Mandarin House

I ordered one dish (Almond Chicken), egg drop soup and egg rolls. The soup was very good, the egg rolls were a little bland, but the almond chicken was savory and well mixed. Delivery was timely and polite. It’s not a «wow» but very reasonable.

I have only gotten take out from here. The service has always been fine nothing great but nothing bad ether. Pretty much the same with the food. It was right by my house so very convenient and by no means bad but nothing to go out of your way for.

We got there 15 minutes before closing time on a Sunday night. I knew that everyone there wanted to go home but they were more than happy to take our order and the service there was very quick. The owner stopped by our table to shmooz and couldn’t have been nicer! The restaurant has been open for 39 years so you know that they have to be doing something right!
I’d come back on Christmas Eve if they weren’t 2300 miles away from home.

best chinese food in la jolla! Fun bar with amazing drinks. especially thr volcano. the manager does an excellent job and is friendly and courteous. the food is delicious especially the fried rice and egg drop soup! yummy

Just regular Chinese food, nothing special. The food wasn’t very good looking served, but all right, the food was ok! I also speak for my two friends. The server was very disrespectful, because we gave just 10% tip. We didn’t want to give more because it was not worth it for the food. This was the negative part of our visit, but in general very good service!

It was a rainy and cold afternoon in la jolla and I was cravingggg Chinese! I didn’t think I had enough time for it during my lunch break but I called anyways. A man answered the phone and reassured me that I will have enough time to eat in.
Right when I walked in the waiter brought me a hot cup of green tea and to my delight left the teapot on my table. I ordered the cashew chicken lunch special with chicken wings and hot and sour soup… I kid you not I didn’t have to wait more than five minutes for my food and it came in piping hot and soooo deliciously satisfying. The crunchy, sticky, tangy-​ness of the cashew chicken was perfect and I’m a harsh critic when it comes to the texture of Chinese food. It wasn’t over-​sauced and the portion was perfect for lunch. My total came in just under $ 10 and I can’t complain about that at all.

I’ve gotten take out a few times from this place. Although the man that answers the phone and helps when I pick up is pretty rude and quick to get off the phone, the food still tastes pretty good. I got white rice and cashew chicken which I thought was great but the hot and sour soup was very bland. The soup used to taste better. Maybe it’s hit or miss? Now just waiting for the food poisoning to set in like the others mentioned

Wow, this place has really gone downhill. The Mandarin noodles had virtually no meat in them. And the fried chicken wings were flavorless. It was like there were no seasonings in the batter. I have been eating here for very long time. I don’t know what has happened. I won’t be coming back.

Hands down best Chinese food I’ve had since I’ve arrived in California.
I order take out and everything I’ve tried has been amazing. I recommend the cashew chicken, beef and broccoli, general tso (sp) chicken, and the fried rice.
Serious flavor and great portion size.

I have great memories of this place. We always come here for family gatherings and this family-​run establishment is perfect for that.
Food is Szechuan family style. My favorite is the Peking duck, but give them a heads up because it takes like 25 mins. They serve it like a Chinese burrito! Food is always fresh and delicious. Don’t forget to try the volcano! It’s a shared fruity rum drink with fireeeee!
If I lived in the area, I would get their takeout all the time. I think they charge a 1.00 for delivery.
Service is always on point. They remember my name and they’re super funny. They also have a room in the back that’s separated from the main dining room so it’s perfect for larger parties.
If you’re in the area, definitely give this place a try!

Certain popular items are not bad (chefs shrimp, cashew chicken, Mongolian beef). But with the menu having so many items, I’d stay away from some of the less popular stuff which usually isn’t prepared as well as the previously mentioned items.
I’d give this place 3 stars, maybe 4, but the manager is pretty rude. I don’t expect or even care to have phenomenal service at a place like this, but everytime I encounter the owner I feel disrespected. For example, the other night my girlfriend and I came in and he told us the wait was 1 minute (it was fairly busy). After waiting 5 minutes, a party of 4 came in. After seeing a slightly larger party come in, I’m assuming he thought they were more valuable customers and seated them immediately (they didn’t have reservations). He then came back after seating them and told us the wait was now 15 minutes. Wtf. So we left. Theres another guy who works there, who I’m assuming to be the owners son, who has much better service. If I was management, I’d let him be in charge of customer service.

Far by worse, had to wait to be seated. It took 30mins for our dinner. Shrimp chow mein, honestly I could make it better! Yes, I am Asian, and yes I’m really critical about it, but in seriousness-​IVE HAD BETTER!!! This is just bad-​bad food, terrible wait service. I would give this place half star! This Chinese restaurant establishment has proven that there are no good Chinese eatery in San Diego.
Oh and not to mention, the lack to manners at the register, and I’m taking home the chow mein to make it better, thanks for saving me the trip to the grocery store.

We rented a house within walking distance of this restaurant and noticed that it was always busy at night and the fact we were wanting Chinese food we had to try it.
We walked in and seated right away. No wait at 6PM. Great… we were hungry. They have a small bar but don’t expect fantastic bar drinks as advertised. Pretty much whatever worker is passing the bar at any particular time may make be the one to make your drink without any bar tending skills.
We did really enjoy our food. My husband had the General Tso Chicken which was very good and I had the half crispy duck… yum!
Nothing fancy about this place but was enjoyable for stress free dining.

Probably the worst Chinese food I’ve ever eaten.
ORANGE CHICKEN: below par. Battered portion was chewy and gross tasting. Sauce was acidic.
BROCCOLI WITH BEEF: beef strips were soft and slimy, broccoli tasted like it came from the freezer, sauce was bland.
FRIED RICE: Bland, no egg, and watery.
EGG ROLLS: flavorless, meat inside was stringy and tough

Whatever you do, don’t order the 3-​ingredient Kung-​Po. Unlike every other Kung-​Po dish on the menu, this one mysteriously has no traditional Kung-​Po ingredients. Instead it’s veggies and brown sauce. That is not Kung-​Po. But they don’t say so on the menu, or tell you when you order, but they will yell at you when you say they made a mistake, saying that is how they have made it for 39 years. So, in 30 years, you can’t update your menu, the dish name, or have the staff tell people it isn’t Kung-​Po style? Bad bad bad.

I just finished dinner here and I feel sick! We ordered the dinner for 2. The ribs were a joke so dry not even a dog would like it.
The cashew chicken was too sweet and oily as all get out. The crispy beef was as well overly sweet and oily. And lastly the fried rice was so bland. There is a coating of oil in my mouth.
To this restaurants credit the won ton soup was good and the wait staff was really nice.
I really wanted to like this place but I won’t be back again.
Too bad I didn’t go to Panda Express or pickup stixs as it would have been much better.

Place is kind of dark and gloomy but not in a dirty way. Staff is really friendly and the food was great. Would definitely come back.

I’d give a six star review on this restaurant if I could
BEST crab rangoons EVER!!! Deliciously light and savory dough with the richest filling and you can totally tell the sweet and sour sauce is either made in house or they purchase only the finest quality! UNREAL! Oh and not too mention they’re the biggest you’ll ever get and for the same price you’d pay for crab Rangoon elsewhere that’s half the size and not even close to Mandarin House quality!
Sesame chicken: deliciously sweet and not too spicy
Pork (tsu-​zhang): shredded pork, snap peas, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, spicy sauce
Steamed rice was perfect
Very nice service! I like their cozy dining booths!
No surprise they’ve been open for 38 years!!! Here’s hoping I get to eat their crab Rangoon for the next 38!!!

3.5 stars rounding to 4.
My husband and I have only ever gotten takeout from Mandarin House. It’s the closest Chinese restaurant nearby, so it works for us to walk over and pick up food.
Our last pick up order included walnut shrimp (very large portion), crab rangoons (4 big pieces), and fried dumplings (6 good sized). We’ve also had the hot and sour soup and sweet and sour chicken. The walnut shrimp is really good and comes with a decent amount of broccoli and walnuts. The broccoli is definitely not the star of the dish and isn’t as cooked as much as I would prefer, but the walnut shrimp is really good. There’s definitely enough for multiple meals as well. The crab rangoons are huge and really tasty as well. I had the fried dumplings for the first time recently and thought they were a decent size and had a good amount of filling. My husband really enjoys the hot and sour soup and it does come in a big container.
Since we only get take out, we have had good service when ordering and picking up.
The prices are a little higher, but it is La Jolla! The portion sizes are good though; although I feel like we could get more rice.

Delicious! We ordered sesame chicken, popcorn shrimp, beef and broccoli, crispy noodles and veggie fried rice. Even their steamed rice was good.
Our order was ready in ten minutes. The owner was very friendly.