We have dined and had take out from Holly's for over a decade. The food is consistently good. Prices are very reasonable. Please support this business. Also kudos for the free sesame balls for take out during this COVID nightmare! I appreciate the gesture. read more

We found our new spot for yummy Chinese food! Our old standards closed up shop, so it was back to the drawing board. Thrilled to have landed here. Great flavors, portions and prices. Friendly staff and convenient location. If you're in the area, give this place a try! read more

I've been eating from this restaurant for a long time sometimes every week or even more than once a week! Today I placed an order with DoorDash and after 1 hours suddenly I got a message that my order was canceled with no valid explanation. Very disappointed .... read more

excellent example! Family, friends and fun thanks! Food is always good definitely delicious! Deserves 5 ++ read more

Super nice people. Portions (fried rice) are enormous. Enough for 2-3 meals in one box if you ask me. So worth for $8. Green beans have a great snap and texture (wrinkly on the surface but crunchy inside). Will definitely coming back here. read more

This food is absolutely delicious!! Even when we order for delivery it is still hot and tastes good. The beef and broccoli is so flavorful and the broccoli is always fresh and crunchy. The noodles are never oily and has a great balance of noodles and veggies. This place never disappoints! Definitely 10/10 read more

Oh, Holly! You are such a sweetheart! You may be wondering who Holly is, right? Well, Holly is the owner of Holly's Mandarin and was previously at Little Shin Shin that was located up the street from this location. (Don't tell them I told you; but Little Shin Shin has declined since Holly left; sshhhh!) Sadly, Holly is not at Little Shin Shin any longer, but don't you worry, she now has her own restaurant and baybee, I promise you that this will be your new found Chinese restaurant in the Piedmont area. Holly takes pride in making sure customers are being taken care of. If you're not happy, let them know and they will fix it! During my latest Monday night evening with my Chinatown Meetup Group, we came here and had two big roundtables ready for us. Luckily, the restaurant wasn't full, so we didn't have a wait time. Our server was amazingly funny and phenomenal for the whole evening. He always came to check up on us and when he noticed our plates were dirty he would change them out for us (without us evening having to ask!). Make sure you ask for our server here: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=HZhD-DHCT4OI6utFFES0Kg We ordered a set menu and everything we ate was extremely delicious and seasoned so well! We started off with the Shrimp and Chicken potstickers that set the bar HIGH! I mean, it was so delicious I wanted a second plate of that (all for myself; gosh! Phat girl problems!) We also ordered: *Crispy Peking Duck- https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=Q7ZFNWYUbaNTORInVJSdpA *Pork Belly and Broccoli: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=Em7faMALpqUOSu6LHLYWrA * Birds Nest: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=5lv2taHMRlifuJhkm7Mj7Q *Fried Fish: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=ZDB4R9J28KFyn-xB4M1apQ *Season Pepper Lamb: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=T-By5UF7XozLSc_P5OU2qA *Eggplant (one of my favorite dishes: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=nQu20-Fp2I0Mz1mSUy-KFg *The big hurray was the 5-pound fish we had at the end. OMG--I honestly don't think I've seen a fish that big before EVER! Have you? https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=u_6QEiIaJL9Fyqt2oBhsTA *Walnut Prawns (another one of my favorite dishes that was lightly caramelized and was absolutely TASTY. Don't believe me? Here, see for yourself: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=sHMg5ZCWWJheRBq2hI-hQg Holly and her staff worked extremely hard to make sure that we were satisfied and that we left happy and full! Holly was so appreciative for the 20 people she served and we were truly happy about our meal! Such a delightful experience; everyone should come here and check this place out! But wait, Holly and her team were so appreciative about our visit that they made a fabulous dessert platter for us. Such a wonderful treat to end the night: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hollys-mandarin-oakland?select=R6gb9qR-rJSaVJacX_5FRg I LA LA LA LOVE THIS PLACE! read more

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I have been coming here for years and years and this place has never - I mean NEVER - let me down. Everything is delicious. Order your go-tos. Take a risk in something new. It will be delicious. My order today is just a incredible as my order years ago, and the service is still phenomenal. What a godsend of a place! read more

Ordered takeout and was very pleased with our food. Everything was delicious! We ordered chow mein, orange chicken, spring rolls, hot and sour soup, eggplant, and Mongolian beef. The Mongolian beef was the best I've ever had. The orange chicken was made from white meat which I loved. The portion sizes were great as well. I called before ordering to ask about the soup and the man who answered was so nice and helpful. This is our new go to for Chinese food! read more

I was excited to try this because people seem to love it. I was pretty disappointed with the dishes. The mooshoo was fine but the black pepper lamb lamb was spongy and I couldn't eat it. The fried squid tasted like it had been in some kind of chemical cleaning solution. I bet there are a few good items on the menu and if it's your local spot you just get those few because it's convenient. But I wouldn't order for delivery again. read more

I ate in the actual restaurant about one year ago and was very impressed with the food. It was expertly cooked and quite delicious. Roll forward one year and the food has really declined in taste and quality. Although I ordered my food to be delivered, I was still expecting an excellent meal. As a vegan I ordered vegetarian spring rolls and vegetarian chow mein. Well, the rolls were sparsely filled and tasted quite weird to the point that they were borderline inedible. The chow mein had huge pieces of vegetables in it, like broccoli, that were barely cooked. Worse, the noodles had little taste. I feel like I wasted my money. Clearly they must have new cooks there. In a town with so much good food available, sadly I do not think this restaurant will survive long. read more

This has been my all time favorite Chinese food spot for the last five years. I have eaten there one time years ago but since the pandemic I always just order it in. It is so good. The quality of meat is superb. But my favorite thing is the chicken fried rice. I didn't know that chicken fried rice could be this good. read more

Ordered takeout, the gentleman taking the order did his job perfectly - repeated each item I was ordering back to ensure I was getting what i asked for, and then re-confirmed the order at the end. Great service, great food. read more

Totally my go to spot for Chinese food. I always order way too much food, but it lasts me a couple of meals so it works. I try to order directly for pickup as much as I can, because I know the owner prefers it more than ordering through doordash, since DD takes such a large cut. They always throw in a little extra like the sesame balls or cheese wontons, and honestly I'm about that. Usually I have some combination of seafood chow mein, fried rice, kung pao chicken, beef and broccoli, and one or two other items depending on the feels for the night. They don't skimp on meat which I super appreciate, and the flavors are good. You get so much food, I can honestly stretch this into like three meals for two people. Pizza and Chinese food are pretty much the only type of leftovers I'll eat. It's a great Piedmont business, and I'm glad that they're staying super busy through the pandemic and hopefully they'll be around for a long time. read more

Ate lunch here Friday, street meter parking only. Not too crowded on weekday. Lunch specials include soup, salad, entree. Soup was hot and sour, a little too spicy for me. Curry lamb very good, Salt pepper filet very good, Tofu & egg plant very good. Very large portions, I could not finish it. Dessert sesame black bean balls very good. Service was fast and food arrived hot. read more

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Food is very reasonably price with large portions. The mu shu chicken was delicious. We enjoyed the complimentary sesame balls. The staff was very nice. read more

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As I said in my last review, my gf and I have kept getting food from Holly's because she loves the chicken lettuce wraps, and because the restaurant is just down the street. However, this last time was the nail in the coffin. After pouring over the takeout menu, I decided to eat leftovers from home for my entree and ordered a bowl of hot and sour soup to-go from Holly's. My gf got her fave lettuce wraps and veggie chow mein with fried tofu. As has unfortunately, always, been the case, everything but the lettuce wraps was bland and underwhelming. The best parts of the evening were: -the fried tofu pieces in the chow mein -my lady's lettuce-wrap-induced bliss -our realization that we are in fact adults and can in fact order takeout from multiple restaurants (in the future we'll be getting everything but lettuce wraps from Qi Dumpling Lounge on Grand) read more

Delicious every time. The front desk gal is always friendly. I always get the honey walnut prawns and potstickers. Delicious!

Hugely disappointing experience. Came here on a late Monday afternoon and were one of the few guests seated. Ordered a lunch special, seafood soup to share, fried fish filets, and some chicken fried rice. Food was promptly delivered but was average. Soup and fish were passable, fried rice was tasty. They forgot the daily soup, all good, we had enough to share with the big bowl. Service was hot garbage. No one checked on us, no big deal. We finished eating and we patiently waited almost 20 minutes with constant eye contact to get our take out containers and our bill. Nothing. I eventually gave up and raised my hand only to be shot impatient looks and given the wrong containers. I asked once more for a soup container and was told to wait. Wait we did. And then we had to ask again. Got our soup container. Waited for the bill. Nothing. So I finally got up and went to the counter to wait for someone to come by. Restaurant had no more than 4 tables seated the whole time. Perhaps I expected too much from a 4 star place in Piedmont? read more

If you want to order Chinese food on DoorDash, please help drivers out and do not order from here. This place deserves 0 stars if I'm being honest. Worst experience I've ever had in a restaurant. I was doing a DoorDash delivery and when I arrived no one was there to help me for 3 or so minutes. Finally, some lady came up to me to help and told me to hang out for a bit because they HADN'T STARTED the orders yet (for reference, most places have orders done by the time dashers walk in). After a solid 15-20 extra minutes of waiting, I finally get both orders as well as a $60 parking ticket because this place was dysfunctional. On top of that, they left an open sauce packet in one of the bags and it got all over the food, so I had to deal with someone yelling at me and blaming the restaurant's mistake on me. Safe to say I will never be doing another delivery from here again. read more

The orange beef was soggy and they took forever. Noodles tasted poor. Overpriced I would not recommend

Oh my gosh, I had such a wonderful experience with this restaurant. I ordered chow mein, salt & pepper fish, mandarin beef, and chicken & shrimp dumplings. Everything was delicious -- the meat quality is very very good. A few days later I noticed that I had accidentally been overcharged, so I called them to get it fixed. The owner (Holly, I believe) was SO apologetic and kind. I went in to get the cash from the overcharge and she not only gave me back an extra $3, but she made me free lunch as well. I was overwhelmed by her kindness -- what a quality business owner. We will definitely continue to order from Holly's Mandarin for as long as we stay in the Bay Area. Exceptional food & customer service. read more

Came here with my mom for lunch. I have been here multiple times. I honestly have to say, for bigger portions, come at dinner. The lunch special combines a lot of the a la carte dishes into one plate, almost halving the portion size, not to mention the vegetable to meat ratio was very off(more vegetables than meat). The wait staff will plop your food on the table, then run off, so be sure to ask for whatever you need upon ordering; the restaurant is pretty busy, so everyone moves fast. What I look forward to at this restaurant is the hot and sour soup along with the chicken and fish dishes, the Szechuan chicken is my favorite. The host, a lady, has a sweet personable style of talking with her guests(she might be the owner). I say if you have time to dine, dine in, if not, the restaurant accepts to-go orders. read more

This spot had been one of my favorite go-to places during the pandemic. I first came here a long time ago in high school, but it's out of the way and there are a lot of options closer to me. The last few times I ordered takeout, I was very pleased with the food and the service. The owner is very friendly and kind. Everything we got was tasty. My mom, who's pretty picky, was also happy with everything we ordered. read more

An update on Holly's- it's still a great place to get delicious food! The customer service, and the food have been great each and every time I have eaten here over the past 8+ years I have lived in this neighborhood! The owners are always working hard to keep customers happy and satisfied! They also package food up so nicely when you do take out. Fried/ crunchy foods stay that way till you are ready to eat! They put the sauces separately to help keep things crunchy. read more

I have ordered takeout from Holly's for years, and have never been disappointed. The hot and sour soup, Mongolian beef, sautéed string beans, yu shiang eggplant, and fried rice are some my favorites, but I've honestly liked every dish I've tried! read more

Wanted to try their Kung Pao Chicken because it had everything I want in it. (Water Chestnuts, Zucchini, Celery, Bell Pepper and of course, Peanuts) Too bad, because it was way too sweet. We also had the Salt and Pepper Chicken and that wasn't bad. But the Salt and Pepper Squid had too much batter. read more

Holly's Mandarin - Kung Pao Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

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Just wanted to update my review and say Holly's is still AMAZING!!! Got the lemon chicken, beef chow mein and beef chow fun, pork fried rice, honey walnut prawns, sweet and sour pork, spicy beef (i think this is the name), and Mongolian beef. I am a glutton but even so, they have the best american chinese food in Oakland. If you all are hiring then let me know. I'll work for food and a cot in the basement. read more

I will only review the Mongolian beef since it's the most authentic Chinese dish on the menu. This is by far the best Mongolian beef I've had in the bay. Yes better than PF Chang's. I just lost credit by comparing it to pf Chang's. Don't trip Asian folks that line was for the white folks. Presentation, fried noodles at the bottom, nice balanced flavor of the gravy and beef was tender. Remember I'm the Mongolian Beef Prince. read more

My favorite Chinese food in the Bay Area. I love the Mongolian Beef here! It's super flavorful and a little spicy rather than the super sweet you would get at like a PF Changs (aka it's much much better). I also love the chow mein. The orange chicken is always super crispy, but if you're picky it can get a little dry. Just add a little extra sauce and you're good! read more

Been coming to this restaurant for years. Love it! The lunch specials are the best with your pick of main entree, veggies, rice/noodles, and soup for under $10. My favorites on the chef's specials are the honey walnut shrimp and the lettuce wraps. The wraps are filling and delicious! Holly--who is there ALL THE TIME answering phones and taking orders--is polite and efficient. They've only been doing take-out since COVID hit, but they're always busy. You'll be in and out in 10-15 mins for take out (or call ahead). If you come in often, or order a certain amount of food, they throw in little extras at no extra charge. Great family-owned business with authentically asian food. Would definitely recommend this Piedmont favorite to hot spot. read more

Consistently fresh and flavorful; the sesame balls are a most. The service is always fast; 15-20 mins for pick-up.

BROKEN GLASS IN MY MONGOLIAN BEEF. Do not eat here. I bit into the broken glass without seeing it. A horrible experience. Please avoid. read more

I have an unhealthy obsession with paper drink umbrellas. I don't know why. Like I said, it's unhealthy. I scored THREE in one night at Holly's, hence they get a star for each umbrella. :-) Holly's used to be King Yen. King Yen used to have the best black bean chicken on earth. Okay, so maybe not on earth but it was awesome. . . they closed and the place morphed into Holly's Mandarin. We popped in for a quick dinner the other night and I was surprised by the changes. .the decor is minimal - mostly ivory, wood and splashes of color from magical drink umbrellas that adorn the BESTEST shirley temples EVER!! Um, no I am not a 7-year-old girl, but really, any woman who is obsessed with drink umbrellas isn't too balanced to begin with so what do you expect? Hmm? Anyhoo. ..yup - Shirley Temples to rock your world adorned with a sword shaped toothpick, a wedge of orange, a maraschino cherry AND, yes you guessed it, a DRINK UMBRELLA!! We ordered wor won ton soup, pot stickers, crispy chicken in special sauce, bbq pork chow fun, sizzling beef with mushrooms. I love won ton soup. I mean, really, it's one of my favorite things EVER. .. however, this version was not great. The broth was really tasteless and weak - zero body. A few won tons floated around a couple of leaves of spinach, some julienne strips of bbq pork and 1/2 a shrimp that tasted of iodine. Uh oh. I ordered another Shirley Temple to settle my nerves. SCORE UMBRELLA NUMBER 2! PLUS another sword shaped skewer with which to have a mini sword fight with the honey while waiting for our pot stickers. The pot stickers scared me. They were too blond. Not enough scorch on them - they looked like they hadn't spent enough time "sticking" to the pot. However, they were actually quite succulent. . .so juicy and meaty that they could have the bastard offspring if a lions head meatball mated with an xlb. They were quite tasty. I was happy and thinking the won ton soup was a fluke. We waited quite a while for our next round of food. .. I am thinking because of the crispy chicken. Each little nugget was perfectly fried crunchy chicken perfection, however it was bathed in a sauce that lacked balance or character . . it was gloopy, too acidic and too sweet. Next time I will order the chicken with the sauce on the side because the actual pieces of chicken were quite good. The chow fun was passable but not memorable and the sizzling beef was good but super heavy on the bell peppers and onions. . .next time I would order it with less vegetables. . not as ploy to get more meat but just less filler. Service is quite friendly. They work hard to make their guests happy. The crowd is mainly white which is reflected in the menu. . .it isn't taking any chances and caters to the neighborhood. They bring you a thoughtfully arranged bowl of iced fruit at the end of the meal. .. this evening it was gorgeous slivers of perfectly ripe and sweet watermelon, adorned with . . .. yes, an umbrella! :-) I'd go back . . . for the Shirley Temple (I am serious. . SO GOOD!), the pot stickers, the friendly and enthusiastic service and, of course, the UMBRELLAS!! read more

Holly's Mandarin - Umbrellas from Holly's Mandarin - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

***currently "closed" for suspension until restaurant meets health and safety code. Man. Where do I begin? I have been a Kaiser employee for 8 years. Been coming to Hollys for probably 6 years and of course they cater to Kaiser. My streak has ended. A total of 6 people came here with me for lunch and we saw a ROACH on the wall, Alive and moving! We told holly and she just grabbed a napkin and smashed it like nothing. As I received my lunch I found a WHOLE ROACH in my Mongolian beef. This is disgusting. This means that place must be infested with ROACHES! Eater beware. Check out the pic I posted. Long story short, that was my last time eating at Hollys Mandarin. Trust me I have witnesses if who ever reads this may believe to be false. I know for the longest they've been the "cleanest" Chinese restaurant on Piedmont, but I think when you get to comfortable with making money, you forget the little details! Worst part is she didn't apologize, she said "no, no don't worry the foods on the house". Lost all respect for the establishment. read more

Holly's Mandarin - Temporarily closed. Didn't meet health and safety code. - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

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After sitting in an Emergency Room for hours , I needed a change of Scenery and Food so I rolled to Hollys. Hollys is a nicely decorated place on Piedmont Ave. We were brought Tea ,Water and a Menu . We ordered the Combination Dinner which included an Appetizer Plate with Crab Rangoon Won Ton , Spring Roll, and a Fried Prawn with a Sweet and Sour + Chinese Hot Mustard Dip. Wonton Soup , Honey Walnut Prawns, Tea Smoked Duck and Combination Fried Rice. The Appetizer Plate came first the Fried Prawn was Butterflyed and Deep Fried . It was Big and Meaty the Spring roll and the Fried Rangoon was Light and Crisp. The Wonton soup was Meaty and had a flavorful broth. The Tea Smoked Duck came in 4 Flour Tortillas . the Duck was Lean and Flavorful . It also came with a Plum Dipping sauce. The Honey Walnut Prawns were Big and had a great flavor it came with some Candied Walnuts. The Fried Rice had nice Chunks of Beef ,Pork ,Chicken and Shrimp in it very tasty. read more

I've seen Holly's Mandarin for years, driving or walking down Piedmont Ave., and for whatever reason I've never felt compelled to drop in and try it. On a Saturday with my family my dad finally decided he wanted to try Holly's, so we stopped by for dinner. The inside isn't hyper fancy but it looks like the owners are trying to make the place appear a bit nicer, especially since its recent closure by the health inspectors. I was expecting the menu prices to be a little higher than most Chinese places I eat at, but was surprised to see how reasonable everything was priced. Nothing was any more expensive than I'm accustomed to paying at Chinese restaurants, and in some cases was even a little less. We went with the kung pao chicken, triple mushroom chicken, beef chow fun, and potstickers. My only complaint was the wait staff and the time it took for our food to come out. The waitress who seated us was super nice but disappeared immediately after and no one else was around to take our order. We kept waiting to flag her or someone else down, and had to get the attention of a busboy that finally appeared, who had to get our waitress. There were only three other tables occupied in the whole place but the food wasn't coming and the waitress apologized a couple times for the wait. Wasn't like we waited an hour for food, but I guess they felt we were sitting too long without even our appetizers. But the wait was well worth the food that eventually came out of the kitchen. Holly's easily became at least my second favorite Chinese restaurant, if not possibly my favorite. The kung pao was definitely the best I've ever had, even had slices of jalapeño mixed into the other veggies, which were super fresh. The triple mushroom indeed had three different types of fungi, and a lot of all of them. And that beef chow fun was outstanding, also the best I've ever had. It wasn't too oily, there was lots of beef, and it was surprisingly lighter than most chow fun. The potstickers were delicious, but the meat could've been cooked just a little longer. The portions here for the price you're paying are impressive. I took home what was left and had it for lunch the next day, and the food held up great for leftovers. Highly recommend lunch or dinner at Holly's Mandarin. Maybe give yourself a little extra time to eat here, to be safe, but I can't wait to have another meal here. read more

This is our usual go to place, when we want fast service, and food that's always delicious. The family running this restaurant know our taste buds, and so they usually just tell us extra ingredients that we probably wish to be included in each of our dishes. Holly is a super efficient, quick boss and owner, who when rush hour begins, seems to move as fast as a swift eagle, throughout the large dining area, and back kitchen. Her hubby too, slides across the area with a deft ninja like manner. However quickly they move, it's all done with grace. Never are we disappointed with service, and the mouth watering dishes that come flying out of the busy kitchen. Mapo tofu is so great. The tofu's consistency is always as I desire, super silky soft. It comes in veggie too. The chicken lettuce wraps are hot proteins evenly layered with savory spices, coupled with crispy cold iceberg lettuce! The walnut shrimp too, is a sweet concoction of moist shrimp, with sweet crunchy walnuts. The savory salt and pepper shrimp, with the skin intact, is another no fail option. Plus, if you eat the outer shrimp shell, you get the added benefit of eating the healthy chitosan! The steamed fish with ginger and green onion, is a great healthy option, and so uber soft. It's paired with a large side of bok choy. The black bean fish is another dish that fills your salivating taste buds too! Goodness, I could go on forever! The lunch specials are perfect portions of delectable fare, that always come with a cup of soup. At the end, the owner usually gives us freshly made, hot sesame balls, filled with sweet red bean paste. Our absolute favorite Chinese dim sum sweet choice. It's so cute and small, yet delivers a huge taste of moist sweetness, that just melts as you savor each bite within your mouth. I really enjoy our large to small get together lunches and dinners, eaten family style, at Holly Mandarin! They even open on Holidays! :) read more

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I used to go here while working at Kaiser OAK for a few months. So today before testifying as an expert witness at a murder trial, being just a little nervous, I decided to get a quick lunch. I ordered yu hsiang pork, a lunch special which came not only with a good hot & sour soup but also fried rice and steamed veggies. It was a ton of food. Plus they had vinegar and hot chili immediately available. The food quality was excellent. Since I had to be professional, no beer. The bill came to $6.05!!!!!!! Please frequent this place. read more

After celebrating our grandmother's life, our family came here for the reception. My aunts already had a menu pre-picked for all of us and included the following dishes: - Fried fish - Orange chicken - Beef and broccoli - Chow mien - Sweet and sour pork The fried fish was a much better version of the school lunch fish sticks. Crispy and crunchy they were. The orange chicken was one of the best tasting I've ever had. Not over powered with the orange taste. The broccoli was fresh and didn't lose it's crunchiness. The noodles in the chow mien weren't soggy and partnered up with a variety of veggies, beef, and chicken. The pork coupled with red bell peppers and pineapple all covered in sweet and sour sauce was very delicious. All the meats in all dishes were tender and seasoned with the right amount of sauce and spices. For dessert, we had mini red bean sesame seed balls. A great dessert to top off a great meal. The service here was great and attentive. If you're in the area and craving some great Chinese food, give this place a try! read more