The Welcome has been a St Ives institution since it opened all the way back in 2005. I have lost count at the number of people on the Cambridge Foodies who rave about their Cantonese and Malaysian cuisine and with a chef that boasts over twenty years experience, it is hardly surprising.

This may explain why I have been unable to get a table for some time. The restaurant is always fully booked when I visit and this only made me only want it more. Tonight, I decided to use my brain (for a change) and book ahead, on one of the quietest nights of the week and luckily they were able to fit me in.

The restaurant is beautiful, with a strong Chinese theme. Numerous Lazy Susan’s are placed on the tables to make sharing between friends easier. I was particularly charmed by the large fish tank that greeted me as I entered. This added a calming melodic atmosphere that complimented the mirror artwork on the walls.

It is a surprisingly big restaurant, with lots of tables hidden around corners. This made it hard to quantify the number of seats but I estimate you could fit in between 50-70 people.

The menu was large, with a wide selection of classic Chinese options available. You get the choice of al a carte, a fixed buffet menu, a set menu (with three different options), and a gluten free menu.

The set menu caught my eye, with a fixed price of £32pp. This allowed me to explore a diverse selection of dishes without the budget getting out of hand.

I decided to order the Set Menu B.

• Sizzling Beef Fillet in Chilli Oyster Sauce

• Kung Po Chicken

• Chicken with Cashew Nuts in Yellow Bean Sauce

• Egg Fried Rice

All set menus come with a mixed ‘hors d’oeuvres’ platter and aromatic crispy duck.

Hors D’oeuvres platter

I have often found the sharing platters in Chinese restaurants to be somewhat disappointing but this was one of the best examples I have seen. Everything felt like it had a lot of love and care put into it, rather than something that is mass produced and shoved under a hot lamp.

Spare ribs

The stand out favourite was the spare ribs. This is a sublime example of the dish, which is served in a fruity sauce and had us both fighting for the last one. They were sticky, sweet, and tender, while also being a good solid mouthful. I particularly enjoyed dipping the sticky beef into the dried seaweed to give the skin that extra crispy and salty flavour. Lovely!

Spring rolls

The spring rolls were big and meaty. They struggled to hold together and fell to pieces as I tried to pick them up. I recommend using a knife and fork but this took nothing away from the texture and flavour!

Prawn toast

The prawn toast was absolutely perfect too, with a thick crispy skin that goes spongy as you gently bite into the centre. How many times have you had that hard and crunchy prawn toast that has clearly been overdone? Not here!

It also had a strong prawn flavour that really took me by surprise, as prawn toast (in my experience) has often been more anemic.

Aromatic crispy duck

We were given 8 pancakes to share between the two of us. The duck came with the usual chopped cucumbers, onion, and a rich sauce called hoisin.

The duck was a generous portion that could have easily fit into ten pancakes – so don’t shy away from filling them up!

The duck meat was nice and crispy, while also being extra juicy – exactly how it should be!

Set menu B

The three set menu options are meant to be shared between two people (or more) and came with three large dishes, each big enough to be considered a main in its own right.

Sizzling Beef Fillet in Chilli Oyster Sauce

The first dish was a personal highlight of the evening. A beautiful (yet noisy) hot plate of beef fillet, served in a chilli oyster sauce.

This bad boy came out sizzling loud and proud, with spring onion, pepper, and onions. The beef was tender and cut into big juicy chunks, that only emphasise its tenderness further. The chilli brought it to life, with a slight hint of spicy warmth, while still not being hot enough to overpower the average person. The oyster sauce didn’t taste overly fishy (like I was expecting) but it had a rich earthy taste that was very enjoyable.

Chicken with Cashew Nuts in Yellow Bean Sauce

Next was a lovely chicken dish, served with cashew nuts in a yellow bean sauce. The sauce was thinner and acted more like a glaze, which added a complex (yet salty) flavour that I really enjoyed. The chicken, like the beef above, was also cut into larger mouthful tender chunks.

Kung Po Chicken

And lastly, was the iconic kung po chicken. This dish wasn’t as visually appealing as the other two but stood out with a refreshing sweetness from the honey glaze. The cashew nuts added a pop of flavour and crunchy texture to the bite that brought everything together nicely. The skin was incredibly crispy and unlike the other dishes, the chicken was served in much smaller bite-sized portions. This was probably the spiciest of the dishes, with a potent fiery kick that really added some life and feistiness to the dish.

Conclusion

My experience at The Welcome was a faultless one, with the warm and friendly team living up to the restaurant’s name. The menu has a wide selection of dishes with numerous options on how to order. This meant I could find a deal that suited me, with no nasty surprises. No service charge was automatically added, which was a nice touch and the restaurant was well decorated throughout.

The food was hard to fault, with everything impressing us this evening. The quality of some of the classic dishes (like the aromatic crispy duck and prawn toast) made me think that perhaps I have been mistreated by other Chinese restaurants in the past? I highly recommend the beef in chilli oyster sauce, which stood out as the favourite.

I am kicking myself for leaving it so long to visit The Welcome but I won’t be making the same mistake on my return.

Thanks for reading