Heen's - Sutton

Yesterday’s dinner was simply a catch with a friend and we opted for Heen’s in Sutton as it was definitely the best Chinese restaurant in the area. However, last night’s meal was decidedly average. First of all we were not greeted as we walked in by the staff. Instead we were left standing in a very busy restaurant for a good 5 x minutes before we were asked if we had a reservation, which we did. The Peking duck and spring rolls were pretty good but it went down hill from there. The rice arrived with peas when we specifically told them ‘without peas’ when we ordered. The lamb dish was very tasteless and lacklustre and when the rice did return, minus the peas, it was tasteless and extremely oily, probably from a quick re-heat in an oily wok. We used to come here quite B often but think we will be giving it a miss from now on . . .

We visited on a Friday evening. It was fairly busy but we were shown straight to our table. Service was very good and the food was excellent. Also very reasonably priced. We shared half a duck with the usual accompaniments, had a main dish each (including two sizzling Cantonese steak dishes, with rice, noodles and a couple of beers each. Total for the four of us was £130.

It used to be very good restaurant. Visited this week after a year or so. Food quality is average especially for claimed status and prices, too much oil, fresh vegetables were not particularly fresh. Tasted more like an average take away. Waiting staff was rude, made surprised faces every time my son asked for details. Not sure if it is under new management but definitely deteriorated over the years…

Three of us went for a quiet little birthday meal for Mum. Staff were very accommodating for us when a huge table of noisy kids landed next to us and we politely requested to move after our starters. The restaurant is composed of two dining rooms which are almost completely separated, so we were cheerfully offered a nice quiet corner. Food was good. Starters (Seaweed, spring rolls, lettuce wraps) all fresh, all very crispy. Crispy, not chewy, so well fried and fresh. Mains of a chicken dish, pork dish and a Thai curry dish. All enjoyed. An accompanying bottle of soy on the table would be a nice addition, but I’m sure we could have had one if we’d felt strongly enough to ask for one. The Thai curry was actually pretty spicy hot, so plus points there. One of us is gluten free which can be awkward in a Chinese place (where soy sauce is in many things). They provided a chart to pick off what was suitable and we ended up still with a good variety of things to choose from. The disadvantage of the restaurant being split is that it can be difficult to catch a server. It took a while to get the bill. The portions are massive, here. We had doggy bags of chicken and pork to take home. They’re big portions and also not completely padded out with the cheap vegetables like onion and carrot, like they often are. They were impressively busy for an early Monday evening. Booking is advised.

After planning a meal with some friends explaining how good Heens Chinese food was as I had been previously I was extremely disappointed. The staff clearly didn’t want to be at work and they did not like the fact we was ordering the same dish as if to say ‘stop ordering ‘. We didn’t understand because they charge by the plate so In our eyes we couldn’t understand why they didn’t want to make money . The service was extremely poor the food wasn’t great overall we had a bad experience and would Not recommend this place agin which saddens me because my first time I had visited it was excellent. I really feel the staff don’t want to be there so some thing neeeds to be addressed!!