The story
Hakkasan Mayfair, at 17 Bruton Street in London, is a Chinese restaurant recognised with a 2026 Michelin Recommended mention. Its Cantonese-rooted kitchen belongs to a group that began in London in 2001.
The kitchen combines authentic Cantonese recipes with contemporary influences, using traditional techniques and high-quality ingredients. The Good Food Guide rates it Good for 2026 and points to smoked pork ribs with jasmine tea and Singapore noodles topped with jumbo prawns. Dim sum served at lunch in the ground-floor dining room is a frequent highlight.
The wine list holds over 400 bottles, and the team tastes each one against the menu every week. A wine that fails to suit a single dish does not make the list. Interiors were conceived by Christian Liaigre, with dark wood screens, rich materials and soft, deliberate lighting.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
There had been high-end Chinese eateries in London before visionary restaurateur Alan Yau launched Hakkasan in 2001 but none that had made the concept approachably aspirational rather than simply offering dining rooms for the rich. This 2010 sequel keeps all that was ground-breaking about the Tottenham Court Road original but in a Mayfair location that seems a better fit for the high-octane glamour of it all. A mirror hanging above the staircase to the basement dining room emphasises that this is a restaurant where appearances are at a premium and, from the carved oriental screens and spot-lit tables to the scarily good-looking staff, Hakkasan Mayfair is not somewhere to slum it. Then again, this is food to dress up for. The Anglo-Chinese favourites can be pimped up with luxury produce – the Peking duck comes with the optional addition of beluga caviar – but all the ingredients here are top-notch (as indeed they should be at these prices) and the quality of cooking is unfailingly high. The pork ribs are smoked with jasmine tea, the Singapore noodles adorned with jumbo-sized prawns (rather than the usual sad specimens), soft-shell crab, squid and Dover sole are gently encased in the lightest of batters, while perfectly timed pak choi zings with fresh ginger. Balance is a hallmark of the Hakkasan kitchen, whether the genuinely sweet-and-sour Duke of Berkshire pork (a best-in-class rendition of the clichéd dish), the hot-and-sour crispy freshwater prawns with chillies and cashews (an update of the classic kung po), or the sharp and rich slow-roasted ibérico pork char siu coated with black garlic glaze, mustard dressing and pickled daikon. Wines from the style-led list will at least double the bill, while other drawbacks to dining here include tightly packed tables that allow easy eavesdropping and a throbbing soundtrack that would not be out of place in a nightclub. Natural light makes the ground-floor dining room-cum-lounge bar feel less claustrophobic, not least for daytime dim sum that is some of the best in London. But for special occasions – or any time you just want to feel special – Hakkasan Mayfair fits the sizeable bill.
Location
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