Candidly; this has been basically a "port in a storm" for Chinese food. But over time...the portion size became more skimpy and the cleanliness of the place was suspect. A recent board of health inspection by SLO county had this to say... and confirmed my experience. Mei's Chinese Restaurant, 1759 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach Points lost: 15.5 Notes: The Shell Beach restaurant had several major violations during its May inspection, including an overall need to keep up with "repairs needed due to structural aging and deterioration." Other violations included raw eggs being removed from the fridge and kept in the kitchen overnight at room temperature; using sink drain boards as food prep surfaces for vegetables and thawing raw animal food products; old grease build up on the floors and walls and dirty floor sinks. The restaurant was advised to deep clean the facility. read more

Born and raised in LA so my Chinese food standards are high. SLO county is not known for diverse food options, it's very vanilla and basic. But I can say that Mei's did not disappoint. We had 7 people and ordered 6 dishes - Moo shu pork, crispy beef, honey shrimp, fried rice, chow mein and a wonderful shrimp/scallop dish. Everything was hot, cooked to order and just delicious. This is Cantonese/Guangdong style - what most Americans are used to in terms of the 8 Chinese culinary traditions. The restaurant is small but they do take reservations which I recommend taking advantage of on the weekend. We went Thanksgiving weekend and they were very busy. FYI they will be open on Christmas! read more

Shrimp Lo Mein with Beef and Broccoli I came by this lovely restaurant by the beach I though I'd give it a try! The food here was seriously incredible, so flavorful and rich! Made my mouth water when I opened the to-go packages filled to the brim with this yummy food! The shrimp Lo Mein, had noodles that were cooked perfectly, with thinly sliced cabbage and well cooked shrimp. I especially loved the beef and broccoli because the beef literally melted in your mouth with every bite and you could really tell that the broccoli was fresh and steamed by a professional overall 10/10 for this cute restaurant ! 100% would come again read more

Mei's Chinese Restaurant - Beef and Beef with Broccoli - Chinese Near Me - Shell Beach, California

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The food is good not great, but good. Price is average for the area. I would go back, but I will keep looking for a little better flavor.

Good food with reasonable price. We came to the restaurant late but the service was great. The food taste is better than most Chinese restaurant in average in US read more

Delicious sweet and sour, sesame chicken, pot sticks, and egg rolls. Great hospitality! This place is free eat for a family dinner or a date night. It's small, intimate, and you can actually have a conversation. read more

Really nice family owned place to eat and Pismo/Shell Beach standard. Great food and very clean, comfortable and laid back old school Chinese diner experience. All the food is fresh and a variety of choices, especially for lunch! Get it to go and walk over to Mary Dodd park close by and watch the whales and birds. Definitely stop in here! read more

Well it's my new favorite spot for lunch specials, orange chicken and beef n broccoli are yummy

Great food great service lovely place, would go again for sure and the music is nice as well

Stingy portions. Extra for rice. Not that clean. Not that friendly. Pretty sure I got food poisoning.

The service is great and the food is hands down the best Chinese food I've ever had. Been there 4 times now and I have yet to be disappointed. Great little spot. read more

Admittedly, the taste is there. However, the price/portion value is clearly tourist price gouging and they still charge you for a bowl of rice, with a la carte entrees, when 98% of Chinese restaurants include a small tub of rice. My Beef Curry Sauce looked like a half order at many restaurants, for $17.95. I got my Asian fix for today.... but I won't be returning again. Taste alone is not enough to win me over. You will get much more food at Panda Express, for what I spent. read more

I have been coming here since the 90s and it is still as delicious and nostalgic as ever. I finally introduced my fiancé to Mei's and he couldn't beIieve how good it was! Quick compliment from a previous time dining there: I can't stop thinking about how amazingly poised the staff was on Christmas Day dinner service when the wait was over 2 and a half hours long. Top notch ladies! read more

The appetizer platter was amazing!!! I ordered the veggie chow mein for dinner it was good, portion size was smaller then other Chinese restaurants so I was glad we ordered the platter read more

Mei's Chinese Restaurant - Pu - Pu Tray - Chinese Near Me - Shell Beach, California

Excellent. Fed a huge family and sat us quickly, and the food and wait staff was just great. Will definitely be comin' back to Mei's.

Can't wait to go back! Very friendly service, excellent food. We've been so Chinese-deprived since the North Coast lost their 2 good restaurants, and we're from SF and LA so regular intake of that great cuisine have been lifelong habits. Finally we discovered Mei's and managed to go yesterday, and hurrah!! We might have to move to Pismo. Everything was very fresh and prepared on the spot, the best egg rolls and special fried shrimps, lovely crisp and right out of the fryer. Best hot and sour soup I've had in years, we even got an extra order to go. We had a hard time deciding what to order, the beef chow fun was also delicious although the fried shrimp with walnut were so divine it was hard for anything to stand up to them. What a treat, we feel positively revived. read more

Went here to celebrate my friends birthday. Food here is amazingly and so tasty. The noodles, fried rice, beef broccoli, soup, egg rolls, etc. we're all amazing. Highly recommend this place if you in the mood for great Chinese food. Customer service is great as well read more

Aggressively average American style Chinese food. This is probably the best Chinese spot in SLO county -- but that isn't saying much because the competition is truly awful. I wish this place would modernize their menu and update their recipes! read more

I went to eat here with my family of four. The food was okay but not the best. The service was okay, the lady kept checking up on us to make sure we had everything. The part that upset me the most was when it was time to pay. She gave us the bill of $96 and some cents, so i rounded it up to $100 and some cents (leaving $4 tip) from my card. I had $15 in cash & i was going to leave the $10 in cash so the total tip can be $14. I was getting my wallet when she took the receipt and she came back really upset and told me that i need to tip at least 15% i told her that i wasn't done tipping. But her coming back to me with an attitude made me not even tip at all, tips are optional not mandatory! I always tip when i got out to eat. I just left her a total of $9 tip instead of $14 because of how rude she was. Definitely wont be coming here no more! read more

Just average Chinese food. Nothing that screams "I need to go back there!" Did not expect the the house special beef to be breaded and fried, since it didn't say so in the menu. While flavorful, it chewed like beef jerky. The Szechuan chicken was just ok, lacking flavor. Asking for medium spicy, is more like almost no heat, to our tastes anyway. If you desire Chinese food in the Shell Beach area, it'll do... But just barely. read more

Never ever go to this restaurant. Their menu is totally misleading, such as using broccoli as Chinese broccoli. The menu is 蚝油芥兰, but the real food is broccoli with Oyster sauce. 锅巴三鲜 without crispy rice. In addition, the food all tasted the same. I don't think they washed the wok. In conclusion, the menu's description looked tempting, but what was served was another inferior dish. Give them one star is because one of waitress is very nice. She tried to bring our issue to her boss or owner, but the owner didn't care about it. read more

Best Chinese food in the area. Good sized portions and great flavor. Service is great - very prompt.

I dont know if it was the swim in the beach but we were all starving and decided to eat Chinese. Hands down the best orange chicken ive ever tasted, the gf orderd mangolian beef with some wong tongs. Fire!!! All the servings are large amd can easily feed two people. Friendly amd welcoming staff will definitely return here. Go to try out guys. read more

Very good for take out. Shrimp fried rice was very good. Low mein also good but not a favorite. Mongolian beef also very tasty and fresh. Only 4 stars for the price although it seems to be in line with all the 5 cities area. However when I need a Chinese food fix I will return. . read more

Service was excellent. The food was just meh. Maybe the choices we made from the menu. We I'll give it another shot. To see how it goes.

I had the Kung Pao lunch special today. Very good! This is probably one of the better Chinese restaurants here on the Central Coast. Good service. Steady flow of customers coming in and out is always a good sign. I'll be back. read more

What a disappointment! We heard good things about Mei's Restaurant from years back, but WTH happened? Let's start with the good . . . super friendly staff taking our order. Now the bad . . . where do I start? EVERYTHING we ordered was so bland and tasteless, the beef was tough (actually didn't taste like it was real food), the moo shu pork was barely OK (probably bc I used a lot of sauce), the fried shrimp tasted day-old and we threw out the rest after trying just one piece. This food was so bad, I won't even give it another try, something I usually do for a disappointing meal. But with everything we ordered being so awful, we are done with this place. Caveat emptor - buyer beware! :( read more

Food and service excellent. Ambiance is very casual.

Can't believe it took me this long to find this place. Lived in central coast for almost five years before I discovered how good this place is. I don't know if it's authentic, but it's authentically what I think of Chinese food. The food is good, quality of ingredients is high, and they always get our order right. They have an efficient system in times of COVID and this has been a welcome addition to our eating out repertoire. I've tried the noodles, steamed and fried rice and numerous meat dishes. They all have great flavor. 5 stars for the awesome job they do in packaging your to go order in cardboard boxes. read more

Our fave and only go -to Chinese restaurant in the area. We couldn't believe that of all places, there's this hidden or maybe not so hidden gem in Shell Beach. Their dishes are delicious especially the kung pao chicken and bbq pork lo mein. Vicki the server is exceptionally fast and impressive at holding down the fort even when busy. I recommend this place. Oh the hot and sour soup is delicious as well. This restaurant has been in the area serving excellent Chinese food for over 30 years... read more

We have to stop whenever we come into town. Might be the best orange chicken I've ever had. Lo mein was also delicious. Always very friendly inside as well. Do yourself a favor and stop here if you want chinese food. read more

I had high expectations due to the reviews, but found it just average. I ordered two basic takeout items that was served by a very nice employee but found the food just average; nothing special. The portion was smaller than I expected for the price and If I was in the area again I'd opt for something else. read more

Haven't been here is such a long time...use to be our go to when we use to visit Pismo. My mom and dad loved this place and the owners always greeted them like family when they walked in. As I remember the food was always so amazing...fresh and so much flavor. While visiting Pismo last week I just had to return and they were packed but still got us in pretty quick and the food...was still just as yummy as I remembered and the portions were a great size. The decor hasn't changed but I think that's what I like best as it reminds me of our family dinners there so long ago! What a great walk down memory lane with the same great food and service. This great place shouldn't be missed! read more

Fantastic Chinese restaurant. Best sizzling rice soup, cod with bean sauce, beef with beans. Our favorite for past 25 yrs. We keep coming back because their service is fantastic and food is the best I have ever tasted.Shrimp Fried Rice read more

Have been to Meis countless times in 15 years. The food is good. The service is good. It's a tasty Chinese food restaurant on the Central Coast one shouldn't miss. read more

They have take out only, which is fine. We ordered 4 entrees and steamed rice. $75.00. We were shocked when we picked it up and there were 5 take out boxes which are what you get when you eat-in and have left over to take home. So over priced for the quantity you receive. Taste was good and that's the only reason for 3 stars. read more

What a wonderful discovery Mei's Kitchen is! A great selection of dishes you won't find at a lot of Chinese restaurants in this area - salt & pepper fish, Singapore Noodles - plus wonderful service. Matt was very friendly and attentive. We will certainly be back! 7/26/18 We were here, again, but tried the chicken Chow Fun instead of the Singapore Noodles, plus the salt & pepper fish. Delightful! read more

We were visiting in town and this place was recommended. The selections were great and the food was excellent. Highly recommend!

Good food, I ordered the orange chicken today and it was amazing! The fried rice and noodles were also delicious.

Love this Chinese restaurant so homey & delicious. The service was great I was acknowledged right away and greeted nicely. I loved the lemon crispy chicken, spicy honey chicken, Szechuan eggplant & pork fried rice. Can't wait to come back! read more