Mandarin Gourmet

Mandarin Gourmet is one of the finest Chinese restaurants in all of the Bay Area. Its elegance and class more

This place should be closed down. I am surprised by the number of great reviews this restaurant has received. I went to this restaurant to have lunch with a friend on March 3, 2007, and after receiving sub-par service, we paid the bill and left the waiter a sub-par tip. To our shock and surprise, the waiter (his name was SAM) came out of the restaurant, walked up behind us, and verbally accosted us. He told us that he didn't want our tip, and not to ever come back to his restaurant. This went on for a good 5-10 minutes, before he became irrate and started cursing at us and giving us his middle finger. After contemplating what to do, we went back to the restaurant, asked for the owner/manager, and demanded the an apology from the waiter. The manager refused, but offered her apology instead. While the food is good, this place is not worth the hassle of getting a pyscho waiter. There are so many restaurants in Palo Alto. For great food and great service, try Jing Jing's or Su Hong's. Cons: Service, wait staff more

Without a doubt. I used to live in the city and thoughts I would never find good chinese again but I was wrong. The coconut shrimp is my favorite. You can't go wrong really with anything on the menu. In fact, we order take out at least once a week. more

Mandarin Gourmet has a great lunch menu (soup, main course, rice) and the ambiance is nice - much more upscale than your typical Chinese restaurant with greasy chairs. I guess that's expected of downtown Palo Alto - everything is nicer than most places. Service is fast and friendly. more

As advertised, an upscale Chinese restaurant, but certainly not in the ""elegant"" class as they claim on the web site. I have eaten in restaurants on four continents, I know what ""elegant"" is. We had the ""Mushrooms and Greens"" and the ""Stir Fried White Fish Filets"". We agreed that both were good, but not outstanding. The fish dish was 20% fish and 80% water chesnuts and some other crunchy cubes. For 17.95, I expected FISH. The service was a disaster bordering on Hurricane Katrina levels. The maitre'd, the waiters, had an attitude of surliness bordering on hostility. Even for simple request like ""a glass of water without ice please. Then, we were presented with the check before we were finished i.e. we had to send them back for the dessert menu, again more surliness. For an ""upscale restaurant"" in America, this is the worst service I have received. Ever. Pros: Food Cons: Terrible service more