King Tea

OVERVIEW
King Tea is a popular Chinese restaurant on Latrobe Terrace, opposite the Paddington Central Shopping Centre.

FOOD
We opted for the early bird King's banquet deal for four people at $30 per head. This offer is only available before 6 pm between Tues-Thurs for groups of four. We arrived at 5:45 pm, and our friends made it just before 6 pm, allowing us to take advantage of the deal. Compared to the regular $60 per head price, $30 is a fair value.

The banquet offers a choice of starters and main courses, designed to be shared in a yum cha style. While the selection is not big, it caters to different preferences at the discounted price. For starters, we had spring rolls, beans, tofu, and a spring onion pancake. Our mains included an additional salt and pepper tofu dish, fried chicken, and stir-fried pepper beef, accompanied by a bowl of boiled rice.

The portion sizes were generous, and the food was fresh and nicely presented. However, some dishes fell short in terms of flavour. The fried chicken had a lot of batter and was quite spicy for a chicken dish. The tofu had too much barbecue sauce, masking its natural taste. On the other hand, the beef was tender, finely sliced, and served with fried onions, green vegetables, and crushed peanuts, which was enjoyable.

SERVICE
The service at King Tea is exceptional. Upon arrival, the friendly maître d' greeted us warmly and allowed us to choose our seating. Apart from the maître d', two friendly and efficient waitresses attended to us.

Once our friends arrived, our orders were taken promptly. The drinks arrived first, followed by the starters and then the main courses. The service flowed smoothly without any delays, creating an enjoyable and hassle-free experience. The staff's professional attitude contributed to a relaxed evening.

ATMOSPHERE
King Tea has a cool, casual, and relaxed ambience with low mood lighting and distressed brick walls in a red colour scheme. The wooden furniture, floors, Chinese-style shutters, and lanterns complete the oriental aesthetic. A bar counter with chairs at the front corner seems to cater to those waiting for their table.

The restaurant is clearly popular with the locals. We were the first guests to arrive but the place quickly filled up. By the time we left an hour and a half later, it was full. As more patrons arrived though, the noise level increased, making conversation challenging due to the lack of noise-absorbing materials in the wooden, glass, and stone interior.

COST
For four banquet meals and a couple of drinks, we paid $157, which is a fair value considering the rising restaurant prices. However, a standard TsingTao lager bottle at $10 seemed steep. Unfortunately, such prices have become the norm in Australia due to hyperinflation and the government's excessive spending and money printing. but the banquet deal was too good to pass up. The hated "credit card surcharge" added another $2 to the bill, a practice that was unheard of a few years ago.

TOILETS
The toilets are located at the back, with ample male and female cubicles. I found them clean and well-maintained.

PARKING
There is limited street parking, so the best option is to head for the free car park at the Paddington Central Shopping Centre, where you can usually find a spot. It’s not the best car park though, with limited space to manoeuvre in and out, and tiny parking spots, but it is convenient, being just across the road from K.T.

SUMMARY
Overall, we had a pleasant experience at King Tea, taking advantage of their $30 early bird banquet special. The food was served in generous portions, and it was fresh, and nicely presented, although a few dishes were underwhelming. The service was first-class, and the ambience was casual and inviting, albeit a bit noisy as the restaurant filled up. The toilets were clean and well-maintained, but parking can be challenging in the area, with the shopping centre car park across the road being the best option.

MEMO
Consider paying in cash to avoid the hefty credit card surcharges.

My daughters and I had a lovely lunch here. William made us feel very welcomed and could not have been more helpful. He suggested an alternative vegan dish which was delicious. This has become our new family restaurant

Fantastic dinner with the girls! Took advantage of the half price banquet before 6pm and the quality and quantity of all dishes was outstanding. Best Chinese I’ve had for some time. Service was excellent and fun. Special thanks to the lovely waitress who gave us wine tastings before selecting. Will definitely be back and have already recommended to a number of friends.

Amazing atmosphere and super lovely and helpful staff. Food was out of this world. jade was the best!!

This is absolutely one of our family favourites!

We took our daughters there to celebrate their 10th birthday mid-week and they loved it.

The food is fresh and delicious, and the staff are all super friendly and accommodating.

Already looking forward to our next visit :)

I brought my Vegan friend to king tea for dinner, we basically ordered all the vegan food, plus got few cocktails. Love the vibes! Good for friends even for dates. Nice place , nice food, high CP, 100% recommend.

Hosted my birthday dinner here and had a fantastic time! The staff were really sweet and accommodating to a large group. The food was delicious and came out efficiently. Thanks King Tea!

Lovely dinner at King Tea tonight. The vegan banquet is definitely worth it. Staff are lovely and the dishes are all full of flavour and all come out really fast. My only qualm is that I wasn’t quite sure when they dishes were coming out (would have been useful if there was a menu showing what the banquet included). Would definitely go back.

Delicious food, efficient service and lovely ambience. Made special when they offered free cocktail for birthday girl!

Scrumptions sampling of dishes from King Tea Chinese's Christmas banquet - it was my first time visiting and what a great introduction to their food! Like what you see? Book in a feast for yourself and some friends - its available Mon-Sat until 23 Dec 2020 ($55 per head, minimum 6 people).

Dishes we tried:

ENTREES
* Steamed soup-filled dumplings (xiao long bao)
* Vegetarian spring rolls
* Popcorn chicken
* Sichuanese crispy potato salad
* Crispy duck lettuce wraps

MAINS
* Peking duck pancakes
* Garlic sauce Hokkaido scallops
* Kung Pao chicken
* Douban eggplant
* Steamed kailan with mushroom sauce
* Steamed Jasmine rice

My favourite is a toss up between the scallop and vermicelli dish and the eggplant dish. Runner-up goes to the two chicken and two duck dishes, with the Peking duck pancakes in particular having some of the meatiest slices I've had.

Fantasic. Delicious food with a fun and warm atmosphere. The food was really, really special. I recommend the pepper beef, XO prawns and pulled pork dish. There were some Chinese vegetables in sesame that were so delicious. They make great cocktails too. The music was fun and some people might find it a bit loud but I really enjoyed it, friendly staff and I will definitely go here again.

On a hot Brisbane Saturday night it was so lovely to sit under a cooling fan and enjoy the wonderful food at King Tea. It is a regular haunt of ours and the food and service is always wonderful. Highly recommend the Douban Eggplant.

Larger dishes than expected and the food we ordered was tasty so we ate lots and took the leftovers home. Good atmosphere and service. Prefer they construct my bao next time and found it unusual to pack my own leftovers but wasn’t a big deal. Has a modern vibe and bar unlike your typical Chinese restaurant.

Best service- staff were very lovely, great tasting food, huge quantities for a reasonable price. Staff go out of the way to make you feel special on your birthday too.

How amazing 🤩 experience and flavours here! Delicious 🤤 food, services and many vegan dishes. flavors one more intense than the other, definitely really very good.

Food is fabulous. They did advertise as having gluten free options but they are quite minimal. Noisy for the hard of hearing. I adore the Kung Pao!!!

Everything we ordered was super yum. Service was friendly and looked after us well. Really like that you could order a cocktail even if it wasn't listed on the menu - it was delicious by the way. Duck & sticky lamb ribs were top notch.

We had a delicious meal at King Tea, and the service was very prompt and friendly. I can recommend the aubergine, the pulled pork, the sweet and sour chicken, and the fried rice. Fabulous food.

Had a great time celebrating my partner’s birthday at King Tea. The banquet was generous and delicious! Overall fantastic value for 9+ guests. Wonderful staff, great atmosphere, great food, great experience. Cheers.

Fantastic atmosphere in this place! Warm vibes, great food, and very exciting and delicious tea cocktails of many kinds! Will definitely be back next time I'm in Brisbane!