Mayflower chinese restaurant in Tendring

Firstly, i have to say, i have just come on here to leave a review and i am shocked at some of the previous reviews. My wife and i have just returned home from a wonderful evening at The Mayflower. This isn't our first time here but i forgot to leave a review the last time, but this time this place blew us away and i had to. The food and service this evening was top drawer, Jack and Pheobe were rushed off their feet this evening, but handled the restaurant like true professionals with a constant smile on their faces and a professionalism that would put other restaurants to shame. I am only sorry i couldn't meet the chefs and thank them too, as the food was out of this world. This is without doubt THE chinese eat in restaurant in the Clacton/Holland area. Thank you so much guys, we will be returning again and again.

We were disappointed with the fact you had a minimum spend per person £23 per person regardless of what you want to order. The rice and chip portions were tiny. Food was ok but for the price not worth it. In response to your reply, which is so unprofessional, we booked over the phone and NO mention of the minimum spend. And if on window I do apologise as I don't often look at the windows. You should be more courteous and not so defence. I gave an honest review and the, it's beyond you, was just silly. Just take it that we didn't look on your website or your windows and the person booking us should have said!!!!!!@@@@

I fairly regularly get take away food here, the counters staff are always rude and curt as if they don’t want to be there, but the food is ok and it very close to my house. On Saturday they were more rude than usual he said they had a table of people so they weren’t doing take away that night, I couldn’t recommend this place

I live in Clacton, I’ve driven past so many times but this was my first visit and oh what a culinary experience! The food was so yummy. Service good and I will definitely return!

Fantastic food and extremely helpful staff

Went for a meal with my family tonight and the food was lovely. Fresh and hot and the meat was juicy and tender. I'm very picky when it comes to the cleanliness of places I go to eat but I can honestly say that this restaurant was clean and the staff were welcoming and polite.

How this restaurant has any good reviews is beyond me I have tried twice and both times it has been terrible 😞 in all ways Prepare to be disappointed!!

Fantastic food is lovely and clean with polite, friendly staff

Absolutely beautiful food! Great service, always a welcome smile.

The food was great but the wine was poor and they charged 50p for a doggie bag. Petty

Really enjoyed my first visit here, not a great fan of Chinese food made for westerners but have to say the food is of excellent quality and lots of different menu options you would not find on most Chinese restaurants menus, I would describe the food here as premium Chinese, nice flavours, nice presentation. Also do draught beer too which is a + from me. The restaurant has a good atmosphere and positive energy, service from young waitress good and the boss lady there is really sweet and obviously very hard working. Free parking outside restaurant and street, will definitely come again soon to try more of the menu Thank you ❤️

Been here lots of times with family and friends. Food is always up to a high standard and staff are very welcoming and friendly.

Suck a great place. Lovely staff, both the owners and the waiters. Food was brilliant, we had a huge choice of starters and mains and every dish was cooked perfectly. Highly recommended. You have to eat in, takeaway is great but definitely go in to eat 👌🏻 😋

We celebrated my husbands birthday here. We live locally and had not visited before. Food is amazing. Staff very friendly and polite. Service on time. Price is reasonable. The restaurant was full. All the food that came out looked delicious. Good atmosphere. We would definitely visit again 😊

We visited The Mayflower on Saturday night there were 8 of us on our friends hen party. The food was amazing as was the service by Michael and the team. The restaurant is very clean, small and cosy with an extremely friendly team. Thank you

Terrible food, Terrible service. One hour wait for starter, on arrival it was the wrong starter, was told ours went to another table, (at the time there was only two tables eating-table for two and a table for three to be precise) when ours eventually arrived it was not very warm and not very big portion, especially for the price they charge. Main meal was awful, very bland, yet again not very warm, and still very small portions. Very disappointed, very overpriced, worst Chinese we have ever had.

Very dissatisfied food was bland was just enough but didn’t finish it all asked to take home minimum spend 22.00 per person bill came to 96.00 Was amazed to find was charged for containers x2 to take leftover home Was not impressed and will not be returning! Very disappointed

Very good Chinese food with full range on menu. Easy parking. Welcoming staff. Pleasant decor. Nice atmosphere.

If you know your Chinese prepare to be disappointed £20 minimum spend not surprised restaurant empty Restaurant cold Food completely tasteless Service terrible Food overpriced for what you get Could go on please avoid this restaurant

We came for dinner this evening, been home For 2 hrs and both been violently sick. Wasn’t a great Chinese at all, tangy tasting pork ribs, and Slimy beef. Avoid.

This is by far the best restaurant in the area. The food is clearly freshly prepared and freshly cooked and is so tasty. The staff are really friendly and helpful and overall the service is outstanding.

If you want great chinese food this is the place to go to, but dont go for a take away get it hot off the wok, and go in the restaurant. When you get it straight from the wok you will notice all the subtle flavours that come out and how crisp the batter is . I have been going to this restaurant for a number of years and can honestly say I have never had a bad meal, and have never herd anyone else complain while in the restaurant. The owner and staff are helpful and polite and prices are reasonable, so what are you waiting for ? give it a try you wont be disappointed .

Celebrating husbands birthday, & a perfect start to Christmas. Service & food, we could not wish for better, & an enjoyable complementary mulled wine. " Thank you".

I can honestly say this is the best Chinese restaurant I have been to. The food is always amazing, the staff are very friendly, wouldn’t go anywhere else x

Just had takeaway absolutely disgusting sweet and prawn under cooked prawns just tasted like batter, my wife's chow mein had very little veg in it, manager very rude and unconcerned. Would not give any refunds as we had eaten nearly of the meals. Really overpriced. Good bye Mayflower its a shame as we have had a lot of good meals. If customers are going to be treated like this they don't deserve to be in business.

We've lived in the area for a long time and my hubby collected a takeaway earlier this evening. Verdict.... Disgusting! Tasteless prawns in soggy batter was hard for my hubby to eat and particularly my dish was inedible. I managed half. Tasteless chow mein, too much salt and no other flavours like usual. Five pieces of veg in a veggie chow mein is not acceptable. Phoned to inform restaurant and they wanted food to be returned by us. My hubby had had a drink and I can't drive as I've been in and out of hospital for 15 days so was unfit to drive. That bit is not Mayflower's fault but I think some effort should have been made to collect and replace meal even if they had to get a taxi. This is the first time ever that I've not been able to eat a takeaway of any kind ever!! We're not fussy folk but enjoy good food. We'll be traveling further away from now on for our future Chinese meals. The manager needs to be sent on a 'Customer Care' course for survival! Our cheese and biscuits were welcomed. Just looked at other comments on website. Gosh.. no more words.

Fantastic food !!! Great service !! Had a great evening here. Would highly recommend. A++

Ordered takeaway , they got our order wrong then was rude , but they were in the wrong , the food we got was bland , Luke warm and disgusting the chicken and prawn balls smelt like old batter , the food looked and tasted pre cooked , we left the food and had to cook even though we had paid out over £60 . Would never recommend and would detour people from eating there .🤮

I don’t usually leave reviews but me and my family have been coming to this restaurant for years and I must say exceptional if your looking for a higher class restaurant, the chef even came out and spoke to us and telling recommendations for different things to try as we always order the same! Excellent food and lovely staff!

Set price of £20 per person must be spent. Didn't want our business either, restaurant was empty. The kids would not of been able to eat £20 worth of food anyway!

Absolutely vile. I have never left a review on anything before but my experience here was so appalling. We phoned up and ordered over £70 worth of food. We was told 40 mins - when we arrived we was informed the food hadn’t even started being cooked and to come back in another 50 mins. When we finally got the food the order was wrong (despite the waitress reading back the correct order - there were 3 witnesses to this). We was going to let this go considering it was a busy Friday night and people make errors. However the food was absolutely disgusting. Everything looked and tasted the same, it was cold and bland. I phoned up and politely explained to the waitress our order was wrong and we wasn’t very happy. She was immediately defensive and called me a liar. I explained I wasn’t calling to cause an issue I just wanted to let them know. The waitress continued to be argumentative down the phone and said she’d get the manager. The manager was intimidating and aggressive towards me and wouldn’t let me speak. I asked him several times to please not speak to me like this and that I wasn’t calling to ask for anything but I just wanted to let them know - I really wish I had recorded the call as I cannot believe a business owner, or anyone for that matter, would speak to a customer the way he did, particularly as they were in the wrong. He then also went on to call me a liar. I was in total disbelief at this experience. Genuinely the worst Chinese food I have ever had, complete waste of hard earned money. I strongly advise you avoid this place. Vile in every sense.

Very disappointed dinning out experience, first part that was disappointing was on the first page of menu it states there is a min charge of £20 per person. We took our 11 year son who does not eat a lot (diffantly not £20 worth), food was very bland but I still asked what me and my son had left could we take home. Well second disapointment was that the left overs was put in polystyrene tubs and that we were charged £3 for 2 tubs, third problem was that I didn't get all the food I'd left, wasn't noticed until home about the £3 charge and less food. Service and timing of food was good. But very over priced We had 4 soft drinks and 1 beer came to a total of £81 for 2 adults and 1 child

Will not visit again, not because of any rudeness, but just overpriced and very underwhelming food, which was very bland, was charged £4 for an orange juice & lemonade, There is a £20 minimum service charge per person. Also got charged £1.50 per container (polystyrene) for take home. Definitely not worth the £81 paid. Shame really as a neighbour recommended you very highly

Rude staff and awful food. Restaurant got our order wrong despite reading it back to us correctly. Food was very bland (crispy chilli beef didn’t have any chilli and was just sweet!). We called the restaurant to explain and I cannot believe how rude they were! Avoid!!

1st visit. Impressed with the food and the service

Happy New Year to the chef and staff at The Mayflower x It is the best chinese I've ever had!

Excellent food and service. Clean and comfortable dinning area

Mayflower is a must to visit in Holland on Sea, Karen and Michael made us feel so welcome, they were lovey, polite, vibrant and delivered. The food was delicious and only for these two and food will I return to Clacton. The most hospitable I felt during my stay. Thank you.

Food so good here we visited twice in 4 days. Good value for money and food delicious. Staff very friendly - nice warm atmosphere. Would highly recommend a visit.

Had a lovely meal here, the staff were helpful and friendly and the food well cooked and tasty. Had one of the set meals and hard to fault it, only tiny criticism would be there were strawberries in one of the sweet and sour dishes, which I am allergic to, there is a note at the beginning of the menu advising to notify of allergies but I have never had strawberries in a Chinese dish before so didn't think to mention it. Didn't detract from the meal I just avoided them!

Last time I was in there it was a great night out and gave them 5 stars, last night myself wife and daughter ordered our meals and believe it or not they had finished their main and I had not received anything, they just kept saying won't be long. Absolutely unacceptable

Great to be back long time waiting

We were waiting for our food for over an hour. The staff were not very Observant that we were sitting there for an hour and only offered a drink top up once. At one point we almost walked out due to the waiting. The food was okay but nothing special. The restaurant was not even full. Definitely not going back.

Lovely food and service will def be back

Went there today sat 26 th June awesome food great service outstanding there was four of us and had a fabulous meal will deffo come here again and tell my friends it's a gem of a place the server's a young man and women was fantastic and made you feel at home and wasn't rushed thank you

We came today sat night with friends there was four of us 2 over 50s and two over 70 what great food wide choice made to feel welcome and fantastic waiting staff the young girl and young Chinese lad had drinks and lots to eat very reasonable prices excellent food will deffo come back here again outstanding food and service was a pleasure to eat here and a safe place thank you just a hidden gem lovely seating area

Always the best food, staff & service. Visit every week.

Food was nice but wouldnt take the old style 20.00 pound notes, may I remind you mr mayflower they are still legal tender and what you did was illegal and weird.

Restaurant closed but take away operating again. As always, the food is great. Special Curry, Special Chow Mein, Prawn Curry, pancake rolls.. lovely. Ring to order, 40 mins and ready to collect. Recommended.

This place is terrible the owner is rude and the food isn't fresh I live locally and have tried to advise the owner but he is very uptight.

Went for dinner with my husband tonight for my 30th. Food was amazing, prices were good and the two young girls working were fantastic. Will be back for sure.

We booked on the strength of reviews and we were not disappointed. Great menu great food choices and wonderful service. We have found a little gem with tasty fresh food and we will definitely be returning. A really pleasant evening thanks!

Excellent Food and Hospitality. A regular Customer for 15 years since it first opened. A great experience. Well worth a try. You won't be disappointed.

Extended birthday date night , we have eaten takeaway from here on a few occasions but wanted to experience the restruant to sit and eat . We were not disappointed the food was well presented and tasty. The best bit was just the right waitress called Abby

Amazing food great service lovely staff

My husband and I went here on a Friday evening. Everything was very clean and well presented. Waiting staff very polite and friendly. Food was freshly cooked and tasty. Would definitely go back if we are ever in the area again.

First visit, great food and portion sizes, and good atmosphere. Lovely friendly staff. Would definitely go back.

The staff at the Mayflower are always very attentive and friendly. The menu is varied, freshly cooked and delicious. The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere and well worth a visit.

Top quality food. Huge portions. Great presentation and very friendly staff. It's easy to get carried away and order too many dishes which can make it an expensive night, but well worth it!!

Our first visit. We were looking for a chinese restaurant where we could eat in and not just a takeaway. We were very impressed with The Mayflower. Spotlessly clean and nicely decorated with clean lines, comfy seating and friendly staff. We enjoyed every dish we ordered from their plenty of choice menu which were tasty and beautifully presented including the desserts. (Mayflower; my husband had the waffles and said they only improvement would be if they were served warm)Staff were attentive and empty dishes removed promptly. We went on a stormy Saturday night in February and it wasn't very busy at the time with ours and probably 3 more tables taken. We did book though probably didn't need to, though I would imagine in kinder weather booking would be advised.Pricewise I would say food was average price, drinks quite expensive with a pint of beer costing £5.50 (brand Asahi which my husband enjoyed) a spirit with mixer was about £5.We will definitely visit again and highly recommended this hidden gem of a Chinese restaurant.

Excellent food and very friendly service. It’s a very personal restaurant which caters well for families, groups and couples very well. Have just taken my children for their first Chinese meal which they have very much enjoyed.

I make no apology for reviewing this restaurant again, but its that good it deserves another mention. Each time i go they have improved something, be it in the decor or in the,presentation of the food The food its self deserves a hole section to be written about it, but that would spoil it for anyone visiting because you wont find many of these dishes at your local take away.So next time you fancy a chinese meal , make the effort to find this hidden gem and enjoy .

Lovely meal. Best Chinese restaurant around here. Very nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Good service

Absolutely useless I Used to spend a lot of Money in this place WELL NO MORE!!! Ordered several meals a few weeks back as I was unwell The last order was taken wrong (happened once before) but I let it go but this time I didn’t and was told the wrong part of the order will be refunded when I order again, well 6 weeks later Iv ordered again my son collects and guess what a part of the order is wrong!! 😡😡 ring them and they will not refund my wrong item!!! Which I may add was NOT my fault seems the staff there are completely inadequate and cannot even take an order!!!! This is when this place is even open as they close for weeks for various reasons!! Without any warning!! Well I’m ordering no more and am I annoyed ABSOLUTELY!! Livid actually!!!

Yummy food was very cold in the restaurant on last visit slightly expensive I guess you get what you pay for

This is a small restaurant in Holland on Sea. The menu is varied & uncomplicated. The staff are extremely efficient and helpful. The food is one of the best I've ever had, & I've been around for a while!! The service is second to none. We go on a regular basis. Highly recommend.

Dine here with CONFIDENCE! Staff really good plesent atmosphere

We really enjoy the food at the Mayflower, But not always open on stated opening hours, very hit or miss when open, no explanation why shut or for how long, very frustrating trying to book a table there & finding it open, it's a shame as the food served there is very good though a bit expensive compared with other compared with other Chinese restaurants,

Good food and service, reasonable prices. Nice ambience. Parking outside. We would go again.

A very lovely evening. Good food good surroundings. Friendly efficient service. 9/10.

We ordered the mixed starter for four, one of the best starters we have had in a long while we all enjoyed the food. The main did not let us down either, the house chow me in was great as was the special fried rice & the sizzling beef, good service. Looking forward to going back there again.

Food tastes amazing however sadly the customer service is absolutely shocking, and it definitely ruined my experience greatly, coming back on multiple occasions as the food was very tasty I met a selection of staff and they all seem to have dreadful customer service talents in common. Unable to help and not even attempting to help. So moody and inexperienced. But once again must say food tasted great and would definitely recommend as a takeaway, so you can just take the food and go)

Nice food, and ideal for Holland-on-Sea area residents. No delivery though. Eat in restaurant available.

Excellent evening at the Mayflower Chinese Restaurant. Good food, excellent ambience and Simon ind staff are brilliant. Highly recommended.

We regularly use this restaurant as the food is amazing. It's hard to find a restaurant that serves authentic Chinese food. Crab & sweetcorn soup is crab, not crab sticks etc. The waiting staff are friendly & can help with the menu if needed. The chef regularly comes out to check if all is OK, when not busy he comes out just for a chat, making you feel somewhat special. We have taken friends there, who now use it. Although they do not deliver, we order from here & go & collect rather than use any of the "High St take aways".

Food good but it is ridiculous to have an £18 minimum charge per person . We were dropping in for a light evening meal of two main meals and jasmine tea

Went for a meal on a Tuesday evening. The place was empty. The staff were very welcoming. The waitress very knowledgeable and helpful. Food was lovely, freshly cooked and the chef came out to see if we were enjoying it -we were. I asked for a doggie bag as couldn't finish my vast portion which was nicely packed up for me. Will definitely visit again either for a meal or take away.

First visit to this Chinese restaurant after friends recommended it.

Excellent food, family shared that they have a vegan daughter so get the whole vegan thing ! Good menu but they didn’t have it all available. Next time I’ll call to pre order the ‘duck & pancakes’

We recently had an excellent takeaway meal from the Mayflower. Unusually (and encouragingly) we found that there are items on the Restaurant Menu that are not available for takeaway. We considered this a sign of a good restaurant in that it will not sell for takeaway food items which "do not travel well". It is our intention to return soon for a meal in the restaurant in order to sample some of these items

Lovely lovely food, great service, by far the best chinese food I have had

We sometimes go to the mayflower chinese for a take away meal and have a drink while waiting and the staff who serve us and take our order are very kind polite and helpful also food very nice and the place is very clean and nice inside but a few times when we have got home we have found that some of the food is not what we had ordered.

such a beautiful place and a pleasure to eat at. food was more than fantastic. Will definitely be going there again

lovely freshly prepared and authentic food, great tasting and well presented, helpful staff and good service. Nice heater and background music all made a great evening for our party. thank you

I’m not normally a fan of eat in Chinese. But this one was fantastic. Fresh, light, tasty & great choice. Good value & great sized portions. And to top it off very friendly service.

Arrived 1800 hrs Saturday evening, outside temperature 2 degrees C, inside temperature about the same (heating set to very low). Tried to place order, set meal only available in 2 settings (not obvious and only informed after some time. Despite Steak on the menu, none available at time of ordering (How can a restaurant not have Steak the in the fridge?).

Nice Food, Would go there again.

Food absolutely beautiful hot and freshly prepared.Staff very polite and welcoming.Restaurant very clean but not very warm .Radiator not on small fire in the middle that was inadequate. Will definitely visit again but in the warmer weather!

Friendly staff. Food was excellent

We have eaten here on a few occasions food always been good went to go in for dinner the beginning of December and the way the lady had spoken to me and my wife on opening the door like a absolute animals would never give them my money again should learn how to treat there customer end up going China cottage food was fantastic and service was great would

Best place to go always go when come down to see my parents couldn't fault specially the owner

The food was excellent and served in a timely manner. The only reason that I’ve not chosen to tick excellent, is for the restaurant being cold. I’ve had to eat wearing my coat.

Holy moly. The best Chinese food I've had in all my years. Will recommend to all my friends. Tried many in the area but this one tops them all. So fresh!!!

Having visited this restaurant many years ago, we returned yesterday evening. The food, while enjoyable, was very poor value for money. Very small portions and quite high prices. We also note they are still charging 80 per glass for plain tap water. When settling the bill I also noted a large sign on the back of their till stating that a minimum spend of £15 per person is required. When queried I was told it wasn't enforced on a Wednesday night as they do a special offer at around £12.

By far this is the best Chinese restaurant around. Sit down or take away you cannot beat it. Food is absolutely amazing,staff are lovely and friendly. Would recommend it to anyone. We will definitely being going back.

Nice food, but closes sunday and Monday and 2 weeks at Chinese holiday, wait can be 90 minutes, runs out of beansprouts, shuts sometimes when he feels like it.

We had the set menu and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was good value The young staff were attentive and very helpful as we are not regular eaters of chinese food. The restaurant was spotless. Would eat there again.

Great little restaurant - tried it recently, for the first time. staff were all very friendly and caring, just the right amount of privacy offered. Restaurant inside nice and clean, good space between tables, so you don't feel crowded. Externally it looks a little plain, which i think initially affected our judgement - were hoping for somewhere that looked a little more quaint. We had a set meal plus a couple of bits - although the portion sizes didnt look much, in reality they were sufficient to fill us up. Generally great tasting food, well presented - only criticism was that the duck for starters was overly dry. Overall a very pleasing visit - thank you!

Amazing food & customer service !! Food was very fresh & tasty! Would definitely recommend. Overall happy we found this restaurant, also very clean :)

I love this place Simon and his wife and staff are fantastic ,food to die for xx worth a visit lovely restaurant