Lichee View Restaurant

My family has been going to this restaurant for at least ten years, through many ownership and name changes, and have always been very happy with their oysters and duck dishes.
Unfortunately, our latest visit right before the new year was so very disappointing in terms of food quality and service that we will no longer go there.
Their Phoenix Nest dish, which has traditionally been made with a Yu-​to potato nest, was served on a cheap wonton skin nest instead. This is not the way to serve this dish and was the first time I had ever seen this done by a sit-​down restaurant. They did not do this before.
Some of the food had a (believe it or not) Windex-​like taste to them, showing that they have thrown preservatives on food that was not fresh. When we informed them of the fact, they were very defensive and refused to remove the charge for the offending dishes (Taro Duck, and even the Chinese Brocoli) even though several members had all tasted the same thing. They even went as far as to say no one else complained and it was just our taste buds.
Not only did they not respect the customer is always right mantra, they insulted a long-​time customer
I would recommend you try another restaurant if you don’t want to risk food poisoning. I would imagine they don’t have many customers these days and are trying to save money by cutting corners.

I used to come here at least once a month but stopped coming, as the service has gotten worse and worse over time. I have to say that I really do like the food, and the wonton soup is one of the best I’ve tried in this city. However the service drastically needs improvement.
When I was there, we always have to ask for water multiple times. The food never comes all at once. Usually after we finish eating, the rice we ordered finally arrives. Why can’t it be served all together? Last time I was there, we ordered rice, and it just was never brought to the table, yet we were charged for it anyways.
It looks like the restaurant has stopped giving out fortune cookies at the end of the meal, while every other chinese food restaurant in the city has the traditional fortune cookie.
Also noticed that the staff favors certain tables more than others. Always have to get up and go to the counter to pay the bills, however we watched the bills bring brought out with the debit machine to other tables. What gives?
Service definitely needs improvement here as it has gotten unbearable.

This place was overall alright. Went for lunch (opens at 11 on Saturday, not 12 like we’d read online). The food seemed to be coming right out of the kitchen, but most of it was rather cold. Most of what we ordered was also quite greasy. And we were not provided with serving chopsticks, which was a bit odd. Service was ok too, we had one waiter who wasn’t attentive but a few others who were.
I quite enjoyed the curried cuttlefish and the jook wasn’t bad either.

I only come here for midnight snack which starts at 8 pm everyday.
Midnight snack is where they take a regular menu item and slice the portions in half and cut the price by ¾.
It’s the greatest thing in the history of greatest things.
We usually spend about $ 25 here for myself and my fiancée and have enough left overs for lunch for the both of us.
Why cook at home when you can come here?
Watercress will sometimes have bugs in it but it’s expected from watercress. Bugs yummy yummy yummy.
But the rest of the menu you won’t find any bugs in it. I’ll check up on Ottawa Eat Safe about this place from time to time, but haven’t found anything that is overly concerning for me.
Items I usually get from the set menu are:
Tofu with peppersalt
Steak with eggplant
Black pepper steak
Fried clams
Typically you’ll want to arrive 10 minutes before 8 pm otherwise you might face a 20 minute wait for a table.

Very tasty weekend dim-​sum by the cart. Cantonese & Sichuan dishes on regular menu are also better-​than-​average and moderately priced. Sadly, the service is generally inconsistent, indifferent and lackadaisical (especially this one particular male server who seems to operate on his own clock). Because of this, I try to avoid this restaurant when it is busy, as madness often ensues. Highlights: Lobster, hot pot casserole, fried rice, and fresh, stir-​fry vegetables.

This review is strictly on their dim sum because although I’ve had their dim sum many times, I’ve actually never eaten at Lichee View for any other meal. If you favor the steamed dim sum delights (the ones that come in the steamer baskets) then there is NO better place in Ottawa. They offer a real variety of dumplings, each of them well filled with delicious shrimp, veg, scallops and mixtures of the above. Their ginger squid is tender and succulent. In fact, everything on the carts is well prepared and yummy. I especially enjoy the chicken feet… if you’ve never tasted them, why not give it a go? Desserts are the dim sum usuals, egg tarts, sesame balls that are never soggy, and almond jello with the occasional different dessert appearing on a cart. Prices are really fair and you’ll have a hard time paying more than $ 12 per person for a veritable feast. Before discovering Lichee View, my faves were Yangtze and ChuSing on Somerset, but honestly, the dim sum here is way better. Only drawback is their cart service is only available on weekends; if you have a midweek dim sum craving, it will have to be ordered from the large dim sum menu, which is ok, but not as much fun as the carts.

I went here recently with my family and my brother’s girlfriend’s family. There were 8 of us altogether. They sat us at a round table with a Lazy Susan in the middle — awesome! My brother says that most restaurants don’t give you a Lazy Susan unless you are more than 10 people. Anyway, we ordered A LOT of food, so the Lazy Susan was really useful. I actually don’t remember everything we ordered, but I’ll try my best…
I know we ordered General Tao’s chicken (because I ordered it, hehe). It was awesome. Sweet and tangy with lots of chilies. We also had the Special Fried Rice (maybe it was called Young Chow or Yang Chow Fried Rice). Anyway, it was also really good. Most places put way too much soy sauce in their fried rice and the rice is like brown, it was not like that here. We also had Black Bean Beef with Noodles. The black bean sauce was nice and mild, not too pungent or salty. Beef was tender. We had another beef dish with noodles which was also good. We had a shrimp dish and the shrimps were a nice size (not tiny salad shrimp). The egg rolls were good too. You could taste meat it in (most places all you taste is cabbage). We also had a peking duck. This was the only thing I didn’t like, it was way too greasy and the duck was so skinny, so just skin and fat, no meat! I know I’m forgetting some other dishes because I think we must have ordered 8 dishes if not more. We had lots of leftovers. Everything (except the duck) was really good and the remarkable thing was that it was not overly salty. You know how after eating at a Chinese Restaurant you feel so thirsty and bloated afterwards because you ate more sodium than what the recommended intake is for a week? Well, you don’t feel that after eating here. I was really impressed (and surprised).
The service was ok. The staff does not speak English all that well and they seemed a bit abrupt, but they brought the food to the table quickly and re-​filled our waters often, so I was happy. I don’t like servers who pretend they are my friends or want to chat about stuff other than the food I’m going to eat!
The parking lot is tiny and the restaurant is at an awkward intersection near Merivale and Clyde (it’s on Merivale). I can see how accidents can happen easily here. You can’t really access the parking lot or restaurant if you are going southbound (south-​west) on Merivale because you will have to make a left-​hand turn and there is like a median in the way. The best way is to go northbound (north-​east) on Merivale so you can just make a right-​hand turn into the parking lot. If you look at the map, you will know what I mean. Driving out of the parking lot, I saw a guy driving in the wrong lane towards oncoming traffic so he could turn left into Lichee View. Watch out for crazies like him when you come here!
Overall, food is good. Getting there and leaving can be a bit hazardous. Exercise caution!

OK not sure whats going on with this place but the service blows period. Not the first time. I’ve come to this place regularly as its a middle point for us and our other family who live downtown. The food is good and the price is very reasonable.
…and I’m Asian to boot. So for bad service, I expect it but seriously, when I have to ask 3 different servers for given things like rice to eat with my dishes and on the 4^th time, I finally get it??? There’s a tolerable bad which most Asian restaurants are, then there’s really bad and that’s pretty bad considering its coming from a person with an Asian background who almost expects the service will not be on par with Canadian restaurant chains.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not impatient and I am giving ample time. The last draw was yesterday night when the restaurant was half empty and there were 3 servers working.
If this continues I may just drive the extra 10 minutes and eat at Chu Shing on Somerset. I’ve changed my rating to reflect my recent experiences.

In addition to the comments of the former reviewer, I’d like to add they have very good crispy chicken. They also have a «night dish» menu after 8 PM which is a good deal — sort of like Chinese tapas.

My co-​workers and I were planning a holiday dinner and I drove around town looking for suitable places. I found Lichee View on Merivale and decided to pop in and try it out. Wow, what a pretty little restaurant. First off — it is a Chinese restaurant and it is actually owned by a Chinese couple. Good sign! And, some of the diners that day were Chinese. Another good sign. The menu is HUGE — I counted 192 items listed. 192!!! They have soups, szechuan, chicken and seafood dishes, beef and pork selections, casseroles, duck meals, veggie dishes, noodles and rice options, and more. Plus, there are combo deals where you can combine your favourites. The prices are awesome — the most expensive options are the seafoods and they hit a high of $ 14. Everything else is around $ 7 or $ 8 an entrée. I wish the music wasn’t pop top 40 stuff — just in terms of more authenticity. But, otherwise it is a delight.