Royal Inn Restaurant — Restaurant in Canterbury

Went here for an anniversary meal - had a fair amount of decent reviews with a few average to poor ones so thought we'd see for ourselves.

Interior is okay. Clean, well presented.

Service was painfully slow, we waited 25 minutes for our starters (which were actually quite nice - prawn toast was lovely and bang bang chicken was pretty decent!), ate them in 10-15 minutes or so then waited another 45 minutes for our mains. Same with the one other family with us. Saw multiple takeaways come and go in this time - sad to see that we weren't prioritised having actually been sitting down and paying the higher sit down prices. Service wasn't with a smile, barely even a glance - but I think the waitress was just shy, she was very kind.

The food, in a word - bland. Very bland. Everything tasted unseasoned - which is odd for a Chinese.

I had the Chefs Special ribs in garlic sauce - pork itself was non descript and didn't really taste of anything, just boiled pork with no flavour. Sauce was quite jelly like and although it was okay, quite sickly and a little artificial. My Singapore fried rice was okay - but not spicy or flavoursome at all which is the reason I ordered it.

My partner had beef with mixed veg - veg was very nice and varied but the beef was bland and it all seemed to be in a weird watery liquid which was pretty grim.

We shared some chicken in Yellow bean sauce which was actually really tasty and tender - but after 2 spoonfuls I found it very sickly and artificial again, sauce was very thick and dark almost a tar consistency. My partner enjoyed it used the sauce on her meal so she could finish her beef, as it added some flavour.

Came to just under £50 quid - which was on the high side for what we had in my eyes (especially considering we had one soft drink) - it was like having a below average takeaway so wasn't great value for money. I can get a better Chinese from my favourite local for half the price in the comfort of my own home.

Wouldn't go again, and wouldn't recommend...

I made a reservation over the phone, the lady on the phone communicated well.

When I turned up, I was quickly seated - I was the first customer of the day.

The dining area is quite nice, I thought the seats were comfortable and there was a range of different size tables available.

I ordered a starter - soft shell crab - and a bottle of Tsingtao beer. I also ordered my main as well - Japanese style Udon.

The gentleman serving was very polite and helpful.

He poured my beer for me which I thought was very courteous, normally I would do it myself.

He also confirmed that I could make a payment in card as well as cash.

I was given a choice whether I wanted it all to come together or whether I wanted the starter first, and I opted for the starter because I was hungry.

The starter arrived quickly and was lovely. It was my first time eating crab and I quite liked it.

It didn't take long for my main to arrive and that was also good, it was well presented and tasty.

A member of staff came by to check on me when I was eating and I was happy to say all was well.

Overall very good, I will probably go again and would recommend it for...

So happy to have found this place, thank you to other reviewers on here and TripAdvisor for the great info. We had a nightmare finding this place but I've just submitted the correct location so hopefully others have an easier time.

We arrived very close to lunch closing time, but the front of house team couldn't have been nicer about it. The owner was incredibly friendly and enjoyed talking about the food and our opinions of the place, she had all in the time in the world for us.

The food was fantastic, a little more subtle and far fresher than any other take away or restaurant I've been to in the area. I of course had to try the crispy skin pork, which was wonderful, only bettered by one place in Melbourne a couple of years ago.

The prices are higher than you'll pay elsewhere, but for the service and freshness it's beyond worth it. I look forward to visiting this place again and sampling all the recommended dishes the owner...