Hunan Garden

What a fantastic place. We came here again for a lovely meal and always try to get here once or twice a year. The food is great and the atmosphere is so pleasant. A very important aspect of this restaurant is the very friendly waiters and waitresses. Our favorite was working today! A very special restaurant for our town. Please try it!!

I'd recommend trying this place if you haven't been. The menu has lots of items, the staff is friendly, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. We got egg rolls (which for some reason I forgot to take a picture of) and they were very good. Our meals were really good too. It was my mom and I who ate at the restaurant. We were in Rochester for appointments at the Mayo Clinic. We live in Mankato so a few times a year we'll venture over to Rochester. This is a place that is high on our list for eating at while there. One of the main waitresses is an older Asian lady and she's super sweet and fun if she's your server. Definitely try this place! Thank you for taking the time to read my review.

If you're looking for better Chinese restaurant, try this one. If you've been to LeeAnn Chin and had a bowl full of overcooked spaghetti in sugary syrup pretending to be an Asian dish, or one of many dilapidated Chinese restaurants serving frozen supermarket "Chinese" food... Come here and enjoy GOOD Chinese food, and generous portions, at great prices. I brought my family (who are used to very authentic Chinese food in Mauritius where they are from) Everything was cooked fresh, well seasoned, and tasted far more authentic than any chain. The Thai tea was excellent, and they serve crispy noodles with sauces while you order. The staff was attentive, helpful, and very friendly. Overall, it was a great experience. We will be back, and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone looking for something a little more authentic and high quality.

We have been going to Hunan Garden for years. It’s a great place with a fairly extensive and diverse menu. Prices are affordable, portions are really big, and the service from the friendly staff are world class. Highly recommend the next time you’re salivating for some General Tsos or just want some good ol’ Mapo Tofu over white, fluffy rice - cheers!

Great food, fast service. We have been coming here for many years and we are always impressed with how friendly the staff are. I highly recommend the chicken sizzling rice soup or the egg drop soup.

The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. My kids had a hard time picking what they wanted and the waitress was so patient. We came to the restaurant because there was a coupon being offered on the site but it wasn’t advertised correctly but they honored it and promised to revise it so others wouldn’t have the same issue as us. Food was really good as well! We recommend eating here

The food is great. The atmosphere is good except for the owners arguing with each others in the open and so loud that all the customers can hear them. I lost my appetite after hearing all the argument. My wife and I probably will not go eat in again but will order out from there. I think as a business owner, any disagreement should discuss behind close door not in the open that you disturb your customers while they are dinning.

I stopped in for lunch while going to some appointments at Mayo Clinic. I had the mixed vegetables with chicken lunch special and it was delicious. All of the items; the won ton soup, crab Rangoon, chicken wings and the main dish were served hot and fresh. An excellent value and totally recommend. I’ll be back the next time I’m in town.

An old favorite of ours. Original mongolian beef withs the rice noodle is so delicious, love that they substitute the onion for other vegetables. All the soups are great!

This is, by far, the best Chinese restaurant in Rochester, and it has been for years. They even use the traditional containers for takeout, not the styrofoam abominations other restaurants use and which I detest. Another positive point is that the food here is consistently good, not up and down like just about every other place in town.

The food was fantastic and delicious. The food was a big serve so plenty leftovers . The service was nice and friendly. The ambiance was clean and plenty room to sit at place. There are plenty of park places

I typically order to go. But have always enjoyed eating in as well. The taste is always delicious and never disappoints. Tai chin chicken and happy family are two of my favs.

Recent discovery as we were craving for some authentic Chinese food. This place is a blend of American Chinese such as orange chicken, lo mein, and cream cheese wontons and also some regional Chinese dishes such as Cantonese ginger lobster, steamed fish, chow fun, and the like. The staff was really friendly and quick with their service. Dinner menu was extensive and prices were really reasonable amid inflation. Ordered - Princess Chicken Lunch Special (4/5). This reminded me of Kung Pao Chicken. Chicken was soft, coated with this sugar glaze and the peanuts added some extra texture. Should've ordered white rice vs the fried rice to balance the salt and sauce. - Beef Chow Fun (4.5/5). Wife was craving some noodles and none of the other Chinese places in town had Cantonese style chow fun noodles besides going up to the Cities. This was how we found Hunan! This is a nice spot and we can't wait to visit when we're itching for some decent eats.

It was my second time trying Hunan since it was rated so high but i was disappointed again! My order the first time was Kung Pai chicken but was dry and no flavor. SO I tried cashew chicken again absolutely no flavor and mostly onions!! Chicken was grizzly and ended out throwing most of it away for a '$24 meal!

I'm a bit sad to write this negative review, but I was frustrated after my visit. The service was awesome. Very kind older lady that helped out. The food wasn't okay. So many fillers. Kung Pao Shrimp was 90% onions. Curry was more fillers like carrots and peas than meat. Just examples, but this goes on and on. And I get that food costs have gone up, but this was kind of ridiculous. Bamboo shoots tasted off. Onions tasted a bit odd too. I had the food here before, and I really liked it. The food wasn't like this.

My rating is 3.5 stars. I wanted to get together with a dear friend. We both worked together in Rochester. She still works at the same place. She lives in northern Iowa. I was staying in Eden Prairie. Rochester was our midpoint. We originally wanted to meet on a Monday. With our luck, I was caught in a snowstorm and road conditions were horrible. We decided to change it to the following day, which was new year's eve. Hunan Garden has been around for decades. It was my first time here. When I lived in Rochester, I rarely ordered Chinese food. My thinking was that I made Chinese food often that I didn't need to get any. Instead, I focused on other cuisines while I was here. I asked my friend for suggestions. She recommended this place. I was game. This restaurant is in a plaza. There are lots of parking spots. I parked and walked in. It felt like an all-female staff. The woman greeting me showed me to a nice table. I indicated that I was waiting for a friend. Glasses of water and menus came from another woman. A third woman, who seemed older, was curious about my background. It didn't surprise me. It happens to me all the time when I travel. She asked where I was from. I said that I used to live in Rochester, but moved back to the Toronto area. My friend had finally arrived. She saved me from staff interrogation about my background. Whew! We caught up with our lives while trying to decide what to order. My friend has come here multiple times. She recommended the princess chicken. She let me know that the brown sauce was amazing. She also said that she would "dumb the spice level down" because I'm here and, by default, this place thinks that she can handle spicy foods when next to a Chinese person... funny! This place has a great lunch special. For $9.25, you order a main dish. It comes with your choice of egg drop or spicy sour soup. The meal also comes with an egg roll and fried rice. The catch is that you need two people ordering the special. We were good. We both ordered the princess chicken. I had ordered a Diet Coke before my friend had arrived at the restaurant. We both got water by default. Our spicy sour soup and egg roll came first. The spicy sour soup was good. It had great flavour. I polished it off fast. The egg roll was huge. I mean massive! It was stuffed full of veggies. It was probably the largest egg roll that I have consumed in my life. Yum! Our princess chicken and fried rice came out. We got a huge bowl of fried rice. Our server said that if we needed more rice, to just let her know. The princess chicken was delicious. The chicken was tender. The sauce was flavourful with a bit of spicy heat. I swear that there must have been an onion sale happening. I felt like at least one whole onion was diced up in this dish. The downside? The fried rice. It didn't taste like fried rice. It was essentially steamed rice with soy sauce mixed in. Where are the small peas and carrots? You had so many onions in the princess chicken. Couldn't you have put some of that in the fried rice? Fried rice should have some sort of green or regular onion in it. Maybe some egg? Nothing. It was not fried rice. Perhaps it was an Americanized version. Anyway, it was a huge disappointment that I ended up eating my princess chicken without the rice. Our bill came. My friend immediately grabbed it and wouldn't let me pay. "May I at least help pay the tip?" I asked her. "You may certainly not," she said. "Well, I got you a gift because I knew that this situation would happen," I said. Yes, I got her a tin of assorted cookies from Felix and Norton. My friend opened up the tin and immediately had a cookie. She loved it. Her reaction made my day. We both used the women's washroom before we left. It was clean. It has two stalls. The food here is pretty good. If it fixes the fried rice issue, I'd rate it higher. Otherwise, I'd come back and give more dishes a try. (15)

Great service, they try very hard to get your order right. Good food. Will definitely go back there.

Got General Tsos to go and ate at home. Was in the area for an event and this place was recommended. This was not the best Chinese food but was OK.

Good food, great service...will definitely return! Shrimp egg foo young is legit. Dinner time on Friday is busy.

Consistently good Chinese food. Always ready very quickly. Hit and sour soup is the best!

We're so grateful for this restaurant, especially for being open on Christmas Day. Despite a really packed house and numerous carry-out orders, the staff were very kind to us and provided us with excellent food. Thank you Hunan Garden for being open on Christmas-- I know it's a challenge, but we look forward to your food each year!

Very nice restaurant, great restaurant with great food and service,my favorite restaurant in town,my family always loved the place,we have been there many years . I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to try the Chinese food in the area!

We got 8 different meals for takeout. Some seemed more cooked through than others. I asked for a little more spice but got it as plain as it could be. Super fast for take out but with the couple mistakes wouldn't have minded waiting a little extra to get it perfect. Delicious crab rangoons with a great sweet and sour sauce! Overall, we got what we asked for in a very timely manner at a very reasonable price with excellent service when we came in to pick it up so can't complain for a last minute family dinner.

We ordered via doordash and the food arrived piping hot. In times where I've been eating lots of take out it was really pleasantly surprising for the food to be just as hot and delicious delivered to my doorstep as i imagine it might be in the restaurant. We ordered the family dinner and portions were generous. Entrees were delicious and flavorful with lots of veggies. Would definitely order again

Hunan Garden (not to be confused with. Hunan) is a medium sized traditional Chinese restaurant in downtown Rochester. The interior features a bar area and two seating areas. The pros: most of Rochester's Chinese is limited to fast food style take out. HG features real dishes and prompt service. The food is slightly better than most Chinese in town. The orange chicken actually contains zest, which is nice. The cons: the interior is dated. And although better than most in town, the quality of the meat and vegetables is not the best. Overall HG is solid traditional Chinese. If in Rochester and looking for a decent sit down location, give it a try.

Pretty decent food, although it has slipped in consistency lately. Perhaps a new cook to get use to. Hope they weather the COVID storm and return to serving outstanding cuisine as they were known to do.

Super OG spot, the beef chow fun is one of the best I've ever had, especially with hot chili oil! And don't sleep on the fried chicken and their sweet and sour sauce! Also the happily family sizzling is delicious as well!

Been a patron of Hunan's for decades. Great Chinese food and best in Rochester. Never a bad experience with their food. Mostly take out and rate in dining. Times when dining in great service. Food is always great, hot and fast. Highly recommend.

My family has been coming here for almost 25 years, and with good reason! Reasonable prices, delicious food, and great service. Some of my favorites are the spicy green beans, crab rangoons, Schezuan pork, chicken lo mein, and their fried rice. They also have good lunch and dinner specials that come with soup, an appetizer, and an entree for each person--good for groups! My only small critique is that some of the meat dishes have very similar flavor profiles, and it can be hard to tell what is in the dish based on their name (and the menu doesn't contain any descriptions). Also wish they listed potential allergens more clearly.

We were seated quickly and service was fast. Table and tableware looked clean. Had the dinner special that included soup, egg roll and choice of entree. Really liked the egg drop soup. The egg roll was okay. A bit too much outer layer. Inside was great though. Entrees we chose were sweet and sour chicken, beef and broccoli and shrimp with vegetables. They came with a largish side of short grained brown rice. All the entrees were pretty tasteless. The chicken was rubbery and overly breaded. The shrimp was drowning in a very unpleasant sauce. All the veggies were over cooked . The brown rice was sticky and didn't taste great. Initially service was prompt but after we were served we wanted more water and there was no one to even flag down. We ultimately just asked the waitress while paying the bill and she still forgot. We also had 3 kids meals and my kids wouldn't even eat them. They were literally an entire plate of starch. Overly breaded chicken, fries and a terrible tasting fried rice. Green tea ice cream was good. No WiFi even though the restaurant had an address. When I asked the waitress if there was a password for it, she did not even understand the question. I felt bad for even asking. One lady cleaning all the tables was very nice. I will try them again to see if it was just a bad night, but all in all it was expensive for a good cup of egg drop soup.

Delicious! Our first time visiting. No dine in available so we got take out. The crab Rangoons and egg rolls were amazing! Our server was very kind and friendly. We will definitely be back soon, hopefully to dine in!

I do not know how this place has a single negative review! This is by far my favorite Chinese restaurant in Rochester. If you are coming in here and expecting PF Chang's you need to keep driving to the cities. If you are interested in great food by hard working people, you have to go to this place. My family and I frequent this restaurant weekly in some form or fashion. Pick up is very easy and it's almost always ready within 10-15 minutes (except one time on NYE when the wait was over an hour... apparently chinese food for the New Year is a thing LOL). My favorite is the sesame chicken with some good ole sticky rice.

I ordered lemon fried chicken breast. Most awful asian food plate I have ever had. It was two big breasts deep fried- so the quantity was good. But that was covered with a sickly sweet gel like goop that was tasteless. No vegetables- just some lemon and cherries. No egg roll or crab rangoon. Plain white dry rice with no flavor. Menus are really old and do not even have the right prices so I was charged $2 more than what was on the menu. Brought it home for my dogs. Not edible.But good service. Inside is old and rundown. Will not be back.

Ordered from the lunch menu. Portions were small. I had the curry chicken with fried rice. Curry was ok flavor but very few shrimp. The rice was undercooked and tasteless.

Oh man, to say we frequent this place is an understatement. Lol! My family and I cannot stop ordering their house chow fun! So rich in flavor in every piece of vegetable, protein, and noodle! Give me more!!!

Bland bland bland bland bland. Rochester, you have a Chinese food problem. Fried rice should have carrots, peas, eggs, tiny shrimp in it. It should not be white rice with soy sauce poured on it then fried, but that's what we got. Mongolian beef should look like beef, not beef with brown gravy and fried. This meal was just like the low-initiative food I reviewed from the other Hunan restaurant. Why does so much midwestern ethnic food taste so bland?

For typical American Chinese food, this place is pretty good. Flavors are typical, quality is good and very consistent. I'd say it's the best quality Chinese in Rochester.

Ate there last night and today my husband was eating his leftovers for lunch and he found a bug in his food! Looked like a small roach! We won't be able to eat there again! So sad because it was decent food!

It's not like when Jim ran the place. It is still better than most restaurants in town, including non-Chinese. The food taste more authentic Asian then their storefront competition. They do well with the chicken and noodle dishes. A good carryout experience.

I ordered beef chow fun. The chow fun noodles were so mushy they were mostly in small pieces. I don't know if its how they cooked the beef or the quality but it was really soft. Not the best tasting meat. Im from Chicago and eat Chinese food a lot. Some differences in how the food is cooked between the 2 cities. I was really disappointed because the other reviews were so good.

I'm a Chinese and I do love spicy food. This is the first Chinese restaurant we went during travel in Rochester. The Egg drop soup tastes great, and the ginger lobster , spicy beef are not bad. Not the original favor but is better than anything I can find here since my lung is very Chinese. I got rice again: ) The owner says if you wanna more local or spicy you can call 24 hrs earlier to check what they have for Chinese.

I've eaten here many times in the past but just got done eating there tonight. The beef really didn't taste the best & they wouldn't let me take a to go pop! I have never been to a regular restaurant where they wouldn't let me do that- pop is cheap! I won't go back there anytime soon

YOU GUYS NEED TO SHUT DOWN YOUR RESTAURANT. I FOUND A ROACH IN MY FRIED RICE! I am not one to complain about a little hair or a teeny tiny bug (I would lose my appetite but no complaints), but I have heard many complaints about this restaurant and how UNSANITARY it is. It's bad enough when I heard that my friend saw mice running through the restaurant when they were dining there. It's a SHAME because the food is OK. CLEAN UP OR SHUT DOWN. YOU GUYS ARE GROSS.

Ok, so my Sister went a few days ago. She likes the food there. Until now. She had heard there were a few bad review at this place but she's never had any big problems. The owners aren't nice to their wait staff but the foods been fine. So she just had ordered and figured she would check out the reviews online while waiting. The roach in the rice just seemed so unbelievable. Just then her food came and she started eating. She thought she thought her rice move but chalked it up to paranoia after reading the bad review. Then all of a sudden, a friken cockroach crawled out of the rice and off her plate! She was so shocked she dumped her soup bowl and put it over the cockroach so she could show the owners. The owner came over and was shown the roach. She had the nerve to point to the plastic plant and say they have problems with them. The tables around her were watching with unbelief on their faces. Needless to say, the owner gave her the bill like it wasn't a big deal and my Sister left. NOT with any food. Even talking about it now upsets her stomach. Cockroaches carry a number of bacteria and viruses on their legs and abdomen. The Health dept is goung to be contacted Monday.

I come here a lot to eat. I like both Hunan Garden and the Hunan on south Broadway, but I live closer to here and the atmosphere feels more pleasant. I like that they have spicy dishes that are actually spicy (the green bean and pork has a spicy option that's delicious), but they also have a lot of options to choose from - especially during dinner. They have great dinner deals, and are served in a way that makes family style eating a breeze. I've never had terrible staff while here, and the bill is what you'd expect - average for a Chinese place in Rochester. My personal favorite dish is their orange chicken, but their chicken and broccoli is also very good. They have an in house hot mustard that's also very delicious (and spicy). Their egg rolls and crab rangoons are probably the best in Rochester. I work in hospitality and I recommend this place to my guests very often when they ask for a good Chinese place. It never disappoints.

Absolutely great! Our door dash delivery driver gave us the wrong order. I called the restaurant and they sent us our order, told us to keep the other order and even called back to make sure everything was finally delivered correctly. They apologized over and over again and wanted to make sure we were happy with our food. Oh, the good was excellent also! Highly recommended.

The restaurant says 930 I went in at 9 asking if I could get take out. They said no we close. I asked when they were going to change the sign? They said they were working on it. I said so tomorrow?? The worst and laziest customer service I have ever had. So much for "Rochester's Bests" not sure who ranks these places and they need to find a different job, I wasn't the only one that was turned away.

O man this place is delicious. Just tried it for the first time today. A friend recommended it saying it was the best. I have just started to like Chinese food. Was ever really a fan of it but decided to try different places and flavors. Needless to say the food was so delicious that I placed an order to go after eating in. The service was super friendly and fast. I will definitely be back and recommend this place to others. They also give you a lot of food.

Service was excellent, but food was not. Had chicken teriyaki appetizer, which was fried. Not what I expected. Ta chin chicken was pretty good but not great. The fried appetizer kind of set the tone of disappointment.

This has been my favorite Chinese restaurant in Rochester. Excellent food and appetizers, super friendly staff. I would never go to a different Chinese restaurant.

On my quest for the best Chinese in Rochester I rank this place 1st... For now. We ordered lunch special: Sweet and sour chicken. It comes with entree, fried rice, crab Rangoon, wings, and egg drop soup. The waitstaff was very nice, food was warm, price was reasonable for how much you get.

To paraphrase Sam Houston, 'You can all go to heck, I will go to Hunan Garden...' After reading the mish-mash of mixed and confusing reviews, I felt compelled to set the record straight. Hunan Garden is a gem located in a strip mall off Civic Center Drive. It is well worth the trip here to eat. Believe me or not, the food is top-notch, and the service is efficient and pleasant. I gave it four stars because, unlike my favorite Chinese restaurants, they did not bring out hot tea at the onset, and their offering of squid and oyster dishes was somewhat lacking -- compared to a restaurant like the Shuang Cheng in Dinkytown (http://shuangchengrestaurant.com/). If you're visiting Rochester and looking for really good Chinese food, Hunan Garden should be at the top of your list. I know we will be going back the next time we're in town. By the way, it's a lot roomier than it looks from outside.

The green beans with ground pork were the best I've ever had! The other dish which I am sorry I cannot recall the name was a combination of shrimp, chicken & beef with vegetables in a brown sauce (per waitress' suggestion - a variation from what was on menu) was outstanding. My sister and I ate ALMOST everything but agreed that it would have been enough for 3! We started with an egg roll and that was also very good - freshly made, lots of cabbage in it but we like that.

Hunan Garden is my #1 place in Rochester for Chinese food. I've convinced more than a dozen of my friends to try this place out, and none of them have a negative thing to say about their experience. I suggest trying the ta-chin chicken or the sesame chicken-- both are wonderful! And don't feel scared to be picky. Everything is made to order! No vegetables, no problem. And more often than not, they allow you to substitute for their lunch and dinner specials. For a minimal price, you get SO much food. Even better, it's GOOD!

Very pleased with the food here. Not PF Changs. Think hole in the wall but cleaner. Staying the week in Rochester and have been here twice already. Quite tasty.

Best Chinese sit down or take out in Rochester. I have been going here for 10 years now and love it. Service is always good and very friendly. The food is awesome. They make a sesame chicken like no other place in town and it is my favorite. Its flattened chicken in a brown sauce competently different then most breaded chicken in red sauce other places sell as sesame chicken. You cant go wrong with this place, I have enjoyed everything I have ever tried here.

How can I tell I had another night out at a Chinese restaurant? I've got morning eyelid Chinese eyes! Lots of salt = lots of water to eliminate the thirst. Let me just preface that this is a head and shoulder above any other Chinese restaurant in Rochester BUT in comparison to my beloved Chinatown in Deadwood, SD, it doesn't even rank 1 star. Anyway, at the good ole Hunan Garden on 7th, they've got nice big fat egg rolls; each is equivalent to 3. The crab rangoons are big and fat too; each is equivalent to 2. While their Spicy Sour soup is tasty, their egg drop soup is fantastic! It really does look like egg drops and not the yellow slurry slop seen in standard Chinese buffets. You get so much food at this place, you'll come out of here plus another equivalent of yourself! The rice. Ugh. The rice. It was so processed (thick, chewy) in my mouth. I should mention their lamb dish. While it was coated in its brown sauce and looking very wrinkled and salt-ridden, it was surprisingly tasty and well-blended. I'd recommend booth seating arrangements (in fact, I didn't even notice if they had any). We were seated at tables and the seating arrangements were a bit close for comfort. In fact, there was an old couple sitting next to us (I could've straightened my leg and touched her knee) and this is the kind of old where they've become more interested in the people and conversations around them than in each other. We should have just invited them to sit with us! Anyway, the place didn't have much for ambiance. As soon as we were done eating, my husband and I pretty much wrapped it up so we could find peace and quiet along the river paths and use that as a way to catch up on our conversation.