybe it’s to do with the management team. So think twice if you book this place now....