We've been going to Mandarian Kitchen for years as we knew the old owners. The food here has always been a bit too Americanized for my taste, but looking at the local market and it makes sense. If I want really good Chinese, I'll make the trek to Seattle's International District. The new owners have made some good improvements with the menu and ambiance while maintaining the original look and feel. The staff can be stretched thin and some are too interested in hanging out on their phone drinking while the others frantically try to get everything done. I saw the busses do this for al.ost our entire time at the restaurant. The food. It is like a lot of Chinese restaurants. My childhood favorite of Beef and Broccoli was better than when I was a child. My kid is his desire for pure flavors... had the sweet and sour chicken without the sauce and the shrimp without the sauce. He really liked it. I look forward to the day that he tries sauces and vegetables. read more

Service was slow, it was not busy. There were 4 tables in there. Food took a while too. It was hot and tasted good. I've only been one other time and it was not nearly as good as it was a few years ago. I was hungry and craving Chinese food so I'm super bummed. Then when I walked outside and saw the sign and the cigarette butts.... read more

Mandarin Kitchen - Eeewww... I wish I had seen this Health rating and the cigarette butts before I went in and had lunch. I hope I don't get sick. - Cantonese Near Me - Des Moines, Washington

Came here to say eat dinner while on vacation. The staff was very nice. The food however, very greasy and bland. I wouldn't go back. But that's just me. The 2nd star is for the customer service. They were very friendly. read more

Place was basically empty on a Tuesday @ 6:00. Drinks were ok not great. Mai Tai tasted like fruit punch & my glass of Cabernet ( probably a 3 oz pour) was warm. Three of us had the combination dinners with tempura prawns. The prawns were EXACTLY like the frozen ones @ Costco, lots of batter & not much taste. Chowmein was greasy with very little chicken or vegetables. I will say the Almond Chicken was pretty good though but not enough to warrant ever going back. Also, this is the first Chinese restaurant we've been to that charged for hot tea and it wasn't even hot-lol. Save your money, our meal for 2 people was $66.00 without tip. read more

It's difficult to rate a place when you do Door dash since things are not piping hot. We did reheat some of the food and the flavors were there but think they could have been better if the restaurant used different packaging which would have kept things a little warmer. The moo goo gai pan and the sautéed veggies were packaged in containers that held in the heat. the orange chicken, egg rolls and walnut shrimp were packaged in paper containers so were very cold when they arrived and didn't heat up well. The orange sauce was very tasty and made the over side pieces of chicken at least edible. The honey walnut shrimp tasted good but again it was completely cold. This place got lots of stars and would like to try it eating there and see if it is better, read more

We were hesitant...not gonna lie...but we had a GREAT dinner, wonderful service! The individual dinner was a great meal! Ordered garlic wings as an outstanding appetizer...partner got Buddha's Delight and Mongolian Beef. Order MORE spice than you normally would. We're taking 3 meals home from our leftovers!! Cocktails were amazing, too!! Let's get their bar open again!! read more

From the looks of the photo you would think this was a decent meal, especially for the price of $16.99 plus $2 for pork fried rice.. well it wasn't, the food came out within 5 minutes or less. Which was a surprise to us. The rice was lukewarm as well as the sweet n sour pork and spring roll. The only thing hot was the sesame chicken . Maybe I'm being a little generous with my rating but we won't be back in the future and hope they figure out how to prepare food better to customers. read more

Mandarin Kitchen - Cantonese Near Me - Des Moines, Washington

The food is very good and the place is amazing great and the sever is nice and the restaurant is clean read more

Mandarin Kitchen - Cantonese Near Me - Des Moines, Washington

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Can't comment on service beyond to-go and so ambiance is n/a in my/our case as well. But this is our favorite place to bring-in a meal from when I am in Des Moines for overnight care of pets. Our hot n sour soup was freshly made and well worth waiting for, our last trip. All the dishes we have tried have been tasty and plentiful. read more

Food is as good as it used to be. The things I would like is free rice and hot tea. Also, I had the egg food young..delicious but they need more shrimp inside. Pretty much not many at all, and for what they charge they can put more inside. read more

Yum! Cannot recommend this place enough. The service is always good and the food is freakin yummy!

New owners, not the same food. Saturday night 6 PM, empty restaurant. Lack of flavor and not well cooked. Consistency and flavor were trade marks of the past owner... Ordered three dishes - Pork Fried Rice, Garlic Green Beans, General Tao's Chicken. The fried rice tasted like it was out of a bag. Does not bite like wok cooked. Green beans were missing the wok fried bite, sauce, and flavor with stems and ends. The General Tao's was oily and gloppy, not really better than frozen. We won't be back. read more

Mandarin Kitchen - General Tao's Chicken - Cantonese Near Me - Des Moines, Washington

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Service is very quick and friendly staff here. The food was alright very American Chinese. The egg drop soup and walnut shrimp were honorably good enough to come back for. The orange chicken had me searching for the chicken, sadly just orange fried oil. Everything else pretty standard and a good close comfort food spot and great for a quick eat. Servings are very large which is great for leftovers. read more

Sad food. Eggfoo young was bad. Minimal service. Very few people there which isn't usually a selling point.

We have not eaten here for almost a year but we live nearby and decided to try it again. We arrived about 7:30PM on a Tuesday and were surprised to find the parking lot almost empty. In the past, it has been hard to find a parking place. There were only 2 other diners in the restaurant. We ordered the individual dinners for $22.50 that came with hot and sour soup (of the day), pork fried rice, almond fried chicken, 2 slices of roasted pork and a spring roll. One of us had Mongolian Beef and the other cashew chicken. Portions were very generous and service was responsive. The atmosphere is almost industrial with cold lighting creating a slightly dim environment. The food was good but not exceptional. Portions were generous and we took some home in a box. I had a Sapporo for $5 and my wife a glass of chardonnay for $7.50. They add a 3% fee for using a credit card and calculate the recommended tip including this fee and the sales tax. I tip based on the value of the drinks and food only. The State of WA does not deserve a tip. I would come back again because it is close to my home but I would not drive a long distance to eat here. read more

Concerned about the change in owners. Menu items and preparations have changed (no pan fried potstickers? No beef fried rice?) Quality seems not as good and service less attentive. Wish they had stuck to the original recipes from the previous owner! Menu images are no longer current, unfortunately. read more

The food is overpriced. I got the "lunch special", it was $17.99 and my plate was so light, I knew I wasn't getting much food. The portions are way too small for the price but the taste was good. read more

Disappointed. Stellar 6 months ago and then owner retired. Now this is what you get. Both were combination dishes. One lo mien, one fried rice. Both had shrimp. Both had chicken but pieces were different. Only the rice had beef and bbq pork. Not sure what kind of combo this was. Flavors were meh. Now looking again for a decent Chinese place around the airport. read more

Mandarin Kitchen - Combo dishes that aren't really combo. - Cantonese Near Me - Des Moines, Washington

Enjoyed the Cashew Chicken which included zucchini and mushrooms. Sesame Chicken was also good. Had to order rice as an extra. Restaurant was clean, but not fancy. Service was fine as well. read more

The best Chinese in South King County. Honey Walnut Shrimp, Pork Egg Foo Yung. Almond Chicken & General were all outstanding. Service was prompt and friendly. Great specials too. read more

So it has changed owners but I think they have got it all back. We went to try it our for lunch and the orange beef and Kung Pao chicken were very good. along with the spring roll that came with lunch. We ordered a cup of hot and sour soup which was very good as well. The service was very good, so we are very happy that it it is going well. We will be back read more

We knew we could find some good Chinese in Tacoma and this spot was the one many recommended on the site. We got there and were seated right away. We have our dishes put in play and I was happy with all but one of them. It basically came down to flavor and the broccoli beef and veggie fried rice were good, but the chicken chow mein lacked flavor. The veggies in the dish were light and didn't help bring it together, but other than that, I was pleased with the amount of food that my girlfriend and I shared. We were looked after well and the owner was a nice guy. read more

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The new owners don't even come close to the previous ones. Both our orders were prepared incorrectly. We only set up walnut prawns for almost $20. Guess what was missing? Walnuts. The chow mein with crispy and soft noodles (+$2.00) came without crispy noodles. Last time we order from this place. read more

My family and I eat here often and its just not very good anymore,, very underwhelming our chicken wings were dangerously undercooked, the hot.mustard is now bright yellow, not hot mustard just Frenches mustard with hot mustard spice in it. Like I said, not very good anymore. read more

Our little group is never disappointed with the atmosphere, courteous and friendly staff and always freshly made food!! Tonight was our friends first time with us, and she was not disappointed. As always, we shall return!! THANK YOU and see you again soon. read more

Foods average, drinks are terrible, especially for a Chinese restaurant. Better options available read more

This is one of our favorite go-to eateries in Des Moines, both for dine in and take out. I could eat here every day and never get tired of it! Delicious food, gracious staff. Always something new. And since they left the original restaurant decor as it was, it has a nostalgic feel while still offering a new and fresh experience. If you haven't eaten here lately, my honest question is "why not"? You are definitely missing out! And if you have eaten here recently, you know what I mean! read more

They have gone down hill terribly. I know they have changed owners several times. I ordered a simple thing from there, which I have ordered before, beef and broccoli. Something wasn't right with this meal, I should have thrown it out then. Due to the overinflated price I finished it. This was at around 5 pm, it's 230 AM and I'm sick as a dog with some type of food poisoning. Tomorrow I will be calling the health dept. read more

Unfortunately, with the change in ownership, the quality of the food has declined. Used to be our go-to Chinese spot but now when we are craving Chinese, Mandarin Kitchen isn't the first restaurant our minds. read more

Haven't been here in years but still delicious. While the recipe may have changed a little, Dragon & Phoenix is still my favorite dish. They gave us a complimentary crunchy appetizer and even gave my son a balloon! Thanks for the hospitality. read more

Spring Roll from the freezer dept of a grocery store! Greasy Orange Chicken. Old oil! Almond Chicken cooked in the same oil. Better fried rice at Panda Express honestly. In fact I paid $28.00 plus fees to DoorDash for rubbish! I've been eating Mandarin Kitchen food for years but sadly they've hit the bottom! They need to shut the doors! read more

This has become my boyfriend and I's favorite Chinese restaurant, as well as my entire family's now. We have visited multiple times and the food is consistently coming out fast and delicious from the kitchen. The staff is extremely friendly and take the time to get to know you, as well as be attentive to any special needs or making sure drinks are refilled. The interior is gorgeous and spacious, and they have AC so it is great to visit during this hot summer! We have tried honey walnut prawns, mango prawns, happy family, chow fun, fried rice, broccoli beef, Grand Duke chicken, orange chicken, egg flower soup, and wonton soup. All of these dishes have been great and we have no complaints at all! We look forward to each visit here! read more

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Needs severe course correction I hate to write a negative review about Mandarin Kitchen. I live a 1/2 mile away, under prior ownership it was the Chinese restaurant south of the International District. Now it's vastly interior to Panda Express (my definition of 3 stars). And the pricing is higher than South Sound establishments. Take out details: I started with my favorite soup, wonton. This was so salty as to be inedible. I'm skeptical the chef tasted it, as it tasted like double strength bouillon cubes in water. It didn't have the amazing ginger & sesame flavor that makes a wonton broth. The serving was 1/2 sized (bizarrely) but I guess I'm happy as I was unable to drink more than a spoonful. I then had the General Tsao's Chicken - not only did it have no heat or ginger it's sweet and sour lacked any tang or much sour. The fry was overly thick and detached from the chicken. Finally, I had fried rice that was edible but lacked in seasoning or chopped vegetables; the pork in the fried rice was over small bits that were hard and tasteless. I hope this restaurant returns to it's former glory. But I'm likely to stay away for at least a year. I'd recommend you do the same. read more

The food was bland and very expensive. When reheated it just tasted salty. We threw a lot of it out. I cannot recommend!

This is my second time eating at Mandarin Kitchen since it changed owners. This used to be my go to Chinese restaurant but not anymore. One of the big issues is the seasoning. Most things are way under seasoned, but the wonton soup was so over seasoned it was practically inedible. Their special fried rice was so bland. They have some sauces which they want you to buy to give it some taste, but I expect dishes to be properly seasoned on its own. I won't be going back. read more

I have eaten here a few times in the last 4 weeks as my house is being re-modeled, so no kitchen. We were here all the time with the previous owners so we paused before returning to try under the new owners. We're glad we did - I am so picky with my rice, it still needs to have moisture while being rice, you know? they make the absolute best pork fried rice. Seriously, amazing! The service is prompt which, of course, is a plus. And the decor has stayed the same, which is so relaxing to me. Check it out for yourself - looks like Des Moines is stepping up! Good for them, read more

Every time! Twice nice never left unhappy! The food package is getting a five star. Whoever understands this is my favorite under this roof! Styrofoam leaves a weirdness with food! Tin foil helps keep it warm and delicous! It's packaged perfect and when I get home every time now it's just joy in my belly! I got the same thing and when I was on the phone the amaIng women made recommendation for me! Who does that, this place. She suggested getting the dinner plate. Which I should but I love it the next day for leftovers sooo much! I felt "bad" ordering that much food but NOTHING was leftover! It's like 36 bucks for sooo much food for three days (dinner and lunch), im really winning! Almond chicken (always) BBQ pork with the yellow sauce that I swear is a love hate relationship (always) White rice is just sooo good Garlic chicken, such great flavors but next time im going to try soft noodles- lo mein. The first time I got the sweet and sour chicken holy sh*t that was good (can I say that).... Hope so. Great gem, Hidden by the water but the parking lot is always raging, that is the only reason I went here. Listen, after being yelp elite for a whole YOU know what is good and not, but always go with you gut! Hahhaha read more

Mandarin Kitchen - Ordering food from the car, covid style!!! - Cantonese Near Me - Des Moines, Washington

Do NOT waste your time or money here! New Owners was what the guy said when I asked about what altered the Shrimp Foo Young. My last visit the girls working said we noticed you didn't like peas and carrots just let us know and we'll change was is added. It had been very good and well worth the money. This guy today's answers were, "New Owners." The cash discount was about 50 cents... OK so since twice before I got Shrimp Foo Young as take out and the shrimp were FULL SIZE at least half a dozen, I ordered it TO GO. So I get home, sit down and cut into it, no shrimp. I keep searching and still no shrimp. I search all three pieces and see only egg and onion. I called them and the same guy answers the phone. I explain I was just there yada yada... I ask where is the shrimp? He said let me check....then he replied it's cut up and added. WHAT?! I searched and finally saw a tiny spec of orange, aha the MINCED shrimp... Well, they best revise the menu to say MINCED shrimp foo young! This place is NOT worth the nearly $20 for this item. I suspect if this is a sample the entire menu is now changed to the advantage of a greedy restaurant owner. Bad Business! Not worth your time nor money. The lobby rug was turned up on a corner and could quickly become a trip hazard. A candy wrapper littered the entryway floor. I cannot say what the restrooms look like because I did not go in there but seeing this I doubt it is immaculate. Let everyone know they now MINCE meats and add them instead of giving what the old owner served! read more

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Hands down good Chinese Food. Ordered the Mandarin for 2 which was almond chicken, sweet n sour chicken, fried rice, chow mein, veggie spring rolls and bbq pork. It was all good. Egg drop soup didn't even need soy sauce. All very tasty. Place is clean and staff very friendly. read more

Awesome food and service two thumbs up for owner Mike Almond Fried Chicken incredible read more