Great Sea Restaurant

11/16/23 - Dinner w/ the family @ Great Sea Restaurant for my nieces birthday. I have been wanting to try Great Sea Restaurant as I have been hearing about their lollipop chicken wings. They didn't disappoint.

Overall we ordered the following dishes
* Lollipop Chicken Wings the star of the meal a solid 4.5
Stars out of 5 Nice crunch on the outside tender inside good the last bite. I don't want be a sheep but good is good
* Salt & Pepper Spicy Smelt - Very good, very crunchy but a bit over cooked Stars 4.5 out of 5
* Shrimp Dish w/Veges - cooked well but lacked flavor still it was good 4 out of 5 Stars
* Mixed Veges ok but lacked any flavor (a little bland) - 3.5 out of 5 Stars

This was a pretty good Chinese restaurant the Lollipop Chicken Wings did not disappoint as the smelt was also very good. & best of all it's very close to where I live. I will probably be back again someday for the wings & smelt.

This was some really bad Chinese food!! I ordered the eggrolls, orange beef, and vegetable fried rice.

The eggrolls were the length of my pointer finger (and I have small hands!) and not even as big around as a quarter (seriously!). The beef strips were so small I couldn't even really see the beef inside all of the breading. And the vegetables in the fried rice were not fresh, but previously frozen. And if that all wasn't enough - the beef and rice had NO FLAVOR, none. The blandest, worst Chinese I've had in a really long time.

By the time I paid all the fees for delivery, it was over $60 and I legit want to throw it all away. In today's economy, definitely don't waste your money at this restaurant!!

It's been a while since I been to Great Seas. Have to say the taste really brings me back to life before stresses were in life. So, always nostalgic and good memories. So let me get into it!

Food: Over the years and owner change I have to say the quality is good. Not like when I had it back in the 90's and early 2000's. I have to say the taste and the portion sizing has changed. I would still get the wings or the sweet and sour pork or the black bean noodles since they are very tasty.

Service: Have to say the last time I was at the restaurant the service was good.

Atmosphere: Or ambiance like I call it, overall matched the experience. People and seeing how happy everyone was really made it feel like it was a great spot!

Overall, I have to say that you won't be disappointed. Definitely try the lollipop wings, sweet and sour pork, Mongolians beef, and black bean noodles.

Came by for lunch. The service was great, ambiance relaxed and food was satisfying. My personal high was the black bean noodles with beef. Most of what we ordered was great from a flavor profile and serving perspective. Good fix for Chinese cravings. Repeat type of establishment if you are a local.

I've been here before and I don't know why it's taken me so long to get back here because everyone keeps talking about how excellent their wings are. And it's all true, their wings are prepared a special way and are crispy and full of flavor.

Aside from that, we enjoyed the crab Rangoon, quite pretty in its floral design. I personally liked the beef with pea pods. The wonton soup was what you'd expect and they were generous with the ingredients. I put too much chili oil in my soup and I almost needed a ventilator.

Service was excellent and we had the place to ourselves on a Saturday late morning which was nice. Street pahking on Lawrence and you have to pay on Saturdays, there was no neighborhood parking to be had. But that's ok, I'd like to come back for more wings and other items on the menu.

This place has been my to-go place since I was little. My family and I would go out of our way to pick up the lollipop chicken here.This is the first time I've been here since the owners changed years ago because I was craving their food. I was underwhelmed as it was simply was not as I expected.

Customer service: It wasn't the best experience ordering for pick up. The lady on the phone didn't sound friendly on the phone when I asked her to repeat the cost (as I couldn't clearly hear it the first time)..she literally sounded annoyed and repeated very loudly/raising her voice. Sorry I couldn't hear you clearly the first time but that doesn't mean she needs to have an attitude/sound like that.

Note: The location is right across the previous place so it is more spacious but it wasn't busy at all on a Saturday. I recall it always being soo packed when I used to go.

Lollipop chicken wings ($18.99): The chicken tastes good but the recipe has changed (in my opinion) so something about it was not the same. It was not as tasty as it used to be. It seems like less ingredients were used in the sauce and the costs went up while the size of the wings & quality decreased.

Sweet & sour beef "ttangsuyuk"($18.99): It was good and more on the sweet tasting side as far as flavor. I was shocked at how small the beef pieces were. Not much beef and more batter. I thought this was a bit overpriced for the amount of food that was provided.

Combination chow mein ($16.99): The noodles had vegetables, shrimp, chicken and beef. It was okay but I've had better..and this was overpriced for the amount of food that is provided as well.

No more free fortune cookies. If you want one, you have to buy it for $2. I've never experienced this at a Chinese restaurant..esp surprised as the costs of their menu items increased a lot while quality decreased..

Overall: I would come again if I was in the area but I sadly definitely wouldn't go out of my way to come here like I used to in the past. Quality & quantity has decreased while the costs has increased. I'd recommend Chef Pings over this place any day!

I can go on and on about their chicken lollipop wings. You have to try these! YUM. We always do carry-out and order: chicken with vegetables, Szechuan chicken, and beef and broccoli. Their shrimp fried rice is also amazing!

Seeking good tangsuyook and samsun jjiajangmein in Chicago. jjiajangmein was fine, but didn't have the depth in taste. For $16.99, it was a bit "meh -3/5."

Tangsuyook was more like Chinese style sweet and sour pork. Breading was too thick and the sauce was a bit watery. 2/5.

The food is amazing, been enjoying this place since I was young and the flavor has not disappeared. They're fast and always give great service. The ambiance is great and they always refill your water right away. The quality is great and their best dish In my opinion is lollipop chicken wings extra spicy. Leaves your lips burning and your body warm and full.

stay away from this place! they automatically charge you 18% tip for 4 or more.

Not once were we asked if we needed anything after the food was served and still had the nerve to question why no tip was left.

definitely will not be returning to this restaurant ever again.