Hutong — Restaurant in London

Hutong for birthday celebration, 3 people. Mixed feelings about Hutong... summary, was ok and did enjoy food and venue but could do better. Lacking the luxury wow experience.

First the bad, ordered the most expensive set menu azalea x3. And I was prepared to have small portions, the menu looks big but in reality, you get one of each dumpling (3 per person in total) and about 6 slices of duck with 2 pancakes (server told me it was half a duck for 2 people, so 3 people I would expect more...I kid you not 17 slices in total). And the rest of the duck taken away? Part 2 of the food, 2 prawns each, 3 cubes of beef, decent amount of green beans and noodles...half the portion of a regular Chinese restaurant...to share between 3. I couldn't believe my eyes I had to check with a manager who basically said it was correct and left. I was also asked who's birthday it was at reception ( it was asked when I made the booking), but Hutong did nothing at all with the information, to make the birthday girl feel special. I've been to many high end luxury restaurants and very regular restaurants who have done so much more to make an occasion special.  I mean why ask? Not a luxury experience at all for the venue and in my opinion pushing the limit on the portion sizes for about £100 per person.

Ok, the good...all staff service polite, in line with expectations. Was given a window seat, thank you so much, I know it wasn't guaranteed and I really appreciate it. Venue, quite pretty. FOOD, all the food tasted really good and 3 of us had zero complaints on taste. Most enjoyed by all was actually the duck, crispy skin and melt in the mouth, fatty, but in a good way. This is up there with the best anywhere. And the large prawns, beef and beans really good. Dessert, very good, warm choc tart and refreshing sorbet.  Oh, and for booking in advance,limited time offer, there were welcome cocktails (says the cheapest set menu £39 is excluded). Thank you for this too. Oh, and the duck carving at table, very nice theatre.

Thoughts, if you just want the experience,  get the small set menu. Don't forget drinks and service charge. If you want to taste the food Azalea menu was decent. If you like to really eat, not sample the food, order double of everything or go somewhere else. Hope this review helps y'all!

UPDATE: As I have shown interest in Hutong, a social media pop up appeared advertising the Azalea menu. Its the last picture and shows 2 sets of dumplings, suggesting this is a couples meal for 2. Yet the duck quantity of slices is exactly the same as what I received for 3 people and the other dishes look pretty much identical too. So I am of the conclusion they only increased the portions that would be noticed such as extra dumplings and a desert for the 3rd person. Pictures others have posted here suggest that the duck portion i got was in keeping with a couples portion too as I can see it is the smallest. Mistake? Maybe. I reached out to Hutong before writing this as I hate not to give a chance to them to explain or rectify. The restaurant manager (i will not name), said "All promotional material is intended to offer an overview of the current offering, not implying that the details shown will be exactly matching the real dishes". I call it misleading advertising or overcharging. I also got the standard response, sorry you were not happy, we will feedback your comments. I've been offered some bubbles but I have no intention of visiting again anytime soon to spend more money to enjoy some bubbly.

They've missed the point completely, give people what they've paid for (why are you trying to save money on cheap noodles,duck and a few tiny cubes of cheap beef?). Secondly, look into and own your restaurant errors and rectify them. For the restaurant manager, repond to me privately or come back to me here...

TL;DR: do NOT dine here! Go next door to Oblix for a more enjoyable experience and the same view. If you NEED Chinese food, visit a mid-tier offering elsewhere.

My partner and I regularly frequent luxury brunch locations around London. Examples being Quaglino’s, The Aubrey, the Aqua locations, and Oblix (located in the Shard adjacent to Hutong). We were excited to try Hutong’s offering since they appeared to market themselves as a more elegant, luxurious Chinese dining experience and their brunch menu seemed interesting. We could not have been more disappointed.

I’ll bullet our experience to make it clear why dining here is a total waste of time.

We arrived punctually, about 20 minutes early for a 1400 seating on Saturday, March 22nd.

We were told to sit by the bar and that someone would get us when our table was ready.

We had to ask to check our bulky coats; no one offered (a first for us at an “elegant restaurant”).

We promptly seated ourselves at the bar and selected drinks from the menu.

No one attempted to take our drink order until 1356, four minutes before our seating. We decided to skip the drinks we had selected 10 minutes earlier.

At 1408 we had to go back to reception to inquire about our table. We were AGAIN asked to provide the name on the reservation by the exact same hosts that took our coats and directed us to the bar. They acted as if it was their first time speaking to us, making it crystal clear that no one would have ever come to seat us if we stayed at the bar.

We were told someone was making the table up and were asked again to stand to the side. We stood for an additional 10 minutes discussing if we should dine elsewhere before finally being brought to our table at 1420. One of the hostesses did offer an apology in passing…

Our table was by the window, which was nice, but also located next to the DJ station which made one of the seats a bit tight. We waited another 10 minutes before someone came to take our drink order.

Our server was pretty good and the service was a bit improved from this point forward.

The starters were bottomless, but half of the dishes were below average. The shredded beef was inedible, like chewing on twigs from a tree. The three dumpling dishes were the best of the bunch. We were asked if we wanted additional starters and ordered the four we enjoyed most. We only received two before our mains arrived (we weren’t surprised nor cared enough to mention it).

The mains were fine but did not stand out. We ordered the spicy tofu and the scrambled eggs with scallops, selecting the vegetable fried rice as our shared side.

For drinks we went with the bottomless cocktail option for an additional £40. This included three cocktail options over a cheaper £32 option that included beer, wine, Prosecco, and Bellinis. The Hutong Spritz was delicious and the Exotic Martini was pretty good, but the Chinese Lantern tasted like a child’s fruit juice made with sugar and syrup (reminded us of the American “juice” called Tang lol). The Bellinis were also very good!

For dessert we ordered the mango pudding and the sorbet. They were both about buffet restaurant quality and we stopped after about two bites. I will say, it was strange to have solid chunks of ice in what should have been creamy sorbet - yikes!

Other than completely disrespecting their patron’s time, the number one issue we observed was communication between the staff. No one working seemed to have fine dining competence at all, as if putting a restaurant in a London landmark was “fine enough”. No vendor response needed; we won’t be...

I've left it just over a week before writing this review to ensure I reflect my feelings about the experience fairly. I want to be clear, the two stars overall is a direct reflection of the overall experience compared directly to the price. This restaurant is fine. But just fine, nothing more.

Before coming here I'd read a lot of reviews and you see the same trends in the poor ones. When you start to see the exact same comments months apart you know there is some basis to it. So I went here with my eyes fully open. It was a special occasion, we'd never been and we like the menu and venue enough to make an exception and give it a try.

I can't give the detail I want to in the space allowed so I'll try to summarise in a way hopefully others will find useful.

Overall, this place is not worth the price you pay for a meal a la carte. Have a look at the positive reviews and you'll see a common theme of a lunchtime deal or offer, or someone who just came for drinks and a snack. The cocktails are excellent. The food and service is average at best.

Some of the low points from start to finish. No table clothes showing up worn wooden tables. Plastic chopsticks(!). Waiters trying to take you're order 2 minutes after you've walked in without introducing themselves, greeting you, asking how you are or anything. Waiters who don't explain the menu, at all. The fact they do clearly not have enough menus as you can't keep the cocktail menu on the table, you have to ask for it back. Food that is ok but has no sophistication at all and is only flavoured with salt, chilli and garlic. Portion sizes that suggest fine dining but based on flavour is just being tight. Hand towels in the toilets (as in cotton ones) which should be a plus, except when you're done you throw them in a shallow basket on the floor which is open and overflowing?? Making the place look a mess.

Everything about this restaurant would be ok in a location and price point of say Chinatown but here you can't help compare it to the prices they charge. The final nail in the coffin was dessert. There are only two, both come with mandarin sorbet on the menu. Mine arrived without the sorbet, placed on the table and the waitress walked off. When I called her back and asked where the sorbet was, I was told "we used to do it." That's it. No apology or explanation. Given the chocolate torte was a little bigger than a two pound coin making the sorbet probably 50% of the dessert I was shocked this wasn't highlighted when I ordered or they hadn't changed the menu or price! It may sound petty but remember the price you're paying for this.

I was lucky enough to visit Oblix in the summer and I can't express how much better the whole experience was. From food to service to venue, it feels like it's in a different league when in fact they're charging the same price. I have no issue with the cost, if the food/service/venue combination reflect it. Unfortunately it doesn't and based on other reviews I don't' think it's a one off.

Come here for a drink and a snack or lunch and you'll probably not mind it at all, but for "occasion" dining choose Oblix or...