On our way back up to Tampa we decided to stop at Rice Box Express for a quick meal. To be honest I didn't think I would love it as much as I did! I ordered the chili garlic tofu which came with a box of rice and my partner ordered some chicken with broccoli which also came with rice. The portions were pretty decent, I had enough for about 2 meals and felt quite satisfied after! I love the sauce and how the tofu was cooked, nice and crunchy but yet soft on the inside. Due to COVID-19, we called our order in a few minutes before arriving. When we got there they were running a little behind so we had to wait in the car. It was worth it though! I was sad thinking that I would have to drive so far to come back. read more

Rice Box Express - a close up of a bowl of food - Chinese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

See all

This place has really gone down. We ordered a family feast and the 2 side options we ordered were fried rice and rice noodles. They were completely plain. No veggies or seasonings. I have never experienced this before. The meats were all really off tasting and chewy. The egg rolls were obviously frozen because the filling was like mush. It makes me said because it used to be our favourite Chinese takeout in Sarasota. We will be finding somewhere else to go from now on. read more

I ordered egg drop soup. It's a greenish translucent white. There is zero egg flavor. It is basically onion water. The absolute worst I have ever had. I got chicken fried rice I found 2 pieces of chicken. Waste of money. The eggrolls were decent. Horrible. very disappointed. read more

I ordered the Chef's Soup. There was only 2 pieces of chicken and 2 small shrimp. The veggies were fresh but lacking mushrooms. The worst thing was the broth. Tastless and almost clear. Also tried the spring rolls but the were average at best. This was my first experience so I cannot offer any other food opinions. One of my pet peeves is when a restaurant nickle and dimes you for something small, lile extra duck souce for .50 cents. I will try only once more to order here. read more

We used to get take out a lot from Rice Box, but over the last 2-3 years they have really jacked their prices. They are even charging a 'Convenience Fee' when you order online. The cost of my wife's meal has gone from $11 to $16.95. We would at times get their feast for $36, well now it is $55. Too many increases for too much money. The food is pretty good, but not worth the increases. read more

I'm not even exaggerating when I say this was the worst Chinese food I've ever had in my life. The Mongolian beef was basically unflavored steak in a gravy type of sauce with zero spice or flavor. The chicken was mushy to the point it was falling off the fork and when I put it in my mouth it was a texture nightmare. The rangoons are clearly frozen out of a box and had been sitting out for a while based on the temperature. Complete waste of 45 dollars. Skip this place, try anywhere else. read more

I'm thinking that I went on an "off" day. Fried Rice, was steamed rice dredged with soy sauce. The sesame chicken was sooo salty, I couldn't finish it. The good news after eating part of my meal, I was soooooo thirsty, that I was forced to drink plenty of water, which I normally don't. read more

Favorite Chinese takeout -- love the crab Rangoon, egg rolls and lo mein though the menu is huge to fit all tastes and reasonably priced. Also service is excellent and happy. read more

They are pretty good the rice, dumplings crab ragu and noodles are pretty good but the eggrolls tasted weird

We've driven by this place a thousand times and finally decided to try it. I'm 3/4 Chinese, so a little picky. I give the taste 4 stars as compared to other Chinese restaurants in Sarasota only (so not compared to NYC Chinatown or anything like that.) Where they really impressed me was they forgot to give us plain white rice for shrimp with lobster sauce and they drove it to us within about 10 minutes of my calling to let them know and they were very friendly about it! We will definitely be repeat customers. Would love to find a place that uses minced pork and fermented black beans in their lobster sauce though! read more

Food is ok. We're originally from NY and are used to pretty good Chinese food so for Florida this place is ok. We do not recommend the egg rolls, way over cooked! Wonton soup broth was pretty plain! read more

Love that you can order sesame chicken with all white meat. It's very good. Their tropical curry fried rice is also good and has shrimp, chicken, and pineapple in it. read more

Favorite local Chinese takeout! Food is always delicious and is consistently delivered efficiently. Service is great along with the overall quality of the restaurant. read more

Our go-to spot for Chinese. We love getting the feast deal with 3 entrees, 2 appetizers, large side of fried rice! Everyone we have encountered there is so friendly as well. Love supporting such a great local business!! read more

Best take out Chinese food around! Great taste, friendly staff, always on time and they bring to your car. Sweet and sour chicken uses real chicken breast pieces. Plenty of food. Tried their wonton soup for the first time and it was not overly salted, was just right. read more

Great Chinese fried rice finally with more than just pork and egg. The 3-Meat Fried Rice is superb with pork, chicken, and shrimp, plus onions, egg, carrotsand we added the Snow Peas and that just elevated it. The small portion for $6.99 is nicely packed with plenty for 3. The appetizer ribs, small portion is 4 ribs and my husband was licking his fingers! The Beef Teriyaki Skewers was juicy pieces of flank steak perfectly marinated in the teriyaki sauce. They were delicious and not salty which I loved. When you order online and spend more than $25.00, you get to pick free items to add to your order. We chose the Wonton Soup and are looking forward to enjoying that tomorrow for lunch. Check the deals section to pick your free item. Love that the online menu actually tells you what they put in the dishes. So if you prefer dark chicken, or white meat, you can pick the appropriate dish to please your pallet. There was plenty of food for both of us and it was great. Also good to note the details of your takeout entree containers are individually wrapped in plastic to preserve the heat and prevent the spills of the delicious sauces that come with your meals. LOVE IT!! Great takeout and wish it was a dining restaurant. read more

See all

Excellent food and service! Highly recommend!!! We order regularly. Veggies are always crisp and sauces are flavorful!

Dont go here , save your money. Some of the worst chinese I have had with a bowl of 4 tiny overcooked shrimp, paid $9.65 for the lunch special, much better at other places read more

Rice Box Express - Chinese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Aftet reading all of the negative reviews on yelp, I discerned to stay away from the chicken (which most complaints are based on) and try a few other things. I almost gave Rice Box 4 stars for their yummy bourbon tofu. However the egg rolls (which are hyped on the reviews) were disappointing. They were large but plain tasting the insides were congealed and indecipherable. The Singapore rice & soup was decent they didn't add too much spice but nothing I couldn't get at any other chinese spot. read more

Food lacked much taste portions were good and was ready whem promised and prices are reasoanble but needs stronger spices and sauces

UPDATE: Our most recent order wasn't so hot, the texture of the ""crispy"" (super soggy) sweet chili chicken was so asinine I docked a star; just know that, with the chicken, you're getting pre-prepared, re-heated frozen/fridge chicken which is fine (maybe not to you for the $$$ price) just consider how it'll affect your dish. Crab rangoons were still baller, though. -- Our go-to Chinese food treat in Sarasota. Orders have been 100% correct out of the 5+ times I've ordered and food is *mostly* fresh and delicious tasting (which is better than *mostly* not fresh tasting compared to most other places). Tip: Get the crab rangoons, theyre fresh and soooo tasty! read more

We decided to give it a try, based on reviews, and the proximity to home. But ... the food was very bland, and the portions are tiny for the price. While there may not be lots of better Chinese places in Sarasota, there are a few for sure, and most places will be way much cheaper. We won't be back. read more

I wanted to like it but my food tasted like it had a full cup of sugar in it both times I tried

When you're on the hunt for something new, you run the risk of having one of two situations play out. One being that you find a new "go to" restaurant, two being that you immediately regret your decision to try something new and think about what you could've had instead. Luckily for us, it was more one than two. We were pleasantly surprised at how clean the place was. That is the first thing even my wife noticed upon walking in is how well kept the facility is. There's no dining in. It's either take out or delivery so think ahead there. The food itself was actually really good. It tasted fresh, which is always satisfying. I've run into too many places that have their food pre made and simply heat it back up to create a meal. This was far from that. We absolutely devoured our food, and didn't feel like we just scarfed down a bunch of oils and fats. Yay! We can't wait to get back here again soon. read more

Rice Box Express - Chinese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

See all

Ordered sesame chicken...... it was horrible the rice was hard and old...I don't think the chicken was chicken... it tasted absolutely disgusting.... It even made my stomach hurt read more

Food quality has gone downhill!! Frozen, expensive springs rolls. Tasteless pad Thai and General Tso chicken is all breading. Very very disappointed as I've ordered there for years read more

Probably won't be back. We come to this area if Florida every year and really wanted to find some great Chinese food. This place was okay. It was pricy for the quality of food, but the speed and convenience of location was nice. I won't go back here if I'm buying dinner for two. However, if there are 3-5 of us eating I would save more money and get plenty of variety by ordering their family meal deal. Don't get me wrong, the rice was tasty, not dry and not too damp, and the spring rolls were good. That's about it though. The crab Rangoons were not as tasty as we had hoped for, and neither was the general Tsao's. Tip: order the family meal deal, don't order the Crab Rangoon. read more

Finally found a good Chinese restaurant with quick delivery!

We love Rice Box. It's our go to takeout place and the owner so incredibly kind. The food is great and so are the portions.

Did take out from here a few days ago. Very well organized. Their COVID precautions were excellent. The food was terrific. Will definitely go back.. read more

We order the family meal, price was fair, food was hot, delivered on time. The delivery guy was very friendly and was wearing his face mask. No one in our household liked the chicken lo mein, everything else was really good. Wanted to open online but feature is not available, i called them and they accepted payment by phone and they say the driver carries a handheld card machine for card payments. We had plenty if left over too! Overall, was good! read more

The worst Chinese takeout/delivery I have ever had! That's all you need to know, but, if you want details... I ordered for 6 people to share. What I ordered. 1 Chef special soup 2 Hot and Sour Soup 1 Pepper steak 1Curry chicken 1Shrimp Mai Fun 1MaPo tofu $76.31 Hot and Sour Soup - tasted like warm corn starch ( I gagged) Chef Special Soup - "thin noodles, three meat and veggies" was actually: noodles, one piece of broccoli, one slice of chicken and some char sue crumbles in a warm slightly salty water flavored broth. Pepper steak - no flavor at all, could actually taste cornstarch again. Extremely small portion of stir fry delivered in container over a large amount of rice, a tasteless mess. Curry Chicken - actually had some flavor but again small amount served ( via delivery) on top of a large portion of rice that absorbed any sauce there may have been. Shrimp Mai Fun - (12.99) 3 dry shrimp and tiny bits of egg, on top of soggy soupy Mai Fun noodles. MaPo Tofu- somewhat tastey but very dry and very small portion. read more

We live nearby and go here weekly. It's always very good and our order is always correct. Some of the best egg rolls in town. Cashew chicken is great. They also do tofu very well. I highly recommend this place!! read more

We got Medium Chicken Fried Rice cooked perfect with actual chicken that tasted off the bone not processed. Crab Rangoon which it seems to be made from scratch in house which is a plus. I got Fried Tofu with mixed vegetables and the Tofu was firm and crispy and the vegetables were cooked perfectly with an excellent spicy Ma La sauce and fresh to order as well! It's the little things like minimally processed meat and fresh not frozen vegetables. Good experience, tasteful food and the order was processed and was able to pick up within 25 min. Nice work Rice Box! read more

Best Chinese food I've had in awhile. Fast delivery. Great customer service. Extensive menu choices. We will definitely be back for more.

We ordered the family meal deal (for delivery)--then gasped when we saw it would take up to an hour to be delivered. It was one of those family nights when everyone was so hungry we could have eaten our hands off. While distracting the kids, a knock came on the door. Delivery in about 20 minutes! The food was steaming hot. Veggies crisp. Heat factor actually correctly about "medium" as specified. You can still go three more notches up on the heat scale. I bet the top is a scorcher--and I'm no wimp when it comes to hot food. Good flavors all around. Love the 1/2 and 1/2 wonton and egg drop soup. The surprise extras that get thrown into delivery items were fun too. For dessert we ordered almond cookies. They may not be homemade, but these were special. Yum with a cup of the oolong tea at the end of the meal--tea bags included as one of the extras! Kids loved it all and asked why we don't get Chinese more often. The whole spread, a "feast" according to my daughter, cost us around $30.What a deal. We will definitely order again, and my husband and I will enjoy the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Whoo-Hoo. Score for budget yumminess. read more

Best Chinese food EVER. Plus the guy working there is super cool and helpful for Take Out. I think they do *not* use MSG, which is fantastic. So I'm visiting my mom from NY City. Until eating at the Rice Box, I thought Flushing Queens was home to the best Chinese food. But Sarasota is where it's at and my whole family agrees. We like *Spicy* here is our order using the 5 Star rating for each dish: 1) Ma La + Beef = 5 STARS If you like spicy, tongue-tingling Sezchawan style, GET THIS. Ma La with Beef is enlightening. Amazing. 2) Thai Curry + Chicken = 5 STARS Also spicy. This Thai dish features the coconut milk and patented white curry blend + visible spices. LOVE. 3) Szechuan Garlic + Chicken = 5 STARS There are *grill marks* on the chicken, which means Rice Box takes Chinese food preparation to a whole new level. Flavors pop. 4) Eggplant + Tofu = 4 STARS This is among the best Eggplant we've had, however, our mom was the only one who actually likes eggplant. Our least favorite dish in general, but our mom wanted a vegetable... I've gone back since. LOVE. read more

Best Chinese restaurant I've found in my 15 years of living in Sarasota, FL! Wonderful food with great quality, everything is handmade. Nothing compares to their food. Wonderful!! read more

Rice Box Express - Teryaki chicken & rice, Krab Rangoon, wonton soup(s), and spring rolls - Chinese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

One of new faves, since Pings got gross. They are my go to place for chinese. No matter what I order its good, fresh, hot. They are consisant And timely. They are quick and like I said my new go too. I'm picky with Chinese. If you cut corners a I can tell. Thank you Rice box! read more

This place is phenomenal. You get "sit down/dine in" quality with convenience of take out. Everything is super fresh and deliciously flavored. Doesn't even seem like take out. Highly recommend!!!! read more