Yauatcha

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Modern Tea House in the Heart of Soho

When Yauatcha opened on Broadwick Street in Soho in 2004, it earned immediate critical acclaim — including a Michelin star — and a place among the world's most talked-about restaurants, reaching No. 43 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2005. Two decades on, the Soho original remains a benchmark for Cantonese dim sum in London, and one of the few restaurants anywhere to have genuinely created a category rather than joined one.

The concept is built around the traditional Chinese teahouse — what Yauatcha calls a "chatter house" — reimagined as an all-day social space. The interior, designed by Christian Liaigre, opens directly onto the kitchen, so the craft behind each basket and parcel is visible from the street.

Dim Sum as a Daily Language

The menu follows a "core and peripheral" philosophy rooted in Cantonese food culture. The core dishes are the staples that anchor any serious dim sum offering: har gau, shu mai, cheung fun, char siu bun, sticky rice in lotus leaf, taro croquette, venison puff, pan-fried turnip cake, and congee. Specific signatures include Scallop shui mai, Prawn and beancurd cheung fun, and Venison puffs — steamed, baked, and fried preparations that reflect the full range of the tradition. Seasonal and regional influences appear as peripheral dishes, rotating to reflect personal preference and contemporary Cantonese cooking rather than fixed convention.

Bloomberg put it plainly: "Yauatcha serves dim sum you'd be happy to eat in a luxury Hong Kong hotel." Luxury Lifestyle Magazine called it "some of the best dim sum outside of China."

Beyond the Dim Sum Basket

What sets Yauatcha apart from any other Cantonese restaurant in the city is the patisserie counter. Yauatcha was the first — and remains the only — restaurant to combine Chinese dim sum with European patisserie under one roof. The offering includes petits gâteaux, macarons, and chocolates that draw on Chinese ingredients and seasonal inspiration, available both as a dessert course and to take away. Condé Nast Traveller described them as "the perfect combination you look for in a grown-up dessert."

The drinks programme is equally considered. Over 24 teas sourced from China, Taiwan, Japan, India, South Africa, Egypt, and Paraguay are listed alongside cocktails built on Chinese ingredients and a broad wine and Champagne selection.

From Soho to the City

The success of the Soho restaurant led to the opening of Yauatcha City at Broadgate Circle in May 2015, extending the same all-day Cantonese dim sum experience into London's financial district — complete with private dining rooms and a weekend Infinite Yum Cha brunch. The Soho address on Broadwick Street remains where the story began.