Lotus Chinese Floating Restaurant

21-04-2008
Jonnie Manning

I have been to the Lotus many times and I have to disagree with the people who claim its a poor resturant. Many places have extreamly busy times and this is a sign of quality! I have took family and friends and they ask how did I find it and I quote its a hidden gem which indeed it is (recommended by friends). As for being pushed upstairs when its busy I'd rather be inside in the warm than outside or in a pokey overpriced bar. I read comments on language and the staff not speaking very good english! Welcome to England why do you think they have numbers on the menu. And as for bad language what more can you expect from a large group of people drinking and enjoying themselves. We all let our barriers down when in large groups and the odd swear word does pop out. If it was that upsetting im sure your a big enough person to ask the table to calm down. You brave enough to cast your views on here after the damage is done!Great resturant & fairly priced considering the location gets my vote!Go enjoy

02-04-2008
Jojo

Absolutely disagree. I have been to the Lotus many times in the past 10 years on the island, i have bar one occasion always been seated downstairs. There are two menus, one is authentic chinese (abalone, chickens feet, birds nest etc) and the other is the Anglocised chinese we all know and love (crispy duck and pancakes!) - The staff (there are many) may not be smiley, but are very competent and reliable, James in particular is my favorite. I find if you are kind to them, you get a much better service. Having said that - i would never eat there on a Friday or Saturday evening as some of the less salubriuos locals tend to have their occasion bashes there and the language can be rather brash. Dim sum on a Sat or Sunday however is fabulous. And the Gargantuan Prawns - (even at �4 each) are out of this world!

21-08-2007
Isle of Dogs Exec

Is it me or do the non-Chinese guests get pushed upstairs and the 'authentic' Chinese guests sit downstairs?And do I get the feeling the two groups are given different menus and levels of service?A big group of us went recently - waited a long time for drinks and food. When the food did finally arrive, it was luke-warm and not very tasty.Overall; not worth the money. Service was poor - the waiters seemed more interested in the cars outside the front than the hungry, thirsty customers on the inside...The area needs some competition - then the Lotus might pull their socks up! Pop down the road to the Tapas bar - much, much better!

01-08-2007
Laila

I actually think that the food is great, they do this one meal (i cant remember the name) but its battered prawns with some sort of sauce. It is delicious and it is not that dare either.The appearance of the restaurant is not that nice and may out you off, neither is the cuttlery which can also put you off. I would'nt recommend going their to treat someone to a meal, or for a nice dinner out. I used to always go on my lunch break so it was just a quick meal for me. Alothough I did always order the meal over the phone and then go o eat as i knew that by the time I got there it would be ready!!!!Oh yeah the staff dont speak very good English but this does not mean that they are rude, the are just always busy and I guess cant stop to play charades!!!

19-08-2006
londoner

Had a decent first visit but appalling second (and last). The food is ok but service is TERRIBLE (Only order as take-away if possible). After a tiring day in London I took my partners visiting family to the nearby Lotus restaurant (we live in docklands) for a quick meal before an early night (Fairly quiet Tuesday evening in August). We promptly ordered our meal and drinks and though the drinks arrived, we were still waiting for our meal 30 mins later. I pointed this out to a waiter whose reply was �Ok, Ok�. 45 minutes: I asked the waitress whose brilliant reply was "Because you didn�t order any starters, it takes longer (?!?) But it will be ready in 5 minutes!!!" One Hour: I demand the manager and this flustered bespectacled girl (late 20s) comes up to tell me my food will be ready in 5 minutes and proceeds to play with a young child (obviously not grasping my annoyance) - No explanation given! 1 Hr 10 minutes: I walk up to the kitchen and ask what�s happening and it turns out the kitchen hadn�t started our order (I wanted to leave but the family didn�t want to cause a fuss). Another quarter of an hour and the food arrived! I tried again to explain my utter disgust but the duty manager seemed to think she could giggle the matter under the carpet. They offered us 2 beers and 1 ice cream as compensation (NOT EACH) � We turned down her offer of free mousse as we didn�t have another hour to waste. NOTHING off the bill and no offer of discount off future meals. The food is actually ok � but not worth a tenth of the hassle!!!