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Guilin Restaurants

Guilin is an eater's paradise, with hundreds of restaurants of all kinds standing on most street corners and with whole streets of restaurants. However, it is usually not so easy to find the food one is looking for, even for local people like us. The following restaurants are some of the best of their kind according to our own eating experiences in Guilin.

Click here to see some of the most popular foods in Guilin.

China Highlights' Favorite Guilin Restaurants

China Highlights have selected several great restaurants for you to eat at during your stay in Guilin. These restaurants are not tourist hot spots, but good local restaurants that serve authentic Chinese food and that are very popular with local Guilin people. Like most Chinese restaurants they will probably be filled with noise, activity and all of the things associated with Chinese people fulfilling one of their passions - eating.

For convenience, we are providing you with the menus now so that you can select the food that you would like to sample. Chinese menus, as you may know from Chinese takeaways, are usually long and sometimes it is difficult even for locals to know exactly what is meant by many items on the menu. These restaurants will probably not have any English speaking staff, so communication will be difficult. We have selected a number of dishes that are among our favorites. Please select from this menu and your guide will order the food for you and ensure that you receive what you want.

Diecai District

1. Fo Long Xuan Restaurant

Poached Sliced Chicken

Fo Long Xuan Restaurant is a new restaurant run in the Mulonghu Lake scenic area, where is famous for its unique sceneries. Surrounded by water and hills, guests will be pleased to enjoy the picturesque scene when having meals in the palace-shaped restaurant. In additional to its convenient location, the restaurant is credited with delicate local dishes such as stir-fried shrimps of Lijiang river with Guilin Sanhua, a kind of famous local rice wine. What strikes guests as an entertainment is its shows performed by cool girls in Tang Dynasty-style clothes.

Chinese name: 伏龙轩 Fu Long Xuan
Recommended dishes: braised pit feet with orange (鲜橙烩猪手), tasty duck (香骨鸭), and poached sliced chicken (手撕鸡).
Average price per person: 30-60 yuan
Address: Inside Mulonghu Lake Scenic Area, Dongzhen Road, Diecai District (叠彩区东镇路木龙湖景区)
Tel: 0773-2896598
Transportation: Take bus 18, 99, or 100, and get off at Dongzhenlu/Dongzhen Road.

Xiufeng District

2. Chunji Roast Goose Restaurant

Sweet Taro with Sesame

As its name implies, Chunji Roast Goose Restaurant is famous for its roast goose with fine colors and flavors. The specialty is popular because of its crispy skin and fresh meat, and it tastes good, fat but not greasy. The restaurant is decorated simply but it provides a pleasant atmosphere through its clean and tidy environment and considerate service. What’s more, the deserts here are unique and delicious.

Chinese name: 椿记烧鹅 Chunji Shao’e
Recommended dishes: sautéed goose liver in soy sauce (酱爆鹅肝), stir-fried goose intestines (爆炒鹅肠), honey-stewed bbq pork (蜜汁叉烧), steamed creamy custard bun (流沙包), sweet taro with sesame (拨丝芋头), crispy durian cake (榴莲酥), and fried rice with roast goose (烧鹅炒饭).
Average price per person: 54 yuan
Opening hours: 10am–9:30pm
Address: 2, Zhongshan Middle Road, Xiufeng District (秀峰区中山中路2号)
Tel: 0773-2806188, 0773-2856188
Transportation: Take bus 55 or 58 and get off at Nanmen Qiao/ South Gate Bridge.

Chunji Roast Goose Restaurant Qixing Branch 椿记烧鹅七星店

Average price per person: 49 yuan
Opening hours: 11am–2pm, 4:20pm–9pm
Address: 32 Qixing/Seven Stars Road, Qixing District
Tel: 0773-5808518, 0773-5805528
Transportation: Take bus 16, 20, 28, 32, or 36 and get off at Sanlidian Guangchang/Sanlidian Square (三里店广场).

Chunji Roast Goose Restaurant Diecai Branch 椿记烧鹅叠彩店

Average price per person: 50 yuan
Opening hours: 10am–9pm
Address: Floor 2, Guilin Hotel, Zhongshan North Road, Diecai District (叠彩区中山北路桂林酒店2楼)
Tel: 0773-2828898, 0773-2829969
Transportation: Take bus 1, 2, 203, or 100, and get off at Fengbei Crossing (凤北路口).

3. Guilinese Good Luck Restaurant

Roast Goose

Guilinese Good Luck Restaurant is popular for local people and visitors for its good location at the Zhengyang Pedestrian Street, a famous commercial street in the center of the city. The restaurant primarily provides delicious local food, BBQ, and western food. Its delicate decoration, traditional Chinese music played in the dining hall, as well as the cozy atmosphere make the restaurant one of the most popular eating places and leaves you a deep impression.

Chinese name: 桂林人聚福林美食苑 Guilin Ren Jufu Lin Meishi Yuan
Recommended dishes: sword bone fish cooked with beer (啤酒剑骨鱼), roast goose (烧鹅), steamed pork belly with taro (芋头扣肉), fotiaoqiang/steamed abalone with shark’s fin and fish maw in broth (佛跳墙), stired shrimps of Lijiang River with leeks (韭菜漓江虾), and sweet taro with sesame (拨丝芋头).
Average price per person: 67 yuan
Opening hours: 10:30am–12pm
Address: 10 Zhengyang Road, Xiufeng District (秀峰区正阳路10号)
Tel: 0773-2829 542, 0773-2808 748
Transportation: Take bus 18 or 57, and get off at Lijiang Juyuan/Lijiang Theater (漓江剧院).

4. Agan Restaurant

Duck Tongues with Spicy Salt

The restaurant got its name for its proprietress' family name: Gan (甘). The restaurant offers home style dishes, featuring sour and spicy (customers can ask the waitress/waiter to change the taste according to their favor). The dishes here are great and cheap make it an attractive option for the local people. as its specialty, stewed meat and cabbage (炖菜) is popular and highly recommended.

Chinese name: 阿甘酒家 Agan Jiujia
Recommended dishes: roast duck (烤鸭), eggplant en casserole (sautéed with spicy garlic sauce) (茄子煲), and duck tongues with spicy salt (椒盐鸭舌).
Average price per person: 46 yuan

Opening hours: 10:30am–10:30pm
Address: 11 Pedestrian Street, Xicheng Road, Xiufeng District (秀峰区西城路步行街11号)
Tel: 0773-2887575, 0773-2808080
Transportation: Take bus 3, 10, 11, 16, 23, 33, 51, or 100, and get off at Xicheng Crossing (西城路口).

Qixing District

5. Taste Made Restaurant

Flavored Shrimps of Lijiang River

Taste Made Restaurant is an avant-courier of creating a new concept of cuisine in Guilin. Located at riverside, it is demonstrated in modern style, preparing the meals that are as pleasing the palate as the eye. It customizes for customers' taste by uniting Chinese and Western cookery, together with those relaxing music, which will leave you a fantastic memory of dining. Two highly recommended dishes are steamed creamy custard bun (流沙包) and beef cooked in clay pot (石锅牛肉).

Chinese name: 味道制造 Weidao Zhizao /way-daoww zhi-zaoww/
Recommended dishes: flavored shrimps of Lijiang River (口味漓江虾), spicy boneless duck feet (去骨鸭掌), and liquor-soaked chicken (醉香鸡).
Average price per person: 64 yuan
Address: 19 East Lijiang Road, Qixing District (七星区漓江东路19号)
Tel: 0773-5880098
Transportation: Take bus 6, 16, 28, 32, or 54, and get off at Sanlidian Guangchang/Sanlidian Square (三里店广场).

Xiangshan District

6. Jinlong Zhai Restaurant

Stewed Glutinous Rice with Spareribs

This is a large up-market restaurant group with outlets spreading over the city and other places. Characterized by special food, warm service and the nice dining atmosphere, the group enjoys a good reputation around the area. Jinlong Zhai restaurant on the Wenming road is more popular than others due to its location near to the former residence of Li Zongren, who was a famous General during the War of Resistance.

Chinese name: 金龙寨 Jinlong Zhai /jin-long zheye/
Recommended dishes: stewed glutinous rice with spareribs (糯香排骨), chicken cooked in a wooden bucket (木桶飘香鸡), shrimps of Lijiang River cooked in clay pot (漓江石锅虾), and steamed creamy custard bun (流沙包).
Average price per person: 50 yuan
Opening hours: 9am–10pm
Address: 8 Wenming Road, Xiangshan District. (象山区文明路8号)
Tel: 0773-2821889, 0773-2836899
Transportation: Take bus 5, 16, 23, 33, or 88, and get off at Wenminglu/Wenming Road (文明路).

Jinlong Zhai Restaurant Jiale Branch 金龙寨家乐店

Average price per person: 47 yuan
Opening hours: 10am–10pm
Address: Floor 3, Jiale Business City, 29 Qixing Road, Qixing District (七星区七星路29号家乐商贸城3楼)
Tel: 0773-5809998, 0773-5808889
Transportation: Take bus 14, 30, or 52, and get off at Sanlidian.

Jinlong Zhai Restaurant Central Square Branch 金龙寨中心广场店

Average price per person: 54 yuan
Opening hours: 6am–2am
Address: 24-8 Zhongshan Middle Road, Xiufeng District (秀峰区中站中路24-8号)
Tel: 0773-2825533, 0773-2836199
Transportation: Take bus 10, 11, 51, 99, or 100 and get off at Shizijie/Cross Street.

7. Yiyuan Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant

Poached Sliced Beef in Hot Chili Oil

Yi Yuan Restaurant is one of the strongly recommended restaurants in It specializes in Sichuan cuisine, delighting your taste buds with its fresh and spicy delicacy. It is said that the dishes here are so great that they taste better than dishes in Sichuan. Its classical decoration and modern furnishings brings a special dining environment to guests. What’s more, with wooden decoration and alluring landscape it has become an attractive spot besides the river. English menu is available.

Chinese name: 怡园饭店 Yiyuan Fandian
Recommended dishes: (水煮牛肉), spicy pig’s intestines (辣子肥肠), Sichuan style pickles (四川泡菜).
Average price per person: 36 yuan
Opening hours: 11am–9pm
Address: 106 Nanhuan Road, Xiangshan District (象山南环路106号)
Tel: 0773-2820470, 0773-5837566
Transportation: Take bus 57 or 88 and get off at Nanmen Qiao/ South Gate Bridge.

Muslim Restaurants

Most Islamic restaurants in Guilin are located in the Ximen (West Gate) Bridge area. Customers can take bus No. 22 from the railway station or No. 26 from the city center to get there.

Recommended restaurants are as follows:

Anhua Restaurant, or Anhua Shifu (安华食府 means Anhua (probably someone's name) Food House)

Address: 9 Minzhu Road (民主路9号)
Tel: 0773 3831570
Fax: 0773 5810667
Branch Address: 9 Qixing (Seven Star) Road (七星路9号)
Tel: 0773-5810960

Guilin Islamic Restaurant, or Guilin Yisilan Fandian (桂林伊斯兰饭店)

Saute Spicy Chicken It is owned and run by the Islam Association of Guilin and five mosques. It belongs to all the Muslims in Guilin and provides high quality food.

Address: 55 West City Pedestrian Street (Xicheng Buxingjie), Guilin (西城步行街55号)
Tel: 0773-2819737
Contact: Mr Ma Chengrong

Chaozhen Dian (朝真殿 means Dynasty True Palace)

Address: close to Ximen (West Gate) Bridge (近西门桥)

Yahefu Xinjiang Restaurant, or Yahefu Xinjiang Fandian (牙合甫新疆饭店)

Address: close to Ximen (West Gate) Bridge (近西门桥)

Vegetarian Restaurants

Pure Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant

Pure Lotus Vegetarian Restaurantin that it offers vegetarians a wide variety of dishes with nice decor. Small as it is, the dishes are tasty, and highly recommended by numerous tourists, such as braised tofu with tea leaves (茶香豆腐), braised vegetable balls, beans steak with XO sauce, Buddaha's delight, vegetable curry and braised eggplant (红烧茄子).

Chinese name: 暗香疏影素菜馆 Anxiang Shuying Sucai Guan /an-sshyang shu-ying su-cai gwan/
Average price per person: 35 yuan
Address: 7 Diecui Road, Yangshuo (阳朔叠翠路7号)
Tel: 0773-8818 995

Also more on best vegetarian restaurants in Guilin.