Joy Tsin Lau Chinese Restaurant

This is my favorite spot in Chinatown for Dim Sum. Very kid friendly. Just park in garage next door & validate your ticket at the register. more

Not a horrible second choice if you are in Chinatown and the Panda Garden is closed for whatever reason or too crowded. Its not as good but its tough to really mess up chinese food. Prices are still reasonable and the food is served quickly, but go to Panda if possible. more

Let me tell you the reasons why I can't do a conventional review of this restaurant:; i.e. why I can't tell... more

I live in Chinatown so I'm pretty used to the language and culture barrier. It's usually not a problem, but the people here have the worst ethics and professionalism of any place in Chinatown. I went to Dim Sum with a group of six people. It was very crowded so seating was limited. One person with us was a larger man, and as we sat down they insisted that he sit on the inside since he may block the aisle from carts going through. We just brushed it off an sat down. We had to ask 4 times for water and when they gave it to us is was warm with no ice...probably bathroom water. Every refill we wanted (which is a lot when you're eating salty dim sum) was the same wait time. My boyfriend was sitting in the aisle seat when a steaming hot cart sears his leg! He screams that they've burnt him and the lady just LAUGHED! She laughed and said ""Sorry baby! You ok!"" She laughed and told her other friends. Eventually he asked another woman for some ice for his leg. She didn't understand and had to get the one English speaking waiter, who also didn't seem to understand. Eventually he got it and translated...this lady also laughed. I'm not the expert on Chinese culture but it seems that burning a white man is funny. On top of that they didn't discount us or even say sorry. They're REALLY lucky we're not the suing type. Just imagine if an American restaurant burned your leg, laughed, and ignored you... Stay away from here! The food is just ok, but it's not worth it at all. Pros: Red lantern decor? Cons: Service, waitstaff, language barrier, slow more

I usually go to Joy Tsin Lau for dim sum so I've never experienced the customer service but my husband and I decided to go on a Wed. night just for a quick dinner. When we arrived the place was empty except for a very large party. For starters, our server had to scream to talk to us, then it proceeded to take an hour and a half for our food to arrive. About 1/2 hour into our wait the large group started to speak over a loudspeaker projecting directly onto our table. We couldn't even hear each other scream. When I asked the manager to turn down the speaker, not only did he ignore me but gave us a dirty look the rest of the night. The other 2 customer in the restaurant besides us walked out. I couldn've believe the manager and the poor judgement of not just close down the restaurant for the private party. I used to go there for dim sum, now I'm never going back. Pros: dim sum, good seafood Cons: poor service, terrible manager more

Been going here for years with my family and each visit the customer service just gets worse! The front desk girl has the worst attitude in Philadelphia. Food used to be much better but its still quite good and consistent. Next time I'll try another restaurant in China town. Definately not the place to go if you want a pleasant dining experience. Pros: Food. Used to be better but is consistenly good. Cons: SERVICE is the worst! more

A lot of things must have changed at Joy Tsin Lau since the previous reviews were written. We randomly wandered into the the restaurant on a busy Saturday and were seated promptly and recieved wonderful service! The Dim Sum came around very quickly and the servers were patient with their explainations. The meal was also extremely reasonable (about $20.00 for two), we had a really wonderful experience! There is also discounted parking avaiable in a garage on Race between 9th and 10th, make sure you get your reciept stamped!! I would definitely reccomend this dim sum to others we will surely go back!! more

This place has been in Philadelphia for some time. Even with their horrific services, they still manage to serve a somewhat decent dim sum (i said somewhat). However, they need to work on their dinner dishes. It wasn't too enjoyable. more

The manager needs to hire a younger, and more efficient staff because these old men and ladies are getting too grumpy when they're suppose to serve you in a respectable and cordial manner. I had came with a group of friends which would have been doing a good business favor towards them but they did not come to take our orders when we were ready. The waiter told me to wait...wait for over 15 minutes probably. What's worser is that they seated us near the kitchen and some of the staff was sitting near us eating while we sat there with tea. So of course, being ignored as a customers as I was, I suggested we all get up and leave. If they don't want our business, we don't want their service. Besides, there are many other restaurants waiting for customers. Pros: Very Chinese Rooms Cons: Grumpy Waiters, Terrible Seating, Hyped up Prices more

I have been to this restaurant at least 10 times over the past few years. Each year the service has gotten worse while the quality of the food has slowly gone down. The food is still very good but was much better 4 years ago. The service now is horrible. The waiters and waitresses have an attitude the moment you step into the place. It is as if they are doing you a favor by serving you. If special requests will be ignored. Go for the food but not for the service...go next door to Ocean Harbor where the food is the same but the service is way better Pros: garage parking, decent food Cons: bad waiters, horrible host, worst service ever more

The service was the worst I ever experienced. Almost everything went wrong, for instance: though we had a reservation they sat us 30 minutes late; the waiter forgot to give our orders to the kitchen (!!); when we complained about the lack of food, they brushed us off, claiming not to speak english; and, then, after all that, they told us that they didn't have one of the dishes we ordered. It was terrible and I will never go back and will tell as many people as possible about the terrible service. more

Despite a handful of customers, the service was the most abysmal I've seen for Chinese restaurant . acted as if they couldn't care less about a customer.- brought the entree while just starting to eat the soup and brought the appetizer after the entree came. This all took place within minutes of each other. The lemon chicken was returned to the kitchen because it was so dry and overcooked it looked as if it was cooked the day before. there are much better places to eat in chinatown - stay away from here. Cons: service, food more