The restaurant seating is one big room. 4 booths for parties of four along both walls. The decor is a little dark for my taste and could use a little brighter decor. Thu tried making the small place feel authentic. However, the food doesn't quite match the authenticity that they're trying to accomplish. Sure, the food is closer to the real thing and is a step up from Panda Express, Pick Up Stix and even Pei Wei but it definitely falls short if you compare it to places like Phoenix. The closest thing (besides their steamed rice) to the real thing would be their Singapore Rice Noodle. However they forgot to add in the curry but it actually still tasted okay. The Kung pao 3 flavor wasn't bad although the portion amount was on the small side. The salt and pepper pork wasn't good. The amount of pork to the breading was about equal which means there wasn't much pork. Some of the pieces was just fat. The paper wrapped chicken-DON'T order this. It was so dry and flavorless. So you might wonder why only 1 Star? Well, service is usually not the strong point of any Chinese restaurant but the lady that served us tonight takes the cake. We arrived at 8 pm. At 8:45 pm she came and asked if we could pay bill so that she could close out the register even though the restaurant closes at 9 pm. Over the next 15 minutes they kept rushing us to finish our food because as she said she needed to wash the dishes before closing. At 8:55 pm she grabbed the glass of coke and asked if we wanted to finish it before taking it away. Now, here's the real kicker and why the 1 star. There's was another party of 6 people in the center of the restaurant. I think they were friends or at least they know the owner. They still had plates full of food, tea pots, glasses, silverware, etc. and they were still eating. The same lady who rushed to take away my glass of Coke even refilled their glasses of water. Note to the owner: optics says a lot and please be more cordial to your customers and not just your friends. read more

Red Lantern - Chinese Near Me - Brea, California

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Oh my gosh! This place has been here for many years and I didn't know about it. Great find for good Chinese food! Clean, good wait staff, excellent food, nice atmosphere. They have good lunch specials! read more

This is the first time I try this spot in my local town. Honestly it's been a while since I had good Chinese food! I feel they are organized and the delivery process was really quick. They're way too generous with their portions and I feel the quality of the food is good. My only complaint would be about their packaging, they could do a bit better on that. Overall, I give this place a solid 4 stars. If you are a local, then you should definitely give this place a try. read more

Red Lantern - Chicken Chow Mein - Chinese Near Me - Brea, California

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My family and I recently went to red lantern for lunch, we enjoyed the orange chicken and the chicken chow mein very much. We also ordered the shrimp but I can't recall which shrimp entrée it was but it was very yummy. our waitress was very attentive and sweet to our children. We will definitely go back in the future. read more

Really cute (but small) family run Chinese restaurant. Lunch specials are particularly good! Small soup, egg roll, and lunch sized entree for $10.00. Food was served very quickly. And was very tasty. Just wish the portion size was a little bigger! Nice little restaurant for a quick Chinese sit down meal!! read more

Ordered the bbq pork fried rice. Called ahead to ask how long it will take and they said 1 minute come now! Was shocked since I never been thinking if it was a good to go place. Decided to stop in anyways and surprisingly it was good and was a restaurant and food came out within minutes for my to go order. Not sure if I should be happy or sketched at how fast it was ready but it tasted good read more

Love this place. For the price that you pay, you get very good Chinese food. Their lunch specials include soup, egg rolls, rice and a generous entree. My favorites are the orange fish and honey walnut shrimp. They serve big portions. I give them an A+. read more

I agree with the other reviews. The cashier (lady) is horrible. No manners. No hi, no thank you. Im sure you have lived here long enough to know what manners are. Rude! I will not spend my money on this place ever. read more

Great Chinese food, homemade , the owner is a really nice lady, fast food service. Combo fried rice is the best

So good the food was great.they all were all very kind and good family owned food restaurant read more

Red Lantern - The menu - Chinese Near Me - Brea, California

10/10 love the fiery orange chicken, the best Chinese cuisine you can get in brea, ingredients and recipes are delicious & fresh I loooveee red lantern read more

Exceptional food. Read the reviews for the food (and get a laugh at the complaints about the waitstaff). This is our favorite Chinese restaurant, and judging by the flow of takeout order patrons, it's the best. read more

Lunch specials for less than 9$.and food is yummmmm! Our new favorite place. BEEN HERE 3X IN 5 DAYS. SERVICE IS LIGHTENING FAST read more

Red Lantern - Chinese Near Me - Brea, California

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A small, snug Chinese restaurant offering the classics. We went for the lunch special and enjoyed the hot and sour soup and two different entrees to share between two. Perfect amount of food for a lunch special. Thai tea was a nice addition as well. read more

I came here for a birthday dinner and honestly the food is amazing. We ordered a bunch of different dishes and our party was stuffed at the end. The service was okay. At the end of the dinner it was time to have cake (we brought our own cake) we asked staff if we can have plates for the cake and they said don't have plates.... And we also asked if they had a knife to cut the cake & told us they don't have a knife. Hard to believe that at a restaurant. We went to the Subway next door to ask for them. Heads up if you're planning on celebrating with a cake bring you're own plates, forks, and a cake cutter read more

Worst food ever it was Day old they try to push off day old food on me worst food ever lady took my order is a mean lady.i have gotten food here 6 times in 3 months.quality went down and down.lady owner here is very sick in the head..bad business most food at restaurants is garbage.....some people dont know any better just just give them low quality trash and they are happy. read more

Red Lantern - 3 pea rice - Chinese Near Me - Brea, California

Tried this place out for the first time. I had read many mixed reviews so I was honestly nervous to try it out. Overall, we had an excellent experience with Red Lantern take-out. The service was quick, the staff was friendly, and the food was delicious. For three people, we ordered Orange chicken (medium spicy....not spicy at all), Beef and Broccoli, Chow Mein with chicken, and veggie egg rolls! This was plenty of food and we even had leftovers. The only negative thing I will say is I placed an order online and their website did not give a time estimation of when it would be ready and we were never sent a message when our food was ready. Luckily we live close so we just walked in and our food happened to be ready. Also the egg rolls were kind of cold. This is definitely a place to try out if you like Chinese food. read more

Food is ok. Service...... TERRIBLE!! Can you guys be a little bit more nice to your customers pls.

Food is good everything is just a la carte so don't expect combo plates their fried rice is the best especially with extra veggies. My usual order is wor wonton soup and a side of white rice and it's never a bad order always hits the spot and is reasonably priced my only dislike is if you order out you have to ask for utensils and chili paste for me it's disappointing picking up and taking it to work and finding no utensils or chili but in their defense it seems like it might be a new law passed with restaurants because it's been happening often read more

I ordered the sweet and sour chicken and it was good but the service was terrible. I eat very little so I ordered my food in to go containers and when I asked the lady if I could eat there she said "no, you ordered to go so you have to take it to go". I also had to ask for utensils, napkins and hot sauce because there were none in the bag. read more

Food is hot good and fast service sometimes seems to be rude. But everyone has bad days

Pretty good take out. I thought the portions were generous and food was pretty legit. Their take out is very efficient. You call in and they are ready within 15 minutes or so. Everything was pretty tasty and not too oily. During covid times, they seem to have a pretty organized system where you can stand outside and wait. There isn't too much overcrowding because they blockade where customers can stand. I would come here again. read more

We had the lunch special. Food was okay and the service was good. Quick lunch for a decent price. Fried rice was not great so maybe get the chow neon instead. Hot and sour soup was not as good as other similar places. I would probably go back. read more

Walked in an hour and 10 min before closing time and they said their kitchen was closed and we were refused service. They not only lost a customer for the night but for all future dates. read more

It is what is: a Chinese restaurant in strip mall flanked by a Nail Salon and a pizza restaurant. The food is served as soon as it's ordered, piping hot with no fuss. And so is the service: no fuss, coldly transactional, and curt. It's better to order takeout as the interior is dark and musty. read more

Red Lantern - Chinese Near Me - Brea, California

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This is such a cute little Chinese Restaurant, I didn't even know it existed! I was really craving some egg drop soup so I yelped to see where the closest Chinese restaurant was. I wanted to try their cream cheese wontons as well, both items were very good so I will get an entree next time around. Service was good and super quick. I'm so happy to see there is a decent Chinese Restaurant in Brea, I didn't think there was one other than fast food like Panda Express. Tan's House in Yorba Linda is still my all time favorite but it's of course on the pricier side and it's a little but of a trek to get there when I'm looking for something fast. I think Red Lantern will do in a pinch for fast and affordable so I will add it to my regular rotation. read more

Food was fast, hot, and delicious the service was amazing everyone was really nice and patient. The place looked beautiful including the lights and the seats everything was overall perfect read more

The food is always good. This is our go to for Chinese food. When we dine in or take out the service is quick and professional.

Bad service the lady is rude food had an old taste to it ... never will I pay that much for bad service an nasty good read more

Red Lantern - Nasty is fuck old tase - Chinese Near Me - Brea, California

Great Chinese food. The cream cheese wontons are as good as the previous reviewers have noted. Nice luncheon specials 7 days (no holidays). Cashew chicken was also very good. Fried shrimp was a bit heavily battered. read more

Red Lantern - Cream cheese wontons - Chinese Near Me - Brea, California

I placed a doordash pickup order, and when I arrived I provided my name and phone number. She looked me up and down and said she needed to see proof of the order. I asked why this was required as this doesnt seem normal at other restaurants and she said "You could be anyone". I provided the order receipt and then she asked me to sign my receipt (which I had already paid for when I placed the order online beforehand) "in case Doordash claimed the order was stolen." I said that I was the one who placed the order and was picking it up for myself and she cut me off and said she did not care. That was the absolute worst encounter I have experienced and I hope she does not treat anyone else this way. I do not believe doordash would ever require someone to sign a receipt when the order was already paid for online in case someone "stole it". read more

Good clean food! Came in when they were super busy on Christmas Day and it was great to watch how well they took care of everyone. read more

Delicious!!! Fresh!!! Excellent!!!! It was years since I have had such great Chinese food and tonight was the night! They are so NICE too!! Evy was so sweet and helpful in helping me with the order. There is so much to chose from and all of it was delicious!! -Combination Fried Rice - Combination Chow Main - Pungent Shrimp - Sesame Chicken - Broccoli Beef! 100% recommend it all!!!!!! read more

Really Good food Usually take out, so not sure about the service. But the people are nice when we pick up. read more

Food is always delicious. Haven't had anything that isn't good. We are always trying a new dish. It's always clean and staff is always friendly Ok read more

Amazing food. Amazing service. This is my go to place whenever I want good food and quick service.

One of our FAVORITE spots! Their hot and sour soup is to die for! Love their lunch specials and their dinner for 2! Plenty of food and very reasonably priced. I'm an orange chicken fan (which their's is delicious) but try the orange fish. Supper yummy!! Staff is always VERY NICE too. We dine in more than we get takeout, but when I do pickup food to go they ask how my wife is. That is something you don't get from most places. A+++ Thank you Red Lantern! We will be back again soon! read more

First time ordering from Red Lantern and was happily surprised. Delivery was quick and prices reasonable. We ordered the Fried Dumplings, Veggie Chow Mein and Kung Pao Shrimp. The dumplings weren't as crispy as I make but they were good. The CM had fresh veggies and the KP Shrimp, ordered medium, was perfectly spicy. We're fans and definitely ordering again. Thanks R Lantern! read more

It's unfortunate my family and I love eating here but tonight but tonight my son's walked in and walked right out it was way too hot no AC. Too bad we were a party of 6. Don't be so tight on money that you don't turn the AC on that's how you lose business read more

I am going to be honest and not be mean... I came here because I heard the Egg Foo Young was the specialty. I had been craving some for a while now. I usually eat on the WestSide because I am usually there at dinner time when I'm dealing with work. I am originally from NYC - so I'd like to believe I know good food. I'm a chef so there's also that. This fell short. It tasted old. The dish didn't taste fresh. And it was greasy - which means the oil wasn't hot enough when they fried it. The brown sauce was tasty. Not great. But it tastes good with the white rice. (There. I found a positive) I am a huge fan of eggplant and I also ordered that and it was just not good. The eggplant was MUSHY - which is another bad sign. I am trying to be fair since this CoViD thing has been a pain in the ass - but I would expect that restauranteurs would make it a point to be better so they can keep customers and retain those who are new. The lady who took my order was also very nice which is why I'll give it another shot. Now, I'm not writing this place off. I hear it's been here for a few years...decades. Now, I am willing to try another dish - but I'm going to pick it at random since the Egg Foo Young was HIGHLY recommended by a few people I knew. I shouldn't have trusted them. Next time I have trying some noodle dish. I'm hopeful that will be better. But, I promise to let you know. Thanks for reading the review. If you appreciate it - let me know. Better yet FOLLOW ME - as I promise to never let you down and will always look for something positive to say. Oh, and if it sucks - I'LL LET YOU KNOW. CHEF WILL read more