The Green Lantern
Categories: Chinese, Venues & Event Spaces, Lounges [Edit]
1477 Plymouth StMountain View, CA 94043 (650) 968-8879
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: DJ
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
41 reviews
Palo Alto, CA
"I love the decor of this place; it reminds me of Europe for some reason. Italy, maybe (but I've never been so I'm just going to go ahead and…" read more »
22 Reviews for The Green Lantern
I should say that everyone I know hates this place.
I love this place. Happy hour 'til 9PM! Chinese food (I've only had a couple of app that were fine, nothing special), totally out of place in industrial nothingness.
The guy who owns this place is quite amusing, and if you let him, will make up crazy drinks of his own creation for you.
I think this place is a hidden jewel.
My friends and I go there for the Salsa night on Thursdays.
Cover for the whole night until 1:30am is only $5 and you get a 1.5 hour Salsa lesson with felipe Martinez aka DJ Eldelaclave who DJ's Wednesday nights at the Agenda in SJ.
The lesson is fantastic and in a very relaxed fun atmosphere.
Everybody is friendly. love the bartenders Vince and Mr. Bandana (sorry forgot his name). The dance party starts at 9:30pm or you could just kick back and have drinks at the bar. I wish more people would know about this place, specially the Thursday Salsa night!!!
OH and I love the poststickers if the kitchen still serves me by the time I show up around 8:30pm.
Check it out and bring some friends!
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Green Lantern has so much potential for a weekly salsa venue (more than any other I've been to in the Bay Area - that's over 25+ that offer salsa dancing on a regular basis). The dance floor is perhaps the best one I've seen at a club/lounge/bar (it's about 400 sq. ft. ~20x20). The A/C here is second to none (huge plus). The cover charge is a measly $5 and the lounge area is really classy. The turnout is about 50/50 male:female (perhaps slightly more women which is just fine with me).
It's a little tough to find at first since it's located in a strip mall area and there is no big sign other than a sandwich board out front and beer signs hanging in the window. Parking is more than plentiful (you can go back and forth easily, unlike other spots, to get/drop-off shoes, coats and ladies don't have to worry about walking through sketchy neighborhoods alone like at Cocomo or Roccapulco at night etc.)
DJ El dela Clave is the dj hear (spins at Agenda (SJ), Glas Kat (SF) and Monteros (Albany) and he definitely brings his own style and taste when he gets in the booth. He's not afraid to play songs that are outside the typical playlists most dj's stick to and it's definitely nice for a change (perfect example was the Coldplay - Clocks Cuban remix). He'll toss in some cha-cha, meringue, and bachata during his sets and he's readily accessible and more than willing to your requests.
For now, I give it 3 stars, but that's only because of the turnout size currently (it's steadily growing in the 3-4 weeks that this place has offered salsa dancing and I bet within the next 4-6 weeks, it'll reach an ideal size and then I'll raise it to 4 stars at least). I'll definitely be coming back here (which should say a lot since I live all the way out in San Rafael and wouldn't waste my time otherwise if it wasn't worth it).
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For more salsa recommendations:
http://www.yelp.com/li...
For more salsa info:
http://www.facebook.co...
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Went with a crowd from work for a birthday gathering. Never been here before.. I asked the waitress what she'd recommend...
boy oh boy, she recommended hot chicken soup and an entree of chicken mint served over rice.
I fell in love...
Went back again with my family. We all loved it except my mother.
She's not a big fan spicey foods.
But then, when we got home she wouldn't stop talking to our neighbor about this place.. eyes rolling...
Why the place is named after a DC Comics superhero I'll never know. It clearly doesn't possess a power ring to control the physical world with, unless you count the strangle-hold it has over your wallet with the $3 pints on offer during happy hour. But even then that's a bit of a stretch.
Cheap glasses of Hoegaarden, Bass, and other assorted beers aside, this place emits a Champagne Room-via-Suburban Chinese Restaurant feel, which wasn't what I was looking for when my work crew and I rolled in. We're regulars at the ever-posh Mervyn's Lounge, so I wasn't exactly ready for a place with actual sofas (red velour!), a menu, and 90s rock music (Live, Oasis, and Gin Blossoms, I kid you not).
Bottom line is if you're looking to try somewhere new there's no harm, but Sinestro and I will stick to our Monday Night Football and $3.50 Tanqueray & tonics at Mervyn's.
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Went here for happy hour with some co-workers. We rolled up twenty deep and found that there were only two other people enjoying the $3 beers and well-drinks. (Maybe it was my bad, since it was a MONDAY) There was only one bartender and one server, who were initially drowned with our requests for food and drink.
But let's give credit where it's deserved:
FOOD - Surprisingly good Chinese food - potstickers, sesame chicken, braised tofu, wings, noodles, fried rice, and walnut prawns. Cheap, too.
DRINKS - A full bar! Good beers on tap (Stella, IPA, Bass) and even a special cocktail called "The Green Lantern" which tastes alright.
SERVICE - I'll give some sympathy points. There was only one server and one bartender when we were there, and since we were the only people ordering, I was able to ask for additional plates and drink orders throughout our stay there.
DECOR - Overwhelming sterile Asian modern. Black walls, red lounge chairs. The bathroom was recently coated with lysol - at least it's clean, right?
Some things you should note about coming here:
- It's gonna be awkward if you're the only group at the bar. Sounds like it gets more busy on the weekends, so I'd be willing to be it's more fun. But unless you're with a group of people you're close with, coming here for happy hour is gonna be awkward.
- They don't do pitchers of beer! And since there was only one bartender, we had to go up to get drinks.
In conclusion, this is not a sports bar nor is it a true lounge. It's kind of somewhere in between, like an adolescent trying to find it's identity. There's a lot of potential, but it's not there just yet.
*****Update*****
The owner of the Green Lantern was kind enough to write back after reading my review. In my mind, that is a great sign - they really listen to user opinions on sites like Yelp and also want to make sure every customer they've had has a good experience. And for that outreach, I'm going to raise my review from a 3 to a 4.
I think several points from the message are worth mentioning. The Green Lantern is first and foremost a Chinese restaurant. And in that regard, they excel. I had mentioned earlier that their food is tasty and inexpensive, so I would recommend going here for that. Nonetheless, I'll stand by my review and still mention that while they have a Happy Hour with inexpensive drinks, there are unfortunately not a lot of patrons to make it a packed place that you would want to frequent to unwind after a long day of work.
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I went here for lunch and didn't get drinks, so please keep that in mind when reading my review. I've never experienced happy hour or the bar / night scene at The Green Lantern.
Overall, I thought the food was decent, although it was a bit strange eating in a darker, club / lounge environment. Service was great, and the restaurant was not busy at all. I hope they have a better happy hour / evening crowd so they can stay in business. Since Google still offers meals to their employees, the restaurant was pretty much dead, so service was fantastic.
They have great lunch specials. Their prices all end in odd dollar amounts as well, but there is method to this madness. Basically, they price their items so they add up to the nearest dollar when tax is included. More places should do this, but we know they love the .99 ending to maximize the psychological effect of paying "less" and maximize their profits.
The portions were huge too. I'm not sure if I had an unusually small appetite that day, but my friend and I ordered two dishes. We were only able to finish just over half of the noodle dish that I ordered.
The food is decent, although I wouldn't say it's fantastic or particularly authentic. I did find it delicious though - I think you will too if you don't expect total authentic food. My friend ordered the eggplant lunch special, and I ordered the Dan Dan noodle dish. Even though my dish was not a lunch special, the lady still brought out hot and sour soup for me. I'm a big fan of restaurants not being overly cheap, and this is a huge plus in my book. I'll definitely visit them again. It's also really quiet, so you can have a nice conversation. Like every other Chinese restaurant I've been to, they bring the food and bill quickly, but they refill your water constantly and DON'T pressure you to pay and leave. Again, another huge plus and another reason I'll go back there.
The Green Lantern is located conveniently near the Shoreline movie theater. Don't be confused when you see a Ma's sign on top of the restaurant. This was left over from the previous restaurant, and I'm not sure why it's still up there. It's really The Green Lantern, not Ma's.
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I didn't know what to feel after I left this place. We (Sara,Mike and me) went their to eat around 615PM. We dropped about $75 because they have a full bar. This was my second time being here (because I usually go to Hon's but I wanted to try the food here)and I wanted to come back to show some my friends). So, we ate pretty quickly and downed our drinks. It was weird because we ate at the bar while drinking. We were being entertained by this F***in' bartender from Loco-town. He made us these drinks, set the bar on fire and we got a great buzz before our movie. It was the best experience at any Chinese place I ever ate at. Even better than China town in SF.
So we go to the movies, then get back at around 10PM. We come back and there must be 100 Native Russians partying to some cool DJ who was also Russian. The place transformed literally transformed from Beijing to Moscow in the time it took us to watch a movie. How in the F*** does that happen? The negative side was that everyone was speaking Russian and I hate Techno (i like break-beat more). Johnny Blaze the bartender was gone (so we couldn't get any flaming drinks) The other two were nice they just didn't light anything for us. It was an experience. By 12 AM the party died out as well. I think it was someones B-Day but I couldn't tell because of the language...
This place belongs in the City...to bad my contract is almost up...as nice as it was, I would never drive down to Mountain View.
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Put the kettle on, because this is a long story.
(I have not eaten there, so I can not give 5 stars)
I did not want to end up here. This is not how I wanted to spend the night, but, they somehow made it alright.
When I left work at 4:30 I was on my way to the City for a date. I had been looking forward to this all week. I had even learned the words to a new song so I could serenade my date. When I get to the parking lot, hmmm something is wrong. I don't see my car. Oh no did I take the train and forget? Crap my car has been stolen. (insert 3 hrs on the phone w/ SJ Police & Auto Impound Lot. Then the police show up to take my story. After a rocky start, the office was great.) Turns out my car was stolen, but the perps (or skells) depending on you TV show preference had been pulled over and arrested and the car impounded. The officer gives me a ride to the impound yard. $110 to get the car out. (I had exactly $111 in my pocket), Then the thing won't start. So they forklift it to the street. I had the ironic pleasure of calling for a tow truck from the front door of a tow truck company. So to make a long story even longer. Take the car to be fixed. The tow truck guy drops me off it is 4 hour after I left the office. Who knows if my date will reschedule. I am starving and really in need of a strong drink,
I decided to go to the Green Lantern. I ordered a martini. I am pretty particular about how I like my martini. I believe that "Shake a martini, go to Jail" I got an excellent martini. It really made my disastrous night better.
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This restaurant is close to my work, so I go there for lunch. I've not gone there for the bar/lounge aspect of the business.
As for lunch, the food is quite good. The portions are large, and well-prepared. My favorite dish is their Szechuan noodle soup, which is enough for two hearty meals. It contains ample portions of calamari, shrimp, and beef, as well as noodles.
Went to the Green Lantern last night for an event... an 18+ event (groan...). The only reason why I went is because my two best girl friends from high school are still 20, and a couple of months shy of 21. Also, the event was being put on by a company I used to promote with. Anyhow, I'm not reviewing this place based on the crowd last night since that really has nothing to do with the venue itself.
First off, the Green Lantern is in a really odd location. Right in the middle of almost-suburbia and the Shoreline Amphitheater. Second of all, if the Green Lantern wants to be a lounge/club, I think they need to get some better exterior decorations other than a plastic "grand opening" banner. They need to get some bright lights or something. Cause you would never guess it was a club if there wasn't a line outside.
The interior of the Green Lantern is nice , but nothing too special I think. Green walls, etc w/Red couches. I liked that they had the dance floor separate from the more "loungey" areas though and that they had a lot of seating space. It was nice to get away from the crazy 18 year olds freak dancing. ohhh the good ol days (but not).
Lastly, the bar area is also separate which is great. The drinks here weren't expensive at all and were actually very good. I don't know the bartenders name from last night, but he made me a great Red Headed Slut and LC. Red headed slut @ $6.00 and a Heineken @ $5.00 isn't bad at all.
Overall, this place is pretty cool. I wouldn't mind coming back when it's 21+ only.
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This place could have the potential once people start pouring in. The atmosphere is chill and relaxed. There are plenty of chairs to sit on and several couches that look pretty comfortable and cool. I came here on a Thursday evening for happy hour. The prices weren't too shabby for $3 draft beer (that's all I had). Eventually as the evening wore on, more people started coming in. From the sounds of it, most of them were Google employees, since it's a few minutes from the campus. There's an eclectic mix of music as well. I can't wait to see how this place is once the word gets out.
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The GL has upgraded! The restaurant is now serving Chinese food, and it is pretty damn good, and cheap.
Not many have discovered the place, so it is like being at your own private bar.
Best prices in town for premium beer ($3) and well drinks ($3). 5-9pm
In theory, you can have them play any kind of music you want, dadada dada!
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What a place! The food was actually very good. I noticed that most of the reviews are based on the "bar aspect" of the place. The food aspect kicks butt. Mind you the menu was written for the more "American" in all of us. I had the General Chicken. Extremely good. The BBQ Fried rice was very good as well. The place is very nice for a Chinese Place as well. I can see the "Lounge" aspects in it.
Service could have been a lot better. The food got out really quick (maybe too quick because I thought maybe it was sitting under a heat lamp all day) Maybe that is why I liked the food so much. It came out so fast. They should market the place as Chinese Fast Food that tastes very good. Shoot, it was faster than McDonald's. Haha, maybe that is why the service was bad because they just focus on getting the food out fast.
This place is better than anything on Castro. Actually there are two other bars you can drink at all within walking distance.
Either way, bathrooms were actually pretty. I'll have to come back for their $3 Guinness on tap. My two favorite things Chinese Food and Guinness. Maybe I found my new home. Maybe they'll hire a waitress from the Market Street Cinema (Now they know customer service).
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Cheap drinks, nice clean swanky place. Great alternative to Sports Page. Where else can you get $4 Adios Mother F*ckers? Not too many people know about it yet, but they should. The bar service is outstanding and personal (Steve is one of the funniest and livliest bar tenders I have ever met). I've only been there after work M-F so I can't speak for late Fridays or Saturdays. If you are going expecting to just be immersed in people, this may not be your best bet, but if you want kick it with some friends, maybe meet some other locals and unwind and jam to some tunes... give it a shot.
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Funny trying to get a few drinks at a bar / chinese restaurant
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Looks like it could be interesting. Opened recently - lots of DJs listed and a 4-hour Happy Hour from 5-9 M-F with $3 drafts and $3 wells.
I really don't like places that allow children.
This place was pretty good.. It was more of the people there that made it not terrific. I know im not 21 so I can't put down those of us who came as 18 and over, but for some reason the people dancing there just didnt know what they were doing, they were all over the place. They played a few of the same songs more than once, which bugs me, but i cant be too picky. Also, they only played hip hop and im more of a dance/electronica type. A mix of the two would have been perfect. (dance and hiphop). The bar, seating area, dance floor, and lounge were all seperated which was really nice, and the decor was pretty good. Im not familiar with the lounge scene yet so I cant fairly say. But minus a star because it reminded me of the all ages club due to the music and a few immature people. But the place itself was cool. I never would have known it was a restaurant by day. SInce chinese food is my favorite food, perhaps ill have to try it out!
meh. the one time i came here, a fight broke out in the parking lot. you know the story.. some guy hit on some girl and she had a boyfriend. drama for yo mama!! anyways, i noticed this place didn't have a full bar.. but the liquor they did have was pretty premium! it looks small but there are tables and couches in the back near the bathrooms. this place is in a really weird location! it is in a super small shopping center with a taqueria and subway, i think? i would rather go to downtown mountain view and have the option to drink at a few different bars..
ok...last time I've been to this place..it sucked.
but since I check Yelp and there were few of nice posts followed up.
so I tried once more since I got to visit my best friend who lives on shoreline. BUT! the interior was still same ol' - just dark.
pervert bartender still hit on my friend. he probably didn't notice that he was hitting on her last time too??
drink was affordable and not bad. but the scene kills everything.
and WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MUSIC THERE?
man change the freakin DJ.
the worst part is that there were minors in the club. I know them from my street. Would you please check the ID properly?
they were drinking beer and vodka shots. hope they didn't get DUI
next time I see them going in there, I ain't gonna stop here.
you know better than I am that you can get many charges just by letting a minor in the bar.
I am an adventurer but exploring once is enough.
some things never change.
I didn't even realize they served food! This is a great place if you bring your own crowd.
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