Garden Restaurant (Chinese Cuisine) Eastbourne (蜀湘园） in Eastbourne

We’ve been there twice when it was supposed to be open but wasn’t. Yesterday lunchtime, 01/05/24, there was a sign up stating “Closed for refurbishment”. We hope this restaurant will be back soon.

Try this place , For me this is the one of the best Chinese , they will cook for you fresh and it’s so tasty not salty , highly recommended 😁 nice place 😆

Advertised as a buffet but not a buffet. They also seem to have children working here. How is this legal?

A set-price, all you can eat, and very good value lunch from a fairly varied menu, but with rather limited vegetarian options. Inevitably, the service was a little slow, but this is partly because all the smallish dishes are freshly cooked to order, and the restaurant was busy for a mid-week lunchtime. The Chinese food was tasty and delicious, but the desserts - mainly tinned fruit, ice cream, and profiteroles - were nothing to get excited about! The service was friendly and attentive. Incidentally, payment is taken before you start eating.

Excellant food, but very poor service, as not enough staff on duty, and when queried on how long food would be waiting staff where shouted at by back of house staff.

This review is for their takeaway service so i cant rate the atmosphere. I love this restaurant, the food is so delicious I don't go anywhere else for asian food. can't recommend more highly. 😍

Wonderful place, really lovely freshly cooked food, great selection. Nice friendly staff, big airy space. Ooh and nice pudding selection too 😋

AVOID THIS PLACE, they get you to pay first and no wonder, had to write our own order on pieces of paper, not everything arrived that we requested, what did was warm at best, after 2 hours & half of what was ordered half the party of 7 walked out. Very disappointed.

A table of 7 booked for 6pm. The table wasnt ready, that was the start of things I walked out after 2 hrs half the food hadn't arrived, what did wasn't hot. No wonder they get you to pay before you eat .

Food was freshly cooked to order and was very good. The owners (front of house and chef) were gentle, friendly and sweet-natured. However, we waited for a while for menus once we were seated and the food warmers gave the impression it was help yourself but it was not. We also did not realise that alcoholic drinks should be ordered and paid for as you go at the bar. So we eventually ordered dinner, paid for dinner, ate (a very yummy) dinner and then left! As mummies of youngsters, we felt very uncomfortable that an eleven year old seemed to be working all evening and, based on previous reviews, this is quite the usual Saturday night for him. Although he was very polite and did a brilliant job! The customer toilets are also in need of a good clean and possible refurb.

Ate a la carte here today with family, delicious Sichuan cuisine and lovely service. Thank you!

Very friendly staff, the food came quickly between each order and was freshly cooked and hot. Very tasty and well cooked dishes, crispy dishes were crispy and the meat was tender.

Nice food, good service especially from the owner’s son😊

We were a bit wary after previous reviews but we absolutely loved it ...you order and they cook it for you ...one price as much as you like ... freshly cooked ...I fell in love with their youngest waiter Robert ..and I love the family atmosphere...we were made very welcome by mum who is front of house and her two lovely sons ! We will definitely be back and I will re order the custard buns they were amazing 😍

They are VERY VERY SLOW! 45minutes in between dishes. Eating here took forever! It's a shame as the food was nice but the service was not. Many tables in there all complained and even walked out before finishing.

Traditional Chinese local food; buffet lunch is ideal; tasty and authentic with good selection available

Just collected a good 2 go order. It was terrible. It was full of bones, no meat. One carrot and some onions. No flavour. I will definitely not be going there again ever. Please take my advice and don't waste your money. You get scraps you wouldn't even feed the dog !!!!

Absolutely appalling! They changed the policy from buffet in which the food displayed and ready to having to order to cook first. Service is so slow when there are onlg 3 tables occupied and they were very misleading as the buffet containers are still on display ehile empty so we thought it was like before. The lady did NOT tell us that we have to order to cook prior to making us pay. We've already payed once she gave us the menu to choose from. You can choose as many dishes as you like but you have to wait a long time before it arrives and you cannot order starters and main dishes at the same time. Each time you order, your plates must be empty first. DISAPPOINTING 'BUFFET'!! Not worth the EXPENSIVE price. Do not come here if you are hungry. For my fellow asians. Your rice wouldve been cold before your main dish arrives.

Price does not reflect what you get, no longer buffet, poor service, rubbish food. Disappointing experience.

It was nice to see the old Cosmo refurbished but the new style of service where we were asked to pay before eating and only given a receipt on request is not good enough. Generally the food was bland. The crispy aromatic pork was so crisp that it could have been wood, the spring onions were hard as wood and the pancakes were cold and felt like plastic. The rest of the dishes were very bland. There is a distinct lack of fish and seafood on the menu as well. No dishes were brought to the table with serving spoons and no change for clean plates, napkins or cutlery was offered. I will definitely will not be coming back

We have been coming to this restaurant when it was called Cosmo for almost 20 years ! And after the change in name and owners and its brand new buffet style ordered separately from an a la carte menu, it is s superb ! you can order what you like no limit at all and everything is cooked fresh to order,We really went to town and now I am stuffed and happy. Give it a try , you won't be disappointed <3

Now it's an a la carte style buffet, so all the food is fresh and piping hot. Very fast and tasty on all dishes. I highly recommend giving this place a try. The only issue is that the restaurant temperature is quite cold.

Great food, great service highly recommended Came here for lunch menu

I saw the bad reviews, but thought I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. Food tasted awful, and certainly wasn’t fresh considering it was supposed to be “cook to order”. All the meat tasted processed and tasted like it was gone off. Very disappointed.

Overpriced for the lack of variety offered, the food that was on offer was not great quality, poor customer service and was not a good experience for the family, we was truly disappointed.

After eating here I was vomiting after a few hours. Hadn't eaten anything else so I'm rather sure it was from the food here. Telephoned them to make them aware to be told to go to hospital. Tried to tell them A & E was for emergencies and wasn't going to waste the NHS services for being sick. They just didn't seem interested or that they cared. Seriously people I would avoid here and the food is not that great anyway.

Worst place I’ve ever been too. Infested with flys, food cold, tasteless, dirty, lack of food, chocolate fountain had bits of plastic hanging from it. Took money before eating £16.99 and then disappeared. Don’t wast you money.

Do not recommend. Food is very salty. There are better options like Buffet Time near the Beacon.

inpolite stuff. and food is so so

Clean setting. Lovely ambience, staff very friendly and polite. Lots of lovely choices. Great spot.

Most of the dishes were lukewarm tables crowded together

Was pretty gd food.. all u can eat. Would go back again

评分低可能是自助餐的原因，但是我没有吃自助餐，我不给予评价，但是单点的炒菜很好，味道很正，分量也足够。值得一试！

Had lunch buffet here. Really lovely place nice decor. Nice change of the usual red you see in Chinese restaurants, make it a bit more lighter. Food was delicious. I cook a lot and I don’t have any complaints. Wasn’t too busy at lunch time. My husband said it was the best Chinese food he has ever had (he has eaten a lot of Chinese food). Staff was friendly and a very relaxed vibe. If I could recommend one thing on the lunch buffet it’s the aubergine with green chillis. So good. If we are ever down this area again we will be back.

Saturday 12pm lunch time 70% of buffet not available Luke warm £11.99 advertised on board was charged £38.00 for lunch for 2 with 2 cokes would not go again after 8 years .other people complained about price he was told Its not lunch menu .wondered y restaurant was empty when usually full

This used to be Cosmo, which didn't have very good reviews. The new owners have transformed the place. They were extremely helpful and friendly, making sure we sat where we want to be (fussy pair, we are!), then explained we had a choice between the buffet (which looked good!) or a la carte, which we chose, as we are lazy and like being served! We were given some lovely, complimentary, fresh prawn crackers with a sweet mild chilli sauce, to enjoy whilst we awaited our starters, which were delicious and then we had some noodles and a really unforgettable beef with ginger and spring onions - I would kidnap the chef if I could - best I have had anywhere. Please go and give them a try - times are difficult these days and all Eastbourne's local restaurants need as much support as they can get, but especially Garden Chinese who are in the early days of their new venture. You won't regret it. When we are next in Eastbourne, we shall most certainly be returning. Thank you lovely people!!

First time I siting since new ownership, had high hopes but was unfortunately really disappointed. Sunday around 7.30pm, and not many customers. Staff very keen to take your payment in advance of you starting the buffet, we weren't offered the a la carte menu. Good choice of dishes and great if you like your food luke warm and coated in oil! Lights flickering in the ceiling above our table, just felt as if all done on the cheap. Final turn off was seeing 2 male staff using the urinals and leaving the toilet without wahing their hands and going through the door into the kitchen. If the food is not great and I have concerns about staff hygiene, this is my first and last visit. So disappointed

Delicious Food, good service and nice place. The choice is diverse, including buffet, Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine. The owner and staff were very friendly. If I have a chance I’ll be coming back soon.😊

Many options of food but pretty similar regarding to taste. And not very tasty. It's a cheap place though and you can eat as much as you want.

Absolutely amazing food and the staff are incredibly polite and friendly. Definitely going again.

We had lunch there on the opening day we were sad to see that the fries were dry and most of the dishes were not at the right temperature

As we usually do during our visits to Eastbourne, we had dinner here. Excellent, flavourful, authentic food. Do recommend the a la carte menu!

Very good food: fresh, tasty and flavourful. One of the best buffets I've ever been to.

Was OK not much choice but never left hungry

First time I have been to this one since it reopened. Very impressed with the quality of the food wide range of dishes and all the ones I tried were excellent. Dessert options were normal lunch time fruit/cake/ chocolate fountain. Good value and well worth a visit. I certainly will be going back👍🏻

Authentic Chinese restaurant, good taste, great service, reasonable price. 来白崖Seven sisters游玩的朋友不要错过，方圆一小时内唯一地道中餐。跟南安普顿那家蜀湘园是一家的，自助点菜都有。

非常好吃！点了水煮牛肉和干锅，因为非常地道于是猜测老板是四川人 然后老板也是乐山的！在遥远的国度遇见了老乡真的好有缘！店员们也都很好 真的很好吃 强烈推荐 Very very delicious!

Absolutely disgusting. Mold on the dessert as you can see from the photograph, and when we went and got another profiterole that was even worse than the first, and your made to pay before you even sit down. Won't go again.

We went to this restaurant 2 years ago. It has new owners now. The service was good. There was a good range of food in the buffet. However, our only real complaint is the temperature of the food. Surely, the lids of the trays should be closed to keep the food warm for longer?

Wanted to try it in spite of some bad reviews. Some really different dishes to go with the usual fayre. Bao buns were amazing. Dessert selection was poor and mediocre (although they did have a chocolate fountain). And the flurry of bad reviews were either unjustified or have been listened to and addressed. I'll be giving the evening a go to see what would go in the empty serving stations. #FeelingFatAndHappy

Cold dishes! Lack of choice , rude staffs, I wonder why they are no busy as a new opening restaurant, it just not worth of the money at all! not recommended.

Newly opened but the standard is horrifying. French fries were cold and mushy. And when you think they are only messing up the English food, they messed all the Chinese dishes as well, not much choices and most of them are cold and you can tell the menu design is lazy. You will have basically 5-6 different dishes in black bean sauce that taste the same. Clearly it was just same pot of very salty sauce and add some frozen meat in. Same for curry. Lemon chicken was rock hard and very dry. The only decent dish was braised beef with potato. Except there only about 1-2 piece beaf in the whole tray and the rest about 1kg of potato. Lazy, very over priced. No one was offering drinks. No one ever approach us to ask how was the food or collect some plates off the table

Amazing food and lovely atmosphere, very friendly people. Great place to have sichuan food and my new favourite Chinese restaurant

It’s good… it’s real good… it’s new and fresh and worth a try…

First time I've visited since the new ownership and I was not disappointed! Plenty of different food choices which were refilled often. Neatly laid out with plaques so you know what's what! Will deffinatley be visiting again soon.. My only gripe was being sat so close to other diners when there were lots of empty tables I could of sat at ( there were 4 of us) so next time I will ask if we can sit at a more intimate setting.

Nice Chinese food, like the interior also👍

Had lunch just to give the new restaurant a try. Staff very good. Atmosphere good. Problem is the food was cold? Next table asked for theirs to be warmed up. Not all food was fresh. No desserts to speak of. Other table stated that will not return because of cold food and not what they expected. Maybe try again at a later date in the hopes that food will be fresher and hot.

Newly opened, great variety of food though choice of desert is little. Bargain for the price and taste is on par.

Having read some negative reviews in some local FB groups, I had to come and check it out myself since Sichuan and Hunan cuisine are my favourites. Maybe a biased favourism because I was born and raised in Sichuan. We ordered from à la carte menu, not the buffet. I guess we were scared by the negative reviews. (However, we did have a look at the buffet. The dishes did not look bad at all! ) So how was the food? For Eastbourne, it is THE best Sichuan/Hunan restaurant in Eastbourne. And THE FIRST! (Part of me wonder if that's the reason people here realising it is not the normal "English Chinese" they are getting? ) Comparing to a few Sichuan/Hunan restaurants in Brighton, it is actually on par. Will go back and update