Oriental Promise in East Devon

Fantastic friendly welcome. The young chap who took our order was very warm and smiley ..they had the wood burner on in the waiting room which was lovely. Wide selection of dishes. They were busy on the restaurant and the take away. We were travlleing in a motorhome and they said we could park overnight in the very large car park. Thank you! Definitely recommended the food was delicious. Follow us on YouTube

We parked the motorhome in the massive carpark, the first impression was 'what a dump'! Dreading what was to come, we walked across, surprise, a really welcoming staff lineup, in a great pub. Plenty of locals came in, for a drink, for a takeaway, or a meal in the restaurant. We walked through to our table, again surprised, a spotlessly clean restaurant, the room next door contained an array of slow cookers containing endless varieties of Chinese food for the buffet. All of the food was very tasty. All in all a great experience, that I would recommend. Just don't be put off by the outside appearance, you'll be surprised and impressed, eat as much as you want, but don't be greedy, you can always go back up!

We had a takeaway spent a fair amount of money- food nothing special and will give it a miss for sometime. Chicken Balls not good very soggy, AND NOW have a upset stomach - the rest of the meal below average. The whole place needs a revamp. AND cleaned up a bit sorry Golden Pond.

We opted for visit this chinese restaurant on one of their buffet nights. On a positive note there was a good selection on offer but all of the starters were cold and the duck pancakes were of a very poor quality. The main courses needed topping up and many of the containers were not covered. It is not a restaurant that we would recommend and when it came to the making payment we were given the wrong bill.

Awful, scary place. Walked in and walked out. Didn’t eat. Wouldn’t recommend for family’s at all.

Had never been before but we would recommend it to friends. About the only Chinese restaurant open on a Monday evening and had the 3 course buffet. Extensive selection of starters and mains and diners are invited to eat as much as you want - but don't be greedy if you leave a lot you will be charged extra. Had a bottle of half decent Pino which was not over priced - by restaurant standards. All in all very good value for money.

This was the worst food I’ve ever seen in my life.Cold processed sticky overcooked slimy mush. Completely wasted my money, this was a treat night as we’ve worked super hard nursing a relative. I will never eat here nor recommend this to anyone

We had a fantastic gluten free Chinese from here last night. I’ve been meaning to try the gluten free for ages, as it’s really difficult to find a Chinese that can do gluten free. All the dishes we ordered were great and generous with the meat/prawns. Singapore noodles and the sweet and sour chicken were 10/10. Good value and we really enjoyed it. Please don’t stop doing the gluten free!

This is the first time I had visited since it was The Oriental Promise, many years ago. The food and service was excellent but the restaurant was virtually empty although we did eat early so hopefully it would be busier later on. The price was very reasonable too.

Stopped over night with motorhome...Very welcoming, fabulous food lovely people..Loads of flat spaces for caravans and motorhomes to stay overnight for FREE.. We had a great night sleep 😴😴😴

Had the infinity menu. It was of fantastic quality and value. I started with salt and pepper ribs and butterfly king prawns. Then had spicy szechuan soup, followed by a very generous Singapore noodle and crispy shredded beef. The ribs, noodles and soup were particularly good. Would highly recommend.

Really delicious. Never has that ‘greasy’ takeaway style taste, or feels too heavy. We had tried another local Chinese before Golden pond and will never go back.

Visited with my daughter for their Monday night Buffet. Good selection of starters including satay chicken skewers, firecracker chicken & duck pancakes (possibly don't serve the prawn rolls in the same tray as the veggie spring rolls/veggie samosas as could put some people off) and many others. Good selection of main meals which were regularly topped up along with rice's & noodles which should please most people. Also available were desserts including chocolate fountain, cakes and ice cream. Will be returning again soon to enjoy again. On to the but and it is a shame but the prices for soft drinks are ridiculous £4.20 for a pint & £2.80 for a half of Pepsi Max is ridiculous!!

My family of 6 had a great evening at the Golden Pond Restaurant in Rockbeare. The service was great and the food was delicious, we ordered from the Infinity menu where you can eat as much as you like and everything was cooked just right. As the food was so nice I felt like I could really keep eating and was disappointed that I was full. The whole family was stuffed and happy. No rubber rice like most of the restaurants in Exmouth serve, it is definitely worth revisiting. The eating area was nice everything was quite clean, the ambiance of the room was a little dark in some areas but otherwise it was nice that it wasn't too bright. I think some previous reviews have been a little over critical as the concrete peacocks looked great. But as they were concrete I could see how they would look rough in the colder months when the green moss settles on them, perhaps a glaze would help to keep them looking nice all year around. The outside pond was huge and full of Coy Carp if anyone took the time to review them, the restaurant staff gave us some food to feed the fish and Wow that pond was definitely lively. The water was green as you would expect of a pond that size. A filter room to keep a pond of that size clean would have to be the size of a static caravan with several filtration systems, so the concept of filtering the pond water would simply not be viable. The fence around the pond although it was a good deterrent perhaps could use some improvement. The carpark was huge and clean what more could you want. The prices were normal for eating in at a restaurant slightly over the cost of the take out menu as you would expect. If you visit to eat in then maybe avoid the coke as the cost of this was almost the price of a pint which was £4 coke and £4.50 for a pint, so I don't see that the drinks are expensive either. A Pub with a Pool Table combined with a Chinese Restaurant, it's a definite win if they can keep up the great service and quality.

Place is very dirty and unappealing. Staff are rude and unhelpful. Food was only warm when served and staff weren’t understanding. Many better Chinese’s locally

Bad cold food, bad service, expensive drinks a rip off!!!! Never will I travel again for such a bad experience, it used to be top shop now disgusting !!

We are not normally keen on Chinese restaurant food in the UK, however, this restaurant was in a convenient location so we gave it a try and were DELIGHTED. The food was really good, a great menu and the staff very helpful and friendly. We would certainly recommend this restaurant. Food of this quality would certainly change our mind on Chinese food.

The staff are incredible My husband and I were camping nearby and saw that this place was a short walk away so we set off I suffer with ms which sometimes means I have difficulty in walking without warning on this night I had problems on arrival we were sat and ordered some Singapore noodles which were absolutely delicious we were hoping to call a cab but unfortunately there were none available the friendly waitress was very sympathetic as she informed us that it was raining so we were kind of planning for me to wait while my husband went to collect our van but mid planning the waitress said that her manager would drive us! This was so Amazingly helpful We we’re truly grateful and would happily eat there again

I had a good takeaway from here whilst working away and staying nearby. As others have already said, the place needs a bit of an update. Food was not the best Chinese I’ve had, but pretty good.

Good value for money, great food, the meat is always really tender and tasty. Service is good. Social distancing is also good. highly recommend.

Food is very tasty. alot better then most chinese food around exeter area. we did go up to take advantage of the 'eat out to help out' scheme... but they have upped there prices so you are not actually saving anything?! building could do with a touch of paint looks very old and smells of damp.

Wow probably the best Chinese food I’ve tasted yet Highly recommended We had king prawns fried with chilli and garlic and the squid the same - omg delicious and the sweet and sour Cantonese pork was just as good. Place is a little scruffy on appearance but don’t be put off We will be back when we’re next in the area. Delicious and fast service

Food is great, pretty fast service and reasonably priced, would definitely recommend and will come back again :)

This is our favourite Chinese take away! The food is superb. They even make stuff for you that isn’t on the menu if they are able. Could recommend more highly. We are really missing our weekly Chinese from here at the moment, no other compares.

Este es mi favorito para llevar donde vivo. No he tenido una mala comida aquí. Cada vez que he disfrutado la comida para llevar, quiero que vuelva aquí otra vez.Excelentes opciones de comida a precios razonables. Lo mejor que puedes tomar es una bebida mientras esperas tu comida.

D cor está anticuado y es un poco extraño ser los únicos en el restaurante un sábado por la noche. Sin embargo, el servicio excelente y la comida deliciosa. Comimos del menú Infinity, por lo que pedimos algunos platos diferentes y compartimos, así que pudimos probar muchos.Altamente recomendado : )

Tenemos comida para llevar de Golden Pond con bastante regularidad y, por lo general, la calidad de la comida es muy buena. Tomé una comida para llevar el miércoles 16 de octubre por la noche y tan pronto como comenzamos a comerla, mi familia comentó lo salado que sabía. Una de las cosas que me encantó de la comida de Golden Pond fue que no se salieron los platos como muchos restaurantes chinos o comida para llevar. ¡Estábamos bebiendo agua toda la tarde y la noche a causa de los platos muy salados! ¡Vamos Golden Pond, menos sal por favor!

He tenido comida para llevar de este restaurante varias veces y la comida es muy buena a los precios que ves en cualquier comida china para llevar.Sin embargo, los lunes y viernes ofrecen un buffet todo lo que pueda comer por alrededor de 12 por persona. La comida y la selección son geniales, el personal parece hacer frente a las prisas y son muy educados.Lo único que me decepciona es la decoración del restaurante, ya que está oscuro y se siente descuidado. ¡No quiere decir que esté sucio de ninguna manera! Está bien, pero el lugar podría renovar.Sin embargo, realmente la comida es tan buena que realmente no te importará.

No sé por dónde empezar realmente. La comida estaba impecable, hacía calor y se servía maravillosamente. El servicio fue honesto y educado y no pudieron hacer lo suficiente por nosotros. El costo era promedio y para ser sincero, debido a las malas críticas que este lugar ha tenido alguna vez, casi fuimos a otro lugar y estoy muy contenta de no haberlo hecho. Los calamares y el pollo del petardo eran muy agradables, pedimos más y la chisporroteante carne de res con jengibre y cebolletas estaba hermosamente equilibrada. Fuimos por el menú infinito, lo que significa que básicamente puedes pedir tanto del menú como quieras y lo cocinan fresco para ti. Somos del otro lado de Exeter, así que esto fue un gran impulso para nosotros, pero con el crecimiento de Cranbrook, realmente espero que este lugar vuelva a aparecer en el mapa como lo merece. Más personas deberían visitar y tomar fotos también, ya que ayuda a otros a ver lo bueno que es. Gracias chicos

En el pasado nos habían dejado las críticas negativas, el aparcamiento vacío y el aspecto general del lugar. No sé si ha cambiado de manos, pero pedimos comida para llevar y la comida estaba muy rica. Una cosa que me ENCANTÓ de esta comida es que la comida no estaba demasiado salada. Odio eso con la comida china para llevar en el Reino Unido y cómo tienes que beber mucha agua después. Los platos que comimos la noche anterior estaban perfectamente sazonados y nos gustó especialmente la carne desmenuzada y el pollo agridulce al estilo de Hong Kong. Además, el arroz era muy bueno y no grasiento. ¡Muy impresionado!

When we asked about this restaurant, there were raised eyebrows. Why? The food we ordered was delicious. Coming from London, trying to find a good Chinese restaurant was becoming impossible. The Golden Pond is as good, if not better than, many places in the smoke. The dishes were freshly cooked, and of good quality, fairly priced. Ignore the sniggers, and enjoy some tasty fare.

Vine aquí por primera vez con un amigo y me encantó. Al entrar, se parece un poco a un pub estándar, pero en la parte de atrás hay un gran restaurante chino con un brillante menú infinito. Ordena cada plato unos cuantos platos a la vez tantas veces como quieras por solo 18. 50, que tiene una buena relación calidad-precio considerando la calidad de la comida! El personal era amable y era un ambiente agradable y la oportunidad de probar un montón de diferentes alimentos chinos. ¡Definitivamente regresaré pronto!

Fuimos invitados a una fiesta de cumpleaños de amigos en el Golden Pond. Tengo que decir que después de toda la comida navideña, un chino fue un verdadero placer. Tuvimos el buffet. Un entrante, principal y un dulce. Esta resultó ser una excelente elección. Podríamos volver por más y esto lo hicimos. Todo lo que probé lo disfruté tanto que volveremos. Vivimos a once millas de distancia, ¡pero valdrá la pena el viaje! El personal era amable y servicial. Bien hecho a todos en el Golden Pond.

Visito con mi esposa una vez al año, una visita con mi esposa y 2 hijas una vez al año y 1 visita con mi esposa y 6 amigos por año.

Lo único que he visitado es que no ofrece galletas de gambas a pesar de haber gastado más de 30. La calidad era mala y nos cobraron 8 por 4 rollitos de primavera pequeños que no estaban en el menú. El chef chino en la calle Ottery Mary era mucho mejor.

This place is totally unpredictable, we get quite excited when we get an edible meal but that seems to be followed by one that has to go straight in the bin, so we have finally given up and won’t be returning

Comí aquí esta noche (15/03/18) y estaban ocupados, lo que resultó en un poco de espera. Sin embargo, ofrecieron un descuento del 20% (sin que me lo pidieran) en mi factura cuando llegué a pagar. Le di este monto como propina, pero lo que quiero decir es que su servicio al cliente fue realmente profesional y me impulsó a escribir esta crítica positiva y completamente merecida.

Food is good abit overpriced but where isn't these days! would return The people who left bad reviews obviously don't know what a good chinese tastes like!

Esta es la comida tan alejada de la comida china que podría ser arrastrada frente a los estándares de comercialización. Ni siquiera está cerca de ese gloop chino anglo servido en otros lugares. Simplemente un desastre. Dudo que el chef haya estado en China si lo hubieran hecho; avergonzarían a su familia; Simplemente el peor arroz de Singapur que he tenido la mala suerte de probar (jamón de pavo rebanado en una suposición) junto con otros productos de tipo de carne y el plato de pollo, bueno, lo menos que digo al respecto, mejor. ¿Era incluso pollo? ? ?

Friendly fast service and good food. Wide variety of options and everything we have tried has been good. Will keep going back.

This does not give you a good feeling on entering. It is an old pub converted to be part pub, part Chinese restaurant. The food is cheap, but was not to my taste for Chinese. I did not eat it all.

Outside is dated and a little unwelcoming but the food is great. A very friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The buffet night is well worth the money and the option to pop in and grab a take away pot from the buffet really tops it off. We enjoy the fact that we can order our take away and have a pint and a game a pool while we wait

Couldn't be bothered to cook at home. I live locally, so thought, not tried before, let's give them a go. I remember the premises from back in the 80s as the Bidgood Arms.

Poor food and dreadful interior. Buffet only when we visited. Hot steamy room. Dried up food. Help yourself to cutlery from plastic container. Cheap and nasty paper cloths on table. Worse chinese i have been to. Not cheap either !

Obviamente el Golden Pond comenzó vida como pub y aún conserva la distribución interior.

I like Chinese food and I have to say that my wife and I had the best Chinese meal ever at this location. Will definitely try this again when down in Devon!

El restaurante no era un lugar en el que nos hemos parado en una comida, normalmente pasaremos por en nuestro camino a algún sitio.

Pointless ordering before as service NO quicker than someone walking in. Probably will try other chinese takeaways in Cranbrook and Ottery St Mary with increased prices.

Always had good food there as I'm a vegatarian it's nice to see they serve Quorn as an alternative which is fantastic

I have been using the Gold Pond for over 20 years and the food is always consistent and of a good quality. We have used both the take away and the restaurant and buffet night is a firm favourite.

Well it is not brilliant. It's a set of three long rooms with dated patterned carpet and wonky tables, the furthest has the buffet Chinese, the starters were not warm, the mains were okay bu the rice and noodles were in old steamers or old electric chip fryers, there were no lids over the main meat dishes. The plates were just bigger than a tea plate. The puddings were awful, one piece of white gateau, mixed bowls with one or three profiteroles in, an small upright freezer with ice cream, a chocolate fountain with marshmallows and slices of strawberries, and a bowl of diced fruit. Not a lychee in sight. A bucket in the middle catching drips from a leaky roof. The waitress kept wiping her face with her hand. All for £12. It is such a shame, it has a huge garden, which could be developed into a fantastic garden, even with a Chinese theme. Inside needs gutting and redoing. It has a so many houses built all around it is in a really viable spot. Would I go back...not a chance unless it changes loads

Four of us walked in late one Sunday Evening - must have been 9.00 - 9.15pm, having left our previous 'eatery' somewhat disappointed (and hungry). We were immediately told we were welcome, shown to a table and given the menu. We had drinks at the table and our order was taken. We chose the 'Infinity' menu which is a twist on an 'all you can eat'. Everything came within reasonable time and was served very well. I would recommend this place if your tastes tend towards "Chinese" food.

Great staff friendly and helpful, Monday buffet was the best but over the last few months has got very poor, reminded me of school dinners, in fact I'm now not bothering to go there, the winter months may entice me back but new competition in Cranbrook and superior but expensive Pinhoe may also win me over!Come on Golden Pond you have a gold mine there, get the quality back!

If you want an authentic Chinese dining experience you will be diappointed. If you are after an anglo-chinese meal with all the usual items on a the typical chinese menu, tastes and smells at a good price, served on flat plates with cutlery at a good price, then you will enjoy yourself here. We happened to be ere on a Monday when they do a buffet style menu: help yourself for an inclusive price. It was very good value, food was kept hot, was tasty if a little heavy on fat and sugar (again catering to the English taste). Service attentive and dishes were regularly topped up and you would not go hungry. For some inexplicable reason, there were a whole lot of gateaux and even a chocolate fountain and ice cream served alongside which proved popular with the children present.Would I eat here again? on balance, possibly if I wanted a cheap and cheerful meal with family. Not a place to take guests unless they like that sort of thing. However, to be fair the place does t pretend to be what it is not, so diners are not under any illusions when they go in. As there is a dearth of good chinese restaurants in Exeter

Had a midweek meal here food was good enough for what you pay, staff are friendly, slightly dates decor, wine is very reasonable by the bottle £10.95 for a nice SB. we are local and use the take away as well. will we return yes

We have only used the Golden Pond for take away food but is has always been very pleasant. The menu is very basic but what they do is very nice.

I ate in the Golden Pond for the Monday £12 buffet night. The food was fair to good. The service was very good and informative. The beer was okay and in general my dinner was okay. Like all Chinese buffets you tend to over eat, and I did. The selection was good and for £12 a head I would recommend it.

Mondays buffet night is always good, fresh cooked food., clean and tidy excellent service, easy to park no queues

We've had takeaways from the Golden Pond in the past and they have always been just alright! Tonight for convenience we went to the Golden Pond instead of the new Chinese in ottery and was utterly disappointed with the quality of the food. It was dull in colour, watery and had no flavour. Myself and husband ordered very different dishes and both were poor standard. I have never written a review on anything like this before but I was extremely disappointed that a treat turned into a waste of money!! I would strongly recommended that Golden Pond improve their standards, they have lost a customer tonight through the terrible food.

typical Chinese food produced for a UK market where the food bears little relationship to the food eaten in Chinese communities .No better or worse than other such restaurants but not one I'd drive any distance to.

A local restaurant and take away in a rural location. The building is looking quite tired both inside and out. The food is always good though although you can be kept waiting a while for orders when telephoned in

sometimes you have to wait at busy times but it is always worth the wait food always very good easy parking also you can eat in which is good for family get togethers

Hour and half wait for food, cold when arrived, no atmosphere and embarrassing to watch two waitresses trying to make the best of a bad job. Should have driven off when the car park was in darkness and it wasn't clear where the entrance was. Customers at the bar/takeaway told us where the restaurant was located as no staff in site. No staff in restaurant to ask for service so just sat waiting until the waitress could fit you in. This was a Saturday night. We laughed as a family but only until we got the bill. At £ 20 per head for a starter and main that weren't worth waiting for, this was a painful experience. Will not go again or recommend. In fact it's now been filed in the bin. Best forgotten.

We always get our takeaway from here and it is the best around. It's not the cheapest and sometimes you have to wait, but it is the best takeaway - nothing to add.

Having had some mediocre food here on a number of occasiosn it would appear that the chef has changed and boy how this has changed the quality of the food which is really good. I have ordered take away on four or five fridays recently and the food has been of the same quality each time fresh and flavoursome.

The restaurant was almost empty at 9 pm on a Friday night. Say no more! Service was slow waited 40 mins for our main course to arrive. The waitress didn't realise we were there! food was bland and luke warm they did give us 10% off for the wait but still poor.There are so many better restaurants in the area.

Called here for a take-away having been to the restaurant several times since it was a pub! Unfortunately the duck we had was not edible and the King-prawns out off a package and again not good. I do not think we will bother again, what used to be a great restaurant is no longer and I just hope the potential that Cranbrook offers will make them raise their game!

We eat here on and off and have always found the quality of food and service a winner. lovely food in a lovely clean restsurant. the take away is very popular too.

On a Monday this restaurant has a buffet menu as the only option. All other days it has two menu options. A standard one and an infinity menu. The infinity is eat all you can menu but the items are cooked to order. You can order a max of two dishes per person at a time but once you've eaten them you can order again and again. Presuming you are eating all that's ordered. This is currently £15 a head during the week and £17 per head on weekends. All dishes we ordered we nice, tasty and not as fatty as some restaurants. Decent portion sizes and nice that you can have duck pancakes as part of this menu! It wasn't busy when we went but they told us it was because of the roadworks for the new town.

We have used this restaurant on a few big family occasions and booked it up for our daughter's 21st birthday. We arrived to find that they only do buffet menus on the night in question. No-one bothered to tell us that when we booked, as if they had, we would have gone elsewhere.We arrived all kitted up with the 21st Balloon, cake and all. None of the staff even commented that it was a special occasion.And the food was....tasteless and boring and totally, totally disappointing. We will not be going again, and will advise our friends and family to do likewise.

From the exterior this old pub does not look like a brilliant restaurant, and indeed the entrance into the old bar area does not do a lot to change this impression. However, do not be put off! Once at the table of this family run restaurant ask for the Infinity Menu, which is an eat as much as you like for £15 a head menu. The menu is structured with numerous starters and dozens of main courses, and you can order two dishes per head. When you are done you can order two more dishes each, and so on until you are done. You can mix starters and mains, or just eat starters, or just eat mains.We had a total of six dishes each (two of us had 4 starters plus a main and rice, and the third member of our party had 6 starters), and we were all totally stuffed on fantastic flavoursome food! Unlike many other eat as much as you like restaurants the difference here is the quality of the food, and the art with which it is cooked and presented. There is such variety of food that everyone can find plenty of dishes that will appeal, and from many different regions of Asia. A must visit if in the Exeter area!