New Mandarin Garden

I have been dining here for over 5 years and have always been pleased with the food and the service. Ownership has changed and while things seemed to be the same for a while, its not that way anymore. The food is still good, but everything else has a lot to be desired. I can understand prices going up, but when I looked at the menu the other night I even said to my husband, did the prices go way up? They also would bring hot tea to your table without even asking which I loved. I waited and waited and no tea in site so I asked the waiter what happened to bringing tea to the table. He said they are charging for it now. What? Call me crazy, but to me, that was a nice touch to a great meal and at no charge. Because of my shock, he actually brought us the tea and did not charge us. Whats the point of saying that and then when you see your customer is not happy, they decide to give it up for free. Funny how it had been working for the other owners for 27 plus years and these owners have changed that. There are a lot of people that have been going here much longer then I have and I think some of the changes may affect the loyalty of the regulars.
The waiters were more interested in getting the dining room ready for Sunday Brunch then the people who were there. I think what really put me over the edge is that the waiter brought the rice and sat it on the table. A few minutes later my dish came and then I waited and waited and waited for my husbands dinner to come out. I don“t make it a habit to eat before everyone’s food is on the table, so I kept waiting. It was at least 5 minutes or more, before his food finally came out. The rice was already cold and while my dish was still hot, it was not as hot as when it first came out. If I am not mistaken, my experience in most restaurants is not that way. Don“t bring out one meal unless the other ones are ready or you are just going back to get the rest. I think my days of eating there may be over. Since we love the food, I think I will just get take out and call it a day. If the owners see my post and others who feel the same way, perhaps they will take note to do things a little different.

Best Chinese restaurant in SoCal. So happy to have found it. Great friendly service too.

I’ve dined here for 15+ years. Came here with my girlfriend in high school and she’s now my wife and we have three kids together. New Mandarin Garden has been a staple for us for three reasons: the service, the food, and the prices.
Ownership change happened about two years ago but they decided not to make any big changes until about 6 months ago. Last summer they remodeled and changed the menu. I recently visited and noticed all prices were up about 30% and they now charge $ 1 per person for the tea that used to be complimentary.
Service was not what we were used to. There are still a few familiar staff faces but our server did not provide the service we have gotten so used to over the years. Not horrible but not outstanding as in the past.
The food was still excellent. I asked the server and he said that all the chefs are still the same– the food still gets my 5 stars.
As we were getting ready to leave, I had already paid my bill and was leaving a tip. The older lady (new owner or manager?) came out demanding that I must pay $ 2 more for my tea that my server didn’t charge me for. If the server made a mistake, no big deal, but she acted like I had done something wrong and presented us with a new bill that reflected an increase of $ 2 (I almost just told her to take it out of the tip, but I didn’t want to be a jerk). I could care less about the $ 2 but the atmosphere/​vibe has changed and this place is no longer for me.
New Mandarin Garden: Sad to see this chapter of my life closed. It was great while it lasted.

I was shown this hidden gem on a blind (ish) date some time ago but as it’s not so geographically desirable to me I wanted to come back but didn’t. Until now! Due to the lack of quality Chinese food in my immediate area I decided to take the (25 minute) drive to San Clemente to New Mandarin Garden. Upon my arrival I immediately noticed (not much gets by me) the new décor and was alarmed. Not because the new look was hideous because it was in face really nice but because I was afraid they may have had an ownership change or worse yet new chefs! To my triple delight this is not the case and it was just a simple remodel with no change in régime.
We sit and order sodas (gotta make that drive home) and they come in a glass boot! Was I transported to a country and western bar? No. funny but it holds liquid so we laugh, snap a photo and move along.
Today’s order… Wait for it… Fried dumplings, Kung Pao three delight (shrimp, chicken, beef) and Hot Garlic Chicken. Both quite tasty and worth the drive from Oceanside!
Fried dumplings: Don’t let the unusually high price of the dumplings (potstickers) fool you. They give you 8 of them and they’re HUGE! They’re also unbelievably good too. Packed full of meaty porky goodness.
Kung pao: shrimp, beef and chicken wok seared (not fried) with red chilies and green onions and garlic. Sooooooo good! I love a good Kung Pao and this is really good. Oh… I ordered it without peanuts too so don’t look for them in my pictures.
Hot Garlic Chicken: white chicken slices seared in the wok (not fried) with mushrooms, carrots, snow peas and water chestnuts (my favorite). I could have used a little more garlic for my liking and some more heat (spice). The older gentleman came frequently and refilled beverages and checked on us but not to excess. He provided friendly banter and useful information about the area since e aren’t really local. If I had to wager a guess I’d bet on him being the owner.
So for my third visit (2 dine ins and one take out) I’d give it the Fat Guy Seal of Approval and will continue to make the drive to New Mandarin Garden for my favorites.

New Mandarin Garden never disappoints, even on a super busy Christmas Day!

Excellent food and ambience. They have something for everyone. It’s the «hole in the wall’ Chinese restaurant in San Clemente.

Terrible, greasy food in a cold, plastic environment. Dim waiters with strange manners. AND not cheap.

OK, I admit it… sometime I order the «wrong» thing, but, DANG this was disappointing.
I order the House Special Noodle In Soup. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they made it by taking the House Special Noodle from the steam table and putting it in plain brown broth. I kid you not, the bits of meat still had the brown sauce from the House Special Noodles stuck to them where the broth hadn’t washed it away. The noodles were the standard noodles used for lo mein. It was so bland and bizarre.
I predict it’s gonna be a while before I come back here (if ever). There was such an obvious attitude of total «we-don’t-give-a-f*ck» that I didn’t even bother to complain,

I had to joy of dining at this restaurant last night and it was a great decision.
The staff was friendly and very attentive with making sure drinks were promptly refreshed. My party each ordered a different entrée and shred them all. My least favorite was the orange chicken, but it was still good. Everything else was amazing. So fresh and made well. The sweet & sour chicken was amazing.
I’m definitely planning to return. The service was outstanding.

The restaurant looks nice when you walk in, but that’s where the good stuff ends:-(. I ordered honey walnut shrimp with fried rice & my husband ordered Kung Pao Chicken. The food was edible, but not a vegetable in sight! We asked for iced water & were given two empty (plastic) glasses & a glass of ice, half filled with water. Not sure why. We had to ask again for ice water, it was definitely, unfiltered tap water. The family across the way from us asked several times for chopsticks, finally gave up. The couple behind us got tired of waiting for their bill & went to the cash register to pay. The only smile we got from the waiter was when he brought the bill!

We’ve been coming here for twenty years. The food was outstanding and reasonably priced, and the service was over the top. Whenever we ordered to-​go, they would advise us if we were ordering too much for the amount of people we were feeding. What a blessing to have a fine Chinese establishment in our backyard. Until, the remodel.
We recently took the family for dinner and found that they changed the way family style is ordered. Evidently, if you order family style, you are required to order an entrée for every person at the table. Since half my family eats like birds, that was way too much food. But, you know, leftovers for lunch, so no biggie, but why?
The remodel is beautiful, the service is still over the top and the staff very friendly, but the food wasn’t the same. My favorite dish is the cilantro chicken. It was all I could think about all day. The presentation of the food was picture perfect, yet, left much to be desired when it came to taste. This was definitely not the same chicken dish that we’ve been enjoying for years. I’m not certain if they were having a bad day in the kitchen or if this is the new norm. Either way, I’ll just stick to the lunch specials and have our family style dinners elsewhere.

my favorite. the BOMB
orange chicken lunch special
cream cheese wontons
fried dumplings
hot tea on a cold day/​lemonade on a hot day
then the almond cookies and fortune cookies are the best.
the owners and servers that work there are so incredibly sweet and the food comes out fast! def my fav Chinese

We enjoyed our dinner, however the chop suey we ordered had very little spice so little taste. This is one of the few Chinese Restaurants in San Clemente. With a little effort it could be very good.

Great food! I have been coming here for 10 years and they nail it every time! Be sure to try the Hot Garlic Chicken, and get a side of plain noodles for a great meal!
The Hot and Sour Soup is my go to on the rare rainy days here in San Clemente!

Always great service and delicious food! My favorite dishes are the orange chicken, mongolian beef, and the egg rolls.

Great for take out! The boyfriend and I ordered family dinner B for two. It was an insane amount of food. Included was: cream cheese wontons, spring rolls, ribs, soup, 2 entrees, and fried rice. The option we picked came with wonton soup– we asked if we could get hot and sour soup instead and that was no problem. I was full after the appetizers and soup which were very tasty. The hot and sour soup is my favorite thing there now. The entrees we got were cashew chicken and beef with broccoli. They were a little bland but the meat was delicious, the beef was very tender. We will be back!

This place has every other Chinese restaurant within a 25 mile radius beat. The most attentive service without being overbearing, but know exactly when a guest was in need of service. The food was fresh hot and delicious! I suggest the family dinner B. It’s was absolutely phenomenal and I’ll be back everytime I crave chinese food.

My wife and I love coming here when we’re in San Clemente and jonesing for some good Chinese. I always get their House Special Chicken and her favorite is the steamed fish with some added spice. The staff is kind, courteous and makes one feel at ease. Of course, their soothing music doesn’t hurt either. After you sit down, they bring out a complimentary pot of piping hot tea, which is one of those small yet crucial details for me. Most other Chinese restaurants I’ve frequented tend to charge extra for it.
Shanghai Charlies used to be our go-​to place for Chines cuisine (mainly because of the impassive, stoic waiter we always tried to make laugh), but since their unfortunate demise we have been forced to branch out. And we’re quite pleased with the result!

We’re from out of town and we chose this place due to other Unilocal reviews. It did not disappoint. Service was a bit slow, but worth the wait. Entrees were generous and true to Chinese style dining, we all ordered something different and shared. The house beef was a tad bit salty but still pretty darn tasty.

I highly recommend the Sunday Champagne Brunch! For only $ 15, you get an all you can eat buffet (I loved the orange chicken and the shrimp dumplings) and all you can drink champagne (they have OJ if you want mimosas). What a steal!
This is a great place to have a birthday! I was here last Sunday with a group of 20 people for a birthday and the service was AMAZING! Every 10 – 15 minutes they would come in to refill our champagne glasses. The servers were extremely generous, attentive, and nice.
I absolutely loved eating here and can’t wait to come back for another Sunday Champagne Brunch.