South Garden Restaurant in Test Valley

Have been a few times and always good food especially the mock duck and the salt and pepper squid. Best takeaway in Romsey and a real treat to eat in too.

fab for vegetarians, would recommend vegan duck pancakes

My favorite Chinese restaurant in the whole of Romsey. Love the large spring rolls and curry sauce... Delicious 😋

This place is beautiful and has recently undergone a transformation on the front elevation. The restaurant looks clean and well-maintained, and the food is rated 5 stars.

I've been visiting here for the last 2 years because they have a very good vegan menu. There is plenty to choose from, lots of options and it is very reasonably priced. The staff are always friendly and helpful. It's great to know of a place that whether I order takeaway or eat in, I will always have tasty options. The staff seem pretty aware of allergens and things too which is reassuring. The new vegan sharer platters are a great idea to introduce more people to yummy vegan food!

Recently celebrated my grandaughter's 21st birthday at South garden, food was fantastic, as was service. Would absolutely go there again.

Food is ok. Not good, not bad. Same with the service. They do a weekday lunchtime special. If you want that you’ll need to book. Not because it’s busy! It’s always empty! But they do like to turn people away if you don’t arrive between 12 and 12.45. They are open until 2, but they make it clear they want you gone by then! It feels like they don’t really want people in there. It’s a shame. Some places in romsey have up to a 2 hour wait for a table food on a lunchtime. And this place is empty and turning people away at 12.45. They have nice crisp white table cloths and napkins! There are much nicer places to eat in Romsey

Reasonably priced chinese food selection. Drinks seemed on the small size, but they were cheap, so reasonable value for money. Menu variety was ok and food good. Low cost popular chinese restaurant in the centre of Romsey. Lack of chopsticks as standard was surprising, perhaps you have to ask for them

Fantastic food, lots of choice and an entire vegan menu, so glad we found this charming little restaurant. We had such a lovely evening in the relaxing ambience of this establishment, the staff were so attentive and friendly and everything was spotlessly clean and well presented. We will definitely be returning many times to sample the rest of the menu.

Having dined here several times before and left five star reviews, having made the somewhat lengthy journey from Andover to Romsey, we were dumbfounded when we were refused lunch. The restaurant only opens at 12:00 and is not supposed to close until 14:00. Our 'mistake' it appears was not to have booked in advance. We were so looking forward to our meal. Unfortunately, with such an unfriendly attitude, we'll probably never visit again!

Brilliant service every time. Delicious food.

So we booked but was empty but we were put towards the back of the restaurant. There was 2 fish tanks but with hardly any fish in them. However the food was very tasty and reasonably priced Staff were friendly but spent most of the time at the front. So getting another drink was a bit slow. Would recommend the Singapore noodles. Chicken curry and satay chicken.

Amazing Chinese restaurant. We travel from Andover to eat here as we rate the food so highly. Small and cosy with friendly staff 👌

Our first evening visit to South Garden following two lunchtime visits. If it's possible, this time was even better than the previous two! We shared a quarter crispy duck which was one of the tastiest EVER, ANYWHERE! Next came their AMAZING smoked chicken - crisp, light and full of that EXQUISITE taste! Sweet and sour chicken and egg fried rice were PERFECT too and with a couple of diet Cokes the bill came to JUST £35! Lovely service too, which will keep us coming back!! For Vegans: Please note that they also have an extensive range of dishes especially crafted to suit your preference! Don't miss out on this great experience!

We enjoyed a fantastic meal this lunchtime at South Garden chinese restaurant in Romsey. Taking advantage of their amazing £9.90 lunchtime dine-in set menu for one, we started with tasty prawn crackers and added our favourite a la carte smoked chicken. Next came succulent sweet and sour chicken Hong Kong style with delightfully dry and tasty egg fried rice, not the gloopy mess served by some others. We then rounded off with pineapple fritter and added a la carte banana fritter and ice cream. DELICIOUS! With a diet coke each, the total came to just £27.80, less than we often pay for a takeaway. BARGAIN! Such friendly, helpful staff too .. it's our second visit and certainly won't be our last! Romsy itself is also a charming place to visit - well worth the round trip from Andover.

Celebrating my birthday with my family ( 8 in the party) on a Saturday night. Very good food, the staff were very friendly, attentive and nothing too much trouble.

Ordered for the first time. Steamed dumplings were tough as old boots, spare ribs in barbecue sauce were tasteless and sauce was like water, egg fried rice was really white rice boiled to a pulp with a bit of egg thrown in! Terrible meal!

It was very quite the evening I went there hence 3* But food was reasonable although the 2 of us could not finish it all and had to take out a doggie bag .

Amazing vegan options - a whole vegan menu, including soups, starters, mock meats, and more authentic dishes such as Mapo tofu. Also came with a buggy and the was plenty of space

Very good service good food thanks

Thank you guys for making me feel at home.

Poor quality food. The photo shows "mixed vegetable" noodles. Cabbage and bean sprouts thats all. The rest of the dishes just as disappointing. Spring rolls practically no filling just pastry. Embarrassing. Daylight robbery.

Went for lunch. Tried to order an A- la carte tofu dish but told they had run out of tofu! So would you run out of chicken? Probably not. So why not pop to Aldi and buy some? Poor standards. I’d suggest the chef didn’t want to cook such a dish. Best not advertise a vegan menu if you can’t provide the ingredients. Won’t be going again.

Best Chinese restaurant in Romsey, I've been going to this establishment since 1976 , love it

Used to dine here years ago, especially at their Sunday buffet and everything was lovely. Decided to go back with friends last week and the experience was really saddening. The service was friendly but extremely slow given that there were only a handful of diners and the food whilst edible was pretty poor. The decor is shabby and needs a complete revamp. Very disappointing.

I love this restaurant as it has a huge vegan menu ☺️. It's so amazing to be able to have Szechuan 'duck' or 'beef' in black bean sauce. The twice cooked 'pork' is to die for! And plenty vegetable dishes too for those who don't like fake meat. The staff are so friendly and helpful and really understand veganism, which is really reassuring. It's always been pretty quiet when I've been in there and they seem to do a roaring trade in take aways. I love that it's so easy to get the train there, and there's lots of parking if you need to drive. Prices are reasonable and the restaurant is comfortable, if in need of a little TLC with regard to the carpet. I thoroughly recommend this place for a cosy feast!

Nice little Chinese in Romsey , staff were very attentive and good range of dishes.

Service was slow on a Saturday evening but the food was of a reasonable standard. Menu contained all the dishes you would expect of a typical Chinese restaurant.

Amazing place! And beautiful! I love coming to south garden for their amazing Spicy chicken and their perfectly seasoned chips!

Ate in. Excellent food and service. Can highly recommend.

Went out of our way to pick up a delivery from here. Was well worth the drive! Huge amount of vegan options, the crispy chilli chicken was so good!

My favourite Chinese takeaway in Romsey. I haven’t eaten in the restaurant but their take away service is great. The food is tasty and the staff are friendly. They always give accurate wait times too. Love the beef with mushrooms and the mock duck pancakes are a great veggie alternative!

The food is delicious, the service is friendly, and the environment is elegant.

Just had a wonderful lunch almost everything was delicious, service almost faultless too! Fast and reasonably priced with a fantastic selection of vegan fares. A stand out for thoughtful offerings!! However as a vegan I can’t ignore the terrible fish tanks that ambush you on arrival. One poor chap swimming alone greeted us with a glum expression spread from gill to gill. I implore you to address this as your food is good and worth travelling to as we did from Portsmouth. If this is sorted I would definitely return and tell everyone I know about it. Maybe a lick of paint and carpet genie wouldn’t go a miss either. Still we will come again soon!

We have tried South Garden twice now in the last two months and ordered a variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes to try. They have an extensive amount of mock meats as well as tofu options and also a separate vegan menu with many dishes to choose from. Really good amount of vegetarian spring rolls (10 from memory) and the seaweed was very fresh and tasty. Firstly, both times we have ordered the mock beef in black bean sauce as it is incredible and a large portion also. The salt and pepper chips are some of the best around and the crispy chilli mock chicken is insanely good and one of the best dishes we have ever had from any Chinese restaurant or takeaway. It is great to see that they also have a separate gluten free menu too. The rice dishes are really nice, large portions with great flavour. Will definitely return and make this our go to for a Chinese meal

Good food selection, collection only

Had a superb meal here. The starter of seaweed, spring rolls and chicken satay was all delicious, and so was the battered chicken main. Would return regularly if I lived near!

Set Lunch £9.90 - you get what you pay for! Spring Rolls are minature and just three of them which don't add up to one of usual size. Sweet & Sour below par. The carpet is filthy - but table cloth and napkins very clean. We have been put off going to a Chinese Reastaurant ever again.

First time visiting , restaurant is small and cosy very welcoming . Great selection on the vegan menu , looked amazing tasted amazing would 100% recommend and will be returning. .

Great service and good quality Chinese food. Takeaway or eat in only on a Saturday night meaning you do need to collect it yourself. Also vegetarian options are limited on the takeaway menu but there's additional items on the more extensive eat-in menu. Will visit again

Five of us had a terrific mid-week meal here. Impressed by the warm welcome and atmosphere!

Chicken balls from here are really good. They also do a good lunchtime menu, 3 courses for under £10.

Went here with a few people last night and their vegan food was incredible! I would highly recommend it for vegans. The service was really good too.

Everything we ordered was delicious, lovely restaurant and excellent service too. Will definitely come again.

Went here for new years eve , overall I wasn't that Impressed. When we arrived we were pointed to our table not taken to it . No one came to our table to take a drinks order or to explain the menu or to tell us about set meals or deals . Eventually someone came to take a drinks order . As for the meal , it was average not the worst I've had but not something I'm going to talk about . Toilets were very clean though. I think personally that more staff were needed being new years eve & being fully booked . The bill at the end was quite hefty also for what we actually ate .

Good location in the centre of Romsey, parking close by and I love the starters. I wasn't so taken with the mains and I should have built a meal from starters only as they were lovely. Friendly staff and a good welcome.

My wife and I went for lunch on a Tuesday (the restaurant is closed on Mondays). My wife opted for the three-course set lunch at £9.95. She chose the dried seaweed starter, sweet-and-sour pork, egg fried rice and banana fritter. All parts tasted good and it was very reasonably priced, as you see. I started with barbecued ribs from the a-la-carte, moving on to roast duck with green peppers and black-bean sauce. I also chose egg fried rice as an accompaniment, and it was extremely good, We had pot of jasmine tea, which produced several more cups than we imagined it would. The service was very pleasant and professional. We greatly enjoyed our lunch.

Just had a quick meal, it was OK,nothing more or less.

Superb service food was excellent great value for money.

first time visit .exellent food very tasty served piping hot.however it was soon getting cool .should of asked for a food warmer fast efficient staff were welcoming and pleasant. will be back

Very nice. Quick efficient service.nice food.

Extremely flavourful food, so very happy to have found this restaurant.

Great service and foods. I have really enjoyed it.

We have been here quite a few times as they offer a full vegan menu which is a real treat. The food is delicious and the service is good but the restaurant is in desperate need of a redecoration. It looks like it hasn't been touched for decades and is beyond shabby chic, it just looks tired and dirty. The wall where we were sat was splashed with food, the carpet is old and faded and there was a badly written sign saying the toilet light was broken. The fish tanks look like they need a good clean and I felt sorry for the poor fish swimming around in filthy murky water. Come on guys get it sorted you are really letting yourselves down. Like I said the food and service are fab but it didn't feel like a treat sitting in a depressing environment with no music even to take your mind off the decor.

It is so rare to find a Chinese restaurant with an entirely vegan menu and this place has it! Not only do they have plenty of vegan options they are all so tasty, fresh and wonderfully spiced. One of the best Chinese meals I have had. Highly recommend!!

Good food, nice atmosphere. Not the best Chinese we ever had, but food was good and portions were huge

We saw reviews here so booked for lunch on a Saturday, we should have realised there was a reason we were the only ones in the restaurant for the hour we were there. The waitress was lovely, but unfortunately a little clueless, we had a temperature check before we were seated, she was attentive and polite then. Shame she didn’t bother doing a check back for any of our courses though. She obviously wasn’t bothered when we complained about how dreadful both starters were either. The starters were really awful. Chicken satay was dry and tasteless, even difficult to detach from the skewer, frozen reheats I think. A tablespoon full of sauce was all we were given between us too, even that tasted like it had come from a jar. The smoked shredded chicken was horrible, dry, chewy, tasteless, yuck. I only had 2 pieces then gave up, certainly no sweet flavour or anything appealing about it at all. I wouldn’t have even taken it home for our dog! The waitress took about half of the dish away, obviously didn’t care about it or she would have wondered why we didn’t eat it. She asked if we wanted it left on the table, we said no thanks just get rid of it, she just smiled! At the end of the meal when we asked for the bill the waitress asked if our food was ok, bit late by then! I told her how dry and tasteless the starters were, pointed out we left half of the smoked shredded chicken too, she just smiled and said thank you! Fortunately the main courses were nice, even if not as described. The chicken with black pepper and chilli had a red pepper thrown in, no chilli whatsoever. Lucky it tasted ok and was juicy. My king prawn dish was lovely. The chicken fried rice was nice, even with the scrambled egg mixed in (which we weren’t expecting, I have an allergy to eggs, hence why we didn’t order egg fried rice!) All in all definitely disappointing, we won’t be back. No surprise it was empty on a Saturday. The decor is tourist fayre, but the carpet looks like it has been there 40+ years, the radiators look tobacco stained, and the walls have food and liquid splashes down them, ewww. The fish tank on view as we walked in was a sad sight, really needed a deep clean, I dread to think what state the kitchen is in if they can’t present a big fish tank which customers see on entry in a clean state. This place could be so much nicer if it was clean a frozen reheats not served up too. Shame staff don’t care about standards, or customer satisfaction. No WiFi here either, perhaps they’re hoping not to get reviews.

Only ever had takeaways and can recommend even their basic dishes. Nothing extra special but if you are looking for good Chinese food with good sized portions and reasonable prices then this is the place to go. Unlike most other places they offer discounts on collection orders instead of charging the same price as for sit in meals.

Excellent full vegan menu. The vegan duck and prawns were very good

We've had several vegan meals here and it's always delicious. The staff are great, too.

Decent but nothing special. Staff are friendly, the interior is nice and the food ok. I've eaten from here a few times now but will probably try somewhere new next time.

Treated ourselves to a takeaway and have nothing but good things to say about this restaurant. The vegan options are a standout as our son is vegan and is suspicious of most takeaways. Ordered in advance, the food was ready when i turned up to collect at the alotted time. Quality is excellent and the portion sizes are good. Food was hot and tasty when I got it home. Free prawn crackers and fortune cookies topped it off.

Superb vegetarian/vegan selection! will certainly be repeat customers

Lovely little place in Romsey. Great tasting food.

Extensive menu. Great service. Lovely food. Every time I've eaten there, it's been great. Takeaway is not quite so sparkling, mostly good, sometimes excellent but also, sometimes disappointing. However, it is cheaper this way.

I was delighted to see the new vegan menu which is amazing!!!!! The vegan shredded chicken is soooo good. South Garden has always been my favourite Chinese restaurant in the area, and everyone I know loves it too! Can't go wrong

We called in on a sunday evening we chose the set meal for 2 there was a good choice of starters, and were happy to swap the seaweed for extra pancake rolls. Crispy duck was good a decent amount, very fresh. Mains of crispy beef and chicken with ginger and rice and a vegetable dish were all very tasty. We will not leave it so long before we return

Went here for a quick dinner. The food was great - all the usuals, but really nicely done - duck n pancakes, chicken n cashews, special chow mein etc. Service was also very attentive, albeit we were the only people in there so we were outnumbered by the waiting staff. :-)

Excellent food and very friendly service. By some distance the best Chinese restaurant /takeaway in Romsey!

We visited this fab Chinese on the very first day they had reopened from lockdown, it was a spur of the moment decision and was infact the first restaurant we had been to since March so it felt very special. We were made to feel very safe, temperature taken before entering and encouraged to sanatise before being shown our table. The waiting staff were masked and wore gloves. The vegan options are immense infact two sided menu all filled with lovely vegan options. Id reccomend the mock duck with pancakes and the crispy chilli mock chicken. We had a wonderful evening washed down with a bottle of bubbles and including the tip the bill just slightly tipped £50. Perfect night. Cant wait to return.

Very excellent chinese foods, good service, clean and tidy. I will recommend this place

I just had a lunch set meal in South Garden, good services and the food is delicious. They had a great value price for lunch set meal. It is only €8.80per person for three course. I will come back again. Thank you South Garden.

Excellent service, and food. Very clean toilets but no good for anyone who has a disability as they are down a flight of very steep stairs with not much of a handrail. I think they would get more customers if they had wheelchair accessible toilets.

It was raining heavily and the other restaurant we might have went to had a power cut so we went to south garden to instead. While we were there we had private dining and meals which involved : sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour tofu, Singapore noodles with meat, Singapore noodles with vegetables, chicken and blackbean sauce, fried aubergine, Garlic broccoli, duck in plum sauce, crispy beef, roast pork chow mein, vegetable chow mein, and the South Garden starters. The staff were very friendly and the atmosphere was superb. Highly recommended!

Always great food and polite service. Have been going for special occasions for many years now. Never disappointed. Reasonably priced compared to the ever increasing cost of pub food.

Had a very nice Chinese meal here. The sweet and sour pork and the shredded beef were delicious. I would also recommend the aubergine in black bean sauce. The service was quick and the waitresses friendly.

Our favourite chinese restaurant closed some time ago & we have been searching for a replacement without much success.....until now. We had no idea what to expect as the existing reviews varied greatly. Our reservation was made by 'phone very easily. We arrived a little bit early as we expected parking nightmares but were pleasantly surprised especially with free parking on Sundays.At the restaurant we were greeted warmly, seated quickly & had drinks within a short time. The menu is extensive so we chose a set menu to start with. The staff were really helpful & allowed changes to some of the dishes stated to suit us better. Our meal was served quickly & it was hot, tasty & plentiful. Our waitress checked that we were ready to continue at each course so although service was very quick, the meal was not rushed. The food was excellent, the deep fried chilli beef was dangerously moreish! I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant for service or food.

Welcoming and helpful to our quite large group, seating us at two large round tables. Most of us went for set meals which we found gave us plentiful servings of well cooked food, perhaps a bit unexciting but maybe that's to be expected in a set meal.

Tasty food and good service, portions were very generous.

We visited here for a takeaway while staying nearby. Food was good quality and tasty. Was surprised to be told that it was cash only, wonder if this is for everyone?! However, the staff were really friendly, and would recommend.

Although this isn't the closest Chinese restaurant to us, we always go here for our take away as the quality of the food is fantastic and worth the extra driving time. We usually have the sesame prawn toast, crispy shredded beef and lemon chicken, the meat is cooked to perfection and very succulent, and is packaged well so it remains hot for when we get home. I have only ever eaten take out from this restaurant but thoroughly recommend it.

This evening we were very disappointed with this restaurant. Having booked by phone on arrival we were told they could accept cash only. Food was poor with squid like rubber, tough crispy beef that tasted of vinegar, tasteless soup and rice not flavoured as ordered! The dining experience was also soured by other guests that were both loud and using very poor language within earshot of our two young children. Staff were seemingly oblivious to all the above.

Sunday nights can be fairly quiet and on our first night in Romsey we decided to go to the South Garden for a Chinese feast. When we entered there was only 1 other couple in, more joined as the night went on, and they all must of known what a good place this was to eat. We went for a set menu (with one alteration which was accommodated with no fuss). that set the tone for the service which was extremely good. Food was nicely cooked, enjoyed the ribs, all dishes were hot and tasty washed down with good Chinese beer. Listening to interactions on other tables, nothing was too much trouble for the staff, very friendly and helpful, a credit.

All though quite small and busy the service and food was really good. Portion size was huge and waiter made up containers to take home. Menu was extensive and freshly cooked. Restaurant was clean and well laid out. I found the food well priced but the wine quite expensive. Will go again.

Went for a birthday meal with friends, Aromatic duck & spring rolls to start were all delicious, and Banana fritte was to die for, wish i didnt share! haha

It is so lovely to go somewhere that has a full vegan selection and also where the owners seem so passionate about developing a vegan friendly menu. The food was so tasty and the staff were really attentive and friendly. We shall be going back soon!

Have a recently started using this chinwse again after discovering their great vegan menu!

I am writing a review in advance of our visit and the reason for that is we KNOW that the food and service will be excellent so tonight’s food will be as delicious as always.....In fact this restaurant is so good , we do not bother to go any where else.....if you want something ask Wing he and his team will do his upmost to accommodate youGreg & Teena xx

Ok so we thought we'd try this place again after giving it a very wide miss for a couple of years as the food we had in here previously wasn't great. This time around however it was excellent.

Seven of us enjoyed a lovely meal here in comfortable and intimate surroundings. We chose a mid-range set menu. The proprietor was very accommodating and was quite happy to customise the dishes to suit individual preferences. As we were a reasonably large party an extra dish was also added free of charge. All courses and dishes were well prepared, very well presented with very generous portions.

Lobster was fantastic with crispy noodle in ginger and scallion sauce ! Done it off the shell for us! £18 a lobster ??!! Wow. Amazing seafood fish recommend by the manager Wing. Strongly recommend this place !

I absolutely love this restaurant. I’m a real ‘fresh flavours’ girl and the Sea Bass here is out of this world. I have chosen it a few times now and it just keeps getting better!!! Perfectly accompanied with Pak Choi in a light Oyster Sauce, amazing!!!

Our favourite restaurant. Best Chinese food by far and friendly and dedicated staff. Fantastic vegetarian and vegan menu. Highly recommend!

We have visited here a number of times now and each time we receive fantastic service and the food is amazing. The vegan menu here is outstanding and offers a great choice. I cannot recommend highly enough.

Have eaten here twice now...and it will become a regular itinerary as the food is excellent

Thank you South Garden, Romsey. We have just had a family takeaway from you this evening. It was the best takeaway we’ve had! So fresh and delicious! We will definitely be back and will strongly recommend you to family and friends! Well done!! 😁

Wanted somewhere to eat on a Saturday night whilst staying local and thanks to google we found this little gem. From the moment we arrived we were made to feel so welcome by Wing and Steve who worked there. The food when delivered was amazing thought we were never going to be able to eat it all as so much there, but it was so nice i could not help myself, all freshly cooked and really tasty, one of the best i have ever had (and we have had a few chinese meals). Even nicer was the segmented boozy soaked orange that they delivered to the table as a little finishing touch. Unfortunatly we live miles away otherwise we would be in there often, would deifintly recommend and will be visiting when we come back to the area. Oh and the prices were really resonable as well. What more can you ask for, TAKE AWAY AVAILABLE AS WELL. Thank you for making our visit so good.

I really cannot thank this resturant enough for making my daughters 17th so special, Wing and Steve looked after us so well, this resturant is top class and one not to be missed, it will be a place that we will visit frequently, thank you, amazing night x

Brilliant seperate vegan menu. Friendly staff. Will def be going back.

We do not usually eat in a restaurant with only three stars on health and hygine ratings and really wish we had followed our instinct and not have eaten here. The food was poorly prepared, bland and overpriced.