Great Castle Chinese Restaurant

I will give a fair and honest review. IT IS NOT THE SAME. I feel as though I could find a better much less expensive place to buy Chinese cuisine. This was one of the worst 49 dollars I have ever spent. The Chow Mein Noodles were way overcooked and the rice was hard and not cooked properly. If you are looking for the old owners quality and taste you will not find it here.

I always make it a point to drop in at Great Castle for lunch whenever I’m in Bakersfield. The staff is always very friendly and get you served quickly. The inside is laid back and relaxing, perfect for taking a break from work before driving back out again. The lunch specials are well portioned and reasonably priced. I paid about $20 including tip. McDs combo runs about the same these days. Highly recommend them for lunch, just watch out for their fortune cookies, they give some wild predictions lol

Some of, if not the best Chinese food I've ever had. Quality of food was consistently great across all dishes. Fresh ingredients. Will be returning if I'm in the area again. Food was served quickly. Leading with potstickers, followed by wonton soup about the same time we finished the potstickers, and the vegetable fried rice arrived shortly after we finished our soup. The Mongolian Beef and Chow Mein came shortly after, so there was little time waiting between dishes. The tea was delightful, some of the best tea I've ever had. It was served loose-leaf in the tea kettle, so removing the sachet to halt steeping is impossible. The pot stickers were great, especially with the brown sauce and some of the chili oil (if you like spice). The broth of the wonton soup was rich, but light and not overpowering. The bok choy in the soup was not wilted at all, very nice and fresh. The snow peas were crisp and not stringy. The vegetable fried rice was excellent, made with fresh veggies and with a perfect amount of seasoning and char. Onions in the Mongolian Beef were crunchy and not limp or chewy. The sauce for the Mongolian Beef was great. Service was good. They don't hound you, but they watch tables. They brought us boxes and the bill without requesting it shortly after we finished eating.

New ownership didn't disappoint. The food is still wonderful and everyone was very nice. I'll definitely come back as they made sure to make my favorite dish that really isn't on the menu as past ownership used to. 😁

OMG the reviews did not disappoint! Ever since moving here I had not found such great chinese food. I love the authentic vibe of the restaurant and the super friendly service. I was also pleased to see that they had alcoholic drinks available (they don’t have it on the menu). A hot sake and ice cold beer goes well with the meals for those who enjoy it. I find that for the quality of the food the prices are very decent and worth it. I will absolutely be going back.

Food was great! My first time being at this place and everyone was super nice and very attentive when it came to ask if we needed anything. Very clean I rate 10/10, I recommend this place!

As we've all heard the current owners are leaving our city to retire and they've sadly sold the restaurant to new owners. I can safely say in my opinion the new owners will continue the great tasting food and service. The original owners love this restaurant and area so much they have stayed over to assist and train the new staff.

If you have a 4.4 star food might be really good but not sure why the place looks like abondaned or poor looking just wondering if you will give a color outside and a little change might get famous for the 4.4 star to 5 just thinking if I should try to eat there I always see cars park outside not sure if is the area why people try making there places look good around Union and California hoping if a change will come here sometime please give this place something in care for the design it has and food.

I went yesterday during dinner and the food was really tasty! We got the shrimp and broccoli, house chow mein, kung pao chicken, pan fried dumplings and walnut shrimp. The service took some time but I can understand since it was Friday dinner rush. However, the servers were very friendly. I will be back :)

Way way better. Cleaner and no roaches Great menu Great service High prices For some reason they didn't bring us any complimentary munchies as they did all the other tables Tables aren't set with chopsticks or full set of cutlery along with the forks. Had to ask for tea! Had to ask for chili oil Food was plentiful and very tasty They didn't all taste the same!!! Definitely recommend

We came here to celebrate my son with the whole family, and it was a wonderful experience from start to finish. They seated us in the back banquet room, giving us the entire space to ourselves, which made the occasion feel even more special. The service was excellent--friendly, attentive, and efficient. Our food came out quickly and everything was absolutely delicious. The restaurant itself was very clean and well-kept. What really stood out was how thoughtful the staff were with our celebration. They kindly offered to store our cake in their refrigerator until we were ready for it, and when the time came, they brought out plates, extra forks, and even provided a lighter and candle for the cake. It was such a sweet gesture and made the moment even more memorable. I would highly recommend Great Castle to anyone looking for a clean, delicious, and welcoming place to dine. No complaints at all!

We ate here over Easter weekend for the first time since the place changed hands. Our order consisted of #123 the sweet and sour chicken. It was not bad, but lacked flavor. There were 2 small pieces of pineapple and a lot of chunks of carrots. Yea, carrots WTF?? We also had #90 the shredded pork. This dish is meant to be served with the very thin crepe like wraps. They did bring the wraps upon request. This dish was the best food I had here this trip. Number 60 is curry shrimp, it was just ok. Service was good, the food came out quickly. The place is very old, inside and out. Yea I get that it could be called character, others might call it run down. The very nice waiter did take us out of the main dining room where they had originally sat us down. We did request to move when we were seated by a table of very loud talkers complaining about medical issues and details of the treatments. The ambiance improved greatly when he say us by the aquarium in the front room. I think Panda Express has better food for less money.

Ambiance-decor hasn't changed, however, maximizing seat seems lacking because there was a booth area in front area that was being used as a storage area instead of seating. Good use a small updating. Service-waiting list on a Sunday at 6:30pm while lots of open tables to be seen (7 areas). 3 waiters on the floor with one dedicated to cleaning up and setting tables. Promptly asked about drinks- served hot green tea Food- wow! Every dish was delicious. Ordered from pre-fix selection starting at $23.95 per person. I added beef fau (sic) chow. The wonton soup was very delicious with shrimp, chicken and small slices of beef. I put a smidge of hot mustard and Wowzer! Great!

It had been awhile since we last ate at Great Castle. It was the first time since the ownership changed. When I asked, they said much of the kitchen staff was the same. We ordered our usual Chinese (seems redundant) Chicken Salad with extra ginger and Kung Pao Chicken (no white onion). The server was happy to take my special orders. Great Castle is a fun place to eat. I love the Chinese decorations. It was close to their New Year and I love their decorations. The food was just as tasty as I remembered, maybe a little better. A higher quality chicken seems the most logical answer. The sauce on the Kung Pao is not very spicy, but it adds just enough flavor that, when mixed with the steamed rice, one gets that happy feeling inside. It's still a little pricey. If you haven't been to the Great Castle on Union Ave. yet, definitely check it out.

So the previous owner we all learn to love over the years retried and new owners took over. The restaurant looks the same. The service is still good. Food still comes fast. Big change is happening. Start with Mapo Tofu. They added in tingly spice and the authentic bean sauce from Pixian. Wow, what a pleasant surprise! The seasoning of the vegetables are much more aggressive, in a good way. The pork is the same, which is already great. The dry style beef chow fun was amazing! I'm definitely going back!

I am not going to lie the food was great, until I found a hair in it. I will think about a future visit.

I with family stopped by today, we go often and like the staff, we like the food; it's consistent and good on both accords. Never had we had a bad meal or bad experience. Until today - note: This is not a comment on food, this is a review on the restaurant being closed. We arrived in the early afternoon about 3:00pm with doors locked and the park lot empty. On the door there wasn't really any notice or signage reflecting a closure, except for one placed by the power utility indicating power shut off for fumigation, and one placed by an extermination company, indicating that they'll be ready to re-open on "7/25" . It seems the restaurant may have been closed since mid-month when the pest servicing was done? But as of today, this restaurant is closed; hopefully only temporarily. We found this closure disheartening and hope the ownership can overcome this setback. We'd like to see it reopen soon. If you decide to dine here, call in advance to see if they've re-opened. Good luck, guys.

Great Castle is our go-to Chinese spot . The food is great. The menu is so big it's hard to choose a dish. The service has always been top notch. I know they are closing down soon, and that makes me very sad. This place is the best in town.

Traveling from Las Vegas, always looking for good Chinese food. We read other Yelps and decided to try Great Castle for lunch. It has a great lunch combo menu. So much food and it was excellent. Servers were wonderful. We took home more than we could eat. So we will have two meals from our lunch.

Good food and good service. You can eat peacefully, no too much noise. The fried dumpling are always juice and flavorfull, we always get the beef curry and sweet and sour fish for ou

So this is my second time going to this restaurant and I'll have to say that the food was tastier and better this time around. I also feel like their portions got bigger, which is good, this makes a great restaurant for larger groups and when two people who do not eat a lot are on a budget. I went on a Saturday and the place was pretty busy, however since it was just me I was able to be seated right away. The staff is friendly and professional and right away. They brought me water and hot jasmine tea. I ordered a cup of egg, drop soup, pork, fried rice, and moo-shu pork. After I ordered the server brought me a small bowl of crispy noodles with a side of ketchup and hot and spicy mustard. The egg drop soup came out first. It is a very good sized cup not like other places where it's a tiny little thing. The soup had plenty of egg and the broth was tasty. It was also loaded with a few vegetables, including mushrooms. II wish it was piping hot, it was warm at best. The next thing that came out was the moo-shu pork. This is one of my all-time favorite dishes, especially when the pork and vegetables are seared in a hot wok and you get that seared wok taste. For those of you not familiar with this dish, it is a pork vegetable stirfry that is then wrapped in steamed crêpes, a.k.a. Chinese crêpes, with hoisin sauce, and rolled to look like a burrito. The portion was large, it came with four servings, and the last one was kind of fat. The server mentioned that if requested, you could ask them to make them smaller and you get more crêpes out of the dish. Similarly like the soup, I wish it was piping hot. The dish was warm and got cold very quickly. The last thing that came out was the pork fried rice. I love a good pork fried rice when you get that nice seared taste and the rice is brown from all the sauces that they put in it. The rice was a huge serving probably enough for six people, needless to say I have a ton of leftovers that I brought home. There was plenty of vegetables, egg, and stir fried pork that was tender and seasoned well. Just like the two dishes before I wish it was piping hot. I really want to give this place five stars, especially since new owners have taken over it recently, and they are still transitioning the staff between the old owners and new. Maybe that's why the temperature of the food was not what I was expecting. If it wasn't for that, these guys would get five stars from me. Hopefully in the next couple of months, they can figure out the temperature thing and when you order your food it's piping hot, because that is when it taste best. By the end of my meal, I sat with dishes that were beyond room temperature cold because of the AC. At that point, I was no longer enjoying my lunch. The added bonus, is the portions are so large, I have plenty of leftovers for the peeps at home. Enjoy!

I wanna start off with the service and then I wanna finish with the food. I felt so at home here everyone made me feel like I was a guest in their home. We ordered the Kung pow chicken and the pan fried dumplings. The sizzling rice soup was amazing. It made me feel like the happiest person in earth.

First time at Great Castle in about 25+ years. I know they've switched owners but I believe the original owner is still in the biz. Cleanliness I'd say isn't 100% but this place seems to never not be busy. It's definitely got the Christmas Story old school feel to the place and the different sections of the restaurant makes it feel like you're in n different sectors of a house. Food for 8 was reasonably priced but also remember everything is family style serving, so it will feed 2-3 easy for each plate. Definitely get their fried pork specialty on the specials side of the menu. I cannot remember the name for the life of me but definitely hands down one of the better pork dishes. We also had a couple shrimp dishes, the chowmein and a couple of the dinner special options. I would only recommend the diver special options of it's just a couple of you but if its a family ordeal order the family style plates. Again, this place is an institution for Bakersfield and has a great selection for lunch or dinner. Price wise it is definitely reasonable and they of course do carry out. Great option for Christmas dinner or any other family occasion.

This review is for a pick-up order. Today, I called in to order vegetable lo mein (I love this; we call "chow mein" lo mein back on the East Coast), shrimp fried rice, sweet-and-sour chicken and General Tsao's chicken. Of course, I am not thrilled that we have to pay for an order of steamed rice but I begrudgingly ordered two. The last time my husband, son and I dined here was last May when I graduated from KCCL and I was so exhausted, I never wrote a review. The food was good then but with Great Castle, other than my gripe about the separate charge for steamed rice, I always had an issue with the kind of shrimp they'd use--limp and not al-dente like China Garden. That is why I preferred CG over GC. Back to current affairs, I know that the restaurant is under new management and I am happy to declare that things are looking good. I am a pescatarian so my dishes were amazingly good. The shrimp were firm. As for the two chicken dishes, my husband and son were elated. The portion sizes are very generous and that's saying a lot for today's times. We have leftovers. The young man who took my telephone order was so personable and engaging. I cannot comment on ambulance until we pay a visit indoors. All together, it was $80 well-spent.

Staff is always very quick and friendly. We have tried a ton of the different dishes. From egg flower soup, sizzling rice soup, all the chicken dishes and beef dishes, a bunch of the shrimp dishes...every single one is better than the next. We usually pile it all on the plate and somehow it all compliments each other. Fresh, hot and super tasty. Our favorite Chinese restaurant hands down.

Used to be favorite place for Chinese food. Went there today for my birthday. It' was not good . Everything had changed . We ordered general chicken , lemon chicken , chicken chow main , steamed rice . . The only thing that was good was the steamed rice & Pepsi. We will never be going back 3-29-2025

Great food and employees!!! will stop here again one day if I get a an opportunity. Ambience is very authentic

Its hard to believe this place is closing at the end of the month!!!! It's a must try if your in town. Its family ran, super friendly, and decent pricing. Im glad I got to experience the food and atmosphere!

Always great food, and you leave stuffed! Family owned business where they treat you like family!

Food was ok but lacked flavor. Food was missing something. Place was nice and service was excellent so not sure if it was an off day. May try them again

Havent been here in so long!! When we arrived at around 5:45pm , we were seated within 5 minutes. The restaurant seemed pretty busy but we were helped quickly. We ordered coconut shrimp, salt and pepper pork, snowpeas and black mushrooms, and house special spicy crispy beef. Everything was DELICIOUS. the crispy beef was just the perfect level of spice for flavor and my tongue wasn't on fire. It was just spicy enough but so good. The salt and pepper pork was also really good but it had the spicy warning symbol next to it so I was expecting it to be spicy but it wasn't. Maybe my spice tolerance is kinda high or idk. I'm not sure what they add that makes it spicy. But it was still good nonetheless!

Going through Bakersfield and found this Chinese restaurant so here we are! We ordered two dishes and they were delicious! The service was also good! The decor was from the 60's.

The first time I ordered from this restaurant through delivery service the Mongolian beef was absolutely delicious. The second time I ordered it was also through a delivery service. The Mongolian beef was absolutely disgusting tasted as if cigarette ashes were in the dish all through the dish it tasted like cigarette ashes. I will never order a thing from this restaurant again what would make them serve such a dish as this to a human being!!!

Our family enjoys this restaurant very much. The amount of food that they give along with the quality of the food that is served is great. While the service is like any other Chinese restaurant, it's always great to support local family shops. If you're visiting Bakersfield or our Bakersfield person, this is one of the great places to show and give support. There was rumors that it was closing, but I hope it doesn't, cause it is one place that our family likes to visit every so often. They're also very friendly to our kids and family, which is really nice as a local restaurant.

This is the first time I've been back to the Great Castle Chinese Restaurant since they changed owners. I've been going there for over 35 years, it's my favorite Chinese restaurant in the Bakersfield area. I had lunch there today and I'm happy to report that the quality of the food is just as good as it was with the previous owners, maybe even better. They have an extensive list of lunch specials to choose from. One of my favorites is the shrimp and snow peas very fresh tasting and delicious. Included in the lunch, hot and sour or you can have the egg drop soup, egg roll, your choice of fried rice or white rice. I was surprised how busy it was at lunch time, I was one of the first ones in the door when they opened at 11:00 a.m. by the time I left the parking lot was full and lots of people enjoying your lunch in the restaurant. If you've never been to the Great Castle Chinese restaurant do yourself a favor and check them out, you won't be disappointed. Can't wait to go back and try some other dishes.

Fantastic!! Excellent service and atmosphere. The food is scrumptious. Prices not bad either since one knows it is going to be good grubbing. Our server was Clarence. And he was spot on and so kind. And attentive.

I can honestly say I was extremely impressed with the food and service at this place. Service was instant as soon as we sat down. Cocktails were generously poured and only took a minute to come to the table. Food was served hot and everybody's meal came out in the in the order we placed it. First time eating here and I hope with the owners selling it, the staff to include wait staff and cooks get to remain. Get down there before it changes hands!! Now! Keep your car doors locked! lol. Lots of people walking the streets in this part of town, so be aware. We had no issues at all but I did notice a pickup whose toolbox in the bed of his truck had been opened. I'll go back here to the Great Castle for sure!

The food was extremely good. I truly enjoyed it. The service was also very good. The place itself could be nicer, but overall everything was good.

**DISCLAIMER: Kid review (10 yo) Came here with my parents and started off with appetizers, egg rolls and soup. Sizzling rice soup wasn't bad and the egg rolls were really good. The orange chicken was descent, chow mein was really good, and garlic chicken was just not that good. The service was great they were very nice. The ambiance was comfortable. The bathroom was not that clean with pee on the counter pee on the floor and writing on the mirror. So if you're looking for decent Chinese, you'll enjoy it here.

If I want a classic Chinese restaurant experience with food that worth the cost buck for buck, Great Castle is the place to go. There dumplings are massive with the thickest wrapper I've been able to find in this town. I'm pretty sure they are hand made If not homemade. Classic items (fried rice, skewers, wonton, sweet and sour soup) all bangers, but my favorite item from here, is the roast duck. Exquisite.

I ordered the food for pick up. I got the walnut shrimp, and it doesn't come with rice, so i ordered the rice as a side oder. The walnut shimp was tasty, and it tasted fresh. The lady at the register was nice. They have a big parking lot for the restaurant.

Never would I have thought that I would make a review like this, I am beyond baffled at my experience here. Before I go into details, the customer service and the food was outstanding! The taste was amazing and the servers moved with a sense of urgency and politeness, However, while waiting for our food to come out, I noticed something to my right, I turned and saw what looked like a roach. It could be, or not, but eventhen, having a bug crawl out from under the table while waiting was shocking. Coming from a job that works directly with food and in line with ecoshare, that is a imediate critical. I wasn't mad at the taste nor customer service, but I was heavily influenced by seeing the bug that I couldn't enjoy my food that much.

The guys here is good and lived the middle. We also ordered two other dishes which I forgot to take a picture but they were good too. The people there are also super nice and friendly and have good service

It was solid chinese food. not the best in the world but not terrible. Considering the area i would give it a 4/5. I think it is a tad on the expensive side

This is my second review and my views have not changed. One of the best, if not the best, Chinese restaurant I've eaten at. It's been 3 years since visits (we live in Seattle and don't make it down soften) and it's just as good as I remember. I did hear the owner say that after 47 years they're going to retire. If you haven't tried this place yet get in ASAP.

I love this place so much. I often get the urge to drive to Bakersfield all the way from LA just to eat here. So happy to see that the new owners kept all the delicious recipes , old school decor, and amazing service the place has always been known for. My favorites are the Crispy Hunan Beef and the pan fried dumplings. Highly recommend if you are in the mood for some good ol classic Chinese food. This place seems to be beloved by locals and I can see why. 5 stars !

For many years I've passed this place up. Always saw a lot of cars in the lot and wondered why just based on the exterior of the building. I knew it must've been good because they consistently have a lot of cars out front daily. Finally decided to try it last night and now I see why. I felt like I was in an actual Chinese restaurant in China town. The service was great. Waiter offered recommendations and the older lady was so kind to my 1 year old son. We ordered 5 entrees: combination fried rice, combination chow mein, orange chicken, salt and pepper pork, and kung pao shrimp. Everything was so delicious and basically became our new favorite Chinese restaurant. The combination fried rice and chow mein had so much protein you probably didn't need to order any other dishes. Very well worth it. My family and I will definitely be coming back!

Really good food is spectacular. The service was great. That ambience was really nice very authentic.10/0 recommend it

This Bakersfield Institution, for Several Decades, continues to serve quality Chinese food in a beautiful, traditional setting!

The best thing was that the W. Side Highway makes the trip from the Southwest easy. This used to be one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the world and I used to go to Chinatown all the time in New York in the early 60s and go to Lins Gardens on Mott Street, which is in a Paul Simon song. I was surprised by the world class quality in Bakersfield. Then learned about the old days when the Chinese worked on the railroad here Hadn't been in this restaurant since way before Covid for various reasons, but tonight we weren't cooking and i made the trip. The egg rolls were chewy and not crisp. Of course they were just vegetarian not with the shrimp and pork in the large size you only see in New York. The barbecue pork with pea pods tasted like it was from before Covid. It was hard and my wife couldn't stand the old taste and didn't eat in. The pea pods were too soft. The noodles with the vegetables had very few vegetables. the spare ribs not like they used to be way too much sweet red sauce and the meat tasted not fresh. The oldest owner is older, but very sharp, and she recognized that I was the hot soup guy, but she didn't remember my name, which was understandable because it's been at least six years or more since I've been there with my business colleague who was well known to them. Which reminds me that the hot and sour soup was neither hot spicy or sour, although it had a good amount of chicken and soy in it, but the soup itself was watery and had no taste. The only other plus was that I ordered extra rice and they only charged $.95 for that rather than the six dollars it would be in LA. I did call them and tell them about the pork and they didn't say anything, they're super busy and they were about 15 people ahead of me online waiting for tables when I came to pick up my order but they let me go through to do the pick up. My wife swears that we will never go back and she wonders about what will happen to the new owners. I have very rarely posted here and very rarely complain about anything, because people are deaf to complaints, but I'd like to praise good things. I'm probably made the exception here even though I hate AutoCorrect and putting some thing on my phone because all this food is staring me in my face and I'm avoiding , eating it after I tasted it my wife says throw it out, but I probably will keep it for lunch tomorrow, Does anybody know a place to get good hot and sour soup or good Chinese food in general in Bakersfield? Cheers and ....

Been going here a long time. The staff has always been very nice. It feels like they know us any time we come in. The food comes out as it is ready so it is always fresh. We go overboard on their dumplings and eggs rolls because they are so amazing. Make sure to ask for the spicy mustard. Their pork fried rice, garlic chicken and Mongolian beef are our favorites. We were recently saddening to find out that it is changing hands. I hope it keeps the high quality.

We've been wanting to try it out here for years now because it's family style. Customer service was above and beyond. Very relaxing and not too loud so we were able to have a nice family conversation at our table without music and people being too loud. I have to say the amount of vegetables and meat they put in their fried rice and chow mein was unbelievable. Most places I've gone to put more vegetables than meat. This was an even amount of portion. Also the salt and pepper pork had so much flavor. Definitely will be returning here again with my family. We also had enough for leftovers for tomorrow which is always a plus.

Always a great choice, fresh and hot food served quickly. Seen some new faces however, same great food. I think they are the best Chinese food in Bakersfield. Lunch special is the best. Served a generous amount of food, you will not leave hungry. Definitely recommend

Food is great like always very authentic and authentic flavor to the food but they will chase to the parking lot if you don't leave a tip for them which is very unprofessional. Tips should be given not demand and if that's the case the restaurant should have a notice that tips are a must !!!!!

Still delicious, with great service! The family sold but continue with a warm handoff to assure the recipes remain. The Dai Chin chicken is still a delightful combination or sweet and savory, the sizzling rice soup still sizzles and the Chinese Chicken Salad chilled to perfection. The family still is on the premises on weekends to continue the warm handoff.

I have been coming here for years and so I may be a bit biased. I just want to assure you that the ownership change did not affect the fabulous food and service you get at Great Castle. This is by far the best Chinese food out there! Enjoy. PS - Personal family favorites are potstickers, Chinese chicken salad, sizzling rice soup (with a drop of chili oil and vinegar of course), BBQ pork fried rice, salt and pepper shrimp, dai chin chicken (the BEST), imperial shrimp and moo-shoo pork.

This was my second time at night. There was a disturbance in the the dining area. Someone was loud and hitting with a belt. None of the staff helped. I'm never going back. My son in law called 911 for help.