Disappointing the food taste like it had been sitting in old oil for the day. Not very friendly or welcoming

I live a few blocks away and there are basically NO good Asian places in this area of Somerville. I am Asian so perhaps I am a bit more picky when it comes to Asian food. When it first opened I thought it was going to be like a Panda Express (which is terrible) and when my non Asian friend was eager to try it I was hesitant and had very low expectations, I had too many nasty meals trying the other local Asian joints. Surprisingly it was actually really good! Fast forward a few weeks, I've now eaten here a couple of times. They have a nice variety of dishes from "white man special" aka general gao's chicken to more authentic Asian dishes to sushi. Have had about 5-6 main dishes and a few appetizers. Everything has been well prepared and delicious. The staff is very friendly and the decor is nice! They also have parking which is great. This is now my go to place for Asian food in East Somerville, a great addition to the neighborhood. Good riddance to the nasty KFC it replaced. read more

They had their soft opening today and while I don't expect much from a restaurant on its first day, Lotus Xpress blew me away. Their menu is pan-Asian, consisting mostly of dishes you'd find at Chinese, Japanese, and Thai restaurants -- notably including sushi and ramen. I ordered the crab rangoons, which were enormous and also crispy without being greasy. They didn't skimp on the cheese/crab filling, either. Really good stuff. For my entree I asked them what was good on the menu, and I was surprised when they recommended the General Gao's chicken. I mean, I *like* the dish but it's usually not very remarkable. But I have to say: it was the best General Gao's I've ever had. Lightly battered pieces of chicken in a sauce that has a lot of chilis and orange peels in it--kind of a cross between the usual General Gao's and orange chicken. It's an enormous portion and I almost couldn't finish it except it was too good to leave on the plate. On the sushi side, my wife ordered the spicy tuna maki and the "Lotus maki". The spicy tuna was not full pieces of tuna but rather the kind of ground up tuna salad thing you sometimes get. It was good, though! The Lotus maki (eel, sweet potato, some other stuff) was also good: nothing to write home about, but perfectly good sushi in its own right. While I'm not wild about the sushi, it's priced very reasonably (the regular makimono menu is entirely under $6) and so I really can't complain. I'm very much looking forward to trying the rest of the menu. This is a welcome addition to the neighborhood! read more

I've been here 3 times already and I think it's only been open for 2 weeks. I'd say this place falls into the upscale category at the fast food price. Interior looks GREAT! Who would have thought it used to be a KFC? Parking lot makes it easy to drop by for a quick bite in their dining room or take out. There are very few places around here where you can get quality chinese / japanese / thai food AND sushi at the same time. Everything I've tried so far I've liked. Chinese food is great, Sushi is great, noodles are great!! My next target is the Japanese Chicken Cutlet Curry... I need to hurry up and get back there read more

No really. Believe the hype. This has to be some sort of record for culinary improvement, going from a KFC/Taco Bell to this level of excellence. We've eaten here twice now (takeout both times) and have been extremely impressed both times. First of all, they are very friendly on the phone and in person. And very quick. When they say 10 minutes, they mean it. The quality of the ingredients clearly was much better than what you typically expect from your average Chinese place. There was much less grease, too. Things that were supposed to be crispy (both veggies and fried things) were crispy, and things that were supposed to be tender were tender. There's definitely some sodium involved, but you won't feel insta-regret from eating something very unhealthy as can happen with more run-of-the-mill Chinese. Portions were very generous, particularly the dinner combo, which is an absolute ton of food. The Shanghai Crispy Noodles and Pineapple Shrimp merit special mention, too. I'm not going to get into any issues of authenticity, as that ship pretty much has sailed here in the States with regard to Chinese food. All I know is that this place is delicious and we've started coming up with excuses to go back here. We'll try to branch out and try some of the non-Chinese items on the menu. read more

I actually enjoyed the food but the customer service is awful. I live near Davis Square, it is about 13 mins away driving from this location. I ordered delivery from here once no problem, minimum was less than twenty bucks (maybe 15?). They gave me a menu and hand wrote "ask for delivery". The last two times I've tried to call the same kid answering the phone first tells me they refuse to deliver WITHIN SOMERVILLE because it's on the "other side of town". Tonight he says it would be a minimum of $25 order to cross town. It's not even 15 minutes away. Brown Sugar Thai Restaurant delivers from FENWAY to MASS GENERAL, probably takes the same amount of time ... but this establishment cannot get in the car and drive barely over 2 miles away for business. Pretty pathetic Lotus XPress ... refusing delivery in your own town. I don't need to slum it in East Somerville, I'll order something from Arlington instead. read more

Average asian takeout food. It will satisfy your craving if you have one. Vegetables were good and fresh! The wings were huge and cooked right. read more

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My wife and I go here a lot. When we first tried it, we were impressed and go there at least monthly. Every dish we've had has been great. We're not sushi people so I can't speak to the quality of the sushi. We've never had a bad meal at all! The staff is always friendly and are quite social. We've talked to them several times. Another perk...how many restaurants in East Somerville HAVE A PARKING LOT??? It's small - fits about 7 or 8 cars, but it's nice to not have to drive around for a meter. I HIGHLY recommend them. read more

Don't let the outside fool you, it's not a dump- it just used to be. Inside of this ugly former fast-food joint, you'll find a gem, even by Somerville standards. I've been twice now, and it hasn't disappointed. Highlights include the Saigon noodles and crispy pad Thai. Not only is the food great, but the service is as well. My wife has a gluten allergy, and they were happy to adjust out selections to accommodate. read more

Love this place! FIrst, I'm not a big fan of "Chinese Food". Lotus Xpress is hands down the best Chinese in Somerville. The staff is courteous, fast and down to earth! The restaurant is very clean and upbeat. The General Gao chicken is amazing! I need a 12 step program to keep me from ordering it everyday. Portions are unbelievable...the Appetizer Sampler price great with allot of options to choose. Bottom line is: You will not be disappointed, you'll be amazed that this place exists in Somerville...cause I am. read more

Ordered Sushi - Both the Spicy tuna and Volcano Maki rolls were delicious! As well so happy with the delivery time; given the rain was expecting to take a bit, to my surprise 15 minutes bell rang. I will be ordering delivery in the future. read more

Lotus Xpress - Here is a picture of both Spicy Tuna & Volcano maki rolls - Asian Fusion Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

This is more like a 3.5 rating. I didn't dislike my food. I got two orders of sushi the spicy tuna and the Alaska and both were tasty. The Alaska was better I thought but nothin to die for, which is ok. My wife for the teriyaki chicken and rice and it wasn't great. The chicken had a good feeling but the taste wasn't great. It lacked a balance of taste. It was bland and then sweet. I did like that the pieces of chicken looked like real chicken though. Also, we weren't offered the combos they had that would've been maybe .50 cents more but a better deal for us. I felt that kinda slip either means they didn't wanna give us the better deal or the cashier girl forgot. Either way isn't great. Maybe I'll come back just for the location. read more

I ordered from this place through GrubHub last night for the first time. Here are some impressions: Pros: 1. Speedy delivery and accurate order Cons: 1. The quality of the food is average at best. I had the sesame orange chicken (which came with a tiny side of rice), crab rangoon and scallion pancakes. The whole dish tasted OLD. a. The sesame orange chicken was soggy and soft, I could see pieces of skin floating around the sauce - not appetizing. The sauce was watery and overly sweet. This dish also contained broccoli, which was soggy and soft as well. b. The crab rangoon and scallion pancakes were average, I've had the same or better at numerous Chinese food places. c. The tiny side of rice was tiny and also average. I am not planning to order from here again any time soon. read more

****Disclaimer***** I do not give 5s out very often, okay so pretty much never. That would mean perfection, and I am "picky". I grew up in Los Angeles, so I can be a tough woman to please with almost any type of cuisine. That said, I am so happy this place chose to open here! My husband and I went for dinner tonight and here's what we ordered: Mongolian beef dinner: Very good mongolian beef! Flavorful and huge portion. The beef was well cooked, still juicy, nice size pieces, and they gave plenty of scallions (plus for me). I found the mushrooms to be a pleasant suprise as I do not expect to find those in mongolian beef, but I love mushrooms. The dinners come with a seperate side of vegetable fried rice. They did a really good job of balancing the sesame oil/soy ratio and there were the expected amount of vegetables. Good job! Too bad I am trying to lower carb intake, or I would just walk down and by rice mush more often then I should. Spring rolls- Their menu says 1 but they gave 2 with the dinner. That was also a nice suprise, though not goid for my carb intake! They (yes I ate them both, no will power) were crispy, without being oily, and simple vegetable stuffed, another plus in my book, for the spring rolls. Orange chicken- okay so hubby ordered this, it's his obsession, but not my thing. He says it is good, but he expects more chili and not so much (if any) sesame. By Darius' review, it seems as if he should have ordered the General Gao's (which us Californians' really do not know anything about). I did not try it because I was busy inhaling my mongolian beef (totally lady-like I know). Wonton soup- We always order this the first time we go to Chinese restaurants. I very pick about this. It was decent, but the way they wrap the wonton, or the thickness of the wrap itself, was a bit much for me. Not enough veggies in the soup either. Althogh I admit, I usually would never order wonton soup in a fusion restaurant. Hell honestly, I don't usually eat at fusion style restaurants (see there goes the picky me coming out). All of the staff were very nice, service fast, and the manager Allen is very pleasant to speak with! We chatted a bit when he brought our food out (we ordered to go, which worked out well because this was way too much food for one meal!). I mentioned I was waiting for their lunch opening for sushi, and Allen had the sushi chef make a spicy tuna roll for us. He seemed so thrilled that I eat sushi, I did not have the heart to be picky(especially with a free roll) to tell him I don't eat nori. Oops. Husband benefitted by that one! He said the roll was good! I will have to get nigiri or sashimi when I come back, and I will for sushi. Now my problem is there is a damn good Asian fusion (holy crap did *I* say that?) restaurant in walking distance from home... that has ginger and green tea ice cream. I am so screwed. Must get my lazy butt running for all the carbs I will be eating there! I am excited to see ramen, udon, and pad thai (damn I really have carb issues huh?) on the menu. Will have to get those seperately on different days. Overall food is good, people and service great! Bonus of sushi, and ice cream. Welcome to the neighborhood Lotus Xpress! I hope you do well here! PS I almost walked back to get ice cream...almost. read more

We had a take out delivery from Lotus Xpress last Week. I ordered the food on line directly through their website. We had chicken wings and crab Rangoon for appetizers. Mongolian beef and a chicken dish for entrees. Oh boy, the wings were awful, not completely cooked, tasteless. The beef was also tasteless. It didn't taste anything like having Chinese food. The worst Chinese food I had ever had in my long life! I was very disappointed with the food! Never, Never again!! read more

Best Chinese food in the Medford/Somerville area. We get take out from here every week. Favorites: Pan Fried pork dumplings (they also do steamed), General Gau's chicken and chicken noodle yakisoba. They also do sushi, but I have not tried it. They now deliver. 1 thing I'd like to add is, that I don't like how they "penny pinch" at the cost of the customer. My bf goes in weekly for take out and last night, I just wanted an order of steamed veggies (easy enough, right?) they said they had to charge him for the tofu dish w steamed veggies and side of rice ($8!) they could've easily made some steamed veggies and charged him a couple of bucks (esp since he's a regular customer) read more

The concept of Lotus Xpress is very much like Panera or Chipotle - fast casual that is a huge step up from the lower-quality alternatives. In Lotus Xpress' case, they serve well-executed pan-Asian cuisine that arrives promptly (at least, if you're dining in). Our meal arrived in under 7 minutes and was absolutely fresh and delicious. We went on a slow afternoon (day after Christmas), and the owner, a young, 30-ish gent sat down and chatted with us for a bit. The dining area is bright, airy and in a pleasant contrast to many Chinese restaurants, very modern and sleek. Service was superb, and the food (for being Americanized Asian) was great. Don't expect an 'authentic' menu, but if you're looking for that Pad-See-Eew, Udon noodle soup, or Szechuan beef, this food hits the spot. read more

High quality sushi for cheap. Try the Pineapple Express roll. I'd never had pineapple on sushi and it was great. The soups and entrees are good too. The best thing about this place is the speed though. They get to my house in about 20 mins every time. read more

My lunch was horrible, and I left without eating much of it. Crab rangoon were among the worst I've ever had anywhere, and the "fresh spring rolls" were a greasy mess of fried rolled-up cabbage. I understand that other reviewers have had a better experience-- but I has to call it the way I sees it. read more

Ordered take out for dinner. 10 minutes they said. Super fast. They have their own parking lot. Super convenient. -Crab Rangoon. Super bad. Tasted like Crab Rangoon from a Chinese mall food court. -Basil Chicken with Eggplant. Decent. More veggies than chicken. -Pad Thai. Super bland. Probably the worst Pad Thai I've ever had. No flavor at all! Very disappointed. Not sure why they have 4.5 stars!! read more

Ordered take out, but went in to do so. The restaurant was cute, looked clean and had a few customers eating in. I had the teriyaki chicken with white rice. It was completely flavorless. Not so bad that it was inedible though. The chicken tasted like fresh pieces of white meat and the rice was good, but that sauce had no taste. Would definitely not order this again. My husband really liked the sushi, so that gained them a little extra rating overall. Also, the food came out quickly and accurately. My biggest annoyance was I didn't notice there's a special for less than $1 extra, that would have included an appetizer with my meal. I would have appreciated if the girl taking my order would have pointed it out. She didn't mention there's a sushi combo either. I noticed looking at the menu later on at home. It's something very small that would have made me come back, but I will probably just try another place, there are many around and they probably have teriyaki sauce that isn't so bland. read more

My family and I love coming here to eat. The owners and individuals who work here are courteous and welcoming. Furthermore the food is delicious- everything is fresh. You will not regret coming here. read more

This was my first time coming here and I really enjoyed it! Myself and a friend dined in, and it's counter service with service to the table. They seemed to definitely cater to take out/delivery as opposed to dining in, but that's fine. The food came out extremely fast, and everything was delicious! We ordered crab rangoon, hot and sour soup, sweet and sour chicken, and pad Thai. All was great and we left happy! read more

Last night was the first time I ordered from Lotus Xpress. I decided to order after I read all the good reviews. Unfortunately for me, I think I chose a not so great night to order, it took an hour and twenty minutes to get the food. I had to call in to check on the status of my order. When I placed the order, I was told 40 minutes (I live 5 minutes way by car). The food was good, I really liked the house fried rice, but I was disappointed with the maki I ordered. I do not like raw fish, so I asked the employee on the phone how the salmon in the spicy salmon maki was prepared, he told me it was cooked. It is not cooked. I'm going to try this place out again. Overall, the food was good and the prices are very fair. read more

We ordered takeout and it was very quick delivery and the food was on point! The steamed dumplings were meaty and flavorful (no mystery meat here!). We ordered a large soup which was more than enough to split between two people. We also had the chicken combo and the fried rice was okay and the chicken was very good with crisp broccoli! Totally going to be our go-to delivery place! read more

I have lived around the corner from this building for a while and have been eagerly anticipating the opening of a new restaurant in it's location. I can happily say that Lotus Xpress has not disappointed. I dropped by this weekend when I saw the lights on, and was immediately greeted with friendly, pleasant service. After taking a few minutes to browse the menu, I was happy to find affordable prices and a diverse selection of asian dishes, along with some great lunch and all-day specials. The take-out order took 5-10 minutes to be ready and we also received an additional roll from the fantastic manager on the house! The Pad Thai and General Gao's chicken were great, along with some very good sushi rolls. Overall, though it is a bit dangerous to have this restaurant so close by, I am happy to have a great new option down the street! read more

Pretty good lunch place. I tried the chicken teriyaki yakisoba and miso soup and both were delicious and filling. Next time, I'll try some sushi. Off-street parking is a selling point and while the lot is small there seemed to be spots available the whole time. read more

The food is not as good as everyone says it is (2-3 stars by yelp standards). It's not really "Chinese" food. However, the service is prompt, courteous, and professional. The staff is really awesome and polite, hence the 3-star rating. The place is clean and kind of quaint. The prices seem good for entrees, but their lunch specials are a tad bit expensive. No extra charge for brown rice, though, which is nice! read more

Sick and craving hot 'n sour soup. I think I googled or yelped "healthy chinese food" and this is what came up. Really peppery, delicious soup with a light broth. Generous serving size too. The beef and broccoli had perfectly cooked vegetables. The sauce was good -- not an overwhelming, starchy & sugary goop like you'd find at most Chinese restaurants. The beef serving size was a bit modest. Next time I will probably supplement with a beef appetizer as well. The avocado salad was great: fresh avocado, cucumbers, and scallions, served in half an avocado skin. I will definitely be back when I want Chinese food but not the over sugared & sauced stuff you find elsewhere. read more

This place makes delicious food. Period. The place is not fancy when it comes to ambience, is more a take-out place than dine-in but the food is excellent! My wife and I got the General Gao's chicken combo and Drunken Noodles with tofu. Both were delicious. The combo comes with brown rice, white rice or fried rice, spring roll or salad. Another day we got Basil chicken with Chinese eggplant and Garlic sauce combo and Shanghai Crispy Noodles with chicken. Again both these dishes tasted really good. The quantity of food is sufficient so if you are a good eater then you won't be disappointed and can eat to your contentment. Most importantly there is parking available at this location which is very convenient. I totally recommend this place just for the taste of the food they make. read more

I was craving chinese food all day and stopped here on my way home from Sullivan Station. From reading Yelp reviews, it definitely matched my expecations. It was delicious. I ordered the basil chicken with eggplant, crab rangoon and white rice. The crab rangoons looks like they could be from anywhere, but tasted great. They weren't greasy and were stuffed to the gills with cream cheese! The sauce on the chicken was delicious and the eggplant was sooo good! I'll definitely be coming back yumm read more

Lotus Xpress - basil chicken with eggplant, crab rangoon and white rice - Asian Fusion Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

This place has always been great: food, service and delivery. The are all very nice and appreciate my business. This is our "go-to" place for delicious Chinese food. Whether it's their appetizers or entrees, you really can't go wrong with Lotus Xpress. I will no longer go anywhere else! read more

Just opened in my hood on Friday and I had to be one of the first to check it out. Menu consists of Chinese (standard fare like general Gaos chicken and Szechuan tofu) and Japanese (teriyaki and sushi). Fast service style (order and pay and food is brought to you). Comfortable seating for 25 or so. Food was speedy, inexpensive and tasty. 3 sushi rolls for $15. Service was fantastic. Much needed addition to East Somerville. read more

Lotus Xpress - A salmon maki flower! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

Service is awesome! The food is just better than average. I live in the area and I have found a home for some fantastic garlic sauce. The way it should be. Try it! !! read more

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Always on the hunt for a good I guess you could say Americanized Chinese food. I was close by so I do after reading all the reviews I decided to check it out and I was not disappointed. You basically place your order at the counter and it will bring it out to you so it is not a sit-down restaurant but it does have a sit-down restaurant price. I felt it was a bit high and prices but well worth the quality of food you received. If the orange chicken was a little bit crispier it probably my favorite one in town. Either way if you're close by you have to try this place out very good the lady at the desk was very friendly and I will definitely returning. read more

Lotus Xpress - Asian Fusion Near Me - Somerville, Massachusetts

Expect better service with good food and environment Worth every dollar As good as it gets read more

It has the best spicy chicken. The drunken noodles is also amazing. The food is excellent. The customer service is also excellent! The place is consistent in delivering top quality food without compromising in its taste. Whether you want Chinese/Japanese, it always delivers. You cannot go wrong with this place, the owner also prepare the food from their heart! Cannot wait to come back!!! read more

The mandatory $15 for delivery is ridiculous, hardly anyone eats that much for lunch

This place is a pretty solid take out place! (Delivery only review) When i ordered, I was really craving some drunken noodles along with some type of dumpling and was happy to find out that I could get both here. Aside from these two dishes I also got their wonton soup. My favorite things were definitely the wonton soup and the drunken noodle. The wontons in the soup were great and the actual broth was not too salty and had a good amount of scallions (a must for it to be good!). The drunken noodles were a solid choice - quite a large portion for the price also. They had some good flavor to it thought it wasn't a particularly great iteration of drunken noodles. I ordered drunken noodles as mild spicy which was really taken note of and I was happy for it. The crispy tofu was also really really good and not oily at all but perfectly fried. The thing I would definitely not order again are the pan fried dumplings. They had too much meat and not much of anything else. The meat was also not that well seasoned and just tasted quite meh. However, the saving factor of these were the dough, which was pretty good but a bit on the thicker side than I like (though I guess i this case it was good since there was too much meat without any veggies). Overall, I would order again for the noodle dishes and their wonton soup. read more

Had an absolutely fantastic experience dining in at this place. There were few other customers on a Saturday night which leads me to believe they do most of their business over takeout... But I'd definitely come back to the actual restaurant. The decor is modern and clean, *much* nicer than the typical takeout-oriented restaurant at this price point. Very friendly and helpful staff... you normally order at the counter but when I walked in with a toddler they immediately got a high chair out and offered to take my order at the table. Minus one star for the food itself... It was pretty good but didn't knock my socks off. Definitely fresher then usual Chinese or Thai takeout but just not 5 stars worthy. In all I'll definitely be back. read more