Mandarin Garden

We stop in here at least once a week for lunch and I always get the hot braised chicken extra spicy. The owners are great, the food is great, the soup is great. I love this place. What else is there to say?

They mean well and they’re efficient and friendly. The food however is a little bland and perhaps undercooked for our taste. Curry shrimp and lemon chicken both underwhelming in their own ways. This is a value for your money kind of experience with the décor just a step up from say The Waffle House. This is our second visit, our first was probably five years ago so undoubtedly we forgot it’s not our cup of tea.

We love this place, even our picky children. The sizzling rice soup is wonderful, and when I am sick, it makes me feel so much better.

I needed to find a new Chinese place in this area and tried Mandarin Garden by suggestion of a friend, I enjoyed the hot braised chicken lunch special. the restaurant stays busy and seems to be a favorite. yet, this place is pretty much a hole in the wall. I ordered over the phone and got my food quickly. I would love to try some other menu items.

My go to place in St. Charles area. Love getting the lunch specials. Their egg drop soup is the best I’ve ever had and their crab rangoons are loaded with filling. You can sub a wonton for a crab rangoon so you get two crab rangoons instead of one with a wonton.

The BEST Chinese in the area. We are from California and have tried several different spots, but this is by far the most true to what we had our west. Crabmeat rangoons, potstickers and Kung pao chicken is the best. Good soups and noodles. Excellent service to boot. I highly recommend it.

This is the dine-​in Chinese restaurant experience I’ve been seeking! Great service, small space, and delicious food. This place has been here for nearly thirty years and their experience shows. Highly recommend.

Waited 10 minutes for a table when the place was mostly empty. Then waited another 15 minutes to order, but gave up and left. On a Saturday evening at 7:30, the workers just didn’t want to work.

The food is great, the service is terrible and the owner is so rude it’s unreal. I don’t think she smiles or knows how to say thank you. But I put up with her to get the delicious food.

Their hot braised chicken and potstickers are the best I’ve ever had. I now live 40 minutes away, and I’ve tried these dishes at plenty of other restaurants… But nothing ever even compares. We make the drive often just to have this amazing food.

I’ve been here 3 times and it’s always been incredible. The General Tao chicken was wonderful. Very good service and the staff is willing to help. I wanted something between regular and spicy and was given extra spice to season to my taste.

The back story: We were on our way to the wine and chocolate event and needed dinner. The problem was that it was V-​Day weekend (the 13^th, not the 14^th) and we had not made reservations in advance for any of the neat little places in St. Charles that we have been meaning to try. Compounding that problem was the fact that I had a larger than normal breakfast followed by a late lunch. Therefore, dinner fell into the category of «we should have dinner» instead of «we need to have dinner.» This is a small but important distinction.
The wife picked this place on the fly while we were driving up MO-​94. The fact an ISC had previously visited made it more attractive and the fact that Mallory of London, formerly Mallory of St. Louis, had great things to say sealed the deal.
The place (1 of 2): Walking in, we were immediately struck by the number of people waiting. There were seated people waiting. There were standing people waiting. Everywhere we looked, there were people waiting. Also, we were surprised by the size of the place. Driving up, it appeared to be a single storefront but once you get inside you quickly see that it is a much larger space with a primary dining room that is down a few stairs. You also see the staff scurrying about like mad. Occasionally, they stop scurrying to yell at somebody… customer or co-​worker, it makes no difference. This is a high-​stress environment.
The food: This is Americanized Chinese food. I’ve spent about a month in China split between two trips. Chinese food and Americanized Chinese food generally share two similarities: the majority of both are cooked in a wok and there is almost always rice on the side. Beyond that, there is not that much in common unless we’re eating Dim Sum. On this occasion, we weren’t eating Dim Sum — we were eating strip mall Americanized Chinese food in the middle of Missouri. There seems to be a lot of back-​and-​forth on this topic already written in the reviews for this place so maybe this explanation will help settle things: authentic Chinese food of the sort you find all over mainland China uses a lot of different parts and different animals than you find in the Americanized variety and tastes almost nothing like what you get in Chinese restaurants in this country. You simply will not find the same items on the menu with the exception of Peking Duck — which is simultaneously a delicacy and a multi-​course experience in China but is simply a plate of duck most places in this country. For example, I cannot recall ever seeing a chicken breast other than at a tourist restaurant or KFC yet the General Tso’s chicken I ate here contained nothing but.
This place puts out good food. What they do, they do well. Far better, in fact, than any of the Chinese places in the Chesterfield Valley, This is a sad fact from my perspective because we live a lot closer to the Valley.
The place (2 of 2): Take a step back and you’ll rapidly realize that you’ve stumbled into the Twilight Zone when you dine here. The staff is scurrying about, customers are being yelled at (actually, the party in line in front of us got yelled at for moving towards a table too soon). The guy who shoved his way past you while you were standing in line for a table so he could get to the carryout register is still in the waiting area when you leave after finishing your meal (ditto for the postal troll who did the same a few minutes later). You order when it is your turn to order, you get refills when it is your turn to get refills, you have dessert offered when it comes around — regardless of where you are in the process of eating your meal. The amount of food you consume gets scrutinized and you get questioned by the woman who (I guess) owns the place. Yep, if Jerry Seinfeld’s soup nazi ever ran a Chinese restaurant it would be just like this.
Or maybe he does…
Cue the music and send in Rod Serling…

Still a solid 4 stars after all these years. Good food, attentive service. Good prices.

Food is delicious… Looks like one person runs the show for lunch and took 10 minutes to get a table even though lot tables are available and another 20 minutes to take the order… All the stars I gave is for food.

Get Chinese somewhere else! The food isn’t bad, but it isn’t good enough to justify the horrible service. We ordered carry out and were told it would be ready in 45 minutes. We showed up an hour later, paid and then had to wait an additional hour for them to bring out our order. When we finally did get our order, there wasn’t so much as an apology for the wait.
The seating is cramped, the service is disorganized, and the waiting area is small. Folks waiting for a table or for carry out are standing over those eating in the dining room. The restaurant was clearly understaffed as only 1 women was working seating, take out orders, and checkout.
Mandarin Gardens does not deserve your business but If you absolutely must try this place, I recommend you have a backup plan and be ready to walk out after waiting too long. If you order carry out, DO NOT PAY UNTIL YOU KNOW YOUR FOOD IS READY so that you have the option of leaving.
This business has been around a long time, they have obviously been successful, but it doesn’t seem like they value their customers.

This is my family’s favorite restaurant when we want Chinese. The Pork Egg Foo Young, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Orange Chicken and Mongolian Beef are our favs. The hot and sour soup is also a favorite.
Everything is fresh, flavorful, always the right temperature and delicious.
Only drawback is the service in the dining room is extra slow and not very attentive. Go with carry out!
It’s the best Chinese in St Charles!

Excellent Chinese food! All white meat chicken, fresh and hot. The service is slow until you get the system down:
1. Order by phone. They ALWAYS say 40 – 45 minutes.
2. Go pick it up (can be in 5 minutes)
3. Give them the last 4 of your phone number
4. Take your food home within 5 minutes
I would always take it home. Eating there doesn’t seem to be the greatest experience with all the people waiting for take out.

This is definitely my favorite place to get Chinese food from. It’s so good, and really consistent. I think that’s what I typically have probably with when I order Chinese from places. I used to live out in St. Peter’s and so when I did we always picked up Chinese from here!
I still haven’t found anything that I absolutely love out in the O’fallon/LSL area… But if I’m in St. Peter’s, this is definitely the place. The Crab Rangoon is my absolutely favorite! Makes me want some now!

Douglas’s review about the rude old hag is 100% accurate. I had the pleasure of being yelled at by her during my first visit to this place just the other day. I showed up during the rush, looking for a table for two. The mob of people standing around looking confused should have been my first clue.
I politely asked the rude old hag her if we could get our name on the list and and she bluntly said «oh okay, you stand right there, they call you.» Okay, that was helpful. So then I realized their wait system is just to shout «okay who next?» And after everyone glances around at each other, the winner uneasily raises their hand and goes to sit down.
When it was finally my turn, I looked around and only saw people who had come in after me. I double-​scanned the crowd and no one else raised their hand. We got seated at our nice comfy booth, only to hear someone yelling. «SIR, SIR, YES YOU. THEY HERE BEFORE YOU, THEY HERE BEFORE YOU!» Now all eyes in the dead silent restaurant were on us as another waitress came up to ask «who next» as another table had become available. We kept our eyes on the floor and sullenly walked to our table as if we were walking to the principals office. Fantastic way to start a dining experience at a new restaurant.
The food was decent Americanized Chinese food, and I probably would have been a repeat customer if it weren’t for the horrible old woman (who I assume runs the place). Please avoid eating here if you’re not a fan of confrontation with your meal. If you like being yelled at like George Costanza by the soup nazi, this is the place for you!

Mandarin Garden is stuck in the shadows of a large strip mall in close proximity to a Schnucks. Inside is exactly what you would expect from an eat-​in/​take-​out Chinese restaurant. Friendly service with a smile is expected. The food, however, is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Call it a guilty pleasure, but this stuff is amazing.
Special attention should be given to the Crab Rangoon. This is a dish that is offered by many and perfected by few. These guys have it down. The portions are more than enough for a very reasonable price.