Famous Restaurants in Guangzhou: Old Names to Know

Dotted underline: only secondhand sources report it so far. Tap or hover it for why, and check before you go.

Which restaurants are the famous old names?

Four names come up again and again: 广州酒家, 陶陶居, 莲香楼 and 泮溪酒家. All four are on the Guangdong old-brand list of December 31, 2024. Two more names are newer: 点都德 and 炳胜. Show the Chinese name to a taxi driver.

Two labels appear below. 中华老字号 means “China Time-honoured Brand”, a title from the Ministry of Commerce. Michelin has three tiers here: stars, Bib Gourmand (good-value cooking) and Selected (an inspected restaurant without a star or Bib; Michelin’s site files these under the Plate). Our Michelin guide explains them.

Guangzhou Restaurant (广州酒家)

iPhoto: Dzb0715 · CC BY-SA 2.5 Details

The flagship is 广州酒家(文昌总店) at 文昌南路2号, Liwan. The group site gives its hours as 08:00–14:30 and 17:00–21:30, Monday to Sunday. The phone numbers are 020-81380388 and 020-81388823.

• The restaurant opened in 1935 as 西南酒家, per the group site.
• The group says it is a 中华老字号 and a “first house of Guangzhou food” (食在广州第一家).
• The group page says this branch won a Michelin Plate. Michelin’s current Plate list does not include it, so check the Michelin site before you rely on it.
• The group runs 25 Guangzhou Restaurant outlets. Another official branch is 中华广场店 (中山三路33号). The group site names no signature dishes for the Wenchang branch.
• The 百福广场店 at 体育东路112号 says it is next to Line 1; check the nearest exit on a map app.

Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居)

iPhoto: Mkckim · CC BY-SA 4.0. Tao Tao Ju, Dishifu Road, Liwan Details

The flagship is at 第十甫路20号, Liwan, near Shangxiajiu. The phone number is 020-80503899.

• The Ministry of Commerce lists it as a 中华老字号, approved on November 7, 2006, and dates it to 1880.
• The same page says the building was rebuilt in 1925. A Guangzhou CPPCC page says the name sign was written by Kang Youwei.
• Hours are 08:00–16:30 and 17:00–22:00. The same secondhand guide lists a century roast goose, char siu and large shrimp dumplings.
• An older Wikivoyage entry says reservations are recommended.
• Stations: Changshou Lu or Huangsha are both reported as the nearest. Check a map.

Michelin lists one Tao Tao Ju branch, the Ya Yuan branch at 6F Central Tower, 5 Xiancun Road, Zhujiang New Town. Michelin rates it Selected and shows ¥¥, its own price symbols. The phone number is +86 20 8852 1688. Michelin says bookings go direct to the restaurant. The Dishifu flagship is not the Michelin one.

Lian Xiang Lou (莲香楼)

The address is 第十甫路67号2楼, Liwan. It is on the 2nd floor, so look for the stairs.

• A Guangzhou CPPCC page says it began in 1889 as a pastry shop and is known as the first house of lotus-seed paste (莲蓉).
• The same page says it won the 中华老字号 title in 1993.
• Hours are 07:00–21:00 and the phone number is 020-81392545.
• Known dishes: lotus-seed bun, lotus-fragrance stuffed duck and lotus-pod pork.
• Nearest station: Huangsha, Exit B.

Panxi Restaurant (泮溪酒家)

Panxi is at 龙津西路151号, on the shore of Liwan Lake. It is a garden restaurant, and the Liwan district page says it has more than 20 pavilions.

iPhoto: 古海岸遗址 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Details

• It was founded in 1947. The Ministry of Commerce lists it as a 中华老字号, approved on January 26, 2011.
• The Ministry of Commerce page lists signature dishes: golden roast suckling pig, stuffed winter-melon soup, and a soup-filled roast goose (灌汤古法烧鹅).
• It also lists “eight famous dim sum”, including 泮塘马蹄糕 (water chestnut cake).
• Hours are 07:30–21:00. Another secondhand source gives 07:00–22:00, so check before you go.
• Nearest station: Changshou Lu, Exit B. The phone number is 020-81721328.

Modern names: Dian Dou De and Bingsheng

Dian Dou De (点都德). A Beijing Road store is at 北京路352-354号, with a souvenir shop below and the restaurant on floors 2 and 3, per a Yuexiu government page from 2019. The chain is on the Guangzhou old-brand list, but it is not a 中华老字号. The Guangzhou government’s first early-tea traditional store list, published September 22, 2026, names 广州酒家, 陶陶居 and 点都德 at headquarters level. The same Yuexiu page names these dishes: shrimp dumplings, 四色参汤虾饺, wasabi salmon tart (日式芥末三文鱼挞) and durian ice ball (榴莲冰球). It is not the same as Michelin’s De Dian.

Bingsheng (炳胜). The group started in 1996 and has 19 outlets in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Its site lists branches and booking phones:

• 炳胜品味 (海印总店), 东晓路33号, Haizhu: 020-34286911 or 020-34286910. Michelin lists it as Selected with ¥¥, open 11:00–23:00 every day, known for fish sashimi and the “four beauties” (crispy char siu, soy pork trotters, pork tripe, goose intestines).
• 炳胜公馆 (珠江新城店), 冼村路2号5楼: 020-38035000 or 020-38035111. It has one Michelin star, per the group site and our Michelin guide.
• 炳胜私厨 (天河东店), 天河东路178号: 020-87575699. The group site says it has held one Michelin star for nine years.

Where can you eat roast goose?

Start with these sourced places.

• Zhu Zai Ji Shi Fu, 429 Jiangnan Avenue South, Haizhu. It is Bib Gourmand, with Michelin’s ¥ symbol. Michelin says its roast goose has been popular for about 20 years.
• Hai Xian Jie Cai Guan, 152-2 Haizhu South Road, Yuexiu. Michelin lists roast goose among its dishes.
• Panxi: the Ministry of Commerce page lists a soup-filled roast goose as a signature.

The food guide explains roast meats (烧味) and how to order them by weight.

How do you book and pay?

Phone the branch. Michelin and the Bingsheng site both say bookings go direct to the restaurant, and the Bingsheng WeChat shop is for gifts, not tables. Michelin says cards are accepted at the Dongxiao Road Bingsheng and at Tao Tao Ju Ya Yuan. Michelin’s ¥ symbols are its own price marks, not yuan amounts.

Set up a payment app first with the Alipay and WeChat Pay guide. The dim sum guide explains trolleys, tick sheets and the tea charge, and the tea culture guide covers table manners.

One Reddit user wrote in July 2026 that Tao Tao Ju and Dian Dou De, which are hyped online, were disappointing. That is one traveller’s view.

What could we not confirm?

• Official hours for Tao Tao Ju, Lian Xiang Lou, Panxi, Dian Dou De and Bingsheng (only Michelin’s hours for the Dongxiao Road Bingsheng).
• Prices in yuan for any restaurant.
• Whether Lian Xiang Lou, Panxi or Dian Dou De is on the last page of Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list.
• English menus, QR ordering, payment methods and queue times.
• An official roast goose ranking.