Mayflower in Cherwell

Recently, I was very fortunate enough to be invited by the owner of The Mayflower, in Kidlington, to a Chinese Banquet in his restaurant which is currently mainly known and used as a takeaway. The food was prepared by a renowned Oxford Chef, who previously was heavily involved in The Liaison, Paddyfields and the Tong San, these were all known for serving up the most amazing Traditional, Authentic, Cantonese dishes. He is now preparing this style of food and passing on his skills at The Mayflower on a pre-arranged basis. If you are thinking of having a special meal and think that this would be of interest, please contact the restaurant to arrange a meeting, with the owners, to discuss your requirements. The attached photos show a range of dishes, which although in this case included a number of seafood items, can be altered to suit individual needs. The meal that I have highlighted would cost between £50 and £60 per head and the minimum number would be 8 but 10 is ideal.

Decent Chinese Food at cheap prices. I ordered the Kung Po Chicken, the garlic fried rice and the chicken fried rice as a takeaway. The garlic fried rice which I ordered was really delicious and the others were also very decent as well. The staff were also very friendly as well. Overall, I was very happy with my experience in this restaurant and in future might also eat in here soon.

Easy parking right outside this attractively decorated restaurant. Had a lovely meal for six of us. The service was excellent from attentive staff and the selection of food dishes we ordered were all presented nicely and tasted great, especially the sea bass and the crispy duck. Will visit again.

Vary Happy the staff was very friendly and food was brilliant we did order a bit much food and they boxs it up so we could take home we have had take away but first time sitting in will 100% be coming back with family and friends

Went for the first time for a while after being regulars for years. I believe it was shut for a while during change of ownership. Food was as good as ever even though the prices had gone up. Menu was the same so maybe same chef and new staff . Hot and sour soup especially good. Only downside was £7 for a 330 ml bottle of lager which is a rip off. . Crazy. . I will go back to eat but will stick to coke or spirits.

The reason for the low score is it is never open . I have travelled there three times over the last 2 months to get and be told take away only,,,,,,,,,, You are either a restaurant or not ?

If you're thinking of trying this takeaway, I really advise you not to bother. We ordered about £70 worth of food via the online service Luv2Eat and the service was pretty diabolical, actually. Food was meant to get here by between 5.45 and 6pm, didn't turn up until 6.30, which wouldn't be so bad, but we had ordered at 3.30 and had to pay for the service. I ordered mixed stir fry veg, they sent boiled white rice with a little bit of veg in it - not what I wanted and not what I would ever have chosen. The Singapore vermicelli was not good, at all - hardly any meat in it - which considering the price was pretty shocking. The price of Chinese food seems to have gone up terribly in recent months -it's a pity that this takeaway doesn't think that should mean the customer deserves good service. We had been looking forward to a treat of a takeaway after a day of decorating- I wish I hadn't bothered. Spending our hard earned cash on something so sub standard has left a bitter taste in our mouths to be honest.

£22 minimum for card payment, charges are inconsistent with every cashier

We decided to celebrate a birthday at the Mayflower, as we hadn't been there for a while. We heard rumours that it wasn't very good service but the rumours couldn't have been more wrong. The food was superb and the staff were so cheerful and attentive. We had a great evening.

Always good food here, nice friendly efficient staff.

A bit tired decro, but the place is busy for 7 days a week, lunch to dinner.

This restaurant/takeaway is an institution in Kidlington. It's been around for decades! Reasonable food with friendly service quickly cooked. Takeaway orders can be phoned in or you can pop in yourself and sit and wait.

Ordered a Chinese as a treat for my family Phone through the order and went to pick it up. Got it back home and there was items of the meal that were missing phoned and spoke to a woman who basically didn’t care less told us to come back and pick up the items that were missing which took another 20 minutes so went back to the restaurant. Basically a heartfelt apology didn’t really care that the rest of the meal that we spent £60 on was going to be cold never order from this place again.

Sorry Mayflower, have put up with some very average food over the years but tonight's had to be the worse, house special curry! A grey watery mush without any hint of curry and uncooked chips, what has happened! Unacceptable!

Ordered 1 chicken chow main each, the box’s were half full and chicken not cooked properly looked under done and slimy. Smelt off and unpleasant. Be careful

Been eating from here for years, but sadly never again as the last 2 or 3 takeaways we've had have been sub standard, and our family have reported similar experiences of late. Inevitably, tonight's meal was the massive steel girder that broke the camel's back. I paid a whopping £47 for a quarter crispy duck, pepper beef, Cantonese style chicken, 1 plain rice, 1 plain noodles, mini spring rolls and prawn crackers. 4 years ago, that would have cost £33... cost of living crisis yes, but 42% more expensive? Come on. As for food itself, regrettably most of the dishes were near inedible, and we simply threw them away after a few mouthfuls. The beef in pepper sauce was grey, chewy and bland. The Cantonese style chicken was tough and barely had any sweet and sour sauce. The noodles were overdone and greasy. The duck was nice though, at least they can still do that, despite the miniscule pot of plum sauce and meagre amount of spring onions. I'm genuinely very sad to be writing this after so many years of good food. Here's hoping they sort themselves out and get back to old ways.

I've had takeaway from the Mayflower just about every week for the past three years, and have eaten in the restaurant maybe a dozen times. The food is consistently good – I'm a big fan of the black bean tofu right now – and the staff are lovely. Sure, it's not cheap, but I guess these places are having to choose between raising prices and going out of business, and I know which I'd prefer.

Haven’t had a bad meal from here in 20 years. Best smoked shredded chilli chicken 👌🏼

Food was amazing but the restaurant was too cold, the staff even more. We requested if the heating could be turned on, the lady said she would turn the heating up but did nothing. We were cold even after eating soup for starters and sipping tea. We decided to end our meal at starters only. Understand that cost of living has hit everyone but that does not mean restaurants resort to such level of cost cutting. Will Not Return.

Just picked up a meal special fried rice special chowmein and Cantonese sweet and sour chicken all dishes were shocking never again waste of £22.00 lunch leftovers definitely not freshly cooked

Absurdly overpriced and poor taste. The price did not align with the quality or composition of the food served. The main courses were particularly disappointing, as they predominantly consisted of cheaper substitutes, thinly veiled by a sparse layer of the advertised main ingredients. This approach not only felt misleading but also significantly impacted the overall taste, which was underwhelming. In summary, the combination of high prices, deceptive dish composition, and lackluster flavors made for a regrettable dining experience.

Very rude staff never going there again

Got there as it opened, food was nice and hot and fresh.

Have used these for many years but today is the last straw. They recently have reduced portion sizes by at least a third and up to half. After upping their prices by 20-30 percent. Just collected a take away and the "quarter duck" was more like an 8th, the veg now comes in a half size container and even the plum sauce was only enough for 2-3 pancakes. Such a shame as the food is ok. Absolute joke, I could have eaten out in a restaurant for the same money without getting ripped off on portion sizes. They take their customers for idiots and don't deserve to be in business. Avoid like the plague.

Friendly staff, a warm family environment and a fine selection of food that even caters for vegetarians.

We've been to the Mayflower now and then for 15 years and this evening was absolutely excellent. Delicious food, every dish different and tasty. (Not like some Chineses where its the same sauce with different bits in it.) The service was also excellent - our waitress was very nice, efficient and friendly, chatting to my Dad about Singapore. Thank you!

Had Sweet and Sour Pork balls last night from take away Not very nice at all pork was very tough and dry as though it had been reheated I wasn't able to finish it It wasn't your usually high standard of food Please check these are cooked properly

Ordered what I thought was fried rice only to receive a plate of oil soaked rice. The only thing that was good was the spring rolls that appeared to have been brought in. The atmosphere was dated and the male bathroom smelled

Calm atmosphere, great food and friendly service. We loved Chinese chicken satay and Chow mein noodles.

Never ordering anything from here again! Had a takeaway beef chowmein and sweet and sour chicken. Chicken was like rubber and didn’t taste right and the chowmein was greasy and didn’t taste like it should. We threw most of it in the bin. My wife called them to explain and all they said was we will tell the chefs. Standards have dropped massively from here! Very very disappointed!

Really enjoy are meals. Lovely lady always happy .thank you.

I haven’t eaten here for years due to a bad experience, but after reading a few good reviews I thought I’d try again. We ordered some chilli & garlic chips, sweet & sour chicken balls, prawns in garlic & spring onion, veg chow mein and a beef chow mein, and a couple of cans of drink. I was surprised when the bill came to over £38, especially when we can get similar from Eastern Kitchen for around £25. I have to say though, the above aside, it was very tasty and delicious. It seemed fresh, full of flavour, hot, and portion sizes were good. My partner said the same, and we felt it’s the best Chinese we’ve had in a while. The lady who served us was very sweet. I’d order again from here. Thanks for a lovely meal!!!

Rice portion for £8.60 is a small square tub, for this price I would have thought the rectangle shape would have been provided. Fried rice wasn't fried rice, it was boiled. Chicken chow mein: 6 pieces of chicken and LOTS of cabbage, mushrooms and carrot swimming in gravy with minimal noodles. Duck spring rolls, stone cold in the middle, no heat to them whatsoever. £23.00 exactly for small special fried rice, chicken chow mein and duck spring rolls. Over priced, cold and will not use again. Very disappointing.

Great service friendly staff and the food is great seem to be cooked in no time at all

Birthday lunch. Perfect for our gathering. The food was good, and the staff were very nice. Easy parking for those who need it.

Muito limpo, atendimento bom ! Vale a pena provar !

Love food excellent service. A wonderful atmosphere and good value for money. E cellent menu choices as,well.

Awful service, long wait times and they often get your order wrong. The person on the end of the phone often seems distracted and too busy doing something else to listen to your order properly. The last 2 occasions we had the wrong food delivered. No customer loyalty and very poor communication! We won’t be using them again.

Our first time and not the last time!! We were very happy with the prompt service and the friendliness of the waitress. Food was delicious, hot and fresh. I look forward to my next visit.

Went in to pick up food, bit dark but the food was amazing! Would go there again. The workers were polite, and overall it was nice.

Have supported The mayflower for over 30 years but unfortunately won't be again Our order last night was shocking and my birthday dinner ended up in the bin Pork balls were very tough hard peices of meat and the batter around them tasted as if they had been refried The garlic chips were raw We Ordered a satay dish with rice and I don't know what we were given but it certainly wasn't satay My daughter ate it and said it was ok, but there was only a very small amount of it in the container Nicest things about the order was the prawn crackers and the plain boiled rice

Bit pricey for small food quantity of servings

We had a lovely meal - particularly enjoying the 'treasure chest' starter and the ice cream desserts. We often have takeaways from here but it's nice to visit in person - quiet for a Saturday evening but pleasant and friendly service.

Ordered food as a walk in here on Tuesday evening. Very good value for money, decent portion sizes. Food was made very quickly. Tasted lovely, highly recommend the roast pork fried rice and the garlic, salt and chilli squid

Used this takeaway for the first time this week. Was disappointed with the food. The pork balls were burnt and mostly inedible and other dishes only lukewarm. Considering this is not a cheap takeaway will be looking at alternatives in the future

Very good quality food, friendly staff.

Great family run Chinese restaurant. They make you feel very welcome and the food is as good as it gets. Lovely decor and ambience

I took my wife here for her birthday, you know something is wrong when you arrive a find the wine you ordered on the table and no glasses to drink it from, after asking for some glasses it took 10 minutes to actually get some. The food came and was of good quality but due to a mix up in our order the peking duck pancakes were missed off, after querying and being shown our booking, which was written in Chinese, it would appear it was our fault!!?. We also ordered gluten free and that was missed off aswell. On paying for the meal a bottle of wine, which one of our guests went to the bar a paid for was added to the bill, I quierred this and told it hadn't been paid for and we needed to prove it had. All in all the Mayflower staff managed to ruin my wife's birthday and may just add not once has there been any form of apology.

Thought I’d try the local Chinese, wish I never! The chicken smelt, as well as being like rubber. It has put me off Chinese food for a while. Also they charge for chopsticks, first time I’ve come across that…

Last minute booking and glad we did food and service was exceptional will definetly be returning

I recently booked a 60th Birthday meal for 30 people at the Mayflower. I can say without questions every person really enjoyed their meal. The staff were very friendly which helped to make it a special occasion. Thanks for a lovely evening with delicious food Ling and all the staff.

Food is OK when they get your order correct. The last 2 were completely wrong and probably won't order again.

Choices galore, quick service on take out

Had a pretty good meal from there, we were looking to find our go to Chinese having recently moved to the area. So we asked them why they didn't deliver. It turns out we are 89 metres outside the delivery area! (That is correct 89 metres) Their solution was ring us directly and we will come to you. Fair enough I thought but to be honest if you even dropped it at the end of the driveway then we would be in your area so perhaps a little more common sense like change the size of the area on the app it is a very easy and quick thing to do and prevents villages being cut in half. It also gives you more customers! So we ring with a £100+ order they say they need to check as they have new drivers who don't know the area. Like the 89 metres will really throw them! They say they will ring back. After an hour we gave up and went elsewhere. Good job, customer service wise you went from newly moved in happy with your food family to we would only use you if everywhere else is closed as we just don't want to give you our money now as we simply are not important enough to even call back. Great demo of how not to do it!

TBH, I've been using them for years and was always pleased, but recently the food is not up to the same standard, Curry Sauce was thick, chips appeared to have been reheated. The chicken in the sweet and sour was tuff. Such a shame,

It was a very good experience having dinner here 😁 The staff was very friendly and they look very hard working and committed with providing a good experience. Food was very authentic and I will definitely repeat!

Best Chinese in kidlington, been going there for years for takeaways, only eaten in the restaurant a couple of times but was nice when I did.

Return to here as great service and fantastic value.

I ordered a soup and a set menu for 2 but changed chicken for prawns and was charged ten pounds more but was told that’s what the computer said ! If I had ordered the set menu and added the prawn dish as extra I would have been charged 3 pounds less if I had ordered all the dishes separately it would have cost me six pounds less phoned up to see why but the girl on the phone would not listen also the prawn dish was very runny I will not be using this Chinese take away again !

One of the best takeaway with good Cantonese food. Hard to find now.

Best Chinese restaurant in Kidlington !

Incredibly TASTY everything I ordered, I am very happy I found this restaurant- Excellent quality of food and reasonable prices too.

Appalled is an understatement. I ordered yesterday (04/08/2022). I was recommended mayflower for some reason I am now unsure of. Firstly, I ordered through Uber eats but it said that mayflower had their own drivers, that's fine. I ordered around 6:30pm for 2 dishes as I hadn't eaten all day and was starving after a long day dealing with family circumstances, so far fine. The food was meant to arrive between 7:25-7:45pm according to Uber eats, again, no problem. The only problem I have with this, is the fact I waited just over an hour when I only live 10-15min drive away from this restaurant! I was being very patient because I thought maybe there's a bit of traffic (Oxford parkway has created slightly more traffic). It was 8pm and my food still hadn't arrived, so I called the restaurant to be told that they had problems with the driver and I should receive my food in a few moments because the driver wasn't too far away. The lady on the phone was right, it turned up. Yay! Secondly, I order a beef chow mein and 6 chicken satay skewers ( 2 flavours I crave when comfort eating 😂). The chow mein wasn't bad, it must have kept okay, was slightly watery but nothing that made it taste off. The skewers however, tasted and felt overdone like they had been sat under a heat lamp longer than they should have been. The satay sauce was nice but developed a skin and the chicken tasted very over done. Like I said, I think it was under a lamp for too long making it taste rubbery and chewy. I used to go to this restaurant about 10ish years ago. It had gone downhill then, after being recommended to me all these years later, I thought I would give them another shot, but never again. Not worth the waiting time or the overcooked food when it does eventually arrive!

Amazing food & fantastic service

Sweet and sour chicken Hong Kong style, egg fried rice, mini vegetable spring rolls and prawn crackers - absolutely delicious, every time! Quick service even at 5:30pm on a Saturday when lots of people ordering. £20 for two, and even then we get two meals each, so £5 pp per meal!

Fabulous meal here. The staff were so friendly. We eat in Chinese restaurants all over London and nothing beats The Mayflower. I hope we can go back soon.

One of the top 5 maybe even 4 Chinese in the county if you ask me. I have been to many. Lovely friendly staff, all round decent. Did a wonderful job for 12 of us on my birthday. Been going for years.

The food was amazing and the prices were very reasonable. It was also quick table service with very friendly staff. The food was served quickly and hot. Inside the restaurant was beautiful.

The online menu advertises one set of prices, but ordering online through Deliveroo every item the prices are jacked up. Example - £7.40 for salt n pepper squid on the menu costs £9.40 on Deliveroo. Every dish is around £2 more expensive. Don't tell me it costs £2 for each plastic tub or tin foil carton. You pay for delivery. service charge and pay for the plastic bag it comes in. Will not order from them until they sort their prices out. Rip off.

Very friendly good food promptly served. Easy parking

Received my order after a long wait, i used to be happy with the food i’ve ordered in the past feel it’s not so tasty or of good standards these days!. I telephoned to report the gone off food and the manger said thanks for letting us know.

Always delicious and amazing service. We're frequent visitors and will continue to be!

We had a takeaway of pork prawn balls and egg fried rice. It is the worst takeaway we have ever had. The pork was so tuff you couldn’t chew it. Never again will we ever go there .

In the past we have had really good, tasty meals when we have ordered in house. Yesterday was the last straw from here as we ordered a take away and spent a substantial amount of money for this - two vegetarians and five non vegetarians. In the mushroom curry my husband as usual served and on eating he found instead of a mushroom a piece of what could have been a piece of beef??? On ringing to complain we were first cut off rudely as soon as the person realised it was a complaint as my husband asked to speak to the owner!!!!! We ring up again and this time the owner replied and offered to credit the price of the mushroom curry to add injury to insult. We are Hindus and do not eat beef and this is not the first time they have got the wrong order with pathetic excuses such as a new Chef and being busy!!! We will never go to this restaurant again!!!

Food is always good but please allow at least another 20 to 40 minutes on top of there promised delivery time. Two weeks running now that they've been extremely late. Ordered at 6.45pm and still waiting at 8.40pm depiste a phine call at 8.25pn whrn advised its 5 minutes away.

We were really let down by our visit today. We went out this evening to celebrate a friends 21st Birthday and were faced with dreadful customer service. One dish was raw and inedible. We then were faced with hidden charges to take our PAID FOR meals home. Ridiculous. Apparently, they can’t take card payments for less than £20 either. To top it off we got stopped on the way out by the waitress accusing us of not paying our full bill! In actual fact, she was still trying to charge us for a RAW CHICKEN chow mein that we were advised had been taken off the bill. Would not recommend.

We went to the Mayflower to celebrate our friends birthdays. The customer service was awful, we were fed raw chicken and they tried to say it was just one piece and the rest was fine! As if one piece is ok!! They then added hidden charges 10p for a carrier bag and 70p for a pot to put our left over dinner in that we had already paid for! Don’t ask for more sauce because a tiny pot is £1.50! When sorting out bill they refused card payments for less than £20 and this was not advised when we entered. On the way out the waitress stopped us and said we hadn’t paid enough, she was still trying to charge us for raw chicken!! When we pointed this out she didn’t apologise but asked us to pay an additional 70p!! Overall experience was disgraceful, avoid this restaurant at all costs!!

This used to be such a good Chinese but recently delivery times are horrendous, food is cold when it arrives, greasy and poor quality.

Omg. Hard chicken. Over cooked and tasteless. Never eat there again. Go to Hong Kong house or rice box Cowley instead.

We got two very spicy dishes instead of the two salt garlic chilli chicken pieces and beef chow mein we had ordered. After two phone calls to rectify the problem, my wife went to return the wrong dishes and collect the dishes we should have had. She didn’t even get an apology, was corrected on dish names insinuating the error was still ours and also came home without the beef chow mein that was also missing from the original order! I would be very reluctant to order here again as the service on the phone and in restaurant on return was so rude. My wife says your front of house staff requires further customer service training adapt to retain it’s custom.

Extremely low quality, portions very small. Customer service not exist. Wouldn’t give this food to my dog. Never ever again.

Chinese food is always my go to take-away, and I've been disappointed with what was available in my area. Then I discover Mayflower and I am so happy I did! Actually good hot and sour soup, love the beef in black bean sauce and sweet...

It is the worst I was ever in I was eating my food and saw a mouse 🐀 I will never eat hear again

I never ever seen worse food I will never go their again please dont go their my friends see mice on the floor

Ordered 3 items one was missing. One was inedible. One was good. 1/3 is bad. When I called to say my dish was missing I got accused of lying. Why would I lie about 2.50 boiled rice? All in all paid £15 for two dishes....

We went last night to the Mayflower for a meal in the restaurant and not only was the service great the meal was brilliant. Don't know why we haven't been before, but will definitely be going again 😃

Overpriced mediocre food. Was also charged 20p for a bag after spending £50. Won’t eat here again.

Ordered a takeaway at 6.15 on New Year’s Eve. Due for delivery between 7.05 and 7.25. Got a message at 7.25 to say the order had been cancelled. Why tell us so late? Any need for waiting over an hour to cancel the order? Very...

Ordered a takeaway on line, said it would be ready for collection in about 20 mins. when we arrived it was being prepared only waited about 3 mins. arrived home still nice and hot. The family agreed that it was one of the best Chinese...

This place has very tasty Chinese food. My only problem is portion sizes. They are a bit on the small side. Very friendly staff.

Tried it again. Expensive with small potions. Undercooked noodles in old oil: inedible Very small portion Toban Chilli beef. 20p charge for plastic bag takeaway is in. It's just not good enough. Try somewhere else.

Great food and friendly service. Thank you!

I am absolutely fuming! The minimum to pay with a card (in 2021… I know right) randomly increased to £20. The wonky cash machine in the waiting area wouldn’t work with my card. The guy’s solution? Drive round Kidlington for 15 minutes looking for a...

Telephone and delivery service very good. The food is bloody good as well.

Good food but takes over a hour and 30 minutes to drive 3 miles multiple times. Offers partial refund which takes a week to clear. Avoid delivery and collect. So if you can drive try the star Chinese first as better food although they are cash only no delivery which is disappointing. And if you can't order in advance. Probably order the day before.

Prices hiked recently with extortionate delivery charges for local delivery

An excellent meal for us both here, big portions (we couldn't eat it all so they put the remainder in takeaway containers for us), very tasty and perfectly presented. We shall visit the Mayflower again when staying near Kidlington.

My favourite local takeaway. I’ve been here 3 times in two weeks since I got back to the UK and every time the food has been fantastic.

Had takeaway before which was okay but the meal in the restaurant was much better.

We have been ordering from this restaurant for several years, several times a month, but will now find somewhere else as it hasn't been as nice lately. The food is good although quite pricey. The last four times we ordered, the food took MUCH LONGER to arrive than what they announced (these were week nights, not at peak times). When it finally arrived, on average 1.5h after ordering, it was barely warm, certainly not anywhere near 70°C. Given the length of the drive between our house and the restaurant it's unacceptable. When I rang again to ask for an update on the delivery time, the person was incredibly rude and I could hear the conversation with the colleague in the background.