Hungry for Americanized Chinese food, Yelp led me to Holly's Mandarin. Between my two friends and I, we shared an order of their "Salt & Pepper Fish Fillet (Kaiser Favorite)" and "Peking Pork Chops". When I showed up for my pick-up order, I noticed there was a print out sign on the door that read "takeout only". When I stepped inside, this sign was confirmed: the restaurant was completely gated off from guest access; only the counter was available to pickup orders. When I unpacked my order at home, I was surprised to find that five sesame balls had been included as a dessert. What a nice, unexpected gesture. The salt and pepper fish filet doesn't have the strongest white pepper flavor to it, but the salt is definitely there. Unlike the crispy, battered layer you find on fish and chips, the breading for the fish here is a light panko breading. If it's not panko, the crust certainly reminds me of the exterior of dino chicken nuggets you can buy from Costco. The fish inside is not the flakiest, but it's firm and has a bite to it. The minced bits of jalapeños included with this dish are deep fried, and I like that the seeds are left in so there's still a kick to them. The Bepking pork chops are sweet and tangy, similar to sweet and sour pork. The pieces of pork chops are lean and meaty, and the red sauce goes wonderfully over some white rice. Overall, I'm quite happy with my meal from Holly's Mandarin. The food here definitely satisfied my craving for Americanized Chinese food. read more

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To be fair, the food itself was good. However the tofu to string bean ratio is way off. More tofu please. This dish is advertised as "tofu string beans" and the description is stir fried tofu and string beans with black bean sauce. So why were there a ton of onions in this dish?? Not acceptable. Other than that, again, what I ate tasted good. But I probably wouldn't order this again. read more

Holly's Mandarin - Too many onions - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Really appreciated this place. They were technically only doing takeout, but were kind enough to let us sit inside since we were working -- which honestly says a lot. Service was friendly and accommodating. Food was all really good. The sweet and sour prawns were flavorful and not overly sweet, the mushrooms and prawns dish was solid and comforting, and the chow mein was exactly what you want it to be. The location was also clean and would be a great place for a large gathering to eat. Simple, delicious food and genuinely nice people. read more

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Holly is back! Mu Shu, lemon chicken were good. The complimentary sesame balls with a larger order are also back. I just wish the dining room would open and then it would be 5 stars. So happy the flavors returned, it's a solid spot!! read more

Take out only for lunch today ! ? She has a variety of wonderful lunch specials available, that come with either chowmein, fried rice or brown or white rice plus there are extra sautéed veggies ( broccoli, cabbage & onions included ) My favorite is the stringbeans & tofu !! We went across the street to a bench in the parking lot to eat our lunches. Very tasty & she even included some sesame balls !! Service is very quick & food is always yummy !! It's too bad she doesn't have inside seating anymore - it's spacious & nicely decorated read more

Holly's Mandarin - Stringbean tofu lunch w/brown rice, fresh veggies & sesame balls $10.95 To go - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Ordered hot and sour soup and egg rolls. The soup was fine but I do not know what they put in the egg rolls! They were disgusting!"tasted like HAND CREAM!" Will not go back! read more

Finally I found a great old school authentic Chinese place! Chow fun is how it should be, and wide noodles with great flavor. Decent prices and good portion. Waitress even so nice she gave me a few sesame balls for dessert that were delicious! Only downside is take out only. Would love to sit for lunch sometime. Definitely will be back! read more

Holly's Mandarin - Sesame balls - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

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Every time I have gone here to pickup food, I am have been overlooked as a customer. I hate to say this bit its seems the staff prioritizes the white customers. I have been here when there is a line of customers and the staff does not have a good handle of those situations. People cut right in line without care of others who have already been waiting. I only go here when my wife wants to order Chinese take out. The food is good but I would rather support a business who treats all of its customers the same. read more

Great food, reasonable prices. You can park in the CVS parking lot and walk across the Piedmont Ave. to pick up your order.

We always enjoy the food here. It seems fresh and well made with simple flavors that feel like eating home Food. read more

Holly's Mandarin - Nice food - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

The website listed here is AI generated? The featured photo is a large piece of glass that someone found in their food and posted to Yelp. I called the restaurant to place an order and they did not answer, so I found them on Uber Eats and placed an order for pickup. When I got there, the person who handed me the food told me "call us to place an order, if you order through UberEats, every dish is $2-3 dollars more." I ordered their seafood on pan-fried noodles, salt and pepper pork, and dry braised string beans. I was 10 mins late to pick up, so I understand some of the food got soggy from steam inside the boxes. HOWEVER, the pan-fried noodles were so stale that it was inedible. The pork was extremely salty and most of the pieces turned out to be bones that were battered and fried. It could have been better balanced with plain rice (which was not included), so I had to make some at home to pair with the leftovers. The green beans seemed undercooked and limp, but I don't know if that's from steaming in the box. (I miss the days when it was expected for all Chinese restaurants to include white rice instead of charging $3-6 per individual bowl... but that's not Holly's Mandarin's fault.) I think this food could have been greatly improved if we were able to eat it fresh but they only do take-out at this time. read more

Holly's Mandarin - Stale noodles with assorted veggies, chicken, and shrimp. - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Absolutely amazing Chinese restaurant right down on piedmont ave. The food is amazing and flavorful. Wonderful service and the prices are very very affordable! FIVE STARS!!! read more

Great food, great service and pretty quiet nice environment. Good for conversation. I used to come here all the time pre-pandemic (at least 2 days a week). It's nice to see the quality is still there. read more

When Little Shin Shin down the street closed, my husband was so sad. But after some reddit researching, he was super excited to hear that Holly's Mandarin was very comparable. When I was in the area, I decided to pick up some lunch for us to finally try it. We stopped by on a Saturday early afternoon and they were busy with a couple of parties in the restaurant. We browsed the menu and waited for a bit for them to take our order. Once our order was taken though, the food came out quickly after. We were in and out of the restaurant in probably 20 minutes, 30 minutes max. We ordered the sizzling beef, chef's crispy chicken, and combination chow mein. The sizzling beef was pretty good, but I'm sure it's a lot better when ordered and eaten dine-in so that you can get that real sizzle. The Chef's Crispy chicken for to-go came with the sauce separate so you could add it on your own. The sauce is more sweet and the chicken on it's own is not bad if you want more of the salty flavor. The combination chow mein was as expected - pretty regular, solid chow mein. They also threw in some sesame balls that were a nice end to the meal. Overall, solid chinese food! I wouldn't go out of my way to go here but if I were in the area craving chinese food, it'd be a great option! read more

BEST DEAL IN TOWN..CLEAN FRESH WITH GENEROUS PORTIONS. I needed to pick up an order last Friday and couldn't find a place to park... the lovely lady ran it out to me! I love these people! Their prices have NOT gone up, and their portions remain generous and delicious. Every place I have gone lately has doubled its prices. read more

One of the best take out in Uptown, the food is packed so nicely. It's our number one place to order from.

Pretty decent and well priced. For takeout I recommend : -Salt and Pepper Fish -Orange Chicken ( ask for it spicy ! ) - they package the sauce separately. -Green beans w/chicken -Beef Chow Fun -Sesame balls ( we didn't order it but Holly hooked it up!) Worth a try : -Black Pepper Lamb (probably not everyone's taste but we liked it ) Pass on : -Chow Mein (just didn't hit ) -Mongolian Beef -Kung Pao Chicken read more

I ordered pick up for Holly's Mandarin through Uber Eats. The order was ready by the time I got there and parking was fairly easy for a Saturday night (street parking). I don't know if you can usually dine in but they had a sign that said take out only on the door. When I walked in, I told her I was picking up for UberEats. She went to go gather the order and brought me a box with food. The box was much easier to handle than a bag. She also suggested that I call in next time since it would be cheaper! I found the prices on UberEats to be $2 more per dish. When I got home, I realized that there were extra sesame balls included which was a pleasant surprise. The food was all still warm and the flavors were great! For the price, I have 0 complaints. I wish they were closer to where I live. We got the steamed fish, triple mushroom chicken, vegetable fried rice, and braised tofu. All dishes were really good. I will definitely recommend my friends come read more

They say it's take out only but they let us sit with the other patrons that were there. They seat with reservation but made an exception. The waitress was really nice & the food came out quickly & was tasty. I was full but still had a small portion left so well worth the price for me read more

Holly's Mandarin - Orange Chicken lunch portion - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Love this place. The wanton soup is great and I love the salt & pepper fish. My only problem is that they're so stingy with soy sauce when you do take out. No matter what you order they give 1 pack read more

So I did a basic QC check on Yelp and on DoorDash reviews before ordering delivery. All that I was hoping from Holly's Mandarin was some oily (yet rich), crispy (yet succulent) and most importantly, FRESH and nothing but FRESH food from here! I was in a basic salt n' peppa mood so I opted for the S&P Fish Lunch special which came with sautéd veggies, vegetable chow mein (other choices were pork fried rice or white/brown rice). I tried to live it up a little more and picked out the S&P Calamari. In addition to my original order, I received a small, complimentary box of sesame balls (Jiandui). Surprisingly, the DoorDasher delivered my food 45 minutes earlier than expected. I should have known this was going to be my red flag. Though the food arrived in a timely manner, I actually felt "duped". The original waiting period would have been 90 minutes. Had this restaurant taken the extra time to fry me a fresh batch of calamari and fish, twist that wok around a lil longer with them chow noodles and seasonings, and steam those broccoli stems a bit more...I would have been a happy foodie with his American-Chinese food fix. Holly even did this broccoli wrong. Everything seemed to be a low-key disaster. $30 down thee drain. I'm all for low-key cafes and restaurants, but if it tastes as if it was cooked on a semi-warm steam table with lukewarm water and bits of MSG (which I don't mind) then I'll see them out! read more

Holly's Mandarin - Salt n Pepper Calamari - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

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I did a take out order. Ordered in store. Good - food came out fast. Chow mein was good. They threw in some free jin dui Not so much - restaurant is take out only. Not listed on their website or Yelp. Other dishes were just ok. Triple mushroom beef: beef was tender but dish didn't have much flavor. Salt and pepper pork chops: pork was cooked perfectly, tender, but not much flavor. Ma po tofu was ok. Bottom line. Food is ok. Wish I had known they were take out only so I wouldn't have loaded up my handicapped mom in the car to go there. read more

I used to have lunch there frequently but ever since Covid it has been closed except for delivery by Door dash etc., which I rarely use. I feel they would better to offer walk in trade too. I'm often in the neighborhood but frustrated to stop in since there is nowhere to sit and lots of empty tables.Seems odd that the owner tries torun a one horse business. I'd give it one star for both service and ambiance read more

This is more an fyi heads up than a true review. If you want to dine in, you need to make a reservation. They don't allow walk-ins. So it's mostly a take-out operation now. That's because there is only one person manning (womanning ?) the tables. I didn't get her name, but it may have been Holly. She certainly acted like she was Holly. Total owner vibe with very heartfelt suggestions for food, and even recommended a great off-menu vegetable dish--Gao choy (don't know the English) with deep-fried tofu custard cubes. It was delicious. Also had the 3 mushroom beef and fish filet (with her recommended eggplant). These were just ok. So food was 3.5 stars, and service and server engagement were 4.5. read more

Would love to be able to review the food but this restaurant seems to only have time for takeout and Uber Eats. We left after sitting for 15 minutes with not even water, tea or an apology that they were busy and would be with us shortly. Our two top was the only table in the whole restaurant at 5:20 on a Friday night. The menu was a takeout menu signaling their focus. The dining room was cut off at the entrance with a table for Uber Eats. The woman who seated us had to move the delivery food table out of the way to let us through to the dining area. This is not the place to go anymore for attentive service. Oh, and one of our plates had a piece of rice still on it. We walked across the street and got immediate service and quality food from the Thai place. read more

We wanted to have a seated lunch there with my elderly father. When we got there we were greeted with a big sign on the door that stated "Take Out Only". They must be on their way out. Why have a full sized restaurant and not allow guests to use it? We will not be back! read more

My wife and I came here tonight excited to try this place and were quickly disappointed. The place was full of empty tables, with only 2 parties sitting. As we waited, the person at the front ignored us, and allowed a group of 2 to sit down after they had been waiting for 10+ minutes in the nearly empty restaurant. After the party of 2 sat down, the person at the front asked if we were getting take out. When we said no, and we wanted to eat at the restaurant, she said there were NO TABLES available, despite the restaurant being almost empty???? We were baffled to say the least, and the only reasoning we can think of for not being served is that we are a gay couple. It was such a strange experience. If you're looking for good service and a welcoming place to eat, do not come here. read more

Good flavors, fresh, as expected, good size portions. Ready when it was supposed to be ready. All entrees ranged in cost from 11-15. Great food, good value. read more

It is the first time visiting the place and I liked it, I hope it continues like this Very good the food postikers very good and the fried sesame so good read more

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Definitely our go to spot for Asian cuisine along piedmont and the surrounding area. Always top of the line when it comes to flavor and textures. We always ask for extra chili oil as they have the very best. Can't wait to go back. Great lunch and dinner specials. read more

I have been ordering from here for a few years now. The food is good and cheap. Great for takeouts. We usually order the Peking pork chops, mixed vegetables, bbq fried rice, beef chow fun, and eggplant and tofu. All are good and have good flavors. Recently, we have also tried their map por tofu. That is not bad. There is usually one woman who is in charge of the frontline and she got everything down in terms of ordering. They are also fast! Big plus for us when we are hungry and want fast but good takeout. Will continue to go here. Highly recommend it to everyone. I haven't tried their lunch specials but will try one day and update my review. We have only been ordering dinner takeouts. read more

Holly's Mandarin is a Chinese American food restaurant in the North Oakland area of Piedmont Ave. They have a friendly staff with quick service and delicious food! We live pretty close to this place and surprisingly never ordered from here until last year. My wife had a pregnancy craving, so we ordered takeout. It was a good luck first meal because hours later our first baby was born! They have a good sized menu with all your staple dishes along with a good list of house specialties. We like their mandarin beef, my wife enjoys their combo wonton soup, and they always give you sesame balls as a complimentary dessert. We've only ordered takeout, but looking forward to dining in once this pandemic is finally over. We find ourselves ordering from here as a quick dinner takeout option, and if you call your order in for pickup it's usually ready in 15-20 minutes. Holly's has become our go-to takeout spot, and will always hold a special place in our hearts as we think back to the pre-birth meal before welcoming our baby. Support a local business if you're near Kaiser, Holly's is affordable and delicious! read more

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We've been eating at Holly's for years, but I realized I'd never reviewed them! Food is always fresh and delicious - favorites include:crispy duck, mandarin beef, mushroom chicken, eggplant tofu, twice cooked pork and many more! My son orders 2x order of potstickers whenever he comes home to visit and doesn't share a one. They are very accommodating if you have food allergies (like my husband does). Bonus - I recently created a new dish - hot and sour won ton soup (basically hot and sour soup with won tons added) - it was delicious! read more

Every time I go the food is so good and the lady who takes the order at the front is so nice!! Can't go wrong coming here!!

A neighborhood gem. The staff here is extremely nice and welcoming, the food is reliably tasty, and the prices are great especially for the area as they've somehow resisted the urge to add the Piedmont Ave price bump. We almost always get some combination of a fried rice, chow fun, salt and pepper pork chops or fish, and another dish to spice things up. The food comes out extremely fast as well - even in their busiest times, they've never quoted me a long wait time to pick up my food. I'll be getting Holly's as long as I live in the area, and hopefully longer. Order direct by calling if you can! read more

When ordering dishes that include meat, such as beef chow mein, they will give you maybe six pieces of small beef for the entire dish. This has happened every time I've ordered any dish including meat. If I order beef and broccoli it's primarily broccoli with maybe six pieces of meat. The Mongolian beef is primarily onions. The food is otherwise good, but they're very very stingy with meat. read more

One of favorite Chinese restaurants that offer tasty traditional Manderan plates. Sorry to see they are only take out at the moment. But so glad that they survived COVID. Super nice staff that are so gracious. I wish I could support them every day Some of the best hot and sour soup I've had. The twice cooked pork is amazing. Matt says check this gem out. But be sure to be patient with parking. It can be a bit challenging. read more

ok good but all 3 times they've been super late with the order. it feels like they just start making your order when you show up to the restaurant to pickup your order. super annoying read more

Gotta love Holly's! This has been one of my go-to spots for Chinese food when I used to work at KP Oakland and as a neighborhood favorite for dinner. Service is fast, efficient and professional with delicious, fresh and reasonably priced (for Piedmont Ave) food. Some favorites are the orange chicken, fried rice, honey walnut prawns, broccoli beef, and mandarin prawns- but really you can't go wrong with anything you order. Also they had consistently done an awesome catering job for KP Oakland- Holly and her team are very responsive and generous with their offerings. They had labeled their fried fish fillets as a Kaiser favorite, which was very true! I do miss eating everything fresh in person, the fried food suffers a bit during takeout, but happy to support my local businesses during this difficult time. They seem to be getting lots of takeout orders so keep em coming y'all! read more

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On December 22, 2022 I placed the following order below. For many years I have dined in and out at Holly's. However, this time it was an terrible life-threatening experience. Upon receiving my food via DoorDash, I checked the items on the receipt and the items in each bag. 90% of the food was absolutely fantastic. Because the order was so large , I took my time enjoying every morsel. When it came to the lemon chicken, because it is a favorite of my partner, I waited for her to have the first bite. She explained how delicious it was. So much so that I said let me take a bite as well. Upon my first bite I recognized that the chicken was not chicken . Instead it tasted like fish...IT WAS FRIED FISH . I am allergic to fish! And every sinew in my body detected the fish and not chicken that entered my mouth , shocked my tongue taste buds , as the fish traveled down my throat. My allergic reaction is called anaphylactic shock! My tongue began to swell, my lips began to swell, and my throat felt as if it were closing. Fortunately, the Benadryl anti-histamine, I'm my medicine cabinet, saved me from a very dismal and also life-threatening experience. Without question, I will NOT frequent or recommend Holly's to anyone near or far. This is unacceptable to say the least . read more

Holly's Mandarin - Holly's Restaurant order December 22, 2022 - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California