Loyal Customer Never to Return
Since moving from Boothbay Harbor I have not been able to find another Chinese restaurant that could match China by the Sea. Upon visiting I just had to have visit China by the Sea.
It was not the experience I have had in the past.
1. The staff was cold and calculating. (looking for the tip)
2. The staff was extremely slow in first visiting our table. We were passed over so that the waitress could visit a table were the patrons clearly wanted to drink thus inflating the tip.
3. After ordering a glass of wine and finding out that the wine tasted as if it came from a box ($4 a glass mind you) and was mixed with fruit punch. I ordered one of the "specialty drinks" from the bar.
4. This drink was the worst beverage that I have ever tasted. I am guessing that the person that made the drink must have just graduated from the "bartending for dummies" manual. There was no way that I could have another sip. It made me sick.
5. After deciding to send these two poor drinks back and go for something easy to make (the wine we thought was easy) we were told that "WE STILL HAD TO PAY FOR THE AWFUL DRINKS"!
6. The "person in charge" did not even have the guts to come to the table and see what the problem was. Instead the waitress had to offer the bad news.
POOR SERVICE
POOR MANAGEMENT
POOR TASTE
Unless taken care of this loyal customer will never visit China by the Sea again.    [07 Sep 2003 06:41:12]

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     ­David Daigle   bagel1313 at hotmail dot com

This is an excellent Chinese Restaurant
We have eaten in China by the Sea many times, are from a very high quality restaurant city and have experienced the better Chinese restaurants. China by the sea has an excellent atmosphere; the food is excellent and very fresh (quite unique) and the portions ample. We are southerners; this is Maine; So don't expect southern belle service; expect very courteous, efficent, dutiful waitresses.    [22 Sep 2006 10:03:24]

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     ­Anonymous   

Has Gone FAR Downhill
This used to be one of the best Chinese restaurants in the state of Maine. Unfortunately I'm not sure if the chef left, or there are new owners, but what a difference a year makes. They used to serve fresh and delicious meals that made me go almost an hour and a half out of my way, now I would drive an hour and a half just to avoid going there! This was our staple for the Windjammer festival, but this year (2007) was different: the food was typical sub-par fare that can be found in any cheapo Maine Chinese restaurant-- fatty cuts of chicken, lots of extra celery to take up space where it never used to be, nasty sauces, and worst of all now even the easy appetizers are disgusting. Anything with breading now has the most horrible flavor that leaves everyone at the table puzzled as to what is that unusual flavor that makes them taste so bad. Even the eggrolls, which used to be great, have become so bad with strange flavors they immediately find their way out of your mouth. The poor waitstaff didn't help matters either. When I asked if a particular dish had a sweet sauce she asked someone else who assured me it didn't, so I decided to order it. Not only did it have a sweet sauce, but it also was loaded with nuts, which was not mentioned in the description! The fried rice was inedible, the fatty chicken with nuts and sweet sauce was horrendous, and when I tried to tell them it wasn't what they described, so I ordered something else... I still had to pay for it as well as the second order! How assy can you get?! They told me it WASN'T sweet, and thats why I ordered it in the first place. I am so sad to say the best Chinese food in Maine... no longer exists. We won't ever be back. And I will make sure anyone I know, who thought this was the best, knows that it has now become one of the worst. Sad, sad, sad.    [29 Jun 2007 21:03:05]

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     ­Chris T   

pretty decent food.
The food is pretty good, mostly what you will find at majority of the Chinese restaurants in Maine. There are times I visit and it is very satisfying and there are times I visit and leave disappointed and with a slightly sick feeling in my stomach. The service is the similar to the food, there are times the waitresses are very pleasant and efficient and there are times when the bitchiest servers who obviously have no social skills what so ever and who evidently picked the wrong service industry to work in happen to be on duty that night. So, if you're looking for gourmet Chinese...go to Boston. If you're looking for mediocre to pretty decent...try China Dinah.    [21 Nov 2007 14:25:51]

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Recommended Dishes: chiecken cashew nut

     ­Anonymous