Located in the Laguna shopping center at corner of Los Osos Rd. & Madonna Road in the northeast corner. I eat here a lot because my teen son loves chinese food. Things change and the city used to have many very good chinese restaurants, but as sushi and Thai have become more popular the chinese restaurants have gone out of business. Golden Gong is still there, but is awful. This restaurant still has the 1980's decor with light oak, mauve and blue, which should all be replaced and upgraded as it is nearly 30 year old decor! They did finally replace the worn tabletops about 3 years ago and they are granite, but they don't match the old mauve/blue decor of everything else. They have some cute asian accents though & the restaurant could be really nice if they would just update the look.

The fried rice is excellent. The soups are usually good, hot and sour & egg drop soup are best, but they also offer wonton. They also serve a large bowl of Viet Nam soup called Pho. It is usually beef in a thin broth and they bring you bean sprouts, and other stuff that you put into the soup yourself & it cooks as you stir it around. Their food is usually pretty good, I had one problem a few months ago and I told the waiter that one item was really bad & was not cooked the way it normally is. They give you free hot tea, and afterward a fortune cookie for each of you.

I advise you go for lunch any day except Sunday (they only serve dinner menu at lunch on Sunday), or Monday, when they are closed. Dinner is expensive, about $12.95 and up and I don't like to pay that much per person when I take my kids out to dinner. Give it a try. They always seem short handed with not enough wait staff so it is hard to get your water glass filled, get togo containers, or the bill.

We decided to try some Chinese food for lunch while visiting San Luis Obispo. We found this place with our GPS, and knew nothing about it. The restaurant is located in the back corner of a shopping center.

Upon arrival, we were promptly greeted and seated right away. It was 2:00 PM on a Saturday so it was not very busy. My wife ordered sweet and sour pork, and I got the Kung Pao Chicken from the lunch menu. Each lunch came with fried rice, a spring roll, cream cheese Wonton, and a choice of soups. We both ordered the Wonton soup, which was quite good. She also tried the Thai Iced Tea, which she said was good. Our main courses arrived and they filled the plates. We shared each other's entrees, but I definited preferred my Kung Pao Chicken.

The food was fresh, the service was good, and the portion was plentiful. I would definitely recommend the Mandarin Gourmet Restaurant if you are looking for a tasty Chinese meal. The price was a little higher than I liked for a lunch menu, but the food was certainly worth it.

Enjoy!

Yes, the reviews that claim "best in town" are accurate. The food is great! We came at what appeared to be a shift change and the service lacked for a little while until somebody else began serving us. It was ok though, the portions are family style which mean the dishes are HUGE. We had the platter for 2 which was great, and then Lo Mein and Orange Chicken. We had PLENTY to take home afterwards. My only tip is don't drink the tap water, yuck! Stick to the tea instead.

Great and friendly service, fabulous food~The only thing it "lacks" is a great location--it's in a corner of a shopping center. It is obviously a superb restaurant because even with a location that requires you to KNOW where it is to find it, they are still crowded all the time. A real local secret. Maybe I shouldn't rave anymore--I want to get my booth! Great for take-out, also--and the lunch specials and Vietnamese Pho are just icing on this cake.