Mandarin Garden

I ordered chicken chow mein with Hong Kong fried noodles, they were the strangest fried noodles I’ve ever had and buried under them, I assume, was the chow mein. The shrimp fried rice was okay. We have lived in Issaquah since 1973 and went to Mandarin Garden often in the ’70’s. We remember it as being a lot better back in the 1970’s. We won’t be ordering from them again.

We’ve been going here for 20+ years, and enjoy it every time. Of course you can get familiar with the menu, but the staff encourages you to try something new.
I love their hot-​and-​sour soup, and I love the spiciness of their Hunan Chicken. The various combination plates are a good deal – my wife and I usually get just one, and split it between us – there is just too much for one person to eat!

I was in here recently, maybe it was an off night but the food was just not as good. The pot stickers are still the best but the rest of the food was not as good. The chow mein felt under cooked. I’m sure I’ll be back as I love Chinese food, but I just wont make it a point of traveling up here.

Bland food with very little chicken and beef. We used to go there 5 to 10 years ago and the food was great. We spent $ 42 on takeout and are disappointed in the lack of flavor. The Cashew Chicken had very little chicken that looked like canned chunks (small square pieces) and the Beef with snow peas and vegetables had little beef and very few snow peas. Mandarin Garden is not near our home, so I doubt I will go back

We were also there when Binny P was there. So here are the facts for that night:
The toddlers were restless and indeed stressed the whole place out. Other customers requested to switch tables to quieter corners because of the disruption. I also have a kid and we felt welcomed there. So it’s not true that kids aren’t welcome in the restaurant.
And here’s my reviews for Mandarin Garden:
Service is decent: not top notch but they treat everyone with respect provided the customers are respectful to others too. I’m not sure if any restaurants or schools would welcome yelling kids but there may be some out there.
Food is decent: real food with no fillers. Dishes are big and up to par.

We witnessed Binny P with the toddlers. They were screaming and stressing the whole place out, very rude. As a parent for the respect for others around it’s their responsibility to comfort and quiet the child.
We LOVE THIS PLACE. Great service, food, and atmosphere. They have the only vegetarian combo plate in town! And my big boyfriend loves their beef fried rice. It’s so good he sweats ;)

The food was ok, however the restaurant owner’s attitude was horrendous! We had young toddlers and a baby with us, the kids were restless since they were tired and hungry. The owner repeatedly made snide remarks about us and our noisy kids in their native language (thinking that we do not understand them). I would’ve appreciated if they told us in the face to tone it down.
If not for the fact that it was a busy weekend night and the other restaurants were packed, we would not have stepped into this place! If kids weren’t welcomed, pls state upfront.
p. s. They even charged the 2yos and 5 month old baby service tax! Seriously!!!

I grew up in Issaquah and Mandarin Garden has been there for years and our family would always go here. We just moved back to town so of course we went to MG.
The bbq pork fried rice was good but I felt cheated with the Kung Pao Chicken. This is a pretty commonly ordered menu item but it was not good. Restaurants must think we’re too dense to notice the vegetable to meat ratio, I had trouble finding any chicken. There was something, maybe water chestnuts, that were diced the same size as the chicken, not at all worth what we paid.
And to top it off, stale fortune cookies!

Went the other day for take-​out. Was disappointed. Almond Chick tasted so bland — like no salt was used whatsoever! Also, Chow Mein was bland. The S&S Chicken’s sauce was not like usual S&S sauce. The lady there was so nice, but sadly — food not so good that day. Also, gross that they plop the unwrapped fortune cookies right on top of your to-​go order boxes. Threw them away. I will try again, but not soon.

I go here for Chinese food in Issaquah. The lunch specials are all less than nine bucks and you get food for two meals. It’s a good deal. Their fried rice is really good with BBQ pork and the hot and sour soup is on the spicy side, as it should be! When I call in to pick up it’s always ready in time (10 minutes). The owner has been seen cleaning up the place, prepping food, etc… He does tedious tasks, which I respect.

Out of all the Chinese restaurants that I’ve found in Issaquah thus far, this one is definitely my favorite all around. The others that I’ve been to were decent but I’ve always struck out with at least one of the entrees or other food items. However, I was really impressed with everything that we ordered here… and we got a LOT of food for the two of us.
To start, the hot and sour soup was definitely one of the better ones that I’ve had. Still not as good as Toy’s in Bellevue but better than the other nearby ones. Giant cube of tofu which was great as well as chicken. For my entrée, I had tofu in black bean sauce which was also really good. I loved the flavor and it wasn’t overly greasy or salty. I came here when babysitting and J had the orange chicken. I usually don’t go for the sweet stuff but I would actually order the orange chicken again on my own. J pronounced that it was the best orange chicken that she’s had.
This place is high on my list, and I’m glad it’s close.

I would never, never recommend it to anyone. I would never go back there again. The place is dirty. It’s dark you never know what’s lurking around the place. They keep the place dark cuz they don’t want you to see how dirty the place. I would never eat unwrap fortune cookies. The lady touches the dirty rag, handles money then does not wash her hands then takes the fortune cookies out of the container unwrapped serves it with check the little tray they put the cookies and the sales receipts you never know if they ever sanitize those little tray or even wash them GROSS!
I sat there while I wait for my orders after seeing it, it was disgusting.
The guy who’s been going there for years must get free lunch that’s why he gave them 4 stars. Maybe the health department should pay them a surprise visit. See if they pass. Their food is not very good at all! I should have read the Unilocal reviews 1^st before I went there. There’s a lot of bad reviews. I guess I should start reviewing reviews before I go in any restaurant. IT’S LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU GONNA GET!!!

Almost as good as a fast food joint. What separates this place from the fast food boxes in the landscape is nothing can be freshly made. If you like to be served leftovers, this is the place. I like leftovers, but I don’t want it served.

We’ve been to Mandarin Garden a few times in the last few months and enjoyed their lunch specials particularly, but after tonight, we won’t be going back. We ordered North and South Chicken, which is a plate with both mandarin chicken and chicken with snow peas. However when we got the dish, we received chicken with mixed vegetables (with mostly broccoli and zucchini) instead of the chicken and snow peas. When we pointed this out to the waitress, she pointed to a pea pod buried beneath the other vegetables and said «There’s one.» She then explained that «That’s how we prepare it. It’s different from other restaurants.» When we questioned how this was different from Chicken with Mixed Vegetables, which is a separate item on the menu, she went to ask the manager and came back with «There wasn’t room on the menu to print any other vegetables but snow peas.» … what?
Finally we made it clear that we had no intention of eating and paying for a dish we didn’t order, so the waitress took it away. We finished our meal (the pork fried rice and almond chicken were very good), but then when we got our bill, the unwanted dish was still listed. We asked our waitress to check with the manager about this and she did, but when she came back she said «I’m sorry. She wants you to pay for it still.» I also want to mention how incredibly nervous and almost fearful our waitress was of having to consult with the manager (an older woman)… we are honestly concerned that she’s secretly being beaten or something. Meanwhile, the manager refused to come to our table and speak to us in person, using our poor waitress as the confused conduit for all of our communication. We finally told the waitress not to worry, tipped her personally so we could be sure she’d receive her tip, and left cash on the table for the amount we owed for the 2 dishes we ate.
Our experience was frankly ridiculous, but it will make for a good story.

After having lived in Issaquah for 2 years now we decided to give the Mandarin Garden a try despite hit and miss reviews. Big disappointment– the Mongolian beef was SOOO salty and oily. Potstickers were undercooked, even the fortune cookies were damp and inedible. Save your money and go somewhere else!

I’ve been going to lunch here for twenty years. Andy is really friendly and will stop and chat with each table briefly. They have a whole menu of course but for lunch choose the A, B, or C special, with my favorite being the C special. Even though they finally raised their lunch prices they are still an amazing bargain. Great spot for quick and inexpensive lunch!

Super good! The Mongolian beef wasn’t oily or overly salty like most places, the vegetable fried rice had fresh veggies, the calamari and Malay fish was really good as an appetizer (my daughter loved the Malay fish), and the green beans (without meat sauce) were fresh and yummy. Had just the right amount of crunch and juiciness. All in all this was a great experience. The service was really good too. No wonder why they have been around since the 80s!

The service was fast and friendly, and the calamari was delicious. Unfortunately, the main dishes were just average and blah tasting.

I watched the server wipe down the table across from me after two ladies left… and not replace the unused tea cups they left behind. Gross… just wiped down the table and left the tea cups there, as if that isn’t completely unsanitary…
Food was incredibly greasy… and as other reviews have mentioned, completely Americanized. Nothing special…

The Facebook post I entered as I awaited my lunch special:
«Finally checking out the Chinese restaurant I’ve lived 5 minutes from for the past three years. It keeps get to voted best in town, but the range of things people I know say about it runs from ok to disgusting. The meal was just delivered to the dulcet tones if Captain and Tennile. Let’s see how it is…»
My Facebook post after getting home and brushing my teeth. (Did you know that the salivary glands will go into overtime to try to wash oily residue from the mouth?):
«That was vile… at least I can now say I’ve experienced Mandarin Garden for myself. I think the owner must have an in with the Issaquah Press, this place winning best Asian food and best restaurant in Issaquah in 2012? I’m not sure they beat Panda Express.»
There’s excellent Chinese food just around the corner at Shanghai Gardens. For a truly sublime experience, drive four minutes to Szechuan Bean Garden. That is truly exquisite food, especially if you order the traditional (not Americanized) items.
In fairness, many reviewers here made negative comments about the service. Granted I was only one of three tables the time I was there, but I found the two women who waited on me to be friendly and quick. The owner, Andy, knew people at the other two tables and seemed very friendly.