Royal China Restaurant, Dallas TX

Writing this review feels like saying negative things about a lifelong friend.

We have been loyal Royal China patrons for years and years. I can’t begin to say how many times we have eaten there, and literally there are hundreds of people we’ve referred to go and also try it out.

Recently (seems like over the past year or so) the food has become not very good. We went a few days ago (on a Wednesday night) and the service was beyond awful, food was cold, and the dishes were basically tasteless. The egg rolls were indeed crisp and hot - but the oil they used tasted really burned. The starter soups came out basically lukewarm, at best. This is not the royal china we have known and loved and referred others to for all these many, many years.

I believe they are cooking lots in advance, freezing or storing it, and trying then to microwave it. (Maybe they do this mid week?) Which - wouldn't be horrible - if they at least did it right - and then the food came out hot as it should be.

It's sad that the restaurant imho has gone down hill - and fast.

We even told the owner the other night that our food was cold; he fixed it, but didn't even offer a comp meal or basic apologies or anything - and he personally knows we have been customers for more than 15 years. He seems so wrapped up in the ‘busy ness’ of the restaurant (chaotically finding everyone a table), that nothing else seems to be a priority.

Very sad indeed to see a restaurant go from truly being one of the very best in Dallas to a 'hit and miss' place, where the owner doesn't even have common sense to listen to customers and or take care of his loyal customers when they politely tell him of any issues.

If you go, who knows what to expect. Good luck. Sometimes it's good, other times it's just ok, and unfortunately - sometimes it's just plain bad. And, the service is very much the same. Hit or miss. Our server the other night messed up the order, was inattentive, seemed like she was constantly extremely confused (and not just with our table), and kept bringing things to the crowded tables without clearing obviously empty dishes.

Unfortunately, the owner will learn the hard way when many of us stop returning and share why with others through reviews. We have given this feedback to the owner face to face a few times before and I guess he thinks it's ok not to address the issues that we've seen so often over the past year or so.

The other thing I felt I had to mention is that I read through a ton of reviews here and on other sites to validate and see if our experience was an exception or if others also experienced the same (and sadly, many people have). When doing so, the really, really scary thing is that I read that many people reported that they found insects **in** their food. I want to be crystal clear here - We didn’t ever experience this. But - Yikes! Certainly not good - no matter what.

Given that, plus our experiences there recently, and the owner’s lack of concern for addressing repeatedly-stated issues, I’m sorry to have to say that we're never ever going back.

One been coming here for decades. The original owners son runs it now. They make their one pasta - noodle bar is the photo - faces the dining area. It’s fun to watch and hear the “thwap thwap “ when they beat the pasta into noodles.

As a traveler to Asia, this is pretty darn good. And the decor reminds me of more modern Shanghai restaurants I visited in the 2000s.

Food is always very good. A very popular Preston Hollow dining established for decades.

First time visitors. Food and presentation was excellent. Got an order of fried rice and an order of lemon chicken. Lunch special came with soup and veg roll, both were good. Service was excellent and attentive. Slightly pricy but for the quality and service, worth it.

Quite possibly the least friendly staff in Dallas. SO RUDE! The food is very average. Will not be returning.

We have been coming here for years and it never disappoints. The dried stirred beef caught my eye on the menu this time and it is my new favorite. Crispy, tangy and tender all at once. Service was top notch again!

Fast paced business and I found out that the order wasn’t cooked all the way so I asked the server and she said they use their own color for Americans to make the beef looks nice. I don’t know what kind of color they use but it didn’t sound healthy but artificial.

After the food I got stomachs. I heard good thing about this business but it was a terrible experience with low quality of food.

WARNING! DON'T EAT HERE! My daughter and I went for lunch today. My daughter ordered chicken curry noodle soup and there was a roach in it. She didn't find it until she was half way done. THAT'S NOT OKAY! The server whisked the bowl away before we could get a picture. So disgusting. Im reporting this to the Health Inspector.

Atmosphere was nice, the waiter gave us good recommendations, and the food was delicious. The soup dumplings are a must try!

Everything was great. Ordered spicy wontons which is served in the best sauce on the planet, dry stirred beef 10/10, and stir fried la main with chicken which was great!

Fantastic food, BUT last time I ate there a roach ran across the wall right above my table. It was at lunch and the restaurant was busy. We in the extra dining room, just inside the doorway. I love your food and ate there every Wednesday. I can't go back until this roach issue is addressed. If you see a roach on a wall during a busy lunch time, there's got to be a whole lot more you don't see. Exterminate, exterminate, exterminate and get it fixed!

One of the best places with Awesome Chinese cuisine. Neat and people are so friendly and food had very yummy taste.

This place does a fantastic job spinning a modernized take on classic and Americanized Chinese dishes. They were quite busy on a Saturday night; we had a 30-45 minute wait without reservations that went by quickly. All staff were incredibly welcoming and friendly. We tried their Dan Dan noodles, soup dumplings, bao buns, and crispy duck. All were phenomenal.

Absolutely love this place! Spicy wontons are my favorite could drink the sauce. Soup dumplings, crispy beef, and sichuan noodles also amazing but havent ever had anything that didnt love!

This is a fast casual Chinese restaurant. And it is amazing! Service is great, food is delicious… my kids request to eat here regularly. We love all of the dumplings!

Our food was ok but could have been better if we had not had a roach crawl on the wall next to our booth. This roach then made it's way to our table. I also spotted another one on the wall after the first one crawled on our table. I signaled to the manager as he was walking by our table. He got a napkin and took the bug off and said "that's not good. " He did not apologize or make any attempt to make up for this. I really wasn't looking for him to comp our food but some gesture of acknowledgment would have been good. I imagine restaurants deal with bugs pretty frequently but it seems to me that if they are crawling on your table they are not keeping up with cleanliness. Pretty disappointed and a little grossed out.

We went for dinner and the place was warm as if maybe the air-condition wasn't working? The guy that greeted us was not very cold and acted as if he was doing us a favor by seating us? I'm sure they treat their regular customers better, I will never be one.

Today I took my husband out for lunch after an appointment. I had previously checked the reviews, and along with the location, decided on Royal China. The food was very good, the restaurant was clean, the atmosphere was lively. First let me say our server, a gentleman from Sri Lanka, whose name I unfortunately did not get, was outstanding! Excellent service! As for the owners/managers, not so much. I am an educated, well dressed woman of color, originally from So. Cal. As such, I am used to eating in upscale establishments in both Los Angeles and Orange County, where I resided. It was clear to both myself and my husband that our presence was not wanted. The dismissive and rude attitude upon entry was unbelievable, especially when others were fawned over. We enjoyed our meal, tipped our server well, and went on our way. Given what we are used to, it was laughable that they felt we were “not their choice of clientele, ” for their strip mall location!

If you like Chinese food, this is the place to visit in Dallas. The food is “top shelf”.

Their egg rolls are the best in the city. I recommend you try Royal, you won’t be disappointed.

The food and service were excellent. It's noisy in the restaurant so it makes it hard to hear but we made it work.