China Kitchen

China Kitchen has been serving Chinese and broader Asian cuisine from a suite within the Eagle Ridge Shoppes plaza on State Road 50 for roughly eighteen years, putting its opening around 2008 and making it one of the longer standing restaurants along Groveland’s busiest commercial corridor. In a fast growing city where retail centers and restaurant lineups have shifted considerably over the past two decades, staying in business for nearly two decades is a meaningful accomplishment for a small, independently owned kitchen.

The restaurant is notable for offering alcohol alongside its food menu, which sets it apart from a lot of the quick-service Chinese restaurants found in strip malls across Central Florida and suggests a slightly more full-service dining experience than a typical takeout counter. Combined with the classic Chinese American menu categories, think General Tso’s chicken, lo mein, fried rice, and the like, that most restaurants of this type carry, China Kitchen offers Groveland residents both a dine-in option and the ability to grab food to go from the same plaza where several other local restaurants operate.

Its location within Eagle Ridge Shoppes puts China Kitchen alongside pizza, barbecue adjacent, and other independently owned food businesses in one of Groveland’s central shopping destinations along State Road 50, giving diners a range of options within a short walk of each other. For families deciding between cuisines on a given night, having China Kitchen in the same plaza as several other locally owned restaurants makes it easy to let everyone in the group choose something different without having to drive across town.

Nearly two decades in business also means China Kitchen has built up a base of loyal, repeat customers who have come to rely on it as their go-to option for Chinese food in Groveland, a cuisine that is otherwise not heavily represented in the city compared to Mexican, barbecue, and American fare. For newcomers to the area looking for a familiar Chinese American menu with alcohol available and a dine-in option, China Kitchen in the Eagle Ridge Shoppes plaza is worth a visit, and calling ahead to confirm current hours is recommended given how much a long-running restaurant’s schedule can shift over the years.

That kind of longevity along a highway corridor that has seen so much retail turnover also speaks to how China Kitchen has adapted over time, keeping its core menu recognizable while the shopping plaza around it has cycled through other tenants. For Groveland residents who remember the restaurant from years past, it remains one of the more consistent dining fixtures on this end of State Road 50, a reliable stop whenever the craving for Chinese food sets in.