Yummy House Gainesville — Restaurant in Gainesville

Description: Real talk - I felt some type of way when I heard Yummy House was coming to Gainesville. Apparently their original restaurant is in Tampa (correct me if I'm wrong) and is rumored to be pretty good. Rumor this, rumor that, the Gainesville location is without a doubt pretty great! Near Oaks Mall off Newberry, Yummy House is easily my favorite authentic Chinese restaurant in town. To prove it to ya, I'll talk about my BACK TO BACK visits prior to today.

Food & Service: Quality Chinese food at a reasonable price. I've been to Yummy House close to ten times and I've never had a bad experience. For review sake, I will discuss as previously mentioned my last two visits. During my "first visit", I ordered the salt & pepper calamari, mapo tofu (not actually on the menu, friend requested it...) and beef & bitter melon. The calamari is easily a popular Chinese dish. It was definitely tasty but quite different from what I've had before in terms of texture, coating. The mapo tofu was also solid! It came with very thin strips of chicken and went well with the rice. I've had it better seasoned though. Now for the beef and bitter melon, the beef was well flavored but the melon was just too bitter for me (just an FYI if you decide to order it). Nothing against how it was cooked, just the melon itself.

During my "second" visit, I ordered the braised grouper and eggplant clay pot along with salt & pepper tofu. For $10.95 the clay pot is a steal, lots of eggplant and a good amount of grouper. The sauce pairs well with rice and the heat was just the right amount for me. The salt and pepper tofu was crispy, soft in the inside and overall delicious. My only criticism is that there wasn't enough and it's not complicated to make on your own. Service both times was great. Attentive friendly waiter, water was constantly being filled up, and they took my order quickly. It seems from prior reviews that their service has come a long way.

Final Thoughts: Let's be honest, it's a little far for most people and parking can be quite annoying sometimes but if you're looking for your next go to authentic Chinese restaurant, go ahead and bookmark this place now. They seem to have consistent business and the inside of the restaurant is pleasant. A bit crowded at times but it's no biggie when food is staring me in the face. They also serve dim sum around noon time on Saturday I believe. Probably the best dim sum I've had in Gainesville. The only reason this place doesn't get 5 stars is because of my experiences in California and most of the northeast part of the US, it wouldn't be fair. Regardless, I hope you're craving authentic Chinese food enough to put down that Panda Express...

My recent visit to this place left me utterly disappointed and frustrated. Not only did I have to endure a terrible attitude from the staff, but I was also overcharged for subpar food. I can confidently say that this was one of the worst dining experiences I've ever had.

From the moment I stepped into the restaurant, the staff's attitude was unwelcoming and rude. It was as if they were doing me a favor by allowing me to dine there. The waitstaff displayed an astonishing lack of professionalism, showing no interest in providing quality service or attending to the needs of the customers. Simple requests were met with sighs and eye rolls, making me feel like a burden rather than a valued patron.

To make matters worse, the prices on the menu did not reflect the quality or portion sizes of the food. I ordered what appeared to be a decently priced dish, only to be served a meager portion that left me feeling unsatisfied. The presentation of the dish was lackluster, and the taste was far from impressive. The flavors were bland, and it seemed as if no effort was put into the preparation or seasoning.

When the bill arrived, I was shocked to see the exorbitant prices charged for such lackluster fare. It was clear that the restaurant was taking advantage of its customers by inflating prices without justification. The overall value for money was absolutely abysmal, and I felt cheated and deceived by their pricing practices.

Attempting to address my concerns with the staff only worsened the situation. They displayed a complete disregard for customer satisfaction, brushing off my complaints as if they were inconsequential. There was no attempt to rectify the issues or offer any form of compensation for the poor experience. It was evident that customer service was not a priority for this establishment.

my experience was marred by a terrible attitude from the staff and overcharged prices for mediocre food. The lack of professionalism, coupled with the blatant disregard for customer satisfaction, made it abundantly clear that this restaurant does not value its patrons. Save yourself the disappointment and avoid this place if you're looking for a pleasant dining experience with quality food and...

In response to Yummy House: My review is completely truthful and unbiased. Regarding the quality of the food, you should be ashamed of yourselves for serving garbage and calling it authentic Chinese food. The rice is deplorable and no decent restaurant owner would serve that filth to their own family, let alone the public. Your cooking oils beyond disgusting, have you even bothered to taste your own food? The dishes on the menu ARE NOT accurately prepared and do not represent their individual descriptions.

Bugs. Yes there are bugs and flying insects in your restaurant. Let me tell you. Having ANY type of insect present is unacceptable. I don’t really care how you spray or compensate. It’s obvious you have an uncontrolled insect problem; likely stemming from the disgusting floors and walls or the holes and tears in the sticky booths. If you think that’s clean than I can only imagine how disgusting your kitchen is.

As for the automatic gratuity. If you’re unfamiliar with Florida law, then you’re about to learn the hard way that you cannot take advantage and cheat your customers in America. I’ve posted a picture to show everyone your lies. I urge anyone reading this to check your receipts and call your bank to dispute the charges against this place. Edited 11/13/2023

Avoid eating here if possible. Aside from a pending class action lawsuit, the food here is absolutely disgusting. I’m not making this up for the sake of a dramatic review. My family and I ate here and our entire party got sick later that evening. Quality of the meat used in their “traditional” dishes is horrible. The oil they use for cooking is likely recycled “gutter oil”, which is basically filtered frying oil that’s not suitable for consumption. Overall just terrible food. The restaurant itself is fairly disgusting. Sticky floors. Unclean booths. Dead bugs under the tables. The bathrooms had no soap and appear to have not been cleaned for days.

Lastly. This restaurant up charges the final bill 18% regardless of the party size. We were a party of 3 for reference. If you’ve eaten here, I highly suggest contacting the State of Florida Attorney General to file...