The Lotus Chinese Floating Restaurant, Docklands

I've been here a few times and I think it is an overpriced floating restaurant. I have no complaints about the food because it has constantly been good but the service is slow and not so good.

Utterly delicious. I enjoyed the Chef’s special, employed the servers unbiased recommendation , and wrapped up off along with a marvelous soft serve dish .

Classic cookery, supplied in an unassuming dining area without a huge amount of fuss. The produce definitely speaks by itself, and though vegetarians will likely identify their choice quite limited, it's a carnivore's nirvana. Many business-types here on a week day lunchtime, but the aura was still being fairly casual.

Organization was pleasant, attentive and regarded without being pushy or stuffy. Will by all odds return try a number of the increased bold bowls

I booked a table for 10 people on the 10th of January 09 but I had to move the date to the 30th of January instead.

So I called up on 30/12/09 and I spoke to one of the staff to change the time to the 30th of Jan instead. But he was being very rude and was demading for a deposit of £10 per person and would refuse to change the date unless this is paid!! Then he eventually hanged the phone on my face!! So I called back to see if I can speak to a manager but instead the same guy hanged the phone on me again...I just couldn't believe it!!

So be aware, the staff of this place are not very friendly...they are very rude.

We live walking distance from The Lotus Chinese Floating Restaurant and are so glad we have finally found a place for authentic cheap dim sum without needing to travel all the way to Chinatown! From its mundane unlit appearance in the afternoon and tinted windows which prevented us from seeing inside, we always assumed it was a novelty joint either failing miserably or completely abandoned, until we walked in last week at lunchtime and realised it was buzzing especially with the office crowd from Canary Wharf!All the steamed dim sum classics are well executed- fluffy white char siew bao (BBQ pork buns), har gau (prawn dumplings), siew mai (pork dumplings), beef tripe with ginger etc, and we were surprised to find good Ma Lai Koh (Malay steamed sponge cake) on the menu too which is the first time I've encountered it in London! We ordered two varieties of cheong fun (steamed rice sheet rolls)- char siew and fried dough- and loved both, highly appreciating the fact that the sauce for the fried dough version was served in a separate saucer for dipping instead of drizzled over, to ensure the filling remained crispy.The fried/baked dishes also got the thumbs up all round- gorgeous little egg custard tarts with a flaky pastry, light and not-too-greasy wu kok (yam puffs with meat filling) and crunchy salad har (fried prawn dumplings with salad cream).The only thing we regretted ordering was the plate of dry-fried beef hor fun, which was rather bland and oily and not worth the £6.50 price tag. Although I haven't tried any of their other noodle dishes, I would say it's a safer bet to stick to the dim sum classics.Service was typical of a Chinese restaurant (none too friendly, civil but indifferent), but with most of the dishes priced at £2 (the most expensive ones being £3.50) and a lovely waterfront view to boot, I will definitely be back at Lotus over and over to satisfy my dim sum cravings! :)

The food is ok but service is terrible (only order as take-away!). After a tiring day in London I took my partners visiting family to the nearby Lotus Chinese Floating Restaurant (we live in Docklands) for a quick meal before an early night. (Fairly quiet Tuesday evening in August). We promptly ordered our meal and drinks and though the drinks arrived, we were still waiting for our meal 30 mins later. I pointed this out to a waiter whose reply was 'Ok, Ok'. 45 minutes: I asked the waitress who's reply was "because you didn't order any starters, it takes longer (?!?) but it will be ready in 5 minutes." One Hour: I demand the manager and this flustered bespectacled girl comes up to tell me my food will be ready in 5 minutes and proceeds to play with a young child (obviously not grasping my annoyance), no explanation given! 1 Hr 10 minutes: I walk up to the kitchen and ask what's happening and it turns out the kitchen hadn't started our order (I wanted to leave but the family didn't want to cause a fuss). Another quarter of an hour and the food arrived! I tried again to explain my utter disgrace but the duty manager seemed to think she could giggle the matter under the carpet. They offered us 2 beers and 1 ice cream as compensation (not each). We turned down her offer of free mousse as we didn't have another hour to waste. Nothing off the bill and no offer of discount off future meals (the only way she may have got me to come back). The food is actually ok but not worth a tenth of the hassle!!!

The Docklands, Chinese, The Lotus Chinese Floating Restaurant: The seafood is great. It is very tasty, well prepaired and is presented with great eye appeal. The staff is very helpful in recommending different dishes that the whole family will enjoy.

The Lotus Chinese Floating Restaurant serves Great food at a good price. Many stars go there to eat including some of the Chelsea football team.

Staff are very nice and food is excellent.