Photo: Tripadvisor

Chinese Kitchen

Name: Chinese Kitchen
Address: 3 Waterport Road Ocean Village, Catalan Bay, Gibraltar GX11 1AA, Catalan Bay, GI
Telephone: +350 200 42771
Price range: ££–£££

Asian · ChineseCatalan Bay££–£££

An Asian and Chinese restaurant in Catalan Bay that rates below most of Gibraltar, on 26 Tripadvisor reviews.

Gibraltar Index

3.0 / 5

Tripadvisor2.226

Google3.165

A weighted blend of both, not an average. How this works

Ratings read 6 September 2026.

Our review

Chinese Kitchen is a Chinese takeaway with a few tables on Waterport Road by Ocean Village, formerly trading as Kowloon; the name had changed by late 2024. It scores 2.2 on Tripadvisor from 26 reviews and 3.1 on Google from 65, and the Index, weighing both, puts it at 3.0, one of the lowest here. The reviews were re-read on 6 September 2026; the newest is a bare five-star from late August.

The record is long, specific and mostly poor. Across both platforms reviewers describe watery or gloopy sauces, rice cooked in a microwave, prawns and chicken served boiled, dishes drowned in a brown gravy, a bone in a spring roll, gristly pork balls in a £24 set meal, a £13 plate of two prawns and one spring roll in April 2026, and orders of £30 to £90 called a waste. Several long-standing customers say it went downhill after changing hands, and one reviewer believes the new name was meant to escape the old reviews.

The room and the service fare no better in the accounts that mention them. Reviewers describe sticky floors, a dirty beer glass taken away and not replaced, a toddler playing in the dining room, a 35-minute wait at the table while phone orders were served first, and a New Year's Eve order booked three days ahead that was still not ready two hours after the agreed time.

There is a genuine counter-current, and it has grown a little since our last read. Two visitors in March 2026 found a friendly welcome, big portions and a stream of delivery drivers, a September 2025 reviewer had fantastic, hot food, and August 2026 brings another five-star. A Google review praising its teas reads as if it is about somewhere else and is discounted. But those positives sit alongside one-star reviews in October 2025, February 2026 and April 2026, so it is inconsistent rather than reformed.

Come only with low expectations and a small order to test it, since a few recent visitors did eat well; anyone wanting reliable Chinese food should look elsewhere on the weight of the record. Nobody from Gibraltar Index has eaten here; this write-up is drawn from the reviews.

Written from the Tripadvisor reviews and both platforms' scores on 6 September 2026, not from a meal we ate — nobody from Gibraltar Index has eaten here. We show the Google rating but have not yet read Google's reviews for the write-up. The recurring themes it draws on are below.

What reviewers consistently say

Our summary of recurring themes across the 30 most recent reviews, written in our own words and read on 6 September 2026. Recent reviews from both platforms are quoted, with attribution, further down.

A Chinese takeaway with tables by Ocean Village, formerly Kowloon.
2.2 on Tripadvisor from 26, 3.1 on Google from 65; Index 3.0.
A long record of watery, tasteless or microwaved food at high prices.
Sticky floors, a dirty glass and slow table service also feature.
A handful of 2025 and 2026 reviews are warmly positive; the picture is inconsistent, not reformed.

What it gets right

Some recent visitors report friendly service, big portions and good food
Busy with delivery drivers by one account

What it gets wrong

Overwhelmingly poor food reports on both platforms
Small portions at high prices
Cleanliness and service complaints

How it compares

It holds 2.2 out of 5 on Tripadvisor from 26 reviews — well below the Gibraltar median of 4.1 across 106 restaurants with enough reviews to rank, and on only a handful of reviews, so treat it as indicative.

It is one of Gibraltar's more expensive tables.

How the Gibraltar Index Score is built

It is not an average of the two. Each source is weighted by how many reviews it carries, then pulled toward the Gibraltar average so a high score from a handful of reviews cannot outrank a strong score from thousands. Chinese Kitchen scores 2.2 from 26 on Tripadvisor and 3.1 from 65 on Google, which the model blends to 3.0.

We read the 30 most recent Tripadvisor reviews and summarised what recurs, in our own words; the reviews we drew on are quoted below, attributed to their authors. The Tripadvisor and Google scores are each shown 1:1 as those platforms publish them; the Index Score is ours and the formula is above. Nobody from Gibraltar Index has eaten here, so nothing is a first-hand verdict.

Recent reviews

Shown from each platform, attributed to the reviewer. We don't edit them — read the full set at source.

Tripadvisor★★☆☆☆2.2· 26

All on Tripadvisor →

2026-03-20
Tasty food, attentive staff
Friendly welcome as soon as we walked through the door, food was delicious and the portions big, the staff were attentive but not intrusive, there was a continuous throng of delivery drivers every couple of minutes so I think it must be popular with the locals. Also very well priced, it would be double back in the UK! Very surprised at thmore →
bazza1979 · via Tripadvisor
2026-03-20
Definite Try!
So I usually eat first and check reviews later. Have no idea what any of these terrible reviews were about as the food was great! Service was really quick for a Friday night, even stayed for dessert.more →
alexanderrU7378HU · via Tripadvisor
2025-09-06
Poor quality food
Absolutely awful just moved out here and thought we would give it a try even though my mum said don’t do it, I wish idve listened got the set meal D £24 pound odd nothing had flavour pork balls where fried to a crisp and were full of gristle portions were small left feeling so disappointed will never eat here again!!!!!more →
emmakO263RO · via Tripadvisor
2025-02-07
People were ok but food was tasteless first and last time for me
I have visited the place with my work colleagues Food was bad, I ve had a Beef black bean sauce and egg friend rice Beef was chewy no taste and had a weird texture sauce was also bad Rice clearly done in microwave and it was £4,50 a plain small egg friend rice Place wasn’t nice eithermore →
695leventd · via Tripadvisor
2024-11-13
Avoid. Food disgusting and atmosphere with staff swearing in the background
This now goes by the name of CHINESE KITCHEN - I assume the name change is to try and escape the bad reviews - and the food is really bad. Avoid. There is nothing positive to write with the server swearing to the overcooked and tasteless food, don’t waste your moneymore →
Z7321KIyvonnem · via Tripadvisor

Google★★★☆☆3.1· 65

All on Google →

2026-08-24
Food is delicious 😋 😍more →
Agung yudha · via Google
2026-04-15
Never go to an empty restaurant. The food was awful. 2 prawns and the size was abysmal and one spring roll for £13 great British pounds. I will stick to my wraps on holidaymore →
Legal B · via Google
2026-03-20
Friendly welcome as soon as we walked through the door, food was delicious and the portions big, the staff were attentive but not intrusive, there was a continuous throng of delivery drivers every couple of minutes so I think it must be popular with the locals. Also very well priced, it would be double back in the UK!more →
Shaun Rennie-Plume · via Google
2026-02-08
Este sitio es una vergüenza. Caro y malo. Poca cantidad de comida. No vale un duromore →
El Sigarrito · via Google
2025-11-02
Absolutely incredible teas, if 6 stars was possible it would be 6.more →
Adrian Steffensen McShane · via Google

Reviews are the opinions of their authors, reproduced from Tripadvisor and Google with attribution and a link to the original. Chinese Kitchen did not provide them and Gibraltar Index did not solicit or edit them.