I think the reviews of this restaurant are decidedly unfair. The food, while somewhat over-priced, is certainly good, and is actually competitive with the mom and pop Chinese joints I typically frequent in LA. The dining area is small and the wait staff is less than attentive, but that's common in this area. Time moves a lot more slowly for people living on the hill. It is a bit greasy and most certainly loaded with MSG, but I like me some MSG in my Chinese food. I'm rounding up to a 4 from a 3.5 just because of the lousy reviews. read more

Tonight was my first time eating from Mandarin Garden. I did takeout so I cannot comment on the service, just the food. We thought the food was awful. I didn't have high expectations and really just expected a typical Americanized run of the mill Chinese food place. It was so much worse! The Kung Pao Chicken wasn't even edible and had a funny smell. We ordered 8 different items so we could get a good idea of what their food was like. There wasn't one thing I'd order again. In fact, we won't ever order from there again. Another mountain restaurant scratched off our local dining out list. So disappointing. read more

Always fresh and delicious with a staff that is super willing to adapt the cooking to our lower-fat requirements. Favorites? Too many to list...but we've quite honestly never had a dish that we didn't like (haven't had the beef, but love all the chicken, pork and vegetarian offerings.) Try the Pot Stickers with their incredible sauce. Moo Shu, Egg Foo Young and the simple but elegant Chicken with Broccoli are all quite wonderful and, if you're celebrating, don't miss their to-die-for Mai Tai. Paella read more

We have been going to Mandarin Gardens for almost 20 years. Tonight we ordered 6 entrees, one of them was Moo Shu pork and we asked for extra pancakes, what we received was no pancakes and no plum sauce, very sad!! We also ordered the pork ribs, in the past there were tasty and perfect, but tonight they we cold and very tough. while there remainder of the order was okay it was not the way it has been in the past, Charlie where are you?? read more

The food here is delicious. It is a little far away from us (for now) so I have only ever been here twice. The first time was on my first date with my (now) husband, the second time was on our first wedding anniversary. Both times, the food was fantastic. The portion sizes are huge, be prepared to take home some leftovers. read more

The food is fine, the servers are super friendly. It's the only Chinese food you're gonna find on the mountain.

Food was at best bland & not authentic Chinese food. Served cold & had to be sent back to be warmed up. Will not be visiting again.

Service was good. Friendly staff but we're a little too zealous on picking up plates. Twice they picked up my plates - we were not yet. Chinese dude was so fast i didnt see him coming. Now the food was mediocre at best,but what really got me was the pricing. pricing is too steep $12.99 is the cheapest dinner. I could have waited for bigbear another 45 minute drive. With 2 hungry kids i couldnt wait. I will say they have the lunch pricing specials,which was reasonable $6.99 before 3:00pm after 3pm go to bigbear. I must admit that if the pricing dropped to $6.99 all the time i would go back. Portions were surprisingly small for a chinese restaurant. Their beef skewer sticks were about 2 inches long and tasted bland. read more

On a recommendation, my wife and I stopped in for dinner while staying up in Lake Arrowhead. The initial appearance may scare a few folks away and the 'B" rated definitely had us concerned; however, we were glad we stayed. Because of the "B" rating I looked around quite a bit while we sat waiting to be seated (about 10 minutes on a Friday night). Everything appeared to be clean and in order so I did let my concerns go. We were seated in a small area to the left of the door fairly quickly. The atmosphere is very typical of a Chinese/Mandarin restaurant with old outdated decor and some traditional decorations. The server came to us almost immediately and was very attentive the entire time. We mentioned that we were looking for only vegetarian dishes and he confirmed what we ordered met that spec. and also reassured us as he delivered our food. From a service perspective I would rate them five stars. We ordered egg rolls, Hot and Sour soup (comes with chicken ask for it without), sauteed asparagus and the vegetable medley (can't recall the name; but it was a "feast"). All of it was great. The Hot and Sour soup was fantastic. Truly one of the best we have had. The egg rolls were decent; although, larger than most and very filling and the vegetable dishes were very good. The vegetables seemed fresh and crisp. It was served with a mediocre white rice; but overall we truly enjoyed the food. Serving portions were great as well (we ate our leftovers for lunch the next day). Finding good food up the hill is often a challenge for us (especially considering we don't eat meat). We get stuck eating at about 2-3 restaurants so finding Mandarin Garden was a thrill. From a stars perspective, we rated this based on a comparison with restaurants of the same caliber down the hill so that we didn't set the expectations too high. But it is at least 4.5 based on what that area has to offer. If you are looking for Chinese while in the area I would definitely give it a try. read more

The service is so much better than the one in Crestline! They were very nice and accommodating. Cindy - maybe you should go to Blue Jay and learn a thing or two about customer service. We will be back! read more

This is our favorite restaurant in Lake Arrowhead, and has been for the past 25 years. Our only regret is that they cannot keep an A rating. My husband opened the door last night and saw the B and turned around and we left. Perhaps that is why the parking lot was empty. I spent nearly one year away from Mandarin Garden because of it. I do not know why they have it as a B. My husband and I deserve better food and preparation of it. We love Charlie, Mike, Larry, Maggie, and the whole gang. If we all demanded that they keep their rating up to the A it should have, then maybe they will work harder at maintaining it. So sad, no Mandarin for us locals. read more

If I could give this place zero stars I would. Ordered $35.00 worth of take and and threw it all in the garbage once I saw what the sweet and sour chicken looked like. Not sure if it was meat.. they should prob send the heath inspector in soon! read more

Charlie and Maggie the owners are always happy to see you! The food is prepared to perfection, hot and prompt. Lunch specials are a deal at $6.95 or less they include soup and salad. Full Bar service is great! I suggest the scorpions! Yum! The only improvement I could suggest is to update the decor which I believe is original from when they opened 20 years ago. If you have a hankering for some good Chinese food stop into the Mandarin Garden. read more

So freaking good and their service is always impeccable ! Whether you dine in or order take out - it's always 100% great service and amazing food. Nice vibe when you walk in accompanied by excellent service does NOT suck! Their orange chicken is a must have - trust me you will LOVE it..Beef and broccoli is also another super yummy item on their menu! Highly recommended! read more

One thing I do not understand is why this place has received good reviews. IT'S AWFUL!!! These people who come here do not know good Chinese food, coming from someone who has traveled all over and has tried different, not to mention authentic, foods. First of all, the egg rolls were extremely greasy, the wonton soup was terribly bland, and the chicken chow mien was salty. I got worried because they have a B grade and I'm 20 weeks pregnant and was not looking forward to getting food poisoning or something. I had no choice, since we were with friends, so I hardly touched my food. Luckily, no food poisoning, so it must have been given a B grade for something else. I will not be returning here. read more

This has been one of my favorites for 25 years. We stop here for the lunch special every trip to Lake Arrowhead. Best Chinese on the mountain. Thanks to the owner Charlie for being so great to my family over the years. read more

Nice Chinese restaurant with a good selection of food and acceptable prices. Orange peel chicken is hard to find on the menu and not available for the dinner combos. Great service and hospitality. read more

This restaurant in my opinion is one of the best the mountain has to offer. The pricing is great and won't break the bank and the serving sizes are always large. The food always comes in a timely manner and the staff is very friendly. The food is never bland and is authentic. If you like and are in the mood for Chinese/Szechuan, this restaurant is the place. read more

Best restaurant in Arrowhead! Great customer service and food. The Mai Thai drink is fantastic.

Up in the mountains, you'd never expect a Chinese Restaurant. Then when you find out that this place is up here, so you start to settle and go okay, "How bad can it be". Then you taste the food and wonder why isn't this place more crowded. My family and I ordered take out and the food was amazing. Can't wait to visit this place again. read more

Stopped here over the weekend. I thought it the food was great. The decor was a bit outdated. However, the service was excellent. I will go here again. read more

Food had a good flavor but for the price that we were paying, the portions were small. The waiter seemed mad every time we told him to bring us something. read more

we ordered take out. the service was quick and the food was excellent. place was very close tho where we stayed on the mountain. it was nice having a chinese take out option so close by. had the house fried rice, shrimp lo mein, orange peel chicken, and hot and sour soup. we originally ordered the wonton soup, but they gave us the hot and sour soup and we didn't notice until we got home, but we didn't mind because I like hot and sour soup and it was good. read more

while vacationing with my family (with kids 1 and 3 years old) we were craving Chinese for dinner... we went to Mandarin Garden and stepped back in time, to a simpler, laid back restaurant with actually NICE waiters who weren't too busy to stop at the table and chat. The food was delicious and my super picky 3 year old could not get enough of the sizzling rice soup! We loved the family friendly atmosphere, and the food was good. Don't go expecting tons of fan-fare and pomp and circumstance, but go for a nice quiet evening filled with good food and friendly staff. Wife and I are definitely putting this place as a must-go-again when we come back!! read more

The BEST! Called on a Tuesday for take out. Arrived to pick up my order only to see a sign saying they are closed Tuesday. The door was locked. What? Suddenly the door opened and I was let in. Yes, the young woman said, they are closed Tuesday but since they were there cooking for themselves and a few others they made my order! Who does that? The food was AMAZING! So fresh and yummy. I wish I had ordered more so I could have leftovers. Thank you Mandarin Garden for such a wonderful surprise! read more

First time visit, what a pleasant surprise. Delicious food, attentive service, this is a hidden gem

Very interesting menu items. Our food wasn't the warmest it could be but it still was good! The owner is so funny and welcoming!

Very friendly service from the owner and while some menu items can be hit or miss they do a great job on the combination fried rice and orange peel chicken. Their soups are always spot on and any of the bean curd dishes are mouthwatering. read more

Yikes! the food has improved from 2 years ago. We placed an order for pick up got the beef broccoli, orange chicken, hot and sour soup, pork fried rice and fried noodle shrimp. Everything tasted delicious food was not greasy and orange chicken was not all skin like other places. The only dish I was not sure about was the fried rice pork the smalls pieces looked like spam, not sure what it was but it was tasty also. read more

Always good food, and good service! I wish my wife liked Chinese more, or we'd go there a lot more often.

Good food, good prices, good service. Decore was traditional Chinese, a little dated, but extra credit for traditional Chinese music. Always a good sign when Chinese people work at a Chinese restaurant. Overall, a good eating experience and would definitely eat here again. read more

One of our favorite places and really great food. Great service and big portions. Truly huge menu. I loved the hot and sour soup and egg rolls. Never disappointed. read more

Very, very bad! Ordered lemon chicken for pick up. Sooo over cooked and breading falling off. Called in to tell them and the owner told me he didn't know what to tell me that's the way it came. Lucky for him it's snowing outside and I don't want to drive there. read more

Mixed feelings about this one - Seven of us were up from L.A. for New Year's weekend and were happy to find this little restaurant that was family-friendly, reasonably priced, and didn't have a long wait. The service was excellent and the waitstaff so friendly. The place looked like a 1980s Chinese restaurant with the red booths, which was kind of fun. The food was pretty mediocre, though. We ordered a number of dishes and the kids didn't eat any of it. read more

Excellent food, service, and prices. The MaiTai's are a must! We have been coming here for many years and we're never disappointed.

The service and workers are always super friendly, their fried rice is a go to for my family and it is absolutely delicious. I love it here

We were greeted warmly by Charlie late on Friday night and ordered tons of good food! Dumplings were tasty and chicken dishes all good and not too salty! We ate throughout weekend and will be back! Oh and we tried the famous Mai Tai as we waited for entrees and they just what we needed to start the weekend! read more

Best Chinese place up on the hill. Super friendly staff and quality dishes that will be remembered.

Went here last week with a friend of my wife for dinner great food $40 that three of us including soft drinks multiple entrees appetizers. Wait staff were very attentive almost too attentive but that's not a bad thing at times. Water was consistently field as soon as it was empty which is where the attentiveness came in handy. Definitely will be back again. read more

A special thanks to Wende for making our evening so special. She sang her song "My Whole Heart" while we dined on delicious food. Highly recommended. Doesn't get any better than that. Unexpected and wonderful. read more