Little Mandarin has been here for seemingly decades. Family operated biz across from a Shell gas station. Tight parking lot in back for a couple of cars. Sparse decor. Some pics on walls. Order at counter or at table. Cash only. Offerings ("North China San Dong cooking"): rice plates, chow mein, fried rice, soups, appetizers. -entrees not traditional San Dong cuisine, looks more Chinese American, Guangchow, China eats. Bites: Mongolian Beef, medium spicy (14.65) to go. -lotsa rice, Mongolian beef. Maybe lst time in a long time. -very tender small slices beef, probably flank steak, in a thick sweet sauce slightly chili hot. Fluffy rice tamed the spiciness & thick sauce. Deliz! *Mongolian Beef isn't Chinese, similar to General Tao's Chicken, Orange Chicken. Made in USA. **flank steak is thinly sliced, marinated shortly in shaoxing wine, oil, baking soda, corn starch, light soy & water. -then stirred fried in hot wok, mixing in brown sugar, thin & dark soy sauce, water, corn starch. After a few minutes in hot wok, ready to serve. 4.5 stars: worthy! Quality: freshly made. Quantity: more than enough for meal. May is Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. read more

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I went to Little Mandarin on a weekday and it was not busy. I was seated right away and ordered within 10 min. While I was waiting I was given egg soup to start with my meal. It was so good! I ordered the mushroom with beef over rice and potstickers. The mushroom beef over rice is pretty good. The potstickers were ok. I will definitely come back here again in the future. read more

Little Mandarin - Yummy mushroom with beef over rice - Chinese Near Me - San Rafael, California

My family and I have been coming here for 20+ years. And is always a solid choice for good chinese food. The food quality has gotten better recently after raising their prices. Now the food reminds of my childhood again. The food is good, well seasoned and when asked has a good balance of protein to vegetables. read more

Little Mandarin - Mixed Vegetables Shrimp - Chinese Near Me - San Rafael, California

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Great Chinese for Marin County (obviously not the most eclectic county in the world). Service was good. I'll be back. Thanks much.

They may be sweet and nice but they are watering down what we pay for. I dont want my meals to include white rice but they come with it... Its a waste of food and money from customers. Its like diluting what you actually expect to get. We specifically asked for just the meals. No white rice. But they told us the white rice comes with it by default?! Thats the smartest way to get customers to pay more for less of what they expect! This place has always been hyped by kids in the past. But I do not recommend any chinese food in marin county period. The East Bay-- Oakland Chinatown is where its at. Not coming back to order ever again! Do not water down my food with white rice! Do not water down my coffee! Do not water down anything! You will lose customers and may be like the rest-- shut down! read more

Little Mandarin - Broccoli beef and white rice. Sweet and sour chicken with rice... more rice than protein... - Chinese Near Me - San Rafael, California

Legit Chinese food for San Rafael, that's hard to find in Marin County. The chow mein & chow fun are authentic. Boss lady should work on the take-out orders and dine-in customers, maybe form two lines. It can be a mess up front and quite confusing for both customers and some of the staff. Hard to find street parking around this area. Glad they have finally allowed customers to dine at the restaurant. Food comes out fast and hot; this place is always busy. Closed on Sundays. 'Til next time - Gan Bei and see you on Yelp (SYOY)! read more

Doing a housesit job in San Rafael, a town I was not familiar with. However, I live in SF and am used to good, cheap Chinese. Did a little online research and found this restaurant. Ordered fish with black bean sauce--delicious, reasonably priced. i would go back in a second. read more

Agree the people are nice but the food is not. The chow mein was not chowable. The fried rice was barely fried. Everything was super bland and all ingredients taste cheap. Shocked it has 4 stars on Yelp. The Hot Wok in San Anselmo (which is average) is 2 times better. Bummer. read more

They have been stacking cash for the entire time they've been in business. They are probably multi-millionaires and simply don't need the business anymore. read more

Everyone I know that is from San Rafael including me knows where the best Chinese food comes from and this is the spot. I've been coming here since I was a kid. The OG dish is the Magnolian Beef with white rice, just wow! The food from this place just has so much flavor no wonder they have been in business for so long. Plus the lady that's been working there for years is really sweet and nice (maybe she's the owner). I've been to many Chinese restaurants and have had plenty of take out to know good Chinese. Also it's not like other Chinese restaurants where some folks are just mean . My go to for Chinese oh and bring cash because it's cash only. read more

Little Mandarin - a variety of asian food in plastic containers - Chinese Near Me - San Rafael, California

Running out of Chinese places in Marin since they are either out of business or horrible food. So I tried this place. Food was pretty much disgusting. Tossed out the leftovers the next day. Chow Mein was ok, but the rest of the order were not to good. Plus they scam you on the beef orders by putting the beef on top of the bunch of rice to make it seem like a bigger order than it really is. Would never go back to this place. Back when it was Chop Sticks it was ok, but that was awhile ago. read more

Great food at a great price. I can't believe how much food you get for the price. If I didn't know better I would think they sale by the pound! It takes me a couple days to finish my plate. I especially like the garlic chicken and add potstickers and chili oil & vinegar, I'm about to drive there right now but there not open yet I'll be going there tomorrow or this weekend. So far my favorite Chinese restaurant! Can't wait to grab some food there. read more

They make the most delicious and quality chow mein I could find in the Bay Area! I usually get chicken chow mein or Mongolian beef chow mein, Cash only. The owner and people work there are very, very nice. read more

Foods decent. I like that the meals all come with rice already. Reasonably priced and large portions read more

Little Mandarin - Menu 2023 - Chinese Near Me - San Rafael, California

It's a whole in the wall but the food is good! Generous portions! Great variety and friendly service! Best for lunch come for the beef and broccoli! read more

Shame. After covid and this economy, their dishes are now mostly rice. If you like LOTS of rice and little protein, then this place will work for you. read more

Ok this little place I first tried 13 years ago and even through this rough pandemic they stand strong today. They currently only have take out but trust me you won't be disappointed. My favorite is the prawns in lobster sauce made with onions, bell peppers and carrots. The Mongolian beef is carefully cooked with the perfect texture. Very reasonable price for such good food. If you like supporting small businesses that give you the most bang for your buck this is the best value in Marin county. Hands down read more

Little Mandarin - Mongolian beef - Chinese Near Me - San Rafael, California

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First time here, a lot of hype, ZERO FLAVOR! Ordered three items (chow fun, Mongolian beef, and mandarin chicken) but mandarin chicken didn't make it. It was mushroom chicken! I actually like mushroom chicken so no big deal. This place didn't live up to the hype at all. Not even a little bit. Actually curious as to how they're rated 4 stars! When I say no flavor, it is as bland and as boring as it gets! The most tasteless Chinese food I have ever had. How on earth do you cook with dark and light soy sauce and the food comes out flavorless? Terrible food, don't recommend it at all, and will never go back to this place. YUCK! read more

This is a bare-bones, absolutely no frills restaurant. Cash only -- no checks, no plastic. My companion's Sweet & Sour Chicken tasted good, but some of the individual breaded pieces of chicken were very tough. I hade Mu-Shu pork. which came with NO rice pancakes (they were listed as a separate item on the menu, but I didn't realize you had to specify them to get them -- never have I seen this in any other Chinese restaurant.) When prepared well, Mu-Shu pork is a dish with complex and delicate flavors. The dish I was served had lots of strips of pork, but they were all over-cooked and tough. The entire thing had one taste and one aroma -- the smell of smoky, burned cooking oil that had been brought to too high a temperature. Generous serving sizes don't make up for poor quality food. Ambience is non-existent. Service was very abrupt and matter-of-fact -- not impolite, but not friendly, either. I think we won't be back. read more

I was looking forward to trying this place and really wanted to love this place. There's often a long line of customers. The staff are super friendly. But the food for me was disappointing. The noodles for the Singapore noodles with shrimp seemed like instant noodles thiugh the shrimp and broccoli were good. The orange chicken and Mongolian beef were so-so, not bad and not fantastic. The rice was lumpy and thick (maybe too much water?). read more

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Short and sweet been here all my life they are sweetest people, food is delicious and hot. Trust me bro

Excellent Excellent . This place is so delicious and great helpings ! Super quick attentive service Best Mandarin style Chinese food in Marin . Cheers read more

The owner Denise is super nice and the Mongolian Tofu is deeelicious! Highly recommend this local favorite. read more

Little Mandarin - The owner Denise is super nice and the Mongolian Tofu is delicious! - Chinese Near Me - San Rafael, California

Great prices and always hot with fresh ingredients. All of the dishes come with rice too.

I've been going here since high school and I'm in my early 40's now. The food is so good, I always get the mongolian beef and chicken chow mein. The owner is always so nice. She would always remember my mom when she came in, even though she had moved away and hadn't been there in over a decade. I've moved to the East Bay but I always stop in when I come to Marin. read more

The food is always great! My go-to is orange chicken with chow mein. It never disappoints! Note: Cash only

My wife liked the moo-shu chicken. My boys liked the Mongolian beef with rice (mostly the beef), but I didn't think it had much flavor. The prawn chow mein was also fine. The spring rolls were yummy! Alas, they only had pork pot stickers, so we skipped those. The prices and portions were good, but otherwise, this was mostly just fine. Our search for good Chinese food in Marin continues. read more

San Rafael keeps amazing me with how many food and dining option it offers. And how diverse. After eight years living in this city I still find new location. Better said I discover new locations since the are here way longer then we are. So is little mandarin. If you are shopping at United you can see the little shopfront. And once I got inside I was even more surprised to find a full services restaurant instead of a Chinese pickup while in the wall. If you wanna eat on the restaurant you get a soup on the house, and finally I found my beloved chicken filled fried wan tans. I never found them in the USA but I got addicted to them back in Germany where every Chinese restaurant does them. It might not be authentic Chinese but I just love them. And unwashed so happy to find them here. But onward even more happy after I have eaten all 12 of them that comes in one serving for $6.88 (prices valid in June 2019) it comes with a good sweet and sour dipping sauce. Yummy. Try them I am sure you will love them too. I also had the Mongolian chicken. They don't have it in the menu regularly but since you can change the protein in ever dish it was not a problem to get that on my plate. It was not as good as the Mongolian from Yu Shang but close enough to be a good alternativ to it. The serving for $10.09 is fair and enough for a lunch. And the are serving all items really fast! So after eight years I will make sure this little not so little Chinese restaurant will stay on my lunch agenda more often. And one more five star thing here I didn't had to ask if they do msg I to there food the menu says in the biggest font on the menu "no msg added" - when you can cook with flavors you don't need to use msg. And they can! read more

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I am so surprised by all the bad customer service reviews. I ordered to go and as I was waiting they brought me a complimentary soup. I had no problem communicating with the servers or the Woman at the register. The soup was tasty and not salty. read more

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The best I've been coming here for years since I can remember and the flavor is always great! I always order the Mongolian beef spicy with steamed rice delicious every single time! read more

If you're looking for upscale Chinese, this isn't the place for you. If you're on a budget, however, and you're after a filling, no-fuss meal (or two), Little Mandarin will not disappoint. I had vegetarian chow fun with tofu (not on the menu) and a small order of egg rolls. The portions were massive--no exaggeration! I arrived hungry and barely made a dent. The egg rolls were gorgeous--huge and super flaky--and the dipping sauce was unusually tangy and refreshing, infused it seemed, with some sort of citrus. The chow fun was good. Not excellent, but perfectly enjoyable. The noodles were extra thick--just the way I like them, and the fresh bean sprouts added a nice crunch. My one complaint was the tofu; it was bitter (some brands are) and since it hadn't been fried beforehand, it was very soft in texture and sort of dissolved into the rest of the dish. There is no ambiance to speak of, but the servers are polite, and they bring complimentary egg drop soup as soon as you're seated. And, of course, the prices can't be beat. All entrees appear to be under $10, and there's enough food to feed two hungry adults, or to save for lunch the next day. I'll probably be back at some point. read more

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A COMICALLY HORRIBLE REVIEW- At a certain point in ones life, you have probably ordered enough Chinese food to get a reasonable understanding of what is good, and what is not. Granted I would say a vast number of Chinese takeout threads the line of sorta decent and borderline. However the novelty of hassle free, inexpensive and fast takeout supersedes the expectations of quality food and Chinese food ranks high on the no brainer list. With that said my expectations bar was set pretty low, but considering that I've missed this cash only tax refuge of a restaurant with 4 stars in my home town would no longer escape me tonight! While only two of us, I over ordered hoping to sample a smorgasbord of Mandarin culinary delights. Potstickers, wonton soup, shrimp chow fun, Mongolian beef and mu shu pork. That should cover the basics and lunch and maybe dinner tomorrow. What we were handed in a nifty recycled cardboard box was not what I was expecting sadly. The potsticker, oh man they were large and in charge...but also soggy resembled limp miniature burritos The wonton soup: I expected salty, but damn, that was salty but perhaps more upsetting was the wontons had the texture that only noodles that had been swimming for 24-48 in a broth can have. It lacked the flavor and vegetables that make this soup comforting. The shrimp chow fun was solid blocks of pan fried noodles. It was as if at they just said whatever. Just send it out. We don't care. The Mongolian beef, usually one of my favorites was a sparse covering over white rice (I'm alway disappointed when it's not over crispy rice noodles but that's ok) it was dry, it was bland and flavorless. Did I mention it was dry? It really sucked...all 6 piece of beef I'm sure were equally as bad. The mu shu pork was....well...quite frankly...terrible. It was missing the familiar flavors that they usually range. To make matters worse, I ordered 2 extra pancakes and it only came with those two. Which really didn't matter because it sucked so bad. In the end, this probably ranked as the top 3 worst Chinese takeouts I've ever had. That including drunken let's order Chinese food nights. The food went in the compost. I'm not sure why people like this place. I get that everyone has an off night. But to get all the dishes bad, and have it be so bad that you are willing to say...I'm good, I'll go hungry at the end of a night takes a lot. You've been warned. Don't do it. Or do it and have a terrible sense of what's good and think it's great? No....It's bad. Don't let The number of stars fool you. read more

Take the Yelp reviews here with a grain of salt. Most of the people who reviewed this place don't seem to be Chinese or Asian, so they have a different reference point when it comes to Chinese food. However, this is clearly a neighborhood joint that serves the working class Latinx/black folk of San Rafael, so I gotta give it props for that. I was the only Asian dining there when I came. But as for the food? There are hits and misses. --HITS-- EGG DROP SOUP: I was in the mood for some corn-starched goopy egg drop soup and they really delivered. This was pure comfort food; I enjoyed the savory flavor of the broth. They give you this once you sit down. CRAB PUFFS: An absolute delight. Puff Pastry wrapped around cream cheese and imitation crab, served with a plum sauce. The sweet and sour plum sauce really offset the richness of the pastry/filling. I would definitely order this. --MISSES-- The cornstarch coating of the stir-fried dishes here is too thick. It makes everything feel very heavy. SICHUAN BEEF: Basically beef stir-fried with zucchini. Too sour and sweet for me. Not Sichuan at all! CHICKEN CURRY: Not bad - your basic takeout curry. But a little too salty. MONGOLIAN BEEF: This had the best flavor out of all of them. I liked the green onions and the savoriness of the sauce. There is a charred smokiness of the wok imparted on this dish. The menu lists them as a Northern Chinese Shandong place but the waiters spoke Cantonese to each other. Don't know what's really going on with that. read more

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I've been coming here since high school which is was a while ago...and the food is still hella yummy! That Mongolian beef so so tasty and it's even better spicy with the chili oil. You mix it all around and you have one satisfying meal. If you dine in the restaurant, you get a lil bowl of happiness called egg drop soup, which helps cures the winter blues. I recently discovered the Little Mandarin special, which comes with either chicken or beef and mushrooms (my newfound friend). Its like the Mongolian beef, but more garlicky and less onion-y. Their beef chow fun is also really tasty. The flat noodles are always so satisfying, especially since combo kind closed down at the mall. While the decor is plain, this is one of those gems that you had no idea was so good. I'll be dreaming about you, you tasty plates you... read more

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I've been coming here since 2012, and it's always delicious. I crave there Mongolian beef. Great customer service, always quick and kind. Love this place read more

Mandarin Chicken or beef have the best taste ever!. I would recommend beef chao fen and walnut prawn too. The waiters there are super nice and handsome. I really enjoy spending time there with my friends while I work downtown San Rafael. read more

Really great value food - I was pleasantly surprised. Our favorite was the chow mein and the mongolian beef. Huge portions and friendly service. I would recommend! read more

Little Mandarin - Chinese Near Me - San Rafael, California

No pow in kung pao chicken. In fact no spice noticeable in anything we ordered: Mongolian beef& pork. Vegetables over cooked.. don't accept credit cards. Would not recommend. read more

Business is cash only. staff handle cash while they serve food. while I was waiting for my order, the young guy swept the carpet and a second later continued serving customers carrying food and touching tableware. prices have gone up everywhere but I don't understand how four spring rolls and a portion of beefy vegetables over mushy chow mein to go should cost $23.50 read more

I am still a fan--but I need to know for sure: does this place put in MSG even when they say they do not??? (I got a headache after eating there!) The people that work there and the prices are great !!! read more