RongCheng Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

The restaurant occupies what was once Blackrock's post office on the main street. First thing to say, it is a beautifully appointed dining space. Everything about it is luxurious, the carpets, furniture, table linen. Just lovely! And then there's the view of the sea to top it off! So on to the grub..

To start I had prawns with salt and chilli. The batter was super light and the chilli was evident without being overpowering. My better half had pork dumplings, not something I'm usually mad about. But again the flavours were balanced and natural. We've had a number of versions of both these starters before in different eateries, but, and I know I'm getting hyperbolic here, I've never tasted better anywhere!

For mains I had scallops in Kung Pao style while the missus went for beef with green pepper in ginger and scallion sauce. The beef was melt in the mouth tender. However, the sauce could have done with a bit more ginger.

Scallops are something I love and rarely miss a chance to sample when they're on the menu. This time I wished I'd given them a miss. They should, as far as I know, have a bit of bite about them. Not so in this case, they were almost jelly soft. The Kung Pao sauce was, however, full of flavour.

We had a bottle of 'Francois Jamet' merlot to go along with our dinner. It's actually the least expensive red on their wine list at €28, but if you like smooth, full bodied reds, as opposed to fruity ones, you're in for a treat with this one. I would definitely choose this wine again if I saw it anywhere and that's not based on the price.

Our bill came to €112, but there was a 12.5% service charge on top of that even though we were a table of only two persons. That brought the total to €126 odd.

They do an early bird for €30 per person up to 7pm every evening. However, be aware there's a 12.5 % service charge on that too. If you take the early bird option, a starter and main course for two people with a bottle of wine from the cheaper end of the list is still going to set you back around a hundred euro.

Overall the food was very good quality although some aspects might have been improved. The venue was opulent and the staff were friendly and helpful in answering all our queries. We'll be back again and I'd definitely give this place a...

One of the most disappointing dining experiences we’ve had in quite some time. I don’t tend to leave negative reviews—this is probably my first.

We travelled almost an hour to try this restaurant after being tempted by some appealing social media posts (note to self: this may be the last time I let TikTok guide my dinner plans).

On arrival, we were greeted by a lovely sea view, but sadly, that’s where the positives ended.

After being seated, we were left waiting around 5–10 minutes before anyone brought us menus, despite only two other tables being occupied. The two members of staff on the floor were standing at the till during this time, which didn’t make sense given how quiet it was.

When our server did eventually arrive, she seemed completely uninterested. It felt like serving us was an inconvenience. We tried to shrug it off—we were out on our first kid-free date in over a year and really wanted to enjoy the evening.

We ordered a variety of starters (5) as we like to try a mix of new dishes, but unfortunately, every single one was incredibly bland and lacked any distinct flavour. Easily some of the most tasteless food I’ve encountered in a restaurant.

To make matters worse, the service didn’t improve. After the starters, our waitress came to reset the table for mains but simply placed my fork beside me and left the knife in the centre of the table—again reflecting the overall lack of care or professionalism throughout the evening.

The mains were, unfortunately, just as disappointing. My wife’s Singapore noodles tasted like plain noodles dusted with curry powder. I ordered the “fillet beef with Szechuan hot sauce,” which was more like boiled beef in lightly salted water. I’m still trying to forget the taste a day later.

We’re both huge fans of Chinese food—especially authentic, well-prepared dishes—so this was a major letdown. It’s rare we get the chance to go out for dinner together, and it’s a shame that it turned out this way.

Like another review here, I’m honestly surprised this restaurant has a 4.3-star rating on Google. Based on our experience, I can’t say we’ll be back, nor could I recommend...

I've been here a couple of times, and the atmosphere is brilliant. The staff are really lovely and friendly. I love the scenery from the restaurant, where you can look at the ocean; it's extra beautiful on a sunny day. The restaurant is very neat, and the interior design is very relaxing, making it a great place to come for lunch and dinner.

Why the 4 stars? Well, it's not my first time encountering dirty plates and cutlery. By dirty, I don't mean the scrubbing wasn't thorough enough, but rather they were reused. Once, my plate had prawn cracker crumbs all over it, and not just mine but my friend's too. It was evident that someone who sat at this table previously used the plate, and it was never replaced, since we weren't offered prawn crackers, I'm sure it wasn't ours. We pointed it out to the staff, and they swiftly changed it for us. But then I realized there was a tiny piece of food stuck on the side of the cup where our tea was supposed to go. Again, the staff apologized and swiftly replaced it with a clean tea cup. Another time, we were there, and the food was being served, but there were no chopsticks presented even though we had asked for them when we first ordered.

Regarding the food, there is a very limited selection of dim sum compared to other restaurants that serve dim sum in Dublin. The taste of the Chinese dishes and dim sum seems to be tailored to the locals' liking, which is not a bad thing. However, as someone who has had dim sum in Hong Kong before, my expectations were not met. Putting that aside, the food was good.

Overall, the food is good, the staff are really nice, and it has a great view,...