Stopped in here on the way to our next destination. It's in a strip mall with a busy parking lot. We were seated right away and ordered one of the curated dinners. Food came quickly and arrived hot. Service was good. Some items were kinda mediocre, like the rice. The noodles were very salty. The kung pao didn't have the flavor and ingredients I associate with kung pao, but it was good. We were in and out quickly and would likely stop here again if we were in the area. read more

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Let me start by saying this use to be one of our favorite places to eat over the years. We would either stop in or order delivery a few times a month. However, the last we went three times we were shocked at how far far place has declined. So much so we decided this was our last. The food was marginal and extremely greasy. The service wasn't very good either. One of the employees spent most of his time on his phone. The other two were pleasant but never really bothered to check in with us to see how we were doing. They were quick to drop off the bill and disappear. The restaurant use to be clean. Now the seats are coming apart and it had a funky smell like grease and old food. read more

Food was delicious, you can never go wrong with Mandarin Palace! The service was also great and fast. My server was friendly and attentive, which made the experience even better. The ambiance was also really nice and added to the overall dining experience. Definitely a great spot for some delicious Chinese food! read more

Mandarin Palace - 2. Kung Pao Chicken egg soup - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Great deals for lunch specials. Fast service , tasty food and great ambiance . Definitely will stop here again for a quick bite to eat while in the area. Huge selection to choose from read more

Mandarin Palace - Chicken and broccoli lunch special - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I've been ordering my 3 delight fried rice or 3 delight fried chow mein for many many years as the portions are all very generous. The service is great and ambiance of the place are all very welcoming read more

Mandarin Palace - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I normally order white meat when I order a chicken dish and this time I did not because it didn't give me an option on the Uber app / instacart app so I took a chance, and I just spit out a large piece of grizzle that was pretty gross! $43 for two entrées And I'm having to spit something out of my mouth! EDITED , Since I'm starting an overnight 12 hour shift in about seven minutes, I figured I'd try a little more of tue cashew chicken, I had to spit another piece out , grizzle with fat ! It's obviously they're just chopping up the dark meat and not being selective about what's being put in there. If you're determined to eat here, definitely pay extra for the breast meat because you don't know what you're gonna get if you order the standard cashew chicken with dark meat off of the regular menu Will not order here again read more

Mandarin Palace - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

After discovering Mandarin Palace and enjoying several in-house meals, we decided to get take out. What a big disappointment. Did not enjoy the Kung Pao Chicken, nor the bland "famous" won ton soup which looked like broth darkened with soy sauce, contained 4 won tons and NO vegetables other than a few green onions floating on top and the egg rolls were very mushy inside. There was nothing we enjoyed about this meal and it gave me heart burn. Now let's get to the cleanliness of the restaurant. The ambience in the main dining area is okay. But once you get to the back portion heading to the bathrooms, it's disgustingly filthy. The walls, floors, tiles, containers in the walkway covered with dirty towels, hiding who knows what, the bathrooms walls, doors, floors, toliet, everything is filthy. Even the kitchen floors and I couldn't bring myself to glance at more. This place needs to be closed for a few days, cleaned, disinfected, junk cleared, reopened and serve food as intended to be prepared. We will not be returning to this establishment. read more

The hidden dishes in the Chinese restaurant-to enioy the authentic Chinese flavor the waiter patiently recommended the dishes on the hidden menu. The taste was astonishing and really liked them.a spicy fish and a light vegetable. read more

Mandarin Palace - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Best Chinese food in Santa Barbara, the portion of the food is really big, and the service is great!

My experience here was very uncomfortable. I didn't even get to try the food. As soon as we walked in it felt like we were being monitored. The server was very pushy about getting our order right away when I hadn't looked at the menu yet. She began to make comments about my son's eye before we sat down, my son gets allergies they're seasonal and his eye was swollen. He's a one year old and a very happy baby, it seems as she didn't want him there. My son is also teething so there's occasional drool, as us moms know that is very normal. The waitress kept being so quick to wipe my son's face and invade his space. Before I even got to sit down because I had gone to the bathroom right as we were sat, I felt very uncomfortable and disrespected. I didn't get a chance to read the menu but my friend left a 20$ tip even after I chose to get up and walk out to take my business elsewhere. I will not be coming here again, and have made friends and family aware of the incident. I have never experienced that feeling and I'm disappointed someone is so comfortable to touch another persons kid over and over without their consent. It seemed like she didn't want any type of mess on their table. Which as a mom I know how to make sure I clean up after him, but she didn't give us a chance to even start eating. Horrible service , and quite frankly very weird behavior. read more

Stopped here for a quick bite. Ordered the Lunch Special: Mongolian Beef Made to order. Nothing was too salty. Vegetable Egg Roll tasted good, with a hint of fresh ginger. The Mongolian Beef was tender, warm, flavorful, and delicious. Fried rice was not salty and didn't have any veggies. The service was friendly and responsive. No complaints here. Price was average. The place was half way filled with people for a late lunch. Looked and felt and smelled clean. I will definitely come back and try some other offerings. read more

Mandarin Palace - 3. Mongolian Beef Lunch Special - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

This looks like a fancy Chinese restaurant but the food was not as good as how the restaurant look. We had the lunch set which came with entree, rice and some sides. The entree was not was authentic and had some random flavors in it. The steamed rice was good but fried rice was a bit too oily. Portion was just right. Service was very friendly though. read more

Mandarin Palace - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Food was not good and super greasy! Took waitress a long time to take our order. Wonton soup was super bland. The three other entrees were greasy and don't have a good flavor. We definitely won't be coming back. The meal cost us $70.00... definitely was a waste of money! read more

Food was amazing, and the price was great--around $14 for a plate, drink, and soup. The service was excellent; the staff checked in on us throughout our visit and made sure we had everything we needed. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a restaurant that isn't too busy. read more

Mandarin Palace - Beef and Broccoli (Lunch Menu) - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Decided to try in spite of bad reviews. Had the lunch special which included egg drop soup, 1 fried wonton, 1 egg roll, salad, brown rice and I opted for the chicken chop suey. Service was fast. Egg drop soup--I have never seen egg drop soup that yellow. Seemed to me food coloring added to give it the color though there were sufficient egg strips. Soup was tasteless. Fried wanton-overfried and dark brown. Eggroll- needed less oil. Salad - few shreds of lettuce with a dressing per my taste consisted of soy sauce and chopped peanuts. Brown rice- really white rice mixed with soy sauce. Chicken chop suey - generous amount of diced chicken breast with 3 strips of carrots, 2 broccoli florets and a handful of bean sprouts. Gravy tasteless. Lunch companion chose orange chicken per recommendation of server. No orange in color nor taste in this dish. Just over battered and over fried chicken pieces in a sauce that had no hint that it was supposed to be orange chicken. Should have heeded the reviews. read more

Found a great classic Chinese restaurant today with a friend for lunch and even better as we stumbled upon it by accident. The exterior was welcoming with a clear sign and they had a large variety for their lunch menu specials so we decided to give them a try and we were happy we did. The interior was nicely decorated with traditional looking decor and vibes. They had plenty of booths and tables, our dining in experience was pleasant as the booths were large and they spaced everyone out pretty nicely that you could have a bit of privacy. We felt that the service was very good and everyone was super friendly. We were seated right away and they were quick to take our order when they saw we were ready. The food also came out quick but tasted fresh and hot. It's definitely a great spot to come for lunch as they get you in and out (but without feeling rushed). Also I loved the family/friend vibes the workers all seemed to have with one another. I say this because we noticed that the waiters and kitchen staff all sat at a table in the back and ate a meal together during a late lunch hour, when there was no dine in rush. I loved to see this! Gave very good vibes and they stayed on top of service, I just thought it was cool to see workers sharing a meal and enjoying the food just like we did as customers. I love supporting businesses that value their employees and you see everyone working together and getting along. The food was a solid 4 out of 5. Everything we ate was tasty and filling. We really liked their egg drop soup, while simple it was nice and hot, also a good sized portion! I ordered the shrimp egg foo young. The gravy wasn't as thick as I like it normally but it still had really good flavor. It kind of looked like a deconstructed foo young but none the less it was super tasty and the shrimp portions were really good for a lunch deal. My friend had the beef and broccoli and also commented that it was a really good dish. I'd definitely recommend coming here for the lunch specials. For $13 I don't know how you can beat getting soup, rice, an egg roll, a potsticker, and your entree for that cost. And again, super tasty and good portion. Their lunch specials are a great value and the lunch specials menu was super extensive! Many great options. Lastly, I appreciate that this deal is served until 4pm. I feel like that's pretty unheard of at most places as some places stop lunch by 2pm. My friend and I couldn't take lunch until around 3pm so it was pretty cool they honor the special menu for the majority of their day. If your in this side of town and craving Chinese food for a decent price while still getting good service, this spot is surely for you. read more

Mandarin Palace - 6. Shrimp Egg Foo Young Lunch Special - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I ordered takeout from Mandarin Palace a while back and was rather underwhelmed. The Moo Shu Vegetables had a nice mixture of filling, but the pancake felt inauthentic and ruined the flavor of the entire dish; it also did not come with enough hoisin to drive the flavor. I also ordered the Pan Fried Dinner Combo, which contained an appetizer combo that ranged from flavorful to uneatably chewy. The noodle itself was good and had lots of content. The soup was very traditional which was fine. Finally, the fried rice didn't look appealing, but tasted okay. read more

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This is our go to spot in SB for vegetarian Chinese food. So many options, but we love the kung pao veggie chicken and the braised tofu. The service is usually fast with the order and food, but somewhat inattentive after that. The servers sort of expect to be waved down as they're running around and respond quickly when you do. The ambiance is usually bustling, as this place is nearly always filled with students from ucsb and SBCC. It's not fancy, pretentious, or even very orderly, but if you know what to expect when you go, it might even end up being your go-to Chinese restaurant too. read more

Really enjoyed my evening here for Christmas Eve. One of the best things about China pavilion is their commitment to keeping the quality of their good and prices consistent over the last five years. Ambiance is sort of a big reason I chose this place over others in the area. You are in a strip mall hut walk in and feel transported with that family Chinese restaurant decor, like your retired rich Asian grandmas house. My date I loved the option for "prefixe" meal at only about $20 with wonton soup, a plate of fried appetizers and a main with rice. It was a great way to try a few different options without overpaying for extra food. One critique is that front of house service was hasty and sometimes lacking. The phone is ringing off the hook for take-out and takes priority over walk in staff. I still conclude with a five star rating due to the fact that I didn't go in the service- I went in for that traditional "American Chinese Style" food down home and good prices and that's what I got. Not anything interesting on the wine list but $15 for corkage! read more

Mandarin Palace - That classic fortune cookie - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Chinese food in Santa Barbara is overall mediocre. The other day I saw someone eating Sweet & Sour Chicken that was perfectly golden and shiny with sauce. I asked them where they ordered it from. Sure enough, it was Mandarin Palace. Given that I live in Goleta I didn't think they would deliver here. Sure enough, they did! And much earlier than the promised estimated arrival time. Winning. My partner and I were impressed with our food. To begin, the Steamed Dumplings were slightly pan seared and the sauce paired perfectly with them (whether the meat was chicken or pork remains a mystery). Of course I was craving Sweet & Sour Chicken so I ordered it with the sauce on the side give that it was being delivered. When I poured the sauce on and shook it inside it's container...Heaven. My partner really enjoyed the Chicken Egg Foo Young because it had a nice flavors with garlic as the star. Even the Fried Rice was panfried nicely. We will be sure to order from here again. Hopefully my five star review improves their overall rating because we enjoyed it. read more

Mandarin Palace - A feast for two! 9. Pot Steamed Dumplings, 12. Fried Rice, 16. Chicken Egg Foo Young, & 2. Sweet and Sour Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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This is the first review I have ever made on YELP. This was the WORST Chinese food, overall, that we have ever eaten. The quality of the ingredients, especially the meat, are substandard. The fried rice was orange and sweet and tasted nothing like fried rice. Lastly, we had to search for the chicken, beef and shrimp, respectively, in all 3 dishes. Panda Express would have been a better choice, hands down. read more

We're a local Santa Barbara family that has eaten here for years. In fact, we used to celebrate birthdays here! But within the last 12 months, the restaurant has completely gone to hell: terrible service, bad food, and staff that don't care about the customer experience. I don't know what happened - perhaps there are new owners that have neglected the place - but I would highly recommend Mandarin Palace (downtown) or Szechuan (Mesa) instead of this place. So sad to see the decline of this once-great restaurant. read more

No no no!!! My spring rolls were cold and the sweet and sour pork was watery ewww. Never again! They even rush everything!!! Jeeezzzz!!!

The wait was 0 the food came right away. The service was a little rushed but very attentive. The food was delicious.

My family has loved this restaurant since I was a kid - special occasions or regular weeknight dinners for take out, we were always welcomed as members of their family. Plus, the best "American" Chinese food in town! read more

When I sat down to eat I smelled garbage and what smelled like rotting food. But the food and service was very good and I liked it. The chicken fried rice and egg rolls are good. read more

Ordered to go to give the place a try. Selected Wor wonton soup but fortunately only received wonton soup without veggies or protein. Don't advertise you have both types if you actually don't. read more

We have been going to Mandarin Palace for many years. It's always delicious and the service is outstanding. I would recommend it and you won't be disappointed. read more

We decided to try this place out after my daughter kept insisting that she wanted to try it out sometime. The food was delicious. My family and I especially liked the Scallop and Shrimp Szechwan, which was filled with flavor. My daughter ordered a little bowl of Wonton Soup which didn't lack in flavor but it didn't have much going for it either. The service was ok. The staff was pretty friendly for the most part, but nothing super wowing to note. Overall, it was a good meal. I wouldn't say that it was spectacular, but it was definitely delicious nonetheless! read more

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To get a good idea of Mandarin Palace we ordered our favorite dishes that we normally get at our favorite Chinese restaurant. My choice was the salt and pepper fish, and it didn't hold up in comparison. The fish was small and thin chunks with a heavy breading instead of regular servings of fresh tasting fish. The veggies were super thinly sliced and didn't add a whole lot of flavor. She ordered moo goo gai pan, and appreciated the thinner cuts of veggies on her dish. It wasn't as flavorful as what we get at our favorite place, though. The prices were okay, slightly higher than we usually pay but not outrageous. Servers were pleasant enough. Overall I'd rate it average. We'll stick to our favorite Chinese place. read more

Mandarin Palace - Salt and Pepper Fish - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

All their food is delicious. The service is great, you won't be disappointed!! I guarantee you that you will be back. read more

Mandarin Palace - This was so delicious best part that' it's near my office. I ordered the Spicy Szechaun Chicken w/hot & sour soup. - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Best hot and sour soup I have ever had ! And lunch special is the best way to try all their dishes!

quick bite? Go here. Period. Soup 10/10, value for the food is 10/10, service 10/10, simple to the touch. Will come here again if I'm around this town read more

Mandarin Palace - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Great Food! Nice atmosphere. Helpful staff. Good Variety of food Choices. Good Value.

Meh, probably the best Chinese food you'll get in Santa Barbara county but that's unfortunately not saying a lot. Our party got the honey walnut shrimp, the pork fried rice, the wonton soup, the moo shu pork, and the green beans. Everything was aggressively average except the green beans, which were a surprising standout in flavor. However, the wonton soup was pretty underwhelming and I couldn't recommend it to anyone. Service was a little on the slow side & the venue was typical for a Chinese restaurant. The portions were a little on the smaller end but all in all, an alright meal. read more

Mandarin Palace - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

We came here because i was starving and i didn't wanna travel all of the place to find a place to eat. We were seated very quickly. We ordered the dinner specials A. I got King Pao chicken as my main entree. The taste was great of the sauce. It had a nice little kick, i was just really missing the veggies it usually comes with. It really had peanuts and I believe the other item was jicama. I wasn't impressed with the shrimp from the appetizer. Everything was decent to the experience until i noticed my husband getting really upset. He said they had an employee near the back to the kitchen area and she kept starring at him. He really did not like it at all! It really made him uncomfortable how she wouldn't stop starring. We didn't finish our meals & took the rest to go and left. read more

I've been here a couple times when I'm around the plaza and crave authentic Chinese food. I had the sizzling rice soup which is my go-to every single time. (The staff serves it in front of you which I greatly appreciate!) The individual entree portion sizes are pretty big but they offer dinner combos that are smaller for those who don't want to take left overs. The restaurant can be a little more updated in terms of new decoration/design. The carpet is a little old and the style needs to be more modern. But regardless of that minor suggestion, the food definitely makes up for it. I recommend this place to anyone! read more

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I love getting the potstickers here. The service here is so much better than China Pavilion. I tried the fried shrimp dinner combo and it is good I just would take some of the batter off. Again the sizzling rice soup is good and comes included with the combination dinner. You also get 3 appetizers with the combination dinner. All the waiters and staff are really nice. The floors are clean and so are the tables and booths. read more

Mandarin Palace - Chandelier - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

This is the best Chinese restaurant in town! Every time we visit Santa Barbara, I will definitely come here! This is my second visit, and I love it here! read more

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This place has become our GO TO PLACE especially for the lunch special. Our father had a Chinese Restaurant years ago and we are always looking for a restaurant that has Chinese food as good as Dad's. Mandarin Palace sure gives Dad's cooking a run for the money. My only concern is that once word gets out the place will probably get crowded and affordable prices will go up. Hopefully it won.t happen that way and we'll be able to keep going there and enjoying the lunch specials. read more