I have had many gen . tho chicken dinners from many oriental places .....But the dinners I just got from here was the most tasty meal I have ever eaten. The fried rice and veggies fresh and very favorable. I will definitely be back. Thanks for a great meal guys. Stan Dillon read more

Always good quality food made fast. Definitely my go-to Chinese restaurant! (Nut allergies should be careful though, as they do have some dishes that would be off limits. They've always been nice about my allergy though.) read more

Ordered a Sesame Chicken dinner. The meat was dry and hard. A Curried Chicken Dinner was near tasteless. The Crab Rangoon is the reason for 1 star. We've ordered from here for some years but the quality has deteriorated greatly the last year or so. Decided to give them one more try. They failed massively. read more

Very nice people!! The food was great and they were very accommodating during this crazy time of restaurants being shut down. Go visit them and order some takeout! read more

Messed up our take out 3 times and over charged us twice. One time they gave us something that looked like chilling they called it sesame chicken. Pass on this place, I think board of health needs to inspect them.yuck read more

This was the worst food I have ever gotten in my life. So bad that I took one bite and threw the rest away. I wouldn't even feed this to my dog. I got chicken friend rice and I am pretty sure whatever was in my food was NOT chicken. It was white, slimy, and looked like worms. I will try to post a picture for you to see. We will never go back to First Wok. read more

First Wok - This was supposed to be chicken fried rice. I don't think that white stuff is actually chicken.... - Chinese Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Oh, how torn am I! We loved First Wok. It was the bright beacon at the end of the dreary weekly grocery shopping mission to Bigg's - warm, soothing hot-and-sour soup, an order of scallion pancakes, maybe some dumplings and an order of tofu moo goo gai pan or Szechuan beef. The portions are massive, the food piping hot and occasionally fantastic. The hot-and-sour soup was the best I'd had in Cincinnati: strips of real seared pork chop, a ton of wood ear mushrooms and other dried mystery treats, traditional pickled Chinese vegetables, egg, fairy wings, uppers, diet pills, daiquiris, immune boosters, vitamins, minerals, and plenty of black vinegar. Magical. And then we got food poisoning. Or rather, my partner did. The night will live in infamy because it was the night that I "didn't feel" like eating rice. I just didn't want any, which is very unusual. I love rice, I'd eat rice with every meal if I could. That night I pushed the rice toward TheBoy and said, "You can have mine," and encouraged him to eat more. Try the rice! I said to him. What could go wrong? Cut forward about three hours. Insert explosive, spine-cracking, intestine-shredding, screaming projectile vomiting coming from TheBoy while I stand by wondering what could have happened. We ate the same dinner! I said to myself. I didn't feel sick, but it was undeniable that my normally hale man friend was in danger of barfing his anus out his face. And then I remembered two things: 1) Starchy foods are more likely to carry food poisoning than any other food. This is especially the case for rice or mashed potatoes, items that are often "dipped into" over the course of an evening as they are hotheld. 2) I didn't eat any rice. So, First Wok, even though your food was great, well-priced and in close proximity to other stores I find myself at often, I have to give you the ol' ONE STAR. Because I'm angry at you. Oh, not because you served poison rice -- these things really do just happen, and I'm surprised they don't happen more often -- but I am angry because we can NEVER GO BACK to you unless I want TheBoy to start dry-heaving at the memory of your tasty vittles. Damn you! Damn you to hell! read more

This place is slightly less original than its name suggests. If I had to use one word to describe First Wok it would be 'generic.' This place is really everything I would expect out of a place named First Wok. The fried rice tasted like fried rice, the crab rangoon tasted like crab rangoon, and the snozberries tasted like snozberries. If you're craving a coma-inducing amount of sodium, I would recommend this place as much as I would recommend any other extremely generic Chinese place. As sure as I am that this place is not, in fact, the FIRST wok....I would describe it as equal to any other Chinese place with the word 'Wok' in it. read more

Had I written this review a few weeks ago, I would have given First Wok at least 3, if not 4 stars. But a recent experience was just too damning to justify anything other than a 1 star review. My family has been going to First Wok for over fifteen years. It used to be managed by this super nice guy who would always put free crab rangoon or cookies in our take out order. Obviously, it's under new management. There is NOTHING special about this place, other than the fact that it has managed to stay in business for so long, and has an array of greasy food. Despite all that, when I was in town for the weekend (I live in Chicago) I dragged six of my friends with me to get there greasy buffet, a (former) Cincinnati favorite. Up to this point, the buffet was great because it was there, and cost $5.95. Except this time, we made the mistake of going on a Sunday. We had our fill of the EXACT same buffet they have every other day (literally. I've probably been 20 times on non-Sundays, and it's the exact same spread.) We paid up, and were saying our goodbyes OUTSIDE the restaurant when the manager came out and told us we owed more money. Huh? He's like "I charged you wrong, I charged the $5.95 rate, when it should be $7.95. My mistake. You each owe the difference." What?? Is that not fairly unheard of? Your mistake, you eat the cost, right? Apparently not. We were like "We'll give you an extra dollar each" at which point he went back inside, and tallied up the difference. He's like "actually, with taxes you all owe $16.43." Ah, it was so weird. So we paid it, to the penny. While he made an extra sixteen bucks, this dipwod permanently lost seven customers, just dumb. read more

We were craving some takeout Chinese Sunday night and this was perfect! Judging by the address and pin when I googled, First Wok was super close to me - in the same plaza as the (old) Hyde Park Kroger, Mellow Mushroom, and Michael's. I'd never seen it before.. it's tucked away in the corner by Rempke's. The dinner combos come with white or fried rice, and your choice of an egg roll or a soup. We got beef lo mein with sweet and sour soup, and garlic chicken (with peppers, onions, water chestnuts, and maybe a few other ingredients) with an egg roll. And some crab rangoon because I can't ever resist them. it was ready in 10 min. The beef lo mein also came with fried rice, and we ended up getting two egg rolls and they threw in some Chinese donuts for us! (And wrote "free" on the bag - nice). The crab rangoon was the best part of my meal. The rest was about average for what you'd expect from Chinese takeout. We were both induced into a food coma + Netflix combo for the rest of the night, AND had lunch to take into the office for Monday. All of that for a bit more than $20. I'm confident we'll be ordering again for the good value. I also saw that they have a lunch buffet throughout the entire week (11-2 Mon thru Saturday $6 and 12-2:30 Sunday $8) - it's super cheap! There are some coupons on their website as well. read more

The lo mein noodles were dry and tasteless to say the least, the egg roll was so far from authentic i threw it straight in the trash. Sesame chicken was great but the chicken in the chicken fried rice was not cooked thoroughly.and to top it all off one of the fortune cookies didn't even have a fortune in it read more

Decent Chinese food at a convenient location. It's the slightest bit pricey but you get a lot of food for what you pay for. Their pu-pu platter is excellent and I highly recommend it. For the most part if you place a decent sized order they give you free desert so that's pretty cool. I hear they have a decent buffet that I definitely want to try out in the future. read more

First Wok - Chinese Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

You know - after reading some of the other reviews I'm a bit torn. We probably hit up this place every 4 months or so - it's a good value for the food. Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't some extraordinary lunch buffet, but as a whole I've found the food to be better than most local run-of-the-mill Chinese takeout joints (barring China Chef in Colerain but since I grew up eating that my opinion is probably a bit skewed) and heck, even other Chinese buffets I've tried around here. $5.95 for a Mon - Sat buffet and $7.95 for Sunday is a good deal. Selections are limited, this isn't some giant spread, but the food that's on the table shows a nice variation and they have all of the buffet highlights. Those Scallion Pancakes? They're the only Chinese buffet I've ever been to that has them and they're too die for. Like way too delish. Are they greasy? Yes, but they are good and honestly one of the main reasons we go there. Fried rice is nothing special so I stick with the other buffet offerings. What I like is that if a dish is labeled "Spicy" it actually has a tiny kick and some flavor. So I'll use grab some black pepper chicken, whatever other spicy dish on the buffet, the vegetable they're offering (typically green beans) and then fill up on the scallion pancakes, crab rangoon, dumplings, and chicken on a stick. Wrap it up with some oranges as the end of the meal and I'm happy. Is it the best food around? No. But we've found it to be consistently good and the price for a lunch buffet is super reasonable. We'll continue to visit! read more

It's the only Chinese place in the neighborhood. And I still never eat there. The food is super bland and almost every dish lacks taste. read more

Best Chinese in Hyde park if you want American style fast food Chinese. Might even be our pick for #1 in Cincinnati. Our favorites: shrimp fried rice (flavorful and not too greasy); sesame chicken; chicken with broccoli; wonton soup; and, above all else, the fried chicken wings are ridiculously good. read more

The one male Chinese worker who frequently waits tables is very rude. No ice in our water glasses and simply brings out the food. Never returned to the table to refill drinks. This scenario has happened on more than one occasion. When going to pay for the meal after eating with a credit card he doesn't even give you a moment to calculate the tip before yelling out, "no tip for server"? Not even realizing that the tip may have already been placed on the table in cash or will be after paying for the meal. On the most recent incident from a week ago, he called us cheapskate and waved us off. I don't care how good the food is there, if the service is bad and they demand a tip for doing basically nothing I won't be back. read more

The good news is the chicken for the sweet and sour chicken is good. The bad news is that there is no way the chicken in the cashew chicken was, in fact, chicken. No way. And the lo mein tastes like grease and regret. read more

Had ordered dinner through doordash. Service with doordash was good as always. The food was extremely over price. 2 main dishes, wontons and egg rolls $61. The food itself was a huge disappointment. Very bland tasting. Portions are nice. It's been at least 2 years since I had their food and have to say the quality took a nose dive. read more

We eat here on the reg as a group of 6. We come in for the lunch buffet which is a good deal for the price. We've been coming here for quite a while. The space fills up quickly at lunch so go early. Overall the place is well maintained and well lit. From what I can tell, the buffet items don't seem to change over time; at least that I've noticed anyway. Don't get me wrong, the items on the buffet are yummy. But you can only eat so much chicken or pork. The regular menu is large for dining in or takeout. It's the buffet that could benefit from some other options from time to time. A great place for a quick lunch! read more

Great food with very generous portions. Friendly owner & staff. Has become my go-to joint.

The crab racoon was delicious. I had the orange chicken and it was good as well, just could have been a little bit more spicy

Our go to when it comes to Chinese. We have never been disappointed - like old reliable. Take away orders are timely and pleasantly presented. read more

It's cooking like your Chinese mother would make. I came in late at night after most other restaurants closed and ordered a basic dish (pork with broccoli). Not only was it made from fresh ingredients but it was also well balanced and spiced. This is not overly salty stir fry but food made by people who care. read more

I ordered sesame chicken, no vegetable, no onion with plain fried rice. Asked if I wanted to add egg, yes. Would you expect vegetables at all? No? you'd be correct. Did the sesame chicken come with vegetables? Yes! Why would I emphasize plain fried rice and want vegetables with the sesame chicken? I called to tell her and she said it wasn't her fault, no credit. I'l be back but I'll check the order before leaving from now on. That was my only mistake. read more

Came here for lunch on a Tuesday around 1:15pm. When I arrived, there were only 3 other patrons dining in, which seemed strange to me. First Wok offers a daily lunch buffet for a set price. Most of the items on the buffet were pretty picked over, and the selection was not great. No one refilled or refreshed any of the buffet items while I was there. I do not recommend this place. read more

I have ordered from 1st Wok for the past 7 years that I have lived in Elsmere. Today I called to place an order and for the first time EVER, the lady was very rude. She must be new I have never spoke to her, she spoke perfect English and acted like it was annoying for me to be calling and placing an order. Everyone is always friendly there so I won't stop ordering from here but they should teach that lady/girl who answered the phone at 5:15pm how to use her customer service skills and stop making people feel as if they should eat elsewhere (otherwise, they just might go elsewhere) read more

My FAVORITE Chinese restaurant. Been there a hundred times. What more can I say. Treat yourself!

Trying to find a good Chinese place in Cincy, and this wasn't my favorite. The crackers are greasy, the egg drop soup we didn't even want to finish and threw away, and the entrees were mediocre at best. Not enough sauce to cover my rice, and a little too sweet for my liking. read more

Great Restaurant, the food there is great and best of all the services are at there there too. Love It. This restaurant really puts in their effort of making it the best they can do to make us happy and great full. The food there is delicious best Chinese food restaurant in Cincinnati!!! read more

We frequent this place very often. However, our most recent visit about 2 weeks ago-is it for ME..... I'm not certain my husband will discontinue visiting. We placed our order over the phone. We were told our order would be ready in 15-20 minutes. My husband arrived to the restaurant (within the time slot suggested). After waiting for 15 minutes my husband asked if our order was ready yet. The staff checked their tickets and my husband was notified our order was given to another customer by mistake. They apologized for the error and that was it. Most restaurants would offer the customer a soda/drink while they wait, offer to add something to their order perhaps comp all (or a portion) of the meal. I've read a few other reviews and most related to their customer service are dead on. My husband loves this place... I try to avoid it like the plague. Now that I know my husband will gladly tolerate poor service....he's in for a real treat through the duration of this marriage; (I mate for life). :) read more

This place used to be decent, and it's still fast and cheap for takeout. But the food is terrible. Very bland. Stir fried items are more steamed than stir-fried. Most fried items appear to be reheated mass produced frozen foods. You would be better off stopping in the grocery for a frozen dinner and microwaving it yourself. Overall, the food tastes like it was prepared by someone who does not really know how to cook, or like something you'd find in a hospital cafeteria. read more

Perfect take out Chinese. Employees are very polite. Food is well prepared and nicely cooked. Better than your typical take out Chinese.

This is my favorite Chinese place in the oakley/hyde park area. I get take-out from here all the time. It's fast, friendly, and reasonable. Try the crab-rangoon! read more

My boyfriend and I get take out from here pretty frequently and it is so delicious!!! Reasonable for the amount of food you get.

you like big food cheap? yep me too. take out lunch buffet.. yes a take out lunch buffet. ticken fry ri? kung po ticken wit peenus? pessi? yes please! ill take two, cuz it's a take out buffettttttttttt so cheap and so good. read more

I've never visited this location and placed a to-go order for the 1st time. When I walked in, everything was very clean. I was also happy to see the sign for the buffet offered even on the weekends! At first, I was a little put off that my takeout order wasn't ready and I had to wait - until I realized it was because they wanted to make my crab rangoons (which were delicious) were fresh! For takeout, the prices were a little more than I would normally pay, but I will definetly be back to visit this location! read more

I got "lemon chicken" and Pad Thai togo. I never really thought of ordering a Thai dish at a Chinese place, but it was on the menu--it was NOT pad thai. The veggies were mushrooms and bell pepers. There was no egg, and no peanut sauce. Basically it was rice noodles with some brown sauce with mushrooms and bell pepers. The tofu was nice and crisp though. The lemon chicken was okay--just odd. The lemon sauce was in a container and the chicken was breaded with something that wouldn't stay attached. It looked like fish and chips. It tasted fine, once I realised that I was supposed to dip in. It was all fine, but leave your pre-conceived notions at the door--come with an adventurous spirit. They are open late and they cook super fast and it was cheap. Can't complain about the portions. I will go again, but maybe ask them what they recommend. read more

why is chinese so expensive for dinner? I hate it. but my girlfriend and i love this place. the portions are big enough to share. we are able to just order one dish and still be full and have left overs. I do love chinese food (its my fav) and this is a great junk food chinese place close to home read more

This place does mostly take out but they have a small lunch buffet that's a really good price. Don't expect a ton of options but what the staples are there and they are always hot with good flavor. IMO the best Chinese buffet in the area read more

Came here on Christmas Day at 8.30 pm. Very nice personnel. I had the wonton soup, steamed dumplings and low mein. All very good. I will return. read more