I love madam Lu. Whoever the front ladies are that work there are super kind and welcoming. I usually order take out and enjoy seeing my family sharing madam Lu's food. I personally really love the sizzling rice soup and imperial shrimp. read more

I very much enjoy food from the other side of the Pacific Rim, the Ring of Fire: Chinese, Vietnamese Thai, Burmese, Japanese; and Santa Barbara is blessed with a wide selection of these diverse offerings. But my go-to comfort food when I need to masticate something soothing and satisfying for 24 hours is a phoned in pick up order from Madam Lu on upper State Street. Phone it in, swing by and pick it up 10 minutes later, take it home, and enjoy it. read more

I'm very surprised this restaurant can have almost four stars on here. This is literally the worst Chinese restaurant I've ever ate at. Disgusting food served to me, my mom and husband at barely luke warm temperatures. The fried rice was over cooked and like mush, the Mongolian beef is the weirdest flavor that's been on my tongue, the eggs rolls were atrocious. I asked for spicy mustard and they bring on a side of my food with a tiny bit of the mustard with huge amounts of other sauces I didn't want. I asked again for spicy mustard and they bring me a separate dish with the same thing on my tray again with a very tiny amount of spicy mustard and the other sauces basically covering it. I had to ask a third time and explain all I want is a side of spicy mustard, no other sauces. Come on guys why are you adding sauces no one wants, and how come we can't even cook a decent egg roll and fried rice for crying out loud. I seriously feel that anyone that gave this Chinese restaurant more than 2 stars has never had the pleasure of eating really good Chinese food ever. If they gave it 5 stars they're probably certifiably insane or paid by the restaurant owners to give them a fake review. To summarize: Go anywhere but here this place serves possibly the worst Chinese food in California. 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

Excellent spicy Chinese food! Always a cordial professional staff. We usually do takeout but the restaurant is a very nice quiet restaurant. read more

I would give a 4 stars for a la carte, but a 3 stars for the lunch buffet. The entree at the buffet line was bland, fried rice was very very dry, shu mai was dry too. Hot and sour soup was light. I had high hopes with chicken teriyaki but I was disappointed. The most delicious were sweet and sour pork, broccoli with shrimp, and salted and peppered shrimp. I would recommend going there for their authentic Taiwanese dishes, you may have to ask them for their specialties, or some of their off-the-menu dishes. The staffs are super nice, and rice is bottomless. read more

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This review is for madam lu during the covid pandemic! We had never been before and it was suggested by a friend. We have struggled to find a Chinese restaurant that we liked in Santa Barbara and madam lu did not disappoint. We have gotten the sesame chicken and the chow mein and eggs rolls. We have been able to order and pay online which makes ordering very easy. Picking up food is seamless and we are happy to continue to support them during this time! read more

Madame Lu is the best! and I'm not just saying that because we share the same last name! This is authentic Chinese food in the heart of Santa Barbara. This nice thing is that all us asians know each other and you can always ask them politely to make something off the menu. They are super accommodating and you can even bring your own fresh fish or whatnot for them to cook for you! Always do family style and honestly, the menu is way better than the buffet. My favorites- chicken fried rice, Peking duck, and the lobster in fruit salad. (We literally will order one fried rice to go to eat later) Also the mayonnaise shrimp with walnuts and any fish. Super delicious, friendly staff and owner, and cleanliness! Come by and let madame Lu show you what great Chinese food tastes like! read more

Madam Lu was indeed a great experience from the food to the service. I have no regrets missing the buffet as the pork with preserved vegetable soup and steamed dumplings wowed me. For Chinese food in Santa Barbara it was very good. The adorable old woman filled our soup bowls and even again later for multiple rounds. I felt like she was my grandma. The soup I ordered had glass-like noodles; I think they're called cellophane. The noodles and broth both tasted simple and light, the pork savory, and the preserved veggies full of a distinct fermented, salty flavor. They are similar to kohlrabi. I enjoyed this dish very much. The dumplings were the most pleasure to eat with thick, tender skins and plentiful pork stuffing rich in taste. The beef and broccoli at Panda Express is better. Wasn't enjoying the texture of this beef... Tough luck! read more

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Blah blah, mother's Chinese and no restaurant Chinese is better than her's, blah blah. That said, I dined here with her recently, at her request, and came away pleasantly surprised. We even ordered off the standard menu. Here's the trick - DON'T get the stuff you recognize because all that "kung pao chicken" and "moo goo gai pan" is the same American chinese stuff as anywhere else. We got fish fillets with crunchy bean sauce off the Chef's Specials menu, 3 Cup Chicken and a plate of seasonal greens. The fish was nice, with great textures ranging from soft and flaky white fish, crumbly and crunchy bean sauce, and a pile of bright green pea sprouts. I'd never had pea sprouts before and they were delicious. They look like radish sprouts, but are sweet rather than peppery. The seasonal green was a plate of perfect crisp tender pea shoots, very different to the sprouts. The chicken was simple cubed thigh meat, but the sauce was lovely - a soy and ginger sauce with a little fragrant basil that made the whole dish slightly licorice-y - I liked it! We also got a little dish of pickled sweet-spicy cucumber as an appetizer, rice and tea. This fed four adults and the bill was $40 before tip. All in all, a delightful surprise for a place mostly patronized by gweilo poking chopsticks awkwardly at their dinner plates of kung pao chicken. Our service was great, very prompt to get some water and a pot of tea on the table, and the waiter always acknowledged my thank you with a thank you of his own. read more

Friendly, fast, healthy, delicious. Not too salty or saucy. Saved the number in my phone. Thanks! Yum!

We LOVE Madam Lu's. It's our family's Go To for home-style cooking. Even our kids who live in SF & LA want to dine at Lu's when they're visiting! Try the MuShu Pork, the Peking Short Ribs and Country-style Fried Chicken. Other favorites are Steamed Fish Fillet, Shrimp with Green Pea Sprouts, Kung Pao Chicken and Cumin Lamb (not on the menu)! Did I mention the Chicken Chow Fun and Pork Chow Mein? Vegetarians will love the fresh vegetables. Try the Vegetarian Dry Sauted Green beans! Lu has been a long-time community supporter. We were honored to support her and her staff by frequently ordering To Go during the worst of the pandemic. Thrilled to now be Dining In! read more

I have been coming here for 15 years when I'm in town. I wouldn't think of doing the buffet anywhere, you aren't going to get good hot food that has to sit. That is just the nature of food. The gringo stuff, (Kung Pow, chow mein, etc...), is not what makes this place rock. The Ma Po tofu is great! The fish fillet on a bed of greens and crunchy soy beans is outstanding! Ask Madame Lu to help with the selection and she will steer you well. read more

Restaurant is clean. Love the restroom! Food was ok. The party after us got their food before us.

The food here is really not that great. There are a couple of much better Chinese places within a few miles.

I really recommend this place. First time eating here, I ordered red oil chili wonton which I s not on the menu and they gladly made it for us. It was so delicious we ordered a second portion and one to go. The other menu items we ordered were really good too, fresh dishes made to order. Will definitely come back again. read more

Uh, scam alert!! I ordered delivery to Isla Vista, having checked sub-total and tax online. When the delivery arrived, there was no electronic receipt; only a handwritten note with amounts for sub-total and tax, each of each were inflated compared to what I had checked online. I phoned them, puzzled by discrepancy. Only then was I told that what had been denoted sub-total was actually subtotal+tax, and what had been denoted tax was a flat eight-dollar delivery fee. For people who hadn't checked carefully, they would be inclined to give an additional tip in addition to the delivery fee, that is based on an inflated sub-total! In fact, the receipt showed recommended tips (15%, 18%, 20%) based on the inflated sub-total+tax. The same thing had happened a week ago, when I hadn't noticed what was actually going on. I'm not ordering again from this place, that is for sure! read more

We stumbled across this gem as it was just across the street from our hotel. It was the right choice! My wife had as always the sweat and sour shrimp, very good large prawns cooked to perfection. I had the moo shu shrimp, it had really good flavor and was also cooked to perfection. All this, fried rice and a couple of cold beers is exactly what I needed. Oh, and the service and staff was spot on!! read more

The food is a awesome. One of the few restaurants in the coast that will do not only vegetarian but vegan as well. Both the vegan and the meat eater think the food to be the best Chinese food on the central coast. read more

Nice place and traditional food ....... You must be there I love the egg rolls and orange chicken Also the wine is good read more

I'm a busy guy and Madam Lu's lunch buffet is perfect for a hot, nutritious, lunch on a limited lunch hour. I enjoy a choice of different dishes and my drink is always checked on. read more

We ordered combination fried rice and shrimp chow mein and it just tasted very odd like it was cooked from used oil.

I love Chinese food and have been to many great ones. This review isn't about their entrees, ( which we enjoyed), but about two menu items that were outstanding. Their egg rolls are amazing. Most others are filled with soft almost mushy unidentifiable veggies. Hers are crispy, and you can actual taste and see each veggie that's inside. Madam Lu told us that's because hers are made from fresh veggies that they dice in the kitchen rather than the usual frozen veggie mix most restaurants use. Can't recommend these enough. Second item of note was the standard bowl of hot and sour soup we shared before the meal. There were five of us, and she brought to the table one large bowl, then scooped out perfectly portioned amounts for each of us. The broth tasted like it should in most quality Chinese restaurants, but at Madame Lu's, there were so many fresh veggies, tofu, etc, that it could have been a main course. Delicious! I hope you'll give this place a try. We don't live in the area, but we'll be back on our next pass through Santa Barbara. read more

good food but it doesn't really feel like Chinese food, solid 4 stars. kinda feels like I'm in Panda Express but really good food and I loved the interior read more

Super bad experience at this restaurant. Super Bad service and horrible attitude from the owner and waiter. Their food is overpriced and not good or fresh at all. Won't recommend any of my friends to go there. It's not an enjoy eating there. My friends and me were so pissed pff by their rude attitude! Super impolite and rude. It's the first time in my life I experienced so bad a restaurant ever. Don't go there! read more

The worst customer service the food sucks everybody working there was very very disrespectful the food was not cooked right when we finished eating the waitress insisted that we leave a big tip even though the service wasn't good and also the food do not go here they will rip you off and the food will give you food poisoning. read more

Such a disappointing lunch. We went there for the lunch buffet and I will admit that we arrived 1 hour prior to the end time of the buffet. There was nothing left in the buffet but "crumbs" from the lunch rush. They were not replacing the empty items. The items that were left behind were dried out or soggy depending on item. If the restaurant is going to charge full price for a lunch buffet, regardless of when a patron arrives, then items should be fresh and available until you close the doors and there are no longer any clients in the facility. I absolutely do not recommend Madame Lu's. Terrible. read more

Came here for lunch today with some friends. We ordered the lunch special kung pao chicken, garlic something shrimp, this boiling tofu w/ crab or whatever it was, and the wonton soup. Being around legit Chinese food for all my life, it came as no surprise that the "Chinese" food here was just very Americanized (after all, we're in Santa Barbara, not San Gabriel). The wonton soup was plain as were the wontons, of which the wonton skin was hard and felt undercooked. The kung pao chicken had not a hint of spice, just very sweet. The shrimp was kind of hard, but edible. The only thing okay for me was the tofu. I can't bitch too much because it was my first time here (my friends had been here before) and I didn't know what to get, so my friends ordered to share. I would say the food was okay...bearable, but without a doubt not the best Chinese food around. At least I've tried the place, though. Service was standard, parking is easy. I heard the lunch buffet is good...don't know if I'll come back to try it. Maybe, maybe not. read more

First off, if you live in SB, generally speaking near State Street/Las Positas area, this place delivers!!! It is sooo tasty!!! I had it for celebration of Chinese New Year, 1/31, and then was craving it so bad the next day, my girlfriend and I had round 2 with them the next day!! I HIGHLY recommend: - Orange Chicken - Sesame Chicken - Veggie Fried Rice - BBQ Pork Ribs - PAPER CHICKEN IS AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! - Cream Cheese Wontons my girlfriend has an allergy to soy, which is typically tough at a Chinese food place, but, they did have several dishes that they were able to make her, sans soy, so we were thrilled! Food was delivered both times fresh and warm! Lots of fortune cookies too! Will be back! YUMMM!! read more

This place is amazing. I don't understand the low-star reviews, but I notice that the majority of them are from people that live in places where you can get cheaper food. This is Santa Barbara, like it or not, stuff is expensive. This place's pricing is on par with any other Chinese restaurant in town, and the food is better. The owner is a wonderful woman and the entire staff has crazy memories and know who everyone in my entire family is and what everyone likes. When I had my son, they begged me to bring him so they could see him. Just nice people. The food is wonderful. Not greasy and well made. If they ever make a mistake they apologize, give you the extra dish, and make it right in no time. People that complain about the buffet being empty: sometimes they have a hard time keeping up, they cook in extremely small batches, which keeps the food fresh and the quality higher than if it was sitting on a steam table for half an hour straight. I agree it can be annoying, but just ride it out. Dang. read more

This is our second meal at Madam Lu we are were again very disappointed not only is the food tasteless the cashew chicken has no fresh vegetables they use canned corn and peas as a filler for this poorly over salted dish. The chicken was over cooked with a very strong artificial coloring. The Wonton soup was watery the wontons over cooked however the shrimp was fresh tasting. We have never eaten at a restaurant that so greatly disappointed us. We will not eat here again and will share our experience with others. Waste of hard earned money. read more

We were looking for a nearby restaurant and discovered this one. There are only really two things I can say about Madam Lu. First, the service was beyond perfect. Everyone was very pleasant and helpful. Second, the food was absolutely excellent! Oh, and by the way, there is also ample parking. read more

It was a really Yummy Thanksgiving Day meal with my parents!! The chicken and corn soup was so fresh, the chicken and peanuts was really good. Plenty to take home for dinner! Thank you Madame Lu! You are funny and hard working! Open 7 days a week! Sally, Ron & David read more

Don't eat here if you appreciate good food. I dined at this establishment with my family during the lunchtime buffet. Over all; the food was cold, service was odd as there was a worker (not our waitress) that kept staring at our table (she was no-kidding sitting on the table next to us just staring), and the selection was surprisingly limited for a "buffet". Dessert was weird as it included canned peaches, flan, jello, and watermelon (not quite the Chinese-food experience). I'll never eat at this establishment again. read more

Madam Lu - Madam Lu - Chinese Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

It seems like ALL the POOR reviews fall under these three categories, 1. People complaining about the price (too expensive). 2. People complaining about the small portion. 3. Didn't like their Buffet. I've been going to this place since I first moved to Santa Barbara (for college) almost 10 years ago and I have tried most if not all the Chinese restaurants in Santa Barbara, and I've yet to find a better one than Madam Lu. This is the only restaurant in town that's kind of on par with the good ones in LA, Alhambra and San Gabriel area. So let me also address the above 3 category of complaints, 1. This is not Panda Express, expect to pay a bit more. Two dishes with Soup after tax and tips is around $40ish. For some reason people have the expectation that Chinese food SHOULD be cheap... But people hardly complain about a $100 Italian dinner, go figure. 2. I know Americans like to Supersize everything, but common, the Chinese tradition is also that you eat rice with the dishes, so it should fill you up. We always had leftovers, so.. 3. As another review had already mentioned, DON'T do the buffet!! If you can, order from the CHINESE MENU. YES!!, or ask for help. I see people ordering Broccoli beef and some other "Chinese" dishes and I felt like slapping them, or more likely help them order the right stuff. read more

The only reason I gave a 5 Star was because my boyfriend and I love coming to the lunch buffet. After coming here for two years and spending money, I have to say the servers are not liking their job. They have become more rude and unpleasant. My boyfriend and I recently ate here and we always order the same drinks- two water and one diet coke. Time passes by and no question to refills ours drinks??? Like really, is it because we are regulars, we get served last?? I am beginning to think that I should go to another buffet and get treated like a customer! read more

I used to really like this place we've been coming here for 20 years. After a 90 minute wait for my order I'm ready to give up. Never coming here again. Just noticed that the tester ant owner has t even claimed this account so i guess they really don't care about reviews. read more

Finally, a decent chinese restaurant in SB. We went here for a going away dinner and was able to try a number of dishes and we actually walked away satisfied. Much more than what I can say for the other chinese places in SB. I only regret we didn't get the 3-cup chicken -- a true taiwanese dish -- yum! Prices are fair and the service very polite. Another plus is that the deco isn't the annoying cloying pink, or mauve that most chinese restaurants seem to like to use. read more

I really wanted to Like Madam Lu's. I was hoping for moderately priced good Chinese food, but all I can really say is- Its... okay... with a shoulder shrug. Haven't had the buffet yet because Axxess deals! Food is ok, but I probably wont be coming back here for a while. read more

Not great. Wouldn't recommend. Our order was: Chicken lo-mein. It was great. Chicken fried rice. Also fantastic. Sesame chicken. Below average. Fried but not really much sauce or flavor to speak of. Reminded me of pre fried chicken pieces we've gotten from Sam's Club. Orange sauce chicken. Same as the sesame chicken. Pretty bland. Chicken in curry sauce. It was decent. Large portions to accommodate the slightly higher than average prices, so decent value proposition. read more