Location: Xiamen
Top Restaurants in Xiamen
Top Things to do in Xiamen
- 1. Kulangsu Huandao Road
- 2. Xiamen Riyuegu Hot Spring Resort CommunitiesXiamen Tourism BureauCollection of the Most Popular Scenic Spots in and around Xiamen
- 3. Xiamen Botanical GardenXiamen Tourism BureauCollection of the Most Popular Scenic Spots in and around Xiamen
- 4. Huaijiu Gulangyu Museum
- 5. Nanputuo TempleXiamen Tourism BureauCollection of the Most Popular Scenic Spots in and around Xiamen
- 6. Xiamen Shuzhuang GardenXiamen Tourism BureauCollection of the Most Popular Scenic Spots in and around Xiamen
- 7. Xiamen Piano Museum
- 8. Xiamen University
- 9. Gulangyu IslandXiamen Tourism BureauCollection of the Most Popular Scenic Spots in and around Xiamen
- 10. Riguang MountainXiamen Tourism BureauCollection of the Most Popular Scenic Spots in and around Xiamen
Top 10 restaurants in Xiamen, China
The livable, lovable city of Xiamen teems with university students buzzing amid Buddhist temples, art galleries and beautiful parks. The city is actually comprised of islands; one of which, Gulangyu, is a peaceful bohemian oasis that's completely vehicle-free. Nibble on some glass noodles or juicy dumplings while perusing shops stuffed with antiques, delicate beads or ceramics.
Things to do in Xiamen
1. Portofino Italian Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 80 reviews
The newly refurbished Portofino Italian Restaurant, with elegant floor-to-ceiling windows allows a wonderful streetscape glance out before your eyes. The soft lighting and dark brown European style furniture help to highlight the Italian inspired design. The Chef has the insight and exquisite culinary skills to create innovative cuisines with his skillfully prepared combinations of rich authentic flavors from Italia, your body, mind and tasty buds, our guests will enjoy the amazing food in an elegant environment along with the unique charm of Italian styles.
Reviewed By XmHans - Xiamen
The nice thing about Portofino is that it is in the Millennium Hotel, so if you change your mind, you can try their Harbourview Cafe (great buffets), or Japanese and Chinese restaurants.
I most like Portofino's menu, which allows you to pick and mix pastas and sauces to create something unique. I especially liked the cannelloni. They have nice desserts as well.
Xiamen, by now, probably has over 100 Italian restaurants, so there may well be better ones. The problem is that they come and go--but Portofino has been here for years, and has become a favorite for us on special evenings (anniversaries, holidays).
2. Coyote Cafe and Cantina
Overall Ratings
4 based on 140 reviews
Welcome to Coyote. Located in the center of Xiamen, China; walking distance from the Marco Polo and The Pan Pacific hotels. Comfortable and relaxing dining or "enjoy a Margarita" atmosphere. Coyote serves up Xiamen's finest Tex-Mex foods with exciting dishes and unique ambiance. At Coyote, every dish is created using only the freshest, finest ingredients. We serve only the choicest meats and seafood, freshest rice and beans, and tortillas that are baked fresh daily. Our authentic menu with some special "fusion" and atmosphere create a truly enjoyable dining experience.
Reviewed By Bayouexec - Lafayette, Louisiana
Well, it's been almost a year since I last visited Coyote, whereby I tried the Cheese and Jalapeno Chicken Quesadilla's...which at that time were "micro pieces of chicken!" Almost invisible!
Here we are in China...with 100x as many chickens and pigs as there are people, and they can't load up a quesadilla with chicken! How insulting!
This visit, was an improvement from the last visit...... they now have added more chicken, but they had no flavor and no jalapeno pepper taste! It's real simple to make....in a hot skillet or on the grill...you stir peppers, some hot sauce and chicken for 20-seconds, then add the cheese and bake in oven with thin tortilla bread until the cheese melts! And the bread has a little crust....how simple is that!!
Then my friend ordered the Fried Chicken Nuggets! They were nuggets alright...and almost as hard as gravel or a rock! Here again, we are talking about chicken...which should be the easiest to find and freshest on earth! But, these little nuggets...about the size of your big finger nail...were over-cooked and tasted like they were soaked in oil! I suspect the chicken nuggets were frozen and the grease they used for cooking...was not hot enough to flash fry the nuggets quickly. This is not rocket science! Down the street is a KFC and they have no problem with chicken!!
Not sure when I'll make it back again to try their other dishes, but it would be nice to try some tasty Mexican food...but then I remind myself...you're in China!!
3. INDIANO JOHN's SAMRAT
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 296 reviews
INDIANO JOHN's SAMRAT in its 10th year of operation is XIAMEN's First and Only INDIAN dining which is Owned and Run by Chef/Sommellier John Solomon aka INDIANO JOHN. SAMRAT, specializes in Northern Indian Cuisine, mainly focused on grilled food prepared in the traditional charcoal oven called THE TANDOOR. SAMRAT also takes pride in providing the widest selection of Fine Wines and an unique choice of Gourmet beers from around the World. SAMRAT is a limited 50 seater, so advance bookings are highly recommended.
Reviewed By Rob_around_the_globe - Vienna, Austria
...a bit expensive for China. Ok, the English Menu is a real treat for foreigners. However, regarding the price level, I missed the comfort of a western restaurant. The room temperature in the restaurant was chilly, you have to use your jacket (like in almost every Chinese place) during winter time.
Staff was very friendly and helpful, food was good. Menu offered a lot of choices.
Overall a nice place to go if you look for some good Indian food or want a change to your usual Chinese food and are willing to pay a bit more.
4. Greg's restaurant
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 109 reviews
Greg's restaurant is a modern French restaurant and the first concept of its kind in Xiamen. It serves contemporary French inspired cuisine and is committed to provide the highest level of cuisine to the most discerning guests, both international and local. Located adjacent to the Yundang lake it provides a unique environment including a Terrace for alfresco dining. The restaurant was created in 2011 by Executive Chef Gregory Louraichi, bringing with him more than 16 years of experience in restaurants and hotels. The idea behind the restaurant is to offer a new experience in the Xiamen restaurant scene with carefully selected products and creativity in every plate.
Reviewed By XiaomeiLi - Florence, Italy
Been here quite a few time and the food it's always superb! The chef really knows what's he is doing, and to please customers he often talks to them to understand their personal taste. The staff always welcomes you with some small interesting appetizers, and sometimes they also offer small portions of desserts at the end of meal. The best creme brulee I have ever it's here, a taste that I can't forget.
If I have to list two defects, I would say that spaghetti ( or pasta in general) could be better, but I am italian so maybe my expectations are too high for a French restaurant) and they could add some fresh seasonal soup, instead of having the same soups all year around.
Pay a visit here if you are around, you will appreaciate it.
5. Tutto Bene Restaurant and Bar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 195 reviews
Located in the heart of Xiamen across from the Marco Polo Hotel, Tutto Bene features authentic Italian cuisine in a relaxed, casual setting.
Reviewed By Luke L - Xiamen, China
Most of the dishes here are not bad at all, but they can be rather bland and ordinary, thus the flavor is not special enough to match the prices. The bruschetta and chicken Caesar salad were both quite good and fresh and the bread tasted homemade, but 65 yuan for bruschetta and 88 yuan for a salad seem a bit too much. The minestrone was bland and it didn't taste different from those I've had from cheap Chinese imitations of Italian restaurants. The casareccia di gragnano, which was a tube-shaped pasta in tomato sauce, was quite disappointing as it also had very little flavor, spices, or vegetables, and cost 85 yuan. My fiancee had the "spicy" peperoncino pasta, which was not spicy at all, just noodles in olive oil with no vegetables, meat, or spices for 75 yuan. It also had a slight seafood flavor, despite having no seafood at all. We couldn't even eat half of it between the two of us. I'm wondering if perhaps we just had bad luck in choosing dishes. For dessert, I had the tiramisu which was actually quite good and tasted authentic.
Despite the problems with the food, the atmosphere in Tutto Benne is quite relaxed and romantic. White orchids adorn every table and because it was Chinese Valentine's Day, there were also single red roses on each table. On some of the walls are cute Cultural Revolution posters. The service is quite friendly, though some waiters' English are a bit limited. I was impressed by how quickly the food was served.
The restaurant is quite easy to find as it's right across from the Marco Polo hotel, which every taxi driver knows (in Chinese).
6. Chao Fu Cheng (HuBin North Road)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 43 reviews
Reviewed By HpLian - Singapore, Singapore
Was brought to this restaurant for lunch. Pleasantly surprised to find such good dim sum outside Hong Kong. No reservation by phone. You have to go personally to get a queue number. It has 2 large floors of restaurant space and yet it is fully packed with diners. The wait is about 30 to 50 minutes. We enjoyed so much that we went there again. Was not disappointed.
Highly recommended to go if you are in Xiamen. Steamed pork ribs with yam is a must.
7. XiaoYan Jing DaPai Dang (HuBin Middle Road)
Overall Ratings
4 based on 67 reviews
Reviewed By MIKELOW - Singapore, Singapore
Hanyu pinying for Small Glasses seafood restaurant is 'Xiao-Yen-Chin' seafood restaurant. The taxi driver drove us to the branch store at Wan-Jia-Tongfung branch instead of the main store at Hubin Middle road which is usually very packed.
The new store was also crowded but at least no need to wait for seats.
The restaurant is big with 2 floors and fully air-conditioned. Seafood tanks and selections/orders are located on the ground floor. So for convenient , it is wise to be seated on the ground floor. Seafood are very fresh here and the cooking is excellent. Except for the 2 flower crabs which cost us RMB-110, all the other items were inexpensive and some very cheap. Also do not forget to order the Fujian-style fried noodles --- very delicious.
Service-wise- was not up to expectation, maybe because the restaurant were very busy and lack of manpower. Other than this little setback, it's a thump-up for this
seafood restaurant.
8. GoldenOlives Greece Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 77 reviews
Reviewed By G039260 - Shenyang, China
I had pretty high hopes about this place. Maybe I just got my hopes up too high.
The good: the pita bread was warm and tasted pretty fresh. The meat was pretty good. Pork better than chicken. The two sauces were both mayonnaise based rather than a nice homemade aioli or yogurt based sauce. The salads were fresh and nice and spot on. The meatballs were pretty nice but tasted like they had a lot of breadcrumbs mixed in.
The not so good: the meat was pretty dry and just warm not hot. The meat had very little flavor. I had the gyro Sandwich and it was very dry. The tsatsiki sauce was yogurt based but lacked basic seasoning. It was very sour.
Overall I'd probably return and try some other stuff but this time I spent a lot with little outcome.
I'd love to see them do some more sauces for the pita like the eggplant based one or the sauce that is a little spicy with feta cheese and yogurt.
The food didn't taste bad so if you aren't a picky eater like I am you might enjoy it just fine. It just needed better attention to the small details that make a meal great.
9. The F Bistro
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 59 reviews
At The F. Bistro, you can enjoy from lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and late, a selection of typical French Bistro food and bevrages. Coffee, Tea, Pastry & Desserts... Beef Bourguignon, Duck Confit, Homemade Foie Gras, Chateaubriand... Pinot Noir, Saint Emilion, Chardonnay, Chablis... Cheese & Coldcut Platter, Belgian Premium Beers...
Reviewed By Globaljourney187373 - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
I Need To admit a hidden secret in The Heart of Xiamen i have been Here now For Brunch, lunch and Dinner At IT was ALWAYS an very nice experience The ATMOSPHERE The Team The Food
10. Jacky Angela Steakhouse
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 205 reviews
Reviewed By DVVLAP
I wasn’t sure if I would go, to many times disappointing experience in China when not in an international hotel or western brand.
But trusting the trip advisor community I went for it.
What a surprise this must be at least a top 3 steakhouse in the world!
Look at my reviews you’ll see I love steak and visited steakhouses all over the globe !
This is unbelievable
If you like meat this is the place to be !
So great
