Mandarin Garden

11/12/10

it's ok

by TheCritic425 at Citysearch

This place boasts all their rewards in the windows so we though we would try it out. It was decent. Not the best, but not the worst. I would go here again, but probably only if I was really craving chinese food but couldnt drive anywhere.

07/13/10

Best Chinese in Issaquah

by BrookeC at Citysearch

This is our families "go to" spot for weekend take-out. We call in our order and it's ready in the 15 minutes that it takes us to get from our house down to their shop. The staff is friendly, the food is always really hot & fresh. Love the green beans and chicken :-)

• Pros: Perfect Take Out
• Cons: None

09/12/08

Family friendly Chinese dining experience

by bookrep at Citysearch

This is our family's favorite Chinese restaurant in the Seattle area. Award winning cuisine, reasonable prices, great lounge. On street parking or lot across the street. Easy highway access (I-90). Large menu and some tables for large groups. Same owner for two decades. Visiting the Village Theater? The restaurant is in easy walking distance. Willing to make substitutions on meals. Freindly staff. Quick service.

• Pros: Food, service, prices
• Cons: Can be busy on theater night.

01/04/08

Best darn Chinese on the Eastside, period!

by _haakon_ at Citysearch

I have been looking for a place that can actually live up to Golden Buddha in Carmel, my all time favorite chinese place and I finally found it after much searching. Mandarin Garden is awesome. The food is very fresh and the flavors are amazing. I would agree with some of the other posters that there really is something for everyone here as the menu is quite extensive.

Unlike a lot of Chinese restaurants that glop on the breading on their dishes, this place has a light and succulent coating and extensive use of garlic and spice in various dishes. My mouth is watering just thinking of the General Tsao's chicken.

• Pros: Excellent General Tsao's Chicken, Speedy service
• Cons: Not much parking, crowding

07/14/07

Good for what it is

by schlammbad at Citysearch

Mandarin Garden is good for what it is designed to do... appeal to surburban American tastes. I won't fault them for that because I am one of those people and it works for me. This also may be a requirement to be a successful business in a town like Issaquah. The ingredients are fresh and the flavors are decent. It's not spicy if you don't want it to be. Seating has always been prompt during lunch time. The service has been quick and friendly most times, though, I can see some potential personality clashes with some customer types who will be put off. I am still puzzled why they sometimes only have beef vegetable soup available. They shouldn't try that hard to appeal to American tastes when the egg drop soup and the hot and sour soups are so good. Deep fried meat dishes are available on the menu if you crave it (sometimes I do), but there are plenty of saucy stir fries based on various meat and vegetable combinations to choose from that please. Note that parking is limited to street parking in front or a small parking lot behind the restaurant.

• Pros: Inexpensive, reasonably quick service, fresh food
• Cons: somewhat limited parking