Taiwan Chinese Restaurant

The time on Unilocal show 10am-​2pm but they actually open at 11. I’m a hard core Chinese food eater… And if you ever ate Chinese at a mall (especially at river center mall) then this place is hard too pass up on. Not the best Chinese or ambience, but it does the job for the price and quality of food.
Since my options are limited in the downtown area and within walking distance of my office… This is my go to.
The owners are legit chinese and there can be some languange barriers… But be patient with them and they’ll take care of you.

This place is summed up as ‘Lunchtime only local for about 7 bucks a dish.’. The food isn’t the best but it’s far from being the worst. If you are in downtown San Antonio and crave decent simple Americanized Chinese food for lunch then this place will get you there. The menu is small and offers a decent selection of the best of Americanized Chinese food. Lots of seating space and they also accept reservations.

Authentic flavor and everyone was so nice. It was a pleasant find for me while traveling.

Good food, large dining space. Furniture needs updating but overall, cheap and quick service. Btw, had a lunch special which was Chicken Lo Mein.

Simple chinese restaurant frequented by downtown working folks. Open weekdays only from 10am-​2pm for lunch only. Pretty standard flavor at a cheap price. Good for a quick lunch. Very nice staff.

This joint is infamous among the downtown crowd. The food is generally good but this is the most random restaurant you will encounter in the city center. The service is notoriously finicky. We usually have five or six people in our group. Two will generally get served something completely different than they ordered. All of us will typically end up with different bills despite ordering items of the same price. Every other time there will be a shocking argument in Chinese in the kitchen which can be heard throughout the dining room. There is one bailiff in the courthouse who never gets his food served until everyone else is nearly done. Any modifications of the standard orders will result in hilarity due to a language barrier as laden with danger as no man’s land.
However, the food almost always solid. The prices are cheap for downtown. The food is quick. If you have a sense of humor, this is a good place to go. Last time I went, I ended up with a bottomless bowl of hot and sour because. .. something. But even when I’m the guy who gets a surprise lunch, I have a great time.

Been here a couple of times and both times the food was pretty good. Had spicy combination fried rice today which was pretty tasty. The place is a little dumpy looking and the furniture has seen better days. All in all, not a bad place for quick Chinese food.

This place is OK if you want a cheap lunch for the day. The menu is very limited, I was looking for some other types of noodles such as chow fun and they didn’t have it. I ended up ordering their lunch specials, I got the General Chao chicken, the spicy Mongolian beef, and a side order of the Crab Rangoon.
Let’s start with the interior of this place, it is huge and it has a funky smell to it the moment you walk in. Glass windows all around the restaurant, so if you ever get bored, you have the option to look at the people next door washing cars.
I ordered the General Chao thinking it would be like General Tso with its crispy crunch to the chicken but this was not the case. She said it is fried, ok so let me try it… big mistake, it was all soggy and the chicken looks old and dried.
Their spicy Mongolian beef was not that bad, I got it with fried rice. From the reviews I though the rice was going to come with peas and eggs, nope it was just straight up fried rice with some soy sauce. There was no sign of egg in there either.
Their egg rolls were decent, it wasn’t soggy and over stuffed like most places, so thumbs up for that. Finally the crab Rangoon, I though it would be the sweetest cream cheese, wrong again! Their crab Rangoon is just stuffed with regular cream cheese you get at the store, no effort at all. Yuck! I ate one and threw the rest away, what a waste of money. Their lunch size is a decent size and I have had better chinese carry out.

Authentic and charming. Lunch portions adequate and not enormous like at most Chinese restaurants. The atmosphere in calm with traditional Chinese music playing through the speakers. My waitress spoke broken English adding to my delight.

If you weren’t looking for it, you’d miss it. Taiwan Restaurant (downtown’s only Chinese diner… or Chiner, as it were) is Chinese food by way of former retail store/​greasy spoon that time forgot… and possibly most of San Antonio, too. The décor is «eclectic» to say the least. The checkered floor suggests a 1980s pizzeria while the wall slats make you feel like you’re eating in a gutted Solo Serve. The tabletop puzzle accents are nice, though, even by the most discriminating tacky old lady’s standards.
Hidden at the ground floor of the Rand Garage, Taiwan Restaurant definitely caters to downtown 8-​to-​5ers who know their way around. The menu is excellently priced, the portions are abundant, and the food is quite flavorful. I ordered Kung Pao chicken and was pleased with the flavor. The waitress warned me about the spice, which ended up being mild overall; yet, it still had a way of sneaking up on me three forkfuls after the fact. It is true that the fried rice had none of the usual color and flair of other restaurants (peas, eggs), but it was still pretty tasty without a soy sauce shower.
I was a bit disappointed that the lunch special didn’t come with a soup AND eggroll/​rangoon (you have to choose either/​or), but at least the prices are low enough to make you slap grandma. Oh, and they charge for fortune cookies, too… who the hell does that?
At any rate, Taiwan Restaurant is a short walk from work and from most places downtown. I would recommend it to any downtown denizen looking for mid-​day Chinese food or sad sack who wishes to purchase a fortune. I will definitely be returning.

Portions were decent, food was just OK/​Fair, fried rice had nothing in it (peas, eggs, nothing) and didn’t taste fried. Good Service.

Stopped by for lunch today. The prices are excellent and the portions are better than most lunch menus at Chinese restaurants.
The menu tends to be more traditional Chinese (not as sweet as Americanized Chinese food).
All in all, i was pleased with my lunch and plan on returning to this establishment.
If you plan on paying with a credit card, there is a 7 dollar minimum, which is a problem for most lunch meals that come to about 6 bucks.