Oriental Cottage Restaurant And Take Away in Uttlesford

After reading some of the previous reviews I wasn’t too sure what this place would be like! You can’t please everyone so I decided to give them a go tonight. The food was lovely. The sweet and sour chicken was fresh and tasty and the chow mein was nice enough. Lady on the counter was friendly and I will use them again.

Haven't been here for ages, but was not disappointed. Food was piping hot when we got home. Great service and food was delicious 😋

I ordered roast chicken fried rice and roast duck fried rice plus fried vegetable with great reservation because I had not very good experiences with Chinese food in Saffron Walden but in other restaurants, I ordered this one for the first time today and I am delighted. very good and fresh dishes, the restaurant inside is clean and tidy, I will definitely come back to try other dishes, very good job, new owner 👌👏

Used these tonight first time for years as jade is shut Mondays , can’t fault it , new people apparently, chilli beef actually had chilli in it 👍

Food is just brilliant. So much flavour. Staff are so kind and friendly. 10/10 would recommend!!!!!!!!! :)

I've always been faithful to Jade Garden....but Oriental Cottage under new ownership is in another league! Friendly service, fantastic portion size and amazing variety. I will be returning without doubt

Great to have a decent Chinese takeaway back in Walden, I no longer have to trek to Sawston.

Very disappointed, ordered Thai Red Chicken Curry, smelt off and chicken pink inside. Ribs fatty and overcooked, salt and pepper prawns dry over cooked , chow mein fatty a greasy threw it all in the bin! Wont be going back

Fast and efficient service! Very good chowmein dishes. Low prices! And the special chow mein is also great. Highly recommend!!

Food is good but bloody irritating as they won't take cards and we all know why.

We always have a great takeaway from Oriental Cottage. Shame they don't deliver but then no Chinese does delivery in town. In any case food is always ready to collect quickly after ordering and well worth driving in to get it. Brilliant food.

Always been to oriental cottage , but after tonight never ever again ! Crispy chilli beef like old shoe leather , special chow mein prettt much the same ! Bones in the chicken balls . Absolutely awful . Beef was over cooked or probably microwaved from yesterday . Thrown in the bin and never again .

Just had to complain this evening, to be charged £6.90 for "Spare Ribs in Oriental sauce, but actually received sternum grissle, and two very small bones. We have had a couple of meals from here which have been pretty good to be fair, this evening was by far the worst, didn't want a credit note, made the journey back and when I wished to speak I was told 'it no matter', will not be returning and will be advising all of our friends in Saffron Walden to avoid like the plague, what a shame.

Food was terrible and the cans of pop are all out of date / it’s just not good business

Very poor service,not Impressed at all,poor service,the curry tasted of pure powder,the chips were rock hard too. All in all a waste of money

Onions slices tough, pork needed hard chew. Prawns not great. Was not impressed with the meal and will not use them again. Not like it was a year ago!

Food very good and give you time for pickup

The service time was incredible, I made an order and was able to collect it with 15minutes. The food was good however the crispy chilli beef wasn’t as crispy or chilli as other local places. We were happy with the food and their quick service.

Completely tasteless, this place used to be so good but this is the last time we will visit. Was already disappointed but then half way through my spring roll there was a long piece of metal wire sticking out of it! My partner spotted it for me luckily just before I took the next bite but we were shocked. Looked like a piece of metal from a stainless steel scourer. I rang up and they did apologise and refunded us £2 for the spring rolls but we won't be returning. Sorry. Also the meat was swollen and jellied in texture, almost like it'd been soaked in water to bulk it out/double the size, no idea but it all went in the bin.

Really bad, clearly had been in the fridge a long time and reheated. Chow mein tasted like rancid burnt frying pan, pork balls and fried squid were soggy and tough as rubber.

Best Chinese in town if you ask me!

Felt obliged to publicly state that last night's takeaway was, in a word, rubbish! Having used this alternative to Jade Garden on and off for around twenty years, I fell back on it last night but would have rather plunged my tongue into a bowl of leaking batteries. In fact the lemon chicken gave me a similar experience. As for the deep fried crispy chili beef, it was swimming in a dirty puddle of brown sauce that reminded me of sherbet dip. Even the single chilli slice was crying! About the only tasty part was the prawn crackers. The service came without any sweetness, handed over whilst on the phone taking another order. Oh and cash only! What's that all about?

Always great especially the lemon chicken breast and Singapore rice!

Avoid at all cost! Extremely slow, order wasn’t ready on time had to wait 25 mins. So many people waiting some had waited 45 mins. Got home order was wrong, items missing and they wouldn’t answer the phone. very rude staff not wanting to give me the correct amount of money back for items missing. Will not be buying from there again.

Great food! Been going there for roughly 30 years and is always consistently good

Second best Chinese food in town!

Delicious, speedy takeaway with lots of veggie options too.

Not been here for a while Not the same, no flavour in the food what so ever. Don't think I will be back :(

Placed an order online, chose a time and payment really easy and quick using google. Easiest ive experienced yet. Collected with no fuss and all covid measures in place. Great food too. Definitely the best locally.

Busy. And a bit to much MSG. 1and half wait for food . Bit hungry.

Phoned this eve order taken promptly , got there phone was busy , the young girl taking the orders was excellent and professional, the food was awesome thank you

A Chinese to avoid now, under previous ownership it was beautiful and good value for money but now the food is tasteless at best and wait times are horrendous - and just incase you're in a hurry to have poor Chinese food they slow the whole process down by being cash only!

Food was piping hot and fresh. Really enjoyed this dinner. Pick up was also quick, easy and contact free.

The foods are good enough but not the best Chinese I had.

Just stood outside in a long queue to get in for 45 minute in temperatures of 1 degree! I put in an order at 5pm arranged to pick it up at 6.45 and eventually at 7.30 it was handed over cold, no apology and by 7.30 over 20 people queueing outside all going to have to wait over an hour. Avoid

Late serving only takes cash food ordinary

Great food, very fresh, not greasy. Good covid standards

This is an amazing Chinese, food really good and staff really nice

This used to be our favourite Chinese in Saffron Walden and we've been getting food from here for years. Picked up a takeaway tonight, to find our favourite dishes are completely different. All the sauces were bland and the Szechaun Beef which was always a particular favourite, was cold in patches (as though it had been badly reheated) and tasted like a jar of sweet and sour sauce with some dried chili added in. There was also a far smaller variety of vegetables in the dishes. Finally, the rice and noodle portions were generous, but the meat dishes were only half filled and felt very small. I'm assuming the business is now under new management, and sadly we will now be trying new places for a decent Chinese. Really disappointing.

New owners, food has gone downhill....such a shame, was our favourite

Awful. Always leave miss stuff out when ordering

Really nice food, generally quick service. On a busy saturday night you can have a longer wait.

Ordered takeaway, expensive the meat tubs were only half full and 40 percent was vegetables mixed with the meat. The sweet and sour sauce was runny. I have never seen a Chinese give half filled tubs of their fame at dishes.

Oriental Cottage is my favourite Chinese in Saffron Walde. Sometimes does take a little longer to get your food as it is on popular demand but never disappoints!

Spent 45 minute trying to ring and order food. They had clearly taken their phone off the hook. When it did ring nobody answered. Gave up and won't be bothering again

Every time friends or family order they never receive what they ordered or pay for food is ok not brilliant if you like chicken curry on its own without noodles or rice fill your boots be warned !!!!

Had a couple of takeaways and one meal in. All excellent for a town centre venue. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary with all the usual dishes available, and well cooked at reasonable prices.

Appears to be on the verge of closing. Limited take away service.

Was ok food , was missing some of my order tho.

Rude receptionist, missed out items we had ordered after we had repeated twice. Food was ok on this occasion but previous visits haven’t been. Staff need retraining on how to give good customer service! Phoned to tell them that we hadn’t received some of our order and apparently they hadn’t been written down! Would not recommend!!

We tried 12 times to make a telephone call and the phone was continually engaged so walked down to book in person and explained they may be an issue with the phone. The girl on the counter just wasn’t interested and was dismissive and rude . I suggested she raised the issue of the phone with her boss and she was totally disinterested . This is one quick way to lose business

Food was great. Staff on counter was not so friendly. Will go back again and hopefully customer service will improve.

Good Chinese food and usually quick too.

Food was ok, then the food poisoning hit. Wow, that was bad and messy. Not going here again.

Food seemed quite greasy and flavourless. The prawn crackers (albeit "complimentary") tasted like cardboard.

Manager is disgusting, had a problem with my order, refused to come & speak to me, talked to his staff with no respect, when orders were ready he shouted to his staff like a dog Here so rood, will not be going back

We use this Chinese restaurant quite regularly, I love the beef in black bean sauce and my husband always goes for the aromatic crispy lamb. I think it can vary depending on the chef but after trying various in the area this is by far the best. Many restaurants throw in a free bag of prawn crackers, this would be a nice extra.

Ok, run out of rice. New rice wasn't cooked properly

Very attentive staff here who were more than helpful and our meal was just delicious and delightful I would come again

Good food selection, satay chicken is really nice. Seaweed could be a bit more crunchy

Excellent food, price and service, best Chinese Takeaway in Saffron Walden

We normally use this Chinese takeaway as we find is the best in Saffron Walden the food is always piping hot and tastes outstanding, they always make the most effort to keep the customer happy when there’s a few slight changes in the ingredients would definitely use again

Visited this place last night to get a takeaway, although you can eat in if you want. Food was ready when we got there, with free prawn crackers chucked in for good measure. Ordered a beef curry, beef chow mein, sesame prawn toast, egg fried rice, dry spare ribs and chicken satay on skewers. All absolutely superb....in fact the best Chinese we’ve had for a long time! Would highly recommend it for take away. Haven’t eaten in the restaurant so can’t comment but try the Oriental Cottage take out if you’re in the area. Enjoy!

Nice food I do keep going back there

great food amazing taste and a wide variety to choose from. Staff were very olite and fodd came reasonably quickly

Good costumer service but food is just alright.

Fantastic service, great food, a must to eat in

Very average food. Would not recommend or go again. When I go out for a meal in the evening I do not want children playing and making loud noise in the restaurant. Pleasant staff but definitely average food.

I have never eaten in the Restaurant, but over the years we have had many takeaway meals from here and whether for two people, or when we are entertaining the quality of the food and the punctuality with which pre-ordered food is raedy for collection is impressive.

very disappointing. Had chicken with cashews- very few cashews and chicken was gristly but lots of carrots!! wont go again

Excellent food, good service for take-aways.

Very tasty - the best Chinese in Saffron Walden. We ordered by phone on a Saturday evening and the food was ready exactly at the time we wanted. Food was hot - we particularly enjoyed the sweet and sour chicken and chop suey.

Encontramos este encantador restaurante de comida para llevar y escondido en uno de los muchos callejuelas fuera de la calle principal.

Staff not interested, food poor, over expensive atmosphere appalling, over charged, so called chicken, beef NOT real meat. Spicy food when asked for no spice!!!! Charged extra for pancake salad. A total waste of money and evening. Would NOT recommended for any occasion!!!!.

There was nothing exciting about the food we ordered. On a positive note, it was very hot. The chilli beef was good, the chicken balls were huge and rubbery though, and the other items were OK.

The food was ok but like a typical Chinese fast food, nothing special. What is interesting if you want to seat at the Restaurant instead of taking away you pay about 50%more..

Excellent customer service, food is brilliant, best chinese food in town.

Si comer en o para llevar la comida de aquí es siempre muy buena. Me sorprendió bastante que el restaurante no es muy concurridas, pero diciendo que solemos ir en 5 cuando se abre. Siempre están dispuestos a aceptar los cambios a las órdenes tales como cebollas, etc. no

Genial para comer o llevar. Como un participante regular, la comida es siempre una gran calidad y sale caliente. He probado otros restaurantes en la zona, y este es el mejor por calidad y precio.

I ate here December 2016 when I was stopping over on a business trip, a very good menu, well cooked food at a decent price. I would highly recommend!

Some times the chicken balls can be fresh, other times they are simply reheated ones from earlier batches - it makes a whole lot of difference. Generally very friendly staff - kind and accommodating demeanour. Prompt service. One of the better Chinese takeaways within Saffron Walden.

took ages to get food but this could be due to we had a large party. The down side. I watched the staff pour my beer out a can and into a glass and charged me £4.20.

I have been visiting this establishment for over 14 years , the food as always is very well prepared , well cooked and good value. Historically the only downside has been long delays when ordering takeaways at the weekend.

Chinese restaurants in Saffron Walden have always been hit and miss. This one has always stood out from the crowd. Fabulous food, always amazing. There simply is no where in town that can touch it.

I ordered the Duck with cashew nuts and egg fried rice. The egg fried rice was fine but the duck dish sauce was the thick sauce (very rich) that accompanies Crispy Aromatic Duck with pancakes on the side that is applied sparingly to the pancakes. The gentleman on the desk was hospitable and efficient but a side condiment sauce poured all over the main dish rendered it sickly sweet and overbearing.

First of all, it appears that the restaurant has a hygiene rating of 3, and we only found this out from TripAdvisor when we had already started eating. There should be no compromise on hygiene and so we were unhappy to know this important fact. Staff were courteous. We ordered scallops as a main dish and we got just about 5 smallish ones in a sauce that was full of big pieces of onions you could call it an onion dish instead of a scallop dish. Taste was not great and did not taste like authentic Chinese food. The Singapore noodles did not taste like Singapore noodles. Service was very slow although we were the only other table at the time, with the first table having a group of about 4 people. Pricey too. We do not mind paying well for good quality food, but the quality of our food at this restaurant was terrible and we regretted the amount we spent. I also felt sick after eating and the day after. We regret going there and do NOT recommend this restaurant.

I was working in the area in June 2016 & I met up with a works colleague and we decided to eat here as we are both fans of Oriental food. We were not disappointed! Great food, great service in a charming old building oozing with character. Don't be put off by the simple entrance as when you go upstairs to the restaurant you will be very pleasantly surprised! Well done & thanks for a great Green Thai Curry!!!

Ate at the restaurant recently and was very pleased at the quality of both food and service! The restaurant itself is very cosy and beautifully decorated which compliments the food very well! Would recommend.

Called in by chance Friday on our first visit to Saffron Walden, a town seemingly lacking many good eating places for real meals at lunchtimes. A friendly young family in charge who even on a quiet day took time to bother. The food was traditional with meats plentiful, but to me the highlight were the two soups we ordered for starters - intentionally to share but my wife wanted to eat all her Crab soup and I was enjoying my sweetcorn/chicken soup too much to mind.So nice to have real starched table cloths and napkins and still the choice of chopsticks and trad cutlery.The restaurant is off a quaint street upstairs, toilets downstairs so not for really disabled. Young children welcome.

My whole family have been regulars here for years. The food is good and the service is good too (sometimes slow as it does get very busy). We usually go for takeaway but we have passed a fair few very enjoyable evenings in the small but pleasant restaurant too.

reasonably priced and very busy. i ordered the crispy duck with Hot And Sour soup，i wasnt sure if this would be enough food for a hungry person，just out of the gym. the food was excellent ，was clearly freshly cooked and not greasy. In summary this was an excellent meal and it will be returning.

Tried this place a few times now but not enjoyed any time. The reception area is messy and looks dirty and the entrance has an old doormat which is also a trip hazard. Staff are disorganised and rushing around, shouting from the kitchen to get orders through. Wanted to try main restaurant but put off by takeaways from here so won't bother.Won't be returning to this.

I had used this restaurant for 3 years and enjoyed the food. Sadly I took the time to review their hygiene rating and that alone has stopped me from ordering from here again until it goes up. Shame as Saffron Walden is lacking a decent Chinese take away.

The food was below average - the meat very rubbery and processed and we didn't get what we ordered. When we told the waiter we had got the wrong thing he was very unapologetic and just told us to 'give that a go.' He stood and watched us eat the whole entire time, which made us girls feel very uncomfortable. It was also very overpriced for the quality - £85 for 4 of us! A bit of a disappointment for us all when we were expecting a nice girls evening out.

Read a bad review and wanted to say after roughly 10 years of ordering and eating from this take away, I have never had a bad meal. Their chow mein is the best in the area and the service is always happy and professional.

This place is becoming increasingly popular in Saffron Walden as each time I go there seems to be more local people waiting for their food to be freshly cooked. That tells you all you need to know really. The menu is quite extensive and is good value, we really enjoy the food from here. We have not eaten in the restaurant so I can't comment on this except that it is quite small. I have only had take away food which I do recommend.

Our telephone order was taken in an efficient, friendly manner with a 'read back' and confirmation of the price. Upon our arrival it was nearing completion - spot-on the requested time (Saturday evening too - traditionally very busy). A free pack of Prawn Crackers was also supplied, as is often the 'norm'.We ordered a variety of dishes, all of which were fresh and piping hot upon opening but we really MUST recommend the Crispy Shredded Beef with Chilli and Carrots (No.116) - De-lic-ious! Well done Oriental Cottage - we will definitely be back!

Moved to Walden from a big city which has all manner of oriental cuisines, and was working my way through the Chinese takeaways in town to see if any compared. My husband was insistent that China China was the best option, but after being mucked around by them twice when they didn't answer the phone, and then being disappointed when we did manage to get a meal, we went to Oriental Cottage. They took our order over the phone with no trouble, and said they'd have it ready in ten minutes.It's not in the most obvious place for someone unfamiliar with the town, but once you find it, you'll love the olde worlde feel of the place. Staff were super friendly and had our order ready to go. They must have some sort of telephone database, because when I phoned to order at a later date, they knew who I was and I didn't need to give all my details. Food was excellent, and much tastier than the similar takeaways in the town. I do like strong flavours, and they didn't fail me on that. I've not eaten in the restaurant, but it looks like it's got a similar friendly ambience, and staff who were available to help.

We decided to try a change of takeaway and plumped for the Oriental Cottage. The food quality was okay but the sauce on one dish was excessively sweet.Overall the food was quite good for takeaway fare but insufficient to merit a very good rating. value for money was fair.

I could of cooked better food myself, The crispy chilli beef was half full, and it was just crispy there was no beef. Chicken chow mien was like tagliatelle, with fatty chicken, and my Chinese style pork tasted off. The fortune cookies smelt like glue and the only other thing I had was prawn egg fried rice which was average at best. It all tasted horrible I was so disappointed I ended up cooking myself a bacon sandwich and throwing the food away. The only good thing was the service, but I'm not eating manners and your not even in their presence for long as it's solely a takeaway.