Mei’s Chinese Restaurant

Today was our second time to eat at Mei’s. My son got the orange chicken and it was okay except expensive without any rice. I ordered combination pan fried noodles which was pretty bad. The noodles were so dry and hard they were inedible. In their defense the noodles were described as «crispy» on the menu. Honestly, the majority of the noodles reminded me of dry ramen just taken out of the package except for some that had softened from the sauce. We were the only customers and the waitress was a sweetheart. They probably would have brought me something else but I didn’t complain.

First time in this restaurant even after I’ve heard nothing but bad reviews. Sat down to eat around (Thursday) 1:30pm and was the only customer in the restaurant. Was given a dinner instead of lunch menu. Order the Kung Pao Chicken, $ 10.95 which I thought was a bit much for lunch time. I asked if white rice came with the order? The waitress, probably one of the owners, said it was extra. First restaurant that didn’t have rice as part of the order. I ate the Kung Pao Chicken with nothing else. The Kung Pao Chicken was actually good. When paying, I picked up an take out menu. Looking at it later I saw the «Lunch Special» section. They were all combinations orders. Kung Pao Chicken came with egg drop soup, egg roll and rice for $ 9.50. I wish she would have gave me a lunch menu. Lunch is between 11:30 to 2. I might try lunch again, maybe.

I came here on the recommendation of Luke W, SLO Unilocal ambassador. He suggested the eggplant in plum sauce and it was so good! We also had fried rice and pork chow fun. How fun! Everything was great. They get a pretty good lunch crowd. I also noticed they offer a lunch special, as any respectable Chinese restaurant will do. Be patient, they cook the food to order, although it did come out pretty quick. I would have ordered for lunar new year, but they are closed on Mondays.

Considering the coast lacks authenticity let alone places to get Asian cuisine — so far Mei’s has been better than any other place I’ve tried thus far from Santa maria to SLO.
After talking a bit with one of the staff I learned they often go through cooks and other staff at high rate which is unfortunate since I’m not the only one aching for delicious and solid consistency at least 1 Asian restaurant in the coast. No complaints here my egg fried rice was yummy and I’m all about the fried rice! My chili shrimp could’ve been spicier but then i was presented this honey mustard that was the result of wasabi horse radish & Sriracha having a menage trois!
All in all not bad at all.

I came here because a local friend of mine recommended them. I ordered some fried wontons, walnut shrimp with sweet sauce and Dry-​fried string beans.
The fried wontons weren’t what I expected. I thought it was cream cheese on the inside, which the waitress confirmed it was, but it was sweet, almost flavorless. Had to dunk them into the sweet and sour sauce for consumption. Ended up not finishing and did not take them home with me.
I saw a lot of good reviews about the walnut shrimp so I was excited because it is one of my favorite dishes to order at a Chinese restaurant. The walnut shrimp were probably the worst I’ve ever had! I did not like how they were cooked at all. They were also quite bland and the sweet sauce was almost flavorless. I would not pay $ 14 for the quality and amount of shrimp I received. Bleh… some of you Unilocalers are missing out on awesome honey walnut shrimp if you like the stuff here.
The string beans were ok. Kind of hard to mess up, but nonetheless was bland like everything else. I ate it because I need more vegetables in my diet, bland or not. Hah!
So… yea I’ve had better Chinese food elsewhere and probably won’t be coming back here again. My sad search for Dim-​sum continues, but I already know there’s none around this area… :(

Mei’s is an institution in Shell Beach/​Central Coast where Asian food is uncommon. They serve the typical orange chicken, wonton soup, chow mein but also have specialties such as an all meat stir fries and other various tasty stir fries.
The best dish here is the mix stir fry with shrimp, chicken, fish and vegetables. You can also request less salt if you’re concerned about blood pressure. But generally a lunch combo or dinner plate of your choice is a satisfactory Chinese com off meal.

Mei’s is our go-​to Chinese restaurant on the Central Coast. In fact, it’s nearly as good as the food in LA’s Chinatown. We especially love the lemon chicken, hot and sour soup, and egg foo yung with pork. Unpretentious, friendly, and YUMMY!

Ok. We love us some hole-​in-​the-​wall Chinese, so we were directed here by the resort we were staying at in Avila Beach. It’s small, only 12 tables, because most of their business is take-​away. If you are staying in the area, this is a «must-​visit» for some awesome hole-​in-​the-​wall Chinese. Don’t let the atmosphere turn you off, because the food is excellent, the table service was good and the prices are cheap.

Anyone who lives along the Central Coast knows, good Chinese is tough to find.
I was surprised to have this little spot be recommended to me in Shell…
«Wait…where is it!?»
I was told to order the grilled eggplant in plum sauce. «Really?!»
But now I’ve been back twice, and the answer is «Yes. Freakin’ really.»
It’s amazing. I had no idea this was a thing and now I want it all the time everywhere I go.
The pork fried rice is not going to blow your mind but it’s darn yummy.
The moo shu pork (pancakes) was really good, and again, the sauce they served it with (like a Chinese BBQ) was just a perfect addition.
I’ve had a few others and it was all good. But seriously, try the fried eggplant with plum sauce.
The service s polite, and the place is small and quaint. I would probably prefer a take out order here, to dine-​in only because the décor is not so authentic I feel I need to stay. That being said, I’ve eat lunch here both times and had a fine time.
But the quality of the food I think is great compared to other spots around us. It really is worth trying out.

My family and I love this restaurant. We drive all the way from Paso Robles. My kids love it too so that’s a win win! I highly recommend Mei’s. It’s casually delicious.

We got takeout and found huge black chunks of what appears to be charcoal or some other hard black substance in our fried. Called to inform the owner and was met with skepticism. She told us she could believe it if it were in one box of fried rice but not two. Insane! Im posting pictures as proof. This isnt the cleanist or nicest place but its a shame this happened because we actually do enjoy their food.
P. S. Someone call the HEALTH DEPT! NOW! This place would probably be shut down until properly cleaned!

Just okay. It’s close to home and it always has seating so we keep going back, but really nothing special.

Not Great, Not bad… it gets the Job done.
I do wish they would update the décor, it is way outdated.

We are glad we came here! The outside of this place doesn’t have any bearing on the good food they have on the inside. Outside looks kind of rundown. The inside is small but just fine. Service was good and they had suggestions for our first time when I asked for my dish to be spicy it wasn’t a problem. All the food arrived fresh, hot and the seasoning and sauces were not overwhelming. It was a good meal and we will be back!

Fabulous meal! The only bad thing I could find was that if you drink plain water it comes from the tap. So don’t order green tea or get water. Bottled water or beer is better. The food was very delicious though.

Here is how this BAD choice for dinner went: two phone calls; two trips back and forth (because they gave me the wrong order); then when I returned waited another ten minutes while they waited on everyone else dining in AND picking up while I was obviously though patiently waiting in line; then I ask one employee if my revised order is ready and he supposedly goes to check, no update to me upon returning; an older woman finally comes out and I recognize her voice — I spoke with her the second time by phone and asked her if my revised order is ready. She goes into a lengthy and unnecessary diatribe about their various few vegetarian dishes. I once again explain that I did not want it, request it and neither did I mistake my order for chop suey — I do not like chop suey and I have never ordered it. She gets to the point of creating a very awkward, uncomfortable situation for me and then states that I can have what I ordered — and PAID for — but it will take another 20 or so minutes. I politely said, «Never mind» and left — she had already embarrassed me enough. Chop suey is NOT chow mein, regardless of the geographic area of China. Horrible, non existent customer service. One star because this was your fault, not mine; that AND I was polite and trying to be understanding (but really, why should I have to wait yet another 20 minutes for YOUR mistake?). Shame on you. Oh wait — no sauces or to-​go utensils either.

Not very impressed. Fried rice that came with the family meal tasted good but only had eggs in it, no veggies. Mongolian beef was bad :(tasted like soft squishy meat, couldn’t eat much of it. Orange chicken was nice and crunchy but no citrus flavor to it. Lo mein was ok; but we got beef and it was the same squishy meat in the beef dish we ordered. The best part of the meal was the soup. We had the wonton and hot and sour and wish we got big bowls instead of cups!

I phone ordered from Mei’s for pick up. They said it would be ready in 25 min and it was. It was hot when opened 10 minutes later. Was it the best Chinese food? No. Did they use fresh vegetables? Yes. The Hot and Sour soup was good. The crispy beef was flavorless. The orange chicken was crispy with very little meat inside. Golden Gong in Grover is a better choice.

This place is only getting two stars because the food is pretty decent 80% of the time, but the woman who owns it is always short and unappreciative of my business. I have been here more than enough times to hopefully have the service be better that my last visit but unfortunately it is consistently disappointing.

I moved down here from the bay for work, after trying almost every chinese food place in town i finally found my chinese spot.
Taste great have come here so many times already, the only down side is the price… is not an every place. i wish is more affordable so I can come here more often.
mushu pork roll is really good, give it a try!