MA Chinese Cuisine image

MA Chinese Cuisine

Restaurant Cafe Chinese restaurant Asian fusion restaurant Dim sum restaurant Chinese tea house

One of the Top rated Chinese restaurants in St. Catharines


Address

123 Geneva St, St. Catharines, ON L2R 4N3, Canada

Website

www.machinesecuisine.com

Contact

+1 289-362-2888

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

4.50 (1.5K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Thursday: 11:30 am to 10 pm
  • Friday: 11:30 am to 10 pm
  • Saturday: 11:30 am to 10 pm
  • Sunday: 11:30 am to 10 pm
  • Monday: 11:30 am to 10 pm
  • Tuesday: 11:30 am to 10 pm
  • Wednesday: 11:30 am to 10 pm

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: great (25) service (15) time (15) dishes (13) good (12) Chinese (12) quality (11) restaurant (10) server (10) experience (9)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Ghalib Z. 10 months ago on Google • 138 reviews
    What an amazing restaurant! Came here with family, first thing is their decor and interior, it’s pretty good! A little dark but still a nice place to be. Next is their service, I think it was fabulous, the servers were very polite and friendly. The food came pretty quickly. The main part, the food, it was all delicious. We tried quite a few dishes and loved all of it. Definitely worth a visit!
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Kat E. 3 years ago on Google
    One of the best dinning experiences around. We heard about Ma's through word-of-mouth. We have not been disappointed yet! There is ample seating, a great ambiance & amazing staff. Everyone is always smiling here. We live in the Hamilton area & feel this is a great option for Dim Sum that's not located in Toronto. Tons of parking, no frustrations & it makes for a really great Family dinning experience. They have private rooms & a large venue. We go as often as we can honestly haha!
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Pruthwin R. 1 year ago on Google
    Everything about this place is perfect. So many options to choose from and the food is good. Service is professional.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Yaqing Z. 6 months ago on Google • 31 reviews
    I am happy there is a high quality real chinese restaurant with good food and good environment. The service is western style but with traditional chinese cuisine. I love it. The price is reasonable, not very high. I would recommend it!
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Kausthab Dutta P. 4 months ago on Google • 30 reviews
    The pics don’t do justice here. We were too busy gobbling it away. The dumplings here are to die for. Soft and succulent and it just melts in your mouth. The duck was simply amazing. What amazed me was their menu which was very detailed and explained each dish very well. Definitely gonna go back and try the rest of their items.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Arthur F. 1 year ago on Google
    We've been meaning to come here for quite some time. Tonight was the night.. and it was amazing! Jasmine, our server, was lovely. The atmosphere and food were fantastic. I'd highly recommend the deep fried tofu with pepper salt, dim sum, and the beef buns. Overall, a great experience. We will return.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 James D. 2 years ago on Google
    We have been in the Niagara region for about five years now and have seen Ma quite a number of times. It’s a very industrial looking brick building in a very non touristy area, but the sign looks modern and well designed so it always stuck in our heads to try it one day. On a whim I decided to book a reservation. My fam of five get there and it’s amazing inside. Very modern and I’d say dark - the atmosphere feels very adult and sophisticated. Lots of booths and also many private roomed tables for 10 or more - probably to help keep noise levels down and give your party an element of privacy. The decor is also very modern and all booths are very specifically lit on the tabletops with one spotlight. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of light to see with but it’s well done. Now, the server we had, Andy, was very pleasant from the start. Would love to have him serve us again. Very warm and welcoming plus he obviously has a customer service element built in naturally. The food in one word is amazing. Asian fusion/modern. Being from Toronto I can compare to one of the biggest ones there - Szechuan Szechuan. Such good food but this I feel is one step higher. All portions were plentiful and well plated. All were attractive dishes and excellent tasting. I try to be a bit balanced and find some measure of criticism for the food but I simply can’t just yet. The experience at Ma was honestly quite perfect. Food, service, atmosphere was on point. I will let the pics speak for themselves but if you try it I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a fantastic gem in St. Catherine’s.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 ッDiijxy 11 months ago on Google
    For the first time going to this restaurant it has already been one of my favorite Chinese restaurants. The lady serving us was very nice and she kept checking up on us if we needed to order or if something wasn't good. Overall the atmosphere and food were great. They had some interesting deserts.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Misheal R. 1 year ago on Google
    I have been here for the first time, my husband had been going there well before the fire, and he said the quality and taste of the food is just as good under the new management. I was blown away with the flavors and textures. By far one of the BEST Chinese restaurants out there. The prices are a bit higher than before the fire and they have been closed for almost 2 years so the business decision makes sense. Service was wonderful as well! All I can say is, I can't wait to go back!
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Claudine L. 4 months ago on Google • 163 reviews
    Came here with my family and we were a pretty big group. I found the food to be pricey and was a bit salty. The service was okay, server was friendly and tried their best accommodating us especially since we ordered so many things at once. Maybe there's not many options in the Niagara region for Chinese cuisine but the overall impression was just okay.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Paige B. 3 months ago on Google • 153 reviews New
    Can’t speak highly enough about this place. I was looking for a place in the area to take my family for NYE while I was in town visiting from Montreal and we were all blown away by our visit. First, we received a call a few days in advance by Jenessa to let us know that our booking time was still reserved but that she wanted to let us know that it would be very busy and that service might be a bit slow and offered to book us at an earlier time to ensure faster service. I’ve never had a single restaurant reach out to me in advance before in this way and I was thoroughly impressed. We had Na (apologies if spelled wrong) as our server and was incredibly helpful, attentive and kind. When I ordered a particular beer, he offered to bring a sample for me to try which was thoughtful. He managed a perfect order despite us ordering about 12 different dishes and even advised us that the non dim sum dishes might take more time. The food was incredible. We ordered an array of dim sum dishes, as well as a veggie fried rice, stir fried garlic broccoli and a general tao chicken for the less adventurous people at our table. The dim sum dishes and the rice were the crowd favourite, with the MVP dishes going to the pork rolls in tofu skin, the congee, the char siu bao and the siu mai. The food was an 11/10 all around. The restaurant itself is beautiful. I didn’t see photos ahead of time and was not expecting the level of class and tasteful design we walked into. One of the people I dined with noted “this looks like a place that would be in a scene in a John Wick movie”. Had an incredible experience from start to finish - we ate with three non adventurous eaters and all three of them loved the dim sum dishes and all mentioned how much they’d like to come back. Not to mention that the pricing was phenomenal for such an upscale restaurant. We’ll definitely be back the next time we’re in town.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 N W (. 4 months ago on Google • 123 reviews
    This place was one of my favorites in St Catherines years ago and everything was still as great. The service was awesome. When I asked for warm water and said we could wait for it to cool down if it’s hot water (usually that’s the case in other restaurants), the waitress put ice cubes in the hot water pot to make the temperature just right. Most of the dishes tasted good, some of the beef short ribs was a bit hard to chew.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Goldy W. 4 months ago on Google • 313 reviews
    Surprise, surprise, a high quality chinese restaurant in Niagara Falls. Both ambience and foods are of very tasty and high quality. I could say that it is better than many of the high class chinese restaurant in Greater Toronto or Markham, Ontario. Dimsum are very good quality and delicate. The chinese dishes are also nicely cooked with the right taste. Service is also good. Highly recommended

  • 5/5 Maddy G. 5 months ago on Google • 15 reviews
    We took my mom here for her birthday to dine in and have the duck and WOW. Everything was top notch. Beautiful restaurant and atmosphere. And best duck we’ve ever had. Highly recommend getting this for the table when dining with a group. We ordered a bunch of dishes. All were superb but we all agreed the second course shredded duck was our favourite. Honestly, if I could give the service 6 out of 5 stars I would! Our server Joey was attentive and friendly. She had a great, positive energy and was super informative answering all our questions. She went above and beyond to give us a great experience. The gentleman who caved our duck was also very friendly and professional. We will definitely be back!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Teng R. 3 months ago on Google • 10 reviews New
    Absolutely the best Chinese food in southern Ontario. We come down here every time we’re in the Niagara region. Our server Danny was excellent in his suggestions. This place is a real treat
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Christina E. 11 months ago on Google
    Ordered through uber eats. Was pleasantly suprised. Hot fresh and tasted great. The extra effort of plastic wrapping the soup was appreciated. Didn't get much of a chance to take pictures of food before everyone dived in.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Sue D. 1 year ago on Google
    So glad you are open again! Went for dinner March 24 and it was excellent. We ordered 2 lobster and had them Hong Kong style, fried with chili and peanut. Also, fried green beans. Thoroughly enjoyed both with some dumplings and vermicelli noodles. Just sooo good! Next time we are in St. Catharines we will he back
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Donnie W. 1 year ago on Google
    This is my third time to come here after reopened. I was so disappointed when I sit down. The table was so dirty, you could see some dried soy flecks down there. And the cup was a little bit dirty as well. All the menus were not clean too, especially the dim sum paper was dirty as well and it was used by previous customer visibly, some of the number was circled. I know you guys save paper menus, but you would keep the clean ones, and dump the dirty ones to keep customers feel more comfortable, or you guys can laminate the paper menus, and wipe them after used. After 20 minutes, no water, and the server gave us some napkins after we asked. In general, food was good, but all the food were a little warm, not very hot, except the steamed chicken feet.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Sharon J. 10 months ago on Google
    Visited this place after a long time. Food quality great, service great, ambience kool, love the place. For authentic Chinese a must visit place . Today was a second visit in the last 1 month. Again the experience was excellent. Tried some different dishes today and was not disappointed.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Emma S. 4 months ago on Google • 6 reviews
    This place was AMAZING, we tried it on a whim and were able to get a reservation same day, it wasn’t packed but it should have been the food was amazing we had the chili shrimp and this tofu pork skin style roll. both were fantastic.the soup dumplings could have a-bit more soup but were filled with flavour. our waitress was great and consistently made sure we were okay and explained any food we had an issue with overall will be coming back was a great dinner. The custard bunnies were to cute not to get and tasted very nice with just a hint of sweetness
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Sarah J. 10 months ago on Google
    The dim sum is perfection! Each dish is thoughtfully prepared and tastes fresh and unique. Great drink selection and fantastic service. I highly recommend saving room for the sesame dessert balls... authentic and incredibly delicious.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Kevin W. 1 year ago on Google
    Came here for my birthday dinner and was served by Sol. It was super busy for a Thursday night and you could tell everyone was working extra hard to make sure customers were happy. Manager Sonya did a great job of making sure our experience was great. The Hong King Style lobster was a big hit!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jillian V. 1 year ago on Google
    Five of us gathered to celebrate the Chinese New Year at MA’s. We were overwhelmingly impressed with the food and the service. I’ve only managed to get pictures of the dessert because we enjoyed the main dishes so much, there was no thought of cameras. Our server Andy - what a treasure! Patient and friendly, a lovely smile that seemed to get brighter when we told him how much we were enjoying the food. And the other staff members were also great. The ambiance is excellent and there are semi-private rooms for larger groups to dine in. I’m already thinking of future occasions that I’m going to celebrate in those rooms!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Rob S. 1 year ago on Google
    Really fantastic food. When we want something a little more highbrow Chinese cuisine, this is our go-to. The flavors pop more than other places, and you can tell the chefs are passionate about their craft. My favorite is the BBQ pork buns and General Tao chicken but we do get a variety when we order. The fried rice is also excellent, made more in line with traditional chaofan and not westernized. It's really done better than anywhere else; you can tell a lot about a place in how they do their fried rice. Ordering experience is very painless and it's always promptly ready. Everything is also packed well for travel. Interior decor is nice and classy, it's one of the most impressive looking restaurants we've been in.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Zhanpeng C. 1 year ago on Google
    If you live in Niagara region and in love with Guangdong cuisine you should come here. Dim sum & 牛河 is the same taste as in Guangzhou. The interior decor is on par with most modern restaurants in China. Tea is made with real whole tea leaves. What’s interesting is that they offer cocktails here. Never try drinking cocktails with Chinese food. Will try this combination next time.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Jim W. 2 years ago on Google
    The food is fabulous, we took our boys for the all you can eat lunch. They never mentioned any limits or conditions, when we finished they would not let us pay unless we paid for what was leftover. They sent over 2 different managers to convince us to pay for what was leftover. We didn't pay anything extra, they put the food in the garbage and told us that now we are aware of their policy. That left a very sour taste in our mouth after a very nice meal. Great food, lousy communication regarding policies on their ALL YOU CAN EAT lunch .
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Omar T. 2 years ago on Google
    Definitely a hidden gem! From the outside the place looks pretty torn down, but once inside, the place is clean, the staff are professional and polite, and the food quality is amazing! There was even a person who cut the roasted duck we ordered in front of us! Will definitely come again!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Valeryia I. 2 years ago on Google
    All the food that we ordered was fantastic! The atmosphere of the place is also very beautiful, with grand light fixtures and traditional art. Our waiter was very attentive and kind to us, and always inquired if we needed more. Can’t wait to come back here.

  • 5/5 Alice P. 4 years ago on Google
    Great atmosphere, great food, great service! It was my first time here and the server kindly explained the menu. My boyfriend and I wanted to have dimsum for dinner, so we asked for a full dimsum menu. Didn’t have a single dish that we didn’t enjoy. Also, Kai, our server, was very nice and great at introducing the restaurant. When I told him I was new to the area, he told us about other restaurants that they have in town and offered to sign me up for their points card. Exceptional service. I will bring more friends here in the future!

  • 5/5 Adam L. 2 years ago on Google
    Honestly never thought there would be this level of Chinese cuisine in St. Catherines. The menu is amazingly diverse with high quality photographs and the food is actually very well done. On par with Chinese restaurants in Toronto that “Asian people” go to. Highly recommend and would visit in a heartbeat. It’s a great spot for to take your Canadian friends for a pretty and high quality Chinese meal.

  • 3/5 Jing G. 2 years ago on Google
    I’ve ordered a takeout 2 hours ago. When I got to a park ready to eat, I found there was no sauce on the sliced pork belly and cucumber in garlic sauce. And the most ridiculous thing is there is no chopsticks or forks at all! However, the food is still great.

  • 5/5 Paul A. 2 years ago on Google
    A real treat, Ma's is the height of fine Asian dining. Creative and delicious arrangements for each course, warm and intimate atmosphere, and even a robot busboy! Highlights for us: the calamari is some of the best I've ever had, and thebbunny or carrot desserts were tasty and unique. We'll be back!

  • 5/5 Sara W. 2 years ago on Google
    Delicious food and great vegetarian options. I've only had takeout so far but the service is always exemplary. They were very busy with the phone ringing constantly and I still had two servers check on my order (I was a bit early for pick up). Big portions and high quality.

  • 5/5 Ali A. 2 years ago on Google
    One word: Exquisite! What a lovely experience every single time here at MA Chinese Cuisine. Jessica is all smiles, thoughtful and proactive. Thank you ☺️

  • 5/5 Vanessa D. 2 years ago on Google
    This place is gem! I absolutely recommend it to anyone in the area looking for a great dinning place that’s classy and delicious! The food is of high quality and with great variety. The staff was great and very friendly.


Call +1 289-362-2888 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Parking
    • ✓️ Free parking lot
    • ✓️ Plenty of parking
  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Coffee
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Spirits
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Small plates
    • ✓️ Healthy options
    • ✓️ Vegetarian options
  • Accessibility
    • ✗ Assistive hearing loop
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible toilet
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible car park
    • ✗ Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Brunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
    • ✓️ Catering
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✓️ Delivery
    • ✓️ Takeaway

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