So, according to the denizens of the "r/chattanooga," Ernest Chinese was pretty good. Like the Flying Squirrel before it, it's okay at best. A previous reviewer said it was a 5.0 for ambiance, but it's a 3.5 for food. That was being charitable. Our tattoo-laden server was responsive and friendly, but she seemed a little cloudy or hazy. For a Friday evening, the place was fairly empty, which should have given me my first clue. The empty bar was large, and the bartender was lively with one customer. I kept wondering how they cleaned the fake cherry blossom branches that were suspended above the bar. The music seemed to have been picked by one of the dishwashers. It didn't match the darker PF Chang's vibe. I ordered a draft beer and my wife asked for one of the drinks that came from a drinks section that took up one side of the menu. Her drink was strong, and my beer slightly cool. We ordered the pork dumplings, and they arrived at room temperature. This should have been my second clue. My wife ordered the Mongolian beef, and I asked for the duck-fried rice. Both of these were recommendations from the server, as we had never been to this place. Her dish was hot and plentiful, but mine was a mash-up of room temperature ingredients that could not be seen in the low lighting. Sadly, the Flying Squirrel was infamous for such dishes. I decided to box up the rice and ask for the Mongolian beef. When the bill mercifully came, I noticed that the duck-fried rice price had one charge for the fried rice and an additional one for the duck, totaling $20. That was my last clue. Despite high hopes, I paid too much for a lackluster meal. "C'est la guerre." read more

This place is legit! It might be the best Chinese food I've ever had. It had all the classics but everything is prepared very well and high quality. I also had their mocktail and it was delicious. 10/10 recommend. read more

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The owners' previous restaurant, the Flying Squirrel, was fantastic. Delicious, creative, original - everything Ernest Chinese is not. The only thing they have in common is that they're both kind of pricey. Flying Squirrel was worth it; Ernest Chinese is not. There were four of us in our party and out of all four meals, nothing offered was any better than what you'd find at a typical Chinese food takeout joint like Rice Boxx. Such a disappointment. The food wasn't bad by any means; it just wasn't special. And for $140 for 2 adults and 2 kids, you kind of expect something special. I will say, however, that if you go, order the crab rangoon. That was actually pretty damn delicious. read more

This is a neat place. Good atmosphere. The food was amazing. Pork dumplings as a starter, Beef and Broccoli and Peking Beef were cooked perfectly. Seasoning was wonderful. Staff was super nice and attentive. It wasn't super busy on a Monday night, but will definitely be back! read more

On vacation and visited this fine establishment. Great ambiance, service and food. One of the best beef fried rice I've had. The chicken and broccoli dish was outstanding as well. read more

Ernest Chinese - Entrance - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

KC, Sara and the crew were pure awesomeness. Happy to come up with ideas for cocktails & menu items that fit my dietary needs. Top class service with a twist of High Rise Energy. read more

This place was AMAZING!! The atmosphere, staff, and food were excellent! It is pricey but worth it! And if you get there in time you can get 1/2 off dumplings! We will be back! read more

I wanted so badly to love it. Sadly, the shrimp dumplings were so flavourless and rubbery I had to send them back. The dan dan noodles were okay flavour wise but they were overcooked to the point that they were practically losing form. Staff was great but a culinary letdown from start to finish. read more

The food was really delicious. We had the veggie lettuce wraps. Great texture! The pork eggroll was really yummy and you could tell it was hand rolled and not frozen. General Erin Chicken and Sesame Chicken. You can tell right away all the ingredients are well sourced. Sauces were a good balance of spice and seasoning. Textures were really well blended with the veggie wraps, lo mein and wok tossed chicken. Only thing we were not crazy about was the egg drop soup. We noticed some other reviews mentioning this as well. It had and unpleasant aroma and lacked any real flavor. Otherwise we thought it was great. Will definitely come back when we are in the area. read more

Excellent food and ambience! The best Chinese food I've had in Chattanooga, and our server was also knowledgeable and friendly!

The food was amazing! Service was great, will be coming back the next time we stop in Chattanooga!

Good food great mocktails. Definitely recommend this place to people at work when they ask for restaurants

Best Chinese food I've had in TN. Great atmosphere. Everything was very good but the Mongolian beef & egg roll were my favorites.

The decor of the restaurant is incredibly unique. The food was beautiful but more importantly it was delicious with extreme flavors. Our server, Gracie was very happy to share her knowledge of the recipes and their flavors, she hit the spot with her recommendations. The food does not come out instantly but when it does arrive, it was prepared especially for you and will be very worth the wait. read more

Food was really good and served was great Molly was very professional and attentive. I will return ...

Just ok. Not great food. Weird sort of uncomfortable interior dining layout. Wanted to love it, but didn't.

Everything we had was great and well prepared. We tried a bunch of different dishes and shared them among the table.

My second and last time to visit this restaurant. My first time was stellar. Today, however, the food was at best leftover and at worst at least a week old - and the service was barely passable. The soup was so bad as to be inedible- smelled like days old poultry. Another soup was saltier than the Dead Sea - no joke. This place once did well, but, unless something changes, the ride is over. Avoid unless you enjoy the symptoms of intestinal distress. read more

Probably a mistake on our part to visit Ernest after not even being open a week. But, the food quality and experience were not as good as they should be. Hot and Sour soup was more sour and reminded me more of a Thai or Vietnamese soup. Dumplings and egg rolls were pretty tasty, but not special. Mapo Tofu was rather boring and lacked flavor. Gong Bao chicken tasted like typical Chinese chicken on a stick, but was cooked well. General Ern's chicken tasted like the food court chicken from a mall, not noteworthy. Star of the night was definitely the Mongolian Beef. It was perfectly cooked and the sauce was delicious. Will give Ernest a few months to sort things out and give it another try. I hope they figure it out. read more

Great menu options and cocktails! Service and ambiance both on point. Will be dropping in here again soon for more delicious Chinese food!

Lovely, divine, exquisite! Perfect ambiance for a special night out;) Must try the cold Sichuan noodles if you like spice! Also the marinated cucumbers at lunch! All the deserts are quite unique and delicious. Service was amazing, all of them are so fun and give great recommendations. Will definitely be going back! read more

I've tried to get take out here about 5 times and have been successful once. Was told "the kitchen is too busy, call back in 20-30 minutes ". Called back and then was told the manager said they aren't taking anymore orders for the rest of the night. Sounded crazy to me since they are open till 10pm. Don't know how a business stays in business when they are constantly turning away money. read more

Got the crab rangoons, sesame chicken, and Mongolian beef and mannnnn they were good. The meals had so much food and were all delicious. The environment was also beautiful, I love the decor. 10/10 will absolutely come again!!!! read more

Just stopping through Chattanooga and saw this fairly new restaurant on TikTok! Highly recommend. All the food was amazing. Great portions. Friendly and attentive staff! Also, great vibes! read more

Ernest Chinese - Salt and Pepper Shrimp - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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The amount of reviews that are under 4 are just laughable. Basically "it was closing time and I am entitled" or "it's not my local Asian restaurant"... it's great. The food is great, the people are amazing. Some people just live in a bubble and it shows. read more

We loved our meal, the atmosphere and the drinks. One of the best things we ate was the hot and sour soup. It was really unique and not the typical take out gluey soup you get. We had their version of Kung Pao Chicken was delicious and the fried rice was fresh and great. We cant wait till they expand the menu from opening and allow reservations. read more

Amazing service, great vibe and the food was delicious. We so enjoyed the greeting from the host staff and overall loved the ambience.

The food was so good. Didn't get a picture of my food but I got sweet and sour chicken, very authentic taste. read more

Ernest Chinese - Wonton soup - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Food was eh and very very over priced. Was a waste of a decent amount of money cause the amount of food we ordered was to feed 3 adults. Do not recommend this place, save your money. read more

The food was amazing!! Definitely recommend the pork egg rolls. The whole ambiance of the place was so cozy and welcoming. Our server yahaira was great!! One of my fav new spots in chatt. read more

We tried this last week. The egg roll was awesome. Hands down the best egg roll I have ever eaten, and I've eaten a lot of egg rolls. The Rangoon was good. If you've had PF Chang's crab wontons, they are not quite as good PF Chang's, but were good. The chicken was a let down. For the venue and price I expected full white breast meat chicken like PF Chang's quality. It was just a notch above an average buffet. Spongy, weird chicken. Taste was good but the texture and meat quality pulled it down. If they switched to better quality chicken, I'd give two extra stars and eat here all the time. read more

We have a new favorite. Oh my this is good. The food was perfectly prepared for our lunch visit on a Sunday. Kirsten (Kiki) was our server and was a joy. Since this was our first visit she helped it all make sense. The flavor was excellent, the portions were perfect. The patio, the atmosphere and eclectic music selection, and volume set the right mood. Late afternoon, great place for an afternoon meal and, wait for it, they have Little Buddha beer in the bottle. read more

Traveling through Chattanooga on the way from Wisconsin to Florida, we stopped for the night at a local hotel. We felt like having Chinese food that evening. So I researched local restaurants and Ernest had good reviews - they did not disappoint! I picked up and brought back to the hotel room, but I saw they had a very nice ambience and could have brought our pooch for outdoor seating. BLUF: The food was excellent! The Pork Egg Roll was the best (and largest) I ever had. Very tasty ingredients and not packed with cabbage, as most tend to do. The sweet n sour sauce had a nice tang to it. Very tasty! I had the Gung Foo Chicken and it was very good! Not much vegetables, but plenty of chicken, slightly crispy, in a great sauce. Very tasty! My wife had Szechuan Eggplant and loved it! Overall a great meal that was unexpectedly a very good experience. We'll be back the next trip through Chattanooga and explore the menu further. Employees were very friendly and helpful! Thanks everyone! read more

Tried the remake of the Flying Squirrel a few weeks ago - Ernest Chinese. My food was wonderful and the meal the other couple on the patio had looked yummy as well. I had the egg drop soup and the veggie fried rice. The soup was good and served really hot. The veggie fried rice was so good and plentiful. I ate probably half of it and brought the leftovers home for two more meals where it tasted just as good as at Ernest Chinese. The owner/manager came back to check and see however thing was which is always a nice touch. This was the second day of them being open for lunch on the weekend so they weren't incredibly busy. I can hardly wait to go back, but I'm afraid I might have to wait for a table ( LOL) because I'm sure the word is out now that they are open for lunch on the weekend. read more

Highly unprofessional staff. Rushed me out when it was close to closing time and made me feel unwelcome. I dont recommend this place

Good atmosphere great service but the food was not authentic it was kind of boring and tasted like lunchroom food, the water and ice tasted funny read more

The ambiance was really cool with a faux cherry tree above the bar.The restaurant being dimly lit for romance . For cat lovers the mascot lives outside after the Og cat Ernest whose it is named after past away. Inside it's nice and clean and the waitress we had was so sweet and kind. She was very attentive and the bar back gentleman helped when she was busy with things like grabbing a napkin or extra umbrella for my daughter to wear haha . We enjoyed all our food it was delicious but it was said to be gluten free but something happened I had some gluten not a lot but by my swollen throat some got in there bummer but since it was a small amount a few days later the pain was gone . This happens a lot in restaurants and a risk I take so I wasn't too upset but definitely if you're celiac be careful. No crayons or drawing for kids so we improvised with food play but definitely something hopefully they add for families with little ones who don't use iPads at dinner. Otherwise amazing experience! read more

Ernest Chinese - Having fun eating her rice with chopsticks with her pretty umbrellas given by staff :) - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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The ambience was all right we went there at 12 o'clock on a Saturday I would have thought that they would've been somewhat crowded it being downtown Chattanooga and all on a weekend. We saw our waiter an entirety of two times refills were nonexistent on our soft drinks and lemonade were never refilled. The lemonade was good, but the soup tasted like an 80-year-old woman made it 40 years ago but the one redeeming aspect that added flavor was the crippling amount of sodium that was contained. I got the orange chicken and it was actually not horrible if you didn't have taste buds The texture wasn't bad. The flavor was -2 out of 10 on the chicken. The noodles were fine and look like the only thing there that wouldn't give me the everlasting volcano-like butt clenching diarrhea. My overall experience was not good my main take away is they had crab Rangoon, which was really good and they also had a fully stocked bar. That was the only way you would get through that meal, is if your blood alcohol level was a solid 13.0 and you entered the state of drunk where calling your abusive ex seems like a good idea. I would actually prefer to eat handfuls of gravel in the parking lot next-door than to go back. read more

Ambiance and service is excellent! The food - gotta be honest - is just ok. I so wish it was great! We will definitely eat here again because we love the location. read more

Alright. First time patron. Order: beef and broccoli. Beef. Oily AF. Brocolli, uncooked. 1/5 Chicken Lo Mein: chicken 4/5, noodles, 3/5. But mainly consisted of uncooked green beans. 3/5 overall. Large (2 person drink) for fun...all ice. 0/5 Not even worth half the asking price. Don't order! Appetizer: ribs. 3 ribs. Cut bones everywhere. Almost like jerky. 2/5 Water: fresh from the tap. 1/5. Soup: Hot and Sour... 0/5. Service: never came back to ask if we wanted more drinks. 1/5 Building: nice. 4/5. Overall 1/5. Pass on this one! read more