I visited England this past week, and this begins a series of reviews from the miscellaneous places I went to eat while there. I'm starting with The China House because we went there for my birthday dinner! The China House is not Chinese, but rather named so because it used to be a factory where they made, you guessed it, china! As such, the atmosphere is quite cool. The wait staff was friendly and helpful (they even stored and brought out a birthday cake that we'd brought along). The menu offers a variety of options, all at very reasonable prices*. Our party ordered anything from steak to chicken pot pie to lamb to duck and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal. Top it off with some nice wine and/or hard cider and you've got yourself a delicious meal at a very reasonable price. The China House is definitely a place to check out for dinner if you haven't already. If I ever find myself back in Plymouth, I'll be sure to stop by here again! *Note that when I say reasonable prices I mean so in GBP and not converted to USD, which unfortunately came out to be over 160% higher while we were there. read more

A nice pub with a welcoming atmosphere. In winter they have a nice wood fire. Food is not going to win posh awards, but is good quality and they do not scrimp on the portions. A wide selection on the menu, with children and veggies well catered for, and tasty desserts. Bar has wide selection of drinks and reasonably priced. Service is numbers dependant. They do need to sort out their staff numbers, when busy it can be too long to wait for your meal. That said the staff are great and if time allows really give a great service. read more

I'm staying in Plymouth for about a month, and this place has become a standard for many in our group. The rating is a mix of two things, though, so be fore-warned before you go. The food and the atmosphere are all great. It's an old porcelain factory, so the high roofs and rustic beams are all still very much in force. The food is excellent - the spring lamb shank melts in your mouth. And if the weather cooperates (well, this is Plymouth), you can sit outside and overlook the small harbor. On the downside, the place is always understaffed. For most of the nights I've been there, about 6 so far, there's been two servers, and one only covers a small bar area, which leaves the rest to a very hard-working woman who spends her night running back and forth trying to cover everything. So things can take a bit, even just to get another pint. Do yourself a favor and find a table, then go order at the bar. Also, when they bring the food, they then bring a little tray of sauces - ketchup, mustard, horseradish, etc. But there's only two of those trays for the whole restaurant, so you have to dish it out and then they whisk it away to the next table. I mean, there's easily thirty tables in this place. Are a dozen more sauce setups going to break the bank? So overall, it's a mixed bag that leans towards the good. A little bit of customer service training for the management could be helpful - for instance, my friend waited almost an hour for his burger (yes, he did order a mushroom starter, but that was at the same time), and he was a bit upset because the rest of the table had been served and eaten by the time his food came out, and they wouldn't even comp him a beer. So now he's never going back, and so our visits will be less frequent. A no-brainer for anyone who's ever worked in the hospitality biz. But the food and atmosphere almost make up for it. Call it 3 and a half stars. Definitely worth a try. read more

The food is nice here - to be honest it's always been nice here. It's a great location on the Barbican but for some it may be a little difficult to find. It's an old haunt of mine and it's good to see it hasn't changed very much over years. It does however look frayed around the edges and the staff could be a bit sharper. read more

The first time i came here was 6 years ago and the quality has never changed, if anything it has got better. The food is served in huge portions and is fresh and made to order. The staff are always friendly and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, this is an ideal place to come with a group of friends or family or a romatic date. in the summer there are seats outside and in the winter you can sit by the open fire. The drinks are at a good price and the house wines are all of a good quality. I highly reccomend this place to anyone in Plymouth x read more

The China house is in a top notch location, it's a bit dark inside due to it's stone construction and small windows, It's had a makeover inside recently which seems to have taken away some of the history of the building, and the Menu has Changed.. It has always been popular and now other things are being built around it it's not out on a limb. The food is Chain Pub/Gastro Pub food, nothing special, priced a little higher than most, but you can take advantage of online offers by becoming a friend of the pub on social media etc.. The Guest ales are always good, Parking and Access are excellent, the upstairs balcony was shut for some reason when we visited last time, and the table we were given for four people was a bit small in a cramped area considering half the place was not that busy. I would still recommend the China House over it's nearby neighbour the Lockyers Quay, because it still has character, but it's not as nice as it used to be.. it feels a lot different.. Though if they still light the fires - Winter is not to be missed... read more

Brilliant revised menu - food somtimes cold though - if busy and presentations leave somewhat to be desired. But overall a lively atmosphere with a nice homely feeling. read more

This place used to be good but it's gone down hill fast. A food and drink factory.

I quite enjoy visits to The China House and usually do so when entertaining visitors to the city or friends , we go there for a quiet drink on the verandah as the views , particularly late afternoon and early evening are so peaceful and a great place to watch the sun go down with liquer coffee or a pint . The menu is reasonably priced pub fare and changed seasonally . read more

Great location for a pub. Drinks were standard as was the food. Four stars given for location mainly, a fifth would have been added if the food had been cheaper - overpriced for what it is! read more

Good old building with a lot of wood beams inside and a balcony over the marina. Food very poor and beer little better. Service indifferent verging on surly.OK if you can get a seat outside on a warm day. read more

I remember when it was created out of the shell of a fairly old waterside warehouse. Impressive wood all over the place, what seemed to be genuine character. It was also run by 'Mo' an exceptional personality who brought imaginative hearty good food to packed crowds. The beer wasn't bad and the house wines good value. Over nearly two and a half decades the situation has reversed and now apart from an occasional fine weather snack under a heater on the veranda overlooking the mini gin palaces in Sutton harbour this is a glum hum drum dispiriting place with expensive indifferent food and poor but expensive booze and a fairly chavvy crowd. Pity, but you takes your choice. read more

Sunday 15th May 2011. In the past the China House has always been THE place one could rely on for Good service, Excellent food and a friendly atmosphere, somewhere one would be happy to take special friends for a meal and few drinks. This unfortunately was not the case on the evening of the 15th. Having booked a table in advance just to be sure you can imagine my surprise when on arrival the place was almost empty ( most unusual ). After a short time it became clear that things had taken a downturn as staff were happy to stand about talking to each other while tables remained uncleared and messy, some remained in this state for our entire stay of about three hours. Having been seated and selected our choice of food it became apparent that the waiting staff were no longer taking orders at the tables as in the past and one had to take the food orders for all at ones table and wait in turn with others who were also ordering drinks, to order at the bar. After what seemed a very long wait,especially as more than half the tables were unoccupied, starters arrived, some in very badly chipped crockery and poorly washed cutlery which had to be replaced. Having finished our starters we waited more than 20 minutes for the empty plates to be removed and a further 50 minutes for the main course to arrive. When the main course did arrive the chips and seasonal vegetables (a smallpiece of carrot and a sprig of broccoli) were almost stone cold but no-one had the courtesy to enquire if our meal was to our satisfaction or otherwise. All in all a very disappointing meal, especially as we had told our friends what a wonderful place the China House had been. When I eventually managed to pay at the bar,after having to stand in line while others took an age to decide what they wanted to drink, I did complain to the lady who took my money. Her response was that if in fact the standards had dropped since our last visit perhaps if we come again things will improve. Not good enough in my view but then should I have expected any better when all else is taken into consideration. All in all a very unsatisfactory experience, surely someone needs to look more closely at the way the establishment is being run before it's too late. Neil M Stuart. Very unhappy customer. response to =- neilstupot@yahoo.co.uk read more

Well...its part of a chain of pubs all over UK soo food is the same in Birmingham as it is here. This means majority of food is vacuum packed, frozen and just generally pre-prepared. This ok along as your expecting it....I'd choose one of Plymouth many independent fish restaurants! read more