Genghis Cohen

This place has become our Christmas Day destination. We have been coming here for over 10 years and the food surprisingly keeps on getting better and better. I’m not sure what all these 1 star reviews are about but I would just tell anyone who is curious about trying Cohen for the first time just to stop by and not to pay attention to all the neg. reviews. Don’t be a lemming.
This is by far the best Chinese restaurant we have found in LA. There’s always a wait at night so I would def. make reservations before hand. Oh And order a Mai tai and the walnut shrimp!

I got my favorites. Egg drop, lo mein and sweet and sour chicken. Bland egg drop soup, noodles tasted just so so and the sweet and sour chicken were thin strips of chicken over fried. When chicken is that thin a fry over cooks the meat. Needs big chunks of white meat. To be blunt I through away the noodles and didn’t save them for the glory of Chinese leftovers.
I don’t think I’ll be giving the spot another shot. I was hoping this would be the place. A shame as I was hoping to finally find solid American Chinese in L.A. For now sticking with Thai.

They say they have authentic NY egg rolls! Don’t believe them! Not good and way too expensive! Plus when you order the pork egg rolls they come with Shrimp! And I’m allergic! Never will I go back or recommend to friends!

Our annual tradition of dining here on Christmas Day has come to an end. This place gets busy on Xmas, and we totally get it. First, our chicken dumplings come out cold, we send it back, no big deal. We ordered a couple more dishes, with one of the them coming much later, okay fine, no biggie.
The worst part is when I pointed out to our waiter that this dish wasn’t what we ordered, he claimed I was wrong and insisted it was. Clearly by looking at the dish, and reading the ingredients on the menu (it was a veggie dish), it was the wrong dish. I pointed out again that the ingredients were clearly a different dish, and he was very condescending and lied again. The good great, the service, not so much!

Clean, delicious, good portions and good presentation. We got crispy noodles and Szechuan chicken along with veggie potstickers. I hope they are always this good, we’ll be back!

Food is good. The music room is too small, and it shows the disdain and disrespect the owners show for the musicians. I think it’s disgraceful they haven’t busted out the wall and made the space bigger. I might never come back.

Love it. Although, it is a bit pricier and they do not have lunch specials, I love coming here. Parking is always easy. It’s good for large groups and it’s got a very nice old school Chinese restaurant décor. My favorite thing ever is the BBQ pork friend rice. Seriously the best.

This is a horrible restaurant with the worst staff I have ever seen. Food used to be good, but has gone down hill along with the management and the employees.

I used to LOVE this place. My favorite restaurant in Los Angeles. My friend went there a week ago and said the Queen Chicken and shrimp did not taste the same. The new owner said they’re trying «different» ingredients. Today I ordered the chicken and shrimp to see for myself and yup – it was not good. I didn’t even finish it. The chicken is no longer crispy, it feels rubbery and soggy. The shrimp tasted way too fishy and also soggy. I’m so sad because this was literally my favorite place to eat and what I ate today is completely different than the usual items. I think the new owner is trying to make things healthier, which is fine, but I miss the old chicken and shrimp. Until they bring it back I’ll have to find a new Chinese place :(

I WAS a long time patron of Genghis Cohen! It was simply the «go to» place for many friends and locals. Good food, good music and a great vibe… especially at the bar. With the new change in ownership, the place is DEFINITELY not the same! ONE of the MANY big mistakes was letting go of the beloved bartender Susie and the sweetest server Barb! To the new Genghis Cohen owners… you’ve made a terrible mistake. Many of us WILL NOT be back!

Been going here for many years, since the 1980’s. Since the new owners recently took over, the place has gone way down-​hill. Not the same at all. And our favorite bartender has been let go. Won’t be going back.

After three years of ecstasy seems to have returned to its former heedless mediocrity. Drinks arrived after food. One half portion of fried rice and same of green beans and I gained two pounds. Rice ingredients dried out and funky. Had to beg for service though the place was empty. Obviously they’ve gone back to their old ways alas. Will give them one more chance

I have been here to see three musical performances. It’s a smaller venue, so you really don’t get a bad seat, unless maybe you sit behind somebody who is very tall. The sound quality is pretty good, and the staff has been quite courteous and efficient. Parking in the private lot is nice if you can get a spot, nope, not me. I have used street parking without a problem. Had some drinks here, which were fine. The food looks good, I’ll have to try some next time.

This was «my» childhood chinese restaurant. You know, the one where the hostess and chef know your name when you walk in, give you hugs and even take you into the kitchen because you frequent it so much? So I had to bring my little ones in for their first chinese food and it didn’t disappoint. The Ginger Chicken and Shrimp in Lobster Sauce were hits but the Beef and Broccoli (my personal fave) was a bit too tough for them to chew, especially with minimal teeth. High chairs were great — solid plastic — and staff was accommodating, attentive and forgiving. The only big «downfall» was the weather — it was beautiful so the sun set just as we were eating shining right into the eyes of my boys facing the window. Simple solution — next time we’ll opt for a different table. It could be the nostalgia talking but I can’t help but recommend it.
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The restaurant is not an Americanized version of Chinese food. The dishes were authentic but had no flavor to them. The waitress was very personable and we were able to make modifications to some of the dishes we ordered without much hassle.
The wonton soup was family sized and could be shared by two people.
Overall, the food was ok (not really seasoned) but the location and overall impression was fine. Also, they had a separate area for live music.

One of my favorite Chinese places! I wish we had one in New York or I wish they would all just pack up (cooks, servers etc.) and come to New York. Every time I come to L. A I stop by this place. They have a decent size parking lot where you can find a parking spot in almost every time.
The portion sizes are large compared to other restaurants I’ve been to. The menu is diverse and there are so many white meat chicken options which I love. They also have brown rice which can be found half the time in comparison to other Chinese restaurants I’ve been to. They have hot, spicy, and mild options for every dish which was also great. I would say certain dishes could use more flavor over others.
Compared to previous reviews, I have to disagree with the fact that this place caters to a bland, American palate. I think theres a dish here for everyone and you just have to figure it out.
The drinks are very strong which is never a bad thing since you are the one paying.

Pros: Good food, large portions, bar, parking
Cons: Service is consistently slow, super noisy
Prices are middle of the road
I wouldn’t recommend this place for a special occasion, date, or meeting. Not bad if you don’t feel like cooking on a weeknight and have time (and patience) to spare. If you’re starving, I would eat something small before you go.
I’ll be back.

I have been coming here for years — always consistent with delicious food!!!
We love the live music by great performers especially Paul Trudeaux!
My favorite dishes: Cracker Jack shrimp and Orange peel chicken
We also loved the ginger with steamed fish which was really tasty and healthy!
The cocktails are great too!

I like this place simply for the atmosphere. The food is hit or miss — I could take it or leave it really. The darkness and red booths make you feel like you’ve been transported to another place and time.
As I said — the food… well…I mean… well, just don’t go there for the food.
Started out with the Shanghai mini egg rolls. Cute little vegetarian egg rolls with hot mustard and some sweet sauce on the side that smells like marmalade. They were decent. Mostly because they were fried.
Then we had the Queen Tofu. Yum. A little crisp a lot sweet and although there’s a little pepper icon on the menu — it was not at all spicy. We added broccoli. I really really enjoyed this dish. Highlight of the night.
I’d been craving fried rice so we ordered the Genghis Cohen seafood fried rice. This was the disappointment of the night — a little bit of fried rice with egg accompanied by some mixed seafood and veggies in a sauce alongside. I was under the impression that it would all be mixed together. Not served as a veggie seafood dish with a little side of rice. Blech. The seafood did not taste fresh. I’d like my $ 17 back, please!
Service was kind of slow… we waited forever for our entrees after our app. Perhaps because they were trying to figure out how to correctly make the fried rice. Too bad they never figured it out.
Would I go back? Probably — as I said… love the ambience. Just won’t order that awful terrible so called «Fried rice» again.
Beware of the scary parking lot. I’d recommend street parking to avoid crashes in the miniature lot by the building.

I certainly didn’t know that Genghis Khan had another last name that was not even Chinese, but Jewish. I’m always down for something fun, especially when it’s culturally mixed or fusion. When I saw the name, I had to stop and see what’s up with this restaurant.
The menu looked like the one from a Jewish deli. Very extensive and comprehensive. Some names of dishes were also unique. I knew that the waitress wanted to take an order quickly, but you were giving me this creative fun menu, you know, it will take a little longer than usual.
For the starter, we ordered Vegetarian egg rolls and Shrimp dumplings. From the drink menu, we decided to order Lychee-​tini, a vodka based Lychee martini, and Loco coco tini (may not be an accurate name) which tasted like Caribbean Rum punch. The drinks were delicious, but if only they made them keen cold, that would’ve been perfect. The egg rolls were huge. This could stuff you up before the main. It was good but I ate ¹⁄₃ of it.
For the main, we had Shrimp and veggies stir fry, Crackerjack shrimp, and fried brown rice. Food was delicious and fresh, and very importantly, not too greasy. Crackerjack shrimp was obviously popular as I saw it on several other tables.
The service was good. Our waitress was attentive but she didn’t smile. She wasn’t rude or anything, but just so serious. But that’s ok. The food was good and our water glasses were always filled. Polite and serious service. I get it.
There was a small bar and supposedly live music in a different room as well. I didn’t hear any music from the other room while dining. You can enjoy delicious Chinese dinner at the dining area, and enjoy music if you want in the other room. Mr. Cohen did a great job. 4 stars.