i love the food, i got the hot and spicy chicken with white rice and it was delicious. the servant she was amazing she answered all of our questions! she has been working there since 1991. such a nice lady, can't remember her name sadly. I loved what they did with the renovations in the place the lighting and ambiance was good not to bright not to low. great place! 5/5 stars. read more

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One of our favorites! We've always received wonderful service and delicious food. I personally love their almond chicken, it can't be beat. Highly recommend read more

I wish I would have read the reviews before eating here. First off I will say we had the nicest server. I don't know his name but he said he was also a bartender. I would give him 5 stars, but have to give the food 1 star. This is the worst Chinese food I have ever eaten. Every single dish was flavorless. The short ribs were bizarre. A stew meat sized piece of bone with a sauce that literally had no flavor but was somehow sour. It was so disgusting. The egg flower soup doesn't even have a broth. It is just like eating water and peas. Would not recommend. read more

Been going there for 30 years at least! They are my go-to place for Asian food... yes, the best place in town.

Below average food quality. Save your money and go to Panda Express. Large pieces of beef on Mongolian beef but absolutely no flavor.

We went here on Christmas Eve. It was incredibly busy and they were short staffed. It took about half an hour to get our food, even though we arrived there when they said our food would be ready. At the same time, there were about 10 people in the lobby waiting to either pick up their food or make an order. Normally this would irk me, but even with all this going on, the staff that were there were professional and friendly. Plus, we're in the middle of COVID, so they might be short staffed because of that. We ordered the Moo Goo Gai Pan. It was well cooked and well seasoned, but there was almost no chicken! It's was 95% vegetables (Good vegetables, but if your menu says "chicken" there should be chicken as a main ingredient!) It came with rice, but they only gave us one fortune cookie. Overall, pretty good. I'd go again, preferably on a day that's not a holiday. read more

Holy wow. Ok Spokane this place isn't going to make you feel like the late, great, Anthony Bourdain on "No Reservations" eating in Chengdu after getting some acupuncture. But it's good. Its what you expect. And also what you dont expect. The inside. Its gloriously clean and I dont think it's just because of covid. Its outdated. But not held together with duct tape. The waitstaff is friendly and knows their regulars. And there were a lot of regulars. They are attentive and keep the drink of your choice full. Tea is complimentary and is well brewed. The food. I ordered Kung Pow Chicken at a medium level. It was a perfect medium for someone who enjoys spicy food. If your are sensitive to spice go with mild. There are chilis involved. If you love spice there is a "Raymond" level. Which, being a glutton for punishment, I may venture one day. The chicken was perfectly cooked and white meat. The veggies were super fresh and appropriately cut for a stir fry. And there was copious amounts. The sauce was a nice complex flavor. Not overly salty either. And actual cashews. And more than a sprinkle. Added a nice earthly flavor and great texture. Overall. I hate to admit it but I was surprised. I've avoided this place as there are others with better reviews in the same cuisine. I shouldn't have. I feel dumb. read more

Cathay Inn - Kung Pow Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Spokane, Washington

i love this place! amazing food and good service, and quiet and peaceful ambiance. definitely the best chinese food place in spokane, will be coming back!!! read more

Not overly impressed...really greasy...so heavy on the gut... please turn on the air conditioner or fans

Terrible food. If you want Chinese food DO NOT GO HERE. The chow main was soggy and gross the almond chicken was way over cooked and was rock hard. Never go here and waste your money! You can thank me later! I will never go there again and want others to know not to go there and waste their money on crappy food. read more

If you want real Chinese food go somewhere else unless you are just a local and dont have any idea what decent cuisine is. They used Italian noodles in house chow mean that had no flavor. The General chicken was pieces of frozen bird that was rolled in a red colored sauce and not deep fried then mixed with sweet/hot sauce before serving. Literally, ( other than the fresh vegetables) the food was of High School quality for 19 dollars an entree. You like a bad value - patronize your palate and wallet here ! read more

Moo Goo Gai Pan without plum sauce is like a car without gas. Ask if they've discovered it before you consider this dish. Then, a bit of soy on the contents and it would be OK. If I go there again, I'm taking my plum sauce with me. I think I would prefer a buffet to getting one entree that isn't anything except that it falls under the broad category of "food". read more

I ordered a combo meal #9. The service was good, the presentation was good. The chow Mein was good and I finished it. However, the fried rice was just plain rice and very dry, the fried prawns was very greasy coated with some prawn, and the sweet and sour pork was very dry meat as well. Unfortunately, I do not recommend this place at all especially for the cost. We had 5 combo meals plus an app for $100. Drinks was only water so I felt that it was very expensive. read more

Friendly people, clean, comfortable,pleasant quiet environment, good food reasonably priced. My favorite Chinese restaurant.

Can you give ZERO stars? Ambiance- 1980s retirement home, wait staff- friendly if you can find someone, value- $9 for a grilled cheese sandwich made with one slice of cheese on white bread and a pile of frozen fries,food quality- large menu with lots of Chinese selections if your idea of Chinese food is battered and fried. Nothing is truley vegetarian. Hidden meat products in everything. Lots of people must like this unimaginative tasteless unhealthy crap because the restaurant is large and was filled with large groups of people. Didn't see an Asian dining or working there. read more

Great service and very helpful. They put other spokane Chinese restaurants to shame. Would recommend Cathay inn to anyone.

My wife and I had lunch here yesterday for the first time. The building has been here a long time and looked its age. We were greeted and seated as soon as we entered; the staff was friendly. We both had a lunch special; Mary's combination came with Special Chow Mein, Almond Fried Chicken, Fried Prawns, B.B.Q. Pork - Served with soup. I ordered the General Chicken (Hot & Spicy), Fried Rice, Spring Roll, B.B.Q. Pork - Served with soup. Mary had the chicken noodle soup and it was tasty; the egg flower soup I had was standard. Mary enjoyed the chow mein, almond fried chicken, pork and shrimp. The spring roll and BBQ pork on my order were standard, the fried rice was just rice, nothing else in it, a very bland fried rice. I like the Generals chicken, which comes under a variety of names from restaurant to restaurant, and I have had it in several hundred different locations over the years, fixed with many minor variations to the sauce and chicken. I can say without a doubt this was the worst Generals chicken I have ever had, don't get it; no stars for this dish, three stars for the others. read more

Cathay Inn - Chinese Near Me - Spokane, Washington

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Used to be #2 in Spokane when father managed this business. More recently it has been hit and miss for quality, consistency and value. Previously takeout was devoured as next day leftovers. Most recently leftovers sit in the fridge until thrown out. read more

This place is okay. I only go there because my loves the Moo Shu Beef. It has been her favorite for many many years. I oftentimes just pick something I'm familiar with. I used to go for the burger. Not so much anymore. The last few times I've settled for the Kung Pao Beef (hot). A dinner platter is huge. Usually lasts me two sittings. I take it to work for lunch. Its pretty good. It might be sad, but it does taste like Panda Express' version of Kung Pao. The Kung Pao Beef here comes with many hot peppers. It'll make you sweat.. The server was great. I've never had an issue with service. Its usually good. Even on busy nights. Drinks were decently priced. They were strong. Great in our book. (Lemon Drop Martinis). The building itself is old. Everything is in good condition, but very much dated. Its like taking a step back in time. I noticed the water feature they have in the lobby area was low in water and hasn't been cleaned. Really sets a bad precedence for the rest of the restaurant. I'm sure we'll go again for the Moo Shu beef; but sadly, I'll never go on my own will. read more

Cathay Inn - Kung Pao Beef - Chinese Near Me - Spokane, Washington

My companion ordered some food here while we were traveling to the PNW from the Deep South. Food is way overpriced and covered in grease. The pineapple chicken I ate was too sweet and salty. The meat tasted as if it came from under the table. It had been kept long outside in the open for some time and forgotten for God knows how long. Rice was dried out and sort of crusty. The friend I was telling about spent well over $50 for the two of us. I cannot say I am startled to any degree. I understand this is a running theme in Asian restaurants I have seen in my town. If they carried a Cajun twist to things I would not hesitate to come back. Having had tremendous Asian Cuisine around the world this place had some awful stuff, to say the least. The staff was really friendly. They like to check in on their guests and provide tea refills efficiently. The pagoda-like building looks somewhat run down on the outside compared to the nicely remodeled interiors with large halls and comfy chairs. read more

If you enjoy the taste of soy sauce, nothing and aluminum flavored sweet and sour sauce, this is the place for you. The only decent thing was the egg flower soup and the spring rolls.... The pork fried rice, tastes of nothing but soy sauce. The pork lo me in tastes like nothing... the pineapple chicken and sweet and sour are the same thing basically, with the black aluminum tasting sauce. BBQ pork was cold and kinda disappointing. The tea, also kind of disappointing, both weren't terrible though. The service is great, if only the food matched. :( definitely not worth the money. read more

It was my 30th Birthday and I was so excited to go out to dinner. I made a reservation thru Google on Cathay Inn listing. I received a confirmation email as well as a text message my reservation was set for 7pm we showed up 10 minutes early when we checked in they told us they did not have a reservation or a table for us. We ended up waiting about 15 additional minutes before we were seated. Our server tool about 15 minutes in between being seated and receiving our beverages I ordered a Old Fashioned it was literally whiskey and water we expressed to our waitress that it was not a Old fashioned she was very rude about it she said "what were you expecting." She had it remade but it was still not a Old Fashion but I drank it. We ordered our food and we were thinking this will make up for everything I haven't been here in years we received our food I ordered a #1 our egg flour soup came out so Salty it was unbearable my Husband ordered the Chicken noodle his was water with noodles the waitress told us there was nothing she could do about the soup. We received our main course the Prawns were wonderful the fried rice was okay but not what I am used to there was just rice the sweet and sour pork was good but the chow main which is what I came for was extremely Salty as well as the Almond chicken. At this point I was just going to except the fact that my favorite restaurant was no longer the same as before. My Mother let the waitress know we were unsatisfied She then offered to have the chow main remade as well as substituting our chicken out for a different chicken we ended up asking for General chicken it was Spectacular. Over all it was a okay we I'll] pu li[ok p read more

Wanted a nice lunch on a cold day. Ordered what I THOUGHT was a combination Lo Mein dish, and then asked if I could get a SMALL cup of hot and sour soup as well. After almost 30 minutes, out comes a "half order" of soup...a LARGE dinner sized soup anywhere else I'd been. Another 20 minutes dragged on while I whittled away at the giant soup when, lo and behold, out comes an even BIGGER soup bowl...this time filled with what appears to be a Pho like soup...NOT what I had wanted, but I ordered it so,my bad. TASTELESS.... ABSOLUTELY NO flavor, other than overcooked chicken and beef, bland noodles and zero seasoning. Do yourself a favor...avoid this place like a disease read more

Decided to try this place with my husband yesterday. Won't be going back. I got the sweet and sour pork lunch special and he got the general chicken. My chicken had absolutely NO taste. The sweet and sour sauce was not very good either. The fried rice was clumped together and had no vegetables in it and had absolutely zero flavor. I was expecting chow me in noodles, but instead it was some weird vegetable mixture with hard noodles at the bottom. The price was decent but I didn't even end up eating my food. What a waste of time and money. read more

One of the worst meals of my life. The crab lagoons might as well have been wrapped in cardboard, and the sauce tasted like straight up vinegar. The "chow mein" is literally a mound of smelly, overcooked onions and celery and boiled chicken over enormous crunchy noodles. I didn't even take a bite, I ordered the lemon chicken instead which was also horrible - somehow sickeningly sweet and flavorless at the same time. My husband's kung pao beef was mediocre at best. The meat was gristly and the sauce was flavorless. We stopped by Taco Bell on the way home. read more

I should preface this by stating that I love Chinese food! We walked in around 11:30 on a Tuesday. It was a bit odd to see a giant empty fish tank in the lobby. We kindly greeted and quickly seated. There was a decent selection of lunch combinations. I was a bit bummed out to see that the kid's menu and senior menu is the same but the prices were comparable to the lunch combos. $9 for my 3 year old to eat is a bit steep so I just made sure to order something she liked as well. The egg flower soup was delicious, a good portion of egg to be had. The food was out within 10 minutes of our soup arriving. It was hot and the best part is that all the chicken ordered was delicious tender white meat. That doesn't always happen with Chinese food. The fried prawns were large and the BBQ pork lean. We will continue to patronize this clean establishment. read more

Cathay Inn - Chinese Near Me - Spokane, Washington

This was the most disgusting food I have ever tasted in my entire life sorry I'm not trying to be rude but what they served me was disgusting the rice they gave me was cold it tasted like cat food the almond chicken tasted like a soggy chicken strip covered with a nasty almond sauce that tasted like it could of just came out of a cat can and the bbq pork was cold when I asked for it warm then my wife had the same thing same results except for her garlic shrimp witch then was replaced with a cold chicken fracking loaded green peppers barley cut lol idk if this a joke or wha but there was no Flavor!!!!!! In any of the food then they gave me chicken soup that was boiled water and noodles I'm telling u I'm not making this up and then I got egg flour soup witch was completely cold and looked like water doggy poop this was the most disgusting food to ever give to a costumer and I highly don't see how they are serving this to costumers. Ohh yea also my food was given to me in a beer box lol wha a joke this deserves no stars read more

My family has been going here for 50 years & were on our 5th generation of family members. The food is outstanding & our favorite server is Nute. We love her!! She's amazing!! read more

This restaurant has been in business at least 60 years. I think many decades ago when people did not travel regularly this restaurant appealed to families that didn't have any exposure to authentic Chinese food but believed they were experiencing ethnic cuisine. Either great false advertising or they have continued to change recipes to accommodate the American palate into believing they are actually eating Chinese food. If you have Asian friends that like to cook for you, have been to Chinatown in San Francisco (or Chinatowns in other big cities) or have been to authentic Chinese restaurants in the US or abroad as I have you should definitely skip this place as you will be incredibly disappointed. This is like the Dennys of Chinese food. Everything is ultra sweet and all sauces taste like a combination of ketchup and barbecue sauce. These reviews do not lie when they say the food is horrible particularly if you are going in thinking you'll be eating Chinese food. Even Panda Express is considerably better than Cathay Inn and that's saying a lot as I am not a fan of Panda Express. This place is like a trip back in time with Grandma making you chicken and noodles with a few veggies and soy sauce thrown in and calling it Chinese food. I dread it when visiting my family in Spokane and they want to eat here. read more

I really wanted to give this place a higher score, but I cannot bring myself to do it. The service I received was very good, especially since there was only one server on for lunch. He was very kind and quick. The food itself was more like burnt nursing home food. Very bland, but the chow mein had an awful burned sesame oil taste. The portions were good and the prices were reasonable.. I remember the food here being better once upon a time though. Also, the interior of the building has not been updated at all including the cutlery, tables, teapots, and the bathroom (only go if you must! Kinda nasty). I'll probably be back because I love all Asian food, but like many other places in Spokane, it falls short. read more

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I love the Cathay Inn. I'm over 50 and I've been coming here since I was a child. No one makes. Sweet and sour ribs like theirs. When family comes in from out of town, this is the first stop. Their bbq noodles! Love it. But I also understand that this is a Spokane thing. They have specialties no one else has. read more

I really wished this place would be great. I saw very many good reviews, many locals coming in. I was disappointed when I tried my food, it was very soggy. The server who helped me did not know many of the items on the menu, and could not recommend anything good. read more

YUCK!! If you're interested in generic American Chinese food this is a nearly decent approximation. I got talked into going to this place twice and now I know I'd rather eat dirt than eat anything from this place. And the prices are outrageous! They charge high-end money for worse than grocery store deli Chinese food quality. $10 for two tiny greasy vegetable egg rolls is ridiculous. I wish there was a way to leave less than one star... read more

This joint is gross. If you're into American Chinese cuisine this place will set you up for disappointment. The host was great and then the service went straight downhill. I asked for sriracha and it never made it to the table. My egg flower soup had no egg or veggies in it. My wife's chicken noodle looked like it came from a government can. For an entree I ordered the General's Chicken from the start I could tell it wasn't Tso. There was no spice to this entree instead of the chile peppers wich are a normal ingredient in this dish they added raw green peppers. The sauce tasted like ketchup and the fried rice accompanying was bland flavorless without veggies and off color. Needless to say I requested another entree. The broccoli beef... gross as well. The beef had an odd texture and the broccoli was raw. The sauce was bland. Lastly I want all of you to know that if you order chow mein here do not expect noodles. You will get slimy celery with crunchy salad noodles. I'm not going back again. read more

Cathay Inn - General's Chicken... - Chinese Near Me - Spokane, Washington

Do not Order here. Not Good, Not Good,!! Went for take out today, first time in seven years, Bad thinking! I thought after this many years it might be better than years ago, BUT I was wrong, Bad Then, Bad Now, sorry.....Food was like eating very old leftovers, soup was poured down the drain as it deserved, Mongolian Beef followed, sorry but this stuff they serve would not clear a homeless shelter (their food may be basic but eatable), the food from this place should not be served to the Public, and should be shut down by the Health Dept. ... it is sooo bad. They need new stoves and new authentic "cooks". Again, do not throw away good money in these times for bad food read more

This was THE FIRST restaurant we ate at after we moved to Spokane and I remember being shocked at the atrocious food we were served. It was by far the worst meal we had ever had at that time in a restaurant. (There have been some that have surpassed it since then.) The only thing I remember was a 8 year old non-picky eater spitting out his sweet and sour chicken (brown sauce + grenadine = Yuck) and refusing to eat it. The rest of the meals were just as gross and the lack of service was stupefying. After about 20 minutes the server simply put the check down with fortune cookies and walked away, she didn'tt seem to think anything was wrong that 5 out of 5 meals went uneaten. We never went back and never will. Chinese Fortune Cookie Say: In Spokane the more neon a Chinese restaurant has the more scared you should be. read more

The food was good and the service was excellent. Restaurant was clean and employees followed safety guidelines. We'll definitely be back.

How this place stays in business is a mystery to me. I've eaten here a couple of times and it's been aweful. I am by no means a food snob but when your almod chicken is smotherd is some clear goo that looks like snot.....not ok. On top of the terrible food is the cleanliness of this location. Our booth was covered in crumbs and the table was sticky. I am glad to see others on here have better taste and rated this place as low as I have. Heed our warnings.....YUCK! I would never reccomend this place. read more

I'm using one of the greatest movies of all time to illustrate my thoughts on the Cathay Inn. Peter: Let me ask you something. When you go get General Tso's Chicken at a Chinese restaurant, has it ever come out to you as sweet and sour chicken smothered in ketchup? Lawrence: "No. No, man. Shit, no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked doin' something like that, man." read more

This is the best restaurant with good food and great customer service. The best server at the restaurant is Newt. She is amazing and so is the staff. I would recommend their restaurant for anyone looking for a good Chinese restaurant in Spokane. read more