Mandarin Palace

Shannon Miller

Delicious Kung Pao and Mu Shu Chicken. General Tsao chicken is fantastic. In fact everything they make is delicious. For a quick lunch they have a very generous variety of items.on the lunch special and the serve fast. They just need to have hot n sour soup because they are often out. Excellent food in or to go.

Andrew

Stopped in for lunch and ordered the Dan Dan Mian (spicy minced pork over noodles). I was impressed with the depth of flavor in the pork, including the subtle hints of garlic and ginger. The texture of the noodles was perfect and complimented the dish well. If you like spicy food I recommend trying this dish.

Daniel Fenske

Delicious food, great atmosphere, and was busy even at 2 Pm. Will come back again in the future.

Blackberry BB

One of my fav Chinese restaurants in town. Love love the three dishes in the first pic. Must try!! Staff are very nice and friendly too.

Food is delicious and service is great. We have been ordering from Mandarin Palace for over a year and still haven't disappointed us. Each time we order, it's for pick up so I can't say much about the restaurant environment, but I can say the food is good.

The Kung Pao tofu is the best! Delicious with fresh veggies and crispy-on-the-outside tofu. Other items I've gotten have all been good.

Sofia Sarellano

It's in the shopping center, very nice and friendly. Stopped for some food on our way home and it was quick to place the order and about 10-15min of leg stretching time before we had our food and got back in the road.😊

An absolutely fantastic delivered order of Chinese food! This business has been open for decades. It's now our go to, again... From the seafood noodles to the egg rolls to the chicken chowmein it was all much better than we expected! The price point is right on and to get this food delivered is a great!

Mostly good, could be better. Will come again.

* dnainsb

An absolutely fantastic delivered order of Chinese food! This business has been open for decades. It's now our go to, again... From the seafood noodles to the egg rolls to the chicken chowmein it was all much better than we expected! The price point is right on and to get this food delivered is a great!

Tianling Wan

Mostly good, could be better. Will come again.

H H

A little pricey but great looking and flavorful, tasty food. One of the most authentic Chinese food in the area. Friendly staff. Will be back for sure!

This looks like a fancy Chinese restaurant but the food was not as good as how the restaurant look. We had the lunch set which came with entree, rice and some sides. The entree was not was authentic and had some random flavors in it. The steamed rice was good but fried rice was a bit too oily. Portion was just right. Service was very friendly though.

To get a good idea of Mandarin Palace we ordered our favorite dishes that we normally get at our favorite Chinese restaurant. My choice was the salt and pepper fish, and it didn't hold up in comparison. The fish was small and thin chunks with a heavy breading instead of regular servings of fresh tasting fish. The veggies were super thinly sliced and didn't add a whole lot of flavor. She ordered moo goo gai pan, and appreciated the thinner cuts of veggies on her dish. It wasn't as flavorful as what we get at our favorite place, though. The prices were okay, slightly higher than we usually pay but not outrageous. Servers were pleasant enough. Overall I'd rate it average. We'll stick to our favorite Chinese place.

Fang Phattha

This looks like a fancy Chinese restaurant but the food was not as good as how the restaurant look. We had the lunch set which came with entree, rice and some sides. The entree was not was authentic and had some random flavors in it. The steamed rice was good but fried rice was a bit too oily. Portion was just right. Service was very friendly though.

Mark Y

To get a good idea of Mandarin Palace we ordered our favorite dishes that we normally get at our favorite Chinese restaurant. My choice was the salt and pepper fish, and it didn't hold up in comparison. The fish was small and thin chunks with a heavy breading instead of regular servings of fresh tasting fish. The veggies were super thinly sliced and didn't add a whole lot of flavor. She ordered moo goo gai pan, and appreciated the thinner cuts of veggies on her dish. It wasn't as flavorful as what we get at our favorite place, though. The prices were okay, slightly higher than we usually pay but not outrageous. Servers were pleasant enough. Overall I'd rate it average. We'll stick to our favorite Chinese place.

Steven Anderson

A decent place. Very fast at getting food. It's hard to know exactly what you'll get. Seems like every restaurant does the same name but different food. Overall this place was good to go and try, but I cannot see myself coming back by choice. It would have to be a friend or someone wanting to try it.

We got take out and you could tell they just do not care. They picked up the phone but kept talking to whoever they were talking to for over a minute before speaking to us. The food was bland because the sauces are so watered down. If you Chinese they doesn’t taste like Chinese, you’ll like this place. Only reason that I gave this place 2 stars is because the partitions are decent and I could save it by adding chili sauce at home.

Breana McGowan

We got take out and you could tell they just do not care. They picked up the phone but kept talking to whoever they were talking to for over a minute before speaking to us. The food was bland because the sauces are so watered down. If you Chinese they doesn’t taste like Chinese, you’ll like this place. Only reason that I gave this place 2 stars is because the partitions are decent and I could save it by adding chili sauce at home.

During our previous visit, one of our dishes was forgotten. The staff told us it simply took a long time to prepare and asked us to wait for over an hour. We later noticed that customers who arrived after us were served the same dish earlier, which made it clear our order had been forgotten. On our most recent visit, one dish was mistakenly delivered to another table and then taken back and served to us after the mistake was noticed. We did not argue, but due to the overall poor service, we did not plan to leave a tip. Before leaving, we were told that tipping is required by California law. This made us very uncomfortable. Although we ended up paying, these repeated experiences have convinced us that we will not be dining in at this restaurant again.

Its been awhile since I've been to Mandarin Palace which I used to enjoy, but our meals tonight were horrible...sweet and sour chicken was bad, lemon chicken was worse and the so called fried rice looked and tasted more like Spanish rice, I guess?? Very Bad get it together, go back to your original recipes please

I never enjoyed a meal in a restaurant less than I did when I had lunch with friends at Mandarin Palace. on 9/26/25. The worst was the attitude and lack of service by the shorter of the several waiters there. He brought me a different dish than the one I ordered. Although the dish was nauseatingly oilier than the Sechuan dish I had ordered, I didn't attempt to complain, but during the entire meal, no one checked on us and it was impossible catch their attention for them to bring the condiments that are supposed to go with the food we order, e.g. mustard for the egg rolls even though there were only about 4 other customers in the restaurant at the time. I will never return to this restaurant because of the extreme unfriendliness. Go Chinese someplace else. There are lotos of good Asian restaurants in Santa Barbara.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME HERE, LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE! First impression: I ordered the Moo Shu Chicken, Chow Mein with rice, and Thai Basil Chicken. Honestly, Panda Express has more flavor. I was completely disappointed, the food tasted like it came from a hospital cafeteria (even so, I think the hospital cafeteria has better food). Absolutely no flavor at all; everything was bland and lifeless. It was honestly disgusting. My only regret is paying for food I couldn’t even enjoy and ending up throwing it away.

We visited this restaurant with a party of 10, including guests from out of town, young children (four of whom are youth track athletes under 12), and a child with a disability. From the start, the service felt disorganized and inattentive. Though we arrived early and the staff kindly set up a table for us, no one communicated when it was ready. We waited unnecessarily until I had to approach the staff myself. Throughout the meal, service was inconsistent. We had to request water twice—despite having a large table of children—and ordered a pot of tea that also took follow-up. Basic hospitality, like checking in or acknowledging a group of this size, was notably lacking. Two of our guests, both coaches, ended up leaving due to the unwelcoming attitude of the staff, which was especially disappointing considering we chose this place to treat our guests. The food itself was underwhelming, and while we did pay the bill without issue, we noticed that our kids were not offered fortune cookies—something we saw being given to other tables. When we politely asked, the request was dismissed without explanation. We understand cultural nuances in service styles, and we came in as respectful, paying customers simply expecting a warm experience. Unfortunately, what we received fell short in both food and hospitality. I hope the restaurant can take this feedback constructively and make improvements, especially in welcoming and accommodating larger, diverse families.

We have been coming to this restaurant almost every week with a group of about 10 people. We always pay our bill properly and tip around 15%. However, during our most recent visit, after we had already paid and left a 15% tip, a new waitress actually followed us out into the parking lot and asked for additional tip. This made everyone in our group extremely uncomfortable. We were surprised because we had already tipped, and being approached in the parking lot like that felt very inappropriate. We have enjoyed coming here regularly, but this experience left a very bad impression. I hope the management can address this issue and train staff to behave more professionally.

Karen Bisquera

Its been awhile since I've been to Mandarin Palace which I used to enjoy, but our meals tonight were horrible...sweet and sour chicken was bad, lemon chicken was worse and the so called fried rice looked and tasted more like Spanish rice, I guess?? Very Bad get it together, go back to your original recipes please

Jessica Figueroa

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME HERE, LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE! First impression: I ordered the Moo Shu Chicken, Chow Mein with rice, and Thai Basil Chicken. Honestly, Panda Express has more flavor. I was completely disappointed, the food tasted like it came from a hospital cafeteria (even so, I think the hospital cafeteria has better food). Absolutely no flavor at all; everything was bland and lifeless. It was honestly disgusting. My only regret is paying for food I couldn’t even enjoy and ending up throwing it away.

Nan Cisney

I never enjoyed a meal in a restaurant less than I did when I had lunch with friends at Mandarin Palace. on 9/26/25. The worst was the attitude and lack of service by the shorter of the several waiters there. He brought me a different dish than the one I ordered. Although the dish was nauseatingly oilier than the Sechuan dish I had ordered, I didn't attempt to complain, but during the entire meal, no one checked on us and it was impossible catch their attention for them to bring the condiments that are supposed to go with the food we order, e.g. mustard for the egg rolls even though there were only about 4 other customers in the restaurant at the time. I will never return to this restaurant because of the extreme unfriendliness. Go Chinese someplace else. There are lotos of good Asian restaurants in Santa Barbara.

Ross Treusdell

The food I ordered was rotten. I got the Mongolian Beef. The onions in it were horrible. I use onions a lot when I cook, so I could tell that the onions were way too old to eat. The dining room has a slightly unpleasant smell, though when I used the bathroom, I noticed the smell from the kitchen was worse. I imagine not all of their food is like this, but I wish I had never eaten that meal. I had very bad indigestion for two days afterwards.

bryanvhoward bryanvhoward

We visited this restaurant with a party of 10, including guests from out of town, young children (four of whom are youth track athletes under 12), and a child with a disability. From the start, the service felt disorganized and inattentive. Though we arrived early and the staff kindly set up a table for us, no one communicated when it was ready. We waited unnecessarily until I had to approach the staff myself. Throughout the meal, service was inconsistent. We had to request water twice—despite having a large table of children—and ordered a pot of tea that also took follow-up. Basic hospitality, like checking in or acknowledging a group of this size, was notably lacking. Two of our guests, both coaches, ended up leaving due to the unwelcoming attitude of the staff, which was especially disappointing considering we chose this place to treat our guests. The food itself was underwhelming, and while we did pay the bill without issue, we noticed that our kids were not offered fortune cookies—something we saw being given to other tables. When we politely asked, the request was dismissed without explanation. We understand cultural nuances in service styles, and we came in as respectful, paying customers simply expecting a warm experience. Unfortunately, what we received fell short in both food and hospitality. I hope the restaurant can take this feedback constructively and make improvements, especially in welcoming and accommodating larger, diverse families.