Review Beijing Restaurant - Wellington

Good vibe. Great food.

Dropped in here looking for dinner and were pleasantly surprised by the great tasting food, generous quantities and friendly staff. Definitely be returning to check out more items on the menu.

The food was amazing! Great options if you're vegetarian, with a separate menu with a wide range of options. I had the spring rolls, and tofu/vegetable dish, with Jasmine tea on the side. Highly recommend.

Combined fried rice was reaaaly tasty. Right up there with the best I've tasted. However the putrid collection of waste outside wafted on the footpath and inside. Lots of people walking by coughed n commented This dropped 'atmosphere' to a 1 star.

The Beijing is a fan favourite and continues to deliver truly exceptional quality food and service, consistently. There’s a wide range of items on the menu (including a large variety of vegetarian friendly options). Definitely one of the best Chinese restaurants around!

Last night meals were great as was service. As we a regulars here it is easy to become critical as you are constantly comparing this week with last week instead of Beijing against other Chinese local restaurants. It is testimony to their food and service that we dine here twice a month for the last 7 years. They are renown for their duck dishes but I would encourage you to try the others with confidence. Covid has definitely had an effect on numbers .

After reading great reviews about this place we were underwhelmed. Very small vegan & vegetarian selection and an incredibly large seafood and meat based menu. I had the spring rolls (very little filling in them) & stir fry vegetables (overcooked) and the person I was with had beef dumplings (warm and not hot) & a mixed seafood stir fry dish (overcooked) that looked impressive sizzling away in a hot iron cow shaped dish when it came out. The wait staff are pleasant. Food came out relatively quickly (within 20 mins). They have a couple of unflued gas heaters to heat the restaurant so go dressed up as it's not very warm inside (unless you are sitting in front of the heater)

Tasty food, good size portions & well priced. The staff are always friendly. Could use some background music for atmosphere. Would recommend.

Been meaning to try this place for years and finally got some takeaways tonight during Covid 19 Alert Level 3 (takeaways only). Food was tasty, decent Chinese food, though a little pricey. Food came in styrofoam though which is awful for the environment and always depresses me. We rarely do takeaways unless we bring our own containers or know the place uses compostable packaging so will definitely think twice or see if we can drop our containers to fill before re-patronizing.

Love this place , fabulous food worth the wait , freshly made by husband and wife team right there behind glass window. Decor needs updating but who cares when the food is so awesome . One of my regular Newtown haunts . A friendly smile every time . Awesome

Throughout my experience, I was very happy with this restaurant from the great food to the nice staff. I would highly encourage you to come here.

Yummy as usual. We didn't order any of the spicy options but whenever I've had them they're great.

I heard about this Restaurant and had to try it out for myself, the food war delicious and piping hot just the way i like it and the ingredients used were very fresh. Thankyou very much, i wil- be back for sure😀

I was brought here by friends who frequent the restaurant often. Tried the 'Sichuan spicy fish slices with vegetables' and it was delicious. However, what I enjoyed even more was what my friend ordered. I don't remember what it was called, but it was basically something like soy pork that you could roll into rice wrappers with a salad and grated fried potatoes. Great service, comfortable seating and ambience, and decently priced. A good experience overall.

Been here a few times, they have pretty authentic Chinese food. Certainly recommend the place. Try some of the non-standard dishes and not the usual fried rice or dumplings. Try some like the ‘Beijing duck with pancakes’ or ‘Mapo Tofu’ - you will not be disappointed.

Food was DELICIOUS. Especially the seafood, crispy prawns to be exact. <br/><br/>Reasonable pricing. Easy going service and nice quite atmosphere. Nicely located in the middle of Newtown. <br/><br/>No photos because we were all too hungry and ate our entrees before we could reach for our phones.

My partner and I ordered our first takeaway from here this evening (we wouldn't dine in since the decor is stuffy and dated) and (for the first time in our lives) we had to return it. To begin with, it was barely even warm. <br/>The 'roasted duck slices in Beijing sauce with pancakes, spring onion and salad' was a very small portion of shredded fatty scraps, while the salad was minimal, dry and old (cucumber shouldn't bend 180 degress). For nearly $30 we didn't know whether to laugh or cry when we saw it. <br/>The egg fried rice was salty stodgey rubbish you could get for half the price or less elsewhere, and the chicken with cashew nuts was also an insipid rip off. <br/>To top it all off when my partner went to return it, the chef owner came over and, rather than asking questions or apologising, started arguing with him. Still, he managed to get a refund after ten minutes.<br/><br/>We don't ask for much of a chinese takeaway, but for those prices I feel like they are trying to rip people off, hence I have written this, the first online food review I've bothered writing.

This one has been on the cards for a while, even lived in Newtown and always found something I thought was more appealing, to be honest I think its the street appeal of the place that used to make me second guess. Even after seeing an economist talk about the amazing chefs and it being a foodie haven, we never made it there. We finally broke the drought and ordered a couple of dishes, a Sichuan beef and a combination fried rice - easy. Ordering was fine, even with no egg for an allergy, I took a quick look in the kitchen and saw the old woks, they looked like they had taken an absolute beating over many, many years... I was so impressed and happy waiting for the smokey deliciousness that follows. We tried both dishes and were very happy with both. Sichuan had some spice to it but not too much that it ruined the dish at all, just a hint and enough to know it was there. The fried rice was pretty good and had that smokey flavour I was hoping for. Would try a couple of other dishes there next time, and there will be a next time!

Beijing is one of Wellingtons culinary institutions - it's been there so long that it's easily forgotten but it never should be.    The food isn't fussy or fusion or faddish - it's honest to its origins and rarely fails to please. It has a great reputation, and you should not be dissuaded by the commonplace decor or unpreposessing surroundings. Recommend highly!

Terribly disappointed at small servings of main dishes.  Felt very ripped off by prices of $18.50 each for a very small plate of chicken cashews and  ginger beef.  Food tasted okay but not worth the cost.  Won't go back again.  Banana fritters rather pathetic as it was half a banana sliced in half again and deep fried and served with a small dollop of ice cream.  My plate was chipped.

This is a family favourite for occasions involving a large group. You can be seated at a round table and enjoy dish after dish as they come out. We. Have been going for years and years and have never, ever been disappointed. Service is indeed a bit slow, but if you tell them to bring each dish out as it is cooked, and share, you will have a better experience and get to try more dishes, too. For vegetarians and vegans, the vegan "duck" made of seitan is just delicious and offers the Peking duck experience to non meat eaters. Look right to the back of the menu for this, or ask....

I've run across a couple of self proclaimed Wellingtonian foodies who have never been to the Beijing. It's possibly the fear of entering newtown and it's certainly an oxymoron. <br/><br/>Beijing is one of wellingtons culinary institutions - it's been there so long that it's easily forgotten. Tucked in behind the lights on constable street the frontage isn't obvious, and the net curtains don't give much away. A single square dining area - a huge photo of a temple in Beijing - a glass fronted kitchen - that's all. <br/>The service can be variable - sometimes English is very much a second language with the young and sometimes inexperienced wait staff. But that's ok - maybe they are family, students, I don't know - but they aren't arrogant or disinterested and in some ways it's a little funny.<br/><br/>I've been here for family occasions on maybe thirty occasions - often for birthdays and when the kids are home. It's a favorite with grandparents.<br/><br/>Last year we hosted the Australasian symposium of gastronomy in Wellington and for its dinners chose Nikau and the Beijing. It was a mark of recognition both for the quality of the food, it's consistency and the extraordinary talent of its cook over so many years. To watch him cook for a full house, almost alone, is to watch a real master. The energy he puts into it I don't think is sustainable forever and one day the building will probably become just another op-shop. Before then I suggest you go if you haven't and spend a few glances at the guy with the pans.<br/><br/>The food isn't fussy or fusion - it's honest to its regional origin. My favourites - the duck and pancakes of course, a cold chicken entree in s spicy sauce , the inside out fish still amazes me. Dessert includes the classics from my childhood. One suggestion is to order the apple slices in caramel and a bowl of cold water. Instead of eating the hot gooey caramel as is, try dipping them quickly in the water - they then become shatteringly delicious and crisp. <br/><br/>This restaurant is special.

I think they Beijing have missed the point that it's not just the food people go back for. There was no dialog with the staff, even when paying. It wasn't particularly busy. The atmosphere in the restaurant could benefit from from some warmth from a heater and from the staff.

I reckon the restaurant was closed due to renovations - the place looked newly painted and the kitchen area was visible from the dining tables (you could see the Chinese chefs wearing their chef's hats working busily in the open plan kitchen). The place must serve good food because people were constantly pouring in. Lots of people = good food! We had a Tsingtao beer each (served in a highball glass minus the bottle which felt a little odd) and shared one of their 'specials' dishes, pork slivers in a special sauce, with a side serving of rice. The pork dish is said to be a popular Northern Chinese cuisine and like eating Peking Duck, we had to wrap the pork stripes that were cooked in hoisin sauce in the pancakes provided. The pork dish came with fresh lettuce and deep-fried thinly shredded potato which I wasn't sure if they should also be wrapped in the pancake with the pork or eaten separately but they tasted really good eaten altogether! A tad messy but delicious ;) Though this dish

The Beijing has been a family favourite for a long time. The food and the service are usually supreme.  Last night my brother and my mother and I went for dinner, while the food was amazing as per usual, the service was quite shocking. Our meals arrived promptly but the young waiter and waitress kept trying to take our plates and food away while we were still eating which we all found incredibly rude.  Would be nice if they could be given some training on how to provide fast and efficient service without the rudeness.  This was easy to forgive though because of how good the food was! Their duck pancakes and their Sichuan style beef are a must try.

This was apparently the best restaurant in 2003 - so it was shown on the front door. But that's more than a decade ago.<br/><br/>The Beijing here and now is far from being the best. While it is a very family friendly, intimate and lovely restaurant, and is one of the few places in Wellington where Peking Duck with the pancakes can be ordered, I gotta say I was underwhelmed by the food. It was pretty average for the price we paid. We had the Set Menu C, which came with the duck and pork strips both served with pancakes. That was my favourite part of the meal and so I thought the set menu was off to a grand start, but everything that followed was not that great. Portions were small and the quality wasn't much better than some of the cheaper Chinese places I've been to (see my other reviews). Sorry, I really wanted to like this place but for what we paid it just wasn't "wow".

Had an excellent meal with 5 of us last night. Service was great but the food was outstanding, best Chinese in Wellington. We had dumplings for entrée, duck, venison, spicy fish, crispy chicken and beef in black bean sauce. We brought our own wine and paid a very reasonable $31.00 each. Highly recommend!

Had 3 entrees, 1 out of three was good. The other two were very salty n oily. Had 6 main, pancake and vege were good. Everything else was not worth the price at all. You can get better tasty Chinese food from food court than from Beijing Restaurant. The sweet n sour pork was just gristle. No pork meat. Service was not there. The room was very noisy. Felt like needing to talk over a thousand of people in there. My second time there. Will not return and not recommending this place.

Tried this place with a friend tonight. Seemed popular. The service and speed was under par but not terrible. <br/>The food was rather good. We had the beef in black bean and a pork dish. The vegetables were excellent.<br/>Being a Chinese restaurant we got the expected dose of grease and salt.<br/>Would consider returning.

So you will walk passed it think, "hell I'm going in there, that place looks scruffy. I'm not even sure it is entirely clean". Well you are half right it is scruffy and your half wrong it is clean. <br/><br/>I have been going to the Beijing consistently over a period of 10 years and consistently the food there has been the best in the Wellington Area. If you want authentic Chinese, made from quality fresh food then go the Beijing. Except NO substitutes. BEST Dish Deep Fried Chicken Follow by Duck with Pancakes. MY GOD MY MOUTH IS WATERING AGAIN...<br/><br/>Doubt me walk passed and find it not busy. People aren't stupid they are like me they go back for more.

Service is appalling and the food is way over priced!! You don't even get a bit of what you pay for! We ordered dumpling soup and it was so disgusting (tasted like tiny little dumpling balls placed in a bowl of vinegar.)<br/><br/>We went for a group Valentines Day dinner thinking that we would have a great night eating and chatting with each other but no! The customer service brought our night down. We went in at 6:30, the tables weren't even arranged properly for us (we made reservations). We made our order at around 7:20 and waited and waited and waited, nothing. People who came after us were already being served and almost done with their meals, we still sat there waiting with two young kids who were getting hungry and grumpy. We asked the waiter and he'd rush to the kitchen but never came back to tell us where our meal was at. by around 8:30 only two entrees came out and tea which in the end cost us $78!! Our mains weren't even started yet and so our night was ruined. We decided that we didn't want to sit there and wait anymore so left after our two entrees were served. The owners did not seem to care about us at all and created a negative atmosphere for us. I do not recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a nice night out with some friends as they will ruin your night with their negative attitudes and poor customer service. The food was also appalling!!

Certainly not suggesting people to go to this restaurant which clearly does not understand what customers really mean for a business like theirs and very overpriced meals. 10 of us went for a valentine's dinner last night. We made the orders by 7:20. By 8:40, they only could served us with 2 entrees from the set menu, a dumpling soup that taste really yuck ( no flavor at all and very oily plus the dumplings only as tiny as half of a little finger!!) and 8 pieces of garlic prawn for the price of $22, 10 little Chinese cups tea for the price of $15. I had to keep asking how long would it take for the main meals to come out, but the guy who seemed to be the male owner kept saying won't be long, won't be long. There were babies among us, and they started to get so hungry and grumpy. So we decided to 'hell with them' and asked them how far they have cooked our meal, and we were just gonna paid for those. The guy owner went back to the kitchen and checked but said nothing back to us. 10 mins later, the lady owner came to me and said rudely "Now, what do you want me to do, tell me what do you want me to do???". I was very irritated with her ignorant behavior, so I raised my voice and told her to cancel our orders and give us the bill. Then she stormed back to the kitchen, and when I paid that $75 for those tiny meals which not even tasty at all, she didn't even apologize at all. None of the owners even bothered to say "SORRY".<br/>Surely, we're not the only one who has been treated like that. Very disrespectful and rude.If they could treat us like that, I'm sure there are a hell lot of others who were treated the same. They have ruined our valentine's day by making us all very upset, and we are the ones who PAY THEM!! <br/>So, if you are looking to be treated like s**t, being charged a gold price for a disgusting meal...then Beijing Restaurant Newtown is the place!! <br/>No point of selling good meals (if they have any), but giving a very very very poor service! We spend money not to be treated like s**t.

love love love! My FAV restaurant and has been for a really loooooong time! Their Vege dumpling soup is mmmmm! yay for normal tasty vege food! friendly quick service! :)

I went to dinner with some friends here tonight and I will definitely be heading back sometime in the near future! Loved the experience! Beijing is a nice, tidy restaurant with good, friendly and prompt service. Delicious food (especially the duck pancakes) and very reasonably priced too...

This is one of our family favourites and we dine here several times a year and have always had excellent food served promptly and by very pleasant staff. The decor is not flash but it is an excellent restaurant and I would not hesitate to recommend it. The duck pancakes are our favourite dish. The prices are very reasonable so we can take the whole family without breaking the bank.

This is without exception out favorite restaurant in New Zealand, value for money. We have eaten the Crispy Beijing Duck in London, New York , Sydney, and strangely Beijing, and this Newtown restaurant comes out on top! We have been going for ten years, and it has never disappointed.

Haven't been here for a few years, from memory it was pretty good. Well, my memory must be failing because the Beijing is no good. Food is over priced, too much cornstarch and the service is appalling. Having worked in China I am aware that you should not expect 'the royal treatment' at an eat and leave sort of place but these guys are rude AND useless.<br/><br/>Don't waste your time. Or money.

Food above average.Service very poor.Entree dishes were not cleared before mains were served.Ripped shopping bags of rubbish stacked high against side window, disgusting.About time they packed up.

My favourite Chinese restaurant, where the owner does the cooking (unusual for a Chinese restaurant, I think) although this can mean it's a bit slow when really busy. Recommend its boneless Mandarin blue cod, which could almost convert non-fish eaters. Very friendly,relaxed, family-run restaurant; not one of the big slick Chinese restaurants. And the kitchen is totally open to view from the dining room, which makes dining particularly interesting. Worth making a special trip to Newtown for this place.

The service is appalling. We booked for a 6.30pm dinner for 9 people on a Thursday night. On arrival we were told that we had to leave at 7.45pm as our table was booked by another party arriving after 8pm. We ordered starters and mains. By 7.20pm 2 of our family members were still waiting for their mains. We ask about the 2 mains yet to arrive and the waiter who served us quickly rushed to the kitchen not saying anything to us and it was so obvious that these mains were missed from the orders. Ten minutes later one main arrived and they tell us that they couldn't cook the other dish due to not having the ingredients which was the orange beef. So one person in our party did not have a main. We received no apology and ofcourse they kept reminding us that we had to leave the table by 7.45pm. We left just after 8pm when our last person finished eating.<br/>Even though their food was good, but not good enough for us to warrant another visit. Their rude service and lack of customer service killed the enjoyment of our family dinner.

I think this place is over priced for what they give you. The meals aren't that nice. People rave about this place but I don't see what the big deal is.

I love this place. Very delicious food and friendly service.

I have had takeaway from here twice now and it has been quite good. No complaints. We only had to wait 10 mins!

I'm a qualified chef, working in the restaurant/hospitality industry. I have never experienced such terrible service. If you like a glass of water with your meal, don't go to the Beijing, because you wont get one. One guest (a vegetarian) waited from 8pm (time of order) until 9.45 for her one dish she ordered. That is unacceptable. When asked for compensation for this, we were told that it is normal for a Friday night. I don't think so!! Although the food was very good (once we finally got it) I highly recommend Hong Kong BBQ just down from Strawberry Fare. Much cheaper, more food and the duck fried rice is excellent. Please avoid this place, as terrible service should not be encouraged or supported.