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Been here a few times, they have pretty authentic Chinese food. Certainly recommend the place. Try some of the non-standard dishes and not the usual f…
Haim Sommervile
The Beijing Restaurant
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I was brought here by friends who frequent the restaurant often. Tried the 'Sichuan spicy fish slices with vegetables' and it was delicious. However, …
Michelle M Almeida
The Beijing Restaurant
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Food was DELICIOUS. Especially the seafood, crispy prawns to be exact. Reasonable pricing. Easy going service and nice quite atmosphere. Nicely locate…
Naomi-Lee Tuhaka
The Beijing Restaurant
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The Beijing Restaurant is open for Casual Dining. The Beijing Restaurant serves Chinese dishes. Incorrect or missing information? Make a report, or claim the restaurant if you own it!Details
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8 Reviews on “The Beijing Restaurant”
I was brought here by friends who frequent the restaurant often. Tried the ‘Sichuan spicy fish slices with vegetables’ and it was delicious. However, what I enjoyed even more was what my friend ordered. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was basically something like soy pork that you could roll into rice wrappers with a salad and grated fried potatoes. Great service, comfortable seating and ambience, and decently priced. A good experience overall.
Food was DELICIOUS. Especially the seafood, crispy prawns to be exact. Reasonable pricing. Easy going service and nice quite atmosphere. Nicely located in the middle of Newtown. No photos because we were all too hungry and ate our entrees before we could reach for our phones.
My partner and I ordered our first takeaway from here this evening (we wouldn’t dine in since the decor is stuffy and dated) and (for the first time in our lives) we had to return it. To begin with, it was barely even warm. The ‘roasted duck slices in Beijing sauce with pancakes, spring onion and salad’ was a very small portion of shredded fatty scraps, while the salad was minimal, dry and old (cucumber shouldn’t bend 180 degress). For nearly $30 we didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when we saw it. The egg fried rice was salty stodgey rubbish you could get for half the price or less elsewhere, and the chicken with cashew nuts was also an insipid rip off. To top it all off when my partner went to return it, the chef owner came over and, rather than asking questions or apologising, started arguing with him. Still, he managed to get a refund after ten minutes.We don’t ask for much of a chinese takeaway, but for those prices I feel like they are trying to rip people off, hence I have written this, the first online food review I’ve bothered writing.
Beijing is one of Wellingtons culinary institutions – it’s been there so long that it’s easily forgotten but it never should be. The food isn’t fussy or fusion or faddish – it’s honest to its origins and rarely fails to please. It has a great reputation, and you should not be dissuaded by the commonplace decor or unpreposessing surroundings. Recommend highly!
Terribly disappointed at small servings of main dishes. Felt very ripped off by prices of $18.50 each for a very small plate of chicken cashews and ginger beef. Food tasted okay but not worth the cost. Won’t go back again. Banana fritters rather pathetic as it was half a banana sliced in half again and deep fried and served with a small dollop of ice cream. My plate was chipped.
I’ve run across a couple of self proclaimed Wellingtonian foodies who have never been to the Beijing. It’s possibly the fear of entering newtown and it’s certainly an oxymoron. Beijing is one of wellingtons culinary institutions – it’s been there so long that it’s easily forgotten. Tucked in behind the lights on constable street the frontage isn’t obvious, and the net curtains don’t give much away. A single square dining area – a huge photo of a temple in Beijing – a glass fronted kitchen – that’s all. The service can be variable – sometimes English is very much a second language with the young and sometimes inexperienced wait staff. But that’s ok – maybe they are family, students, I don’t know – but they aren’t arrogant or disinterested and in some ways it’s a little funny.I’ve been here for family occasions on maybe thirty occasions – often for birthdays and when the kids are home. It’s a favorite with grandparents.Last year we hosted the Australasian symposium of gastronomy in Wellington and for its dinners chose Nikau and the Beijing. It was a mark of recognition both for the quality of the food, it’s consistency and the extraordinary talent of its cook over so many years. To watch him cook for a full house, almost alone, is to watch a real master. The energy he puts into it I don’t think is sustainable forever and one day the building will probably become just another op-shop. Before then I suggest you go if you haven’t and spend a few glances at the guy with the pans.The food isn’t fussy or fusion – it’s honest to its regional origin. My favourites – the duck and pancakes of course, a cold chicken entree in s spicy sauce , the inside out fish still amazes me. Dessert includes the classics from my childhood. One suggestion is to order the apple slices in caramel and a bowl of cold water. Instead of eating the hot gooey caramel as is, try dipping them quickly in the water – they then become shatteringly delicious and crisp. This restaurant is special.
I think they Beijing have missed the point that it’s not just the food people go back for. There was no dialog with the staff, even when paying. It wasn’t particularly busy. The atmosphere in the restaurant could benefit from from some warmth from a heater and from the staff.