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The city is well known both in and outside of China for its fresh and diverse selection of seafood, due to its close proximity to the South China Sea. Tender braised and barbecued meats are available in delicious variety, and succulent dim sum still rules the roost as the city's hometown favorite.
In addition to Chinese restaurants, Guangzhou has a number of Indian, Italian, Thai, and Vietnamese eateries as well.
With its arched columns, gilded capitals, gold-framed mirrors, lustrous drapes, and immaculate table settings, this top-notch restaurant feels like Regency-era France. The menu has become decidedly more European as of late, with some Irish dishes making an appearance. The menu changes every six months or so.
Famous for its massive buffet, this super kitschy colorful place offers an over-the-top culinary and cultural experience best (and perhaps only) appreciated by kids. It can be easy to get lost among the hundreds of food stations with varying themes, such as a sushi station shaped like treasure ship. There's no need to reserve ahead, as there are more than 1,000 tables up for grabs.
Housed in a faux colonial-style mansion on an island in Liuhuahu Park, this restaurant's location alone beats out most others in Guangzhou. The cuisine is pure old-school Cantonese, with expensive dishes like abalone and shark's fin soup served alongside more rational staples like crispy fried pigeon, roasted mackerel, and stuffed garlic prawns. Naturally, there's plenty of dim sum, and the "Cantonese combo plate" features a variety of roasted meats. Although the food at Tang Yuan is excellent, most people come here for the opulent dining room. A golf cart waits at the park's entrance on Liuhua Road to whisk diners to the restaurant's palatial front door.
