Peony Palace Restaurant

Over priced for what you get, bad service and lack luster food. This place is a Chinese/​Mongolian restaurant which goes to show if you put in the special grill any place can be a Mongolian restaurant. To some it up don’t waste your time or money, I know I won’t again.

My husband and i like coming here for the all you can eat bbq. Decent pricing. The chef is a good cook and the sides of fried rice or steam rice is good. I am not too fond of the soups but that’s just me.

After a long day of holiday shopping at some nearby stores, we were decidedly hungry and tried finding a place to eat. Unfortunately, hundreds maybe thousands of other locals had the very same goal. We drove around passing several restaurants that were already packed with diners and almost wanted to give up and go home. Then Joe K. suggested trying the Peony Palace after previously reading good reviews from our Unilocal friends.
As we got closer to where this place was, we almost passed it, because it was evening and they didn’t have any discernible lit signage. After turning into a strip mall following the Unilocal directional map, I spotted the restaurant displaying it’s barely noticeable logo. Finally, we were able to find parking from a distance and walked the chilly pathway to our destination. Then, when we entered the busy and noisy eatery, patiently waited for acknowledgment after several minutes. A table was cleared for us to be seated. The waitress asked us for our drink orders and I noticed that they have a full bar and was excited to be able to get an alcoholic beverage to help smooth out a tiring day of running around. The waitress didn’t understand me very well when I asked for a Tequila Sunrise and Joe K wanted a beer. She brought us water but had to ask me again what kind of drink I wanted. That’s when we told her we were going to utilize their Mongolian Barbecue feature and proceeded to the self serve counter of foods. We had to grab some rather small bowls, which seemed inappropriate for the amount of food one would expect to choose to include into their final cooked meal. My first bowl was greasy, so I had to select another one. As we started picking and choosing from the limited amounts of items on display, the waitress had to yell loudly at us from the other side of the food bar due the noise level and asked us if we wanted corn or egg flour soup. I told her corn as we continued down the short line filling our bowls.
We handed our food bowls to the cook as he started the impressive procedure of artistically cooking our selections on the large, round, hot plate. We took the final products to our table where we were also given some fried wontons with sweet and sour sauce, some eggrolls and bowls of soup that turned out NOT to be corn soup as we ordered. We got the hot & sour soup instead which left a weird taste in our mouths. Not only that, but the fried wontons were so tough to eat that I was sure we were given rawhide chews. The flavorful sauce was the only reason I continued to eat them! The eggrolls seemed like another joke in themselves! They were small, tightly compacted rolls, fried to a crispness that made it an effort to bite into and pull as hard as you can to even comfortably consume them! I’m pretty sure I have seen these appetizer eggrolls in the frozen food section of a popular box store!
My Tequila Sunrise never arrived and by the time someone asked us how things were, getting a drink seemed like a big waste of my time and money by then. The only saving grace of the evening was that my Mongolian meal was satisfactory. But when I think of it, I was the one that chose all the ingredients! Joe was extremely disappointed with our whole experience and returning again is highly unlikely! But it sure has been a good source for making jokes!

Best Mongolian grill! I love the fresh selection of veggies and meats. You pile it high, they grill it for you to the perfect spice and heat!

I have been hearing about Peony Palace for some time now and I finally got a chance to try it out. Is it better than other Mongolian joints? Maybe. but not by very much. I’ve read some reviews and even been told that they have horrible service. I was expecting that during my visit just based on what I’ve heard but still wanted to judge for myself. Im glad I wasn’t completely biased based on past reviewers because I had a great experience at Peony. The service was good and the staff was friendly. I was waiting for them to do something wrong so I can see what everyone was talking about but everything was perfect. They were accommodating and answered all our questions with no problem.
The food is put out buffet style and you have to pick and choose what you want them to cook for you and how. You pick your raw veggies, meats, sauces, nuts and spices, and they cook it in front of you. All the veggies were fresh, the meats were of good quality and fresh too. Your food here will taste exactly how you prepare it before it goes on the grill. You decide what goes in your bowl and what doesn’t so if you feel like your food doesn’t taste very good its probably because you didn’t pick the right ingredients. The only thing the «chef» or person working the grill does is cook it for you. They only add water so the food doesn’t burn and will only add more salt, pepper, or sauce if you ask them to. I recommend adding some sauce right before you hand it over to the chef so your food doesn’t come out too dry. Apart from that they cook it until everything is done or you can ask them to leave it on the grill for a little bit longer.
I wish I could leave full 5 stars but the only reason I am not is because I saw a few pieces of meat or veggies mixed in with other items. For example: Pieces of beef in the chicken bin, Onions in the carrot bin, etc. This is of course the customers fault for being messy while filling their bowls BUT I think restaurant staff can do a quick check every now and then, clean things up so food doesn’t get mixed up. I noticed this every time I went up to get more food. Some people who only eat certain things prefer other foods to not get mixed in with what they like. I think its only a matter of time before someone complains about finding strips of meat in the veggie bins.

I’ve been coming here to eat for a few years. The food is always great, service excellent. This is my go to place in Elk Grove when it comes to Chinese food.

My family and I have been going here for years. We’ve always had a great time, the staff is always friendly and the food is fantastic. The Mongolian BBQ is my favorite. Reasonably priced and location is close to home. I would definitely recommend coming here.

I was tempted to write Peony Palace sucks and leave it at that. To relive this rather unfortunate dinner is painful. Peony Palace is easily the worst culinary experience I have had since I joined Unilocal over six years ago.
We were greeted by this very short little lady (otherwise known as the vile waitress) that began to clean off a table for us. Half way through she decided that she should sit us in another section next to where a baby was crying. «Oh boy, not happening!» I quickly told her I did not want to be seated next to a crying baby.
The haphazardly way the vile little waitress wiped off our table was more than a little disgusting to watch. The towel she used to wipe it off with was even more disgusting than her lack of cleaning abilities so it is probably good that she only managed to run her rag over a small portion of the table leaving large droplets of waste water in its wake. Then she quickly threw two paper placemats on the table so that they were diagonally aligned with the edge of the table and tossed on our utensils without even looking as to where they landed. I usually don’t make a big deal out of things like this but I felt violated by this vile little lady.
Next she took our drink orders. Ida ordered a tequila sunrise and I ordered a beer. We also told her we would like the Mongolian Barbecue so she just lifted her arm and pointed towards it. She did not bother to ask us what kind of soup we would like with it or tell us about the egg roll or quarter of a fried wanton you get with it. Instead she waited until we were halfway through loading our bowls at the food selection area attached to the barbecue. She chose to yell over the bar from a distance with the noise from the barbecue lending much disruptive volume. We both told her we would like the corn «something or other» soup.
The choices of vegetables were almost like a bad joke. There was cabbage that did not have any resemblance of leafy matter. Only the hard, coarse part of the center of the cabbage was made available. Then there was spinach. I am not sure I have ever ordered a spinach dish in a Chinese restaurant? There was mushroom, bean sprouts and broccoli though, along with some poorly cut carrots green onion, regular chopped onions, and really awful looking tomatoes. There was absolutely nothing impressive about this Mongolian barbecue.
One of my pet peeves about most of the Mongolian barbecues I have been to is the small little bowls they give you. They slice the frozen meat in a way so that it is curled up and one piece, as unsubstantial as it might be, fills up the entire bottom of the bowl. Next they always have these huge bowls of extremely thick noodles of which even a very small scoop completely overwhelms your bowl before you even get to the vegetable bar. Now you have to literally hold onto the vegetables to keep them from falling off the noodles. While balancing these vegetables atop your bowl, you need to pick out a sauce even though you have absolutely zero idea what these sauces taste like or how watered down they are. Now you get to wait your turn to have your small hodgepodge cooked on an awesome Mongolian barbecue. Some of the places I have been write your name on a post-​it, stick it to your bowl and call you when your food is done. Not Pee-​on-​me Palace.
We had the misfortune of having a large party arrive at the same time we did. People were literally backed up from the barbecue past the food selection area. It would have been so much nicer if they would have been more organized.
As a result of the buffet area being overcrowded with people waiting for the barbecue and the small bowls that are purposely not made to accommodate the vegetables, the area quickly began to look like the city waste disposal site otherwise known as a garbage dump. To say it looked putrid would be an understatement.
Now; back to the soup. Our vile little waitress did not bring us the corn «something or other soup» as we had requested. She brought us the sweet and sour soup. Neither Ida nor I are big fans of sweet and sour soup to start with but this stuff was as vile as the waitress. It reminded me of the juice at the bottom of a garbage can that has had vegetables decay and leak out of their bags and have ripened in more than one day of hot afternoon sun. It was inedible. The eggrolls were even worse than the soup and the flat, quarter piece of fried wanton wrapper speaks for itself.
The large party kept the vile little waitress occupied until it was too late for us to do anything about the soup or to complain that Ida never received her drink. A nice young man approached us at this time but it was already way too late in the meal.
Like I said before, this place sucks and I would rather experience having a root canal during a nuclear attack than return.

After my visit here I realized I should have ordered take out. We barely sat down and they were already asking us if we were ready to order. When we got our food that we barely ate, someone came by asking us if we wanted boxes. While I was still putting food in my mouth, she had the nerve to ask me if she wanted me to pack my food. Uhm hello??? I’m still eating? And after that she handed us the check. I would say we were only there for like 20 – 30 minutes. I ordered chow fun with bbq pork, it was very salty but I mean it was still edible I guess…

great family business — please don’t go as its too busy already.
Sometimes it looks a little dirty — rest assured their product is fresh, clean and good. Good food great price.
Evelyn is great waitress.

Came here for dinner tonight to try the Mongolian BBQ! First, you get seated and they’ll ask you if you’d like fried or steamed rice, and corn or hot and sour soup. It’ll be out on the table once you’re done grabbing your bowl of Mongolian BBQ.
They have chicken, pork, beef and lamb. Then they have plenty of veggies (cabbage, cilantro and extra onions for me!). There’s several sauces too such as teriyaki, chili oil, vinegar, and even sugar water!
They also provide wonton chips and egg rolls which were mediocre… the chips were stale :(But the BBQ was actually quite tasty and I took over half home for my lunch tomorrow!

Guy cooking the Mongolian bbq was super rude, and completely condescending. Most of the employees are in serious need of learning manners.
First, we wanted food to go, so we went and grabbed a bowl. We tell the guy we wanted it to go and he FLIPS out and LECTURES us about what we should have done. First off, there was no one at the front helping us so we had no idea. Second, there are no signs saying anything too. What am I, a mind reader?
My friend asked for some hot sauce to go and the waitress goes «someone else will help you» and walks away without even trying to refer us to someone else. What!!!
So we go up to pay for our food and tell the cashier we wanted it to go. Thank god there is at least one girl working there that’s nice. She tried to apologize on behalf of the cook, but I could not believe how rude everyone else was.
Sorry I’ll take my business elsewhere.

Two words: lunch specials. That’s what keep me coming back, and that’s what makes my life easier. There’s something about batter fried meat tossed in a sweet sauce that goes perfect with fried rice or chow mein. I enjoy dining here, I just don’t enjoy that full feeling with a hint of msg.

Enjoyed the food very much. Would of gave them a five had it not of taken so long to get it. Didn’t get to eat with all the family at the table.
My food came when everyone’s else’s plate were done
Would come back soon.

Best Mongolian BBQ ever! I always get the lamb, noodles and tons of garlic. The cook puts the sauce on, so I don’t have to struggle picking out the right things.
I read the other reviews, and I think people are ignorant to the fact that most asian restaurants are usually bad service, and are janky/​unclean type establishments. Yes, the BBQ cook has zero personality, and the waitresses sling the drinks and food at you. Overall, when I need my asian food fix, I don’t give f-​ck about service or how clean my table is. All I want is perfect tasting food in my mouth. Peony Palace delivers that every time; I am in heaven when I eat here.

Umm this place is okay. I only been here a few times for the all you can eat mongolian bbq. I mean it just kind of reminds me of chow mein, but overpriced? I mean it’s kind of fun to stack your own bowl of noodles with whatever toppings and sauce you want, but they only allow you to use one bowl at a time, whereas there’s a few places that allow you to use 2 bowls? Just make sure to stack your bowl as high as possible cause as soon as they grill it on that table top thing and put it in the bowl it’s not a lot. Overall, service here is kind of lacking — they seat you, you either order from the menu or mongolian bbq, they give you water, you eat & then you pay at counter in the front. Ehh mongolian bbq is nothing special and this place is not that great.

Can’t say enough how good their food is. It was the unprofessional behavior of the young greeter that rushed us to a booth and before we sat down was pushing us to tell her what we wanted to drink. Happened two nights ago. Won’t stop us from still going there but hopefully she’ll read this review and mellow out with customers.
Food still deserves a 5 star!

I love their food… lots of choices on the menu. I love lamb so I decided to get the all you can eat buffet. Pretty simple… you pick what you want and give it to the cook and he prepares it for you… always tastes great.
Place is always busy and parking is available. I love that they have a full bar there as well and games are always playing. Food is good and customer service is great! One of my favorite restaurants to eat :-)

While they serve a full Chinese menu, I always come for the Mongolian BBQ, which I have generally found fresh. After tax it will cost you $ 12.21 for dinner (with no drinks). I like the thick noodles they use, which are almost left al dente. One caution, the wok cooks like to put their own mix of sauces, with a heaping spoon of garlic. This doesn’t make too much sense, since the layout encourages you to put sauces on as you go through the line (like every other Mongo place I’ve bee in). In any case, you can tell the cook to not add anything. The do have a full bar, which is usually pretty quiet, a good thing. A silent TV, usually tuned to sports hangs in the bar. A sign lists the room capacity as 78 persons. The arrangement of the place, while giving room to those standing in line, feels open and not crowded.

This place gets 4 stars simply because I like the food and the all you can eat Mongolian BBQ. I would give Peony Palace 5 stars but their service is just not good. If it wasn’t for the great food I’m sure they wouldn’t ever be nearly as busy.
I come here often and always notice the lack of customer service skills that the servers and waiters possess. However my last visit to Peony Palace was just disappointing.
We waited a few minutes to be seated, but as I watched the waiter clean off the table for us I wondered if he hates his job. He literally was throwing the cutlery onto the table. He waived us over to the table so we went and sat down. A few minutes later he took our order and we never saw him again. I drank my water and soda and looked around hoping to get more water but he was nowhere to be found.
Mongolian BBQ is supposedly served until 9 according to the menu. At 8:50 I went back for seconds and the grumpy cook mentioned in many of the other reviews turned us away and said «come earlier next time we stop serving at 8:50.» He was pretty rude but I told him menu says 9, so he should cook my bowl. After a few dirty looks were exchanged, he did. Thanks grumpy cook.
Disappointed that the service here seems to get worse every time I visit.