Kai Of Mayfair

Best Chinese in London. Wasabi Prawns, Chilean Seabass, Six Shades of Chocolate. 1 Michelin Star well deserved.

The food have less qualityWe have too order more and more dishes But i like the place where is nice atmosphere.

Amazing, some of the best Chinese modern food in London. Many vegetarian options, very quiet, so good for business meetings or going out with friends and family.
Every dish is a surprise.

All I can say is wow! This is by far the best Chinese restaurant in London. As expected for a Michelin star restaurant, the food is not cheap, but it is more than worth the price, as the food is second to none. The chicken is delicious, the noodles are amazing and the chilli rice is the perfect accompaniment to any meal. If you’re looking for a treat, or going out for a special occasion, definitely check it out!

This is hands down the best chinese restaraunt in the planet. The chef is a genious, Kai is a must for Chinese food lovers. The Lamb Shank Soup (not in the menu, they will be happy to prepare it though) is a must, the crispy duck as well as the Wasabi prawns is the best you will ever have.
Highly recomended!

A Michelin star well deserved. Not cheap. Odd location with a strange seating plan but the food is top notch. GO.

The fact that the name of this restaurant is the English translation of a Chinese name whilst the traditional character is nowhere to be seen in the logo, on the menu, or even in the shop front is a dead giveaway that the restaurant may have traditional roots but actually tries consciously hard to please the Western critics in order to achieve their Michelin Star status; thus everything from the food to the service to the decoration feels contrived.
What Kai has done very well is to make the most of the small space they have and arrange seating such that each party of people can feel accommodated with their own private space and no apparent time restrictions; as all too often restaurants fall into the trap of trying to squeeze too many people in for high turnover but sacrifice on the quality of the dining experience.
The food menu makes for an interesting read. The introduction boldly states that Kai’s philosophy of «Liberated Chinese Cooking» means «a strong respect for tradition and craft, an insatiable appetite for innovation and purpose and a clear & distinct personality in every dish». Yet interestingly when you access their menu online they have cut out this out; perhaps they realised they are not actually living up to these words? I do not think that keeping crispy duck, lobster and noodles, hot and sour soup and sweet and sour pork on the menu translates into having «a strong respect for Chinese tradition and craft» as these aren’t quite traditional Chinese cuisine and at least two thirds of the menu choices have questionable connection to any Chinese influence at all e.g. they have Lightly Roasted Norwegian Halibut, Pig in Blankets, Duke of Berkshire Pork, Pan-​fried Foie Gras, and Iberico Pork Loin (which includes Granny Smith jelly), then there is barely any hint of Chinese craft in the desserts which are prepared by a Polish chef and they is only 3 types of Chinese tea available. So you soon realise when it advertises itself online as having won recognition as the Best Chinese Restaurant in London this description is a bit of a stretch of the word Chinese.
The china and cutlery are noticeably plain, the pictures lining the walls are random and quite distracting and the ornaments are large and peculiar as if the restaurant is trying to be quirky and modern. The metal teapots in which they serve Chinese tea are impractical as they do not preserve the temperature of tea well unlike the more commonly used traditional porcelain teapots. There are also no tea leaves in the teapot as if it has been diluted.
The set menu includes as starters: Wasabi prawns (which were indeed intriguing and innovative and probably the best starter), ‘A Nest of Imperial Jewels’ (which was chopped prawns and mustard greens on a leaf of lettuce — not really deserving of its fancy name), Translucent ‘Shanghai’ noodle sheets (which was basically sheets of glass noodle, textured almost like cold Chinese seaweed, together with cucumber, chicken and sesame vinaigrette — my favourite starter), and Portobello mushroom (sliced mushroom dressed with soy vinaigrette, shallot oil and chopped coriander). So this gives a sense for why Kai earned their Michelin star as their food offers a good variety of textures, presentation and tastes — something for everyone’s liking.
For the main courses: Roasted Chilean Seabass (which served up well-​cooked succulent seabass doused in ‘a caramelised marinade of full-​bodied Chinkiang black vinegar syrup, mustard and soy with chickpeas, cherry tomato, shallots and ginger, which was indeed tasty but the added bits seemed excessive), Chicken Cashew Nuts (name missing the word «with»), Lobster & Lobster (which was your typical ginger and spring onion flavoured lobster with a bundle of soft noodles), Stir-​fried Broccolini, and Spice-​Scented Ginger and Sesame Oil Rice (which seemed like so-​called fragranced rice for novelty value as the flavours could barely be tasted).
Onto dessert, which proved to be the best portion of the meal. There were 6 shades of chocolate and nuts, Mandarin and Chocolate Fondant, and Christmas Cheesecake. All 3 options were stunning to look at, included multiple layers of texture and attention to detail, and were delicious. There was a delightful surprise post-​dessert as a range of petit fours («complements of the chef») were offered and these included a very unique rabbit-​sweet-​milk flavoured macaroon and a very rich good-​quality chocolate. One thing was for sure, the head pastry chef Szymon Grzanka could produce sweet «pieces of heaven» which may be why many of Kai’s other desserts had run out that evening.
So all in all, Kai certainly has its merits and shows creativity worth visiting, but the décor, names of dishes and even features such as chairs, china, teapots and toilets could do with more refining, and don’t expect Kai to represent traditional Chinese cuisine as it seems to have taken a detour to meet certain expectations, leaving behind traditional roots.

A very modern take on Chinese food with dishes served on an individual’s plate instead of having dishes in the middle to share. It’s high class there’s no doubt about it, and that’s reflected in the service and presentation. At first the miso soup was pretty average, I was expecting more mediocre Michilin starred food. But the main courses and dessert delivered great delicate flavours whether it was the fish courses or the roast pork. An excellent modern take on Chinese food.

Great Veg food

Phenomenal blend of contemporary and old school Chinese. Sauces were all extremely tasty. I enjoyed the «family style» element, sharing can be good, occasionally.
Very accommodating to my peanut allergy.
Will be back.

What happens when you are in London on a Friday night and you don’t make reservations in advance? It ain’t fun. After dilly dallying for a good couple of hours researching restaurants in Mayfair and SOHO for a nice Friday dinner with a friend and fellow foodie, I found that most places were totally booked up – but not Kai (via opentable affiliate TOPtable.
I’m not a big fan of Chinese food, but the menu here looked intriguing. The restaurant is attractive, and very vertical. Luckily we were seated on the main level and not in the basement (lower section). There were many wait staff, some who spoke good English and others that didn’t. For example, when we were seated one of the wait staff asked if we wanted something to drink. I asked, «do you have a full service bar?» and he looked at me strange. I then asked, «do you serve cocktails» and you would have though I asked if Cats from Mars had attacked London. I then said «like martinis?» and the poor Eastern European lad finally got it (not what I was expecting for such a highly rated restaurant — but then I did get a last minute reservation and they were not full this night).
Turns out they didn’t have the gin I wanted for a martini, so I got a T&T. For an appetizer I got the hot and sour soup since I noticed it had chunks of lobster in it. The soup indeed was full of chunks of tender lobster and it was a really good hot and sour soup. They served a side of chili oil to control the «heat». Thank God I tried a couple of spoon fulls of the soup cause «My mouth was on fire» w/​o the chili oil.
I got the Sea Bass filet (after some confusion with talking to another waiter where I learned they had two sea bass entrees). The one I got was the roasted sea bass with a caramelized black vinegar syrup, mustard and soy. It was served with chick peas and some other stuff. I have to say, the two filets were generous and the quality was excellent. However, it was too hot for me (I’m not a guy who likes really spicy food) and my mouth was on fire yet again from this dish.
My friend ordered a desert that was bleh and since it was Chinese new year we were given some candies, of which I ate one that tasted like chocolate fudge and was good.
Kai is better than Nobu around the corner but I doubt I will be back.

Friendly staff. Was excited to come here after watching them in Gordon Ramsey’s best restaurant show, especially since this is also a one Michelin star restaurant. Unfortunately, I have to say I was disappointed with the food. Although I would like to give it 3 stars, the food was not worth the price in my opinion, it also does not live up to the Michelin star standards I’m used to. I wouldn’t come back here to eat. But it is a nice restaurant with good service, so you should give it a try and see for yourself. I do love that they have fresh apples lined up against the whole right side of the wall when you enter the door, it smells wonderful.

The family had dinner here last week — after months and months of trying to book a table, but always leaving it too late, we finally got a table (yay to my sister taking initiative!). Was it worth it? Yes, definitely!
The food is really very good — some dishes obviously better than others. My dad loved the Chilean sea bass so much, that he ordered a second helping (it was his birthday, so he was allowed!). There are some more unusual dishes — like ostrich, which was cooked perfectly — moist and tender. My other half opted to have sweet and sour pork (to test whether you can tell the difference between normal sweet and sour pork and Michelin star quality sweet and sour pork. It was a great sweet and sour pork, but I think my mum makes just as good!) Of course, you do pay for the quality of the food — it’s one of those places that you can come to for a very, very special occasion unless you’re loaded. The nice touch was that the kitchen made my dad a special birthday cake (it was complimentary, which was a bonus) — although, we mentioned it to dad a bit too late and he’d ordered dessert already. Never seen my dad so happy during a meal before!
Worth a visit at least once in your life…

For photos and complete review, please go to

For a weekend lunch, Kai was not overly busy and we were given a choice of tables. Our impressions did not start well due to a number of incidents. The pair of chopsticks laid on the table on my side was not clean and it still had some food crust stuck to it. Inexcusable really.
It also took forever for the waiter to come back to get our orders. We practically looked around and had to wave for quite a while before we caught the attention of another waiter that was serving a different table. He had to call ours back from goodness know where. Our waiter took our orders and then we saw him just wandering around while I was still waiting for my replacement chopsticks. I seriously am not impressed with this guy.
Before our starters arrived, we were served an amuse bouche of Miso soup with Enoki mushrooms, goji berries and tofu. I was thinking miso soup in Chinese cuisine?
This had chilli flakes in it which gives it a spicy tang and there was a Chinese flavour to the soup which distinguishes it from the Japanese version. This was very much enjoyed.
The entrees were a bit of a disappointment. Both were very subtle flavours and lack that kick or depth to round out the balance. It didn’t help that due to the heighten spiciness in the amuse bouche, the delicate flavours of the entrée were overpowered which makes it lack the final punch even more.
We were served another amuse bouche next which we were told is a palate cleanser. It was a sorbet made with blood orange. Very refreshing and citrusy.
The two amuse bouche should have been swapped around. The refreshing citrus would have made the delicate flavours of the entrée stand out more while the heavier spicy miso soup would not have taken away the stronger flavours of the mains.
Needless to say, not very impressed so far and when asked by a differed waiter who came to clear our plates, that was what we said.
Lamb was cooked to medium and the texture played really well with the turnip cake. The turnip cake was wonderfully delicious with crispy skin and a moist turnip filling.
I was equally impressed with my Chilean Seabass. The sauce had different base notes and I could detect tomato sauce and chillies. After the dish my tongue tingled almost like it has awakened my taste buds and leaves u wanting more.
It was a full turn around and the mains were in a different league to the entrees that was eaten earlier. There were complexities to the flavours of the mains and most surprisingly, the mains have been tweaked to suit the western palate without compromising on the Chinese flavours. It was a very successful marriage as we were able to taste the Chinese elements in both mains. It actually left us wanting to come back to try others such as their sweet and sour dish which is a classic Cantonese cuisine and even their BBQ pork ‘char siu’ and roast pork ‘siu yuk’ to see what they can do to elevate it.
There was only one choice with dessert. Before we had ours, we noticed that the gentleman at the next table did not touch the pears at all. We assumed that it must not be great and the chestnut parfait would be the better of the two.
Were we pleasantly wrong about this. The Nashi pears slices still had its crunchy texture and works really well with the red wine, cinnamon and chocolate sauce that coated it. The chestnut parfait was actually the weaker of the two with the chestnut flavour being too mild.
We had a different waiter from the mains onwards and he was so much better which made our experience all the more pleasurable.
At the end, there were a tray of petit fours.
We started with the one in the middle which turned out to be Passion fruit macaroon with coconut flakes. This was followed by Buttered cake with a nutty crunch top layer that had been topped with sugar to give it that sticky caramelisation.
Next was a chocolate with White choc coffee ganache followed by a Salted caramel ganache.
The last two was a chocolate with what tasted like whipped Butterscotch Caramel and the other a glutinous sponge texture with peanuts.
Special mention has to be given to the wine pairings as well. For the mains, it was Mourvèdre, Hewitson ‘Old Garden’ from Barossa Valley, South Australia which was really unique and went really well with the mains. For the dessert pairing, I could not remember the name but it was a wine that had additional spirits added to upp the alcohol level. Excellent!
The set lunch with matching wines is £39 and without is £27 not including service. I think that the set lunch is well worth it and I left Kai feeling satisfied and impressed. Definitely coming back to try the ‘Classic platter of honey roasted ‘char siew’ and crispy pork belly’, especially when it has this description «After 2 weeks intensive travelling to 5 cities and 20 restaurants eating our weight in char

For a weekend lunch, Kai was not overly busy and we were given a choice of tables. Our impressions did not start well due to a number of incidents. The pair of chopsticks laid on the table on my side was not clean and it still had some food crust stuck to it. Inexcusable really.
It also took forever for the waiter to come back to get our orders. We practically looked around and had to wave for quite a while before we caught the attention of another waiter that was serving a different table. He had to call ours back from goodness know where. Our waiter took our orders and then we saw him just wandering around while I was still waiting for my replacement chopsticks. I seriously am not impressed with this guy.
Before our starters arrived, we were served an amuse bouche of Miso soup with Enoki mushrooms, goji berries and tofu. I was thinking miso soup in Chinese cuisine?
This had chilli flakes in it which gives it a spicy tang and there was a Chinese flavour to the soup which distinguishes it from the Japanese version. This was very much enjoyed.
The entrees were a bit of a disappointment. Both were very subtle flavours and lack that kick or depth to round out the balance. It didn’t help that due to the heighten spiciness in the amuse bouche, the delicate flavours of the entrée were overpowered which makes it lack the final punch even more.
We were served another amuse bouche next which we were told is a palate cleanser. It was a sorbet made with blood orange. Very refreshing and citrusy.
The two amuse bouche should have been swapped around. The refreshing citrus would have made the delicate flavours of the entrée stand out more while the heavier spicy miso soup would not have taken away the stronger flavours of the mains.
Needless to say, not very impressed so far and when asked by a differed waiter who came to clear our plates, that was what we said.
Lamb was cooked to medium and the texture played really well with the turnip cake. The turnip cake was wonderfully delicious with crispy skin and a moist turnip filling.
I was equally impressed with my Chilean Seabass. The sauce had different base notes and I could detect tomato sauce and chillies. After the dish my tongue tingled almost like it has awakened my taste buds and leaves u wanting more.
It was a full turn around and the mains were in a different league to the entrees that was eaten earlier. There were complexities to the flavours of the mains and most surprisingly, the mains have been tweaked to suit the western palate without compromising on the Chinese flavours. It was a very successful marriage as we were able to taste the Chinese elements in both mains. It actually left us wanting to come back to try others such as their sweet and sour dish which is a classic Cantonese cuisine and even their BBQ pork ‘char siu’ and roast pork ‘siu yuk’ to see what they can do to elevate it.
There was only one choice with dessert. Before we had ours, we noticed that the gentleman at the next table did not touch the pears at all. We assumed that it must not be great and the chestnut parfait would be the better of the two.
Were we pleasantly wrong about this. The Nashi pears slices still had its crunchy texture and works really well with the red wine, cinnamon and chocolate sauce that coated it. The chestnut parfait was actually the weaker of the two with the chestnut flavour being too mild.
We had a different waiter from the mains onwards and he was so much better which made our experience all the more pleasurable.
At the end, there were a tray of petit fours.
We started with the one in the middle which turned out to be Passion fruit macaroon with coconut flakes. This was followed by Buttered cake with a nutty crunch top layer that had been topped with sugar to give it that sticky caramelisation.
Next was a chocolate with White choc coffee ganache followed by a Salted caramel ganache.
The last two was a chocolate with what tasted like whipped Butterscotch Caramel and the other a glutinous sponge texture with peanuts.

Amazing food, probably one of the best Chinese restaurants I have been in London. Had the private room and the service was excellent, staff was really nice!
Just think its a bit overpriced, but well, that is Mayfair for our pockets.
Also, the food might be really good (still didnt liked the spicy soup they served me) but I think the portions are ridiculously small… still I give it 4 stars for the quality.

To preface, I believe Unilocal review should be food-​centric, that’s why I am giving it an «A-​Ok» 3 stars. If it were for some travel or «experience» website, I’d be a lot more generous with the rating.
I had to do a business diner and the requirement is Chinese. The recommendation came from a bunch of I-​bankers, none are Chinese or Chinese foodie as far as I know but all unanimously pointed to this one as «the best» in London, so imagine my suspicion level (about the food only, I knew everything else would be beautiful).
Everything else WAS beautiful. Décor is elegant and delicately luxe without being pretentious. Top notch professional services; the staff know how to be attentive yet discreet if you need to talk business in the private room.
Now the food. As one Unilocaler put it well… nothing tasted bad, but nothing was attention grabbing. You certainly notice other things more than the taste of the food itself, like how exquisitely every dish was presented with thoughtful design and coordination with serving vessels and cutlery. It’s almost like the taste of the food became the least important or the most forgettable aspect of the dining experience. I cracked up when walking out of the restaurant, the very people whom I’d try to impress with «Chinese food» told me they didn’t realize they were in a Chinese restaurant.
All said, this is an excellent place to have a good dining experience especially if on business account. Don’t go there to fix your craving for Chinese food.

Hmm.
Basically, fine but not as good as it should be.
Décor is hotel luxe — dark wood and white carpets. Service is friendly but not quite up to the level it should be for the price.
Food is a mix of fusion (wasabi prawns) and westernised Chinese — crispy duck, sea bass etc. Deserts are good but western.
In essense, this is really ‘Chinese’ food for the expense account crowd. You won’t have anything bad, but this is not really up to the price/​location standard it aspires to, and you could have a much better meal for the money.

This is a very nice looking restaurant. The staff were very well dressed and the inside was very well lay ed out.
The clientele at this restaurant was quite uptight and stuffy.
The main thing you come for to a good restaurant is food. When you pay good money for the food, you also expect it to be good. So in a few words, I have much better Cantonese and Schezuan food at ¹⁄₁₀ of the price.
Their meat dishes, Ostrich and Chicken (Phoenix) was good. Their deserts were quite good but was very western.
I will not be back here for sure.

I don’t go to London so much any more, but for about 10 years, I went 3 or 4 times a year on business. When my oldest was in 8^th grade, I took her along with me, and then when my middle guy hit 8^th grade, I took him. When the littlest munchkin hits 8^th grade, I’ll find some reason to need to go to London again I’m sure.
Kai’s was the one common denominator in each of the trips where a kid was with me. It’s just a short walk from the Park Lane Hotel, where I like to stay in London, but that’s a different review.
As great as San Francisco is for food, the two things missing are excellent creative Indian and Chinese cuisine, served in really elegant surroundings. For Chinese, Tommy Toy’s is quite nice, but the food is just ok.
Kai’s is every bit as elegant as Tommy Toy’s (and WAY less pretentious), but the food is spectacular. Years later, my kids still talk about the excellent lean Peking Duck with the warm, just slightly crusty chinese buns. Everything else was great too and, just as important, was presented beautifully and at just the right time. I can not recall experiencing more professional, gracious service anywhere. When we declined desert, a complimentary covered plate of chocolates, served atop dry ice was brought for each of us anyway. Very little thrills a kid more than dry ice «smoke,» but when you throw chocolate in to the mix, the thrills are off the charts.
The prices are truly sphincter-​tightening however, so be prepared for that. But I have to say, a meal at Kai’s might be one place where the meal is worth every shilling.