China Bowl

One of the worst if not THE WORST places I’ve ordered Chinese from, ordered through door dash general tso chicken and cheese wonton came up to $28.00 Tip included. First that’s not general tso chicken, that’s chicken marinated in caramelized sugar and the “fried rice”? It’s rice done with a rice cooker, fried rice is supposed to at least be done in a wok, save yourself the trouble and go somewhere else. Anyone who enjoys eating here had their taste buds burned off as a child because this is pure dishonesty about the meal you’re buying.

Got orange chicken and the sweet and sour chicken. They were decent but not a huge fan of the. They both came with white rice. The large orange chicken was a little pricey for the size.

Ordered a quick Lunch Special Sesame Chicken. Online ordering takeout on their website was a breeze and the food was ready within 10 minutes. Came out very warm and fresh. Friendly staff and very quick service. Food quality was fine, the “pork fried rice” as noted in other reviews appears to just be made in a rice cooker rather than fried fresh and the breading on the chicken was fairly heavy compared to the ratio of chicken however overall was still good tasting. Will look forward to trying their other dishes in the future!

Good food and friendly staff. The decorations are pretty cool, too. These Chinese food places next to Publix are pretty similar to be quite honest. You'll have to pay extra if you want to switch the white rice that comes with the dish for anything else though.

Food is really good, got the chicken skewers and large boneless spare ribs. My issue is the boneless spare ribs is a size large and you can't order smaller size on uber eats. The large is NOT large! For $18 you get a medium sized container and half is fried rice and half is the spare ribs! This is not right and the entire container should be spare ribs if it's listed as a large size and for $18. That's insane! Will not order again.

Had a poor experience before w food quality but gave it a second chance yesterday. The shrimp was deep fried beyond recognition, the chicken fried rice was dry and tasteless, the chicken was fried too much. The beef lo mein was ok. I used to love their food but no more. $40+ order.

Food poisoning. We'll get back to it. First, this is not a one-off. I've gone here a couple dozen times over the years, and it's had a marked decline in the past year or a little less. Second, I should have cancelled the order when they called me to verify I wanted the house chow mein. "It doesn't come with noodles, that's lo mein" they informed me. It's interesting, and I wanted to ask him what he thought "mein" meant. It means noodles. Anyhow, it was nearly lunch and I was craving Chinese, so whatever. Strangely enough it came with rice. The food smelled a little less than appetizing and it was 80% onions. I thought the two things were related, shrugged, and moved on. It didn't taste very good. Lesson learned. Well, no, because that night I threw up. I'll be vague and say the symptoms of violent food poisoning continued to manifest. Thank God the next day was July 4th and there was no work, but then the entire weekend and into the start of next week I could not keep down anything --- not even water --- longer than an hour. It has now been over a week and I'm still not well. So yeah. This place no longer looks clean, the people helping you are suspect, and the food will give you a religious experience as you pray for a quick death rather than live in the bathroom for 10 days+.

Kung Po Chicken and Hunan Shrimp. No trace of any kind of Chinese vegetables or Chinese spices in either dish. My Chinese is a little rusty but I'm guessing that Kung Po means 'celery and carrots' because that's all that was left in the bowl after I ate the chicken and a few pieces of green pepper. Sauces thin and highly diluted. Hunan Shrimp was somehow both fiery hot and tasteless at the same time

The veggie lo mein is my go-to and never disappoints. They are very friendly and quick with their service.

Well prepared, high quality food. Fresh and tasty. Their chicken and rice and noodle soup is delicious.

I would need to try more dishes before I could recommend. I did have the General Tso's Tofu. I liked that the tofu was not breaded and deep fried. It was tasty with lots of sauce. My only complaint is there could have been more broccoli spears. It is geared for takeout, so there isn't any ambiance. I found their site and menu online, so I called in advance. My order was waiting for me. My rating may improve as I order more things.

I normally do not write reviews in a pros and cons manner, but it seems apt for China Bowl, so here we go: Pros: The mooshu pork was actually alright: a lot of fast Chinese-American places can't do mooshu very well and plenty don't even offer it, but China Bowl does and did a decent job on it. They also have a pu-pu platters--even to go! I've not ordered one yet, but they look pretty good and a dude had ordered one when I picked up my own order and said he gets them frequently and they're awesome. The website is attractive and makes ordering easy. Most dishes I've had here are alright--few utterly outstanding, but alright. Cons: The website (see above) however doesn't offer a ballpark estimate even of when the order will be ready. I expected around 15 minutes, drove over there, did some shopping at Publix, and came in expecting my order to be ready only to be told "oh, like in 15 minutes" by the girl at the counter. If that info was on the website, I didn't see it anywhere. There was even an automated email from the website but it only said "order ready ASAP" which tells us basically nothing. A ballpark figure at least would be very helpful. The restaurant's interior is very cluttered, with boxes of goods stacked up on one side of what was intended as their dine-in area and just looks grimy. I understand that this doesn't mean the kitchen is not clean and my room-mates in grad school were all Chinese so I know a lot about Chinese cooking, but it still weirds me out a bit because it's just very poor presentation. If they're moving or something, fine, if it's cleaned up in a month or so, I'll reconsider but as it is now it bothered me. The mooshu pancakes were wrapped in plastic cling-wrap. Not good. That doesn't keep them warm and the plastic could leech chemicals into them. Simple solution there: use tin foil, I mean seriously.

Plenty of food and always cooked exactly as ordered. Best Chinese food around. Quick and friendly service.

This is my go to Chinese restaurant. It's clean, not incredibly greasy, efficient, and consistent. You can get several dishes at your chosen temperature and I always get my combos spicy. I have tried the orange, general tso, sesame, and honey chicken. All are great, although the honey chicken was the least. The lunch combos are an excellent portion (and so is the dinner combo) so it's a good bang for your buck.

Store front needs to be updated but the food is delicious. My favorite is chicken with broccoli and pork fried rice with extra pork.

Excellent Chinese take out. Fresh and delicious. My favorite place for cashew chicken!

Not open at lunch ? Not even sure if it's a business ? It's in a strip mall that looks like a church ! They really need to at least update their hours if they are open or delete the listing!

Ordered a quick Lunch Special Sesame Chicken. Online ordering takeout on their website was a breeze and the food was ready within 10 minutes. Came out very warm and fresh. Friendly staff and very quick service. Food quality was fine, the "pork fried rice" as noted in other reviews appears to just be made in a rice cooker rather than fried fresh and the breading on the chicken was fairly heavy compared to the ratio of chicken however overall was still good tasting. Will look forward to trying their other dishes in the future!

I honestly don't know why we keep returning to this place expecting something different. Tonight, I ordered Moo Goo Gai Pan which had the consistency and taste of wallpaper paste. The egg rolls we ordered and paid for never made it into the bag. Save your money. Drive a few extra blocks and go elsewhere.

I was shocked because the reviews were good, so maybe it's just chicken entrees. my chicken wasn't fresh, it was old use over bourbon chicken, every time I go to a place they use fresh white chicken. it was sweet, that took the taste from the dinner. I couldn't eat it. waste of money.

Seems there was a recent owner change. I never see the young lady who owned the place around anymore. She had been telling me that her rent way up and kitchen staff were demanding 20.00 per hour of they would quit. She was short staffed for a really long time and I guess she decided to sell the business. Anyway the food was always great previous to the new owner. The new owners have changed the recipes for the worse and have raised the prices greatly. It seems the air conditioner has been broken now for awhile because it's extremely hot when you go inside to retrieve your food. Hopefully they get their act together as this location should be a goldmine if they do it right.

All good!! Friendly. Good food. Even have chow fun! Fast service. Clean atmosphere.

Fast and good they never disappoint. House special MeiFun rocks. We will be back in the future.

Always excellent tasting food and quick pleasant service! Our go to Chinese restaurant! Mr. Han's could learn what great service is from the China Bowl!

Food is subpar and the restaurant is filthy! We saw bugs near the food! The christmas tree has been up for over a year. There are cobwebs and the plastic barrier erected during Covid if filthy! The chicken is questionable and the coating is hard as a rock. We've attempted to try your food at different times of the day, different days, weeks and a few months. It never improved! I wonder what the kitchen looks like and if the SAFETY INSPECTORS are aware of this! This restaurant needs a complete overhaul, from the food, the chefs and the decor. We've moved on to Volcanic Sushi, just a few doors down from you, they are 5 STAR everything!

Next to Publix at Hunters Crossing on NW 43rd Street. Quick service and tasty food! Lots of customers doing walk-up and call ahead. Always yummy: shrimp fried rice and chicken with mixed vegetables. Don't let the plastic safety shields scare you off.

Solid Chinese food at reasonable prices. Many good items. Buy several entrees and share. There will be plenty :)

UPDATE 10/24/2019 - We noticed that their website was completely updated, and the displays on their windows had changed, so decided to give China Bowl another try. The food was hot when we got it home, egg rolls hot and flavorful. Moo goo gai pan was okay (notably lacking in anything that wasn't white), fried rice was tasty though a bit heavy on the Chinese 5 spice flavor. My General Tso's chicken (ordered again for a fair comparison) was a little less hard and chewy, but only slightly. It was served with three room temperature pieces of steamed broccoli tucked on top of the otherwise hot food. I'd like to give them 3 1/2 stars for the improvement in flavor, and for the food being hot. Since I don't have a partial-star option, I'm rounding down to three - c'mon folks, get your General Tso's right, serve your broccoli hot, and please add some more color veg to all-white dishes. We've been ordering here for the past four years, and before last night have not been disappointed. Perhaps they are now under new management? (Different people cooking and at the checkout than we've seen before.) The problems: (1) Food (which we picked up 15 minutes after ordering, just as the bag was being placed on the counter) was barely above room temperature by the time we got it home - this has never been a problem before. (2) General Tso's Chicken consisted of extremely hard and chewy balls of breaded chicken. The sauce was tasty, but the balls were so chewy the whole effect was unpleasant. (3) Egg rolls were soggy and the centers were definitely cold. Yuk. (4) Pork with mixed Vegetables - the pork was tasty enough. The mixed veg consisted of two pristine pieces of steamed broccoli that were tucked in on top of the food. (5) Pork Fried Rice - bright yellow, no hint of the usual components of fried rice, including soy sauce, garlic etc. Maybe this is how they are doing it now, but I'll say no in Don't know what the problem was; we may give them one more try before moving on, and if the food improves, I'll upgrade this review.

This is my standard neighborhood Chinese food place. Excellent food and good service. Atmosphere's a bit lacking but it always is at this kind of joint. That's not why you're here--you're here to grab awesome food and pig out with Netflix

Ordered the beef with mixed vegetables, dumplings, and spring rolls. The flavor was good, portions really small as if it was a small lunch and we ordered dinner. Beef was a bit chewy and avoid the spring rolls not good at all.

I've been here countless times in the food is always amazing. China bowl is a small, efficient, and amazing family business where everyone should go. I'm never not impressed with this place!

I work near China Bowl and eat here at least twice a month. I usually get the garlic vegetable lunch special - extra spicy. I have yet to wait more than 10 minutes from the time I place my order. If you are looking for good tasting, fresh, fast, and inexpensive then this is your lunch stop. The food quality/quantity/taste is also consistent. Most dishes are served with fried rice. You can ask for white rice for no additional charge. The white rice is fantastic. If you are solo for lunch don't be surprised if someone sits down with you. Also, don't feel awkward to make a new friend for lunch and invite yourself to sit with a new acquaintance. The dining area can get busy at lunch rush. Even though the restaurant isn't unique in any way, I am compelled to give a 4 star rating based on value.

Always friendly people. Sesame chicken is my favorite. The kids love cheese wontons and steamed dumplings.

Very good. Fresh and tasty. And great egg rolls which for me are hard to find. Please try the curry chicken you will not regret it.

Don't bother with their tofu. They don't even cook it, just cut it up a warm it in some sauce. They also mixed up beef & broccoli with pepper steak & onions. Everything else was adequate.

Friendly folks and good quantity of food for the price. I've found them willing to explain what was in any given dish for the ignorant like me. Is it fine dining? No, but it is good quality Chinese take-out.

For the first time ever. Yelp let me down. I have to be honest. While using yelp for Chinese take out places, I didn't find anything consistent. I didn't order much, but what I did order I didn't find to be very good. The place was clean and they were friendly. The egg drop soup had a bad after taste. The cheese wontons were almost not edible, with a really strong unpleasant taste and smell. Both fortune cookies were more then stale to the point they were no longer crunchy. They just twist like a soft pretzel. The sweet and sour chicken was mostly breading and lacked flavor. However, the can of sprite was on point. So overall. I think that's it for this place. I'm going to try another. This one is definitely not for me.

We have placed catering orders from China Bowl a couple of times now. We changed our order at the last minute and they were very accommodating. They prepared everything fresh and everyone really enjoyed the food. When we went to pick up our order, they very kindly gave us a couple of complimentary trays of donuts!!! We will definitely be ordering from them again soon!

Best fast-food Chinese in Gainesville. Practically the only one that is not overly greasy and with questionable quality meats. Love the Chow San Sin special. Fast service, never screws up my order. Decent portions and all. Only weird thing is the mu-shu, the pancakes come in a package of stuck together squares of very thin rice paper, certainly not very fresh or easy to eat, weirdly chewy like a gummy candy. If only they delivered, I'd give them 5 stars easily.

Tonight we ordered a quick take out dinner of: Wonton soup Egg rolls Shrimp Fried Rice Shrimp and Broccoli Szechuan chicken Beef and Broccoli It was ready in 15 min, fresh and delicious and SO inexpensive! The shrimp were so large they had to be cut into 3 pieces each! This is our go-to place and we have NEVER been disappointed. So happy they are right down the street from our home.

Big Fan. I've been coming here for more than 10 years. The food is consistently very good. The place is constantly cleaned, mopped, and one of the cleanliest Chinese restaurants in town. The service is very good for Chinese take-out. The vast majority of workers speak English as their second language and don't make a ton of small talk. That being said, I'm consistently greeted with a smile and a thank you. I highly recommend China Bowl. Best take out Chinese in Gainesville.

My chinese restaurant. Best in nw Gainesville!! I always order from here. Only issue i ever had was the rice being bland but they did something and now it's delicious. I very much recommend them!!

Very fresh mostly made-to-order Chinese food. A few entrees, like the bourbon chicken, and the pork fried-rice, are ready for the lunch rush, but otherwise the dishes are cooked to order. One nice surprise is the food is not over-salted. You can order very healthy, say brocolli with chicken or vegetable chop suey, and you go go all-out and get the best pork egg foo young in North Central Florida. This is mostly take-out, but the half-dozen tables can seat five each, and they've always been super clean when we eat there. The lunch specials are a great deal, especially when you can get fresh vegetables for the same price as a burger and fries. A can of soda or bottled water is included. I would say that the moo shoo has too much shredded cabbage and could use better pancakes (as noted by another reviewer). Other than that, I've never been disappointed by any of the dishes. Usually the counter service is friendly, but I think a few of the staff are shaky with their English, so they tense up and might not smile when taking the orders. Face it, North Central Florida doesn't have the best Chinese restaurants in America, but this is as good or better than any other in the area (say, north of Orlando to south of Jacksonville), take-out or fancy.

One of the better if not best take out Chinese in Gainesville. I agree that it is way cleaner than most, but also tastier too. Reminds me of Szechuan Omei or Golden Delights if y'all can remember that far back. They are slightly more expensive than others, but the quality is better than Hot Wok. Not really worth driving out of your way for, but good if you live in the area and aren't feeling like Chopstix Bistro. They have a couple of tofu specials, including Orange Tofu which is not that common around here. They could do better frying the tofu, like coating it with corn starch, battering it like normal Orange Chicken, or frying it a little less so its not as rubbery. Its overpriced as is ($11!), but at least the sauce is tasty. Mixed Vegetables in Garlic sauce was quite good, with a nice spicy sauce. Much better than would be expected from take out. Their spring rolls are lame however...almost certainly not house made, super small, and tasteless. Still, as mentioned by others, because of the cleanliness and how tasty most of their food is I would come here over Hot Wok or any other Chinese take out in the area.

We just got hit by hurricane Irma this morning around 2 am. The damage is pretty severe, but China Bowl opened up bright and early at 10:30 am to start serving its customers. As you can imagine, lines were out the door crazy. This is the only restaurant open and serving food in a 20 mile radius...and yet, customer service was still superb. Plenty of angry, fist shaking customers were storming around the restaurant demanding quicker service, but that is quite an unfair demand considering the circumstances. Yet still, the cashiers and chefs held themselves professionally and handled all of these problems with grace. Not to mention, the food was delicious. I got the fried tofu with mixed vegetables. There are plenty of Chinese restaurants around my area in Gainesville, but I will definitely go out of my way and add the extra 15 minutes of travel just to do business with China Bowl again. Amazing service, even more amazing food. Love you, China Bowl!!!

Even though this is a place where you get food at a counter with no refills on soda and you clear your own table, it is clean and has a public restroom. The shrimp here were large and a good grade of shrimp, and that was with the 5.50 lunch special.

Visited a while back. This place was a total disappointment. Yelp let me down. The fried rice was greasy the soup was okay. Definitely did not settle well at all.

As a vegetarian it is not always easy to find tasty Chinese food. I can verify this place hits the spot. The staff is very helpful in explaining what sauces do/not have shellfish or other animal bases; they have happily changed the sauce on a menu item for me more than once. The veggies are plentiful and not overcooked; they're the right amount of crispy. Tofu is good, but I often just like to order a dish with veggies. There are several Chinese restaurants closer to my home than China Bowl, but it is totally worth the extra drive to get a quality and satisfying Chinese meal from here!

The best freshest takeout Chinese food in Gainesville. I love their honey chicken and the house special chow fun. Their wonton soup and egg rolls are also really good. Their service is great and the staff is really friendly.

This place and Hot Wok on 13th are both pretty good. I prefer this place because the interior is way nicer for a lunch dine-in. I like it, I don't love it... hit them up for their lunch special. 5.60 for a drink rice and a main course with plenty of selection I think the reviews on this place are a little too enthusiastic. Good quick Chinese though.

Good place takeout good Chinese Food. Chixken on stick is really good and the egg rolls too.

The food is disgusting. I ordered Moo Shoo pork, chicken & Shrimp with beef lo mein. First, the sauces for all of these three dishes tasted same, a combination of soy sauce and sugar. Only the sauce for moo shoo was the saltiest. They have no other taste except the plane soy sauce and sugar. Also, the moo shoo looked like it was cooked like at least two weeks ago. They must cook the food in a large portion, freeze, and then recook them by small portion. I will never go back this place. Go to ocean buffet on the new berry. They serve better chinese.

I have been to several dozen take out strip mall Chinese restaurants all across the southeast over the years and this by far the cleanest one I have every been to. I mean most of us can agree most takeout places look sketchy but the food is cheap and taste alright, but the first time I went into China Bowl I was kinda in shock at how clean it was and it even took me a few seconds to remember I was there to order food. Food taste a lot better than most takeout places. Though I must say my main reason for returning is how clean and fresh the actual restaurant is.

If they delivered, I would give them another star because they are by far the best fast Chinese in this area. Clean restaurant, fast service, inexpensive, large portions.