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    Rice Bowl

    3.0 (102 reviews)
    ModerateChinese
    Closed 2:00 pm - 7:00 PM

    Rice Bowl Photos

    RICE BOWL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Rice Bowl

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    Egg foo young , lo mein, spring rolls and fried rice
    Eric B.

    Let me start off by saying we're not from Lompoc but we happened upon this spot while being there. When we walked in it was packed and they had just opened. Everyone was sitting at tables conversing with each other and we didn't see any staff and sat ourselves. We sat for a good 10 minutes before we realized they were having a holiday lunch with the locals and they welcomed us. The food came out and it was buffet style (not a fan of buffet) but food was great. I would love to try it on a regular day with daily menu. Ambiance felt genuine.

    Decor
    Skye B.

    This was one of the only spots open around us on NYE and we are new to the area so we decided to try it out. I think the owner sat and waited on us and he was very kind and nice. The restaurant was outdated but I thought the decor was cute! Although, my husband did tell me later on that there were dead roaches on top of the old jukebox machine. I ordered the chicken and broccoli which is hands down the worst dish I've ever had at a restaurant. The chicken itself tasted like seafood and I genuinely was scared I would get food poisoning if I ate it. The sauce itself looked like old dirty kitchen water and wasn't anything like chicken and broccoli I've had at other restaurants. I tried really hard to cough it up to it not being americanized chinese food but it was so terrible I would not recommend getting. My husband ordered a burger steak which at our error we didn't know we had to request it to be cooked to a specific temperature so if you order it make sure to keep that in mind.

    I just stepped into the Twilight Zone!
    Firedude X.

    I saw the signage out front and got curious. I checked the most recent poor Yelp reviews and just HAD to try it! I can imagine this place jumping on a Saturday night, full of Air Force kiddies from Vandenberg. Just stepping inside is a trip back to the 1960s. I gotta say, though, some of those poor Yelp reviews are right on target! If the big sign on the building make you want a RICE BOWL with chicken, beef, shrimp or whatever, GO SOMEPLACE ELSE! Eating for ONE is not in the stars for you here. This isn't that kind of Rice Bowl place. NUMBER ONE PROBLEM (feature, really) I should have guessed when the place was empty. They serve FAMILY STYLE ONLY! Everything is made for a table of two, three or four to share. Meaning NO COMBOS for someone wanting to take a meal home. The waitress told me everything on the menu was at least two pounds of food each! Not for the quick bowl & run. Table tops were gritty and just a little sticky, as if they used a dirty rag to wipe down, then held the door open and let a dust cloud blow in. The table side jukebox remotes don't work, don't even ask. I think I met the scary waitress another yelper wrote about a few months ago. I can see where that Yelper is coming from. She wasn't too creepy, but she HEAVILY tried to deter me away from ordering, due to their two pound food policy, I guess A plate of pot stickers and a POT of tea (NO SINGLES, remember!) I was out $20. I agree with the other yelper who complained about prices. They tasted just like the 3 lb frozen bag I can get at Grocery Outlet. Tasty, just not $20 tasty. A visit to the Men's Room rounded out my visit to this gem of history. That's also where I met Hal Roach (see photo) In it's day, RICE BOWL was probably quite the happening place. This building was opened in the 1960's, but the restaurant goes back to WW-2. It's a shame to see such a historical place on the Hospice bed! I don't see how it can stay in business beyond the end of this year.

    The BEST old googie signs!
    Sheryl S.

    I'm a sucker for old school diners of any kind and this place has been in business since 1946. I am always so happy to see the older places survive and not change too much. Here I was greeted with warmth and a smile, the server immediately gave me the feeling that he was one of the owners or a family member. They told me the portion sizes are big and offered to make me a half portion. I ordered Vegetable Egg Chow Fun. DELICIOUS! They also have a large old jukebox and a small tabletop juke box on every booth. I loved this place! Great service. Good fresh food, OLD school style.

    The food is amazing and the cook and staff are the best! This place was started by their grandfather who returned home after ww2. The quality of ingredients is great and the meat is seasoned perfectly. I'll be brining all my friends here. It's a great family tan business with a huge menu. The building is so pretty and designed really cool on the inside as well. Thank you!

    Notice not a price anywhere.

    VERY DISAPPOINTING AND RIDICULOUSLY OVER-PRICED. After deciding on Chinese food last night, we chose Rice Bowl because Chinese options are extremely limited in Lompoc. We looked online for a menu and it was hard to find one. They do not have a website with a menu and prices. We were able to find a picture of a menu online and no prices. We figured we would just call and order anyway...how much could 3 entrées and 4 egg rolls be, right? We ordered a cashew nut chicken, schezuan chicken, egg foo young and an order of 4 egg rolls. When my husband went to pick it up, the size of each entrée was ENORMOUS! He said, "we just wanted normal size meals" she replied, "we have only one size and that's it." The cost was $120!!! My husband was in total shock, but paid nonetheless because it really was our fault for not asking the price of everything beforehand. What we got could have fed an army! Maybe it was $120 worth of food because it could have easily fed 8 people, but we were disappointed that there were NO other options. The presentation was bad as well. Everything was packaged in styrofoam that leaked into the bags and they placed one of the bags in a box labeled "LARD" so we know what they cook with. The LARD box was soaked in grease from the styrofoam leaking so bad. As far as the taste of everything: very mediocre to bland and not very fresh, in our opinion. Everything was VERY greasy. The egg rolls were the size of big burritos and did not seem to be wrapped in egg roll dough...very oddly shaped. The entrées did not have much flavor. My husband took a paper menu from the restaurant and it has all of their dishes, with NO pricing whatsoever. Rice Bowl has been in Lompoc since the dawn of time and we feel they need to revamp their menu, sizes, pricing and dishes, if they want to keep up with the times.

    Sweet and sour soup

    We originally ordered sweet and sour soup but we were served vinegar soup. Tried adding soy sauce to get rid of the taste. There was no menus online the lady who answered the phone was rude. Another bust trying to find good food. We will just stick to Thai Cusine unfortunately that was closed tonight.

    Pork Friend rice
    Michael M.

    Delicious food and very friendly staff, can't believe there isn't a line out the door. Also very generous potion sized. Highly recommend

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    This historic restaurant is a gem. The ambience is cool, the food is great, and the service is top notch. We'll be back!

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    Suvans Kitchen - Chicken Pad Thai

    Suvans Kitchen

    4.1(321 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    I hadn't realized I hadn't updated my review!! Yikes!! We've…read morebeen enjoying Suvan's again for the past couple years. Still the same space, but comfortable and the food is DELISH!! I am still hooked on the same faves, and they happily make mild and leave out the onions. I haven't had a bad dish. They're always very nice and accommodating every time.

    As much as I appreciated that they had vegan options including a vegan menu, I was not a fan of…read moretheir vegan pho. When I was ordering, the cashier who took our order was new and I had to tell her multiple times to look at the menu instead of telling me that by default the vegan pho was veggie broth. The menu specifically said to order with veggie broth because by default it was chicken broth. The menu also said to make sure to tell the cashier no fish sauce, no eggs, and no oyster sauce. This should already be addressed to the kitchen staff instead of being the customers job to request for these especially if there is a vegan menu already . We asked for a small amount of salt when we ordered our food, but all the food came extremely salty. Does the kitchen staff even read the comments on the orders? We had to send back an order because it was way too salty. The vegan pho was sad. Broth was bland, salty, only veggies, and no protein. Maybe add in some tofu and/or spinach for extra protein. My family had beef ball pho, seafood pho, orange chicken rice, and pork chow mein. My family and I did not enjoy our food. The portions were also small. We won't be back.

    Photos
    Suvans Kitchen
    Suvans Kitchen - Mild chicken pad Thai - DELICIOUS

    Mild chicken pad Thai - DELICIOUS

    Suvans Kitchen - Front from the parking lot

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    Front from the parking lot

    China Panda - 15. Po Po Platter

    China Panda

    3.8(213 reviews)
    15.6 mi
    $$

    We were in Solvang and were craving Asian food. This restaurant was one of the only Asian places in…read morethe area. We decided to take a bet and try it out and was pleasantly surprised by how authentic and great the food tasted. We ordered mapo tofu medium spice and beef stir fry with onions. All entrees came with white rice. Rice was cooked well. Mapo tofu had bit of mala spice and it was so good! It had good salty, spicy flavor that I liked. It also came with pork and you can choose to put meat on it or not. The beef stir fry had really good flavor and matched well with rice. We ended up finishing everything and we were very content with our dinner. The service was great, and the food came very fast. There was actually only one other guest party other than us. We assume it's because it's weekday and not many people are in the area. I hope more people check this place out. The only thing is the price is overpriced for the food but food quality and authenticity is very good!

    The food was pretty good for being the only Chinese restaurant in all of Santa Ynez Valley (if you…read moredon't count Panda Express). The PoPo Platter (aka PuPu Platter) had the paper wrapped chicken replaced by beef skewers. The Egg Drop Soup we ordered included seaweed was the small order, and it can feed 5 easily. Water Boiled Fish was one of a few Sichuanese offerings on the menu, and it looked and tasted close to the authentic version. Of course, I had to have my Kung Pao Chicken. And we rounded out the meal with Assorted Pan Fried Noodles. Enjoyed having the meal here as a service was very good as well. Mind stopping here during my next wine tasting trip in the area.

    Photos
    China Panda - View looking to the rear.

    View looking to the rear.

    China Panda - Tasty bowls of egg flower soups.

    Tasty bowls of egg flower soups.

    China Panda - Nice interior

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    Nice interior

    Ming Dynasty - Uncooked dry pasta

    Ming Dynasty

    3.5(122 reviews)
    19.7 mi
    $$

    Food: 3.75 - 4.25. Came by for lunch on a Wed just before 12 noon. Place was mostly empty at the…read moretime but got busier as time passed. We were promptly greeted upon entering and directed to our requested booth. We chose their buffet which, at around 12 noon on a Wednesday, is $16.45 per person. There is no senior discount (at least not posted). Buffet is a nice size with a variety of common dishes like orange chicken, kung pao chicken, chow menu, sweet and sour pork, pot stickers, egg rolls, and mushroom chicken. My favorites were the tangerine beef and, orange chicken, and green beans. There was also a dessert section with soft serve and assorted cookies, cakes, and fruit. Staff was welcoming and friendly and bussed our table often. Ambiance is simple and fine. Their buffet is a great value and I'll definitely be back when I have a craving for Chinese food especially if ,I'm really hungry like this time.

    I came here for the lunch buffet recently and it was delicious! A coworker recommended it and we…read morewere easily able to get a table during the lunch hour on a Monday. The buffet was well stocked and had all of the Chinese staples people love. The orange chicken was so good. They had green beans cooked up in a super flavorful sauce that were also delicious. The egg rolls were great and they even have a selection of soups. The service was great and the buffet was only $15.95/person.

    Photos
    Ming Dynasty - Dessert options

    Dessert options

    Ming Dynasty - Last plate of dessert items

    Last plate of dessert items

    Ming Dynasty - Dessert options

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    Dessert options

    Rice Bowl - chinese - Updated May 2026

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