Kindest staff you'll ever meet, and the pork lo mein was filled to the brim and delicious!!

I was excited to try a new Chinese food restaurant as our favorites have gone under or changed chefs in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, this food was not good. We only tried the typical Chinese food - maybe the sushi and duck are better. And, disclaimer, we did get takeout; it was not fresh at the table. It was so greasy and heavy. There was a lot of onion flavor in everything. Probably the worst fried rice I've had in a long time. Chicken fingers and spring rolls were close to average. I was told the Pad Thai was also not very good. I will not be returning. read more

Decent sushi, nice staff and sushi chef. Food comes out quickly both from sushi bar and kitchen. Over the years their prices have gone up a lot (they are now more than any other sushi restaurant I go to) so I don't find myself coming here as often as I once did, but the sushi is always decent. I can't give a review for their Chinese food. Staff - 5 Food - 4 Prices - 2 read more

Mandarin Reading - Hamachi maki, Saba, hamachi, sake, sake/avocado maki - Chinese Near Me - Reading, Massachusetts

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We went last Friday and the service was absolutely atrocious, so not sure we will bother coming back in person, but will stick with take out! read more

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Great gluten free options available which is refreshing. Staff is very knowledgeable. Service is always great. read more

Great service, excellent food. Try the sizzling rice soup! Also liked the ginger chicken. read more

Wondering if this place changed hands, take out last night, chicken lo-mein, plenty of lo mein, no chicken....Mushi Pork, again plenty of Mushi very little pork, and what little there was it was overcooked and dry (tasted left over). Chicken in garlic sauce, chiken over cooked and dry. Only thing saving this from a one- star rating were the egg roles. For what they charge, food needs to be a lot better. read more

The sushi here is amazing! They even do specials on Sundays so it is an incredible deal! We do sushi Sundays because of the deal. The food comes fast and there are tons of options. Service is fantastic. Restaurant is clean and I love the ambiance. read more

I was extremely disappointed today at this restaurant. Apparently they had 40 people show up. Not sure if it was a surprise. My boyfriend and I came in to the sushi bar. Ordered a drink. And waited over 15 minutes. Only when we complained to the guy at sushi bar. The waitress who took our drink order got annoyed with us for complaining. She said oh we have a party of 40. So when we walked out to the front desk they just brushed us off like oh well. Thankfully another wonderful restaurant in no reading was able to get us the service we deserved. I won't be back to Mandarin. Very disappointed read more

Mine was a take out order totaling $75 for 2 people. I'm familiar with the concern that owns this restaurant, and we are devoted customers of their restaurant in Bedford/Burlington. But this was a little much to say the least. The S&P shrimp were overcooked and unplesant. The pork fried rice was mushy (imagine that from an Asian restaurant?) and we needed a geiger counter to find the slivers of char siu throughout. While the taste was spot on, the texture of the rice was amateurish at best. Crab rangoon was excellent, as was the chicken chow mein. The hot & sour soup was a disappointment to the extent that there was nothing "hot" about it and the vinegar used appeared to be red wine since that was the color of the broth. What happened to the black vinegar typically used for this? What about a good dash of white pepper along with the vinegar just before serving (heat dissipates both flavors)? The bag containing condiments was laughable. 1 packet of soy sauce, too many chocolate fortune cookies, a thimble of hot mustard and something akin to a sweet sauce that was neither apricot nor plum. While Mandarin is closer to our home, we're going to treat it like it no longer exists because for us, it doesn't. read more

Awesome food, service and atmosphere this is a great place ! The white rice with spinach had so much flavor and fresh ingredients thank you! read more

Mandarin Reading - White Rice & Spinach! - Chinese Near Me - Reading, Massachusetts

My party of 15 was seated at 2:00 on a Saturday. Got waters poured and then sat there for 32 minutes waiting for the waitress to take our order at which point she tells us we can't get the lunch specials because the cut-off is 2:30. Too bad for us because the prices go up 40% for non-lunch entrees, so we paid about $150 more than we needed to. But that's not even as insulting as the fact that the waitress told us there was nothing she could do because "the lunch computer turns off at 2:30" so I had the pleasure of having my intelligence insulted too. Goes without saying, won't be back. too bad because it was my go-to for a long time. read more

Stopped going here shortly after the pandemic because food was not as great as before and I liked the buffet. To purchase a la cart is super pricey. I don't mind if the food is good but I have it 3 attempts and decided no more. read more

Great Food Great Service. Been going here since they opened!! Lunch buffet was awesome. Wish it would come back at lunch. read more

Terrible food I took a bite out of all the food and it was terrible the service was awful and had to wait a long time by then the food was terrible read more

Mandarin Reading is my absolute favorite restaurant. From food to service, they do it all the BEST. Food, especially sushi is top notch and always fresh. I absolutely recommend the Taiwanese style udon as well. The tropical and refreshing flavors from the alcohol free pina colata is the perfect beverage to quench your thirst! Asides from food/drinks, I am greeted with the best service at Mandarin. With all the chaos in this world, Manager Robert Lee's understanding and kindness shows me that there is still genuine hope in this world. He never fails to greet his customers with smiles and integrity. Coming to Mandarin Reading will never disappoint you. They do food and service the best!!! read more

Mandarin Reading - Chinese Near Me - Reading, Massachusetts

Consistently excellent food, pleasant service, and conveniently located right off the highway. REALLY wish they'd bring back the buffet though. Doesn't sound like they have any plans to in the near future which is very disappointing read more

This is a great restaurant & possibly the best old school Chinese with sushi in the Lynnfield/Andover area. That being said, I do wish they'd bring back the buffet because we miss it! read more

Great American Chinese food, our go to take out place for Chinese. Service always friendly.

Best Peking Duck! If you are craving for crispy duck what are you waiting for? Hurry up and go to Mandarin! This Beijing duck style is really rare and hard to find. One of the best beating what you can find in China town restaurants. The duck is so crispy, moist but most of all not oily! A perfect balance of yumminess! Pair it with vegetable fried rice and boom you're all set for the meal! The ambiance of the restaurant is amazing, you'll feel relaxed and enjoy the food more. Our servers were very nice. My baby enjoyed watching their koi fish by the entrance! We will be back soon again :) Great job read more

Reviewing the take out order I had last week while we were visiting family in MA. From someone who has eaten a lot of great sushi from the Bay Area in CA, I always have high expectations when ordering sushi. Coming out to MA, I wasn't sure what to expect. We ordered 6 sushi rolls, some nigiri, avocado salad and seaweed salad, and I was pleasantly surprised. Prices were decent for the amount of food we got, the rolls tasted great, and the fish was pretty fresh. Service was great and our food was ready in 20 minutes. I'd be curious to try the Chinese cuisine they offer. read more

Great food. Very fresh. Prompt service. Our new go to place for Chinese. Everything in the order was delicious Particularly loved the Kung Pao chicken and raviolis read more

During my last visit, our order was arrived cold. The quality of the food has slipped a little and we were disappointed. The prices were up, but expected. The food was served cold and the building was cold also. We won't hurry back to the Mandarin. read more

Went for the buffet, with two friends for weekday lunch, and found it was discontinued and was told by waitress they will not be doing it any longer. Big disappointment. So we gave the menu a try. The Lunch Menu is very limited and uber expensive, compared to similar restaurants. Ordered four dishes, one came out cold and another super hot and bland. Food was okay but not exceptional nor worth the inflated prices. Service was good and our wait person was great, the food was average, however prices were not compatible with other local Chinese lunch restaurants. Additionally, portions were small for the price. Close to $80, including tip, for three people ( no beverages other than house tea, for which there was a $1 charge) for a Chinese lunch, even with inflation, was a poor value. I do hope they bring back the buffet at same price. read more

There's a lot to like here. Notably, they have an excellent Peking duck (called Beijing duck)... one of the only true peking ducks still available in the entire northeastern United States. Quality food. Kind and attentive staff. read more

Dinner was excellent! Sushi is always fresh and tasty! Would recommend them to everyone e!

Picked up an order today. Didn't leave a tip for a pick up order (sorry). The guy at the counter made a snarky comment "heavy tip, huh?". When did this pick up order tipping become a thing? read more

Very good very well and nice Great food I could rest any day all day too much flavor! read more

This place is huge! Surprised to be greeted with a whole BBQ roasted pig at the front door but I guess it's cause it's Chinese NY! The interior is very nicely decorated, very clean, and roomy. My friend and I were sat at the sushi bar area. We were promptly greeted by the waitress for our drink orders then shortly our food orders. The drinks were made well and so was the food. I had the Aloha while my friend enjoyed a Zombie. We then ordered some sushi (shrimp tempura maki, snow mountain maki, and Spider Maki) and also vegetable tempura, which were all delicious. The sushi was fresh-nothing to complain about at all! Aside from the food and service, the facility is very clean and a pleasure to be in. I'd highly recommend this place. Check it out next time you're in the area! read more

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Hit and miss with this place. Sometimes the Chinese food is very good and other times it seems like they're reheating leftovers. We just had a bad take-out order. The chicken was super tough and the crab Rangoon's were limp and soggy. Make sure you order white rice because they don't include it in meals that traditionally have white rice. We were tripped up several times with this. When we went for sushi at the sushi bar it was usually good. Not the best but definitely passable. Some interesting maki. We might try them again but it will be a while. read more

I understand it's a holiday, but how can this place be so busy that they make us pickup food 6 hours early, pay $300, and get all half orders for 8 people. something doesn't add up and i can assure you that this was the last time they'll be earning my business read more

I did realize that it has been as many years since my last review. Last night was a cold, blistery one and we were a party of 10 for dinner. They seated us in the same room at the same round table fitted with a large glass lazy Susan. Our server was prompt filling water glasses, giving utensils. The buffet with the pandemic is a thing of the past. Menus are paper which actually seemed to make things easier for us... I'm not sure for the server. Writing this I'm trying to take into consideration several factors - again, it was a very cold & windy evening, 1 server for our table who wasn't using a tray to bring our meals, and there are more but I will stop with this part. Have you ever been at a large table of 10 where each was served separately? Meaning a walk from maybe the kitchen across a distance with one meal at a time? By the time each dish arrived it had lost most of its warmth. Lucky me? I was the last served thinking - mine has to be hot .. nope just tepid at best. I had ordered veggie lo mein which if there was a vegetable I couldn't see or taste it. Have you ever had the cooled down version to the point where it's taken on the look, feel and taste of rubber bands? I also ordered what on the menu was called dry string beans - the beans were lightly stir fried with garlic way too much oil and a red pepper and a ton of what tasted like vinegar. Of course I'd thought named dry string beans that there was a good chance they'd not be served that way. Anyway, lessons learned. This was probably the first time I hadn't asked anyone in my dinner party how their cocktail or food was . If it were similar to mine I didn't want to know! I believe they should have assigned someone to assist our server. I believe she did her best. A party of 10 is a lot for only one. Perhaps they just didn't have enough help available. She brought our bills out and they were 100% accurate. That and the company - my dining companions were the best and only good part of the evening. I would return and try this place again. But wait until after the pandemic is over read more

Went yesterday and was so disappointed. Chicken fingers were bland as well as there wings. Egg rolls had no meet. More like spring rolls. Fried rice was dry like it was reheated. Sorry to say but this was truly a one and done visit. read more

We went for the New Years Eve buffet. It was 27.00 per person since it included Steak and lobster. Each person was only allowed 4 small pieces of lobster. By the time we were full, we saw them bring out sashimi on the sushi boat which was not offered to us before. Service was great, they were quick to clear out the table. I don't think the buffet was a good value since many of the items were similar to their lunch buffet at half the price. read more

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I am ALWAYS game for Chinese food, and have been meaning to check out this place for a while. The restaurant is massive, so it always caught my eye when driving by. We came late in the evening, so it was pretty quiet inside - we were seated and served quickly, and felt like we pretty much had the place to ourselves. The Blue Mermaid cocktail was wonderful - strong but not too boozy-tasting. We started out with the Shao-Mai (pork/shrimp dumplings) - oh my gosh, so good! We quickly annihilated those and enjoyed every bite. For a main course, I got the lemon chicken, which was basically a fried chicken cutlet with a side of lemon sauce. It wasn't what I had expected but it was still good. My husband's orange chicken (we're clearly all about those fruit & poultry combos...) was even better - crispy & so flavorful. I think that may be my selection the next time we return. Portions were more than we could eat in one meal. We had an overall nice experience here and enjoyed everything we ordered - we'll be back! Looks like they have a nice bar area as well, which would be fun to check out. read more

Mandarin Reading - Blue Mermaid and Shao-Mai... eat up! (And drink up...) - Chinese Near Me - Reading, Massachusetts

Overpriced is the first thing that comes to mind. Ordered yellowtail sushi--we received 2 pieces for $15. Much of the food tasted re-heated or old. The pork fried rice was really a disappointment. Yesterday's rice? The moo shi and the pancakes served with it were fine --lots of cabbage, less meat. The "spare ribs" were fine. The dumplings were the best thing that we ordered. No soup or salad to accompany the meal. The ladies taking the phone order and behind the counter were very friendly; they took the time to explain items I didn't know and greeted me warmly when I arrived for my order. The gentleman seemed a bit more dismissive. I don't think he appreciated no tip for the takeout order. I wish I'd received an itemized bill (in all fairness, I could have asked for one). When I asked for hoisin sauce to go, I am not certain if I was charged for it. I was looking for a good (delicious, not overpriced) Chinese restaurant. I'm still looking read more

When you first walk in, you'll notice a small indoor pond with fish- which was a sight to marvel at! The decor, however, didn't stop there. Its interior was super nice and spacious, too. Our waitress was kind and attentive, so that made for a good experience. We ordered the Blue Mermaid cocktail which came in a cool, intricate blue mermaid cup (hence the name- hah!!!!) which I found to be charming. I took a sip and it tasted a bit strong but fruity! We had the edamame ravioli and scallion pancakes to start. I was pretty hooked onto the idea of edamame ravioli and it didn't disappoint with its uniqueness. It definitely tasted homemade. The scallion pancakes weren't too greasy and had the right amount of crispiness and chewiness to them. Both appetizers came with a side of yummy dipping sauce. For our meals, I tried their Singapore curry noodles (I had the curry mild) and my boyfriend had the Alaskan maki and shrimp tempura maki. The Singapore curry noodles were decent but I didn't think they were anything special. Thinking back to it, it might've had more of a kick (and flavor) to it if I didn't request for the curry to be mild because I couldn't really taste it at all! The dish came with a medley of fresh and crunchy vegetables. :- ) Its serving size was pretty large and I got full very quickly. Mandarin Reading was a good dining experience complete with good food and nice service. :- ) read more

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It's ok! I use to think it was the best place for Asian cuisine. Use to come here all the time until I started going to Tungs Taste in Middleton which is definitely a step up . Service was good, price is reasonable and food is ok but doesn't compare to Tungs Taste. read more

Incredibly fast and friendly; food is mediocre. I eat there only if I'm nearby and famished. These people have a lucrative business. They have been smart about COVID-19--keeping their assembly line going and processing lots of orders and are making TONS of money. $ Don't expect crispy General Gau for the lunch special. It was soggy, probably due to being prepared ahead of time. $ I love peppery cuisine, but their standard peppery entrees they aren't spicy at all. If they add heat, it is unpleasant, overpowering and ruining the underlying flavor. $ The ol' standby, hot and sour soup, is acceptable but not exceptional. read more

This is a fancy, uppity version of a Chinese/Sushi place where they cut your duck up for you and roll it into burritos at your table. I'm pretty impressed but at the same time, I think the duck would have tasted better with crispy skin, fat and all on a plate. The decor is really nice and the restaurant is pretty big with several different rooms for functions and events. We were seated at a pretty large table so they put things on the lazy susan for us to share a bit easier. The mandarin noodles were interesting but good. Their appetizer plate for two fed more like 6 people, and their duck was good, but definitely not peking duck with the crispy skin and fat. Great place for chinese food with a bit more ambiance. read more