Golden Palace

If you spend time with reading these reviews you will notice a trend. Nestled between tourists giving low ratings there’s glowing reviews from people that actually know Chinese cuisine. Golden Palace tries to cater to everyone (it’s nestled between hotels in a tourist town) so they offer the typical American Chinese food. However, they have another menu that is just absolutely amazing. I urge you to branch out and try something new and unknown. Staff is incredibly courteous and portions are gigantic. Golden Palace is a gem.

The beef and broccoli is delicious, the general tsos chicken is phenomenal. If you get the chow mien get it with chicken or beef, pork ain't it. I'm sure it's amazing with beef. The cuts of meat were great, perfect amount of fat and thickness for beef and broccoli. I'll be coming back here for sure.

Chow mein is super yummy, food comes SO fast, and the decor/atmosphere was extremely inviting and authentic! Update: visited here a few times now and I have to say that service is very slow in regards to drinks/check. Food comes fast but you have to flag down a waiter to get a refill etc.

Food came out rather quickly. Very large plates....(My mouth dropped....I’ve never seen such large plates/portions)! Food was hot, Authenticity Traditional and A-M-A-Zing! Each item had its own flavors and tasted Very clean! ❤️❤️ Service was fast, friendly and wonderful! Will return when we come back to Santa Cruz

100% Would Recommend! The Mongolian beef lives up to its reputation. Chow fun is delish. Service was great, food was delicious, large portion sizes, and a very welcoming atmosphere. This is a great place to take the kids, or for a family gathering (there is enough space for that). The food here is spectacular, and it was delivered fast too! I love this place, too bad there isn't one back where I live!

We stopped here because it was the only place open when we left the boardwalk. And boy are we glad we did! The food was amazing. The staff were as kind and as helpful as possible. And we left with enough leftovers for another entire meal. Thank you for the perfect ending to our day.

I went here on thanksgiving day, and honestly it was the best chinese food I have ever had. It was all amazing, and fresh! Boyfriend and I split three things, and they were all very unique and equally bomb! Highly recommend. Well worth it ^_^

Super good food service was great as well. Serving size is very generous. Everything was hott and crispy. We will definitely be back.

Five stars for Santa Cruz. But I'd give it a good rating in China as well. Golden palace (formally king Schwann) a decades old Santa Cruz institution now has a legit Chinese menu. It’s a separate menu so look for it. I travel to China several times a year so I disagree with other reviewers who questioned authenticity. Maybe they didn’t get the new menu. Try the spicy oil fish (also know as boiling water fish)

Spent the day at the Santa Cruz Beach boardwalk for the day stop to eat some Chinese food for my nephew's birthday great experience friendly staff had the whole place to ourselves Food was really good Specifically the War Wonton soup and the egg rolls the place it self takes you to 🇨🇳 I mean check it out the art on the walls kids loved the food ohh a little too price $$$$$be aware!

Lovely, authentic Chinese restaurant! We were in town for Thanksgiving and found this delightful spot for dinner. The menus offer both Chinese American comfort food options and well as authentic Chinese (Hunan) dishes. We enjoyed our food family-style around a lazy Susan with a continuous top up of tea. Really glad we found this place and we ended up returning also for lunch the next day.

It was really good food, lots of food, and good service. I'd definitely go again. 👍

I’ve been coming here for years. Best Chinese restaurant in town. I will always come here.

Very good chinese food, generous portions, fast service & great presentation, super close walk from the Hyatt Hotel! Will definitelt visit again when in Santa Cruz

Sandra Melendez

Super good food service was great as well. Serving size is very generous. Everything was hott and crispy. We will definitely be back.

Paco Flores

Five stars for Santa Cruz. But I'd give it a good rating in China as well. Golden palace (formally king Schwann) a decades old Santa Cruz institution now has a legit Chinese menu. It’s a separate menu so look for it. I travel to China several times a year so I disagree with other reviewers who questioned authenticity. Maybe they didn’t get the new menu. Try the spicy oil fish (also know as boiling water fish)

VASQUEZ FAMILIA 415

Spent the day at the Santa Cruz Beach boardwalk for the day stop to eat some Chinese food for my nephew's birthday great experience friendly staff had the whole place to ourselves Food was really good Specifically the War Wonton soup and the egg rolls the place it self takes you to 🇨🇳 I mean check it out the art on the walls kids loved the food ohh a little too price $$$$$be aware!

Judy S

Lovely, authentic Chinese restaurant! We were in town for Thanksgiving and found this delightful spot for dinner. The menus offer both Chinese American comfort food options and well as authentic Chinese (Hunan) dishes. We enjoyed our food family-style around a lazy Susan with a continuous top up of tea. Really glad we found this place and we ended up returning also for lunch the next day.

Skylin Hibler

It was really good food, lots of food, and good service. I'd definitely go again. 👍

Tejash Patel

I’ve been coming here for years. Best Chinese restaurant in town. I will always come here.

SF

Very good chinese food, generous portions, fast service & great presentation, super close walk from the Hyatt Hotel! Will definitelt visit again when in Santa Cruz

Love Golden Palace for Chinese food!! I love their Hot & Sour Soup (especially good when you've got a cold), their Orange Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken... Pork Fried Rice is good too! And other stuff too!! I really like their food!! Very friendly staff!! I love the way they've decorated inside... And I can say that even when me and my ex boyfriend were homeless years back, and probably looked a little grungy and had too many bags and needed to charge our phones and had our little well behaved dog with us, they welcomed us and treated us with kindness and respect, which I have to say that sadly, many businesses, at least in Santa Cruz, did not!! So for that, I will always have a ton of appreciation and respect for them!! But that's probably why they've stayed in business for so long and have done well... Is because as far as I can tell, they are good people... Anyway, I highly recommend!!

Fast and friendly service! I had the Mongolian Beef plate and my partner had Broccoli Chicken. Both dishes were prepared and plated excellently and tasted fantastic. This restaurant is 4 star rated on Yelp! but should be 5 stars! I highly recommend this restaurant!!!

Christy St. Arno

Love Golden Palace for Chinese food!! I love their Hot & Sour Soup (especially good when you've got a cold), their Orange Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken... Pork Fried Rice is good too! And other stuff too!! I really like their food!! Very friendly staff!! I love the way they've decorated inside... And I can say that even when me and my ex boyfriend were homeless years back, and probably looked a little grungy and had too many bags and needed to charge our phones and had our little well behaved dog with us, they welcomed us and treated us with kindness and respect, which I have to say that sadly, many businesses, at least in Santa Cruz, did not!! So for that, I will always have a ton of appreciation and respect for them!! But that's probably why they've stayed in business for so long and have done well... Is because as far as I can tell, they are good people... Anyway, I highly recommend!!

Steve Ogden

Fast and friendly service! I had the Mongolian Beef plate and my partner had Broccoli Chicken. Both dishes were prepared and plated excellently and tasted fantastic. This restaurant is 4 star rated on Yelp! but should be 5 stars! I highly recommend this restaurant!!!

Food was excellent, customer service was excellent, unfortunately we sat next to two families that were extra loud. Not the restaurants fault but definitely made it uncomfortable to chat at our table. Overall, we recommend this restaurant. Thanks for the great food!

So many good things to say about the food here. Crab Rangoon pastry was light and delicious. String bean beef and cashew chicken were both out of this world. Generous portions all around. Only reason for four rather than five stars was because the apps came out several minutes behind the entrees, and it's ridiculous to upcharge to get rice with the entrees. Amazing food, quick service, good prices. Highly recommend!

Great service and good food. They can be a little busy sometimes which slows them down significantly. A couple items are a total miss, but everything else makes up for it. My favorite place to turn to for Chinese food in Santa Cruz. The only caution I'd give is to be a bit careful during busy times. I've seen them at their worst when they're inundated with orders and people in the restaurant. The oppressive rush often causes the cook to miss some items and can make for a noticeable drop in the quality of the food.

The place inside was so pretty, relaxing. The Wonton soup was my favorite! The Mongolian beef was a little too salty ( for me ) lemon helps. Oh no free refills on drinks :( The green beans was delicious! Very beautiful wallpaper in the bathroom too!! :) would go again

Good food, extremely large portions. Had the D-1 combo and it was large enough for 2-3 people easily.

angelicaescoo

The place inside was so pretty, relaxing. The Wonton soup was my favorite! The Mongolian beef was a little too salty ( for me ) lemon helps. Oh no free refills on drinks :( The green beans was delicious! Very beautiful wallpaper in the bathroom too!! :) would go again

Crystal Hall

Good food, extremely large portions. Had the D-1 combo and it was large enough for 2-3 people easily.

Go here often, consistent food quality for a reasonable price. Broad selection available. Fast service, charming atmosphere! Family run and owned. Love their hot 'n sour, egg flower and wonton soups! Dependable experience. I also plan a lot of dinner meetings in their banquet room. They always score high with the group! Very accommodating!

Tasty but not authentic Chinese kitchen. (Have been to China several times). Lack of fresh vegetables or salads. Wait too long before 1st dish came that unusual for Chinese dishes. Dinner of 4 dishes for 3 cost $60. No compliments((((. Did not bring 1 more dish but added it to receipt. Changed receipt after.

Vera Z

Tasty but not authentic Chinese kitchen. (Have been to China several times). Lack of fresh vegetables or salads. Wait too long before 1st dish came that unusual for Chinese dishes. Dinner of 4 dishes for 3 cost $60. No compliments((((. Did not bring 1 more dish but added it to receipt. Changed receipt after.

Because of the wonderful reviews I thought I would try this place last night. The service was great, food hot when I picked it up and smelled great. However, I ordered the Dinner B family pack for 2 and the beef tasted like flavored flour. The chicken was a bit better but the coating on both meats were so overwhelming it took away the flavor of the meat itself. Not a place or at least an order I can recommend or will get again. Since I picked-up the order to enjoy at home, I ended up throwing it away. I couldn't eat it - that was $30 wasted.

We've been there twice. Their cooking was pretty good and very authentic, and serving was fast. However, both times we felt that the pork was not very fresh. So, five star for the cooking, one star for the ingredients.

I ordered $100 worth of food at 7:30, it came in 10 minutes. Completely cold and leftover from lunch. There's literally no way they made fried rice;Mongolian beef;golden palace beef; sweet and sour pork;chicken string bean; and an appetizer sampler in 10 minutes and it's cold, and overcooked. Don't ever order delivery from here. I'll not be back.

I’m sorry but the food was not good. Pork wasn’t fresh. Tasted like it was sitting in the fridge for a few days. The fried rice had no flavor. Chow Mein wasn’t good. The General Tso Chicken was good. Praying I don’t get sick. From eating old stale pork.

Yan Li

We've been there twice. Their cooking was pretty good and very authentic, and serving was fast. However, both times we felt that the pork was not very fresh. So, five star for the cooking, one star for the ingredients.

Valkyrja Vakre

I ordered $100 worth of food at 7:30, it came in 10 minutes. Completely cold and leftover from lunch. There's literally no way they made fried rice;Mongolian beef;golden palace beef; sweet and sour pork;chicken string bean; and an appetizer sampler in 10 minutes and it's cold, and overcooked. Don't ever order delivery from here. I'll not be back.

Abe Carmona

I’m sorry but the food was not good. Pork wasn’t fresh. Tasted like it was sitting in the fridge for a few days. The fried rice had no flavor. Chow Mein wasn’t good. The General Tso Chicken was good. Praying I don’t get sick. From eating old stale pork.

Reasons for low rating: 1. Too salty every dish, and unnecessary vinegar. 2. Slow service (15 min before the first dish, and 30 min before getting all dishes), but charged a mandatory 15% service fee. 3. Even though the service fee is included, still left an option for tips. This is not right, let's be honest to customers. ============================================= And here is something very personal. We visited this restaurant a year ago, this place was superrrr good. Awesome dishes, great service, friendly staff and reasonable price. We came to this restaurant 2 times in 2 days, and had great memory. One time we came after surfing, and were super hungry and got incredibly satisfied with the dishes here. Just today, we got a chance to visit Santa Cruz again, and we directly came to this restaurant. However, everything has changed in a terrible way. I don't know what has made it so different, as the menu is exactly the one we were given 1 year ago. I am feeling very sad about this change, I hope it is just because it is the July 4th holiday, and caused by under-staff. Not giving one star because I am still hoping you can get back the original quality. Sincerely

Chen Qian

Reasons for low rating: 1. Too salty every dish, and unnecessary vinegar. 2. Slow service (15 min before the first dish, and 30 min before getting all dishes), but charged a mandatory 15% service fee. 3. Even though the service fee is included, still left an option for tips. This is not right, let's be honest to customers. ============================================= And here is something very personal. We visited this restaurant a year ago, this place was superrrr good. Awesome dishes, great service, friendly staff and reasonable price. We came to this restaurant 2 times in 2 days, and had great memory. One time we came after surfing, and were super hungry and got incredibly satisfied with the dishes here. Just today, we got a chance to visit Santa Cruz again, and we directly came to this restaurant. However, everything has changed in a terrible way. I don't know what has made it so different, as the menu is exactly the one we were given 1 year ago. I am feeling very sad about this change, I hope it is just because it is the July 4th holiday, and caused by under-staff. Not giving one star because I am still hoping you can get back the original quality. Sincerely

Recently changed name to some noodle place. Same bad service and bad food.

I must say, I actually have enjoyed my past visits. We came in for my son's birthday. The server seated us. I figured all was going well, until we started ordering. I felt like he didn't want us to be there. The food, which is normally delicious was sub par. The prawns were flattened and overcooked. The orange chicken was overcooked as was the sauce. My son was spooning the sauce, it was totally like playing with molasses. When I asked for tea, he sighed. When he brought the tea, he also brought three cups. I said, "no, just one. Thank you.". He picked up the cups and slammed them on the counter behind him. I am so disappointed. Again, we've gone here before. It was always excellent. This is the first time, in my life as a paying customer, that I have not left a tip.

Admittedly went here on Christmas as it looked like one of the only places open. We were welcomed enthusiastically and the person taking our order led us to believe that we ordered too less and we should probably order more. Food that came out was waaay too much for 4 people. He happily watched as we struggled to finish any of the food out in front of us. Food was not that great either. Super oily stuff.

This is one of the worst places I have ever eaten at. The service is completely horrible! The pork chow mein, pork fried rice, and sweet and sour prawns were good. The lemon chicken was so old and overcooked that we couldn't even eat it. When I told the waitress that, she said that I didn't tell her in time. After she delivered our food she never came back to check on us. So she charged me for the nasty lemon chicken we didn't even touch. There's also a $12 service fee. Absolutely ridiculous! At the end I wanted a refill of my iced tea and my friend wanted a tea. She brought us Waters and charged us for two iced teas. I had to argue to have one of the ice t's taken off. Not all of the food was horrible but the service is absolutely horrible. I hope that people read these reviews and do not go there. There's other places in the Santa Cruz area to eat. Please do not go here. I got four plates of food and it was $100

I would give zero star or even negative star if I can. The dish is terrible. We ordered chicken. It is even not thoroughly warm/hot. And it does not taste fresh. And they charge 15% service fee in addition to tips which is ridiculous. Never go there. It’s a terribly run restaurant.

I was looking for a Vietnamese dish but they didn’t have it so they called someone over to help me. I spoke with a different server who said he could make a soup close to what I was looking for. When it was served it wasn’t even close but I tried it. It was probably the worst soup I’ve ever tired, and I didn’t even eat it. When it came time to pay I was given a bill and when I questioned it they said it was so high due to Covid. After my 1st experience here I would never recommend it and I’ll never be back. Some may have better experiences than I did but if they say they can make a dish but don’t deliver don’t charge 4 times what the normal dish would be.

Not the best bang for the buck. We got sweet and sour chicken and chicken fried rice. Food was way too greasy. Green tea ice cream was also not good but that's more of a personal taste. Worker brought me a plate to transfer food from the big plates onto and it had a leftover rice grain from on it, aka not clean and kind of gross. Asked for water without ice and got ice anyway. Didn't seem to understand English very well when communicating either. Would not reccomend to anyone really. Just go somewhere else.

honestly deserved less than one star. we got takeout at a hotel a block away. we ordered chicken meals online and they didn’t come with rice, or anything except a box of fried chicken which wasn’t made clear in anyway. they didn’t provide napkins, silverware, or any sauces. took forever to get here. terrible.

This restaurant stinks I mean it really smells bad. I went in there with my wife for lunch and it took the server about 20 minutes to give us the menus. We ordered one dish cuz we won't really certain how good the food would be there and we also called for rice. They told us you can't share food. While I understand they may have a new share policy we did tell him that we will order another dish if we do like the food cuz it really seemed to be one of those places where you don't want to sit and eat unfortunately we're very hungry. We went ahead and left the restaurant. The waiter came running to our car asking us to come back in people likely refused. If you want poor service, smelly ambience, and servers who don't care about you then this place is a must-have for you.

DO NOT EAT HERE!Foods are decent, but look the 15% service fee, why does it charge the service fee automatically? I don’t mind to tip for the service, but it should be an option for me (or told me first) and of course I will tip, also there was no service at all, the waitress threw the menu on the table and walked away directly without saying hi or how are you? Nothing like that, all the service we got was the waitress put the food and drink on the table then walk away immediately to sit on the chair play her phone, did not come to ask us how was the food, was that considered a good service? LOL!!! plus they want you to put another 15% or more after the grand total, so watch out for your bill. Definitely will not come back!

Nasty food, bad service, all employees on cell phones playing games! The food was terrible. $47 dollars down the drain. The orange chicken was just burnt batter and the walnut shrimp were way to sweet. Will not be coming here ever! The waitress got upset because i did not give her a tip….I wonder why I didn’t tip her😡 bad service the second you come in the door. I ate a few pieces then left. I was afraid to return the food because i felt that they would get upset based on their looks

Do not eat here. I'm in fear for your health and safety. This place and their food handling is not up to the health department standards. We went straight to the restroom before being seated. There was no toilet paper or seat covers. I then walk out of the restroom where to the left a door was open an I noticed a large bucket of raw meat sitting on the ground uncovered at room temperature. Not ok!! To the right was the actual kitchen I then looked it and seen 12 trays of raw shrimp sitting out. I turned around to take a picture of the meat quickly. The 2 employee came over as they were obviously very angry that I took a picture she yelled at the employee and stared us down as we walked out.

唐果果

DO NOT EAT HERE!Foods are decent, but look the 15% service fee, why does it charge the service fee automatically? I don’t mind to tip for the service, but it should be an option for me (or told me first) and of course I will tip, also there was no service at all, the waitress threw the menu on the table and walked away directly without saying hi or how are you? Nothing like that, all the service we got was the waitress put the food and drink on the table then walk away immediately to sit on the chair play her phone, did not come to ask us how was the food, was that considered a good service? LOL!!! plus they want you to put another 15% or more after the grand total, so watch out for your bill. Definitely will not come back!

Mv Swoll

Nasty food, bad service, all employees on cell phones playing games! The food was terrible. $47 dollars down the drain. The orange chicken was just burnt batter and the walnut shrimp were way to sweet. Will not be coming here ever! The waitress got upset because i did not give her a tip….I wonder why I didn’t tip her😡 bad service the second you come in the door. I ate a few pieces then left. I was afraid to return the food because i felt that they would get upset based on their looks

Jazzy

Do not eat here. I'm in fear for your health and safety. This place and their food handling is not up to the health department standards. We went straight to the restroom before being seated. There was no toilet paper or seat covers. I then walk out of the restroom where to the left a door was open an I noticed a large bucket of raw meat sitting on the ground uncovered at room temperature. Not ok!! To the right was the actual kitchen I then looked it and seen 12 trays of raw shrimp sitting out. I turned around to take a picture of the meat quickly. The 2 employee came over as they were obviously very angry that I took a picture she yelled at the employee and stared us down as we walked out.

Be careful when you pay for your food. They charged us 27.99 for a dish that was supposed to be 17.99. The combination fried rice was alright. The "spicy" schezuan beef had no spice at all and when I reached for the chili paste and the jar it was in had old dried up dark paste around in inside like it hadn't been cleaned out. The scallops were rubbery and had no flavor. We tried a few other dishes but all in all everything we got was overpriced for very low quality of the food. Employees seemed kinda nice but also made us feel very rushed . When we walked in, there was only 1 other group of people (it was around dinner time/ about 5pm) so we were shocked there wasn't really anyone eating there. The only nice part of the restaurant was the interior, the decor was really nice to look at. Just wish they put better effort into their food and employees cared about making their guests feel comfortable.

Lizzy M.

Be careful when you pay for your food. They charged us 27.99 for a dish that was supposed to be 17.99. The combination fried rice was alright. The "spicy" schezuan beef had no spice at all and when I reached for the chili paste and the jar it was in had old dried up dark paste around in inside like it hadn't been cleaned out. The scallops were rubbery and had no flavor. We tried a few other dishes but all in all everything we got was overpriced for very low quality of the food. Employees seemed kinda nice but also made us feel very rushed . When we walked in, there was only 1 other group of people (it was around dinner time/ about 5pm) so we were shocked there wasn't really anyone eating there. The only nice part of the restaurant was the interior, the decor was really nice to look at. Just wish they put better effort into their food and employees cared about making their guests feel comfortable.