China Palace

We went to this restaurant based on the Unilocal reviews with high expectations On arrival we found the staff friendly and the place clean. We were greeted promptly and our order was taken within a few minutes after being seated. We ordered a large wor wonton soup, shrimp in lobster sauce and Mongolian beef extra spicy. The wonton tasted like chicken stock with a little soy sauce added. The wontons themselves had a firm texture and an odd flavor as if they had been sitting out somewhere before being added to the soup just before serving. The shrimp in lobster sauce had good flavor but the sauce was pasty and thick like over cooked gravy. It had the appearance of a sauce that has been reheated several times. The Mongolian beef looked amazing when it came out., however it had almost no flavor. The dish was sent back and the second attempt had slightly more flavor but needed salt badly. The chef also left approximately 20 red chiles mixed in which needed to separated out before the dish could be eaten. We ended up just sending it back and settled on the soup and shrimp. Overall the service and facility were excellent but the food did not measure up at all. I would not recommend this place especially considering the high prices for sub standard food.

Over the weekend, my entire family traveled to SB for a college graduation.
My aunt, was hosting dinner after the ceremony and we were on the look for a good location, good food and that can accommodate 35 ppl.
When we got here, parking was a bit of a problem. their lot was so tiny, i mean there were less than 10 parking available on their lot. We had to park on the street. Not a big deal but they can improve if possible.
Our large party were seated out in their patio with the heat lamp on! Yes, that was a +.
After a long graduation ceremony, long walks and traveled most of the day, everyone was hungry! I mean, we were hungry!
We got to the restaurant almost 8pm having a 730 reservation. We were glad they kept our reservation or else we would of been in big trouble.
It was nice that the entire patio was just for our family, it gave us some privacy and we can be as loud as we want since we weren’t disturbing other ppl dining inside.
As the food, started to come to tables. We were served with meat first, sorry but we’re Asian. We expect the rice to come along with the meat. We had to ask multiple times for rice (not good) specially if it’s just plain steam rice. We all thought that could of been served along with the meat platters.
There was one particular server, female. She seemed to be dealing with our party. So our questions went direct to her. I don’t think she appreciated the multiple questions but we also didn’t appreciate her dam attitude! Simple questions can be answered simply, without her snotty remarks. After dealing with that person. I figured I’ll ask someone else who was willing to help, luckily there were a few more servers to accommodate us.
The food was ok, we really think we were just hungry that the taste didn’t actually register to our minds cuz all we wanted to do was EAT!
I don’t remember what we had specifically but here’s a list of what i can recall.
–pork fried rice — Pretty Good
–Shrimp with Lobster Sauce — Pretty Good
–Kao Pao Chicken –Ok
–Chicken In Garlic Sauce — Ok
–Beef with Broccoli — Ok, beef was tender
–Pork dish — Pretty Good
–Chow Mien — BLAH!
–FIsh — didn’t have any.
We actually ordered to-​go just in case we got hungry back in our hotel, we had food available.
Would I come back here? If were in town again and this was the only place I can find for a good Asian dish, then yes.

I’m not even exaggerating. This is the best Chinese I have ever had in the USA.
Favorite dishes:
potstickers
kung pao (try it with the vegetarian chicken!)
tofu clay pot
Cons:
A bit expensive (but worth it based on the quality)

Great Food
Had several dishes — all excellent, priced well. Service was typical Asian — all over you until your order and then they disappear.
I will be going back.

We had the Peking duck here, after careful research for good Chinese restaurants in SB. Everything was very pleasant up until we were given TORTILLAS instead of steamed buns. I asked the waistress if they ran out of steamed buns or something and she gave me this «are you serious?» look on her face. The waitress then said «Oh you mean like in Chinatown?» YES, like in Chinatown, where they only cook fake Chinese cushion bullshit. Only here has authentic Chinese food and nowhere else. Ugh.

Placed order for take out and was disappointed, the wontons and egg rolls were chewy and I did not receive any dipping sauce. The orange chicken and Beef and Broccoli were OK.

Terrible service and mediocre food. All I can say about this place is that they must have so much money they don’t care about turning away paying local customers.
On Unilocal they advertise and they’re open until 10 PM. My husband and I arrived at 9:00 PM we waited for over six minutes for somebody to come to the hostess podium. When she arrived she promptly announced that they close at 9:30. I told her that their Unilocal posting said they closed at 10. She repeated that they close at 9:30.
I could see that I was not going to win that argument so we asked to sit down. She repeated that they close at 9:30 and asked if we wanted to order something to go. I reminded her that it was only 9:06 and again she said that they closed at 9:30 and said we could order to go.
I told her that I think we can order something before 9:30 if she would seat us. She replied. «we close at 9:30, you can get food to go». Ahhhhhh! (This is me pulling my hair out).
At this point I became so unbelievably frustrated that I gave up and we left the restaurant. We will never cross the threshold of that restaurant again. The food sucks there anyway. I have a bad cold so I was willing to choke down some of their mediocre wonton soup because everything else I’ve ever tried there has been terrible.

Found this on Unilocal as we were heading home from Santa Barbara and wanted soul. Hot and sour was delicious – tangy with lots of pork and tofu. Also ordered Hong Kong style noodles because wanted something simple with protein and veggies. This was a huge plate of chicken, pork, calamari and shrimp with very fresh broccoli mushrooms and other al dente veggies. Service was friendly and prompt. Don’t know why others complained. Maybe this isn’t the most authentic food like Jonathan Gold writes about – today’s review talked of frog stew. But for comfort food in Santa Barbara, this was great.

Had to park in the shopping center next door. Very poor service. I thought the food would be delicious, considering how good it smells, but it was pretty bland and got cold quickly since the ambient temperature is so cold. I really can’t find any redeeming quality about this place.

The food was decent but the service was absolutely terrible. It took them 30 minutes just to take my order

One of the best Chinese cuisine in this country! Things you find in «Chinatowns» are never as authentic as what you’d get here.
I would drive for 2 hours just for a lunch when visiting Los Angeles.

Very authentic Chinese food in the view of a Chinese. Exceptional service and comfortable dining environment. Thank you Lisa for the travel tips :)

Ordered the veggie pot stickers (steamed), moo shu chicken, and chef special stone pot. Everything was delicious and the service was excellent. Will definitely be visiting again!

My favorite Chinese restaurant in town! I come here weekly, I have yet to have a dish I don’t like, they never mess up the order! Great affordable 3 course lunch menu during the week! Large portions every time! Always a smile to greet you!

They have the best looking cashier I have ever seen~when I was there last Thursday night. love the food even though it’s slightly overpriced. Good atmosphere and environment for having a romantic dinner.
Must try their sweet and sour fish.

Tried this place for the first time, but only for take out. The hot & sour soup was great, but we didn’t order any entrees as we weree only looking for a little bit of dinner. My daughter ordered the fried rice, which was plentiful and good. She’s a vegetarian, so it didn’t have any meat in it. I’d like to try it with meat to see how the flavor compares.
They were friendly and the over the phone ordering was easy. The food was ready in no time at all. I would love to try them again and possibly dine in for the full experience.
Oh, but they do give complimentary fried wonton strips. Any Chinese restaurants that offers wontons vs. friend chow mein noodles is ok with me!

Was in SB for the weekend visiting family and went with a large party to China place for dinner
The food portions were small, but flavorful. The ambiance and restaurant were great to be honest but the service SUCKED! I have a 2 year old who had been in the car all day and needed his dinner so I asked the waitress for a high chair, which she reluctantly brought and as she took our drink order I asked for some rice for my little man (who I brought a side dish for from home) so I could feed him first. She was super attitude’y and kept saying ‘rice comes with the meal’. I told her I understood but I’d like some first so I could feed my mom before he got hangry. She was super unaccommodating & be to honest just an a$$hole! She obviously didn’t bring his rice out until everyone else’s dinner and came out.
I will NEVERTHELESS go back to this restaurant again just because the server was rude and inconsiderate!

+ friendly, quick and nice service
+ really accommodating for specific requests /​needs
+ food is pretty tasty and well portioned
— fried shrimp tasted bland, but were cooked correctly

Since it’s Christmas and I’m Jewish, though not observant, I figured I would update my review. I ate at China Palace on the 23^rd with my boyfriend and his son. It was busy as one might expect, given that it’s the only decent Chinese in town on a week when family and friends in cold climates visit their SB loved ones.
The food is good, as is the décor. This is not your average tacky Chinese restaurant (which is usually only slightly less tacky than most Thai places – they have the tackiest décor of all ethnic cuisine but I don’t care because I love the food). A Shun Lee, which is fine dining Chinese on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, is obviously not a local Chinese joint. Chin Chin on 49^th and 3^rd just closed after 25 plus years and it was known for its art deco interior with beautiful wood and old prints. That also isn’t typical.
But the service is ABOMINABLE. It usually sucks but it was egregious. We got water after the meal was nearly finished. They never even came to give us silverware when we sat down. A couple next to us came in 10 minutes later and got their food 10 minutes earlier.
It was a disaster from start to finish. But you don’t have a choice. Mandarin Palace in La Cumbre Plaza has great BBQ pork (and I’m not a big pork person), but a lot of their food is mediocre. And it’s ugly inside.
So the reality is in a town known to have spectacular restaurants but bad Chinese food, China Palace could pretty much hurl won ton soup bowls at the heads of customers and get away with it. Also they serve ABC Chardonnay (Au Bön Climat) for 8.95 a glass and Tsing Tao is only 5 or 6 bucks, which on Coast Village Road, the main drag surrounded by houses starting at 2.5 million (for the shacks) and 3 – 4 million for nice homes, is very good.
What a mess.
P. S. I love many dishes here but the duck mu shu isn’t one of them. It’s crispy duck in a mu shu and thus greasy and heavy. Also I did not at all like the Capital Beef. This was a special with cilantro (which I love but could hardly discern) and chiles. The menu didn’t say it was crispy, I don’t think, so it was an overly salty, very fattening dish I barely touched. They have two or three great shrimp entrees and the kung pao is great.

Great food! All white meat chicken. We orders sizzling rice soup, yum! Sweet n sour chicken which was delicious.