Water Margin, Portsmouth

We love this place – if only we lived more local. My kids love the food – and it’s introduced them to Chinese. Excellent value.

I’ve been going to Water Margin on and off for a long time with my kids, and seeing their new offer last weekend thought to check them online and was shocked by all the bad reviews! I think when you choose you place to dine you have to consider this is a buffet and don’t expect Michelin star service and food. I always found staff were kind to my family and the food fresh. Of course you can find it sometimes too busy etc. but good value for money so I would recommend it not for romantic nights but for quick bites!

Vile, disgusting, felt ill afterwards, cold food. Very disappointing. Very poor quality and not impressed at all. Won't be going back. Expensive in comparison to other "All-You-Eat" chinese restaurants around the country. Customer service very poor.

I’ve been to Water Margin this Sunday with the kids (6yrs and 8yrs), and we had a great time! My little ones could eat anything they had in mind, so we didn’t need to wander around for ages to end up at a fast food place to please everyone’s taste. My favourite was the salt and pepper king prawn and the kids couldn’t have enough of the fruit cocktail and blackcurrant jelly. The waiters were very friendly with me and my family, so I would happily recommend this restaurant.

If you're looking for value for money then you can pretty much get it here - all you can eat (I recall £7 lunch and £13 dinner) with a very wide range of chinese dishes. The food quality isn't great but it is alright for what it is. Good for a casual meal with friends; not so much for a family event or anything nice.

Large noisy chinese food factory, self-service, all you can eat for £7 at lunchtime.
On a Saturday, the queues are long and your food goes cold as you wait. The staff are hard working and quick but it lacks any welcome. The food is mainly chicken and pork, very few vegetable dishes but you can top up your five a day with some fresh fruit.

Tooooooooooo many dishes to chose from. Tummy toooooooooo small. Must remember to fast for a week or so before going back. Bit like a canteen, but who cares when you are piling the food in. Just make sure you don't eat like a pig.

Big uncomfortable canteen basically, but what it lacks in style and comfort it makes up for in its food. Food is constantly being topped up with fresh stuff and the choice is amazing. They also have a noodle bar and ice creams for dessert should you have any room after troughing through 3 mountains of food. I’m a bit fussy with some food so find that because its buffet style you can take a little taster and go back for the food you really enjoy. Its best to come here after fasting for at least 2 days to make the most of it and bring lots of greedy friends.

This chinese restaurant is an all you can eat so make sure you come here hungry. It offers the usual range of chinese foods, including starters and pudding. All the food is laid out before and you help yourself to it buffet style. This does mean that if you go at a quiet time it is possible that the food has been sitting out a while and therefore is not as fresh as you might like. Saying that the food is always hot and they replace dishes once they are eaten. The restaurant is large and spacious so finding a seat is not a problem. However the interior decoration does make it feel a bit like you are sat in an industrial warehouse so don’t come here if you are on a date and want it to be romantic. It is the place to come if you fancy trying a little of everything or are very hungry.

like old days! like a school canteen

This is a good fun place to eat. It’s always been busy when I’ve been there, and I know they used to do a cheap deal at certain times (sorry, cannot remember when). Turnaround is fast, the place is huge and canteen style. Small bar area to wait in if you can’t get a table straight away. Variety of food is excellent, and is always being topped up and all looks fresh. You can 'invent’ any meal you can think of with a good selection of meats, fish, noodles, veg, the list goes on!

As it’s an 'eat as much as you like’ type of place, don’t make the mistake I made the first time I went there - I filled up my plate for the first round of food and was too full to enjoy any more! Also, when it’s very busy, just watch people around you, space is limited and people could knock your arm when you’re carrying your food back to your table.

All in all, great fun, and cheerful. Recommended!

I have to admit that if I was writing this review a couple of years ago I would have also have given the water margin a great review. When it first opened the food was really nice,and we visited regularly but after many happy months of tasty meals the food headed down hill a bit so we tended to visit other restaurants more often.

I hope this was a temporary glitch, and from reading all the other reviews I think it will give it a try again soon, as there has always been a great choice of dishes, and good service (so long as you don’t visit “prime time” when it is ridiculously busy).

This is a large restaurant so you may have to wait a while to be seated at busy times, a however I have never had to wait at the bar long to get a drink, and the toilet facilities have always been very well kept.

The tables have always been kept clear and dishes are usually replenished quite quickly, so you rarely miss out on the dishes you want to try.

If you prefer more intimate surroundings Look up: The Yan Woo.

If you are looking for restaurant that offers a wide choice at good value this is a very acceptable restaurant. However if service, quality and authenticity of meals, and ambiance are your aim this is a place you should avoid.

The bustling restaurant is always busy and with a large selection of dishes to suit the family it is a good restaurant for a family meal. As this is a buffet restaurant it is a good option for those both the more and less adventurous as you can concentrate on your favourite dishes or try a wide variety without worrying about cost of wasted portions.

Watermargin also has a Teppanyaki where you can choose from a limited selection of items that are cooked on a griddle while you wait. However they always seem to over cook your food, and the squid which one would expect to be delicious freshly cooked is always overdone till it resembles elastic bands!

A really good buffet style Chinese in the heart of Portsmouth. Parking is available in the shopping area’s multi-storey car park.

The range of food is excellent covering all that you would expect in any Chinese. The food is usually hot, although at busy times it can slip slightly. There is one food dish that is guaranteed to be hot - Teppenyaki (Only cold if you’ve forgotten to give it to the Chef to cook!!!)

This is one of the major plus points for this buffet is that the Teppenyaki bar is included in the price (currently under £13.00 (24th Nov 2008)).
If you have not had Teppenyaki, this is where you select the meat or fish that you want the dish to contain, add your vegetables including onions, bean sprouts and spring onions and your noodles. You then take it up to the chef and he’ll cook it in front of you on the hot plate.

Overall a pretty good night and plenty of choices to eat including fruits, and the usual ice cream & fritters for desserts

A great place to come if you like Chinese food and have a big apetite!

It can get very busy so with small kids I always arrive at opening time.

Prices are really reasonable and if you’re not bothered about sevice at your table then it is the ultimate Chinese restaurant!

A great chinese buffet restaurant. The place is massive and fits loads of people but i’ve seen it queues go out the door. I have never had to wait too long though. As it’s buffet style, the turnaround is quite quick. They do both lunch and dinner menu. In my opinions the lunch menu is not worth bothering with as the variety is quite limited. Dinner however, you can have as much crispy duck as you like - well worth it! The is loads of choice f starters and amin dishes. You can also have some meat and noodles cooked from raw while you wait. The deserts are ok - jelly, ice cream and fruit and there’s a reasonable selection of drinks. Don’t expect this to be a relaxing meal though!

This is the best chinese buffet i have ever been to, forget dishes exclusively full of onions to bulk them out and make you feel ill, this place gives you genuine chinese food for minimal cost! Just imagine being able to pile your plate full of a selection of chinese dishes for a set fee, you can sit in there going backwards and forwards as many times as you like. It is a very busy restaurant, but it is busy because it is so tasty! You would imagine you were in a full blown sit down restaurant to get food of this quality. Ok if you are a fussy eater this may not be for you, but if you like chinese food i guarentee you will enjoy this place! You also get a fantastic view of the spinnaker tower and portsmouth harbour from some seats which is a bonus. The drinks are pricey, but the food is so good you won’t care.

The best Chinese Buffet Restaurant in the UK. PERIOD.

The lunch buffet has sixty dishes and the evening buffet has 90 dishes. The food is so so good here, and the variety could not be much bigger. To top it off, there is a raw meats and vegetable buffet, so you can make your own meal for the chefs to cook, on top of the buffet. The great variety and quality of food will keep you coming back again and again.

I think the buffet is about £15 per person but it is well worth it. These restaurants are often very big, so they lose out on the design and ambience, but in this case, you go to this restaurant for the food only, so nothing else matters. A definite must for anyone who has never been here.

This has to be my favourite reataurant. The food is consistantly good and the ideal venue for a shoppers lunch or a night out with the lads (or ladies). Short on atmosphere - more a canteen style place. Bon appetite.

This restaurant offers a great choice of dishes,as well as a tepanyaki area.Although some people find the environment a little utilitarian,it is a great place to go with a group.The fixed price menu means no arguments about splitting the bill.

The food is great,too!!