Went here for the first time for Thanksgiving dinner. Usually, the holes in the wall places are great, and this place did not disappoint. We ordered the Peking Family Dinner for three with the addition of pork pot stickers...OMG these were probably the best pot stickers I've ever had!! The Peking included won-ton soup, fried rice, Mongolian beef, cashew chicken and chow mein. All delicious and plenty for our group. We even had some leftovers. Honestly, I think based on reviews, this place either a hit or miss. I had no complaints regarding the food. It was all fresh and tasty. As for the decor, it was fine, but they can definitely stand to get a damn new carpet. It looks like it hasn't been replaced since 1970. The service could have been better, but that's not the main attraction for me if I know I'm going there for the food and not all the frills. So beware. If you want upscale Chinese cuisine, go elsewhere. But for good food, give it a shot. But again, it could be hit or miss based on other's reviews. read more

Been eating here since they opened around 1985. Its been a long time favorite restaurant for my family ever since....until the change in ownership that is. I had a lunch there a few weeks ago and was disappointed in the food, it wasn't horrible, just not very good and no where near the flavor I've been used to for so long We love Chinese food and miss our near weekly Chinatown fix a lot, so last night my wife insisted that we give it another try. The rice was fine (hard to screw that up) and the Pot Stickers were pretty good. The wonton soup, the tofu and spinach and the long beloved by us sesame chicken were all just plain horrible....yeecch, we had a few tastes and most of it got fed to the pigs today. Big bummer, farewell Chinatown. read more

Here's the deal with my rating: So you know how even though your grandma's cooking isn't going to make her an Iron Chef but it's still the best you've had just cause its your grandma's home cooking? That's how I feel about Chinatown. I've been going here for 20+ years since I was a youngin' and they have treated us like family since the very first visit. The Mu Shu pork is the best I've ever had, especially the family patriarch is cooking! The food may not always be award winning or mind blowing amazing, but a visit to Chinatown is like visiting family and you just can't put that on any menu. read more

I, like a surprising number of other reviewers here, have been eating at Chinatown since before I was born. Weird as THAT sounds. My parents constantly talk about all of the dates they had at this place before we kids fucked up their social life. ANYWAY. The family that owns this business has known me since I was a babeh and have truly watched me grow up, so my whole review is a bit biased because I fucking love Lee and her fambam. Even if I wasn't, though, I have never had Chinese food as good as Chinatown. Despite the fact that I live in San Francisco now and have eaten in several restaurants down here. I am a vegetarian, but the menu is so expansive that I have never had one of those ugh, nothing to eat here! moments. In addition, while becoming a vegetarian the ONLY thing that knocked me off the wagon was Chinatown's sausage with garlic and onion. Oh my goodness. Their hot and sour soup is in my favorite soup top three, because it is hot, it's spicy, and it's delicious. You really can't go wrong with anything on the menu, from rice to Mongolian Beef to Mushu anything. On top of all that, it's perfectly priced and the portions are family sized, so we never leave hungry and we all get to eat what we want. Most nights they deliver, and while there have been hungry nights where we're all staring at the clock wondering, WTF are they? usually the timing is decent, and rarely is the food cold. That being said, it's not like I can say I've never had cold soup from here, but if you've been eating somewhere for 18+years and you haven't eaten something that wasn't as good as the last time you had it, you don't eat there enough. Love this place, cannot find anything else that even compares. Now if only I can convince Lee to have them deliver to me in SF... read more

We've tried every chinese restaurant in Petaluma, and this is the best one. The food is consistently delicious, the service is friendly & efficient and the atmosphere could accomodate a casual lunch or a romantic dinner. read more

I went to this restaurant on 11/5/11. The food was definitely not the best Chinese food I had, but the primary reason I'm writing this review is to warn people that this restaurant charged my credit card more than I authorized. I gave a standard tip amount (15%) but I guess they didn't feel that was sufficient and charged their own amount. I will be calling my credit card company shortly... read more

Anything and everything! Can't beat the quality of their Chinese food. It's really delicious and everything comes out hot and fresh! I highly recommend trying their food. Sit down or take out it's amazing! They are open during then pandemic for take out orders. read more

- Nice decor, ambience - Decent service, friendly waitstaff - Terrible food - my dish had roasted red peppers that were black from being overcooked in oil. Most other dishes tasted like crap - Terrible hygiene - Chow mein that we ordered had a long strand of hair - Run from this place - don't go here - Go to Hunan Village in E.Petaluma for healthy, tasty Chinese food in the area - I've been eating Chinese food for ~15 years in the US - this is probably the worst - I now know why my Chinese friends avoid this place - they usually steer me towards other choices... read more

My wife and I stumbled in here on a Sunday afternoon. We'd walked by many times before, but on this day just happened to be hungry for some Chinese, so we decided to give it a try. The meal was unexpectedly wonderful. We've been in Petaluma for a little over a year, and had tried 3 or 4 Chinese places, all of which were very average. Chinatown was better. My wife got the green beans, and I got the mu shu vegetable. Really good! We also had the green onion pancake for an appetizer. Also super yummy. There's a 'secret sauce' they serve with the green onion pancake that is amazing. We got to talking with the waitress, and came to find out that Chinatown has been in Petaluma for 28 years. They use old traditional family recipes and they make everything fresh to order. After the meal we both felt good - not greasy or heavy - which is common for us with Chinese food. Two thumbs up from the wife and I. The service was great - friendly and engaging - and the food was really good. This will be our new go-to Chinese place here in Petaluma. Looking forward to trying some of their other dishes (someone told us the homemade potstickers are worth a try - we are getting those next time). read more

This is a great place for American-Chinese food in Sonoma county. The ingredients are fresh and all the dishes we've tried so far are extremely tasty. The must-tries are their hot and sour soup and mu-Shu pork. A good hot and sour soup requires a careful balance between the heat and sourness, finished with light egg flowers. Not many places can get this right, but Chinatown has it spot on. The man who serves us is always with a kind smile. Thank you for a great meal always!! read more

This is by far the best Chinese Restaurant in Petaluma. Not only is the food out of this world but the service is spectacular. The owners are the nicest. We love going to eat here! read more

I order the free delivery from this restaurant around once a week. Having lived in San Francisco most of my life, I really appreciate good Chinese food and it took a while to find a great place with free delivery. Love the beef and broccoli. And the nice man I see every time. It usually comes in around twenty minutes. read more

Gotta tell ya someone skeptical at 1st but went in on a Saturday night 6:30ish I'm putting this on the top of my list. Food super fresh might have come out in the wrong order but everything else was amazing. Going to head back soon and try the hot pot dinner!!!1 read more

Found Chinatown randomly last night after arriving at the Petaluma airporter. They were happy to receive us at 9:15 and were very friendly and accommodating, even at the late hour. We ordered the Cashew Chicken and a bowl of chicken soup. Both dishes were good, and the quantity was large. For the price and the nice service, this is a great spot to drop into. Simple, fast, and friendly. I would go again! read more

The best Chinese food we've had in a long time, Mom and I. Really delicious. The owners (Tony and Taylor, have owned here 2 years now) are so kind. Truly satisfied with the food, service and the dining experience. read more

Came here last weekend while we were in Petaluma, and the food was... Ok, to kind of Good.. We ordered a Large War Won Ton Soup, for three people, and my toddler had his own little bowl :) the soup looked a little plain, had small 'ear'-shapped won tons (that's what my mom said anyway.. lol). when I first tasted them, to me they were a little salty, though the broth was good, and had chunks of I think baby mushroom in it? egg, spinach, water chesnuts.. and I think that was all it had, some other thing but I don't know the name of it... the soup, I give a 3 out of 5. (When you haven't eatened all day you'll eat almost anything!!!!).. then after soup, we had steamed rice, beef brocoli, and chicken chow mein.. the weitress told me it was One Size Only, I thought. Oh boy. these are going to be some big plates!! and when they came they looked like they were fit for 2 people, or one person who's used to eating a small plate on their own!! some how we made it fit for the three of us including my toddler.. Chowmein was Ok, not too greassy.. again, a little salty.. the beef brocoli, I kept tasting something like Garlic in it, or Ginger, idk something that had a little spice to it, maybe it was just me.. ah well,.. I loved the brocoli though, it was nice and crunchy, not too soft.. and had all the flavor.. the beef like almost any beef, took some time to chew it.. but still Ok.. that garlicky or.. something taste it had on it.. along with its beef sauce.. the chow mein, the same thing, a small plate, wasn't much.. but it was OK... everything was OK, to Good.. I'm sure we'd stop by again since we go to Petaluma few times a year.. we'd rather eat in at a Chinese place, than stop by a Drive-Thru!! read more

I went to Chinatown before a show I was performing at in Petaluma. It was late, but we were treated like royalty. The food is authentic Chineese food. I loved it! So yummy! I highly recommend this place if your hungry in Petaluma! Everything was perfect!! Thank you Chinatown! read more

Save yourself money and time by not coming here. Food was not great. And the service was HORRIBLE. The man with the big glasses was the rudest server I've ever met. The only 2 or 3 words that came out of his mouth were disrespectful, never checked up on us, didn't ask for drinks, and rolled his eyes multiple times. We ended up packing up our food and left, making sure to not tip the asshole. read more

I went to Chinatown Restaurant in downtown Petaluma for the very first time yesterday with a friend, arriving about mid-afternoon. The host found us a seat and some menus very quickly, and the waitress was soon at our table once it became apparent we were ready to make our order. I ordered the Curry Chicken with steamed rice; my friend ordered the Hunan Beef with fried rice. And we decided to split one order of the day's special - some green onion pancakes. Once the orders were taken, the waittress left, quickly returning with our house salad and our bowls of vegetarian hot-and-sour soup. The house salad was simple - iceberg and red leaf lettuce and cherry tomatoes, tossed in a soy sauce-based dressing that was simple but tasty. The hot-and-sour soup was delicious, with a slightly smoky flavor that told me they had used Chinese black vinegar, a nice touch that made the dish taste more authentic and traditional. After we had dispatched our salad and soup, the green onion pancakes came out. Their version of this dish was crunchy on the outside, and almost custard-like on the inside from the green onion filling. They were simple, traditional, and (most importantly) tasty! They came with a dipping sauce made from green onion and soy sauce, which served to heighten the pancakes' flavors. We wolfed them down in no time at all! Finally, the main dishes came out. In both cases, they veered away from the cliches that one often sees in Chinese restaurants, taking a different approach that we found refreshing. Their version of Curry Chicken consisted of chicked diced small, then stir fried with mushrooms and onions in a Chinese curry sauce that was altered somewhat by a small amount of soy sauce. Their version of Hunan Beef dispensed with vegetables altogether, preferring instead to focus on stir-frying the thinly sliced beef to perfection in a hot, Hunan-style sauce. Both dishes were simply yummy! My only (minor) criticism of the food is its heavy reliance on soy sauce as a flavoring for its food. It would be nice to see what the kitchen staff here can do with some of the other traditional flavors of Chinese cooking. Even so, this is a good place to go in the Petaluma area if you have a hankering for Chinese food with excellent service and reasonable prices. I give Chinatown Restaurant 4/5 stars, and will swing by for another sampling of their menu the next time I am in Petaluma. read more

I enjoyed lunch Chinatown Restaurant in Petaluma yesterday. Service is very good, price is good and the food is very flavorful. A lot of the Chinese restaurants in the area seem to be on the bland side (versus the full taste of Chinese in SF.) Chinatown Restaurant meets that high flavor standard. I had the Kung Pao Chicken and it was great. Sweet and Sour soup was very good. read more

I love Chinese food, even mediocre Chinese food. But this place wasn't even close to mediocre. We got five dishes to feed 3 people take out, no beverages. $49.38!!!! for crappy food. None of the dishes were even close to good. Even the fried rice. Never again read more

Nice little place. Food is good. Service is outstanding! Friendly, helpful.

Chinatwon Restaurant is now under new ownership and it just isn't the same any longer. Service has been good but the food is not of the same quality. They have changed some of the recipes and while nothing I've had has been particularly bad it hasn't been great either. The hot and sour soup in particular is most definitely NOT the same as it once was - it is now too vinegary and lacks the deep savory/umami flavor that the old owners prepared for so many years. read more

Horrid. Absolutely Horrid. Came in for the lunch special. I was seated promptly and given a few minutes to familiarize myself with their menu. I found the lunch specials and saw they had my favorite Kung Pow Prawns and chowmein. Perfect. Placed the order and it came out shortly. I had the Hot N Sour soup, it was very good. Said no on the wilted lettuce salad that they brought out. Eww. Then I hear her walking towards me and instantly I can smell this horrid fishy I have been frozen for 5 years and smacked on your plate smell. I almost had to cover my nose; it was that bad. The server dropped it off and walked away. I have never ever seen or smelled anything this bad before in a very long time. She came back and asked if I needed a box I said no and she just walked over to the trash and dumped my meal in it. I think she knew that it was horrible. I even noticed her moving the trashcan away from here because of the smell too!!! She never asked why I didn't eat anything, nothing. She knew I was served old fish and she didn't care. I would never recommend this place to anyone to visit. I had been coming here for many years. The old owners would NEVER have done this. So disappointing. Goodbye Chinatown, your food is absolutely disgusting. read more

So sad that this placed changed ownership! This used to be the best Chinese food in Petaluma. I grew up in SF with excellent Chinese food and this used to be right up there with some of my favorite restaurants but not anymore. I miss the old Chinatown. The food was terrible the last time we ordered delivery from here and now we go to city chopsticks. read more

This place is the cleaniest restaurant I believe I have ever been in!!! The food was very fresh, great veggies. FABULOUS!!! Hands down the best chinese I ever ate!! YUM YI+UM YUM!!! Very nice service. Wish I lived here so I could be a repeat customer. read more

Great unusual seasoning on the dry sauteed green beans, hot and sour soup packed a punch. All around great food. Nice owner, attentive friendly staff. Very clean and cute decor. read more

Less then impressed. I picked up a shrimp with veggies, a beef with veggies, a chicken with cashews, one pork fried rice and one chicken chow mein for dinner with friends. The shrimps looked tired and the beef was very heavily floured. I did not like it. Unfortunately, while I was fine, I have found out that my friends did not fare as well. They are much older. One was indisposed with a migraine but the other one had food poisoning. Obviously I wont be back. read more

I love Chinatown, however, they have a very odd take on hot and sour soup. It makes me want to punch sweet baby Jesus in his head. I am not a fan of shrimp in my hot and sour, nor am I a fan of Chinese food that uses peas. Also, way to much pepper. Overall, I would totally order this soup again. read more

Went for lunch. Had the special, curry veggies. Nothing special. American veggies. No bok choy, no napa cabbage. No curry taste. Just salty. Hot and sour soup was very good. Salad dressing was pure soy sauce. I will try again another time. read more

Do not count on the prices on the menu as real. They charge much more than what is listed. They say they have anew menu and owner but they never changed the menu and prices. Plan on spending 20% more than what is listed. read more

Scrum-diddly-umptious! Although this restaurant has been here for years, we just stumbled upon it (with help from yelp actually). This is how our visit went: we walked in with eyes much larger than our tummies. Both waitresses were incredibly kind and attentive. We were seated and handed our menus. Anxiously searching through the array of dishes at our fingertips we decided to order more than we could handle...... or was it? We started off with two bowls of hot and sour soup. Can't go wrong there. And to go along with our soups, a side of hot won tons. Now, in my prior experience at many other Chinese establishments, I have heard "15 minutes for won tons", farrrr too often. With no response, our waitress wizzed back to the kitchen returning with our fresh, hot, flakey air pocketed crispers within 3 minutes with a side of sweet & sour sauce drizzled with a lil spicey mustard. Let me emphasize, WITHOUT ASKING. I can't tell you how many times after waiting 15 minutes, they return with the won tons, WITHOUT the sauce. What are won tons without the sauce? Exactly. By the time we were licking our fingers, our main dishes were already waiting in front of us. A steaming plate of chicken chow mien and another of szechuan chicken, that we shared. Now, don't be mistaken, these plates are served family style, like many other restaurants. We. Finished. Everything. It was the Perfect amount. By perfect I mean, you can still leave your pants buttoned but you are so content and satisfied you won't even think of food for at least 3 hours. read more

I grew up eating here, and technically started eating here in utero. I compare every Chinese restaurant I try to Chinatown, and am continuously let down by anything else. Is it 100% authentic Chinese food? No. Is it consistently delicious? Every time. The owners are salt of the earth, friendly, helpful and considerate people, and since the remodel, the atmosphere was improved. I order the cashew chicken on a near-weekly basis! Appetizers are excellent, with pot stickers, spring rolls, and won tons my personal favorites. Chef friends of mine have been trying to recreate the ginger salad dressing for years, and have yet to come close to anything as good as theirs. The hot and sour soup is my cure-all for the flu, a cold, or a crummy day, and is a great deal. Anything off the menu will not disappoint. I've had friends from England and across the USA declare Chinatown their new favorite Chinese. The lunch specials are unbeatable. I've never had even an inkling of a cleanliness issue in 24 years. read more

In all I would say this place was pretty good. I'm not sure what the hygiene issue complaint was all about in one of the previous reviews, I'm guessing it was a competitor since I found everything ( including the restroom) to be extraordinarily clean. Both the hot and sour and the egg flower soups were tasty, my sweet and sour pork was scrumptious, the Mongolian beef was done to perfection and not drowning in sauce, and the broccoli in the chicken and broccoli was tender crisp. 3 lunch specials with tea came to $28, very reasonable considering there were 4 of us and we had enough left over to take home. I would recommend a visit here as well as the totally cute historic part of Petaluma. read more

Good service, friendly people, nice interior. Orange chicken was excellent, some of the best I have had. But the fried rice didn't really seem like fried rice, it was flavorless. read more

i like the food at this local eatery. a consistent menu and i've never had a dish that wasn't cooked to my satisfaction. when i lived on the west side of town i ate here regularly. i especially like their Peking Chicken, walnut prawns, hot and sour soup, mongolian beef and black mushroom and bean curd. the egg rolls are pretty good, but i generally have them deliver, which they do on time, and with egg rolls sometimes the oil can sink in too much over the time it takes to deliver. the service is always friendly. read more

By far the best chinese restaurant in Petaluma! The owners are so sweet every time I go in. My boyfriend and I even come here almost every weekend. Defiantly recommend this place! read more

This was a delightful stop on our drive through Petaluma. The dumplings were extra fresh out of the kitchen, the mu shu and the chow mein were excellent, if maybe a little salty, and to top it all off, it was dirt cheap. I would have forgiven a lot because of the price, but I didn't have to because it was so good already!!! read more

This is such a good restaurant. Went their for lunch, for $7.99 you get quite a bit of food. Salad, soup, the entree with rice and a ragoon. All done so well by the kitchen staff. Very beautifully decorated, the wait staff is just on top of it. Very nice experience! read more

I recently moved to Petaluma and was recommended here by a neighbor. Service was great and the prices were excellent. Nothing fancy, but the food was great. My only complaint is that the standard boxes for take out or leftovers is styrofoam, but I asked for an alternative and they did give me a paperbox. I will return again. read more