Chino Bandido

NOOOOO! Why did you close??? Now I have to drive 70 miles round trip for that amazing jade red chicken… Please reconsider and open back up… I’m considering selling the Porsche and buying a Prius just to afford the gas to drive across town for my chinos fix.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO *breath* OOOOOOOOOOOOOO *bereft weeping and rending of garments*
Chino, I LOVED you! How could you do this to me?!

I really like this place and I am SO upset that they closed down this location for good. Please come back! Phoenix is great and all, but all of us in the East Valley need you back. So please find a better location and re-​open. I’m fairly certain that the bizarre location was what did it for them.
At any rate, if you visit the Chinos that IS open, here is what you should order:
Emerald Chicken Quesadilla
Jade Red Chicken
Jerk Fried Rice
Refried Beans
You can thank me later.

For the kind of food it is, I think it’s really good. They give you so much food and you can make it any way you want (quesadilla, rice, etc). Definitely heavy food and I could see it be awesome after a night of heavy drinking. Might be the next best thing to chicken and rice for any East Coasters.

Love this place!
I have been away from the Valley for a decade. Chino’s in North Phoenix was a favorite lunch destination. This location is hard to find but so much cleaner.
Great food. Jerk chicken burrito and chile relent quesadilla. Yum. A complimentary snicker doodle to go… too. I dream about the refried black beans.

I’m now very conflicted with this establishment.
The original location is SO MUCH BETTER. The employees there take the time out to explain their fusion menu, they give you tastings of entrees, and made me fall in love with Chino Bandido.
I do, however, work much closer to this location, and I was so excited to make the trek here to emulate that first experience.
Sadly, every time I come here, I feel like I’m collecting a debt when I’m placing an order with this location’s employees. I guess nobody likes working here…
I love their food, as you can see I’ve checked in here a few times.
But enough’s enough:
–Finding the place still takes quite a bit of effort at night
–The ambience is awful, the storefront is having an identity crisis while trying to be a hip sports bar with the TVs and San Tan brews, but fails to deliver good food instead
–They’re always out of Egg Foo Yung… the one time they had it, it tasted completely bland and nothing like the one I ordered from the original location
–They’ve gotten my order wrong. When I’m only placing two bowl orders and the place is not remotely busy, there’s no excuse
Maybe I need to find the manager/​owners and have a heart to heart talk. Either these are two different franchisees or they need to shape up this location

Another one of my favorite places… Though I would suggest coming in during lunch (11a-​1p) during the week, or for dinner (5p-​7p) on Fridays… the food is mostly batch prepped, and best during those hours.
The location off of 19^th Avenue and Greenway tends to be better if you are in that area.
I tend to order a combo with Carnitas Quesadilla, Hen Grenade Chicken, pork fried rice, and pinto beans… ymmv of course… I’ve had most of the menu, but it’s been a while since I’ve ordered anything else. I come in about once a month lately either here or at the 19^th ave location.

The food wasn’t so good for being Chinese food and i know what great Chinese food taste like.

This is a great place. The food is super yummy and the service is always great. My only complaint is that there is an off smell in the building. Clearly that doesn’t keep me away though, the food is too good.
I do love that they have Legos to play with, but it would be great is they washed or bleached them every once in awhile, they are pretty dirty. That and the smell are the only reason I docked a star.

Very cool fusion of Mexican and Chinese food. I would recommend the Jerk Chicken and Jen Red Chicken. The staff is really friendly and you can sample items.

Rice is rock hard. Jaded chicken taste like its been sitting there for days. Brought it to the young girls attention and they had to say was oh. Plenty of people eating here but maybe they didn’t get the rice?
I think I may have just come to
Late and there menu is to big for them to make it fresh when they order it. Oh well. Plus they give you free chips and salsa for a good review on this. Reason for all the stars on here? You decided but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Maybe there chips are good and worth the stars. Guess I’ll never know

I stopped in today for lunch with my mom. We both had the combination platter with jade red chicken, machaca, chicken fried rice, and black beans and devoured all of it. I was originally apprehensive about trying Chinese-​Mexican fusion, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I will definitely be back with my husband so he can try it.

As a long time patron of Chino Bandido I have been accustomed to a certain level of quality when it comes to the food. Up until recently that quality has been excellent and it is for that reason alone I am able to give this even 3 stars. I am particularly speaking of this Chandler location. The quality here has been highly inconsistent. When this location first opened (and for months after) the food was actually hot and they certainly did not skimp on anything. Today, I was so disappointed that I had to write about it. The food temperature was lukewarm, at best. The food quantity seemed like it was half of what I had been accustomed to. It was just such a disappointment.
On the positive side I did notice that they have happy hour now so I may have to make my way back to try it out.

This is a hidden gem of a restaurant! It’s tucked behind the Walgreens at Dobson & Chandler, and boasts a very large, casual dining room with enough space for big parties/​families.
The menu is an interesting assortment of Mexican & Asian spiced meats, about 5 rice options, either refried beans or Cuban black beans, and each of our meals came with a big snickerdoodle or chocolate cookie.
There were 6 of us, we sampled one another’s meals, loved everything! Examples: Jade Red Chicken, Jerk Chicken, Hengrenade Chicken, Chinese BBQ Pork, Machaca.
Chino Bandido’s is a MUST-​TRY place. Can’t wait to return!

I don’t have the words for how awesome this place is. I mean how has this not blown up before. Mexican & Asian food all on the same menu and combined? It is everything I love and it is so wrong that it is so right.
I look at the menu in awe and just grin about the damage I am getting ready to do. It would be wise for me to list out all of the concoctions and requests but I can’t remember. I know that they were on DDD but a friend of mine took me here and don’t go very often but when I do… it is on.
Just do it… do it… do it…

Is this place a world wonder? Or was it created by an act of god? Was it an offspring of a Latina and an Asian? Maybe it was a miracle of science? It most likely happened when they put a panda in a fusing machine with a burrito and thus the restaurant Chino Bandido was created. However the restaurant was created, it has some of the most unique food I ever had. The restaurant is a fuse of Mexican cuisines and Asian flavors and a lot of creativity to make a unique menu.
If it is your first time at the place or you want to try something new on the menu, I would suggest asking for a sample of some of their dishes. Once you figure out which ones are your favorites, you have the next hard task of figuring out whether you want it on a dish, in a burrito, or a quesadilla. All of these choices give you reason to come back several times over to try out something new each time and you can’t do it in one sitting because the amount they give you is quite filling.
Also makes sure to take a picture of the panda in sombrero with the awesome mustache or selfie with it.

So what do you call a place that serves decent Mexican food, outstanding chicken dishes with some Asian influence? Well, they call it Chino Bandido’s!
Now I’ll admit, I get a charge and some amusement by watching Guy Fieri of Food Network visit these local DDD. We have also visited quite a few of Guy’s places over the years. The yummy Guatemalan place in Santa Fe, NM is probably the best, while there’s been quite a few near misses, too. But Chino Bandido’s… well we somehow missed that episode.
So when I saw that sign, with Guy’s gargantuan smiling face (see photo) I thought okay, what am I in for this evening? Well not to worry. As it turned out it, it was all for the best, as the Four Star review might indicate.
According to Food Network: «Chino Bandido’s Chinese-​Mexican-​Jamaican dishes have garnered lifelong fans. Guy loved the fusion, calling it one of the most original on DDD. The best part? The menu has more than 90,000 combinations. For a spicy option try the Pollo Diablo, Jade Red Chicken and Jerk Fried Rice. Pow!» Ugh, I could have done without that pow. LOL
The first thing that’s tricks you as you enter, is the industrial, high ceilings and plastic 10 foot folding tables and chairs right out of Sam’s Club, or Costco. The other thing you notice is the re, Chinese «Great Wall» muriel with a panda dressed as a Via Zapata style bandido. Some things don’t translate I guess. LOL
I do not believe Chino Bandido’s is Chinese at all. Well, not in the traditional sense. Heck, not in any sense really. Yes, I see a Fried Rice, Egg Foo Yung, Chinese BBQ Pork, and Teriyaki Chicken on the menu. But no Asian soups. No General Tso’s, no Orange Beef or Chicken, no Kung Pow, no buckwheat noodles, I could go on.
What I see is a very strong Jamaican influence. That Panda could easily be a photo-​shopped for Bob Marley because of all the Jerky Chicken and Jerky Rice. Sorry guys, or should I say Guy. LOL
But there were some hiccups along the way, but I really love this place. And two hundred or of my co-​workers who seem to come each day cannot be all wrong. LOL
For me, just order the Jerky Chicken (photo) and you’ll see what I mean. Delicious. Expect to pay $ 8 or so.
Enjoy!

A good quick meal that tastes pretty good as well. I end up usually getting the jerk fried rice, and jade red chicken. Grab the black beans you’ll thank me :).
The snicker doodle they give with your meal is delicious as well (love the after meal treat).
The only true downside is you’ll be in a food coma by the time you’re done with the meal (unless you get the bowl which is about half the amount of food).
Overall, check this place out. It’s worth the visit.

This is a very unique restaurant. When we walked in, they offered us a sample of anything on their menu to try before ordering. We ended up ordering the red jade chicken & fried rice, and a combo with the shredded pork & the jerk chicken burrito with beans & rice. The beans were really salty but the red jade chicken & fried rice were good. The location itself is hidden in a parking lot & is pretty hard to find. The food wasn’t the greatest but not bad either … Just okay.

Interesting concept.
Chino Bandido serves up combinations that allow you to mix and match various flavors, wrappings, and sides in a fast food Asian Fusion fashion.
I’ve been here a few times, and while the food is consistent, it’s consistent in the fast-​food Asian/​Mexican way, like a step up from Panda Express or Filibertos.
I’ve ordered a few items, my thoughts as follows:
Chinese bbq pork: It wasn’t the bright red color I’m used to seeing in typical Chinese bbq style pork, but the pork was tender, and had decent flavor.
Jerk fried rice: Has hints of the «jerk» spice seasoning mixed with bits of chicken and veggies. Mildly spicy.
Hengrenade burrito: This burrito was around $ 3, which is quite cheap. However, it is tiny! It was basically the size of the palm of my hand. The hengrenade chicken itself had a great kick from the spicy sauce, and had a piquant bold flavor.
Emerald chicken: My favorite entrée so far, with tender white meat chicken blanketed with a bright green scallion-​ginger sauce. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Hainanese chicken.
Pollo Diablo: Deep fried chicken coated with a vinegary sauce with peppers. Although this is touted as a super spicy dish, it was more like a mild-​medium level to me.
I’ve eaten in and takee outee’d, and I’ve always encountered fast and friendly service.
Overall, good for a fast food fusion fix.