OK, let's get the disclaimer out of the way: I typically bump reviews down one star to compensate for Yelp's much-documented "Extortion 2.0" system, where negative reviews are encouraged and positive ones filtered (now "not recommended," they had to do some damage control with all the bad PR apparently) to shake businesses down for money to pay Yelp to clean it up. I am just the messenger, read here: ibtimes.com/yelp-extorti... and here: eastbayexpress.com/oakla... The Eastbay Express article was also behind a recent PBS story: pbs.org/mediashift/2013/... Best quote from a Yelp business victim: "It's more like a mafia if you think about it...unless you pay them, the company will only show negative reviews." Or just Google the phrase Yelp Extortion and scan the 93,000 hits returned. Also I notice that if I start my reviews this way they usually don't wind up in the "not recommended" pile automatically, apparently the clean honest light of publicity encourages Yelp to maintain a facade of honesty and integrity. Try it! ________________________________________ Now for the review: being relatively new to the area, we'd been looking for a decent Chinese homestyle place in the Stanwood-Arlington area. I'd passed Phoenix Pavilion several times; last eveing my wife and I made it a "date night" stop. Glad we did, this place is good, pleasant and cheap! We had the combination dinners, everything was fresh, nothing very deep-fried or greasy, and the sauces were authentic and flavorful. I'd order what I had again (always a simple, good test of a restaurant) and would like to try a lot more of the menu, and will. Staff is great, I think it's a family with kids helping out which is always fun-- eveyrone smiles and is engaging. Here's the interesting part: we got seated at the same time as another couple, but our food took maybe 5 or 10 minutes longer-- hardly much of a delay and we weren't in a hurry. But the staff apologized several time (we hadn't even mentioned it). They were looking out for customers and making sure things were going well, the opposite of a lot of places where you can't get someone's attention. Great service and good food, in a neat little downtown-- all the essentials. How can you go wrong? read more

Just moved to the area from Southern Calif., Consider ourselves "foodies" and will travel a distance for good food. Been on a quest for good, authentic Chinese food and have been striking out. Was told to go north to Chinatown in BC or south to Seattle. Thank goodness we discovered Phoenix Pavilion! Fantastic Hot and Sour soup with all of the correct ingredients (you can have it customize to the "heat" that you want), The Green Bean Chicken w/black beans is absolutely the BEST I've had in a very long time. Mongolian Beef is also a must that can also be customized to the desired amount of heat. The combination dinners are huge, average around $10 and allow you to try a number of items at one setting. I tried #3 my first time so I could sample a number of dishes and was pleasantly surprised. Food is hot and fresh and service is very pleasant. If you don't know what to order, there are picture of the dishes all around the booths. Amy, the waitress/owner, will try to help you order as well. We will absolutely be back again and again. read more

I have eaten at this restaurant twice once I brought home a family meal and another time I was meeting with a friend and they chose the restaurant. My carry out e was not great. I called in my order and was told it would be ready in 15-20 minutes I showed up twenty minutes later and had to wait 25 minutes more. I'm usually pretty understanding when I see that a restaurant is busy but the only people sitting down was a family with menus and they left before the waiter took their order. Once I received my food I took it home and it was edible but pretty dry and hard. Last week I went in with a friend and ordered lunch it took them 55 minutes to bring out our lunch we both ordered sweet and sour chicken something I would expect is a pretty basic order. This time the food was also dry and had tasted bad, I suspect they aren't changing their frying oil often enough. To end on a positive note the waitress does always seem to be working as hard as possible she seems to be helping the cooks as well as service and was very friendly and pleasant. read more

It was alright. The customer service was good but then the food tasted like they used too much MSGs on top of being really salty.

Great food and service! The Best Chinese restaurant nearby!

Good food, great prices. Pleasant atmosphere. Food served in a timely and attractive manner. Mostly pleasant greeters, always pleasant servers. read more

This small-town restaurant is a jewel. We ordered prawns with snow peas and it was delicious. The egg rolls were hot and packed with flavor. And the vegetable chow mein did not disappoint. The food at this Chinese restaurant is authentic and as good as it gets. Five stars! read more

Delicious food. We tried the family meal with Salt and Pepper chicken, orange chicken, various apps and it was all delicious. The crab wontons were great. Food tasted fresh and much less greasy than your typical Chinese food. We are glad we tried it and will be back. read more

The best food in town with large portions and very reasonable prices. The food is always fresh hot and tastes amazing. When you visit this restaurant you will meet Amy, the owner, who is always smiling and friendly. She is the hardest working most dedicated person I've ever seen, her and her husband work very hard to provide the best experience. They have been very supportive of the community too, always there to pitch in with a bright smile. This restaurant and it's owners are the epitome of small town grace and service! read more

What a wonderful find in Stanwood! We took our son there for his birthday - and we were all pleasantly surprised! We were greeted warmly and served quickly. The portions were very generous - and the food was delicious. We ordered six different entrees - and every one was great! Every dish was piping hot, light, fresh and flavorful! It tastes like they make everything from scratch. They served the very best Chinese appetizers I've ever had! And the General Tso's chicken was super crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Yum! We're definitely going back! If you're in the mood for Chinese food, this place rocks! read more

Seated promptly when we walked in. Food was luke warm and bland. Service was non-existent. Finally dialed the restaurant's phone number - mind you we are inside the restaurant - and asked if we could get service at our table. This action did get our server over to our table. No apology, nothing! No excuse for poor service since there were only two other tables that were occupied. Will never be back and definitely will not recommend this place. Too many other restaurants in this small town that actually take care of their customers. read more

We had the pleasure night before last of ordering take out from here. We ordered all old school Cantonese family style dinner. These guys NAILED it! Food was all very fresh tasting and the staff very accommodating. They even included a whole box of cookies wrapped in Christmas paper for us. We will be heading back very soon! Thank you Phoenix pavilion for your hospitality. I give this place a 4.6 read more

Excellent food, Cantonese style food. It is the ONLY place in the are where you can get chow fun which is very traditional Chinese food. If you have not had this dish it is basically fat fresh rice noodles with your choice of vegetables and meats. My husband and I have had many versions of this dish, including the veggie(with tofu). It is consistently awesome! We have tried other items on the menu and they have been excellent, tasty and fresh! They don't use MSG which is a real plus as well. This is a mom and pop shop with simple good food. A rare find in a small town. read more

This place did not look like much. One day I ventured in and I was glad I did. Lunch special was a great deal and the food made a great impression. Nothing too greasy like cheap Chinese. No everything seemed to be made with care and our lunch was perfect. Another great excuse to not leave stanwood to eat and blow Money on run of the mill chains. read more

Good food and nice couple, should be a good choice to have dinner ! You will have a nice time there, and can taste real Chinese food

Surprisingly good Chinese food! I am from Seattle and have pretty high restaurant standards-- honestly I was expecting a greasy spoon place, but the veggies were fresh, the portions generous, and nothing was dripping with oil. The flavors went together well. Nothing fancy, but a good solid Chinese food experience. (The mu shu pork and egg rolls hit the spot.) read more

Best Chinese food in town, been going here for years!!! Owners and servers are kind and the food is delicious!

My wife was born and raised in Chongqing, Sichuan Province China and is an excellent cook of traditional foods. We both have dined at the pavilion numerous times. Our opinion is that it is in fact the best cuisine in the pacific northwest rivaling what you could find in the San Francisco bay area. No pre-prepared here, all freshly made which usually means a little longer wait but well worth the wait read more

Stopped in for the 1st time yesterday. Best hot/ sour soup I have ever had. Nice size combination meal. Clean place. Very friendly staff. I will be back. read more

I love this place! It's a nice family owned restaurant and the food is great, better than the Dragon Palace! You must try their salt and pepper chicken, you'll never look back! read more

I visited Stanwood a couple of weeks ago and I stopped by this restaurant. It is a nice mom and pop restaurant. Everything is reasonably priced and the portions are good. Service was good and the wait for our food was short. I highly recommend the Mongolian beef and the salt & pepper chicken wings. Will definitely come back when I visit Stanwood again! read more

We came here for Valentines dinner with the family. They were very accommodating to our 3 year old and infant. Very quiet and relaxing. The food was not greasy and good quality. We enjoyed the family special and everything was good. We will come here again. read more

This Family owned Restaurant is absolutely the most Fresh Authentic Asian Cuisine in the greater Puget Sound area. Can't say enough about the quality, and freshness of their establishment. I grave these guys weekly! read more

This place is a wonderful great family place to eat! I've had the orange chicken which was crunchy and was made the way I enjoy it Today I had the sweet and sour pork with steamed rice which in my opinion was really amazing! I'd recommend this place if you want great food. read more

I love this restaurant! This is the best chinese food I have had in a long time! It is a little hole in the wall restaurant nothing extravagant, but then again it is in Stanwood what more could we ask for! You should really go and give it a try, their salt and pepper chicken is so good!Their other food is really delicious as well, Salt and Pepper Chicken is just my favorite! read more

We enjoyed a lovely meal at this restaurant tonight. I thought the food was quite tasty and served in a very timely fashion. I love Chinese food and have eaten it all over this country. I would say this rates up there as far as flavor and quality. The veggies were fresh. If there was one thing I would tell the owners to change is their young front desk helper. Not sure if the young lady is family, or not. She was not friendly, nor helpful. Playing on her phone the entire time. Not a person I would use to greet customers in the front of my restaurant. Other than that, you will feel satisfied with your meal. read more

Delicious! We will definitely be back when our next Chinese craving hits! They do need music or something, it's pretty quiet in there.

The salt pepper chicken is the greatest so is the almond chicken will satisfy you from inside out

If you like salty food and dirty restaurants this is your spot. Don't forget the .50 charge for using a card. Oh and being out of basic ingredients like pork is probably not a good sign... read more

Absolutely delicious food! Always fresh. Their Mongolian beef is amazing, salt and pepper chicken..yum and their honey walnut prawns or chicken... Delicious! We eat here about once a week, it's just THATgood! read more

If I could give this place 0 stars I would! It was the first and last time we will ever go there. This place was an embarrassment. We ordered 2 different entrees, orange chicken and honey walnut chicken, and they both we gross. The honey walnut chicken sauce tasted like it was mayo. We let the waiter know we were not happy with the food and she went and got the owner. The owner was very ride. I let her know that we didn't like the food at all and if we an pay for the appetizer and soup we are and she started yelling at me in front of everyone in the restaurant. She said she would not refund any food. She was very argumentive and rude. I would never recommend going there. read more

Great Food. I had a special request for an order to go pickup and they happily honored it. I will visit again.

Not the worst but definitely not impressed. Soup was gluey with minimal veggies. Food was okay, too much sauce, too syrupy. Rice was good, egg rolls were good. Place was EMPTY at noon on Saturday, that should have been a clue. read more

Must have been an off day, 'cause the food was greasy and bland. Had the sweet and sour chicken and maybe I am wrong but it tasted like it had just come out of a box into the oil..... Rice was good and the service was good. Will not try again. read more

Phoenix Pavilion is a humble restaurant located in old Stanwood that has stood the test of time and watched many a competitor come and go. To park there, depending on the day, can be quite the hassle but the inside of this seemingly small restaurant can accommodate a fair number of people and is comfortable. The service was fine in so much that the staff was nice and the turnaround was fair. I went with a small group and because we were not that hungry decided to buy a bunch of the appetizers so that everybody could have something that they (an even number of vegetarian and carnivores) would like. The general consensus from my guests was okay (nothing special), I found that the flavor was lacking, unseasoned and a bit too oily (even for fried food). Another knock on Phoenix Pavilion is that it offers fries as a side which personally is a cop out and only makes them just a step above mall court Chinese food. Overall, Phoenix Pavilion plays it safe and offers the basic of basic Chinese food, with just average quality but a pricier tag. read more

The nicest family runs & owns this place. The food is always fresh & not greasy. My husband has crohns & it's rare we find a restaurant that doesn't cause him problems. But this place works for him. Our favorite place to go & the price is right. read more

Went there after reading reviews here. As real hidden gem. Hole in the wall restaurant storefront in town. Food very good. Yum yum. Prices good too. Will be back for sure. read more