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My hubby & I go ONLY to Lims when we want Chinese.
The satff is very attentive & the food is always consistently good.
Combo chow mien has a little of everything & not overly greasy. Pot stickers always cooked to perfection, as are the egg rolls. The Mu Shu Pork is bursting with flavor & the walnut prawn sauce is lick the plate yummy! The tofu/mushroom dish is also a favorite. My hubby gets all the hot stuff, like Mongolian Beef and the meat is always tender & not full of fat & grisle.
Once in my sizzling rice soup I found hair. Not just long piece of hair but like hair trimmings, it was short but it was hair alright.
It makes me wonder, what do they DO in that kitchen???
One of the best Chinese Restaurants I ever go to. I've gone here with my family for years and it has Always been consistently great. Seriouslyy, I'm chinese and have been to.. an endless number of chinese restaurants in my life.. I don't know what that one 1 star review about the vegetables is talking about... their vegetables are bomb! All of their dishes.. from chow mein to chow fun to their meat dishes and seafood are all simply superb.The Chef knows what he's doing and does it right. It's all extremely affordable and way cheaper than dishes you find at other chinese retaurants.
Look to spend around 5~6 dollars for an order of chow mein.
I love this restaurant. Its the only Chinese Restaurant outside of China Town I'm willing to eat at. The food is authentic and fresh. I have never ordered the usual Chinese dishes here like sweet and sour anything or chicken chow mien. If you love salt and pepper prawns, congee, beef with scrambled eggs, etc. this is the place. As far as the service goes, it's hit or miss. They don't always greet you with a smile but the food comes out in a timely manner and they don't forget about you. It's worth it for the food.
I've enjoyed MANY lunches and dinners with my (Chinese) grandma and grandpa, and extended family. We've all always been pleased with the taste and quality of dishes ordered. 'Nuff said.
This is one of the better Chinese restaurants I have found in generally vicinity of Concord. Depending upon how lazy I feel after work, I'll stop by here for take out. I have never actually sat down and ate here so I cannot comment on the service but ordering over the phone and picking up is no problem. From what I've seen, they do get pretty busy at times.
I've made several trips here but only have ordered two different noodle dishes - beef chow fun and singapore noodles. The flavors of both are quite authentic to what I am used to from back in SoCal so I have no complaints there. It's a good sized portion (one of those styrofoam containers filled) for under $6 before tax. I think the dish would last most people two meals (maybe a dinner + lunch), but I always end up eating the whole thing. I like to think I eat a lot.
Parking is no problem since they have a shared lot. I have never had to park very far.
I've only had one bad experience here. I ordered beef chow fun for take out and when I arrived, they told me they ran out of chow fun?!?! What Chinese restaurant runs out? I ordered something else, but it pissed me off that I only found out when I arrived. They took down my phone number when I ordered so there is really no excuse. -1.
Been there twice won't go again. it's REALLY cheap, which was awesome but it's also really crappy.
Being that I can literally walk to this place in 5 min, New Lims menu is a staple on the selection of to-go's on my fridge. Whenever I am in the mood for some GREASY chinese...this is definitely where i get my fix. The food is consistent and done well considering it is right in the middle of Clayton/Concord. It definitely reminds me of those Chinese restaurants in Oakland/SF that we go to at 2am after a long day or night out. I would have to sum it up as authentic Chinese junk food.
Good to know this place is there for me whenever I need it.
Heads up...i dont know if they use MSG or just A LOT of salt but I down a good 5 cups of water through the night afterwards. So if you are sensitive to sodium, WATCH OUT!
I grew in in Walnut Creek, and thus I've been subjected to my fair share of "Chinese" restaurants, where items such as lemon chicken and mu shu pork have always just confounded the Malaysian bred mom.
New Lim's Garden thankfully falls in that rare other category. It's the auntie's favorite restaurant and because I had no say (Sichuan Fortune House got vetoed. Again.), it was where we spent New Year's Day dinner.
We ordered: herbal vegetable soup (free...but only if you're asian. sorry), lamb in XO sauce, bitter melon with pork, bok choy with shitake mushrooms, and whole steamed chicken with scallions.
For being an authentic Cantonese restaurant, I wasn't very impressed. The lamb was actually really tasty, but all of the veggies were covered in a thick, gooey, corntarchy sauce. I really, really hate that. The chicken was okay, as was the rest of the food. Pretty typical Cantonese fare but definitely not done as well as it could have been. Decent for Concord, I guess, though I hate saying that.
One nice thing is that it's cheap. $45 fed five of us with plenty of leftovers the next day.
Quite a few families were having banquet style family dinners that night and it was nice to see they have some affordable set meals on top of the regular menu.
There has to be better places than this place. When you first walk in, you are created with a smell much like a pet store. Smells horrible. Then you see a huge fish tank that is a shade of green, much like the rest of the decor. They have a bigger menu and cheap prices. But their food was a little mushy and lacking flavor. The potstickers were good but the fried rice and mongolian beef had no spice and not much flavor. I took my leftovers home but wish I knew a homeless person to give them to. I don't think I want to have a second experience even without the smell of the restaurant or decor.
Alright, let me first preface this review with saying that I don't really like Chinese food. Yes, I know...many would say that it's blasphemy but I think it just runs in the family. I'm not too fond of the thick-cornstarched-based sauces that accompany many stir-frys and soups. I think it may have something to do with all of the Chinese-banquet style wedding receptions we used to have to go to all of the time.
However, the BF loves Chinese food and I feel bad depriving him of his good-eats. This past weekend, we drove from South City SF to Concord (yeah, it was far) to New Lim's Garden because the BF and his family love it and have gone there for years.
I am happy to report that it was pretty tasty! My picks of dinner were the Salt/Pepper Shrimp, Salt/Pepper Squid, and the whole Sole fish. The sauce that accompanied the Sole was really flavorful--just wished there was more of it.
Overall, 3 stars because I enjoyed the food but it still hasn't fully converted me over to a Chinese cuisine fan.
I've been eating at this restaurant for years, and have never been disappointed with the food. Authentic Chinese cuisine that just seems to get better with the years, but remains true to the Lim's style. Either To-Go or dine in, Lim's is quick, the food is fresh, the dishes rich in flavor, and the prices are just right. My wife claims she has never eaten a better chicken fried rice; I personally like to sample the menu, but I also enjoy all their mainstream staples like the Chow Mein and Chow Fun.
As for the restaurant, the place used to be Arby's way back when, and the decor is early 1990's, so don't take the date that you are trying to impress, unless that date just happens to appreciate authentic Chinese cuisine prepared by immortal cooks who serve consistently good dishes.
Really it's 4 1/2 stars.
I love this place. Some of the best Chinese food around.
My only complaint, the location. Very far from any major highway, so you would need to use a back road (like Kirker or Bailey) to get there.
I love the honey walnut prawns, and they make a really good dish with bok choy and shitaki mushrooms.
I love the dessert they serve at the end. I save room for the tapioca goodness.
A typical Sunday afternoon conversation (especially after church)
Me: Dad, where do you wanna eat??
Dad: I want Hong Kong style chow mein.
Me: OMG, again?!? You don't wanna try something new?! Lets try something new!!
Dad: Ehhh.
Mom: *laughs hysterically* You know him, that's his favorite.
Me: Ahhh, why do I even have to ask!!!
Yup. There it is. Hong Kong style chow mein. My dad.. fully satisfied, and actually devoured that plate all by himself (even tho its family style)... everytime.
My usual order: Honey Walnut Prawns. (very good, but I think over the years, they increased the amount of mayo.. and now I'm 5lbs fatter cuz of that.)
Food is decent. I think I've gotten immune to this restaurant since we go here all the time... (not by choice.. especially not MY first choice) so my taste and admiration for this place might be a little OFF. HAHA. Thanks Dad.
Nonetheless, the service is always extremely friendly (Chinese waiters trying to speak the simplest Tagalog phrases they know.. which is cool). Ambiance is welcoming. Some TV for mild entertainment. And bathrooms are always clean when I go (very good AND important thing)! Overall, a nice family restaurant where the food is pretty satisfying.
Excellent chinese food! I love the salt and pepper pork chop. The best!
3 1/2 stars??? They deserve at least a four! This is probably my favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. I love authentic Chinese cuisine, and this restaurant serves some of the best. The only thing I don't like about this place is the location. It's kind of far from the freeway so it makes it a chore to drive out there.
Their Fookien fried rice is one of my favorite things there. They load it with plenty of chicken and shrimp. You can practically eat this on it's own without any other dishes and be satisfied. Their honey walnut prawns and roast duck are also good. My favorite dish is the lamb sauteed in XO sauce. The XO sauce brings out the distinctive flavors of the lamb and the load of onions compliments the flavors really well. I've tried several other things on the menu which I enjoyed, but those mentioned above are my favorites. They also provide free desserts if you ask.
My parents take the family here all the time. It is one of only two restaurants that they will take us to for special occasions. They are very picky with their Chinese food, and New Lim's sets the bar for the other restaurants around this neighborhood. They've been going to Lim's Restaurant since the days when it was located off of Monument. I agree with them that the food is good, but the service and cleanliness of the restaurant is definitely not up to par. A few incidents stand out. Once, the salt and pepper shrimp came out cooked on the outside, but still raw, gray and gooey on the inside. It's nice they have free warm red bean or white tapioca dessert. Although, you have to ask for it sometimes. My brother found more than red bean in his dessert one night. He dug up a big hunk of a plastic bag about four inches long and two inches wide with Chinese lettering on it. Many times, their dishes and teacups were dirty.
I'd give their food four stars. Their crab with ginger is really good, and once in a while they have $10 specials. Other favorites are the oysters with black bean sauce, mushroom and tofu with veggies, and honey walnut shrimp.
Service and cleanliness would be about 2.5 stars. We boycotted this place for a while because it would get so crowded that service would be crap.
My wife and I always order the salt and pepper pork and fookien fried rice. And oftentimes the deep fried sole. And don't forget the sweet and sour sauce to go with the pork dish. Everything under $25. We normally take half of these home for lunch or dinner the next day. This is our comfort food of all times!
I'm not sure I've ever been more confused by a dining experience. I almost didn't review. It's making my brain hurt.
Three of us ate here for $23. One of those "we package it as a set and you eat it" typa things. We brought home 4 containers of chinese food and still left a bunch on the plates that we couldn't eat.
I'm not sure why we bothered to bring it home.
I'm not sure why they gave us seperate containers for each dish. Everything tasted like nothing.
I obviously had no idea what I was doing.
Did Feliz Navidad playing in this joint on January 9th do permanent damage to my hearing?
I'll have to bring help, if I ever go back.
I lived literally behind this place for 5 years, and after five years of smelling lunch specials, I'm sure it would kill most people's desires to eat someplace, but the quality of the food here didn't help.
We ate here maybe two times on our own, and given that it was a 40 step commute to the location and they had 2 for 1 coupons in the Entertainment Book, we still preferred to jump in the car and go elsewhere for Chinese food (or something close to it).
Our friends felt the need to host birthday parties there, Filipino style (ya know, 60 people whom you barely know, and lots of dead animals whole), so we got to sample the food generally annually, and it didn't impress us even when others paid for it.
Another friend's mom said that management changed and that its better now, but I don't know.
However, if you really love this place`and are looking for a new home in December, when my tenants lease is up, have I got a deal for you...
My family has been frequenting Lim's Garden and New Lim's Garden for as long as I can remember. It's very choice chinese food. They had a beautiful sturgeon dish the last time I was there. I tried not to think about sturgeon being on a near endangered list or something.
Also they have a really great rice dish with baby scallops diced chinese brocolli and eggs in a rich sauce.
They have beautiful abalone and bok choy and some great steamed fish (whatever is in season). Fabu clay pot stews.
Everything here is so delicious, if for some reason you are in concord, w.c, and need a good place to eat...here you go.
Oh, and the other LIm's is good to, but is really really a hole in the wall. But great food for very little.
As a child, my parents used to drag me to the "old" Lim's Garden. We'd order twice cooked pork, the sweet and sour spareribs, the pickled veggies with pork..... AHHHHHHH the memories.
Now, as an adult, my in-laws very much enjoy going to the NEW Lim's Garden. If you are looking for a Chinese dining experience akin to one you might have in an actual Chinatown, this place is pretty close. You walk in and you enter a bustling restaurant. They have the tanks with the fresh fish and lobsters and crabs that you can order at market price, the large round banquet tables, etc.
On our most recent visit, we enjoyed a feast of West Lake Soup, Fresh Steamed Cod (absolutely wonderful!!!), Whole Ginger Crab (YUM), BBQ Pork with Bean Curd (tofu), Dry Roasted Chicken and Dry Sauteed Long Beans.
Service is relatively efficient, food is tasty, relatively clean for a Chinese restaurant and prices are moderate.
Probably one of the better, more authentic Chinese restaurants in the area. Of course, if you want the more Americanized version of Chinese food, they also serve that up as well (Mushu Pork, Peking Duck, Kung Pao chicken, etc.)
Best Chinese food in the area-- worth a drive from Walnut Creek if you don't want to go to Oakland. Go here rather than bother with any of those places in Walnut Creek.
One of my favorite things is this giant clam that's been shucked, chopped up, mixed with a ton of garlic, then put back in the shell and steamed. It's really, really delicious.
Four stars because the ambiance is blah. It used to be an old Arby's.
My parents love this place!
Anytime our family wants to go out to dinner on the spur of the moment, we go here. It's a good alternative to Oakland Chinatown.
They serve fresh fish and the food is pretty good. The only thing is the ambience, or lack of. Good for big families and gatherings as they have a few 10-person tables.
Cantonese speakers but also understand Mandarin.
I recently moved to Concord from Bay Area and this is so far the BEST Chinese food in this area. As a Chinese from Hong Kong, I can say New Lim's Garden offers the real Chinese food that can compare to the Chinese speaking only restaurants in the bay area.
Chinese speaking only = good Chinese food in my opinion, and this one you can order in English. New Lim's Garden will be my #1 Chinese restaurant to go nearby. Oh, and the price is way cheaper than those in bay area. The menu has pictures of a lot of dishes, so if you are confused with the description, the pictures make the ordering much easier.
This is definitely that go to kinda place when you're looking for good Chinese food. Can't recall how many times I've gone here its been so often. But its also becuase its one of the rare places you can order salted fish fried rice and shrimp chow mein HK style and they'll do it the right way....delicious!
After reading all the 5 star reviews for this place I was pretty hyped. Me and my woman called up and ordered take out. We got the gourmet garden which is two high end entrees (Walnut Prawns, Beef w/ Vegetables), white rice, soup, and an appetizzer that I forgot. I gotta say it was pretty average noting special other than your standard chinese you can get from anywhere. Try Hunans further down Clayton, there food has more flavor and is similarly priced.
This is the best Chinese food in the area. The service is not so great, but let's not kid ourselves, have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant where the service has seriously impressed you. I sure haven't. Get the salt and pepper calamari. I can eat that stuff for days. I've pretty much tried everything on the menu and have had nothing bad. The thing I love most about this place is that you can feed four adults for about 20-30 bucks. That's McDonald's price and it's way better food.
good prices, consistently good food. if you're looking for good, greasy chinese food... new lim's is it. one of the better chinese places in concord, maybe the best. -1 because even though they do have take-out they don't deliver
The best Chinese food in town!
having recently moved to the area, i was in desperate need of GOOD chinese food. Ive lived in Oaklands Chinatown, Cupertino and visited SF chinatown regularly.... so finding one was difficult. One late sunday night i was on a mission. it was 9:30pm and i wanted something delicious to eat. I had never noticed New Lims before, and everything else seemingly closed i spotted it. BEST find ive had in awhile.
The restaurant reminded me of O.C.T. style and the menu is huge! i ordered a few dishes, took them home to my husband whose family owns well renowned chinese restaurants in the San Jose area, he was so happy to have something he could enjoy and not just swallow!
Everytime we go we order something we havent tried before, and so far everything has been great.
Family has been coming here for its authentic dishes. Giving this restaurant 5 stars because price and quality have stayed consistent for over a decade.
This is the best chinese restaurant ever! My family gets take out from here all the time even though we could make our own chinese food at home! I love it and all the girls who help at the front have the cutest haircuts.
sorry, i just don't get what everyone likes about this place. the flavor of every dish is flat and uninspiring. seems like all they use is soy sauce, ginger and msg.
i've been here twice and never even considered taking our leftovers (which was 3/4 of our serving) with us.
not the worst chinese food i've had but it's definitely near the bottom.
A year ago I would have given this place 4 stars for decent food especially for the price. Unfortunately, the quality of the food has gone downhill the past few months. Less flavor and produce not as fresh as I remember. I usually use take-out so maybe it is a different experience dining in.
In summary, average chinese food. Good place to go if you want a quick bite, cheap cheap food, and a nice large parking lot.
This is the best Chinese restaurant I've tasted in the Concord area. A large variety, good-tasting food, and very reasonable prices is what makes my family keep coming back. On weekends, they have various jook specials, ranging from $4.00-$6.00, and it's pretty good. And in my opinion, it tastes more genuine than better-known restaurants, such as House of Nanking in S.F. , or PF Chang's.
Went here with a friend's family. The ordering completely done in Cantonese. Maybe it helps to have a native speaker. The veggies were tender, yet crisp. Meat juicy. Great deep fried goodness. This restaurant follows the tradition of Chinese clutter: too many tables to fit the capacity of the place. If you are in a large party you may end up cramped in a corner.
Standard menu. Food is good, but not great. I would eat here again if I was near the place, otherwise I wouldn't drive all the way from my place to here. Typical Chinese restaurant.
New Lim's is a good, dependable suburban Chinese restaurant. If it were in Indiana, where I once lived, it would be one of the best Chinese restaurants in the state. But in the SF Bay Area, it is only above average, not great.
The restaurant is in what looks like a former Denny's and they've kept the decor intact except for some Chinese touches. But the prices are reasonable and the portions very ample. If they're busy, the service slows down, but that's o.k.
I love calamari and try it at every Chinese restaurant I go to. At Lim's, it was fresh and done in a nice sauce. The veggie dishes were also good. And a huge pot of rice.
Nothing spectacular here but if you live in or near Concord, New Lim's is your best choice for Chinese food. But if you want a really good Chinese meal, go to one of the great restaurants in The Sunset or The Richmond.
If you're looking for a very cheap, somewhat tasty, family friendly, Americanized-Chinese restaurant that is located in a converted Arby's, then look no further. The food is certainly nothing special, but it's not bad either. New Lim's Garden is a classic neighborhood Chinese restaurant that is popular with the locals, has very friendly service, and incredibly low prices. For example, my wife and I ate here tonight and had the Family Style Dinner "B" (I think it was called the Spicy Garden), and it included some very good hot & sour soup, four fried prawns (tempura style), and full sized plates of Mongolian beef (pretty good), chicken chow mein (could use a little bit more spice), and shrimp fried rice (pretty good). All of that plus my wife's Coke and the total bill came out to just under $20 (including tax!). And to top it off it was way too much for us to eat so we've got either a generous lunch or a decent sized dinner for the both of us with the leftovers. The only real downside is that you get hit with a fishy smell when you walk in the door because of the fish tanks that are over-filled with live crab, but the smell goes away when you walk by and go into the dining room. I'd say that New Lim's is the anchor tenant in this almost abandoned strip center that also features a comedy driving school.
Concord, CA
Category: Chinese
Concord, CA
Category: Chinese
Concord, CA
Category: Dim Sum
Concord, CA
Category: Restaurants
Concord, CA
Category: Chinese
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