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    Magnolia

    3.9 (58 reviews)
    ModerateChinese, Seafood, Soup
    Open 12:00 pm - 9:30 PM
    Updated 1 month ago

    Magnolia Photos

    MAGNOLIA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Magnolia

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    Wonton Soup on a cold day.
    Mike C.

    Great local "old school" Chinese restaurant. Fast service and good, tasty "traditional" American-Chinese food all the standard offering. Very good price and lunch plates are great option plenty of tasty food and a great price.

    Chicken and Vegetables.
    Michael M.

    What Dawn B said. I should move on to Yelping that McDonald's in Acton that's been closed for years, but I've more to say about Magnolias. A hidden gem. Not in the classical sense of a 5-star Michelin restaurant. The food is hot and flavorful, and inexpensive. Two luncheon specials, with soup, for twenty-five bucks. Mixed drinks are in the 8.50 range. If I were still an alcoholic, I'd belly up to that bar every night. Seriously, and maybe I'm overinformed by meals at the China Ruby, Magnolia is worth every penny and much more.

    Entrance
    Dawn B.

    Two years after opening, and Magnolia is as great as it ever was! If you haven't tried Magnolia, you are missing out.

    Cumin Beef
    William E.

    I miss the Ruby, but Magnolia really does a great job with their offerings. The egg rolls were a little cabbagey but everything else was an absolute hit.

    Crispy five flavor shrimp

    Added seafood pan fried noodle. Very good veggies and seafood over lo mein. Nice size servings for the orice.

    Peiking raviolis
    Andrew W.

    So last year, our beloved China Ruby in Maynard closed. Mid summer, Magnolia took its place. Food was delish. We had their version of a pupu platter, fried peiking ravioli, happy family and house lo mein. 5 stars for everything, except 4.5 stars for selection. Why doesn't everyone have pork strips on the menu.???

    Interior

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    Photo of Ray S.
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    2 years ago

    Really good, wholesome and tasty food, quick and excellent service and lovely human beings

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Bad food, poor service and check out the filthy rug leading into the dining room. It's a Keno parlor.

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    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Magnolia

    Can they make dishes gluten free, using gluten free soy sauce? Chang An used to do this, and it made it possible for my wheat allergic husband to enjoy Chinese food.

    Sorry no they don't

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    Spicepepper Garden

    Spicepepper Garden

    3.5
    (168 reviews)
    3.7 mi
    $$

    Two of us stopped in for a late lunch/early dinner around 4:30. An odd hour, so it was no surprise…read morethat the place was empty. We had the appetizer assortment, shrimp pad thai and ma-la lamb. The appetizers were pretty routine: 2 each of shumai, peking dumplings, crab rangoon and one beef satay. The tempura shrimp mentioned on the menu was not served, but everything was tasty if not memorable. I expected more for our $15. My girl ordered the pad thai. It was okay, but needed more tamarind and was missing peanuts. Our server happily provided a bowl of peanuts. For authentic pad thai, I'll go to a Thai restaurant. A word about the people: our server was friendly and responsive, and we were greeted cheerfully. Our order took a reasonable amount of time to arrive. It wouldn't be fair to review the ambiance of an empty restaurant, so I'll just say the place was clean and the booth comfortable. I ordered the ma-la lamb specifically to get a plate of very spicy Sichuan style meat and it came dripping with hot oil and covered in chopped hot chilis. It was amazingly good. Not only was it at my limit for heat, I could taste all the flavor of the lamb as well as the other spices as my sinuses liquefied and my tear ducts leaked. I loved this dish. It was just as good reheated the next day. I think our experience here only scratched the surface of the menu. I'll definitely return for more spicy Sichuan food but will probably pass non-Sichuan appetizers and dishes.

    This place has great service. The owners/staff are very friendly. It is a busy place given that…read morethere are not too many Asian restaurants in the area. Food is good, but I would not say exceptional. It's a good place to get Chinese and Japanese food. They cater to a wide range of people. They have lightly-seasoned dishes if you're not very adventurous with dishes that have a lot of spices. They also offer spicy food, but they could be spicier, in my opinion. They have more special dishes, but we didn't get to try it since there were only two of us and we didn't have that big of an appetite.

    Photos
    Spicepepper Garden
    Beef bbq
    Beef bbq
    Fish filet in hot pot.  Amazing.

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    Fish filet in hot pot. Amazing.
    Lotus Blossom

    Lotus Blossom

    3.4
    (244 reviews)
    5.3 mi
    $$

    First few visits back after they reopened after fire damage were good. All weeknight dinner visits…read more -- Har Gow: Shrimp dumplings fresh and flavorful, but the vessels were so gummy they stuck to each other and the serving tin. Average. -- Beef Teriyaki: A four-stick serving had bumpy, lightly-charred and lightly sweet surfaces, along with good tenderness underneath. Decent marinade flavor. Above average to well above average. -- Mongolian Beef: An outstanding presentation of beef slivers thick enough to be tender, while also getting nicely crisp and a vigorous flavor superior to the teriyaki. Scallions added some extra kick in addition to the sauce. Really good feel and really good taste bring it really close to elite. -- Pork Fried Rice: Lovers of dark pork fried rice are in for a treat, because this is among the darkest and has dark flavor to match. Fresh, hot, not a reheat, and not sitting for hours. I could do without the peas, but all of the other additions-- egg, onion, bean sprouts, and big chunks of fresh pork-- were top notch. A benchmark rice if you're into this style. Elite. -- Chicken with Ginger and Scallion: Long and winding chicken with good tenderness and noticeable ginger flavor, with bold scallions the unsung hero. Closer to a very good dish than a great dish, but bonus points for being neither sweet nor spicy, but still bringing plenty of flavor. -- Chicken Fried Rice: Another example of bold, dark, fresh-cooked rice, this time with chicken. I was expecting shreds and got finger-length pieces that were much more impressive. Elite. -- Boneless Ribs: Lightly lacquered with shiny cross sections, so they were moist, but a bit fatty. Above average for sure, but not elite or close like some other dishes. -- Chicken Fingers: Fresh, hot, and crisp, with some small ones less dazzling, but most pleased. Good meat-to-batter ratio. Optional sweet and sour sauce add-on did dazzle, coming in sweet but dark ruby color and complex. Not your daddy's sauce; this didn't have pineapples and cherries but it did have more flavor. -- Chicken Teriyaki: Charring, coating, tenderness, juiciness, and marinade all combined to make this one of the better renditions. Well above average to near elite. -- Yuen Yang Beef: Very impressive dish, from the quantity, to the textures (perfect on both the beef and the bed of string beans), to the flavors (savory-tingly on the beef, though without much heat, and gingery on the string beans). -- Duck Sauce: Barely a variation from straight apple sauce. Not a strength. Only negative on service is that sometimes one server handles the entire dining room, so there might be waits, but even still, service is always friendly and efficient. This place sometimes gets a bad rap for being expensive, but I believe the quality warrants the prices and that there's good value thanks to execution and consistency.

    We have been going to Lotus blossom for years now. They had their ups and downs, happy to report…read morethe food is now Stella again. We usually get a mix of the Chinese as well as Japanese selections and everything tasted great this last time we visited. They can get really busy so service sometime seems a bit more hectic and have misses, but they are friendly and always quick to correct any mistakes.

    Photos
    Bento boxes placed on shelving
    Bento boxes placed on shelving
    Pork Fried Rice
    Pork Fried Rice
    General Gau's Chicken

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    General Gau's Chicken
    Lavender Asian Cuisine & Bar

    Lavender Asian Cuisine & Bar

    3.0
    (217 reviews)
    5.2 mi
    $$

    Pretty decent spot for Asian food! My family likes to do take out from here and get the sesame…read morechicken. The noodles we got were a bit salty. Overall good experience and staff was really nice.

    Horrendous (and frankly racist) service and really weirdly prepared dishes. The server seated us…read moreand gave us menus. She came back a bit later with some chips for the table and sauces. We asked if the entrees came with rice and she answered and were about to place our order and she walks away to attend to someone else? Would have taken less than 30 seconds and there wasn't anything emergent that needed tending to. Comes back, takes the order (hunan crispy fish and shrimp with ginger and scallion) and the dishes are somehow out in 5-10 minutes. She practically throws the shrimp and side of rice on the table and walks away. Doesn't ask if we need anything else (we wanted chili oil). Another server brings the fish dish and asks if we need anything who we then inform about our request. The original one then comes by and throws the sauce on the table again. The shrimp dish was heavy in red onions and barely had ginger or scallion. The sauce tasted like soy sauce and a starch slurry with nothing else added and it was way too salty. The fish was weirder. It had a breading on it instead of a cornstarch/potato starch batter. The sauce also did not taste like oyster sauce and it tasted like the sauce sautéed with veggies was added at the end so nothing melded together.with the fish. The sauce was overly sweet. Some customers left the table next to us and she sat down in their empty seats and starts looking at her Apple watch. She never once filled up our waters but did for the other customers and did ask if they needed anything else and gingerly places dishes on their table. Felt extremely racist. Avoid this place. Acting like a high school student forced to work a summer job and begrudgingly doing so except she was much older, immature, at best rude, and at worst, racist.

    Photos
    Views
    Views
    Egg Roll Detail
    Egg Roll Detail
    Lavender Asian Cuisine & Bar

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    Makiin

    Makiin

    4.3
    (24 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    Very tasty. Generous portions…read more First time trying this restaurant. We got take out. Tried the chicken karage (huge portions), shrimp tempura (5), Tod mun goong app (very tasty chicken and shrimp nugget) my favorite. Pad See Ew came with generous portion of grill pork - tasty. Ba Mee Nam is a wonton soup ramen noodle (wonton has shrimp and chicken). Choice of grilled pork or chicken, generous portion of meat. Packed nicely for takeout. Broth was very nice. It is so nice Chinese broccoli was in several of our dishes, perfectly cooked and crunchy. What a treat. Khao Kha Moon - save for another meal, rice dish with braised pork and veggies and egg. Restaurant interior is very simple but cozy. Will definitely order again.

    My family and I came for dinner on a Friday night and had an overall positive experience. The…read morerestaurant was pretty empty when we arrived around 6, though it had filled up a bit by the time we left. Ambiance was comfortable and welcoming, other than the fact that it was a bit cold. We ordered the veggie potstickers as an app, which were very flavorful and tasty. For my main, I ordered the Khao Gai Yang, a dish with chicken, rice, veggies, and a sauce on the side. The chicken was juicy and well seasoned. My only complaint is that the sauce was quite fishy, which isn't to my personal taste. I would come back but try something else next time.

    Photos
    Addition of TVs is nice
    Addition of TVs is nice
    Soft shell crab buns
    Soft shell crab buns
    Fried oysters.

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    Fried oysters.
    China Garden

    China Garden

    3.4
    (39 reviews)
    5.4 mi
    $

    This isn't a fancy sit down restaurant. They do have a few tables. The gentleman that took my order…read morewas very friendly and helpful. They have a lot of lunch options and different combination plates. The lunch options are under $10. They include soup or a soda. Pork Fried Rice or White Rice. Choice of an appetizer and an entrée. A great value for the money. I got the Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, Pork Fried Rice, an Egg Roll and Hot and Sour Soup for less money than fast food restaurants. The Shrimp with Lobster Sauce was absolutely delicious, and I'm extremely picky on this dish. It had four jumbo Shrimp in a delicious sauce. The Pork Fried Rice was light in color, strong in flavor. It was delicious! The Egg Roll had a nice combination of celery, pork, cabbage and the right seasonings. It passed my no duck sauce needed taste. The flavors were great. I tried the duck sauce, although it looked like, it had that great New England apple flavor. The only item I wasn't a huge fan of was their Hot and Sour soup. I felt it lacked flavor and was missing some old school ingredients. Overall, this was a great lunch stop with a lot of value for your money. I will definitely return!

    We are new to the area and our family recommended this place. We have eaten here a number of times…read morealready and love it. Everything is always consistent. We do takeout usually but everything is well packaged and ready on time. The staff is very friendly and accommodating.

    Photos
    China Garden
    China Garden
    China Garden

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    Magnolia - chinese - Updated August 2026

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