The Cathay Rendezvous in Bristol, City of

We were staying in Bristol for a couple of nights and decided to look for a Chinese restaurant to eat at. My wife, who loves Chinese food, was a little put off by the menu as she thought that the options were very limited, however she, grudgingly, found something that she might enjoy and we ordered food. The food and service was excellent and after she had finished her meal my wife announced "that was probably the best Chinese meal I have ever had" which says a lot. The staff were friendly and efficient and the place is a little "quirky" but we loved our experience there.

We have been coming to Cathay Rendezvous for a long time and the food remains excellent as ever. The food is flavourful, varied and authentic and the old library is a beautiful, spacious building. The staff made us feel welcomed and the owner always personally checks on guests to make sure everyone is having a wonderful evening. Can’t wait until next time we are in Bristol to come back for more!

Dirty. Does not represent Chinese cuisine. A pure disaster and disappointing. I advise the owners of this shop to travel to China, experience the real China and learn.

We arrived early evening and ordered the set menu for two. The starters were a generous portion of- sesame patron toast was good, ribs were ok, egg roll was ok, chicken satay was undercooked, but the sauce was lovely. The starters were delivered very quickly, but barely warm. Mains were also lukewarm at best - crispy chili beef was tasty but chewy, chicken in black bean sauce was not particularly good. Egg fried rice and vegetables in garlic were reasonable. Had we paid full price, this would have cost over £60, which would have been an outrageous price for a barely adequate meal which would have cost a third of the price from our local, not very good, takeaway. Fortunately we had booked via First Table, so the meal was half price, but even at that rate, I feel we paid a premium for a not great meal.

Expensive and bigger choice needed to be better

We went to celebrate our 19th year wedding anniversary as we celebrated our engagement here 19 years before and have been there several times in between these dates unfortunately very disappointed this time the restaurant has no atmosphere the main reception a look of a takeaway and there are uber eat boxes scattered around the entrance the layout is Shabby and cloisters the food was not of a good standard we will not be returning

Unfortunately, I had a bad experience. The chicken was not fresh, rather after the warranty - spoiled. Annoying. Restaurant hygiene at a very low level. Feeling sticky from everything. I do not recommend the restaurant.

Hadn't been for a couple of years. Sadly, still disappointing food, service, portions, and excessive prices. It is city centre, great location on King Street, historic building. So it has all the visual elements, just not good food or value, in my opinion.

Ordered takeaway on UberEats, there was a buy one get one free deal on a lot of the dishes. Really good price, all the dishes were still hot when they arrived, delivery took 20 mins from when I placed the order. I really liked the braised chicken thigh, chow mein tasted good, and the fried tofu was nice too. Definitely recommend for an affordable Chinese takeaway! Please note: photos were taken *after* eating half of the quantity!

AWFUL 🤢 order on #ubereats and the rice and beef were COLD, Curry sauce was a JELLY and COLD, even prawn crackers were STALE. Tried to call them so they could rectify it but NO ANSWER. Avoid unless you want food poisoning.

Booked and reserved the function suite on Saturday 15th June. The food, staff, service etc were all excellent. I brought many members of staff, who have all commented on the great evening and quality of food. We used the karaoke facility (to some better, some worse results) but that said more about our people than the venue. Would highly recommend for both individual visit or corporate. Ezi (staff member) made us all feel very welcome. Not the cheapest, but definitely great value for money.

Very delicious food. And the service is as good as usual. The building was built 400 years ago had been used as library before. The environment is very nice. The upstairs place can host groups with singing facility -KALAOK. We had a great time there. We will go there definitely often.

Just about the only place that welcomed our stag party for more than one pint, during the day. Whilst we didn't eat, I can't praise their service enough. I'll deffo be back to try the food when I'm next in town.

One of my favorite restaurants in Bristol. Food and service always great, the restaurant is also nicely decorated.

Nice food lovely staff. Only one loo for men and only one for ladies.

Sadly tonight it was awful. Reheated spare ribs, soggy crispy duck, Szechuan beef like leather. Used to love this place and food was amazing but not anymore, not sure if changed hands but best avoided😫

Food had very bland flavours and was not fresh. My husband and I, and 1 other couple were the only ones in the entire restaurant and they left incredibly unhappy also.

Lovely staff and food. Will be back again for sure. Very reasonable price. I don’t know what the other bad reviews are about. Sounds like a different place!

Very polite staff with great food and places to sit with 14+ groups of people.

Great place, second time I have been there and it’s definitely worth recommending. Location is spot on, food and service were amazing. Host … wow he made the difference 🍺🙏

The food served here is the best Chinese we've had in a long time .The staff are friendly & attentive .We didn't realise we should have stated to add the tip as hubby thought it was automatically added ..We do apologise..We were walk ins , but I think best to book ..Definitely worth 10 stars .

Tasteless and questionable ingredients. Yellow Braised Bone-In Chicken Thigh was all bone with a few chunks of boiled potato thrown in. The photo shows the amount of bone that came in 2 of these takeaway portions.

I have never had a so overcooked rice in a Chinese restaurant. Just horrible.

Ordered sweet and sour chicken. The chicken was exactly like McNuggets with sweet and sour sauce poured over it. The texture was all wrong. I used to order this from them quite frequently before, (last time was maybe a year ago), and it was usually much better.

Private function. The party vibe was made from the guests. Staff failed to attend on food choices for allergies identified. Plates were stone cold. Room was cold too. Staff stood around watching for most of the evening and barged through while we were enjoying our function. Occasion marred by the venue taking additional funds from those who had paid by card. A service charge was also levied, without prior notice. This is discretionary. CARRY CASH TO THIS VENUE!

Hands down the best Chinese restaurant in Bristol. The food is amazing, the staff is always friendly and ready to accommodate any need and the place is a vibe! I did order delivery too a couple times and I've not been disappointed.

Lovely dinner pre theatre, beef, pork, some garlic vegetables and rice, everything was delicious. They have a separate gluten free menu.

The food feels like home and the staff members are friendly and helpful.

As an international student, finding food that can bring you right back to the streets of home is not easy, but Cathay Rendezvous has so far been the only place that has successfully done that for me. The egg fried rice and sweet and sour chicken brought me right back home and I absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to get a taste of home for a brief moment, as well as for new and adventurous individuals who wish to get a glimpse into the wondrous tastes of Asia.

Service may be a bit slow, but good food overall

Amazing service from the whole team, but a special thanks to Maddox. As soon as a walked through the door he was super friendly and helpful and the drinks he made were perfect! Although they managed to find us a table (was a Saturday and super busy and we dint have a booking) we decided to get it as takeaway and sit outside. Despite sitting outside, we got a few drinks and Maddox and the team still offered amazing service! The food was also amazing! Thank you again! And thank you for helping me whilst I waited for my partner! George :)

Although impressive outside the inside is quite dated and weirdly partitioned. The staff are friendly and attentive . I just found each dish was a poor version of what I have had before elsewhere even takeaway . With so many great Asian cuisine places in Bristol this is a bit of a let down.

The food here is not halal, they claim to be halal on the phone and cluess in the restaurant when you ask! Do not trust them

Service was great, friendly staff, food was cold ;-(

Food was average and cold and starters overdone. Think we made a mistake getting the set menu as seemed to scrimp on quality. The food coming out not from the set menu was sizzling hot it seemed. Felt cheated out of a rare meal out on our visit to Bristol.

Ordered two beef chow mein, in both portions only one piece of actual beef. £15 per portion. Complete rip off. Same quality of produce you would find in any Chinese take-away but for double the price. First time i have experienced small sharp bones in the shredded duck also. I will stick to Little Shangai

Excellent food and Perfect service

Orderd a set meal and I have Been to be honest it was the worst Chinese me and my family have ever tasted. Food was Cold, bland, the chow-main was burnt hardly any filling in the spring rolls, The egg fried rice was not fried, it was boiled with absolutely no egg. The crispy chilli beef was soggy and stale, bbq spare ribs was dry and chewy. The entire order was awful, very disappointing, definitely will not be eating from this restaurant ever again.

There are two Chinese restaurants in the heart of the Old City/Centre, that have been around a long time, and they look good. The non-Chinese waiter was polite and fairly proficient. As for this restaurant, it benefits from beung in a great location on historic King St, housed in an elegant listed building, that many locals and tourists pass by. This is probably the main reason it's managed to survive. However, the cooking skills are poor, the cost is high for the low standard of its food. How can egg fried rice look like plain boiled rice (barely cooked) with egg added? I showed diners at a nearby table and they didnt think it was fried rice. A basic culinary skill that all Chinese eateries should have mastered. Five small, quite tasteless, broccoli florets cost almost £6. For some reason, they had small electric heaters running, and radiators were cold, so was the room, and food lukewarm. I dont know why they have no toilet on the ground floor. The portions were generous, but as I didnt enjoy my mains, my friend took home the rest of my rice and pork (she was going to make it fried rice, with added salt). We were unhappy with the bill, as we ended up with a doubling of the one sharing starter, and the service charge etc made it extirtionate for what we ordered. My friend managed to get it reduced to a more palatable amount. Would I go again - a defunite no!

Granted it was a Sunday evening, so pretty quiet, but we were one of three tables in the entire place. Food was average-to-poor. Wouldn't return.

ordered the char siu pork, it tated very burnt not like char and drenched in red oil , possibly the worst i have ever tasted. Please scroll down and see many one stars given by others,def would not recomend to anyone.

This is an average classic Chinese restaurant, somewhat gloopy sauces and meat with a slightly suspicious texture (possibly mechanically reclaimed). Nothing you haven't seen before, but if that's what you like then it's on note. The staff are very friendly if a little baffled at times. £63 for two including starters, drinks and service charge (10%). It occupies seemingly all of a historic building from the 17th century, with space for 200.

I ordered Egg fried rice on Uber. Rice was not cooked in turn gave me a severe stomach ache and vomiting

Service was a bit sporadic. Food nothing to write home about and had trouble getting the bill. Also no WiFi which should be standard for a restaurant.

Had an Uber eats order. AVOID. 1. Prawn crackers forgotten. 2. Quarter duck provided 9 wraps but only enough cucumber pieces for one each for 8 wraps. Nowhere near enough spring onion or hoisin sauce and the wraps were all stuck together and clearly microwaved. 3. Prawn dumplings were horrible. Tasteless, stodgy and little tubes of soy sauce provided rather than an actual dip or sauce. 4. Special chow mein contained 7 pieces of meat. Chicken was horribly dry, pork was fine, prawns were fine and squid was chewy. It was also horrible greasy and under seasoned. 5. Plain boiled Jasmine rice was over cooked. 6. Beef a la Szechuan was a saving grace according to my husband and was well spiced, flavoursome and with good beef.

Was very easy to book a table online, food was great, very welcoming staff with a lovely atmosphere

Really enjoyed my dinner at this wonderful restaurant. Delicious food with wide range of choices, staff were friendly and provided fast service. Decent prices and big portions as well. Highly recommended!

Good. Romantic dining environment with my girlfriend. Food is tasty, service is great.

Had a delivery. Food tasted good, but far too little portions. For example, my quarter duck only had enough for cucumber/onion and hoisin sauce for 3 wraps (but many more wraps were provided and wasted).

Great Asian food in the heart of Bristol. The prices were reasonable as well when shared among a few friends.

Ordered off of Uber eats 1 x Char Sui pork 2 x Beef chow mien 2 x fried rice First of all… no chicken chow mien on the uber eats menu!? Travesty! Char Sui pork looked like it was cooked days ago and had a tough texture. Portion size was half the container it came in (very small) not that we finished it. Chow mien was extremely greasy with barely any beef, flavour was okay but definitely nothing to boast about. Rice was okay but it’s just rice at the end of the day. Extremely disappointed with this and won’t be ordering again. Not had a Chinese that bad in a long time. Will be chucking away about half of what we ordered - such a waste but can’t stomach it. How this place has good reviews blows my mind. They must have a different kitchen for the stuff they serve in the restaurant!

The service was fab. Especially the Italian chap whose name I failed to catch

Can't fault it, brilliant food, lovely service and a really nice vibe. Would definitely return!

Beware if you are vegan or have allergies! We visited after seeing a vegan/vegetarian menu online and were surprised to see ingredients in the vegan dishes that were not vegan. When we queried this with the staff they just offered to removed them from the dishes... They didn't seem to see the issue. The food we did have was pretty average and the restaurant itself is very dated.

We ordered 4 meals from them last night via Uber eats. Very disappointed in a quality of the food. Tasteless and 2 of the meals were full of bones, only bones. Check the picture. Absolutely disgusting , we binned all 4 meals. What a waste of money.

Fabulous meal. Great selection of dishes

Amazing karaoke sound system! With Asian local beer for everyone to enjoy! Would highly recommend! Had a lot of fun.

Was an incredible experience, staff were amazing and very willing to provide everything we could dream of needing. The karaoke was great, service was great, food was great and drinks were great!

While the service and the location were good, unfortunately the food was not worth the price. We ordered quite the selection of dishes for four people and most of them seemed to be sub-par (the chicken skewers, marinated cucumbers and the aromatic duck pancakes were good, and the veggy sides were quite solid).

Do not order from there.... The food came uncooked and the portion of the aromatic duck was half the one expected. All pancakes were stuck together. Had to throw food away and eat the cracker. They use different name on Uber. Green Vegan

Had a really lovely meal here. Staff were very halpful and friendly and the food was great. Would definitely go again

The restaurant uses golden cutleries so it’s presentable and nice place to meet up with friends and families. The customer service is quite good. The layout of the restaurant is very narrow and separated into different rooms so difficult to see waiters and get their attentions. The food is very average and the menu choice is typical Chinese takeaway food. This is really obvious for Chinese people. In particular we ordered sizzling beef steak. In China all the sizzling dish we have are definitely beef strips not steaks so I had a blank moment and skipped the word steak on the menu and assumed the same. The dish was sizzling hot but the steak was so over cooked and hard to chew. You can’t possibly cook tender beef if you cut it so thick and cook it well done. The menu choice itself is wrong to start with. The special chow main and park Choi we had were smothered in soy sauce with no other flavour which is typical way how it’s cooked in takeaway food. The two king prawn dishes we had are the best of all but nothing special. The good reviews for this restaurant are clearly mostly rated by the British as this is merely a posh takeaway restaurant serving westernised Chinese food which falls below standard of a restaurant I expect. For that reason regrettably I won’t return.

Very welcoming and friendly staff, seats outside and in, across several rooms and levels creating a nice ambience. Simple and well laid out menu with good choices for vegetarians and carnivores alike. The set menu for 1 was great value (overnight biz stop) Everything was fresh and hot, served with a smile. Very Very busy beer bar scene nearby, great location.

Superb, friendly Chinese restaurant, great staff, great menu, seating inside and out. Located close to a busy beer bar scene, a great spot. Great value set menu, esp for 1 (biz trip) the marinated cucumber was an unexpected delight. Highly recommended.

Chef carried away with chilli - Chinese food should’nt be over spicy but sweet chilli chicken (rated medium hot) was too spicy and no flavour at all - just lumps of deep fried batter Sweet and sour chicken was better but still had chilli and was spicy not sour Rice was disappointing - pre Cooked, soggy

Was disappointed after our meal here. Restaurant decor is very tired looking thoughout. Our table looked like it hadn’t been cleaned very well. Food itself was ok, nothing special. Spring rolls were tasteless, crispy duck wasn’t great. Fried rice and chow mein was ok. Won’t be returning.

Lovely food in a lovely atmosphere. It was so nice to spend an evening with friends in a place that we used to dine in many years ago. The waiting staff were attentive without being overbearing and the food was as nice as ever. Ask for a gluten free menu if you need one. Would recommend if you want to enjoy good Chinese food.

Great food great prices great staff! Can't beat it amazing

The food here is really good, lots of choice and variety, the dishes are always seasoned nicely and well cooked. Very tasty! The staff are also friendly and the restaurant has a nice atmosphere.

The standards have dropped over the last year, staff were pleasant but the food disappointing. I feel for businesses at this difficult time but I won't go again in a hurry.

Super nice restaurant and delicious food. Staffs are very friendly and helpful! I am in love with the decoration 🥰 Highly recommend everyone to come🫶🏻

Cathayz rendezvous is the best chinese in Bristol i have been across then all and the standards here remain the best , the w Quality and quantity of food is great ! Service is always attentive and the value is great for what you get ! There was 5 of us and we really got some tasty bits in! The prawn toast from here is always the best really thick juicy layer of prawn ! Delish ! The satay chicken was a real winner too with a thick satay sauce ! The pork chop in honey pepper was as always fantastic! The seafood medley hot dish again a real winner! 5 happy diners looking forward to another visit!

Beautiful food, amazing offers on drinks and the toilets are very good. I rate this place if you are going for a night out and need a meal before.

Worst meal I’ve ate in ages,food was cold whats even worse is that the curry sause was clumpy and stuck to the top of the lid,egg fried rice definitely wasn’t cooked,sweet and sour was cold and like paste,DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS SHOP!

The taste of Chinese cuisine has always had something to attract us. What is experienced at Cathay Rendezvous restaurant in Bristol is good: the quality of the food, the cool seating, and the attentive service.

The taste of Chinese cuisine has always had something to attract us. What is experienced at Cathay Rendezvous restaurant in Bristol is good: the quality of the food, the cool seating, and the attentive service.

Not very clean. Chilli chicken was unbearably spicy. Poorly made chinese food.

Ordered a take away egg fried rice and the special chow mein with curry sauce- was really disappointed when it came as there was only a tiny bit of curry sauce and the chow mein was too salty

The food was not quite worth the price, except for the fried spicy chicken.

I always order chilli chicken from them on uber eats and its really good even though its quite expensive. However I just ordered again and the food came really stale and hard. Can barely chew it. Really disappointed considering its £11 EDIT: I ordered the same dish one year later and had the exact same issue, if you order from this place do not get their starters since they go bad by the time they reach you!

Everything was tip top, one of the best chinese food I had . Prices not expensive.

Hands down best peking duck I’ve ever had and on top of that one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Have been here twice and ordered a bunch l of dishes and they’ve all been amazing. Cute girl working there with big round glasses too so 👍👍

We enjoyed a great meal here with friends. Excellent food, service impeccable. We all had the set menu plus an extra dish. There was plenty of food. Good choices, too. Great tasting red wine, as was the lychee liquor to go with my lychee dessert. This was my first visit here. It won't be my last. Thank you for looking after us.

Best restaurant in Bristol. Been a number of times and will continue to for years to come

가게 내부 및 외부가 매우 아름다우며, 특유의 중국의 느낌은 은은하게 아기자기하게 표현되었습니다. 직원들 대부부분이 친절하며 맛 또한 훌륭합니다 가격은 싸진않지만 만족하여 지불하였습니다. 맥주가 일본맥주뿐인것은 아쉬웠으며 중국 맥주가 있으면 더 좋을거 같습니다. 또한 전통중국술이 많지않았으나 다양한 종류의 와인이 존재하였습니다 단체 회식으로도 적합하며 저희는 사전에 예약을 하여 미리 준비된 테이블에서 식사를 즐겼습니다. 음식에서는 중국 특유의 향이 없었으며 대중들이 즐기기엔 충분합니다 한국에서 먹던 중국집 느낌이 약간 나지만, 단무지가 없다는게 많이 아쉽습니다ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

I ordered the chicken curry and it tasted worse than getting it from the cooperative. Name is French, the restaurant is trying to be high standard with the prices but the building is old and moldy, the waiter was italian but the restaurant is Chinese. Very confusing, I've been to many restaurants abroad with poor standard of food but this has surprisingly topped them all!

Definitely not somewhere for a pre theatre meal. It started promisingly for our party of 4 but our initial good experience was sadly short lived. Prompt service in taking our drinks and food order was followed by both arriving at our table in good time, hence one star, as the service ground to a halt thereafter. The satay chicken and spare ribs in the mixed starter that we had were too dry. Our main courses arrived some 55 minutes after we had ordered them, two were served at the same time, the third 5 minutes later, a further 5 minutes and the remaining one had not been served, it was cancelled by us as we had to leave for a commitment. The 3 main courses that we had were of average quality but better than the satay chicken and spare ribs. Allowing an hour and a half to order a meal with drinks, have it prepared, served, eaten and the bill settled should and always has worked. Not on this occasion. The 10% service charge that is added to the bill was requested to be removed, which was done. There appeared to be more attention being paid to making sure that the Deliveroo orders were going out than to our main courses being served. We will not be returning.

The dishes in this restaurant are all delicious and very much in line with the taste of the locals. The waiters are also very friendly and serve quickly, and I am very happy with the speed of Cathy rendezvous compared to other restaurants. And the restaurant offers a wide range of wines, and the bartenders are also very professional. The most important thing is that the restaurant is very spacious, which can accommodate both a date for two people and a party for dozens of people. All in all, I am very satisfied with this restaurant and recommend everyone to try.

Ordered Uber eats vegetable chow mein noodles and was very disappointed. Small portion of noodles and hardly any vegetables included

Nice location and good environment in the restaurant. All of staff and managers are kindly and friendly. I think this place is the best Chinese restaurant in Bristol.

Fabulous service with the delicious food!

The food is very nice, especially the whole roast duck. I highly recommend the salt and pepper squid and the dumplings, my fav. The atmosphere here is cozy and enjoyable, suitable for a big group.

Hospitality businesses have had it tough over the past few years, but even making allowances for that, there’s no excuse for probably the worst meal I’ve had for a very long time. I should have paid attention to other recent reviews. It takes a particular skill (and not a good one) to be able to serve up a meal so completely lacking in flavour and taste. First up, the restaurant lacks any atmosphere. Granted it was early evening but we were put in an empty room so cold we had to keep our coats on. A couple of small heaters had no impact at all. On the positive side, service was attentive. The mixed starter plate was the usual mixed starter in a Chinese restaurant. Not home made, all bought in, we’ve had it numerous times. The chicken satay was a particular low point but fairly typical of all the meat dishes, a rare combination of tough but watery. As for the sauces, absolutely a million miles away from even moderate flavour to coat the meats. And sesame toast and spring roll – how can you cook the flavour out of that? Crispy aromatic duck with pancakes – the pancakes were the only things as expected. A bit of a high point, almost. There was no crispy and no aromatic, the duck was bordering on tepid and again no flavour. We had a polite word with our server who said he would speak to the kitchen to see what could be done. Given they were unlikely to be preparing fresh for us, I doubted we’d get anything. Three dishes came out flavourless and barely warm. A chicken dish came out with the server proclaiming the hope that this dish would be different. Indeed it was. It was hot, for a start. Then we found out why, it seemed like in order to get some flavour into the dish, it had been given a quick go in a wok and doused in soy sauce. So, it did have flavour, just not the flavour of the dish. Given it was so cold in there we couldn’t really even laugh the experience off as ‘one of those things’. I can’t recommend this restaurant to my worst enemy.

Lovely food, quick service, will be coming here again!

They are friendly ,nice and welcoming

Very beautiful cutlery good food Good !!

Very good restaurant with amazing food and great service :) will come back for sure :)

excellent food, Fantastic and comfortable environment

Starters was lovely spring rolls, spare ribs, prawn toast. inside the restaurant was cold staff was even wearing coats, lemon chicken over cooked, sweet Chilli beef too vinegary, chow mein was nice

Awful experience. Tasteless chicken (sent back, beef replacement equally bad), slimy veg, won ton soup watery, overall really disappointing. This place should be avoided.