Chinatown Garden

I generally don't like to write bad reviews, but I still feel that more people need to know. We saw this restaurant was quite crowded during lunch time, so we thought it couldn't be too bad. But unfortunately, we hit a snag. The salty duck was not fresh and the color looks terrible. beef brisket had a foul smell and totally inedible. The staff saw that we had so much left over and didn't ask if we wanted to pack it up or if we had any problems. And they charged the tip directly to the bill. Maybe their American Chinese food is okay, but I don't recommend anything else.

This is an overpriced Chinese restaurant, and the food quality is very mediocre. The portion size is not representative of the price, and the presentation isn’t that good. The taste itself is not terrible, but I still wouldn’t pay $31 for a small bowl of beef.

Paid around USD60 for 2 dishes. 1. Crab Meat Noodles – This felt like a scam. Loads of noodles and veg, but where’s the crab meat? Barely any. Taste? Super bland. 2. Stir-Fried Prawns – Decent portion with lots of prawns, but flavor was just okay. Nothing memorable. Verdict: Not worth the price. You can definitely find better options nearby.

Good food at a decent price. You get some well prepared and well cooked meat, vegetables, rice and noodles, you get generous portions, and it all comes out pretty quick. There’s no risks being taken here. The main thing holding this restaurant back is the lack of bold flavours. Dishes are all good, but not quite amazing.

Good value for your buck here. They serve fresh homestyle Chinese food in generous portions. Both of us could not finish our main course. I'm glad we didn't order an appetizer. They serve full bar here. They have a deep menu of items to choose from. Family-friendly. Roomy and comfortable inside dining. Access is by stairway only. Service was quick and friendly.

What a disgusting overpriced restaurant. There is no service. All they serve you is water and ask for your order and don’t even say hi. We ordered sweet and sour chicken which was incredibly soggy. The spring rolls which were freezer burnt. The fried rice that was scorched. The coke that had not one fizz to it. The general tsos chicken that was rotten. I went to the disgusting bathroom with water or pee all over the sticky floor. Omg just don’t go here

This is our third day in Washington DC and I have to say this place has had the best food and the best Service, hands-down of anywhere we have eaten breakfast lunch or dinner I highly recommend the general shows and if you want a good drink, try the zombie.

Always delicious Salt and Pepper Tofu with Eggplant in garlic sauce. Friendly family service 🥰

This spot is a gem in DC's China Town. Something about dining in just gives such a nostalgic homey feeling. The service was great, fast and friendly. We started with two orders of hot and sour soup. I wish it was a little bit more sour but it definitely came with some heat which was great! We also had an order of crab rangoons, I'd say they were mid at best. They were slightly over fried and could use a little bit more filling. The filling was very tasty, a good combination of cream cheese and crab. For our entrees we split shrimp lo mein and general tso's chicken. Both were amazing, and hit our Chinese food craving on the head. The chicken was nice and crispy on the outside without too much breading. The large chicken pieces were moist and soft on the side. The broccoli that came with the chicken was also cooked perfectly and paired so nicely with the sauce. Overall a very solid Chinese food spot. If you're in China Town I would definitely stop in!

Decent Chinese restaurant with expansive menu including lots of vegetarian options. The prices are reasonable. The service is decent. Ambiance typical for an older Chinese place. This may be the best this struggling tiny Chinatown has to offer as far as food but will try other places.

The fried rice here is the star of the show. The service was great and the staff were friendly. The sides weren't as good as the rice but I'd definitely be back.

Chinatown has a bunch of restaurants that are worth visiting. This place is hit or miss. The staff are polite without being super friendly. They want to serve you and then get you away from their table. The dining area is huge. Sometimes the back area is closed, which limits seating. We visited around 7:00pm on Tuesday night. Street parking is free after 630pm across the street. You can get a great selfie with the arch, which is close to the restaurant. The egg drop soup is decent. The vegetarian stir friend rice is yummy. The vegetarian lo mein is decent. My friend enjoyed the chicken. You can ask for extra fortune cookies! FYI: A tip is already built into the bill.

Great standby restaurant. Delicious, full menu, great drinks and locatio..fast friendly service! Will be back again and again

Horrible service , you will wait for the hostess , all the servers will go about doing their work without acknowledging you. We saw several patrons wait and walk away. Eventually after asking multiple times ;for a table we got one , initially ordered only shezwan chicken and tea, server didn't seem happy we ordered only one dish , then second waitress comes asking us to hurry to order any dish as their kitchen it s closing , o ordered mapo tofu. We then saw they still seated a couple 15 mins after that and give them time to order food! Food was just ok. Nothing impressive but yes it was served hot. They default 20% to your bill and then again get the receipt with option to add another 20%,25% or 30% Beware! Maybe the last option like us when everything around us closing .

Right across the street from my hotel. The guard said best around. Went there twice. I had the crispy beef. It was great. Beef was tender and flavorful. Great dish. Hot and sour soup was perfect for this snowey night. My friend had the Happy Family. He said it was great so I got it the second time we went. He was right. Shrimp was fresh as were the scallops. Beef and chicken were tasty and load of stir fried veggies. If your staying at the Motto it perfect Service was excellent.

Good Chinese food! Came here for lunch while in the city. It wasn't very busy, probably 2-3 other parties eating here. We ordered the ginger scallion lobster, garlic string beans, and fried fish with xo sauce. We originally wanted to order a different fish dish, but the waitress recommended this one instead. It was on a separate Chinese/Cantonese menu, which had more Chinese style/authentic dishes, compared to the usual Chinese-American fare. The waitress was very friendly and made jokes with us too. The food came out quickly and hot. The fish was a good choice, possibly my favorite of the 3 dishes. Fish filet pieces were tender, and served with snow peas, in a savory sauce. String beans were garlicky and slightly spicy, a classic dish. The lobster was great too, but could've used even more of ginger flavor in the sauce. The prices were a bit high imo, and gratuity is automatically charged for dine-in orders (which is stated on the menu).

Stayed down the street from here and decided to check it out. The neighborhood is awful now, very sad. So Chinatown area does not look like it has many Asian people living here. From the outside does not look like much but when you walk inside it is clean and well lit. I was sat quickly and brought some water. They do not have many customers but try and hurry you to finish. Maybe it is the culture, I don't know. Egg drop soup was great! Roast pork fried rice was okay. Not on the great side but was okay. Next time I will try a different place.

If you read my reviews then you know that I don't often give bad reviews and in truth Chinatown Garden has a lot going for it. The location is very good close to the entrance to Washington DC, Chinatown, just past the Metro. The food is plentiful and tasty. Not the best, but not bad. The decor is fairly standard Chinese restaurant decor. There was no music. The thing that struck me most about this place, was the very poor customer service. The servers were more concerned about fulfilling carry out orders than serving customers. We had to remind them to take our drink order and when we ordered fried dumplings as an appetizer, we later had to ask the server to take our dinner order. There is no free refills of sodas. So the servers just don't ask or offer or mention it until after being waved down to be asked. The menu advertises that 22% tips are added automatically to any sit down meals. The service was worse than most fast food establishments. I hope that my experience was an anomaly but cannot in good conscience recommend this place to future customers. If you are looking to try this place, perhaps just order carry out.

For the love of god, do not come here. The food is absolutely awful. The food taste awful, the service is good but the restaurant itself feels sticky and odd. The meat is very strange tasting and gives off very un fresh feeling whether it was the duck or chicken or soup. All of it was very fowl. This place doesn't deserve one star or to be in China town. I'm sorry but this place needs to go or completely change.

Had a quick dinner and some drinks here before the Burna Boy concert at the arena. The closer restaurants were super packed as to be expected for a sold-out concert! Some in our group have been here before and recommended it. I got the drunken noodles with chicken. They explained they were smaller noodles. At that point, I should have ordered something else. Drunken noodles traditionally are wider. To me, they were singapore noodles and didn't have much flavor. I had to add chili peppers, soy sauce, and sriracha to be able to eat it. The drink I got, a cosmo was ok. Service was good. Maybe I'd visit again but not in a hurry and definitely getting something else from the menu.

Ordered the seafood fried rices (25$) seafood chow foon (25$) and the mushroom and bamboo shoots (18$). At the end of the meal I left exasperated and pissed off. The seafood fried rice was bland and nothing special. It was definitely not worth 25 or anything above 20. I would say there was barely any seafood and was mostly rice and barely seasoned at that. The restaurant gave us a TINY portion of seafood chow foon with mini frozen shrimps. the scallops were a nice size but had no flavor. The difference between the fried rice and chow foon size was insane. The mushrooms and bamboo shoots was something I was hoping would redeem the restaurant but it also ended up being a let down. The mushrooms had a strong smell that made it almost unbearable to eat, so we didnt. I didn't even realize there were bamboo shoots until my parents told me there WERE some in that small plate but they were not even full shoots. The chefs had slices of bamboo shoots and so little that I didn't even see any. All in all completely let down. The servers were nice and came by to check ok us but everything brought down our experience. Just a warning, they add 15% tip into the check and then bring the receipt back again with a line to add more tip!

Reasonably priced Chinese food, very close to the Gallery Place Metro station. We enjoyed the casual atmosphere and some good food here! Everyone was friendly and the service was great!

Great menu, you will for sure find something you like. Fast service and a great location short walk from my hotel. I would like to see the water guy in something other than adidas sweat pants but that's the casual times we are all living in now. I had a $9 drink and was out for under $45

This place sucks. They have horrible customer service and the food is not worth the price and the food isn't that great either. The shrimp and spicy sour soup is genuinely horrible. When we wanted to give the soup back we were told to try it before purchasing and there is now at they could "make business". I would not recommend this place at all because there is a lot more places around that seem way better.

In DC for one day, so happy to find this vegan friendly Chinese restaurant just beyond the Chinatown Archway. The food was so so so delicious . Great selection of mock meats. Service was fast and friendly. The decor, booths, set up, is tasteful and spacious. Relaxing, smooth jazz played as we ate. Front windows look out to Chinatown, a charming view. Keeping this place in mind for my next visit - highly recommend !! Yes: vegan friendly

Some of the best Chinese food I have ever had. I went before a Washington Capitals ice hockey game and it was perfect and conveniently a 5 minute walk from Capital One Arena in the heart of Chinatown. It is definitely an older restaurant but extremely fast service. The sesame chicken was a hit!

Looking for a quick place to grab Chinese food and leaving the capitol one arena? Pull up The staff is nice and they attentive. Love the shrimp spring rolls The sake Shrimp Pad Thai

Deeply disappointed in the quality of the food I was given. Coming to Chinatown in a major city, you would think the food is authentic. They charge for refills, the ambiance was good. The host and servers were slow to attend to us. Overall this was a random restaurant we came too, don't recommend if you're looking for authentic Chinese food.

Decided to dine in here because I walked pass the glass window and saw diners with some delicious lobster with ginger and scallions, plus a large group of Chinese people dining in the back so I know this is the place to go. It did not disappoint!!! I was dining by myself so I couldn't order a lot. I settled with the Sha-Cha Beef & Enoki Mushroom with Glass Noodles in casserole, plus a bowl of rice. Beef was tender, enoki mushroom and glass noodles soaked up the sauce which made the entire dish very flavorful! The portion was big too, enough for two people. Service was good. I cannot wait to go back and try other dishes next time I visit the area. A side note to add, they have a sign saying they will automatically add 15% service charge to you bill when you dine-in.

If you're in the DC area, I recommend trying this restaurant out. The service was excellent, staff came around often to see if you needed anything but they weren't overbearing. The food was fresh & delicious! I had the Orange Chicken, it had a little kick to it. I wasn't expecting that but it was perfect! We had cream cheese wontons for an appetizer, very fresh and not overly fried. My fiancé ordered a shrimp dish and beef fried rice, both were tasty. The portions are a good size as well. The atmosphere was pleasant, not too loud at all. Great for date nights or business.

I wrote a great review about this place last year, and I'm still giving them 2 stars, but they have seriously declined...especially in service and cleanliness. There are a lot of nearby restaurants that won't put shrimp in your vegetarian food...please enjoy them.

General Taos chicken appeared to be reheated from DAYS ago. It was hard and chewy. Not fresh at all. Should have read the reviews here first. They are all correct this place is a tourist trap nightmare.

Great combo fried rice and the pea shoot leafs were very flavorful. They gave us nice strawberry slushies with a candle because they noticed we were celebrating a birthday. For a comforting and classic chinatown staple resturant, go here!

My favorite meal from a recent work trip to DC. I ordered salt & pepper pork chops, fried jumbo shrimp, and pea shoots. I'll swing by again with colleagues so we can order more dishes.

Horrible! Absolutely the worst Chinese food I have ever had. Filthy beyond belief. I cannot say it enough- stay away from this tourist trap! We got fooled, don't be like us!

The lack of a fifth star has everything to do with how DC businesses welcome loiterers. Huge problem with that. Other than that, Chinatown Garden is a nice facility amongst a sea of similar Asian and Chinese restaurants and dim sums behind the Friendship Archway and the Gallery Place Metro. Running errands in the area for the first time, I decided to grab some Shrimp Fried Rice so I wouldn't have to cook. It was a really nice portion for $17, and stayed hot during my Metro ride back to Rhode Island Ave. So zero complaints from me. The rice wasn't soggy, the shrimp were cooked well--no complaints from me.

Fantastic, authentic food. It was just what we were looking for when we ventured over to Chinatown. We'd definitely eat here again.

I have come here several times after a Washingtonian article identified this as one of DC's secretly super vegan friendly restaurants. There are two columns of vegan dishes in the menu: one column is tofu-based mock meats, the other is traditional tofu and veggie dishes. We got the Szechuan chick'n, eggplant in garlic sauce, and general tso's tofu. The eggplant was great--always get the eggplant! The chick'n was very good with a hint of spice; each chick'n strip was narrow and thin almost like a short stubby noodle. It was seasoned really well and had a good chickeny texture. I wouldn't get the general tso's again...it wasn't bad but didn't come the way I typically like it with a crust around the tofu and a rich sweet & tangy sauce. The portions are large here: three dishes was too much food for three people. I recommended we order two entrees and an app, but that plan was thwarted when the only vegan app they had was a solo spring roll. Hopefully they expand their appetizer list in the future. This restaurant has big round tables in the back; I've been here with larger parties and it works well for that.

Had dinner here a few days ago to celebrate covering all two miles of the National Mall on foot. Haha! While Chinatown appears to be a shell of it's old self, it's good to know that restaurants like these are still holding their own against the fast casuals and gastropubs in the vicinity. For one, the old school Chinese takeout vibe is existent. I was floored by the combination fried rice. Not only was it a cacophony of flavor, but it was plentiful to be a standalone meal on its own. I'd normally douse the stuff with soy sauce but this didn't need any. Really enjoyed the steamed meat dumplings. Word to the wise: always get the steamed. The hot and sour soup was a nice introduction to my meal and what I needed to tone down the soreness I was a feeling. Hey, if you walked two miles nonstop, your body and feet would be yearning for any kind of relief, too. The waiter was ready to refill my glass with water. I don't know about you, but I prefer waitstaff swoops by every few seconds as opposed to the indifferent kind. I have no idea when I'll return to these parts, but I sure would like to return here and try other items on the menu.

Food is worth trying but the service is down right rude. I've never not tipped but this deserved every bit of a goose egg. Will not be back.

Food was excellent. I had the Black Pepper Steak. It had just the right kick and very tasty. My dad had the Family platter with several meats and veggies, also excellent and my son had chicken fried rice which was average. The best part of the dinner was the staff, we had 3 servers who were quick, attentive and very friendly. Try a Tsingtao beer while you eat. The building is a little dated but there's a nice elevated view of the street. Highly recommend.

My friends and I were starving and wanted a quick bite in Chinatown. We came here where it was packed and thought it was a good sign! My friend and I decided to spilt this crab noodle dish that was $24. The food took forever to come out since there was only one waitress for a bunch of tables. We ordered two sets of dumplings. Those were pretty decent (it too about 20 mins each to get one order). The noodles were underwhelming. No flavor, soggy and barely any bits of crab. Very disappointing and so expensive! Def. Save your money and time and go somewhere else.

Wife and I stopped in for dinner before going to the caps game, when we got there it was around 1745 only 2 other tables. Waitress took our order brought our drinks and all the tables in the front area were full and only about 4 tables in the back. We ordered the special for 2 $39.95 (just make it $40) included soup, appetizer and any 2 meals from the list of 12 meals, wife had the fried rice and I had the general tzo's chicken. The fried rice was really good and the GTC was really good very tasty and spicy, if you don't like hot ask for it to be mild. The sauce is very good chicken was very tender would have liked to have had all white meat. We will stop in if in the area, the cookie was also good.

Had the onchoi, peking duck, sizzling beef black pepper sauce. Peking duck must have been left out for a few days. Smelled and tasted old, stale and dry. Even the scallion was dry and stale. The other dishes were mediocre as well. No wonder the place was almost empty at lunchtime.

My main order is typically chicken pad Thai. And what I got was egg noodles with chicken. Not a horrible taste but noodles were mush. And for spice they added jalapeños. The sauce had no real flavor. Got it go with door dash.

This is the worst dinning experience of my life. We ordered a sake and it was the nastiest thing I have ever tasted. I asked for them to bring me a Sam Adams and the manager got an attitude and took my menu away and basically told me he wont be bringing me another drink. Unfortunately at this point our food had already arrived so we decided to just stay and try it. I ordered a spring roll that I instantly spit out because it was cooked in stale oil. Next I tried my hot and sour soup and it was cold. At this point I asked for the check and was presented with a receipt with tip already added to it. Single most disgusting place I have visited with the rudest staff possible. Would not recommend ever. Save your money and go somewhere else.

I travel to the DC area a lot for business, and this is a "have to" stop for me. All I can say is...try the Singapore rice noodles. Just try them. You'll be hooked just like I am. The service is great, and the staff are very friendly. And it's right around the corner from the Capital One Arena, so getting there by Metro is a piece of cake. But even if I had to go through the seven concentric circles of hell to get here, I'd do it. IT'S JUST THAT GOOD.

Great food and great service. Strong drinks too. First time in the area, will be back.

We used to go here every time we were in DC and the food was always excellent. I took my brother there last night and clearly the management has changed hands. There is no longer an authentic Chinese section in the menu, the clientele was all non-Asian, used to be an equal mix, the wontons and breading on the chicken were stale, as too were the wontons for the Crab Rangoon. The service was lackluster. Sadly, it was nothing like I had experienced in the past.

They have all the classic Chinese takeout dishes! The service is fast (it was very empty) and the food is good. My vegan and vegetarian friends love this place cause if the vegan chicken.

Two word review to let you know everything you need to know about this dump. Not good.

A long staple of DC Chinatown , located in an equally renown and historic building. Always packed with locals, tourists and concert/game attendees. Ordered the Peking Duck and Fish Fillet Tofu Casserole. Compared to other Chinese restaurants, this is certainly one of the best ones.

We were here on a Monday evening for dinner. As we expected there were hardly anyone in the restaurant cause it was Monday. Staff had taken all the covid precautions. They had sanitizers at the entrance. We ordered hot and sour soup, chicken dumplings, Singapore rice noodles and triple delight. Service was good. Food arrived on time. I loved the hot and sour soup as it had that kick to it which hits your throat. It was perfect on a cold evening. I was freezing. So perfect order of soup to keep me warm and sweating. Singapore rice noodles is one of favorites. It was delicious. I have had some oily ones before but their rice noodles was top notch. I was underwhelmed with triple delight. It lacked flavor and the meat wasn't delicious. I don't think I will order triple delight again. It wasn't juicy as well. Pricing is perfect. This restaurant is one of the biggest Chinese restaurants in Chinatown area. Parking could be hard to find on the weekends. We bike to all these places anyways.

Small quaint Chinese restaurant located near the entrance to Chinatown. Food is very authentic with more than that the average number of options, quick and courteous service. The staff is very accommodating and will do low salt and no msg dishes. Great place for large parties and meetups.

Beef chow fun ($25) 2/5 - Honestly, seasoned well, cooked well, just too much oil. Unfortunately can't rate it higher and would say this is a bit below average.

Food was okay, service was unfriendly/slow, and the ambiance is very old, outdated looking. I ordered the Kung Pao tofu and it literally had no veggies included. The best dish out of the 3 we ordered was the shrimp and snow peas.

It was actually really good... I will be going back. Kinda took a long time to get our order in but the food came really quick. And was actually the best flavor Chinese I've had in a while. Definitely recommend.