The tranquil ‘Chinese Garden of Friendship’ provides a unique oasis like atmosphere in the heart of Australia’s busiest city. The venue draws from both aspect of its location with its modern interpretation of a Chinese high tea during the day and a modern Sichuan dining experience in the evenings, as well as ‘The Blue Room,’ a private dining space for events, functions and special occasions.
Free entry to the Gardens when you dine with us.
Private Dining
Book your next event with us
Experiences
Bottomless Yum Cha
A$69.00 per personMultiple dates available
YUM CHA at The Gardens by Lotus, promises traditional delicacies – balanced with staples that will ignite a sense of nostalgia. A tool to help you unwind into the weekend with family and friends, this is an experience for everyone. Sip on the finest Chinese tea, try something new and fight over the last dumpling – this is all encouraged.$88 Banquet Menu
A$88.00 per personMultiple dates available
Pacific oysters with soy,ginger and yuzu Okra salad with sesame sauce Crystal prawn dumpling Pork and prawn siu mai Calamari with 7 spice Crispy duck pancake with spiced hoi sin, shallot and cucumber Wok fried black pepper beef fillet with baby corn and green beans Steamed Barramundi fish fillet with soy and ginger Steamed Asian greens with soy and sesame oil Steamed rice Seasonal dessert$118 Banquet Menu
A$118.00 per personMultiple dates available
Pacific oysters with soy, ginger and yuzu Softshell crab salad with granny Smith apple, grapefruit and flying fish roe Crystal prawn dumpling Pork and prawn siu mai Lightly crumbed Japanese scallop on yuzu mayo, bonito and nori Crispy duck pancake with spiced hoi sin, shallot, and cucumber Singaporean chilli king prawns with steamed mantou Wagyu beef sirloin with roasted cherry tomato Steamed Barramundi fish fillet with soy and ginger Steamed Asian greens with soy and sesame oil Steamed rice Seasonal dessert$69 Banquet Menu
A$69.00 per personMultiple dates available
Okra salad with sesame sauce Pacific oysters with soy, ginger and yuzu Crystal prawn dumpling Pork and prawn siu mai Crispy salt and pepper Calamari Beef short ribs with aged vinegar, garlic and chilli Steamed Barramundi with soy, ginger and shallot Steamed Asian greens with soy and sesame oil Steamed rice$99 Banquet Menu
A$99.00 per personMultiple dates available
Okra salad with sesame sauce Pacific oysters with soy, ginger and yuzu Jade prawn dumpling Pork xiao long bao Lightly crumbed Japanese scallop on yuzu mayo and bonito flakes Duck pancakes with cucumber, shallot and spiced hoi sin sauce Wok fry black pepper beef fillet with green beans and baby corn Steamed Barramundi with soy, ginger and shallot Steamed Asian greens with soy and sesame oil Steamed rice Seasonal dessert$35 Autumn at the Gardens Set Menu
A$35.00 per personMultiple dates available
AUTUMN AT THE GARDENS SET MENU- $35 pp ---- Mushroom springrolls Prawn har gow dumplings Pork and prawn siu mai Kung pao chicken with cauliflower or Steamed Barramundi fillet with soy, ginger and shallots Asian greens with soy and sesame Steamed rice ---- ADD DESSERT $5pp Eaten mess with mango, chantilly cream and biscuit crumbs
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitised between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitised menu provided
- Sanitiser or wipes provided for customers
- Contactless payment available
- Sealed or wrapped utensils used
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waiting staff wear masks
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
Amazing customer service. Couldn’t do enough for us. Had a lovely lunch and a great time all round. The bottomless option is still high quality.
Hi GigiB, Thank you for your wonderful review! We are so glad to hear you had a lovely experience dining with us and that you found the Bottomless Yum Cha to be of high quality. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you again soon!
Beautiful environment, wonderful staff s. Menus were difficult to understand for me.
Hi Nash, Thank you for your wonderful review! We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed the environment and the wonderful service. We appreciate your honest feedback on the menus and will be sure to pass this along to the staff for review. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back soon!
We tried the bottomless yum char (2 adults and 2 children) and I think we rather go for a la carte. Kids were quite excited to see lizard everywhere and they are harmless and free entry to chinese garden is a bonus.
Hi Kesteey, Thank you for your 5-star review! We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your overall experience at Gardens. We appreciate your honest feedback and will be sure to pass this along to the team. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back soon!
A peaceful restaurant in a very beautiful location with nice food and friendly staffs.
Lotus was great! Couldn’t recommend it more than I do! Food is really good and you get more then what it’s worth.
The staff is also the best!
Hi Sam, Thank you for your 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the service provided as we pride ourselves on it at Gardens by Lotus. We are excited to hear that you would recommend us to others and we look forward to welcoming you back soon!
Great food, great ambience, great service. I really enjoyed the BBQ pork buns and the shallot pancakes especially.
Hi Drish, Thank you for your 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that we were able to provide you with a great experience and that you enjoyed the BBQ Pork Buns and the Shallot Pancakes. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back soon!
Food, service and surrounds were incredible. Such a wonderful and unique experience.
Hi Jo, Thank you for your wonderful review! We are thrilled to hear that you had a wonderful experience and you enjoyed the food, service and surrounds. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back soon!
Super nice scenary, very quiet and peaceful place to eat.
Hi Mayle, Thank you for your kind words and lovely review! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the scenery and found it quite peaceful to eat. We hope to welcome you back soon!
Staff kept forgetting to bring food out, had to wait 40 minutes for a spring roll. Definitely a casual restaurant as a man sat there with his shoes off at his table. Also forgot to bring out ordered drinks, and then later forgot to bring other food in the set menu.
Hi LIIII, Thank you for taking the time to review your recent dining experience at Gardens by Lotus. We are sorry to hear you were disappointed with the service you received. Weekends are extremely busy at the Gardens due to our bottomless yum cha so we do apologise if you experienced any delays with the food service. Customer feedback is invaluable and something we take very seriously to improve the customer experience. We hope to welcome you back soon. Kind regards, Lotus Dining Management.
Very good overall. We went for bottomless yum cha.
Hi Julian, Thank you for your kind words and lovely review! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the Bottomless Yum Cha and that you found everything to be to your standards. We look forward to hopefully welcoming you back soon!
What an absolutely amazing find in a beautiful little green corner in the CBD! We were amazed by the amount of food that was served and how delicious it was, the friendly staff, and the ambience. The experience of eating dumplings and soup in the rain is something else, and elevated to a whole new level when you're eating at the Gardens by Lotus!
Hi Yash, Thank you for your 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the flavours of the food as well as the friendly staff and ambience. We are looking forward to welcoming you back to Gardens by Lotus soon!
Great experience. Lovely place, with great view of the Chinese Garden of Friendship. Delicious food and service was excellent. Definitely worth the visit.
Hi there, Thank you for your 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that you had a great experience with us, and that you especially enjoyed the view of the Chinese Garden of Friendship. We look forward to welcoming you back to Gardens by Lotus!
Great food and service - we were there to commemorate our tai chi teacher who has passed / and the staff honoured us and him with his favourite dish. Peking duck!
Hi Mary, Thank you for your kind words and lovely review! We are glad to hear that we were able to help you honour your tai chi teacher with his favourite dish, peking duck. We hope to welcome you back soon!
We had a lovely lunch, hope to come back again soon
Hi Leah, Thank you for your wonderful review! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed your lunch experience at the Gardens. We are looking forward to welcoming you back soon!
Location,location, location and when you combine this with great food and service it is Devine!
Hi Peter, Thank you for your kind words and wonderful review! We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed your experience especially the location. We pride ourselves on providing the best quality experience for all our guests. We look forward to welcoming you back soon!
Overall the experience was lovely. I would like to note that the food took a bit longer than expected to come out. A few of our dishes were also on the cold side, but it was still delicious. I would still come back since the view was quite beautiful and the dumplings were so delicious. I know they do yum cha on the weekend, I might try that next time. The people who served us were lovely, but when we finished our meal we weren't sure where to pay because there were no one on sight.
Hi Abigail, Thank you for your kind review! We are glad to hear that your overall experience was lovely and that you enjoyed the dumplings. We appreciate your thoughts on the service. We will be sure to pass this along to the team for review moving forward. We hope to welcome you back another time soon hopefully for the Bottomless Yum Cha!
When we booked, we were told that our 4 kids would have a different price according to their age, ranging from $15-$25.
When we arrived, we started eating, we were given one menu and it was explained that the food would come according to the menu. We loved our dining experience, the food was great and so was the service.
When we came to pay, we were startled to be charged $69 each for all 6 of us, even including our 9 year old daughter. This spoiled a great lunch, and as we were never explained the real method of charging and the options available to us, we unfortunately left feeling we had been "scammed".
Nice view, food not so great and lack of service..
Hi Junston, Thank you for your honest and valuable feedback of The Gardens by Lotus. We are disappointed to hear that you did not have an enjoyable experience. We would love to hear more about your experience so we can use this to grow and improve as a team. Please feel free to reach out to us directly with any feedback you wish to pass on, we have provided our email address to you in a seperate message and hope to hear from you. Kind Regards, The Gardens by Lotus
Service was excellent! Food was just as good! Depending on where you were sitting there may be small interruptions here and there from garden goers. But other than that the environment was very lovely!
Hi Tins, Thank you for your excellent review of The Gardens by Lotus! We are thrilled to hear that you had such an enjoyable experience with us and we really look forward to welcoming you back to The Gardens again soon!
Amazing rainy day
Hi there, Thank you for your lovely review of The Gardens by Lotus! We are glad you enjoyed yourselves and hope to welcome you back soon!
Food quality average but pricey, nice venue to celebrate special event
Hi Chris, Thank you for your great review of The Gardens by Lotus! We do feel that our prices reflect the quality of the ingredients used, however that being said we have passed along your feedback to the team for review. We're glad to see that you enjoyed your celebration with us and we look forward to welcoming you back again soon.
Nice meal perfect shop setting also they offer high stand service
The atmosphere was fantastic. Service very good. Food was overpriced.
Hi there, Thank you for your thoughtful review of The Gardens by Lotus! We are so pleased to hear that you had such an enjoyable time with us. We do feel that our prices reflect the quality of the ingredients used, however that being said we have passed along your feedback to the team to discuss. We hope to welcome you back again soon.
Meant to come here to fine for a while. CNY is a great occasion to try out the special menu Ansolutely love the food, ambience & service. Will visit again for the weekend yum cha. This is right next to The Chinese garden of friendships, which is beautiful!
Hi there, Thank you for your lovely review! We are very pleased you chose to celebrate Chinese New Year with us and even more pleased that it was such a fantastic experience! We really look forward to welcoming you back when you next choose to dine with us.
Kong Pao chicken was very tasty. My fav from the $35 set menu. Menu was limited due to COVID situation. The ambience was just lovely. Every $50 spent there gives you a free adult entry to the Chinese Garden. I will definitely visit again.
Hi there Kenny, Thank you for your lovely review of The Gardens by Lotus! We are so happy to hear that you had a lovely time with us and enjoyed the food so much! We hope to see you back again soon!
Long waiting time for food
Overprice food
Charge 10 for one bottle of sparkling water and did not offer refills
The service was very very slow. The wait between courses was way too long. All tables were offered a glass of wine in acknowledgement but we had children with us who were hungry and we needed to meet people after so could not wait. Expensive considering we did not receive all of the items on the menu.
Range of yum cha was fantastic and everything was very fresh. Staff were terrific- nothing was too much trouble. We sat overlooking the lake and it was very peaceful. A great experience thanks
Hi Karen, Thank you for your great review! We are so happy that you had such a pleasant experience with us and we look forward to having you join us again for more Yum Cha!
Great food selection and service. Beautiful spot to have lunch
Hi Mara, Thanks so much for your kind words! We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your time with us at The Gardens by Lotus. We are certainly very lucky to be in the beautiful Gardens! We hope to welcome you through our doors again in the near future.
Stunning venue, amazing service and food was tasty, yet simple and beautifully cooked. Highly recommend
Hi Lindsey, Thank you for your lovely review and for recommending The Gardens by Lotus. We are so happy to hear that you had such a fantastic dining experience and enjoyed your food, service and the view! We hope to welcome you back again soon!
Food is bad and service is poor. Price is over charge. $25/ per kid only includes three piece options of dishes . Over charge definitely!
I was blown away by the serenity while being right in the city. Amazing gardens and food. Will definitely be back!
Hi Nicola, Thank you for your kind words and for the great feedback! We are so happy to hear that you had such a wonderful time at The Gardens and enjoyed the serenity! We look forward to welcoming you through our doors again very soon.
Good food and vibe but not worth the price for weekend yamcha tbh. It was more like course meal not like all you can eat. It was a good experience but wouldn’t go again for yamcha but for weekday lunch/dinner.
Hi Leah, Thank you for your honest review of The Gardens by Lotus. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your meal and appreciate your valuable feedback on your experience. We hope to welcome you back through our doors again soon!
Good food, a bit pricy but worth it. Very pleased service and also satisfying atmosphere!
Hi Sesannos, Thank you for your lovely review of The Gardens by Lotus! We are happy to hear you enjoyed your meal and appreciate your feedback! We do feel our prices reflect the quality of the food and are glad to see you agree! We very much look forward to your next visit to The Gardens!
Overall it was an enjoyable experience with the serenity of the chinese gardens. The food was average, some good dishes (prawn dumplings) and others very disappointing (the roasted duck pancakes appeared to be days old and just reheated in microwave as it was very dry and chewy). The service was good and attentive.
Hi there, Thank you for taking the time to provide your thoughtful review of The Gardens by Lotus. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your service from the team and will be sure to pass along your feedback to the kitchen for review. We do hope to welcome you another time soon!
Went for our work Christmas lunch and had a sensational time. Food was excellent, service was fantastic and the setting is amazing. Smack-bang in the middle of the Chinese Gardens you dine overlooking the ponds and next to a waterfall. Will definitely be back!
Hi Stu, Thank you for your lovely review of The Gardens by Lotus! We are so delighted to hear that you had such a wonderful dining experience and that we could tick all the boxes for you. We look forward to your next visit, hopefully very soon!
I was embarrassed to take clients to lunch here. I’m a fan of other Lotus but this was awful. Despite the nice setting in the gardens and the food being ok, we had some of the worst service I’ve experienced. The set menu was very limited and small. They gave us 2 plates that were smaller than a average lotus main, to share amongst 6! We ordered beers and a bottle of wine. Waitress dumped the wine on the table and no beers and just left. We asked where the beers were and she said, ‘we’ve run out so you can just have the wine’... oh ok thanks - Lotus can be great but they need to ensure the consistency across their brand, you never know what you’re going to get unfortunately.
great location for Yum Cha! Food ands service was great.
Hi there, Thank you for your great review! It is fantastic to hear that you had such an enjoyable dining experience and we hope to welcome you back through our doors again soon!
Although the food looked aesthetically pleasing my friend and I found the yumcha was pretty average in terms of taste and variety. There are definitely better yumcha place shut for the location and the included Chinese garden ticket, it was worth the price. The variety of food was also limited, lacking yum cha favourites like chicken feet and tripe. The views of the garden was pleasant though the service was a bit slow compared to other yumcha places and there were small portions brought out one by one for each table rather than a typical yumcha with push carts, the result was longer wait times and slow service times.
The bottomless yum cha is a must try. You won’t regret it.
Hi Adrian, Thank you for your kind words and for recommending The Gardens by Lotus! It is wonderful to hear that you enjoyed your time with us so much and we really hope you will join us again in the near future!
FAQs
Gardens by Lotus is rated 4.1 stars by 60 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.
