Great American style Chinese take out food. I get bbq pork fried rice, beef and broccoli and egg rolls. Always happy

We were in Seattle visiting our son. We were craving some Egg Foo Yung. After reviewing several places, we picked Ballard Mandarin. The food we picked up was delicious. The food was steaming hot when I picked it up. The service was excellent. My food was ready for take-out when I arrived. The place is somewhat small, but seems "quaint" and definitely a go-to place by the locals. It was packed when I got there. Now, a word of caution: Do not order and pay online at their website. They are having issues with the site that places the order and takes the money. The business called me back after I ordered and said that they are not receiving the money from my credit card. I would have to try and cancel that transaction and "pay again" when I arrived to get my food. I did that and figured I would have to file a charge-back. Well two days later, the extra charge was removed from my credit card. I will be glad to update this part of my review if I find out this has been taken care of and it is no longer an issue for anyone ordering online. I ordered the food on August 25, 2025. Thank you. read more

If you find that Panda Express is too spicy or exotic, the sad, bland Chinese food Ballard Mandarin could be the right choice for you! Mongolian beef was a soft mess of onions, cornstarch, green beans and beef. The Kung Pao chicken wasn't; it was mis-bagged flavor-free chicken with broccoli. The fried rice wasn't even (or was perhaps barely) fried - basically rice with peas, a few suspect shrimp, carrots and scrambled eggs. The restaurant itself doesn't appear to get any more attention to detail than the food, nor do the people at the desk. Tried the place a few years ago and had been back. Thought I'd give them another try. Sadly, it's only gotten worse. read more

Amazing food. Great ambiance. Fun karaoke nights. Friendly neighborhood crowd. Love this place. read more

Ballard Mandarin - Egg drop soup - Chinese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Food was delicious. They even stayed open later for us. They accommodated our huge group.

This was terrible. After 90 minutes the grub hub app reported that our order was running late. We called grub hub which reported our order had been delivered. No one knocked. The food was cold and bland. I'm always going to pick up for now on. read more

I have to update my review considering that I got very bad food poisoning after eating here on Christmas day, Dec 2019. The service was also bad, but what is worse is that I got sick from the experience. We stopped in and it was very busy. We were told that the wait for a table in the dining room was 2 hours (which seemed exaggerated since there was no one else waiting and everyone in the dining room had their food, but ok), so we went to the bar. One of the bartenders was trying to scare people away by telling them that the food would take 2 hours to come out. Again, exaggerated. We realized she was exaggerating, so we ordered chicken lo mein and kung pao chicken. Our food was out in 10 minutes. The bartender who tried to scare us away seemed annoyed that we stayed, and did not come to check on us again. Thankfully, one of her colleagues noticed we were being neglected and served us (gave us utensils and napkins, water, etc.). This second server was great. I was wary of the food from the get-go because my husband's kung pao chicken had pieces that were weirdly cold, as though old food had been mixed with new food. The chicken in my lo mein also tasted weird and chewy, so I didn't eat it and stuck to the noodles. I remember thinking, "This tastes pretty bad, but as long as I don't get sick, whatever." Well, lo and behold, I wound up with food poisoning. As a pregnant woman, this was especially troubling since food poisoning can be dangerous in pregnancy and even cause miscarriage when severe. Thankfully, I was able to go to my doctor who gave me advice for getting through it and keeping my baby safe. I wound up recovering after 4 days. I will never eat at Ballard Mandarin again. It's an unsafe place to eat, and the service was overall bad. read more

It is hard to recommend the Ballard Mandarin because the two dishes were just middling. The Lunch "special" comes with a mediocre Hot and Sour cup. Two nice waitresses seemed frazzled and did not take the time to connect. No indication that they knew that the day was Chinese New Years. We're still looking for Chinese in Ballard since we lost Louie's. read more

Extremely good food and very nice people running this classic Chinese restaurant! My spouse and I have never had anything here that we didn't like a lot! The Green Jade is a vegetarian's delight! The Moo Shu is fantastic. And I truly love the Mongolian Beef among other things! And all very reasonably priced! Highly Recommended! read more

Real ny style Chinese food. Absolutely the best. Definitely my go to. Good, cheap, fast. read more

We ordered Orange Chicken and Vege Chow Mein via Uber Eats. What can I say, I really wan't a fan of any of it. The chow mein was overcooked such that the noodles were soggy/mushy, and the orange chicken lacked all but a hint of flavor. As you can see in the pic, they sucked at packing the orange chicken. The most telling sign for me was that I was starving when the food came and I still thought these dishes were bad. Lastly, I felt like crap after I ate it. I went online after and saw that their King County food safety rating was "Okay" which is the second lowest rating, and which means they've had "Many" critical violations over their past 4 inspections. Judging by how my chicken wasn't packed in a sanitary manner that rating seems about right. So yah, won't be ordering from here again. read more

Tried the delivery one more time and can honestly say it has gotten worse. Orange chicken seemed a day old, way too much breading on the chicken. Fried rice, so so. Curry chicken, again no curry kick... and when u know, u know. read more

This place is average. The food they serve is Chinese-American takeout style, so keep that in mind. I ordered the crab rangoons, pan fried noodles with beef, and happy family with a side of rice. Crab rangoons: Wrapper was soft in the area where the filling was and crispy where they stitched the wonton together. Could be a product of it being takeout and trapped in a ventless container. Not completely their fault. Pan fried noodles with beef: Noodles had great texture but I thought this was a dish where they gave you crispy noodles on the side with gravy and toppings to pour over later. It was not. The noodles were cooked with the toppings. Toppings included zucchini in it which was new compared to your typical Chinese-American takeout. Flavors were muted and dish was overall less oily and healthier tasting. Happy family: Flavor was extremely muted to the point of tasting bland. There was barely any gravy and they use a special type of mushroom in this dish which has a silky texture and it personally was not my cup of tea. Meat tasted very unseasoned. Rice: Slightly on the mushy side but still edible. Portions: Pretty generous, each entree could last me two meals. I'd still like to give their other dishes a try, so I will be back. read more

I ordered food for delivery last night and it was alright. The order was delivered exceptionally quickly, and everything was ridiculously hot when I got it, which was great! -Kung pao chicken: needed some seasoning especially salt, and this seemed like a dish where pre-cooked chicken was tossed with sauce/veggies, rather than it all being cooked together. It wasn't bad, but the chicken was kind of boring, and the mushrooms and zucchini were overcooked. I'd like more peanuts. -Appetizer sampler was great, it had BBQ pork, gyoza, crab Rangoon and egg rolls. My only negative comments are that the gyoza had a very thick dough that was a bit off putting, and the egg rolls were very oily. The crab Rangoon was great, very crispy and had a great duck sauce to go with it (like a sweet and sour if you're not familiar). BBQ was cut in nice large slices and tasted fresh! -Wonton soup had some nice veggies and lots of wontons in a nice big serving size, but I think it got boiled to death. The actual wontons had turned to mush, so each bite was basically a meatball with a bunch of slimy dough wrapped around it. This really bummed me out because wonton soup is my favorite. I'm new to the area, I haven't found good Chinese yet but I'll give this place another try and update if needed. read more

Has Great food and also great service. Visiting area so it was walkable for us-good location.

This restaurant is one I have always drove past -- but did not ever try. However the other day, I was hungry and decided to dine in! The staff who worked there were friendly, we were served tea and got our beer pretty fast :) We ordered the chow mein and mongolian tofu. Both dishes were packed with flavor and also were not oily. I loved coming here and it was a casual nice experience. Would recommend!! read more

I ordered delivery from here and the food was honestly gross. I am so incredibly disappointed. I ordered mongolian beef and eggrolls, both came out horrible. The mongolian beef lacks flavor, was cold, and isn't even the right color. The egg rolls also didn't have any flavor. I spent $30 on this meal and couldn't even finish it. I wish I could get my money back. I will not be ordering from here again. read more

Ballard Mandarin - Mongolian Beef - Chinese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Ordered dinner Christmas day from them. Told it was 1.5 hours wait. No prob. Live across town and this was one of a few places open. Drive up 1.5 hours later. There is a semblance of a line outside, no prob. Wait 20 minutes in the line in the cold rain and then someone comes out saying they didn't need a line and everyone could come in and it was fine. So 15+ people traipse in during covid, some with masks below their noses. I ask instead since I was next in line to get my food first. It's not ready. Will be another 45+ minutes. So three hours instead of the said 1.5 hours. They cannot speed it up. Horrible experience, left without our food after two hours total because of the covid risk and the wait. They should have been more realistic about the wait time. They should have stopped taking orders when they became overwhelmed. They should have followed covid protocol and not had that many people near each other. read more

I cannot believe this place gets any negative reviews! This place seriously hits the spot when you get that good old Chinese American food craving. Plentiful in nature and delicious. I loved every item ordered and can't wait until the next time I order from them. I really loved the egg rolls and general Taos chicken (are we sensing a theme for love of fried goodies?) and want to try the salt and pepper chicken next time as it's mentioned often in other reviews. Do yourself a favor and order ASAP and gorge on some good old fashioned Chinese American food! read more

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I've been going here all my life, and my mom would come before I even existed. Every single time the food is phenomenal, and the family who owns this place are the kindest people on the planet. It's a very comfortable place to come alone for lunch, but even better to bring a friend or the family for dinner. Best orange chicken in Seattle. Don't forget to order the sizzling soup. Will always love this place. read more

Came here with The for the first time on a coworkers recommendation. The lunch special is amazing! The staff is very friendly and the portions are generous. You also get courtesy tea and hot and sour soup with lunch. I found my new secret go to restaurant in the neighborhood. read more

Quick service for carry out (no delivery option), but I see why...the food was 1/5 stars at best! Ordered the beef and broccoli, General Taos chicken, and crab Rangoon (our go to at any Chinese restaurant) and I cannot recommend it. read more

I would highly recommend eating in at this restaurant. We ate here in the restaurant one night and got take out the next. While eating there the food was amazing. We had the Cashew Chicken, Chicken with Lemon sauce, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Orange Chicken and the Chicken Chow Mein. Every thing was delicious except the Orange Chicken. Even the cookies were great. The take out was not the same. The flavors were not as good, very disappointed. We kept the leftovers in the containers and the containers dissolved overnight. Very disappointing. Eat in the restaurant for best results. read more

Ballard Mandarin - Take home box after 12 hours. It disintegrated. - Chinese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

About 8-10 years ago I ate at Ballard Mandarin for the first time. It was horrible and I vowed never to return. Yesterday I went back and gave it another try and things have changed. The food was excellent! All the people working there provided good service and had a smile on their face. They said they were under new ownership. I will definitely return, so glad they improved as they are only 5 blocks from my house. read more

The house, fried rice, and chow mein I order tonight is out standing go try out the house fried rice

The food was overly salty and kinda gross tasting. Couldn't eat it. I did take out so was just in and out.

I could eat here a thousand times! My partner took me here and ever since we've been coming every time we both have a day off. I absolutely love the staff and I love the food! I told myself I'm going to try almost everything on the menu so far anything chicken is my go to! read more

Used to be really good. Last night ordered pork fried rice, chicken chow mein, General Tsao's chicken and deep fried prawns. Absolutely none of it was good. Both the rice and chow mein were tasteless, General Tsao's was ok, but not the least bit spicy and the prawns were mostly dough. Won't be ordering from here again. Bummer!...especially because with all the delivery fees it was $86. read more

Listen, we ordered this food on uber eats BEFORE reading all the negative reviews on Yelp. We ordered chicken with broccoli and sesame chicken. Here are the facts: 1. The food was exactly what we expected when we ordered... greasy, decent, Chinese food. Not life changing, not bad. Basically what we wanted. 2. We spent $40.00 and got NO RICE. I gave this place a good review cuz yall clearly dont know what you're supposed to expect when you order okay chinese food... this is it. However I cannot believe that you have to pay extra to get white rice with your entree. I'm from New York and this is just unheard of where I come from.... entrees come with rice. Ballard Mandarin, come on people it costs .50 cents to throw some rice in your order, and when a meal for 2 people of your mediocre cuisine costs almost 50 bucks it's the least you can do... and you only put one soy sauce packet in our to go order!! I know times are tough but that's offensive! read more

Ordered takeout via Yelp. Great American-ized Chinese food with big portions. Delivery was slightly early. They came in the classic Chinese food tetra packs, and were almost overflowing. General Tsao's Chicken was hardly spicy, but you could spice it up yourself if you wanted. Lots of veggies in the cashew chicken, and the crab rangoon was pretty good as well. One thing to remember is nothing comes with rice, so remember to order enough rice for yourself! read more

The Ballard Mandarin is a classic Ballard staple. My husband grew up here and used to come here a lot as a kid. It's a solid choice for that old-school Chinese American food craving I get every now and again. Is it gourmet? No, that's not even what they're going for. Just solid, good comfort food that is consistent and delicious. I also want to add that as someone whose parents owned a restaurant, I love the family vibe in there. Would much rather come here and support a real Mom and Pop than go to Panda Express any day! Portions are generous and service is hospitable and friendly. Photo of my big pregnant belly 5 years ago waiting to pick up my takeout. read more

Ballard Mandarin - Pregnant lady craving approved! - Chinese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

General tso chicken for take out at dinner time. Took 15 minutes. Paid $1 for rice - doesn't come with order. Total, about $14. The rice was fluffy and fragrant. The chicken was moist and the deep fried batter was crispy yet soft and deliciously soaked in the sweet and slightly spicy sauce. It was a good amount of food, perfect for two slightly hungry adults. read more

We came in here the other day when we were craving American-ized Chinese food. We ordered the BBQ pork fried rice, broccoli beef, orange chicken, and chicken chow mein. Portions were HUGE. The chow mein was slightly over cooked but the flavor was really good. We loved the BBQ pork fried rice the most. The orange chicken is less sweet than other restaurants so it's actually one of the few orange chickens that I've enjoyed (my BF was the one who requested it). The broccoli beef was decent but a little bit light on the beef. Overall, great Chinese takeout. read more

I had the Kung Pau combo. Beef, chicken and prawns. The meat was fresh and tender. Kung Pao comes with green peppers and a generous amount of zucchini, not overcooked but Al dente and quite good. Rice is an extra charge. Didn't think that was necessary. No frills here and a hole in the wall kind of environment but I'd recommend. Tea comes with meal at no charge. read more

Enjoying Mandarin with Kelly. Happy greetings she's on top of things service is great and the Tea is hot and nice to add to the winter nights I love the fried rice BBQ pork and the green beans so crisp and savory. Super yum read more

Everything I've tried has been pretty awesome. I only get the vegetarian dishes, but so far my favorite has been the Kung Pao tofu. I really haven't had this kind of flavor in a long time and it takes me back to the good old days of Chinese food on the East Coast. The portion sizes are also good. They're 100% worth checking out. read more

This Chinese restaurant is just down the street from where I live! Reasonably priced for the amount of food you get! The hostess are very kind and polite! My fave is their pork chow mein and kung pao combo! So good! read more

I had a really disappointing delivery experience here recently. I ordered $150 worth of food. --they messed up and substituted a chow mein for a fried rice --the egg drop soup was flavorless and they didn't include the crispy noodles --they didn't include rice with the entrees, and also don't warn you to order rice on the amazon restaurants menu --they didn't include pancakes with moo shoo, and again, there was no warning on the amazon restaurants menu. what on earth did they think we were going to do with moo shoo and no pancakes? --with all of this food, they included no soy sauce and only 2 fortune cookies Two stars because some of the food was safety. But overall, a really bad experience, especially because they didn't warn us to order rice with the entrees AND neglected to deliver the fried rice we did order. You'd think they would value customers who place big orders, but that is definitely not the way I felt when I got mine. Won't be ordering from this place again. read more

Terrible food. The fried rice was the texture of wet glue. The egg rolls were soggy and the pork noodles had zero flavors. Thus restaurant deserves a zero rating. read more

Tasty and reliable. Food is far better than their decor. Takeout or delivery is my recommendation!