Hong Kong Gardens: A Culinary Escape with Stunning Views

Our local spot that people love to hate — but we actually love it. Now The Top, as it has been known coloquially for years, seems to be Whidbey’s favorite restaurant to complain about. Every few months, someone on the community forum dusts off a post about how awful it is, and every time, I find myself standing up for it. Here’s the truth from our family’s perspective: we go every month or so, and it’s consistently enjoyable. We’ve got two little boys (ages one and two) who view “sitting still” as more of a philosophical concept than a practical skill. The staff never flinch — no side-eye, no sighs — just a welcoming smile and plenty of space to wiggle. That alone earns five stars in our book. My husband has celiac disease, and the team always helps him navigate the menu safely. I’m vegetarian, and they manage to find something we can both eat (bonus points for the veggie fried rice, which our kids like). The view? Genuinely stunning. Some evenings we’ve had the dining room to ourselves, and it feels almost cinematic — like we stumbled into a private restaurant with a Puget Sound panorama. Is it the fanciest place on the island? No. But it’s reliable, friendly, and family-run, and the food hits the spot. I suspect many critics are simply expecting it to be something it never claimed to be. We’ll keep going back — because sometimes “good, friendly, and unfussy” is exactly what you want.

Rare find of authentic Chinese food on Whidbey island. We especially enjoyed the sour spicy shredded potato! The sautéed green beans were good flavor too. The grilled fish was huge portion, on the spicy side, good flavor, unfortunately the fish was a bit overfried. The surrounding area is in development and we didn’t mind. The view is very nice sitting next to the window.

Food was amazing. If you are looking for sweet and sour chicken, go to any Panda Express in any strip mall in America. If you want Chinese food, go to Hong Kong Garden. All sections of the restaurant have a great view of the water. We sat out on the patio the other end from the bar. The 51 spice fish we got was a special that we had to preorder the previous day and it’s only served weekends. Kids got the curry chicken and enjoyed it.

Great grill fish dish, highly recommend! Good portion for four people. Great view out looking the water. Good choice for dinner while waiting for the ferry line to go down :)

Love a good dive - and let's be honest Whidbey needs this for it's nightlife. Though I'm not a barfly, we love a good karaoke night. Food is authentic Chinese, not for the weak stomach. Here me: authentic Chinese, not American Chinese. It's delicious, but could upset some sensitive stomachs. Menu has tons of options. And the Bubble tea love.

We went for lunch today and played cards. The food was out of this world we had orange chicken, fried rice, lomein, and pot stickers the shrimp in the fried rice were big and plump. The owners were so nice we even played darts with their son . They plan on finishing the outdoor patio, it will look great . We will definitely go back again.

We have a birthday party here and the owner here is super friendly and nice. We ordered several fried fishes. And then we played pool and karaoke. Such a great place to have fun!

A surprise gem. Kari was an amazing server! Food was good. But the view is impeccable.