Tan’s Family Restaurant

Attempted to go Tans tonight for supper. We walked in and stood waiting to be seated for a little over 10 mins. In that 10 minutes neither of the servers even glanced our way to acknowledge we were there as they walked by us, not even a «I’ll be with you in a minute». It was a little busy in there but there was atleast 5 empty tables, 3 of which were already set (which is saying quite a bit as it is a small restaurant). Poor customer service, not sure if we’ll return there again.

Delicious food as always, this place does not disappoint. Next to a walmart you would not expect much but there lies the surprise. Cheap too

This is our usual go-​to place for Chinese food and we are (were) regulars. Best we have found in the city so far. On March 15 we placed an order, took it home and when my son bit into his Crispy Beef we heard a large cracking sound. Turns out that there was a small pebble in his food and the noise was the sound of him cracking his tooth. The pebble had definately been in the food as it was coated in sauce and he literally had opened the container, scooped food directly onto his plate and then ate. Also, it was a small brown decorative pebble and we don’t have any source for such a pebble in our house… like the kind you would find in a fish tank or a vase or a decorative waterpond or foundatin or in a plant. I took the pebble back to Tan’s and told them as I thought that they would want to know and their response was not appropriate — it was defensive and non-​apologetic. Didn’t even ask me about my son’s tooth (which will now require dental $$$). Offered to refund me on the Crispy Beef or give me 15% off on my next order (there won’t be a next time). A more appropriate response would have been genuine concern, a heartfelt apology, ownership, and a full refund on our order. Defensive attitude never works.

I will preface this review by saying that I’m not excited by Chinese food in HRM as a whole. That being said I ate here with my parents. The menu is of decent size and I appreciate the fact that there is some combo flexibility and the fact that they have 3 vegetarian combos.
Not feeling like fried food I opted to go with the veggie combo A — which included a spring roll, vegetable fried rice and veggie chow mein. When my plate arrived it was overflowing with food. I found the spring roll too big and bland for my taste, mostly cabbage. The chow mein and rice however were pretty good, sure the rice could have used more flavour and the chow mein less salt but overall I was pretty happy with it. And I was impressed with the actual amount of vegetables in the dish, both the rice and chow mein were chock full of mushrooms, cauliflower and broccoli — not something you see all the time. I also sampled a piece of my mom’s lemon chicken and it was actually pretty good.
While not a spot I see myself coming to often, I was pretty satisfied with my meal.

I have been going here for quite a few years and enjoy it quite a bit. This was my family’s go to Chinese place when we used to live in Colby Village, it was a quick walk or drive away. When I moved away for university I definitely missed it as it took me awhile to find a comparable Chinese place in NB.
Since I have moved back, Tan’s has become my favorite Chinese restaurant again and my boyfriend loves it as well. The combo’s are great and reasonably priced, and their egg rolls are yummy. The portions are pretty big as well. The place is small but most people get take out here anyways. I have not had much on the menu outside of the combos, but I am sure everything is pretty good. I have never had bad service or a bad eating experience here.
I would recommend it to anyone in the Cole Harbour/​Dartmouth area who want some delicious but reasonably priced Chinese food.

I stopped in here for a lunch the other day, grabbed the combo plate.
The restaurant is not that large, but it is clean and staff friendly.
The portions were a generous size and the chicken balls were quite tasty.
I would like to come back here to try some spicy noodles, the eggs rolls were good though. Moderate prices, nothing fancy.
A great place for lunch.