Leo’s Chow Mein

Have been coming here for years! One of my favorite places to eat when on East side of St Paul.

I have been going to Leo’s for as long as I can remember — decades. On Friday, May 13^th, I went there with a friend. We both ordered the same meal (shrimp in lobster sauce) with the price clearly listed on the menu as $ 9.50. Neither of us had anything to drink, and each of our bills were identical — $ 12.65 plus or minus a few cents. My friend ordered first and I saw the cashier enter whatever into the register. I ordered by saying, «the same thing,» to which she looked embarrassed and asked, «the same thing??» I noted that she did not enter anything into the register for my meal. (cash sale) Because we have been going there for so many years, we were shocked at how the prices have escalated, so we asked, to which we were told it was the stadium tax. I cannot imagine any tax would have taken the sales tax up from 7.625% to over 30%, so I researched this so-​called stadium tax on the net. Sure, the City approved another corporate giveaway (shame on them), but that doesn’t excuse the outright lying of the cashier to cover either an «honest» overcharge NOR does it condone her from not entering sales into the register to hide their real sales.
I have enjoyed Leo’s for many many years. But alas, this is too much. No more LEO’s for me. Nor should you patronage an Establishment that both overcharges and appears to run two sets of books.

I have come here for years and loved it, I haven’t been there for since an ownership change. I went today for the lunch buffet what a disappointment the food was so salty it was almost impossible to eat. I am sorry to say I won’t be back.

As soon as we pulled in I knew we might be in for a rough experience. Yep… the food quality was every bit as bad as the facility. Will never return. Hope we don’t get sick!
Go with Chin Chin, even if you’re out of their delivery footprint.

Good, greasy Chinese food. Chicken fried rice is great as is the chow mein and wings.
Customer service is lacking. Recently ordered Pork Egg Foo Young, and after I paid they told me they ran out. They only had Shrimp Egg Foo Young left, which was fine. They then told me I had to pay the $.70 difference. Really?

Great egg fu young, and chow main

Look at the building when you pull in. If you have an expectation of the food/​interior to be any better go somewhere else.

You know those quiet hidden neighborhood mostly only the locals know about. this is one of those jems. The food is very good. the lunch buffet is unusual in the idea instead of you going to the buffet, the buffet comes to you! People come around with all the menu items and ask you if you would like some of whatever they are holding. weird and different but so good. You will not regret getting food from here.

Our family has gone here for over 20 years and it’s a favorite of ours. We always take out, food is always hot and the order is never incorrect.

This used to be a regular lunch spot when I worked near there. Love the food but we warned it IS greasy delicious! Its all you can eat for under $ 10! served hot dish after dish. It gets crowded so go early! Off the menu items are VERY good, less greasy, more expensive, but the buffet is just too good to pass up! 4 stars only because of the grease factor. Love it!

Wow, I didn’t think I would like another Chinese buffet. However, my friend from work bailed on me for Friday lunch. So, I went with some co-​workers who assured me that I would either love it or hate it here. Well, I found this place really unique and pretty cool with «the buffet comes to you» style. I equated it to Fogo de Chao but my co-​workers laughed since this is way below Brazilian food quality. Waitresses come by with a bowl and serving spoon with kung pao chicken, fried rice, chicken lo mein, and stewed cabbage. My co-​worker humored me when I asked why is the stewed cabbage is good with the response that it was cooked in lard. But, I shouldn’t take it too seriously with all his comments. Well, waitresses are nice and do give you a little more if you ask nicely. I even got to try some fried chicken which was sliced with a cleaver. My co-​worker will always remember it as «Leo’s Chainsaw Chicken Chow Mein» since his brother-​in-​law wondered why the chicken looks like it was hacked to death. Overall, $ 6.25 per person and $ 7.50 with soda. The parking lot was filled and had to wait for someone to leave. My co-​worker called someone a «doorknob» because parking is tight and you may be blocked in. Service is good and price is right. I didn’t need dinner that night, and my belly was satisfied.

Ordered some chow mein for the family. Very good, just like I remember as a kid. The sweet and sour chicken was awesome as well.

We like Leo’s and have for years. What we don’t like is the lack of not posting their menu «On-​Line», and never putting any money back into the business. This place is SO dirty and raunchy looking. Even the front door needs to be replaced. I don’t think the windows have EVER been cleaned. The same ugly art has been hanging in the same place for 15 gringy years.
A good restaurant needs to spruce things up once in awhile. This place hasn’t changed whatsoever in 15 – 20 years.
It’s the only long-​time restaurant in St. Paul that hasn’t been fixed up a tad… ever.
Even the parking lot is awful. I think that the owner should take a little more pride in the actual appearance of the place. Now, if prices need to be hiked up a bit, so be it.
If a place like Leo’s can serve this great food and have mega business like it does… then it owes something to it’s customers. If customers are choosing not to come back, it’s because they think the place is «unsanitary» because it «looks» unsanitary.
Some of it’s major competitors have spruced up their businesses, and it shows in their growth.
With the NEW «St. Paul Saints Baseball Park» opening about a mile away… it would serve this business well to update, clean-​up and be a good representative of what makes «St. Paul Restaurants» Special. As it is, it’s a disgrace, and deservedly so.

I don’t really get how this place got so many great reviews. I will grant them that the food is CHEAP, but you get what you pay for I guess. The chicken wings were DRY and stringy and not good at all. The cream cheese won tons had just a TINY bit of not even fully melted cream cheese with a ton of won ton. Not good. The sweet and sour chicken was passable, but nothing exceptional. Came with maybe 2 chunks of pineapple and one chunk of green pepper. My aunts like the chow mein, but I think they are like many people, eating there so long they just don’t know any better. We ordered 3 entrees and they just gave us this one very small container of rice. Not nearly enough for the food and leftovers. Want extra sweet and sour sauce? It’s 5 cents per ketchup sized packet or 50 cents for a little container of it. Weird.
The service wasn’t super impressive, either. I called on the phone and the girl was just rude. I asked if they had anything besides chow mein and she said, «Uh, Yeeahhh» in this snotty «of COURSE we do!» voice.
Overall, if you are trying to do Chinese on a budget, this is the place to go. But if you are looking for good Chinese, I would recommend going elsewhere.

Baby Tori M’s first Chinese restaurant. So it holds a place of both ignominy and nostalgia in my heart. We ate Leo’s at least once a week when I was little, like so many other reviewers, and even now I still have our usual order memorized from when I was about four and my mother would let me make the take-​out call. She will still sometimes drive all the way from Hudson just to get her Leo’s sweet and sour.
That said, this is not the place to consider any sort of healthy eating or Food Revolution-​esque ideals, but if you want cheap, effective Chinese of dubious origin, you’re in for a treat. This is old school, greasy spoon, classic American Chinese at its top. Though I sometimes balk at the idea of eating here now, there is just something to be said for how Leo still remembers me and the fam every time.
And also… if you like Chinese-​style chicken wings, Leo’s will make you very happy.

Oh Leo’s. I love you. I miss you, especially your sweet and sour chicken, which I became instantly addicted to. You’re a five star because of your unique ambiance and terrific buffet chow.
As others have mentioned, this is an East Side institution, a crummy little dive place with great prices and a fantastic buffet. The «buffet» is excellently cheap and the food is brought right to you by the same handful of cheerful, funny employees, so you don’t even have to waste your energy chugging back up to the buffet for seconds (and thirds). There are about six dishes in rotation on the buffet and they will keep coming back around to you.
Warning: if you can’t handle grease, you should skip this place. Even if you have a high grease tolerance, you may be mightily tested. With the exception of the kung pow chicken, which I don’t care for, the other buffet dishes (lo mein, sweet and sour chicken, fried potato chips with onions, fried rice, and a couple I forget) are among the best I’ve eaten from any Chinese buffet establishment. I think it’s because the food always comes out fresh to you. Within a few minutes the bowl is gone, divided up amongst the lunch crowd, so it never sits for hours on a warming tray.
If you have a soft spot for cheap Chinese buffets, don’t miss Leo’s. But get there early, cause the place FILLS UP with locals. The people watching is almost as great as the food.

Like many of the other Leo’s reviewers, I’m totally biased in that my family ordered takeout from this dive nearly once a week growing up. We would often get takeout on Sundays, and Leo’s was in heavy rotation.
I just want to be clear that it’s not worth going out of your way for Leo’s, but if you’re in the neighborhood and are craving super-​delicious, liberally soy-​sauced chicken fried rice, this will treat you well. But be prepared, the chicken is cut into tiny squares… I don’t know how it’s possible, but it is. I try not to think about it too much.
I’ve also had the sweet and sour chicken (it’s all breading), chicken wings, beef and broccoli and a couple of the shrimp things… but they are honestly not great.
The fried rice actually the only thing I still like, even though I know it’s sort of gross. When my mom and sister and I went back more recently for the lunch buffet (which is the sit-​down kind), I pretty much subsisted with a whole meal of fried rice. Plus, it’s really cheap for a huge container to-​go!

When you go to Leo’s, you want to hit up the lunch buffet for sure! The cheapest Chinese buffet I have ever seen, but the best I have ever tasted! It’s about 30 miles from my house, but I still try to go there often.
The lunch buffet isn’t your typical buffet… you sit at the table and the food comes to you! They sling it on your plate like a cafeteria cook, so make sure to cover your drink glass! The two dishes my Husband and I eagerly wait for is the sweet and sour, and the potatoes, both are amazing! The pork, cabbage and veggies are also awesome!
Even though the building/​décor is much to be desired, it’s great food at a great price, unless you’re a finicky eater, than skip this place. Make sure to wear loose pants when you go there, you’ll for sure need the extra room when you leave!

A real deal if you’re watching your money. The family-​style buffet is only $ 6/​person. Acceptable, generic Cantonese food. More of a beloved dive than a place with any ambience.
An Eastsider institution: the place has been there for decades. It’s a converted gas station! It took a few years for the petroleum distillates to leave the kitchen, if you know what I mean.

I’m an Eastside boy and I grew up eating this Chinese food, along with Monda’s pizza, which sadly has been replaced by a liquor store. This is the Chinese food that I measure all other Chinese food against. First and foremost, Leo’s is cheap. I don’t think that there is an option on the menu over $ 7.00 and the portions are large. I typically get the sweat and sour pork. I think it is $ 6.50 and enough to feed two people. It is heavily deep friend and really tastes nothing like pork, but it is what I will always associate with sweat and sour dishes.
I think it is the best Chinese food on the planet but only give it four stars because of my obvious bias of Leo’s. I have taken many non-​Eastsiders to this restaurant hoping to show them the light and they generally agree that it is good, but nothing special that they would go out of their way to enjoy.