Happy Gathering in Cardiff

Cheap, good quality, good taste

Lovely food and atmosphere. Would definitely book again.

Been a longstanding customer and return often because the whole experience is awesome. The quality of the is consistently delicious - and plenty of it!

The service and the restaurant is really nice, the food I had wasn't quite the standard I was expecting from recommendations from other folks but it certainly did a job at a reasonable price. Could have just been an off day though, worth revisiting!

Madness,My recent meal here was ruined by mice running around. It was gross and distracting. The restaurant needs to deal with this problem ASAP. Plus, the food took forever to come out. I'd suggest finding somewhere else to eat until they sort out their mouse problem. .

Proper traditional Chinese restaurant, with amazing selection of dimsum as well as traditional Chinese food alongside the usual array of restaurant favourites.

ABSOLUTELY SO DISRESPECTFUL WE WHERE CALLING FOR LONGER THAN 10 MINUTES AND THEY WERE NOT LISTENING AND WERE JUST JOKING AROUND AND LAUGHING I AM DISGUSTED WOULD NOT RECOMMEND! SUCH BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE!!

Best Chinese restaurant in wales. Dim sum menu is amazing

Great food of Hugh quality. Priced reasonably. A minor improvement would be decorated plates and chop stick rests. Reccomended

Huge soulless place with no atmosphere whatsoever it was more like a work canteen, food was distinctly average, wouldn’t return, there are much better Chinese restaurants in Cardiff

Resturant was tired looking, the service was OK, perhaps because resturant was busy, but the food was delicious

The food is good but this place is still stuck in the 90s floor is sticky , no money has been spent on this place for years ... put of going there just looks grubby

Alwayys enjoyed this restaurant pre-Covid but hadn't bbeen for a while. Booked on Saturday. Decor had become pretty shabby but upstairs was busy - usually a good sign. Service was a bit delayed and a bit rushed, but we gave our order. When the food arrived after 15 minutes one of the dishes was not what we ordered so we asked for it to be replaced. After another 15 minute wait we werr served with - the same incorrect dish. The dish we ordered finally arrived after another 15 minutes, by which time we were no longer hungry. The food we did get was very average - couldn't detect any satay sauce on the veg with crispy noodles and satay sauce. No apology and no eeduction in the blll for the long delay in provding the correct dish. Very disappointing.

Uncooked food and the waitress asked me i wanted to put in the microwave, thats so disrespectful that i didn't even eat the rest of the food. Instead of giving me another option they didn't care at all and said they couldn’t do anything.

uncooked food, then proceeded to tell me she will put in microwave, like that will do anything ? i then asked her if we can have something else she said no…overall not a very nice place it looks fancy and nice but would not recommend food at all

I absolutely love the whole feel of this wonderful restaurant. Amazing decor with a really traditional feel. Fantastic food and service. I try to get up to Cardiff for the Yi Quin Chinese New Year Liondance every year, it's like being transported to Hong Kong or China, totally magical.

I know in Cardiff there are not many Chinese restaurants so we chose Happy Gathering to celebrate first day of Chinese Lunar New Year of the dragon. Disappointing. I found a hair strand in the chilli sauce. Siow long pau was not edible. The cold chicken feet was too hard to bite. Returned it. Not cooked enough. It was a bad decision to go there for dimsum. Our Chinese new year lunch was ruined. My friend told me she will never return to Happy Gathering again. I second it.

Had my first Dim Sum experience at Happy Gathering yesterday and wow was it good. The Cheung Fun (we had the beef and the pork), Roast pork puffs, Har Gow and Custard tarts were up there with some of the best I've had. Turnip cake, crispy prawn wontons and Char Siu buns very good. Ham Sui Gok decent but a tiny bit oily. Service was very good and staff were friendly. Tsingtao was nice and cold and served in a branded glass. The meal was excellent value for money with most of the dishes costing under £5. We had a feast of a meal (12 dishes and a couple of beers each) for £40 a head with tip. Will definitely be returning to work my way through the rest of the Dim Sum menu (Dim Sum served everyday until around 1730)

I ordered a take away as my regular Chinese was closed. I’d heard about happy gathering so thought I’d give it a try, I wish I hadn’t bothered. Worst chicken chow mein I’ve ever had, thin dry noodles and dry chicken. I’d never order again!

Fabulously tasty dim sum. Felt I was back in China. Great service too. Can't recommend more highly.

Happy Gathering is a local legend in Cardiff but this was a return visit after many years. The food as always was exquisite, staff friendly and awesome with a great atmosphere. I am looking forward to a return visit very soon!

This used to be the best place for dim sum but it has lost some of it's magic. Service is good albeit when busy the staff lose some of their smiles, which is understandable. Parking at the back is a bit precarious , lots of litter and not an attractive view of the kitchens.

I’ve been coming to this restaurant for nearly 30 years now and have raved about it to my work friends for so long they insisted I showed them how worthy it really was! Llanelli travelled to collect Swansea and Swansea travelled to collect Port Talbot before we headed to Cardiff for the girls to taste the fantastic! One is a vegetarian so was a little worried, but I told her, have faith, they’ll talk to you and sort you out & boy didn’t they! Both went home with doggy bags to entice their husbands and friends back! Obviously I go because the food is by far the best I’ve ever had, but the staff are always wonderful and accommodating! Happy to answer any questions, if they don’t know the answers, they’ll go find out for you! Thank you Happy Gathering, we will be back!

Great dim sum and a lot of variety

I was impressed by the number of ethnic Chinese people who were there. A wonderful experience for the family.

Excellent quality in every dish -and we ordered a lot - in a delightful atmosphere with the most attentive staff.

ZERO Hygiene Rating news https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/one-most-popular-chinese-restaurants-28192883 Food hygiene ratings: 'A zero isn't down to paperwork' news https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51120935

consistently the best over the last 30 years

Seriously bland, uninspiring and overpriced food. Building is tired and stuck in the 1970s and a bit of a dive tbh. Service was seriously lacking, and slow. The traditional menu served before 6 sounds more interesting but the place has a ZERO hygiene rating! Never again.

We couldn’t get a table in The Summer Palace, so we checked Google and this place was recommended. The Sweetcorn broth was OK - but the rest was bland and I’m sure the crispy noodles were just raw. Service wasn’t great and there was a long wait between courses. On the coldest night of the year there wasn’t any heating on, so despite wearing a nice dress, I sat in my coat. We went to the garage for dessert, I feel much happier being now I’m home with a mug of tea & a Wispa in the warm.

We ordered har gao but the meat inside was raw! It was Sunday afternoon so the restaurant was packed. We talk to a waitress about the issue but was told it would takes a long time to get our har gao cooked so we didn't bother. The manager Martin was cunning-When we were paying the till, he deliberately gave us a bill belongs to another table(more expensive) this isn't first time he did this to us. We won't go back because it's not worth it. Anyone paying bill make sure you check the bill before paying for it. Plates and cups weren't the cleanest in this restaurant and it's very old and worn out, it desperately needs a refurbishment.

My favourite Chinese restaurant in Cardiff. Always great food and terrific choices, including veggie options. All reasonably priced and good quality food. It may be an issue for

My favourite Chinese restaurant in Cardiff. Always great food and terrific choices, including veggie options. All reasonably priced and good quality food. It may be an issue for those with mobility issues as the restaurant is upstairs and I didn't see any other way up apart from up the stairs.

Good food nice pint great service thanks

Good food nice pint great service thanks

Good food nice pint great service thanks

Just popped in for food on way home, as usual the most friendly staff possible.

Absolutely delicious as always. Definitely recommend Mixed meat and seafood hofun.

Just popped in for food on way home, as usual the most friendly staff possible.

Decent food but expensive for what it is.

Probably the best Chinese in Cardiff

Absolutely appalling!!! Booked over a week ago for our birthdays!!! Not open!! No phone call! Travelled 3 hours to come for a Chinese to join our children for their birthday! Couldn’t be bothered to give me call. We now have no where booked to eat on a Friday evening at 7.30 pm! Absolutely disgusting, why you don’t have the courtesy to call me! So disappointed and cross. On top of a £30 round trip taxi fair had to pay for!!

I’ve never been happier than at happy gathering. Such a great menu and exactly the sort of flavours you are looking for in an Asian meal. Portions are big and thank you to the server who recommended we get a bit less! Pork belly rice was absolutely top notch. Beers on tap and heaps of variation on offer. If you have that craving for Asian delicacies look no further!

As always the dim sum is delicious. Service always great I think I've been coming here for over 40 yrs. I think some of the decor has been here that long. LOL

This is the Best restaurant I have ever been too. Honey glazed king prawns are my favourite food in the world. Service is always impeccable and the staff and managers are all so nice. Been coming for 1022²

Tasty food with good portions and flavors. They change your dishes from starter to main dish and also provide napkins. Presentation is 10/10.

Strange place, looks closed from the outside. Service was odd to say the least! They were vacuuming the restaurant as customers left! Food luke warm but plentiful

This is the best shop in the history of Wales

Exceptional service!! I'm a fussy eater and very first visit, the food was fantastic! I tried a few dishes and all were perfect. I'm thoroughly impressed, definitely going back. Thank you to those who have recommended in previous reviews.

Food is good, but the price is getting out of hand

Was a great experience dining here at Happy Gathering. Very good dim sum and great services. Like the atmosphere, decorated like traditional Hong Kong style (Dragon & Phoenix hall) 😁😁😁 Will definitely try again when visiting Cardiff next time 👍👍👍

This used to be our favourite restaurant for Chinese food, but unfortunately it no longer is . It’s in need of a revamp desperately putting it bluntly. Desperately in need of a new chef the food was well presented but there is no taste to it. The meat is very chewy. My husband had barbecued ribs He couldn’t eat them because they were too chewy, they should be falling off the bone

Great place to get chinese dim sum

Good dim sum, relaxed atmosphere, a group of 12 and service was speedy.

My favourite Chinese restaurant in Cardiff. Always great food and terrific choices, including veggie options. All reasonably priced and good quality food. It may be an issue for those with mobility issues as the restaurant is upstairs and I didn't see any other way up apart from up the stairs.

Went to the Happy Garden as looking for somewhere for Dim Sum in Cardiff with family and friends. Saw this restaurant in a general search on the internet had good reviews so we went there: we were not disappointed. Very good traditional Dim Sum offering with prompt service. Good selection with menus in Chinese and English which is really helpful as the two were aligned so easier to make choices. All dishes selected were very well presented and had good flavours. Roast duck and pork was very tasty if a little small as dishes go. Fried seafood noodles was nice and enough for 4 to share. Deep fried squid had an unusual sauce - not the standard sweet chilli: very tasty. Only downside, was seating upstairs and no obvious signs of a lift, so may be a challenge on access: downstairs was closed. Didn't see any lift marked.

This restaurant is absolutely a rip off I spent more than £100 on this place for my family not to be full when they went home

Portions are smaller but I think that reflects in the quality. They also have a very helpful delivery driver!

The staff is friendly and helpful, the food arrives quick and tastes excellent.

I got kicked out on a quiet Sunday afternoon for only wanting a cup of tea. Apparently you have to order food, even though there wasn't a sign anywhere. It's really upsetting to be treated so poorly. I would have understood if people were queued for a table, but the place was hardly full.

Unfortunately I forgot to take photos, but the dim sum was authentic (this is coming from a HKer). Unexpectedly, the siu mai was better than har gow. The har gow arrived undercooked so we sent it back to the kitchen, and the replacement we received was mushy. Apart from the har gow, everything else was very good. The owner was very attentive and he gave us extra strong tea when we asked. Highly recommended.

Sometimes I use this restaurant with Asian colleagues. Dim sum (not dinner time) is recommended.

Outstanding food, service and value for money.

We used to come here a lot. Not anymore - tonight was our last visit. The owners appear to be complacent and the customer service is rubbish. Dirty plates and dirty surfaces. The food is standard - you could probably get better food at a different restaurant for less the price. The owner /manager even had the nerve to take issue with the fact that we had used an additional set of chopsticks. What’s really difficult to get over is the 1 out of 5 food hygiene rating…like how can you get it so wrong. I would give this place no stars. Save your money folks and go else where.

Ordinary but acceptable food served in a restaurant with rather tired decor. Large portions but other Chinese restaurants in Cardiff have better food.

Authentic Cantonese Restaurant in Canton! You always see plenty of the local Chinese community eating in here, particularly at weekends. Tells you everything you need about the quality and authenticity of the food. As with all Chinese food I strongly recommend you eat with lots of friends and/or family so you can try lots of different dishes.

Experienced discrimanatory, rude and disrespectful behaviour by the feckless 2 faced manager who is usually at the till. The food dish I ordered which I was advised would take time and waited 30 minutes for to prepare was given to the group that was sitting behind me, who came in 20 minutes after I did and that group was given my dish (within minutes of them ordering the same dish), although they were initially told they needed to wait for some time for it as it took to prepare. When i questioned the waitress and manager about it, the waitress lied saying that the group had pre-orederd their food which they hadn't because the manager and the lady who placed the order talked so loudly it would be impossible not to hear- and I repeated to her the conversation I heard when the order was placed and taken by the manger himself. When she realised I was not buying that lie, the next excuse the waitress and managress used was that I was having my starter so they thought I could have my fish dish later, and let this group have the one already prepared which I orered 30 minutes prior). That was another lie because even before the fish dish I ordered ended on the other table, I had asked the waitress to pack my starter. You can imagine how shocked I was to see that the fish I had ordered was being carried to the group who were sitting close to my table and it's obvious to waiters and manager that I am long done with my starter because it's being packed away. That's right ! It's obvious that this lot think that women from the Indian subcontinent are stupid enough to buy their lies and we can be treated with disrespect with this sort of discrimination and open prejudive - masked as consideration for me to comple my starter. they might have also thought because I came in solo and am small build, quiet and timid I would not be so bold to call out their behaviour. When the manager realised that I was not as gulliable as I looked I was amazed to see how rude, feckless and intimidating he was like a thug when raising his voice trying to humilate me by putting me down with accusations and "so what I care a damn" attitude about the way he ensured that my order that I was waiting for for so long had gone to the table that he had taken the orders from, because it was a group according to him he hadn't met ( I suppose trying to impress for new bussiness/clientele) over another customer whom he had no conscience about overstepping boundries and being disrespectful. I was initially perturbed by the manager's disregard rude feckless thug like behaviour, and how quickly his waiters were there to lie along side him. He even mocked and humiliated me to the group who were given the fish dish i had ordered. Because he can be very friendly and pally when he thinks he can gain something from you. However when I did my homework on researching Happy Gathering, this criminal thug like uncouth behaviour was certainly not in keeping with this establishment because the owners were charged with money laundering a number of years ago. Am able to verify everything stated as to protect myself from this tyrant lies have recorded my entire evening of what I experienced.

Delicious chinese food… got delivery and still hot, would 100% recommend! Thank you! x

Can’t believe in Cardiff got a lot of good quality Chinese restaurants! And this one is one of those I really like 👍🏻 As a HongKonger we just can’t say no to Chinese traditional culture— yum cha / dim sum 🥟 🫖 🍵🤎 We visited the restaurant at Sunday and they only offer dim sum on Sunday! We ordered 香片 (jasmine tea) and it smell really good 👍🏻 And what dim sum that we highly recommended : 叉燒酥，招牌腸粉，金錢肚，XO醬炒蘿蔔糕(turnips cakes with XO sauce)、咸水角(ham sui gok) And what dim sum that we don’t recommend to try: 韭菜果、小籠包、鳳爪排骨飯 The vibes are very nice and I can see many hongkongers in there enjoying the dim sum at the same time! You can hear cantonese is everywhere inside the restaurant, even the staffs speak Cantonese as well! How nice to be there 👍🏻

Food was fresh, staff amazingly accommodating and friendly. Service was fast. Quality and flavor was comparable to classic Chinese dim sum in Canada. We ordered way too much food so got to enjoy the leftovers for dinner 😋

Went for the early bird menu with friends as always food and service was good

The food is excellent, and the staff are very helpful and friendly. Until you have eaten here, u have not had authentic Chinese

Friendly and helpful waiting staff. Food was tasty. Smaller portions than expected.

Dim Sum. Traditional Cantonese dim Sum. Chicken Feet with black DM ran were very tasty. Han Sui gok a bit thick and could have been cooked a bit longer but nice. Do not get the fishcake! It wasn't perfect but wholesome. Reminds you of the old days.

Never fails. A first-class Chinese restaurant.

I just have to say this is the worst Chinese food I’ve ever eaten. Tasteless & sloppy. The “oyster sauce” tasted more like weak gravy! Satay sauce was terrible. Think twice before going!

Poor food, poor service. A 1 star hygiene rating.

Slow and very poor service orders did not turn up to the table at the same time, when they did three of them had to be taken back to be reheated or redone two of them were obviously microwaved due to the heat and the same plate coming back to the table. Took three times to get a drinks order into the table. This restaurant is riding on the coattails of the past experiences used to have a 4-star rating to stars is actually the 1-star is the highest it deserves. As with other reviews shown here they will not be getting my money anymore. Slow staff cold food and poor service.....the restaurant has had better days and therefore lost my custom and three stars of food hygiene rating now down to one star at best Hygienic food handling Hygienic handling of food including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage Generally satisfactory Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building (including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control) to enable good food hygiene Improvement necessary Management of food safety System or checks in place to ensure that food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future Major improvement necessary

Great lunch time Dim Sum , prompt efficient service , spacious tables ,

A very enjoyable lunchtime meal. Relaxed atmosphere and great tasting food.

Friends get together. Haven't been here for a long time. Disappointing is the best I can say. Service was poor. Starters, a mixed starter platter took 45 minutes to arrive. They were fine. Main course was a mixed bag. Chicken with cashew nuts was probably the worst - insipid, gloopy. The rest were average at best. So disappointing. Most bizarrely, they only wanted to take card payments if the pence figure ended in 50p or £.00. What's that all about??? We insisted. Won't be returning. Also, should have checked their food hygiene rating before we went. Its a 1.

Taste is Average and a bit over priced. A plate of morning glory cost 14 pounds and a bowl plain white rice 3 pounds!!!

Very nice old style traditional dim sum. Speedy service and friendly staff. Reasonable prices for the great quality and generous portion.

We love the Dim Sum here. Always hot and fresh and dim sum any time of day! My kids love it.

Some of the staff seemed pleasant and friendly. Maybe I ordered a bad dish but my noodles were bland and greasy. Washrooms also smelly. We came on the recommendation of a friend so perhaps it’s gone down hill since….

My son wanted to go here for the Chinese dim sum on the Saturday morning, for his birthday treat he wasn’t disappointed. He had more dim sum than he could stuff into his belly. Always a good sign that lots of local Chinese families come here. often it means the food is probably more authentic than the rest of the Chinese dine in restaurants in Cardiff. Excellent, will definitely be back I will say, don’t take much notice of the scores on the doors, probably more to do with the fact it’s non-English-speaking staff in the kitchens, struggling to keep up with the paperwork. Everything was spotless and piping hot absolutely delicious .

Not the best dim sum, plates weren’t that clean!

My favourite place for dim sum, the custard tarts are so good.

Quality of food was not consistent, the prawn dumplings (Har Gao) was over steamed and the wrapping was gooey when served, though their pork dumplings (siu mai) was quite decent. The theme of hit-or-miss continued with all our other dishes. Service was ok, we were placed on the ground floor and there was only one auntie serving an entire floor. She was pretty overwhelmed and thus difficult to get service.

Awesome place for best Chinese food in Cardiff ❤️

Like most people I've been coming here for 20 years for special occasions but on this occasion service was dreadful. We only got one drink (our initial order) getting a second was nigh on impossible Our mains took nearly an hour to come out (we asked 3 times for our food) despite seeing other tables who ordered after us get food before us I asked for the bill 3 times and waited 20 minutes before having to go up to counter to ask again for bill then wait 10 minutes for a card reader. Who thought it would be so hard to pay for your food. Because of this we didn't even bother trying to have dessert or drinks after food

It's been a while since we've been here and things have changed. The food is mainly the same and of a good quality, but the service has gone down hill. Service was very poor and I don't think we'll be back anytime soon. Which is a shame because we used to love this place!

I have been dining here since the 90’s with a large gap in recent years. Re visited last week for lunch. The premises haven’t changed at all! The food was delicious, as always but as others have stated some food arrived lukewarm. We raised with the waitress but she seemed totally disinterested!

To enjoy food at the Happy Gathering, you have to understand there are two types of Chinese restaurant- the ones that offer food adapted to the typical British palate and target their audience accordingly with decor and service to match, and those restaurants that cater to mostly Chinese local community where the food is the main focus. Happy Gathering is the latter- drinks are very secondary to the experience except for the complementary Chinese tea, you will probably struggle to navigate with specific dietary requirements, you need to know what dishes to order ( if you want the best, not the ones that typically feature on a takeout menu), not all the staff speak English. That being said, it offers delicious, authentic and reasonably priced food as good as you’d find in South East Asia . Go for the dim sum, served at lunch time. There are both English and Chinese menus which are presented on a clipboard with a pen for you to mark the number of dishes you wish to order alongside the dish description. There’s also an la carte menu with noodle, rice and vegetable dishes. It’s all intended to eat family style - served in dishes set in the middle of the table to share out. My family is Malaysian Chinese and we love the siu mai (pork dumplings), har gau (prawn dumplings), crispy fried squid, lava custard and char siu buns, beef brisket noodle soup amongst other favourites. Avoid Sunday lunchtime if you prefer a more peaceful atmosphere, or book for Sunday if you like it lively.

Delicious food and well spaced to meet social distancing rules

The entire restaurant is looking very tired and in need of urgent refurbishment. The staff are pleasant enough. However, the food was greasy, tasteless and not like any Chinese food I’ve had previously. Not all the food came out at the same time and some didn’t arrive at all. Beer isn’t chilled enough and served in cheap glasses. I won’t go again.

I have been here a few times for dim sum and dinner. As someone from Hong Kong, the food is definitely authentic for a Cantonese restaurant and made me felt at home, and the food quality is decent. The environment is a bit dimmed for my liking. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant for anyone looking for Chinese/Cantonese food in Cardiff, and would definitely visit again.

Environment: the light is dim, I would suggest sitting beside window. Service: Good, waiters are busy but friendly. Fast serving Food: Average,I recommend 烧卖(shaomai) and 叉烧(chashao). But Xiajiao is not so good Price: very reasonable, it's event cheaper than that in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Based on the competitive price, i would recommend this restaurant.

wonderful food had the set menu for two x three. Couldn't eat anymore there was 5of us and couldn't have asked for more,turned up an hour before closing and was catered for totally. Fair play too staff.

The food quality is way below standard