Tao Dumplings Mentone

I so much wanted to write a positive review… BUT…
We have been eyeing this place out for some time, however, never went because it is somewhat hidden, and we keep forgetting it’s there. Tonight we remembered and finally decided to order some take away. We looked at the online reviews, it scored a 3.7 (not a great sign) but ignored it because people can be fussy eaters. We ordered and were told the wait time would be 20-25mins, no worries at all.
I drove down within 15 minutes and entered. The counter staff saw me and ignored me, one went to stack some glasses, the other decided to put some money into the cash register. I noticed a bag on the counter with an order docket, again they looked at me, they decided to talk to each other. Waiting 5 minutes I decided it’s now been 20 minutes, so I’ll interrupt… “excuse me please, is that my order? ” … “NO” one of them exclaimed… “are you sure? ” I asked. Turns out it was my order after all. No smile, no eye contact, no apology nothing. Just presented me with the Eftpos machine and mumbled that it would incur a surcharge… No problem I just paid and left.
What about the food? Seriously, do not waste your money on this food. Fried rice was tasteless, san choy bow, 2 lettuce leaves and filling to barely fill 1… spring rolls? Anyway… suffice to say, don’t waste your money here. If your food is inferior, please try and compensate with something you can control, like your customer service. You had a great chance to capture a new client and unfortunately, you failed on both counts, so will be not be returning, there are better options in the neighbourhood.

On previous occasions food has been good but service unfriendly and slow, but last night was dreadful re service. Our order was not put in by waiter and after an hour we asked when our food would be coming.
Waiter denied that we even ordered! No apology or attempt was made to appease us so we walked out and shall not return again. There is no customer service and staff never smile. Very disappointed locals.

Booked a table for 5 arrived at booked time
Informed they were fully booked, you made a mistake! Followed by a group with the same booking! Two groups! We will not be back, no effort was made to sort this out

I didn't find this place as bad as other reviewers made out. The service was bland and forgettable, but the food was great and the restaurant was nice

With so many items on the menu, this is a restaurant you'll need to visit menu times to be able to order everything you would want. Everything is freshly made on the premises, and it really shows. Incredibly fresh with amazing flavour.

Service is awful
Booked table for 8pm and after asking 3 times when the table will be ready, at 8.30pm we went home hungry!
There were tables available but there was simply no organisation or a person prioritising, just chaos!
Go somewhere else where you know you will be fed, as the quality of the food is irrelevant if you’re not at a table or being served! Never again!

Wait staff made us leave before we had finished ordering (before finishing lunch) as a new booking had arrived. The other tables in the restaurant were empty. Made no sense. It was without warning as only 2 minutes before being asked to leave they brought out drinks we had ordered and plates of food. Seems like it is run by clueless teenagers.

We had to wait for 45 minutes then paid $66 for rice, chicken and beef dishes totally different price to the online menu when questioned I was told oh we put our prices up two months ago, tasteless overpriced food, never again, rip off!

1. Commercial Shanghai Shao Long (Frozen food steamed)
2. Very slow service (waiting for half hour for first dish)
3. Shredded Beef w Peking Chili (over cook, chewy)
4. Dumplings came out in the wrong order.

Worst service ever and has been for a while now. We went there and they literally kicked us out mid-eating because they were closing at 9: 30 on a Saturday night and gave us takeaway containers. There is better places to eat in Mentone with better service!

Really solid food and a nice fit out. A great for option Chinese and great addition to Mentone.

Cozy place and very friendly staffs. We tried their dumplings and its superb! We want to try other menu next time we visit.

This restaurant is a must visit. The food is phenomenal! We ordered the honey chicken which was to die for and there were so many vegetarian options available. The service is welcoming and efficient, and nothing seemed to be too much trouble. The interior decor is very beautiful, authentic and calming. 5/5 star experience.will definitely be back.

Great Chinese spot in Mentone, surprisingly authentic food considering the location.
- Dumplings were juicy tasty and had the crispy net.
- Salt pepper calamari was absolutely fantastic (and gluten free!) Generous portion, light crispy batter, savoury toppings
- Spicy Sichuan beef in chilli oil was super numbing, with loads of Sichuan peppercorns, spicy and hit the spot. Kudos to the waiter who asked if we could handle spice because they weren't joking. Probably a whole bok choy hidden inside too.
- Only note - I've previously had a beef flat rice noodle stir fry that was on the salty side - but waitress noticed I didn't finish and was very concerned! Excellent service!

Don't listen to the bad reviews, definitely worth a try with a big menu and good lunch deals.

Was excited to try this place but won’t go back. We got take away - the dumplings had clearly been sitting in the plastic container for hours as they were dry and stuck together. The sauce for Chinese broccoli was basically brown water (was meant to be oyster sauce) and tasteless. We threw it out. Rice noodles with beef was ok but nothing special - think the same quality as a food court. Overall really disappointing.

This is a hidden gem indeed. Lovely warm decor, and some delicious dumplings and soup. We were craving for some hot soup and I must say we’ve found a place that we will keep coming back too. The pork dumplings and the chicken+prawn dumplings and simply superb! Add to that the sweet corn chicken soup/hot and sour pork soup and you’ve got one heck of a health and sumptuous dinner. Ended it with a pot of jasmine tea. Highly recommend this place!

Wontons in chilli oil were exceptional, fried dumpling were crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside and fried calamari was yum!

Really enjoyed eating here after a last minute decision to go out. Tasty food, comfortable and fresh surroundings and fast, friendly service. Think all the negative reviewers need to get a grip, this place is good.

What a lovely looking Chinese Restaurant. I thought we were in for a treat but we were very disappointed.
The Peking Duck pancakes were miserable and small, had bone and sinew, they were served with the sauce on the side but no utensils to use it.
The short soup was just luke warm and the broth lacked flavour.
The Kung Pao chicken had a sweet sauce and no chillies or Sichuan pepper and the chicken was tough. The Chinese broccoli dish was tough instead of tender and crisp.
After we had finished or should I say not finished our lunch, a large woman appeared behind the counter who I can only presume was the owner.
She was wearing her mask below her nose and was continually blowing her nose and not washing her hands but still handling the food.
To top everything off, the bathroom had a sign beside the toilet asking to please not flush your toilet paper but to place it in the bin beside the toilet.
What a shame, needless to say we won't be back.

Food was delicious, decor is delightful, but my biggest complaint is that it seems to be that TAKE AWAY ORDERS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN DINE IN CUSTOMERS. Totally ignored for some time, took nearly an hour to get my Grandson his Dim Sims. Also a drink order was not brought until the waiter was asked several times. The staff don’t really understand customers unfortunately. This is the second time we have been there now and this was by far much worse than the first time. I don’t think we will be back on a Friday or Saturday night again. Oh and we were a table of eight.