Mandarin Chinese Restaurant

This is what is inside a won ton (see pic), beef was unappealing, chicken was unappetizing once you cut it open
Just bad, what else can I say

We order from this place every couple of weeks – I have never met such a friendly delivery guy. And the food is reliably good, very much American Chinese. Especially recommend the egg rolls – best in the region – and the boneless spare ribs.

I only ordered from here once, and am adding a star due to the promptness of delivery, but the food itself was kind of a let down. General Tso’s chicken was dry (to the point where some pieces were very difficult to chew), and the wonton soup was just ok.

I can’t speak to their entire menu, but the General Tso’s tofu is amazing. Better than the General Tso’s fake chicken.
This has exactly what I want in a takeout Chinese restaurant. Crispy, sweet, sour, and delicious fried food. Always served with a smile. Delivery is fast and there is a parking lot for pickup. What else do you need?

I liked that they had quite a lot of vegetarian options on the menu, the general tso’s tofu was delicious, the bean curd was a great texture and the sauce was really tasty. The broccoli tasted fresh, the veggie lo mein was also very good. I have no idea how authentic to china the food was, but I very much enjoyed it, went there more than once and would go back.
The staff were friendly and the food arrived in good time. Prices and portions were also good
I would give the place five stars if it were not for the décor inside, the chairs were largely damaged, the outside had graffiti (not their fault, but frustrating as it is they should have removed it) although it did seem clean, it was rather shabby and run down looking– so better for take out/​delivery than to eat in for sure.
Over all though I was happy with my experience there.

Good cheap Americanized Chinese food… don’t expect any exquisite gourmet delights and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. This place is all about functional food at reasonable prices but without the MSG and heavy oils you often get in the process.
Had the General Tso’s chicken and beef kung pao combo, both around eight bucks and each provided two servings so it works out to less than five bucks per serving, really not bad at all. The fried rice it came with was surprisingly good, not greasy or bland, and the fried spring roll wasn’t bad either.
Inside, there are about six or seven tables, no wait service which is great because you don’t have to tip, and if you carry around your own water like I do, no need to pay for drinks either. Not exactly cozy or elegant ambiance obviously, but not bad either if you don’t feel like lugging the stuff back home to eat. I suppose you could easily BYOB, doubt they would notice or care.
The food took a good 15 minutes, which to me is a good sign… it was obviously made from scratch rather than sitting under a heat lamp all day. Place seems to be a husband and wife team. They don’t speak much English but are not unpleasant or anything.
Have to say, the food quality here is significantly better than the Red House Chinese place just down the street, for about the same price range.

Yes! I’ve finally found my go to To Go place. I’ve been ordering from a bunch of Chinese restaurants around the Cambridge/​Somerville area, and this one takes the cake for my guilty Chinese take out pleasure.
The general’s chicken and lo mein were on point. The chicken was fried perfectly and sauced well. My vegetable lo mein was very hearty and vegetably. mmhmm
However, I would criticize the amount of broccoli given with the chicken; there were only two pieces!
I will definitely be a regular :)

This is my apartment’s go-​to chinese take out place! It’s nothing too fancy but definitely fills the greasy chinese food craving and their delivery is very fast! Also, for the vegetarians out there– they make very good meat free options of their sesame and general gau’s chicken!

As take out chinese food places go, it is pretty typical. This in not really a place you want to eat inside, I would recommend take out only. I am the kind of girl who likes a plate of mixed variety of appetizers when order from a place like this and A15 Special Dinner for One hits the spot with chicken fingers, beef sticks and pork fried rice. Ohh and don’t forget to order a side of crab ragoons. The portions are large enough that you can have leftovers the following day. This is my choice for takeout in Union Square.

Delivery was supposed to come in an hour, and they came in less than half and hour
Ordered Chicken and Broccoli lunch special, which came with chicken and broccoli, DELICIOUS fried rice, and some sweet and sour soup, for less than $ 6.
As a real Chinese person I can tell you the fried rice is great! Not too greasy, and I think they even used brown rice.
Perfect price and a great meal. Will definitely order again

This place doesn’t have good authentic Chinese food and the atmosphere is a bit dark… all of the items on the menu aren’t well lit so it is difficult to know what each item actually is.
Service is a bit slow, and I ordered fried dumplings. The food wasn’t particularly tasty by any stretch and the dumplings had very little filling and were mostly flour, but it wasn’t a terrible deal for the price.
Probably wouldn’t go back again.

Pretty good chinese food. My boyfriend and I ended up going with shrimp lo mein and orange chicken with a side of crab ragoon. All were delicious but the orange chicken was a bit spicy so I wouldn’t recommend it if you are not a spicy fan. I will be going back again :)

Does everyone who reviewed this place work here? Ordered delivery and it was one notch above inedible. The General Tso’s chicken was hard and crusty. The dumplings were doughy and cold. The moo shu pork came with tortilla shells instead of wraps (seriously?) Oh, lest I forget, the delivery man called to say he was downstairs ten minutes before he was downstairs. Wretched.

Solid. Got the vegetarian General Tso’s, kung pao shrimp, veggie fried rice, and a spring roll. I was excited that they offered veggie General Tso’s, and the sauce was good, but the pieces were dry. No need to order rice with this dish – there isn’t much sauce. The shrimp was was good, but there wasn’t a lot of shrimp in it. The fried rice was very tasty. The spring roll was decent.

I’m giving this place a Unilocal three stars: «A-​OK.» The food here is cheap, decent, and reliable, but it won’t wow you, and you get what you’re paying for.
The scallion pancakes don’t have nearly enough scallions, which makes them pretty mediocre. The fried rice has no egg in it and has barely any flavor. But the chicken wings are great, and delivery is fast.

I waiver on this rating, but when all is said and done I’m jumping feet first into a 4 star review. So kapow!
For what it is and what it’s trying to be (that is, a take out American Chinese place), Mandarin does quite well. Better than most even.
As others have said, the chicken wings are surprisingly good, much to my enjoyment and my gut’s chagrin.
Take, for instance, the Chicken with black bean sauce. Now, if you look at the menu, that’s a pretty plain name. Don’t be fooled! They load in a huge variety of excellently cooked veggies as well. While there could be more of the little black beans, there’s no lack of sauce overall.
The same is true of anything there. No lack of sauce and no lack of veggies. A large portion is likely enough for two if you also get rice (or make it yourself, lazy bones).

THE BEST CHICKEN WINGS EVER!
Fresh, hot, and delicious. Def the best chinese food in the area. Puts red house to shame. Reasonably priced, huge portions, and fast delivery. I usually just get the apps platter, or just order the awesome wings. If you get a combo plate, you’ll have dinner, and then lunch for the next day. If you are ordering apps, try the chicken wings, they remind me of another great fried chicken place Coast Café on river st in cambridge.

I have no idea what this place looks like, because I’ve only ever ordered delivery. It’s funny that I’ve seen the same couple delivery guys for about 7 years as I’ve moved between different college dorms and finally to an apartment. We never speak, but I bet they are my friends.
The bad part first: there’s a mysterious delivery charge of $ 2 on every order in addition to tip, so it’s cheaper per dish if you make large orders. Better make friends to eat with you, because not all of the food keeps its texture coming out of the microwave the next day.
Other than that, I have to say that this is easily my favorite place to order from — in any cuisine. That’s mainly because of the reliable delivery time (30 minutes), the heaping portions (each dish counts for two meals), and the delicious General Tso’s chicken. This is how it’s done: the spicy sauce, the chunk size, and the fried breading. I’ve eaten a lot of Gau/​Tso in my time, and these guys take the cake.
If that’s not your thing, you can still get good dumplings, pad thai, boneless spare ribs, scallion pancakes, and crab rangoons. Basically, all you need for a late-​night meal for a college dorm study group. The memory of those halcyon days faintly flickers in an unseen corner of my mind just listing some of those dishes.
Anyway, the food is good enough that I still crave it about once a month after all these years. When I eventually go Howard Hughes on you all, this restaurant’s delivery guys will be the only people I open my door for.

Boooooooo… I just ordered Mandarin from campus food.
General Gao’s chicken with egg roll and veggie fried rice, fine. They changed it from pork to veggie fine.
Scallion pancakes, good.
Veggie lo mein, bad. Chicken is not veggie lo mein. I am currently waiting for my new lo mein that will hopefully be veggie instead chicken.
It was only $ 22 including tip and delivery but I currently have nothing to eat but scallion pancakes. I’ll up them a star if my lo mein appears within 30 minutes but from the extremely low level of recognition on my address, I’m not so sure…
Update — Alright, so they got it to me in exactly 30 minutes which is awesome. I will up them two stars for owning their mistakes. I would have been fine with plain lo mein but I am vegetarian so its difficult to accept chicken lo mein. It’s pretty yum though!

Over the past six years, I have ordered from Mandarin a total of ~30 times. If I had ordered any more, it would have taken me several more years to finish. The take-​out boxes are so heavy and full of food that you could build a solid house out of them. My friends and I have said that they are «bricks of food» and we’re not kidding…
Then the other day, I was in Union Square and lo and behold, the beloved unassuming Mandarin was right there in front of me. I was taken aback at how small and quaint it looked after building it up in my mind to be a huge mecca of food. Still, this (recommended take-​out) joint gets four stars and here’s why:
a) Insanely cheap menu for a lot of food. $ 5 lunch specials come with hot and sour soup (unadvertised, but it comes!), an entrée and pork fried or regular rice. They will take you at least 2 meals to finish unless you are Michael Phelps who does nothing but eat. I would honestly have to pay 2−3x more at any other take-​out joint in the area. And don’t even get me started on the dinner entrees…
b) The food is actually decent. The chicken with cashew nuts is my all-​time favorite. The chicken is deep-​fried and cared for, the cashews are nice and crunchy and there are tons of vegetables — peppers, celery, bamboo shoots. But everything I’ve tried is great.
c) No MSG. I don’t spend the rest of the day/​night drinking water and peeing. Nothing I’ve tried is too salty or greasy — what a relief!
d) Special deals. As if you needed any more food, over $ 20, you’ll get some sort of free dish, whether it’s 12 crab rangoons, Kung Pao Chicken, etc. There are different tiers the more you spend, but $ 20 will get you something good!
Yes, I am an Asian-​American so technically I should be really picky about Chinese food, but I am the exact opposite. I enjoy cheap not-​overly-​greasy Americanized take-​out when I can get my hands on it. Life is great with Mandarin in town! Even though it’s lost that mysterious charm to me as being my one solid delivery joint from afar, now I live so close I can go for pick-​up. :)