Gigi Gao's Favourite Authentic Chinese in Swansea - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

This authentic Chinese restaurant, almost perfectly captures the atmosphere they were aiming for. The food was excellent with a wide range of food with lots of variety, service was great and we never had to leave our seats the whole time, table service was fantastic. In the end, we received a welcoming and warming gift bag, full with fortune cookies and loads of presents and accessories. Inside the tables and chairs were wonderful, while the bathrooms are also spectacular, creating an elegant look and a friendly environment. Props to the owners and employees for supporting the experience and making the visit a whole lot better.

Wow what a great find!! Lovely food, service and decoration!

This is my new favourite Chinese restaurant, the best Chinese we've had! The food was beautifully flavoured, and different to your run of the mill 'English' Chinese cuisine. The staff were super friendly and polite. It is clear a lot of effort has gone into making the restaurant look fun and filled with things we would associate with China. We can't wait to return.

Lovely birthday meal and wonderful service. Will defo visit again soon

The moment you walk in is an experience, the staff are so welcoming and friendly and the food is delectable! It was a lovely authentic experience with a beautiful waterside view. We met Gigi and she took the time to welcome us and made us feel at home. It was a lovely experience we can't wait to come back.

What a beautiful meal. Second to none in the Swansea area. Yes it can be a little crazy in there BUT the food is outstanding 👌🏻

Food ok but items on the menu not from nothing China and staff from Malaysia:-)

Delicious prawn 🍜 😋 curry. Interesting de caf Chinese tea 🍵. Very colourful decor. Freindly service. Excellent experience. More than just a meal out. 🥳🥳

Loved the food.very decorative.the service was great.waitresses dress in traditional costumes.very smart.

Amazing food that you will struggle to find anywhere else (crunchy mushroom salad)

I've visited Gigi Gao's twice and both times it's been a really wonderful experience. Really tasty food with a fantastic range of vegan options (a whole menu book, full of vegan dishes) The decor is so beautiful and I could spend ages enjoying all the details they have displayed in the restaurant. The service is great too! I look forward to visiting again.

Super delicious and staff were wonderful. Just feel as if it needs a deep clean and tidy. Just a bit dusty in places.

Very expensive, food was mediocre. Staff were great with kids. £4 for a Diet Coke that we saw poured from a can, not great value.

The decor in this restaurant is something to behold. There is something very joyful about it. The food on the whole is good but not great. The duck pancakes in particular were very disappointing. Mains were pretty good though! They make a celebration out of people’s birthdays in quite a big way which is great if you like that kind of thing. The staff are all beautifully dressed and clearly make a huge amount of effort to provide great service and an experience. All in all for a night out to celebrate it’s a great location. I would come back as it is nice there, but it wouldn’t be my first choice

The best Chinese food we have ever tasted. But it is not just the food, the ambience is different... better. The staff are all dressed in very smart Chinese clothes and are really friendly but super professional. Worth going to Swansea just to eat here.

Gigi provides the diner with a great selection of interesting, well cooked and diverse set pieces - the whole being beautifully underscored by a friendly and unflappable staff team. We loved the food, the atmosphere and the decoration and the colour scheme is dazzling. We had never dined here before, but will definitely return...hungry again just writing a review!

We had a lovely meal , food was delicious and the staff were very friendly and I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you are visiting Swansea

Food wasn't worth the price most expensive Chinese meal I've ever had and took a four pound tip without our knowledge. Won't be returning. Had reply to this that totally disregards the fact the prices of the dishes we had didn't total to the bill price. I've been told the prices of the dine in menu weren't the same as what the woman on the phone was looking at. I've asked to be emailed the menu she was quoting without reply. So please don't thank me and wish me a good year of the dragon lol I'd rather have honest service what a joke

Delicious authentic Chinese food with the cutest quirky decor. Mapo tofu is the best I've ever had and the garlic brocoli is delicious. Highly recommend 👌

Fantastic food - some of the best Chinese cooking I've had in a long time, and not overly reliant on the usual dishes. Staff were friendly and helpful. Would definitely visit again.

Our first visit here for our daughters birthday with family. We felt like valued customers from the moment we arrived. What an amazing atmosphere. The food was delicious and plentiful. We were given enough time between courses to rest..it was lovely when they came with a.candle in a custard bao bun and red envelope and fortune cookie and sang happy birthday to our daughter. She was so touched by it all. We will definitely b back and will recommend to others. Thank you Gigi Gao's. .

Food was good, pretty pricy for the portion sizes. Staff were very nice.

Great food but was VERY busy on a Saturday night.

Ate here with friends last week. What a lovely restaurant. The food was outstanding, very tasty and fresh. Average pricing for a chinese. Would definitely visit again. Very clean and tidy. Nice views across the harbour. 10/10

Came here for an 18th birthday. If I could rate this place a 0 I would. I’m shocked at all the good reviews… wish someone would’ve told me how bland and disgusting the food was before we all wasted our money… worst Chinese I’ve ever had. Save your money people because they must be paying people for good reviews .

Excellent food, quickly served and lots of different items on the menu than you'd expect.

I have looked forward to food here for years..but never got around to it. Went today with my family and was really quite shocked at the price. Well over 100 pound and a service charge automatically added before you get the bill (pet hate). I would sadly say it's the same quality as my local Chinese. People who rave must not be getting nice options where they live. Definitely not any nicer and for the price it's not worth a second visit. Sad to say this though. Service was good though and friendly staff.

Wonderful service and excellent food. Fresh, authentic and no MSG!

The best Chinese we’ve had Mapo Tofu was stunning Decor was amazing and the service was brilliant Priced aptly for the quality of food Only slight constructive feedback is to reduce the salt in pretty much all the dishes which is a bit on the higher side

Good selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes. The Mapo Tofu was very tasty. The jasmine tea is also highly recommended. Lovingly designed ambience and friendly service.

lovely food and great service 👌

Weather was terrible so decided to treat ourselves to a good lunch after the museum and this place did not disappoint. The decoration is lovely but particularly extravagant right now, perhaps because of Chinese New Year; really worth visiting as it's honestly quite fairy-tale, and the kids in other parties seemed to all love it. It wasn't cheap, but would be a great place for a celebration. I would say that it isn't particularly well heated so on a cold day you might be a bit chill if you're not under one of the overhead heaters.

Food excellent. Loads of vegan options

Some of the best Chinese food in Swansea for sure!

Very awful experience here last night. We got there at 7pm and didn’t have our mains until 1 hour and 30 minutes later. Other tables were coming in and having food and leaving before we’d even had our starters. They had taken in too many bookings and couldn’t keep up with the amount of people. Food came out stone cold, and when we asked them to heat the food up, they didn’t bother, even after asking 3 times. The fried rice, was just boiled rice with egg added. Noodles were dry, like they had been sat in a wok for hours. Gong Bao chicken was inedible and I didn’t touch it, due to the flavour being nothing like described in the menu and being overly salty and spicy (although advertised as no spice). To “compensate” they gave us a free bowl of boiled rice and some stewed vegetables, which was appreciated, but with our ordered food coming stone cold and at different times, it was just unnecessary. Little gifts at the end, which was ok, but I would’ve preferred more effort in the food than a ornament. Also, when clearing plates, they spilled the food on my friends handbag and other friends shoes, and didn’t even apologise. We left all of our food there basically untouched and was disgusted at how much it cost! Was about £50-£60 per head. Honestly, had high hopes and last night was terrible. Will never come back.

We had a great lunch the food was fresh and tasty. One of the best we have had. Decor very pretty for Chinese new year. It was a cold Thursday afternoon in February so no other customers but the service was excellent and friendly. Will return and would recommend this restaurant.

Check the prices of the set meals before you order. For example set meal for 2 ,is £ 32 each not £16 pounds each.Food is good ,but gets cold very cold very quickly, no food food heaters on the table. Best to order plates of food separately rather than set meals. Banana Friter overpriced at nearly £8,And Ice-cream with Lychees ,overpriced at nearly £7 with only two Lyches. Service very good .

Terrible food made my granddaughter ill so we left and then they charged us double, still trying to get our money back, when I gave a poor review to this restaurant they told me I had been drunk!!! We left after we had the starter but they charged me for that full list! (only took remains of starter away in case it needed to be tested!!) What a load of .... to say we went away with that full list of food and to try and attack me when it was their food/cafe was at fault. it was 9pm after a show! /Drunk indeed!

It was our first time at this restaurant and we loved it! The way the restaurant is decorated is brilliant, it feels both authentic and light-hearted. We had the vegan set menu and it was delicious, I would definitely recommend. The staff were friendly and helpful, and we also managed to meet Ms. Gao, which was an absolute pleasure. Namo Amituofo 🙏

Not been for a while but food still excellent as ever, griddled potatoes was superb, won't leave it so long next time

Food was decent enough but does not meet expectations for the prices charged. Personally I’d pick my local takeaway over here any day and a fraction of the price. I can not see why this restaurant is award winning. Pictures from afar look great but the decor and standard of the interior of the restaurant was a bit of an eye opener. Beer over £7 a bottle. 10% service charge also added to the bill which i feel is taking advantage and totally unnecessary. Would never return and would never recommend

Absolutely beautiful restaurant and exceptional food, highly recommend

The food is fine, a bit on the bland side if im honest, and the service lacked substance. Overpriced, quirky place, though

Food was disappointing. Chicken satay was bland and watery. Sweet and sour chicken was bland. The duck pancake starter was a let down - was served on a sectioned plastic plate, duck wasn't shredded at the table and pancakes weren't in a basket so all went cold quickly. Insufficient cutlery as nothing provided to serve food/decant items onto plates. Ordered a mango juice and was served a Mogu juice drink with coconut jelly pieces - totally different to what I ordered and therefore also overpriced. Coca Cola was served in cans rather than on draught and no lemon available. Generally disappointing, especially after seeing all the positive reviews. Place looks tired. Been to far better Chinese restaurants.

The moment that you step in the door of Gigis you leave a cold Swansea Marina and enter a magical place where the staff welcomed you warmly and there is a fantastic vibe. Food is great, with good traditional Chinese dishes that you don't often see on more anglicised Chinese menus. However the thing that makes this restaurant stand out is the staff who are so friendly and helpful and always dressed for the occasion. We had a birthday to celebrate and they kindly bought over a small cake with gifts and everyone gathered round to sing along to the Chinese Birthday music over the sound system, cringingly bad for the recipient, but we really enjoyed it! I used to visit the same restaurant when it was in the Uplands and much, much smaller, it is a feat of genius to transpose it to a large glass building and still retain that magical atmosphere.

Great atmosphere and fabulous food!

Great food and a very nice place.

Really average food and massively overpriced. Atmosphere and decor of the restaurant really poor and just to let you know, the Soy Sauce/Rice Vinegar bottles on the tables are out of date by about 2 years.

Very brightly lit. Food very dry. Service and atmosphere was good.

This is an exceptional restaurant in anyone's book! We went on a quiet Monday in early January for a 21st Birthday celebration. Eight of us chose a wonderful selection of different dishes to share. A true adventure for the taste buds. The food is so fresh, tasty and lovingly prepared. The atmosphere was wonderful, even with only a few other diners in. The staff truly gave of their all and made us so welcome. We can't wait to return! Thank you so much Gigi and team.

Fantastic Chinese experience! The welcome from Gigi was warm and friendly and the decor is outstanding. Food was authentic and tasty. Highly recommend!

Absolutely lovely food and the staff are very friendly, definitely worth a visit.

We’d walked past this restaurant a couple of times on our way from the hotel into town, it was generally busy and looked bright and elegant. This evening, without booking, we decided to call in and see if they had availability. Gigi and her team were very welcoming, professional and friendly. The menu was interesting and the food that we ordered arrived quickly. It was all delicious! We were given gifts and fortune cookies as we were leaving, having had a lovely evening. We’d highly recommend this restaurant to visitors, I’m sure if we lived in the area we’d eat here regularly. Thank you!

Delicious authentic cuisine, quite different from any other Chinese restaurant I have visited.

Tasty,good service,but very overpriced

Amazing, amazing, amazing! We've been wanting to visit here for ages, finally went and loved every second of it. Such lovely attentive staff, the restaurant interior is beautiful and the food is absolutely delicious! Looking forward to our next visit!

Loved it. I love how nice the staff is, loved the food and the atmosphere. Gigi Gao's is not just a restaurant, it's a whole experience ❤️

Such a lovely place to go for a Chinese, fabulous food and great service, would definitely recommend.

My husband and I came to Gigi’s this evening as part of his birthday celebrations. We’re not from the area and booked Gigi’s purely from a Google search. We were absolutely not disappointed. This is, by far, the best restaurant we’ve been to! First, it’s such a beautifully decorated restaurant, it truly makes you smile when you walk through the doors. The staff are all so friendly and made the whole experience that much more enjoyable! We asked for recommendations and we’re not disappointed. We started with the duck, which was the best duck we’ve ever had - so crispy and flavoursome, Steam Dumplings and BBQ Bao buns! All absolutely mouth watering. We followed this with the recommended Lazy King Prawns and The Grilled Chicken. Honestly, some of the best dishes we’ve ever eaten. For drinks we had the recommended Lychee cocktail and Chinese brandy! The Lychee cocktail was the best cocktail I have had. Delicious and refreshing. We spoke to Gigi herself before we left and it’s wonderful to meet a business owner who is so passionate about her business. We are not local, by any means, but we will absolutely returning to Swansea purely to come back to Gigi’s! Thank you 🙏

Amazing food and wow the decor 😍

Good food, great atmosphere! We had the veggie spring rolls, griddles chicken dumplings, sweet & sour chicken, lemon chicken, veggie noodles and jasmine rice. All decent portion sizes and tasty!

Excellent takeaway,delicious food

Gone down hill since my last visit . Ordered starters . Just started our starters and they served main . We asked to have it taken back and heated but still cold . Told they were very busy ! Expensive and really not good food !

Nice food,but drinks are quite expensive. Lighting could have been a bit mellower

Quality service, delicious food and amazing atmosphere!! My favourite park was the lychee cocktail and duck pancakes!

Some really fantastic food and lovely staff.

The value for what we paid didn’t match the food quality. Big table of us went, spent over £300 and majority of us had something negative to say about the quality. Couldn’t even be bothered to give us something free or knock some discount off, service charge at the end to. Definitely wouldn’t go back.

After reading Jay Rayner's Guardian review we planned a trip and were not disappointed. I haven't found a more authentic Chinese restaurant outside London and the idiosyncratic decor adds to the charm. Food was carefully prepared and superbly cooked with wonderful staff who ensured our visit was a delight from start to finish. We will be back!

One of the oddest Chinese restaurants we have ever been to. Nice staff, but felt like we were sat in a nursery. Red tin tables and chairs, toys hanging from the lampshades. Kids dressing up clothes. It's different!

This is probably the best chinese resturant i've been to in Wales .Visited after a review by a famous food critic from The Guardian newspaper who raved about the food .Food , service and atmosphere exceptional x

Beautiful place and wonderful atmosphere. Visited here with my wife, and it was definitely something different.

Lovely food and staff, bit expensive but a really lovely treat

Absolutely fantastic, food was great and really fresh! Came here as a 5 for a birthday meal and didn’t disappoint. Lovely small gifts after the meal too!

First time eating here, loved it !!

We've been to this place for 5-10 times before and it never disappoints. Thank you very much Gigi and her team on 26/8/23 for the amazing dishes for our wedding lunch. All the guests thoroughly enjoyed the food and everyone plans to come back in the near future to try new dishes.

Delicious food and the service was great despite the fact it was absolutely rammed!

First visit, but definitely not the last. Tried new dishes which we really enjoyed. Staff were great, accommodating and friendly. Would highly recommend

We had Lazy Chicken, Garlic Spinach, Pork Belly & Vegetable Noodles. Amazing flavours & cooked to perfection. Excellent staff & very good prices. Will definitely eat here again.

Just fabulous! Wonderful decor, fantastic service and gorgeous food. Highly recommend. We’ll definitely be back!

Fun and great view of Swansea Harbour. Quirky.

I absolutely love this place. My partner and I have started to go here together whenever we've had a rough day, as we always end up feeling better afterwards. Not only because we both appreciate good food, and the food here is authentically brilliant, but also because the staff are just absolutely lovely and make us feel so welcome. I'd give it way more that 5 stars if I could!

Beautiful colourful place with warm welcoming friendly staff Our food was delivered very quickly and was delicious. I had the duck and pancakes, crispy seaweed and dumplings. The deserts were delicious too. They made a nice gesture for my partner's neice birthday 🎂 Playing music and bringing a sweet treat with a candle. I love the decor and fun atmosphere. I would thoroughly recommend to everyone. Book a table for larger groups to avoid missing out.

Great meal in a great location.

This restaurant provides delicious and authentic food. Staff are helpful. Beautiful Chinese style decoration.

Nice Chinese restaurant in the marina. Has an unusual decor and good food

Numerous friends had recommended Gigi's to me and it didn't disappoint. I had the King Prawns main and it was delicious. The service was very warm, friendly and attentive - looking forward to next time.

The worst experience ever in a chinese restaurant!!! We had a reservation and came in at 7:25 PM, they took our orders immediately but we waited for our orders to be served for almost 2 hours and our orders were served cold!!! the worst part is they charged us twice for our orders and insisted that we kept on ordering where in fact we were just following up on our food because it's already taking too much of our time and we were all very hungry!!! WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!

We booked 11 days in advance for my husband's birthday. When we arrived, we waited for 30minutes to be seated in. Waited 1.5 hours for our food that were served cold. Charged twice for calamari and prawns. The manager/owner didn't listen to me as I was explaining that we only received one plate each insted of twice. Apparently, based on the reviews here, their system is if you follow up on your order, they will charge you twice. Dear manager/owner, I was the one wearing yellow dress, begging for you to listen to me. If you really know me well, I am not the type who argues about money. I even give £4 tip to uber eat people for serving our food well and on time. You charged us for £33 service charge, but we didn't complain even though your service was SO BAD and your food were poorly prepared. What we were complaining was the food that you charged us that was not served to us. You see, my husband who has gastric ulcer and my 2 daughters were really starving already at 9 PM because we were waiting inside your restaurant for 1.5 hours. We didn't have a decent meal that day, we traveled so far and our hopes were really high. Your 5-star reviews are all scam. You are the most racist and discriminatory restaurant manager/owner I have ever met, thinking that we were complaining because we don't have money to pay you. You know all the adults seated on that table during that night? We are all working in NHS, making decent living in this country, breaking our backs so that we can have a decent vacation for our kids. And you ruined our day. You know that £30 you stole from us? That's just so little compared to the karma that God will give you for stealing from us. Charging us twice but you only served us one plate? That's dirty money. That's dishonest money. How could you sleep at night knowing you are stealing hard-earned money? Just because we aren't from this country, you won't listen to us anymore. My worst customer service experience here in the UK is from you. You are a thief and karma will get you.

Worst Chinese restaurant... The service is too slow. The food was burnt 🥵 the servers were not friendly, they keep on avoiding us. Even asking for water takes so long and the high price doesn't match with the food. Overrated but not the best of Chinese food. We're very stressed because they serve the food more than an hour but not even hot. Like re-heat food. And at the top of it, when we finally requested our bill, they added some food that we never consumed. The manager did not listen to our explanation, keeps on talking and talking and boasting and never let us see the cctv camera if they serve it or not. Even arguing that they serve it. It's just a matter of little amount to fake it, we cant get over with the over billed items because we waited for too long then we end up getting embarrassed because the manager keeps on accusing us that we ate those overbill foods. We end up paying it to cut the argument. We're very disappointed. My worst restaurant experience ever. Will never ever eat here again.

Food takes so long to be served,

Some of the nicest Chinese foods that my family and I have had for ages

Overall I am disappointed and will not be returning again. I have eaten at authentic Chinese restaurants around the UK and Asia so this is subpar especially considering how much you are paying. You can pay for less in London Chinatown and eat food of much better quality. Therefore only eat here if you've not broadened your tastebuds to umami or have no other choice but please note that true Chinese food do not taste like this. Lastly, service was fairly decent as I visited during off peak hours.

It's hard to find much to be critical about. The food was excellent - it's different to pretty much any other Chinese restaurant I've visited, which is by no means a bad thing. Me and my partner ate from the set menu (with a couple of additions) and we loved everything. I'd advise anyone who isn't so adventurous that the desserts are not what you're used to, however an option of Joe's ice cream covers anyone not sure of the excellent custard buns that I had! We did have to draw attention to ourselves once or twice (mostly for the bill at the end), but it was quite busy and we were looked after as soon as we did. A fantastically dressed lady (who I think may be the owner) also chatted with my partner and gave her a small parting gift on exit. We certainly felt a lot of care goes into the experience even when busy, and a sense of pride in the restuarant comes through well before any thoughts of pinching for profit. It's one of the more interesting venues I've eaten at. It has a great waterside marina location, but the internrior (and exterior) decoration will probably keep your attention before you drift to looking outside the windows, and the staff are dressed in clothing that I assume is traditional for the region the restaurant's cuisine hails from. Overall, full marks. I'd say that anyone who enjoys Chinese food should give this a visit if you've only ever had typical in the UK Cantonese takeaway style food, but I'd also recommend it to anyone who doesn't typically enjoy Cantonese food as there is plenty on the menu that is quite far apart from what you may have tried before. I'm sure we'll be back!

Amazing food, really good gluten free options, lovely friendly service, hot food brought out really quickly. Would definitely recommend and definitely be returning.

Food was nice, but expensive. unfortunately we had to ask for the drinks we ordered as they had not been delivered. We realised after paying the bill and leaving that we had been charged twice for the drinks we had. Will not recommend or return

Absolutely fabulous evening, we visited with our friends from Devon who love Chinese. Every member of staff was excellent we will be back Thank you so very much.

I have been here three times, I'm not local and live over 100 miles away. When I visit Swansea I always come here, this time I went with someone with a very sensitive stomach and who cannot have a lot of fatty food. They love a good curry and the menu states it's not spicy. When my friend had the Curry they could not get over how delicious it was. To this day they still talk about being the best curry they have had. We will be visiting Swansea again at the end of the year and they have already insisted that we are going back! The food has such generous portions and the price isn't expensive. This really is an amazing place and I will continue to visit!

Nice food, and great staff. They do their best to suit your needs. Although, it smelt a bit funny in the restaurant. The toilets were dirty and the tables were sticky too.

Party of 13....second visit. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole offer. As we did first time.

Great birthday celebration meal, happy friendly atmosphere 👍