Magic Chef Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Borough of Runnymede

I’ve eaten at Magic Chef Chinese Restaurant in Egham six times now, as I run a business nearby and it’s become our go-to spot for both client lunches and my own quick work meals. Each visit, whether eating in as a group or grabbing something alone, has been consistently excellent—Magic Chef is one of those rare places where the food really stands out every single time. The quality of the food here is simply outstanding. Every dish I’ve tried has been delicious, always cooked perfectly and packed with authentic flavour. You can tell a lot of care goes into the cooking: the special fried rice is a standout, and dishes like Szechuan noodles show real attention to traditional Chinese recipes. There are some unique menu options you don’t find just anywhere, and it’s always exciting to discover something new—but what’s most impressive is that in all my visits, we have never had a bad meal. Service at Magic Chef is also great. The staff are genuinely friendly and welcoming, which has made it easy to host business guests and also means you feel comfortable coming by yourself. Orders come out promptly, and if you’re a regular you can sense an extra level of attention. While pricing can be on the higher side, it feels completely justified given the consistently high quality of the food and the overall dining experience. Perhaps the best thing about Magic Chef is the authenticity and skill in the kitchen: every meal tastes top-quality, fresh, and true to its roots, making it my favourite Chinese restaurant in the area by a long way. It’s a real gem for anyone working or dining in Egham, highly recommended for both business meals and casual...

I've been here for more than 2 years, and I've been eating here for quite some time. Sort of like a family friendly restaurant, very chill and relaxing place for a good meal, but the price can be slightly expensive given the fact that post COVID affected the restaurant. Service is good, the environment is comfortable and clean with 2 nice, big toilets.

If you find the price a bit hard to swallow, then avoid the vegetable dishes as they are £8, I'll rather choose the meat dishes which cost about the same or slightly more. If you're getting rice dishes other than normal rice or egg friend rice, note that there won't be any seasoning to it, as they are to be eaten with other dishes. If you're eating it as it is, please let them know that and ask them to put in flavour/seasoning into it.

If you're looking for recommendation, spicy dishes are good here, like the Crispy Chicken with Red Chilli and the Szechuan Spice Fish Hotpot. Something that goes well with rice is definitely the Braised Beef Brisket & Moonlit, one of my recommended dish to have for any season. Sweet and sour dishes are actually really good, like sweet Nd sour chicken, highly recommend it. Pork dishes, you can try the Spare Ribs with Chinkiang vinegar Sauce if you're up for something sour and tasty, else, go with the classic Red Braised Spare Ribs.

Lastly, note that the food can be oily, and if you're not up for that, let them know to put less oil for all the...

Probably the best Chinese restaurant in the south east outside Chinatown. Wonderfully authentic dishes - the Chinese menu is directly translated into English with some odd sounding results but if you know what you are looking for, it's a treasure trove.

They have all the usual Brit-Hong Kong standards but that's not what this place is about, as you can get your sweet and sour chicken anywhere. The nearby Royal Holloway campus of the University of London has something like 1000 students from mainland China and Taiwan, and this place is a home from home to this community, providing totally authentic Yunnan and Sichuan dishes at very modest prices. The proprietress even gets chinese vegetables grown for her by a nearby Chinese market gardener to ensure quality and continuity of supply.

The results are fantastic - the water boiled fish or pork is awesome. There are quite a few wonderful offal dishes (the coriander tripe is fantastic). The roast duck is perfection, and I love the french beans with pork mince. Book ahead and you can get the tastiest lobster this side of the Pescadores, cooked from live.

Chinese diners always outnumber any other guests, that has to tell you...