We wanted to try a different Chinese place than the usuals. I'd heard of New Mandarin Garden and decided to give it a try. Saturday night 6.30pm, we walk right in. Only a couple of other tables were in use. Hmmm. Well, maybe the local community is take out. (Sure enough, a number of folks came in for their to go orders while we dined.) My wife got her usual Kung Pao chicken. I wanted not only try a new restaurant but also a new dish, something I hadn't eaten anywhere before. I opted for Pork Egg Foo Young. Both items were delicious! Outstanding. Portions generous. Service was great. The only problem: parking. Be patient, grasshopper. It is well worth the wait. read more

Never again! This place has gone downhill fast. Take out was good at all. Time to find a new actually good Chinese place in town.

The food is fine, but the staff had added tips TWICE to my credit card that I didn't authorize. This is THEFT.

Have been coming to this restaurant for food pick ups for the last 20 years and have never had a problem, and have always enjoyed the food, management has always been lovely. But as of recent, its not as true as it once was. Though I have little to no complaints on the food. There has been some minor differences, but have noticed its getting better over all. But what has me writing this review is because of a recent interaction that I had with Leen. Upon arriving for pick up, he was already being rude, but I looked past it. As the interaction went on we were checking out, and I asked for hot sauce and he practically tossed them at me. I asked him what was his problem? We had some back and forth, I asked him if he was stupid, and he snapped back with how I AM stupid. Being a long time customer this was very unsettling. The change in atmosphere and attitude has me rethinking my usual food spot. I really wish for this place to try and improve upon their service, but so far the food is still good. read more

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

Staff was very friendly and eager to make sure you have everything you need like water, tea, sugar I was happy with the service. Our food tasted fresh and the portions were good. I definitely recommend this Chinese restaurant because of the good food and good service. Will definitely return! read more

Has been new management for months now. Not happy with the dishes - Received chow mein that had NO FLAVOR - very bland. Sring Beans and chicken has NO FLAVOR - NOTHING like the prior chief recipes Not very happy with the new recipes . I will not be returning . To top it off the forune cookies are CHEAP and have no furtune inside. So sad I have been going there for YEARS. read more

Definitely now one of our new added places to go when we visit San Clemente!!! Really-really good food! We got their family meal Dinner A which is great because you get your choice of soup, entree, even fried rice if you want vs white rice, an egg roll & 2 cream cheese wantons. And you get lots of food too! Between my wife and I, we had several meals out of this 1 order. Got take out & packaged well. Got the hot & sour soup and it's good. The honey walnut shrimp excellent! Cashew chicken was okay, so will try another dish next time. But it did have lots of big chunks of chicken. Good fried rice. The pot stickers are the biggest I've ever had and so good! Egg rolls big, fresh & crisp. We'll be back for sure! read more

Very solid Chinese restaurant in San Clemente. Sadly there aren't many in town except for national fast food chinese chains but thankfully New Manderin is 100X better than the chains. The Fam and I have only eaten take out from here due to COVID but the everything we've had is very good. Prices are very reasonable and the portions are HUGE. The lunch combinations are ready very quickly (call ahead) and the helpings generous. The soup and the cheese wanton that comes complimentary with the lunch are delicious and nice little bonus. read more

New Mandarin Garden - House Special Chicken Lunch Combo - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

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

Best Chinese food we have had in the OC. Our favs include the pork dumplings, pork fried rice, Mongolian beef, kung pao chicken & chicken in special brown sauce. Fantastic service & super fast for take-out! read more

We love this local family owned spot. The Acai bowls are big and fresh and delicious. They even have vegan pastry options My kids love hanging out and playing their table games tic tac toe, connect four and other cute card games. The coffee is also delicious with so many options of flavors. Stop by and try it out if you haven't yet. You won't be sorry. read more

New Mandarin Garden - Cute little trinkets for sale - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

See all

I ordered the crispy shrimp, it was so salty, couldn't even eat it . Threw it away. 22 dollars in the trash.Last time I ordered some soup same thing way too salty. Never will Order Mandarin Garden again. read more

Ordered take out on Chinese new year. The wontons (pot stickers) were huge beyond appealing. The wontons in the soup were disintegrating. The star of the evening was the mushu pork, it was very good but the dinner for guests was very disappointing and I have loved the restaurant in the past. read more

We stopped here by chance on our way to visit San Diego and can't believe how wonderful our visit was. We didn't have high expectations, but everything was terrific. The ambience is quaint and the decor is modern. The parking in the lit is tough, but we were lucky to find parking. We ordered the Hot Garlic Shrimp, Orange Chicken, Moo goo gai pan and Shrimp with string beans. Everything was hot, fresh and delicious. We highly recommend and are already looking forward to returning. read more

Really good food for a take out or dine in dinner at excellent value! They give you so much food!

This is the BEST CHINESE FOOD IN ORANGE COUNTY!!! I have been in love with this place since 1987. I am always looking for the "Holy Grail" Chinese or Mexican place, and I've found them in this place (and also Las Golondrinas Mexican locations). Now they have one location in Laguna Niguel as well, but I have only eaten there twice, so I can't say if they are up to the San Clemente location standards or not. The Chicken Chow Mein, Sweet & Sour Pork/Chicken, and Pork Egg Foo Yung are my all-time faves. The fried rice choices can't be beat either. The appetizers are sublime, as are the soups. The prices have gone up, but the portions are hearty-sized. read more

I've tried several restaurants honey walnut shrimp,this was by far the best I've ever had..The hot and sour soup was fantastic. This place is amazing,all the dishes are top notch.I highly recommend the new mandarin garden,plus it's close to the beach read more

My husband and I just moved to San Clemente and have been looking for our new go-to chinese food spot. We had the best hole in the wall in Santa Ana that delivered both taste and quantity. Id say Mandarin Garden came pretty close! Will definitely be visiting again, the portion size was generous and the taste was good. We got the chicken chow mein and kung pao shrimp. Will order again. read more

New Mandarin Garden - kung pao shrimp - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

See all

Vacationing in San clemente we decided to give this place a try. After reading some of the reviews we almost changed our minds but didn't feel like driving out of town for Chinese. I'm glad we didn't. Turned out to be one of the best Chinese I ever had. Being from Los Angeles where Chinese food is king, this place would knock 98% out of contention. The food was excellent, service was great, the ambiance, well, typical Chinese.. but then, you go for quality of food everything else doesn't matter. The place was clean so don't get me wrong and I highly recommend this place if you are ever in town. Our only regret is not eating here twice but look forward to eating here again when In town read more

The food is good, but the service is absolutely terrible, if not, atrocious. The staff speaks and understands very limited English that makes communication very difficult. We asked for the bill and it came written in Chinese making it impossible to figure out. This took upwards of 10 minutes before we knew what we owed. The prices are quite high even by California standards. Also parking is EXTREMELY limited. Try and find some other Chinese restaurants and avoid this one. read more

Mongolian beef too tough to cut and chew. Shrimp and vegetables in a thick dark sauce/liquid, entire meal disappointing is an understatement. All in the garbage! read more

Good food, good service, relaxed ambience. Not the cheapest, but worth it. Parking is shared with a dozen other businesses in the plaza, can be limited read more

Love the orange chicken and house chow mein here. Definitely recommend to the noodle lovers to try the chow mein is very good with their house made spicy oil ( the best ). Is very clean and the staff here is super nice as well. read more

The quintessential locals Chinese restaurant except cleaner and more authentic. I've had shrimp with snow peas, cashew chicken, egg foo yong, and some other vegetable dishes each and every one was prepared deliciously. Balanced spices and sauces. Not sugared up candy panda food. The booths tables flooring and wall decorations are all immaculate and very tasteful. The help will do backflips to make sure that you are happy with what you have today. read more

Food was AMAZING!!! All the food was hot & delicious! The restaurant is quaint and has a cozy feel to it. The staff was quick, kind, and attentive. One of my family members is severely allergic to gluten and the restaurant was very careful about keeping her food safe. She had the gluten free orange chicken and was not affected by it at all. I definitely recommend trying this restaurant. read more

See all

The food is so tasty and the portion size is huge. The staff are friendly. We love to eat there with the family and try all different dishes. The Mongolian beef is favorite. read more

Very good food and excellent service. Love their Sweet Sour Pork. Took pic after eating half... Never had a bad meal after eating here for many years read more

We all thought this an expensive place for Chinese food. For a party of 5 or more gratuity is automatically added to our bill. We were craving for peaking duck. As the waiter brought over our plate we just looked at each other of disappointment. This dish was not served with the traditional buns. It came wrapped in a flour tortilla type wrapper ( the same wrapper they used for moo shu pork ) sigh!!! I liked their beef and string beans and we all agreed their egg drop soup were delicious . We also had , shrimp fried rice, beef noodles, honey walnut shrimps, pork moo shu .. and some sodas. Our bill came to $209 :( for Chinese food we all looked at each other in disbelief. Well she should t be surprised we did see the high prices on the menu. So to sum up this place.. it's not one of your cheap eats . Some Food was great, like the soup and honey walnut shrimp. Not so great and miss leading is their peaking duck. We didn't care for the flavor and definitely was not expecting it wrapped in a sort of flour wrap tortillas like wrapper .. Note to the owner : you need to disclose on your menu or verbally inform your customers the peaking duck does not come with the buns but a tortilla type wrapper. read more

The portion size of the food was so awesome and the people that work there are so nice! I told them it was my dad's birthday when we got take out (he turned 57!) and they ran back and grabbed a piece of cake for free! I will definitely be going back read more

If you like, honey, walnut shrimp, you will love their hot honey walnut shrimp. It is fantastic. The services is nice and the place is clean. I don't have a whole lot more to say. read more

I've been eating here for many years, best Chinese food in south Orange County. The only point of this review is to recommend they go back to their original recipe for honey walnut shrimp. I've ordered it 100 times before but now they make it with very heavy breading, it tasted like something I would get at Panda Express. I threw it out. Please go back to how you used to make it, don't change what isn't broken! read more

Linda, the owner, greeted us with a warm welcome. Apparently New Mandarin Garden restaurant has been around for forty years in San Clemente. I'm not sure if they've been in the same location for forty years but Linda's service was swift and was very accommodating with our special FURBALL guest. The food, as reviewed by many, was delicious and gave us more than a plate full. The restrooms were super clean. Since today was a rainy Easter day we opted to be in an area where Linda had allowed us to have our furball companion be with us. So super nice of the owner and again, so super accommodating! So call ahead (Jason, I think he's Linda's son gave us permission to bring our furball friend with us) to find out if you could bring your furball with you. Other than that if you're looking for good value with lots of food and be able to bring your furball, I think this New Mandarin Garden is one of the best restaurant in San Clemente! read more

See all

They are fast and the food is so juicy and delicious. Great seafood. Sichuan fish is my favorite. When I've called in my order, I put down the phone and the order is ready when I get there 10 min later. The orders are of fresh ingredients and very generous amounts. I've been going here since 2015 and counting now into 2025. I highly recommend it. Eating dine-in or take out are both great. The booths are comfy and they are very fast and cordial to wait on you. read more

Great location in Old Town SC. A lot of dining choices there, MG by far the least crowded...I had never been there so ordered the house special chicken. Flavor wise and visually was decent. A very large portion, though everything on the menu I felt was way overpriced. All that being said, why did they get the 1 star? Idk what they put in their food, but it gave me THE WORST gas I can ever remember having!!! It was bad. And I even gave it another go with leftovers the next day. Same smelly outcome. I don't think I'll be going back. read more

New Mandarin Garden - a glass of beer and a napkin on a table - Chinese Near Me - San Clemente, California

Service is excellent. Food is fabulous. Our constants are Cilantro Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Green Beans. We have never had a bad meal here...all excellent!!! read more

My favorite local go to for Chinese cuisine! The food is consistently delicious and service very attentive. The Vegetable Egg Foo Young is the best I have ever had and the Pork Moo-Shoo is excellent. The Special Won Ton soup is filled with goodies and hits the spot before an entree. The restaurant has acquired a new owner and the "vibe" has gotten even better. Music now plays and the owner is usually on the floor taking care of business and making sure all is running smoothly. I have been frequenting New Mandarin Garden for 12 years and excited about the new energy and dedication to excellence. read more

I rarely have such a treat for such amazing Mandarin Chinese food but this little gem tucked away in a small corner of San Clemente just stole my heart. Thanks to my sweet son who discovered it for me and treated me to lunch today. I was blown away by the cleanness and quaintness and such great speedy service and that's just to begin! The FOOD! Wow! The lunch portions are amazing and at &9.99 with a choice of 2 soups is just perfect. I ordered 2 of my favorites, honey walnut shrimp with a side of steamed rice and the sweet n sour pork and steamed rice both with the hot and sour soup and hot green tea. My son loves the chicken show mein with steamed rice the pork dumplings as appetizers (that are huge and look hand made!) and his other appetizer all time fave, cream cheese wantons. All I can say is, WOW! And I already told my husband I really want to bring him here next time we visit my son. I did bring home the left overs since I had so much soup that was so perfect and my husband devoured the rest without a breath. Lol! Loved the staff even though they didn't look so friendly they were so quick and ready to even fill orders to go at a nearby window. I'm so happy to see they have great business. We will be back! read more

See all

I LOVE THIS PLACE, my whole family loves this place! The servings are large and it's always tasty!! We love the walnut shrimp and orange chicken! The owners and staff are very accommodating and attentive! Pleasant in every kind of way and oh,... did I mention absolutely delicious!!! Well indeed it is!! It's funny some other person gave them a 2 stars, yet, they commented at how good the wallnut shrimp was and the soups and also another dish they had as well but just didn't like their duck dish being changed up a bit without being told before they ordered it ... so, ok, MAYBE, if they let you know before then,... that would be better, however, to enjoy and like everything else you ordered but only give them a 2 star was in my opinion not cool and then to crab about the price ... anyone can look for themself on the menus and see how great their prices actually are and then once they see how large the portion size is ... I mean you can't beat this place!! It's awesome and I'd definitely go try it for sure!! Trust me! yum yum yum read more

The service was impeccable. The food was good. The serving size was great. The dinner combo was surprising. We weren't expecting to get everything. We thought it was either or. I loved the wanton soup. The soup was delious. the vegetables was fresh and not mushy. The broth was refreshing. The eggrolls was crispy and the ribs was a bit under cooked. There was no way we going to finish everything and brought some home. It tasted better as leftovers. We sat outside since it was Covid and they do dine in. It was really busy that day. I would highly recommend this place. read more

See all

So happy they have vegetarian options other than noodles and rice. Very yummy food and while the price is a bit steep for entrees the portions are big! I've ordered takeout both times so haven't sat in to see what the vibe is like. Staff is friendly read more