China Rainbow

Great food, great drinks and friendly service. China Rainbow has been in business for over 40 years and still run by the same family. I highly recommend the Egg rolls, chop suey and lo mein! They are also known for their mai tais and scorpion bowls which are excellent! The décor is original to the day it opened which adds to the whole experience of an old school chinese restaurant.
Although they are a little behind technology wise they still offer free wifi!
Very clean and much better than a number of other chinese restaurants in the area.

Tammi is back!!! They make the best Mai Tai and the food and service is Excellent! The fish are happy too!

Old school & great!!! Not tiki island but in the area a close 2^nd! Great ol vibe & STRONG drinks… A must visit!

This dive looking place is actually quite good. The wood paneling from the 1960’s adds to the interest this restaurant exudes. I was sorely disappointed that the golden girls were not playing as I was promised that Blanch would be strutting her stuff on TV for all the white people in the restaurant to see.
Food was actually quite good and I don’t even like Chinese food. I was concerned going in but happy coming out. I would suggest the shrimp and broccoli. Shrimp is nice and big. Good deals for what it has to offer.
My significant other practically ate the menu and will probably begin working on the blood orange table you find in antique stores from 1960 – 1970 era. If nothing else, the bar was busy with Watertown drunks and a few people in the restaurant. If you sit next to the only other couple in the restaurant you can learn all about their sex life or lack there-​of.

This place is MAGICAL! My friend and I ventured here on a Friday evening after work. We got a large scorpion bowl ($ 13.00) and several strong drinks. The scallion pancakes were delicious. The atmosphere is one of those places where you either love it or hate it. No windows. Check. Wood paneling. Check. Pink titled bathroom. Check. Everyone seemed to know each other there. Tammy was so friendly towards the regulars and they all loved her. Don’t forget to play some Keno or some scratch tickets while drinking your strong scorpion bowl. They gave us free popcorn and fries because we were there for so long. The décor is priceless. If you ever bring a first date to this establishment or your date suggests this place you know you have a keeper.

China Rainbow is the most frightening chinese restaurant I’ve seen other than some dives in San Francisco’s Chinatown that I wish I could unsee. With the wood paneling and complete lack of windows, it is like some 1970s basement dungeon.
The thing about China Rainbow is that it is among the first chinese restaurants to open in metrowest outside of the city boston in the 1960s. It dates back to a time when Watertown was an industrial city with major factories doing 3 shifts a day. The décor is exactly as it is when they opened in 196x, and they are open late to accommodate late workers.
That early starting date is also why they serve «Chinese Polynesian» cuisine (like the now defunct South Pacific in Newton), and have authentic tiki mugs. The food however is surprisingly good and fresh, and the Polynesian drinks amazingly strong. It’s rare for anyone to eat in the dining room at lunch time. The bar area tends to have locals getting plastered on Mai Tai’s and packing away Egg Foo Yongs. If you ever want to find an alcoholic mechanic to fix your car, or paint your house China Rainbow is where to meet them. Good times.

We LOVE China Rainbow! We have been going there since it opened! My family used to have Christmas Dinner there every year! Try it!

I think my fiancé Abe Lincoln’s derelict roommate is over there right now getting plastered. if you see him tell him not to come home.

Don’t let that propaganda video fool you. There has never been anyone in the dining room, ever. I sat in there once for kicks, and it seemed like the benches were fake, hollow, movie props.
I lived across the street from here on Ladd Street and loved this place before moving to Atlanta.
BEST scallion pancakes. Great scorpion bowls.
Yes, it’s windowless. Yes, if there was a fire, everyone would die. Yes, it’s bar is full of locals getting drunk. Yes, the bartender is a 70 year old Chinese woman with a hairsprayed bouffant and a Boston accent.
That’s why it gets five stars instead of four.

This place belongs in a scene from the 1970’s series «Streets of San Francisco» or Kojak… Claustrophobic, dark and dingy. The last time I went here was when I was 12 with my grandmother. I can’t believe the owners don’t spend a little money and redo this place, it hasn’t been touched in 30 some odd years! With sagging drop ceilings, horrible paneling, no windows, just depressing I just don’t get it…
Anyway, the food was pretty bad except for the bone-​in spare ribs. The fried rice is that dry, dark brown variety made earlier in the day and tossed with some sprouts to liven it up (Chinese people don’t eat it this crap) the beef with mushrooms was 80% canned mushrooms and 20% beef strips (Appalled that they use canned mushrooms) appetizers and dishes are pretty pricey for the quality and what they are. They charge for soda’s by the high-​ball glass and they’re full of ice so you get 3 oz. of soda and there are no refills. I had to ask for water and tea (watered down) As you can tell I was not impressed, nor will I be going back. I wish I had made the drive to Framingham to my favorite Chinese place Imperial China on Rt. 9 instead.

All the reviewers were spot on with this place. Dark, no windows. There was a projector screen with golden girls on the tv the whole time we were there!
The food was average but the scorpion bowl and Mai tai was awesome!!! I felt bad for the old Asian lady who clearly was the only cook and kept coming out to get some fresh air from the hot muggy kitchen.
I would go back for apps and drinks but not for a good meal.

I have been going here for almost 30 yrs, it is the kind of old school chinese food i have grown up for. The atmosphere is what i like and a great place to meet people you know but haven’t seen in years. Give it a try and you won’t be disappointed!!!

I am so torn between giving this place 1 star because it’s appallingly sketchy or 5 stars because it’s amazingly entertaining. I’ve lived up the street for the past 2 years and never even knew it existed. My neighbor texted me the other day and said, «It’s a China Rainbow night! Bring $ 20 and an attitude for hammered!» and I was in.
When you first walk up, you wonder if the person who brought you there is just stopping somewhere to do a drug deal before you head to the real bar. Don’t be fooled by the less-​than-​lovely atmosphere though. The inside is a true gem. The fake wood paneling distracts you from the fact that there are no windows and the small fish tank mounted next to the 20″ 1990’s tv adds an air of «tropical» to the bar. Tammy is super friendly and makes a killer mai tai ($ 6 and knocks you to the floor). I had 2 and was very, very happy about the evening.
The locals that frequent the place are as entertaining as the rest of the place. I got hit on by a guy who apparently owns a barber shop and said I could have a free haircut sometime. He then clarified that he was «not hustling» me as he «used to do in the old days». However, he did say if I wanted to be hustled, he was recently divorced.
My friends were hungry so we got food. We ordered the scallion pancakes and the crab rangoons because they are advertised on the walls when you walk in. It’s pretty much the only décor. Food was meh. I definitely wasn’t disappointed, but I would probably stick to my standard faves for future food.
All in all, China Rainbow is a place that should be experienced by everyone at least once. Go for the drinks and if you end up drunk enough to order the food, you won’t want to die the next day. Promise :)

If you are from around here, China Rainbow should definitely be on your list as a late night pit stop. It’s no classy joint, but the locals are interesting and Tammy the bar tender will always make sure you have an amazing scorpion bowl!

China Rainbow truly resembles a set from a 70s slasher movie. There are NO windows, and the entire place is covered in dark wood paneling. There is a pitiful fish tank, one sad 13″ TV and a consistent collection of interesting townies in the bar section. The furniture in the bar looks like stuff collected at various yard sales, and at times, you can find movies such as Predator, playing on the TV. The scorpion bowls though are inexpensive and delicious. The drinks and company are worth the trip.

Gross! Dirty! You can tell the food is fried in old oil… really not good… even when you’re drunk.

What can I say? Cheap scorpion bowls! I shared 2 with a friend and they were about $ 11 each. You can’t get better than that. Food was good. Better than I expected. Very quiet and many townie’s but it added to the feel of the place. Outdated décor but that also added to the feel of it!

Yes, this is a «townie» bar. As my BF and I just moved to the area we checked this place out and have in fact, become regulars. Agreed, there are no windows and it has a bit of an outdated feel to it for sure. But you have to be able to appreciate the divee-​ness of it all. Tammy has owned this place for over 40 years, I’m told, and is a great hostess. Anyone there will tell you her specialty is the Mai Tai. The food has always been tasty and a good deal. It’s not a fancy restaurant by any stretch, but it is cozy and despite the outdated look, it’s actually very clean. I recommend the Crab Rangoon and Teriaki Beef.
If you have a chance to grab a drink and a snack here, just appreciate it for what it is. A great place, with a large selection of good food at a good price and killer drinks. I enjoy the old menus and the Polynesian décor of the bar. I guess it’s best as a neighborhood bar/​restaurant than one you go out of your way for to some people. But I love it.

I have never actually eaten here and I am not sure that I would, but I have heard from some «townies» that the food is pretty good. Smells good when you walk in that is for sure. I have only been here once for a few Mai Tai’s, sat at the very small, old school bar and Tammy whipped up a few drinks for us. They were pretty decent, didn’t taste totally of booze, which I really dont care for.

Wow. This place is actually probably one of the weirdest places ever. I walked in and realized first that the place has ABSOLUTELY NO WINDOWS. It looks like a dungeon. The décor is all late «70’s early 80’s sketchy place» and the few people who were actually at the bar were «townies».
The menu had a random stamp on it that said «add .25 to each item». I know it’s because they didn’t want to print new menus but c’mon! The sheer number of items on the menu was alarming too. Considering, it seemed as though there was only two people in the kitchen and one person working in the front part of the restaurant.
The staff wasn’t all that friendly. The food was really creepy too. We ordered crab rangoon (the staple appetizer!) and it was actually tasty. The Chicken Low Mein was gross! It had gibblets and weird pieces of chicken in it. I was just hoping it was chicken. The General Gaus was alright. though the sauce was mildly watery.
I wouldn’t recommend this place if you’re looking to eat anything. We wound up blowing a bunch of money there and it totally sucked.
I WOULD recommend this place if you’re looking to get wasted. They have 10 dollar scorpion bowls that will get you destroyed. And they’re actually pretty delicious.