We came in with a party of 12 and had such a great experience from start to finish. Large groups can be tricky, but everything was handled smoothly and without any stress. The food came out hot, fresh, and well-timed for everyone at the table. Every dish we ordered was flavorful and generous in portion. You could tell care went into both the preparation and presentation. Service really stood out. The staff was attentive, patient, and made sure our group was taken care of the entire time. No one felt rushed, and everything we needed was handled quickly. The atmosphere was comfortable and welcoming, perfect for a big group to relax and enjoy a meal together. Overall, a great spot for both small and large gatherings. We'll definitely be coming back. Highly recommend! read more

This is about the third time I've ordered food to go from great River and it's consistent all the time. It's very good. I've never eaten in the restaurant. I didn't take any pictures cause I was too hungry. We ordered the lunch for two,it came with Mongolian beef, fried rice, chow mein potstickers sautéed green beans, which are my favorite and a large wonton soup. next time I will dine in and get the full experience.. read more

First time there. Food was awesome. Everything we ordered had a great taste. Will go back. Fried rice was on point.

We came in with a party of 12 and had such a great experience from start to finish. Large groups can be tricky, but everything was handled smoothly and without any stress. The food came out hot, fresh, and well-timed for everyone at the table. Every dish we ordered was flavorful and generous in portion. You could tell care went into both the preparation and presentation. Service really stood out. The staff was attentive, patient, and made sure our group was taken care of the entire time. No one felt rushed, and everything we needed was handled quickly. The atmosphere was comfortable and welcoming, perfect for a big group to relax and enjoy a meal together. Overall, a great spot for both small and large gatherings. We'll definitely be coming back. Highly recommend! read more

5/5 on the food and service. Everything was delicious and the ambience was very peaceful. Will definitely be coming back! The thin noodle beef chow mien was definitely a delicious entree. read more

Great River Chinese Restaurant - Thin noodle beef chow mein - Chinese Near Me - Hayward, California

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Everything I have tried so far was delicious, fast courteous service, whether you dine in or take out. My food is always on point. I highly recommend! read more

Actually wanted to posted more pictures, but was so hungry/ food was so good, I only took picture of one dish and ate everything else in an instant. Great River is a really good find. It could be easy to miss because they're right behind iHop's big sign and their parking lot is a little small. We came on a Sunday afternoon and the parking lot was almost full already. The place was popping. It's a small family restaurant, but the food is fantastic. The family is incredibly nice. They can accommodate to your needs as well. Which is super nice. We basically requested a custom dish and they were able to execute it flawlessly and for no extra charge. I mean how many other places out there can do that for you?!?! Service is extremely flawless and above and beyond. I highly recommend Great River for their great food, but also just feels fantastic to support local to a family that really deserves it!! read more

Great River Chinese Restaurant - Mushu Pork - Chinese Near Me - Hayward, California

I ordered from Great River for the first time last night and it was SO good! It's definitely the best Chinese food in the area. My roomate and I ordered a few entrees and dessert, and everything was fantastic. The green beans had so much flavor. The cherry pork was delicious. Kind of like a sweet and sour pork but with a lighter flavor and richness. The salt and pepper pork chops were perfectly cooked and seasoned. My roomate got the banana dessert and it is to die for. Definitely order it! read more

I have been enjoying Great River for over 20 years and something serious is going on here Yelpers. The food has always been good but the last 2 times I went, this place was out of this world. I consider myself an excellent judge of a Chinese restaurant and would say Jade Palace, Lu Luck(retired after35 years) in Oakland and Imperial Delight in San Ramon(retired) are and were the most authentic, fresh and greatest quality chinese food places to eat in the Bay Area and trust me I have tried over 40, honestly. Now here comes "THE NEW GREAT RIVER CHINESE FOOD RESTARAUNT". Yes that's what they should put on their sign because this is now hands down the freshest and best chinese food I ever had. I asked the waitress "what have they done compared to last year". She stated a complete menu and a new fresh concept of cooking. I am totally blown away. My recommendation to anyone who, like me who truly loves and knows a great Chinese restaurant to go one time and you will be sold. Just look at all of the Yelp reviews this past year. I can only say 2 things. Hats off and congrats. read more

I was looking for a Chinese restaurant which did party trays as I wanted to cater food for my huge birthday bash. I happened to see their menu through an advertisement which listed party trays. So my husband and I tried them out for lunch. They have their own parking lot. There are maybe 12 spaces which includes 2 disable parking spaces. IHop is to the right of their restaurant on Foothill Blvd in Hayward. However, when I saw the size of their large food tray, it was really a half-size of the normal large trays used by Chinese restaurants. I explained to Mandy that their tray size was really a medium size tray. Mandy ended up buying the regular large-size trays so I did eventually order the salt and pepper chicken wings, vegetable chow mein (thin noodles), Hong Kong style pan-fried noodles, wonton with gravy, BBQ pork fried rice, and braised bean curd for my party. Mike did a great job of delivering and setting up our food at the party. FYI: They no longer do party trays. The cost of the tray depends on how many orders it takes to fill up the tray size that you're ordering. A lot of restaurants are doing this now instead of just giving a party tray price. We went back several times to try entrees we were considering for my party. I worked with Mike to make sure my Hong Kong style pan-fried noodles were crispy but still soft and to also make my wonton with gravy which is not on their menu. I found out that they use a little MSG in their food so I asked that they NOT use MSG for my party and whenever we eat at their restaurant. What I like about Mike and Mandy is that they are willing to listen to their customers to make the food the way the customer wants it. Here are the food items that we tried by ourselves and with family: vegetable egg rolls and pork egg rolls (comes with 4 egg rolls but did half order of each so 2 egg rolls of each), wonton with gravy (not on menu), Hong Kong style pan-fried noodles, vegetable chow mein (requested thin noodles) braised bean curd, salt and pepper chicken wings, BBQ pork fried rice, broccoli with beef, mixed vegetables with filet fish, spinach with garlic sauce, tomato & beef chow fun (not on menu), beef chow fun with egg gravy (not on menu), dried sautéed string beans, egg plant in garlic sauce, hot and spicy tofu, Yang Zhou fried rice, fried wonton, pot stickers, mixed vegetables, and fried wonton dumplings (not on menu). I found sometimes they cooked the egg rolls a little too long as the ends were a little burnt. On my second visit when I ordered regular wonton with gravy, Mandy gave me Wor wonton with gravy. Overall, however, we really like Mike, Mandy, and their restaurant. It's become a favorite restaurant for my family. I would have given them a 4-star on my first visit. After working with them on how we like our food, their catering my birthday party, and my family and I liking their food, I am giving them a 5-star. A lot of my birthday guests were very impressed with Great River's food. Their favorite was the wonton with gravy. A few of my guests said they intend to visit the restaurant and eat there. Others are going to have their family party there. Some friends intend to order take-out food from them for their families. My family has gone back several times after my birthday party to eat lunch and/or dinner. Just a fyi that their food prices are a little higher than some of the typical Chinese restaurants. Right now, they are a hidden gem as many people said they had passed the restaurant but have never tried the restaurant. After talking to me, they plan to give Great River a try. read more

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TLDR; I come here often for their delicious food and friendly service. It's become a favorite Chinese food spot for me. This place is such a gem! I originally learned of this place through my mom because she catered a bunch of food for her birthday from here. The food was such a hit that literally all the trays of food disappeared! So many friends asked where the food was ordered from, so clearly it was a hit. Since then, I've dined here several times with my family, and now it's often a frequent date spot for my boyfriend and I. We love the service - Mandy is the best! Plus the presentation and portions of the food is just such a mood booster for me! XD I told my boyfriend that even though the food probably isn't "specially made" for us knowing that we're regular customers, the presentation and portions of the food make me feel special, LOL. Honestly, there wasn't a dish that I've had from here that was disappointing. I loved the beef with egg chow fun, the salt and pepper wings are a must along with the mapo tofu and wonton wu(?). A few items we have asked for that were off the menu that they would happily oblige to, so I'm thankful for that. The items that I felt were a little too much for my taste were definitely the more saucy items like eggplant with garlic sauce, and the tomato beef chow fun. The sauce was a little too saucy and oily in my opinion, but the consistency was there. All in all, this is a family favorite, and I hope they continue to stay afloat! Their main customer base are usually non-Asians, likely because of the odd location next to IHOP. Ambience could use a little update, but I suppose it keeps the authentic vibes with the way it is now. Can't wait to come back next time! read more

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The broccoli beef is good. I wish they had specials in the evenings with the dinner meals including rice. Buying individually can get pricey. read more

The beef chow fun and Mongolian beef is what I had and it's excellent you're not gonna go wrong I did try the general chicken that wasn't so great. read more

First time here - had the Singapore rice noodles and the salt & pepper shrimp. Both amazing. I've been looking for some good Singapore noodles and this might be it!! Portions also were big. Will definitely be back read more

The thin noodle beef chow main was absolutely delicious! The portion size is enough for 2 to 3 people. I ate half last night and the rest this morning! Sooooooo goooood!!!! read more

This place is fantastic and great for takeout! I came here during first weekend in August and tried many of their dishes. Everything was delicious and authentic. My tried and true method of testing any Chinese restaurant is ordering my two favorite dishes; beef chow fun, and pan fried noodles HK style. Beef Chow Fun-excellent flavor in the noodles and that wok-hei hint in the beef. Pan-Fried Noodles-1/2 crunchy and 1/2 chewy. Perfect balance and tasted great. The service was great and we tried many dishes. They were all excellent. Great place to get some good Chinese food and decent portion size. See all my pictures which will make your mouth water. read more

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Service was terrific. It was fairly quiet for Saturday lunch, and the perfect place for sit down meal with 3 generations of family. The building is old, and it was reminiscent of my favorite childhood Chinese restaurant in Belmont, Hong Kong Restaurant (aka Hong Kong House of Feast). Great River is the only restaurant I've visited since that makes an amazing Twice Cooked Pork. As mentioned by others, the Hot and Sour Soup is delicious, as was their Mongolian Beef. Pot Stickers were good, I like them a bit more pan-fried but that's me. BBQ pork fried rice was delicious, but I wanted it to be just a bit more eggy. The family loved their Walnut Prawns, but that's never a dish I've enjoyed so can't speak first-hand! I look forward to trying the foil-wrapped chicken recommended by another Yelper!! Price and Portions were well-worth it. read more

Service is great! The food is so tasty, it's a family restaurant, the owners are very friendly read more

No wonder great river Chinese restaurant has been around for a long time, this place is not only delicious but has excellent customer service! When we moved closer to downtown Hayward it was hard to find a tasty Chinese restaurant and we have found it! Highly recommend: - Chicken fried rice -Orange chicken -Cashew chicken -Eggplant in garlic sauce -Crab Rangoon's read more

Came here for dinner because our daughters ate here with friends a few weeks ago and enjoyed the food. There were 3 of us and it was Saturday at 6. There was plenty of parking in the lot, especially since we were the only people dining in! We were greeted promptly and seated. We could hear the hustle and bustle in the kitchen as the phone rang constantly for orders. They seemed to have a delivery person and we saw other people pick up orders. Like many Mom and Pop restaurants, there were even 2 kids and a gramma hanging out watching tv and helping with simple chores. Our order was placed and food came out fairly quickly. The prices are very reasonable and the portions are good. We thought everything tasted good too. read more

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Take Out. Ordered 6 items and I loved 3. So I'll only review the 3 that I liked :) . Orange chicken: nice size chicken pieces with a sauce that actually taste like ORANGE! Fried rice: Each rice grain seared to perfection. I have not had fried rice like this in a long time. You can tell the chef has skills. No soy sauce needed. Snow Peas, Bamboo Shoots, Mushroom Mix: Missing bamboo. Only had 4 half mushrooms. However, the FLAVOR is delish! Light gravy with bits of garlic. Yum. I'd order it again anyway. read more

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Year after year I say I'm going to try this restaurant and I never do. Finally, I gave it a try. I'm glad i did. The restaurant is located next door to IHop. It's a nice little restaurant with lots of Asian decor. They also have a couple televisions that had sports and the news showing. The lady who took my order was nice. I asked her for some recommendations. We ordered a bunch of food. Everything was very good. Hot and fresh!! read more

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Crispy and yummy salt and pepper chicken wings and pork chops! They packed the lunch tray full and the chow mein and fried rice was delicious. Super friendly and great service! read more

Great River Chinese Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Hayward, California

Excellent costumer service , the waiter was extremely nice and inviting she was amazing !

Pretty good food here. They are consistent, the food is good, and they decent in price. I've been eating here for a few years now and it's my goto spot when I can't think of anything else to eat. Lol. Sounds terrible I know. The service and food is pretty good. I do recommend you catch them early when the food is fresh Fresh...it's always good, but sometimes it tastes more fresh than other times. The portions are really nice in size and one meal can easily feed 2 ppl (I know, who wants to shares). They have a good selection of items to choose from, and they don't take very long with orders. More of a hit than a miss over the years so I continue to Nom Nom it up here from time to time. read more

Great River Chinese Restaurant - The house fried rice, Mandarin BBQ chicken and Sweet & Sour chicken. - Chinese Near Me - Hayward, California

Salt and pepper wings are THE best. Just can't beat this quick service and great quality of this lunch special. Great River is the best.. truly underrated East Bay gem. read more

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Best Chinese food in Hayward, always good service and freshly hot food. They are super consistent and I'll continue coming back to this restaurant. read more

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Really Good service, food is delicious and fresh,people who work there are very friendly.

Decent Chinese food for the East Bay; veggies are fresh and they do a great job of packaging to-go orders.

Pleasant experience every single time I eat here. I've ordered for takeout and delivery, staff is so sweet and food is always amazing. Highly recommend this spot read more

Love this place. I never dined inside. Always got food to go and I love the food every time. They are local and very nice people.

Food quantity was good. Service was nice. Prices were about average. The food was edible. Lemon chicken was very bready. Honestly the only way we could tell there was really chicken was because some pieces were very chewy. The sauce had a decent flavor though. Chicken chow mein and house chow fun were identical in flavor. Nice amount of chicken in the chow mein. Very little of anything in the chow fun. Double mushroom chicken was ok, probably the best thing we had. Had snow peas and zucchini, which really improved the dish. Foil wrapped chicken... the whole reason we came there. Beautifully wrapped, large pillows of foil. If you prefer yours without ginger or much other flavoring (some people do), these are probably good. Not to my taste. I'd like to go back and try something else next time. The hot and sour soup is supposed to be pretty good. read more

Last Friday we showed up to dine here. We hadn't eaten here since the shut down. There were no other people dining in. But they were busy with many orders for pick up. We had combination fried rice, combination chow mein, and Kung Pao chicken. While the meal was tasty, I have to rave about the combination won ton soup. It was amazing! My compliments to the chef! It alone was filling for me. But that didn't stop me from eating more. The location is a bit dated, but don't let that stop you from coming in. They obviously know their stuff. Good job! read more

Great River Chinese Restaurant - Combination won ton soup - Chinese Near Me - Hayward, California

This is currently my favorite Chinese restaurant in the Bay Area. If you enjoy hot and sour soup, this is THE place to go. Fried rice, meat dishes are amazing. They offer a lunch special during the week for 8$ (in 2023)! The only thing I would note is check whether the meat you ordered comes fried or grilled. For example, the szechuan chicken here I ordered came fried. That I did not like too much as I was not expecting it. But they DO have non-fried, tasty options. The service is always nice. They seem genuine. And it really is a family restaurant. Their kids eat the same food. I wish this restaurant all the best and I will be returning as regularly as possible. read more

Great River Chinese Restaurant - Hot and Sour Soup, small 8.50$ in 2023) - Chinese Near Me - Hayward, California

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Really good food! Decent pricing and the service was soo friendly and attentive! Our server was really nice and attentive and the food came fast! We had the Salt & pepper fish, hot & sour soup, shrimp fried rice, and chicken chowmein! Everything was tasty and great my favorite was the salt and pepper fish! Definitely a hidden gem in hayward! read more

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This is a Chinese food gem in Hayward. The food is good and the service is very good as well they are very nice and welcoming. People can dine in and the place is clean. read more

Received wrong order of Steak Chow Fun. I spoke directly with restaurant and they refused to send out the correct order of Shrimp Chow Fun. Stated they will notate a free order whenever I order again and pick up myself. read more

The food is great and they are very generous with the portions. They are always pleasant when I pick up my orders.

I haven't ordered from here in over a year and the food is more expensive then before portions are smaller quality of the food is horrible over cooked greasy no flavor spent over 50.00 dollars and I WILL NEVER ORDER FROM HERE AGAIN been ordering from this place over 15 years soo disappointing read more

Great River Chinese Restaurant - Chow fun with pork - Chinese Near Me - Hayward, California

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The food here is top-notch. I often get takeout, but when I eat in the service is excellent. Always friendly and accommodating. Clean. The mu shu is fantastic. The honey walnut prawns are the best. Double mushroom chicken is not to be missed. My favorite soup is the sizzling rice, but the hot and sour is also good. Actually, I don't think I've ever had anything here that I didn't like. Potstickers, fried rice, chow mein, everything is good. Highly recommend! read more