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2.5 stars.
I went there for the first time last night, with a few non-chinese friends that have been there before.
Parking is pretty easy and location is good. The interior looked nicer than the exterior, and the servers were really nice and helpful.
We started with wor won ton soup, broth was bland but has some veges to color it up, wontons were bland too. For entrees we got, sesame beef, salt and pepper shrimp, & szechuan pork.
When all three dishes came out, they were all purely meat with no sign of any veges in sight!! No bell peppers, and no garnish. The shrimp were deep fried and the dough was salty. Sesame beef was probably the best dish but didn't taste sesame, it was also very salty. The szechuan pork dish was our least favorite, julienne cut meat and stir fried with just soy sauce (at least that's what it tasted like).
We ordered an extra dish at the last minute to add some vege for balance; stir fry chinese spinach with the recommendation of our server. It tasted better than most other dishes we had.
Overall the food here is not my kind of chinese food if I had a choice. But for ease of parking and it is quieter than most chinese restaurants that I've been to, so I can see why a lot of round eyes like it here.
Honey walnut shrimp ********
my mouth is watering just thinking about the honey walnut shrimp :) everything here is good. i highly recommend this place.
the funny thing is that just a few years back we turned our back to this establishment, it was going downhill pretty fast. i dont know what happened but THANK YOU for going back to your old ways :)
what a comeback. keep the good food coming!
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I have been going to Mandarin Gourmet for the past 10 years. The food always tastes the same, and is built for American/Californian taste buds.
The soups are excellent, and I highly recommend the Honey Walnut Prawns.
I have to start this review with stating my dislike of honey walnut shrimp. I don't know if its the mayo or the grease or what, but I really do not liek honey walnut shrimp. With that said, I LOVED the honey walnut shrimp here! In fact, I loved everything I ate here (except for the soup which is why the review was docked one star. soup is very important to me). I will be returning!!!
I LOVE IT!
One of my favorite places to go on an excellent day. I love the interior of this restaurant. My favorite is the Cashew Chicken and Wor Won Ton Soup. Don't forget the Fortune Cookie at the end of the meal.
The service is always nice. The wait is a pain when they are busy. I get very annoyed, so learn to have reservations ahead of time.
They have family deals at the end of the menu if you come in huge groups. It's very reasonable for the quality that they serve.
The thing about this place is I feel like I need to dress up all the time.
-SN
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4 orders of walnut shrimp please!
Nice fancy Asian place with lots and lots of awards!
It seemed as though they were awarded something every year. There has to be a reason right?
The decor is the best around! It's probably the best looking Chinese restaurant you'll see this side of town.
The food is more pricey than your usual also. The portions seem to not suit the price.
I came with a party of 15+ and the service was moderately attentive. We were given attention 70% of the time, but were treated like the teens we were.
I don't suggest eating here for a big party. The dinner special actually charges you more than if you were to order the dishes separately.
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Eating out at Chinese restaurants for me was like the first date curse. You know how you go on endless dates with different people and never make it to another date with them ever again, sound familiar? I must of tried over 5 different Chinese restaurants in the past year and I have never been back again.
Thanks to or friend, we found this place close by Oakridge Mall. The ambiance is a little outdated with the decor but it is definitely not clique like your typical Asian restaurant. It was 8pm and the place was not super packed and noisy. It's kind of nice when you are not yelling to have a conversation and are not ignored by busy servers.
We ordered Potstickers to begin with, the Sesame Chicken, Chang-Sha chicken, and the Mongolian Beef. I have to say the Potstickers here are the BEST I ever had, fresh, steaming hot, flavorful, perfectly cooked with a charred side, it wasn't greasy at all. The entrees here are all meat and no filler! The Mongolian beef was also really good. Tender pieces of beef with all the fat trimmed off unlike many places. The Sesame chicken was also delicious, not too oily at all considering its fried pieces of chicken sauteed in a sesame sauce. Finally the Chang-Sha chicken came in this unique home-made tin foil bowl. It probably only could of used more vegetables...yeah crazy I know, I'm requesting more vegies.
Service here was good, they are good at the refills, I just took one star off cause we had to wait a little bit long for the food and the restaurant wasn't that packed. I will definitely be back to try more dishes and indulge in those incredible potstickers again!
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I have been eating at Mandarin Gourmet for years. I was born and raised in San Jose and have tried all the decent Chinese food restaurants around. Nothing compares to Mandarin. Most Chinese food is a little on the greasy side and probably not the greatest thing health wise, but nonetheless still fabulous. My family particularly enjoys the following. (just to name a few)
1. Mandarin Beef - a must try. Amazing
2. Chicken Lettuce Cups
3. Salt & Pepper Prawns
4. Mongolian Beef
5. Chinese Chicken Salad
It usually gets pretty crowded on a Friday and Saturday night so if you are a large party I would recommend making a reservation. My family has even held Bridal Showers and Wedding Showers in their private room in the back. Their banquet menu is very reasonable for the amount of food you receive. If you haven't tried Mandarin, give it a whirl....hopefully you'll love it as much as we do.
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I have been to the branch in Cupertino, the branch in San Jose and the branch in Palo Alto, and I am impressed by all three. I went to the San Jose branch with my co-worker the other day for lunch, and we were both extremely satisfied with the experience.
The lunch menu offers hot and sour soup (one of my all-time faves), a chinese chicken salad, entree and of course a fortune cookie. I ordered the Szechuan beef and it came with fried rice. I can never get my fill of this dish...quite delicious. Sometimes I order the honey-walnut prawns which are also unbelievable. The servings are pretty huge because I always end up taking leftovers home.
The service is excellent, even when they are busy. I have never made a reservation before, although the Cupertino branch is quite busy during dinner time. Every time I have gone here for lunch, we have been seated immediately, even when we were in a small group (four people). The place is clean and the staff are also very friendly.
I would definitely recommend this restaurant for lunch or dinner.
My fiance and I went here because we thought it could be a place for our wedding banquet...um, no. The place looks like a converted Denny's (plastic booths and all) with 80's style decor. The place looks depressingly rundown on the outside, although it is clean (if dated) on the inside.
While the ambiance was bad, the food surprisingly wasn't too bad. It had the American-Chinese audience in mind (lemon chicken and such), and I had the sweet & sour pork lunch deal while my fiance had the General Tsao's chicken. The lunch deals came with a small chicken small, a bowl of hot & sour soup, and fried rice, all for about $9 each. They also had a plate of deep fried won ton strips & sauce, sort of like chips and salsa, which was kind of funny. The chicken in the General Tsao's chicken was tender and flavorful, and the sweet & sour pork was fried in that good crispy way (not the gross mushy breaded kind). All in all, I won't make the effort to go back but it wasn't as bad as it looked. And definitely not the place for my wedding banquet!
Good food, great service and very nice ambiance. The only catch about this place is the price. It can get a little pricey for the portion sizes. Not bad though. This is not a place to do take out if you are looking to keep your costs down nowadays.
Good flavors all around though!
mandarin gourmet is a definite step up from panda express, that's for sure. sure, the interior is outdated, but for the price you pay for LUNCH, all the things you end up getting are pretty much worth the price you pay.
was feeling like Chinese food, but tired of the usual places that we frequented, and since i've driven past this place a million times, i figured it was worth a try.
i picked the SALT AND PEPPER CRISPY PRAWNS while boyfriend got PEPPER BEEF. anything in the lunch menu comes with:
- SOUP OF THE DAY
- CHICKEN SALAD
- FRIED RICE/ STEAMED RICE
- FORTUNE COOKIES
soup was sweet and sour, had just the right amount of kick in it. i only wished that there was more tofu and stuff in it. chicken salad is... okay in moderation i suppose. i like the one at tao tao's in sunnyvale much better. i was a little surprised that the prawns came battered in the fish and chips style- i was under the impression that they would have the shell on. all in all, it was okay. came out hot and crispy, but i feel like the ratio of batter to shrimp was 2:1... so... in other words, too much batter and not enough shrimp.
boy's pepper beef looked like too much bell peppers and not enough meat, but i did try a slice of the beef and it was tender and pretty good. service was very attentive.
a note for the wary though: when we went, not too many chinese folks were there. some people find that an asian restaurant occupied by mostly caucasians can be cause for concern. just fyi.
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Great priced for a great taste!
I love this place! It is all about the lunch special! (which unfortunately is only offered during the week)
The service and ambiance are a pleasant surprise, and I highly highly recommend the honey pecan prawms and i think its the apricot beef? Whatever the unusual beef flavor is on the lunch special is amazing!
The salad and soup that comes with your lunch entree is also amazing!!!
I'm at a loss as to what star rating this truly deserves, but this extremely american chinese establishment in my neighborhood has had a special place in my life. i've been coming here since I was a kid. The food here is obviously not healthy (but what american chinese place is?)- most dishes are drenched in sauce and/or fried, but I won't complain because it still tastes pretty good. Whoever described it as a slightly more upscale restaurant version of panda express is onto something, though I wouldn't go that far. The mongolian beef is my dish here, and I can always count on the hot and sour soup.
Some may not like the fact that this place looks exactly the same that it did in 1989, but that just adds to the bittersweet nostalgia for me. The last time I went here with a bunch of family friends, we were a huge group so naturally very obnoxious and demanding. I'm sure the waiter was overwhelmed, but he took good care of us.
I prefer this over PF Chang's or really any other similar chinese restaurant for sure. Will definitely be coming back.
Once upon a time, in a land called San Jose, there lived a fine dining establishment named Mandarin Gourmet. Mandarin Gourmet, was all San Jose had at the time, and it was all anyone in San Jose could ask for when it came to good Chinese food. Sometimes you'd have to wait over an hour to experience what this fine institution had to offer; Sesame beef, Mandarin beef, and ohhh, one mustn't forget to mention the hot & sour soup.
But alas, like many untold fairy tale endings, the fabulous chaos and goodness that was once the Mandarin Gourmet came to a terrible ending. The food here now sucks and it's no longer the bustling restaurant it used to be.
THE END.
I will, however, note that their Hot & Sour Soup still kicks the socks off many other places, it's just great, to be honest. But if you're looking for yummy, yummy chinese food, go to Taiwan in Willow Glen.
We have been going to Mandarin Gourmet for 6 year now and we have NEVER had a bad dish. This place is as consistent as you can get. The servers are not super friendly with the exception of one. Which we request on arrival.
This was my second visit.
We walked in and a woman seated us. She said nothing about closing time and so I started looking through my menu as my friend went to the bathroom. The man comes up seconds later asking me for my order. I told him my friend was in the bathroom and he said "Well hurry up we close soon" I had no idea they were, the resturant had a good amount of people and if they were about to close, they shouldnt have seated us. We put in our order and he was bringing everything out as quickly as possible.
The chinese chicken salad had an odd taste to it, but we worked hard to rush though our meal since he was hovering over us.
Main course, Prawns with honeyed walnuts. Gross...chewy and obviously over cooked. The rice was cold and super hard. We skipped it since we couldnt handle the crunch.
If they were getting ready to close. They should have never seated us. I would have rather been turned away then had Captain Hover and chitty food for 27 bucks....
I mean....this isn't Sun-Ly. And mind you I hadn't eaten lunch and was on my way to a movie after work so I was starving.
The fried rice was brown (which is what I personally like...to me it ain't fried rice if it's still white with peas and carrots....they are jipping you for the soy sauce and green onions and eggs) and it's unfair for me to compare because my only Fried Rice Love belongs to Sun-Ly. Sorry.
I had the General Tso's Chicken. I have yet to find a chinese place that serves a decent plate of this (other than Kansas City and Stockton). Really. It was a good crispy texture and not coated like 50 times with breading (like other places) but it just drowned in the brown sauce. Wasn't even spicy.
I had a bite of my friends Sesame Ginger...I'd try that next time if I go again.
The Hot & Sour Soup was really really good though. That's what I would order again. It almost reminded me of 4-5-6 chinese food (off of Pruneridge).
The chinese chicken salad was different. In a decent way. I tasted what it seems like wasabi. Okay well honestly. I wouldn't personally order it on purpose but it came with the meal. The chicken tasted cold and rubbery.
The place, food and service reminded me that I'd be a great fit here if I were a golden girl. Which reminds me.....where in the world is a great place for cheesecake? (And if you tell me the Cheesecake factory...you should have your tongue slapped with a ruler).
Pricey for what was served.
Sooo... I've pretty much lived in this side of SJ almost my entire life. I turn 22 next month, yet today was the first time in my life I've gone to try this place out...
The items ordered were;
1. Hot and Sour Soup - There were no leeks? No mushrooms? For about $7, you would expect more ingredients. it was also more on the sour side... not that great.
2. Wor Won Ton Soup - It was okay. I think the broth could be improved on. Maybe more wontons? I mean who the F*$# is going to pay like $7 for soup with only 3 wontons?!
3. Mandarin Chow Mein - It was ok as well. My mom said that it had an interesting taste. I couldn't really tell much of a difference other than the fact that for a chicken/beef/shrimp combo, there was more chicken than anything else, and it didn't have that much of all of it to begin with... not worth the $8.
4. Pu-Pu Platter - This consisted of two pieces each of: fried chicken wing/drum, Chinese pork spareribs, veggie eggroll, crab rangoons, fried shrimps, skewered beef. I'd have to say that the presentation for the most part was good... the fried chicken was standard, spareribs didn't do anything for me, rangoons basically had no crab, shrimps standard, beef a little too done... and eggroll was nothing special. I guess this could somewhat be worth the $13 because of the presentation and variety.
5. Fried Banana - SUCH A WASTE OF MONEY! it was just 1 whole banana cut into 6 pieces, dipped in batter and fried. It was topped with granulated sugar and peanuts. WTF?! Shouldn't it be powdered sugar? It didn't even have any ice cream! WHAT A WASTE OF $7!!!
I might give this place a go again for lunch, but I will never recommend this place because the price-to-portion ratio was absurd!
OMG... Im very picky about my chinese food and this place was amazing!! SOO good and service was excellent. I will be going back.
The lunch prices ($7 - $9) per person is a great deal. You get all the little mini starter plates which is always a plus. The mongolian beef and the chicken honeyed walnet entrees are awesome in which I highly recommend. It's an asian restaurant so the speed here is pretty much on par, very fast and very efficient. It can take you just 30 minutes from the minute you enter the doors to the time you're back in your car driving off. Food, prices, and efficiency are great so this place deserves the 5 stars. Fairly busy place which is always the ultimate indicator as to how great a place is.
Lunch menu ftw. Salad, hot and sour soup, honey walnut shrimp, rice and you are set my friend. All for around 10 bucks.
Best Chinese food I have had in San Jose. My favorites are the hot and sour soup and their chow mein. The staff has always been very nice (even though it is sometimes hard to communicate) You can get take out here too!
I've been here a few times with the family and every time we've had really good food with excellent service. The prawns are large, and the beef and pork dishes are served in delicious sauces. The Chow Fun was awesome!
The prices are a bit high, but when the food is tasty and the service fast and friendly, that's OK.
One of the better Chinese restaurants I've found in my neck of the woods. It is definitely overpriced for what it is, but hey this isn't SF. The food has always been fresh and tasty, the service is attentive if a bit slow. Do not miss the pot stickers, I think they actually do make them fresh! Also the beef is great, tender not rubbery, which is another good indication of a quality Chinese restaurant, in my book.
The one thing that bothers me is that they always keep me waiting for pick-up, so if they say 20 minutes, it'll be at least a half hour...
The place is always packed, which is really the best indication that they are doing it right. Right?! As others have mentioned, as with most "upscale" Chinese places, lunchtime is by far the better value.
I've eaten here with family and friends over the years. It's a solid Chinese restaurant with some outstanding cuisine. The decor is like a movie set - gilded and shiny. There are a couple of dining areas, so it's suitable to bring a party of 8,15, 25, 50, and still have a private dining experience, so make reservations in advance for that.
The menu is diverse in its offerings: appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, second entrees, third entrees (lol) and dessert. The hot and sour soup is perfectly made, the chinese chicken salad delicious, the orange chicken, kung pao prawns, beef broccoli all perfect. Wonderful food, and just take your time to chat with company.
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I read the reviews for this place and I don't get it. The place is always freezing cold inside and dark.
The food isn't that great either and you can go to House of Chu and get better quality and cheaper prices.
Don't know if they use MSG here but for some reason I don't feel that great after eating here even though my family seems to like it better than I do.
I'll pass going if I can't get out of it. Not for me.
If you are in the mood for americanized chinese food then this is it. What does that mean? Food that has been altered to the american taste. Which is not a bad thing.
The lamb and egg rolls are good. Try the chinese chicken salad. Shrimp with honey walnus. Sevice is tops. Get there early- gets crowded- they kick PF Changs butt next door. Much better then PF for sure.
I've been here many times for both lunch and dinner.
I really like their lunch special, which comes with soup and chicken salad.
My favorite dishes would have to be General Tso Chicken and Sesame Chicken.
The portion for lunch special is quite small, too.
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I've been here a few times and if you are around the Oakridge area and looking for decent chinese food, here it is. It's a better choice than PF Changs down the street. I like their chinese chicken salad and their appetizers and soups are all pretty good. Their eggplant is in a great sauce and the chow fun was tasty. For the other dishes, we usually stick with the usual, the sweet and sour pork, beef with broccoli. All pretty standard and good.
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This is a good place to get lunch. They have great specials. I especially like the Beef and Broccoli here.
Parking is easy, The prices are inexpensive. The service is always good. The food is consistently good.
I have been coming here for years and have never been disappointed.
The dining room makes me feel like I'm in some scary timewarp Nagel print being hung in the Golden Girls dining room...if the Golden Girls became poor.
The tablecloths are pastel pink and have holes in them. The menus are falling apart and are sticky and stained. The food reminds me of the Chinese food I could order in Minnesota in the 80's. You know, it's not really Chinese. Which is fine, I'm not a purist, but I think that $17-$18 for some of the entrees is a bit steep for quasi cuisine.
Service is great.
The food is just ok. Skip this place.
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Awesome Awesome Awesome!!!
Pan fried noodles- Excellent
Satay Chicken- Good
Chicken fried rice- Perfect
Have loved all the chicken dishes and egg-plant curry.
Must go. Very quick service.
I came here for dinner tonight. Walking in, you really notice that the place hasn't been redecorated since circa 1985. Whatever, I'm reviewing the food, not the interior designer.
The restaurant was packed but we were seated quickly. Quickly got our waters and tea, quickly got our orders taken. The waiter seemed like he had about 80 better things to do than to bother with us. I understand it was busy, but "too busy" should never be in a waiter's vocabulary (hehe, Reservoir Dogs).
All of our food was brought out very fast. The hot and sour soup was very tasty, but it was lukewarm, so I suspect that they had it sitting around in the back because of the dinner rush. A sidenote: it seemed funny that the lunch specials come with soup and salad but the dinners don't. My sesame beef came out hot and delicious, but my boyfriend's mongolian beef was lukewarm, also. My boyfriend tried to flag our waiter down to order a beer both times he came around to our table, but he was in such a hurry that he practically threw our food down and ran off. That was the last we ever saw of him.
After we quickly finished, we sat for 10 minutes waiting for the check and boxes. Funny how they rushed us to finish our food and then made us wait to pay. Our waiter didn't even hand us the bill and pack up our food, some other lady did.
I would have given this place 5 stars for the food had I gotten takeout, but unfortunately I ate in, so -2 stars for horrible service.
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Best chinese restaurant in San Jose. Pricey and their menu certainly needs to be updated, but the food is fresh and cooked nicely, large portions, and flavorful. Great place for takeout. Dining in, decor could certainly use a bit of updating for the price.
This is the worse place ever to have Chinese food. I went here because I have heard so many great things about the place and it turned out to be a huge disappointment. It's one thing for it to not live up to it's reputation, but another for it to suck as bad as they do. I ordered the honey walnut prawns with rice and the prawns were definitely over-cooked and just lightly tossed into the sauce. My rice came out late when I was almost half done with the prawns and I had to ask them twice for it. They prawns, soda, and rice came out to about $19 dollars , which I think is a rip off for Chinese food. After tip and everything the nasty meal came out to be around $24 dollars. (Note: This place was so bad that the first and last time I had my meal here was a year and a half ago, and ever since then I have declined any requests for dinner here! )
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I have driven by this place plenty of times wondering if it was ever open since there are no windows on the building. Odd...
Ambiance is lacking, the food is mediocre and the prices were ridiculous. I think its the first time I have ever seen the "Pu-Pu Platter" offered on a Chinese food menu. Enough said.
For what it's worth, it was clean and the staff was friendly.
Pay no attention to the negative reviews below! The 'rin is the bombest Chinese in San Jose. You HAVE to go at lunch, though. Dinner is absolutely overpriced, but for less than $10 per person you get a chicken salad, hot and sour soup, fried or steamed rice and your entree from the lunch menu before 3pm. I always start with the crab cheese puffs, which bumps that $10/person up a little bit, but it's worth it. Also, if you're in a hurry, it's not unheard of to get in and out in less than 30 minutes.
Highlights on the menu include the aforementioned crab cheese puffs, crispy prawns with salt and pepper, tangerine beef, lemon chicken and house chow mein. My dad really likes the kung pao chicken and my grandmother really likes the honey walnut prawns (I'm not a walnut fan, but I've tried them, and I do agree that whatever sauce they put on there tastes like mayonnaise...I want to throw up just thinking about it)...but you should really be ordering the crispy prawns with salt and pepper, anyway.
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We went here cuz the bf's sister was like OMG ITS SO AMAZING! OMG IT'S AMAZING!
Well, it's not amazing. It's like, oh okay, this is food. I'll eat it. Cuz you know it's a bad sign if there's not Chinese folks in a Chinese restaurant.
Expensive. Small portions and it's basically Panda Express in a nicer building. BLAH BLAH BLAH.
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This is my favorite chinese restaurant in San Jose.
the decor hasn't changed in 20 years - it's still 80s bland. However, the food is MAGNIFICENT and the service is not only fast, it's friendly and playful. I've had waiters sit down at my table with me, joking and laughing - but only when it's appropriate to do so.
Don't hesitate to try Mandarin Gourmet - you'll be glad you did!
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Yelp Specials!
San Jose, CA
Weekday lunch specials only…
San Jose, CA
Cupertino, CA
Category: Chinese
San Jose, CA
Category: Chinese
San Jose, CA
Category: Chinese
San Jose, CA
Category: Chinese
San Jose, CA
Category: Chinese
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