THE greatest Chinese restaurant on planet Earth. Whenever my girlfriend asks me what I want for dinner I have to lie because the real answer is sweet & sour chicken from Pao's. I would battle 100,000 warriors for just a taste read more

Ordered thru Uber eats. There is an upcharge for white rice. What's worse is there is an upcharge for NO rice!! On top of that nonsense, we ordered a chicken and a beef dish. Both had poor quality meat. Both were very chewy. read more

Pao's Mandarin House - Upcharge for NO rice - Chinese Near Me - Lakeway, Texas

3.5 Stars. Ordered takeout from here! The good: -Easy online Ordering System. -The portions are great. They come with a generous amount of protein. -The prices are great for the portions (paid under $100 for a feast of two appetizers and 4 dishes) -They prepare the food so quickly! Our food was ready and packed in 15-20 minutes. -My favorite were the vegetable dumplings ($10.95) -Lo Mein ($15.95) came packed with 3 proteins and was lovely -General Tso's ($14.95) was nice The not so good: -It's interesting because some of the dishes were the blandest food I have ever tasted lol. Perhaps this was good because it kept me from overeating. -Chicken Fried Rice ($13.95), Mongolian Beef ($18.50), and Spicy Wontons ($10.95) were not flavorful. read more

Pao's Mandarin House - Chinese Near Me - Lakeway, Texas

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What happened to this place? Food taste and quality is much worse than what I remember from 8-12 months ago.

Food: 2 Service: 4 Ambiance: casual sit down We've been coming here for over a decade. Unfortunately, they are completely unreliable for gluten-free requests. We've tried ordering items gluten-free, and going through each dish ingredient by ingredient to eliminate the gluten-full ones, and ordering items that should not have gluten to begin with. All failed and they were each followed by a long night of cramps and diarrhea. So we've reluctantly crossed them off our list. But if you don't have gluten concerns, the food is pretty good, especially for the more "Chinese" dishes. There is usually at least one Chinese speaker who can talk about Chinese items not on the regular menu. We marked them down slightly for service because it really is hit or miss depending on who you speak with both on the phone and in the restaurant. read more

Food was really tasty, delivery was in good time and presented well. I have eaten this several times and always a good experience both dining in and having delivered read more

Last Friday, my daughter bought two orders of Beef Flat Noodle and I noticed that the beef slices were deep-fried, not stir-fried any more. Deep-frying meat is a lot easier than stir-frying. The beef slices tasted like rubber. I will never eat another dish of food from this restaurant ever again. Bye-bye Pao's for good! read more

The food was soooo good. The waiter had a good sense of humor. The atmosphere was really good. Everyone was friendly. I have photos but can't find them right now. I hope to update this with photos later! read more

The attitude of the person working is horrible; I walked in first thing and was asked in a rude manner as if I were an inconvenience. He then said Come here and when I went to order. I asked for no MSG or Salt, told me that Chicken already had it on it, I said that was fine, but please don't add any more, and other items please don't add any. He said Don't understand why, it's already in there, I would appreciate the least amount possible. Needless to say, we won't be back read more

The food was bad, sweet sour sauce totally flavorless just a sugary syrup with literally no flavor. Chicken was super dry. This was the worst Chinese food I've ever had, really bummed. Scallion pancake was think and doughy, supposed to be thin. Bad tasting. Sweet and sour chicken was the worst thing. read more

Pao's Mandarin House - Sweet Sour Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Lakeway, Texas

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I'm staying with family in the area and they love the food at Pao's. They recently moved to the area and locals highly recommend both dine in and take out. I was impressed with the quality of the food and the speed in which they were able to deliver five meals, plus a couple of orders of dumplings. It was almost like they knew what we were going to order ahead of time...the food arrived so quickly. I had a shrimp and vegetable dish with steamed white rice and it was perfect. Others had cashew chicken, roast pork, sesame chicken and another chicken dish (that I didn't catch the name of) ...with a variety of fried and white rice combinations. Egg rolls were not greasy and delicious. Steamed dumplings were a hit as well. Very good Chinese takeout...right outside of Austin. read more

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Take out or dine in this is the best Chinese food for the past 35 years in the Austin area. I have three that I really have loved for the last three decades and this is one of them. Great job guys.! every guest I ever take your love this place. read more

1 star We've celebrated my husband's birthday at Pao's for years so he can enjoy their Peking duck -- and we always called ahead as instructed. This year, I called three times to confirm, including the day before and an hour prior. Each time I was told no wait. But when we arrived, we were told it would be 25 minutes, and the front staff refused to take responsibility. The food was disappointing, no apology was offered, and the whole experience felt careless. Sadly, we won't be back. Something has changed, and not for the better. read more

There has been a change in ownership. We have dined here for years, but now the food quality has declined remarkably. I am very disappointed. read more

Fantastic environment and food. The early bird special was a very good portion for the price and we loved that it included the soup and egg roll before the main dish and fried rice (lots of places make you pay extra for the fried rice instead of steamed). I myself had the kung pao beef, on the suggestion of our server, and it was great! If you don't like spicy though, you should stay away. The other person I went with got number 20 in the early bird special- something with shallots, shrimp, in a white wine sauce, and she also loved it. Something unique about Pao's was the spicy mustard offered with the egg roll. We will be back! read more

I had the orange chicken on the lunch review and it was rotten. the service and ambiance was good but the chicken absolutely ruined my day.

We have had three meals since they changed ownership. I think it may be better than the previous owners. Highly recommend. read more

Quick pick up and it's always on par. Pao's has the best hot and sour soup- mike drop- period. Lots of ingredients and perfect. A lot of places have you wondering where the 'stuff' is! I get the Kung pao chicken no peanuts- yum! read more

The only reason why this is a 2 is because of the host. We were seated eating and she yelled the f word super loud and my kid was disturbed. Mickey the sever is one of the best guys to do it hilarious and calmed my kid down. That girl should be fired. read more

We order off the Chinese menu. Food is not "Americanized" that way. Try tangy and spicy wontons as appetizer Service is always spectacular and although it's in a shopping center, Pao's ambience is pleasing. And, the beer is ice cold. read more

We went on Dec 24, 2025 for dinner and they were so disorganized they told us they were not taking names. They were not even clearing tables because of problems in the kitchen. There was one couple who had been there an hour. The man at the cash register told me to come back in an hour. Instead, I went to Shans about 8 minutes away. They were busy also but they sat us and the food was excellent. So, forget about Pao's, go to Shans. read more

A truly superior American Chinese Restaurant AND A truly superior Chinese Chinese Restaurant. Not many Asian restaurants can go both ways and do it well. * * * Pao's has long been a legendary Chinese restaurant but their origins were when Chinese food in Austin wasn't very good. They were located in Downtown Austin as an office lunch place. They were the only good Chinese restaurant downtown. * * * Then they moved to Lakeway. They disappeared off Austinite's culinary maps. They were the one and only one decent Chinese restaurant in Lakeway. Lakeway has a large population and that population is rich. So having a near lock on the Lakeway trade was more than enough to pay the company's bills. * * * Having business to do in Lakeway brought me back in contact with Pao's. All of the 1990's magic is still there. Of course, since the 1990s there is a lot more competition for the "outstanding American Chinese restaurant niche". P. F Chang's is the gold standard in American Chinese. It is a first rate chain. But there are now several places in town that can give P. F. Chang's a run for their money. One of them most assuredly is Pao's Mandarin House. Eat Beef and Broccoli at Pao's. Then eat Beef and Broccoli anywhere else. Report back when you are done. I don't know anyone in the Central Texas who does that dish as well as Pao's. * * * Chinese Chinese has changed over the years. What used to be exotic dishes are now "standard operating procedure" at lots of Chinese restaurants in the Austin Metro. Everyone does a pork intestine dish. Everyone does salt and pepper shrimp. Everyone does spicy beef with chinese cabbage. There are bigger Chinese menus elsewhere. The top tier of Chinese Chinese restaurants is now fairly large. (For a related phenomenon of many restaurants sharing the top tier, See Texas Barbecue.) But Pao's is in Tier I along with the rest of the star performers. I have eaten through a nontrivial chunk of their Chinese Chinese menu. I like everything I have had ... But I am particularly fond of their salt and pepper shrimp. Their salt and pepper shrimp actually taste of both salt and pepper. That is not so common these days. But I could order anything off the American or Chinese side and be happy. * * * So the good news is, That if you are a Lakeway or Bee Cave resident ... And you never leave the South Shore suburbs ... You can still eat really really fine Chinese food. You will miss all the rest of what makes Austin Austin. But if the Chinese food is good enough ... Who cares? read more

I'm one of the OG yelpers like Christine A. who ate at the downtown Austin location back in the 90's. That said, about 10 years back I worked in the Lakeway area and preferred another Chinese place down the road. Who's gonna win this 10 year rematch? Both restaurants are still in business; decided to revisit Pao's as it's closer to my new job in Bee Cave. Funny story about the DT location. I'm a country fella working downtown! Some friends at work had ordered and I had had a few bites. So, I call the restaurant and tell them what I wanted. Shrimp Fried Rice with a side of sweet and sour sauce. I walk from Colorado over towards the Commodore Perry building and I'm presented with the bill for two dishes. SFR and Sweet and Sour Chicken.... Language barrier wasn't an issue for this trip. Went back thru the reviews and decided to try the highly recommended hot and sour soup. Usually, I'm an egg drop guy but I was intrigued and went out of my box. Interesting flavors. Not as in your face as most h&s; perhaps a hint of chicken stock? I've been underwhelmed by most G Tao's sauce for years after my favorite in East Austin closed. I was pleasantly surprised at Pao's offering for this trip. Lunch portions were HUGE! Should have ate less, but I knocked off most of it. More stars added for not charging extra for fried rice! Will be back! read more

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Sadly, we are updating our review on Pao's to a one star. We hadn't been in in awhile and service was so so the last time we dined in. They weren't rude or anything like that, just more hands off than usual. Water was never refilled -usually they are pretty on top of it. It wasn't particularly crowded there were a couple of other tables. However, I am not here to review that visit. We ordered pickup this evening - decent timing- not late or near closing. We paid extra for the white meat. Food was lukewarm/warmish and white meat was tough. Maybe from lunch today and reheated? We ended up throwing it out - it was that inedible. Just not what we have come to expect from Pao's. Unfortunately, I can no longer recommend them as your go-to for Chinese food. read more

Food is not as good as it used to be. Did chicken fried rice always come with dark meat? I could've swore it came with white meat but I have not been here in a while. Got sweet and sour shrimp and chicken fried rice. Both were taste-less. Will not be returning... read more

Our staple Chinese place in Lakeway! Great food and I love that their delivery service is so fast! Have always had great service too!

Food is fast and pretty good. We've been going for 10 years (except when they were closed). Two specialties worth trying - Curry Chicken and the Pork Dumplings. The curry chicken has good heat and spices. read more

Great Chinese food in the Lakeway area, really hit the spot after a day out on the lake. They do close in the middle of the day 3-4pm. We ordered a variety of dishes from the Chinese menu (hot pot with pork intestines, salt and pepper fillet fish, shrimp with snow pea leaves, smoked tea duck) - everything was delicious! The prices were pretty fair for the amount of food and they have quite a diverse selection of traditional items. It was not busy at all when we arrived, but it was close to their closing time. There is plenty of parking since they are located in a plaza. The noise level is low. read more

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I ordered chicken cashew to go. It was delicious. The staff was very nice as well. I'll definitely be back.

Love this hidden gem in the Bee Cave area. You can ask for their Chinese menu, they have very authentic Taiwanese food. The service was great too. Prices are reasonable too. Will sure be back next time for more of their Taiwanese food like their combination soup noodles (大滷麵). read more

Pao's Mandarin House - Three Cup Chicken, Shrimps with Bean Sprouts, pork intestines fire pot. 三杯雞，蝦仁豆苗，五更腸旺 - Chinese Near Me - Lakeway, Texas

Solid chinese food spot in Lakeway! We've ordered take out from here a few times whenever we crave chinese food, and our favorite has been the chinese eggplant in garlic sauce. We also like the 3 cup chicken, house made tofu and low mein. read more

Very good and affordable chinese food!! The staff was very friendly and accommodating. Nice and clean interior. Highly recommend. read more

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Excellent food and service! We stopped here on our way home after a "cannonball-run" 36H drive return from NYC. Since my wife hadn't eaten we chose Pao's based on her cravings and the restaurant superior reviews. Thanks so much! read more

The food has been extremely good here recently. Fresh, hot, great service. If you took a break from eating here - give it another try. This is now our go to spot in Lakeway. read more

Great service and food! Very friendly people! We have tried both dine in and carry out, they excel at both.

As a Taiwanese I can tell you this is one of the most authentic Chinese restaurants in the greater Austin area. I finally get to have scallion pancake I miss from home and could only make from store-bought frozen ones. If you don't mind organs, definitely order some intestine dishes. So good! read more

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We found this restaurant on Yelp. The place was busy! Lots of Togo orders the entire time we waited for our food. The garlic chicken "earlybird" special was fantastic. This I'll be one of our regular places to eat. Very good. read more

Great food great people great service. This is a hidden gem if you like true Taiwanese and Chinese food.

Starting today, we "used" to eat here a lot. Quality of food has been deteriorating, and today they brought pork fried rice. Whatever that raw fatty meat is that is hanging off the container in this pic it's disgusting. WAY gross. When I called to complain, the manager was going to send someone to grab it. Nothing more. After years of coming here, this is the last straw. Never coming back. read more

Pao's Mandarin House - Raw fatty pork. - Chinese Near Me - Lakeway, Texas

Our family has been coming here for 35 years. This is the most authentic and original Chinese food in Austin read more