We were back visiting our old hunting grounds, having lived in the Monterey Bay area for 15 years. There are many great eateries and high-end restaurants in this area, so it becomes a chore to select where to go and what to eat. I was reared the son of a career Navy Chief who, with my mother, loved to travel in Asia. So we did, having lived in Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and California. Consequently, my taste buds appreciate authentic Asian dishes. And one of my most favorite is Wor Won Ton Soup. A basic chicken broth with a won ton or two floating around is Won Ton Soup. Or broth with scramble egg in is is Egg Drop Soup. But the king of such soups is the vegetable dense Wor Won Ton Soup, and it is hard to find really good versions of this. My radar is on continual search. The China Palace Restaurant in Novato, CA doe have outstanding Wor Won Ton. When we visit with friends, we always order the large, punch bowl sized version and eat every last drop. So...staying overnight in Monterey our internet search came up with Chef Lee's, and to our delight, their menu listed Wor Won Ton. Reviews for his restaurant were excellent, so we made a dinner reservation. Chef Lee's is definitely CHINESE! Rich decorations and decor along with a multi-paged menu. And there it was at $19.50. Not as large as a punch bowl, but sufficient for three servings. We also ordered pork pot stickers at $14.95. And talking with our server, Bao Y. found another of my favorites, BBQ pork chow mien Hong Kong style at $17.95. They list it as made with chicken, but did a special for us substituting pork for the chicken. Pots of hot tea and we were set. It all was great, food, service and atmosphere. Highly recommend you try it out. As to the War Won Ton: is was close, but was not as rich as in Novato or what I was looking for. Please do try it with this in mind and if you like it, join me in my search for the best. read more

I don't know what happened to the food at chef Lee's. It is awful now. Maybe a new chef? When did they start putting raisins in the sweet and sour sauce, it was discusting. The mandarin fried chicken is supposed to be extra spicy, yet it barely had any flavor at all. The noodles in the chow mein were all two to three inches long, it was like theydid that on purpose, and there was absolutely no flavor. The fried rice looked like white rice tossed with frozen vegetables, and like everything else NO FLAVOR. These four items cost me $83 and some change. I have been going there for years. This will be my family's last time. Yuck read more

We stay at Travelodge and Chef Lee's restaurant is in front of our hotel. It is so convenient just only walk here for dinner. The exterior is pretty stand out that you can guess that it serves Chinese food for sure. Peking chicken is crispy. I enjoyed it but the sauce is like Hoisin sauce which I am not a fan. Maybe plum said would be nicer. That what I think. Combination Fried rice is plain. The beef there doesn't have any taste of marinate... so plain. Mandarin's fish slice is so thick with flour. Tiny little fish slices are hiding in there. Sauce is good though. Waitress was so hurry she dropped the checked while we were still eating. She said no hurry but she walked back to check again that I left my credit card in yet. No hurry, huh? I felt like I was rushed out there. Not impressed much. Love Peking Chicken though read more

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Excellent food Great service general sherman chicken, moos shoo and Chinese greens all very tasty with new management read more

Five-tops don't have a lazy Susan like the tables for eight. It looks like the space would be great for dim sum carts (there must not be enough local families that have weekly group brunches). We ate here on the strength of Mongolian beef takeaway. It's still one of our favorite dishes, but I think the meat for the Double Fried Hong Kong Style Noodles was more well seasoned. My relative said that it seemed that the dishes were missing five spice. read more

I tried this place yesterday, although the food was excellent, it was very pricey, $38.00 b4 tip, i ordered 1 war won ton soup (medium) they didnt have a small & 1 order of fried rice, the inside was clean & looked nice read more

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I used to go here as a kid whenever we'd visit Monterey, and I'm glad it continues to live up to the fond memories I'd have of reading over the paper zodiac placemats and looking up to the colorful ceiling I shared the sizzling rice soup and the snow pea beef. It was my first time trying sizzling rice soup, and I thought it was such an interesting concept! The server poured the rice into the soup and it indeed immediately sizzled, which was so fun to watch. Each spoonful of the soup was light, and filled with so many different toppings like water chestnut, chicken, bamboo shoots, shrimp, mushrooms, etc. It felt so hearty and perfect for a cold and windy Monterey day. The snow pea beef was also very solid. I liked how tender the beef was, and the snow peas were very crisp There were seriously too many options and it was a bit overwhelming to look at the menu, but I'll need to come with a larger group so I can sample more dishes read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - Sizzling Rice Soup - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

Best Chinese restaurant by far. I especially like the orange chicken and the salt-and-pepper prawns. The service is excellent. Bao and the others are attentive and courteous servers. The food comes quick and hot and delicious. read more

Place looked clean. Food was okay - 6/10. The thing that threw me off was their water. You know how tap water tastes different and you can automatically tell that it's tap? Well this water was that x10. It was so disgusting. I saw the customers at the table next to us literally SEND THE WATER BACK! That's how you know it's bad. You can even taste that tap water in the ice in our sodas. But what really upset me was when we were checking out. There were 3 ladies just watching my husband pay and look to see if he was going to tip or not. That is so unprofessional and very rude. read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

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If you are a fan of BBQ Pork fried rice you MUST read this! Approx 8 years ago we stumbled upon Chef Lee's while visiting Monterey from the SF Bay Area. The BBQ pork fried rice is the best we have ever had. We've tried to find a place closer to home but nobody comes close. The pieces of pork are huge and the flavor is outstanding! Do yourself a favor and try it, I promise you will not be disappointed. We always order take out on our last day so we have some to enjoy at home as well. read more

Beautiful restaurant that is extremely clean! The owner is so friendly and makes you feel welcomed immediately! All dishes are shareable sizes, and there is always food to take home! There is not a single item I would not recommend on their menu! Everything I have tried has been excellent! Their walnut shrimp/chicken is the most delicious thing I've ever had! Every food dish comes served fresh out of the wok! Steaming hot, full of flavor, and very fresh! I highly recommend eating here for good Chinese food! The prices are above average, but I'm telling you with how fresh and flavorful the food is, it's worth the price! read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - Sweet & Sour Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

Great experience. A lot of kitschy classic Chinese restaurant decor. I mean to the maximum. Outstanding ambience that you don't really see in modern Chinese restaurants anymore. Our server, Jesus was excellent. The food was perfectly acceptable, although not necessarily a cut above, but no complaints worthy of any high criticism. And they catered well to vegetarians. Clean place too. read more

Food was pretty decent, service was very quick. I went here last night with some buddies of mine. We were in Monterey for the Sea Otter Classic. Luckily the restaurant was across the street from where we were staying. Anyways, we ordered multiple dishes, and most of them got completely eaten up. My favorite was the Sizzling Rice Soup. I did order some Lemon Chicken, but it was very overcooked, where the crust kept separating from the chicken, very disappointing. However my buddies enjoyed their food, that was very good to see. Do I recommend this restaurant? I don't have a yes/no answer, since i have only eaten here once. If you're in the area and craving Chinese food, you should be happy here. read more

I've enjoyed countless dinners at Chef Lee's Mandarin House over the years, and each visit has been consistently excellent. Today's lunch was no exception--it was truly outstanding. I was struck by how the restaurant's elegant architecture is just as beautiful in the daytime as it is striking when illuminated at night. Specializing in Northern Chinese cuisine, Chef Lee's offers an extensive menu filled with lots of flavorful favorites. We began with perfectly prepared Chicken Potstickers served with a savory dipping sauce, followed by the exceptional Walnut Shrimp--crispy, sweet, and perfectly seasoned. The Shrimp Chow Fun, with its wide rice noodles, was absolutely delicious, and the Chicken Fried Rice complemented everything wonderfully. Generous portions offered great value, leaving plenty for me to take home and enjoy later. Service was friendly, efficient, and attentive, and I especially love dining in the spacious, beautifully decorated rooms that create a refined, yet comfortable atmosphere with beautiful Chinese accents. Chef Lee's is always ideal for family meals, friendly get-togethers, or business lunches. When I inquired, I was also reminded that they can easily accommodate groups of 25, 50, or even 100 guests--perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, wedding receptions, celebrations of life, and other gatherings, with a wide selection of tasty appetizers and entrees to suit every palate. It is open from 11 am - 9:30 pm so you can dine anything like I did today with a later lunch. An award-winning restaurant since 1981, annually voted "Best Chinese Restaurant" in Monterey County, Chef Lee's has been the recipient of numerous awards year after year. Conveniently located right off Highway 1 on North Fremont with a large parking lot, it's easy to see why Chef Lee's Mandarin House remains a beloved local favorite including mine. Highly recommended! read more

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We moved up here from SoCal area in 'The OC' and we had many great Chinese food places down there. When we arrived up Pacific Grove, we tried and tried to find a decent place and never could, especially for 'Egg Foo-Young'. Finally, we tried Chef Lee's and everything we got was very good. We have returned several times since out first visit. read more

We had a meal there of 19 people 5 being children and a 18% banquet fee was charged to bill bringing it to $570. Understood as this is customary. THIs is the Kicker though. We were told this fee DOES NOT go to the server! What??? Huh? This goes to management/restaurant. If we wanted to leave some on the table for them we could???? What was paying for the food then? They're taking the server's money earned? I will never eat there again. I will also not recommend this to others especially for no big parties. I'm not even sure if this is legal . We were not in a private room, we ate in main dining room sitting area. I was just appalled at this information. Not cool Chef Lee read more

Chef Lee's is amazing. I normally go there for lunch with my coworkers, they remember who we are, our orders, and drinks. It's nice to find a place that actually remembers customer and we don't go there super frequently. The food always comes out hot and with the same level of quality. The inside of the restaurant is WILD. It's so ornate and the amount of space they have is fantastic. Their lunch menu is a very reasonably priced, and the portions are super reasonable. While it isn't on the lunch menu, I highly recommend the mandarin chicken (my preference is boneless), but it's amazing. read more

Okay, guys, Chef Lee's is my go-to place for a good, nice, sizzling rice soup! And a hot tea--the hot tea is so delicious with some sugar! It is Always on point, I'll order it to go or dine in, and it's usually all I really order! The soup comes with veggies and water chestnuts ( that's my favorite) some chicken and shrimp! And the hard rice . The hard crunchy rice starts to melt into the soup once on top and it's never burnt so that's always a plus. The only thing they can improve on is the portion I wish they would fill the container till it's full with the rice and add more shrimp but I always order extra I don't mind an extra 3 bucks. The service is always good the employees are nice and welcoming. I would recommend you stop by here! read more

Definitely will go back. There are not a lot of good options in the area. The staff is kind and the food comes out quickly. Plenty of seating. There were some hits and some misses. Good Mongolian beef Walnut shrimp Not good Pork eggrolls Sweet and sour read more

Quick service... clean and nice amposphere , food was hot and very tasty... will come again

Delicious food Great service Excellent ambience Has crispy duck and it was delicious read more

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We are new to the area and trying many Chinese restaurants to find "the one" for us. Chef Lee's is a strong contender. The restaurant is ornately decorated - it sorta feels like dining inside a museum. The food is delicious - lunch specials come with soup and there are many choices. Their Salt & Pepper Shrimp was really good. I loved their Mongolian Beef. The Won Ton Soup was very good (but we like Ho Wah's better...). We'll be back - especially with friends who like a nice ambiance/environment. read more

The first red flag should've been the rude owner with her attitude and speaking to me in a condescending manner. The 2nd red flag should've been the disgusted women's restroom. If your restroom is that disgusting just imagine the kitchen! The 3rd red flag should've been the flies around the tables. The food came out so fast and so hot including the plates being incredibly hot that I don't think it was cooked fresh at all. Usually when the plate is piping hot, and the chicken is soft squishy and falling apart it tells you the microwave was used. The vegetables also reminded me of the frozen stir fry vegetables you get at Costco. My sibling ordered a fish dish and the fish smelled rancid along with an intense amount of disgusting smelling steam coming out of it when cut open. There was another review that mentioned the food being recycled from previous customers and I believe it!!! I also relayed I have a shrimp allergy and shortly after leaving my allergy flared up but I only had the egg flower soup. Luckily I don't get anaphylaxis but for anyone else with food allergies PLEASE RUN AWAY! I did not eat anything that was ordered other than the bland soup that I had to drown in hot sauce. And to top it all off apparently the owner calculates you checks which caused a huge dispute as she charged me twice the price of a regular soup for ordering a large soup rather than charging me the price of a large. This restaurant is a joke and I use to eat here pre-covid. I will never go back again and I don't recommend anyone else ever going into here. I'm not sure why there are so many good reviews also posted but I find it incredible hard to believe considering my siblings and I were the only people here on a Saturday night dinner. read more

A beautiful place that I have been going too has been ran down. Food was terrible and over priced service was even worse waiter kept making rude snarks and passing drinks and food across the table hitting people in the head drinks are no longer refillable worse part found a cockroach on our way out of the door. Been coming here for years since the 90s and today was the worst service I ever got came here for my grand mother in laws birthday and was super disappointed on everything. A party of 12 food came out to $420 would've been cheaper to go a few miles down to The Fish hopper and still be cheaper. We use to travel 50 miles and pass Chef lees in Salinas to come to Monterey chef lees for their food and service and now we will no longer be attending either chef lees anymore. Pretty disappointed when chef lees Monterey was the only Chinese restaurant I was willing to eat and know you would get good service and food sadly it's no longer up to my expectations. read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - Cockroach - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

Service was bad and the woman restroom was terrible/ uncleanliness. The food was ok. Not that as good as we expected. We went to countless Chinese restaurants but this one kinda not paying attention what they're doing. Which they could do better service and put more effort into it since they're open a business. read more

Service was terrible. Sat there 10 mins while the waitresses past us twice. Been going for many years. Service and quality of the food has gone down. Customer no more. read more

Same as Korean food I love Chinese cuisine. The service is always impeccable and the staff is amazing

The food is good the service was great. Nice size portions. Inside is very nice and different. Very authentic.

Chef Lees is usually the best Chinese food around in Monterey. My family has been customers for many years. However when we picked up take out yesterday at about 4:00pm, I think we were given the leftovers from lunch. The lemon chicken which is usually excellent was hard and dry. I couldn't even cut it with a knife. Then the chicken chow main we usually get was definitely old and not fresh at all. It was a bit rubbery. We ended up throwing the food away. It just wasn't edible. All for $37 In the garbage. Very disappointed. I hope it was just an off day. read more

Excellent fast service for my lunch. Absolutely HUGE proportions and definitely tasty. I ordered the orange chicken lunch plate and it came with rice, wontons, and egg drop soup that was delicious! $16.99-Everything came out super fast and super hot. Will definitely be back! Beautiful decor on the inside. I loved the entry way into the restaurant. Peaceful feeling. Love it! read more

Very surprised by this place. Great ambiance. Has an upscale look, with neighborhood prices. I'd definitely take a date here or have a celebratory dinner. Wait staff is professional (white shirts w/ bow ties!) and quick. Bathrooms are clean. There is an overall feeling that they take COVID protocols seriously. I was seated quickly. Good for groups. I came at lunch and ordered the Orange Chicken special w/ lo mein. The egg drop soup is sublime. Huge serving of food. The meal was fresh and seasoned well. This is definitely going to be my go-to Chinese restaurant in the area. Price of meal w/ 20% tip: $25 read more

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The sizzling shrimp rice was amazing, I loved the little show when they pour the shrimp over the rice. You get a good amount for what you pay for, and the servers were very attentive. Would come again. read more

The food was awful. And the lady working there was very rude. No wonder they didn't have any customers on a Friday night.

Almost 20 years ago we had our Rehearsal Luncheon here for our wedding. So whenever we are in town to visit fam we try to come once during the trip. We like this location better then in Salinas. It was a weeknight so luckily there was no wait. Plenty of spacing between tables. The server was attentive at first but after ordering and getting our food out , she wasn't around much. What we ordered: large Egg Flower Soup (enough to feed the 7 of us there), Bbq pork fried rice, beef chow mein, sweet and sour pork, orange chicken and Mongolian beef. We enjoyed all but the orange chicken, it just didn't have the right flavors in it that we were use to. Btw: Sodas only come with ONE REFILL! Prices and portions are decent, service could be friendlier, but still good after ALL THESE YEARS. read more

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Hot and sour soup! It is so great here. It's always a must when I eat Chinese, and chef lees makes the best I've ever had! Big pieces of the typical chicken, and tofu but they also add plenty of juicy shrimp which other restaurants do not. A small was big enough for 3 people plus half a small container to take home. Also had egg rolls, crispy, warm, and 3 dipping sauces. Mushu pork (another thing I always order), and kung pow chicken. Everything served quickly and piping hot. Best Chinese food in the area in my opinion. You may pay a little more than the average Chinese restaurant but it's worth it. The restaurant has been here for as long as I can remember, and it could use some upgrades. The booth we sat at had big tears that were covered up by masking tape. The parking lot needs to be redone, it's pretty cracked. But the restaurant is quite ornate and pretty fun to look around and exclaim over. And clean. The service at our table was friendly and super quick. They boxed up our leftovers for us and even served us all our first bowl of the soup. Back in the day they would put together the mushu pancake for us when they brought it to the table. They did not today, but they probably stopped that with the pandemic. No biggie. The hostess was not friendly, didn't smile and just handed us our menus and walked away. Didnt acknowledge us when we left even tho she was standing right there. Oh well maybe she was having a bad day. Everyone else was friendly. read more

BEWARE!!!!!! I've been coming here with my family for years as a local. After getting over a cold my family & I decided to come by for soup and dinner. Upon settling up to our surprise we saw something crawling from the top of the ceiling, then glass and finally the windowsill ended up being a COCKROACH! we quickly called staff over and after it being killed/ grabbed by a napkin, the manager came over to see what it was and said NOT ONE WORD ABOUT IT! and proceeded to shrug her shoulders. Absolutely disgusting, will never be coming back! Not only was this unsanitary, but the way this was handled and completely blown off and ignored was extremely disappointing. read more

I thought it was delicious, had a small portion of Shrimp,beef,chicken and ofc with the chowmein. Staff Was Nice, I'd Recommend Eating Here. i still fw panda tho,Honey Walnut Shrimp Goes Brazy my G's read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - Chef Lee 's Chow Mein - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

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When I used to live in the central coast, we used to frequent the sister restaurant Chef Lee #2 in Salinas which was great so we decided to try this in Monterey. It falls short of the one in Salinas. The food was salty making all the dishes taste similar. We ordered the special noodle (this was the best thing- it's a noodle soup), pork egg foo young, mushu beef, honey walnut prawns, pork fried rice, orange chicken, and lemon chicken. If I am in the area, I would definitely go back for the special noodle soup but pass on everything else. Bonus is that they are quick to get the dishes out. read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

Honestly, this is our favorite Mandarin cuisine restaurant. We are greeted immediately the food is prepared well. I had the shrimp sweet-and-sour and my guest had the pork sweet-and-sour. Honestly, you cannot go wrong at Chef Lees No Chinese beer, however our server suggested a rice beer. A bit too "wheaty". But it sure did hit the spot. read more

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Terrible experience getting to go food. $15 for chicken chow mein. That took them three minutes to make. UNthinking cashier GAVE ME MY FOOD with no utensils. Not even chopsticks!! U had one job! I had to go back to ask for utensils. Five star price zero star service Taste = good Value = not good Will I go back = NO read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - $15 to go chicken chow mein. Napkins and utensils NOT INCLUDED. - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

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