Chinese Restaurant Logos

Have you ever stopped to think about what your logo says about your company?

Logos, by design, should deliver a message to everyone who sees them. And regardless of the type of business you run, that messaging needs to be accurate.

In the food services arena, messaging is even more important. We form a first impression in a few milliseconds. A great deal of what drives our decision to try a new restaurant is what we get from the logo.

For cultural cuisine, such as Chinese restaurants, the choice of graphic, font, and color in the logo says a lot about the restaurant itself. Certain styles, font types, and even certain colors are traditionally associated with Chinese cuisine. But, of course, just because a certain element is commonly seen in that niche doesn't always mean that it's the best decision for a logo.

Logos are actually great story-telling devices - and these Chinese restaurant logos illustrate that fact perfectly.

Yang Ming

This Philadelphia staple bills itself as an "Asian fusion" restaurant, which means a lot of new takes on traditional Chinese food. However, like many Chinese establishments, paying homage to tradition is very important, and that honor is reflected in the logo. Yang Ming uses a traditional-style Chinese fan graphic as the background for the combination mark logo.

The coloring is a fading, pastel peach, which is an unusual play on the bright colors that are more commonly used.

Red Maple Chinese Restaurant

It's not uncommon for logos to be directly taken from the restaurant name, and that's certainly the case for the Red Maple restaurant. This Utah-based dining spot uses red-on-red for the graphic, with black Chinese lettering and white English font for the name. Maples are extremely evocative of peaceful surroundings and Asian gardens, which makes them a great choice for this establishment.

Red Orchids China Bistro

A more Americanized-take on Chinese food, Red Orchids uses traditional elements - like red paper lanterns - combined with modern, American touches - like the large pub-style bar - for the restaurant decor. That mixed approach follows through in the stylized lotus used for the logo.

The colors still have the more traditional touch, with white and bright red making the logo stand out.

Han Dynasty

Another restaurant that goes heavy on the traditional color of red is Han Dynasty, in Philadelphia. It's particularly appropriate for this restaurant, which is known for its spicy dishes, because it's very evocative of spice and heat. It's also a great color to stimulate appetite in the viewer!

An eye-catching logo design, Han Dynasty's logo could be just as breath-taking as the food that is served there.

A Single Pebble

This appealingly named restaurant uses a deft, simple logo that plays cleverly off the name. It combines Chinese lettering and a red, white, and black color palette, but ties it all together with the brush lettering style "pebble." It's evocative of tradition while also being a unique take on a simple, effective logo.

Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon

This is the most unusual and unique logo on this list! It's a different style for a Chinese restaurant, and completely bespoke for the brand; you won't see anything else like it in terms of Chinese restaurant logos. It's far more complex than most restaurant logos - while that isn't always ideal for a logo, it works for the fun, funky atmosphere of this place.

The design ties back to the originator of the restaurant, none other than Judy Fu. Famous today for the noodle dishes, the restaurant is also recognizable for its logo. Interestingly, dragons are common graphic elements for Chinese restaurants - but it's rare to see one rendered in this fashion.

Legend Seafood Restaurant

An authentic Cantonese restaurant in Hawaii, this well-known restaurant built its logo around the things that it is known for: the legendary seafood dishes that it offers, represented by the fish graphic, and its location in Hawaii, represented by the ocean waves. The colors of yellow and green in the color palette are also very evocative of the tropical climate.

Peking Gourmet Inn

This famous restaurant is located in Washington, DC, and has played host to a plethora of famous politicians and generals over the years. Most of them visited to try out Peking Gourmet Inn's most famous dish: Peking duck.

With that major draw, not to mention the name of the restaurant itself, the duck in the logo is practically a given. It's a cutely rendered drawing of a duck, simple and obvious, with a burgundy background. Overall, it's perfectly indicative of what you can expect from the restaurant.

Koi Palace

This California restaurant has earned quite a few "#1 Chinese restaurant" nods over the years. It has stayed in a top position by keeping on the cutting edge of new trends in Chinese food, rather than sticking to the same old, same old. The logo also has a trendy feel, reflecting the messaging of the restaurant very well - the koi graphic, however, is a traditional nod, showing that the restaurant always still goes back to its roots.

Tropical Chinese Restaurant

A final great Chinese restaurant logo to be included in this list is the logo for the Tropical Chinese Restaurant, in Florida. The restaurant itself is based on the classics, in both cuisine and decor, and the classic Chinese lantern in the logo is a perfect representation of that. It's a unique variant of the traditional Chinese lantern, with a brush-stroke style that makes it appealing and whimsical.

What Does The Logo Say?

There's a lot more to any story than can be said in a small logo graphic, of course. But the logos here deliver accurate messaging about the restaurants they represent, and that's an important first step in drawing diners in. After all, if they don't take the plunge and try the restaurant out, how will they ever discover their new favorite place to go?

That's a lot of weight to put on a little logo. But, as these logos have proved, the logo is small but mighty - if it's well-designed, it can take it.