Good quality Chinese food. The prices are way too high for the food items. Definitely trying to glorify some dishes with a fancier plate and higher prices. read more

It's a brand new restaurant. My first time came here. Found it on Yelp while on the toad traveling. Ordered few small dishes and tasted very authentic and delicious. The service and environment both have met my expectations or beyond. This place has style from the dishes, plates, silverware, overall layout, etc are all upscale in my opinion. For sure, I'd like to come back try more dishes. read more

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Very disappointed at this place. Want to give 0 star if I can. Before the pandemic we came here with parents and it was after owner took over pepper kitchen, used to be pepper kitchen. Owner is not there to greet anymore. Servers were swamped and snobby- not checking in during meals and at the start did not come by to order food, had to flag them down multiple times and one of the server did not service us at all. There were 2 severs servicing 8 tables at the same time. Food was mediocre and flies were everywhere. Prices are exorbitant for the quality and quantity. If you want to be a high end restaurant with high end prices you need to be consistently delivering good food, services that are amazing else people wont come back for the premium prices. Not sure if we will come back again. Sad to see how this place is managed. read more

Amazing and generous dishes. Have been there many times and have never been disappointed. Loved the 8 precious duck (order 48 hours in advance) , roast duck, Golden prawns, crab entree. Great staff! I would go here for a special occasion as well. read more

Got it after long drive. The food is amazingly good! Love the salty egg shrimp, so yum!

Yesterday me and my wife went for a dinner at this restaurant. It's a new Restaurant opened up in our area and we wanted to try it out. Our waiter ( the name on the receipt shows Frank). was very rude from the beginning. We are vegetarian so we ordered hot and sour soup vegetarian. Then my wife asked him " no egg please". At this the waiter seemed to be very upset and rolled his eyes. All through our dining there , it was very unpleasant behavior from the server. It seemed like we were eating free. We eat out a lot and we can tell the difference between a good and a bad customer service in a restaurant. This was of course a bad experience. The owner (or manager) was busy talking to a group of Asian diners , didn't even come to our table to ask how was everything, (which every restaurant does as a courtesy. ) The food was also average . I would not recommend anyone for this restaurant. read more

We were bummed when Black Pepper closed and by chance, drove by The Mandarin on our way to University Ave. What a GREAT choice we made to stop and try this new place. An ABSOLUTE FIVE STARS. We just returned from Hawaii, so our Asian/Fusion palette was elevated... this place is so yummy. Ordered lots of food, appetizers, hot and sour soup, salad, Chefs Prawns, fried noodles... everything was DELICIOUS A MUST try.. refreshing new place in Menlo Park .. bravo ..... will be back for sure read more

Just had lunch there for the first time with a buddy from work. Started with the amazing cold cucumber salad, then into Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce which was OUTSTANDING! Moving on we had the dry Chonquin dry cooked chicken with peppers which was huge and incredible. Then came the Dry Braised String Beans which were first rate. pOT sTICKERS were plump and amazing. Totally blown away, reminded me of visiting Chonquin and other areas of China in 1984. The table water has a hint of Mandarin Orange which was a superb touch. TRY THIS PLACE!!! read more

After a long hospital shift- all we wanted was good, quality food. The owner Nee instantly greeted us right away as we checked in. Service was good, efficient, and the waiter really made sure we were well taken care of. Nee even graciously discounted our meal and gave us dessert since we were healthcare workers which was such a pleasant surprise. Great ambiance and even better staff. Would come back for the service. read more

This place is consistently good. Their service is very prompt whether you do take out or dine in!

Food and service are excellent. Owner took time to explain special dishes before ordering. read more

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I am originally from Sichuan China. I have to say that this is the best Sichuan food I ever had in bay area although not the cheapest. But for people like me who craving for the best taste of food, the price (actually pretty reasonable giving the quality of the ingredients) and 2 hours of round trip drive are well worth it. Will definitely come back often. read more

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Opened a yelp account just to review this place. Went here to eat and first bad sign was nobody to greet you. 2nd; Waitress seem clueless and wandering off a lot. The waitress asked me water or tea. I said both. She replied by saying huh, what you mean both? 3rd; the restaurant was empty during lunch hour and another couple seated seem unpleased with the place. 4th we ordered a few plates but it took awhile to get the food, you can hear a microwave being used in the background. When we got the food it was super greasy(like a stick of butter got tossed in there), warm(room temp after 10mins) and salty. Maybe they used the microwave to reheat the stuff. Meat was rubbery. Water was sour, might as well make lemonade. Looking at the reviews I was amazed and decided to give it a try. But honestly, I felt like I got fooled by fake reviews and paid hella money for trash food that panda express can make better. I have eaten a lot mandarin food before but this was just terrible. Menu had a lot of misspelled words. Veggie priced were overly priced. On top of that the owner was serving and taking everyones orders, like wow. Negative 5stars if I can. Like watching kitchen nightmares. read more

It's been a long time to go there since about 4 years ago. It is always never disappointing for both food and services.

Had reconfirmed thanksgiving reservations for whole family but showed up to a closed restaurant. Would give 0 stars if I could. read more

The Mandarin - Chinese Near Me - Menlo Park, California

Seeing the wildly positive reviews for this new place that recently opened where Black Pepper used to be, I was excited to give The Mandarin a try. Unfortunately, left disappointed. Food was bland and strange- bad chinese food with a hoity toity twist- and overpriced. For real chinese food go to Noodle Talk or Redwood Bistro. Server was not wearing mask and wanted to give high fives and hugs to our unvaccinated kids. Will not be coming back. read more

The service at this place is really bad and you should avoid. I came to pick up my order and stood at the entrance for 15 mins being ignored. A ruthless waiter saw me and continued to ignore me once he learned that I was here to pick up food. He didn't even ask me my order number or check if the order was ready. I finally got served after 10 mins when I shouted at the waiter. He then brought my order to me immediately, so apparently it was ready for a while. I was angry and could clearly feel that they don't do first come first serve. I will never come to this place again and you should not come only if you want to pay a high end price to get low end service. read more

Authentic Sichuan food, atmosphere is very comfortable, waiters are friendly. I like the mouth watering chicken and chongqing spicy chicken

Extremely mediocre overall. Lemon chicken was acceptable, but the first piece I ate was all gristle, extremely chewy and inedibly which put me off it a little. Sauce was not great, very gloppy, but okay. Not very lemony. Egg rolls were also edible/fine but not anything to make you want more. Spicy eggplant was pretty spicy, also fine. Scallion pancakes were extremely bland and a bit soggy, really needed a vinegar sauce or anything to give them flavor. Not presented as in the menu picture either. Also didn't come with any rice and it wasn't on the menu when I ordered which seemed crazy, so the meal felt like a very random collection of things with nothing to tie it together. read more

Got takeout from their place. Mouth and tongue started going numb after a few bites. Tried again after some time, same effect. Probably use a ton of MSG. Won't recommend eating here. read more

First time being at this place with a group of 10 people and have to say we were served and accommodated incredibly well. I'd say with experience it's difficult for restaurants to serve under good time and for the consistency and presentation to be up to par, however The Mandarin did just that. We ordered around 10 dishes and they could not have been more appetizing and mellow for all dishes. Certainly a place I would come back for! read more

It's rare to find an authentic Chinese restaurant with nice interior and top-class service. Really enjoyed every single dish. read more

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My husband and I had date night at this restaurant this week. The food was great! It was a bit spicy - but perfect for our taste. We had salt and pepper cod (FYI - the pepper is not black pepper, it's jalapeño!), chow mien noodles, and hot and sour soup. Everything was delicious and the service was very attentive! We're already looking forward to going back. read more

My wife and I had eight treasure duck in bread. It is in secret menu dish that needs preorder about two days before dinein. The breadshell is baked to crispy style just like thin pizza or naan. Inside, there is a pre-seasoned duck that has been peeled off bones with "eight treasure stuffing". This eight treasure stuffing is actually mixed sticky rice containing shiitake, salted duck eggs, dried scallops, traditional hams, dried shrimp and etc. By considering the complexity of cooking this duck, it does need a couple of days to prepare and worths a try for big party at holiday season. read more

The Mandarin - Eight treasure duck in bread. Secret menu dish that needs preorder about two days before dinein. - Chinese Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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Had dinner at the Mandarin and the food was delicious! Know that the speciality is Szechuan food, so get those dishes (and if you can't handle spice, let them know and they can adjust the level). We particularly loved the tea smoked duck and Szechuan boiled fish. FYI they will hype up the expensive seafood dishes if you ask for recommendations, but the rest of the menu is pretty reasonably priced-- and remember that you can't go wrong with ordering the Szechuan items. I hope this new restaurant does well! Love that the inspiration was to pay tribute to Cecilia Chiang's historic restaurant that brought a fuller experience of Chinese cuisine to people stateside-- so do yourself a favor even if you're unfamiliar and explore the menu past sweet and sour chicken :). read more

I do not think I have eaten in a better Chinese restaurant since I was in China more than 30 years ago. Even so, this restaurant compares favorably with my culinary experiences in China. I have never eaten in a better Chinese restaurant in this country in my life. The food was awesome. The flavors were very smooth and clean. We ordered (and recommend) "Cucumber with Minced Garlic", "Sichuan Shredded Noodles," "Broccoli in Spicy Sauce," "Snow Peas Prawns," and "String Bean Chicken". Originally we intended to get takeout with enough food to last at least two nights. But the ambiance was lovely, and we decided to eat inside. The service excellent. We're looking forward to our leftovers tonight. Lots of new restaurants fail. We sincerely hope this one succeeds. We'll definitely be back. read more

Back again...2 days in a row!! Just can't get enough of the Broiled Whole Fish (deliciously spicy!) and the Garlic Sauté Pea Shoots. I can eat here everyday! Loved the ambience and the friendly, helpful staff, too!! (Really looking forward to trying their customized cocktails once they get their liquor license in a couple weeks.) They have an ambitious menu filled with a variety of items so patrons will be able to pick one that strikes his/her fancy!! Bon appetit! read more

The Mandarin - Boiled Whole Fish - Chinese Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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We came in with a group of 7 they sat us in a private area. It's a great restaurant if you have a big group. However, I do find some of the dishes over priced we ordered 2 Dungeness crab. The crab were so small for 80 something dollars per piece it was a personal crab not a family style crab lol. The sweet and sour fish was probably the best one and mung bean noodle was good as well. Our server wasn't as attentive. But overall the restaurant was clean it made me feel like I was at a Italian restaurant with the music they were playing. read more

Just opened and absolutely delicious! They were so sweet recommending items. The tea smoked duck and egg tofu in spicy garlic sauce were really standout dishes. These guys deserve to stick around! read more

We are happy we don't have to travel to San Francisco anymore to get great Chinese food! We couldn't find a menu online (website coming soon) so we walked in and found an extensive menu with some traditional dishes but many special dishes that sounded incredible with atypical ingredients. The host recommended we try a special dish along with some we were already comfortable with. We ordered the Smoked Tea Duck which was out of this world: crisp, flavorful skin with succulent meat inside. We ordered the Sweet and Sour Pork which was not cloyingly sweet and the pork was flavorful without any fat. The Kung Pao Chicken was fantastic with a spicy, but not too hot sauce and delicious vegetables. The egg rolls were excellent, crisp and flavorful-the best we've had since pre-pandemic. Next time we will try more of the specials (Sizzling Lychee Beef, Golden Prawns caught my eye.) They also have 9 whole fish dishes which sound scrumptious. All of the take out food was packed perfectly and stayed hot all the way home. We will probably eat there soon because the restaurant is understatedly elegant with a calm, soothing atmosphere. read more

Legitimately authentic, fresh, high-quality Sichuan and Cantonese-American fare. This is our new go-to Chinese restaurant on the Peninsula (despite the fabulous Taste being located just down the road). If you know and love mapo tofu, dan dan mian, and other classic Sichuan dishes, this is your go-to on the Peninsula. A bit pricy but you get what you pay for here. read more

If you're ever in the area, this is a must for Chinese food. There is a slight difference in the spices here, because they are authentic. My friend took me here for dinner and I was hooked. I try to drive back when I can. read more

ordered ubereats. rice: not properly cleaned before it was cooked. orange beef: okay, but the other stuff about the order made the average bad hot and sour soup: not much tofu, too much cornstarch to thicken, no wood ear mushrooms. just not very good we won't be back read more

Mu Shu was delicious with table side service, which I have never seen before. Orange chicken and noodles were superb. Japanese yam and wood eared mushrooms were not my favorite. Excellent service and beautiful ambience read more

Went to Mandarin for dinner last night. It was in a great location. The food selection and flavors were amazing. The service was excellent as well. Will go back on my next trip to the Bay read more

Chose this on a whim. And we were very happy we did. They have a parking lot behind the restaurant which makes it easy! We had Sizzling Rice Soup, Chicken with Green Beans, Broccoli Beef. The soup was the best I've had anywhere. Big shrimp and fresh veggies, and very light tasty broth. And the chicken and beef so tender "it melted in our mouths". Dishes we saw being served were garnished with beautiful fresh tulips in small arrangements and other fresh flowers. Really lovely presentation. read more

Scammed me with misaligned menu prices. Waiter was an absolute jerk when I tried to ask for an explanation. Do not recommend.

Amazing food, great atmosphere, and can't recommend it enough. The golden crab and orange beef are exquisite. Thank you

We ordered take out from The Mandarin last night. It was exceptional! We loved the Sizzling Beef and the Combination Rice. The chicken wings were great, too. We're looking forward to coming back. read more

Food was good and service was excellent, but they charged me with a dish I ordered but they didn't have available.... I found out afterwards. Didn't think it was on purpose, but watching your bill. read more