Candid Outlook : Hutong, The Shard

Hutong, The Shard

Despite, the positive connotations given to this restaurant, I was not impressed by the food or the service. On arrival to the Shard, I was welcomed by a friendly hostess who checked for the reservation. Once the reservation was found, I was seated at a window-side table which was okay. The view from the table was the train tracks of London Bridge and a few other buildings. I went to the restaurant during the week at lunch time. It was quiet as expected which was nice because I felt the service would be very personalized and efficient. However, it felt like it took twice as long to get the waiter’s attention and even longer to wait for the food.

The best dish I had at Hutong was the ‘prawn toast’. Now, this is not your regular frozen prawn toast which you will receive from a Chinese takeaway. In fact, the prawns tasted fresh, seasoned and were presented in a soft pastry parcel. I had really high expectations after eating this as a starter, but this was a one off.

The main was unmemorable – something along the lines of sweet and sour chicken accompanied with noodles. The taste was average, the sweet rich orange sauce with an abundance of vegetables and bits of chicken. However, the main was nicely presented, even after a wait of 25 minutes.

To finish off the bitter-sweet experience, I ordered a safe option for dessert. The dessert was a cross between a sorbet and pudding. The flavours were tangy, sweet and sour – a mango/lemon flavour with some red berries on the side.

All in all, the restaurant is average – it is not somewhere I would recommend for a birthday, celebration or event. It is more suitable for a light lunch, work meeting or somewhere to take impressionable clients.