My son loves the wonton soup here. He asks to come here by name and he's only 6. I love it when I can eat shrimp fried rice with large shrimp instead of small salad shrimp. Sometimes it's a little greasy but I have never had a bad meal here. read more

I go here all the time for their won ton soup. I'll go with a couple of friends order a medium soup and usually an entree or appetizer. It turns out to be a really cheap meal with a lot of food. I've been going here almost my whole life and I still haven't gotten tired of chef lees! read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - Chicken fried Hong Kong style noodles - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

Horrible service. I asked the waiter if the sauce on the garlic chicken and the almond chicken were white and he said yes, then another waitress took over. I ended up ordering the almond chicken, I felt very rushed. When my order came, the sauce was brown, and there were no almonds. I asked. About the almond and they brought them on a side bowl. At that point I asked if they could pack my order to go. The gentleman packed it and when I was ready to go the waitress asked me if I didn't like it. I explained what happened earlier with the waiter and she said, "You should have asked me." Really?? Wow. I don't know why I even left a tip! read more

The sizzling rice soup was the only dish that tasted good, the people in charge there were so unbelievably rude. The sour faced woman at the counter was not pleasant to order from, she at first wouldn't give us anything besides the container to eat the sizzling rice soup out of. Someone else gave us cups at least. There was another woman, who might of been the owner, yelling at one of the employees right in the middle of the restaurant, definitely unprofessional. I wouldn't recommend eating here. read more

This is the best Chinese food I've had so far in Monterey. When you open the menu the prices might catch you off guard since they are a little pricey, but believe me when I say "you get way more food then you can handle". Every dish I've had here has been good and reminds me somewhat of the great Chinese food I've enjoyed in San Francisco all my life. If you are ever in Monterey you should check this place out!.... I guarantee you will be bringing some food home, so be prepared for some good old left over Chinese food! read more

While visiting the Monterey area, one of our group had a craving for Chinese. Since no one was a big fan of PF Chang's, I yelped for some ideas. We settled on this mainly because of the full bar. The Walnut Shrimp was fantastic!! It had pecans instead of walnuts but no matter. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and the sauce was delicious. The egg rolls and the crab won-tons were excellent. Very fresh. Kung Pao beff was a little disappointing because the chilis were whole and unless you ate the whole chili there was no heat to it. The spare ribs were very, very good. The Chef Lee's fried rice was tasty, but not really fried rice. The interior was beautifully decorated and ornate. Overall a really good experience. read more

Horrible. Got a headache afterwards. The MSG was probably the culprit but so was the service. Absolutely one of the worst managers ever! The manager that has the dark bags under her eyes was so rude from the very beginning. She has no manners. Frances A. is correct in her review about this restaurant. Go on Yelp and look for a better Chinese restaurant. read more

Worst Chinese food ever! It is not authentic and I highly doubt the chicken is actually chicken. I'm afraid to even think what it could have been! I took 2 bites of my food, paid the bill and left the rest. Do not go here. read more

Fried rice was cooked with BBQ pork but not thoroughly fried and rice too mushy. sizzling plate too oily and sweet and sour pork has too much vinegar. Waitress was not even familiar with the menu. Very disappointed! read more

Food quality: lots of canned bamboo shoots used in stir fry baby bak choy - no Chinese restaurant in the Bay area does that. beef dish was too sweet. Waiters: they are sweeping the floor while we are still eating!! they are slow. I ended up taking the bill and pay at the front desk myself instead of waiting for services, read more

I was pleased. Mongolian beef will feed 2. Wontons are ok. Complimentary tea. Good service. Quiet. Nice place to study. Clean. Nice to look at. read more

Definitely not coming back here again. Decent food, but horrible service so the food we did end up getting wasn't even worth it at that point. We ordered a four person combination meal and waited over an hour for our food to arrive. Over. An. Hour. I have been working in the food industry for years, so believe me I would be the first person to understand any type of delay, situation or obstacle that could ever arise in a restaurant. But our overall visit was completely disappointing and I will never come back to this establishment again. From the moment we sat down, which was a 5-10 minute wait (not too bad, can't complain there) but everything after, absolutely ridiculous. They ushered us to a table still dirty with plates and crumbs everywhere and the bus-boy hurriedly brushed them out of the way, WITH HIS HANDS, while we were sitting down. I know there are many sanitation rules, and this was pretty disgusting to see even at the beginning of our visit. If a table not ready to be sat at, it should be properly cleaned and sanitized BEFORE guests are seated, so I'm not getting the trailing debris on my lap. Next, I pour myself some hot tea in hopes I can focus on something else besides the clearly un-cleaned surface my family and I were about to eat on when lo and behold I find a crusty used fortune paper inside my tea! I assume it was stuck to my tea cup (assuming that was also unclean) and as I filled it with tea,floated to the top. Okay, now it's just getting a little gross at this point. We are then brought out appetizers which are, surprisingly (or not) - COLD. Our soup was pretty good, but let's not forget half of the bowls still had food residue from not being properly washed so we had to request more. If I had not been with my family, I would have walked out of that restaurant after 30 minutes, but having to wait over an hour for 3 plates of food is a little much. I also kept eye on other tables surrounding us and a table who had arrived much later than us had received their food and LEFT before we even got ours. Overall, non-existent regard for cleanliness, quality, as well as customer service. Every guest who walks into a restaurant should be welcomed and felt like they are valuable customers, because in reality, they are! Restaurants want people to actually come back, again and again! Whether it be for good food, or good service, or even better - both. Chef Lee's will unfortunately not be seeing me again because they have shown me everything a restaurant should NOT be. read more

I love it here, the food is great and the decor is beautiful! I recommend the lunch specials, which they serve during the week days, because it comes with an entree and a side of rice plus fried wontons and fruit. The dinner specials are great too because the plates have so much food, which you can share or take the rest to go, which would be perfect for another meal! They are also really fast at giving you your food once you order. The only con is most of the time you will have to repeat yourself or continue to ask for a refill/check, but it will get to you eventually. read more

I really used to love this place but the other night I went here the service was bad! I wanted to be served by my favorite waitress Sarah but I guess she moved in to better things. Oh well. read more

We had a large group so it is good for group for sure but service is okay...and the wine glasses are dirty we had to wipe them ourselves

This is perhaps the worst Chinese restaurant I have ever tried. The building is very cool-looking on the outside, but the service is terrible and the food is bland and blah. I did bring home some leftovers but am debating about giving it to my dogs or just pitching it out because it is not very good at all (and I don't want them poisoned by salt and msg). I have never seen a hot and sour soup without cloud ear mushrooms! That is what gives it its flavor! The chow mein was tasteless. It's hard to screw up sweet and sour chicken, so that was pedestrian. Crab wontons were ok; I've had better. Definitely a no-return! read more

Nice decor, terrible service, from the hostess to the server to the manager. We'll find somewhere else for Chinese food in the future.

Mediocre food. There is other better chinese in the area Such bad service from every the female waiter but the head lady manager is nice. I wouldn't recommend because the vibe would ruined our appetite. read more

This is the worst restaurant I have ever eaten at! And I have eaten at horrible restaurants with prices far cheaper than this. The orange chicken tasted like rotten meat, that was defrosted and barely fried. The sauce was DISGUSTING! It tasted like this sugar with ginger and made me feel like I needed to vomit. The sweet and sour pork tasted like the tendons of the meat and the sauce was worse than cheap store bought packets. Panda Express offers better food and less intrusive service. The waitress hovered and wouldn't leave us for the first few minutes of us sitting down, until we immediately ordered. She was very nice though and did pack our leftovers, which was almost ALL of our food. The fortune cookies we orange and tasted like styrofoam! I would never recommend this place. CHINA GARDEN on Alvarado Street in Monterey, is smaller and makes their food fresh. Go there! Not here! read more

The service was excellent, everything else was horrible! Grass at a park probably has a better taste than the food at the restaurant. The food was extremely bland, there was no flavor in any of the dishes whatsoever. I deeply regret coming to this tasteless restaurant. read more

Decor of the place was fun as was the building shape, but it was definitely an americanized type place. Food is expensive and doesn't taste as great as it should. It was ridiculously convenient and fast though since we were staying right across the street. read more

I was really excited when we pulled up, I mean if they put that much attention into the decor they must do an awesome job at the food right? When they brought out the huge plate of food (I got garlic chicken lunch special, he got broccoli beef lunch special) I was still anticipating greatness. However when I started into the blandness that was my food, I was disappointed. Half a bottle of soy sauce later the food was still lacking flavor. Would I go back, maybe, but I won't initiate the trip. read more

i'm not super big on chinese food... my staple is sweet and sour chicken and some white rice. this was one of the first places i tried when i moved to monterey, so of course it reminds me of that time. how could i forget about their sizzling rice soup. YUMMM read more

I've been going to this restaurant for at least 20 years; same location and the decor seems to have remain unchanged. Honestly, it's been a while since I last eaten here, mainly because I haven't been in the area much. Since I was traveling solo this time, I only got one dish [chicken with asparagus], some steamed rice, and iced lychees for a light desert (the other option was deep fried bananas). The chicken dish was good - a standard. My goal was to get a relatively balanced meal - meat and veggies, with some rice. I can't remember how the dishes were before, but I think I will need to go again with a larger group to get more dishes. They did not have a menu item where you can try a little of several popular dishes; that is reserved for at least two people or lunch, from what I found/read. I would have preferred a variety of dishes, but I didn't want to have more on my plate than I needed. My server was very cordial and very attentive. I got my food very quickly, and it was cooked thoroughly as the chicken and asparagus were sliced thin. Not too saucy, but enough to mix in with my rice. For this visit, the environment was a bit loud for me, but there were more large groups than groups smaller than 4 in size or pairs. And, it was a Saturday night after a beautiful day (mid/upper-70s deg F, sunny, ocean breeze)... I went in late (7 PM), so many of these groups left about halfway through my dinner. For future visits to Monterey and if Chinese food would suit my palate, I would visit again. read more

Love, love, love their Mongolian beef dish!! They also have a wonderful walnut shrimp that is actually made with pecans. I haven't quite figured out why they named it that but it is delicious! I haven't had a bad dish yet. This place is always a favorite of mine. read more

Korean Chinese food. Partly Korean owned and it taste that way. Korean owned Chinese food in Garden Grove taste better. Location is convenient, next to Hwy 1. Decor is a fancier chinese restaurant type. Not a hole in the wall. On the outside you'll know its a Chinese joint. Pros: Mongolian beef - tasty, cooked well Portions are generous Prices reasonable Chinese decor is unmistakable Jack, our waiter was tentative, smiling, and deserved his tip Cons: sizzling rice soup and sweet/sour soup bland, watered down, not much flavor sweet/sour shrimp is more like sweet/sour batter flour with a hint of shrimp spare ribs tough and not flavorful sesame chicken had good flavor, but chicken dry thread pork with noodles was a bit bland I come from OC/LA, so I'm spoiled. Better off going to PF Chang. Its not like Chef Lee is authentic anyway. read more

The Hot Braised Chicken is ok. They need to change the oil they use to fry the chicken. The beef chow fun is my favorite.

Too bad the food wasn't as good as the decor. From outside the building looked like it came straight out of a Kung Fu movie. I thought to myself, some good old fashion Chinese food would hit the spot. I ordered the Orange Chicken. Did not like it at all. It had a weird after taste and the ice tea wasn't that tasty either. I would have to say this was the worst Chineese foodI have ever had. I should have gone to the sushi restaurant across the street. read more

Service is always great. Food comes out fast and tastes amazing. My family is always eating here. It is the bust place in Monterey for Chinese food. read more

I've been coming here ever since I can remember. Popular spot with my entire family. Only giving it 3 stars because it's still good, but not quite where is was when i was younger. Some of my favorite dishes are the veg. chow mein, sesame chicken, and fried chicken (really good w/sweet n sour). Other thanb that, very big restuarant with seperate rooms for private parties and the service is usually pretty good. read more

just called to see if they had a gluten free menu, or if they can modify any of their dishes to be gluten free, the girl on the phone was clueless and just responded they didn't carry it on their menu. I asked to speak to a manager and said she was not there. I recommend Full Moon Cuisine as they can accommodate any of their dish to be gluten free. read more

I miss this place so much!! Can't find Chow-mein or sizzling rice soup as good as this place! I keep trying but they're still the best. Always a go to when I come home. read more

Food was tasty, but nothing else went right today. Our group reserved a private room for our lunch meeting, but I believe they had us confused with another group. It's a good thing our speaker was gracious while being interrupted by the loud and unorganized food service. Somehow everyone got fed and we left an good tip ... have to give them the benefit of the doubt. Seriously though ... why is anyone still using MSG in 2015? You could be losing a lot of business because of that alone. read more

So I've been driving past this restaurant for over 2 years since moving to the area and finally decided to try it out instead of going to my favorite on the peninsula, Dynasty in PG. What a disgusting disappointment. First, they serve hot tea at the table which is great, but this "tea" is more like hot water. Ok, that's fine. So I order some hot sake. The Sake is decent, not the best I've had on the peninsula, would have to say Full Moon in Monterey was far better. Then comes mealtime, which makes things bad to worse. I ordered the "Three Selection" under the seafood selections and my food comes out in like 2 mins. Ok, maybe they can make fresh good food that fast, doubt it though. I start by eating the tiny scallops that come with, and they don't taste fresh at all. They have an odd taste to them, very fishy and odd. The shrimp are good, and the veggies are hard! The steamed rice that they charge an extra $2 for is nothing special, I can make better at home. The sauce that it is sautéed in is very bland and odd. I told the waitress that I didn't want a box for all of the leftovers because the scallops don't taste right and she's just like oh I'm sorry. I would offer to send the manager or cook over, at least that's what better restaurants do. All in all, I hope I don't end up puking tonight from the couple of scallops I did eat and I won't be coming back. I will just make the drive down to PG where I always get good fresh food. I can't understand why this place is busy, not for the life of me..if you are new to the area, may I suggest Full Moon, Dynasty or even China Garden over this place! read more

Love this place! The food is delicious! George is a great server very attentive! The dishes are very reasonably priced for the amour you get! The place is very clean and beautiful! Complimentary tea as well' I will definitely be coming back! read more

Food was good, but the cocktails, not so much... We had schezwan beef, sesame chicken, chicken chow mein, and pork fried rice. Best sesame chicken we've ever had! Beef was delicious too. Fried rice had a great flavor, like maybe they use jasmine rice, and the chow mein was very tasty. The service was good. Three different people checked up on us throughout our visit. The reason for only 3 stars is the difficulty of communication and the cocktails. The bartender wasn't there when we arrived, but came in about 30 minutes later. That was ok, but we came in during the cocktail hour for a reason. My wife ordered a Jack and soda with lime, but they didn't have lime, so lemon was subbed. I had a dirty martini, but had to send it back because it was green from too much olive juice. Actually, I had to take it to the bar because our waitress was nowhere to be found. The second attempt at a dirty martini wasn't much better (see pic), plus they only have very cheap vodka, no choices here. Also, their cocktails are very small. My martini came in a 2 ounce glass and had 1 shot of vodka, olive juice, and an olive...no vermouth, and my wife's had 1 shot of Jack and the rest was soda. They were $7 each. We would go back for the food, but not the cocktails. read more

Chef Lee's Mandarin House - The very tiny overly olive juicy cheap vodka dirty martini - Chinese Near Me - Monterey, California

The food was good BUT my credit card was charged twice... once with the tip, the second time without the tip. It took several days but they did credit me the double charge. A thank you to Nicole who collected my info and gave it to management for review. I never spoke with Management but I did receive a credit. read more

Really enjoyed the food and variety of the menu, everything we ordered was tasty! We got wonton soup, veggie tofu soup, Mongolian beef, orange chicken and chefs chow mein. My kids made a huge mess but the bus boys was really nice about it. The decor reminds me of an old school Chinese restaurant. read more

I second Dana H's review. I should have just believed it. We ordered won ton soup (fairly tasteless broth with black pepper; decent won tons), pork pot stickers (ok), broccoli shrimp and Hong Kong style crispy noodles with shrimp. The taste of the two entrees was indistinguishable and not very good. Even at half the price, I couldn't recommend this place. read more

Had the sweet & sour chicken portion wasn't anything special had a piece of watermelon and raisins in it. Got a medium wonton also which was just sucked very watery overall I was completely dissatisfied with my meal and the 22 bucks I spent on it..never again read more