Mandarin Wok Restaurant

I grew up across the canyon from this restaurant, so I’ve been going there as long as I can remember. My grandpa only gets his favorite Chinese entrée from here. drives from north park! The owner is always so friendly, we have great conversations every time I go in. Traditional Chinese, not an Americanized version that appeals to the corporate world. If you are looking for great Chinese Food, prepared the way it should be. this is your place! Love love love Mandarin Wok!

I ordered Kung Pow Shrimp and the Beef-​Scallop dish. Disappointing. There were literally no scallops in that dish and the odd red/​purple color was only matched by its bad taste. The Kung Pow was okay. But, for the price I would not go again and stick to a fast food Chinese place that understands taste preferences — much better and 40% cheaper. Nice people, but a loser.

I ordered egg rolls which were super greasy and inedible. I also got sweet and sour chicken, which tasted ok but 20 minutes after I finished eating I was deathly sick, lasted for over 24 hours of misery. I most definitely got food poisoning from this place, that was the only thing I had eaten all day. Thanks mandarin wok

Old school recipes, old school décor, mature waitresses and old prices. Now while I’m
On the backend too it doesn’t always translate to the optimum dining experience. Everything was ok at best just wasn’t a place I’m headed back. I tried I ate and I left. Onward to find another Chinese venue.

This place was less than mediocre. The Kung pow chicken was tasteless and the lemon pepper chicken was slimy and bland. The gyoza and salt and pepper chicken wings were ok, but the egg drop soup tasted like soap. Both my roommate and I give this two very unenthusiastic thumbs down. How this place currently has 4 stars is beyond me.

I knew Joanne, the hostess, when she was a waitress on Mission Gorge Rd back in the early 90s. Now She and Edwin run Mandarin Wok, going strong since they took over in 1998.
I am not writing this becasue I know her, I am doing this for the quality and multlple options she and Edwin are able to provide. You want Kung pao chicken with fried tofu 3 shrimps, and 1 piece of beef? Edwin will make it for you– its that custom of eating if you want.
Notice also how busy she is on the weekends but observe, Mandarin Wok has never advertised to the public. By word of mouth, this little secret gem of the area is popular among the locals, PB, and La Jolla.
My fave there is Kung Pao Chicken/​med spicy/​with fried tofu and Champon soup noodles– a hearty heaping pile of hot broth, noodles and meats (modify to your taste at no cost)
When you visit, tell Joanne, Eric and John recommended the place to you– guys who gave her the YIN YANG DRAGON on the wall behind the cash register.
I gave it 4stars because when it gets super busy… they are understaffed and it gets a little slow.

Some of the best Chinese I have found in San Diego!!! This place has been holding it down for over 30 years, I think that says something in it of itself!
Personally I really enjoyed the kung pao and the Mongolian beef. I would absolutely come back to this place any day if the week. It’s a small little place that I needed Unilocal to find.
Good Chinese is hard to find in San Diego but this place is doing its part to say «Hey we’ve been here for over 30 years serving yummy Chinese food the whole time!!»
So come check it out, it a small little place, nice and cozy most likely you will love it, and I hope you do! Needless to say, you might see me because I really enjoyed it.
Happy eating!

The garlic shrimp & green beans are amazing! The garlic shrimp & asparagus is even more amazing! #east#coast#flavor#

3 Stars for the very friendly staff. Food was okay, nothing spectacular. Only reason we tried it out tonight was because of all the Unilocal Hype.

This place is pretty tasty. Had the salt and pepper chicken wings and fried rice. Both were delicious.
The service was exceptional (a lot of Chinese restaurants leave a lot to be desired in this area)
Definitely recommend.

We came here Saturday evening for dinner and chose this place mainly because of the Unilocal ratings and reviews. I had high hopes for this place, but unfortunately my experience didn’t meet my expectations.
The service here is good. The ladies here are super friendly and checked on us throughout our meal. Water was always filled and they asked us several times if everything was okay.
The food was just okay based on the few dishes our group ordered.
³⁄₅ — Mongolian Beef: beef was tender, veggies okay, but it was a tad bit too salty.
²⁄₅ — Kung Pao Shrimp: I’m more of a fan of the traditional brown sauce. Here at Mandarin Wok they cook it «red» style. It did not taste good because the shrimp had a slight soft «mushy» texture. That’s a sign of the shrimp not being fresh (aka old), shrimp that has been thawed then refrozen, or both.
¹⁄₅ — General Tao’s Chicken: It should be General «Tso», not Tao. This is one of my favorite dishes, but it fell way below expectations. The chicken was not deep fried long enough so it was not crispy and the chicken didn’t taste very good. The sauce had no kick and was too light. The sauce is usually a darker brownish orange color. Veggies were alright.
³⁄₅ — Cream Cheese Wontons: These were okay. Texture was good, but the filling was bland. Tasted like cream cheese, chopped veggies, and no seasoning whatsoever.
They underperformed on 2 out of the three main entrees I ordered. Definitely not a good sign. I might give this place another chance, but will not order the same dishes.
²⁄₅ — Food
⁴⁄₅ — Service
³⁄₅ — Atmosphere /​Cleanliness
2.5 /​5.0 — Overall

Hmmm. I don’t know how I feel about this place.
I came here a couple of weeks ago with my friend. We just stumbled upon it and I didn’t really eat much that time so I thought I’d go back and give it a real try since I’ve been trying to find good Chinese food in San Diego.
I made my friend come here with me last night for dinner for a second taste.
Drink:
Thai Iced Tea $ 2.75: Not the best Thai Iced Tea, but that’s okay it’s not Thai restaurant. It’s okay too much milk not enough tea.
Appetizers:
Cream Cheese Wontons $ 5.95: Good! Order this. It’s nice and fresh, wonton is crispy. I don’t believe there’s meat in it.
Egg rolls $ 3.95 for 2 pieces: MEH. I can do without it. Not worth the price.
Entrée:
Honey Walnut Shrimp $ 14.50: SOUR! I don’t know what it was but the dish tasted off. I’m not sure if their recipe calls for lemon juice or something similar but the sauce was way too sour for me. Maybe it’s the mayonnaise that they used. I don’t think I’ll order this again.
Overall the ambiance is nice, it’s not as packed as Convoy restaurants and the customers are a different demographic than Convoy. The service is good, the servers are attentive and friendly. I think the only thing I enjoyed on the menu was the cream cheese wontons. The menu is a hit or miss.

Ate here after hulu. Cute little asian restaurant with cute little asian ladies running and workin this bidnezZ! Food is yummy in my tummy.
Service: they’re so sweet and nice! m! Reminds me of my little Filipino aunties in PI.
I did ask for fried rice with my dinner special. I guess they forgot and gave me white rice. Its ok, mistakes happen :)

My family has been coming to this restaurant almost as long as I’ve been alive. The food hasn’t changed much over the years and neither have the employees. The food is consistently good and service always top notch. My favorite item is the kung pao, I love the beef version and the chicken. They keep it how it is supposed to be just the protein, peanuts, and green onion in a wonderful red sauce. Not that awful brown stuff that has no flavor. Their fried rice is just fried rice, no added veggies. Their steamed rice is always great. Their iced tea is made with a delicious jasmine tea. The cream cheese wontons are always fresh and tasty. My mother in law loves their cashew chicken and my husband gets something new every time we come, he has never left disappointed. They offer a nice lunch special and is a great time to try out Mandarin Wok. This is hands down my favorite Chinese restaurant and I try to encourage everyone I know to visit.

What is more Christmas-​like than having Chinese food?!
Apparently not Christmas-​like as many Chinese restaurants were actually closed. However, Unilocal pointed me to Mandarin Wok. So I naturally made reservations for lunch.
Parking is very easy as it’s in a strip mall (and the only place open on Christmas day). We walked in to find only 2 other tables occupied. That didn’t last long. By the end of our meal, the restaurant was full.
However, the service did not match up. It seems they only had one maybe two people working when we arrived. We even had to serve ourselves water from the pitcher on a nearby table since no one came by. Our food came out after other larger groups that had arrived after us. Apparently you have to know the owners pretty well. That seemed to dictate when you would receive your food.
The food itself was pretty good. Don’t expect authentic food here, but it’s better than the Chinese take out stuff you can get elsewhere. We ordered General Tso’s chicken, Cream cheese won tons, mushu pork, kung pao chicken, and hunan beef. The cream cheese won tons (which are so not Chinese but I still enjoy them) were incredibly hot inside. That points to freshly made won tons, which I appreciate.
Another interesting point, the mushu pork came out prewrapped. I’ve never seen that before. It didn’t bother me, but I’ve been known to take just the filling home to mix in with rice since the pancake wrapper doesn’t reheat well.
All other choices were on par with average Chinese food.
All that plus an order of fried rice came out to $ 80. Their service improved as we left, probably as people were coming into work. Will we come back? absolutely. There isn’t a lot of Chinese food outside of Convoy. I just think there’s quite a bit of room to improve.

We finally had the opportunity to come here. My boyfriend has always wanted to try this place but I was doubtful because rarely do mom and pop shops cater to food allergies. I wasn’t too hungry so we came in and I decided I would just get a big bowl of egg drop soup.
This place is in a tiny plaza that has been recently renovated. The staff is super friendly and they seemed to have a lot of locals stopping by, mostly for pick ups. The place looks dated but they’ve been around for 30 years which I find pretty incredible. We got the dinner special and upgraded the soup to a larger size (3 cups instead of 1). The soup came out first then appetizers. We both found the food to be pretty average; good but not incredible. We both prefer tons of flavor and seasoning. The orange chicken came out with some white rice. Would had been nice if it had a bit of vegetables like onions or green onions.
They forgot to give my boyfriend silverware but no biggy. And they forgot to give us the tea that comes with the special… Maybe because my boyfriend got a beer? Would had been nice to have tea but we didn’t realize this till we left.
The owner came by to speak with us and told us her husband is the chef. We asked if they cater to dairy and gluten allergies and she said yes, they are very accommodating and happy to help. She was very knowledgeable in which items contain gluten and I was impressed. She gave me a menu to take home and said next time they will help me with ordering. I really appreciated this. Had we not spoken with the owner I wouldn’t be so eager to come back.
I’ll definitely return now that I know they can help me out with accommodations. It’s very rare for me to find Chinese restaurants that are willing or able to help. Glad we tried this place!

Very good, but not as amazing as we expected given other reviews. Service was VERY nice and friendly for takeout and they had TONS of gluten free options. The entrees were good, but a little more bland than we had hoped. We ate orange chicken, double happiness (shrimp and scallops) and soup. All were good, just nothing special.
The service was REALLY very good and the people were so friendly. I would go back just based on their service and the food being decent.

Perhaps I just didn’t pick the best dishes, or it was an «off» night in the kitchen, but I wasn’t terribly impressed with my Americanized Chinese dinner.
We started off with the egg rolls, which didn’t have that much flavor. I could really only taste the wrapper dough and cabbage. Should there have been other veggies besides cabbage? The Imperial beef had a tasty sauce, but the pieces were a little too large. I think I could have used a knife. Lastly, the mu shu pork was such a disappointment. The dry wrapper, was more akin to a Mexican tortilla than the typical paper thin wrapper that I’m used to. Like the Imperial Beef, the meat was cut fairly large and I bit into a few fatty and chewy pieces.
Overall, the service was friendly, but I’m not sure this will ever be my «go to» place for American Chinese food.

Visited Mandarin Wok for the first time last week for lunch.
I’ve heard of this place for years and have driven by it even more times. I finally decided to check it out last week and I’m glad we did!
It wasn’t busy for lunch but I could see people coming in to pick up orders. The nice lady immediately walked us to a table and brought us waters.
I was debating between a beef and broccoli and a Kung pao chicken. I asked the nice lady and she said definitely get the Kung pao as its one of their specialties. The lunch special comes with Kung pao chicken, fried rice, soup and an egg roll. The Kung pao was very different and had a deep red sauce it wasn’t spicy like I’m used to but it was delicious. The lunch special has a generous amount of food.
Mandarin wok is definitely one of the best chinese food places near by me.

I’ve been dining at Mandarin Wok for too many years to admit! This restaurant, located in about the middle of a small strip mall at the southeast corner of Clairemont Drive and Balboa Avenue, provides tasty, familiar dishes like Orange Beef, Broccoli Chicken, etc. along with generous shrimp dishes, like Chef’s Shrimp, which is packed with the tasty little sea bugs!
The ambiance is fancy/​faded old, but that is part of the charm. I don’t believe the restaurant has ever been remodeled since opening in the 1970;s (I believe), but that has kept prices down and things are definitely kept clean and tidy. To the best of my knowledge, the same family owns the place and has provided continuous service for all these many decades. Everybody is very nice, attentive without being overbearing, and a delight to chat with.
And the food… As good as Chinese food gets in San Diego.
So go ahead and give this nice, family-​run place a try. Don’t expect gourmet, but good, solid, filling dishes that you are sure to enjoy!