We were going to walk to another spot, but I remember seeing this when we walked by the Mexican restaurant. Why not give them a try? I'm always down for Chinese food! They have a great outdoor patio that's dog friendly. Friendly greeting when I walked in, and the young man said to grab any table outside. I ordered my go tos, house chow mein, kung pau chicken, bbq pork fried rice, and the sauteed chicken with vegetables. The kung pau was really good, perfect heat. The house chow mein had shrimp, beef, and chicken and those nice thick noodles. The fried rice was delicious! We really liked the sauteed chicken in a brown sauce which had different vegetables than the kung pau. Some places use the same mix in each dish. My parents are old school and they'd always say, if the dishes taste the same, the place is not good. Each dish here had it's own flavor so there is great care in the preparation. The portions are also generous and we took the rest home. The staff was great! So friendly! And it was very pleasant on the patio! Definitely worth checking out! I understand they are under new ownership and I'm glad we visited after this fact. I think we would've been disappointed if it was the previous, judging from the older reviews. Cako loved it here because she laid down and only does that when she does. I don't live up here but I look forward to coming back when I return! Cako Approves! read more

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What a disappointment. Wonton soup was tasteless, BBQ pork was like leather. White rice was the worst ... A solid clump.

Ordered egg foo young and combo lo mein. While both dishes were hot and ready to eat, neither had much flavor. The egg foo young was overdone, the outside looked almost burnt. It was too firm and spongy. Both dishes tasted the same. Even the gravy. It was strange and disappointing. We threw out the egg foo young. read more

Not the same as it was. Food is not recognizable from what it used to be. Go back to the old recipes - and quality of the ingredients. Really sad. read more

Stopped in for a quick lunch of hot & sour soup and dumplings. The service here is always excellent. The small bowl of soup was very large for just one person - that's great I'll have leftovers. The dumplings came in an Order of eight - again too many for just one person! The stuffing in the dumplings was great but they were wrapped in too much dough. I ate one whole one and then just the stuffing out of 2 others- again great leftovers. I will not order the dumplings again. The place has recently been remodeled- very nice and inviting- read more

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We as a family have been going here for over 25 years. Food has always been consistent, service can be better, definitely better than the previous ownership. But ambience is definitely good. read more

My favorite Chinese food in San Clemente area! Everything is always so good and flavorful. I got garlic chicken, honey walnut shrimp, Kung Pao chicken and a side of rice. The portions are very big! I got 3 entrees with a side of rice for 4 people, and still had leftovers to take home. I am a BIG garlic lover, and they use it in a very complementary way for their dishes. Service is pretty good, today we had a server that spoke Spanish and she was very kind. The vibe inside is more old fashioned vibe, which I don't mind as I came here for the food. Takeout is also fast and easy, parking can be tricky as the plaza parking lot is small and there are a lot of businesses. However I've never had an issue finding street parking. Overall always a great experience. read more

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Didn't want to give me a fork or spoon to go after I ordered food for pick up then acted like I lied about getting my fork told me if I need one to dine in read more

I've lived in San Clemente for 20 years and have always gone to Mandarin Garden for some Chinese food. Super bummed to say that this place has really become horrible and I will never be coming back. I waited for an entire hour for pickup today and the service was terrible the entire time. I watched 15 people come in and get their pickup orders meanwhile I just stood there getting angrier and angrier. I can deal with the occasional lapse of service because it is usually stellar here, but the food was awful. An honestly depressing drop in quality. The broccoli, beef, and string beans were all almost inedible. The pot stickers used way too much dough. It was all disgusting. And the prices! Wow 3 entrees and two appetizers was 87 dollars. Terrible for the quality of food we received. I will never come back here again read more

very good food, chinese food is very hit or miss for me. my server was really nice and the food came out pretty quickly however it was empty which is sad to see because the place is really nice and its not that expensive imo. the general tsao chicken was very crunchy and flavorful; i do wish that chicken was more spicy but thats alright its just a me thing. the dish was served with a mini sweet and sour soup that was also pretty good. overall very solid dish i can see myself coming back to try the spicy salt and pepper wings. read more

New Mandarin Garden - General Tsos Chicken - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

The food is great, but you need to be extremely specific when ordering because it's very easy for details to get missed or misunderstood. That said, the House Special Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Fried Rice are all outstanding. The fried rice in particular is unbelievably good and easily the highlight of the meal. read more

It's been a while since we had been here but recently ordered take out and was kicking myself that we had been away for so long. The order was ready very quickly and food was piping hot. We ordered the seafood soup, sesame chicken, Cantonese noodles, and shrimp in lobster sauce. Every dish was cooked to perfection. It was relatively quiet in the restaurant but seemed like there was lots of take out orders. Inside was clean and service was quick and friendly. We will be back next week. read more

Really sad we've lived in San Clemente for over a year now and this was our first time trying this place! Really great Chinese food. Perfect for a group as the portions are huge. Everything was super flavorful and the staff was kind. The restaurant was clean and relaxing. Can't wait to come back and try more! read more

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Visited this restaurant as a family and everyone agreed that all dishes were delicious! I forgot to snap pictures of the other dishes but we order the shrimp fried rice, beef & broccoli, honey walnut, orange chicken & chow mein noddles. I had to try the famous dumplings they are known for & they did not disappoint. Dumplings are pack with flavor & huge not the normal size dumplings this is great if you are a fan of dumplings a must try here. We visited during the week I believe a Thursday evening so it was not busy and service was great they were very attentive of us. The restaurant is fairly big with plenty of seating and looks like your typical Chinese restaurant. read more

New Mandarin Garden - 8 Hand Made Fried Dumpling - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

No human should ever eat here. Chicken is poison and the rice is mushy. I came here for the lunch special which is a bit overpriced for the value of the food. They only gave me 1 fortune cookie when it's clearly a meal for two and didn't even offer me the drinks that it comes with. read more

Honestly, this place deserves more attention. The food was delicious, the service was fast, and the server was super nice. You can tell they care about both the food and the customers. I'll definitely be back! read more

My husband and I ordered the lunch special. We both had the General Tso's chicken and it was delicious. It came with a wonton that had some creamy stuffing and It was amazing. We picked as sides the fried rice and chow main noodles and they were both really good. And I have to mention that the service was excellent! read more

New Mandarin Garden - It's not a good photo but the flavor was amazing - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

We've been coming here for a very long time and realized I never had written a review. This place is our go-to for authentic Chinese food, and the staff is always super friendly and attentive. We got the chicken chow mein (our OG fav) & the orange chicken. Both were so beyond good. Inside is nice, clean, and quiet making for a relaxing/ chill dinner spot. read more

New Mandarin Garden - Chicken Chow Mein - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

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Holy salt Batman. I order the shrimp with snow peas and couldn't taste anything but salt. Same for my husband who ordered the chicken with vegetables. read more

New Mandarin Garden - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

What a bummer. This place used to be some of the best Chinese food in orange county. Been going here for several years. Not sure if they changed ownership but the food is no where near what it used to be and the way fewer proteins in the dishes. So disappointed! read more

I used to visit this restaurant as eat-in customers about a decade ago. Recently, I revisited New Mandarin Garden in search of tasty Chinese food to-go. I now understand that the ownership has changed once or twice since I was last here. I ordered house fried rice to go with my 3 entrees, but only got plain white rice. Why does their online ordering system offer an alternative to plain white rice if they don't honor it? Food was 8/10. People at the front desk were nice. read more

awesome restaurant. i was so craving some good Chinese food. i never go out to eat anymore but i was tired of eating at home. i got a flyer from them saying new ownership new changes. im so glad i tried them. the place is so clean and the hostess was very nice kind and helpful. we got 3 dishes and they were all amazing delicious and generous. i feel like the quality of the food is very high and it seems healthier than most. i look for all of these things in an eating out experience. they hit the mark all the way around. we got the lunch specials and it was so reasonably priced. we got the shrimp with snow peas,the mongolian beef and the chicken moo goo gai pan. we will be back soon. i highly recommend this restaurant..... read more

I've dined at New Mandarin Garden since I moved to San Clemente 29 years ago, glad to have a consistent authentic Chinese restaurant in walking distance.The restaurant ownership changed hands three times I am aware of. The new owner and manager Jay deserve special kudos for a wonderful dining experience in a brighter, welcoming, clean more open space. Exceptional items are the Kung Pao Three Delights, the Double Seafood Delight in Hot Garlic Sauce and the House Special Fried Rice! I've dined here four times since Jay came on board and New Mandarin Garden gets better every time! Keep up the good work, Jay! read more

After a couple bad experiences, see previous reviews, I decided to try again since the Yelp reviews were not looking too bad. Here's a quick update. A vast improvement from our last couple of tries. In fact I will try it again in the future because of our more positive experience. We do take out so I can't comment on the sit down service. We had a variety of food including chicken and black bean sauce, mu shoo pork, hot sour soup, egg rolls and fried rice. All but one was very good and large portions. The one that still amazes me is the "fried rice". It is basically white rice with soy sauce. No flavor. I would rate the fried rice at 1 star. Go. Eat Well (except fried rice). HAVE FUN! read more

The servers are attentive. The food is delicious, especially the hot and sour soup! The remodel really improved the overall feel read more

Great local food, delivery was fast and my food was super hot and fresh. -minus 1 star for the unpleasant cookies. I found it very unpleasant to open my fortune cookie only to find an advertisement for "Hulu" in my cookie. I know this sounds weird to some of you, but I find this so invasive. We have ads everywhere (like those awful gas station pump screens ) and now you want to sell ad space inside fortune cookies? It used to be a fun way to end a Chinese takeout meal and now it's not. Thanks for taking the fun out of that Some might say this is not worth removing a star for but I do, the restaurant made this choice to include these rude cookies with ads in them and to change the tradition from fun to phony. Otherwise, the food is great but skip the Advertisement Cookies Don't get me wrong, I love this place and you should try it too read more

New Mandarin Garden - Hulu ad in my cookie - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

We really enjoyed the food and the service was really nice. Will definitely return to eat here again.

Ordered takeout tonight and it was disgusting! No flavor and gross thick breading on the sweet and sour shrimp was so gross!!! I'll spare you the pictures. Will never go back read more

Soon after a change in ownership a year or two ago, we were disappointed with the reduction in the quality of the dishes, but it seems like they are listening to feedback as our dinner last night was fantastic. Hopefully they are "back". read more

Awful! I had family come to town and their daughter was craving Chinese food. We chose New Mandarin Garden because it's walking distance from our home. Big mistake. First, my order was wrong. I ordered shrimp and got chicken. The waiter told me if I kept the chicken he wouldn't charge me. Ummm, I don't want it free, I'd prefer what I ordered. Should have stuck with the chicken. The sauce on the spicy garlic shrimp was so sweet it was inedible. My niece's daughter ordered dumplings... doughy! And when I asked for soy sauce the waiter brought a handful of 'to go' soy sauce packets. This used to be a good restaurant. read more

We have been patronizing the New Mandarin Garden in San Clemente for years and have always enjoyed good food. Last night we ordered delivery and we both commented that it was the best it's ever been. Nice and fresh, perfectly seasoned and even the rice was perfectly cooked. Whatever you're doing as improvement in the kitchen, keep it up! read more

I wouldn't do takeout here. I showed up to lobby full of angry customers all looking like they had been waiting for a while. When I asked them how long my order would be they told me two minutes so I thought I got lucky, 30 minutes later when I got my food, I understood why everyone was so pissed off. For sure the last time I ordered from here read more

If you haven't been here in a while be ready for a big surprise! Fresh decor, menu upgrade, amazing food. Great service.

The portion sizes are very large here and filling. All the dishes we have tried are incredible. I would highly recommend their house noodles! Amazing customer service as well. read more

Cold food horrible service by a really bad waiter Asked for hot tea was delivered cold water in tea pot

We have been dining at New Mandarin Garden for the last twenty years through the two changes of ownership. It is on our rotation for meals. We felt that a couple of our favorite dishes were not as good under the most recent new ownership. However, we dined there last week and the food was great and better than ever!! Their portions were very generous also. Our favorite dishes to order are: -Pan fried dumplings -Honey Walnut Shrimp -Cilantro Chicken -House Special Chicken -Moo Goo Gai Pan (Chicken with mushrooms) -Beef and Broccoli -Beef in sizzling platter -Moo Shu Pork -String beans with meat sauce -Baby Bok Choy -Chicken Fried Rice -Singapore Rice Noodles (curry flavored) read more

A steady reliable Chinese restaurant where there are far to few. The staff is friendly and patient. The menu has a large selection so we're never stuck in a rut other than we love the spicy orange beef. Since the servings are quite large we always have delicious leftovers! We recommend the pot stickers as well. We're so happy they made it thru Covid. They have decided to keep the to go window for those that prefer take out. YUM! read more

New Mandarin Garden - Honey walnut shrimp, orange beef & sautéed green beans - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

We had no plans for Christmas dinner and decided to give this place a try, but it was very disappointing. We spent over $60, and the portions were far from worth the price, they forgot to add the chicken in the low mein which we paid extra for. After waiting an hour, our name was called and the food was placed on the floor, which felt unsanitary and careless. Overall, this was not a good experience and definitely not what we expected. read more

if i had the option to give this place no stars then i would. the food was incredible, don't get me wrong. but the service was HORRENDOUS, it's honestly really sad. i was there with my family, a party of 8 and most of us did not have any utensils, plates. when my grandmother came in they didn't offer to get her a drink for about 30 minutes. the place was not packed either, we were the only ones in there. we ordered a beer and it was served with a glass that had a lipstick stain on it. there were no water cups, we weren't asked for refills, anytime we needed something we had to wave someone down just to get their attention after saying "excuse me" when they would walk by. we are extremely dissatisfied and it honestly sucks because the food was 10/10. due to the lack of service, we will not be returning nor will we recommend to others. i truly hope the owners do something about it so others don't experience what we did. read more

Kung Pow 3 Delights is incredible! Love this place so much, food is always really good!