Lamma Rainbow Seafood Restaurant

May2025 Famed seafood restaurant that's one of the mainstays of SKW town in Lamma Island. The food is guaranteed fresh and the service is used to all visitors from all places. The location is perfectly situated by the pier and is wide, airy, and spacious. No visit to the island is complete without a meal from one of these seaside establishments

I had a wonderful time at the seafood banquet. The menu was impressively generous, offering a variety of dishes including shellfish, fish, chicken, and vegetables. Some standout dishes for me were the garlic-vermicelli with shellfish, the fried squid, and the broccoli with mushrooms. The young coconut drink was also a refreshing delight. Our celebration spanned four large tables, creating a lively atmosphere. While it was a bit noisy due to other large parties nearby, it added to the festive vibe. The dinner, priced at HKD 500, included not only the banquet meal but also a scenic boat ride to and from Central (or Kowloon) and Sok Kwu Wan on Lamma Island. A big thank you to the chefs and the front-of-house team—the seafood was tasty!

Restuarant was next to the sea, breezy and not so crowd as we were there early,around 12 pm on a week day. Had a wine and 4 dishes. The deep fried oyster is great to pair with our white wine. Other dishes include a fried brinjal, fried squid and a white steam chicken. Staff were helpful and the food served was well timed, making the meal a very relaxing experience. Though slightly expensive, but it's worth the money. If book on line, you can get free ferry crossing ticket from restuarant.

Excellent Seafood at the Lamma Rainbow Seafood restaurant. The produce is fresh and the taste is outstanding. We had a team outing dinner here and it was very good. The portion sizes are large so be careful while ordering. The beer was icy chilled and complimented the seafood well. The whole experience of taking a ferry to Lamma Island and the food and the atmosphere was unforgettable.

Seafood was great!! It was the last stop after hiking and was told by friends to have late lunch here… price was on the higher side but as tourist the quality is more important. The surprise came when after paying they offered us free ferry tickets on their private boat back to HK central pier… wasn’t expecting that and we had a wonderful scenic trip back.

Prawns were great but a tad too salty.for my taste. Chicken was juicy, not dry. Noodles look bland buy had gold taste to it Highly recommend bamboo clam.

Can take a ferry operated by a restaurant on Hong Kong Island and eat fresh seafood cooked to your liking. Lobster can be purchased at a set price on the day, and it is highly recommended to cook it with congee after eating raw fish. Staff are very friendly and some can speak English.

Their seafood was very fresh and delicious, definitely worth a trip here. Set menu was quite value for money for us. Service was prompt and polite too. The staff was nice enough to give us direction and recommendations on where to walk around post meal. Free ferry transportation available for customer. Make a reservation online and choose the ferry timing. If you need a ride back just informed the staff when you made payment and they will issue ticket to you. There's a 50% discount voucher for the seafood soup at the HK tourism website in 2023.

First time on Lamma Island and there's so much fresh seafood! We decided on this place since it was right off the dock and we were hungry. We decided to splurge a bit before our hike so got their sweet and sour fish, lobster, and noodles. Everything was fresh and flavorful. Service was quick since it was early morning. I really wanted to sit next to the water so used my limited Cantonese to kindly ask and the server was very friendly and accommodating.

Fantastic fresh seafood by the water! Plus they have their own ferry service to Central. We've eaten here each time we've been to Lamma Island, usually to eat after a hike around the island. They're likely most famous for their Lobster and cheese but my favorite things have been (seasonally) the razor clams, steamed grouper, clams in black bean sauce, and the seaweed soup. Say hi to the friendly restaurant dog as well!

Rainbow Seafood Restaurant, can be found on Lamma Island. When you make a reservation with the restaurant, they will tell you how to be picked up by their own boat. The boat will take you to and from the island. It's a superb opportunity to see Hong Kong's skyline as well as the nearby islands. The restaurant itself is incredible...everything is very FRESH. We ordered a variety of foods, including clams, shrimp (including larger mantis), scallops, and razorbacks...it was an excellent eating experience.

Probably my last review of 2016! Where has the time gone? I'd always wanted to try live seafood, and this seemed like the perfect time to do so since fishing is a huge part of Lamma Island. After taking a ferry to the island, we walked around for a while before settling on Rainbow Seafood Restaurant. It had one of the bigger displays of seafood tanks, an extensive menu, and a cleaner atmosphere than some of the other restaurants we saw. It's located on a small island where time seems to move a little slower, but it's a nice intersection between a simpler time and modern cuisine. The live seafood is sold by weight, and all are cooked to order. There were so many varieties that I had trouble picking! I wanted to try everything: sea snails, scallops, cuttlefish, so many types of crab, lobster, razor clams, baby clams, huge clams, mantis prawns, dancing shrimp, abalone, and more. Sea snails in rice wine: (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=B7aS03tjocD4zbw5XUTLHg&userid=1ug7EtH4blOzzbqqkmkenA) These were huge! I'd only had the smaller sea snails before, but these were at least the size of my palm. I wished the rice wine taste had been a little stronger because I think it complements the seafood flavor of the snail very well, but the sauce was still tasty. The spiciness was just right, and the protein was cooked well so that it wasn't rubbery. Sea snails require some work to get at (as with most seafood), and the end part mostly consists of guts so there's not much meat, so this served as a nice appetizer. Clams in black bean sauce: (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=YcT7SSYyjvZvWgI-37bu8w&userid=1ug7EtH4blOzzbqqkmkenA) This yielded pretty good flavor, but it's a pretty standard dish. I did think it was a tad salty, but the clams themselves were juicy and fresh. Salt and pepper mantis prawns: (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=zR9xt5Qg3zptIT4fOyW31g&userid=1ug7EtH4blOzzbqqkmkenA) These were great! I hadn't had mantis prawns before, but they are certainly some of my favorite proteins now. This portion served seven people with leftovers, and the chef did an amazing job frying them so that even the spiny shells were edible. The meat on the inside was juicy and semi-sweet, which I couldn't get enough of. Even having other variations on this trip, this was still the best preparation. Stir-fried razor clams: (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=W4bJr3A8CvQthKbrY_eoFQ&userid=1ug7EtH4blOzzbqqkmkenA) I'm not sure if it was because of the strong sauce flavor, but I couldn't really make out a distinct flavor of these razor clams. I'd had them before and remember that they were pretty fragrant, but I didn't get that this time. Perhaps they were of a different variety? I do think that an excessive amount of onions, as was the case here, overpowers any delicate seafood flavor though. Honey pepper crab: (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=hS-gx-SsB8Addjs4eNdsUA&userid=1ug7EtH4blOzzbqqkmkenA) With the mantis prawns taking first place as my favorite dish of the meal, this crab preparation definitely comes in second. The honey was apparent yet nicely balanced by the pepper, and the crab itself was deliciously cooked. There was also a lot of crab roe, which is arguably my favorite kind of cooked roe! Steamed baby geoduck: (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=gag8Qv2t48tfSXbAh8vP_w&userid=1ug7EtH4blOzzbqqkmkenA) These were milder in flavor than larger geoduck. I liked the preparation with vermicelli and black bean sauce, but I might prefer the larger variety more. Steamed lobster with garlic: (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=1Vr7CwjCqlssx7vk4_2viw&userid=1ug7EtH4blOzzbqqkmkenA) I have never seen a lobster butchered as well as this one was; there's no contention that the chef was very skilled in cutting up lobster. There was an ample amount of garlic and I had initially thought that it would mask the lobster, but it paired surprisingly well with the delicate flavors of lobster and green onion. Service was fine, although it did take some aggressive flagging to get tea refills and extra napkins. There's a restroom close by for post-seafood handwashing, which is convenient, and the hiking path is a few minutes away.

I discovered this place when I was searching for restaurants to try for my trip to Hong Kong. This seemed to be the most popular one on Lamma Island. I emailed them a couple months in advance to reserve a spot and they responded immediately. When my friends and I arrived at the restaurant, there was already a table reserved for us. Everyone was very nice and spoke English as well. We went to the tanks to pick our fresh lunch :) the food was delicious!! This was probably the best meal I had on my trip to Hong Kong. We got a wide variety (see my pictures) and it was all very fresh and cooked very well. I would highly recommend this place to anyone traveling to Lamma Island. YUMMMMM THE FRIED GARLIC CRAB... can't stop thinking about it

Fresh and delicious seafood, with friendly waitstaff and the fifth star is for the awesome free ferry ride back to Hong Kong! We tried the bamboo clams with black bean sauce and chili, prawns with garlic, fried squid and fried rice. The rice was decent though the seafood is obviously the star here. Fresh and really good. What impressed me was also that the server didn't try to upsell us, and she voluntarily told us the seasonal prices for the bamboo clams upfront. (We didn't have fish but I've been warned that fish is particularly expensive). HK$8 per person for sauces (you can decline if you don't partake), and HK$8 per person for tea. All reasonable and clearly stated on signs at your table. After the meal, our server told us about the free ferry back which we didn't know about. Free! And it was waaaaaaaay nicer than the regular ferry! I mean WAAAAAAY nicer and not crowded! That made my day :)

Rainbow Seafood is actually located in Lamma Island. When you book with the restaurant they will give you direction on how to be picked up by their own boat. The boat will take you out to the island and back. It is a fantastic way to also check out the skyline of Hong Kong and neighboring islands. The actually restaurant is fantastic...everything is so FRESH. We ordered a plethora of dishes ranging from clams, shrimps (including larger mantis) to scallops and razorbacks...absolutely a great way to have a dining experience.

This was my second time at Rainbow Seafood and it continues to be the place everyone recommends when going to eat at Lamma Island. Food: Everything was very flavorful and seasoned well. -Sweet and sour pork: well-fried before adding the sauce so we could really taste the crispy undertones -Tea flavored chickened: had a good, unique flavor and was very moist -Salt and pepper calamari: really, really good -Deep fried tofu: pieces were larger than expected. Just wish this one had a bit more flavor -Steamed fish: fish actually was very smooth and was a bit meaty, in a good way -Black bean sauce razor clams: excellent -Black bean sauce clams: excellent -Garlic over steamed shrimp: excellent With rice to complement the food, this was the perfect amount for the 8 of us. We were one happy bunch when we were done. My tummy was happily filled with very yummy seafood. They provided complimentary pineapple and cantaloupe as well. Service: They were there when we needed them to place our order, give us info about ferry service, help us take a picture, handle the bill. They were also careful to scoot some of our items around prior to serving food so that there would be space for us to sit and for them to serve. They were also attentive to moving our items from large plates to smaller plates to make room for us for our other dishes. The bonus of this place is that they have complimentary ferry tickets they give you for their own ferry that can take you back to Central or Tsim Sha Tsui. There is a phone number (2982 8100) on the side of the boat, so I believe you can call it to get a complimentary ride to the restaurant if you wanted to go there for lunch or dinner. I'm just not sure where the pick-up point was. Overall: Highly recommended and I'd return the next time I'm at Lamma Island.

Wow! Super fresh seafood at it's best. Take their complimentary ferry from Central or the ferry from Aberdeen and have extraordinary seafood prepared perfectly and then go for a hike around the small island. Incredible were the little clams with black bean sauce, steamed prawns with garlic, steamed grouper with soy and scallions and mantis shrimp with salt and pepper. Very friendly, clean restaurant area and bathrooms. Some of the best, freshest seafood i've ever had.

Rainbow Seafood is the big daddy of seafood restaurants on Lamma Island, or at least certainly on the Sok Kwu Wan side of the island. It commands two large seafront sites, one right by the pier, and one a bit further into the "high street". Rainbow also runs its own shuttle ferry service, which is a stroke of marketing genius, as the "official" ferry company only runs a ferry every 2 hours, if it feels like it. Once you get to Lamma, either by the slow running public ferry, or the Rainbow shuttle, you will have the chance to sample some local seafood. Regarding the food, is it the best in HK? Does its quality do as much for Rainbow's reputation as perhaps the convenience of the shuttle ferry? Probably not. To be brutally honest, I think the seafood at Mui Wo, Po Toi, or Po Toi O is better. Don't get me wrong, the food here is perfectly good, highlights including; deep fried salt and pepper squid, garlic fried broccoli. Unfortunately, the other dishes didn't quite come up to scratch; steamed grouper was a bit small for the cost, sweet and sour fish didn't have particularly well cooked batter, fried rice was a bit dry, scallops in garlic over cooked. If you have an overseas visitor, it is hugely convenient to take them on an "island experience" here. You get the shuttle ferry from pier 9, the small ferry has an open top that feels totally Miami Vice, and the large shuttle has rainbow coloured strip lights that light it up like an Ibiza party cruise, the food at the other end is authentically local, and well enough cooked so that those who don't know better will think it's the best. For us locals, we could do better. The restaurant is very busy (this is the main site), so it will also give visitors that genuine HK feel. You will be hemmed in from nearly al sides, so be careful getting up to quickly, lest you take out the table behind you. Interestingly, the other restaurants on the strip are all empty. Perhaps they should run a shuttle. The table settings do have table cloths (so not totally local), but do give the cutlery and crockery a rinse. The staff are friendly and as attentive as they can be, given the business of the place. They can get a bit snippy if you "pester" them, but I don't think asking for rice for a third time in 30 minutes, yes it took that long to get a bowl of white steamed rice, is unreasonable. The cost is moderate, again you can find cheaper elsewhere. A recent party of seven cost HKD2500, with no alcohol. If you are new to HK, give it a go. If you've been here a while, you'll probably know better.

I'll keep it short and to the point. This is a tourist's trap. A plate of steamed kale was $20 USD, deep fried calamari, with more breading than calamari were $40 USD etc. On the scale of 1 to 5, the taste was 1. To top it all off - as you sit down they bring a pot of green tea (without even asking), for WHICH THEY CHARGE an additional $16 for every person at the table! If you ask about that additional charge on the bill, they threaten to call police. Stay away. I'm sure most of 5 star reviews are fake.

Good seafood dinner before we leave Lamma Island. We chose a set menu for 2 people. Sea foods were fresh. Price was reasonable. We got complimentary cruise tickets back to Central.

I used to come here all throughout my childhood, but somehow in the recent years, this place has just gone downhill. We waited over an hour for our dishes to come out, service was horrendous. We got yelled at multiple times throughout our lunch, for asking why our food was taking over an hour to arrive, while other tables were served much faster. They also wouldn't let us cancel the dishes that took the longest, and when it finally arrived, they were just short of tossing it on our table. Now, I'm from HK so I understand that service isn't usually the greatest, but this was just beyond what I've experienced. Food was good, but from my previous experiences here, it has been better. The one upside to this is that if you eat here, you get a sticker allowing you take a complimentary ride back to HK island or Kowloon on their ferry.

Rainbow restaurant is one of the more well known restaurants on Lamma Island. I've been here 2 or 3 times and now they've always delivered on quality and service. This time around, we had razor clams with black bean sauce, salt and pepper squid, steamed grouper fish, clams with black bean sauce, steamed shrimp with garlic, sweet and sour pork, tea leaf chicken, and salt and pepper tofu. All of the seafood was very fresh, tasty, and not over cooked. I'm actually not a big fan of seafood so the non seafood dishes were definitely the highlight of the meal for me. The sweet and sour pork was crunchy and it wasn't over saucy. The tea leaf chicken was unique dish that I had never had before. You could actually taste the tea leaves! The chicken was also moist and the skin was crunch. The salt and pepper tofu had a very silky smooth texture inside and just crunchy enough on the outside. Aside from the great food, Rainbow also offers their diners a free ferry back to Central and Tsim Sha Tsui! You just have to ask the servers to give you tickets.

So, we took the ferry from Central to Lamma Island to eat at one of the many seafood restaurants. The food is very good and the staff is very friendly especially if you speak the language. We ordered the pissing shrimp, the mussels and the grouper (fried and fileted WARNING: super expensive for the grouper) I will urge caution with regards to what you end up ordering, it is very easy to get carried away and end up spending a fortune so just be practical especially if you are a tourist.

Such a great experience. Made reservations online seamlessly and on the night of, we went to the Central pier and checked in with the attendant. The free ferry ride was about 30 minutes and even though it was windy, the ride wasn't too bad. When we got there, we were seated right away and as we looked at the menu, we decided to instead just order straight from the large selection of seafood from the huge tanks!! They had everything and was priced very reasonably! We just pointed and the guy recommended the preparation and that's it. We sat down and within minutes food started coming out. Service was on point and the food was so fresh and soooooo good. It was interesting eating and seeing all the docked fishing boats nearby. It was too dark for much of a view but I'm sure it would've been beautiful if there was still daylight! Once the dinner was done, we boarded the ferry back. All in all it was a great experience and would definitely recommend it!

Great seafood here. We had the fried sweet and sour garoupa and spicy fried prawns with vegetable rice which was enormous. Pricing was very good - we also weren't charged for the tea and sauces unlike other reviewers and sadly were in too much of a hurry to use the complementary ferry back to Central. With that in mind this was exceptionally good value. The surroundings are rustic - plastic chairs and tables - which was really in keeping with the surroundings. Service was very warm and attentive. Recommended.

we definitely got owned in terms of the pricing. paid a ton of money for 6 shrimps that were small as heck and halved, steamed in garlic. then we had a plate of mantis shrimps. their ordering methods are not clear and although its one of the more well known restaurants i definitely did not get the value out of it. the only thing good was we were in a rush to catch the ferry not knowing that the ferry is included in their pricing since they have their own that shuttles to Central and makes another stop at TST. they then also get you to pay even more by charging you for the sauces on the table and possibly the tea. i was pretty upset at this meal!!

The service was very bad. The food was so so and the presentation did not look like the photos on the menu. The price was very high. It was not worth the money at all.

Certainly a fun place that is just as much about the experience as it is about the food. Open air fish market type of feel. Monsterous portions and a good variety of things on the menu. Salt and pepper calamari was a crowd pleaser. Mantis shrimp was probably the most unique thing on the menu. Good ambiance. Great service. It is perhaps a tad gimmicky, but worth the adventure out here to Lamma Island. Free ferry back to the main island.