Hakkasan is a modern Chinese restaurant which started in London and has since expanded to many cities. Their London locations have been awarded Michelin stars. The Vegas location opened in 2013 and I have always been curious about the food. I have been to the nightclub side a few times but always changed my mind last minute about dining in the restaurant. 1. I am from a city with tons of good authentic Chinese restaurants, 2. Spring Mountain in Vegas has tons of good Asian restaurants close by, and 3. Chinese food, done with a modern and high end concept, is very hard to pull off well without seeming overpriced or not authentic. On a recent trip to Vegas, I finally decided to give it a try.
We started with the Hakka Basket (assorted dim sum), crispy duck salad, and sesame shrimp toast.
This was followed by sea bass, and fried rice:
…and dessert…
Here’s my take. I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. My wife did not. She thinks its a “bit” better than Panda Express. I think the food was tasty, but if you are price sensitive and looking to compare it to what you could get at a more traditional Chinese restaurant, then you will be disappointed. I also enjoyed the experience taken as a whole, the music, the upbeat vibe etc. Service was pretty good. I would not go out of my way to eat here again, and I don’t particularly crave anything on the menu, but if you are looking for a night out, at a nicer venue with Chinese food that is tasty, then this would be a good choice. I would say they were successful for the most part in elevating the dishes and putting a modern touch on them. I have been to worse Asian restaurants trying to do a similar concept.