Extremely greasy. Completely soggy orange chicken with all dark meat huge pieces.. Literally over $100 of grease. Tried to eat it but couldn't get past two bites. TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE IF YOU WANNA SPEND OVER $100 for trash then come on by the rice bowl. Don't believe me try it for yourself. read more

Still very much in love with their beef chow fun (wide rice noodles) which has a lot of flavors and ingredients. I can tell that they really make it from scratch since they took a while to make it from when I ordered it. The beed tasted fresh and paired it perfectly with red wine. read more

Really underwhelming experience. We ordered two different meals and there was no way to tell the difference between either of them. Probably the worst Chinese food I've had to date. They also charge over $3 to pay via card on top of their already expensive dishes. Overall I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone in the area. read more

I am new in town was looking for some Chinese food.I get there and everything is rediculously over priced, Customer-service is subservient, and to top it all off I was given hard chow mein which apparently is the way they used to make it in the old days. I'm 22 years old and have never been served hard noodles . When I express my discontent with the meal I was told there was no refunds. And the menu did not specify that the noodles Would-be hard. read more

Rice Bowl - Chinese Near Me - Lompoc, California

This was our first visit and we really enjoyed it. The servings are gigantic :) and delicious. The service was good and the decor was authentic. The only thing bad about this place was the guy that smelled like he had not showered in a month that sat in the booth behind us. Give this place a try:) read more

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We wanted to grab lunch in Lompoc and drove by the Rice Bowl. It had a great retro look to it and I figured it was the kind of chow mein house that I grew up with. Americanized Chinese food that was not authentic, but still full of flavor and has it's own unique menu items and good tastes. It was retro and the inside could have been a movie set from 1960. It made me a little nervous to see how empty it was at noon on a Saturday. I noticed all the fish tanks had not been cleaned and they all had dirty, dirty water and full of green slime. I ordered a sweet and sour pork. Seemed like a safe and easy bet. Both the pork and my eggs rolls had a bitter taste to them. I then recognized that they fried both items in old and dirty oil that left a filmy taste in your mouth. I did not finish my meal as it tasted so oily and filmy. They still charged me and did not apologize or seem to care. We left and stopped for fast food on the way out of town. I need something to get the horrible taste out of my mouth! read more

The place is magic, the attentions to clients is efficient and the prices are very reasonable, and the food is tasty, and I am planning to return soon! read more

I don't know how some people can give to this place more than 2 starts. The food is horrible. It taste funny. I was afraid to get sick. I just ate little bit and I left the plate. The dish presentation it also disgusting. Greasy food. Don't waste your time and money. read more

This place sucked! My husband and I came here one day craving chinese food, but instead we got old tasting rice. I ordered the shrimp lunch combination and it was inedible. The smell of the rice made me want to throw up. It was like the rice was sitting out for days and to cover up the smell they added a smokey flavor to it, which made it even worse! Never again will I eat here. I'll take my chances with Panda Express thank you! read more

It's a friendly dive. Every time we go here, the owner delights us with stories about his family while his parents work hard in the kitchen. I love walking into a 1960s time warp and eating off of vintage diner plates. There are Chinesey decorations, too. I don't think this place would nearly be so fun if they updated it. The neon sign outside is exciting, if you ask me. Don't expect perfection. It's not Chinese haute cuisine. They've been cooking the same stuff since 1946 in various locations around Lompoc. They are happy to customize your order. Rice on the side, less sauce, extra spicy. The fortune cookies are always fresh. The service is fast. The wontons are made fresh there. The side of stories is free for the asking. Think I might hit this place up for lunch. (If you don't get a story, it's because you didn't ask the guy to tell you anything. I'm often surprised that people do not treat restaurant workers as people. This guy is a gem.) The LA Times featured a Chinese restaurant (Paul's Kitchen) in the old Chinatown by the former Santa Fe railroad station that still serves the early version of Americanized Chinese food that seems to be in the same vein as this place. See that article here: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-c1-pauls-kitchen-20131118-dto,0,1196894.htmlstory#axzz2zv3TDamu read more

Overall the location and presentation was great but the food quality was poor. We ordered To-go due to Covid restrictions and I really anticipated a delicious dinner for the family due to the higher costs but We didn't get that at all. Sadly, I will probably never go again :/ read more

The Rice Bowl is Lompoc's oldest restaurant, having served the community since the 1940's. A true mom and pop restaurant with a certain unique kind of charm. As I stepped in, my first instinct was to question whether or not I had actually stepped into a Chinese restaurant. I'm not big on decor (the food is what counts), but the place had me truly baffled. It was as if I had stepped into a 1950's diner, complete with vinyl seats and mini jukeboxes by the booths. As our waitress came to hand us our menus, sure enough, she was dressed in vintage diner clothing. I was half expecting to be served burgers and milkshakes. Thankfully, the food turned out to be what I had expected. I had ordered a combination meal with stir fry, pork fried rice and Chinese bbq pork (the latter being one of my favorite dishes of all time). The stir fry was nothing special and the bbq pork was definitely a little too dry, but the fried rice was where it was at. This place came the closest I had ever eaten outside of Chicago, having the fried rice cooked Chicago Chinatown style (which is a very good thing). The texture, aroma and the amount of flavoring was near perfect. It wasn't the best fried rice I'd had, but it was definitely near the top. The saving grace of my experience had been the fried rice. Other than that, the other dishes that I had tried were average. Go if you want to taste what real fried rice is supposed to taste like! read more

We ordered take out from here, we ordered the bowl A that is on the menu, it had been suggested by the nice waitress to order something from their bowl menu since we would get a good portion for my fiancé and I. Once the food was ready, she told us they charge 9% for using our debit card. Fortunately I had cash and we paid with cash but we were surprised by that extra charge since we usually always use debit card. The food was okay, it was not appealing. The taste was fine the chow mein had a decent taste. The portions they served was probably the best part of this place. It was more than enough servings for the two of us and we had a lot of leftover. I would not come to this place again but I am glad I gave it a try since there were so many recent positive reviews. read more

Ok. So I got the LD on this place from the original owner's grand son. Grand daddy opened it in 1946 after coming back from being a 2 star general's aid in the old WWII - after he heroically saved the generals life, but that is a longer story. The current location is the third and contains pieces from the two previous locations. The family still runs the place and they live upstairs. The food. The menus are confusing as hell, but they take care of you. A "small" is two meals for a normal person - but if you are a fatty mc fatty, order a large and eat for four before you cry yourself to sleep at night. I did not order a steak, but dude (grandson) told me they were 16 oz. Apparently, they opened up back in Camp Cook days and used to have people lined up around the street when there were 3 restaurants in town. Now most people to take away - although I don't see why cause inside is tiiiiight. Anyway, tons of fresh vegetables, not MSG loaded fast food crap. They make it right then and there too. I went standard with Gen Tso, and it was great - not like that mall crap, and Kate got Kung Pao shrimp that was loaded with vegetables and delicious. I am going rouge next time and just going for it. It might seem expensive, but it is a lot of food. Two people, split a small and talk to owner man about the history of Lompoc. read more

We actually LIKE the decor. It's retro and friendly...not slick and modern and cold. It would be nice however, if they cleaned the fish tank and remodeled the bathrooms, but the rest of the place was pretty cool. The portions are huge, the fried rice was unlike anything I've ever had before...not the usual rice and scrambled eggs you get in other places, but this had bean sprouts and all sorts of yummy things in it. Yes, the food IS a bit on the greasy side, as others have mentioned, but it wasn't that bad overall, and was tasty and made to order. It's also a bit on the pricey side. What everyone needs to be aware of is the addition of a fee of about $2.00 and up, depending on the price of the check. If you pay with a debit or credit card, there is this extra fee levied. We were not told about it until we got ready to pay the bill, and the waitress informed us of it, and she seemed deeply embarrassed about the whole thing. Evidently this is restaurant policy, and you don't know until AFTER you've eaten and are getting ready to pay. So be aware of this! read more

Not the biggest fan of Chinese food but willing to give it a try & was pleasantly surprised! Ordered sweet & sour chicken, shrimp fried rice & potstickers. Everything was really good. Food came out hot & you could tell veggies were fresh. Only complaint was the bad odor from the fish tank when you walk in & it would have been better if they would have "de-terd" the shrimp. Other than that portions are huge & waitress was really great. Love the retro atmosphere. read more

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The food was some of the worst Chinese food the family and I have ever had. They only make one plate at a time so waited forever in between first plate and last plate. Then to top it off the restaurant charges you 9% to use your debit/credit card. A total waste of $60 read more

First time trying this place. It is located in the main road which is easy to locate. Parking on the street and at the back.The food they serve here are tasty and they give big portions, which I really like. You better finish your food so you don't have to pay for the to-go box(es) you are going to need, 30 cents each. Also, they will charge you for credit card use, I heard $4 something for every transaction, or just pay cash. It takes over 15 minutes for them to cook 2 orders. They said they cut the veggies fresh which you can tell because of the food are crunchy and really fresh and not frozen.The place itself needs serious upgrading unless you want to go back to the 40s. Plants and decors need to be brought up to the millenium, at least. A little dusty, stain can be seen on the glass they gave me for my water. The straw was not wrapped and she just put it on the table which I am doubting if it is even cleaned properly. I will come back here again to order take out and eat at home comfortably. Soda are in can for $2.50. Give this place a try. The food here are better than Panda and other chinese food in Lompoc, that I guarantee you. read more

Rice Bowl - Spicy kung pao chicken. Very good. - Chinese Near Me - Lompoc, California

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I order schezuan chicken and it was nothing I have ever seen before it was 95% quarters tomatoes, thick sliced onions, thick sliced celery and old looking mushrooms. 5% chicken. The sauce was light brown, no spice to it at all. At to top it off costed me $18.50 I didn't even eat 1/4 of it . Usually this dish is supposed to Be 95% chicken and 5% veggies I guess this is their way of cutting cost while raising prices through the roof it's pretty sad. read more

Great sweet and sour chicken !!! Huge portions.. can feed three easy and everything!! Great egg rolls

The only reason I ate here was because I really wanted Chinese food and it was either this or Panda Express (Gross!). Plus I didn't really know the area and we were just staying in Lompoc because it was cheaper than staying in Santa Barbara. The minute we stepped in the door, I smelled trouble. There was not a single Asian eating here (not to sound racist but this usually signifies that you are about to eat Americanized Asian food, not real Asian food), but I thought that it might just be because of the area we were in and noticed that the population of Lompoc was not exactly the most diverse on the planet. Then. Theres. The. Decor. It was like a 1950's style diner had a bastard child with an ugly whole in the wall Chinese restaurant. All of the jukeboxes at just about every table had an "out of order sign" on it. The menu also had an odd assortment of Chinese and American dishes on it. We decided on rice bowls though, since it was pretty cheap and we were on a budget. We ended up waiting over an hour for our food and it wasn't THAT busy. We watched people that had ordered after us get their food first, which pissed me off. We finally got our food when most of the other patrons had left already. The rice bowl was VERY soupy, there was hardly any rice and it had VERY LARGE cuts of vegetables in it and the assortment of veggies in it was very odd for stir-fry. The sauce was bland. It was just a culinary disaster. If our hotel had a kitchenette, I could have whipped us up something better and A LOT quicker. The only thing nice I have to say about all this was at least the portions were generous, but I didn't even want to eat it. I have no idea what this beef rice bowl was supposed to be that I ordered, but it certainly WAS NOT CHINESE FOOD. What really pissed me off was that the chef and the waitress only half-hazardly apologized to us, saying they had big orders (WHERE??!). Most other restaurants would have discounted our bill or did something to compensate for TAKING SO FRIGGIN LONG!!!! but nope, they barely apologized. We left feeling pretty disgusted. I never thought I would say this because I really dislike Panda Express, but WE SHOULD HAVE JUST EATEN AT PANDA EXPRESS! read more

I'm 75 years old and I haven eaten in a lot of Chinese restaurants but this is the worst ever. I ordered sweat and sour chicken and won tons. The food was awful and the restaurant looks dirty. read more

This place is in serious need of an identity. Apparently it has been here for quite a while, yet I can't seem to see how a business like this can survive. The other food options nearby must be terrible! The name and exterior make you think it's a Chinese restaurant. The furniture and the waitress make you think you're in an old-style American diner. (The place has booths and a juke box at every table. The waitress is friendly, has big, blond hair, an apron, and lots of makeup.) The menu contains an odd combination of foods. Chinese, burgers, pasta, anything really. I tried a "combo bowl A". She brought me hot tea and two (2) fortune cookies to go with it. The bowl was a plate, and had no rice on it. The food looked Chinese, but had a distinct americanized flavor. And it wasn't all that good. But I can't bring myself to judge them too harshly. The waitress was really nice, she made the two-star food into a three-star diner. read more

Let me just start off by saying, I cannot get enough of this place!! I moved to Lompoc about three months ago and I was craving some Chinese food. I thought okay I'm in little Lompoc I'm not going to find some good Chinese food like in San Jose. Boy was I wrong! I didn't find good, I found GREAT Chinese food! Home cooking kind of Chinese food. I was in shock by their egg rolls, their size of their food for only $10. After eating there a couple of times now, I have come to know the family who owns it. The thing is they are amazing too! And what's not to love walking into a place and thinking you have stepped into a time warp!? If only their jukeboxes worked :( for all of those 1 stars the place might have changed, because food was not greasy, no gelatinous food here. I will definitely keep on coming back here!! To bad I can't give ten stars! read more

Rice Bowl - Orange chicken, pork fried rice, and an amazing egg roll!!! - Chinese Near Me - Lompoc, California

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Good ole school Chinese food. Amazingly good. Even take out was great. Huge meals and great to share.

Not what you might be expecting: if you're lookin for great street style Chinese food like Chinese people make this is the place for you but if you want panda go there. The egg rolls are huge and made in a fry bread rather than a wrapper. So good! I love to have one with the fried rice. read more

Rice Bowl - Chinese Near Me - Lompoc, California

Don't get scared by the prices. You get an enormous amount of food. We ordered two entrees for three people (May 2021). $50 for dinner for three people, plus tons of leftovers, is not bad at all. And it was good. We'll be back. COVID has shortened their menu; they aren't offering everything right now. They've been around like 70 years. It's family owned. We had a great experience. Service was good by the granddaughter of the family. The food came quickly and tasted fresh. read more

This is the worst place to get food. We went for my grandpas birthday today and the food was terrible. It tasted like it was a couple days old, and the sauce was a jellyton substance instead of what it should have been.and the water is nasty, I found a hair in the water. My mom in now regurgitating from the food. A health inspector needs to eat there and shut it down. 1 star read more

So we got 5 items, $125. Wow, look under the covered prices. Almost doubled. Maybe due to Covid 19? Told 20 minutes wait, 55 minutes later we got out to go food. Let's see how this taste, price and wait. 3 stars read more

5 stars... This family owned Lompoc icon has been a staple since 1947. The food is great, the portions more than generous and the staff is wonderful. Not to mention the fact the the decor is awesome. If you want some great Chinese food at an affordable price, give them a try. This is the way a Chinese restaurant should be. Enjoy. read more

Just bad. I was so disappointed! My cashew chicken was like soup. I was afraid to eat the actual chicken because of its dingy grayness. Our first clue should have been at 630 pm when she said we were her 2nd customer of the day. Tooooo much food, high prices and ... wish I would have said panda express! ‍ read more

I like the way this place looks I just wish the food was good. Theyre awful. And not just that but it went as far as me questioning whether the meat was actually what it was said to be. The owner should really try to liven the place up. Theres a reason the place is always empty. read more

I love this place. We've been going for 40 years. Lunch specials are not to be believed! My absolute favorite is the B Bowl (order a small for 3 people!). Orange chicken is not your everyday Panda Express fried mess, here's it's made with real oranges and diced chicken pieces. Amazing. Why this place isn't packed everyday is beyond me. Service is kinda slow which might explain it but EVERYTHING is totally made from scratch so I understand. Love the Rice Bowl! read more

If you want Authentic Chinese Food-old style this is the place to go. Very very delicious food and excellent service. I can't wait to go back. The decor is awesome! read more

After plodding around the La Purisima Mission, I was hungry and thirsty so I drove into Lompoc to find someplace to eat. This is only the second time I've been to Lompoc, but I get the feeling that it is the town that time forgot. I swear I was in a 1963 time warp. I'm not stating that as a bad thing; it's just a little surreal. Rice Bowl contributed to the quirkiness. I noticed the sign, advertising Chow Mein, Steaks, and Chops. Not that I was in the mood for any of those, but I love small town diners so I pulled over and went in. I was only one of three customers on a Saturday at 1:00, so that was a little worrisome. But still, what do I know about the social goings-on of Lompoc? Maybe no one goes out to lunch. The waitress was very friendly, and the decor was way trippy. It's old school Chinese restaurant, with pagodas and cherry blossom branches. They have big red booths and a formica counter in the front. I had Kung Pao chicken with fried rice and an egg roll, which was tasty. It was definitely "Americanized" Chinese, but still very good. The fried rice was especially yummy. In most Chinese restaurants, I push the fried rice away because it just tastes like Minute Rice mixed with soy sauce and carrot cubes. But this was moist with a variety of vegetables and good spices. The egg roll was a huge rectangular fried delight. They lose a star because the food was a little salty, plus the owner/cook was haranguing the waitress, who I thought was doing a lovely job. He did come out of the kitchen and chat with the customers, which was nice. He gave us a little history lesson of his family (who have been in the area since before California was a state) and of the town (which used to be the flower capital of the world.) So, if for some unforeseeable reason I should find myself in Lompoc again, I will definitely eat here if for no other reason than for the very distinct possibility that Elvis and James Dean will come sauntering in. read more

This is by far one of the worst Chinese places I have been to in my 23 years of life. My fiancé and I decided to give it a try despite the outdated look. We shouldn't have. We ordered simple dishes and received plates that were totally unsatisfactory in regards to plating and taste. PICK ANOTHER PLACE! Soggy fried shrimp, burnt fried rice and terrible chow mein. read more

I was a bit concerned after having seen some of the negative reviews here, but my husband and I love all things vintage and really wanted to try the Rice Bowl. We went on a Saturday for lunch. The restaurant was vintage 1940's perfection and was very clean. The service was great and the food was excellent! We had the mushroom chow mein and vegetable fried rice. Both were very fresh and tasted homemade. We took tons of photos and our server told us some of the history of the place. It was amazing! If you love and care about preserving our history, by all means go and find this wonderful little gem and give them some business. If this place was in L.A. there would no doubt be a line around the block just to get in. It would also be an amazing filming or photo shoot location. It is a beautiful piece of the past, perfectly preserved. We loved it. read more

This is the worst Chinese food I have ever had!!! Everything was fried and greasy! The fried shrimp was a small piece of a shrimp covered in dough! It was over priced and we threw it out!! The owner was rude and when we handed him a credit card to pay $45 for 'dinner for three' -- he told us he had to tack on $4 for the bank processing of the credit card! $49 for horrible food! read more

The cook was very nice. Store smelled funny when u first walked in. This place was supposedly famous for fried rice. I ordered the rice bowl house special fried rice. The portion was a lot for fried rice but for 14 dollars. Also I ordered the Kung pao chicken. Here comes the bad part. Kung Pao chicken tasted pretty plain. Lots of grease for the fried rice. The meat tasted funny (beef, chicken, shrimp). Those meat did not taste fresh and had funny smell. Sorry to write this but for 30 dollars worth of food I expected more. read more

WOW! So horrible... Quantity was huge... Was incorrect on what we ordered... Flavor was sub par... Expect to pay twice as much as you should. Will not ever go again or recommend to others! Thumbs down! read more