The Mandarin

The Mandarin is great for a large group! I reserved a table for 15 for a birthday dinner and Julie was extremely helpful. I was able to drop off the birthday cake beforehand and they held it in the fridge for me. Very kind and attentive service-- some of the guys in our group were watching a basketball game on their phone, and the server came over with a phone stand that's 10/10 service right there. They also helped cut and serve the birthday cake which I wasn't expecting but really appreciated!! Everything we ate was super tasty! The standout dishes were the spicy boiled fish and the whole fried fish. The portions were great for family style dinner and we left the dishes spotless.

I love this place! This is one of my go-to spots to take Chinese friends or people coming into town who like Chinese food! It's a nice fancy Chinese restaurant with really beautiful and tasty dishes. The dishes are on the pricier end ($20-$30) but they come out very beautiful and tasty so I would highly recommend.This time we got Spicy Beef Tendon, Salt and Pepper Tofu, Garlic snow pea leaves, Eggplant in Spicy Sauce, and Kung Pao chicken. Everything was delicious. The beef tendon dish looked especially nice.Service: We came on a Friday evening and there wasn't too many people so we were seated right away. The dishes came out one by one in a timely manner. They also box the leftovers for you, which I appreciate. They do start tip at 20% which is a bummer but not unexpected for a pricy place like this.Interior: The restaurant feels like a pretty fancy Chinese restaurant. There's lots of tables so there's plenty of seating. And there's a lot of tables with turntables on top, so great for family style dining.Parking: There's parking the back, behind the restaurant. There's also many parking lots in Menlo Park downtown, so it's not hard to find a spot.

Tried only 2 dishes: beef noodle and pressed taro duck. The beef noodles were perfectly spiced (note the description does not say soup, however it is) the duck was a 2 star as it was mostly pressed fried taro--so like eating fried potato pancakes. Service was slow, however it was Lunar new year. Pricey. Will come back to try a few more dishes.

First time here and it won't be my last. This restaurant had great service with delicious, wonderfully presented Asian dishes. Vast selection of menu items. Beautiful upstairs and downstairs dining room. Great for small or large parties. Bar seating with an extensive collection of wines and some beer.A little pricey, but that goes without saying if you're located in Menlo Park /Palo Alto Bay Area.Honestly, the food and service is worth the price though.

I didn't get much to eat. We came right when they opened because we were jetlagged. Everything was alright. Service kind of forgot about us, probably because we were a small group that didn't get much. It was visually pleasing.

Pretty good place. Decent food. Service was good but they were seriously understaffed. The staff that was there worked very hard, however. One major complaint: the geoduck dish. It's listed as market price, and foolishly I didn't ask. Turned out it was $148! It was OK but definitely not worth even half of that. Lesson learned.

We came here as a party of 7 on Valentine' Day at 6:30pm. The restaurant was packed, and there were only 2 or 3 servers, so unfortunately service was quite slow and inattentive. Despite the overwhelmed staff though, we really enjoyed the authentic Chinese food and the clean, sophisticated ambience. We ordered the hot & sour soup, 8 entrees, and a desert, which was just about the right amount of food for a filling, celebratory meal for 7 with limited leftovers. The best dishes were...Mapo Tofu - delicious but SPICY. We love spicy food, and this dish was even a bit too much for us without lots and lots of riceSweet and Sour Mandarin Whole Fish - unique, regional fried fish in a sweet and sour fish. I have never seen this dish available in a restaurant in the US, and it was really well seasoned and cooked Twice Cooked Pork - thinly sliced, juicy, crispy pieces of pork with leek that's just deliciousWe also ordered the golden prawns, snow peas with chicken, dry braised green beans, and tea-smoked duck. Everything was authentic and delicious. Overall, I would recommend this place for a celebratory Chinese dinner. Do expect slower service though.

The inside is fancier than expected, and we were asked if we had a reservation. We did not, but they were very nice and led us to a table. The servers came by multiple times to fill up our water, and they checked in as well. It did take quite a while between us asking for the bill and for them to get it to us, but perhaps that's because they had a big event on the second floor. General atmosphere gives the vibe that it's good for big groups. Parking was a little sus - the lot is crowded for sure, but there's a lot across the street as well. The food itself was alright. The twice cooked pork was the best thing, followed by the green beans. The pan seared noodles and braised beef noodles were on the saltier side (everything was a little on the salty side), but ok. The kimchi-like veggies on the beef noodles were the best part of that dish. The pan seared noodles had way too much sauce.

Certainly pricey for Asian food, but believe it was worth the $ - service was VERY attentive + friendly (water filled all the time) and ambiance felt clean. THE FOOD (most to least favorite) - tea smoked duck $33; good, very meaty- rice cakes with chicken $28: good, lots of wok flavor - broccoli chicken $20: good standard fare - braised beef soup $18: ok, not as flavorful as other broths - mango sago $10: eh, have had better- rice cake dessert $20: eh, too sweet but serves manyOverall great dinner, would come back and try the plethora of other specialty dishes they have here including fresh fish and lots of soup/stews

It was my first time here and I really enjoyed all of the dishes I ordered. We came on a weekday and we were seated immediately. The interior is spacious with high ceilings. The half tea-smoked duck was delicious and savory. The beef noodle soup had tender meat and chewy noodles. The yelping Chongqing spicy chicken was beautifully presented and perfectly crispy. We ordered one of their specials which was great too. Service was surprisingly slow since there weren't many customers at the time, but everyone was friendly. I will definitely be back!