THIS PLACE IS THE BEST! IF i was at my death bed, i would DEFINITELY choose this as a top 3. The soups are so yummy and the owners ARE SO NICE AND LOVING!! Kindest PEOPLE ON EARTH! would recommends 10/10! Cute family friendly vibe too. read more

We're regulars at Uncle Chen in Carpinteria, and it's always a great experience. Clean, quiet, and welcoming. The orange chicken, shrimp chow fun, kung pao beef, and hot and sour soup are consistently fresh and flavorful. Generous portions, hot tea, and friendly service every time. A reliable favorite, highly recommend. read more

Uncle Chen Restaurant - Mixed Fried Rice, White Rice, Orange Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Carpinteria, California

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I love it here (except for the one customer on his cell phone talking LOUDLY!) The service was great, the menu is simple, and the food is delicious. I highly recommend the ginger soup for anyone that is sick or needs warmth. Sliced chicken, mushroom, baby boy choy, carrots, and jullienne slivers of ginger. So good! A small bowl is pretty large, at least to me. I ordered the Mei Mei Tofu dish which comes with white rice. I took a scoop of that white rice to put in my soup, too. The heat holds well in the Tofu, which was still hot after my soup. I didnt need to add anything to it. No salt, no soy sauce, no white pepper...it tasted delicious. I enjoyed my meal. I will return! read more

Uncle Chen Restaurant - Mei Mei Tofu Dish...SO good! - Chinese Near Me - Carpinteria, California

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It's been years since I have found a king pow chicken that was this good, and the beef skewers were delicious

I love coming to Uncle Chen's. It is a great local restaurant and my go to is always their cream cheese wontons! Their beef and broccoli is very tasty as well and very juicy! If you have not tried their sizzling rice soup it is another favorite of mine. Service is quick because for pick up orders they are always ready very quickly. read more

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Good food and good friendly service. We've been here several times. Miss the buffet table that was removed during the covid plandemic. read more

The BEST CHINESE FOOD EVERRRRR!!!! Omg the orange chicken here is seriously to die for. My husband isn't a huge Chinese food fan and he craves Uncle Chens! We are sure to visit anytime we're in Carpinteria and my kids also love it. The service is also incredible and the woman that is always working the front is so sweet and lovely. 20/10 recommend!! read more

Uncle Chen Restaurant - Orange chicken, salt and pepper chicken wings (SOOO good!), beef chow mein - Chinese Near Me - Carpinteria, California

GREAT service, ambience fine, and my husband LOVED his Orange Chicken and my Honey Walnut Shrimp. I ordered the fried rice, while he ordered the steamed. He thought many of the walnuts in my shrimp were burned, but enough were cooked perfectly, that he enjoyed the dish over all. The waiter was great, and very accommodating, allowing us to split the egg roll appetizer into 2 vegetable and two chicken. I personally did not like the oil they used to fry everything. It tasted weird to me, but I couldn't ask about it, because my husband said that would make me a "Karen".‍ read more

Had a delicious dinner here. Almost all the dishes we ordered came out piping hot. The sauce they used for for stir fry is very good. Great service. Friendly employees. Would love to go back again. Wife approved read more

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I love the environment of the restaurant and the service by the employees. I thought the food was okay. It's kind of hard to tell what you are going to get because it's a basic menu of food and meat. No real indication of the flavor/spiciness. But what I had, beef and noodles, turned out nice and I would go again after a late night. read more

I am from San Diego and raised in Chicago. We have access to a lot of Chinese restaurants there and know what good Chinese food is. Unfortunately, this food lacks flavor. It was not prepared properly. I ordered moo goo Guy pan and the chicken tasted like rubber. I would not be surprised if my dish was microwaved because that causes a rubber consistency. Chinese food is supposed to be hot fresh and steaming. This was not and had very little taste. I have to say the quality of the food was really subpar. Wonton soup consisted of two dumplings, not even scallions or anything else just chicken broth and dumplings. The dumplings did not taste fresh. They tasted terrible -- consistency and flavor were lacking I would not recommend this food to anyone. There is obviously no authentic Chinese cook in the kitchen and they have no idea what they're doing. read more

Quiet setting where regulars know what they'll have as they walk in. We arrived just before the lunch rush and slowly saw the restaurant full up. Almost every patron knew the host/waitress and caught up as they were seated. A friendly "everybody knows your name" type vibe. The lunch specials here are reasonably priced and a decent serving. A nice find for us that we will definitely return to on our next visit. read more

I have been eating at this restaurant for 18 years. I eat here about twice a week n i love their food the service and the local, hometown vybes. I absolutely love their food family who runs this place and will continue to support them. It is one of my favorite places to eat. Sometimes, i stop by just to say hello because of the love and warmth they exude. The fried rice is awesome, the water boiled hot fish is awesome, the chicken and broccoli chow fun is just right and the salt & pepper chicken wings are I love Uncle Chens! I proudly were their sweatshirts--they look cool! Get one for yourself next time you stop by. Thank you for feeding me all these years! read more

Great food and great selection Large section of seafood that you can't find in other Chinese restaurants in town Nice decor read more

Wonderfull! Great food. Nice staff and far price. Ambiance okay and comfortable. We will return.

The food was really good especially the pu pu platter The service was amazing. Super pretty read more

Uncle Chen Restaurant - The pu pu platter - Chinese Near Me - Carpinteria, California

Been here once as it was recommended and we drove in from Ventura. Great food enjoyed everything we ordered. Great customer service. Need to visit again read more

Big portions and even bigger flavors. The service was spot on. Our visit here was on the last night we were in Carpenteria and made it even more memorable. read more

I'm shocked. This place was good, LOL. I requested something that WAS NOT on the menu and it tasted heavenly: Salt and Pepper Fried Tofu. Amazing. A little heavy on the salt and maybe they could have used a firmer tofu, but they pulled this request together out of thin air and it tasted great! Thank you. I also had Soy Chicken Rainbow Vegetable. Juicy pieces of soy chicken stir fried nicely with hot and crisp vegetables...and a big side of white rice. The order was messed up at first and I had to return it (they initially gave me Kung Pao Soy Chicken), but they corrected it and I was so happy. Everything was hot and steamy. I will definitely go here again. read more

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There Thai iced tea is great for a homesick southerner craving real sweet tea. It's sweet! The Chow Fun is pretty good, a little better than many others in area. Not great, but pretty good. They use the thin sliced meats you often see at a Mongolian BBQ. Plenty of vegetables and sprouts, they are just a few quality ingredients from being 5 stars. Good vibe, decent prices, friendly people. read more

Uncle Chen Restaurant - Chow Fun - Chinese Near Me - Carpinteria, California

Delicious food and friendly staff. The dishes are always great; love that there a so many options.

Went there with a party of 12 for a birthday celebration. Service was friendly, prompt and efficient. Our server went above and beyond to help us out and make sure we were comfortable. Food was very flavorful and reasonably priced. Will be back for sure, if I'm ever in the area. read more

Today was my first time to try Uncle Chen Chinese Restaurant. It was altogether enjoyable. The ambiance was pleasant. Super clean. Excellent polite and professional customer service. Food was beautifully served on really cute plates. DELICIOUS! I had the broccoli chicken with noodles instead of rice and he had the sweet & sour pork. Luncheon special is a great deal. Asked if possible to speak with Roy Lee. What a great guy. I'll be back, for sure. read more

Uncle Chen Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Carpinteria, California

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Swung by another time on my way back from SBA to bring mom lunch. I decided to order a broccoli chicken lunch, shrimp with lobster sauce lunch and shrimp chow mein. She asked if i wanted utensils but I'm not sure why because there were forks in the bag with I got home. I waited for about 10 minutes or so and drove the final 21 miles back to Ventura. The egg roll and fried won ton that accompany the lunches are quite good for empty calories. I really enjoyed both. Their fried won ton have a decent amount of meat in them which I haven't experienced before. They're usually just the fried wrapper alone. Mom enjoyed the broccoli chicken but next time we'd ask if they can make it with white sauce. The shrimp with broccoli is a little sweeter than I like so I'd avoid that one next time. The chow mein was back on par with our first visit. Greasy the way good chow mein is with tasty shrimp and not too salty or sauce. It was the best part of the meal. read more

Uncle Chen Restaurant - Shrimp with lobster sauce lunch special - Chinese Near Me - Carpinteria, California

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When you are feeling down and out order the soup!!! When you are feeling better and hungry lots of choices are here. There are a very nice group of people who will take good care of you and your family!! Service and food are warm, filling and friendly !!! read more

This restaurant is truly the best in so many ways. The food is absolutely delicious, fresh, homemade, authentic and health conscious. The owners are warm, kind, smart and caring. This is a family run business in every sense of the word including making even the customer feel like a part of their loving family! read more

Enjoyed a delicious hot egg drop soup and fresh cheese wontons. The dipping sauces were tasty! The service was fast and always with a smile! I'll be back someday. read more

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Our go to restaurant for great Chinese food with friendly service! I personally love their hot and sour soup and the rincon vegetables- veggies stir fryed in a delicious garlic and ginger sauce. My kids love the pork chowmein and the chocolate dipped fortune cookies. We love Uncle Chens! read more

Great service, delicious food! I would recommend the Walnut Shrimp, chow mein, Orange Chicken and the potstickers. Worth the stop!

Service is as great. But food, mediocre or even less than. Chow me in had no flavor. My spare ribs with pepper salt was ALL bread, it was breaded way too much. The orange chicken bland. I have been trying to find a good Chinese food place for a few years now, and have not been able to find a good one in all of SB and carp. It also is sooo overpriced for Chinese. So for good Chinese you have to go beyond these cities. This Chinese food is not one that is good the next day either. I'm actually not sure how "authentic" this place is as they say. read more

Well run with very authentic offerings. Try the premium dinner options for larger groups. Kung Pao also a highlight.. ask for spiced Thai peppers! read more

Friendly service. Excellent food. Many more menu choices than similar restaurants. Welcoming ambiance. Love the variety in the gift shop with Uncle Chens gear. Convenient and plentiful parking. Locally owned by wonderful people. read more

Went to celebrate Chinese New Year. It would have been nice if there had been some music & decoration to create that atmosphere. Party of 3. We went with the $27 full meal and each ordered different entrees + a side order of steamed bun. The buns were maybe a mistake with the kitchen. More like small pot stickers. Soup and appetizers, orange chicken and beef & broccoli very good. The salt and pepper ribs were a disappointment to all of us. Thickly coated and fried nuggets that were full of small pieces of bone. Service was very good. read more

Uncle Chen's consistent quality and freshness has been outstanding over the many years we have enjoyed the delicious menu selections. The soups are yummy. The Special Dinners are perfect with a handful of different flavors and choices. Enjoy a lovely pot of hot tea! Excellent for a big family dinner, or a simple cozy booth for two. Either way, you will enjoy Uncle Chen! Don't hesitate, super family friendly, good service! Enjoy. read more

I found out about this restaurant because of the greatest local political race story in the history of the region. I was on a bicycle ride from UCSB down to Carpinteria and stopped along the way to call the restaurant. I ordered two things with noodles. When I rolled into town and walked into the restaurant, there he was, the new County Supervisor, Roy Lee. The food was all ready. I purchased a wonderful, soft T-shirt then brought the food over to a local brewery to share with friends. Everyone loved the noodles. It was fun to see community members stopping in to congratulate Mr. Lee. read more

We love this restaurant, specially the Salt and Pepper rib. We order from here often.

Roy Lee and his family are awesome!!! they always remember us, and no matter how busy, always friendly! Congratulations to Roy on his win, looking forward to seeing all the great things he'll accomplish read more

I honestly do not understand the 4.5 star rating for this restaurant. I hate to be harsh on small, family owned restaurants, and perhaps this restaurant is a victim of post COVID, lack of skilled resources, but as hard as I try, I cannot say one positive thing about the food. Perhaps the clue should have been the empty tables and pervasive odor of old rancid grease lingering in the air. Still, we stayed and thought we'd give it a try. Santa Barbara Chinese restaurants are terrible, so we headed a bit south. Based on the 4.5 star reviews, we thought we would be immersed in freshness and explosive flavors. Boy, we're we wrong. I ordered General Tso's chicken. The second the server sat it down in front of me, the putrid stench of rancid grease and vinegar wafted up my nose and into my stomach triggering every bad feeling my stomach could possibly experience-the first being nausea. I literally had to move the plate as far away from me as possible. My husband's sizzling garlic beef was a all presentation and the most tasteless combination of meat, and I don't know what else. It was also terrible and I am not exaggerating-terrible. The plain fried rice my niece ordered was actually really good, that is until she pulled a hair from between her teeth after taking a bite as she was finishing the end of her plate of rice. The best thing about this restaurant is the he friendly service. The people are really nice but they must do something about the food. read more

I highly recommend this restaurant. Food was great. Service was fast and prices were very affordable and reasonable The restaurant is easy to find and we came on a busy Saturday night. We were seated immediately and our order came in fast. All the foods we ordered were all yummy for a happy tummy. read more

I love this restaurant, I have lunch here weekly. My go to for beef & broccoli, and the best sizzling rice soup I've ever had. This is a local family owned restaurant, wonderful people, great food. A perfect neighborhood place. read more