Guilin Restaurants: Where to Eat in Guilin

In addition to the world-renowned fantasy-like karst landscape, which is said to be the best under heaven, Guilin's food also enjoys great popularity among domestic and foreigner tourists. Thanks to the unique location of Guangxi that neighboring Hunan and Guangdong, Guilin dishes draw on the essence of both Hunan Cuisine and Cantonese Cuisine. It stresses the freshness and smoothness, and attaches great importance to the flavor of the materials and the degree of softness of finished products. Most of the specialty dishes in Guilin are cooked with unique local ingredients, and once moved to other places, the original local flavor will be different in taste. For example, the most popular Yangshuo Beer Fish is cooked with big fresh carps selected from Li River, which are really vital materials that cannot be replaced by other fishes!

So, where can you savor and indulge the most authentic food in Guilin? Below we carefully select the top restaurants in Guilin downtown area, Yangshuo County and Longsheng Rice Terraces Scenic Area. Read on for our pick of the best before you go!

Top 5 Best Selected Guilin Restaurants (in Downtown Area)

A dozen restaurants can be found on every street among Guilin downtown area. Whether you are looking for a “big” meal or simple Guilin Rice Noodles, you will easily catch what you want in a modest fee there. Below are the top 5 restaurants we recommended for you, which are the best choices to sample top quality food in Guilin city center. Special restaurants recommended for vegetarian are also included.

Shang Palace (Shangri-La Hotel Guilin)

Chinese: 香宫 (桂林香格里拉大酒店)

Average Price: from about 198 per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 11:30 - 14:00; 17:30 - 22:00

Address: Shangrila-La Hotel Guilin, No.111 Huancheng North 2nd Road (皇城北路111号)

Shang Palace belongs to the super 5-star Shangrila-La Hotel. The food there is exquisite, with a good mix of different Chinese specialties like flavorful chili pork, delicious local Guilin noodles and excellent soup options. The staff are friendly, welcoming and always ready to help you with any issues, regardless of whether you asked or not. Sitting at the tables near windows if possible, so you can enjoy the beautiful scenery outside when dinning.

Lijiang Waterfall Hotel Restaurant

Chinese: 桂林漓江大瀑布饭店

Average Price: from about 295 RMB per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 11:30 - 14:00; 17:30 - 22:00

Address: No.1 Shanhubei Road Xiufeng Distinct (桂林市秀峰区杉湖北路1号)

This restaurant is settled inside the 5-star Lijiang Waterfall Hotel, in an excellent location within walking distance to lake, pagodas and Elephant Trunk Hill. Most of the staff there are multi-lingual, making you worry free about ordering any dishes. The cuisines are flavorful but rather inexpensive, hence a good choice for family and friend groups.

Guilin Park Hotel Restaurant

Chinese: 桂湖饭店

Average Price: from about 225 RMB per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 7:00 - 13:30; 16:00 - 21:30

Address: Luoshishan Road, Diecai Distinct (桂林市叠彩区螺蛳山路1号)

The restaurant in Guilin Park hotel is located in a beautiful lake area away from the hustle and bustle of the business district, but within walking distance to Solitary Beauty Peak, Diecai Hill and Fubo Mountain.

Kali Mirch (black pepper) Indian Cuisine

Chinese: 黑胡椒印度餐厅

Specialties: Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Halal, Gluten Free Options

Average Price: from 47 RMB per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 11:30 - 22:00

Address: No.5 ren min street, zhengyang pedestrian street | Behind Sheraton hotel, ground floor of wang cheng boutique hotel (人民路5号正阳街)

Located on the liveliest and most busy Zhengyang Pedestrian Street in Guilin downtown area, this India restaurant chain is highly recommended if one is looking for great India cuisine or some vegetarian options. It is also on the top list of the Guilin restaurants suggested by Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor. The owner is an Indian man so all the ingredients are imported from India. Kali Mirch (black pepper) Indian Cuisine also has a branch on West Street in Yangshuo.

Rice Noodles Pub (Luanle Rice Noodles)

Chinese: 乱了粉库

Average Price: about 32 RMB per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 10:00 - 24:00

Address: No.142 walking street, zhengyang pedestrian street (桂林正阳步行街142号)

Whether you are a Chinese or an overseas tourist, Rice Noodles Pub, or called Luanle Rice Noodles, is absolutely a good choice to enjoy authentic Guilin Rice Noodles near the city center square. This restaurant offers a variety of toppings and side dishes, including a page of vegetarian offerings, so you can pick your own ingredients to add into the noodles! Menu there is in English with pictures and their staff can provide English service, hence you won't encounter with any trouble when ordering.

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Top 3 Special Recommended Yangshuo Restaurants

Once stepping into Yangshuo, especially into the “paradise for backpackers” - West Street, you should be well-prepared to be dazzled by varieties of “global foods restaurants”, including local beer fish restaurants, western-style fast-food restaurants like KFC, India cuisine restaurants and also rows of snack stalls, etc. Usually, you can try any restaurant you see at your first glance, and you will seldom feel disappointed. If you want some special recommends there, the following 3 restaurants may give you more surprise.

Cloud 9 Restaurant (on West Street)

Chinese: 聚福楼

Average Price: for about 56 RMB per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 10:30 - 21:00

Address: Yangshuo West St.100 - 1# (阳朔西街)

If you want to try local restaurants and eat all the local Guilin delicacies at one place, go to the Cloud 9 Restaurant on West Street. This restaurant is favored by both locals and foreigners for its good-tasted and traditional dishes. From the signature dish Yangshuo Beer Fish, Guilin Rice Noodles to Sichuan Spicy Diced Chicken and Mapo Beancurd, the menu there offers plenty of options for hungry diners. Besides, what makes Cloud 9 Restaurant more special is its unique Yangshuo Cooking Class, which provides interesting experience to learn Chinese dishes from scratch with professional chefs before your lunch or dinner.

Cloud 9 Restaurant Cloud 9 Restaurant

Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

Chinese: 阳朔胜地

Address: Yulong River Road | Gaotian Town, Yangshuo County (阳朔县遇龙河畔)

Yangshuo Mountain Retreat is located at the riverside of the picturesque Yulong River. Quite different from any other restaurants in Yangshuo, it provides the unique experience to enjoy food and wine by the river in countryside area. Its unique location makes it possible for you to easily start your Yangshuo countryside cycling journey to explore Moon Hill, Big Banyan Tree, Fuli Bridge, Jiuxian Village, etc. after a pleasant and memorable breakfast or lunch.

Yangshuo Mountain Retreat Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

Secret Garden Yangshuo

Chinese: 阳朔秘密花园

Average Price: from about 58 RMB per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 11:00 - 21:00

Address: Jiuxian Village at the riverside of Yulong River in Yangshuo countryside (阳朔旧县)

Secret Garden, the hidden Gem in Yangshuo countryside, is a boutique hotel and restaurant in Jiuxian Village near the stunning Yulong River. The hotel and restaurant are located in a beautifully renovated Qing Dynasty (1616 - 1912) building. Besides its awesome ancient building and decoration, the foods there are also fantastic: be sure to try the “health food” cooked with greens and other materials “growing” at the nearby fields, as well as to enjoy the lovely restaurant garden and pond.

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Top 2 Longji Terraced Field Restaurants

Longji Terraced Field in Longsheng County, which is also called Longsheng Rice Terraces or the Dragon's Backbone Terraced Field, is located on the mountainous area for about 85km from Guilin downtown area. The restaurants in the whole Longji area, including Jinkeng, Ping An and also Ancient Zhuang Village, are all in traditional stilt-style wooden houses, providing a strong atmosphere of eating in the local’s houses. Those restaurants are locally run. Therefore, the flavor of the dishes of every restaurant may be a little different according to the different level of the local “chefs”. The following 2 restaurants are the top recommended by our local travel consultants and guests.

Ping'an Hotel Restaurant

Chinese: 龙脊平安饭店

Average Price: from about 20 RMB per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 9:00 - 20:00

Address: Ping'an Village, Longji Terraced Fields Scenic Area, Longsheng (龙胜县龙脊梯田景区平安寨)

The Ping'an Restaurant is part of Ping'an hotel. It provides food service for its guests and also other tourists. This restaurant is settled on almost the center area of Ping An Village, with surprisingly excellent rice terraces view over its window. Remember to try the Chicken and Rice Dishes cooked in Bamboo Tubes over open fire, which are the specialties in Longsheng.

Longji Meiyou Café

Chinese: 龙脊没有餐厅

Average Price: from about 20 RMB per person (the price is subject to change)

Hours: 9:00 - 20:00

Address: Ping'an Village, Longji Terraced Fields Scenic Area, Longsheng (龙胜县龙脊梯田景区平安寨)

The name of this restaurant “Meiyou Café” literally means “no coffee”. This restaurant is also on the center area of Ping An Village, somewhat a must-passing spot for uphill and downhill travelers visiting the Seven Stars around the Moon. Bamboo dishes are also on the menu of this restaurant.

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Visiting Guilin Restaurants and Touring Guilin with China Discovery

To savor REAL Guilin Dishes without any bother of choosing a “real” local restaurant, you can travel Guilin with China Discovery. We will ensure you sample the best Guilin food on offer at authentic local restaurants, and ensuring your individual dietary requirements and preferences are catered to. Contact us and let our professional travel consultants customize a personal Guilin tour with local Guilin Restaurants visiting right now!

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