The Golden Bowl in West Somerset

Don't buy from here anymore, foods not fresh, no free prawn crackers or bottle of drink no matter how much you spend. And like most CASH only no delivery. Shocking food and service all round won't buy from here again.

We have had a few takeaways from here recently and all have been consistently good. Food is piping hot and very tasty

Seen a lot of negative reviews but always like to give a place a chance. Ordered salt and pepper chicken, they gave us prawn and there was no flavour to it at all. The chicken fried rice was horrible and stodgy and the curry sauce was more like a fruit sauce. My chow mein was ok but an overall bad experience. Ashame as we love chinese food, but probably the worst chinese we have tried.

Takeaway food very tasty. Cash only, no card payments

Shop could do with a revamp but the customer service was good and the food delicious! 10/10 would recommend!

Great food, good prices. We stayed on holiday in Doniford so was just down the road. Would definitely go back if we was still there. Free parking outside in roadway

Myself and my husband ordered a takeaway a couple of weeks ago and were horrified with the food quality and taste. I ordered the Chicken Chow Mein and my husband had the Roast Pork Chinese Style. As we share the chinese (have half each), we were horrified that it tasted so salty as if someone had emptied a container full of salt into it and the fried rice was dry. The chicken in the chow mein was dried out and had a strange taste to it and the four pieces of very small pork squares was very hard, chewy and dry and the dish consisted mostly of grey beanshoots, a lot of watery substance and no taste. We decided to call The Golden Ball to complain and was told to bring the food back. Worse than the food was the rudeness of the owner of the shop who said that half the food was missing (yes it was spat into the bin several times during eating) and she didn't want to give us our money back. I insisted that the food was not fit for consumption and as there were members of the public waiting for their orders, she decided to refund our money. She practically slammed the money into our hands and said 'next time you won't get your money back'. My reply was 'don't worry, we won't be coming here again'. No apology from the owner, just rudeness. We have had a takeaway from here a couple of times, each time the food has been greasy or dry and seems to always have a strange taste, especially the chicken. We definately won't be ordering from The Golden Bowl again and being local, I have told my friends about the above issues and it seems they all agree that it's not the best Chinese Takeaway and advised on another local takeaway they all go to. We've also noticed that they seem to always add on an extra 10p on the price even though we have an up to date menu.

On holiday,.ordered 3 meals. Ordered 2 x no138 off their menu, which is roast duck and roast pork fried rice in BBQ sauce. And 1 x chicken and pork rice. Got back ro caravan to find had 2 portion of bean sprouts with duck and pork. No fried rice. No bbq sauce. Chicken and rice was with fried rice as ordered. Too late to return as after long day traveling everyone just wanted to eat. The meat was ALL horrible. Pork was like chewing leather shoe soles and the 2 small pieces of 'duck' I could find were pure fat and tasteless. Wife's chicken and pork was the exact same. BBQ Sauce wasn't present that we could tell on any of the 3 meals. Just loads of oil. Look at my reviews, think worst I've ever left was 3 stars. Incorrect 2 out of 3 meals and Awful food for all 3. We binned majority of all 3 and ate our movie munchies for dinner instead.

Was in the area on holidays 2 weeks ago and ordered some food for dinner (4 ppl). The food was surprisingly good so I feel compelled to leave a good review.

Scruffy looking over priced not the best..Cash only? I am surprised the tax man not looking at that!!!!@

I have ordered from here a few times with no issues. We had a takeaway lastnight and the chicken wings and skewers tasted awful. I’ve now got food poisoning. I will not be returning again.

Really good and nice food and worth the money nice owners and nice staff member really good takeaway place and good service.😃😃😃

it's alright, nothing exciting or special. just an average Chinese takeaway. portions are a little small. reception looks a little run down, but its alright for a small take away.

Opening hours/days not as stated on Google!

Used this takeaway many times while visiting friends, excellent food, efficient service, great value,

Was staying at the local haven. They don't deliver to campsite which was a bummer. So had to go pick it up. Only fault we have. The Chinese food was beautiful one the best we had in a long time.

Ordered a big meal for the family as a treat at the end of our holiday. Simply the worst take away I have ever had of any kind. Not just the worst Chinese, but the worst food I have ever spent money on. Chicken satay were tough and dry, the sauce was a dull beige. Singapore rice noodles tasted like someone had deconstructed a shredded wheat and marinated it down the back of a deep fat fryer. Prawn toasts appeared to be more like chicken toast. Spring rolls were frozen supermarket standard. Chicken balls were greasy and just tasted of oil. Spare ribs were dry, lemon chicken was full of pineapple. Not much chicken in the chicken Chinese style. Egg and special fried rice were okay, I didn’t try the curry but those that did ate it. Everything was bland and oddly discoloured. Will never go back on future holidays.

We are on holiday and fancied treating our family. We looked at the menu online and chose our dishes. My husband went to order and pay to discover that although the website had prices listed, they had put all the prices up and the meal cost £11 more than it was advertised as. I'm sure it is against the law to advertise one price and charge another. However, the food was generally good. Flavours were nice. The prawn ball batter was a bit soggy and the meat was dry in the mixed roast chicken and pork and the chicken skewers though. I wouldn't say the meal was good enough to charge £63.

Were staying in Watchet and tried this for the first time,it was really good

Food is 10/10 better than most Chinese I've had and the chow mein is great

absolutely diabolical. The pancake rolls were not properly cooked, the special golden bowl chow mein tasted disgusting. and all that other food was tasteless and greasy. we will not be going there in a hurry.

Normally we make a trip here on the way back from blue anchor. Ordered fish and chips, what a waste of hard-earned money. The fish wasn't even fresh it was the frozen battered fish that you would buy in a box from any supermarket. My young son and I have been up since the early hours with sickness and diarrhoea. Will not be returning to this place ever again 😡

Good quality food but occasionally gets my order wrong mistaking a vegetarian omelette for a chicken omelette

Great food but a long wait , must be because it’s so popular.

Great little Chinese takeaway. Great food, always hot and fresh. Generous amount of meat in their dishes. Highly recommended 👌

If you ask for salt and pepper chips, you get chips with onion and carrot ( not salt and pepper) even though you have asked for no onion in the rest of your order. Owners didn't really care about that. Even though it was only £3.80 out of a £60 order. They refused a refund saying I should have known. The food there has always been good but they seem to lack on customer service if you aren't satisfied with your order. Would reccomend unless you have food allergies .

Our new fav takeout, we have had a number of takeouts now and never disapoint, the food is always piping hot and tasty. If your around the area we cant recommend The Golden Bowl high enough

We have used this takeaway a few times, and it has been good every time. Efficient service and the food is always good.

Take away chinese menu. Everything we have tried has been lovely

Great service, food was piping hot and tasty. The lady even brought our order out to our car. Will definitely visit again.

Not powered wheelchair friendly

Called in to order a takeaway on the way home. Very efficient service, food cooked quickly. The meals were tasty, no fat or oil present. If anything, the spring roll was a little dry, but still good. Overall, very pleased.

Excellent food was hot and cooked to order

Great food, great service and great value

We stay nearby every year and went back here for our Chinese Takeaway. we phoned our order through and were told it would be 20 mins. we went along to collect it in 20 mins and it was allready and in a box for us. FABULOUS food and BIG portions. I can whole heartedly recommend this place - great food and great value too - THANK YOU.

Just bought 4 meals from here at £43 and only one of them was any good! The chicken curry was horrible, processed chicken is not good! The beef in the beef curry was tough…the only decent thing we got was the banana fritter, will never be back!

An excellent Chinese take out, friendly staff, always a quick service, had many meals for here and they have always been very tasty,

Ordered off the menu on the website, ignore the prices as they are nothing like what you get charged. Food is average at best, had Salt & Pepper chicken and Capitol Ribs, couldn't really tell the difference in flavour, bland just about covers it. Friend had a noodle dish which was nice but overall thoroughly underwhelming and felt slightly ripped off. Will not be returning!!

Didn't have a problem here at all. Order taken. 15 minutes later it was ready. Beef Curry. Chicken & Pork Fried Rice. Chips. Duck Fried Rice. Sweet n Sour Hong Kong Style Chicken. Very reasonably priced. Polite service. Can phone to order. Cash only. Will visit again when back in the area.

Absolutely fantastic! We regularly order a set of meals as a family from The Golden Bowl. My favorite, Chicken Kung Po, ordered tonight was great: A good amount of chicken but also LOTS of fresh vegetables in a really tasty, slightly spicy, sauce. Customer service is basic, but who cares - it is very efficient and they are spending my money on good ingredients and kitchen staff, which is what counts!

Food was tasty enough and was ready very quickly (within 10 minutes). Does make you wonder how made to order everything is when it's that quick though? The issue we had was we got no rice even though we read our order out/confirmed it 3 times so when we phoned and questioned this the lady on the phone said we didn't say rice when we ordered and even after we said we read the order out, including rice, 3 times she just said well 'when I read out your order I didn't say rice' There was no apology for the misunderstanding which was a shame. Who has a Chinese without rice?! Anyway food was tasty enough but customer service wasn't great.

We have just bought a static caravan nearby and last week we had a takeaway from the Golden Bowl which we really enjoyed. So when we returned to our van this week we thought we would have another but this time it was not good at all. Had we been served last nights meal last week we would not have returned and we won’t again. Must have had a different chef but whatever made the difference it has most certainly put us off. Will not be returning and cannot recommend it.

We phoned in our order - for 4 people, so there was quite a list ! The girl repeated it to make sure she had got it right, and we were told it would be ready in half an hour. We went along in half an hour and there was a BIG box all ready, with all our food in it, with 2 bags of free Prawn Crackers. The food was GORGEOUS, very hot and loads of it - not that we'd ordered a lot, but the portions were BIG ! A great start to our holiday - THANK YOU - WELL DONE.

Crispy duck was very nice, fast service.

Really good Chinese takeaway xxx

Great food. Good prices. Accepts telephone orders. CASH ONLY Only downside is the waiting time. Always 10 to 20 minutes. AND the waiting area is colder than it is outside. In winter wear something warm.

We were really pleased we tried the golden bowl. Well cooked food, lots of flavour, good value and good service. Thank you

No complaints, food is always good when we have a takeaway.

Firstly, this place does not accept cards 🤯 Secondly I waited almost half hour for 1x chicken chow mein. While waiting I had to laugh as almost every customer who came in had placed orders over the phone and it was wrong. I asked what's taking so long, the response was that they are busy, which was a shock to me as there were about 3 people waiting and maybe 6 came in while I was waiting... Didn't seem too busy to me!

Fast hot good Chinese food, served with a smile.

Great food quick service and medium price range, doesn’t do delivery and is cash only sorry for the confusion.

I have ordered from here 4 times and it has always been good.

Excellent food, never had to wait more than 20 minutes and very reasonably priced.

Golden Bowl used to be a nice takeaway. Many years ago. Not any more. Tonight we had won ton which should have been little parcels of filo with minced meat filling. They actually served us folded up pieces of deep fried filo pastry. When I rang and complained, I was told the minced chicken was in the pastry so you can’t tell it’s there. The chicken satay was so dry it must have been reheated countless times. The chow mein had no flavour whatsoever and the owner said this was because they had to cater for the older population of Watchet!!! The prawn toast were what you buy in a supermarket. Having moved away and sampled really nice, fantastic quality takeaway food, I decided that I would complain when I was served terrible food. Golden Bowl, your food is terrible. Have some respect for your customers!

Food was ok,had a special curry was watery and tasted very sweet.Girl behind counter was nice and welcoming.

Food was mediocre and was telephone ordered from menu on website, but nowhere did anyone say "cash only" causing a complete "pain in the backside" trying to get cash to settle up on arrival at the take away. When are these outlets going to move with the times? Won't be using again on the basis of inconvenience paying and mediocre food.

We ordered a Chinese for 2 of us last night. It was a £30 order so not massive. We ring at 6.30 and we’re told 40 minutes which wasn’t a issue. We got there for 7.15, food was not ready and there was 17 others waiting! One of which had said she had been sat there over a hour! We were repeatedly told 10 minuteS. It was only when I asked for my money back our food appeared. We left there at 7.50!! I wish I could say it was worth the wait but it was tasteless and the Chinese chicken was so hard you couldn’t even eat it! Never known a Chinese like it. Definitely won’t ever go back.

The better of the two Chinese in watchet, The other you can dine in , but this takeaway is much tastier and freindlier staff. They are quick although they do get really busy so I often call with a time so then you can just go straight in and pick it up.

It was a Sunday and with not many restaurants open in the area and with local Pubs not serving Food on a Sunday we were stymied. So in an act of desperation we decided to order from The Golden Bowl. Before doing this I asked myself what am I doing and looked for my Scores on the Doors Restaurant hygiene App which stated that The Golden Bowl had a Food Hygiene Rating of 4. It was also good value which seems an odd way for me to condone my decision to go ahead and quality trumps price any day. They also don’t take credit cards so cash only. In a growing cashless society this might not be the smartest move in times ahead. We collected the Food and start to dish it out. The e-numbers were there in plain view in all dishes (e-numbers are Additives for colours, preservatives, antioxidants, sweeteners, emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners and other types of additives). Plus my gut instinct told me to re-seal the lids and put in the food bin for disposal. But we didn’t. The Crispy Shredded Chilli Beef was tasteless and I dreaded thinking what was in it. The Singapore Rice had bits of meat in it which looked inedible. Just looking at it put me off eating it. There was more but you get the gist. It really was a poor choice. However I ate enough to wake up at 5.00pm with a mild fever and feeling nauseous. As stated earlier I should have trusted my gut instinct.

Got my order wrong and the food was shocking, crispy chilli beef had literally zero beef inside and not a chilli in site just onions carrots, a sweet sauce, with what was best described as a chewy finger nail bit of not so crispy beef!... Duck had clearly been microwaved and was chewy.. Satay sauce was even poor tasting, absolute waste of just just under £40. Very disappointed, would certainly not recommend. P.S I could complain more but I'm sure I've said enough.

The meal was tasty but lacking in vegetables. The sauces are ok but need more flavour. Nice choice of dishes. hot and fresh cooked. The ribs in bbq sauce were awful though. Fatty and wet. Other choices are much nicer. Do try it though most of what is done is nice.

Well I’ve had better ! A lot better. Our meals were pretty tasteless, very little meat (no I didn’t order veggie).

So after ordering my food and driving home I discovered that my order was even after I checked the order back with the person on the counter. so I drove back to the shop after talking to the manager on the phone (don't now why I bothered he couldn't care less) so changed the food drove home (didn't think to check it) and guess what it's wrong again!!!once maybe twice is just taking the mick.So rang back to speak to them couldn't care less and wanted me to drive back again didn't even speak to the manager cos clearly he didn't care. The food is in the bin as it was cold after all the messing around and it didn't look great anyway to be honest, this used to a good take away clearly gone to the dogs.I will not be returning nor will I recommend purely based on the shocking lack of care & customer service as I didn't eat the food.

Visited today for the first time, will never order food from here again! Food was freezing cold after waiting over 40 minutes for a takeaway collection. When we got back we found hair in the food which couldnt be eaten due to this so it was a waste of money. Ordered barbeque ribs and there was no bbq on them they was freezing cold! Salt and chilli chips had no taste to them and food was way over priced for what you got will sadly not be returning again.

Decided to pick up a takeaway for the family whilst on holiday. Watery curry tasted of a pot noodle with a hair in the rice see picture...

Food here was more expensive than Chinese takeaways in central London and about 10% the quality. Even the rice tasted bad, no idea what they cook it in to give it such a bad taste. Curry sauce wasn’t home made like most Chinese places, just a jarred sauce thrown on top of tough beef which didn’t carry any of the flavour.Don’t bother if you’re used to having a good quality Chinese!

Just 5 minutes from our caravan park and obviously a hit with the locals as when I arrived to order it was busy especially for a mid-week night. (Don't get caught out doesn't open Tuesdays).Portion sizes were good and the food was tasty. Two mains with sides fed 2 adults and 2 children.In the same road there is a Co-op, Spar and fish and chip shop so it's a bit of a one stop shop Road for your needs!

Was away on holiday at doniford bay and wanted something different then fish and chips. Etc.

Good service did not have to wait too long for our takeaway,the sweet and sour chicken balls were the best we have tasted and were very reasonably priced.

Lovely food good choices suitable for all tastes easy to use menu, can phone to place your order yummy

The first time we tried it people had been waiting ove an hour and when the lady working there was asked how long food would be she replied that she had a headache but the second time it was really good service and tasty food

we decided to have a take away while on holiday in watchet,food was nice, hot and the price wasnt too bad either.

Asked about dumplings, got fried spring roll pastry only!! The deep fried duck was good. Front desk staff girl didn't know much, every question was answered "dunno, shall I go and ask?". As I said the duck was good. Heard service and food was 'hit n miss'. Guess we had a bit of both.

Went here out of desperation at the last minute because we'd planned really badly for the day in question. Both me and my wife are quite particular about our Chinese and the reception area here did not exactly fill me with confidence but shut my mouth, this was really very pleasant, not perfect, the kung po chicken was a bit dayglow for my liking but really very nice. Will return if we're ever back in the area.

Went in and ordered (Friday teatime) and it wasn't long to wait for our food. Lovely chatty young man at the counter. We had sweet and sour pork balls and mushroom chow mein. The pork balls were to die for, gorgeous taste and quality meat. The chow mein was lovely but was a wee bit dry (we're used to it coming with a bit of juicy stuff at the bottom). The prawn crackers we had with it were out of this world. NB We are those sort of people who are quite hard to please

Long established business with a well deserved good reputation. Good menu. Good food. Sometimes a long queue at busy periods. Pricey.

One word to describe this place - FAB! I love it, so close to home and they don't take ages to prepare the food. 100% recommend I visit this place nearly weekly!

Good, bog standard Chinese takeaway. Great service, food arrived quickly. Wasn't the best Chinese I've ever had but was pretty good all the same.

Buena comida y precio razonable. Recomiendo si buscas un bonito para llevar. El único inconveniente es encontrar un lugar para aparcar a recoger.

We have used this takeaway for some 18 years now and it is as good now as any other Chinese takeaway in the area, if not better. The lemon chicken and special rice (wet) is a must, delicious . Our takeaway for 4 is usually around the £30 mark with loads left over.

This Chinese was absolutely awful,firstly they got our order totally wrong four out of the five dishes we ordered were incorrect.We immediately phoned them and went through the order they appoligised half heartedly and said if we brought the food back they would sort it out but it was quite far away and we had guests,for dinner We were all extremely hungry and its a far distance to go back so we ate the correct dishes and then on our way out we popped back into the Chinese with the remaining incorrect dishes to a very rude and unhelpful reception there was no offer of our money back OR our correct dishes.The food we did actually taste was watery and taste less and we will NEVER use this disgusting Chinese again

The best Chinese takeaway for miles around.. Not been before but it was well worth the drive over as the Chinese takeaways are not worth bothering with in Minehead. Lovely food and quick service...

Been coming here for years, always come back as the food always taste great and never have a problem, it's very nice when they give free prawn crackers which is a plus, always happy to help, and allow locals to work on the till and take orders very good Chinese and is always great.

Went on recommendations and not disappointed. Quickly prepared and nice food. Take cash only. well worth seeking out if in town

Every time I've been here I have never been let down! Ring up place my order and it's ready exactly when they say without a fault! Brilliant!!

We regularly have takeaways from the Golden Bowl and it never disappoints. The food is always cooked to perfection with clearly differing tastes for whatever you choose, unlike many Chinese where everything is often swimming in the same type of gravy. Lovely owners too.

This wasn't the easiest Chinese to find in fact locals in the town didn't seem to know where it was,but it was worth the search. Very tasty food & generous portions.

Have been using the Golden Bowl since the day we moved to Watchet. Freshly cooked food, good selection of meals. Friendly staff & not too long to wait for it.

Second time visited here. Great service and food We had bbq ribs, rice, seaweed, mushrooms, prawn in satay, spicy chicken, middles and prawn crackers. It tasted lovely and the price was good. You can park out the front which makes it easy and the food arrives quickly. The only thing is you need cash no debit cards!

We were on holiday in Dunster and googled this place before we went. It's around a 20 minute drive from Dunster and it was well worth the drive! My wife had pork balls and a portion of chips and I had crispy beef in sweet chilli sauce and egg fried rice. It was honestly the best Chinese takeaway we've ever had! Really really good! The prawn crackers were also at the top of there game!!

Great Takeaway and great food as alwaysThankyou for the calander I so desparatley wanted.Steve...Nigels mate

We visited the Golden Bowl when staying in nearby Doniford Bay caravan park in August. The food was ordered with minimum fuss and we enjoyed it. Decent portions and quality was on par with most Chinese takeaways that I've had.The owners young son kept me entertained by peeking out from the kitchen!All in all perfect for what it is.

Lovely large menu and takeaway food is always delicious with very generous portions. The special noodles are especially good. Never had a bad meal here

We really wanted a Chinese and found this one about a 5 minute drive from Doniford Bay Haven. Food was a bit runny but other than that ok. Good waiting time and reasonable prices.

We have been a customer of the Golden Bowl for may years, recently have discovered, the value, that is their set meal which we have been impressed by

good food made fresh to order, reasonably priced. variety of food ordered, curry, foo yung, sweet and sour chicken all tasty. Chips a bit soggy but no worse than any other Chinese take away

Our local Chinese takeaway, nice staff, reasonable prices and tasty food. Not our favourite Chinese takeaway but still very good.

This takeaway has been in Watchet for decades. The food is OK; nothing special but adequate and average. It's a little over priced but as there are few alternatives, you'll have little choice. For some reason, this takeaway has never made deliveries and I think they're missing a great business opportunity to be honest.

just got back from weeks holiday in watchet..visited golden bowl twice both excellent apart from girl on reception giving us wrong spring rolls on first visit told her second visit didn't bat an eye lid.. and could smile a bit would help bit of a sour face..we had sweet an sour pork and chicken lovely/beef curry lovely/pork chowmein lovely and duck and mushrooms sauce bit watery but lovely chips nice..free prawn crackers with both meals..

Nice food good value for money. Chow mien very nice. Food nice and hot as we took it back to caravan.