BEIJING HOUSE — Restaurant in Temple Terrace

Beijing House is a hidden gem (tucked away at a busy strip of shops next to a busy street) serving near authentic Chinese (more specifically Mandarin) cuisine. They offer an amazing variety of dishes and drinks with a flare for diverse taste, age groups, and culinary discriminating patrons ;-) No matter your mood or degree of sophisticated taste buds, if you are carving Chinese food, and you eat at Beijing you will leave with a big smile on your face, and much happiness in your stomach.

I visited during early dinner hours on a weeknight. There were only two other parties eating when I arrived. The wait staff were very quick to seat me and very attentive to my questions about their menu, and helping me select a variety of dishes to get a good feel for some of their more popular dishes. One warning, their portions are more family style far too much for one / two people. It might be best to visit here with more than 3 people or be ready to bring home a lot of left-overs.

I started with a Peach Iced Tea w. Crema (salty foam) a great mixture of light refreshing sweetness with a contrast of the foam made this drink a fast consumption. Before I knew it, it was over not because of the quantity rather because I couldn't stop drinking it.

I next tried the Tao's Beef Burrito - sliced beef, scallion, sweet bean sauce baked into a perfectly script puff pastry of sort. This crispy appetizer reminded me of a street food pastry. Simply and delicious.

For my meal I tried the Sautéed Green Bean with Minced Pork customized to medium spice. The beans were moist on the inside with that glistening stir-fry look. The minced meat adds a that salty bite along with the heat from dry red chili makes eating your vegetables a total pleasure.

Next was Sesame Chicken which I found to be lightly breaded with the right amount of crunch, sweetness, and spicy kick, served alongside steamed broccoli and sprinkle of sesame seeds. Tasty classic yet done nicely.

My main dish was Boiled Fish with Bean Sprouts in Hot Chili Oil this brothy dish of boiled white fish with tart mushrooms, red pepper, bok choy, bean sprouts, cilantro, and chili oil may have simple ingredients but each bite is a sophisticated flavor of a seafood concoction gives a sense of warmth and delicious goodness when accompanied with white rice.

My finishing drink, Peach Pudding with Milk served in an adult size drink pouch was fun to drink, tasty, and provided a cooling effect to my taste bud after tasting all the above spicy dishes.

Beijing house's Interior was clean, tastefully decorated offering comfortable seating. I can imagine during rush hour this place may seem a bit stuffed with patrons. There is a wide mural by the entrance that talks about some history of the cuisine. You should definitely check it out.

I found the service to be very attentive and the serving staff took their time to help me with the menu, they were also helpful with some suggestions so I could taste a wide variety to dishes. They even helped to pack up the huge amount of left over that I brought home. I probably would have made a big mess of it if I tried. :-)

For lovers of Chinese Mandarin cuisine, Beijing house in Tampa a must try. I will certainly visit again to taste the wide array of dishes...

Updated! As of April 20, 2025 Again an update to a fabulous authentic Chinese restaurant in Tampa Bay. Alice Chen, the owner and the staff of Katherine, Mindy, Wei, and the friends and staff members could not be more pleasant and efficient always! The food is the real thing and with a great selection of Chengdu style cooking, there are selections of other foods that are hot pot and dishes that round out the palet of differing regions of China. Alice- Keep up the great work, we love it always!

We wanted to just state that Beijing House is our favorite Chinese restaurant in all of Tampa Bay. We are very well travelled throughout the world and especially in China. Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong in particular and the food at Beijing House is authenticly fantastic. The chef is clearly talented and brings the gift of his trade from Sichuan Province. We really like the new creative dishes that are added from time to time i.e. New Zealand lamb, lotus root with cumin, and the chopped chili dishes. Keep it up Jason Zhang- owner, we really love it! By the way, the women that work there at the counter now with COVID take out only are so pleasant and always accommodating!

Our favorite person there is Ye Zi Liu, who is always there to help make our orders pleasant and tasty! She is always friendly and helpful and we are so happy that she is still there to accommodate the guests.

We pride ourselves on finding the most authentic food from wherever the region it represents. One must remember that China has many different regions and provinces that are as different as night and day. Tao Asian Fusion is a Sichuan/ Beijing restaurant as one meets the owner, managers, wait staff, and the chefs there. (By the way- a must do to know what kind of food to expect). When you travel to different provinces in China, you can taste the real flavors of Sichuan spice in the lotus root, boiled fish, frogs legs, lamb hot pot, spicy beef tendons, jelleyfish, etc. And yes, there are also milder vegetable dishes with some Cantonese influence, but by and large, this is a Sichuan/ Beijing influenced cuisine.

Look around the restaurant when you are there and you will see mostly Chinese families, USF students from China, and non-Chinese who crave real authentic Chinese food and know the difference.

The decor is tasteful and clean and mush improved from the former ABC Seafood/ Chopstix restaurant that was there before. They serve wine and beer there as well.

In reading other reviews, I see service comments that are not exactly accurate. The service is very good and yes, the language barriers can be challenging for some, but they all speak English well enough. Remember-if you were in China, you would get through the language! This atmosphere is authentic and what you want. A local American serving you would definitely not go over here.

I give this place 5 stars for its authenticity, flavor, service, variety, friendliness, cleanliness, and even pricing.

For anyone looking for the real deal as so many people always ask me where to eat in Tampa for the best Chinese food, start here for Sichuan cuisine You may...

I moved in nearby about 4 years ago. It took me several months before I could afford take out food. (50 year old disabled veteran and single father)

For decades I've used lo main as my personal bar to rate places I've gone to.

This place blows MY mind. Walk in their door. It's nothing fancy, it IS very clean. Look around if you go there. You'll see fish tanks filled with LIVE well kept.. shrimp... eel... lobster and more. They keep tanks of the sea food the use LIVE and take care of it and the tanks!

If you've never done it find someone that's made their own pasta and then eat it and compare it to dried off the shelf.

These people make it all fresh on the spot when you order it and they go out of their way to do the best they can. After decades of comparing? No one else compares.

The staff? The easiest way to describe them? They knew my voice when I called in (admittedly the same order) and the call took less than 30 seconds for me including giving my card # if I wasn't going cash!

Don't take my review or word for it. Pick your "Bar setting dish" and if they make it go try it. HUGE portions at a comparable price and by far the best I've ever found.

If they find this review they'll know who I am. Sadly for me I had to move well outside their delivery range. On a fixed income I ordered from them when I could (and a few times when I shouldn't have) because my daughter and I craved it so much!

(for perspective? We've eaten at several Chinese restaurants in the last few weeks other than this.. and nothing came close)

If you want blunt cheaply made food look else where.

For the guy that complained about delivery? They TELL you when they'll deliver. If the time passes and you don't call who's to blame? MY order got missed a couple of times in almost 4 years and they know me by voice! They've grown popular yet still keep it personal in quality and customer service. If you want cookie cutter mediocre food on demand then this isn't the place. I can LIVE with a VERY few "oops" orders... if you write someplace off for that...