The China Sea was one of the first Chinese Restaurants to be opened in Glasgow City Centre. It is located less than one minute's walk from Glasgow Central Station and may be entered from both 54 Gordon Street and 12 Renfield Street. Generations of visitors and other discerning diners have for over 30 years returned time and time again to enjoy experience of freshly prepared Cantonese cuisine from a wide variety of dishes prepared to order.

You will be served by experienced staff surrounded by Chinese decor and protected by the fiercest looking Dragon in Scotland. China Sea is renowned for its DRAGON, a magnificient sculpture suspended from the ceiling in the main dining room. The decor is of a traditional Chinese style with main room offering cosy booth seats.

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Reviews (23)

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Caroline Dickson

Jan 23, 2022

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Been here many time and it never let's me down. Food is great service is attentive and friendly well worth a visit x

Joanne Delaney

Jan 13, 2022

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What a brilliant ''old school'' restaurant this is!
Really cosy booth seating/amazing lunch and pre theatre deals and they don't skimp on quality of food or portion size.
The staff are all amazing,friendly and always happy to see you.Absolutely love it!!👍😋🧡

Zouglas

Jan 08, 2022

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Very nice and friendly staff, good prices, descent portions, nice environment. Worth tasting.

Tony Donaghy

Dec 27, 2021

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Went for Christmas day dinner.
Very friendly and efficient staff.
Food was delicious , can't fault on anything.

Ronson Fung

Dec 22, 2021

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Authentic Chinese cuisine with great quality food is amazingly delicious. Food are all cooked into perfection on taste and ingredients mixture. I do enjoy their good wines, cocktails, beers selection for food pairing.

George Kelly

Dec 14, 2021

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We go to this wee place twice a month when we visit glasgow,excellent service ,the staff are great,the old ones are old school,but good,like us,the young ones are great clean fun,they never change and always the same,other places should look at how good they are,with service and attitude,makes a change from getting ripped off by some who just want your money,keep it up.

Jamie Wallace

Sep 15, 2021

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The food was bland though and lacked Asian flavour (I had the beef and mushroom and had some beef in green pepper and black bean sauce). The house red was not the best either. Staff were friendly enough and efficient waiter service.

Randy M.

Oct 10, 2016

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Disgusting, food was old and they tried to hide it with fresh sauce over everything. I asked for sweet and sour sauce and we got a variety of tomato soup. Even the mints at the end were old and gross...

Wui G.

May 11, 2015

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Just ate dinner there with mom. Food are good. Only surprise that I need to pay 5 british pound for 2 cup of rice. Thats expensive! Coming from usa where usually you get plenty of rice come with it when you order the main course.

Roger C.

Mar 03, 2015

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Just a bit of our background: Chinese couple from New York City ( where authentic Chinese food is everywhere) coming to Glasgow craving for some home food.

Okay, now. China seas is a great place to come for the environment. The dragon hanging down from the ceiling is just amazing.

Food is mediocre at best. We ordered 3 dishes. Bok Choy with garlic: okay, no garlic can be seen. Beef with flat noodle: beef is inedible with texture like rubber. Fish with tofu: okay.

TLDR; Come here to impress your friends with the dragon not the food.

Lynne M.

Feb 05, 2014

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The decor in here is amazing, and the staff are,shall we say, efficient? They are also generally quite friendly too though! The food, however... Well. Reasonably tasty, always hot and brought to you promptly. Also very salty, to my taste at least. After the most recent visit both myself and the boyfriend felt a bit ill, not, I hasten to stress, in a food poisoning way, just very bloated, a bit headachey and a bit off colour. It's been quite a long time since we've eaten in a Chinese restaurant, and we reckon our systems have just got used to the lack of msg in our diets!

However, if

Paige K.

Jul 02, 2011

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In the spirit of writing reviews that contradict the norm today (see my praise for La Tasca), I sally forth.

China Sea is even more popular with my new colleagues, both for lunch and dinner, so I've now been twice.

First, good bits: the service is great and incredibly (almost scarily) fast, and the staff knew me on my second visit. They have soda in glass bottles, which is brilliant, and they pour a good drink. Things are relatively inexpensive if you go for a meal deal, and the decor is delightfully cheesy and cosy, making a wee dim nook set apart from the absolutely frantic Central Station

Qype User Farren

Mar 07, 2011

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We loved it in here the atmosphere was typical chinese and made the experience more enjoyable, the food was awesome. We had a look at the menu and when we didnt see our usual on it we asked if a waiter whom was happy to take our off menu request, although they couldnt make it they did offer us an alternative which also wasnt on the menu, We had fresh beautiful scallops in a lemony sauce with some beautiful veg its was delicious and even though we paid a little extra for the privilege it wasnt much extra and was well worth it!!!!!!!!!

Qype User Kjdq

Jan 28, 2011

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Fantastic value for money, great food,great prices & great staff, what more can i say, the best chinese out there

Laura M.

Feb 28, 2010

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I have been here for many a birthday meal with school, uni and work friends alike. Everyone I know who has stumbled up the steep staircase to Chinese food heaven has went promptly back.

In saying this, it is very much a cheap and cheerful option. Take full advantage of the two/three course meal deals that'll save you a pretty penny. For the money, you get decent (if slightly small) portions, good food (except for the salad...but this is not unusual in budget restaurants) and almost worryingly fast service.

Hence, it's ideal for a quick bit and little booze up before heading home

S. T.

Feb 21, 2010

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I absolutely love China Sea.

As a group of hard up students, my friends and I have frequented here for the last 4 years, at one point almost every Tuesday for a pre-union tummy liner and a welcome distraction from a Sociology lecture. It's always been a running joke (you'll find out why in the review) and a welcome, comforting place that brings us all back together after most of us have left Uni to be real life adults.

Entering the Restaurant, you would be forgiven for having a pretty shabby first impression. It's situated up loads of narrow stairs, amongst solicitors offices

Liz K.

Oct 14, 2009

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A few months ago, my extended family and I all trooped in here for a meal. Despite there being about 10 of us, it was no problem that we hadn't booked.

China Sea is so central, and yet it's somewhere I've always walked past. It's located up a steep flight of stairs, but inside it's amazing. The decor is traditional and cosy, with lots of wee booths ideal for couples. A giant dragon hangs gracefully from the ceiling.

This restaurant actually has several different rooms, each accommodating dozens of diners. The service was almost too attentive, as the drinks kept flowing

Qype User Ginger

Feb 05, 2009

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FAST!!! I have had a 3 course meal in here in the space of 15 minutes ( we always time how fast it is) How can that be possible I hear you ask, well go see for yourself.
The cream of chicken soup is to die for ( usually accompanied with a morning roll) and the general standard is ok.
Don't let the staff whisk you into the Annex when its busy is much better to get a table in the main restaurant where there are cosy booths although you need to be under 9 stone to get in and out of them, also check out the amazing dragon that hangs from the ceiling with red light bulbs as eyes! they have had

Qype User Denvy

Nov 19, 2008

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This place does the best chinese food in glasgow the cream of chicken soup is lovely and prices are great the only thing is its a bit small and its always packed but that just shows how good it is if you have not been go asap.

Qype User Quenti

Nov 19, 2008

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The China Sea is a very old-fashioned version of the venerable Chinese restaurant, and therefore not the kind I would normally recommend. However if you have to experience this kind of Chinese then this is definitely the place to do it. It is very dark and dim, very atmospheric. Just going up the narrow staircase, with the smell of a million chow meins, is enough to take you back in time.The service is ok, nothing very special and so is the food. On the plus side, it is extremely central, and just across the road from Central Station, and while it is not fantastic, it is usually reliable.

Qype User Lynnem

Nov 16, 2008

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This is great if you are in a hurry. The food is okay and very reasonably priced. The staff are very friendly but quick. so much so, you feel as if you are being shoved out the place, especially if they are busy. This is one of the oldest chinese places in glasgow so is very well known. It is very near central station. The downside is that it at the end of a very steep flight of stairs and is very dark.

Qype User Lynnie

Oct 07, 2008

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Nice little hidden gem.. the food was lovely and the staff very attentive

Qype User Hazyca

Oct 05, 2008

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Perfect for lunch they do 3 courses for less than £10. Hidden away upstairs. Beware though, you are lucky to have time to put your cutlery down before your plate is whisked away from you so make sure you have a hold of it if your not quite finished.