Mandarin Garden - Truro

This was awful! I should have walked back out again immediately but didn’t . It started as soon as I arrived, there is absolutely no atmosphere here at all restaurants deathly silent. It has no decoration and it’s incredibly basic. The fittings and tables look like picnic tables and chairs are very comfortable. You get one napkin spoon and a fork. The staff do not smile and barely speak. In the background. There’s a man constantly chopping meat by constantly. I mean he did it there for an hour and 15 minutes, never stopping. I ordered the food whilst looking around me. The restaurant is filled with cardboard boxes and empty bottles just stashed against the walls. There were maybe five clients in the whole restaurant and not a sound except the chopping board. When the food arrived, the hot, sour soup was good and hot. When the main course arrived. I had ordered sweet-and-sour chicken balls. It was warm at best, bland in taste and without flavour. The egg fried rice was lumpy and warm also. I was served a tiny saucer of sour sauce and was left with no knife. I had to get up three times to ask for three different things, a knife, another napkin and some more sauce, no one attended me no one regarded me no one cared about the level of service. The restaurant is decorated awfully the food plant service appalling and the surrounding atmosphere was like a hospital waiting room. This is not a great restaurant. The food is not great food. The service is not great. There is nothing great about this place how it’s still running God only knows. Avoid.

This charming, old-school, family-run Chinese restaurant, a staple of the town for apparently over 30 years, offers a decent selection of dishes that clearly celebrate simplicity and flavour with their pared-down menu, reminding you of your favourite old-school English Chinese restaurant, which seems to prioritise substance over variety. Everything is cooked fresh, and the restaurant's minimalist approach to dining offers a genuine traditional English-Chinese experience. The staff are gentle, and their unhurried approach, so as not to rush customers into ordering or moving on for the next group, is welcome. Unlike other restaurants, they’ve clearly stayed true to what they know well and been serving loyal locals for some time. It is no-frills and quaint, but sometimes that’s the best as you know you the family running it are focused on consistent good food each time. I’d recommend it for a super casual meal with friends, or to opt to eat there as a family or group rather than just have a takeaway at home. Definitely worth a try.

Waited ages for someone to take our order, ordered a bottle of white wine which tasted like vinegar and cokes which were flat. There was a lot of smoke in the room, not a nice environment. Paid for wine which we didn't drink and promptly left.

Usually this place is very nice, usually good food and good service. The service initially was great, until we received PINK chicken skewers as our starter. My partner ate some without realising it was pink, once he realised we were totally put off. We then were each given chicken chow mein as our main meal like we ordered however we did not feel like eating it after being served the pink skewers. To add to this, instead of refunding the whole meal, or at least everything other than the drinks, they still made us pay despite putting us totally off our food. When we reported the pink dish to the lady working there, she tried convincing us it was supposed to look like that meaning we could’ve eaten more, obviously we didn’t but she still told us it was ok to eat despite it being pink.

What an absolute dump it felt like we were in the way almost an inconvenience. It was a lunch time and the set menu was uninspiring to say the least . The food was practically thrown at us by impatient and abrupt staff . Portions and presentation was non existent. I would not take my dog to eat in this hole . Try it and find out for yourself . I could go on and on “AWFUL EXPERIENCE “.