This place is by no means a 5 star restaurant. I'm rating it five stars bc it is what it should be and as a local I'm often let down by a lot of the restaurants in banner elk (china house not being one of them). They are your average take out Chinese place but the food is good and the staff have great customer service! Highly recommend the sesame chicken and fried dumplings get it every time! read more

Was looking for some takeout for the night with my boyfriend and decided this looked promising from the photos and other reviews. I am sooo glad we went! The staff was super friendly and thankful, the man at the register even gave me extra fortune cookies for free! Beware, the prices have changed from the past menu photos, however, I've included up to date pics of the menu. I got a small chicken lo mein and a krab ton wonton appetizer. For $5.50, I got 8 of the krab wontons and the $5.95 chicken lo mein filled my entire bowl (and stomach). Everything was delicious, I loved the lo mein and so did my boyfriend, he also loved his large chicken curry. The chicken curry came with a ton of chicken and my boyfriend, who is into weightlifting and on a bulk, couldn't finish the meal and now has a great protein rich meal for tomorrow! The krab wontons we're not the best I've ever had but they were still very very tasty and I would still recommend them. Overall, great establishment and I'm looking forward to trying their other meals! read more

See all

Truest fortune I had ever received. After a long weekend spent on the slopes skiing at Sugar Mountain, we wanted something cheap and fast for dinner. We originally planned on Subway but right next door was China House so we last minute changed our minds. It is in a complex with Subway, a popular pizza place, a coffee place and a Food Lion so there was plenty of parking. We walked in and ordered right away. I tried the general Tso's tofu. It took a lot longer than expected to get out food. We waited 30+ minutes for our two meals. If we had know how long the wait would be we would have just gotten Subway next door. I wish there was better communication about how long the wait would be. The tables inside were filthy. They were covered in sauce and rice and they did not have any napkins to clean up the mess. The food was alright - very large portions at a reasonable price. My tofu was so hard though that my plastic fork couldn't pierce the tofu squares so I had to eat it like a spoon. I also wish there were more veggies because the entire container only had two sad little pieces of broccoli. read more

China House - General Tso's Tofu - Chinese Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

So here's the deal, China House has really good Chinese food for Banner Elk, NC. For suburban Chicago, it's okay and for Chinatown in that city this place wouldn't stay in business. The menu is somewhat limited for a Chinese restaurant, but I imagine that the absence of bok choy, Szechuan dishes, and even string beans is due to lack of demand by the rural clientele. We had egg drop soup, house special wonton soup, fried rice, orange chicken, mongolian beef and mu shu pork. I was amazed that nothing was greasy, overcooked, or tasted like chemicals. Dare I say it, but this place could compete with Panda Express and edge out a win in flavor and freshness. They'd tie in terms of lack of authenticity and unhealthiness but that's not what we ordered. We just wanted tasty food that we didn't have to cook. I must admit that I got a headache after dinner suggesting that they may use MSG in their food. Portions were reasonable and prices are competitive. All in all this is a pretty safe bet for "stick to the ribs" Americanized Chinese Food. Watch "In Search of General Tso" on Amazon Prime while you have this carryout in your home and you'll be at peace doing a good deed for all mankind. If you skip the movie, you'll still be full and satisfied. read more

Idk if I'm just about to fall out from the slopes or if this place just slaps, food was typical nothing fancy just good edible Chinese cuisine. Wouldn't recommend sitting down here, definitely not the cleanest. Also fairly quick prep time on the food. read more

Wheres the beef Ordered beef chop suey hardly any beef mostly vegetables Beef fried rice- yellow rice not fried. Place filthy wearing masks- well kind of under their chins not sure the point of the masks were employees eating right at front counter disgusting. Should be shut down. Terrible read more

When the hunger pains are in full swing, sometimes it's difficult to acknowledge if the food is simply THAT good or if you are simply THAT hungry. Ya feel me? After driving through rain, Atlanta traffic and up a few mountains, we made it to China House. I had some chicken curry (creature of habit), which came with choice of either rice or noodle, and a family-feeding-sized egg roll. I'm going to give China House the benefit of the doubt and say the spread was pretty good. Hell, they had to put up with seven of us paying separately. They should receive a medal for that alone. All in all, I distinctly recall great flavors. The veggies were fairly firm. A bit under cooked for my liking. Regardless, this is your quintessential neighborhood Chinese strip mall joint. I'd say it's worth checking out. read more

See all

All the bad reviews are from stupid tourists that, if you click on their profile, are only on Yelp with their negativity. I have lived in Banner Elk for 4 years, as well as quite a few large cities (will never go back!) and China House deserves more stars than they currently have on here. They are not any better than your run of the mill Chinese Take out, but they also aren't worse. If you're craving Chinese don't be deterred by these Yelp Trolls! read more

The only reason I'm rating 1 star is because there isn't another option for zero stars. My wife gagged walking out of the place due to the smell. The sanitation score is an 86 which is surprisingly high for what we saw. The egg drop soup had the same consistency as jello. The general tso chicken could have been a cat, rat, or another 4 legged creature. The food is honestly disgusting here. The floors had enough food on them to make another meal. The tables were all sticky. I'm honestly shocked that this place is still open read more

The food portions were huge, and the food was nice and hot. My family and I ordered in. The fried rice was fresh, and so were the dumplings! The rice was yellow with bits of veggies. It seemed as if the order of rice kept multiplying even though I kept eating it. The dumplings were soft and chewy - and a little sweet. I put some soy sauce on the rice, but it could've done without it - it was flavorful enough by itself! Every other restaurant in town had a wait, so we ordered takeout from here - the service was very fast. I'm glad we chose China House! read more

For a takeout Chinese restaurant, the food is quite good and very reasonable. I had Chicken Curry and it was delicious and a very large portion. My wife enjoyed her dinner as well read more

This is what take out Chinese food should be. Portions are big and food is good especially the sauce

I've been to this place a few times and have had fantastic and horrible experiences. It's a standard hole in the wall Chinese's restaurant in a mountain town so I review it as such and not against top notch Chinese restaurants in a big city. That being said, I still give it three stars and am not sure if I'll go back again even though so many friends just adore this place! My biggest issue is that the front of house is just so dirty!!! The kitchen area looks fairly clean. Since Covid they have erected a plastic wall separating the kitchen from the small dining area complete with a microphone to order and a small door to push the food through. But it seems that since the wall was built no one from the kitchen has stepped foot into the dining area. Greasy dust covers the unused buffet equipment and the signs are curling if against yellowing scotch tape. The linoleum floor is caked with dirt in corners and foot traffic keeps the dirt at bay in high traffic areas. I know it's been a busy couple of years in the high country with way more people working from their second homes up here but there have still been plenty of down times to do some deep cleaning. It's not like it hasn't been cleaned in a few weeks it's more like months! I just can't get over it. The first time I went was on Christmas Day 2019 and this place is crazy busy on Christmas Day as it is the only place open but the food was great and came out pretty quickly. I came another time and got the same dish I got on Christmas Day (Singapore Chow Mei Fun), I was starving and hadn't eaten all day. That night and into the next day I was so sick. It put me off from eating there for a while but I tried it again last week after some friends were raving about it and we got a hankering for Chinese food. It was like a time warp when I walked in, everything was in the exact same place as it was in 2019, just covered with more greasy dust and yellowing with age. We got a bunch of appetizers, wings (not great), steamed dumplings (good), crab Rangoon (always good everywhere) and hot and sour soup (good). If I really get a craving for crab Rangoon I might just brave the grease dust and come here again but would probably just go to the awesome Cam Rang Bay down the street which is not Chinese I know but is delicious and relatively clean. read more

Somehow it cost 44 something dollars for 2 large sweet and sour chickens, a broccoli, and 2 egg rolls. So mediocre and not worth that at all. The prices on the menu should not have added up to that so beware. I didn't even finish mine and I was still hungry I'd never come back and I'd recommend others steer clear. read more

This place was a bit of a disappointment. We ordered some basic combo items, Sweet and sour chicken, chicken and black bean, and chicken fried rice. The sweet and sour chicken was not bad but everything else went into the trash. The fried rice was more like regular rice mixed with chicken pieces. I've never seen yellow fried rice. The service was fast for takeout though. read more

I will start this review with the "I am from New York" and therefore I am credible. :) I will also add that restaurants are struggling enough without people giving unfair reviews. Now that I got that out of the way... I ordered some lunch from China House. They have lots of lunch specials for $6.10 each, $7.10 if you substitute Lo Mein for Rice. They used to be set up for a buffet, but Covid has changed that. I ordered a Hunan Chicken w/ Lo Mein, and got some Wonton and Hot and Sour soup. I have to say, without reservation, it was excellent. The soups were served hot, and could have come from any NYC or Long Island Chinese take out restaurant. The Hunan Chicken was served very hot (temperature,) had appropriate level of spice, and a nice sampling of vegetables. The LoMein was well seasoned, but not greasy. Between this and Cam Ran Bay (serving Vietnamese and Sushi,) Banner Elk has Asian food well covered. We just need a good Greek/Mediterranean spot.... :) read more

We stopped by after a long day of skating-sliding and laughter. I've personally picked up hot and sour soup, some dumplings and chicken lo-mein. Super quick process, food was on point. Prices are well as expected Chinese fast food like. The issue I've had with was the seating. It would compete with Brooklyn's worts. Or something I've seen in New Delhi but I've erased out of my memory. Tables seems to be a health hazard. There is absolutely no utensils, napkins or anything other than tables and chairs. In general it is not very welcoming of an environment. We ended up eating outside. As I mentioned food was great. read more

This place is a huge hole in the wall in a strip of shops and definitely isn't anything aesthetically pleasing. Even on the inside its pretty grungy and they don't really turn the heat on the way they should in the winter. That being said, their food is great! We pick up a lot of takeout from here, and its pretty typical chinese food, nothing overly exciting. But what really sells this place--I LOVE coming in for the lunch buffet. There are lots of locals and workers in and out, so the food stays piping hot. Pro Tip: They will put crab rangoon on the lunch buffet, you just have to ask! read more

Lo mein was okay. Not much flavor, but okay. read more

China House - Chinese Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

We eat here every time we visit - which is once a year. It's not the best Chinese food but for the area, I guess it's okay. They are super fast , courteous and the food is bland but good. Their hot and sour soup missed the mark on the hot and kind of hit it on the sour. The beef fried rice was good . They deserve 5 stars for their pork dumplings - omg. I gave them a whole star for that alone . The rest of the food was ok... just bland . I try not to take too many points off because I like robust flavors. We will keep coming back read more

This place was disgusting, it was unclean and dirty. The food was absolutely disgusting, it looked like a cross between snot and vomit. I'm attaching a photo and you can judge for yourself. It was inedible, really nasty. The staff was rude and no manners, apparently there are new owners. I have eaten there a while ago and it was fairly good, but it's night and day difference now. Some of the previous reviews that are defending this place, haven't been since the change of ownership. read more

China House - Totally gross - Chinese Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

See all

We ordered a small portion of sweet and sour chicken, a regular portion of cashew chicken and vegetable spring roles. Everything was ready in less than 20min, neatly packed and tasted delicious! I loved the size of the portions, tge flavors, they provide lots of extra sauces and fortune cookies. We will come back soon for more! read more

Nice, clean, affordable place for a quickie...nothing fancy but good... Very very fresh read more

China House - Chinese Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

#46 Chow Mei Fun is fabulous! Eat every week and mix it up by changing the meat. The noodles are plentiful and there are vegetables and flavorful but not oily or saucy. Favorite Dish! read more

They are probably the most unfriendly owners/operators I've ever met in the restaurant industry. When placing orders over the phone you will be extremely lucky if they feel like they have the time to fool with you long enough to tell you how long it will take to get your food ready. No thank you or anything. Last time I check I just paid them 20+$ for my family to eat at their restaurant but I guess a thank you is too much too ask. Also they have yet to return to any sense of normal since the Pandemic in March of '20. Their buffet was the main reason this place was so hugely popular with locals and regulars. I haven't ate at their buffet since December of 2019... Shame read more

Used to love this place but this meal was awful! Take out did not take long but I when I got home sad to find that Mongolian Beef entrée was a ton of rice, huge pieces of white onion just laying on top and a few pieces of meat. Where's the beef? for a price tag of $10.00, I expected more. The other entrée was served hot off the wok into a Styrofoam container, you probably already know what happen there, I could smell burnt plastic coming out of the bag, the container had a huge hole on the side & the food was glued to all sides! It went into the garbage long with the eggrolls which were too greasy to eat! read more

Lunch menu is awesome! They give you lots of food and everything is super fresh. The staff is super friendly and the environment is super clean. Can't beat the price and the quality of the food. read more

Ordered Kung Po chicken combo. Veggies were fresh and NOT over cooked. Same for the chicken. Lots of places the chicken is over cooked and tendon tough. Portion was large enough for 2 meals. LOVE it. I will be back. read more

If I could give 0 stars I would, we were waiting to go into Bella's and were starving so we came here thinking we would be ok to get some spring rolls to satisfy our hunger for the time being. We were met by a crabby lady at the front and then waited 20 minutes on fried spring rolls that we saw a giant bucket of already made spring rolls right next to the chef. We ordered one order of shrimp and vegetable spring rolls, and we tried to wipe off the oil with the paper thin napkins they gave us and it soaked them in oil. Later last night my stomach was killing me so bad that the only way I could feel better is if I didn't move. This morning my girlfriends stomach was hurting so bad it was making her cry. And before anyone says it was Bella's, my mom dad brother and his friend all ate with us at Bella's and they had no issues. Do not eat here even if you're starving you will get sick. read more

This is an excellent Chinese restaurant owned by family that knows what they are doing. I agree with the review that says any negative review is coming from snooty and nasty tourists. I live here now but have lived in large cities and traveled as well- the food is always fresh, there is plenty of it and they do NOT use MSG- i am very sensitive to MSG and have never had any reaction to anything i have ordered. My son is a "foodie" and the GM of a high end restaurant in south Florida and he liked it very much. There are some dishes you may see on more urban menus but its because some items are hard to find up here in the mountains. read more

The worst food ever. Chicken was raw in the chicken chow mien and the pork lo mien tasted off. We were the only clients of the night and were worried about the food, needless to say it has gone in the bin and a pizza has been ordered. read more

The food was ok but the buffet had no meat most of the time. There would be more put out, but only a few pieces at a time and everyone was waiting for for it that it was gone in a matter of seconds. The food gave me, my dad and my brother an upset stomach that night so I suggest staying near a bathroom after your meal here. Also, I found it funny the employees had drunk half of some of their sodas from the display and put them back up there. I'll attach a picture of it. read more

China House - 1/2 drunk sodas on display (Not sure how they managed to get a 95% sanitation rating) - Chinese Near Me - Banner Elk, North Carolina

I forgot how good this place is.... I grew up in banner elk but moved to San Francisco nearly 10 years ago. This is place is every bit as good as the restaurants in the Bay Area. The sesame chicken was crispy but sweet.... the pork lo mein was savory and delicious... and the fried rice is just darn good. Potions are large and prices are extremely fair. Great for rainy day takeout. read more

This place is amazing ever since I moved to roan mountain I've been coming here. Portions are big for the price. I love it! Orange chicken and general tso so good with lo mein noodles!?! Well always go back read more

Best Chinese in NC. Forget Panda Express, forget China, forget any restaurant. Come here

They must have new owners/workers. Went here last night and the lady behind the counter was rude to me and to another customer. She was rolling her eyes and seemed to be annoyed. We all have bad days but since this was a third time I am done with this place. I gave them my business for 7 years. Not anymore. I will be letting the locals know of this experience. read more

Small Chinese place with big flavor. I got the curry chicken the first time and while good wasn't my cup of tea. The second time my wife and I got their general tao's and orange chicken with lo mien. Absolutely amazing. Chicken is tender and delicious the lo mien was perfect and the egg roll was amazing. My wife normally writes egg rolls off as being bland and unappealing but inhaled the one she got with her meal. All and all best American Chinese food this side of the Appalachians. read more

Average. It was close to the ski resort so grabbed food with friends. Besides the part where the staff were kind of looking like they were laughing at us and made us feel some kind of way, the service was average. Food was meh. Egg drop soup needed more salt and pepper and the mapu tofu was tolerable. read more

We got the chicken lo mein and beef and broccoli. Both the beef and chicken tasted like imitation meat. The "fried" rice was just yellow rice and not fried at all. Overall the food was terrible but the price wasn't bad. So if you are looking for cheap Chinese, then this is the place. Next time we will just wait for a table at Bella's next door. read more

I looked at earlier reviews and almost passed on this place but after a morning on the slopes I was in the mood for a hot meal and didn't want Subway from next door. It was decent. The chicken and broccoli and the fried slices potatoes on the lunch buffet were my favorite. And 5.59 for all you can eat isn't a bad deal. I was pleased the meal when comparing it to what was on offer at the ski resort for three times the price. read more