Blue willow is enthusiastically mediocre. I ordered the szechuan scallops via a delivery service. Before I go further, one thing to note: These are dime-sized bay scallops, not the larger sea scallops! The portion was huge, but rather bland. The order included complementary egg flower soup, but was slightly over what I would consider a typical price for Salem. The ingredients were fresh, but there was barely a hint of spice or szechuan peppercorn zing. The food arrived hot, but the bag was a leaky mess. Every positive I could find about this order was counterbalanced by an equal negative. I can't recommend Blue Willow, but I also can't advise against giving it a shot. I'll have to try again. I want to like this restaurant -- the food has the feeling of home cooking with a lot of love, but the quality just wasn't there for this order. read more

Second time we have been here. We really enjoy this place. Are you looking for genuine Chinese food you might get in China...in an area no non-Chinese has ever been so you can boast about it to your friends? If yes...not your place! Are you older and looking for some of the Chinese food you had as a kid or just have fond memories or are you younger and want to try Chinese American food as it was fifty or so years ago but BETTER? This is your place! They have the classics but prepared with care. They venture up to more recent food trends such as Szechuan. All the food is prepared with care and the service is caring. Portions are generous and we, my wife and I, think it represents excellent value. I've lived in Asia, spent time in restaurants in Hong Kong and Taiwan and had various Chinese style food in Thailand and Laos (the Green Latrine in the 1960s) and had meals in restaurants in America that we were the only non-Asians and the staff was not all that hot in English (but I know even less Chinese) but there is a place ,and it is a very good place, for the food that Blue Willow does so well. read more

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Haven't been in years. We got takeout the other day: pork fried rice, bbq pork lo main and potstickers. I ordered inside and it came out fast. Potstickers were perfect and the lo mein was hot and lots of veggies though very little meat. The rice is sub par - brown, dry, no egg or veggies and the bbq pork was just diced and put on the top - not mixed in. It did come with some cold egg flower soup we didn't ask for which was nice and tasted good when warmed. Not friendly: so so read more

This place was highly recommended by my son and his girlfriend, so we came here on Friday 2021-12-31 and placed a large order for a small New Year's Eve get-together. I have never dined in here, so I cannot speak to that experience at this time. We ordered pepper salted chicken, sweet and sour chicken, fried shrimp, fried rice, General Tso's chicken, egg foo yung, and Lo Mein. We enjoyed everything, except for the egg foo yung, which seemed to lack flavor. Even dousing it in the included sauce just made it very salty. The pepper salted chicken is one of the best versions that we have ever had. The flavor was amazing, and there was an appropriate amount of scallions and onions with every bite. Customer Service was excellent! This restaurant does not skimp on its portions. They also provided egg flower soup and additional fried rice at no extra charge, which I truly appreciated. We definitely will return. read more

Very good experience. Service was top notch, fast and friendly. Food came quick and was hot and tasty. Very large portions. Normal prices for Chinese food in this area. Restaurant itself was kind of plain but has a nice booth with view of the busy street. Highly recommend. read more

We're new to town so we've been trying takeout from all the different Chinese places (and we wish there were more!) and this place was honestly pretty gross.. the fried rice was literally just cooked white rice with little bits of really really dry bbq pork. No green onions or egg- Huge bummer. We also got the egg roll (which was this huuuge breaded thing), the garlic broccoli (which was the best thing we had but was drowning in this sauce that I think had like crazy amounts of MSG or something? Weird irony aftertaste), and sesame chicken which came as plain fried popcorn chicken and then one small side of ketchup mixed with sweet and sour!? Wouldn't have again- but maybe their burgers are better? read more

This place is pretty cheap but I wouldn't call it a good bargain. I ordered the small combo of pork fried rice and egg foo young. I also ordered a large egg flower soup. The egg flower soup was an unnatural bright yellow color. I've also never had soup that was just broth, egg and a few flakes of pork. Every other place I've been has had at least frozen peas and carrot added. The pork fried rice was overly sweet. Egg foo young was pretty good but that may just be the gravy 1 ​star for the rock bottom prices. (And the gravy). read more

We order from you about six times a year. The food is always ready when you say it will be; the portions are quite generous; the food is delicious. And the staff is always pleasant. You are our favorite Chinese restaurant. read more

Great service, cheap and delicious food! Hot and sour soup looked meh...but was totally great! Was extremely happy my girlfriend chose to come here. Only visiting for 2 days and I'm glad I was able to eat here! read more

Blue Willow Restaurant & Lounge - Combo #3 and hot and sour soup! Alil bit above $15! - Bars Near Me - Salem, Oregon

This has to be the worst Chinese food I ever had. I cook better food at home. I ordered Mongolian chicken and it was served on a plate. It should have been served in a bowl due to the excessive amounts of oil. It was so much that it was dripping on the table. Gross! Not to mention the lady that served us was grouchy and very anti-social. Furthermore, the booths had holes in them as if someone took a knife and sliced them open. There was a piece of gum under the table that I accidentally touched. Had to wash my hands before continuing to eat my Mongolian chicken "soup". read more

My parents took me and a couple of their friends for lunch at Blue Willow and it was exactly as I remembered it when I first ate here back in 2001 or '02. Inexpensive, large portions, but sadly, very poor quality Chinese food. There is just one server who is also the cashier. He doesn't speak English that well but is good at remembering who gets what. Pretty decent service for such busy work though. I ordered a lunch special, Kung Pao Chicken and pork fried rice. Honestly, I didn't like the food 15 years ago and I couldn't get myself to find anything good about the lunch special I had. I asked the waiter if the kitchen could make something that wasn't on the menu like beef chow fun with gravy which is a must have when we order at any Chinese restaurant in Hawaii. He said, "I never heard of it." soooo I just kept picking at my food. *super sad tummy* read more

Not good. Pork fried rice was partly not fried and partly burnt; sweet and sour pork was not fresh at all; garlic shrimp not tasty. Crappy food for $28.00. read more

Have been coming here for over 10 years and they never disappoint. We always order their family special and old tv special which is a lot of food for a great price. Lots of leftovers and the kids love it too! read more

Our first time at the Blue Willow Restaurant Lounge. Great service. Fantastic food and price. Wow. read more

Blue Willow Restaurant & Lounge - Bars Near Me - Salem, Oregon

I had a great dinner at the Blue Willow Friday night. Service was good, food was hot.

I am thoroughly impressedwith this place! It's a hidden gem! The decor contemporary vint! The food is delish! The crowd is Eh, but the food is soooo good! read more

Very good food, prices, and service. The fried shrimp were perfect, and so were the pork chow meib and General Tso's pork. We will definitely be regulars. read more

Loved it. Great food and usually restaurants like this are slow, but the food came in about 3 minutes. Also have the best egg flower soup ever. And great tea. read more

I love The combination plate you get five items for only 15$ I love the food I don't know why people are doing these bad reviews this is a family owned establishment. read more

The food was very good and it was hot. More than we could eat, we each took half home. The service was right on, we did come later in the afternoon. We will be back. read more

Blue Willow Restaurant & Lounge - OTV Special, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Pork fried rice, pork chow mein , fried shrimp and soup...$8.00 - Bars Near Me - Salem, Oregon

I love Chinese food. After moving to Salem a couple of months ago this was the first place we tried. It is close to home, I saw that they sponsored a local youth theater event, and I liked that. I really wish I liked the food. Walking in the place seemed "tired". Looking deeper nothing looked to worn, dirty, or broken, but everything just seemed slow, there was no energy at all. The food was a little greasy, but the portion sizes were okay. Overall that's what I would rate the food here, just okay. We won't be going back. read more

A coworker recommended this restaurant so I took a chance and stopped by during my lunch hour. I wasn't sure they were open because the neon lights weren't on but I ventured in...doors were open! My immediate reaction was wow, this place is OLD, dirty and not in good shape. When you have a first impression like that your mind immediately goes to "I wonder if the kitchen is nasty and my food not well stored or handled"? But, I took a gamble. It was 11:45am and there were no customers in the restaurant. Not a good sign. Staff were all sitting at a table and looked very bored. I ordered Won Ton soup to go. With a $5 tip I paid $20 for my meal. Too expensive. If you're going to charge those kind of prices your restaurant's aesthetics and staff should be appealing as well. Staff looked a little rough but who am I to judge. I doubt they're making any tips. When I got to work I was pleasantly surprised. The soup was decent. It was a large portion and packed with won tons, shrimp, sliced bbq pork and a few veggies. Hardly any broth it was so packed. The flavor was good. In the future if I do decide to go back (doubtful) I'd only order to-go. I have no desire to sit in what might be sticky tables, dirty floor and walls...you get my point. Unappetizing LOL! read more

The food tastes great, There's was also a lot for what I payed for. I look forward to going here more throughout this summer

Worst Chinese food Salem has to offer. They constantly forget main entree items and have terrible customer service.

Great Chinese Food the Best in Salem so Far and iv'e tried many of them but always come back, I personally love the singapore chow fun, and my personal favorite not even on the menu which is great that you can ask for special orders, but i get the 3 mushroom chicken but with beef instead and then extra extra extra hot and spicy it costs a little extra for beef but it is so worth it and the hot and spicy make the dish!!! There regular combo's and family meals can't be beat either and the portion size is a good meal for me other's will have enough for another 1 or 2 meals ...can't recommend it enough if i could give 10 out of 5 stars i would... read more

Extremely Dirty. Could not justify eating here. Afraid of how unclean and unsanitary the kitchen might be. We got up and left without ordering. The entrance door was filthy. Inside it was cluttered and dirty and dingy. The waiter led us back to our seat, and I noticed the rug was dirty with spilled food in many places. The waiters apron and pants were extremely filthy. It did not give us any confidence in the cleanliness of the kitchen. We were afraid we might get food poisoning. We have watched restaurant impossible too many times, and observed mom-and-pop shops in a filthy state with unsanitary food conditions. Unfortunately, Robert Irvine would have a heyday cleaning up this place. Although we would have liked to eat here and patronize a locally owned business, we had to get up and leave without ordering our food. Too bad, as it seems they have so much potential. I hope they get the place cleaned up and adhere to higher quality standards. read more

Just say no!!!!! Yuck!!!! They call this food? Yes it's cheap and my family has eaten here many times for a quick and cheap dinner, but no more. Done eating greasy old nasty food. It's a Dirty place, food is not fresh at all, almost inedible and flavorless, I'm sure the kitchen is a nasty mess from the looks of the restaurant. And the food ALWAYS gives my family tummy aches and bathroom issues ... Not sure why this place hasn't been shut down. Employees are super rude also. The hostess goes out of her way to be rude. Even If you just ask for extra sauce , she seems offended. She has even ignored me multiple times when I asked, pretended like she didn't hear. She should not be in the front. Not a people person at all!!! Worst customer service ever. With the Very rude people and nasty food, we will stay away . Lol read more

This place is cheap and you get a lot of food. For about $14 dollars my husband and I got 2 large meals that were enough to leave us feeling stuffed at dinner and still have enough for lunches the next day. Unfortunately the quality was not very good the first night and even worse reheated, the leftovers ended up in the garbage or in our dog's food dish. I had a combination plate with pork fried rice, almond chicken, and sweet and sour chicken and my husband had Kung Pao Chicken, extra spicy. The pork fried rice wasn't bad and the vegetables in both our meals seemed fresh and not overcooked. Unfortunately the chicken in both was rubbery and chewy. The sauce was heavy and greasy. We've been here twice and both times it seems as though there is only one person working the front desk and dining room. I felt that the wait to order was longer than the wait to get our food. If the service was great or the place was packed I could understand the wait but neither were true. Server was really unfriendly and I felt that we were an inconvenience for her, that she had something better to be doing. Overall if you're more concerned with quantity than quality, you shouldn't mind this place, but if you care about quality pay a little more and go somewhere else. read more

History 7 years. The Ups - Solid, Americanized Chinese food, and a lot of it. Unless you compete in eating contests, you'll be taking a fair amount of it home. - Cheap. Three or four people can eat for under $20. My mainstays have been mostly things with the word 'House' in them (which incl. various meats), the fried rice(s), Chow Fun, and appetizers. I have tried much of the menu though and can't remember ever eating anything bad. - Consistent. If you like it here, your future experiences will be mostly the same. -Take out is usually only 10-15 minutes for a 3-4 piece order. The Downs- - Minor - Depending on who is working, as a regular you will likely have your name remembered and receive a warm welcome. Often though it can be rough around the edges, either in manner or spoken English. - Minor (for me) - Greasy spoon. Generally clean but few frills and well used. The space could use an update. - Consistent. If you don't like it here, your future experiences will be mostly the same. Location Clean but older strip mall along the middle of Lancaster Rd,. Lower-middle class neighborhood but hardly 'gangland', as someone else put it. 3-3.5 Stars I've never been in the lounge, but a quiet dive is probably a good description. ---------------- How I rate - I try to be a tolerant, patient, and polite person. I do not exaggerate and I believe that very few experiences rate in the extreme (almost never a 1 or 5). Definitely a carnivore but otherwise not picky. No allergies. read more

I would go here again if someone insisted on it, but I would order something different. I definitely got a creepy vibe from the place: none of the lights were on, there was a mysterious humming sound, and the bathroom was very old with a floor that was so greasy that my shoes were sliding around with every step. The woman who seated me was so disinterested in her job that she was looking down and playing on her phone as she walked people to their seats, and she was talking to someone on speakerphone while she walked around. So that was weird. I got the Kung pao chicken lunch special. As other reviewers have said, the portions are huge but the food is mediocre. They brought complimentary tea (good!) and soup (very salty but fresh-tasting), followed by the entree. The vegetables that come with kung pao chicken always seem to be a grab bag, but it seemed like mostly celery. Which I guess is great, if you really like celery. The meat was noticeably low quality. Really fatty and... Mushy. The server, a younger gentleman, was very nice, and he checked on me frequently. The servings are so huge that he didn't have to ask if I needed a box; he just brought one. With such a large quantity of food, it probably shouldn't be a surprise that the quality is subpar. I've heard people mention this place as a default for Chinese food in Salem. Now that my curiosity is sated, next time I will opt for Mexican. read more

Blue Willow Restaurant & Lounge - Kung pao chicken. Not as delicious as it looks. - Bars Near Me - Salem, Oregon

It was a bit disappointing to step into this dark themed restaurant that is located along Lancaster Drive in Salem as it was totally empty. Not sure as to why, given its very popular location. Service was decent, but not spectacular and the most disappointing (but not surprising) aspect was the limited variety in the menu. Majority of the items are of Chinese American fare, probably coined for the fact that its in Salem. Prices are consistent with most restaurants in the area, not back breaking. Its not worth the trip back unless starvation is in full effect. read more

I went to get Chinese food and had the best customer service around!! The food was hot and delicious, I had great service from Anita and the owner Susan!! I go every Tuesday and its always great!! read more

I love this place!! Been going since 2004, and the quality hasn't changed! Massive food portions for a low price. The tea is also amazing! read more

Blue Willow Restaurant & Lounge - Lounge and video poker. - Bars Near Me - Salem, Oregon

My food was hot, service with a smile, and the waitress made eye contact with some polite conversation about the weather outside. It's nice to see some businesses still do it the old fashioned way! read more

This place gives you the bang for your buck! You really can't beat getting large portions of tasty food at a great price! I made my own combo plate from their combination platter menu and got huge filling portions for under $8. Complimentary egg flower soup is included with every order as well as hot tea. The hot tea tasted a bit smokey, but other than that everything was great! I look forward to coming here more often. read more

Perhaps the worst dining experience I have ever had. The food was uneatable, the appetizers were uneatable, and the cocktail I ordered was undrinkable. It tasted like gasoline and green sugar water, and I'm not 100% sure it wasn't. How do you screw up BBQ pork? By cooking BBQ fat. How do you screw up chow mein? By serving it with rotten noodles. Obviously a pre COVID holdover. I've had bad food before while out dining, but this was scary bad. read more

The food here is okay. I had the number one combo (BBQ Beef, shrimp, etc) the food was okay -- I'd say average but the beef was room temperature which is concerning frankly. Additionally, the woman employee (pink shirt), I'm assuming the owner, was very distant. She was very short in her statements and didn't make eye contact. I wasn't too happy with the service here. I won't be coming back. read more

We were looking for something good and close to our hotel [Motel 6 off Hawthorne] and we stumbled upon this little gem. Hands down , delicious authentic Chinese food. Big portions served on big plates that were served to the top! [I forgot to take pictures]. Server started off with serving waters and complimentary tea. Delish might I add. My bf and I ordered a small sweet and sour soup. Big bowl. We had not even finished it yet when our entree had arrived. I ordered shrimp lo mein. He ordered special #2 with came with pork fried rice, beef & broccoli, and mandarin chicken with en egg roll. Let me tell you that plate was stacked! And the egg roll was not your regular hand size roll. It was big! Cut up into 3 portions. Each portion was the size of the small thin regular egg rolls you see at Chinese takeouts. Neither one of us finished not even half of our plate. Can't wait to finish my left overs! read more

Pretty good standard American Chinese. Best part was the price for the amount of food!

I'm from Salem and live in Seattle meow. When I lived in Salem we would go here a lot. All I have to say is to take advantage of your time with Blue Willow, cherish it, because food doesn't get as cheap as this. The food is good, VERY good compared to how much you pay. Yeah the service is kinda bland and not very socialable but neither are drive-thrus which is how much you will be paying for bad food. And besides the great prices is the HUGE portions. I mean for lunch you can pay $5 for a combo and have leftovers. Where else can you do that? Every time my dad would pay for the meal he would giggle in happiness and that's what counts. read more