I want to love this place...the decor and service feels like great Chinese restaurants of yesteryear. The food was not what I expected, bland even. I ordered the chicken chow mein menú lunch. The buffet, if you want sheer quantity, may have been a better choice. read more

Madam Lu - Chicken chow mein lunch - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

The best and most authentic Chinese food in Santa Barbara, the restaurant has been in business for 30 years with two generations, nice service , clean environment, fresh and delicious food. A must try if you are in the area read more

Madam Lu - Ground pork with spicy rice noodle - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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The rice was very hard. The dumplings and bao buns were overcooked. The circle donuts, fruit, chow mein noddles and chicken dishes were the only good edible thing. We paid $81.54 for 3 meals during buffet lunch and the tip ($20) was forced. To each their own opinion, but I think that tips are based on quality. According to the menu prices, it should've not been what it was. The staff were nice but the food is not worth the trip. read more

My wife and have been customers of Madam Lu since a they opened in 1998. There are a bunch of delicious reasons why we are still regular customers. Lu, the owner, is also one of the friendliest people you'll ever meet and she always treats us very well. Ask for food that's not on the menu and I think you'll like them:) I highly recommend this restaurant! read more

Madam Lu - Salt and pepper fish - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Best Chinese that I've had in Santa Barbara (but frankly there's not many options). Came for lunch with two friends and there was two options; lunch buffet for $16.95 or from menu. The buffet looked alright, but we decided to go with the menu. Lunch special had pretty big portions for a good price. Would recommend getting a protein or vegetable dish instead of noodle, since it comes with rice. The chow mein was pretty good though and great texture - not too soft and not crunchy. Every server wore masks and were very polite. It was little dark inside and a bit quiet, but the food was good. Need to come back again to try more dishes. read more

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We've been having Madam Lu's for years. Love the veggie egg rolls, the crab won tons. Sweat and Sour Chicken. The Mai Pan Chicken. The Pea Pods and my personal fav The Mu Shu Chicken - minus the chicken - love the rice pancakes and plum sauce. I also love the Cashew Chicken - hold the Chicken. The fried rice is yummy as is The Egg Fu Yung. read more

In honor of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, let me spotlight Mei-Jung Lu Gaffney, the owner of Madam Lu Chinese Restaurant on Upper State Street where my friends and I have been eating for years. We are treated like family when we walk into the very clean, tableclothed, and peaceful atmosphere. Mafame Lu will cook to order any dish and I am very picky (and she remembers my preferences). With pork lo mein I want no added salt, extra pork, and extra bean sprouts (to offset the noodles). All her ingredients are fresh and everything in the kitchen is overseen scrupulously by her. I am trying to cut back on carbs so ordered the shrimp egg foo young. I was able to eliminate anything I wanted to, like water chestnuts. When you look at the picture you won't even be able to find the egg foo young because of the extremely generous portions of vegetables and shrimp! While I am typing this and remembering how delicious it was, my mouth is watering and I plan on placing an online pick-up order for my dinner tonight. Can't help myself! But I am guilt free so that makes it even better. The portion was so large it lasted for two extra meals at home. I also ordered my standby cold-weather favorite, wor wonton soup, also filled with vegetables and shrimp. THAT lasts me 3 days also. Pics of that next time. Sorry for not taking more pics this review. I was too hungry to wait and take my friend's dish. Next time! read more

Madam Lu - This is the delectable shrimp egg foo young - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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I was surprised. The place has a low key look, but don't let that fool you. The food was great! The service was excellent!

The Mongolian. Lamb dish was a salt bomb. There was no distinguishing flavor other than salt. The meat was hard to eat because it was chewy and sinewy. The best part of the meal was the jasmine tea and fortune cookie. read more

Madam Lu is located on a pretty busy street but you have access to so many retail stores and cafes. The parking is limited so I had to park off on a residential street. I was not upset at all since I knew after eating at a buffet; I would definitely need to walk it off! (They offer the regular menu all day but buffet is open M-F until 2:30 pm.) As I entered the restaurant, I was greeted nicely by an employee and was sat immediately. The buffet selection is great, they have a the traditional Chinese food options, fruit and salad bar, and a dessert section. They do replace items as they are getting close to empty which I appreciate because I enjoyed their orange chicken so much, that I needed seconds! The price for the buffet per person is so far the best. I would definitely recommend anyone to come. read more

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I've been going to madam Lu many many years. Great quality, delicious food with a family touch.

We were hoping to make it for the buffet but it wasn't offered the day we went. However, The Food was flavorful and service was quick.

Not good the only good thing was the cake and it tasted like-box cake. Very disappointing. Won't be coming back. Panda Express is better!

Madam Lu. 3.5 star solidity. Might try again. Hovering between "Ok" and "good," I'm met with a familiar feeling: that of wanting 3.5 stars. Three and a half stars would perfectly sum up my response to Madam Lu. I had a chance to try the restaurant's catering as part of an event sponsored by my university earlier this month, and the food was standard, if not brilliant. Opting for vegan, I received a large to-go box of steamed white rice and two plant-based dishes. "Chinese Green With Black Mushroom" and "Bean Curd With Chinese Mushrooms," both $13.95, were fresh and tasty. The bean curd dish had a nice depth of flavor, with generous chunks of firm-skinned tofu, shitake mushroom halves, bamboo shoots, and spring onion in a light, clearish sauce. Chinese Green, which might actually have been "Sauteed Mixed Vegetables" ($12.95) was simply quick-fried baby bok choy with garlic in a clear sauce. No other veggies were present. The bok choy and garlic, cooked just long enough for their flavors to meld, were light and subtle if rather plain (I tossed them with a bit of Lao Gan Ma and that did the trick). For American Chinese food, the cooking was certainly satisfactory. Had I been ordering on my own, selections from the restaurant's Chinese menu, dishes with veggie meat (beef, chicken, and pork are available), chili, or other strong flavors might have impressed me more. I was certainly satisfied enough to consider trying Madam Lu again. But after years of living in Hong Kong and traveling across Asia--which, to be fair, provide a whole palate of regional flavors that Madam Lu doesn't claim to recreate--nothing about the meal specifically impressed me. read more

I am surprised that this place has so many stars. As others have said, the food is bland and the service is terrible. I'd rather eat my own foot than eat at Madam Lu. I'm assuming the five star individuals do not possess taste buds. read more

Had this place on my list to try for a few months. Finally did and was so disappointed. Food was bland and tasteless. Tried to order a variety of things that we have had at other restaurants to compare...and Madam Lu fell short on every one. I know it's hard to find good Chinese food in SB, but honestly Panda Express is better than this. So disappointed that we wasted our money. Two stars because it was food and edible, but not much else. read more

Just really overall fantastic service, great food and traditional family atmosphere.. open Christmas and we enjoyed our amazing meal with a large crowd. Everything was scrumptious read more

My first and last visit to this restaurant. I ordered two dishes. I was more surprised with the fact they dishes had NO flavor. Basil & beef was horrible. The basil was very sparse & overcooked, dried to the point it no longer had any taste and no longer looked like basil, when you could find a piece. The beef was very chewy as will. I was disappointed with the chicken chow mien as well. The noodles were not like any Chinese noodle I've ever eaten, it was more like spaghetti. The chicken pieces were really small cube like shapes, again no flavor. I noticed on the wall they had plaques, but none since 2017 and I get the reason for this. read more

Tried this place for the first time today, came in for their lunch buffet. I was a little disappointed to see just a few options and the few there that I tasted were ok nothing special, the fried rice was very underwhelming and didn't look appetizing, chow mein also weren't that great. Good service, clean, and price wise it was $21.00 for the buffet but drink was separate, all together it was $26. For just a quick lunch for myself it wasn't too too bad but I definitely wouldn't bring others with me., and I feel like the drink should be included with the price, but this was probably my first and last time eating here. read more

I am only writing this based on the lunch buffet. There is a good chance that the food from the menu is quite good... but I had the buffet I used to come here years ago. They had lots of fresh vegetable dishes on the buffet. They had a garlic string bean that was amazing. Unfortunately almost everything now seemed to be cheap processed food that was deep fried, or reheated. Nothing fresh or actually made in the restaurant. Not sure if I would ever go back... but if I do, it won't be for the lunch buffet! read more

Madam Lu - Not very interesting! - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

SO disappointing! Our server was very nice but the food was beyond mediocre. Everything tasted bland and the same. They used way to much thickening powder. Will NOT be going back. read more

We were here 1 hour before closing they didn't care about there product. The food was cold and was sitting for long time tasting old. They offered to make us fresh pop stickers which were good, when new fried rice was brought out was not tasty. Egg rolls, shrimp, donuts were hard and cold. Very disappointed would not recommend this place. read more

Great food, excellent service and customer Focused Chinese restaurant that is first in class for customer service. read more

We recently had one of the worse Chinese meals we have ever eaten. The vegetable fried rice was greasy and tasteless. The vegetables were over cooked and tasteless. We were charged an extra $2 if we wanted sweet and sour sauce for our eggrolls. We were charged extra for using our Visa card. We have no idea how this restaurant is still in business. read more

I won't be coming back here, unfortunately. We ordered the hot and sour seafood soup, orange chicken, sweet and sour chicken, white and brown rice. Instead of getting hot and sour seafood soup we got plain how and sour soup. Despite the seafood missing, it was really good. The rice was a little on the dry side. The chicken dishes were not tasty. I could barely taste the flavors in the sauces. It was just bland. Our server was attentive, minus the seafood soup slip up. I wasn't too fond of the dirty walls and flies flying around the restaurant. read more

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Been open for a long time, always love coming here. Service is great and kind, food is tasty! I suggest the wonton soup, beef Chow fun, fried rice and eggrolls. Desserts are pretty good as well. read more

This is country style Chinese cooking. It's freshly made and has an extensive menu. My family and I have been eating here for years. I can't wait until they fully reopen. My usual lunch order is almond chicken for me and sweet and sour chicken for my daughter. Yumm! read more

Love this place service is always great food is so good and the place is always clean been going here for years take your family great time not to pricey read more

Good service. Staff is very nice. Fair price and food. Would go back again if I am in area

Placed a large order ($500) on Xmas. Received a nice phone call asking if I wanted white rice even though I didn't order any and they added some complimentary. Was ready promptly at quoted time and packaged nicely and they helped carry out to my car. read more

Madam Lu was a great time. We missed the buffet but whoa whoa the menu is probably significantly better. Very nice service, they refilled my soup for me so I didn't have to...maybe I was looking like I was struggling but the old woman was very nice. The waiter showed great patience dealing with some indecisive/ignorant people. Loved that! Dumplings were the best thing here. Very good, get the sauce and drench it. You will not regret that! Beef and broccoli was average, borderline mediocre but when is it really that good anyway? The pork with preserved vegetable was fantastic. Would highly recommend. read more

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This place is awesome. We came in super late but were able to get lunch at 3pm. We ordered the Ü-Shang (YuXiang) Pork lunch special and were pleasantly surprised to find our rice had been upgraded. I am particularly happy that I was able to get the Crab Roe Tofu. Although it was in a different style than I expected, being more soupy and seafoody, the advertised ingredients were there and awesome. While I thought the slivered vegetables in the Crab Roe Tofu were water chestnut, I suspect they might be bamboo shoots instead. The service is awesome as they packed the leftovers for us. read more

Madam Lu - Crab Roe (Sheh Who-ah-ng) Tofu - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

We were saddened after being a customer for over 25 years and recommending this restaurant to many people. We had a very small mishap. We ordered some food for pick, which we have been doing for many years. We ordered the same thing that we always order. So I picked it up and the order was wrong, coming to find out that when the order was rewritten for the cooks it was written as shrimp instead of chicken, which I didnt find out until I got home. I called and the owner said to bring the wrong order back and she would replace it with the right one. so after two trips, half of the original order was cold once I got back home. What really bothered us is that there was no apology and she didn't offer in anyway to compensate for her mistake. My wife called to see if she would and she just argued with her. We will never be going back or recommending her restaurant again. read more

The Owner Lu is absolutely AWFUL! I remember I'd go to Madam Lu as a kid and she use to be very nice and service and the food was really good but now it's an absolute disgrace.... When me and my family go for lunch Lu is extremely rude and is giving us dirty looks the entire time. One day she's nice then another day she seems annoyed and as a business owner you shouldn't take out whatever personal problems you're having out on your customers because that's how you lose business And you've lost ours. read more

Not bad, tried launch buffet twice and had great food and service there. However, they don't change menu so it's not a place you can go frequently tho. And if you are expecting some real Chinese food, don't go, try other restaurants. They are offering more like American style Chinese food. And for the buffet, will recommend broccoli beef and fried shrimp. Don't try fried chicken tho lol read more

What a special find for Christmas dinner ! Driving down state street on Christmas Day was becoming worrying, mum and I were starving and nothing seemed to be open. Madam Lu caught my eye and I saw the open sign so we went for it. Arriving around 430 the staff were setting up for dinner, no big crowds at this point but quite a few people still dining. Our server was really awesome, she was well-spoken and confident. The decor was old but cozy, it was just perfect for a hot dinner on a special day. The best part about the menu is the amount of vegan options they have ! I would have never expected a Chinese restaurant to be so accommodating to a vegan diet, my mum was stoked. I ordered the Beef Basil and my mum ordered the Vegan Kung Pao Chicken. My beef basil was so delicious, the onions were to die for and it was so garlicy. My mum liked hers, she didn't rave about it but she ate most of it and took the rest home. Closer to 530 the restaurant was completely packed and I totally understand why, it was delicious. Feeling lucky we found this place on a whim ! read more

Madam Lu - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I was running errands and im sick with sore throat and wanted war wonton soup. WOW!! This soup is so hot , fresh, tasty and my sore throat loved so much!! The girls were friendly at counter too . I forgot to order the wonton chips and they gave to ne at no charge !! read more

Madam Lu - War Wonton Soup sooo good - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

My papa takes me here a lot and it's amazing!!!!!!! The chicken fried rice is also sooooooo goood. read more

Madam Lu - The lemonade is bussin - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Sorry, but I wonder if those people who think the food here is good ever had any good authentic Chinese food. Panda Express is better. Service is good, but don't like the waitress/owner (?) standing there staring at you the whole time you eat. Parking lot was packed but there were only 4-5 tables of guests. On the bill, they charged 18% tip on our party of three without asking. When we asked, they removed the 18% but added a $2 NCA! We had cash, but again, they didn't even ask! We ended up giving around 18% anyways, but they are really shady! Will not go back again. read more

I have seen reviews criticizing this place because it's not authentic Chinese food. Having traveled in China that's right, but it's not the point. There are lots of places in the United States that serve wonderful Chinese style American food. This isn't one of them. Our meal deserved a black hole, not a star. We ordered war wonton soup, and spicy green beans two nights ago. The war wonton soup had a dark brown broth that tasted like it was made with boiled water and soy sauce. The wontons were not property folded, so we were left with some floating noodles and pieces of chopped pork with gristle. I've ordered spicy green beans at other restaurants. These were bland and tasted like the green beans were about a month old. I live right down the street from this place and I would never go back. I know it's been in business a long time, but there doesn't seem to be anybody watching the kitchen to make sure that quality control is maintained. I hope the owner reads this and makes some changes because we really could use an additional Chinese restaurant in Santa Barbara. read more