Riverside Cantonese Restaurant

Featured reviews

• G

  Google user

  ·1 month ago

  “Riverside Cantonese has been in its current location for around nine years, having previously operated from another site, and has been serving Cantonese food in Cardiff for over 40 years. The restaurant has a modern interior, with a visible kitchen, bamboo-style prints around the waiting area and spotlights. There’s a bar as you enter, with a low ceiling that opens into a higher-ceilinged dining area further inside, finished with attractive Art Deco-style lighting. We visited on a busy Saturday night over the bank holiday weekend, so booking is definitely advisable. The restaurant was full, as was the car park at the rear. We ordered the Sichuan monkfish, which unfortunately was rather salty and could have been served hotter, although it had a pleasant sour note. The tofu with pak choi was good, with a nice sauce and good flavours. The beef with aubergine was also enjoyable, particularly the soft, well-cooked aubergine. Given how busy it was, there was a bit of a wait for the food and the service was fairly minimal. Overall, the food was mixed, but the setting is modern and attractive, and the restaurant’s long history in Cardiff shows how well established it is locally.”

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• G

  Google user

  ·3 months ago

  “Abysmal experience all round. Sauce on my main tasted like it was from a jar and the other core ingredients tasted pre-cooked frozen. Main was served with an undressed salad of chopped iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato - zero effort or imagination from the kitchen resulting in an all round unpleasant plate of food. Despite having portable handheld card machines, this restaurant doesn’t accept contactless / apple pay - an obvious issue for me as this was the only payment method I had which meant I had to do a direct bank transfer. Not the first time I’ve done this in a restaurant, but the (who I assume) was the manager had to get involved to finalise this transaction. What resulted was a needlessly stressful and confrontational scenario. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a challenging and demeaning experience trying to give a business my money before. All the team need to do in this scenario in the future is keep the customer seated and politely say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll write down our bank details for you and you can pay via bank transfer’. Instead I was made to stand at the till and jump through hoops as if this shortcoming was all my fault. This restaurant is a blight on the Cardiff food scene. I would avoid at all costs.”

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• G

  Google user

  ·4 months ago

  “Didn't like the optional service charge which made paying an awkward moment. People dont like these and won't come again but everything else 5 star, great food and old fashioned good service”

• G

  Google user

  ·6 months ago

  “This is my favorite restaurant I have been doing here since it was opened originally in tudor Street. The food is so nice and fresh. It beats any other restaurant like it around”

• G

  Google user

  ·6 months ago

  “Food has declined rapidly over the past year. Visited with my partner and Mum for mother's day treat. Service was absolutely atrocious. Staff demanding. Food slow and wrong orders brought not once but twice. Drink order ignored. When collecting bill the female server had the worst attitude and practically demanded a tip. Assumed my partner was thick when he worked out half of the bill total and insisted that I used my calculator on my phone s. Very rude and we will never return again. Save your money and go elsewhere”

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• G

  Google user

  ·7 months ago

  “My partner and I have visited this restaurant several times over the years, and it has always held a special place for us. While we’ve noticed that the quality of the food has declined slightly over time, we still genuinely enjoyed most of the dishes on our recent visit. Many flavours were still very good, and we had hoped to continue returning as regular customers. Unfortunately, what truly disappointed us this time was the attitude of some members of staff. In particular, one of the senior staff members was noticeably rude. We have always been happy to leave a generous tip when we feel the service deserves it. However, on this occasion, he pointedly informed us that no service charge was included in the bill, in a way that felt less informative and more like a demand for a tip. This left us feeling uncomfortable. As a result, we chose not to leave a tip on this visit- purely because of the manner in which it was handled. When the staff member realised this, he openly expressed his frustration by shouting to a colleague about his disappointment, within earshot of us. This was quite unprofessional and awkward. It’s very unfortunate, as experiences like this overshadow what was otherwise an enjoyable meal. Sadly, this incident has put us off returning in the future.”

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• G

  Google user

  ·9 months ago

  “Came here for nye . Very busy but, staff were extremely attentive and polite and did so much to make the meal special. Food as per usual delicious, fair price and unique. It tastes premium. Lovely set up inside . This restaurant has existed for decades and eating here shows why. Will be back soon thanks again and happy new year.”

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• G

  Google user

  ·10 months ago

  “First time trying here and it didn't disappoint food was amazing and the service was great both the waiter and waitress were helpful with everything thing we ordered. I'd highly recommend trying this place. Hence the the 5 star”

• G

  Google user

  ·1 year ago

  “For over forty years this restaurant has been a favourite in the Welsh capital. Whilst the location has moved in the recent years, the food has always remained as good as it’s always been. Showcasing the finest Cantonese food in Cardiff. So this Sunday evening I took a good friend along to indulge and enjoy. For starters we had the veggie spring rolls, chicken and sweetcorn soup along with the scallops in deep fried batter. Prawn crackers are mandatory as anyone will tell you. They're always nice and fresh. Mineral water and soft drinks, no alcohol this evening. The fantastic Yung Chow fried rice always satisfies and tastes amazing. It had pork, chicken, prawn and veggies. When you had a touch of soy sauce, the taste is divine. Roast duck with ginger and spring onions and traditional roast duck were the mains ordered this evening. The duck was flavoursome, tender, crisp skin, sweet sauce hit the spot. The ginger and spring onion dish was also very tasty. Staff are always courteous, engaging and uber efficient. We enjoyed the rice so much, we ordered another portion. No service charge is added to the bill, so we tipped generously. Highly recommend.”

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• G

  Google user

  ·2 years ago

  “The Riverside Cantonese has to be the best Chinese Restaurant in Cardiff. The food is consistently good. The menu offers something for everyone and there's a good selection of lagers and wine. The staff are very efficient and also friendly. The Owner is also very pleasant.”