15 Broadwick Street
W1F 0DL
Tel: 020 7494 8888
Date of Last Visit: Monday, February 12, 2007
The Victims: Nick and John
The Damage: Unknown. Nick paid.
The Background: Nick was in town from Chicago with his co-worker and very kindly suggested getting together for dinner. My boss has been to Yautcha and spoken highly of it, and I needed something suitably central. And you know I am a sucker for dim sum any time of day. So this was it.
The Arrival: It’s cool. And empty upstairs. But it’s Monday so that’s fine. I head downstairs (Oh how I hate stairs and heels. A terrible combination.) and Nick and John are already there, helping themselves to drinks. Which brings me to…
The Drinks: So they had this beer that was made by Sapporo, but it wasn’t Sapporo. And it was the only beer they had. I thought this odd. Surely they could have had a 2nd option? John went with whiskey, which I can see as an apertif, but whiskey and food? Hmmm.
The Service: Oh, I love empty restaurants where no one comes and waits on you. This tells me that there is just something fundamentally wrong, particularly when there are lots of staff. Also, restaurants where all the tables are empty, but they insist on sitting the only other party right next to you. (This is probably because of some weird thing with the wait staff table divisions, but who knows. It’s not like they explained it.) And then I love when you are annoyed that they put the only other party right next to you, but then they TOTALLY forget to wait on the other party, even though they are RIGHT THERE. I felt very bad for the poor French people.
The Food: Right on. Loved the ribs. Loved the dumplings. Loved the noodles. Loved the sticky rice in lotus leaves. Loved everything, actually.
The Loos: Loved the ladies’ sink! Very zen like. Hated the weight of the doors. Heavy suckers.
The Verdict: Hmmm. Only if I were famous and assured of fantastic service.
