'There’s a reason why our Chinese customers keep coming back. Our Hong Kong-trained chefs return home regularly to keep up with trends but they don’t forget the centuries’ old traditions that have made Cantonese food the most popular in Britain.'

That's the beef on the Riverside website, and this place has a reputation to match. Plenty will tell you that it's the best Chinese eat in Cardiff, and that's an advert money can't buy.

Yet the doubts creep in as soon as you arrive at the Riverside. For a start there aren't that many Chinese customers. In fact none at all the night we were there. And I doubt that many Chinamen would be too happy with the prices to use it as a home-from-home. Don't expect to cheerful a welcome either. You might as well be the Dalai Lama holding an Olympic torch when you walk in. Sour looks and grunts are the best that the staff have to offer, and be prepared to carry all your bags and drinks from bar table to restaurant. These guys sure ain't helping. And where did the weird decor come from? Looks some cross between Florence, Beijing and Peckham.

So what? you say - a gruff waiter is all part of the authentic Chinese experience. Well maybe, but only if the food delivers. And much of it isn't bad. A lot is pleasantly fresh tasting, such as the wonderfully clean monkfish with ginger. The special rice is very special too with plenty of shrimp and other seafood surprises lurking.

But it just isn't consistent. The gloopy spare ribs are on a level with most take-aways, and the hors d'oeuvres (£6.95 per person) are just your usual oily prawn toasts et al, although there was a battle over the last of the lamb satay.
Full marks for the wine list though. There are quite a few interesting little numbers on there, even if the prices are a bit steep, and definitely recommended is the diesel-rich Alsace Riesling.

So is this the perfect place for a night of Chinese paradise? Sadly not. They say the dim sum is better, and maybe it is, but the evening menu is a very mixed affair. The way is still open for someone to take the Chinese crown.