The Mandarin Restaurant

This place is pricey. I paid 45.00 for two different dishes that tasted exactly the same. They were both bland and very oily. I had the sliced pork with mushrooms and the mandarin beef. They both smelled weird. I will never eat here ever again. Panda is better and I'm not a fan of their food. My house smells like burnt cat now.

Eating Local! A favorite. There’s no wait; it’s good food - fresh and tasty; and great service!!😋 Not to forget - cloth napkins make you feel at home.

Amazing Hot and Sour Soup. Had fresh green onions and mushrooms as well. Generous portions for Lunch. Kung Pao Chicken.

This is not the original Mandarin Restaurant that closed. It is now open, but not the original owners, nor food. The food we had today, 4/13/24 was no where near the freshness, the preparation, nor the taste of the original Mandarin. The menu is different. The worst item I had were the garlic noodles. It had to have been cooked on the grill. It tasted like butter and charcoal. Inside of the container even had the black char on it. No garlic flavor. I will not be ordering from there again.

The vegetable delight was very good. Also tried the fried green beans which were good. When I was there the service was a bit slow. Got our appetizers a few minutes after the food was brought out. But the server was friendly and enjoyed our meal.

I have been going to this restaurant for many years and have always been more than pleased with the service as well as the food. I am not one to leave negative reviews, however the past several time I have been here I have experienced issues. Incorrect items on to-go orders, wait times exceedingly long. About a week or so ago I took my mother here for dinner at 4:30 we waited 30 minutes for a bowl of soup another 25 minutes later for an appetizer. The restaurant was pretty much empty when we were there, started to fill up around 5:30. An hour and a half into our evening I asked the young lady if they forgot we ordered entrees. She responded with we only have 1 cook. I then asked to take the food to go as we had waited so long. Then after confirming all of the items were in the bag so we could leave, I thought I had better check. They were not all there. 3 stars for the fabulous food and kind staff. Please fix these issues as I want to stay a loyal customer.

The food was terrible!!!! Sweet and sour pork was dry and over cooked—Could not even chew it!! Mostly onions, peppers and 8 pieces of meat for $20. Worst I’ve ever had. Doesn’t even rate a star but there is no choice for that. Don’t go here.

We have found our go to family outing restaurant! Our children rated The Mandarin a 10 out of 10!! So in their words "they are an A+ restaurant". Their staff was awesome,... they were very funny friendly warm and welcoming they really made our experience amazing! Now for the food its self, one word... delicious! Every bite was flavorful and scrumptious. We will most definitely be back!

We love the mandarin! It's crazy to me how bad the reviews are on here. We used to come here every Wednesday for lunch, until we had our baby. Now it's a date night spot. The Szechuan orange chicken is our favorite! The po-po platter is also a win! Hoping they stay open for a while because we love it!

I've lived in the area for over 10 years and have gone to the Arden Plaza countless times for shopping/groceries. I never went into The Mandarin Restaruant until very recently and wow, I was very delighted! It started with the sign out front stating they have the best Mai Tais around. So I thought I'd try one. OMG it was amazing! So I ordered another. And of course, I had to order an appetizer. The fried calamari was simply outstanding! A must try! As I was eating my calamari and sipping on my second Mai Tai, I was perusing the menu. The walnut shrimp entree caught my eye. Even though I wasn't hungry, I had to try it (I got it to go). By the time I got home, I tried the walnunt shrimp and it was amazing! My plan was to only eat a couple of bites - six bites later and I was fat and happy. Now, I'm hooked. I've been back 4 times and my goal is to try everything on the menu. Since it's just me, I sit at the bar and enjoy the decor and ambiance. The TV that's mounted in the bar area, displays sporting events for your enjoyment. But if sports is not your thing, the owners, staff and customers are very friendly and a delight to talk to I highly recommend this restaurant and plan on being a regular patron. Thank you Mike and Jennifer!

Great menu, drink list, and ambience with a bar and some football on the TVs. Seemed a bit understaffed when we walked in and this proved to be true. Just getting drinks took a bit but the Mai tai and sake was really really good when they arrived. The food was quite good and we enjoyed it with the exception of the shrimp dish which was mostly celery. Everything else was really good.

The Mandarin Pressed Duck is now a total fail at this restaurant. We've been coming here for over a decade, just for the pressed duck. What used to be a delight worth driving for, to have someone to make it for us, seems to be disappearing and/or now faked. If I can describe the $19 insult, it seemed to be made with yellow cake mix and meat substitute slivers, the outside of the square cake piece cripsed on the outside, then hidden with sweet and sour sauce. This was the worst wannabe pressed duck recipe I've ever had, even worse than a tofu copy I once ran into, at a South Sacramento Chinese restaurant. I have no idea who the cook/chef was at the time but because of this, we will not be returning until we see a change to to the real pressed duck recipe. Sure, there are variances to the pressed duck recipe but this nowhere pressed NOR did we think it was duck. We are pretty sure we can at least cook a bad version of pressed duck but it would MUCH better than the awful cooking at The Mandarin Restaurant.

Reopened - please support to try to keep open! Delicious fresh food with vegetarian options. Excellent server. Friendly atmosphere.

This location has permanently closed. Opened in 1981. Best to you Michael and family.

I just moved to the area a year ago from San Francisco. I grew up eating Chinese food at home and at restaurants. A number of neighbors on Nextdoor recommended this restaurant and I thought it's worth a try and it would save a trip to South Sacramento for Chinese Szechuan food. So we order some food to take home. Since moving here, I have had my share of bad Chinese food. But the food at The Mandarin was the winner in this category of awfulness. I am shocked that some people actually rated this place more than one star. We had to throw away 75% of our food. The food and soup were extremely, obnoxiously sweet. The dishes we ordered: 1. Potstickers (Never have I ever had potstickers that were deep fried!!! These dumplings are called "potsticker" for that reason alone. Making matters worst the hard, doughy wrapper was 1/4" thick. Pork filling under cooked The dipping sauce was sweet. Hence, had to throw away. 2. Hot and Sour Soup: (More like sweet soup. The two main ingredients which make the soup "hot and sour" were missing. There was not even a hint of vinegar (sour) nor white pepper (white pepper) This soup was "Sweet and Sweet" soup with lots of sugar. Stay away from this one to avoid diabetes.) 3. Spicy Garlic Chicken. (Seriously? How can you possibly mess this one up? The chicken was deep fried and tossed with...guess what?.....MORE SWEET SUGARY SAUCE that was watery. No hint of heat. The chicken was drowning in this bath of sweet watery liquid. Whole raw pieces of garlic looked like an after thought which were tossed in at the last minute. This dish should be called, Sweet Raw Garlic Chicken. If I wanted sweet and deep fried, I would have order General Tsiao Chicken. I don't order General Tsiao because I don't like sweet) 4. Asparagus Prawns in Black Bean Sauce. (This dish offers some redemption to the 3 dishes listed above. Although the asparagus was not fresh, hence, yellow and fibrous, the prawns were cooked nicely and had a crisp bite. Again, unnecessary amount of sauce, but not enough to drown the prawns with. The flavor wasn't bad and the black bean flavor was pronounce. This was the only dish we ate) In conclusion, if you like lots of sugar in your food and soup, or deep fried potstickers with thick hard doughy skin, you will love this place. The food is not only disappointing, but it is appalling. Money down the drain.

Plain dirty. Please do not eat here. This place is hardly cleaned and cockroaches in prep area.

Pretty good, not bad. Visited this place for my dad's birthday, his girl friend brought us because she has been going since she was a teenager. I'm so happy she shared her spot with us. Everything was family style, perfect for us. Egg Foo Young was interesting, never had it before. My dad's girl friend ordered the chow mein "hong Kong style" it's hard to describe but also pretty good and a first for me. My favorite was the spicy shrimp, got em extra spicy. We also got honey walnut shrimp which looked good, but I wasn't a fan. Next time I will have to take pictures. Sidenote: made dad his favorite cake, and brought candles. Not sure of they normally charge for that kind of thing, pretty sure they let us off the hook though. I snuck off to the bartender and handed the bartender the cake and some candles and asked them to make it pretty. Turned out to be trick candles, so not alllllllll of the candles made it...but we got a funny moment out of it and he got to make a wish. YAY! ^_^

It used to be our favorite place as we live close by. (Many years ago.) However. With each return, after eating, both my wife and I would become sick

The food was authentic and flavorful. I recommend for anyone to try it, you won't regret going here. The bar tender was very knowledgeable and helpful. Very clean restaurant.

They're still open as of 2/5! Please either keep ordering or try them out for the first time this is an institution in the area and some truly delicious and unique Chinese food.

Local favorite Great food Great prices Cares about neighborhood and the country

The food here is very good. A family style type of place. Enjoying the Moo Shu pork and the house special chow mein. Very good Mai Tais. I like it. This is Chinese home style like "The Woks of Life" cookbook. You cannot expect casual dining to equate to the $500 dollar places in Shanghai. This is good family food at a reasonable price. The Mai Tais are really good! The service is friendly and top notch. The ambiance is welcoming and casually comfortable. What more should a neighborhood restaurant be?

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!! WAITED 40 minutes for one dish to go, had to listen to bartender screaming and yelling loudly at another employee the entire time, my food was missing 1/2 the ingredients! I am not sure how this place keeps the doors open. Shameful I hope the owners know. And for the LOVE OF GOD why aren't there "qualified" cooks here?

The soup that came with lunch was good, but the food was not just bad but literally made me sick the rest of the day. I didn't throw up but soon wished I had. The service was spectacular, very pleasant and attentive.

Found a hair in our food toward the end of dinner. Absolutely disgusting, especially after thinking about all the hairs we "could have" consumed. The server was nice and apologetic and offered to bring the manager. Then came back to explain the manager was busy or something. And offered us a free appetizer "next time". No thanks, I'll pass.

I have been going to The Mandarin for 25+ years. They consistently serve the best Chinese food. I really don't understand how they only get 3 stars. They make the best hot and sour soup I've ever had. There is no dish that matches their Szechuan Orange Beef or the Spicy Garlic Shrimp in Wine Sauce. Their potstickers are also amazing! The service is excellent and the bar serves outstanding cocktails. The Mai Tais are like Hawaii. This family owned restaurant has been consistently excellent since the start. Best Chinese food in town.

Great food, Chow Mein, Garlic Shrimp, Mai Thais, etc. Nice family run business with amazing personal service, lots of regulars in this friendly environment.

This place sure has gone down hill! Used to be the best Chinese food in Arden! Apparently they have a new cook, well they suck! The soup was thick and the chow mien tasted like grease! Sad that since the owner died this place isn't good anymore. Won't be back and I've been eating here since I was a kid!!

Kay's recipes are amazing. Hands down. The Mongolian Beef, the Generals Chicken, and the BBQ Pork Chow Mein were spot on. Love it .

The food at this restaurant was absolute slop. We threw away almost all of it (5 different dishes) and heated up frozen pizzas for the whole family. I have lived in Sacramento most of my life and had never tried this restaurant. I'm absolutely shocked they have stayed in business with the food that we received tonight.

This is the best Chinese food I have ever eaten and I have eaten a lot in all parts of the world. Fresh tasty hot and generous portions. I am confused when I come in in afternoon why this place isn't discovered yet! I have no connection to this business but I go out of my way to come here when I can. Yummy!!!!!

My parents took us here before going to a concert because they had heard good things. We had reservations at 5:30 and arrived/seated at 5:20. We ordered appetizers and food at 5:30 and did not receive appetizers until 6pm. It's currently 6:10 and we have no received any additional food and no drink refills. Would not recommend this place at all.

Not surprised to see so many poor reviews for this restaurant. I have been here a handful of times and each time the food gets worse. The Mongolian Beef looked green and spoiled. It also smelled bad. I didn't dare to eat it. However, my biggest gripe with this place is its political views (see image). FYI, the pandemic started while Trump was POTUS and got worse while under his watch. We are already inundated with politics on TV and social media. When I go out to eat or do take out, the last thing I want to see or hear is a political message. I don't see this place lasting another 12 months if the food doesn't improve and if continues to display subtle political messages, especially if they are completely erroneous.

I used to come here a very long time ago. The last time I ordered the food was mediocre. I was like wtf? Then recently they had some issues with the health department. By issues I mean they got shut down for bug infestation... Which makes you think...is this food supposed to be crunchy or are those cockroaches you're crunching on. Yikes!! The reports which are public record and online were alarming. Trust me, I love a good ass ghetto ass spot that might be questionable, and that food is damn good you don't care...but in the end 1. They always pass inspection 2. The food is sooo good. This is neither. Take your chance. I will pass from now on unfortunately.

Small place with great food. Best Won Ton soup I have ever had, almost like stew, there is so much stuff in it. Unless they are totally packed, always have excellent service. I read some of the bad reviews, and they must have gone to a different restaurant or something. Saw something talking about the owner passing away, but that is not true, actually noticed a few things in reviews that are just not factually accurate. I have been going there for 20 years, never had a bad experience.

Amazing bartender and bourbon selection. But the food was absolutely horrible and not edible. Szechwan orange chicken... the chicken was really weird and never seen before long shapes with no flavor. Took it to go but chucked it straight away in a trash can out front. Go for the drinks but not the food. Horrible. Good Luck.

AWFUL FOOD. We just moved here and decided to order and had delivered via Uber eats. The spring rolls were over fried (dark brown and dripping with oil). The kung pao chicken is listed on menu as hot. it was bland. no heat / no spice. Like they forgot the spices. The salt and pepper shrimp was so salty we couldn't eat it. What a waste of $90 and what a disappointment. Stupid me should have read reviews before ordering.

I went in and ordered Sweet and Sour Pork and a side of Pot Stickers. I hadn't been here in 20 years...It used to be our favorite. Unfortunately the Pork was tough and didn't include white rice....which I had to for and pay separately...came to $4.45 just for rice. The Pot Stickers were so greasy I had to blot them with paper towels. DEFINITELY NOT THE SAME COOKS as before. I will not come here ever again

Went for lunch. One waiter running the floor. This guy brings it old-school. Fast, attentive, thorough, never disappears into the back just when you need that new fork. The food was better than average Chinese, a solid 7.5, but +2 for the surprising service. Will definitely be back.

Best Chinese food in Sacramento by a long shot, and yes I have eaten at all of them. The quality is fresh (even the seafood) from the bok choy and snow peas and incredible sprouts. Great location too and plenty of parking. The interior was very nice and clean...better than most out there.

I came to The Mandarin restaurant for lunch with my dad on a Thursday afternoon. Located next to Whole Foods in a strip mall, it was pretty nondescript. Service was average, nothing good or bad. Overall, I felt very indifferent about the whole experience. The food is the kind of Chinese food you would expect to have from a strip mall restaurant. It is neither healthy, fresh, nor authentic. I think they are more of a 65+ year old daytime hangout spot (the bar was crowded). I ordered the lunch special which came with hot and sour soup, choice of fried rice, and choice of entrée. I chose the sweet-and-sour pork and the pork chow mein in addition to the fried rice. The pork was too fatty and the sauce too sugary. I took the rest home as leftovers. I honestly would have preferred Panda Express.

For such a huge plaza they didn't have much food selection, but i'm glad i stopped in here. My little brother who just turned 22 and was working with me that week were hungry and who doesn't like Chinese food. Right when you walk in the thing that caught my eye was the bar. There was a couple tables taken and to avoid waiting and to celebrate my brothers birthday we went to the bar for couple drinks, and lunch specials. The owner is the bartender, cook, and waiter that day I don't know what their daily work force is like but he did everything when i was there. Food was surprisingly good and still authentic. After 4 shots of Jameson and some good chinese food we headed back out to work. Will be back when i do my Thursday route in Carmichael.

If I could give it less stars I would. After ready good reviews I thought I would give it a try, I did see the bad reviews and should of listened.... I spent $160 for dinner and ended up throwing it away and eating a pb&j for dinner.... The chow mein looked pale and undercooked, the potstickers were not good in any way, I couldn't even eat a whole one. The honey walnut with shrimp had bananas in it, no flavor and the shrimp looked like what you buy at the grocery store already cooked... the general chicken and Mongolian beef was edible and had an ok flavor... I have been a Blue sky restaurant fan for 10 years..... I should of just went there, I would of saved $80 and been full with yummy Chinese goodness... The mai tai was very good, but I'm thinking the good reviews for this restaurant was when they had a few mai tais before tasting the food. If you're reading this review and thinking of trying this place, I urge you not too, you would enjoy Taco Bell much much more, so do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. If you do go there and find this review to be true, all I can say is I told you so.....

They have The Best Mai tais! We searched for good ones on Maui and they didn't come close to the ones they make at The Mandarin! Go there and try them - nice bar!

So disappointed in this restaurant. The food was awful and the servers do not wear masks. Both I and my husband became I'll with food poisoning a couple hours after eating there. This restaurant is endangering anyone who is immense compromised. They follow NO Covid guidelines and are endangering their servers as well as the patrons.

The best Chinese food in Northern California. Our family and friends have been going here for 20 years. Everyone raves about the food and wonderful service.

Picked up my overpriced order and got home...no rice. REALLY? I mean the staple of China and many other Asian cultures you need to special order? That is the first question at Panda Express.

Has to be the worst Chinese food I have ever had. I really do not know how this place is still open. Ugh

Writing this so other's do not waste their time stopping at this place. Spent $29 on to go order, got home and no rice included, did they think I stopped and paid so that I can home and do all the work myself? On top of that the classic Mongolian beef which is by far the easiest dish to get right, was definitely not right, all soggy and bland. And the fried prawns well it's battered shrimp!

Having lived in the area for almost half my life and Asian food being in the top ten, I'm surprised I haven't been and haven't heard of this place. My experience was pretty awesome. Had friends visiting and used to come here when they were kids, that's what we've decided on for dinner. The service was great. Very friendly, helpful, attentive and patient, with lots of recommendations and great choice options at that. The food was pretty bomb . It was fresh, right out of the kitchen, freshly made and prepped. I can see how take out would be a little different, since their appetizer platter had a flame to grill some meat on. But, the quality, the delivery, flavors, combinations and different options and choices they have, all exceeded expectations. Although they did forget a dish, but, for 4 guys who didn't look like they've missed any meals in the past few years, we definitely didn't need it. So, we're pretty happy with everything we got, and still had some left overs for lunch for the next day. Will be back again for sure, next time I'm in the mood and wanting some good, delicious options!!!

I placed a call-in order for pickup before the dinner rush. When I arrived at the restaurant, I waited 10 minutes before being helped. The bar had people in it but the restaurant side was empty. I paid $50 for 3 very small portions of entrées that were all poorly made. The broccoli beef had no flavor and the beef tasted as if it had been boiled or steamed. The chicken chow mein also lacked flavor and was mostly onions compared to noodles. The sweet and sour pork was the only thing with taste, but was super greasy. Never going back.

I did not enjoy my food experience here. Did not find the ownership friendly or inviting. When trying to find a restaurant for a relaxing night you want to stay away from one that has political crap in plastered in the windows. That should have been a hint for me. Live ,learn and never again.

WILL MOS DEF BE BACK! Great atmosphere, friendly staff and Excellent FOOD. As a matter of fact, I may be there 2nite for dinner j/p

Just picked up appetizers to take home, Mongolian beef ,spring rolls and pot stickers, everything tasted wierd ,beef was raw (and I like rare) with a funky tasting sauce, spring rolls were overcooked tasted terrible, pot sticker were doughy and wierd tasting also,,the dipping sauces had a funny taste and way salty,,waste of money,,as I'm typing this a strange bad tasting film has now started to coat my mouth

The food here is mediocre food at best and way overpriced even in light of food costs rising through the roof. They add a surcharge if you don't pay cash. Their menu is very heavy on deep frying, the easiest way to hide low end ingredients, and not the least bit healthy. I realize this is a very challenging environment for a restaurant, but I paid $38.09 for two small takeout dishes, and I make my own rice. I spent two years living in Asia, so I know what authentic Chinese food ought to be. You won't find it here. I won't be back.

No Masks, No Social Distancing. (Well, the waiter was wearing a mask, but it was sitting below his chin.) The maskless staff walked right up to me (I was wearing an N95 surgical mask) and other patrons who were seated. I read that the owner was an anti-masker and a Covid-denier but gave them the benefit of the doubt. As of this date the owner and staff are STILL not taking proper precautions. There are no sighs saying masks are required by patrons and the only masks I saw were on a waiter's chin and the cat statue at the front. Food-wise, the food was OK but no better than most other Chinese restaurants who cost about 15-20% less.

We got takeout on a weekend night. Menu selections seemed good and it was ready quickly. How it was done so fast became quickly obvious as soon as we got home and started eating. They had forgotten to add any flavor to any of the dishes. Chinese fried rice, broccoli in oyster sauce and veggie chow mein - all were completely tasteless. And I mean COMPLETELY. Worst. Chinese. Takeout. Ever. Avoid at all costs if you actually want to enjoy your dinner.

I now know why I got sick after eating here. Besides the food being mediocre at best, I was sick for two days after. Food not kept at proper temperature, slime in ice machine because it's not kept clean. Read the report yourself. https://emdinspections.saccounty.net/document.aspx?id={0CEF2328-81FB-4A74-80A3-E97CAC4D7280}&type=application/pdf