Dee Yi — Restaurant in Exeter

Abusive Staff and EXTREMELY Salty food!!!

Recently visited the self-reviewed I mean alleged “4.2 star reviewed restaurant” and could not have expected such an appalling service. After complaining that the food had rocks of salt, the likes of which was chewing on fresh sand from Exmouth, we were hit with a barrage of insults and excuses, received from the pot-bellied woman who clearly hasn’t eaten healthy and normal traditional Chinese food since she left China as to how it was our fault for not liking how much salt was put in it.

We then again tried to push through this mountain of salt and after both our table and the ONLY other customers complained again about the poor quality ingredients used - we were all forced to pay on the spot before we had finished our meals and were told to leave as ‘WE HAD BEEN THERE FOR TOO LONG’ even though it took them almost 2 hours to make 3 basic Chinese meals. This ruined the already DEAD atmosphere in the restaurant and left us shocked as to how rude and unprofessional this was.

The giveaway for this restaurants cuisine should be the run-down environment , dark lighting as if they are hiding how the food looks once it arrives and empty seats/ tables everywhere with a huge number of fake positive reviews where the best experience observed was not running into the greasy and fat waitress serving everyone.

To any locals or students thinking of trying this back shop by the bins restaurant, I’d highly recommend avoiding it as there are many other local Chinese restaurants will offer you great food/prices without a barking dog of a waitress at your neck or such poor quality foods being served and pushed as being your fault for not enjoying the main ingredient of Oil!

Good luck to your husband cooking the food in the back - I hope you let him see the sunlight soon enough and don’t bark at him in the future whenever your customers try to...

I recently went to Dee Yi and my experience at the place wasn’t great. The restaurant needs major renovation to say at the least, I went to the bathroom and the hygiene was awful, the ceiling looked like it was about to collapse, there was water everywhere. Talking about ceilings within the actual restaurant there’s damp and holes in the ceiling as you come in. Moving onto the carpet it looked like it hadn’t been changed in over 15 years it was all sticky and the smell in the restaurant was horrible. The dishes were awful there was a chip on my glass which I asked the waitress to change and they don’t offer straws for drinks. The plates and cutlery weren’t clean either you could see marks on it. Moving onto the food, it wasn’t great unfortunately I ordered chicken fried rice and the chicken was all pink it was uncooked when I asked the waitress to check with the chef they come back saying that the chicken was ripped from the bone that’s why the blood was showing on the chicken but I wasn’t convinced it looked awful very off putting. I also order spring rolls, worst springs rolls I’ve ever had. The atmosphere at the restaurant was very awkward there was me and my partner and 2 other couples, you could hear the staff screaming at each other in the kitchen while we were trying to enjoy the evening. It wasn’t a great experience unfortunately however, the staff was nice two young ladies who served us only thing I was disappointed about was when I asked to take some money off our bill due to the experience they refused, I didn’t fight it but I am here to share my experience. Apologies to the company that it’s not the review they wish to see but I hope this...

I love chinese food and, ever since moving to Exeter 18 years ago, struggled to find anywhere that served really excellent, authentic cuisine. A lot of the bigger restaurants are good value, but the food is so obviously microwaved and/or mass produced that it just isn't that interesting.

Dee Yi's is a small, family-run chinese restaurant in a backstreet - just opposite the Pyramids Swimming Pool - in Heavitree Road and, in the almost 10 years that I and all my friends have been going there, I have never been served a bad meal. The staff are friendly and polite, and although the restaurant interior is quite formal, it's always lit in a pleasantly intimate way.

The menu is extensive and excellent value; the stand-out starter dishes for us being their beautifully presented plate of 'assorted hors d’oeuvres', the fantastic wontons, hot and sour soup and the Siu Mai. Main Course favourites are the Kung Po Chicken, Duck in Plum Sauce and the fabulous Deep Fried Tofu with Spiced Salt & Chilli.

Parking is a breeze with the enormous Triangle Car Park next door and Dee Yi will always have your order ready in 10-20mins - either call and have it delivered in Exeter, or sit in the bar area and wait for pick-up.

Seriously the best chinese restaurant in Exeter, don't be put off by...