Cynthia's Chinese Restaurant

I came here with my father and his girlfriend for dinner. The food was amazingly delicious and the service was superb. Our waitress was very friendly and took care of us with everything we needed.

Thank you once again!

The food was terrible.

Ordered ginger beef and it was creamy in a sauce that tasted like a French Onion soup.

Fried rice was salty and lacked any flavour. The rice didn't seem fully cooked either with hard bits of rice in it.

The wontons were hard and chewy.

The ambience inside was very nice and traditional. But the food was absolutely horrendous.

Hands down some of the best Chinese food I’ve had. Service is always friendly, my family has been coming here for years. The spicy squid is a must try

One of our favourite restaurants in Oakville. Jackie and the team are always so welcoming.

This was my first time ordering delivery from Cynthias where the food was below standard. I'm wondering if there's a new cook on the scene? Usually everything's delicious but this time I'm being generous with two stars. The Shanghai chicken and noodle noodle dish had maybe two shrimps and not the freshest chicken, also no flavour whatsoever! Very boring dish and whatever shrimp it did have was undercooked and tasted fishy so it wasn't fresh. The lemon chicken is usually amazing and this time was dry, tasteless batter, and even the lemon sauce wasn't up to the usual standard and had a little taste. Very disappointing!

Wonderful lunch with reasonable prices. The best food we've had thus far! Would highly recommend!

The fried noodles are good and ambience is nice. Bet spring rolls are made in the restaurant to try.recommend for local oakville residents

Deceptive pricing towards customers: 1. The lobster was not disclosed as being priced by weight, and during checkout, several hundred dollars! Were charged directly. 2. The roasted duck only had the skin served, without asking if the remaining parts were desired, and then the remaining portions were not provided. 3. The waiter continuously promoted lobsters and similar items that required weighing, without informing the actual weight as they were not listed on the menu.

The food flavor is acceptable. It's a modified version with more sugar. The food size matches the price. However, the service is zero. The waitress looked not so happy for some reason.

We went to this place for lunch and found the decor really admirable with an antique vibe. The staff are all attired in traditional costume. The place is clean and the table is formally set. We ordered the two course Peking Duck. They sounded the gong when the Peking duck came out in an antique looking cart. The server then starts carefully slicing the crispy skin. For our first course of the peking duck - the hoisin sauce is spread in a thin pancake then one adds the julienned spring onions and cucumber then the thinly slice crispy skin is added before rolling the pancake. Our choice for the second course was to have the shredded duck meat with fried rice. The Peking Duck was so mouth watering delicious. It has a savoury sweet flavour. It was a good size and enough for four people.   We also ordered the sweet and sour boneless pork and mixed vegetables. All the food was flavourful and delicious. Customer service was excellent.

Update July 2022: We arrived 5 minutes early at this place but seeing the sign that says open decided to go in. The restaurant do not have a record of our online reservation, the host/manager did not give us a warm greeting, was not welcoming and seems unprepared to see early customers like us and keeps repeating that the kitchen is not yet ready. This dampened our supposed to be a nice day out but fortunately things got better when we had Stella as our server. She was amazing and has a good sense of humour. It is a delight to have someone who enjoys what she is doing and gives positive energy. She has excellent people skills. Aside from our favourite Peking Duck, we also ordered Seafood Hot and Sour Soup,   Pork and Vegetable Spring Rolls, Buddha Delight (Mixed Chinese Vegetables and Assorted Mushrooms) and Crispy O. K. Beef. As always food was excellent, so enjoyable and so tasteful.

Never again.

I made a reservation for 11 people to celebrate my son's graduation from university and went to the restaurant ahead of time to book a specific table. When we arrived though, we were put at a different table because they had given away our table to a smaller group for some reason. We soon regretted the new table since the sun shone very brightly on half the table. I mean blinding light. They did nothing to correct the situation when pointed out.

It got worse.

The waiters were terrible. Very robotic, no expression, no appreciation, touching food with their fingers, leaning over the guests and touching them. Horrible experience.

You have been warned.

The food has gone downhill. Cynthia’s was one of our favourite Chinese restaurants in Oakville. We generally order 5-6 things most of the time, including their Peking Duck.

I got back late from a business trip and decided to order take out. The crab & egg soup tasted a little funny and it had a bit more fishy taste than normal, but I decided to eat it.

I woke up at 5am with gut pain this morning and I had to go to the bathroom for rest of the night. I probably won’t repeat.

We are lucky to have such an excellent restaurant in Oakville. When I introduce Cynthia's to first-timers, they are always very impressed. Food is fresh and prepared in such a way as to preserve the freshness. Restaurant is very clean. Presentation and venue are remarkable. Prices reflect good food prepared expertly and served magnificently. Thank you Cynthia's for making the wonderful cuisine of China into a thoroughly enjoyable experience. See you soon!

This is our second time ordering from Cynthias’s Chinese Restaurant and again very satisfied! There was a mixup with one of our food orders and when we called and spoke to a costumer service representative and then the manager, they were very courteous, accommodating and very helpful. We will be definitely be ordering again in the near future!

Excellent Service! Delicious Food! The Best Chicken Balls And Chicken Fried Rice We Have Ever Had! Amazing And Friendly Staff! We Have Been Going Here For Years And We Will Continue To Dine In! Very Close To Our Home Too. Thank You For The Wonderful Meal, Drinks And Candy

If I could rate this restaurant 6 stars, I would. Upon parking, you will notice beautiful decor on the exterior of the restaurant. Automatic doors welcome you into an impressive decorated interior in theme with traditional Chinese restaurants. The host has amazing customer service as do the rest of the waiting staff. We ordered Peking duck, a red wine bottle, and two Jasmine teas to finish. They paired perfectly well. Larry carved our duck and did a wonderful job, he also demonstrated how to prepare the first course. We had plenty of leftovers to take home afterwards. On a side note, we saw the staff sing happy birthday in Cantonese/Mandarin to an elderly woman and it definitely made her day. We can't wait to return. Thank you for a wonderful dining experience.

The reason I am giving this restaurant such a poor rating is because last night when we had dinner we were literally pressured into ordering items that we didn't need and didn't want, not just once but three times at least. It was getting really annoying. Also there were far too many different servers coming to check up on us at too many intervals. The meal was not relaxed. My husband will never go back. I, on the other hand, had far better experiences there at lunch. The food is generally good and fresh. But I would only recommend this place for lunch.alxed! AThe. T T smothered

The inefficient online ordering system takes all your details and choices which takes an age and only at the end now says it is a minimum $97 (why not $100) to order online - not pick up or delivery - order on line!? You just lost the order and have been coming here for years.

Most definitely the best chinese food in Oakville area. Been around a while and is very popular, of course. There is authenticity with dishes wide variety of cuisine options and combinations as well the fried rice is stupendiously fantastic. Hands down a HIGHLY recommended option for families as well asian cuisine lovers! Fantastic!

The price is on the high side, which is okay. The food is good here, so I'm willing to pay the premium. But the fact they penny and dime you (charge you for extra sauce, consistently "forget" extras, no utensils, etc.) feels a bit out of place. If a restaurant charges very low prices, I'd expect that, but I can't help feel this restaurant is being really cheap and stingy.

I hate to leave a bad review, but here we are. My family used to go to the Cynthia’a location in Thornhill all the time growing up, so you could imagine how excited I was to learn there is a location in Oakville after moving here. However, the quality of our food was subpar. First, they forgot the sauce for our sweet and sour chicken balls. Not the worst thing to happen, but we live on the other side of the city so there was no point in going back just for some sauce. Next, the fried rice was extremely dry. Again not the worst thing to ever happen but not the quality I’ve known from them. We also got the beef with broccoli, and I joked that it would be hard to mess that one up but I spoke too soon. The flavour was fine, the texture however was AWFUL. The beef was mushy, almost paste like when chewed. I don’t know what could give beef that kind of texture, but it was just terrible. We’re not talking the melt in your mouth texture like you get with a good quality steak, we were surprised it even looked like beef from what we were eating. I have never in my life said a meal was a complete waste of money, but in this case it was. Especially when you factor in the price of the food here. I don’t mind paying a premium for good food, but this wasn’t it. From a series of restaurants that I was been going to since childhood, I expected so much better.

A bit pricey but consistently good Chinese vs. Other places. Our family's regular go-to after trying EVERY other place in the area.

Warm friendly staff. Great food!

If you are looking for authentic Chinese food, this is the place to go!

This is the first time I visited this restaurant and for sure I will come back again.
The place is very nice.
The waitress have impecable traditional Chinese costumes. They are very friendly and offer an excellent service.
The food is delicious and served in a very nice looking way.
If you plan coming I suggest to call and make a reservation. I came without having one and was lucky to get a table after waiting only few minutes.

This is MUST! Food is authentic and taste great. You won't be disappointed. The restaurant is clean and staff is super friendly.

As a Chinese person, I have eaten roasted duck for as long as I can remember and boy is this disappointing. $40 for this garbage of half oil half bone, bland “roasted duck” They overcharge the roasted duck which you can buy anywhere else for $15 such as Congee Queen in Mississauga and theres actual meat on the bones, not oily, and has actual flavours. This isnt the taste of Roasted duck. Would not recommend for Chinese takeout BBQ stuff

Fantastic authentic Chinese food! Always a great experience here, been eating at Cynthia’s for years and it’s always consistently great and delicious. True home style cooking, great portions, menu has lots of selection for the whole family! Support local!

Despite the pandemic still going strong. Good sanitary practices in place. Food (principally Cantonese) good as ever, though prices have risen. Lots of takeout biz.

General Tao chicken was so dry and over cooked it was barely edible and tasted like Chinese 5 spice and vinegar. Fried rice was okay. Fried tofu was extremely over cooked and dry with bland flavour. Terrible value for money. Unfortunately the food was so bad we will not order from Cynthia’s again.

Finest real Chinese food, generous portions, great quality, superb Ambiance. This time I dealt with Stella in her traditional costume and the amazing sense of humor and spontaneously. Great decor, order the Chinese beer.something.

Absolutely the very best restaurant with excellent food and service! We have celebrated many very special family events at Cynthia's and always had an excellent experience! Our birthday celebration for 10 people last night was perfect! Dinner was exceptional - the portions were huge and everything tasted fresh and fantastic. As always the service was superb. It really is a special experience with the beautiful costumes and very friendly staff. (Cynthia's is our go-to for take and is always delicious too!) Highly recommended!

Ordered food in the morning showed up for pick up time and not ready.waiting with no time line as to when order would be ready.first impression terrible.wont be a repeat customer

It's what you would expect from a cheap chinese restaurant but the food tastes pretty good. Not completely tradionally chinese, but the food isn't bad.

I had really good experiences eating here in person. My bf and I ordered take out not too long ago and we where both stuck in the powder room for hours.

A wonderful way to eat your vegetables! Great value & incredibly delicious! Cannot recommend enough!

A landmark known in Dundas, the staff is really nice, the food is always amazing and they even deliver. Would definitely recommend everyone to give this location a try and see for yourself

Depending on what you order, this food can be quite good. The crispy beef in particular was quite good (called OK Beef), similar to something I’ve had elsewhere in Toronto which is still the best. Prices are a bit high, so it may be worth checking out what dishes are popular before ordering.

The customer service is regularly prompt, good mood, very welcoming staff. I will return again when I am in the area.

AMAZING all round experience! The food was absolutely succulent. The staff was beyond friendly and receiving! We were impressed by the numerus gluten-free options on their menu and their attention to detail. Very caring and attentive to our allergies! Definitely have our vote and will return! 10 thumbs up.

Generous portion sizes, good value for money, and lots and lots of great menu choices. Must haves include the mango spring rolls (as an app or even as a dessert, they are that nicely sweet), and the orange chicken (it is just chicken in a light orange sauce and amazing value). One are to improve is that the food could have been spicier - even the food on the menu that claimed to be "extra spicy", was not spicy. Would definitely return.

Cynthia's is and exceptional Chinese food restaurant. Decor is beautiful and the servers are in costume. The menu is varied and everything we had was very good. I especially liked the spicy squid. For one who is unlikely to try something exotic, it is perfectly fine and a great introduction to such a dish. I highly recommend this place.

Bar far, the best Chinese food ever tasted. Everything always fresh and hot! Their service amazing. Their restaurant and space very clean.

Exceptional food, friendly staff members, consistently excellent atmosphere. They charge affordable rates and the food quality is awesome. Fantastic work.

Peking duck is a must do at least once. Experience is great. We live with many food allergies and have had no issues with dining here. Alice, Jackie and the rest of the staff are amazing. They give great recommendations and make sure you and your guests are well taken care of. Live music on Thurdays is a fun addition, artist is talented.

The best Chinese food ever. Jackie and the ladies are a marvel. Always ready with an endless smile. I wish I could list more than 5 stars. Love love love the food! Customer service is the best. Ambiance is the best. My to go restaurant for Chinese food. Hand down! Keep up the good work guys. You truly are the best. See you tonight oh it’s Hugh by the way.

Ive ordered many times from them but be careful of the drivers, the last time they delived they didnt give change & took off with 40.00, When I called the restaurant they did nothing. Make a note pay buy credit and never cash

Two items were not delivered with our order, another was missing the sauce (lemon chicken - the sauce makes the dish), chicken chow mein was delivered instead of vegetable chow mein.

All of the items were cold on delivery.

When we called back we waited for 10 minutes to speak to a manager, the manager simply said "yeah, we're really busy" as an explanation. No apology or explanation other than this.

They did say they would credit back the incorrect items.

Best Chinese food I have ever had!
All items are fresh and tasty not greasy or too heavy.
Fast delivery with amazing delivery people, food is always hot when arrives.
We only order Cynthia's for Chinese food.
Highly recommend!

Best Chinese food in town! The duck is absolutely marvelous, highly recommend you try it, along with their special rice and their seafood hot and sour soup. You may think its overpriced but you can’t compare it to other chinese restaurants, this is a step up.

Gorgeous decor. Every last detail was thought of when designing this restaurant. Excellent food and reasonable prices. Our waiter William was very nice. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars was the fact that as a small party of 3 I would have expected our food to be served at the same time. I have to wait several minutes after my friends had received their meal for my lunch. The same issues with our after dinner beverage and dessert. Would definitely return to Cynthia's.

The lady on the phone that takes the order for pickup ask me to spell my name like 5 times, after being very clear and describing a word for each letters she finally got it correct. When I got there to pick up my order I ask for extra mustard and I asked if it was the spicy one she said yeah. When I hate my meal and use the mustard, the mustard was mild and sweet I was disappointed as I love the spicy one. Other than that the food was great

Well greeted and received from the time you enter with traditional Chinese style.in costume.awesome atmosphere.great food good quality quantity and great value for money

We ordered online, we’ve never been in person. We were absolutely floored by the quality of the food and the way it was packaged! Never had such moist bbq pork before. Every item was top notch- and delivery arrived 30 mins ahead of schedule (mind you we only live 10 mins away). Worth every penny. Now, we look forward to going to dine in person!

You walk in to a classy, authentic fine dining Chinese Restaurant. I was greeted in a very friendly and welcoming manner. The staff are all dressed in traditional rich-looking Chinese attire. The staff are all friendly and professional. The decor is breathtaking, and done in a very rich West Chinese style. It is very beautiful. Everything from the expensive "looking" dishes and silverware, to the chopsticks and linen. The food is excellent! Tasty and delicious, and well portioned. Not expensive for what you get and for "fine dining". Well worth the money. I would definitely go back.

Thank you to all the staff for making my dining experience a beautiful and memorable one.

We have been ordering take out for years now and overall have had good food and service. Today though, I was not happy with four of the five food items. They were either, plain with no flavor, too salty or an off taste. Not sure if we're going to order again for a while.

I’m not here to rate the food, as the food has always been delicious and the quality has been amazing. What I’m rating today is the customer service.
The manager today made us feel inferior from the start as we ordered from the lunch special (which they don’t even offer you unless you ask for that special menu).

She tempted my toddler with a small cup of apple juice for 4.95 (price and quantity of a glass of wine) - which is fine - just didn’t expect it to be for 4.95! (we complained about that- and they reduced the charge on the juice by half).

Next, from the minute we entered, we noticed her arguing with one of the waiters and clearly criticizing his every move the entire time we were There.
He looked visibly stressed and he even asked her politely to stop at least a few times.
I would imagine a manager should be able to take her colleague aside should she have something to say.

Then, she went ahead to ask my toddler if she wanted to buy her fan (which was the freaking wine list!) for five bucks!

Never have I experienced this service from a manager and witnessed a waiter in clear distress from a manager before. Really really felt bad for him.

It’s a shame as we love this restaurant and visit quite often as the lemon chicken is to die for.

We had a below average experience - I came for lunch on Sunday with my boyfriend after a shopping trip, and we were only one of three tables of guests. We were both hungry and ordered right away - sadly the food took a very long time to arrive - 40 minutes! They brought us plenty of tea though! When we made a comment about the food taking too long, we were given the excuse that the restaurant is busy fulfilling a take-out order for 40 people. It was pretty disappointing, and we did not get any apology or discount on the expensive bill. Just a waste of our time. We’ll make sure that our friends or families won’t be returning.

Food Quality: The quality of food has greatly fallen here in the last 6 months or so. The food is subpar and tastes worst than mall chinese food.

Atmosphere: The food and restaurant has a very unappetizing smell, which is off-putting.

Service: The service is rushed, as if you're on a conveyer belt. At one point our server decided to clear our plates even though we were still eating!

Value: At over $70 for two people (no drink, no deserts), it's apauling value.

Verdict: Never again!

I always bring friends to this Chinese Restaurant. The dishes are full of quality and quantity. The decoration style is definitely impressed everyone. It's a place worth to go in Oakville.

$65 for 16 pieces of less than ordinary duck when we ordered a full duck. Added $6 for cutting those 16 pieces without aaking. It tasted so bad we were in disgust, no wonder it's empty. 以为这种黑店不存在的，结果简直出乎意料的难吃和可怕。太恶心了。国内的高级点的饭店都不敢这么嚣张，这辈子没见过这么难吃还嚣张的饭店，怪不得店里都没人。

Update to reply:
All they gave us for the duck were the 16 pieces and 5 thin wraps to eat it with. We asked twice about the rest of the duck and they ignored us both times. Like if we could report this restaurant somewhere to get them checked we will.

Service: 10/10

Decor: 10/10

Price: Moderately pricey, however it is fine dining so it's to be expected

Summary: if you're looking for an upscale service chinese meal, this is it. If you're looking for 100% authentic Chinese food, it's not quite there. I would not say that actual Chinese people eat here regularly as it seems to be more catered towards a novice crowd when it comes to Asian/Chinese cuisine.

All in all, everything was great in terms of service and quality of food (freshness and taste). Again, I would put this place between Mandarin/Manchuwok and an actual Chinese restaurant that you would find in Markham for example.

Chinese food at its best. I especially liked the seafood sweet and sour soup. The presentation of the food was excellent. I really liked the way they served the soup. All dishes were delicious. Staff very courteous.