I'm honestly not sure why Don Mee has such a low rating. Maybe some reviewers were expecting overly polished service, but we came for authentic dim sum--and Don Mee delivered. We arrived at 11:01, right after they opened, and were greeted by steaming-hot dim sum being pushed around on traditional carts. Everything we ordered was fantastic. We also added Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, which was delicious. The chili oil was especially good, and I highly recommend adding it to the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf. Our waiter was prompt and clearly busy, but we didn't mind that he wasn't circling back every five minutes. We had everything we needed and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Overall, we had a great experience. 10/10 recommend if you're craving authentic dim sum and Cantonese food. read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

See all

Worst experience ever. Be ready to ask for everything because no one comes to check on you. I had to drink my entire tables water glasses. And thats a total of 5 grown adults not including myself. So 6 glasses and NO refills. How do you eat food without something to drink??? Besides that the food was below mediocre. So below average. I know of plenty better places but unfortunately I was visiting Canada for a few days and thought this might be half way decent. I was dead wrong. Don't come here unless you have low expectations and have no idea what great or even good Chinese food tastes like... and we ordered at least 20 different plates as a group that's how I know most of the food was trash. The only decent plate was the Lemon Chicken. read more

Was here this past weekend for an early dinner. Great ambiance - you will be dining in a traditional Chinese Hall. They have a couple of fish tanks that are great to occupy little ones while you wait for the food. This was a quick stop for us. We order just 2 items and both turned out very delicious. 1. Steamed Pork Dumplings - Perfectly sized and juicy! 2. Barbecued Duck (Half) - very nice. Note this does not come with rice but you can order one on the side. Service was quick - we didn't too much though the dining hall was packing up quickly with the the dinner rush pouring in. You do get complementary tea on being seated which is always welcome when you are braving this windy island. read more

Wonderful service amazing fresh food carts that went table to table to pick and choose from. The best sticky rice I have ever had. One serving is plenty for two. Seating is spread out evenly to make for a comfortable environment. read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Ginger pork - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Service was not friendly and was slow. We ordered dim sum appetizers and weren't impressed. The dim sum portions were large but not substantially tasty at least not compared to Southern California offerings we have back home. I'd try sometime else when I was back in Victoria. read more

See all

Actually my review would be 4.5 Stars. Had lunch on a Saturday afternoon craving dim sum, but also tried the Duck and beef chow mein. The dim sum disappointed however as it tasted almost like leftovers that were just heated up. But the duck with seafood and vegetables was really delicious and more than made up for the other. The chow mein was good and we actually had so much we took home for later Service was good and we were happy to have a good Chinese meal during our visit. Also the atmosphere was very appropriate and the restaurant was clean. read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Dim sum plate with beef chow mein - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Located on the main street of Victoria's Chinatown, this seems to be a popular spot for visitors. Dim sum is served in the traditional cart style, though we got pretty confused since the carts seemed to come around randomly. The taste was just okay -- the congee was the best of the bunch, while the xiao long bao had a thick skin. Unfortunately, both my friend and I got stomach aches afterward, which made us question the freshness of the food. Service also felt a bit chaotic. There are definitely much better dim sum places in Richmond. read more

See all

This is an incredible and historic Dim Sum restaurant, but you have to expect and understand how Dim Sum works to appreciate it! The service is lightning quick - they bring out dishes instantly and ask you what to order. Would absolutely recommend the pork bao, shrimp har gow, pork siu mai, shrimp rice noodles, and eggplant shrimp! The interior of the restaurant feels like a classic restaurant and - again - you have to be expecting the classic dim sum experience going here. Would absolutely recommend! read more

It's an okay dimsum place. The price is going to be similar compared to other dimsum areas nearby. Food is decent. Served hot, but some of the flavors are a bit muted/lacking. Place is overall clean, and the service is quick. read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

This restaurant presented me with the absolute best salt and pepper pork chop I've had, it also had fried garlic and green onions, just a delicious combination, and the portions were larger than expected. Loved the vegetable Chinese broccoli the sauce that surrounded it enhanced the flavor, service was very attentive, with great explanations of the menu. I saw local and tourist like myself enjoying there meals, it was great to set around a table and enjoy good food. read more

See all

tons of msg will made you sick there and long stairs to the dining room, poor services

It was our first time in Victoria and we wanted to try a restaurant in chinatown but this definitely was not the place. The ambiance itself is nice and they have a lot of places to sit. The service was okay and the dim sum came in those food carts the worker pushed around which was nice. The dim sum was decent and if you come here I only recommend the dim sum. We got the chow mein and beef and broccoli and it was horrible. The chow mein was dry and flavorless. The beef and broccoli was not good. The beef didn't even taste like beef and the texture felt like a piece of fried something that is not beef. read more

See all

The food was good but I think it's a bit lacking in seasoning/flavor, especially the siu mai and shrimp dumpling. The lemon chicken was great and huge portion! read more

Took my mom for a trip to Victoria and decided to try out dim sum here. It was pretty busy and about a 30 min wait around 1130 when we arrived. The restaurant is classic in its olde chinese restaurant feel. The plentiful tables about ranging from family tables to smaller ones to seat a fewer amount of people. It is old style with the push carts where you can see what is on the cart and get the dimsum ladies to give it to your table. They then stamp your card to signify getting said dish. Overall it isn't horrible but comparing to what I can usually get in Richmond or vancouver it is night and day. The dishes here are meager comparatively. We had ordered a plethora of dishes. Overall the dishes don't taste bad, they just don't taste...quite authentic. We'll not all.. i'd say half of what we ordered i thought tasted not quite how they should. The shrimp dishes were the best as they were correct, as was the sticky rice. But the sui Mai.. texture was all wrong. It was closer to a meatball. The fun gwo also had texture issues as it was so finely minced the texture when biting into it was very..mushy/mealy. I'm used to more of a ground pork bits and nutty flavor/texture. The chicken feet were ok but something was off about the flavor. No not off as in bad.. just the way it tasted. Yes I know diff places have different flavors but this didn't quite jive with my taste buds. The texture and cook how ever were good. The bean curd roll one of my favorite dishes at any dim sum place I go was to me very disappointing. It was just a big ol piece of minced meat inside the roll. There should be a good ratio of meat to veggies mixed in imo. The wait staff however are very efficient and very helpful. Definitely a well run establishment but would I go back? No.. there was another establishment I had tried on my last visit that I thought was better. read more

See all

I found it somewhat mediocre... not bad, not particularly good, just a typical Chinese restaurant. The only really good dish we had was the hot pot beef. Even the fresh lobster with ginger and scallions wasn't that good, ginger seemed weak. Service was decent. Ambiance was ok... they had tablecloths, atmosphere was that of a typical Chinese restaurant read more

See all

This is the real deal Chinese restaurant! I only have one negative thing to say...too many stairs to get up here :) Service was friendly! Food amazing! Ambiance is nostalgic!! Glad we took a chance and looked it up on here read more

Single-handedly the worst Chinese restaurant I've ever eaten in. Strip mall Chinese restaurants do a better job. This place exists for tourists only so it doesn't have to be good. It expects no repeat business. Where do I start? All veggies were over-cooked, all sauces were bland and tasted the same, all dim sum were filled with the same odd, pink flavorless filling regardless of what we ordered. Stay away! Literally any other Chinese restaurant in the area will give you better food. read more

Stopped in for lunch on a Saturday - - definitely a popular spot. Restaurant is on the 2nd floor, not sure if there's an elevator, so I would double check if you can't walk stairs. Dining room is good sized, servers were helpful and there were several carts working the room. There was a decent variety of yummy dim sum and we left stuffed. Bathrooms down the hall to the left of the stairs. Street parking. read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Super cool sign - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

See all

we went to don mee a couple times while visiting our first time in victoria canada the service was not there, we had to ask several folks for dim sum variety and service ambiance was a sit down dim sum place! i liked their egg wrapper and their shrimp / scallop read more

See all

Great service and ambiance. The staff were very friendly and frequently carted more dim sum options. We especially enjoyed the scallop congee and garlic bok choy. I don't remember the names, but the vegetable dumplings, sesame balls, and shrimp balls were also wonderful. I found the prices very affordable. read more

cart system, good dim sum, avoid the pork siu mai (meatballs that smell bad), shrimp dumplings great, service is quick but blunt (as expected), things come out once and disappear so grab when you can, chinese broccoli in garlic was good. if you're asian look for other asian reviews of the place, we agree with most of them. read more

Everything about this place was incredible. The food, the service, the atmosphere was incredible. Staff was super friendly and helpful. Food was incredibly fresh. Were very large. Dim sum was incredible. read more

See all

Again, I'm surprised this place has such bad reviews. We had togo dim sum. Shrimp Balls 5/5 BBQ Pork 3/5 - a little dry...didn't look like the advertised pic lol Shrimp Xíu Mai 5/5 Worth a stop when in Chinatown. read more

See all

The best dim sum in Victoria, hands down! I love Don Mee so much--my family has been coming here for years, and they truly treat us like part of their own family. Located right in Chinatown, it's conveniently close to all your favorite shops, making it a perfect stop. My must-try items include the crispy wontons, BBQ pork cheung fun, potstickers, ginger pork, BBQ pork buns, and ham sui gok. They serve complimentary tea, but I always pair my meal with a ginger ale--it's the perfect combo. A must-visit for amazing dim sum in Victoria! read more

We are here from NJ and our cab driver recommended this place for dim sum. When we got there in the evening we found out most dim sum is only available for lunch, but we stayed for dinner anyway. We almost didn't come in after seeing the yelp reviews but I am glad we didn't listen. We had the dim sum appetizer, beef in pepper sauce and seafood birds nest. Everything was delicious. Service was good. No complaints. The only thing strange was the appetizer was served last. We went back the next day (today) to get takeout dim sum (we are here because my mom is in the hospital). We way over ordered but everything was delicious. Highly recommend! read more

Overall good food, could have been more flavor forward but I don't have much experience with authentic Chinese cuisine to say it's right or wrong. We enjoyed the food. Attentive service. Coming back to Victoria, and we will be back! read more

See all

Dim sum is the same usually everywhere you go. Here at Don Mee, they have authentic Taiwanese and Chinese dim sum dishes! The food comes out hot and prepared right away! The service lacks a little because they are busy from open to close. Normally a little bit of a wait, but well worth it! The duck is seasonal, so be prepared. The pork and seafood are a must try! read more

FOOD WAS SO GOOD, I FORGOT TO TAKE THE TIME TO TAKE PICS BECAUSE I WAS EATING SO FAST. I actually sucked the meat off of my chicken feet. This place is so much better than the dim sums I've had in SoCal, USA. I don't see how people complain about service when there's clearly a language barrier. They understand enough to get you what you And of course we fought over the bill. read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

See all

Service was very slow. To order a soda was like pulling a tooth. OMG food was lacking flavor. The carts are always on the other side of the room like it was a special area of the restaurant. Who knew that was possible? We waited for 30 minutes, yes, 30 min for BBQ BOA, Here is the kicker before that we were asking for BBQ. All we got from the staff was I don't know. I have shrimp rolls....... BOTTOM line never again will we go there !!!! DON'T...... read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Taste not good.. - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

See all

The food wasn't terrible but not great. The dishes were over cooked. Fried rice actually a little burnt. Did a family meal and dishes came out slowly so wasn't able to eat it as a whole meal. Service was adequate. Ambiance was nice, expected more with how the restaurant looked. read more

Hands down the worst Chinese food I've ever eaten! We ordered a dim sum sampler and everything was made with the identical strange pinkish substance. No matter the shape, it all tasted the same: bland. In fact, every dish we had was bland. I've had better Chinese food from strip mall hole-in-the-wall places in the middle of nowhere (and that food isn't particularly good generally). This place is strictly for the tourist money. No local would ever go there a second time, including me. Steer clear! read more

Came here for lunch with my family while we were visiting Vancouver. The food was fine--your standard Chinese dishes in a restaurant setting. read more

I don't know why this place has less than great reviews. My husband has been coming here since he was a kid and we now go every year. The dim sum is consistently tasty. Service is always decent but the environment of dim sum makes us feel guilty when you don't want what is on their cart. Some of our favorites are the bao buns, the pork shu mai, and the sesame balls. read more

This is my son's experience at this restaurant. Absolutely terrible service. The manager did not even come by to apologize. My family and I went to Don Mee in Victoria Bc Chinatown. The service was ok and we got our first item (hargou) as we were seated. I took my first bite of the hargou i bit something hard, when i took it out of my mouth it was a piece of metal the size of the tip of my pinky. We asked for the manager from a young waiter who was very confused and had no idea what to do. We waited for around 10-15 minutes for the manager only to see the young waiter comeback from the kitchen ALONE without the manager. He goes back and we wait for another 10 minutes just for the young waiter to comeback from the kitchen saying "The Manager says he is very sorry and the food will be on the house," (the Manager didnt even comeback to apologize or anything. The last thing we wanted was to continue eating there knowing a chunk of metal was found in our first dish. read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Metal piece that my son found in his har gow. Absolutely ridiculous and no apology from the manager - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

This place is very nice on the inside and the food is very authentic. We had the dim sum platter and the XLBs were great. Highly recommend the single serving of hot and sour soup on a cold day. Oolong tea for the table was very good. I would come back! read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Hot and sour soup - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

See all

2.5 - 3 star Chinese restaurant in the heart of Chinatown. Some dishes were good - fried rice, sautéed watercress, and pork ribs were the highlights. Sizzling beef was not good - very chewy and bland. Fish with pickled vegetables was ok. Service was friendly and quick. read more

We were in Victoria for our long weekend trip and were looking for a good brunch. This restaurant is in the heart of Chinatown, which is very clean and has many places to shop. We arrived there around 11:30 am and the restaurant was already busy, but we were not disappointed with this delicious restaurant. The food is super tasteful. We tried shrimp dumplings, chicken feet, bean curd roll, beef tripe, and sticky rice cake in lotus leaves. Price is reasonable for good decent Asian food. We have hot tea at no additional cost. The only problem here is a lack of staff, which is understandable in the current situation. Overall, we enjoyed our food and atmosphere here. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Tasty dim sum - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

Decent dim sum with a few dishes I have never seen before. Flavors were just right and the carts came around rountinely. Service could have been better because water didn't come until the later half of the meal. read more

While we were visiting Victoria, BC in Canada during our stopover from our cruise, we decided to check out Chinatown. It's pretty small, maybe a couple blocks at the most. We wanted dim sum so saw this restaurant and decided to try it out. When entering the place, we expected that it was ground level, but we had to go upstairs to dine. Also didn't see any elevators so I wonder how this would service the handicapped. We got our table fairly quick but got seated a little far (all the way in the back) from the main area. Let's start with their service: I would say their service was lacking and very slow. I felt where we sat, we were unnoticeable and ignored a lot. It took them almost 15 min before we even got our waters. We also wanted a regular menu to order off and we had to ask like 3 times before we finally got it. We also asked for our soy sauce bottle to be refilled or changed out since there was hardly anything left and that took many tries to get one. I finally flagged a waiter to just grab another one from an empty table. The dim sum cart ladies were not very pleasant and gave us a hard time when ordering. We ordered first one tray of xiao long bao to try. Then we requested another tray and the lady gave us a stare and raised her voice and asked "just one" like she was annoyed that we didn't order more or if she was thinking why we didn't just order 2 trays to begin with cause she had to get another tray and mark our paper. Another problem with where we were seated is there are steps to get to our table so the carts can't come up so that means whatever we ordered, they would have to come up the few little steps to drop off the food. So I think that's why they would be annoyed. Now on to the food: thinking it was a legit dim sum restaurant in Chinatown, it would be decent to good. Boy were we wrong! All their dim sum items were terrible! Tasted like it was made a day old or from frozen. Did not taste fresh at all. The xiu mai, har gow, xiao long bao were terrible! Had no flavor and it felt like it were microwaved. The sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves was so mushy and was missing a lot of ingredients a normal one would have. People have raved about Chinatown in Victoria, but this particular restaurant was not a hit at all. Definitely avoid this place and do more research of other places to eat around in Chinatown. Only reason I gave it a 2 star is because the prices were decent compared to here in San Diego. Or else I'd give it a 1 star for its service and food quality. read more

I should have listened to the bad reviews and skipped this place but gave it a try because someone personally said it was good. The over priced food was bad and the service was even worse. The beef was as hard as cardboard and the beef lettuce wrap was so salty that we had to drink 3 bottles of water afterwards. Skip this place and go any other Chinese Restaurant down the street. Would not recommend! read more

Don Mee Seafood Restaurant - Peppered beef liked cardboard and so salty. couldn't even chew it. - Seafood Near Me - Victoria, British Columbia

See all