Omg, this place is TERRIBLE! I order from here like once a month... And they take 90 minutes to deliver... On top of that, I tried to order last night and then I canceled my order after TEN minutes. And they got so pissed. They called me a joke, and a child lol. They said the food was already on its way!!! Wtf?!? Never ordering from here again. Very very very very disrespectful people. read more

I just bought a egg roll and it was cold and grease my order was ready in 2 sec.i wonder how long that egg roll was sitting there before the try to sell it to me I returned it and the lady started to yell at me....wont eat there no more read more

Ok food, I've had worse but I've had better. However, delivery stinks. I just waited nearly hour and a half for my food and had to call them three times to get them to track down the driver. read more

Favorite Chinese place in cville. Sometimes they're a little inconsistent when ordering (sometimes they'll let me get a drink free with my meal and sometimes won't - I get the same thing every time) but it doesn't bother me. The food 100% makes up for it!! They're always very nice there and I have allergies and they're always very careful with preparing my food and letting me know what I can and can't have! read more

They deliver and their orange chicken is the bomb. Standard chinese take out food.

This place is dOpE! Not on par with some of the amazing NY takeouts but REAL GOOD. We also love this place HE SHENG in Orlando Florida ate there for YEARS never could find another like it, this place is very reminiscent. Also cheaper than a lot of the other Chinese places here in Charlottesville like the one on Main st near the corner, rip off and not as good. Heading over there again tonight for take out. WorD! ENJOY! read more

Love their food, but their delivery service is very disappointing. If they are going to charge for delivery (only a dollar, but still), they need to deliver in something like a reasonable time. They need to either adjust their delivery area to what they can actually promise or increase their delivery drivers. I'll still use them for carry-out but I've got to find a better delivery place. One hour+ is just absurd. read more

The food is decent- the service is terrible and apparently it will take over and hour and a half for a delivery.. 1 mile down the road- but don't call about it because you will just talk to a disgruntled employee. read more

So Red Lantern used to be my go to. It has goes down steadily in the past year. The delivery time is usually 60 plus minutes. So the other night I ordered online, then had to call and cancel not even 10 min later. They asked why, and told me my food was already on the way really?? Never ever been that fast. Sorry not buying it. So I called again a few days later to order. They told me delivery time would be over an hour because I cancelled my last order. I cannot remember the last time I was punished by a restaurant. I used to order cp. times a month, but never again. I choose now to dine with the Ho, Yuan Ho that is. Food is just as good they deliver late, and you don't need to worry about being punished. Later Jerks! read more

Extremely disappointed in the staff that they have at this company. I was harassed about a tip from the gentleman who delivered my food. he did this in front of my fellow coworkers LOUDLY demanding a tip and walked off mumbling some very hurtful things under his breath. I have enjoyed the food here for many years now but now I am taking my money some where I am no harassed by an employee who choose the profession of delivery. read more

I live fairly close by, and somewhat regularly order their 'Chicken and Broccoli' with steamed brown rice. Tonight when I ordered (a delivery order) they told me on the phone it would be 90 minutes, but instead it arrived in about 30 minutes. It was hot and good. Maybe not super-great (although I suspect that they use less or no msg, which can be addictive, right?) but it feels healthy and is tasty enough. The broccoli is cooked just right - crispy, not mushy - and the chicken is decent and plentiful. I usually make three meals out of one order, so I would say the portions are plus size. I am grateful for Red Lantern and for my proximity to it. The prices are reasonable, too, so when my order is delivered quickly, as it was tonight, I tip well. read more

We ordered delivery almost 3 hours ago, still waiting for our food.... My first Yelp review ever because I don't want others to have to endure the insane wait either. We called the restaurant to check on the order, they said the online order was delayed, then said they couldn't reach the delivery driver and had no idea where he was-not even sure if the food had left the restaurant yet. Never get delivery from here!!! read more

My go-to for Chinese in this simple small town! The only place in town I can count on for crunchy general tso chicken! The dinner specials work fabulously when on a budget. And it also comes with a drink! The only downfall is they can be extremely busy on Sunday's, so order early, because it could take an hour to get to you! Recommendations: Cheese fried wontons, General tso, and sweet & sour chicken. read more

I am new to the area and wanted to find a close restaurant that served good Chinese food. I will be honest, I WANTED to like Red Lantern Chinese Restaurant. Unfortunately, Red Lantern is not the restaurant and I will never place an order from here again. If you want to wait 1.5 hours for a meal after you've ordered it, then this is the place for you. If you want your food to arrive cold and needing to be recooked, then this is the place for you. I called and cancelled my order. Ultimately, I will never recommend this restaurant. read more

Decent prices and decent product. They also listen to any changes you want to make which can be hard at other Chinese food places.

Over a month into the pandemic, and Red Lantern still doesn't have their act together. Having received a text notification that my order was ready for pickup, I proceeded to wait an additional twenty minutes in their dining room. Several other folks were waiting as well. The process of paying for and getting your order is far from smooth, with pens lying around for everyone to use, employees taking your credit card with their bare hands, and a general feeling of controlled chaos despite the lack of business. The food itself was fine, neither terrible nor exceptional. The moo shu pork sauce was forgotten. Sesame chicken greasy and abandoned by the children. There are so many conscientious and well run businesses who have perfected their pandemic takeout protocols to support during this difficult time for the service industry. I wish Red Lantern would bring it up a notch. Their survival may depend upon it. read more

This place has the worst customer service. I ordered food and after 90 minutes of waiting, I called to check on my order and the lady told me that I can come in to pick up my food if I want, or wait another hour because they're backed up. Well they'll never get my business again. No apologies, nothing! I wish you well Red Lantern but that is not how you maintain customers. read more

Absolutely horrible service. We've given them several chances and each time is worse than before.

Their Vegetable Lo Mein is the best vegetable lo mein I've ever had in my life, and I'm from Queens NY so I've had some pretty good versions of this standard American Chinese food dish. I haven't found my favorite tofu dish here yet so I'll keep trying. Their tofu dishes are fine, but I'm left wanting for more flavor or oomph. But absolutely no complaints on the quality of the ingredients. Fresh, high quality, and cooked properly. My significant other eats here all the time and he swears by their Hunan Chicken and wonton soup as his go-to meal. It's his favorite Hunan Chicken anywhere. The booths are comfy, it's a nice cozy atmosphere, the service is friendly, and we love to eat in. I've heard their delivery can be slow but when I ordered food for delivery once a few months ago it was totally speedy, maybe 30-35 minutes and I live about a ten minute drive from the restaurant. And when it arrived everything was piping hot. We were all impressed. This is my #1 fave American Chinese food restaurant in Charlottesville. Highly recommend. Reasonable prices too. read more

3.5 stars for food quality, 1 star for service/delivery. Food: the best I've found since my beloved Dragon Lady closed. Love their Gen Tso's chicken and fried dumplings. Service: Delivery has never taken less than 1 hour and 17 minutes (and that was a Tuesday afternoon!). Tonight we're on 1 hour, 29 minutes...and counting. That's completely unacceptable for delivery. Don't order deliver. Ever. 'Nuff said. read more

Have used them a lot. Usually good, but this last time it was very very poor. Never asked if food was for pick up or delivery. It was assumed pick up. It was delivery. So after several phone calls it was delivered much much later. Then the drinks were wrong. They didn't seem to want to correct the error. Had to call and call. Only to get berated by the manager who insisted it was all my fault. Finally at 9:30 at night the correct drinks were brought. No stars for this service. They goofed. Didn't seem the least bit sorry and acted like they thought the drinks were not important. My 30 dollars was important to me. read more

Red Lantern is awesome Chinese food. It's true, their delivery is a bit on the slow side, but they more than make up for it with the quality of their food! read more

The moo shu is awesome! The steamed string beans too. This place is cheap and really good Chinese food. Pretty easy to eat somewhat healthy there too which is rare for Chinese take out read more

I came here on the recommendation of a couple of friends who raved about this place. The food is lackluster at best. The service there is even worse. The person who taking orders barely allowed me to look through the menu before asking me what I wanted. When asked for more time, I got a cold shoulder and she promptly left. There lacks a sense of friendliness here that overshadowed how bland the food was. This place left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and I'm not just talking about the food read more

Awesome food. Loved everything we got except the hot and sour soup. Wish it was spicier. That was my only complaint. We will be going back!

Delivery took over two hours. I called multiple times to check on my order, was told repeatedly the driver was on the way, but 30 minutes later he was a no show. On my last phone call, hostess put me on hold, took another order, and then hung up on me mid conversation. The food here is good, not great and they'll never get another order from me. read more

I placed my delivery order at 10:30pm on a Saturday (it's open until 11:30pm on Saturdays). The restaurant confirmed my order, and gave an estimated delivery window of 11:50pm-12am. It's 1:09am right now and the order hasn't arrived. I've been unable to contact the restaurant, and so has GrubHub, so I have no idea what's going on with my order. read more

As other posters have said, it's very good and high quality for what you're paying. They will also cook to your specifications. Charging for delivery is annoying, but in the grand scheme worth it. They are very cheap about giving silverware so if you're at school/work may find yourself perusing the garbage can for a used plastic spoon or fork. They lose a star for that. If I tip over 20% I don't think I should have to feel like a homeless person, but that may be a personal thing. It's not impossible that some customers prefer dumpster diving for eating utensils to eat their chinese with or may not even have seen silverware (it is the dirty south after all) so they may just be responding to the southern market. read more

The food is ok... better than some, not fantastic. The problem is that they tend to not bring everything you order, especially on a big order. And then they argue with you when you call to tell them they left things out of the order. read more

I ordered fried rice from here because the stellar reviews. One, it took an entire hour and then some to get here. Two, it was the worst rice I've had in my entire life. The beef tasted rancid and awful. I literally tried to pick and eat the rice around it. That bad. I ordered from here because all of the positive reviews. But seriously, what! The spring rolls had this odd taste. A mix of msg and dehydrated mushrooms. Anyways, I am writing this to save you from terrible fried rice. Best of luck in your future food endeavors. read more

We ordered for delivery around 5:30 on a week night, and it took an hour. The menu was pretty standard for a Chinese place and the prices were good. In terms of bang for our buck, we ordered two dinner specials - General Tso's Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken - and we both liked our meals and both had some left over. My girlfriend also really enjoyed her wonton soup (she says this place provided three wontons, whereas most places usually provide only two). The bottom line is, overall we had a favorable experience and we'll be ordering from Red Lantern again. read more

I order take out one evening from Red Lantern through grubhub.com. The website acts as a middle man, giving the restaurant your address and processing your payment. Well when my food finally arrived, the delivery man started to scream at me in the middle of my community. He was apparently upset that grubhub.com didn't give my apartment number and continued to shout and scream at me. I don't care how upset you are, you never yell at your customer. So, if you like your noodles with a side of verbal assault, this is your place! read more

We've been ordering takeout from Red Lantern for probably 15 years now, and am sad to say we won't be ordering from them again - they've consistently gotten slower and slower, it's unbelievable. I'm writing this review at 7:10pm, still waiting on the order for a few items that I placed at 5:30 pm. On a Tuesday. And we live only 3 miles away. The last few times we 've ordered, it's taken over an hour. read more

I was going to give this place two stars, because I had to wait almost two hours for my food. When I ordered for delivery, I was told it would take about an hour. Two hours is way too long. However, the food was absolutely excellent; much better than the other Chinese food places I've been to in Charlottesville. My advice would be to do pick-up or dine-in only. read more

I've been ordering from Red Lantern once a week for a couple of months and have been extremely pleased with the consistent quality of the following: Orange Beef, Beef with Broccoli, and the best Steamed String Beans I've ever had! And the prices are reasonable! Granted, I haven't tried everything on the menu, but I'm baffled at the average rating. read more

I don't recommend calling them unless you have a long time to wait for your mail to arrive if they even get your order. This is the fourth or fifth time I've had this type of trouble with this place ,no more. And they only got one star because I had to put something in read more

Customer service at its finest. I was blown away by how quickly my food arrived - just under fifteen minutes after I placed my order. The lunch special I ordered was delicious (Kung Pao Chicken), but the real surprise was in the quantity of food I received. They included an extra egg roll, along with a full-to-the-brim lunch tray. I am immensely satisfied, and will absolutely order from here again. read more

I've ordered the Hunan Chicken, Chicken w/ Broccoli, and Chicken Lo Mein dinner specials. They're really delicious! The dinner specials are easily able to fill up one person--they come with a dish, a box of fried rice, a choice of soup or egg roll, and a can of soda for $7 before tax. Normally the delivery is fine, but I've noticed that if you don't tip when ordering online, they'll sub out your side of fried rice for a box of plain white rice, which is a real bummer for the taste buds. I just ordered the Sweet and Sour Chicken dinner special, and I must say that the sauce is borderline disgusting. It's basically a sweet, red syrup that you dip your chicken into. Aside from this, however, they do a pretty good job with the other items. Try it out. read more

I will never order from Red Lantern again! Twice the delivery person swore at my child because we ordered online. We've been delivered the wrong food. And the last time, Red Lantern gave my food to someone else who had ordered takeout. And not once have they apologized. The food isn't even as good as other Chinese restaurants in town. read more

Red lantern used to be so much better. The last time we had it, everything was incredibly salty (even more so than Chinese usually is!). We could barely eat it. read more