Restaurant in Guangzhou, China
Two Michelin stars. Book well ahead.
Jade River holds back-to-back Michelin stars (2024 and 2025) for Cantonese cooking in Guangzhou's Tianhe District, making it one of the clearest fine-dining choices in the city at the ¥¥¥ price point. The Tianhe Park setting is quieter than most CBD alternatives, and the kitchen's consecutive recognition signals genuine consistency. Book three to four weeks ahead minimum — this is not a walk-in venue.
Jade River has two consecutive Michelin stars (2024 and 2025) to its name, and for Cantonese cooking at the ¥¥¥ price point in Guangzhou, that credential matters. If you are looking for technically grounded, Michelin-recognised Cantonese cuisine in a city that takes dim sum and roast meats as seriously as anywhere on earth, this is one of the clearest booking decisions you will face. Book it — but read the practical notes below before you try, because securing a table here is harder than the address in Tianhe District suggests.
Jade River sits inside Tianhe Park, and first-timers often assume that a park-adjacent address means a casual, walk-in-friendly restaurant — the kind of place where you show up on a Sunday morning and find a table without fuss. That assumption will cost you a meal. This is a Michelin-starred kitchen operating at a price and formality level that demands advance planning. Treat the booking process the way you would treat any two-time Michelin recipient in a major Chinese city: plan ahead, confirm early, and do not rely on walk-in availability.
The address at 1 Yuancuner Road places Jade River within the green perimeter of Tianhe Park, which means the physical approach is quieter and more removed than the commercial towers that define most of Tianhe District. The spatial contrast , urban Guangzhou on one side, parkland on the other , shapes the dining environment before you even step inside. For a special occasion or a business meal where the setting is doing half the work, that separation from the street-level noise of central Tianhe is a genuine advantage. The room itself is positioned as a formal Cantonese dining environment, consistent with the expectations set by a ¥¥¥ price range and Michelin recognition. This is not a banquet hall optimised for large groups grinding through a set menu, nor a cramped shopfront dim sum counter. Plan for a composed, table-service experience where the pace is deliberate and the room is arranged to support conversation.
Chef Ryan Nuqui leads the kitchen, and the cuisine type is squarely Cantonese , meaning the technical benchmark here is one of the most demanding in Chinese cooking. Cantonese cuisine prizes restraint and precision over complexity of spice: the quality of the ingredient, the accuracy of the heat, and the clarity of the sauce are exposed in a way that richer regional styles can obscure. Earning a Michelin star in this tradition in Guangzhou , the city where Cantonese cooking originated and where diners are the most demanding critics in the country , is a specific credential. Earning it twice consecutively is a signal that the kitchen is consistent, not a one-year anomaly. For the diner comparing options across the city, that consistency is what makes the ¥¥¥ spend defensible. Cantonese peers like Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine and Jiang by Chef Fei operate in the same culinary tradition; Jade River's back-to-back Michelin recognition is what separates it from the broader competitive set. If you are building a Guangzhou dining itinerary around Cantonese mastery, also consider Lai Heen, Lei Garden (Yuexiu), and BingSheng Mansion (Xiancun Road) as additional reference points in the same city.
Jade River is well-suited to the occasion where the venue itself is part of the message. The Michelin credential is legible to both local and international guests, the Tianhe Park setting provides a quieter environment than a CBD tower restaurant, and the ¥¥¥ price range sits at a level that reads as considered rather than excessive. For a business meal in Guangzhou where you need the table to signal respect without overspending, this is a stronger choice than generic luxury hotel dining. For a celebration dinner, the combination of Michelin recognition and Cantonese cooking , the culinary home of the city you are dining in , gives the meal a sense of place that international fine dining in the same price bracket cannot replicate. If you are planning a longer Guangzhou trip and want to compare across dining categories, see our full Guangzhou restaurants guide. For context on comparable Cantonese dining across Greater China, Forum in Hong Kong and Le Palais in Taipei are the benchmark references in the tradition. Further afield, Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau and Dai Yuet Heen in Nanjing serve as useful comparison points for Michelin-level Cantonese outside the Pearl River Delta. For other top-tier Chinese dining experiences on Pearl, see Xin Rong Ji (Xinyuan South Road) in Beijing, 102 House in Shanghai, Xin Rong Ji in Chengdu, and Ru Yuan in Hangzhou.
Booking difficulty at Jade River is rated Hard. This is a Michelin-recognised restaurant with no published walk-in policy and an address that serves a catchment of Tianhe's professional and corporate dining market. Aim to book at minimum three to four weeks in advance. If you are visiting Guangzhou for a specific occasion and Jade River is the anchor of your trip, book before you book your flights. Specific booking method details are not currently available in our database , check current reservation channels directly. For more on getting around and planning your Guangzhou visit, see our full Guangzhou hotels guide, our full Guangzhou bars guide, our full Guangzhou wineries guide, and our full Guangzhou experiences guide.
Quick reference: Jade River , Cantonese, ¥¥¥, Michelin 1 Star (2024 & 2025), Tianhe District, Guangzhou. Booking difficulty: Hard. Book 3–4 weeks out minimum.
Come with a reservation confirmed well in advance , this is not a drop-in venue. Jade River is a Michelin-recognised Cantonese restaurant at the ¥¥¥ price point, which means the experience is formal table service, not a casual dim sum house. If it is your first time eating serious Cantonese in Guangzhou, the kitchen's Michelin consistency (back-to-back 2024 and 2025 stars) is the strongest quality signal available. Expect cooking that prioritises ingredient clarity and technical precision over heavy saucing or bold spice.
At minimum three to four weeks ahead, and further out if your visit date falls around a public holiday or Golden Week. Two consecutive Michelin stars in Tianhe's competitive dining market means tables at Jade River fill faster than the park-side address might suggest. If the meal is the centerpiece of a trip, book before you finalise your travel arrangements.
Yes, and it is one of the stronger special-occasion choices at the ¥¥¥ level in Guangzhou. The Michelin credential is recognisable to both local and international guests, the Tianhe Park setting is quieter than a CBD restaurant, and the Cantonese menu gives the meal a genuine sense of place. For a milestone birthday, anniversary, or a business dinner where the table needs to signal effort, this is a well-calibrated option.
Smart casual at minimum; business casual is the safer call. A two-time Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant at the ¥¥¥ price point in Guangzhou will have a room where the other guests are dressed accordingly. Trainers and casual shorts are likely to feel out of place. Specific dress code details are not confirmed in our data, so when in doubt, err toward the smarter end of your wardrobe.
It is possible, but Jade River at the ¥¥¥ price point is better optimised for two or more diners. Cantonese cooking at this level is designed around sharing multiple dishes, which gives you broader coverage of the kitchen's range. A solo diner can still have a strong meal, but you will see less of what the kitchen does. If solo exploration of Guangzhou's Cantonese scene is your goal, a counter-style or smaller-format venue may give you better coverage per yuan.
Group dining at Michelin-level Cantonese restaurants in Guangzhou typically involves private dining rooms for parties above six to eight. Whether Jade River has private room capacity is not confirmed in our current data. If you are planning a group booking, contact the restaurant directly to confirm availability and any minimum spend requirements , and build in extra lead time beyond the standard three-to-four-week booking window.
Cantonese cuisine at this level is generally more accommodating than highly technique-driven tasting menus, but specific dietary accommodation policies for Jade River are not confirmed in our database. Contact the restaurant directly when booking, and flag any requirements at reservation stage rather than on arrival. For severe allergies or strict dietary requirements, advance communication is the only reliable approach.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jade River | Michelin 1 Star (2025); Michelin 1 Star (2024) | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine | Michelin 2 Star | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Taian Table | Michelin 2 Star | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Song | Michelin 1 Star | ¥¥ | — |
| Chōwa | Michelin 1 Star | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Rêver | Michelin 1 Star | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
A quick look at how Jade River measures up.
No published policy is on record, which means you should check the venue's official channels before booking. At a Michelin-recognised Cantonese kitchen in the ¥¥¥ range, accommodation of serious dietary needs is standard practice at this level — but Cantonese cuisine relies heavily on shellfish, pork, and poultry stocks, so flag restrictions clearly and early. Don't assume the kitchen will improvise on the night.
No dress code is published, but the Michelin credential and ¥¥¥ price point set the tone: this is not a casual lunch spot. Business attire or polished casual is the safe call for both local and international diners, particularly if you're using the visit for client or occasion dining. Trainers and streetwear will feel out of place.
Possible, but not the obvious choice. Cantonese cooking at this level is designed around sharing dishes across a table, so solo diners miss the format's full range. If you're determined, go in knowing the experience is structured for groups and the per-head cost at ¥¥¥ doesn't scale down. A solo meal here makes sense if your goal is to assess the kitchen directly rather than to eat broadly.
Yes — this is one of its clearest use cases. Back-to-back Michelin stars (2024 and 2025) give the venue a credential that reads clearly to both local and international guests, which makes it reliable for occasions where the choice of restaurant is itself a signal. The Tianhe Park setting adds a remove from the city's commercial density, which suits milestone dinners more than a central hotel dining room would.
Groups are likely the primary format here — Cantonese banquet-style dining is built for the table, not the individual plate. That said, no private room availability or group booking policy is confirmed in the public record, so check the venue's official channels for parties of six or more. At ¥¥¥ and with hard booking difficulty, large groups should lock in a reservation well in advance rather than assuming walk-in capacity.
Book at least three to four weeks out, and longer if you're targeting a Friday or Saturday. Jade River is rated Hard to book: it holds consecutive Michelin stars, has no published walk-in policy, and sits in a location that doesn't generate casual footfall. International visitors should treat reservation confirmation as a prerequisite before finalising travel dates, not an afterthought.
The Tianhe Park address catches people off guard — this is not a park café. The setting is quieter and more removed than Guangzhou's central dining strips, so factor in travel time and don't rely on stumbling across it. The kitchen is Cantonese, which means the technical bar is high and the format rewards ordering widely across the menu rather than sticking to one or two dishes. Secure your reservation before you arrive in Guangzhou.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
