Welcome Friends in Croydon

First time trying this Chinese and we're very disappointed. The fried food was fine, but the kung po had uncooked cornflour spots all over, ginger beef was cheap and tasteless, bulked out with mainly onions and rice was bland and smelt like wet feet. Not enjoyable and sad to waste the money.

This is our go to Chinese spot in Croydon. It’s only five minutes away from our home and it never disappoints they are super quick and efficient. We usually call them and tell them what we want to order and then we pop down and pick up the order right away.

Excellent food. Although having a low hygiene rating, food is healthy and very tasty, Chinese style. Been going here for a long time. Recommended.

Delivered on time, the duck was okay but everything else was terrible the salt pepper chips was old and soggy 0 taste and seasoning, the chicken curry “chinese style “ tasted old and not like any other curry i tasted ever

The best Chinese food, good prices and friendly staff

Good value for money. I'm very picky with Gyoza and their pork Gyoza was one of the best I've eaten. The spring rolls are small but dry (as in not greesy), which was much appreciated. The duck with pancakes was also good. The service is equally good. It seems to be a family business and they were very polite and attentive. I live nearby I'll come back again for sure.

EXCELLENT FOOD EXCELLENT SERVICE I RECOMMEND

First ever time ordering from.hear since ive lived in addiscombe for over 10 years

For the last thirty years I have eaten in there restraunt good atmosphere and had numerous takeaways. There's no other chinezz that even comes close.

Great Chinese restaurant. Staff are friendly and helpful. Food is very good and excellent value. The venue isn’t fancy but we like it - it has a charm!

I have ordered nearly everything on the menu that I like, and have narrowed it down to the things I buy regularly, and they are my most local Chinese takeaway for me, for this reason I am happy with the place they are quite quick so there's no waiting around too long, and on their delivery they are also quite quick. The only thing I have a problem with is why they don't clean their windows? Curb appeal to me is so important and gives you an overall sense of cleanliness before you walk in!

This Chinese take away has to be the best food that I have had. The value is worth every penny. The service is outstanding.

Nice staff and food good could do with a bit of a makeover but good otherwise

Favourite go to place for quick Chinese food. Great prices and quick service! Highly recommend!

We returned to Welcome Friends recently, the first time in over five years. Whilst the restaurant is clearly under new ownership and the red flock wallpaper has gone the food and service did not disappoint. The food was excellent, we shared a starter - a 1/4 crispy duck and had mains that were chicken and king prawn based. Both the chicken and king prawns were very succulent and tasty. Drinks were very reasonable priced with a decent selection of wines. We will definitely return the next time we fancy a Chinese. It’s good to know there is still traditional Chinese Restaurants in the Croydon area.

Staff is really friend, good service and food seems freshly cooked and tasty. Not expensive at all. The restaurant could with some refurbishment- still really 80/90s look.

Do not judge a book by its cover! This place has stood the test of time. We ate in and the food was so good. We ordered so much I couldn't fault 1 plate! Their prices are also still very reasonable (please don’t increase them now ha)

Nice food, but takes about one hour for delivery

Just been to Welcome Friends . Food very good. Great value for money . Staff very nice and welcoming . Will definitely be back

The dishes were really watery and bland. They also bulk them up with onions and vegetables instead of meat. Absolutely avoid!

Unfortunately the food was absolutely disgusting. The chilli beef was hard, the rice smelt like a wet dog and the noodles were so soft they were falling apart. Really disappointed that I wasted my money on a meal that tasted horrible.

Absolutely delicious fresh tasty food. My partner and I were in heaven with every bite.

AMAZING FOOD!!!!, fresh ingredients and cooked to perfection.The portions were large, value for money. The service was great and the staff were very welcoming. I have tried a few Chinese restaurants in Croydon and this is by far the best one of them. The prices are very affordable. Great beer 🍻. highly recommend 👌

Table cloths dirty. Plates very old. Decor dated. Food is nice. Prices are reasonable. They open until late.

The food was very poor.. no spices.. the fried chicken 🐔 was very dry and tasteless.. I never enjoy this food. I will not recommend to anyone. It's my first time.. I will never order again.

Fantastic Chinese, service and food is amazing I would highly recommend

Very good. The decor is dated but the food, portions, price and service is second to none. We hope to go back very soon.

Love the food have never been disappointed the service is great too. Very tasty and now a regular customer have tried many and this is the best

Had a bday takeaway, must say it was an unexpected surprise. Prices were very reasonable, good portion size, tasty and very satisfactory, have decided to make this my new local Chinese.

Highly recommended the 'traditional Chinese dishes' at the back of the menu, the beef in chilli oil is awesome!

This family-run, old-style Chinese restaurant has survived the lockdowns and is still offering its friendly service. The food is always good and the prices are very reasonable; they are not ripping people off to make up for their losses during the pandemic, like some places I have been to. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who appreciates the now traditional Anglo-Chinese menu. There is a friendly welcome and a totally unpretentious approach to eating out. Please don't change.

Can't knock the prices but the food is not great. I had take away so may be different if you eat in, I felt absolutely awful from it the following day. It's a shame because the staff are really friendly.

Excellent food. Very nice duck chowmein and roast pork. Delivered in 20 minutes. Very professional

Food was lovely, traditional and enjoyable.

One of south London's hidden gems! This place doesn't look up to much from the outside, but every takeaway we've had has been faultless. The King Prawn with Ginger and Spring Onion is fresh and delicious. Portions are generous. Service speedy. And they always throw in complimentary chicken wings for good measure. Thoroughly recommend.

Had a takeaway from Welcome Friends tonight and it was fabulous. I understand there has been a change in management and we last had a Chinese a couple of years ago and it was ok but tonight it was fabulous and would highly recommend Welcome Friends 😊

Food hygiene rating is 0 out of 5

We really like this place ...we travel for about half hour to get there.But well worth it .

Disgusting place food was rotting. Had to go toilet. No toilet paper had to use my socks. While blocked the toilet.. wondered into the kitchen. There was 16 cats and hundreds of flys.. china man said what you want? I said a ambulance

Used to love this place years ago, and as we have struggled to find any decent chinese locally, thought we would try here again. Was not up to expectations. Ribs were tough, chicken balls greasy and soggy, same for the toast. Rest not too bad.

The staff are always polite and courteous and the food is well cooked and presented . The welcome friends always had a good write up even back in the day before the present .

Better not - soup was awful - noodles inedible and food smelt of deep frying - money wasted - wish l’d just had a plate of spaghetti with garlic , oil and chillies at Home.

Quick delivery and nice food 👍👍👍

I live nearby and order take out from here often. My usual order is chow mein, fu yung, duck fried rice, sweet and sour. It’s really good food and I would recommend it. I cannot speak for their dine in experience but the staff are very polite when I come in.

Great service and lovely food Is always delivered hot and on time, I would highly recommend!!!

We love to eat here and also takeaway. Food is delicious and not too expensive.

I have had 2 very good collection takeaways from this restaurant. Food has been prepped in good time and service had been friendly both. I don't eat meat or dairy and made a telephone order. Both orders were easy and clarified and they were happy to change a dish to make it vegan. Compliment's and thankyou.

Handy place to visit as we are very local. Good service and friendly staff. Sadly the food quality(esp the chicken) was not that great, so you need to be careful what you choose.

I was going to try cinese food for my first time in my life and I like, so I come back for sure .the restaurant was like busy but the lady was ok!!

Fantastic Chinese restaurant with extremely well cooked and tasty food. Fairly priced. My favourite Chinese!

Well this place is great for food. Decor well, it would benefit from a decent interior designer frankly. But for us locals, we love it!

We were a party of five, part vegan, young and old, English and Canadian.We were welcomed by a pleasant enthusiastic owner who listened well to our requests and helped us put together a great meal that was quite pleasing to all of us. Items were tasty and very fresh. Offerings Included different regional Chinese cooking, some Vietnamese and Thai. The crispy tofu and dessert banana fritters were especially good. The wine choices and coffee of very good quality. Ambience not fancy but food value for money.

Great food, amazing staff and warm atmosphere. Loved it!

We had good service, good food. One of our party requested " no msg" ( monosodium glutamate) and this was happily complied with . I had the "Monk" vegan option and it was very good.

Starters came up within 5 minutes or so and were obviously just reheated, rather than cooked fresh. The chicken satays were rubbery and tough and the ribs not very tasty/meaty. The quarter duck we had was strange, in that the duck had not been shredded, but more looked like little bits of trimming. The main courses were much better, but, overall, below average and, sadly, we won't be returning. On the plus side, the staff were lovely!

After the soup. We had to wait for ages before we got our main meal and had to ask where our order was considering we were the only two diners. Food when it eventually came was not what we had ordered or in the order we had asked. It was cold and terrible. Waitress was busy chatting to her friends and couldn't care less. We will not be going back.

Only putting one as o had no choice as you have to add one star to write a review which is a pisstake but the food is terrible dry nasty Could tell chuckenbslls were not fresh.. never eating there again an to top it off they gave me a bottle of diet coke which was out if date so dont eat there

Good food and the staff are very friendly. Good ambience in the restaurant.

Really poor food... Tried an order for the whole family after some snacks that were good... Simply disappointing.

If I could rate it lower I would - I honestly don't know why people have voted so highly for this place, it truly was the worst Chinese food I have had in a long time, possibly EVER. I don't mean to be cruel, but it didn't look appealing, completely lacked flavor, and tasted like it was old food. Massive cuts of meat in my 'chefs special noodles' with no flavor and huge vegetables. The salt and chilli squid had no salt or chilli, and should have had a crispy batter, instead it was a soft, thick and oily coating. Don't believe the other highly scored reviews - I feel I just wasted my money !!!

I ordered recently without checking the reviews as I often do first. When I asked detail about the £5 added on a soup, she just told me this is an online mistake and I could just cancel the item if I was not happy with the price as she apparently did not sound like she would think about doing any commercial gesture when I told her that normally, we have to pay the shown price then, they can do any change they want afterward as it is not fair and the mistake is in their side... Ok, I kept my order as I wanted to try this soup made by somebody else than me (I made it at home myself and wanted to taste it when made by somebody else as I wasn't sure about how it was supposed to taste)Delivery came, food on the table. Taste nothing extra, I am not exaggerating saying the pot of sauce ordered for the spring rolls came nearly empty (see photos), there was maybe 2 little shrimps + some chilli pepper cuts swimming into this soup that cost me £5 extra which taste no better than a spoon of this named paste (Tom Yum) into boiling water, chicken was tasteless. I ordered dinner for 4 and none of us were satisfied with their meal. A real shame as if only they could catch it up on something else ... anyway. NOT RECOMMENDED

Had a takeaway from them last night. They had a very busy evening in the restaurant and the phone orders didn’t stop while I was waiting for my food. I was prepared for a long wait but it actually surprised me as the timing they said for collection was perfect and the most important the quality of the food is so far the best in the area. Will definitely be a regular customer as I love chinese. Do recommend it

no prawn crackers where given to us like in the past, food was poorly cooked and its gone downhill. I used to eat in here all the time but no more.

For a time it looked as though the new management were making a success of the place, but over the past few months standards have slipped. My companion ordered chicken satay which came almost raw in the middle: when we complained we were made to feel it was our fault.Little surprise then that the family themselves show little confidence in their own food. The last time we dined, they had brought back KFC children and sat at a table eating it. Meanwhile a friend of the waitress sat with her at the counter playing football videos with the sound up. Hardly peaceful; hardly a Chinese ambience.And cold. They need some heating.I ordered sweet and sour pork which has always come Hong Kong style in a crispy batter. But gradually it has reverted to being chewy. Instead of a rich sweet and sour sauce it came in something merely sweet and with little taste. Even little touches have declined. No longer do we get complimentary prawn crackers on arrival. It is sad. We used to eat there every couple of weeks but after our last few visits we have decided that we won't be returning. We quite simply found neither the food nor the ambience enjoyable.

Really friendly customer service and great food. Thank you :)

Typical low cost chinese food joint

I am definitely sad that it has been taken over by new owners. You can definitely tell the difference and sadly not for the better.

Fuimos anoche con un amigo que no había sido ya que el cambio de administración. Todos ordenados varias sopas para empezar y nuestro principal cursos al mismo tiempo. Después de unos 15 minutos de los principales campos llegamos. "Dónde está el plato de sopa? "pedimos. "Oh, lo siento, se me olvidó" dijo la señorita. Obviamente dijo no te molestes con él, entonces como los principales campos estábamos sentados allí.

The staff are friendly, helpful and polite. The food is delicious whether it's eat in or take away and they deliver! The food is always excellent, both in quality and value.

Solía venir aquí regularmente cuando vivíamos local. Ahora en diferentes manos y regresar para una visita nostálgica después de muchos años, no me decepcionó. El restaurante es agradable y acogedor, y sentí como un viejo amigo. (como en el nombre) La comida era estupenda y el servicio rápido, eficiente y amable. No es lo que yo llamo un restaurante 'Chino', pero para un atmosférico High Street, de buena calidad para el precio medio. Recomiendo para una pop en comida china y ahora hacer servicio de entrega para llevar. También popular con los lugareños.

Este es un restaurante que ha sido establecido el nuevo propietario por un tiempo y así visitamos como críticas son buenas. Es lo mismo en decoración básica supongo que, como siempre ha sido, pero limpia.

Alegre, amable, local genérico restaurante chino con servicio encantador, un menú limitado de comida a precios asequibles principalmente cantonesa, muy buena relación calidad-precio lista de vinos y una comida excelente. Su cocina no es alta, pero si lo que quieres es una sensata, bien preparado, bien sirve buena comida de valor, este es el lugar para venir. Es totalmente sin ínfulas y adorna. . . Simplemente sirve comida bien!

Staff are always polite & they open for lunch

Después de haber cambiado de manos hace 18 meses, este chino ha cambiado para mejor. El personal es muy amable y acogedor, la comida es maravillosa y es precioso y acogedor.

Great place, staff, food and prices.

Excellent food. Best Chinese in the area

Tengo un montón de experiencia en gastronomía y por lo tanto, los requisitos... Ya después de la primera visita, me sentí como si yo era su mejor cliente. Acogedor y amable servicio es increíble. Comida a precios ridículos en comparación a la calidad. Todo fresco y sabroso. A través de todo, voy a ser un visitante frecuente a este restaurante.

It's nice, cozy and welcoming environment.

We ordered a takeaway a little while ago on the recommendation of friends and were impressed. This time we visited. Despite being a Saturday evening, it was by no means packed out. We were seated comfortably and were given plenty of time to order. For the second time, we were impressed. On a first visit it is always difficult to guess what the portion sizes will be - we underestimated and could not finish the very generous servings. The quality of food was excellent. The service was attentive. Altogether a great experience. We will return.

Best Chinese takeaway I've had in absolutely ages and ages! Fresh, hot, tasty food, friendly staff and fast home delivery. Would certainly recommend giving the a go.

We live just around the corner from welcome friends, but had stopped visiting. Recently friends told us that the restaurant had changed hands and that it was now very good. We had to try it out!Just a take away this time, but cooked and ready for collection in a very short while. The food was excellent and enjoyed by all. We will return for a sit down meal soon. Watch this space!

We ordered a take away for collection had to wait as it wasn't ready when we went to collect which wasn't a problem. When we dished the food it was Luke warm the chicken satay was dry and Chewey and the chicken balls were missing. We have had 2 delivers from here before and the food was average but hot.

I have had no issue with ordering take aways from here (to pick up, not delivery), however I would never, ever eat in. I do not understand why the newish owners have not decorated this place, it looks like it hasn't seen a lick of paint since the 80s. It would not appeal to me in the slightest to sit in. Why the owners think it is OK not to refurbish and bring into the 21st century is beyond me as they would have more business if updated. and nets removed!

This restaurant has the best Chinese food and has such a good name in addiscombe. There are very few restaurants in the area that offer a sit down service with friendly helpful staff. They also offer a delivery service which is excellent. Ignore the other reviews and give it a try. Can't please everyone.

Fantastic service and food best in the area

The food was really good, hot and tasty!

Really nice restaurant, bit of a hidden treasure to be honest. Certainly not the best for ambience and bizarrely decided to sit another party right next to us even though all the rest of the tables were free but the food was amazing, seriously. Don't take my word for it, try it for yourself.

We tried Welcome Friends for a takeaway back in mid December as it had new management and now offered a delivery service. We placed our order and was told our order would be about an hour as they were busy. Fair enough it was the run up to Christmas so we said that's fine. An hour and 30 mins later no food, so we called and the girl said the driver is on his way so not to worry as the food will be lovely and hot when it gets to you. 20 minutes later still no food, we called back and the girl said they are just finishing our order and it will be delivered soon. I said to her 20 minutes ago you said it was on its way, she said they are very busy so we need to bear with them.10 minutes after that and about 2 hrs after we first placed the order my dad called them back and the girl said its just leaving now and will be about 10 minutes, by this point we told them to forget it and cancel the order.We placed an order with them again 9th Jan and thought we'd give them the benefit of the doubt and placed the order nice and early at 6pm and and was told 50 minutes as they were busy, we said not a problem. By 7:15 still no food, called them and explained I placed an order at 6 and we are still waiting, the girl who was pleasant enough said it'll be on its way soon, I said if it's not going to be here by 7:30 I'll ring back to cancel the order. The girl then spoke to a man who I assume was front of house and told him what I said and he said "tell them to cancel, we can't meet that deadline" she then said to me we need to give them more time for delivery. Seriously how much more time could they need, it was not a large complicated order with any special requests, just off the menu items.

I can't recommend enough the Welcome Friends for their great staff and amazing food! The staff goes out of their way to make your visit personal. They also make several great recommendations of what to order, (they serve Chinese and Hong Kong foods). The food was also served quickly. I stopped by several times and I can say that this was one of the best restaurants in London, if not the entire UK.

15-11-15 Had a great meal last night there was eight of us and we all enjoyed the food staff very friendly and prices very reasonable

I first visited this restaurant about 15 years ago when it had senior staff , but going there today it was staffed by Vibrant and friendly young staff.The welcome from the beautiful Adela. the waitress is bustling with welcome.and makes you feel as if they were just waiting for you ! Torres is also friendly and both quite accessible and eager to please.The food is extremely well cooked and arrives quite quickly. On both occasions this time we had a take a way and was not disappointed with the high quality of what we ordered.And its not expensive for what you get complete with complimentary Prawn Crackers !I thoroughly recommend this restaurant for an enjoyable evening out.

We got a take away whilst visiting family in the area. All the food we had was excellent. The chicken chow mein was not too salty as is often the case and the kung po chicken was also the best my wife had eaten in a long while.

The wonderful staff always give us a very warm welcome.The decor is a little dated but I think this adds to the charm! The food is always wonderful, especially the Gyoza, brocolli with garlic and szechuan specian noodles. Yum.We did see a few Japanese items on the menu but these have disappeared recently. I think they still do Japanese style eel, which is lovely.Highly recommended.

The staff were friendly and the food was pleasant. Unfortunately, as they did not put the dishes on a foodwarmer, by the time we came to finish the rest of the meal, it was cold. The nature of Chinese food does require something to keep the food warm.

Dined here for the first time since change of proprietor and was very disappointed. We used to visit regularly under the previous owners when it was the best Chinese restaurant we had ever been to. Unfortunately, whilst service and presentation were good, the food was poor. Flavour was missing from every dish and the pork very chewy. I am sorry to say that we will not be returning.

Great new menu, under new ownership. Very friendly service. We loved the food and will definitely be back.

We usually visit this great Chinese restaraunt about twice a month and have never had a bad meal. Our meal last week was no exception with every dish being consistently good, friendly attentive staff and very good value for money.

Tonight it was shut (special event - it is normally reliable). Finding another Chinese restaurant in the area that is as good is almost impossible.But beware - the location shown by Tripadvisor is wrong. It is very close to the Addiscombe tram stop - getting on for 1km further west than as shown on the Tripadvisor map.

great food, definitely recommend, best chinese in croydon!try the chilli and salt squid, it is the best sea food i have ever tasted!

Food was fantastic, price was pretty good, and the service was great! Best squid i have had ever! Try the chilli and salt squid!! I have tried all chinese restaurants in croydon, and this is my preference! Won't eat at another chinese in croydon now i have found this place! splendid!!