Golden Mountain Cheltenham - Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Cheltenham

AVOID!!! Absolute rubbish service, stale and cold food. I ordered vegetarian aromatic crispy duck, crispy seaweed and mini spring rolls. My food took 1 hour to be delivered and the driver apologised for being late. I could feel that the bag wasn’t very warm and I almost gave it back to the driver but I thought it can’t be that bad plus I was starving. It was that bad! ..The spring rolls were cold and half soggy, the vegetarian duck was cold and the seaweed wasn’t crispy because it was stale! I called them and spoke to the same woman I ordered from. I told her about the food and she said “sorry, it’s because we are very busy at the moment” followed by ‘um’ continuously and then asked me “what do you want me to do?” I told her I’m hungry and I don’t use microwaves so please can you redo the food I paid for!? She said she can’t do that because they are busy! I said I ether want the food how it’s supposed to be or issue me a refund instead. She said “I only take the orders and can’t make that decision so what should I do?” I asked if her manager was there. She said he was and that she’d tell him. They spoke to each other in Chinese and there was a lot of laughing between sentences. At this point I thought I dont trust you to cook me anything else, even if you offer. She then said “my manager has offered 10% off your next order if you decide to use us again” I replied “if this were a restaurant I’d have my food replaced, a full refund or both! I’m trying to avoid giving you a bad review!” She replied “10% is all we can do” I replied I’ll leave my review then. Her reply was “ok then”

There was also a 1inch straight black hair but it was on the outside of the container so I didn’t mention it to them. Still, not very hygienic!

This is completely unacceptable and not how any business should be run. I won’t be using them ever again, my first and last experience with Golden Mountain.

Sorry...

I fancied a Chinese but couldn't be bothered with all the fancy restaurants in town or a chain restaurant. Google suggested this was family owned but reviews were a bit hit and miss. Now I know why. Ordered sichuan chicken, expecting a nice numbing of the tongue but all I received was half a portion of sweet and sour chicken with a spoon full of chilli oil thrown in, or a teaspoon of sambal if you were lucky. Portion was small and lacked any spice. The salt and pepper ribs were more a collection of bones rubbed in a char sui paste or powder of sorts and deep fried either to cook or reheat. Either way, over cooked, dry and actually devoid of any salt or pepper. Plenty of gristle though. Egg fried rice was tasteless, greasy and lacked any peas, spring onions or any form of dressing. Even a drizzle of toasted sesame oil instead of fried in cheap oil would have worked. Along with a beer, I was asked for £32. I wouldn't have thought this over priced but for the cheap ingredients and corners cut in the kitchen. This family need to get out and about in Cheltenham to sample the cooking of the competition if they still expect to be open inside of 12 months. This is batch cooking of some core dishes with other stuff thrown in to make the dish something it's pretending to be. Unfortunately I won't be going back.

Only one other table as I arrived so quite quiet. Another guy came in and like me asked for a spicy dish, only to ask for more chilli oil...

I must preface this review with the fact that we were in early on a Sunday night, and were the only people in the restaurant at the time.

I ordered spring rolls, barbecue ribs, sweet and sour chicken with egg-fried rice, and a banana fritter.

The spring rolls were unremarkable, but very good and served with a very nice chilli sauce. The ribs were not conventional BBQ, but were exceptionally well-cooked with a more salty sauce.

As for the sweet and sour, the chicken was satisfactorily crispy, and altogether tasted very good. The balance between chicken and vegetables was perfect, and they went well with the sauce. The rice was good and complimented the sweet and sour sauce well, although I will say one portion is enough to feed two people.

The banana fritter was good, with nothing to note.

For all elements, the portion size was spot on and enough to eat a starters, main, and dessert without feeling particularly ill afterwards.

The restaurant itself was clean and well kept. Service was exceptional and staff were excellent and very diligent.

Altogether this was one of the best Chineses I have had, with nothing to fault. I would absolutely...