China Joy is located right in the heart of downtown Bar Harbor, ME. They have extremely friendly service, modest pricing, and really fresh good quality food! They accommodate vegans, just ask :) We ordered General Tso tofu, mixed vegetables, broccoli with fresh ginger sauce, eggplant fried tofu with hot garlic sauce, and the broccoli with bean curd, snow peas, and mushrooms. Everything was delicious, the broccoli with fresh ginger sauce was absolutely amazing -- if you like more authentic East Asian food (I like American style as well) then you will love this broccoli dish! Large portions, steamed rice was perfect, no outdoor seating, kitchen looked really clean from what I saw, definitely would recommend this spot! read more

China Joy - Updated menu - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Two and half stars. Staying true to our "tradition" of eating Chinese food anywhere we go, we ordered take out from this place. Per their signage, take out only, no dine in as of 10/16/22, and no lobster. Hot and sour soup was ok, better than Sullivan's for sure (refer to my previous review). Had a kick to it, and nothing tasted rotten so we're ok lol... Crispy sesame chicken was good at the beginning, then it got soggy and way too salty. Schezuan lo menu was average, noodle wasn't too soggy. Questionable shrimp. Roast pork with vegetables and mushroom, recommended by the person who took our order, was mild. Way too much broccoli, a few slices of carrots and a few cut up mushrooms. Screw tradition, we're not going back next time we're in Bar Harbor. But at least we tried. read more

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On the last day of our vacation, the family ordered takeout. Attempted to get either Lobster or Crab with scallions but they were all out. Hmmmm... out of lobster in Maine? Ordered some typical Americanized Chinese food such as Sesame Shrimp, Sweet and Sour chicken, Pork, and Salt and pepper Calamari. The food wasn't great, but wasn't inedible. Would NOT recommend as a first meal while in town but as an Asian who's been eating bar fare and lobster restaurants all week and craving some rice, THIS is your last resort. Seriously, there is a HUGE opportunity for decent Asian cuisine in this town, but as you can see these owners live on the outskirts of Asian cuisine because they probably can't cut it in a metropolitan area. What I can say is that it does satisfy your Asian craving as you force it down your gullet. read more

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We stopped by to grab some steam rice for our lunch hike. The rice was tough and hard. We managed to eat it anyways since it was the only option. We also grabbed a chicken egg drop soup. It was ok but very starchy. The chicken tasted kinda funky. It came with a bag of fried wonton noodles. Overall, customer service was ok. The lady at the front didn't seem to friendly. The upside was the nice location. You have to find street parking. read more

We decided to get take out here during our trip to Bar Harbor. We got three vegetarian dishes -- Curry Tofu Vegetables, Szechuan bean curd, and vegetable chow mei fun which were all flavorful and perfectly spiced. We were pleasantly surprised to find this gem! read more

I stopped in to eat some soup on vacation. Normally I wouldn't eat chinese food while the worlds freshest lobster is minutes from my door but I'd been developing a cold and needed the warm broth to soothe my throat. I ordered chicken wonton soup. What I got was a bowl full of broccoli, dumplings, and cabbage. The broth was like sucking on a container of salt, inedible until I diluted it. The staff was very nice but the food was too salty read more

Very reasonable price in a tourist place. The amount of food is also a lot. Very good and careful hygiene practice during COVID pandemic.

Given this is the only Chinese restaurant in Bar Harbor and my friends parents wanted Chinese food, so China Joy it is. Right off the bat, some issues emerged: tea is charged for by person, not as a pot for the table. We had to grab our own chopsticks from a tray further back in the restaurant (otherwise forks and knives were provided, but for Chinese food that is super weird). We had 5 people so an extra and slightly wobbly table was added on to our booth. On to the food. Mixed vegetables with tofu: decent, not too salty. Tofu is of the crunchier exterior variety, and the vegetables are somewhat stewed in sauce but overall one of the better dishes of the night. Fried shrimp: couldn't eat because it was spicy, but others seemed to like it. Beef slices: mistake. Way way too salty. Boiled lobster: alright I suppose, but not the best I've had in Maine. Rice: not good. Dry and un-fluffy, which is the opposite of what you expect rice to be. Overall, come here only if you need a quick fix of "Chinese" food. read more

China Joy - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Apparently, this is a restaurant below the average. We came here just for a different taste of lobsters. We have eaten boiled lobster for 3 days in a row. This time we come here to taste scallion ginger fried lobster. The taste is just mediocre. Other food like broccoli chicken, broccoli shrimp, fried rice and etc are all Americanized food and are not authentic at all. One more hilarious issue is that they almost have no service and give a suggestion for 15% tip, but they mandatory tip people 15%. read more

China Joy - Says 15% suggested, but they mandatory tip 15% - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

I agree with previous reviewers who say you shouldn't eat here unless you are seriously craving a soy sauce fix. The food here doesn't really taste like Chinese food. Obviously being the only Chinese restaurant, without competition, this place can stay alive regardless how terrible the food tastes. We had ma po tofu that had more vegetables than tofu and was not spicy at all. It also did not taste like mapo tofu and how it should be cooked. We also had braised eggplant that was sickeningly sweet and had large chunks of pork. I think they might have used ketchup as the sauce base. Some of the pork were just not chewable. The food came with rice, it was a very small portion of rice, maybe equivalent to one bowl. We asked for additional white rice, and it cost $1.50. Ridiculously expensive for that tiny little bit of white rice. The staff was friendly and helpful. That's about the only good thing here. read more

China Joy - Hot and spicy tofu (aka mapo tufu) - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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If you want to try a different but more DELICIOUS cooking style of lobster, you should dine here for just once. Maine lobster is fresh and tender, but most establishments only steam it and serve with lemon and butter. Way too waste of great seafood! I highly recommend Lobster with salt and pepper, along with chili if you like spicy. That's the dish I ate twice in a day! Just imagine! I didn't eat any meat dishes or other Chinese dishes like Lo Mein, etc. So I cannot guarantee the authenticity of this Chinese restaurant. BUT if you want a decent lobster dish, you won't be disappointed! read more

China Joy - Lobster! - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Where's the beef? My family decided to change things up and order Chinese food on a rainy day to enjoy at our campsite, Bad idea :( I got Chinese food from this place two years ago and it hasn't changed. The food is bland for Chinese standards. Takeout only, expensive for what you get. The beef and broccoli was all vegetables and 6 slightly larger than a quarter pieces of beef... no exaggeration.... Scallion pancakes too crispy. The beef fried rice had good flavor for not having any beef in it. General T. Chicken was bland .... Sorry but it's not worth the money eating here. I will not recommend or be back. read more

Worst service. Run and run fast. Help to close the place. Why do we entertain this crappy service place. Daughter is in business school but hardly can manage budiness. read more

Talk about a restaurant which rose well above expectations! Our family chose China Joy on a Tuesday August evening after walking back and forth across Bar Harbor for reasonably-priced dinners and to take a break from Americana food for one evening. With many dishes in a $10-15 range, we were hard pressed to find competition from elsewhere. It had a modest Chinese-American feel on the interior, with comfy booths and much seating when we arrived. Service proved timely with our waitress, including fresh black tea to start. We even received two pots for our whole table. Not long after, our entrees arrived in more than generous portions, including my garlic and pepper-spiced calamari with brown rice. It blended a great balance of heat with savory, alongside tender calamari and vegetables alike. My sister and parents also enjoyed their spring rolls, sauteed vegetables, and General Tsao's chicken. By the time we left, almost 3/4 of their seats were filled. Again, this is Chinese American food, not Chinese food. Well worth the value to check out China Joy! read more

China Joy - people walking in front of a chinese restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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While nice to have offering of Chinese food in the area, the food was rather bland. Staff is friendly and service was prompt but have had much better Chinese food elsewhere. read more

This place was not highly recommended by our BnB host but we were craving Chinese food. Promptly seated and drinks ordered and received. Had to take a few minutes to order bc of so many choices. Two of us shared the plain fried rice with egg, sesame chicken and vegetable lo mein. We did have to wait a bit for the food to arrive but it was served hot and oh so good. I had three helpings of each and then ate off the main plates until I was about to burst. It was clean inside and the bathrooms were clean although a bit dated. Nothing flashy here but the amazing food. read more

Just the type of restaurant we were looking for. Great food with Authentic atmosphere:)

We did a take away. The hot & sour soup was average minus. The other soup was not what was expected. As for the beef Sichuan , never got such a dish that had 90% of vegetables and no more than 5 pieces of beef. Felt like they took all cut celery and carrots they had left and put them in my dish. I could not eat it at all. When doing a take away as a tourist you can not go back and complain . 30$ spend for nothing. Not recommended at all. read more

China Joy - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

I was petty desperate for Asian food at the end of our week of American fare and this was the only option. The food took forever to come out and the service was terrible. When we asked for individual plates the waitress looked at us like we were crazy and said she thought each of us would just eat off the plate that the dishes were on. Chinese tea was pretty lousy. Also strange was the fact that there was an up charge for white rice to go along with each dish. The whole lobster with Ginger and scallion was OK, and the lobster meat was quite fresh. General Tso's chicken was outstanding. Mixed vegetables was mediocre at best and the garden rolls were a complete disaster. They were broken and looked like a bad salad. The sauce was terrible. Seafood fried rice was ok but expensive with very little lobster. read more

The food wasn't fresh at all! The rice was hard and dry! The sweet and sour chicken was just an over cooked fried mess with very little chicken. The orange chicken was a little weird too. The place was clean and our waitress was very nice. Oh the crab rangoon was really good and the egg rolls were respectable...so there is that. I hate to give a negative review and maybe you'd like it. We had decided to eat here because we asked an older couple exiting how it was and they liked it. The prices were reasonable especially for the area. read more

Best orange tofu! Crispy with a wonderful sauce. Came with eggroll and fried rice. Husband enjoyed his meal (he got something different) but wasn't as happy as I. When check came, we started to pay when the waitress pointed out that she expected a tip! We were both stunned, we were going to tip her. But why remind us? Very odd. read more

China Joy - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

We got a take out from this place. This is the only chinese restaurant in Bar Harbor. We got the general tso, schezwan tofu and lo mein. The food was ok, little sweet for my taste. For the price the quantity is good. They have a nice casula seating inside with a bar. The wait for take out was about 45 mins read more

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Nope, not good at all. My wife and I just wanted a quick dinner, nothing fancy, of some old fashioned Chinese food. The chicken here smelled funny. Their hot and sour soup had chunks of ground meat in it. The egg rolls were barely stuffed. The lo mein was oily and lacked any flavor. Do yourself a favor and eat elsewhere. There was absolutely no joy here. read more

Chinese cuisine is destroyed by this place. Location: downtown bar harbor close to poorboy. The indoor decoration is poor but still integrates some chinese culture. Looks less sanitized and dirty, I was not sure if this is the place to eat. But my parents insisted that they could no longer handle American food, I have to start my eat-shit series 4 on this road trip. Food: I like some of the dishes, like fish, like eggplants. But the tofu is totally disappointed. Service: Quote from my mother - if you treat people with smiling face, they will at least not offend you. Overall: 2.5. read more

We ordered take out! The lo mein wasn't that great but everything else was delicious! The pork fried rice & sesame chicken was really good. Wish I had more to say about the place, the woman I spoke with on the phone was helpful and friendly! read more

The best Chinese food in Bar Harbor! ...that was a joke. But seriously, yes, it's pretty good, much better than China Hill in nearby Ellsworth for sure. The prices are very reasonable (especially if you're there for their Sunday buffet, if you're into that sort of thing) and the food is always well prepared. The service is exceptional and the family that runs it is extremely friendly and very gracious hosts. If you go there with any regularity, you will notice this (and so will they). As some have mentioned, yes, the portions are huge, especially for how much you pay (doing their part to make Americans fatter, one egg roll at a time, heh) and the selection is pretty good as well. The only complaint I have is that the overall atmosphere of the place aesthetically leaves a bit to be desired (in my opinion) but you will learn to overlook it. Very affordable, well done, and friendly staff, not to mention central to everything. What more could you want? read more

We ordered one lobster and one crab in ginger and scallion style, excellent. If you are not a Chinese, you probably never ordered the lobster in a Chinese restaurant, please try it in ginger and scallion, they break the lobster into pieces, all the flavor into the meat, taste in a heaven, you will not regret it, much better than steamed, soaked in butter kind, healthier too, even looks like have more salt. As a picky Chinese foodie, I do not think they cook as good as places in New Jersey. But the seafood is much fresher. Besides little oil with ginger, then put lobster in, stir fry for a minute or two, some cooking wine, then add soy sauce, water, cook for about 5-10 minutes, last add some sugar and scallions, it is done. As long as it is fresh seafood, it is zero chance failed dish. One request to the business owner, I wish there are more green vegetable choice on the menu. read more

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China Joy was not so joyous. After a few days of rich lobster/crab meals, we were really in need for an Asian food fix. We found China Joy in one of the Bar Harbor publications advertised as the only "Chinese restaurant on Mount Desert Island" We considered ourselves either lucky or forewarned. When the food came out so-so and greasy, we weren't surprised all. Given we are from NYC, home of three major Chinatowns-- it's always the competition that drives up the quality of food and service anyway. Would it be fair to hold Bar Harbor's China Joy to the same high standards? Seriously, it can't be easy to get fresh Asian produce in the middle of Acadia, right? And then again, are people really going to Bar Harbor for the chow mein? However, being the one and only Chinese restaurant gives them every reason to improve their recipes and service and start representing! 80% of the people we vacationed with at Bar Harbor were New Yorkers. I'd say improve your lackluster menu by creating one, kick-ass signature dish, like lobster fried rice or soup buns! read more

Went here for dinner and hoped it was better than the last time which was almost 3 years ago to the day! Still no air conditioning and it's 88 degrees out at 430 in the afternoon! How can anyone sit inside and there is only the front door open and 3 ceiling fans, with one by the bar in the corner? We decided to order to go instead .... shocked that schezuan lo mein, beef and onion curry, and general tso chicken and white rice was $43! The food was over cooked and even the carrots in the curry dish were mushy!! Definitely not a redo ever again! read more

Lobster with ginger and scallion was delicious as always. Don't get the lobster fried rice as there is hardly any lobster in this.

The lobster here is simply out of this world !! I wish I had a better picture to prove but then I was too busy devouring it all up!! Don't go by how the place looks from the outside its totally worth your moolah!! We were getting a little bored of eating the steamed lobsters and this place was such a welcome change .Our hostess was equally kind and explained us the different dishes on the menu in detail and especially how the lobster would be busted open and then cooked so that we don't have to struggle a lot. We ordered the curry chicken fried rice and lobster in black bean sauce and loved it . I wanted to take another lobster as take out for dinner but my husband didn't agree !! :P read more

China Joy - Curry chicken fried rice and lobster in black bean sauce - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

I'm really surprised that so many people gave this place such negative reviews. We went in on a busy night and were seated right away. Our server was welcoming and fast, and they have dinner combo plates with 3 different entrees and rice for $10-12. Our food was delicious and fresh and came in a timely manner. Read reviews of a dirty kitchen and dining area but it was actually very clean. Overall I'm glad we went and it was a great experience! read more

Sloppy food, terrible service. A previous comment mentioned they give better service if you spoke Chinese. Not true, I ordered in Chinese and still got poor service. Actually, the worst service I've ever gotten in ANY restaurant. Price was expensive for the amount you get. The food seemed like it was just thrown into the wok and slopped onto a plate. They charge for extra rice. And beware there is a Mandatory 15% tip already added to your bill. If you're in Bar Harbor, steer clear of this place! read more

Service was terrible. We waited over 10 min just to get menus. They had only one waitperson and she acted like if you didn't speak Chinese, you were not getting served. We ordered stir fried crabs, cantonese lobster and some spring rolls. The crabs were supposed to have ginger and scallion sauce, they came with black pepper sauce. We we complained, they just looked at us with that "deer in the headlights" look. The quality of the food is not that bad but if since Bar Harbor is known for lobster, they try to present themselves as if they specialize in lobster chinese dishes. Our cantonese lobster was filled with pork and just a few bits of lobster. Overall, a huge disappointment. read more

English is the third or fourth language of these people. They do not understand completely. It is nearly impossible to phone in a take out order and you just hope you receive what you ordered. Their food is no better than China Hill in Ellsworth Maine where we have given up ordering due to poor quality. China Joy is no improvement. Enjoy local seafood at another restaurant in town. read more

We really enjoyed this place. The wonton soup was delicious & full of crisp vegetables. We also had scallion pancakes (served with a deliciously flavorful soy sauce), szecheun chicken & dumplings. We ordered dinner combos, which came with egg rolls & crab rangoons. All were so, so yummy! We ended up taking leftovers back to the hotel to eat for breakfast :) Service was on par with other places we've eaten here. Every restaurant has been a bit slow, but it's a vacation, so why rush? read more

China Joy - Wonton soup - Chinese Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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We used to go here weekly and always had good food but went in today for the first time in over a year and it has seriously gone down hill. They charged me $50 for an order of seafood lomein that looked like store bought ramen noodles, seadood fried rice with two wet bay scallops (yuck) a couple little pieces of lobster tail and about a dozen salad shrimp and 5 crab rangoon. For the price the food should have been top notch. I won't be back. read more

Food is not constant and not always good To go order differ from eating on the restaurant. Service, very poor. read more

The food is not that bad. Its better than just ok. The menu has quite a wide variety of dishes. They have a very affordable lunch specials starting from as low as $4.95. I had the meat chow mien which turns out to be fried rice with fried bean sprouts/ veg / beef on the side. Pretty nice. Doesn't taste like bad Chinese food that I've had out of California. We also had the Teriyaki chicken & chicken wings. It came with choice of fried rice / white rice. The teriyaki chicken was basically flat white meat on a stick. Two sticks, pretty big chunks. The two chicken wings were very nicely roasted. More than a just-pleasant meal. I will prob go back there for lunch when I am in the area. The food is more than just edible. its not too bad. Worth a try if you would like to have some chinese food. read more

Order off the seasonal menu. The regular menu is just that, regular, and nothing special. The home made dumplings and the lobster Szechuan were amazing. Not the greatest decor, but good food. read more