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Had a quick cocktail with a view at the bar in Hutong on a sat afternoon during Christmas Great service, able to move seats to the window seat because let's face it you are paying for the magnificent London city view Cocktails are pricey as to be expected but tasty I always love the vibe and service at the Shard and make a point to visit whenever I visit London
I was watching a travel vlogger assert that the best way to enjoy a view from The Shard was making a reservation at the upscale East Asian restaurant GONG on the 55th floor. We did just that, and while the panoramic view was spectacular, the portion size of the set dinner left much to be desired (review: https://yelp.to/4lEwNuHqMg). As luck would have it, we were an hour too early for our reservation. So we came here first. Coincidentally this was also an upscale East Asian restaurant but on the 33rd floor of The Shard. They have a separate lounge, the Shanghai Bar, with cocktail tables next to the window. As it turned out, the difference in the views between the 33rd and 55th floors wasn't even discernible. They were equally spectacular. Lucky for us, a table was open for us. Their posh cocktail menu was based on the Chinese lunar calendar and the elements and flavors associated with each zodiac sign. Jamie and I just went with what sounded good. He first ordered the £21 Yellow Ming, a citrusy sweet mix of rosemary-infused tequila, mango purée, mandarin syrup, and yuzu juice, while I had the £20.5 Coffee & Melon Martini (photo: https://yelp.to/OcRMi4AgbC). It was a subtly sweet blend of melon-infused rum, cold brew coffee liqueur, and hazelnut & chocolate liqueur. Now that was the right way to celebrate London at sunset, so much so we had a second round but wisely non-alcoholic this time. Jamie ordered the £13 Shan, a refreshing mix of Everleaf Mountain aperitif, almond, cranberry, lime, peach, and dill. I had the £13 Senlin, a tropical and slightly spicier blend of Everleaf Mountain aperitif, pineapple, coconut, passionfruit, mango, and chili (photo: https://yelp.to/YXjzxAB5cW). Non-booze was definitely the way to go since we had a bottle of Champagne Rose coming up at GONG. Even though the service bordered on the glassy-eyed, the bar experience by itself would've been just fine for a visit to The Shard if you are so inclined. COCKTAILS - 4 stars... intriguing artisan mixes and blends befitting the view AMBIANCE - 4.5 stars...gets crowded quickly but the view made it worthwhile SERVICE - 3.5 stars...a bit automatic TOTAL - 4 stars...here's the visit to The Shard that makes sense to us RELATED - Exploring London? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3zFACrx
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. 1. We arrived punctually, about 20 minutes early for a 1400 seating on Saturday, March 22nd. 2. We were told to sit by the bar and that someone would get us when our table was ready. 3. We had to ask to check our bulky coats; no one offered (a first for us at an "elegant restaurant"). 4. We promptly seated ourselves at the bar and selected drinks from the menu. 5. 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. 6. 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. 7. 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... 8. 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. 9. Our server was pretty good and the service was a bit improved from this point forward. 10. 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). 11. 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. 12. 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! 13. 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 visiting again.
I had a wonderful work lunch in the mid afternoon with 6 colleagues (I love working in insurance -- my trips to London for a week, several times per year, include 4-8 truly excellent meals, limited only by my diet.) This is a northern Chinese restaurant on an upper floor of the Shard, a tall skyscraper on the south side of the Thames overlooking the City. While they could easily just coast on the location, it also has beautiful Chinese design throughout the restaurant, and quite good food (comparing it to some of the best restaurants in Shanghai). Service, especially in the less busy times like our late afternoon private dining, is quite good as well (we had a dedicated server in our room for 2 hours). Unfortunately you do pay quite a bit for all of this (fortunately for me it was covered by work, and actually the supplier/partner was hosting us); you could easily pay $200-300/person without alcohol, and up from there, but there are some set menu lunch options which could be $100-200/person total. I'd love to go back for drinks in the evening sometime, but for food, I really enjoyed mid-afternoon when the place was fairly empty, quiet, and very attentive service. We did the least expensive set menu per person (GBP 35 for 3 small plate versions of popular items), a whole duck, and maybe 7 other dishes (multiple orders of a few types of dim sum, some vegetables); somehow managed to be the perfect amount of food with less than half a plate left over, across 7 people.
Sitting 33 stories above London in The Shard building is Hutong, a swanky restaurant serving even more swanky Northern Chinese meals. The star for me is the Peking Duck sliced at your table, but everything on the menu is delicious. They even celebrate birthdays. It's always a superb evening of wonderful, flavorful delicacies with extraordinary service.
the service was terrible. when I walked in someone sat me by the bar and I asked if she had hot cocoa to which she said let me go and ask and I waited 20 mins and she never came back so I walked up to the bar and a waitress told me No. then eventually a waiter came up to me but only about 10 minutes after serving someone else who came in after me. he was cool and polite and explained the menu the lady had given to me earlier cuz she had not explained it goes by the chinese zodiac. I then proceeded to order a drink that went by my zodiac. the drink was nice but not worth the 20 quid with the poor service. would not come again but would only recommend for the view.
I came here to have a cocktail when in London recently, and felt like a queen. You do have to go through building security but once you head up the elevators, all of that bureaucracy melts away and you are immersed in the slick, sexy interior of the Shard. Hutong, which sits on the 33rd floor of the building, provides an intimate setting with both delicious cocktails and mocktails, and the most incredible view of London. I walked in with no reservation, hoping to find space at the bar, and the sweetest waitress helped keep an eye out for a better spot to open up so I could look over the city, and by the end of the night my boyfriend and I were literally seated at the best table in the joint. Dreamy dreamy dreamy
This is a MUST GO spot when visiting London! We stopped in for drinks at the bar and even from that smaller section the view was incredible! No better view of London than from the shard and that exactly where this restaurant is located! Drinks were delicious and they have such a a fun menu! Their menu is is set up with Chinese zodiac signs and the drinks have what sign they think would like each drink! The green wanly was delicious and of course we tried a classic lychee martini and you can't go wrong there! For food we just had bar apps and they were perfection! I've never had better apps! The dim sum was perfection and one even had champagne infused in it! This place was great, the service was wonderful and the bar area lets you sit at the window on a rotating first come first serve basis so that was great because we had a chance to sit on the window with the views! Lastly decor, this place was BEAUTIFUL! The views add a lot to the vibe but in general who ever decorated this spot really outdid them selves! Even the bathrooms were beautiful!! Perfectly themed spot and i will definitely be coming again!
I'm choosing to post this review because I disagree with a number of posts that I read that were quite negative. I understand every experience is unique, but our visit was great, so I thought I would share. We had a reservation at 6pm for 2 ppl. We were seated promptly, offered drinks and were explained the menu. We ordered the following: Crispy Shredded Beef Waygu Beef Mille-Feuille Spring Roll Leek Soup Half Duck Spicy fried rice Sweet and sour chicken Let me start off by saying: this is too much food for 2 people. Our waitress said we were right on target, but we ended up giving the 2nd part of the duck order to a couple at the table next to us. The waygu dim sum was out of this world. The Peking duck was spectacular as well (I actually preferred it without the pancake and veg that comes with it. Use the chili crisp oil with a bite of the duck and you won't regret it!). Sweet and sour chicken was awesome too! The only thing we absolutely would skip next time was the spicy fried rice. It was dry and flavorless (which was a surprise as every other dish we ordered was great). I'll post a pic of the bill for those curious. It's a little pricey, but the views are immaculate and that's part of what you're paying for. Service was good. Our waitress Nadeyah was lovely. We'd go back again for a great date night. Overall 9/10. Hope that helps!
This place is special in all ways. I thought it was just a hyped up place, but I just loved it. Chose this for a date night, and boy it was one of the finest dates. We booked the table for 8:30 perfect for sunset and moonrise view from the shard. The staff is extremely courteous and sweet. Ordered spinach and mushroom dumplings, and it was cooked to perfection. No sticky outer and flavourful. The chilli oil had shrimp, so the server helped us with fresh chilli and soy sauce dip. The chilli is some other flavour that I've never tried before and loved the packed heat. For mains, we had mapo tofu with sticky pickled fried rice, they're a perfect combination. Towards the end, had to separate chilli from the mapo tofu, but definitely a great meal. The bill was about 70 pounds, which I feel was good for the ambience, food and the views.
Excellent customer service and all the dishes were delicious with a stellar view of Tower Bridge. My parents and I ordered: fish with tomato + noodles, fried rice, Dan Dan noodles, dim sum assortment, string beans and a beef fish. The manager is friendly, diligent and attention to detail. I will definitely come back! read more
Came here expecting something fabulous the location and the prices. The views are great, even from the toilets. However the food on the other hand is not worth the price. Chinese food can be made very inexpensive but this experience wad the total opposite. 3/5 1/2 duck - very cool to see them slice the duck table side but left so much on the bones that I was deeply shocked. What do they do with the rest? Served with wraps and sides. Tastes ok but I've had better. 4/5 King prawns - this is the best fish we had, but for the price there should be more than just 3! 1/5 Kai lan - the worst dish. Served with an additional side but the veggies were very bland I surprised the portions were so small for the price. I wish the waiter would have told me this. I also told him this was our first time. My suggestion, go to the shard for views and cocktails. Not for dinner. However the lunch menu seemed much more affordable. read more
2 years ago
Had a quick cocktail with a view at the bar in Hutong on a sat afternoon during Christmas Great service, able to move seats to the window seat because let's face it you are paying for the magnificent London city view Cocktails are pricey as to be expected but tasty I always love the vibe and service at the Shard and make a point to visit whenever I visit London read more
I was watching a travel vlogger assert that the best way to enjoy a view from The Shard was making a reservation at the upscale East Asian restaurant GONG on the 55th floor. We did just that, and while the panoramic view was spectacular, the portion size of the set dinner left much to be desired (review: https://yelp.to/4lEwNuHqMg). As luck would have it, we were an hour too early for our reservation. So we came here first. Coincidentally this was also an upscale East Asian restaurant but on the 33rd floor of The Shard. They have a separate lounge, the Shanghai Bar, with cocktail tables next to the window. As it turned out, the difference in the views between the 33rd and 55th floors wasn't even discernible. They were equally spectacular. Lucky for us, a table was open for us. Their posh cocktail menu was based on the Chinese lunar calendar and the elements and flavors associated with each zodiac sign. Jamie and I just went with what sounded good. He first ordered the £21 Yellow Ming, a citrusy sweet mix of rosemary-infused tequila, mango purée, mandarin syrup, and yuzu juice, while I had the £20.5 Coffee & Melon Martini (photo: https://yelp.to/OcRMi4AgbC). It was a subtly sweet blend of melon-infused rum, cold brew coffee liqueur, and hazelnut & chocolate liqueur. Now that was the right way to celebrate London at sunset, so much so we had a second round but wisely non-alcoholic this time. Jamie ordered the £13 Shan, a refreshing mix of Everleaf Mountain aperitif, almond, cranberry, lime, peach, and dill. I had the £13 Senlin, a tropical and slightly spicier blend of Everleaf Mountain aperitif, pineapple, coconut, passionfruit, mango, and chili (photo: https://yelp.to/YXjzxAB5cW). Non-booze was definitely the way to go since we had a bottle of Champagne Rose coming up at GONG. Even though the service bordered on the glassy-eyed, the bar experience by itself would've been just fine for a visit to The Shard if you are so inclined. COCKTAILS - 4 stars... intriguing artisan mixes and blends befitting the view AMBIANCE - 4.5 stars...gets crowded quickly but the view made it worthwhile SERVICE - 3.5 stars...a bit automatic TOTAL - 4 stars...here's the visit to The Shard that makes sense to us RELATED - Exploring London? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3zFACrx read more
5 months ago
2 years ago
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. 1. We arrived punctually, about 20 minutes early for a 1400 seating on Saturday, March 22nd. 2. We were told to sit by the bar and that someone would get us when our table was ready. 3. We had to ask to check our bulky coats; no one offered (a first for us at an "elegant restaurant"). 4. We promptly seated ourselves at the bar and selected drinks from the menu. 5. 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. 6. 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. 7. 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... 8. 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. 9. Our server was pretty good and the service was a bit improved from this point forward. 10. 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). 11. 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. 12. 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! 13. 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 visiting again. read more
I had a wonderful work lunch in the mid afternoon with 6 colleagues (I love working in insurance -- my trips to London for a week, several times per year, include 4-8 truly excellent meals, limited only by my diet.) This is a northern Chinese restaurant on an upper floor of the Shard, a tall skyscraper on the south side of the Thames overlooking the City. While they could easily just coast on the location, it also has beautiful Chinese design throughout the restaurant, and quite good food (comparing it to some of the best restaurants in Shanghai). Service, especially in the less busy times like our late afternoon private dining, is quite good as well (we had a dedicated server in our room for 2 hours). Unfortunately you do pay quite a bit for all of this (fortunately for me it was covered by work, and actually the supplier/partner was hosting us); you could easily pay $200-300/person without alcohol, and up from there, but there are some set menu lunch options which could be $100-200/person total. I'd love to go back for drinks in the evening sometime, but for food, I really enjoyed mid-afternoon when the place was fairly empty, quiet, and very attentive service. We did the least expensive set menu per person (GBP 35 for 3 small plate versions of popular items), a whole duck, and maybe 7 other dishes (multiple orders of a few types of dim sum, some vegetables); somehow managed to be the perfect amount of food with less than half a plate left over, across 7 people. read more
Sitting 33 stories above London in The Shard building is Hutong, a swanky restaurant serving even more swanky Northern Chinese meals. The star for me is the Peking Duck sliced at your table, but everything on the menu is delicious. They even celebrate birthdays. It's always a superb evening of wonderful, flavorful delicacies with extraordinary service. read more
1 year ago
the service was terrible. when I walked in someone sat me by the bar and I asked if she had hot cocoa to which she said let me go and ask and I waited 20 mins and she never came back so I walked up to the bar and a waitress told me No. then eventually a waiter came up to me but only about 10 minutes after serving someone else who came in after me. he was cool and polite and explained the menu the lady had given to me earlier cuz she had not explained it goes by the chinese zodiac. I then proceeded to order a drink that went by my zodiac. the drink was nice but not worth the 20 quid with the poor service. would not come again but would only recommend for the view. read more
2 years ago
I came here to have a cocktail when in London recently, and felt like a queen. You do have to go through building security but once you head up the elevators, all of that bureaucracy melts away and you are immersed in the slick, sexy interior of the Shard. Hutong, which sits on the 33rd floor of the building, provides an intimate setting with both delicious cocktails and mocktails, and the most incredible view of London. I walked in with no reservation, hoping to find space at the bar, and the sweetest waitress helped keep an eye out for a better spot to open up so I could look over the city, and by the end of the night my boyfriend and I were literally seated at the best table in the joint. Dreamy dreamy dreamy read more
1 year ago
3 years ago
This is a MUST GO spot when visiting London! We stopped in for drinks at the bar and even from that smaller section the view was incredible! No better view of London than from the shard and that exactly where this restaurant is located! Drinks were delicious and they have such a a fun menu! Their menu is is set up with Chinese zodiac signs and the drinks have what sign they think would like each drink! The green wanly was delicious and of course we tried a classic lychee martini and you can't go wrong there! For food we just had bar apps and they were perfection! I've never had better apps! The dim sum was perfection and one even had champagne infused in it! This place was great, the service was wonderful and the bar area lets you sit at the window on a rotating first come first serve basis so that was great because we had a chance to sit on the window with the views! Lastly decor, this place was BEAUTIFUL! The views add a lot to the vibe but in general who ever decorated this spot really outdid them selves! Even the bathrooms were beautiful!! Perfectly themed spot and i will definitely be coming again! read more
9 months ago
1 year ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
I'm choosing to post this review because I disagree with a number of posts that I read that were quite negative. I understand every experience is unique, but our visit was great, so I thought I would share. We had a reservation at 6pm for 2 ppl. We were seated promptly, offered drinks and were explained the menu. We ordered the following: Crispy Shredded Beef Waygu Beef Mille-Feuille Spring Roll Leek Soup Half Duck Spicy fried rice Sweet and sour chicken Let me start off by saying: this is too much food for 2 people. Our waitress said we were right on target, but we ended up giving the 2nd part of the duck order to a couple at the table next to us. The waygu dim sum was out of this world. The Peking duck was spectacular as well (I actually preferred it without the pancake and veg that comes with it. Use the chili crisp oil with a bite of the duck and you won't regret it!). Sweet and sour chicken was awesome too! The only thing we absolutely would skip next time was the spicy fried rice. It was dry and flavorless (which was a surprise as every other dish we ordered was great). I'll post a pic of the bill for those curious. It's a little pricey, but the views are immaculate and that's part of what you're paying for. Service was good. Our waitress Nadeyah was lovely. We'd go back again for a great date night. Overall 9/10. Hope that helps! read more
4 years ago
This place is special in all ways. I thought it was just a hyped up place, but I just loved it. Chose this for a date night, and boy it was one of the finest dates. We booked the table for 8:30 perfect for sunset and moonrise view from the shard. The staff is extremely courteous and sweet. Ordered spinach and mushroom dumplings, and it was cooked to perfection. No sticky outer and flavourful. The chilli oil had shrimp, so the server helped us with fresh chilli and soy sauce dip. The chilli is some other flavour that I've never tried before and loved the packed heat. For mains, we had mapo tofu with sticky pickled fried rice, they're a perfect combination. Towards the end, had to separate chilli from the mapo tofu, but definitely a great meal. The bill was about 70 pounds, which I feel was good for the ambience, food and the views. read more
2 years ago
3 years ago
2 years ago
3 years ago
I was very impressed by the food, but even more impressed by the view. This is a truly beautiful restaurant, and everything was perfectly designed, plated, and served. We ordered a smattering of things from the menu, including the red lantern soft shell crab. It was as good as I remembered it from my trip to Hong Kong, where I tried the sister restaurant. However, we thought the dim sum was OK but not worth the price, and overall, walked away feeling a bit dissatisfied with the overall price of the meal. The view, though, was spectacular. We got to see all of London, and I guess that's what you're really paying for. We will be back when we have more money. read more
We really enjoyed our dinner or better to say our time here. tbh the food is not that good, I'd say average for the price but the overall location and ambience specially for a window table makes the experience nice and enjoyable. read more
2 years ago
4 years ago
A great overall experience at the Shard! My wife and I shared a wonderful evening with a fantastic view. We ordered from the a la carte menu (pictures attached). The drinks were refreshing and quite buzz worthy. The service was good satisfactory and honest which I really admire. The food was fresh and delivered to us promptly. Unfortunately no room for dessert, but again, the view was one of the best in London. #TheShard read more
4 years ago
For the taste of Chinese food 3 stars, the view 4 stars, the ambiance 1 star, and the service quality 0, that gives an average of 2 stars. If one has visited Manhattan, Shanghai, HK, Chicago, LA or any big city, one wouldn't be surprised by the pretty night light. What I couldn't get use to the noice level around us, I couldn't have a decent conversation with anyone. Other than the waitress frequently came by to tell us we had to hurry up to leave, I had a hard time to understand her. BTW, most of the service staff aren't Chinese that makes me wonder the food may not be too authentic, or just a pre-made then heated up to serve. read more
1 year ago
7 years ago
Dinner with an amazing view of London! We truly enjoyed our dinner at Hutong at the Shangri La Hotel in London. I had the crispy prawn rolls and a signature cocktail to start. I thought about ordering another round for my entree. It was so good. My companion ordered the whole sea bass and she was quite happy with it. I ordered the sautéed prawns with seafood fried rice for my entree. Good food, good drinks and a cool ambiance made for a great dinner. read more
3 years ago
3 years ago
In hindsight my previous review seems a little harsh as I was perhaps expecting too much and comparing the quality of food to that of the best of Chinese cuisine, as is what I expected at Hutong's prices and being located at such a prime spot in the Shard. Now I have come to appreciate the simple elegance of Hutong's decor and the novelty of the fantastic view it has of London. I visited again during the mid-autumn festival season this year and they had made the evening more special by hiring a Chinese calligrapher to write names and phrases for all guests, which was a nice touch. The food on the whole was good, especially the soft shell crab, which was uniquely presented in a bed of dried chillis. However, other than the view outside the windows, nothing stands out as being that exceptional for me so Hutong is worth a visit for a special occasion but seems more of an expensive novelty than a quality Chinese restaurant. read more
Easily a 5 star experience. From street level you have to go through an airport style security scanner. Then the elevator takes you directly up to the 32nd floor (the building I believe is 72 floors). Walk up an additional set of stairs and you reach Hutong serving up Northern Chinese style cuisine. It's a quite spacious bar and restaurant area. We were lucky to have a window table. The views are very cool from either side of the floor. It was an elegant and classy experience, assuming that you don't go to these kind of establishments every week. I do wish they would enforce the dress code more though. Maybe they could not afford to turn people away post Covid, or British people are just too polite calling people out on looking like slobs? Generally though, smart casual (the most ambiguous dress code) is accepted. Hosts and servers wearing PPE, although one guy was wearing his visor screen turned up at eye level, at which point you might as well take it off. No paper menus during Covid times. The urinals face floor to ceiling windows in case you want to be an exhibitionist and look at the Thames and Tower of London while peeing- well in case someone has 20/20 eye sight up to the 33rd floor, I say enjoy the show! The interior is black and red Chinese lanterns. Difficult to get an evening slot for dinner , but for the bar they don't take reservations. The food is made with what seems to be top ingredients that don't leave you feel sweaty and oily out of your poures. Even the fried food feels light. We started with the dim sum platter, where you get 8 pieces and a small savings compared to getting individual pieces. The rose champagne and shrimp was my favourite. For main course we tried Golden Jade Tofu and Fried noodles with vegetables. The tofu is made into three flat blocks, the surface around it is lightly fried, but the inside is soft. The yellowish sauce around it is tasty. The fried noodles are the flat and wide kind and also feel light. The right balance in all ingredients. The vegetable rice was good, but really should not have to be almost the same price as a main course. Apparently they don't sell just steamed white rice. The mango pudding with fruit salsa and mandarin sorbet was so good. Even with a little candle in it for our celebratory Occasion! Not too sweet of a pudding and the sorbet has obviously been kept at the correct temperature. Sone places do sorbet and it comes out super hard and icy on one side and watery on the other side. Not here, they know what they are doing. Service by Brandon was friendly, helpful, accommodating and we never had to wait too long or try hard to get his attention. Knowledgable and understanding with allergies. We were never made to feel stressed and rushed to leave our table for the next guests (which can be common at prime spots such as the Shard). This is now one of my favourite spots in London. I have to come back for the night time lights some time. Truly memorable experience. read more
3 years ago
The combination of great food, and a great view make this a fantastic restaurant. Definitely a little bit pricy, but the experience was worth it. We ordered the lotus meal, which was delicious. Having the food keep coming out is so satisfying. The waiters were really nice, and the bar made a fantastic non-alcoholic drink. Overall, I really enjoyed eating here. read more
Food was amazing, the starters really were my favorite part although that's a tough call! The service was perfect-- not too annoying but attentive. The ambiance along with decor was beautiful. The view was breath taking and it's a romantic spot! We went for our anniversary and couldn't think of a better choice (props to my bf) read more
6 years ago
3.5 stars. My friend and I wanted to go see the Shard and figured why not get dinner out of it and kill two birds with one stone. I reserved in advance and it was surprisingly not crowded (I visited during February). I was lucky to score seating near the windows, so I got a great view of the London skyline (The views from their restrooms are also amazing too). I ordered the dim sum platter even though it was evening (I'll have dim sum any time of the day). Their dim summer platter was an assortment of 8 dumpling pieces. Some of the dumpling pieces contained alcohol in it, so I requested they replace it with something else. They were very accommodating with that. The dim sum platter was good but definitely not worth the price. It's really an appetizer more than anything. I was probably paying for the views. Luckily, I had a heavy lunch and breakfast beforehand so I wasn't all that hungry. I also ordered one of their mock-tails, which was pretty good. They reduced our bill because the drinks took too long to come out, which was a very nice and unexpected courtesy. Not sure if I'd still come back though. read more
9 years ago
I was a little disappointed we tried to go for dinner around 4pm and they didn't have any tables available until 10:30pm so we went to the bar for drinks. It was very crowded and we were lucky to get the last two seats at the bar (there are also small tables in the bar area). It was slightly uncomfortable and boiling hot in the bar area. We were seated for about 5-8 minutes before any of the six bartenders even acknowledged us. They were very busy filling bar and table orders but also had their backs to us the whole time. We had to ask to order all of our drinks like we were interrupting them but when they did engage in conversation they were polite and seemed happy to chat. The drink menu has plenty of choices being 12 pages from signature cocktails, champagne, wines by the glass or bottle, to half bottles and virgin drinks. The cocktail options were in the £12-£18 range and the wines varying by type and region of the world. They did make the drinks with fresh juices, dried fruits and fresh garnishes. They had unique cocktails with varying liquor options too. We tried a gin drink, a tequila cocktail as well as a sambuca cocktail. They were all very different but very refreshing and balanced. I was a little disappointed in the small bite/snack selection. There were olives, three spring roll options and not much else. By far you are paying for the incredible views being on the 31st-33rd floor of The Shard. The views are incredible, even from the restroom and makes it worth the trip. read more
Well, the view was delicious and while we thought the food feel a little short of the Hong Kong location we still enjoyed it. The two detractions being the service and the Peking duck. Not bad but no Hong Kong. We still highly recommended, early dinner would be best time. Don't miss the men's restroom. Best dish shrimp ma la, but know it's hot. read more
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