Portsmouth takes its Chinese food seriously. Beyond the familiar takeaway on every corner, the city has a genuine spread of sit-down restaurants, from Hong Kong cafes serving char siu over rice to a dedicated dim sum house and a Sichuan kitchen with an open stove. Whether you want a comforting chow mein or something you would struggle to find outside London, it is here.
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That range is exactly why a ranking helps. Our team weighed the city’s Chinese restaurants on the same criteria, leaning hardest on what diners say, pulling together aggregate ratings and recurring comments from Google and Tripadvisor, and checking where each kitchen sits on price.
Reviews and the food itself carry the most weight, balanced against authenticity, consistency, value for money and the setting. The result is an editorial snapshot rather than the last word, and it is a living list we will revisit as kitchens change.
Here are the best Chinese restaurants in Portsmouth, starting with the best and working down.
1. Yookees, Commercial Road
At 222 Commercial Road, Yookees takes the top spot as the city’s standout for authentic, regional Chinese cooking. It holds a 4.7 across more than 120 Google reviews, and the comments read like love letters, with diners praising soulful, delicious food that is generous, quick to arrive and remarkably cheap for the quality.
This is not a watered-down takeaway menu. Reviewers single out hard-to-find dishes such as Sichuan fish soup with pickled mustard greens, and stir-fried chicken with spicy peppers in pickle sauce, cooked in an open kitchen you can watch from your table. Portions are huge, the room is clean and bright, and there is a private room for birthdays. A rare off-note mentions noodles that missed, but the overwhelming picture is of a kitchen doing something special.
On price it is a genuine bargain, with most mains around £10 to £13, small sides from about £2 and a meal deal that throws in unlimited rice. Note it is closed on Thursdays. Prices are quoted from the current menu, so check when you order.
Why it is worth it
- a 4.7 with glowing, repeat-visit reviews;
- authentic regional dishes you will not find elsewhere in the city;
- huge portions at bargain prices;
- a clean, bright room with an open kitchen.
What holds it back
- a smaller review count than the big names;
- closed on Thursdays.
For the real thing done brilliantly and cheaply, nothing in Portsmouth tops it.
2. The Taste of China, Cosham
Up in Cosham at 115 High Street, The Taste of China is the most reviewed restaurant on this list by some distance, carrying a 4.4 across more than 600 reviews. A score that steady over that many visits is a powerful signal, and more than one diner calls it the best Chinese food they have ever eaten.
The draw is proper Hong Kong cooking with generous portions and a well-run dining room that comfortably seats big groups. Reviewers rave about the three-course set lunch, the crispy duck with yam, the beef curry and the sweet and sour pork Hong Kong style, and the kitchen handles gluten-free requests with care. It serves lunch and dinner with a midday break, so check the split hours before you head up.
Value is a recurring theme, with a three-course set lunch around £14 to £18 a head and mains from about £9, and the staff bag up leftovers for you to take home. It is closed on Wednesdays.
Why it is worth it
- a rock-solid 4.4 across more than 600 reviews;
- authentic Hong Kong dishes and a strong set lunch;
- generous portions and genuine value for money;
- space and service that suit big group meals.
What holds it back
- it is out in Cosham, away from the city centre;
- split lunch and dinner hours, and closed Wednesdays.
Worth the trip north, and a brilliant choice for a family feast.
3. Dim Sum Hut, Commercial Road
At 229 Commercial Road, Dim Sum Hut does something no one else in the city does as well, a full menu of freshly made Cantonese dim sum. It holds a 4.5 across more than 230 reviews, and for anyone who has had to drive to London for proper dumplings, it is a small local treasure.
The range is the point, from char siu buns and cheung fun to beef tripe, roast duck and ho fun, with the dough on the buns singled out again and again. Regulars describe a busy, lively room, especially at weekend lunch, efficient service topping up the jasmine tea, and a welcome for well-behaved dogs. A full a la carte menu runs alongside the dim sum for anyone who wants a traditional dinner instead.
One reviewer puts the value plainly, calling it about half the price of a dim sum restaurant in London’s Chinatown, with plates around £4 to £6 each and a proper spread roughly £15 to £20 a head. It is closed on Thursdays.
Why it is worth it
- a 4.5 and the city’s only dedicated dim sum menu;
- a wide, authentic range praised for the buns and duck;
- lively weekend lunches and attentive service;
- far cheaper than equivalent dim sum in London.
What holds it back
- it gets loud and busy at peak times;
- closed on Thursdays.
For dim sum without the trip to the capital, this is the one to book.
4. Compass Rose, Anchorage Park
Tucked beside Morrisons on Anchorage Road, Compass Rose Chinese Restaurant and Bar is the surprise package of the list, a 4.4 across more than 300 reviews in a spot you would never stumble on by accident. Inside it is prettier than the location suggests, decorated with cherry blossom and split between a smart restaurant and a relaxed bar.
Diners describe flavourful, hot, generous cooking and pick out the prawn toasts, the scallops, the stir-fried cabbage and the three-cup chicken, with a few noting the style leans a little towards a western take on Chinese food rather than strict authenticity. The bar side makes it a comfortable spot for a longer evening, and the staff win steady praise for a warm welcome, though one or two reviews flag slow service at busy times.
Prices are fair for a full sit-down restaurant, with most mains around £10 to £15 and a proper bar for a drink before or after. It is closed on Mondays.
Why it is worth it
- a 4.4 across more than 300 reviews;
- a smarter, prettier room than the location hints at;
- standout prawn toasts, scallops and three-cup chicken;
- a proper bar for a relaxed evening.
What holds it back
- the cooking leans a touch western in places;
- service can slow when it is busy.
A genuine hidden gem, and an easy choice if you want dinner and drinks in one place.
5. Nice Tin Tin, The Hard
Down on The Hard, a short walk from Gunwharf Quays and the Historic Dockyard, Nice Tin Tin is the most convenient sit-down Chinese for visitors, with a 4.3 across more than 500 reviews. The location alone earns it a place, but the food and the choice keep people coming back.
You can go a la carte, pick the set menu or work through the eat-all-you-can buffet, which makes it flexible for a mixed group. Reviewers praise the roasted meat and rice, the duck and the slow-cooked beef curry, and note quick service and a clean, welcoming room. Longtime regulars say it dipped under a change of management a while back and has been recovering since, so it is on the up rather than at its former peak.
Prices run a little above the cheapest takeaways, with a la carte mains around £11 to £15 and the buffet a set price per head. Parking is limited, but the nearby car parks are a short walk.
Why it is worth it
- a 4.3 across more than 500 reviews;
- an unbeatable location by Gunwharf and the dockyard;
- a la carte, set menu and eat-all-you-can buffet;
- quick service in a clean, welcoming room.
What holds it back
- regulars say it slipped under previous management and is still recovering;
- no on-site parking and prices a touch above the cheapest spots.
The handiest choice for a Chinese meal around the waterfront, with something for everyone.
6. Hong Kong Tea Bar, Lake Road
On Lake Road near the city centre, Hong Kong Tea Bar rounds out the list, a 4.3 across more than 400 reviews and a genuine cult following among students and locals. It is an old-school, cosy cafe rather than a smart restaurant, and that is exactly the appeal.
The food is the authentic, everyday Hong Kong cooking you rarely see done this well, with the char siu and siu yok rice, the curry beef brisket, the three-meat fried rice and the salt and pepper chips drawing devoted praise, all in famously generous portions. Regulars talk about craving it for days. One honest note of caution, the cafe had food-hygiene issues reported some years ago, so it is worth checking its current rating, though recent reviews are strong.
Value is a big part of the draw, with most rice and noodle dishes around £8 to £11 and portions that could feed two lighter appetites. It is closed on Sundays.
Why it is worth it
- a 4.3 across more than 400 reviews and a loyal following;
- authentic, everyday Hong Kong rice and noodle dishes;
- famously generous portions at low prices;
- a cosy, characterful neighbourhood cafe.
What holds it back
- past food-hygiene issues, so check the current rating;
- basic cafe surroundings, and closed Sundays.
For cheap, authentic Hong Kong comfort food, it has earned its devoted fans.
The ranking in full
| Position | Restaurant | Area | Typical price | Score (out of 10) | % (out of 100) |
| 1 | Yookees | Commercial Road | mains ~£10 to £13 | 9.2 | 92 |
| 2 | The Taste of China | Cosham | set lunch ~£14 to £18 | 9.0 | 90 |
| 3 | Dim Sum Hut | Commercial Road | ~£15 to £20 a head | 8.8 | 88 |
| 4 | Compass Rose | Anchorage Park | mains ~£10 to £15 | 8.4 | 84 |
| 5 | Nice Tin Tin | The Hard | mains ~£11 to £15 | 8.1 | 81 |
| 6 | Hong Kong Tea Bar | Lake Road | dishes ~£8 to £11 | 7.8 | 78 |
How the scores stack up (out of 10)
What the ranking reveals
The clearest lesson is that the best Chinese food in Portsmouth is also the most authentic. Yookees, Dim Sum Hut and Hong Kong Tea Bar all trade on regional, properly made cooking rather than a generic takeaway menu, and they are the places diners get most passionate about. If you want something beyond sweet and sour, the city now rewards you.
Geography spreads the field widely. Commercial Road has quietly become a little hub with Yookees and Dim Sum Hut almost side by side, while the best of the rest is scattered from Cosham in the north to The Hard by the water and Anchorage Park in the east. Unlike some cuisines in the city, you will not find it all on one street.
On price the whole list is a bargain by big-city standards, clustering between roughly £8 and £20 a head, with Hong Kong Tea Bar and Yookees the cheapest and dim sum and set lunches offering the most food for the money. Since review volume matters, The Taste of China and Nice Tin Tin earn trust through hundreds of visits, while the smaller, higher-rated spots reward the adventurous. For more of the city’s Asian cooking, see our guides to the best pho and Vietnamese food and the best Thai food in Portsmouth.
How we scored it
This ranking is an editorial snapshot from October 2026, not an official guide. To build it we compared Portsmouth’s Chinese restaurants against one another on the same weighted criteria rather than dining at each one. Diner reviews and reputation counted for the most, at around 35 per cent, weighing both the average score and how many reviews stand behind it. The food and its authenticity made up roughly 25 per cent, value for money and price another 15 per cent, consistency backed by review volume 15 per cent, and the setting and atmosphere the final 10 per cent.
The ratings and recurring comments were drawn mainly from Google and Tripadvisor at the time of writing, and we checked the current menu prices at each restaurant as part of the value score, though figures are indicative and change with the menu. Dishes, prices and opening days shift often, and a venue can change under new management, so confirm the menu, price and hours before you go. The order is our considered view on the day and may change as kitchens and reviews move.
