Lotus Express in Stockton-on-Tees

Quality of food was very disappointing. How can they get curry/rice and chips so wrong? Chips appeared to have been reheated many times and rice stodgy, one star given as curry sauce was okay. Very disappointed customer.

Food was ready very quickly and when I got home it was obviously reheated. Food tested good but the reheating spoiled the texture. What a shame but I would not return after reading the rest of the reviews it looks like this happens a lot

Always ordered from here for years, but the last 2 takeaways we have had have been very disappointing. Last one chicken curry was thin as water, and this one burnt hard chips and dry inedible chicken balls. Lotus Express, you need to get your standards back up! £40 is not cheap, only prawn crackers free? A lot of food went in the bin. Will be going elsewhere in future.

Best Chinese by far and delivery always good 👍

Got a take away, disappointed, curry very watery, a lot of onions to fill the meal, not much taste and flavour. Won’t order again.

Worst Chinese iv possible had, I actually could have cooked it better myself 🤣🤣

That was possibly one of the worst Chinese meals I have ever ordered . Spare ribs were all just fat and no meat and the chips were disgraceful and I got about four prawns . Very disappointed

Too many onions and no other veg in most meals . Cantonese chicken was dry and more batter than meat .

Love this place they are always very professional friendly and food is very consistent. Nice staff, atmosphere and very quick takeaway service.

The food here is consistently amazing. It is of a high quality, great flavour and fresh. It is a nice touch that when I ring they remember my name. All my interactions have been really friendly and welcoming when collecting; you feel like a friend which is a super lovely touch. This has been my go to place for a Chinese takeaway for 10 years and I will purposefully travel to collect since moving to a different area as no other Chinese takeaway compares. Ride or die customer! Thank you ☺️

Lovely garden centre and food was spot on definitely go again

Regular customer of this great take away. Best in the area. Really friendly staff and great food

Normally gorgeous but tonight must of been an off night sauce was watery,not much flavour just not the best tonight

Delicious food at a good price and the staff are very welcoming. This is easily my favourite Chinese takeaway in Billingham. It's a shame that the eat-in section of the building has been shut since COVID as I really enjoyed sitting in for a nice meal. Food is ready quickly and is always hot and tasty. I particularly like their soups, sweet and sour chicken (and pork), and aromatic lamb dishes. The only downside is that you need cash but there's an ATM ride outside if you're collecting. Whenever I'm in the mood for a good Chinese, Lotus Express is at the top of my list.

Food came quick, and was lovely but the chips were horrible, dry and cold looked as though they had been reheated many times.

Worst sweet and sour chicken Cantonese I have ever tasted. Usually lovely but it was dry and chewy. Absolutely inedible.

Cannot speak for restaurant , but takeaway is brilliant . Friendly , food delicious, service quick

Friendly and helpful staff. Lovely food.

Amazing food alway fresh and hot we've been using this Chinese since it opened and have never had a bad meal The lady on reception is always very polite and efficient she always calls you you by your first name. The prices are also good and you never have long to wait the service and food are Exceptional, I wouldn't go anywhere else.

Best Chinese in Billingham at this current time, mint 👍

My husband tried to excuse them as it’s the Christmas period and busy but I will not be ordering from here again! Everything was terrible quality; slimy chicken, dry noodles that didn’t resemble noodles I’ve ever seen or ordered before, dry satay chicken with the smallest amount of satay sauce on!! Too much to go on. The prawn crackers were the only nice thing. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!

Not surprised this place has so many bad reviews, absolute disgrace. phoned up after 18 months since last order, thought would give another go and wished I'd never bothered. Was told by the person on the other end of phone that we where blacklisted, asked for a reason and simply told was a problem previously with the delivery. Having thought back 18 months previous, remembered that after waiting 2 hours for delivery not turning up and having to phone them that it was with the delivery driver being driven round Wynard, when it did arrive it was stone cold, so phoned them and asked for a fresh meal to be sent of which was told no. Think anyone would have a right to complain or ask for money back. Is it our fault that they employ incompetent staff. These people need to ask themselves who pays their wages ie: the customer, when they think they can pick and choose after a perfectly legitimate complaint. Also need to ask why this place after being established for around 10 years now, why do they ask for payment CASH ONLY? I wonder.

Lovely food best I've ever had... Worth every penny

Having recently moved to Teesside we were looking for a good Chinese take away - well we found it at the Lotus Garden. Fantastic food and really nice service - when you ring in your order they even remember your name 😎

First time we have tried this one and wow so glad we did, absolutely lovely, food was very tasty, definitely will be back

The service was prompt and to the time stated,food was very tasty and plentiful. Staff polite and helpfull

Top food ..very tasty and good size portions

Lovely tasty dishes reminds me of the restaurants in London China town.Good size menu dishes include crispy noodles has small but clean restaurant,best in billingham

Best chinese takeaway in Billingham

Meal was perfect, tasted great and good value

Great meals always been satisfied when using

Beautiful food. Always fast collection and delivery times. Only issue is the phone line, almost impossible to get hold of on a regular basis.

Absolutely cracking food, delivered on time!. Can not fault this takeaway, highly recommended. ..

Excellent food and great service as usual

Lovely food quickly delivered. We set up a 'pop up' Chinese restaurant at home for a family celebration during Covid 19 and the Food was great. Will do it again soon. Thanks.

I have just had the most disgusting Chow Mein ever, I will never use this takeaway again. If I lived nearer I would have taken it back.

Had a lovely evening meal with some of our family and friends,the staff are friendly and made us feel welcome ,the menu is excellent and varied,the food was served very hot and well presented.The food is reasonably priced,however the drinks are expensive.It is not a large seating area,and unfortunately on the night we called it was also cold.They do have heaters,but because their is not a great barrier between the takeaway section and the eating area,the heaters were not to affective,We will still eat there again.

Nice food but athmosphere is not good

We used to use all the time and the the food seemed to go down hill. We stopped using them. Then last week we gave them another go and each item was very poor. The crispy lamb was so fatty and uncrispy we Threw it away . All the meals seeemed red ( new multi purpose spice/sauce.. ? ) All food bland and the curry was just odd. It was one of those times when you look at each other and regret bothering and wasting money. No third chance from us ....have they changed ownership or do we order when the chefs off ? Terrible.

we've always found the takeaway food here very good and I must say they are REALLY fast. The singapore vermicelli is recommended.

Takeaway is always lovely, tasty hot food from here. Sitting in is great too,generous portions, drinks very fairly priced and service excellent. Took a group of friends yesterday, all said they would love to come back to eat here with family.

Been recommended a couple of times to try the takeaway food from here , so gave it a try tonight , never again food was cold and inedible , can’t fault charming person on telephone when ordering but food was 10 minutes late dried out , cold and definitely will not be going again

I have used this Chinese since it opend had meals in and also used the take way. Tonight I ordered my usual and in all the time using here I was disappointed in the meal it was bland and taste less . Not sure if it's new kitchen staff but I won't be rushing back

Great food, reason for 4* and not 5 was staff could of been abit more friendlier, asked to sit at the window as the whole restaurant was empty it was late and during a week day but got denied and had to sit in the corner! No one else came in whilst we dined there either.. Maybe it was a one off and she was having a bad day but would probably go again, just smile next time be more considerate it goes a long way! 😛

Only scored 1 as no zero option!! Customer service stinks. Apparently takeaway has nothing to do with the restaurant, even though they are the same place. Paying customer refused access to toilet. Never heard anything like it. Asked for refund and left. Not been there for some time and went be back. Seem to recall reason for that was food wasn't great anyway

Good food, selection and price.

We have had a takeaway numerous times from here and the food is lovely. I have had various food and it is always nice. Staff are very friendly and you don't wait long.

The egg fried rice is excellent

Brilliant service and very nice food will definitely go back

Ordered salt & pepper chicken and chips few times a week lately. Think I’m addicted! Great friendly service and quick delivery too. Well recommended, can’t go wrong!

The restaurant is not very warm and somehow lacks charm. However the food is fresh good quality and tasty. We get more takeaways than sit in for meals.

I absolutely love this Chinese, everything from the food to the Service is Great, but I have 1 problem your Chips aren’t great and I know it’s a Chinese but some people do expect Chips with there meal and these let your food down every time!!!!!!!

Great food at great price. Speedy service too!

We bought 2 x chicken chowmain from this place having bought regular from them at least once a week.this time there was 3 small bits of chicken in mine and none in my sons.I thought i better ring them to let them know what had happend only to find a very very nasty woman owner say that is not possible and put phone down on me.I rang back and i said you put phone down on me and she tried to say that was someone else (( SHAME SHAME ON YOU )) Do you think we are simple we can remember voice she said again not possible .

Take away food ok, would not in restaurant as it's like a ice tomb, never have any heating on.

Great nice speedy service waited about ten minutes for my takeaway.

Ordered take away here on a visit to Billingham from Northants. Sweet n Sour Chicken possibly the worst I have ever eaten. The batter was hard and over cooked. The chips were very hard, seemed they were cooked earlier and microwaved. Beef in black bean sauce and green peppers was decent though. Chicken chow mien was poor. I actually buy a takeaway from here when I visit. I don’t know what’s happened but it’s the final visit. Can’t say they were busy because it was empty.

If you like your food very very greasy you will love this place, I however will not be returning to this greasy hell

We have tried most of the Chinese restaurants within a 10 mile radius. The Lotus Express consistently serves quality meals at reasonable prices and in our opinion is superior to other restaurants.

Great restaurant. Good takeaway.

We visited this restaurant whilst in Billingham for a wedding. On arrival there were 2 other tables eating and they had gas heaters next to their tables.....we quickly found out why as after 5 mins in there my husband and I were both freezing cold and huddling next to the radiators! We didn’t take our coats off for the whole time.

Food is excellent highly recommend the Tartar chicken 😁

Something seems to be going on with all the local Chinese takeaways in the area. If you ordered certain dishes off the menu such as egg Foo yung or chicken in a black bean sauce you got either boiled rice or chips with it. Now it's extra. They use the smaller plastic containers which are around 20% smaller than the foil containers. The food was ok but I think the noodles for the chow mein were cooking for hours.

quick service. All food is freshly made

Highly recommend this place . Very friendly staff very authentic and tasty Chinese food. I went for crispy shredded chilli chicken with noodles . This dish is my favourite Chinese dish and I have eaten this dish in many restaurants around the world and can tell you that this place is as good as any I have tried

Fairly authentic, some of the portions small compared to other dishes, friendly staff

I'm not a massive fan of Chinese take away food, however Lotus Express is really good. Have tried several different chicken and king prawn dishes all of which have been very good. Would recommend.

Comprar comida para llevar desde aquí y han encontrado plástico en mi langostino de Vinaroz curry.

We get take aways deliverd food is brilliant staff are great to and we also go and sit in there restaurant and it's easy to say that's fantastic to its a must to try

Just ordered 2 currys my partners was good but mine was tasty only two things wrong I ordered a special curry chicken/prawns/beef pork mushrooms and onions i repeated ordered twice but no onions and one prawn should be at least three prawns so only 5 out of ten for service and food

Food awful... chewy chicken. Sent it back and they never even asked why or asked is everything ok. Please people stay away from here I would rather go to Burger King and eat it off the floor !!!

Tuvimos una comida familiar la semana pasada y fue disfrutado por todos. La comida es excelente y el servicio en lugar. La señorita que nos atendio fue muy bueno, educado y servicial. Ella es un crédito a este restaurante. Aunque no me gusta hablar sobre los inconvenientes de la habitación puede ser bastante echoey a veces. Algunos muebles más suave sin ayuda. No lo dudes, ve allí.

Really enjoyed great atmosphere great service from nice people will go again good parking easy access

I have eaten from this take away since it opened it is fantastic value for money. The food has great flavour and appearance.

Utilizamos este lugar regularmente y la comida siempre es agradable. Puse mi orden por teléfono para recoger y cuando llegamos a casa, faltaban fichas hijas. Marido saltó en el coche y fuimos para ellos y el desagradable mujer en la me hasta la culpa por no pedir! . Esto es absolutamente falso y solo conseguí porque no estaba allí. Realmente estoy muy enfadado! Ella no tiene personalidad en el teléfono y tiene claramente un problema de comunicación, o puedo usar la factura. Si ella es el dueño entonces, si ella quiere tratar a sus clientes como que entonces ella no mantener una base de clientes leales por largo. Si ella no es el propietario, entonces ella necesita algo de entrenamiento básico en atención al cliente. Yo incluso hacerlo para ella si me contacte. Chocante. La próxima vez que ring le pido hablar con alguien. Mejilla sangrientos.

Pedí una última noche para llevar patatas fideos y la salsa. No nos entregan con patatas fritas así que me enviaron el conductor de atrás con las patatas fritas cuando los abrí me hecha absolutamente repugnante no tiene sabor alguno. Hasta miré de nuevo y no había salsa. Así que me llamaron de nuevo la mujer habló de poner el teléfono terriblemente, abajo en mí diciéndome que nunca podría pedir de allí porque llamé el servicio una broma. He sido para recoger mi reembolso y ella era la persona más maleducadas que he conocido en mi vida me dijo no hablar y solo me dieron el dinero. No sólo me perdí como cliente que siempre pedidos de allí pero todos hemos perdido amigos y familiares para que asco la comida y el servicio al cliente. También pedí hablar con el gerente y se negaba a dejar que me. En general terrible lugar también pregunté por su nombre y ella no me dicen. También nos dijeron de mis amigos bichos en mi comida. Me siento avergonzado por la extremadamente gerente de este lugar.

Good, quick and decent takeaway food with a nice choice of both Thai and Chinese and reasonably priced

nice staff ,great tasty food , always hot , nice to sit in also , have done so on several occasions. Duck wraps are delicious as is all the food Lotus Express serve

I have had takeaways from Lotus Express in the past which are consistently good, but this was my first visit to the restaurant. So glad we gave this a try, the food was fantastic and reasonably priced and the waiting staff were attentive and chatty. I had the duck in plum sauce and can honestly say it was the nicest duck I've ever had, beautifully cooked and excellent quality. We ordered a starter, two mains, two rice, two soft drinks and two wines and our bill came to £33. I'll definitely be visiting again soon :-)

Fantastic Chinese, had Singapore Noodle, Sweet n Sour King Prawn Cantonese style and rice, best I've had in years. Downside is they don't take cards, so take cash !

Came one night on spec for family meal. Just over £30 for 4 with single soft drink. Service OK but we seemed to be the only ones eating in- there is a far busier takeaway as well. All in all a pleasant family meal but I would have rather been in a more atmospheric environment.

We have been here a few times and mostly the food and service is great. However there had been a couple of occasions when the food was ok but not the high quality we normally get. I would tell anyone to give them a try and make your own mind up you won't be disappointed.

Best Chinese I have ever had. The food was fresh and very tasty and came piping hot and within 20 mins. Staff were very polite . Pleased with everything fantastic hats off to the chef.

We had a take away from here, delivered when they said they would and still nice and hot.Quality of the food was excellent - we would use them again.

Brilliant Curries, weekly Saturday Take-Away. Good service, excellent food, can highly recommend. Have not tried the sit-in Restaurant but always have customers eating in.

This is our favourite go-to takeaway in the area, we have many takeaways within walking distance of home but the menu choice and speedy delivery at Lotus Express works for us. I'm vegetarian and find there is a super range for me to choose from, and the salt and pepper chips are to die for!

Amazing food and service every time. Nothing bad to say about this place. Staff very friendly. Great service.

Order a takeaway most weekends, & never had one anything less than superb. On two occasions, we ve eaten in the restaurant, and each time, the food was even better,with huge portions. Family and friends who have visited us, all rate ithe Lotus Express as the best takeaway, and I would totally agree with them. Staff are friendly and helpful. Highly recommend it.

Over the last few months Lotus Express has become our takeaway Chinese of choice. The delivery is always on time and only once was a dish missing. A quick phone call and it was swiftly delivered with apologies before we'd finished the starters.Most importantly the food is superb and as close to restaurant quality of any takeaway I've had. My wife had actually gone off Chinese food for a while, the Lotus Express has rekindled her liking of it. Rice has to be ordered separately, but as we usually order for 6 or more people this actually works out as better value and we don't end up with unused cartons of boiled rice!We've never had a sit in meal so this review is based on takeaway service only.

I recently ordered Chicken Chow Mein and Crispy Deep Fried Beef from the Hartlepool Takeaway and feel compelled to share my experience. I've tried on a number of occasions to speak to a manager or the owner but keep getting fobbed off so now I'm forced to go public. The first thing I noticed was the quality of the chicken in the chow mein. It was rubbery and completely tasteless, swollen, watery, as if it had beed soaked or injected with fluid to 'plump' it up. The second thing I noticed was the meat inside the crispy beef strips, or should I say lack of it. The strips of actual beef that ran through the middle of the batter had the girth of a human hair. I'd say that actual beef content (if that's what it is) in this dish made up around 1% of the overall dish. This is food fraud and I want my money back, all £15.60p of it! How dare you advertise that you serve 'quality' food when you serve low grade meat that probably sits on the boundaries of being fit for human consumption. How do you sleep at night serving this rubbish to your customers? You should be ashamed of yourself for stooping so low.

This was the second time I have ordered a takeaway, the first time they got the order wrong. this time it was right BUT it was awful, the prawn crackers were hard, the sweet and sour chicken looked and tasted as though it was a left over, the sauce was congealed, ugh. Every other takeaway I have had (from different restaurants I hasten to add) the carton is always full, not this one, probably just as well there was less to put in the bin. Never again, I gave them the benefit of the doubt the first time, not this time, they are absolutely dreadful.

Went tonight .decided to eat in .we were the only ones but lots of takeaway orders went out..The food was the best we had tried in a long while everything was delicous.we will be back here again .and reccamend.to all lovers of chinese food 5 stars from us x

8 of us visited this restaurant and everyone was extremely impressed. The quality of the food was outstanding, everything was hot, fresh, and a cut above a number of other Chineese restaurants i have been to.The menu is varied, but not daunting, with a good mix of the usual Chineese cuisine, with some more distintive thai curries also on offer.The prawn toast, spring rolls and tartar chicken were particularly good!The staff were friendly, extremely efficient and made us all feel welcome.I wish i lived nearer this place, as it would become a regular trip.Definitely up there with the best Chineese Restaurants in the North East of England.

We order take away from here a lot, and it is my opinion is the most superior Chinese we have in Billingham. The food is delicious and take out service is quick. Definitely try here if you want good quality food and service.

This cafe was excellent so good we went 2 dys in a row and ordered th same thing! The potato rosti and pork rosti... Yummmmm

My Wife, son and I visited the restaurant on Saturday at 6:30pm on the 5th March 2016 as part of a Mother's day celebration weekend.The restaurant entrance is a Take-away. When we entered I noticed that it was a cash only establishement so I had to pop to the cash machine next door while my family were seated. The restaurant should have told me this when I booked over the Phone. The web site does not mention this either.The restaurant part of the establishment is modern Chinese chic and was clean and comfortable. Our table was near the wall with the take-away section on the other side and was a bit cold as the door to the take-away opened and closed many times through our meal. The restaurant has heating but it could not warm us up properly. The restaurant was empty and perhaps it would be warmer if it was full. Next time we would sit further in. It did not bother us so much that we asked to move.The waitress was very friendly and helpful with the menu; which is quite extensive and has more choices than the usual suspects. We ordered a half Aromatic crispy duck as a joint starter. It promptly arrived and there was a substantial amount of delicious duck and they did not skimp on the pancakes and salad. An excellent starter. We ordered Thai Massaman Chicken Curry, Chicken Black Pepper, Crispy Deep Fried Beef and boiled rice. Again, promptly served, large portions and delicious.We had chinese beer and green tea to drink from a reasonable drinks menu.The waitress checked in on us regularly to ensure that everything was Ok and kept the table clean and cleared. We had complementary hand wipes with the crispy duck.All in all an excellent meal, at a very reasonable price and we will be returning. It was probably the best chinese restaurant food I have eaten on Teesside since the closure of the Lotus Garden at Hartlepool.

We ordered from here last night and it was fantastic. We got it delivered and it came within 10 minutes piping hot :) we thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. We have also dined in at the restaurant which again was fantastic. The food is just delicious and good value for money. All I would say is wear a cardigan when dining in as it can be a tad nippy in the restaurant.Would definitely recommend this place to dine in and for delivery to my friends and family and we will be returning like we have many times :)

The best takeaway we have had in a long time, the food was tasty service first class, highly recommend it

Had a delivered take away last night and enjoyed every morsel. Will be going back soon. Yum, yum. Just eating the left-overs as I type. Very good portions to enjoy.

I have used this place now a few times for both takeaway and the restaurant. Maybe its my imagination but the 'sit in' food seems to be better than the takeaway. The food I think is great but there are a few things that let the place down. The restaurant closes around 10pm and as we like to eat about 8.30pm everything seems to be getting rushed. We also like a little break between courses but you feel guilty as they are hanging around and youn get the feeling of being rushed.Limited beers available which makes it difficult and also a bit of background music would be nice unless its on so quiet that you can't hear it.All in all I will certainly use the restaurant again and its a shame its not BYO drinks.