Mandarin Kitchen

Cooked king oyster, lobster noodles, and dover sole with chilli. These dishes are legendary here...

The lady who runs it knows her seafood, and so also a pleasure taking recommendations. Thing is, she always recommends those 3. And she's right.

My favorite.
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Family Jules
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, January 18, 2010

I will no longer go to this restaurant! I have been going for over ten years and my last stop is today!

The turbot was rubbery, the roast duck skin was soggy and the crab claws lacked seasoning, all in all, tasteless and poorly cooked. To top it off, their manager was highly argumentative, rolled her eyes at other customers, barely broke a smile and basically made us feel like she was doing us a favour!

However, the other waiting staff were very good and efficient, unfortunately, their manager and food let them down!
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Sunday, November 08, 2009

The best chinese restaurant I've ever been to!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, October 30, 2009

As a Canadian, I have heard many compliments about Mandarin Kitchen in London. I have therefore made it a must-go during this trip, and I was not disappointed a bit at all . In fact, I have even more praises for this restaurant myself. Granted, the decor isn't the most modern but it is above and beyond my expectation for a genuine Chinese restaurant. The managress was fabulous, very friendly and customer-oriented. We were totally taken care of by the manageress and her staff. The food was delicious. Lobster noodles, scallops, squid ... best seafood restaurant I have been since arriving at London 10 days ago. A must-go!
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Christina
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, October 01, 2009

I have eaten in this restaurant for more than 20 years but feel this was probably my last visit here.

Booked for 9p.m.. Finally shown to our table at 9.40pm after threatening to leave. The manageress was quite rude and unhelpful and seemed to want to blame and point the finger at anyone rather than take responsibility herself.

Roasted baby squid and soft shell crab were good but the steamed scallops were tough and overcooked and the fish maw seafood soup had the right consistency but tasted of little more than water. The signature baked lobster with ginger, spring onion on a bed of noodles was also very disappointing, being overcooked and glutinous, leaving an unpleasant coating and taste in the mouth.

The decor is tired, dirty in places and very dated now.

All in all a very disappointing experience.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

It had been 25 years since my last visit to the Mandarin Kitchen so I was keen to sample the food and ambience at one of my parents favourite haunts in the 80's. I always remember it being a busy place but as a child I wasn't a big fan of fish so I always pestered my parents to go to the "Good Earth" instead.

We walked in to the extremely busy restaurant on Thursday evening but were warmly greeted and the friendly chatty manageress found us a table straight away. I was pleased to see interior hadn't changed much with the 80's artex on the wall. The tables were very close together but I actually like that in a busy chinese. The clientele was a mixture of tourists, locals and large groups of chinese which is a good sign. We ordered a couple of starters: spring rolls (average) baked ribs (delicious and a huge portion) 2 mains ( prawns in chilli and garlic (delicious) smoked shredded chicken (tasty but needed a bit more finesse) and singapore noodles (lovely and moist). This was all washed down with plentiful tea.

All in all we had a great time. It may not be fine dining or starchy like "The Royal China" over the road but the staff here are friendly and they turn out great tasting food. We will definetly come back especially to try the house speciality of lobster and noodles.
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david ginsberg - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, July 20, 2009

I have been going to this restaurant for over 20 years. Best chinese/Seafood. Service is good, but food is mouth-watering. This is a must for any seafood or chinese food lover.
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Adil
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 17, 2009

Group of 6 went there June 27th. Had some delicious lobster, different types of prawns, the peking duck with pancakes. Everything was absolutely delicious and we were all very happy. Paid about £ 23 each and it was well worth it. Will go again and recommend this restaurant.

Bit noisy but it was Sat evening and the place was packed.
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Lisa
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Sunday, June 28, 2009

I first went to the Mandarin Kitchen in the late 90s after Andrew Lloyd Webber recommended the seafood in his review column. I've been back many times over the years but I have to say that it's not as good now as it was back then.
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Stan - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Sunday, June 07, 2009

went there just now!

what a delicious food they have there!

it was pure heaven!
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jess
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, May 10, 2009