Guangdong is China's most populous province and its economic powerhouse, located in the far south along the South China Sea. It encompasses the vast Pearl River Delta megacity region, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, and Dongguan. The province is the birthplace of Cantonese cuisine, culture, and language, and has been the gateway between China and the world for centuries. From the UNESCO World Heritage Danxia Mountain to the gleaming skylines of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangdong offers a dizzying blend of ancient tradition and hyper-modern city life.
Top restaurants
Handpicked picks for the best dining experiences.
Guangzhou Restaurant
Founded in 1935, Guangzhou Restaurant is the city's most venerable institution for Cantonese cuisine and dim sum. The cavernous ballroom-style dining hall fills with locals for yum cha from 7am. A landmark of Cantonese culinary heritage.
Known for: Dim sum, traditional Cantonese banquet
2 Wenchangnan Road, Liwan District
Tao Tao Ju
Established in 1880, Tao Tao Ju is one of Guangzhou's most historic teahouses. The four-story heritage building on Dishifu pedestrian street is beautifully restored and serves both classic and innovative dim sum.
Known for: Dim sum, Lingnan cuisine
20 Dishifu Road, Liwan District
Panxi Restaurant
A Guangzhou institution set in a classical garden with waterways and pavilions. The dim sum trolley service has operated for decades, and the roast goose and barbecued meats are among the best in the city.
Known for: Dim sum, traditional Cantonese
151 Longjin West Road, Liwan District
Bing Sheng Private Kitchen
Consistently rated one of Guangzhou's top restaurants, Bing Sheng serves elevated Cantonese cuisine with premium ingredients. Famous for live seafood and exceptional wok technique. Multiple locations across Guangzhou.
Known for: Modern Cantonese, seafood
68 Jianshe 6th Road, Yuexiu District
Da Dong Roast Duck (Guangzhou)
The Guangzhou outpost of China's most celebrated Peking duck restaurant, elevated with Cantonese influences and an art-gallery ambiance. Exceptional wine cellar and sophisticated crowd.
Known for: Peking duck, creative Chinese
Taikoo Hui Mall, 383 Tianhe Road
Yi Zhi Jian Braised Goose
The definitive Chaoshan dining experience in an ancient city setting. The slow-braised Lu Wei goose is legendary — order ahead for a whole bird. Teochew-style cold crab and oyster porridge are equally unmissable.
Known for: Braised goose, Chaoshan seafood
43 Zhongshan Road, Chaozhou Ancient City
Shunde Aquatic Village Restaurant
Shunde is considered the birthplace of Cantonese cuisine and a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. This restaurant in a traditional water village setting showcases Shunde's most beloved specialties.
Known for: Double-skin milk, freshwater fish
Xiqiao Town, Shunde District
DimDimSum Dim Sum Specialty Store
A modern dim sum chain that has revolutionized the format with menu ordering and all-day service. Great for first-time dim sum visitors or those who want creative flavors without the traditional formality.
Known for: Creative dim sum
89 Tiyu East Road, Tianhe District
Restaurants by cuisine
Browse picks grouped by cuisine type.
Seafood
Yi He Lou Seafood Restaurant
Zhanjiang is known for its pristine seafood from the Beibu Gulf, and this restaurant is the local benchmark for freshness. The Zhanjiang 'white-cut' cooking method — minimal seasoning to maximize natural flavor — is the hallmark.
Known for: White-cut seafood, crab
Renmin Avenue South, Chikan District, Zhanjiang
Nanhai Fishing Village (Nanhai Yu Cun)
A rustic restaurant specializing in Pearl River Delta freshwater seafood. The produce comes daily from local fishing vessels, and the cooking is unfussy — focusing on ultra-freshness over complex preparation.
Known for: Pearl River delta seafood
Haizhu Lake National Wetland Park Area
Hailing Island Seafood Square
An open-air seafood market-restaurant complex near Hailing Island's main beach. Pick your live seafood from the tanks — grouper, crab, lobster, clams — and have it prepared to order. The freshest seafood eating in Guangdong.
Known for: South China Sea fresh seafood
Shili Yintan Road, Hailing Island
Shantou Big Head Prawn
Shantou is one of Guangdong's great seafood cities, and the Teochew style — emphasizing purity, seasoning restraint, and supreme freshness — is exemplified here. The cold-marinated 'drunken crab' is a signature dish.
Known for: Tiger prawns, Teochew seafood
Zhongshan Road, Jinping District, Shantou
Wanzai Port Seafood Night Market
A lively evening seafood market at Zhuhai's old Wanzai fishing port. Pick fresh catches from ice beds, choose your cooking method, and eat at communal tables while fishing boats bob in the harbor.
Known for: Grilled seafood, fishing village atmosphere
Wanzai Fishing Port, Xiangzhou District
Cantonese
Yue Xuan Cantonese Restaurant
One of Shenzhen's premier Cantonese restaurants, with refined cooking and elegant surroundings. The dim sum is served from 7:30am — an excellent morning yum cha option in central Shenzhen.
Known for: Classic Cantonese cuisine, dim sum
1 Shennan East Road, Luohu District
Qingyuan Qing Yuan Chicken Restaurant
Qingyuan chickens are among the most prized in Guangdong — free-range birds raised on mountain streams and maize with silky, firm meat. Served white-cut (poached, minimum seasoning) to showcase natural flavor.
Known for: White-cut Qingyuan chicken
Yingde Road, Qingcheng District, Qingyuan
Huang Teng Wonton House
A beloved morning noodle shop with decades of neighborhood loyalty. The wontons are hand-wrapped daily with a mixture of shrimp and pork seasoned with sesame oil, served in a deeply savory bone broth.
Known for: Wonton noodles
Huifu West Road, Yuexiu District
Old Guangzhou Congee Shop
A bustling all-day congee shop serving Guangzhou's most essential comfort food. The slow-cooked silky congee — a base of rice broken down over hours — is topped with your choice of proteins. The pork and century egg version is a classic.
Known for: Cantonese congee (jook)
Huifu East Road, Yuexiu District
Cantonese Roast
The Duck King
A popular Cantonese roast meat restaurant chain with an exceptional glazed duck. The open kitchen lets you watch skilled chefs carve and portion the meats. Great value for quality.
Known for: Roast duck, BBQ meats
MixC Mall, 1881 Baoan South Road, Luohu
Li Qun Roast Goose
A legendary tiny roast goose shop that runs out of food by early afternoon every day. The goose is marinated for 24 hours and roasted over lychee wood — the crispy skin and juicy meat are extraordinary.
Known for: Roast goose (shao e)
Gonghe New Village, Haizhu District
Hong Ji BBQ
A neighborhood BBQ stall near Foshan's Ancestral Temple that has been serving the same recipes for over 30 years. The siu yuk (crispy pork belly) with its shatteringly crisp crackling is the best in Foshan according to locals.
Known for: Roast pork, BBQ meats
Zumiao Road, Chancheng District, Foshan
Fusion
Yongqing Fang Night Market
A beautifully restored heritage neighborhood near the Pearl River featuring a mix of restored shophouses with street food stalls, cocktail bars, and boutiques. One of Guangzhou's trendiest evening destinations.
Known for: Street food, craft drinks, snacks
Yongqing Fang, Liwan District
Vientiane Kitchen
A popular expat and young professional haunt in Shenzhen's Shekou district, offering fresh Southeast Asian flavors with a Cantonese twist. Good cocktail menu and warm atmosphere.
Known for: Pan-Asian contemporary cuisine
Shekou Coastal City, Nanshan District
Siu Siu Western Restaurant
On Shamian Island's quiet colonial-era streets, Siu Siu serves Hong Kong-style Western comfort food — a nostalgic tradition from the concession era. The borscht and pork chop rice are classics.
Known for: Hong Kong-style Western food
42 Shamian South Street, Liwan District
Cantonese Noodles
Nanxing Rice Noodle Shop
A morning institution known for its silky smooth rice noodle rolls. The rice batter is freshly steamed to order and the wrapper should be translucent and tender. Get here before 10am for the best experience.
Known for: Cheong fun (rice noodle rolls)
Daxin Road, Yuexiu District
Wing Lai Yuen Noodles
A neighborhood wonton noodle institution that has been operating for over 40 years. The springy bamboo-pressed egg noodles and plump shrimp-pork wontons in clear bone broth are a quintessential Cantonese breakfast.
Known for: Wonton noodle soup
92 Changdi Road, Liwan District
Cantonese Street Food
Shangxiajiu Street Food Walk
Guangzhou's oldest commercial street dating to the Tang Dynasty, packed with traditional snack shops, old-school bakeries, and street stalls. The arcade architecture and old shopfronts make this a living snapshot of historical Guangzhou.
Known for: Various Guangzhou street snacks
Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, Liwan District
Beijing Road Snack Street
Guangzhou's main shopping street has a parallel culture of traditional snack vendors. A great place to taste lesser-known Cantonese desserts and savory snacks that locals have been eating for generations.
Known for: Street snacks, desserts
Beijing Road, Yuexiu District
Chaoshan
Shantou Beef Hotpot Street
The Chaoshan fresh beef hotpot is a culinary art form — beef is slaughtered the same morning and served at the table within hours. The variety of cuts (tendon, brisket, tongue) and the light broth make this unlike any other hotpot in China.
Known for: Fresh beef hotpot
Xiaogongyan Street, Jinping District
Chaozhou Oyster Omelet Street
Pai Fang Street is Chaozhou's main pedestrian strip for street food. The oyster omelette — fresh Fujian oysters bound in a crispy rice-starch batter — is a must. Try it from multiple stalls and find your favorite.
Known for: Oyster omelette (hao luo)
Pai Fang Street, Chaozhou Ancient City
Hakka
Meizhou Hakka Restaurant
Meizhou is the world capital of Hakka culture, and this restaurant serves all the classics of Hakka cuisine. The slow-cooked 'Mei Cai Kou Rou' is one of China's great pork dishes — fall-apart belly with sweet-savory preserved greens.
Known for: Hakka pork, fermented tofu
Jiaying University Road, Meijiang District
Chen Ma Ma Authentic Hakka
Heyuan is deep in Hakka country on the Dong River, and this family restaurant preserves old Hakka recipes that are difficult to find in cities. The salt-baked chicken and stuffed tofu are absolute must-orders.
Known for: Hakka home cooking
Dongjiang Avenue, Yuancheng District, Heyuan
Vegetarian
Zhaoqing Ding Hu Tofu Village
Dinghu Mountain's pristine spring water produces exceptionally pure tofu products. The restaurants lining the mountain road specialize in fresh tofu skin (fuzhu) and vegetarian dishes favored by pilgrims visiting Qingyun Temple.
Known for: Bean curd skin, vegetarian dishes
Dinghu Mountain Scenic Road
Garden of the Humble Delicacies
A serene vegetarian restaurant that applies traditional Cantonese cooking techniques to plant-based ingredients with remarkable skill. The mock-meat dishes are playful, but the vegetable-forward menu is exceptional.
Known for: Cantonese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine
Near Qinghui Garden, Zhongshan South Road
Cantonese Home Cooking
Chen Clan Yard Canteen
An unpretentious neighborhood restaurant near the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall serving genuine home-style Cantonese cooking. The kind of place where locals eat every day — simple, seasonal, and delicious.
Known for: Family-style Cantonese meals
Near Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, Yuexiu District
Cantonese Hotpot
Maoming Pig Offal Hotpot
Western Guangdong has a rich tradition of offal cuisine. Maoming-style pig offal hotpot uses lemongrass and ginger-forward broth that is fragrant and clean-tasting. A local favorite that adventurous food lovers should not miss.
Known for: Pork offal hotpot
Gaozhou Road Food Street, Maoming City
Cantonese Tea And Snacks
Baiyun Mountain Tea House
A hilltop teahouse within the Baiyun Mountain park offering dim sum breakfast with mountain views. A beloved weekend ritual for Guangzhou families who hike up early and reward themselves with tea and dumplings.
Known for: Mountainside yum cha
Baiyun Mountain Scenic Area, Baiyun District
Cantonese Tea Culture
Kong Kong Teahouse
A romantic old-school teahouse in a restored Qilou arcade building on Enning Road. The traditional tea service and Cantonese desserts in a candlelit wooden setting make this one of Guangzhou's most atmospheric spots.
Known for: Kung fu tea, Cantonese desserts
Enning Road, Liwan District
Chinese
Sizzle BBQ (Shenzhen)
Evening BBQ culture thrives around OCT-LOFT. This open-air BBQ strip comes alive at dusk with charcoal smoke, cold Tsingtao beer, and crowds of young Shenzhen residents enjoying skewers under string lights.
Known for: Skewered meats, seafood BBQ
OCT-LOFT, Nanshan District
Modern Cantonese
Jiu Zeng Lou
One of Guangzhou's most innovative fine dining restaurants, applying French technique to Cantonese ingredients. The tasting menu changes seasonally and showcases Guangdong's extraordinary produce.
Known for: Nouvelle Cantonese cuisine
1 Zhuhai Avenue, Haizhu District
Pan
Great Food Hall (Shenzhen)
A massive food hall under Shenzhen's MixC World mall with dozens of independent stalls representing cuisines from across Asia. Perfect for groups with mixed tastes.
Known for: Multi-cuisine food hall
B2 MixC World, 1881 Baoan South Road
Sichuan
Haidilao Hotpot (Guangzhou)
China's most famous hotpot chain, renowned as much for its theatrical service as the food itself. Manicures while you wait, hand-pulled noodle performances, and bottomless snacks. A classic China dining experience.
Known for: Hotpot with premium service
L3 Taikoo Hui Mall, Tianhe District
Traditional Cantonese
Foshan Snake Restaurant
Snake soup (she geng) is a traditional Guangdong winter delicacy believed to warm the body. This longstanding restaurant in Foshan is a respected venue for tasting this unusual but historically significant Cantonese dish.
Known for: Snake soup, exotic meats
Nanzhuang Town, Chancheng District
Food tours & tastings in Guangdong
Eat your way through Guangdong with a guide.
Browse food experiences in GuangdongWe may earn a commission from bookings made through these links.
Dining etiquette & tips
Navigate the local food scene confidently.
Tipping practices vary — check local customs. Service charge is often included.
Restaurants may close between lunch and dinner. Plan meals around local dining hours.
Popular restaurants may not take reservations — arrive early or be prepared to wait.
Food budget guide
What to expect at different price points.
| Level | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | $5-15/meal | Street food, local eateries, and simple restaurants. |
| Mid-range | $15-40/meal | Sit-down restaurants with good service and varied menus. |
| Upscale | $40+/meal | Fine dining, international cuisine, and premium experiences. |