Review Regal Restaurant - Wellington

I’ve had yumcha (dim sum) often in Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore, San Francisco and New York. Outside of HK, this is easily the best or second best. Melbourne is up there too (see other reviews). Good sized portions and very reasonably priced with excellent service. The dishes are brought by wait staff on trays rather than pushed in carts so the pace is quick and food remains fresh. The photo shows 5 dishes. We also ordered a soup dumplings (they were huge, but not soupy enough!) and these were plenty for 2 pretty hungry people. We were a party of 2 and got in on a Saturday with 10 mins of opening without a booking. It started to fill up at 12 so definitely book ahead of coming around then or larger group. Will be coming back before leaving WLG to try dishes we didn’t have the space for this round!

4 stars, 5 stars for wellington standards. Most, 3/4 maybe, dishes were good (bit surprised as haven't been for years), good flavorsome taste and fresh. A few was average/poor, one they mixed some overnight ingredients with new ones which is s@$% (yes, I can tell the difference). Another dish the durian dumpling they cheated, filling is mostly cream, only some durian. Used too be all durian filling. And I thought what good value, so big, not fooling me again. The dishes ordered are not western favorites... Pricey too, $84 for 2 person!

Food was OK. We love it. Dim sum was great.

2022: Arguably the best yum cha in Wellington. Been going here for over a decade, and it's been the most consistent on all levels.

these pork buns are to die for. i’ve gone to all 3 main yum chas in wellington recently and this one was by far the best. although i miss the little trolley coming around with the food, and i would perfer to have all my food at once, the food was beautiful 🩵

The food was great! My boyfriend and I ordered 2 courses Peking duck and two small soups. They were really tasty. It’s a shame that we couldn’t finish all everything as there were so much to eat. The portions would be perfect for 3 people.

I have been here many times for lunch. Yum Cha is one of the best in town. If possible, try to come as early as 11:00 am or call for reservation. otherwise you have to wait for your turn in a long queue.

Definitely worth it!! The dumplings were full of flavor with delicate dumpling skin. The combination was so delicious. Chicken feet were the best! They literally melted in your mouth. Egg tart is average but absolutely fixed my craving for sweets. Solid 5 star. ;)

Never had a bad meal Been going there over 10 yrs

Great food and lots of variety to choose from at dinner time. It's a family favourite nowadays.

Came here for yumcha and it was so yummy! Everything we had was delicious, the service was quick and all the staff were polite!! Would come back again

Food was excellent and plentiful. I ordered in advance, staff were very helpful. The group next to us was very noisy, would like to have been seated further away from them as the restaurant was not totally full.

Good food & service with reasonable price. We always like to eat there.

Great food. You don't need to order too many plates as the serving size is good but it is quite pricey

Great food and atmosphere, comprehensive menu and great service. Would highly recommend. Good views over Courtenay Place from window tables.

We're regular visitors for the Sunday Dim sum. Never been disappointed.

Our favourite yum cha place and dinner place of many years. The team at regal are always so good and are are all hard working people. To all the people complaining about the prices- it’s the same at every Chinese restaurant in Wellington nowadays due to the inflation; Dragons and Grand Century are around the same price point. If you can’t afford simply don’t go out to eat.

Went to Yum Cha here today. The food came uncovered and was not even warm, let alone hot. Actually difficult to eat. The one and only bad Yum Cha I have ever had in my life.

If you want to know what going out for dinner is like and in China, regal is the place to go. More and more kiwis are starting to come here, but the place is really keeping to its authentic Chinese food & service. Would highly recommend giving it a go. If you’re not too experienced eating Chinese food, I would recommend bring someone with you to help with the menu choice.

Came for yum cha on a Monday so it was pretty quiet, found the staff very attentive and they explained each dish for the benefit of the non-Asian members of our group. Food was delicious, there was great variety compared to other places I've been to in NZ, and all for a very reasonable price. Enjoyed all the classics (har gow, siu mai, egg tart, rice noodle) and special mention to the mango pudding of which we accidentally got two but no regrets! Will definitely be coming back!

Have been here a few times now you Yum Char and really have to say every time we have been there it has been an enjoyable experience. <br/><br/>For those who have not experienced Yum Char it is a traditional Chinese Brunch/Lunch where waiters come to your table at various times throughout your meal with different dishes and you get to choose whether you would like it or not.<br/><br/>Some of out favourite dishes at Regal have to be the Spring Rolls, all the different types of chinese dumplings (Har Gow, Xiao Long Bao, Sho Mai - to name a few), Crispy fried squid and chicken wings.<br/><br/>If you are feeling really adventurous give the Chickens feet a try. Flavour is really nice but it is really boney.<br/><br/>Staff are usually quite attentive but on some really busy days if you have not planned well and ordered enough for the table you may be sitting there for a little while with nothing to eat while you are waiting for the waiters to come back around.<br/><br/>Pricing is also reasonable and you always leave feeling full and ready for a afternoon nap.<br/><br/>Would highly recommend Regal's Yum Char not just for the food but also for an authentic Chinese experience right in the heart of Wellington.<br/><br/>Food - 8/10<br/><br/>Staff - 7/10<br/><br/>Ambiance - 9/10<br/><br/>Price - 8/10<br/><br/>Would I Return - Definitely

Is my go to place for yum char. Would strongly recommend. I haven’t been for dinner but heard it’s equally as good, ambience is a bit quiet but nice for a change

It has been our go-to restaurant for any family occasion. My children have very fond memories of the place and the food. Apart from the awesome yum cha, yang chow fried rice and rice porridge definitely give the claypot fish a try! Lately, new owners have taken over the place and it seems luke they’re a tad impersonal and the place seems to have lost the family friendly vibe a bit.

Great place to have Cantonese brunch. Definitely worth it. The chicken feet were so so so tasty and the dumplings were yummy. Service there was also prompt and great. Will go there another time.

This is a very nice yum cha. I went there with a couple of my friends and we really loved the food. The staffs are very nice and friendly. The price wasn’t too expensive. Overall a very nice place to go with a group of mates

Best yum cha in Wellington. Great food , always busy. Ambience is average nothing out of the ordinary , great staff very attentive. Prawn & chive dumplings , beef rice rolls, deep fried squid and dim sums are great

Service fantastic, Food not so much.  Fried rice is ment to be fried not plain boiled white rice.  we ordered 4 dishes between 2 and all had no flavour to them.  Disappointing

Food was alright. Fried rice was not that great as it did not have much flavouring, just veges thrown in it. Did not like the pork dumplings as they had no flavour.<br/>Portion sizes were good. Service was good.

27 March 2018<br/>We can and we ate our hearts out. There has been a change in management and it is now owned by the chefs. How good is that! They can run it the way they want. It was delicious 😋 the baked buns just came out of the oven and melted in our mouths. We had to take some home for afternoon tea. We had to order the dim sims off the menu which the chefs cook to order making them very fresh. Our table of 10 were very satisfied with lunch, once again.<br/><br/>We had a party of 10. The atmosphere was very typical with emphasis on the food rather than the ambiance. Efficient service as we pre-ordered our banquet of 10 dishes. It was a selection ranging from roast pork with crackling, noodles, various vegie dishes, fish, squid, buddha delight, prawns, orange beef to tofu roll. I could not fault the dinner! It was delicious.

Food are generally of good quality. The ambience is not fancy, but that of a typical busy Chinese restaurant, where families and friends are having hearty chats and laughs. The waiters/waitresses are attentive and very responsive to requests, which made our visit a very pleasant one - oftentimes other restaurants fail on this basic service part, which makes customer experience a frustrating and not impressive one.<br/>We visited the restaurant for a weekend dim sum lunch, and everything was tasty. It's a very popular place and going there a little early (11:30am-ish) helped us secure a table upon arrival. Or we would have had to wait for quite a while. (That's what had happened with our previous attempts, and we ended up we giving up.)<br/>We will definitely revisit this place for a reasonably-priced good quality dim sum lunch.

Been here multiple times with friends for Sunday Yum Cha, might I say it is the best yum cha in around the Wellington reason the roasted crispy pork is always a crowd pleaser and most of their dishes are rather authentic. Although I'm not a big sweet tooth but there sweet dishes look quite impressive too and the mango pudding tastes amazing would recommend to all especially groups of friends going to Yum Cha works out to be like 19dollars each if you go with a group of 5-6

We had a family dinner here a few nights ago. The food was good and service good too. We ordered orange beef, lemon chicken, kai lan vege, tofu with vege and fishball noodle soup. The soup was rather special and seemed to be the house special. The food was tasty, but will probably try something different next time.

Delish dim sims, crispy squids, prawn & beef rice wraps, & mango pudding. All delicious & very addictive! Lol! The staff were very friendly & patient. The environment was very nice. I would visit this place again, next time I'm in Wellington.

Came across this place as I was wandering around the CBD area. The meat from the bean stir fry was so salty, I had to drink five cups of tea. Killed my tongue, actually. The tofu and mushroom hotpot is one of my favourite chinese dishes, but the tofu wasn't hot enough. We also ordered the stir fried scallop and vege noodle basket. The noodle basket wasn't crispy enough, a bit too soft. The sweet and sour pork was perfect and the complementary plate of cookies were a bit greasy (due to the butter) but were warm.

Great Yum Cha service! The waiters are very friendly and willing to explain the foods. It's always super busy so food is rolling out consistently and you can request certain foods too.

Came here on a whim about 1 month ago, still tasty and they seemed to have more variety. (or did we just come early). Tried the durian dessert dumpling (strangely thick consistency compared to the one in Big Thumb hmm). Otherwise still tasty and reasonably priced. Well seasoned food and good flavors. Only sad that we did not see any xiao long bao on the trays or in the cart(don't they serve this anymore).

Best yamcha place in the city. pork dumplings, spring rolls and chicken wings are my favourites. staff is good. I have been there several times. Most of the times for yamcha, a couple of times for dinner. Never disappointed.. Highly recommended

We have wanted to try yum cha at Regal for a while now, finally had a chance over the weekend. All the regular dishes were on offer and I like that you are offered everything including feet, tendons and tripe which doesnt happen at all yum cha places if you are european. There was nothing wrong with the food here but there was nothing that had a wow factor and we tried many many dishes. The chilli sauce on the tables has no heat either which was odd. I still like majestic and grand century over this one. Will try Dragons next time, these four are all so close to each other. The service at regal was good, fast to be seated with a booking but the table closest to the entrance is a pain as people are almost hanging over your chair (multiple people bumped my chair) while waiting to be seated. Anyway, was ok...

One of the yum cha places in the city that I've frequently visited. Quite pleasant experiences each time, food's pretty darn tasty, follows the same routine as any other yum cha restaurants.<br/>The unusual stand out has been the Spicy Tripe, most surprising. I'm not one to normally advocate tripe, but damn gurl. That's some tasty tripe.<br/>My typically, standard fare, go-to's were some-what lacking in pizazz. Namely the Prawn Dumplings, Rice Noodle Rolls and Roast Pork Buns.<br/>But give it a go, grab some peeps, get some random dishes and go to town.

Nice Yum Cha restaurant in Wellington. The food is good and the prices are decent. The staff could be more polite but it gets very busy in the weekends and I understand it is difficult to cater for everyone perfectly. Although I enjoy their authentic dishes, I would love to see more vegetable dishes.

Had a very nice dinner there tonight. Waiters were quite attentive and the food was yum ! The setting is quite nice overlooking at Courtenay place, the only thing is tou kinda have to know that restaurant is there otherwise it is really easy to miss. Would probably go back there :)

Very traditional Chinese restaurant and typically Hong kong style! Every weekend it has special Yum chai style food! It's very good! But u need to go there earlier coz it will be so many people here in weekend

This was some of the best dim sum I've had outside of Hong Kong. Ate too many custard buns, but no regrets. Steamed prawn dumplings were stellar.

Not the best Chinese food I have ever had but not the worst either.<br/>Went here for a work meal out with a group of us. The food was pretty average and similar to a smorgasbords offerings. <br/>I did enjoy the orange beef and liked the fact that it was in good thick chunks.

Remember I took a large plate of chicken in spicy Sichuan sauce with plain rice. Ambience is average but food quality and quantity is great. Never got chance to get in again though.

I have been here twice for lunch/yum Cha, both times were very good and cheap, ~$13pp and we were stuffed. Friendly staff. Would highly recommend.

The food in this restaurant is good probably one of the best Chinese restaurant in Wellington. There roasted pecking duck 3 ways is a must try it's suculant and also very crisp!!!

Decent yum cha probably best in Wellington. But doesn't quite make the cut in top tier yum cha especially the proliferation of choice and flavours in the Auckland yum cha scene. Hard to describe my likes and dislikes about Regal, I would recommend it to those not so familiar with yum cha - well worth a visit - but it doesn't impress my hardened and seasoned Cantonese taste buds.

Love this place! It may get busy on a sunday, but that just adds to the pleasant vibe. Great atmosphere for any occasion. Service was outstanding, one young girl in particular with lovely curly hair had a charming smile for every customer. The manager does a very good job of seating people, but make sure you have a booking or else you will be in a long queue!<br/><br/>I recommend all the steamed dishes especially the cha shao bao and pork dim sim. Also not a bad place for vegetarians, lots of choices on the menu.<br/><br/>I would most definitely return with the whole family

Very busy on Sunday morning, so glad we booked a table for a party of eight. Food came around quickly, was tasty and everyone left with full bellies. Favourites... roast pork, pork &amp; chive dumplings, roast duck, steamed pork buns and the coconut buns... will be back soon!

My old review unfortunately no longer applies. The food now arrives cold and none of it has the delicious taste I used to enjoy. My friends and I who came here for many years have found another regular yum cha to visit.

This is my favourite Yum Cha. It's always busy and there is a fast turn around of dishes.. The tea is piping hot and plenty of it. Its the place to be on a Sunday morning, never disappoints. It's great value too, and I like the way you can ask for specific dishes like their excellent sticky rice. Must be time for another visit..

The food was great, but the young lady at the counter wasn't good at all, I was just asking about my booked table and she unpolitely shout at me and my friend to stand at the queue wait for the manager, how should I know she is not the manager? I'm not doing a research on the restaurant management.<br/><br/>One thing for sure I would never bring my friends to this restaurant again, because of the young lady.

Pretty good selection of yum cha dishes. Went to yum cha over the weekend (first time in a long time), glad to see a few new items - giving it more variety...<br/><br/>We went quite early in the morning, which meant all the things we were after did not come out until at the end of the sitting where we were all full :(<br/><br/>Definitely recommend this place, value for money, dishes were tasty and has variety.

Mint selection of yumcha/ dimsum. Out of a few yumcha and Chinese restaurants Regal has very good congee (asian rice soup). Not too watery or over seasoned. Goes down a treat with the fried bread sticks. Pork buns were a little over steamed and came a bit soggy, and some seating issues need to be looked at as it was hard to get up and out sometimes.

We went on Monday for yum char and it was fantastic! Very prompt and polite greeting although we found it was a bit of a challenge trying to understand the waitresses, but the food was superb. My partner's a fuzzy eater but there were great deal of selection; we both loved the custard tarts.<br/> Will definitely go back!

Absolutely love this restaurant!<br/><br/>A group of 8 of us go here every year on New Years and each year it is just amazing. You can not fault any of their food, their service, their staff. And unlike other restaurants they are so good at sending the food quickly and fast. <br/><br/>We all highly recommend the mango pudding for dessert!!!<br/><br/>Truly a top notch restaurant!!

Came here this week for the third time. <br/>The food is delicious, best Chinese around, I always end up with a doggy bag because there is so much of it!<br/>The waiting staff are very polite.<br/>And we've been here for Yum Char - plus another couple places around town, this is by far the best.

After hearing good things about Regal from friends, I decided to have my birthday dinner there. The food was delicious and the decor wonderful, although the wait staff could have been a little less impatient. I'll definitely be going back.

we went for Yum Char last Saturday and it was dreadful. We waited ages to be greated and seated after booking. Then plate after plate of cold food was brought to the table by a number of rude, bumping past us waitrons. Several requests for drinks were completely ignored. jThe food was cold and awful. No one could speak english and help us out. It was the most unpleasant dining experiece I've had and it has put me of Yum Char and Chisese restaurants in general.

I went here on Saturday with 2 other friends. We wanted a set menu, however, we were unable to as they can only do it for a minimum of 4 people. We instead ordered a few appetisers - Won Tons, Calamari and Springs rolls - followed by Peking Duck. This was the first time we had tried it before and oh man it was the best duck I have had. It was delicious. It came as 2 courses. The first course came with pancakes which you then added in the sliced duck, cucumber, spring onion and topped with Hoisin Sauce. the next was a mix of vegetables and duck that you put in lettuce leaves. There was so much food we did not need the appetisers at all. Very impressed, and superb service to top it off. Looking for to another Peking Duck!

This place sells shark fin soup. Over 100 million sharks per year are killed just for their fins, most of the time the fins are sliced off while the shark is still alive. The shark is then thrown back into the sea with no fins to die a cruel and slow death.<br/><br/>I will never eat there until shark fin is removed from the menu.

Some of the best Yum Cha in Wellington<br/><br/>Also do quite good dinner meals

We go here most Sundays for yumcha and every time it never fails to impress us. Me and my family have tried majority of the yumcha restaurants around Wellington and this is definitely our favorite! Good staff, and the manager is very approachable and friendly. Great variety of tasty foods sometime is can be a little cold but that’s expected because they are always completely packed (have to make a reservation each time). And to top it all of the delicious deserts, I can’t go without having a mango or coconut jelly!

YUM! I've been to a lot of yum char restaurants in wellington and this is my absolute favourite, very friendly staff, hot delicious food and very reasonable prices, when I go with a group of friends we never pay over $20 per person (normally under $15!) but it does depend on how much you order and eat of course :)

We used the deal voucher and received two mains and entree for $19. The meals were a good size and very tasty. We haven't been here before so having the voucher was a good way to check out the restaurant.<br/><br/>The staff were very friendly and attentive.<br/><br/>The meals came out very fast and hot which was fantastic, the food was great, especially the dumplings, very tasty indeed. The orange beef was also delicious. <br/><br/>The food just looked spectacular, well presented and very delicious.<br/><br/>We were very happy with our overall dining experience here and will definitely be back.

I went here for Yum Cha yesterday. The service was good and not much waiting for food or a table. However, the food was probably some of the less good yum cha I have had. Everything was really greasy and just tasted of MSG...so I was disappointed. I have had a lot better in other cities.

This is our favourite Yum cha restaurant and also we often get the wonton soup (prawn) for takeout. I just looked on our household records and we have spent $2550 in the last 12 months there. We are of NZ Asian ethnicity and live in Mt Vic. The chef they have there at the moment does good particularly good yum cha.<br/><br/>Not sure what the guy talking about sharks fin soup is going on about, maybe he shouldn't eat anywhere where meat isn't slaughtered in a halal fashion. I don't really think MenuMania is the right forum for his views.

i really love the regal the staff are friendly and the food is so good so you should try it for yourself!

This place is great! me and my man go here very often, i love the busy atmosphere and the friendly staff.<br/>Great range of dishes and any problems we have had are fixed ASAP and if your looking for a specific dish don't hesitate to ask as they will go and get it for you.<br/>You might pay a little more but its worth it!

Been here a coupe of times now for yum char but sadly the last was a bit of a let down. We were in a corner and had to fight to get any food brought our way. Its a tightly packed place. You need to book and if you do always take the earlier seating because not everyone vacates on time and you may end up waiting for a while as they reset the tables. Food when you get it is good for yum char standards.

Yum Cha culture can be a whole new experience for new people who never been there and don't know how the place is run. But I find this place hold an excellent title for the yum cha market in Wellington. Very good food, quick service, cheap and cheerful, takeaway. The decoration is simple, somewhat outdated but the food is simply amazing every time we go there every weekend.

Seriously good place to eat, after living in asia for 3 years I can honestly say this is the real deal. The place is cramped, bustling and noisy, just the way it would be in China. Fab food, great atmosphere. I am never dissapointed at the Regal.

I find the yumcha food at Regal to be quite average. Too salty and too much thick sauce. Their deep fried squids and buns are quite good but their dumplings are disappointing. Skin too thick and fillings fall out easily.

A working lunch at Regal today - I didn't even know the place existed. Being right above Majestic there would seem to be a fair bit of competition for Yum Cha.<br/><br/>I found Regal to be as good if not better than Majestic. It is a much larger venue than Majestic and the tables are further apart, depriving you of that feeling of claustrophobia - which is not a bad thing!<br/><br/>The food was very nice, the service quick and friendly, with service staff quick to come around and market their goods to your table. It was a little hard to understand some of them at times, but you want Asian, expect a few Asian accents to contend with.<br/><br/>Overall I found this to be a great place to dine.

We have lived in Courtenay place for a year now an d go for dim sum (or yum cha) almost every weekend. Out of the four places in Courtenay Place the Regal is our favourite - the manager is very good. Don't be suprised if you have to wait a few minutes for a table on a Saturday or Sunday at 12.30 for gawd's sake. The dishes are sometimes a little cool but I find that is the case in all yum cha restuarants when they are not cooking to order. What keeps us going back is the variety on offer, and of course the best custard tarts in town. Will miss this palce when we go.

One of our faves for yum cha. The food is fast, plentiful and fantastic. We have no problem with waiting as we book ahead. Rob is too harsh - the place is always packed over the weekends, and yes it is small so you trip over people getting in and out, but so what?

Go here on every visit to Wellington. Can't fault the food & the team are really friendly. Love the byo option for wine.<br/>Can get a bit noisy sometimes but that all adds to the Chinese experience!!