The Welcome Restaurant in Belfast

My order was a delivery, so I have no opinion about the service or atmosphere, I'm sure they're fine. Possibly some of the worst Chinese food I’ve had. I had high hopes because it was relatively well rated on Google. But it was completely flavorless. I ordered spring rolls, fried rice, and sweet and sour chicken. The spring rolls were wrapped in filo pastry which is the wrong wrapper for egg rolls let alone spring rolls, and then they were not fried all the way, so they wound up being soggy and literally dripping with oil and also didn’t come with any sauce. The fried rice I knew was gonna be bad the second I saw it because it had no color. It had at most a splash of soy sauce. I actually wound up throwing it in a skillet with sesame oil, an egg, and soy and oyster sauce. Then it wasn’t bad. The sweet and sour chicken was the only thing that had any flavor, but even that was mediocre at best. All of this for the price of 30+ pounds is insane. Will not be ordering again.

We have been coming to Welcome for over 40 years. Many places are good to begin with but sometimes lose their standards after a while. This family has ensured the quality of food and friendly service has been maintained over several generations. This restaurant has good old fashioned standards of service and great cuisine. Definitely the best Chinese dining in Ireland.

First time - fresh and delicious Chinese food, really enjoyed it!

Came here for my 2nd birthday dinner with my husband. It was a turn off when they mentioned the only acceptable form of payment was cash, so my husband had to go use the cash machine. The food was mid, the space could use a good makeover really as the flooring was really old and ugly. I’ll give it a 5/10. Response to the owner: Fix up and stop denying the claims. I have no reason to leave a fake review. It's nothing personal, I shared my experience so go check with your staff, this was May 2023. Your restaurant is not the first I’m reviewing. It's nothing personal. Love and Light!

Excellent Chinese restaurant, the food, the atmosphere, and the service were all top notch

Tasteless curry spice with no flavour . Chewy salt and chilli chicken. Just terrible

Went for food this evening and honestly can not work out these people giving this place good reviews was so disappointed in the food. The spring rolls for starters had hardly any filling then the main courses we didn't even finish as the beef fillet tasted like fat and was the texture of fat we couldn't figure out what it was we were eating then the sweet and sour was so basic I had eaten better from a tin. The prices and reviews lead us to believe we were getting good quality food and infact we paid more than double for worse food than what we would get from a random take away.

I had not been here in years. Normal prices for a Chinese and spacious. Menu was a bit limited

I was so excited to eat here, we haven't been in many years since moving overseas. Had a great dinner with staff very helpful to us. We ordered their Salted Chili Shrimp, Chili Chicken, Prawn Toast and Duck Pancakes. Everything was delicious

Food is really authentic! It's good!

Great taste and very generous portions! Will recommend the sweet sour chicken and beef curry! Definitely authentic!

The only nice food out of here is the prawn crackers , absolutely disgusting feed I got last night , myself and my partner couldn't even finish it it was that bad. Will never be back again 👍

I have eaten at this amazing restaurant at least 3 times in the past few months. With my sister and her husband we shared 3 dishes, honey chilli chicken, sizzling fillet steak and lemon chicken, accompanied by fried rice and noodles. The food is always so fresh and flavoursome. Service is fast and staff pleasant and professional. There is nowhere else I would order the honey chilli chicken as no other restaurant compares. Will keep returning for more.

Food was bland, the chicken in the curry had a weird texture. For the price of food at this restaurant they don’t even offer complimentary prawn crackers for table while you wait for food. You get them free with most chinese take aways. Will be sticking to Wahfu chinese in future.

We ordered starters and the main meal arrived but no starters

I have ate here before and have always had a good meal but I was a bit disappointed in the quality of the food tonight. The salt and chilli ribs starter wasn’t warm and a bit dry. My main course also wasn’t very warm and the chips served were like the end of a basket ( lots of crisp little ends) and also weren’t warm. My husband said that his curry sauce was like a bowl of thick gravy. Not sure if I will be rushing back

Got a takeout recently for a large family Christmas party. I had lemon chicken, chips and rice. Very nice food, the lemon was quite a subtle flavour and not overwhelming. The portions were really small, probably the smallest portion of Chinese food I have ever had. A lot of the group were couples sharing the food and everyone said it was very small. On the plus side it actually wasn't very salty and tasted fairly healthy for takeout food.

Complete and utter rip off as prices are extortionate. Bland food. Tiny portions. Trading Standards should close this place down.

Have been here previously when visiting the in-laws and seem to remember it being better then it was this time. Lovely service but I felt the food was bland and the portions small. The Kung-Po chicken had zero spice and if it wasn't for the inclusion of a couple of cashew nuts might as well have been sweet and sour. The crispy duck was ok...but very stingy on the cucumber and spring onions ...and it felt each dish was very overpriced

Probably the worst Chinese takeaway I’ve ever ordered. Food not cooked in sauce. Vegetable spring rolls had prawns in. No apology when phoned and told that it’s like this sometimes for takeaway. £60 wasted, didn’t eat any of it. Avoid. Disgusting.

Food was excellent, Staff were very helpful and friendly.

Food was nice although side orders very small, spent over 75 and didn't even get prawn crackers as a good will gesture

Came with work friends midweek to try the set meal for 4. It had been a toss up between here and the Asian barbeque in Donegal Pass but we liked what we saw on the website for the set menu. When we arrived were told they had taken the set menu off even though it was still listed on the website. Ended up ordering the same dishes as that was what we'd planned to get and paid a lot more for the same food. Left a sour taste. Probably trying to fleece the Christmas party punters but if you are going to do that at least have the decency to amend the website. On a plus note the noodles we ordered on the side were lovely but won't be rushing back. Shame as this was the first Chinese I'd eaten from about 35 years ago and I'd been feeling nostalgic about visiting again after so many years.

Best chinese resturant in Belfast calming relaxing and great service from great staff.

We called in to get crispy aromatic duck as a take away, supposedly for 2 people. We got it home and discovered that it was barely enough for one let alone two. It was quite greasy and there was a lot of unrendered fat under the duck skin. Tasty enough but wouldn't get again.

My wife and I dined here the other night. We were pleasantly surprised how good this place was because we know that good Chinese restaurants are hard to come by. We called to book a reservation with no problem. It’s street parking which, we have learned whilst in Belfast, isn’t the best. Thankfully we found a space not too far away. The restaurant itself is quite fancy looking. They have a cool ceiling. The place is of reasonable size with plenty of tables which are adequately spread apart so you don’t feel that you are too close to any neighbouring diners. The service was excellent. The two ladies that served us were on the ball. They were always busy but seemed to have everything under control. They were also very pleasant. Normally Chinese menus are exhausting to read through and it’s nearly impossible to decide. However this menu is a great size. It provides variety but it isn’t overwhelming. I was naughty and got 2 starters. I got the duck with pancakes and hoisin sauce and also the pork ribs with pecking sauce. Both of these were delicious. The duck came on the bone and the waitress shredded it upon serving. The duck came with 6 thin pancakes and the hoisin sauce was lovely. The pork ribs were indulgent. They came right off the bone and tasted amazing. This alone was probably enough for me but mains to come. My wife got vegetable spring rolls for starters which she enjoyed. The pastry was very sick and crispy. For mains my wife got chicken fried rice and curry sauce which is her go to Chinese dish. She thought it was tasty and a generous portion. I got Szechuan chicken which was nice along with chow mein. The chow mein was an enormous potion compared to the chicken which was quite small. For the table we had prawn crackers which were…well prawn crackers. I squeezed in some dessert. We shared deep fried ice cream which I’ve never had before. It was surprisingly good. The only 2 negatives was that the taps in the bathroom were only trickling out and the meal was expensive. It came to just under £80. Which for Chinese food standards is a lot. We did order a lot of food and it was all very tasty so can’t really complain.

phoned up and made a booking because i knew they would be busy on a Saturday evening. Turned up and was told there was no booking and that they were fully booked. Was embarrassing and I won’t be back here!

Was in "The Welcome" me and my gf last night. Enjoyed the atmosphere & the lovely jazz music in the background. Staff was warm and welcoming but that's as good as it gets. Was very hyped given the average reviews of 4.5. Meal was disappointing chicken curry tasted like vedge stock & rice was dry and overcooked. And the whole meal was extremely salty and full of MSG to the point the we both ended up drinking buckets overnight and still feel severely dehydrated. The king prawn starter was good on the upside. My overall rating is poor unfortunately as It's definitely not worth it.

Busy place, which you like to see on a Friday evening. Wide selection, including fresh seafood dishes. Very good food and wait staff were very helpful.

Beautiful meal served by very pleasant young people.

My mum and I needed gluten and dairy free options and the accommodated very well. My mum is coeliac and gets very sick with the smallest crumb, they warned her that there's no guarantee that there won't be cross contamination but we've been twice and she's been perfectly fine after both visits.

Went tonight for the first time in about ten years….. the restaurant was so so clean, the girls serving were lovely and the food was as gorgeous!!! We definitely will be back soon!!

Wonderful Food and great service!

Chicken sate really yummy. Awesome customer service. Main courses (duck with plum sauce, and honey and chillie chicken really tasty. Would definitely recommend.

Horrendous takeaway. Ordered honey chilli chicken with fried rice....putting egg in boiled rice doesn't make it fried rice. The chicken was also more bland than a plain chicken breast. No salt, the honey chilli sauce was watery, could barely taste any honey, and there wasn't a single chilli flake in it. Two other meals also flavourless. A complete and utter waste of £40. The only reason it wasn't taken back was because it's a 30 minute drive.

Had a a lovely dinner here, everything amazing and I even got a free bottle of wine because it was my birthday. Service and food is lovely hard to get that anywhere nowadays, I will definitely return

Unfortunately we didn't have the experience we were hoping to have from one of the supposedly best Chinese restaurants in Belfast. I brought my Mexican family to eat Chinese food for the first time and did not get the service I was hoping for. We were seated 5:30pm ordered our drinks and mains yet did not receive our mains until 6:45 after being told the restaurant needed our table back at 7pm. During that time 3 other tables were sat and received their food. The food was just okay, I have had tastier take away Chinese sadly. To add to the disappointment the restaurant had no baby changing facilities or disabled facilities in which I could change my 5 month old so I had to resort to changing her on my knee in the women's toilet whilst sitting on the toilet for stability. I was greatly disappointed in the experience as I had read so many good reviews.

Food very different for takeaway than sitting in the restaurant. Honey chilli chicken was very disappointing, the bland fried chicken and sauce came separately and really lacked flavour, the dish had no vegetables with it, for the cost of £13 it was nowhere near worth this price. The portion of chips was shocking, was more like half a portion. Though the curry sauce was very nice. Would definitely not get a takeaway from here again.

Best meal I have had in a long time. Excellent food, excellent service, and good value for money. Will definitely return.

The gentleman serving us was amazing. Had lots of stories. Very helpful with the menu and explaining how everything worked. Our starters were delicious. One pair got the sharing platter. And the other 2 got the satay skewers and the duck spring rolls and shared. Presentation was impeccable. The mains didnt pack the same punch. We were expecting a bit more spice, they were tasty. Just not as flavorful as we were expecting.

Lovely Chinese restaurant food was fantastic 👌

Meal excellent , service first class will be back

In Belfast for a few day from Dundee, this restaurant was highly recommended from a friend and it did not disappoint. The food was absolutely delicious, hopefully be back 1 day! Staff were very friendly and very reasonably priced for the standard of the food.

Excellent meal. Reasonable prices. Welcoming efficient staff.

Lovely service, the owner spent lots of time getting to know us, and tasty food. We ordered too much and I was almost bursting from it at the end! Will definitely come back when we're in Belfast again!

Fantastic food, outstanding service, very clean restaurant, with a very nice relaxing atmosphere, would highly recommend,. Will definitely be back and will be recommending to other family members to try. 10 out of 10 all round thank you.🙋‍♀️👍

Had dinner at the Welcome Restaurant with four friends- best meal I’ve had a week into a European vacation. Everything was fresh and excellent. Try the hot and sour soup!

Food was delicious, staff so friendly and helpful and loved the low light atmosphere, very chilled enjoyable evening!! Highly recommended 😊

An unexpected delight. Busy on Thursday 30th , 5.30pm, lovely vibe, booked, as close to Lyric Theatre , we had tickets. Staff really efficient but in a very personable way, manager also, very hands on, very proud of his team, established there over 40 years, amazing! Had the Aromatic duck, then Scecuhan King Prawn and Sweet and Sour Chicken boiled rice. Generous, mouthwatering portions, accompanied by a lovely Saint Clair Sauvignon. Would highly recommend, will return next time in Belfast. Thank you for a lovely experience.

Delightful staff. Accommodating for my gluten free diet due to coeliac disease. Would definitely recommend to others.

Excellent food Excellent service just a very nice place. All the food was so well prepared and presented

Absolutely unbelievable meal, everything tasted amazing! Nonissue booking a table mid week but it was getting busy as we we leaving about 7pm

My daughter and I visited the Welcome for a take out late last night. The staff were so friendly and the food was amazing. I look forward to eating in sometime soon. 🙂

Great Chinese, deep fried ice cream is a must for desert.

Amazing food. The guy serving us was absolutely brilliant as well. We had a great birthday dinner for our friend. Will certainly be back.

Another fantastic meal from Michael and the team. Restaurant busy but service and food was excellent. Never disappointed!!!

Incredible food, vigilant staff, wonderful atmosphere! Would highly recommend and will definitely be back!

Lived up to All. Reviews and more. All staff friendly efficient and polite. Will visit when we return to Belfast. Food very tasty and reasonable price.

Great food, great service, superb choice of meals. Well worth the trip from Ballymena. Highly recommended.

Welcome Restaurant is a great restaurant in the heart of Stranmillis. My wife and I had two main course meals with fried rice accompaniment and the food was all superb! Great flavours in both main courses. Staff were very friendly and helpful and the service was very quick even though the restaurant was full. Would definitely recommend.

My family has been coming here for years. Food is always top quality and staff are very friendly. Best restaurant in Belfast.

Best Chinese restaurant in belfast, would never go anywhere else, food ,service outstanding. No wonder they they won an award 2022, same again for 2023 I'm sure.

The food was exceptional. The staff were so friendly and efficient. They managed to squeeze us in on a busy Saturday night which we really appreciated. Thanks

Have not been in many years! Forgot how good it was! Service superb!

Food was OK. Expensive considering no side dish comes with the main. But the thing that really annoyed me was the addition of a 10% service charge, which brought an already expensive meal to a ridiculous price. For that reason alone I wouldn't go back, which is a pity, as we've been here many times over the years. Thus isn't the US, stop importing their restaurant culture here.

Food is great here, lots to choose from Staff great too.

First time here at the Welcome. The service we received was outstanding the staff explained and suggested different items on the menu. The food was fantastic our whole experience was five star from start to finish. We will definitely be back.

Had another lovely birthday dinner with my son. Food and ambience was amazing as always. The complimentary champagne was unexpected but delightful!

Very friendly staff. LOVED the food. My prawn starter in sizzling black bean was fab and my chicken satay main was fresh and tasty.

Served non-vegan food when I'd ordered vegan, told me it was non-vegan while I was eating, offered to replace it and then charged me twice for the non-vegan dish & the replacement, even after disputing. Finally got my money back after calling up after but this was really badly handled, would not go back or recommend. Also paid 10% service charge added on to the bill for this poor service. Most places wouldn't even charge for the original dish after a mistake like that, never mind for both. The only reason I agreed to the replacement dish was because they didn't alternatively offer my money back. To be fair, since I'd already half eaten the non-vegan starter and I knew the rest was going in the bin (by law it has to), I said that my parents could finish it since they are non-vegan. I didn't want it to go to waste. But I don't think that justifies charging twice. Apart from that, Waka or Macau are far nicer and far cheaper. Food was really average for the price. Wine was good!

Went for the first time looking forward to a lovely meal. The service was very poor and so was the food. Honey chilli chicken was just honey and chicken. Kung po very bland. I'll not be back

Went here when heard they had won the Golden Chopsticks award and wasnt disappointed. Tender chicken, perfectly cooked vegetables and rice (not to mention the best crispiest chips I have ever had in a Chinese restaurant). Great, attentive friendly service from Michael just topped a great experience. Can't recommend it enough.

Over rated and over priced! with ignorant front of house staff

Exceptionally friendly staff & great food 😊

My boyfriend and I went tonight as a treat. Their pork belly dumplings were so tasty, especially in the white vinegar dip. I got the sweet and chilli prawns (very very good, already craving them again now I'm back home) and he got the traditional beef szechuan which he pretty much devoured immediately alongside the prawn crackers. We tried the deep fried ice cream and it really was a good finish to the end of the night. Can't wait to go back and test more of the menu :)

Staff were lovely the food was interesting but not as good as we expected maybe we were not yet familiar with the menu and we will go back again. But l must say that they do not charge the stupid 10% surcharge as do other Chinese restaurants in the area who are out of order and will loose there customer base.

Consistency is the word I would use for this brilliant family run Chinese restaurant. My wife and I, and latterly my family, have been dining here from the 1980’s and we have never had a bad experience. Consistently good food, good service, good portions and a good atmosphere in the restaurant. Minor refurbishments have recently been made to improve the entrance area, which has greatly enhanced the dining area. I have no hesitation in recommending it. 👍🏻

Had dinner here recently having visited previously 5 years ago and the restaurant still has the same high quality food and excellent service that it had when we first visited. This will always be our go to restaurant when we're in Belfast.

Ordered carryout, wait was horrible and food was average. Not value for money either we had 2 meals with fried rice and noodles with a chip (£3 for hand full) in total was £36.... Appreciate they were busy but it was no excuse for poor customer service.

I have ate here on a few occasions now and the quality of the food is always consistent. The service is exceptional.

Fantastic food, atmosphere and service. Mixed starter is recommended and the salt'n'chili is refreshingly hot

Still my favourite Chinese in Belfast. Been eating great food for 40 years.

Amazing 5*** service thank you for a lovely meal this evening for myself and my brother and dad. Lovely.

Might be good atmosphere for elder people. But no close to any of traditional Chinese food.

So I done the right thing and called the establishment to give my feedback rather than leave a review but I was met with passive aggressiveness and argumentative communication, so here I am.... Order was wrong but it stated on the docket it was correct so there was a miscommunication between me and the person whom took my order. That's fine as I didn't really mind as it was just one main dish but what got me was the very poor quality of the food. The chicken on the honey chilli chicken dish was stringy (like really over cooked calamari) it was also very greasy as if the frying oil wasn't hot enough and the sauce was sickly sweet, tasted like a desert and that goes the same for the sweet and sour chicken (I ordered curry but apparently I didn't....). Everything was also very under seasoned and bland. The BBQ ribs were actually ok but very little meat. The spring rolls were just your standard bought in spring rolls but they tasted unusually fishy nearly like it was off. The most amazing thing was the overcooked steamed rice?!? Come on guys, over cooked rice from a Chinese restaurant? Was it even washed before hand to remove the starch? Coming from a culture that's so dedicated and takes pride in creating amazing food this was shocking and I don't know what these awards are that this place has won? Are they made up? £39.90 for a 'takeaway' sweet and sour chicken, honey chilli chicken, spring rolls, ribs, steamed rice and chips (sides are also charged separately btw which I don't mind if the food is worth it). Yes you get a 20% discount on the mains but still expensive. Save your money and go elsewhere, I don't know where the positive reviews came from. If you want good customer service and food this isn't the place to be unfortunately.

The best Chinese food in town! Also very nice and accommodating staff, and a lovely venue.

Une bonne soirée, c'est fin et copieux!

Great place food is so good and staff are amazing! So kind and thoughtful

Amazing food with fantastic service and explanation of the menu. Nothing is too much bother to them ...will cook any way you want. Will definitely be back.

Absolutely hands down best Chinese in Belfast good is unreal and service is fantastic

Went here for dinner last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Food was excellent and service was wonderful. Definitely the best chinese food I've ever had. Highly recommended.

The food was amazing and the service was excellent too

The food was delicious and the service very quick! We were looked after so well by all the staff and will definitely be back!!

Very nice interior & the staff were some of the friendliest I’ve ever encountered. Food was pretty tasty & the portions very generous. Will be back to try more of the menu.

My partner and I visited this restaurant tonight. We had an excellent meal here with aromatic duck for starter (which was shredded in front of us), sweet and sour chicken, salted chilli chicken, rice and chips. The atmosphere was excellent although a little loud at times (not the restaurants fault, there was a birthday party enjoying themselves). The staff were very friendly and after the meal gave us some tips on places to visit locally. Portion sizes were fantastic and we both thoroughly enjoyed the food. The icing on the cake was when we received the bill and it was incredibly reasonable for the amount of food and drink we had. Would recommend a visit here.

Have been going to the Welcome for years and can say it is the best Chinese restaurant in the Belfast area. Tried others but nothing compares, food is always fresh and tasty. Staff are incredibly friendly and make everyone feel welcome

Visited n a family trip to Belfast. It was a lovely dining experience. The food was delicious, the cocktails amazing and the service was excellent. Will deffo e back when in Belfast

Very nice restaurant great service good food

Great food, the best satay skewers I have ever tasted. Michael is so friendly and the service was fantastic. Will definitely be back.

Always eat here when we come to Belfast. Delicious food and a friendly, attentive owner