The Rendezvous Chinese - Edinburgh

Just back from my lunch. I read some reviews and initially thought some people were very hard to please given the number of very good reviews written, the restaurant was established over 50 years ago, so clearly in my head, must have been doing something right!. However now fully understand where these dissatisfied customers are coming from. I eat often in restaurants -lunch and dinner, what can I say. This is probably the worst meal I've eaten, the worst service ever and given the restaurant has been here well over 50 years, quite shocked at the calibre of the food and service which was zero!. On entering the restaurant we bumped into a guy on the stairs, who we thought was a customer. . He mentioned he was going out for a cigarette, entering the restaurant we wondered if there was any staff at all, no welcome whatsoever . To our horror the guy on the stairs was the guy who served us, totally unprofessional, extremely casual and not smart at all to be a waiter. He never said a word or offered any service at all. No simple thank you or any word was uttered, basically the food was dumped on the table! The meal, absolutely awful and the not of the standard from many years ago, when I used to go to the Rendezvous. Totally disappointed as our lunch was for a special occasion. Do these restaurants learn anything from these reviews, I'm not so sure. The meal was overpriced and definitely not value for money at £14.99. We certainly won't be returning!

The welcome was weak; staff seemed down and disinterested though hardworking and fast serving. The food prawn toast, chicken satay, Singapore noodles and fried bean curd in garlic, ginger and spring onion sauce were all very bland; very little hint of fresh ingredients, no chiles . The wooden screen next to us was thick with dust. The entry is dingy and dark. I know hospitality is suffering financially, but there’s no excuse for bland boring Chinese food.

This hidden gem is still as fabulous as it was on a Sunday night before the Rutland and Busters back in the day! Chicken yellow bean still my favourite. The satay skewers, wafer paper prawns and king Szechuan prawns also delicious. Couple Tiger beers and sides and very reasonably priced. Was packed to capacity all of the Friday night with all ages and table sizes. Great food, great service 5

Loved this restaurant, great service food and ambiance. Don’t hesitate to try for yourself. Lovely decor and the food was excellent.

There were seven of us it was supposed to be ten, but the weather that day had been awful and blocked roads and flooding meant that three of us couldn 't make it. The table we 'd booked was ready but now too large for us; we were shown to another, just the right size with no fuss and the minimum of bother. The menu was really good, but we eventually opted for one of the set banquets. The food that followed was excellent and far too much for us to finish, much as we would have liked to! A couple of doggy bags were offered and handed out. The service was very good and as already said, the food was excellent! I can 't wait to return.