Pagoda Restaurant - Jacksonville

Where do I start? I moved to this area from Detroit and I couldn't find ANY Chinese restaurant with any personality or great food for that matter. I was used to the greatness of Detroit area Chinese food like Chin Tiki, China Jade and so on.After searching around online and trying just about everywhere over the past year, I finally found Pagoda online and thought we'd try it.We didn't know this going in, but the restaurant is divided into two sections. One is a "regular" Chinese restaurant and the other is the tiki bar.The staff was SO nice and very cool. They kept apologizing that the tiki part was booked up for the night. We ate dinner on the regular side, then they were all excited to tell us they could fit us in the tiki side after dinner.They even took our leftovers and put them in the fridge while we went over to the tiki side for drinks! All the way around, this is EXACTLY the place I've been searching for. We will be back ASAP.

The restaurant was the most horrible. When you make a reservation, you feel like you can only get one because they're so busy. But in actuality, as you read all the reviews, they only seat like five tables in the whole restaurant. It was the worst service- our waitress, who I think was one of the owners, did not know how to speak English. The food was horrible. All of our meals were delivered at different times over a period of two hours. They had no beer even though they had like 15 different types of beer on the menu. They finally found some that were hot. They had no cold beer. All of the beer was hot. Don't waste your money or your time. They are just really good at marketing. I was really afraid about what I might have eaten after I left there. Seriously there were only two workers and I think they used a microwave to make everything. Gross!

The ambiance is amazing. You are in your own little oasis. The food and drinks are picturesque. A great place for photo lovers and large parties. Make sure to make a reservation to receive your password.

We enjoyed our night out at Tiki Temple. We ordered a few appetizers and the House fried rice. Very good! Loved how it's decorated!! Everyone that worked there was really nice. This place would be a great time for anyone including kids. Looking forward to our next visit!!

The Secrets out and we finally got to go visit in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room and I am among the glee club. I ordered the zombie cocktail to start the night and it sure lived up to its name and you don't need 2 for sure. I freely than ordered off the menu and enjoyed a spread layed before me. The first were the deep fried pork dumplings. A bit of sweet ness in your first bite and before I knew it I ate the whole thing..very good. I followed with the fried chicken potstickers. These were amazing!. Cantonese chicken wings were next but that was my "put it in a box to go" item.I did also enjoy a sweet n sour chicken that was so good, not overtaken by veggies but just enough bell peppers and pineapple.Very Tasty..This place is a true experience and the service was great! Enjoy it with friends or family and check off the box on your places to go in Jax when you visit The Tiki Room..

John & I have been talking about coming here for years- why we wait, I don't know?! They had plenty of take out orders- but we were alone eating in the dining room. Our server apologized- no no, we understand. We went all in on the Dim Sum menu- because why not? John got egg drop soup & loved it! "Very eggy"Pan fried pork dumplings- very flavorful & delicious (a known item)Shrimp rolls- also a known item, but packed full of shrimp- very goodFried shrimp ball- this was new to us- very good, again packed with shrimp. I could see us ordering that againSteamed pork bun- this was way different than anything I've tried. Sticky bun, hint of sweetness with a spoonful of pork inside. Don't be like my husband- there's a tiny parchment on the bottom... Remove that. I laughed for about 15 minutes, tears streaming, when he realized there was paper on the bottom- that he ate... I think he was trying to get me to choke to death via laughter.And! Roasted duck- ok, I LOVE duck- so this was a no brainer. Wonderful meat. Service was stellar- we were encouraged to check out the tiki bar & um... Next time- and I predict a much bigger bill- lol. The drink menu was intoxicating alone! Can't wait to go back and try new things!

My boyfriend and I went here for Thursday night dim sum in the Secret Tiki Temple. It was the first time for both of us but a person recommended it to me a couple of years ago. This was a really fun place and I will definitely be coming back with girlfriends. They have a weekly Wednesday night party with music but I'm interested in coming back for happy hour. Happy Hour is Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday 5-7 PM.$6 Cocktails: Mai Tai, Jungle Bird, and Painkillers$3 Dim Sum: Pork Siu Mai, Crab Rangoon, and Shrimp RollWhat we drank: The Old Shanghai, Painkiller, and Chrysanthemum tea. *Drinks were delicious. Geoff was such a great bartender. Each Old Shanghai came with a strike on a gong. It was fun!What we ate: Pork Siu Mai, Steamed Pork Bun, Deep Fried Pork Dumpling, Beef Rice Noodle Roll, Sticky rice in Lotus Leaf, Roast Duck (1/2 portion). *They did forget the fried rice that was supposed to come with the roast duck but that's fine, we were full at the end of the meal.

Hands down one of the best Chinese sit-down eateries in Jax next to Peony's. Serving authentic Cantonese-style food family style in the south side area with its wooden beams, celebration of Chinese decor, and neat little tikki bar room in the corner, Pagoda brings back traditional Chinese food into the running of delicious cuisines. It's always hard to find Chinese restaurants that aren't the usual quick fast-food takeouts, especially here in Jacksonville, and when we stumbled upon this place it was like hitting gold. My husband and I went there twice and both times had a great experience. The quality of care in the food was noted in eat bite. We ordered the roasted duck, dim sum dishes and a custom dish - fried red snapper sitting in a pool of delicious dark sauce topped with sprinkles of ginger and green onion. By the end of the lunch, I felt like I had to be rolled out. I do recommend visiting during lunch hour as I've heard that's when the quality of the food is best and it's much more quieter in the restaurant. The servers were very attentive and friendly and always made sure your order is exactly how you wanted from the way it's cooked to when you wanted it served.

We celebrated my Mom's birthday at Pagoda last night. This restaurant has been there since I was a child and was still how I remember. The food and service were excellent! They even gave her dessert dumplings for the occasion. It's "old school" Chinese and it's great. I'd rather eat here than a Chinese take-out place anytime.

My family decided to dine here tonight and I had an odd experience. The entrance to the restaurant was so cluttered with overgrown bushes and different miscellaneous items were scattered throughout. I even asked "is this where we go in?" because it was not obvious or inviting. And again when walking into the building itself, I almost felt claustrophobic because of how many different "decorations" there were. It was really excessive and my whole family felt pretty closed into the area. I was very shocked to order a diet coke and have her bring me a warm can to the table- again, odd. My boyfriend and I ordered 2 egg rolls, chicken lo mein, sesame chicken & general tsos chicken. The egg rolls were underwhelming and pretty dry and the sesame chicken was way too sweet, it was hard for me to eat. The chicken lo mein tasted amazing but was pretty small for the price. Despite that, the service was good and the lady who waited on us was very sweet and friendly. Our total came out to almost $80 after they charged me an automatic gratuity fee of 20%. Unfortunately. my family wouldn't be likely to dine here again.