Peking Duck Peking Duck

Crispy duck with a delightful combination of tender meat, served with pancakes and hoisin sauce.

Mandarin Palace

Mandarin Palace

197-201 High St, RM11 3XT, Hornchurch, United Kingdom

Pizza • Sushi • Mexican • Asiatic


"After living in Hornchurch all my life, I decided to try the Mandarin Palace with a friend on a Friday night. We chose the set menu and asked one of the servers if we were able to swap some of the dishes on the menu (for other items which were similar in price) and she said that this was not a problem. When another server came over to take the order we were told that we were only able to swap 2 dishes. The starters were good (satay chicken, seaweed, ribs, spring roll, sesame prawn toast) and so were the duck and pancakes.. the main dishes did not live up to the same expectations sadly. The dessert from the set menu was fruit and a blob of vanilla ice cream and we asked if we could swap this dessert for just some ice cream but this was refused. It was tinned fruit and nothing special, cheap vanilla ice cream with some squirty strawberry sauce on top, surrounded by a grape, a clementine segment and a small square of melon. I did not see how two scoops of chocolate ice cream would have been an issue. It is very clear on the menu that a discretionary 10% is added to the bill, however we did not wish to pay the service charge as we felt that the service was not anything special (and the fact we weren’t able to swap tinned fruit for some ice cream also) and we had already paid enough for our food as it was more expensive than other places in the area. When the bill arrived, I advised that we are just going to pay for our food/drinks and we do not wish to pay for the service charge and the server asked what the problem was. I said that there wasn’t a problem, it is because it is discretionary. She said that she would have to get the manager and walked off. When she returned with the amended bill, this was in a stroppy manner, nothing further was said and we were made to feel unwelcome. We paid the bill and when we left no one said goodbye. We will not be returning sadly. Attitude around a discretionary service charge, when the food is expensive already and average is not really acceptable. Would maybe expect this charge from a restaurant in central London, but not from a local Chinese."

Tai Pan

Tai Pan

Brunswick House, 81-97 Upper Brook Street, Manchester, United Kingdom

Vegan • Cakes • Chinese • Vegetarian


"We have visited Tai Pan now Tai Wu many times before. We love the food. Our children has come back for Easter and hence we decided to have lunch at Tai Wu, Manchester, Sunday the 7th of April. I did call up to book a place but was told that just turn up. So I thought, it must be quiet. Wrong!! Massive queue. Nevermind, you have to wait for good things in life. So we settled down to wait and eventually was led to a table. Wait for it, Table 13! Maybe that was an omen. We ordered drinks, starters and main course all at the same time. Drinks and starters were served in due course and then there was a long gap. We had some left overs from starters, seeing that the waitress gave us some take away boxes, which we thought were strange as usually that is given at the end of the meal. Still waiting. It was very difficult to get any attention of any of the waiters but eventually caught the eye of one. We explained that we have not been served the mains. It was getting late and we did not want to get caught up in the football traffic as Man Utd was playing Liverpool. The waiter apologised and we asked to take away the main course rather than eating there. That spoiled the whole experience. On top of that we had to pay for the service charge as well which should have been waived. I have emailed the restaurant about our experience but did not receive any acknowledgement and hence putting it out here. However, the food remains excellent and up until the mains, we were having a good time. Hopefully, this is a one off!"

Golden Phoenix

Golden Phoenix

37-38 Gerrard Street, City Of London,Westminster, United Kingdom, W1D 5QB, City of London,Westminster

Asian • Cakes • Chinese • Vegetarian


"16 of us pre booked for a works party, early evening. We’d booked 8 weeks in advance (we struggled to find a restaurant in Chinatown large enough to accommodate us) and paid a deposit. Firstly, we phoned to say we were going to be an hour later than planned the restaurant was fine with this. Secondly, we moved the tables around and the waiting staff got a bit grumpy (fair enough). Once we explained what we wanted to do, the staff were super helpful and suggested (and moved the tables and chairs) to a more efficient way of achieving the goal. Service was great – really efficient and helpful. Granted, service was not always with a smile, but I think that’s just the way the restaurant worked. We had a bit of an accident and spilled drinks (beer and boiling hot tea) over an innocent member of our company (luckily he mostly dodged the boiling drink). The staff were amazing and cleared this away really efficiently. I had a word with the head waiter afterwards and had a good joke about it – he was great when you spoke to him directly, he’s seen it all before. Food – really tasty. We were not expecting too much, but the roast crispy duck was great (lovely and crispy), the squid was amazing. Everything we had was delicious (set menu for 6 £39 I think). The rice was excellent, so many juicy prawns and meat bits. Even the stir fried veg was great. One of our party moaned it lacked flavour – they were wrong – I would have loved to get some to takeaway (with a meat dish too of course). Conclusion – great service, great food, prices decent. What’s not to like? I will be going back (probably by myself so I can choose what I want all to myself). Wish I’d had the crispy chilli beef, looks good. Thanks Golden Phoenix!"

The Sussex Exchange

The Sussex Exchange

Enviro21 Park Queensway Avenue South, Hastings I-TN38 9AG, United Kingdom

Fish • Vegan • British • Vegetarian


"I ordered a chicken burger, and when it arrived, I was disappointed to find only a tiny dollop of sauce inside and wilted lettuce, as if it had been under a heat lamp for too long. One of our burgers contained a hair, prompting the guest to stop eating immediately. We flagged down our waitress, who was genuinely apologetic and said she would inform her manager. A few minutes later, the manager came over but told us she couldn’t do anything since the burger was mostly eaten. How could we identify a hair without taking a few bites? We insisted on speaking with the manager, and the waitress volunteered to take one of our guests to her. Eventually, the manager arrived, inspected the plate, and bombarded us with questions like “Where is the hair?” and “How long was it?” She then took the plate to the kitchen for better light. About 5 to 10 minutes later, a man in a white shirt approached us—likely a manager or security guard. He also asked questions but soon became rude and dismissive when we tried to explain. He insisted that everyone in the kitchen had short hair and wore hats and hairnets. Throughout this ordeal, we remained polite, responding to their inquiries honestly. After some back-and-forth, where they suggested we might be faking the incident, we pointed out that a camera near our table could provide evidence of the incident. He walked away without any further communication and did not return. The way this situation was handled was completely unacceptable and soured what was meant to be a special birthday meal, for which we traveled over an hour. After finishing our meal, another waiter approached us and simply asked “Amount?” which caught us off guard, as we hadn’t even received a bill yet. Following the hair incident, we noticed security peering around the corner, making us feel as though we were under suspicion. On a positive note, our waitress was lovely and very apologetic about the whole situation, consistently checking to ensure we had what we needed throughout the evening. However, for a £500 bill, I expected significantly better service."