Han’s Garden Chinese Restaurant

Very sad to report Han’s Garden closed end of March 2015. This was one of my families favorite restaurants. The best Hot & Sour ever!

It’s good but not great. If I did t live on mercer island I would never come for just the food but as a local its a reliable option

The best Chinese restaurant on Mercer Island, with excellent food and good service. My family and I go there regularly and have never been disappointed. we have not been disappointed with anything on the menu.

While my mom can make some really bomb Chinese food, and there are a ton of great options in the International District, sometimes you just want to eat some standard Chinese items without leaving Mercer Island. Han’s Garden is great for that. We pretty much always get takeout from there, although I have eaten in the restaurant a few times and it is a pretty good experience. Their staff is really nice, and it’s a nice looking restaurant as well. You definitely don’t get the «grungy Asian restaurant» feel from this place.
We’ve tried a lot of things from the menu, but we tend to stick with a few favorites. Honey walnut shrimp is a totally Americanized Chinese dish, but we love it anyway. They make it really well here, with giant prawns and crispy breading and sweet, crispy walnuts. We also love the curry shrimp fried rice. Lots of shrimp, lots of curry flavor… I could eat bowls and bowls of this stuff. Their mushu pork is also pretty good. The portions are really generous as well. The reason I’m giving Han’s Garden 3 stars instead of 4 is just because the rest of their menu is pretty hit or miss. We frequent this place because we know of a few dishes that we love, but almost every time we’ve tried other things, we’ve been disappointed. Despite that, though, you can’t go wrong coming here for your Chinese takeout hankerings.

Chinese food on MI? Perhaps not.
I’m all about creating the whole experience, from the service, the location, the decoration; I will take it all into consideration.
First impression: This place is definitely more geared towards families.
Last impression: I might come back. Might. I believe in second chances.
With their large round tables, eating a solo lunch, the alone-​ness is amplified. The tables and chairs were oddly more traditional Americana. Usually there is neutral ground that is established in regards to furniture at Asian establishments, this one was an uncommon mismatch that threw me off slightly.
For lunch, I ordered the Mongolian Style Tofu. The hostess/​server, although I appreciate her quick pace, seemed slightly impatient. I wonder if it’s because I came in 30 minutes prior to their lunch hour ending. Nonetheless, they didn’t have closing hours midday. The egg flower soup was… heartier than I anticipated. It was almost gelatinous. The do enjoy soups on the sweeter side, the texture of this particular soup was a little unnerving. The tofu itself was quite good, firm and crisp on the outside (must be an intensely hot wok), and juicy melt-​in-​your mouth texture on the inside. The sauce though, the sauce did not win me over. There was a slight sour aftertaste. Luckily, it was spicy so I was not bothered too much. A desert that came with the plate, is a crisp wonton with strawberry/​raspberry glaze drizzled over the top. I did not try it, but know that it comes with the meal. I’m not particular about my food touching each other, but I did not like the added strawberry sweetness added to my rice.
The menu is hard to read. I do not have bad eyes, the italicized font is not ideal to be used for the entire menu; only for emphasis.
Next time around, I will give one of the chicken dishes a shot. Perhaps their meat-​based items will change my mind.

I hung in with Han’s mainly because M/​I has few choices but they have won me over. I think mostly because they are so nice and accommodating. They will happily substitute certain vegetables for other if you ask Far from great Chinese food but some items are always good. The Hong Kong noodles for example are delish every time. Their sweet and sour pork has been good each time as well. Crunchy on the outside and good quality meat inside. I would still say inconsistent in many cases though.

Love this place! Best Chinese food I’ve found in the Seattle area outside of the ID since moving here a couple years ago. My favorite is the general’s chicken, but everything we’ve tried has been good. We only ever order food to go, so I can’t comment on the dine-​in service, but they are always very friendly on the phone and have never made a mistake on an order. Minus one star because it is a little pricey, but that’s on par with every other restaurant on the Island.

Was absolutely surprised at how good the food is here. I’m a sucker for Honey Walnut Prawns, and used to always make the trip to Chinatown to get them. Han’s Garden’s CHWP are a great substitution! They have a pretty decent extensive menu and the few dishes I’ve had (egg rolls, chow mien with soft noodles, shrimp fried rice) have been pretty good. Saves me a trip of crossing I-​90 and spending 20 – 30 minutes looking for parking in Chinatown. Gave the 4 Star rating ONLY because they’re a bit pricey but compared to some spots in Chinatown, they’re about the same.

The tea was the best part. Soup was ok. Rest of the food was mediocre at most. My friend and I left both feeling terrible. Staff was nice though.

It’s good and it’s clean and they can handle big groups. I didn’t find it to be spectacular but if you looking for decent Chinese food this is a spot I would go to again if I was in the area.

Wenr for lunch on Saturday. The place was empty. I felt sorry for them until we got our food.
Fruit fly in my wife’s soup. The rest of the food was meh. Nothing seems fresh. Furthermore, our food came out pipeing hot 5 minutes after we ordered. I work in the industry and that is a little too fast for two seperate dishes to be made.
We used to frequent this place. After our experience and reading other reviews about roaches in their soup, we will NEVER BE BACK!

**Update, there was a baby roach in my soup. Never going here again! Very small portions for very high prices. Personal pet peeve that they also still use styrofoam for all take out dishes. Not worth the money.

Tonight my wife and I had take out from Han’s Garden and found what looks to be a cockroach in our food. As my wife was finishing her bowl she spat out her food and there it was. It was so disgusting.
We have dined in and had take out from here on many occasions, bringing friends and family when they visited. However, after tonight we will never be back. If you want to risk it I can’t stop you, but now you’ve been warned.

I was looking for something quick to eat and takeout! I was in a Chinese food kind of mood but only looking for fried rice and nothing else.
This place hit the spot, nothing special about the fried rice, except you get quite a bit for takeout. I don’t eat much meat so I ordered the veggie fried rice and the only thing I did not like were the mushrooms in the rice. Hmmmm. fried rice and mushrooms just didn’t do it for me and maybe that is because I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms to begin with. I would go back if I was strapped for time!

Food was okay. I can’t believe they use Styrofoam for leftovers and take out. I think the place is way overpriced for the quality. I can get way better food for a better price in Seattle or Portland. Perhaps your options on Mercer Island are limited.
Did I mention they use Styrofoam for leftovers and take out? I thought that was banned a decade ago in major cities. For that one reason alone, I doubt I’ll ever go back.
A tofu dish, vegetarian fried rice, dry sauté string beans, and a fried wonton/​cream cheese plus 3 cups of soup was $ 50.

My boss took me here today for lunch. I went in thinking meh just another Chinese eatery, however i was pleasantly surprised.
the menu had about 30+ items on it for lunch ranging from 6.95−8.95. Everything comes with either hot and sour soup or egg drop soup.
AND!
White rice or bbq pork fried rice
AND!
Tea and water hahaha
I went for the ever so adventurous general tso chicken it was good a nice mild sticky sweet sauce coated the perfectly friend pieces of chicken. The fried rice was okay a little oily and not a whole lot of flavor but over all not bad
I will come back and try out some other things when i crave chinese food in another 4 months.

I liked this place. I went for a drive to The Island for kicks and came by here after Walgreens. Inside you definitely feel like «Mercer Island.» Warm, rather elegant for a chinese restaurant and relaxing music. The tables have thick wooden designs and bases, nice wallpaper mural a la Europe countryside and fireplace (?) in the back. There’s a separate section that I believe can be used for private parties + the bar.
Service was wonderful. She sort of resembled a China doll, which was great! ;) But srsly, she was totes friendly and sharp as a tack.
I went for the Eggplant Special dish (just meat) and I LOVE soft & tender eggplant. It’s so stupidly good. + Brown rice and won ton soup. The rice is the awesome purple-​y stuff. Nice soup.
The one thing odd about this place is that when you go in the dining room and then you go into [atleast] the men’s room, you might raise an eyebrow. o.0 «Is this the same place?»

I’ve learned a few things about Mercer Island. One of these is that there’s a dearth of delivery options when you’re on the island… one of the biggest drawbacks of not living in Seattle.
This place offers decent Americanised Chinese food. I’ve easily had better and considering the ID’s proximity, I’d suggest heading west for your foods.
All that said, if you have no choice and this is your option, there are some good dishes. Peruse my photographs if you’d like the recommendations.

Mongolian Lamb? Yes, you heard correctly, Han’s has Mongolian Lamb!
I’m finding more and more that Mercer Island is a convenient place to pick up things on the way home to Seattle in the evening. Dinner is no exception, and I stopped here tonight for take-​out after going to the gym.
I was a bit confused when I entered because to the left of the foyer there was a woman sitting at a big fancy desk. For a moment, I thought I had entered a hotel or a salon, but no, this really was the restaurant. She cheerfully took my order.
Soo…I can tell you that the Mongolian Lamb at home was as good as it smelled in the Honda. Lots and lots of sweet lamb with a few green onions, red chili peppers and a delicious sauce.
I also picked up the Vegeterian eggrolls. Also very good! They had just the lightest hint of horseradish, but enough to give some nice zest.
I will definitely come back here to have a sit-​down supper with JP in their Tuscany-​furnitured dining room. OK, OK, I know Tuscany is a little dated, but the interior with its dark rich colors is still very appealing.
I saw a curious scene while here. This lady, maybe 55 years old, clad in jeans but who had had obvious facial «rejuvenation» work came in and paced around in the entry for a while. A hostess came around the corner and asked the lady if she was here for dinner. The lady, with a furious chop of her hand, cut the hostess off mid-​sentence and in a scolding whisper indicated that she was taking a call. The hostess just turned around and walked the other way. Funny thing, the lady in jeans wasn’t on her cell phone. A few seconds later the lady sighed loudly and left the restaurant. Alrighty then!

Han’s Garden is surprisingly good, given its location on Mercer Island. I don’t know about you, but I just never really think of Mercer Island when I want to get some good food. Not that it doesn’t happen there… but anyways.
My parents introduced me to Han’s, and at first I have to say I was skeptical. Upon entering, the entire place reminded me of a renovated Italian restaurant – with the «night sky» looking ceiling, and the random greenery and columns. Everything was decorated very interestingly, and wasn’t at all reminiscent of the typical Chinese restaurant setup.
But then I got to the menu. They offer Kim Chee Fried Rice? I want it now! Salt and Pepper Pork, Garlic Pea Vine, Honey Walnut Prawns, Spicy Eggplant… omg. We had so much food I almost couldn’t keep myself seated. I was constantly up and reaching over people because it was so delicious and I wanted seconds (how’s that for manners?!). Since then, I’ve been back several times and have never been disappointed. In addition to the good food, the owner is very friendly and has a friendly staff working with him. I’d recommend it to anyone, and have, several times.