Mandarin House Restaurant Menu

  • Appetizers
  • Soup
  • Fowl
  • Pork
  • Beef

Healthy Meal suggestions for Mandarin House Restaurant

  • Appetizers
  • Soup
  • Fowl
  • Pork
  • Beef

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  • Daniella B.

    My family has been coming here every week for years. By now, the owners know my parents by name. I even had my 16th birthday party here many years ago. This is the best place for dim sum in St. Louis because they have such a huge variety of things they serve yet, they always have all the favorites. This place gets SUPER crowded on Saturdays especially on holidays. I recommend getting there early for sure. Also, they frequently have a coupon in one of the local chinese newpapers. They usually have copies of the newspapers in the front of the restaurant so it usually pays to browse through and check while you're there.

    (5)
  • Godwin C.

    When my wife and I first moved to St. Louis about nine months ago we had no idea there was a significant Chinese population in the city. We're still not exactly sure WHY there are relatively so many Chinese around here - maybe Chicago is too expensive so they moved south, maybe all the foreign exchange students going to Wash U decided to stick around, perhaps the families that first moved here to start restaurants after getting kicked out of California were massive or they had a lot of friends - but whatever the case, we were pleasantly surprised to see AT LEAST FOUR dim sum restaurants in the city in addition to multiple grocery stores and other authentic Chinese restaurants. Coming from New Orleans, where the food is great but the Chinese selection is meh at it's finest, we were pretty ecstatic. We tried Mandarin House for the first time with a group of Yelpers back in January and we haven't stopped coming. In our opinion it is the most well-rounded of the dim sum places. THE GOOD Large Selection: The best thing about Mandarin House is that it offers up several delicious items that aren't served at the other places in St. Louis consistently, or even at all. A lot of these options are a result of them having a chef's station (I don't know what else to call it) right in the middle of the dining room that serve bowls of pretty yummy, but relatively uncommon, items. Our favorite "rarities" include: **Xiaolongbao - Also known as Shanghai Soup Dumplings. The soup broth is INSIDE the dumpling along with the meat. These are not easy to make compared to most other dim sum items. I love seeing it on the carts and will order them every time. **Pig's Blood - Congealed with a sort-of jello texture. It's real good here because they successfully sift out all the particulate to give it a smooth consistency. **Beef Tripe "Soup" - All the dim sum places have the blanched white tripe that's served by cart, but only Mandarin House has the large pieces in the brown broth-y sauce. Rich and full of flavor. **Scallion Pancakes - I admit they aren't made in the best way - they never flatten them out enough so it's almost a little too doughy - but at least they make them fresh! Higher Highs: I think overall, Wonton King is probably more consistent in their quality than Mandarin House, but when Mandarin House gets it going, it's actually really good. They do a fantastic job with some of the dim sum staples, including: **Cheng Fun - rice paper rolls with meat inside. The rolls need to be the right balance between slick and tight. Too slick and the roll falls apart. Too tight and the roll becomes doughy. Mandarin House has the right balance. **Lo Bak Go - also called Turnip Cakes even though they don't actually have any turnip in them. Mandarin House has the push-cart flat-top that they use to finish off this dish before giving it to you so it doesn't dry out. **Ha Gao - the ubiquitous shrimp dumpling. The shell is thin enough to the point of almost being translucent, with a pleasingly smooth, non-sticky texture. The shrimp inside is chopped but not completely pulverized. **Fung Zao - CHICKEN FEET! if you don't deep fry them enough, you can't chew any of it. If it's deep-fried too long, then it's a soggy mess. More often than not, Mandarin House seems to get the texture just right for us. No Waiting: A massive dining area means never having to wait for a table even in the middle of the rush unless you are with a big party, in which case WHY DIDN'T YOU MAKE A RESERVATION you silly goose. THE BAD Non-Existent Pricing Guide: Dim sum is priced by placing dishes into size categories and putting tick marks in each size column based on what you order. It's a pretty simple system. My issue is that they do not have the PRICES for how much each size costs. By now I have the size prices memorized, but that doesn't help a first-timer who may be extremely put-off by having no idea how much money they are spending until they go to pay the bill. This is unfortunately starting to be pretty common among a lot of dim sum places in the US (including the others in St. Louis), but that doesn't mean it's OK for Mandarin House to do it too. PURGATORY Consistency: Don't go late (after 1:30pm). Dim sum by nature requires that many items be prepped in advance. There is no way they are making all those Ha Gao during the rush. They make them all early that morning (my guess is they start at 5am) then steam them in batches during service. The downside is that as business slows down, the batches sit in the carts for longer, losing heat and losing form. This becomes a problem for Mandarin House as it gets closer to the end of dim sum time. Wonton King does a better job of planning out its batches based on customer volume to avoid this issue. Fortunately, during the middle of the rush the food is consistently solid. OVERALL Solid selection, solid execution. It's really simple when you think about it. Good job Mandarin House! We will be back next week.

    (4)
  • Mayen P.

    Best dim sum, friendly crew..we r addicted..we go just about every weekend..for Authentic Chinese food....this is the place.. Our favorite is the sticky rice, Siomai, steam brocollli with oyster sauce, shrimp dumplings, tofu rolls with stuffed meat and brown sauce.... Everything is scrumptious.. Duck...taro with meat inside... Yum This place is always crowded.. Best to go early.. 11 am..

    (5)
  • Jayson C.

    Terrible. Abysmal service, cold and tasteless food My fiance and I came in for their dim sum lunch on Memorial day. We saw our server a total of one time, and we had to stop her from walking away so we could continue a drink order. After that, she was nowhere to be found aside from walking out of the kitchen nibbling on a bowl of rice. We had to flag down another server (who seemed to be intentionally ignoring us) just to ask for a refill and order an item off the menu. As for the dim sum, we paid $45 for cold, tasteless crap. Only the sticky rice was above room temperature. Between the two of us, we have more than 25 years of professional food service experience (she as a chef, myself as a server and bartender) and this was the first time in memory that neither of us has left a tip. We will not be coming back and will be actively advising friends to stay away.

    (1)
  • Angela S.

    I have never had dim sum so I really have nothing to compare it too! I found everything to be very yummy. Service was quick and they had plenty of variety. I was not sure what most of the stuff was but I was willing to try everything. I enjoyed the steamed dumplings and also the shrimp noodles and the pork buns (aka the pillows of goodness).

    (5)
  • Marie B.

    My husband and I are originally from California and after being stationed at fort Riley, Kansas for 2 years with no dim sum, we were on our way to Germany and stayed in saint Louis. This place was very delicious with lots to chose from and it reminded us of home. Definitely worth the $50 we spent between the two of us! We went on a Saturday and they were really busy, food was fresh and was greeted by the ladies with the carts as soon as we sat down. Must try!

    (5)
  • Charleen S.

    I am not a huge fan of dim sum, but sometimes I do gravitate towards it and this place is my favorite in STL. They have more variety, and the woman at Lulu can be rude sometimes. We have eaten here several times now, and the food has always been served fresh and hot. They even have a stand in the middle of the restaurant where they prepare some of the dishes to order. Communicating with the servers has not been a problem for us, but we have a Teen who speaks a little Mandarin and they find this endearing enough to pay a lot of attention to us usually. I have a standard order for dim sum, which includes all three of the dim sum food groups - I like Shrimp Chow Fun (gelatinous), pickled cucumbers and/or green peppers (veggie) and sesame taro balls for dessert (greasy and fried.) Not that this is all I eat, but these are my three favorites that I always try. This place combines the veggie and greasy and fried groups in an offering of deep fried pumpkin - you must try this! I didn't even really like pumpkin but I basically claimed this for myself. Sweet and salty and deep fried - yum! As far as atmosphere, what I look for in a dim sum restaurant is simple: lots of Asians. If I walk in with my family and we are the only table of non-Asians in the place, I know it's going to be good. Last time we were there, in a packed restaurant we were one of three non-Asian tables there. Success!

    (4)
  • Hoogaelric T.

    Lunch buffet: They have this lunch buffet ( power lunch) Monday to Friday, 11:00 - 2:30. Have been there a few times and the food was alright. Very limited selection of food, choices slightly vary every day but mostly American Chinese food. Walnut shrimp, orange chilcken, cashew chicken, steamed fish flounder and onion beef. After 2:30 is staff lunch time, all the staff came out and you'll see them minimizing the buffet leftover. You'll hear them complaining about their food quality and whispering gossips or some atrocious customers they met yesterday. Regular food from menu: mediocre. A wide selection of authentic chinese food, authentic but doesn't necessarily good. You have to know what to order, or ask them which items are authentic chilnese food they'll give you recommendations. Weekend brunch (dim sum): they actually offer dim sum everyday, but weekend brunch time is the happy hours when dim sum are of lower prices. There are ladies serving dim sum in carts. People usually com in groups and get a pot of jasmine tea and enjoy the early afternoon. You'll find a kind of lazy weekend languid ease, in a way.

    (4)
  • Beck E.

    Got here at 10:55 am, and it looked like the restaurant had already opened a little early. By 11:30, the place had started filling up quite a bit. Service was very friendly, and most of the people pushing the carts spoke enough English. There was one cart that had some of the best stuff (hargow/xiajiao, siumai/shaomai), and I ended up speaking Chinese (Mandarin, not Cantonese) with the lady, so I have no idea if she would have been able to help solely-English-speakers order beyond pointing and nodding yes/no. The food was mostly good--some of it I would say was a weak 3-stars over on the East Coast, since I am from DC and had access to really good dimsum over there growing up. But for St. Louis, it was pretty decent, hence the 4-star rating. I was happy with my trip here, and the total without tip was less than $50 for 4 people who all had hot tea. I did tip more than 20% on top of that though because there was a grumpy, entitled lady in front of me at the cash register when we checked out who snarked at me, "Why would you EVER tip here?" when I asked the cashier if I should leave the tip on the table or up front. I didn't want to make a scene in a public area, but seriously, who goes to a restaurant and doesn't tip when you're provided a service? Apparently that lady. I wanted to slap her. But that isn't really relevant to my review, so I'll shut up now.

    (4)
  • Heather Ann S.

    I have been going to the MH since I was a young girl and although much has changed through out the years the food still remains delicious. I recommend the Beijing Duck! Words cannot describe how succulent and amazing this duck is. I recommend sharing with at least two others because after all sharing is caring but idk too many people who would eat that many steamed buns and a whole duck. But I must say the service has changed that is why they get 3 out 5 stars.the manager was quick to fix the issue and handled it very respectfully and professionally. Please try this place it's awesome.

    (3)
  • Valerie L.

    A nice Chinese woman pushing a cart full of small plates of dumplings, noodles, buns, and barbecue meat, called Dum Sum came by with her offerings shortly after I was seated in this spacious restaurant. The jasmine tea was flowing and the energy was catching in this bustling Overland establishment. We ate so many different things it's hard to remember exactly what all I had but those that stand out are the shrimp dumplings (gel like on the outside with a blob of shrimp on the inside), beef ribs in a tangy Chinese BBQ sauce, Taro biscuits(taro root in the middle of a bready bun) and my favorite, a dessert like pineapple custard bun. The doting staff kept my water glass full and my taste buds stimulated with many gastronomic alternatives. My only protest here would be with a few of the dishes. The BBQ pork buns were a little sparse on the meat and the BBQ beef was too much bone and not enough meat for my taste. Overall I would highly recommend this place.

    (4)
  • Ming C.

    Went for dim sum on Sunday. Came around 11:30 and there were plenty of seating but around noon is when it starts getting really busy. There were numerous carts with different kinds of dishes. There was a cart that make fresh turnip cakes and Chive dumplings. Another cart with different dumplings and a couple more that I couldn't keeps track off. Great selection of all your typical dim sum dishes and if you couldn't find what you wanted, you can just ask and they'll bring it over. One thing to note is that at the end, you go up to the front to pay.

    (4)
  • Ernie B.

    Kitty and I always come here for Dim Sum, and sometimes for Dinner. Regarding comments left by Mike C. that Mandarin and Cantonese are Chinese dialects and in no way reflects on the type of food served. It's Chinese food and their English menu caters to more familiar foods that Americans eat. They of course have a Chinese menu upon request or if you are a regular as we are and will adjust the food to your liking. Dim Sum (English) or Yum Cha (Cantonese) served from 11am-3pm on weekends are just different ways of saying the same thing.

    (5)
  • Stuart K.

    I guess I am on a PHO trip, the delicate broth, wonderful noodles, veggies bits of meat, spices seem to add comfort on a cold night in St. Louis. Our club gathered at Mandarin House last night and 7 of the diners seemed to order and enjoyed their meals, in a very crowded house. The décor is pleasant although I found that the chairs at our table appeared to have been rejects from Goodwill, but functioned. I tried to communicate and question the waitress about the "spicy beef Pho" and she said, very spicy. I said fine tell the Chef to make it very spicy. It took about 8 minutes from the time the first diners meal was served until the 8th diner was served. I wish I had not been served. Rather than a Pho with rice noodles and broth with peppers, sprouts, basil etc. I got a bowl of pasta, with three pieces of baby boc choy and a generous serving of chuck cut up in lumps (many of them fatty and indedible) and perhaps 8 oz. of broth that was totally tasteless and devoid of any seasoning. One person in our party ordered chicken fried rice. It turned out to be lightly colored rice with two or three peas and a couple of chunks of chicken. Not much. I doubt if the waitress took my suggestions back to the management, but I suggest strongly never to bother with PHO at a restaurant that serves decent looking standard Chinese fair..

    (1)
  • Ben S.

    I love dim sum!!! This is the third place I've tried in the area and I'm pretty sure it is my favorite. I grew up eating dim sum in Chicago and have been struggling to find similar offerings in the area. I really like the fact that the chefs cooking in the middle of the dining room offered me a sample of the scallion pancakes they were preparing to order. It was really unfortunate that this happened at the very end of the meal (my fault, not theirs) as I certainly would have devoured an order had I known about these tasty things earlier. Sure, I branch out and try new things all the time but it has been years since I've added a favorite item to my dim sum rotation. Yep it just happened! Everything else was really good. The crowd was reasonable and heavy on the Asian as opposed to Anglo diners...always a good sign.

    (4)
  • Francis D.

    Great dimsum place and this is now my favorite dimsum place in St Louis. Wide selection of fresh and tasty dimsum. Prices are resonable. Just get here early because this place gets packed easily.

    (4)
  • Faye R.

    First of all, the food was wonderful. I ordered Szechuan beef and scallops and my husband ordered Kung pao shrimp. Food was fresh and hot when it got to the table. The problem is the service......there isn't any. We waited about five minutes at the hostess station before any of the servers noticed us. There was no hostess. This was around 6 pm. on a Saturday night! Then one of the servers yelled to us to come on in and showed us to a table. She took our order and we never saw her again. Someone else brought our food and when we were finished, the check. Since we had a Groupon, it took awhile for yet another person to figure that out and she brought us a new check. We paid her and waited for our change ( less than a dollar). She was actually dressed differently from the servers, so we assumed that she was the hostess. After waiting at least ten minutes, we got up and left. The hostess thanked us for coming, and since we never got our change, I assumed she kept it! Wow....

    (2)
  • Mark B.

    Service is beginning to become worse for non Chinese guests. There seems to be a change in management, or manner of handling guests. I have been visiting here for the past 25 years. But all things have a season. I will cross this one off my list. I will miss the sizzling rice soup.

    (2)
  • David W.

    DIM SUM????????? Hi,only been during dim sum times, served on the weekends (lunch I think only), but man, their dim sum is no joke. Probably the best I've had in town. Definitely go during the busy hours so that when the food comes out, it's always freshly made and hot. If you go near the end of dim sum time, the food will have been circulating and won't be as hot / good. Things that stood out to me: Chinese Turnip Cake Shrimp Dumplings Pork Spare Ribs (pai gu) Sesame Ball (red bean) Lotus Leaf Chicken Rice Wrap if you are adventurous: Chicken Feet

    (4)
  • Victor C.

    It's been a while since I last wrote a review, but with some prodding from fellow foodies my inner foodie has finally come out of hibernation and ready to explore what new restaurants/bars/shops that have survived the spring thaw. First let me say that Mandarin House specializes in two types of services, Dim Sum and traditional Chinese dinner service. Environment: The dining area is no different than any other Chinese restaurant; there is little to no privacy when it comes to the tables set around the dining room. I actually like this aspect of Chinese restaurants as many of you know that Chinese menus typically list up to 50 different dishes to choose from. So just by walking and looking around one can already tell what dishes are most popular and look tasty without even looking or even understanding the mostly Chinese menu. Also for Dim Sum this makes it the perfect experience as you can truly see and immerse yourself in the hectic and bustling service that makes Dim Sum so popular in Hong Kong and mainland China. 5/5 Service: Now this is hard to grade as I am able to understand and speak some Mandarin and I usually go here with others that are the same. From what I could tell the majority of the wait staff could understand and speak English, although broken, but as many know from my past reviews on Chinese restaurants it is always best to come to these kinds of restaurants with someone who can speak and understand some Mandarin or Cantonese for it can be hard to truly enjoy and experience Dim Sum when communicating what you want to eat and what kinds of meat/vegetable are in each little dish is hindered all because of a language barrier. Still, even during a very busy mother's day the Dim Sum service was fast, efficient, and food was always fresh. 5/5 Food: First, the Dim Sum is pretty good. They have a varied selection of small delicacies ranging from savory pork ribs to sweet red bean buns. The food was always fresh and reasonably priced. Though beware as much of the Dim Sum dishes are pretty oily and thus you may get full very fast before trying many of the different snacks that Mandarin House offers. That is why I recommend coming here with a large group of people, not only for Dim Sum but for dinner too. This way the whole table can order a small dish and split it among yourselves thus leaving more room to try other things and a smaller hit to your wallet. The dinner is also very good and again I recommend going with a large group as you will be able to take advantage of their party platter deals that feeds large groups and everyone can try many different Chinese dishes that Mandarin House offers, not just one. 4/5 Overall: 4/5 I would only really come here for the Dim Sum as it is something that everyone should experience. The dinner service isn't bad but I feel other Chinese restaurants in St. Louis serve the same quality of food at a cheaper price (i.e. Joy Luck).

    (4)
  • Alan L.

    Yum cha is extremely mediocre. No choice of tea. Cow stomach is very tough. Siu Mao and har gow not very fresh. On the upside, ice water is freely offered and they are willing to split checks

    (2)
  • David S.

    Mandarin House has, by far, the best dim sum in St. Louis. On the weekend, the drink service can be a little slow, but there are many carts going around with a fantastic assortment of dishes. I have heard that they do not use MSG in most of their dim sum which is a huge plus for me. Even though it can be quite busy on the weekend, I have never had to wait more than 5 minutes to get a table. Give it a try!

    (5)
  • Mike C.

    I have to give them credit for trying to make dim sum. Quality is below average. Mandarin does not make dim sum. Only Cantonese does it! One thing I will not forgive them is charging outrageous prices. It's more than double compare to NY, & CA. Being the only player in town, doesn't mean you can rip people off. Soon it will catch up to you. It's a matter of time a real dim sum restaurant will pop up!

    (1)
  • Rob K.

    As good as it gets! We love everything about this place. Food is great, service is the star. Very attentive for din sum restaurant. Price wise is ok , not too pricey for its great quality.

    (5)
  • Carrie M.

    Me and my husband have been here twice. The first time nobody came to our table to greet us for 15 minutes. Tonight, we ordered 2 entrees. The server brought mine out first. We kept waiting and waiting for his to come out. So after 15 minutes of the server saying it's coming right out, I talked to the manager who was no help all. My food is now cold. Very rude here. We will never go back.

    (1)
  • Pamela M.

    Don't let the strip mall location discourage you from eating here. The interior is very spacious, nice, and clean with white linen cloths, chandeliers, and not as cluttered with decorations or knick knacks that characterize a lot of traditional Asian restaurants. Definitely the nicest Chinese restaurant I have ever seen in Missouri! We went for lunch on "Dim Sum Saturday" and were satisfied with our experience. One of the most notable things was the great customer service! Most of the dim sum places I have frequented have the unfortunately, stereotypical not very friendly, 'I don't care about your business' attitude. In contrast, the staff at the Mandarin House was smiling, courteous, patient, and helpful. We definitely experienced the 'eyes are bigger than your stomach' feeling when we were swarmed by the dim sum carts. There are many selections and the dim sum was good overall, especially for St. Louis. I would recommend the steamed tofu skin roll (my favorite), BBQ pork bun, shrimp shumai, pork dumpling, and onion pancake. I wanted to try the juicy pork bun, but I was too full by the time I saw it on the cart. Next time for sure! Do not get the BBQ pork--it looked good, but it was so awful I could not even stomach it. The prices are spendy for dim sum (almost $40.00 for two people), but then again, dim sum is not a big thing in St. Louis and there is virtually no competition. Mandarin House obviously does not compare to many dim sum places on the West Coast, but it satisfied my dim sum craving and I will be back in the future.

    (4)
  • Bo H.

    It is literally my favorite Chinese restaurant in St. Louis! The Chinese cuisine is extremely authentic and the waiters there are soooo friendly! The dim sum there during the weekend is the best in St. Louis area!

    (5)
  • Kim E.

    I love Dim Sum and for this area, the place was pretty good. I went with a group from Meetup and they gave us a deal and fed us well. We had so much food to eat and the customer service was wonderful. The dumplings were delicious and the duck was pretty good. We had a little over thirty in our group and we each paid about $15 and got to take food home!

    (3)
  • Dave F.

    Ignorant white, but adventures, Midwesterner (me) walks into this restaurant for the second time and goes for the "I want something new" idea & comes out a fan. Both times I went was with a large group & sat a the tables in back with the lazy-suzan center for sharing food "family style". The first time, I was hungry so I went with a standard Kung Pao Beef or something... The best was a BBQ Beef that was served on a bed of cabbage that somebody else ordered. The dinner portions are HUGE so order 1 appetizer & 1 entree per 2 people or plan to bring home leftovers. The second visit, I was with more adventurous people that ordered standards & I was not as hungry so I ordered what looked interesting- Jellyfish salad & Szechuan Style Fish Fillet. When the waitress said that those were Chinese people & not us... I knew I was on the right track. Half the menu is in Chinese. I was told that part of the menu has the more interesting stuff. I say they are trying to discriminate. I am frustrated by the fact that they offer something to one type of clientele but not another. The Jellyfish salad was light & flavorful & everybody was shocked how good it was. )I know this will sound like an insult comparing another culture- BUT) I would have not been surprised to find this type of salad at a Sushi restaurant served with half the amount for the same price. The Szechuan Fillet was SPICY bowl of a hearty soup that could have served 2 easily. In the Szechuan broth was huge chunks of fish & vegetables. I (uninformed) do not know if the it was a soup or just sauce that covered what I was suppose to grab out with chopsticks. I did both.

    (4)
  • Tracey W.

    Most. Depressing. Place. Ever. No, seriously. 4 thousand square feet of floral wallpaper, food served on wheeled carts, and elevator music (may have just been imagining the music). This place looked like the world's biggest retirement home cafeteria. I've been to funeral homes that were less depressing. The mostly empty dining room, minus the few elderly patrons and confused college kids (who missed the Loop by a few exits), was less charming than a port-a-potty on the third day of Oktoberfest in Soulard. Except Mandarin House has a koi pond. And fish tanks. But calling those fish tanks would be like calling a chicken coop a zoo. ANYway. The food, for me, was meh. The "sweet and sour pork" I ordered could have passed for any one of five menu items, and though it wasn't terrible, it certainly wasn't better than food I could have gotten for 4 bucks a block from my house. Granted, paying 11 bucks here led to a blissful, food poisoning-free evening, but since giving up sex, smoking, and carbs for New Year's, food poisoning is now the highlight of my weekends. Are you happy with yourself, Mandarin House, for taking that away from me? I found the food overly salty and didn't eat much in the restaurant, but I did end up eating the remainder of the behemoth portion of food once I got home to my empty studio apartment filled with 15 cats and abandoned dreams, and a few shards of what used to be my dignity, which was still less depressing than the dining room at Mandarin House. The high point of this place was the service. I don't give God 10%, but if I did, I would have given this waitress at least 9%.

    (3)
  • Elizabeth W.

    There were 2 occasions in which we came to Mandarin House in two days. Service both times I give a 4, food I give a 3, but it was closer to a 3 experience than a 4. The first experience was a Birthday Party for my Grandma. 10 course meal plus the special peach buns. The food was pretty good, and the service was excellent. The waiters and waitresses were nice and very patient with all the demands from all the different tables. They the drinks coming from all 7 of our tables and they never dissapeared. The second experience was dim sum. Also a 3 star food experience. We got (not sure of the english names): ha gow - crystal dumplings siu mai - pork dumplings? ha churn fun - Shrimp rice noodle? Beef Chow Fun Xiao Long Bao - soup dumplings - They tasted awesome by the way other dim sum stuff The Xiao Long Bao were great! A little light on the soup, but the taste was as good as, if not better than a lot of the ones I've had in Maryland. Service was great and the food coming around on carts was consistent and plentiful. Nothing tasted like it had been sitting on the carts for a while, which was good.

    (3)
  • Daryl W.

    Came here for a wedding dinner so I did not order. The food that I wanted to eat (almost all of it) was delicious. Overall everything seemed pretty well prepared. And those who knew authentic Chinese food (almost everyone but me) seemed to really enjoy it. The seafood mix in the ramen bowl was AMAZING.

    (4)
  • Han Z.

    Great place, great food, and great service. I was thrilled that they gave delicate cookies at the end which were much better than fortune cookies!

    (4)
  • Jessica C.

    For Americanized Chinese food, ehh, it was A-OK. I think Mandarin House would be much better for dim sum (based on the size of the room and the carts used to serve) and/or if you brought someone Chinese along with you. But two white girls at Mandarin House? Not a stellar experience. When I tried to venture into non-white-people Chinese food, the waitress sighed, rolled her eyes and said, "Just order the Kung Pao chicken." I did not order the Kung Pao chicken. No, I ordered the Cashew Chicken. Showed her, didn't I? Still, I think this place has a lot of potential. I don't know....Mandarin House Dim Sum UYE? I know there are legit Chinese American yelpers in St Louis. I'm not naming names, but I saw you guys order off the special behind the counter menu at Hon's Wok during the St . Paul UYE. Somebody help the white girls of the world out over here!

    (3)
  • Melody T. E.

    I have been eating here for years it is a little dressier and more expensive than most but well worth it to me. This is Mandarin food and I LOVE their Mandarin beef, delicious. Not many places sell sizzling rice soup and I LOVE theirs. Potstickers have thin wrappers not ridiculous and super doughy like most other places. If you go on off hours the service is slow because they are usually preparing for dinner service and employees are trying to eat lunch. I like an oriental restaurant that is patronized by actual Asians which this is. In all my years I have never been for din sum there because I have never lived close by and have a hard time finding someone to join me. This is one of my favorite restaurants. It has been there for years and they might need to redecorate as it is looking a little tired but I still LOVE It.

    (5)
  • Lorraine S.

    After spending the past three months in China, my boyfriend wanted to take me somewhere "authentic" that is the "only place of its kind in St. Louis". I was craving some lo mein, which isn't normally something I ever would have craved before my stay in Nanning. The service was fantastic, the potsticker/dumplings were delicious, but as for my Mandarin lo mein and his general tso's chicken I could of gotten the same from any chinese restaurant in America for a cheaper price. Granted our order was an "American" order, but it didn't satisfy my flavor craving. Definitely will be back for the potstickers and to try something else when I'm not craving lo mein.

    (4)
  • Sam S.

    Food is lukewarm and not much variety. The waitress is pretty cool though. I usually leave a buffet pretty full but I had room for some dessert :p

    (2)
  • Jason C.

    Decent Dim Sum for the area. Price and service were adequate. Food selection and decor was adequate as well. I would return.

    (4)
  • Sonny S.

    I haven't been here for dim sum which I hear is great so I'll have to try it! I've been here for dinner and lunch though. This place is located in a strip mall but don't judge a book by its cover the food and service is great. I came here for dinner a while back and was seated promptly once we arrived. Their menu is very extensive with a mixture of authentic Chinese dishes as well as Americanized dishes. Here's what I got: -salt and pepper pork -bacon wrapped tofu (tofu was silky and lightly breaded and bacon was crispy) -beef hou fun -soy sauce chicken Overall, I had a great meal and will be coming back to try other dishes!

    (4)
  • Jennifer J.

    I'm from Taiwan, & I think that if you order the right dishes, the food is very very authentic. I don't go there often enough to give good recommendations but my favorite appetizer is the vegetarian duck. It's a cold soy dish. Also the constantly changing chef's specials is always a good section of the menu to order from! And even though I've yet to try it, I've heard very good things about their dim sum on the weekends! - - Edit - - Dim sum was very good!

    (5)
  • Leslie S.

    Great Dim Sum! We arrive on Saturday at 11am, because the doors say they open at 11am, but there were already people there. Being one of only a handful of occupied tables at that time, all the carts hit us at once. This isn't a bad thing necessarily; it's better than being skipped over repeatedly (which happened to us at another popular dim sum place not far away). We loaded up our table quickly. My favorite was the pork shumai and I wanted seconds! We had tons of stuff, and I don't remember what most of it was called. I let my co-diners do most of the picking. Among only 3 of us, it came out to only $12 for the food, drinks, tax, and tip. That is pretty damn good value for dim sum, I thought. Oh, and I guess it helped that I printed the 15% off coupon from their website. Didn't hurt anyway.

    (4)
  • Derek S.

    My friend suggested coming here for dim sum due to the vast selection and large restaurant. ...to my surprise, this place was definitely a miss. There was quite a variety of dim sum...but that's where the hit ends! The Beef Rice Noodle Roll had very little beef and the soy sauce was lacking in flavor and color. The shrimp from the shrimp dumplings weren't fresh...they were mushy and soggy... The beef tripes and all the other dishes seemed to have been lacking some cilantro on the top as garnish... The black pepper short ribs had a little too much meat tenderizer... ...service was friendly...but they gave us rock sugar w/ our tea?!?

    (2)
  • Amber X.

    it has the best dim sum in St. Louis, or probably the entire midwest! I live in Columbus and visit my husband in St Louis every 2-3 weeks. Whenever I'm there for the weekend, we make sure we'll go there to have dim sum. He spent his childhood in Guangdong province and I lived in Hong Kong for several years, so we are pretty picky when it comes to dim sum. I strongly recommend the Hong Kong style custard tart, chicken feet, and all the other usual stuff. But try to avoid the BBQ pork bun, not up to par.

    (5)
  • Jacqueline C.

    In St. Louis this would be the must go for Dim Sum. Almost like a operation right from LA, it does give you the experience and almost equally good food. We usually eat shrimp and leek dumplings, shrimp dumplings, pastry, fried taro cake. And occasionally we get fancy with chicken feet :) My fav is the warm liquid with soft tofu, it's like a ginger syrup. Love it!

    (3)
  • Mina I.

    Wow, this place has some legit dim sums. This was actually my first experience and my white friend, Jaclyn is obessed with this place and she was in Saint Louis for one day so we chose this place because of all of the great reviews. We went on a Saturday afternoon and the place was pretty full but we got sat down quite quickly and once we were sitting, the foods just kept popping up. We tried over 10 different types of dim sums including a tofu spicy dish, shrimp covered in tofu, sweet buns, vegetable egg rolls, claims, beef noodle soup, and more. I would love to come back here again soon!

    (3)
  • Glo K.

    Mandarin House Restaurant has probably the best dim sum in St. Louis hands down! St. Louis lacks a good Chinese restaurant for some reason. There are many times I have midnight cravings for greasy Chinese take out which I usually regret the next day. However, Mandarin really makes up for my midnight cravings on weekends by forcing me to wake up on a Saturday morning to experience the bustle and excitement of Chinese-style dim sum. Mandarin's dim sum specials are only on weekends from 11:00am to 2:00pm. It definitely gets crazy around this hour but the service is quick, the dim sums are hot, and the food keeps coming! Plus, you feel a bit uncontrollable with the non-stop ordering of these small bite-sized goodness. SOMEBODY PLEASE STOP ME! You just want a little bit of everything! I totally recommend getting a group to go on Saturday to try almost everything from beef short ribs to sweet bums. So, over-ordering is highly encouraged. Also, Mandarin House is a little bit of a drive out of St. Louis actually, but the drive is so worth it!

    (4)
  • Bebe W.

    This is not bad for Chinese in the midwest. My cousin had his wedding dinner here and I thought the food would be like Panda Express or PF chang since we were in the midwest but it was more authentic. I'm not sure it would get 3 stars out on the west coast but for the midwest, this is as good as it is going to get. The service was great and the timing/flow of food was on point.We had the 8 course traditional celebration dinner including *cold appetizers = the jellyfish and chicken were really good *hot and sour soup = pass on this. It tasted very salty and cornstarch like. *crunchy chicken = people at our table liked this. Beware it comes with the head too! *mongolian beef = good feedback about this dish *mushroom & bok choy = generous amount of chinese mushrooms on a bed of bok choy *whole steamed fish = decent. the sauce was oily and could have used more flavor. The fish could also have been a little more tender. *yang chow fried rice = decent *assorted dessert = mochi and a walnut type cake There might have been one more dish but I can't remember it. The highlight for me was the cold appetizer dish.

    (3)
  • Ben L.

    In my youth Mandarin House was hands down the best Chinese food in St. Louis. However, times and owners have changed. Recipes have been altered for the worst. Shrimp has been removed from the Hot & Sour Soup, corn kernels have been add to the egg drop. Mandarin House had the best beef egg rolls in town, today they are no better than the frozen variety found in your local grocery story. The power lunch, the buffet, is far pricier than any buffet in town, $15, competitors offer more variety for half the price. However, this is your best option has I have sat at a table on multiple occasions and have the waitress walk pass me and not take my order, yet alone bring me water or tea. After 15 minutes of this, I walked out. This was not a one time problem and I returned only in hopes that my poor experience was an outlier, but it seems to be the norm. It is a shame that this once great restaurant has been reduced to this state. I feel bad for the original owner, as this could not have been his vision for the restaurant when he sold it with the dream of retiring. I would recommend saving your money and time, as any experience that is positive is more likely to be luck.

    (1)
  • Christina O.

    delicious and affordable dim sum. this is the real deal (with carts and all)! be warned it does get busy on sunday afternoons.

    (5)
  • Danielle N.

    After moving from Washington DC, I had a hard time finding an adequate dim sum restaurant. After I went to Mandarin House, I stopped searching. I have been here too many times to count for dim sum and would definitely recommend people go here for their St. Louis dim sum. They run a typical weekend, dim sum cart service. They have all the usuals and I would recommend: the char siu baau (bbq pork buns), shumai(pork dumplings), har gow(shrimp dumplings), turnip cake, and the veggie dumplings. All so good! I think the price is reasonable for dim sum. I usually only pay about $10-$15 per person but that is with a group of 4. Dim sum is always better in a group. :)

    (5)
  • Tom J.

    Went to the Mandarin House for lunch the other day. My expectations were pretty high based on reviews I read, so I was a little disappointed that it wasn't perfect. I went with the pretty standard garlic chicken combo, which came with egg roll, crab Rangoon, fried rice and soup. The highlights were the hot and sour soup - maybe the best in town - and the garlic chicken. If you are a garlic lover, head here right away...they don't skimp on the garlic like so many other places do. The apps were both prepared well in advance, seved just a little warm and had lost their crispiness. I might expect this at 1 PM, but not really at 11:30 when I arrived. The fried rice was not flavored much at all. It kind of surprised me that I really had to add soy sauce to it for it to be decent. Bek Hee is much hetter. At first I though it just seems wrong to drop $12 for a Chinese lunch. I guess I'm pretty spoiled by the $4.95 lunch menus everywhere. The more I thought about it, though, this place is a lot nicer than your basic strip mall carry-out joint and you do get a lot of food for your money. Also, I can tell by the staff and the unique menu items this place is the real deal. It's costly to offer such variety. Service was very attentive and friendly. I'll be back, I'm sure for some more exotic items. I have a feeling the best is yet to come (and probably an upgrade from 3 stars).

    (3)
  • Rich Y.

    I've been going to Mandarin House since before I could spell "dim sum." Technically back then I didn't really "go," I was more "brought along." Nonetheless, I grew up on their food and I turned out alright. I think. Trivia factoid of the day: there used to be 3 Mandarin House branches in St. Louis. This main one, one in Union Station, and another one on Manchester. Betcha didn't know that. What happened to Union Station? Is it still around? There used to be a giant arcade there. Man I'm old. Pro tip: You can't go wrong here with your typical Chinese faves, BUT, I recommend going with someone who can read the Chinese menu - grab any old Asian lady at Olive Farmer's Market - and order some off the wall stuff. The owners of this place searched far and wide to bring in good culinary talent in the kitchen so skipping the good stuff is like going to Tony's on the Hill and ordering chicken alfredo.

    (5)
  • Kelly B.

    I used to dine at Mandarin during lunch many years ago when I worked in Clayton and it was pretty good. But, now it seems like a cheesy banquet hall with a lunch buffet that is just A-ok. Nothing stands out except for the flounder, when they have it. I have never tried the dim sum here. Since dim sum is fresh, I am hopeful that they will have some good options.

    (3)
  • Anna H.

    A little fancier than the other traditional Chinese restaurants... fish pond and all... but really good food too! We come here for dim sum and dinner. It's a bit more expensive, but the quality matches the price, so it's worth it. If want to treat your Chinese friends' parents or something, this is the place to go!

    (5)
  • Jen J.

    Mandarin House has the best dim sums in St. Louis imo. We get dim sums about twice a month on sundays. We get a large group of hungover friends to sit around a lovely round table at one of three places, Lulu's, Wonton King, and Mandarin House. We have done the rotation for quite some time (1+ year) and in conclusion, Mandarin House has the greatest variety and the best value. Why? Because at Mandarin House you can get home-made soy milk, clams, perfectly steamed shanghai-style meat buns with delicious broth inside (drool), and a bunch of other dishes that the other two places don't offer (the sliced Chinese roast beef and bbq pork are sooo tender). After stuffing ourselves silly for two hours, we end up only paying about $15 a person or less after tips. Another plus is that Mandarin House is HUGE! Come here at noon on weekends and you will see every single table occupied. There are two benefits to this: 1. It's the only restaurant in St. Louis that resembles anything like my estranged homeland, where food culture is a vibrant part of life and every meal is the equivalent of a "power lunch". It is often the more the merrier and the rowdier the merrier. 2. Due to the high traffic, there will be more carts milling around with more items so if you miss something another cart's coming back in no time. Service can be a crapshoot but most of the times our water glasses are filled immediately and constantly. They keep the tea coming all meal long (For non-asians, when your tea runs out, keep the teapot lid open all the way so the staffs can spot them from afar and get you refills). Just a heads up though....their weekend dim sums end at 2:30 PM. While you definitely can stay past that time (they never kicked us out :P) there will be fewer and fewer carts near that time. The best time to show up is 11:30 AM (if you can get up early, which has been a constant problem for us...) P. S. I noticed one reviewer commented on the sugar that came with the tea. This is the Chrysanthemum tea, which is traditionally served with rock sugar. am actually delighted that they do this...feels like a small slice of the old country.

    (4)
  • Andrey E.

    This place is deceiving being in the middle of a shopping strip in Overland, the exterior of the restaurant looks so generic, but on the inside you will find a large banquet hall complete with chandeliers and a koi fish pond! I go here mainly for the dim sum on the weekends, and this place is one of the better in St. Louis for this. You wouldn't think it possible for being such a large restaurant on the inside, but it does fill up. So the food... well - you have a choice of the standard American Chinese restaurant fare or authentic Chinese cooking. I haven't tried it. I mean... General Tso's Chicken and Crab Rangoon are the same everywhere. Dim sum on the weekend mornings is where it's at though. They have a great selection of very good quality food, and it's not all shrimp based like Wonton King. I suggest the beef tendon, the duck, well - anything that looks good really. Except for the tripe and chicken feet. I don't know how people eat that stuff. The good thing about dim sum is that you can try small portions of everything. The Chinese Tapas, cheaper. The prices for dim sum for me end up about $15 a person. *There is a 10% discount if you have a student ID.* The regular menu authentic Chinese is quite good as well. I suggest going as a group and eating family style. Service is only so-so. Sometimes we have to wait quite some time to get a refill on drinks. If you order something specific for dim sum, there is no guarantee they will remember that... typical.

    (4)
  • Clarice W.

    My family has lived in St. Louis for over 6 years now and we have consistently decided on Mandarin House as the most authentic Chinese food in town. BUT there are some caveats. Like a lot of Chinese restaurants, if you want authentic you'll have to ask for the full menu (written in Chinese), either that or go with someone who is fluent. If neither of those options is possible and you're bold enough to try the recommendations of a random Yelper....try the "Drunken chicken" as an appetizer (chilled slices of chicken poached in rice wine), "3 Cup Chicken" as an entree (chicken braised in 3 types of marinade), and a fish dish in a spicy red sauce with water chesnuts as an entree (which I just can't remember the name of...). These are really solid dishes. Here's the second caveat, which is harder to get around: I've found the food to be somewhat inconsistent. I believe there are days when the head chef takes off, and there really is a noticeable difference in the quality of the food. Annoying, but what can you do? Regardless, we keep going back to Mandarin House for a reason - I'm not going to compare to Altanta or San Francisco Chinatown, but it in St. Louis, it's the best Chinese food you'll find.

    (4)
  • Kat V.

    I came here last Sunday with the bf & several friends to celebrate Chinese New Year. I wasn't disappointed. I love this place! Great variety of dim sum. Delish food! Though, their egg tarts were a bit too tiny for me & the pastry itself was a bit too crumbly for me. When it was really busy, it was hard to get a waiter to give us refills on our waters & tea. Excellent & friendly service! The rice noodles with either shrimp or BBQ pork were huge & very delish! I agree with the previous reviews about the dim sum being cheap.

    (5)
  • Tricia R.

    I've been here several times for dinner in the past few yrs, and I always thought it was one of the better Chinese restaurants in StL. However, my aunt would tell me not to go back bc the kitchen staff kept changing and she thought the food was not as good...LOL. Well we finally came here for dim sum and this place is waaaay better than some of those places we normally frequent on Olive. Come early bc it does seem to get pretty crowded, and of course you want to have first pick of all the carts. :) For StL standards, I thought dim sum was def worth a return trip in the future.

    (4)
  • Ming W.

    The only good dim-sum place in St. Louis! When Hunan Garden on Page Ave. closed, I thought I was going to cry. The thought of no longer having those cart-fried seafood eggrolls literally brought tears to my eyes. Fortunately, the dim-sum chefs and even the staff from Hunan Garden have now found a new home at Mandarin House! Definitely try the hargao, shumai, black bean spare ribs, shanghai soup dumplings, and seafood eggroll (although the quality of the seafood eggroll here seems a little bit inferior to the old Hunan Garden variety for some reason). For dessert, have the egg custard pastry, the sesame ball, and the pineapple buns. Even though I live in Miami now and don't get back to St. Louis that often, Mandarin house will now be on my list of places to go every time I return.

    (4)
  • Julie T.

    Mandarin House is my benchmark for Chinese food! Hands down, the BEST pot stickers I have ever had! Perfectly cooked and very flavorful! I could eat the hot braised beef every day and never get tired of it! Everything I have tried there is amazing! The food is awesome, but so is the atmosphere! Beautiful and clean with stellar service! A must try when in North St Louis!

    (5)
  • Jessica L.

    Yes, I'm Asian. And yes, I came from an Asian upbringing. Did I like this place? Meh.. So I sadly can't do comparisons with other Chinese restaurants in the area, but for this one, it was ok. Decor: It's actually quite spacious. I went on a weekday night so it was relatively empty. There were some non-Asians (I have to point that out, haha.) vs. not as many Asians, but whatever. It's very comfortable and it's your typical spin-your-plates-around-the-table thing. Service: Not bad at all. It was funny because the waitresses would alternate English/Chinese with us since we were just American born Chinese kids but we understood her Chinese. Otherwise, she was very nice and honest... as was the lady who split our check like 8 ways (see? nice!) Food: - Zha Jiang Mien- I was reallyyyyy looking forward to zha jiang mien, after consulting a fellow Yelper. And albeit it LOOKED right, it just didn't TASTE as flavorful as I would have liked. It needs to have more.. OOMPH. Though piling on the grilled onions helped - Eggplants- Not the fried one (The waitress was kind to point that out). It was very delicious - Kung Pao Chicken- not my favorite.. It was meh, okay. - Fried Tofu- an OBVIOUS favorite!!! We had one more dish.. I don't remember and it was good enough for 6 people. Didn't come up to be very expensive for the dishes we ordered (We avoided the pricier seafood) and it came to a little more than $10 a person. Bottom Line: Pretty good. Would I go elsewhere? I have to see, but I would hope so....

    (3)
  • Paul L.

    Mandarin House Restaurant is one of the classier Chinese restaurants in St. Louis and is consistently good. My parents are Taiwanese and have been to this place a number of times, so it definitely has some street cred. The entrees are between $9 and $15. We started off with the hot and sour soup which was pretty typical but still good. A little spicy and salty, the soup had an extra bonus of shrimp. Next were the entrees. My family and I ordered orange chicken, flounder pieces, eggplant and beef hot pot, and Canton string beans. The orange chicken was excellent, but watch out for the orange peels unless you want a sharp zingy burst of orange flavor. The flounder was very soft and had a nice crust. The hot pot was a mixed bag. The hot pots come in a clay pot and are extremely hot when they come out so you might have to wait awhile after they serve it. Our hot pot had lots of beef and a few pieces of eggplant covered in lots of sauce. While the eggplant was extremely tender, the beef was chewy to the point that my parents decided to take it home and cook it even longer. The restaurant was out of string beans so we got spinach instead. The spinach was tender and had a nice mild garlic flavor. At the end of the meal, we got a free plate of cookies and fortune cookies. Before you rejoice and take out a huge chunk of the cookie, beware. The taste of the cookies was a little bit off and slightly reminiscent of soap. I realize that soaps that sound edible (example, ginger almond soap) are in, but edibles that taste soapy are just a bad idea. Still, all in all a great restaurant.

    (4)
  • Jason C.

    Very authentic dim sum. Chicken feet, tripe, and jelly fish, you name it, they had it. I was very impressed! I highly recommend.

    (5)
  • Angelo P.

    Ok let me say this right off of the bat. Not even in Chicago did I get banquet style Chinese food this good! The last time I had Chinese food of this style this good was back when I was living in Beijing and I had been striving to find this style of restaurant replicated in the US! Many a night during my days as a student at Beijing Language & Culture University were spent with 10-15 classmates at restaurants like Mandarin House ordering ridiculous amounts of food and sampling them family style. The price was always fair and of course the food was always great. My dinner with my friends at Mandarin House brought me back to those times in Beijing and it made me very, very happy. My Ma po dofu was excellent just the way it was served in the Jing...I heard sichuan peppercorns were illegal in the states for a while and I was very happy that the taste I missed so much was very evident in my dish. Everything my buddies ordered was also great and my waitresses were happy to chat with me in Mandarin which made me feel right at home. Mandarin House...you get 5 stars without any hesitation. I have to go back soon and see how good the duck is!

    (5)
  • Jason H.

    Went here for dim sum after trying some of the other dim sum joints in the Loo. This was the best of the bunch and the only place that partially scratched my dim sum itch since leaving the Bay Area (but its below average compared to San Francisco dim sum, just to be clear). Everything is solid but the shu mai and shrimp dumplings are particularly good. However, the pai gow is below is average.

    (5)
  • Gonzalo F.

    HORRIBLE SERVICE. Messed up our order 18 different ways and took forever. They didn't have a problem adding a generous 18% tip. Too many good Chinese restaurants to mess with this train wreck.

    (1)
  • Neal C.

    Best dim sum/chinese food in St. Louis people might tell you that Lui Lui is very good/amazing/wonderful place to eat.. butttttt I am writing to detest that thought. I love to go to Chicago and eat really good Chinese dim sum about 4 times year b/c I couldn't find any Chinese restaurant in St. Louis. Lui Lui is expensive, and sooooo greasyyyyyy, yuk Wonton King is dirty.. sad b/c their food is pretty decent when I found Mandarin House, I realized that I do not need to go to Chicago 4 times a year to get my dim sum fix. I love their pork short rib with black bean sauce, the sticky rice wrapped in leaves, and the chicken feet. mmm also, for dinner, try their yun nan spicy chicken and water spinach with garlic sauce!!! awesomeeeee!!!!! and their beef noodle soup issss amazingggg!! wow, huge portion and big chunks of meat and tendons. and I feel guilty for saying this, but their orange chicken is pretty damn good. haha. it actually had orange peels :) I am soo hungry now.. check this place out, you guys won't regret.

    (5)
  • Stephanie S.

    So I'm going to be honest: I don't know how to write this review without being absolutely ridiculous. I'm going to try not to sound like an ignorant American, but I can't make any promises, so don't send me hate mail, mmmk? I went to Mandarin House on a Sunday afternoon with a couple of my Asian friends. I promise this is relevant to the story. It's in a pretty huge building in a strip mall on Page. How did I pass by this place a million times and never notice it? Anyway, the place is very large on the inside. Tons of tables and such. Pretty kitschy decor, but I can overlook that. I had never had dim sum before, so my friends thought it would be cool to show me the experience. With Dim Sum, you basically sit there while the waiters (and waitresses) wheel around carts of food. You say (or in my case, shyly point at) what you want, and they place in on the table and mark down what you ordered on a little card. It's a pretty cool concept. I'm all about trying new foods, so I was excited. In fact, every single thing I tried here was something I had NEVER tasted before in my life. Pretty interesting to think about. I tried a ton of things. Memorable items include chinese broccoli (yum), a bunch of different types of dumplings, a pork bun, and chicken feet. Yes, chicken feet. It was weird, and I'm pretty sure I chewed and swallowed a toenail at one point. If you come here, I definitely recommend bringing someone Asian with you. I don't know what I would have done if my Chinese friends weren't there to help me choose what was 'good' and 'not good'. Plus, I think we were treated a little better, but maybe that was just my imagination. Food for 3 only came to about 50 bucks, which I think is really good. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about everything. The tastes and textures of real Chinese food is so different than what I'm used to. There were many points during the meal where I would be chewing on something that had a really good flavor, but I wouldn't be able to finish it, because I would overthink what I was eating and get all tripped out. I think I would come back. Now that I know what to expect, I feel like I would be better prepared.

    (4)
  • Allan C.

    They've really polished their dim sum... but they got rid of their jia jiang noodles... which were freaking awesome. AND their beef noodle soup isn't as good anymore... it's more like high quality packaged ramen (like from Taiwan/Japan, not from the stuff you see here in the states....). Also, they've since changed chefs where the food's been... different and I'm not quite liking it as much... so just putting this out as a word of warning for those who have been coming here.

    (4)
  • Kristen K.

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place! Everytime I'm in the Lou I just HAVE to stop in and gobble down a plate of potstickers!! The service is fast and friendly and the food is always piping hot! I could eat only the appetizers!! Pot stickers, crab rangoon, wonton soup, the little crispy noodle thingys, and of course hot tea! Their almond chicken, chicken lo mein, and sizzling rice soup are also to DIE for! Don't let the creepy bar and the fish pond distract from your eating pleasures, this place is by far the best chinese food in the LOU!

    (5)
  • Megan W.

    I've been pretty loyal to the dim sum at Wei Hong on Olive, but some friends recently suggested that the dim sum at Mandarin House reigns supreme, so I had to give it a shot. While I'm not quite ready to relinquish Wei Hong's title as my favorite dim sum in St. Louis, I do think Mandarin House is a worthy contender. The dim sum offerings are much more diverse and abundant than at Wei Hong, and I really enjoyed trying new dishes such as the smoked duck and the ginger scallion tripe. There were even a couple of dishes that I liked better at Mandarin House than ones I've tried at Wei Hong- the beef rice noodle rolls and the BBQ pork buns- the flavors in both of these dishes were much fuller than ones I had previously tried. I know this may sound weird, but I found comfort in the fact that I was the minority in the restaurant. This is also the way it is at Wei Hong, and it makes me feel like I'm enjoying truly authentic Chinese dim sum. All in all, this was a great dim sum experience and now I'll have to split my time (and loyalty) between Wei Hong and Mandarin House.

    (4)
  • Carolyn C.

    Truthfully, when we pulled up to Mandarin House with my parentals who were in town, I was concerned. It's in a strip mall, and just looks a little suspect. But, here are the signs that followed, that showed me this place would turn out to be fab: - There were other Asian people dining! - There is a menu only in Chinese, following the English menu...and the two are different. This is always a good sign for authenticity. The server explained to us in Mandarin that they are "dishes for Asians and dishes for Americans." This made me laugh. - We ordered items off both menus...and both were good. So, even the dishes they deem "less authentic" are delish. But, then again, I was born and raised in the States, so perhaps my palate is skewed. - They didn't skip a beat when we asked for no MSG. Can't wait to come back and to try the dim sum! My Chinese reading skills are pretty elementary, but glad I speak so I can get the "Asian people" dishes as well.

    (4)
  • Julia W.

    Every time we make it back to STL after the long drive from Chicago (made much, much longer with the addition of a bambino), Justin has an insatiable craving for Mandarin House's beef noodle soup. And every time we go, he kicks himself for eating the entire ginormous bowl. This from a guy who has pretty unbelievable self-control (I mean, he passes up dessert when he's full? What the??)--must mean that soup is phe.nom.en.al . I generally stick with what I love best--the firecracker green beans, Wu Xi pork chops, on choy in garlic sauce, velvety eggplant in garlic sauce and my new favorite, the salted fish and diced chicken fried rice. I find the servers' looks of surprise and questions, "Have you had that before? Are you sure?" endearing whenever we order something denoted as "Chinese Style" on the menu. Yup. White girls like salted fish, too. :) And, as if Mandarin House needed anything else for its 5-star rating, as a new mom, I'm very pleased to say they have a clean bathroom with a very nice changing table. My son thanks you.

    (5)
  • Artit V.

    One Sunday earlier this year, my parents, my brother and I met our family friend at Mandarin House for Dim Sum on a Sunday. We met them around 10:45 am that Sunday morning. The place is huge if you have ever been there. This morning, the place only had a few tables occupied. The dim sum carts kept rolling by every minute or so. The food was good and the choices were good as well. I didn't see the bill. If you know anything about Asian culture, you will laugh at this. Every time my parents go out to eat with their friends, every body fights for the right to pay the bill. (it is definitely a Thai thing and i have seen it with my fillipino and korean friends) When we left around 12:30 or so, the place was getting packed. So we got there at the right time. I can't wait to go back with my friends if I can get them to wake up that early for Dim Sum.

    (4)
  • Kate L.

    Love the dim sum here! They also give you student discount with ID. We've been back several times already since discovering this place. I agree with the previous reviewer about the other dim sum places around town. They also have an extensive dinner menu. The staff is courteous and friendly maybe not the young girl that works at the cash register... time and time again without fail, she takes the money without any greetings... "how was everything".. or "have a great day." I'm probably being super picky about it but a smile or something please!!

    (4)
  • Chris Z.

    As I walked in, I was greeted immediately and provided a table. The dining room is huge. It reminds me of a banquet hall with it's glass chandeliers, white tableclothes and evenly separated tables. I ordered Braised Wings, Hot & Sour Soup, and Kung Pao Scallops. The soup wasn't very hot, but it was tasty. The Wings were very greasy and saturated with sauce. The scallops were cooked properly but again, this entree had way too much sauce. The sauces were very syrupy and artificial to me. I was unimpressed with all of the food. The saving grace was our waitress Vicki. She was bubbly, helpful, and attentive. However, I'll try another Chinese spot nearby. There are so many in this area, I'm bound to find a better one.

    (2)
  • James Y.

    i know i know.... we've all been to a Chinese buffet line that we totally regretted. that's what Chinese lunch buffets are known for right?...super crappy, soggy, but cheap quantity food for broke (or stoned) college students. this place is not like that. spacious & very clean, the lunch buffet items are all very fresh and tasty. Usually, all the dishes tend to taste the same cuz it's all the same MSG sauce on different suspect meats right? Here at Mandarin it's really not like that. Plus it's not all the generic stir fry stuff with overcooked veggies either. Great selection and I really enjoyed it. Not sure what their prices were cuz some friends took me out and paid but I can't imagine it being too expensive. if you're in the mood for some quick chinese or got the munchies, give Mandarin and Jesus a try. you won't be disappointed in either.

    (4)
  • Mark P.

    I really like Dim Sum, as a meal and as an event. For me, it's replaced going to church on Sunday (ok, so I haven't really gone to church on Sunday since I was in high school, but I digress). A friend of mine who is Taiwanese Chinese said I had to go try this place. I told her that I had gone to this place for lunch 10 years ago (both the restaurant and I have been around for awhile) and had not really been impressed. The food there at that time was old and too soy-sauced for my delicate palate. Smile. And I like LuLu's a lot, so that's where I have gone since Jenny's Great Chef Garden closed and she took over LuLu's. My friend told me that they had new ownership and new chefs and the dim sum was great. Trusting my friend, I went there that next Sunday, you know, instead of going to church. Well, I was pleasantly surprised with both the ambiance (especially) and the food (mostly). Mandarin House is a big dim sum house like you would find in Chinatown in San Francisco, with carts going everywhere and and lots of Chinese people (especially) and lots of tables and chairs that are nicely lacquered. Classic and traditional. Very special. As the food came around and we made our choice, we had a lot of food and it was quite good. And it wasn't really all that expensive. It was traditional dim sum fare, more Hong Kong than Shanghai BTW. The siu mai and other items were well done. Better than Wonton King and more in that style, but not as good as LuLu's, to my way of thinking. My favorite was the water chesnut cake on the grill cart. The grill lady let us taste first and it was a slightly sweet gelatinous cake with bits of water chestnut throughout. We like that so much we took home an order. Bottomline: I was glad my friend told me that they were under new ownership and ... I will go back.

    (4)
  • Joe B.

    Good food, good service, good prices and a clean atmosphere make this a nice stop if you're in the neighborhood.

    (3)
  • Smart G.

    You know in "Cool Runnings" where John Candy knows that sprinters would be good at bob sledding? That's kind of how I feel about Mandarin House. I went there this weekend for dim sum (eh, not that impressed), but I just knew that the rest of their food (i.e. non- dim sum) would be awesome. The place, which I wanted to try just because of the reviews on here, impressed me with their cleanliness and--based on their press clippings in the foyer--their longevity. Any Chinese restaurant that can stay in business for nearly thirty years, even with all these $5 buffets popping up, has to be doing something right. I know that in this country there isn't really such a thing as "fancy" Chinese (save for Mr. Chow, which sucks, and if you say P.F. Changs, I will punch you in the face), but Mandarin House looks a lot like the mid-to-upper scale places in Taiwan and China. After speaking with the staff, and seeing/trying some of the items, I am excited to eat here for a regular meal. I'm rating it three stars for the dim sum, but let it be known that I fully expect to rate this place a four when I go back for dinner. When I look at Mandarin House, what do I see? I see pride. I see power. I see.. okay, this ends my analogy to Cool Runnings...

    (3)
  • Noah R.

    I like going here for dim sum, but honestly after going 3 times I am a bit bored with it. The selection is rather small and I have tended to order the same dim sum items over and over again. I think the short ribs are great and chicken feet are pretty good. Also recommend the beef noodle dish. Service has room to be improved. The atmosphere is pleasant and clean. Tip: Sitting on the right side of the restaurant yields faster service, given proximity to the kitchen. Getting stuck on the left means you can sit for 10 min without anyone coming by.

    (3)
  • francis d.

    I haven't lived in st.louis for too long. Three different friends, chinese friends, took me to dim sum on three different occasions and it was always Mandarin House. So I think it's safe to say that this is probably the go to place in st.louis. The prices are fair, service is fast, and you get seated even with big parties (which is what dim sum was made for) rather quickly 15 mins tops. I'm a fan.

    (4)
  • Gary L.

    Five Stars again, for the Mandarin House! Service was great-friendly and efficient. The waiter and hostess were genuinely nice without being annoying. The menu was huge with a wide variety in the selections. The spacious dining room had comfortable high-backed chairs and linen table cloths and napkins. Soothing fountain in the front and very clean throughout. It would be a good choice for a large party or celebration. But the food is what it's all about, right? Ordered the Szechwan Beef Hot Pot for $11.95. Large chunks of beef brisket, lovingly braised to just the right amount of tenderness with tender bits of daikon radish sauced with just enough chili oil and seasoned with star anise to keep it interesting. They also have a plain version of this beef stew dish for those that want it mild. If you really like your beef to be lean, this dish might not be your favorite-but I really enjoy this cut of meat to include the tendon flap. Not chewy, but it is tenderized from the long, slow cooking and enough snap to make it texturally interesting. This generous portion was served with a full container of plain rice that together would have served two ordinary mortals. Hot tea and a fortune cookie topped me off-full, but exceedingly happy to have eaten dinner in this great restaurant. Such a deal for under $13! The waiter recommended the Dim Sum, and I'm sure it would be equal to what I could find at home in San Francisco based on the food quality received. That will just have to wait for my next visit-but I hope to return soon to the Mandarin House!

    (5)
  • Tom C.

    Crab Rangoon, was sour - we couldnt eat it - sour dairy used! We were not asked why we only ate a very small portion of only one rangoon! Service was ok.

    (1)
  • tom b.

    i grew up by here, so when i get a chance i always like to go over for lunch. from outside not that great looking, but when you get inside its a whole other place. its very upscale looking. i like when you have a big table you get to put everything on the lazy Susan & spin it so other people can try what you've got. my kids like going here. i would recommend mandarin house to anybody that likes oriental food.

    (5)
  • Tam D.

    I have been here a few times but only for dim sum. Today my friends and I decided to make it a dim sum Easter! It was quite busy but we didn't have a hard time finding a seat, or rather my friend did not have a hard time finding a table since I was late! The food was delicious and we over-ordered but that made for some nice leftovers to bring home.

    (4)
  • Jimmy R.

    Best Dim Sum in St. Louis in my humble opinion. I have tried most places. Yes, I'm asian too. I think Dim Sum wise, they have a tasty plethora of offerings. Not too soggy, or MSG laden selections that make you want to sleep. Prices are fairly cheap compared to other places in St. Louis! I have been here for regular dinner / lunch and again, also very good. Try finding the juice, steaming hot dumplings which are hard to make anywhere else. They do a good job of them. Even on a bad day they are no less than 4 stars. The trick is knowing what to order...

    (5)
  • Alex L.

    I went with about 10 people for a celebration for moving a grand piano into a tiny apartment. We decided to spoil ourselves and order "the standards" of Chinese cuisine. The prices were slightly expensive in my opinion, but I grew up in a place where you can find authentic Chinese food every other block. I must say, this is the second time in St Louis that I've found a place that I can say tastes as good as Atlanta Chinatown food. Their authentic Chinese food was prepared in a way that was familiar and amazingly good, and their staff was really helpful and friendly, joking with us and giving us great suggestions that made the evening even more enjoyable. We stayed their past closing time, but they were nice about it, and didn't bother us about it. The waiters also stayed, and it was only after we paid and were about to leave that we noticed that they had closed roughly 30 minutes ago. That is quality service right there. If I wasn't a poor college student, I would eat there every day. This place is a great place for those who hunger for authentic Chinese cuisine with a great atmosphere, friendly service, and an enjoyable experience.

    (5)
  • Lisa G.

    Terribly long wait! Waited 90 minutes for food to arrive (with 3 hungry kids!) with barely an apology from anyone. It wasn't even busy, and every time we kept asking nicely for them to check on our order, they kept saying "it's coming!" - for about 40 minutes they said that. It only takes 20 minutes for a takeout order, so even if they had forgotten to put our order in we should have gotten it sooner! And we weren't the only ones suffering. At a nearby table, as we were finishing up, a man got up and yelled at a waitress that he had waited an hour and 15 minutes without even getting his soup. He was angry and said he wasn't paying for anything. I have to say, I was wary about going because the last 3 times there have been nearly as slow, but we always gave them the benefit of the doubt (for example, last time there was a private party in another room). But I think this is the last straw. Mandarin house used to be our favorite Chinese restaurant but I don't think we will be going back any time soon.

    (1)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :11:00 am - 2:00pm

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Lunch
    Parking : Private Lot
    Bike Parking : No
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Loud
    Alcohol : Full Bar
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : No
    Has TV : No
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : Yes

Mandarin House Restaurant

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