Nothing to write home about or, rather, nothing to write an in-depth yelp review about.
(2)
Linda C.
Just came back from dinner where we waited 30 minutes for a table and then another 35 minutes before our food started trinkling onto the table. We ordered duck where they sliced the duck off the bone and served it with moo shu wrap and some hoison sauce. The duck was pretty good but I've honestly never had bad duck. The wrap was hard, another 10 secs in the microwave would have done it some good. We ordered two types of fish, one fried and the other steamed. The best dish was the duck noodle and the pea pod tips. Mediocre dishes included sweet and sour pork (chinese style), beef ribs, chinese brocolli, sugar snaps with scallops and shrimp, crab, lobster and chicken. All the dishes were just meh. The experience would have been better if we didn't wait so freaking long for the food to come. Came in at 7:00 and didn't leave until 9:30 :/ It was also very stuffy. they should have turned on the a/c or at the very least opened the door for a few minutes to let get the air circulating. Maybe I will have a different experience with their dim sum.
(3)
Raul B.
Out of all the Dim Sum places I have been to in the past half year or so this one stands out. Not only was the food delicious but cheap. The group of seven that I was with couldn't believe how cheap our bill came out even after ordering so much food. The highlights for me were the dumplings and ribs. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and unlike the other Dim Sum places this place was not crazy packed. We did have to wait a little bit for a table big enough to sit all of us but it was not a long wait. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. This is and will be my favorite go to Dim Sum spot from now on. There was some dishes we didn't order that I definitely want to try next time including the desserts. One more thing the curry octopus was to die for.
(4)
Bill M.
I was at Mayflower recently for dim sum on a Saturday just before noon. I was expecting a crazy line, but our group of 5 adults and 2 kids was seated right away in the middle of the restaurant. You order dim sum off a color menu checklist (not as fun or glamorous as ordering from the food pushcarts, oh well). Once the orders go in, the selections come out reasonably quickly. Eating here is perfect for catching up on the good old times with your friends, as the selections we had seemed fairly standard and did not distract from the chitchatting. Egg rolls, shiu mai balls, chicken feet (yup sucked on one), noodles, you bet.
(4)
Philip S.
This has been my new go to Dim Sum shop since the infamous Happy Chef closed. I know I am a gweilo, but I was a well recognized one at that by the Happy Chef staff. Is this as good as California, Toronto or Vancouver? Most likely not. Do they do a good job and provide excellent value? A resounding YES. The worn carpet and furniture along with the dirty lobster tanks in front will scare off the less daring. Let them run off to Mayflower's prettier counterparts Ming Hin and Cai in the newer plaza. And for those who venture forward, await plump and succulent delicacies of the Guangdong region. The Dim Sum servings are large, hot and tasty. The ambiance is warmer and more traditional than the very austere Happy Chef, but the prices are comparable. As I would tell the squeamish, if the food is hot, don't concern yourself with the decor. You are here to eat, drink tea and of course chat with your friends around large round tables. This review only pertains to afternoon Dim Sum. I have never been there for dinner. English and forks do not appear to be an issue for the staff. As is many times the case in Chinatown, service is on an on-call basis. You don't call, they don't come. Get it, got it, okay!
(5)
Agnes F.
Not bad for dim sum in chinatown, and reasonably priced but service is only ok i had to be my aggressive asian self (i didn't think i had it in me anymore.. but i guess its always there :) to get some service here the black pepper pork stomach was surprisingly good and i do like the chicken feet as well the quail egg dumpling however was not how i remembered in hk though this place get packed early on weekends so you might want to consider getting there early
(3)
Andy W.
At here for lunch on Sunday 9/30/12: Had the WORST dining experience in 16 years in Chinatown. The service is TERRIBLE: we waited 1 hr at the table, but still no food. Called over the hostess who seemed surprised and said it will be out shortly. But no, I was then told they ran out of some vegetable and asked if I wanted another - yeah after waiting one hour?! Should have said so sooner. I think they must have just straight up forgot our entire order. When one dish finally arrived the coconut shrimp was coated in what looked and tasted like mayo straight from the bottle. I had waited so long for food and to receive such a disaster I just had to speak with the manager to take back the shrimp and off our bill. He game out to speak w/ me. At this point, I was still waiting for the other dishes I had ordered an hour ago. He basically said they were busy and no he was not going to do anything about the shrimp because that's just how they made it there. He never apologies or try to make up for our long wait. In the end, he even got ANGRY w/ me for complaining and said I can box up and leave if I wanted too. Wow - some great customer service there. NOT. For refusing to help out a dissatisfied customer, you managed to turn away our business forever and the business of those who will now think twice about trying this place due to this review.
(1)
Frank N.
This place got decent dim sums and the wheat bun is unique in chinatown. Pricing is very reasonable.
(4)
Cai K.
Came here around 1:30 pm on a Sunday with 5 others. Good (Give me more!): - Steamed Pork Siu Mai (usually don't like it much, but it's pretty good this time) - Shrimp roll (small and crunchy) Ok (Is that it?): - Steamed shrimp dumpling - Stuffed bean curd with pork (did not have it, was told it was ok) - Shrimp crepe (had better, decent shrimp size) - Fried dough fritters crepe - Chinese broccoli (big pieces) - Deep fried taro puff (lurk warm, bland) - Beef chow fun (sort of oily) Bad (Would feed my garbage can if I didn't pay for it): - Chicken feet with black bean sauce (bland flavor-no taste!) - Spare Rib with black bean sauce (bland) - Black pepper beef chop (fatty and bland) - Shark's fin dumpling (dry, did not taste any shark fin, got punk'ed?) - Preserved egg with pork congee (pork sort of tough, bland) Came here after recommendations by two friends about 2 years ago. Did they have a change of owner/chefs? Some of the items are bland in taste. It was not crowded at this time. Food came out in a timely manner, though not was hot as it should be. Service was prompt. Washroom can be more clean and use a makeover. It came out to $12 (including tips) per person for 18 items. Not bad at all. Overall, it was a decent dimsum experience. Not sure if I would come back or not though.
(3)
Jean L.
This was the first dim sum I tried since moving to Chicago. I'm originally from the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, essentially an area extremely populated with cantonese-Americans. In other words, I have had exceptional dim sum. Had I reviewed this RIGHT after I had eaten here, I would have rated it a 3-star. However, I have been to dim sum twice in Chicago post-eating here, and Mayflower's food is superior compared to that of the other experiences. First and foremost, don't expect to be impressed by the decor. As other reviewers have remarked, the bathroom is no picture of perfection. However, that's the case with most "real" Chinese restaurants, so it doesn't phase me. On to the food. Pretty straight-forward dim sum, with okay selection. I still miss places with the little carts, but I'll settle. I was a little disappointed that they didn't serve their full menu until a little later in the morning; because dim sum is traditionally served for breakfast, I went early. I was hoping to order a few entrees to bring back home, but their entree chef had not yet arrived. boo. The prices. Okay, I know Chinatowns are always marked up with prices (blame it on being a tourist trap), but I'm used to dim sum being between $1.50-3 a plate. I'll survive. Plus this place is cheaper than Minghin. The staff. So the moment I got to Mayflower, I headed for the restroom. My non-Chinese looking friend sat at our table, and when I got back, he told me that they brought tea. Given that dimsum is basically tea time, I was a little disappointed at the lipton they sat at the table. The moment the staff realized I was Chinese, I was asked what kind of tea I wanted, a courtesy not extended to my friend. The whole time we were at the restaurant, I was the only one addressed - I attribute this to the language barrier.
(4)
Diana G.
Came here for dinner with family and friend a few days ago. We had 8 adults and 1 child. Crispy Chicken Fish fillets with chives Walnut Shrimp Sizzling Beef Some veggie I can't remember Fried Smelt Not sure if I left anything out I thought everything was ok, nothing wowed me. My mom and her friend really enjoyed the crispy chicken. After dinner they gave us the mon tau (buns) with sweet condensed milk. Then they even asked us if we wanted red bean soup. Prices are great! I believe it was under $80 for everything before tip and we all thought it was cheap. Will have to come try out the dim sum in the future!
(3)
Diana L.
The restaurant isn't awesome looking.. but their food is delicious! Nuff said, go try it!
(5)
Len L.
This place has great dim-sum, better than majority of the restaurant's nearby. They have picture menu's that gives you a good idea on how it should look before you order. I usually go to Mayflower for dinner. They have very fresh seafood that they serve, no matter how you like it prepared. I usually get the steamed oysters with black bean and garlic sauce. Delicious!. These oysters are large and not your usual small one gulp per shell oysters.
(4)
Chloe F.
This is my family's new favorite place for Chinese food besides carry-out at Golden Bulls. They offer meals for two, four, and etc, and the best part, you can select almost anything on the menu (except some seafoods) for 10 bucks a plate. I'm serious. It's simply incredible. A lot of the restaurants in Chinatown have "big potions" while they're stuffed with lots of veggies (lettuce on the bottom), but this is not the case here. Thumbs up for their salt and pepper fish fillets! After having dinner here several times, I decided to give try their dim-sum - average. The owner is a guy from either Kaiping or Taishan. He chatted with our family, and I can tell he's a very honest guy working hard to serve tasty food for its customers. It's different from the trendier restaurants like Joy Yee's, Ming, and Cai that are decreasing in their food quality as they get more popular. This place is visited by local Chinese people with hardly any non-Chinese guests.
(5)
Julie T.
We were so desperate to get dim sum and weren't willing to wait so long for seven treasures so we gave Mayflower a go and never again. They had very few selections in their dim sum menu and it wasn't even great. The Sui Mai were huge but weren't good like I was hoping it to be. The worst was the chicken feet. The skin were so tightly stuck onto the bone I wasn't given a chance to really enjoy it like other places where the skin is thicker, softer and soggy. The congee with the 50 year old egg wasn't as bad like I thought everything else was. The service was bad. There was barely any waiters in sight so we had to wait awhile to put in our order and even when we had to ask for silver wear or condiments. The price however was fairly cheap in my opinion but I guess you get what you pay for.
(1)
Joyce W.
If only I can give them 0 stars... We called in for dim sum at 1030. When my sister showed up to pick it up at 1100 (I was outside), they told her they gave the order to someone else and they paid for it. Then, instead of remaking the order, the lady ignored her for 10 minutes until I walked in the door to see what was going on. When I walked in was when they decided to see if we wanted to put in that order and it would take an extra 20 mins. I asked her if we get a discount since they gave away our order. She says no because IT WASN'T HER FAULT SHE GAVE AWAY OUR ORDER. WTF! NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN!
(1)
Trish B.
Food is decent. A bit pricey. But the hostess is soft spoke. And not very friendly. Must not like her job.
(3)
Mark P.
I will NOT eat here again and would give it a ZERO if I could. Three of us came in during a very quiet time of day (after lunch and before dinner) to order take-out. Staff was a bit rude, with most of them coming in before dinner service to eat and laugh in the back portion of the restaurant. Our food came out pretty quickly in about 10 minutes. We hopped back on the Red Line with food in hand, but discovered afterwards that 1 main dish was wrong. We got shrimp with broccoli instead of broccoli beef. Only one of us can eat shrimp, so it WAS a major deal. We couldn't take it back, and to make matters worse, several pieces of the shrimp weren't cleaned well because the poop vein was still there. NOT appetizing at all. I'll find another Chinese restaurant.
(1)
Diana J.
Good cheap Chinese food. Probably one of the cheapest dim sum places around here as their large dish is only $3.75. Never a wait on Sunday morning. Good congee.
(3)
Stephanie S.
The place was not very clean and smelly. We ordered 3 dishes and 1 dimsum menu. Only 1 of the dish was okay and our dimsum didn't even come out. They charged us for the dimsum but fortunately I checked the bill and they took that out. The service was not good and they demanded a certain amount of tip. If you didn't give enough, they will ask you to add more. Not recommended.
(1)
Cloey S.
Very good food. I've been here for dinner a few times and have never had a complaint. The service could be a little faster, but the food makes the wait worth it. They serve things in large portions and you et family style. We usually order orange chicken, general tso's chicken and fried rice. They give you hot tea with your meal and it is very delicious. I love this place.
(4)
K A.
It's all about what you order! Dim sum fresh and tasty! WHERE'S the meat and veggies in our beef chow fun and bbq pork/chashu in our chow mein?!!! Chow mein only had ONE PIECE Chinese broccoli!!! Service unattentive, but functional. Decor seemed newly remodeled, but PLEase do something about the DIRTY dingy women's bathroom!!!! Did they run out of money?? Pricing: seemed high for takeout orders of chow fun and mein. Very small portion with no meat or veggies!
(2)
Tony C.
Having lunch at Mayflower restaurant around 2 pm. today Walked in, not busy at all. The waitress just tossed the menus on the table. Ordered my food and finally brought the foods and tea. Service is inattentive, never asked me if I need my tea refill or need more napkins .They were too busy watching TV in the back of the dining room. Got my bill and left a small tip . The waitress called me as I was leaving. She said I didn't tip her enough. So I asked her, what good services did you provided me? She could not answer me. This is very unprofessional way to asked customers for more tip when the service is lousy.
(1)
Bill Y.
As a resident of California, we ventured into Chinatown looking for a Chinese dinner, not an Americanized or "Chinese-style" meal. I am delighted to say that we found it here. Though I am of Asian decent, I don't speak or read Chinese, but was happy to be asked if I'd like a Chinese menu. Good sign. As for decor, the restaurant was okay. Nothing fancy, but I'm not there to be enchanted by the ambiance. I wanted to eat. The restaurant was clean and serviceable. As for the food, we couldn't be happier. We ordered won ton soup (yeah, not the most Chinese of the soups on the menu) but they hit the spot. A small bowl contained 12 large won ton, along with some chopped vegetables and Chinese barbecue pork. Excellent for a cold night. We also ordered chicken with Chinese broccoli, and beef chow fun. Both dishes had very generous portions of meat and both were very large plates. We ordered steamed rice to go with it, and between the 3 of us we brought home enough to feed at least one more. This was an excellent meal at an excellent price. We couldn't be happier.
(5)
Angeline S.
Not recommended at all. This place is not as crowded as the other chinese restaurants in chinatown which is why we came here. But turned out this was a very bad one. The place has a disgusting smell which I think comes from the table. All food was very oily. In top of all, the service given was bad and I was kind enough to give them 10% tips on a lunch but when I was walking out from the restaurant, the server chased me and asked for a minimum of 15% tips in a rude way.
(1)
J L.
Completely fucked up our order and showed no sympathy for it. Instead of trying to fix their own mistake they decided to ignore the problem. They have successfully ruined mother's day for us. And no, the food is not that good.
(1)
Angela C.
Even for a Chinese place Mayflower had terrible service. Our group of four arrived at the restaurant at 10:30a on a Sunday and had to wait 15 minutes to get a table as the morning dim sum crowd trickled out. Except for the menu, we had to flag down the wait staff for things that should've been brought without having to ask, such as soy sauce, red vinegar, tea (they took the pot away to be refilled and never brought it back), a knife (the servers didn't cut our rice noodle rolls, which was unusual), and the check. The dim sum here was hit or miss. Good things included shu mai, fried shrimp/pork dumplings, BBQ pork buns, and tofu skin wraps. The rice noodle rolls (chang fen) were falling apart, and the sticky rice in lotus leaves and the fried taro-wrapped pork had a paltry amount of filling. All the dim sum dishes were $3 each, which came out to $9 pp including tax and tip. Although brunch at Mayflower was cheap, I hope I can find better dim sum places around Chinatown.
(3)
Lily Z.
I haven't been to Mayflower or had dim sum in a while. However, I can tell that the quality of the food has gone down. The boy and I shared shrimp dumpling, pork dumpling, shrimp rice crepe, beef tripe and shark fin dumpling. The only "good" ones were shrimp dumpling, shrimp crepe and maybe the pork dumpling. The beef tripe barely had any taste and it was dry. Shark fin didn't do anything for me. I would go to other places in the Chinatown area for dim sum.
(2)
Monique G.
Don't waste your time here. I ordered takeout, and it took almost 20 minutes for some dang vegetable chow mein. And when I checked the bag to make sure my order was correct, the noodles were dried noodles that resembled top ramen. Apparently you have to mix the noodles and veggies together and it'll soften the noodles. Not what I was looking for after a long day at work. Save your time, and money, and go somewhere else.
(1)
Shyam S.
I have to say that I ate here on a Saturday night over Labor Day weekend, so they were slammed, but it's hard for me to give them more than two stars. The service was piss poor - 45 minutes to get pot stickers and soup? - and our waiter was totally clueless. My father ordered a glass of white wine and this guy went to the kitchen and then returned to ask if my dad wanted cooking wine. What the hell? The food was okay, but not great. The most redeeming part of the meal was the incredible "small" hot and sour soup, which cost only $6.95 and served SIX people. The soup is the only reason I would return.
(2)
Dorotka K.
Quite a disappointment. Met up with some friends and, maybe my expectations were faulty, but the Mayflower looked like your typical Chinese restaurant in the suburbs. The live sea animals swimming in the aquarium in the foyer were just plain creepy. I dined here with a group of friends. The menu was small and lacked adequate descriptions. I was unhappy with my entree and expected something different by the name of the dish. The dinners came with nothing. Usually, an egg roll and soup are included, at least at the restaurants I frequent. The only thing that came with my food was plain rice. A veggie entree, with barely any veggies, and a small bowl of rice cost a disappointing $9.25. Drinks were very mediocre. My Long Island Ice Tea contained more ice than anything else. I thought that maybe I made the wrong choice, because my friends' food looked good. Sadly, everything lacked seasoning and was beyond bland. One person even asked that her dish be prepared very very spicy only to receive one that lacked spice altogether. And on a side note, I hope they keep their kitchen cleaner than their bathroom... Gross.
(2)
G. K.
REVIEW TYPE: LIMITED REVIEW Mayflower is a pretty decent place to stop for dim sum with reasonable prices and food worth eating. Of the dim sum places I've eaten at (and while I'm no expert on it I certainly have experience having eaten it nearly every other day for a year in the area (living close by and joining the girlfriend's family with regularity) and having enjoyed "authentic" dim sum during my travels in Hong Kong) Mayflower may not have been the best overall but certainly is one of my preferred haunts. The food is pretty good. Dim sum comes in standard portions and with tea (we usually get chrysanthemum, though they brought me Lipton once which I thought was rather funny though slightly rude) and crystalized sugar. They generally leave chopsticks at the table and don't ask if you need a fork if you're over fifteen, which is really quite nice (I've used chopsticks since I was six and can peel oranges with them), and the servers tend to treat you as competent. If you know how to order you'll be just fine. I'd recommend the salt and pepper softshell crab, which has been a little salty on occasion but is usually well balanced. The curried squid is the best I've had, though the portions for vegetable dishes are a little sparser than I'd like. This is family-style, so order a variety of dishes and experiment. The prices are lower than the nearby Ming Hin and tastes about the same, making it a better buy if you are looking for a meal, however the atmosphere is considerably less formal. If you don't like being packed in it may be best to visit later in the afternoon as the mornings and evenings get rather busy with families. Bonus points for the lack of moronic tourists in paddy-hats (it's Chicago, not Shandong). OVERALL: This place is worth a visit if you're looking for a good place to grab a bite.
(3)
Liz R.
Group of 8 people. The waitress kept ignoring us and they forgot two of the di shes ordered. One of the dishes we did receive was incorrect. Unlike most times, the tea was watered down or maybe it wasnt green tea. not sure. We left no tip and one of the waitresses had the nerve to smack around the dishes afterwards and pour tea on the table out of what I'm guessing was frustration. Bizarre experience. No one apologized for forgetting two orders. i used to love this place. A major problem is the fact that one of the two waitresses didn't understand us at all when we tried explaining the lack of good service.
(1)
Lefai K.
place was in the middle of chinatown on the main wentworth street. it was a hole in the wall and parking was difficult to find, much like most chinatown restaurants are. the food dishes were pretty delicious. BATHROOM REVIEW -- again, i made the mistake of using the bathroom BEFORE i ate. its kind of hard to avoid, since chinatown is an hour away and i'm trying to drink more water. i always say, if you want to keep your appetite, don't use the bathroom until after you eat, especially in chinatown. well, lemme tell ya, i wish i just pissed in my pants, or borrowed a diaper from my son. the bathrooms here was downright nasty. it was dimly lit, there was one working stall, and it smelled like stanky ol' piss. i was scared. i faced the tough decision of prolonging my stay in the bathroom in an attempt to wait for someone coming into the bathroom to push the door open for me, versus me catching an STD from touching the door knob. Sit or squat? hold yo shiet in and poop in the street.
(4)
Howard L.
Decent sim sum here, and in the 3.5 - 4 star range. Most dishes are in the $3 range, and they are ordered off a picture menu. I liked that they had English and Chinese cable TV news stations, and the dining room layout was relatively spacious and comfortable for dim sum. I added a star for these features.
(4)
Peter K.
Mayflower Restaurant really deserves 3.5 stars rather than 3. I gave it 3 stars because it doesn't quite deserve the 4. I prefer Mayflower Restaurant over the most popular dim sum restaurant Phoenix in Chicago's Chinatown. Here's why: Why Mayflower is better - Mayflower provides the same quality of food (which is above average for dim sum) vs. Phoenix for much less of the price. - There is almost never a wait at Mayflower Restaurant - The food is a lot faster here than Phoenix. Why Mayflower is worse - Mayflower is so-so at communicating in English. It can be difficult to order tea, get the check, etc. unless you speak Cantonese. - There is a lot less seating and it can be cramped at times. The dim sum here really is pretty good for the low price they offer it at. You can be comfortably full for about $8 (3-4 dishes per person). I'd recommend it. It just doesn't have the nice decor that Phoenix has.
(3)
Susie C.
Just like any Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, this place meets that expectation. I would say it is good food for decent price. It's less expensive than Minghin, Phoenix, and Cai. Food is tasty for a good price!
(3)
Chris W.
Helpings of food were ample for take out and the food was hot hot hot when we got it. Very fast delivery and reasonable prices. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food but the Empress Chicken was decent and my friends Sesame Chicken which I tried was REALLY good. I should have had that instead. The egg rolls were meh, but that's alright. Overall decent experience. I only give it three stars just because it was a three star experience. Not knocking it, not praising it. If we wanted to order cheap Chinese again, I'd get the Sesame Chicken as my entree.
(3)
An P.
Attention all Yelpers! Red alert! Red alert! Chicago's cheapest dim sum has been found! At first glance, cheap does not mean better, but in the world of Chinatown that axiom shatters without further inspection! Assembling the warriors of dim sum, we found Mountain View Chef under utter renovation and I had backup ready and Mayflower more than fit the bill. A block down from the plaza into old Chinatown, Mayflower was spacious and was able to take our party of seven without a hitch. Giant glasses of water descended, an absolute rarity in Chinese dim sum hot spots, while hot chili sauce and soy sauce was ready to go. Me and Yanyao N. started checking off all of the necessary eats to feed the dim sum army. I doubled back when I looked more carefully at the menu: the most expensive dish on the menu was a paltry $3.30 for a large plate of dim sum! Steaming bamboo bowls of shumai descended upon the table, shrimp fun rolls, shrimp dumplings, and Chinese broccoli rained down without a snag. Biting in was pure delight as I used my chopstick to quickly slice shumai in half and sunk my teeth into formidable dim sum! Passing the sniff test (no beef shumai, PLEASE!), I then moved over to the shrimp fun rolls and found the shrimp deveined and bathing in sweet, sweet soy sauce. Fried taro was crunchy and the inside mushiness was a yumfest to the nth degree. Shrimp toast rocked our boat while the pork spare ribs came out tender melting my heart. Crunchy shrimp rolls filled our plates and the experience was heightening to seventh heaven with a smooth descension back down to cloud nine. Curry octopus?! Let me dance my way back to the plaza barefoot with my socks knocked off! Y-U-M! When the bill arrived and I quickly calculated the total damage including 25% tip to be $12 a head, I wanted to break out in fist pumps and Andrew Dice Clayian-levels of obscenities and profanities to express my adulation. The joy of dim sum has been found and Yelp dim sum pilgrims, its name is Mayflower!
(4)
Jane L.
My sister and I went here by chance; we were looking for some Chinese food and stopped into a couple places before this one. Mayflower is popular, it had a short wait compared to some half empty places we passed, and good selection. We ordered some delicious vegetarian food. We had a nice tofu and veggie dish off the main menu, and some small dishes off the picture menu. The custard bun was amazing and the sweet potato cakes were pretty good, but we made a mistake in ordering the vegetable "crepes." It's more of an Asian haggis. We left with enough leftover for two more meals and it only cost us about $20 plus tip. Yay!
(4)
Angela F.
I grew up on Chinatown food, esp. the dim-sum, so I know what I'm talking about. I've also went here for dinner as recommended by friends, but I wouldn't recommend it; the food was lacking, but not too bad. They offer the standard dim-sum fare, but the one thing you HAVE to try is their taro cake. If you're looking at who started the shredded taro-cake trend, look no further. We used to go to the Mayflower JUST for their taro cake dish, but now that other places have it + the food is sometimes a hit-and-miss, we've moved onto other places.
(4)
Nektaria R.
After all the rave reviews from An, Raul and other awesome yelpers, I kept thinking how I missed Mayflower last month and how I'm going to miss dim sum this month. I can't go more than 2 months without it. I thought, how can I go wrong by going here. I can. It's by going without an Asian friend in tow. First off, I placed over an hour on the meter, dim sum is typically fast so... should be enough time. This place wasn't so fast though. We got there around 2:40 which is the end of dim sum and I asked them if they were still serving (this after waiting over 10 minutes to be acknowledged, even thought there were 4 people walking around in the dining area) one young lady said yes and showed us to a table. Tea was brought out immediately which was a plus but then we waited another 10+ minutes for them to take our order even though the sheet was completely filled out! 15 -20 minutes later, all the food came out at once. Mind you, we were starving and now it's about 40 minutes that we're here. Half the food was cold. I was so disappointed but were so hungry that we just started scarfing stuff down. We were adventurous and tried the quail egg and pork siu mai (not so great - very eggy, e-yu! The deep fried shrimp ball, ah, where's the shrimp? The shrimp crepe was typical as was the taro root cake although both were cold and very gelatinous. Whatever, I'll eat cold dim sum at home too but going out, I expect things to be at the correct serving temperature. That's what we get for showing up late! Darn the stupid bathroom break on the Eisenhower. The plus: taro root puff was just wonderful (even when cold!). The shrimp rolls were decent and the rice crepe with crispy skin was very unique. I'm trying to have at least one new thing each time I go for dim sum so we had the fried lotus root cake which was different and OK. As far as the cost, it was decent, $32 for 2 with a 25% tip. Not sure why I tipped so much if they really didn't even care that we were there. Darn these server ethics of mine! It's not like they were even busy! The rush was already gone. Bottom line, I will not be going back unless I'm with An or Cindy since two Caucasians won't get much service. Not even a have a nice day.
(2)
Rosanna L.
DIM SUM = Fresh! Delicious! and a Great Price! The food here is made to order so the wait is a bit longer than places that serves dim sum on those carts, but I defintiely prefer it that way because it means FRESH and HOT shu mai, shrimp dumplings, shrimp crepes, and everythinggggg! *drools* I tried their congee for the first time and is pretty good, it has a good flavor to it. My favorite besides the shu mai is their chicken sticky rice! Flavorful, sticky, and delicious! Definitely try this the next time you're there! The service is decent, the waitresses aren't as tentative, but they'll bring what is asked in a timely manner as long as you can get their attention. Also for those first timers their menu has pictures on them! So you can see what you are ordering! Can't wait to go back for dim sum again!
(4)
Jennie T.
They have delicious dim sum here. Don't get the seafood dumplings or even the shrimp rice noodle roll... The seafood dumplings are a bit dry and the rice noodle rolls were thicker than I expected. Everything else should be a-ok though. I love their shrimp dumplings and chicken feet. I love that they have four different options. The unfortunate thing is that Tiff was a little skeptical about trying the other options. Their bean sprouts and green onions noodles were also good. As one of our companions said, "I know it sound ridiculous, but it's good!" Yeah. I actually make these noodles for myself at home sometimes. Oh, and I like that they have actual paper tablecloths as opposed to white trash bags (see my other dim sum reviews). It's more classy, I think.
(4)
Jacob Y.
AWESOME freshly cooked dim sum, better than a lot of the larger restaurants. And the portions are great. Excellent for big groups. Just be cautious...don't over order...the last few times we had dim sum leftover for days! And get there early on the weekends...it's crowded!
(4)
Joanne C.
Came here last night for an early Thanksgiving family dinner. It was very good and Mayflower is on my small list of Chinatown places I will go back to and/or recommend to people. Here is what we had: fresh scallops topped with garlic and vermicelli, Chinese chives stir-fried with pork and tofu, steamed fish, lamb casserole, and some kind of shrimp cake that I don't know the name of cuz my mom ordered it in Chinese. I had everything but the shrimp since I'm allergic but what I ate was very good. Especially the fresh scallops. And then at the end there was a plate of steamed mantou ( Chinese buns) with condensed milk for dipping. YUM. Love those things. My sister's bf comes here for late night snacking and he says it's pretty good so I will be back to try that too.
(4)
Natalie S.
I consider myself a dim sum pro... and this place is at the top of my list. I knew I would like it when my Chinese grandmother recommended it... and she rarely recommends places. I am tired of going to places with carts. The food ends up sitting on there for hours before it arrives at your table... the dumplings falling apart from being on a steamer for so long. Not at Mayflower! You order off a picture menu and it comes straight out of the steamer/fryer to your table. You end up with perfectly cooked food that is still hot! Everything there is good. The shu mai are delicious, the jook (congee) is hot... I never feel like I am eating something that has been warmed in the microwave... which is what I get from a lot of dim sum places. There will be a wait if you go at peak times. We try to go for dim sum around 11 before the big rush. It also seems to slow down around 1:00. The wait is well worth it though!
(4)
Ellen M.
Maybe there's a big difference between brunch and dinner? I don't know, but I went for dim sum brunch last weekend, and I had some tasty dishes. I might have avoided the place if I'd only checked yelp before dining. Like I said, MANY tasty dishes. Too many, in fact, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few: Shark's fin dumplings *Deep fried shrimp ball *XO sauce with turnip cakes Beef chow fun Steamed barbecue pork buns Steamed shrimp dumplings Chinese broccoli *Shrimp rolls *Sesame rolls Chicken sticky rice in lotus leaves Congee - can't remember which one... Sweets: *Steamed custard rolls Mango pudding Keep in mind there were six of us, but we still took plenty home when the foodfest was over. $65. We could have gotten away with much less. *Super favorites. Anyway, what I'm saying is, it's a terrific place for dim sum. I appreciated that the menu included photos, and although I usually like the cart, this system was straightforward. Two children were along, including one terribly finicky eater, and they both ate quite well. Service was efficient but not at all rude. Dining room's not much to look at, but the food is.
(4)
Pavithra M.
OMG! I didn't think you could get that much food for only $10 per head, which included a dish of "kanji" for the kids. Every single dish on the table was delicious. You could taste the freshness of every ingredient in every bite. I could not possibly name all the stuff we ordered, but a few that stood out for me were the shrimp rolls, shrimp crepe, fried dough dumplings and a fried pork dumpling. I am sure the fried dough dumpling has a perfectly good name, which I would have asked for, if I had stopped eating long enough to think. Fantastic food, seriously underpriced. I am dying to go back after just one day!
(5)
Nancy F.
No no no - do not come here for dim sum. I've tried Mayflower many times over the past year or so for dim sum. At first, it was nice to try out someplace new for dim sum but why does my family want to keep coming back? After trying it once more after taking a hiatus from it, I clearly indicated to my mom that we will not come back again! The dim sum is not good! This has to be the worst spare ribs I've ever eaten - I ate one piece and couldn't eat anymore. Chicken feet were ok, but just because everything else is bad. The crepe/funn roll comes out looking pretty (if you order shrimp. The beef looks too pinkish for my taste - why is beef pink?) but thats about it. I cut a quarter of a fried taro cake to try and took a small nibble before I had to put it down: ugh, no thanks. When I saw my mom trying to cut a piece of taro cake for herself, I quickly (like a ninja) chopsticked my taro cake into her plate. "Here mom! Just have my piece" with an innocent smile. BF tried his usual fried dim sum and even he said it was disgusting and threw out the leftovers. This is getting an extra star because we ordered this sticky fried rice and that was actually pretty darn good. However, my mom also told me to keep it in perspective - maybe it tasted so good because it was the first thing that came out and still hot and everything after was just terrible. But I think the rice was actually good. "Sadly", I may never know because i don't think I'll be back.. PS Do not come here for dim sum just because they validate parking... having bad dim sum but easy parking is not worth it (at least to me....)!
(2)
Suzy C.
Dim sum dim sum dim sum galore! Move over, overpriced Phoenix you. This is the new place for dim sum folks. Wow. everything is delicious, the shu mais are huge, and everything comes to your table hot and freshly made. You thought you already knew Chicago dim sum? Well if you haven't tried dim sum at Mayflower, you know nothing. Now, they don't do the cart that walks around each table where you pick out the food you want. White folks- you will get over it, you do not need this gimmick to feel like you're getting some real China experience. Besides, with those carts, things come to you cold and who needs that. They give you a menu with pictures and you pick out what you want. It's fun, it's efficient, and food is awesome. Try it! Only minus is they don't give you enough hot sauce, so be prepared to ask for it constantly!
(4)
Jimmy W.
I was expecting more from this restaurant. Maybe I should have went for Dim Sum and not dinner. When I entered the restaurant, the atmosphere was really friendly and felt like eating at home in a Cantonese restaurant. It started out at a 5 star rating and then slowly went down. I came here for my first dinner in Illinois in Chicago Chinatown. I ordered sweet and sour chicken, and shrimp chop suey. It came with egg roll, crab Rangoon, egg drop soup, and hot and sour soup. I waited a long time for my appetizers, which were the soups and the egg roll and Rangoon. Then it finally came. I was starving. The hot and sour soup and egg drop soup was worth mentioning. I've tasted a lot of soups around in New York and a lot of fast food Chinese restaurants water down the soups. Each of the soup was thick in taste and included lots of condiments. The egg roll and Rangoon was just average. After being served the soup, I waited an extra 15 minutes before being served the main course. Our first main course was the sweet and sour chicken. The waiter said he was going to come back quickly with the rice so I can have something to eat with the chicken. I waited for 8 minutes and I had to ask another waitress to get me the rice. Then I waited another 10 minutes for my chicken chop suey?! They got the order wrong, I ordered shrimp chop suey! This restaurant needs to adjust their cooking method. As I was waiting for my food, I realized that they cook all the food for a specific table and make the rest of the tables wait. One of the tables beside mine was being served constantly, about every 5 minutes with new dishes like Cantonese Lobster, Bak Choy, and steamed fish. Once there order was done, then they moved on to the next table. They need to cook a dish from each table so that every customer will be satisfied and equally the same time. The soup gave it one extra star.
(2)
David M.
There are few places where Dim Sum is actually good. The only place in Dallas is oily and horrible. I went to Mayflower with my friend and it was everything I hoped. The only other place where I've had equally appealing Dim Sum was New York. I would say this place even ranks with the best of L.A. I highly recommend it! I was stuffed and very satisfied. The service was good and overall experience was also, but who cares...THEY HAVE GOOD DIM SUM!!!! I would have given it 5 even if the service was horrible.
(5)
Annie L.
Terrible service-the waitresses were not friendly. My family and I went here for dinner one evening, and we got 8 dishes. The steamed fish was spoiled and inedible. We complained and they said that they could not do anything about it, so we had to pay $22.50 for something we could not eat.
(1)
Kristina M.
I thought the dim sum was absolutely delicious and a great value! The shu mai were delicious and the fried rice was great. I will definitely be back next time I'm in Chicago. Basically everything was delicious. Get the steamed BBQ pork buns!
(4)
Megan L.
Some friends and I went to the Chinatown festival today, and when we realized that the few booths serving food were few and far between (and mobbed) we decided to stop into Mayflower for the very well thought out reason of 'we were in front of it.' Hey, we were starving, what do you want? The first impression is a small entryway with a fish tank in it, full of filthy, murky water, and giant fish, one of which was dead at the bottom of the tank. Um... guys, seriously, clean that tank or move it someplace where your customers won't see it. Anyway, nasty fish tank aside, we decided to stay, because at that point we'd been able to pull up the Yelp reviews on the phone and 3.5 stars sounded ok. The food was good - pretty standard Chinese food for your favorites (egg rolls, crab rangoon, potstickers, fried rice, general tso's chicken), but nothing spectacular. They definitely had a number of more authentic sounding Chinese dishes, but I'm an Irish-Italian girl, so I could certainly be wrong. I have to admit that the service was borderline awful, but I'm going to forgive them because we were there mid-afternoon and there was a wait (I guess we weren't the only ones who thought that opting for a restaurant instead of festival food was a good idea). I'd definitely give them another try.
(3)
MeLissa H.
Typical Chinese dim sum fare. Not the greatest. I wouldn't come again unless someone mandated it.
(3)
Cindy D.
Went here for dim sum and could accomodate 12 people within 30 minutes on an Easter Sunday. Great variation and large portions.. ended up being $14/pp.
(4)
Betty S.
Four stars for the dim sum. I took a dim sum snob here (who is asian and used to SF Chinatown), and he really liked it. - the ordering is different since there aren't the usual carts, but the picture menu is good for people unfamiliar with dim sum (and those willing to wait for the food) - there weren't as many sauces on the table as usual, but you can ask for them - service was pretty standard for a Chinese restaurant, as someone else noted Those were his observations...mine are that I had some good food and they have alcohol. I'd go again.
(4)
Desiree Anne A.
This was my first time coming in Mayflower. I heard a lot about this place (good/bad/and eh) but the only reason we came here was because of some of the awesome reviews. I like the fact that the table covers are paper rather than bags. I spilled my soy sauce bottle and it still didn't seep through (ma bad) There are no carts and the menu is a huge sheet with pictures of each order. AWESOME, now I know how its suppose to look. Great dishes and some of the first time having them were: curry octopus, shark fin dumplings (nice and juicy inside), & deep fried shrimp ball (huge!) I'd like to try there shredded taro cake, that's something new I haven't seen before. Overall, great experience at Mayflower. Much fancier than I imagined. At little loud in the morning, but very spacious table for two. I was there on week day so service was fast and fresh! ;) enjoy!
(4)
Jackie S.
after wandering around chinatown on freezing christmas day for about half an hour, my sister and i stopped in here for our traditional meal, mostly because their menu had vegetarian options we could easily find. it was full, which was a good sign, and full of actual asian families, which was a better sign. it was my first time ordering through the check-the-box-under-the-picture system. we ordered some custard baos, sesame buns, sweet potato cakes, and a great tofu and vegetables entree. yum. while we made a lot of good choices, i made one terrible mistake. veggie crepes. i'm sure this is an acquired taste and other people find it completely normal, but they were slimy. they were chewy. they were white and slimy and chewy. don't order veggie crepes unless you are expecting this. everything came to about $20, which was awesome. i don't eat in chinatown very often (unless i'm picking something up from wan shi da... mmm), but i'd definitely go back to mayflower.
(3)
Dantee A.
I finally popped my dim-sum cherry (I was holding out for way too long) and I was not disappointed with Mayflower. We were referred by one of the workers at the gift shop about 2 stores down from Mayflower. She said that its her favorite place to eat when she's on break. She lived up to her promise. My friend and I ordered the Steamed BBQ Pork Buns, Fried Shrimp Balls, Quail Egg & Pork Shumai, Shrimp Dumplings, and a "Deep Fried Delicious Dumpling" - which was mouthwatering and delicious. The final bill - a little over $15! Now, the food here filled us up with a enough room for dessert. My friend and I are known to eat a lot and we were surprised with the final outcome. I would definetly go back and try their lunch specials (they have a good selection at $4.95 a plate). Friendly service - cheap - amazing dim sum. I do not regret losing it to Mayflower.
(4)
Victor L.
This is one of the joys of my life since coming to Chicago. The food is good and the price is cheap. You can easily spend $12 per person and still have enough for a take out box for a midnight snack. You order the food from a picture menu (genius for those who don't know the names of all the dishes) and then the food comes out in no time. Although I am a fan of traditional dim sum with the carts of food coming to you...honestly, why not have your food hot and fresh out the kitchen. As well, you don't get dissappointed and impatient waiting for your favorite dish to finally cart around.
(4)
L V.
So typical chinatown service. Can't say too much about that. I come to expect it. The people were just normal. Not particularly rude or super nice. Just to business. It certainly helps my bf speaks cantonese. We always get the family meal dinners in chinatown which are always a good deal...but works a lot better when you can speak chinese to order and figure out whats included. We got a meal with ginger chicken, salted fried shrimp, and seafood stirfry over chinese brocoli. The stir fry was a little bland, but everything else was very good. We also got a traditional broth soup to start and a tapioca red bean desert. As typical of most family meals served at all the restaurants. Having eaten at many of the restaurants in chinatown, I was overall very pleased and would go back.
(4)
Carmen M.
My very big family including 6 uncles and aunts, my cousins, my cousin's spouses, my cousin's children, and many other family members came here to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. Yes I do have quite an extensive family and finding someplace to fit all of us can be quite hard. We decided to try out Mayflower on the recommendation of my aunt who works here. We ordered from a set menu and here is the list of dishes we had. 1. Seafood Soup 2. Seafood Medley 3. Salty Whole Chicken 4. Beef with Mushroom 5. Lobster 6. Melon stuffed with Scallop 7. Crab Meat Balls 8. Whole Steamed Fish 9. Fried Rice 10. Noodles - Yee Mein All in all the food was pretty light on flavor, not too salty and definitely not drowed in MSG. My favorite was the beef with mushroom which was served with a sweet sauce. The beef was soft and chewy. My favorite dish of the night. My sister complained that everything lacked flavor, but I thought it was nice to have something light once in a while. True that it lacked the salt and MSG that other restaurants add in their dishes, but isn't that a good thing? The food still had flavor, but not the oil, salt, MSG drenched flavor. Minimalist tasting foods bringing out the true flavor of the ingredients. Though the foods were minimalist, their plating was extravagant. They used a variety of raw vegetables and fruits to garnish the plates. The presentation of the foods definitely made it much more enjoyable. The combination of minimalist foods and extravagant presentation now that is pretty hard to come by in Chinatown. Though the food was not the best tasting Chinese food I ever had their service was exceptional. The manager of the restaurant served us and was very active in his restaurant. He waitered tables and chatted with his customers. The waiters were also very quick and efficient. We asked for napkins and in under 1 minute the waiter came back with our napkins. The waitering service was quick and friendly exactly what we needed. One complaint was the foods arrived terribly late. One dish would come out followed by another in 5 minutes, but then we were left waiting for 15 minutes for the next dish to come. Perhaps it was because they were extremely busy that day (there were also other groups celebrating birthdays and other such events). All in all this is a good restaurant to have a light authentic Chinese meal.
(4)
Shirley A.
Hands down the best dim sum in Chinatown. The price for the quality and quantity you get in incredible. I've eaten in every restaurant in Chinatown for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is my favorite. The only bad thing about this restaurant is the service, but as a Chinese I know the service in Chinatown restaurants aren't always the best. Tip: Don't be shy to flag down the servers for anything. That's just how Chinese restaurants work; they only come when you ask for them.
(4)
Varsha L.
We were walking around Chinatown and there are so many restaurants to pick from, but we ended up picking Mayflower, uh mistake and I really hate to give this place a bad review but it was an awful experience! We got in, no one came by for any drink orders, finally after like 10 min the waitress came by for our food order and still no water... ok so we ordered the crab rangoons and this scallop, shrimp and vegetable dish, they did bring out hot tea but no water until we asked and when asked for water when the meal came it was like I was asking for the waitresses right arm... then I asked for an extra plate which was like asking for her left arm... Crab rangoon was okay, I have had better, then comes our meal, like I said we had the scallop SHRIMP and vegetables-an item the menu and we did not alter it in anyway except to make it spicy, we did not see any shrimp in the dish at all!!!!!! We told the waitress and she is like oh should I bring some out? UH YEAH you should or actually you should have the cook make us a new batch!!!!!! So we told yeah she should bring out the shrimp... This dish is basically was oil and crush pepper flakes-something I could have made on my own... then my husband sees our waitress clipping her nails in the back! NICE! The service here is terrible, food was only okay, no ambience, the only positive was that the vegetables were fresh and the packaged fortune cookie was good....
(1)
kiley w.
I went here once with family. I did not find anything too special. But I did enjoy the decor, it reminded me of certain restaurants in Hong Kong. Again, the food was just okay. But the dessert was something different. It was steamed bread and it came with a dish of sweet condensed milk where you dip the bread in. This is the only place in Chinatown that serves this as a dessert. I might give the place another try, maybe I just went on a bad day. They also serve dimsum here.
(3)
Anna G.
I'm giving this 3 stars because I was told to. But it works. Um...it's kind of hard to think of anything to say about it, plus I decided to be a genius and get curry chicken which never really tastes any different from one place to another no matter what. Probably better than the closest greasey chinese takeout in your neighborhood, but not the best in China town...
(3)
Toshi B.
For what it is, this is a pretty good place. Don't expect super fine dining but the ambience is pretty decent for a Chinese restaurant, clean, and service is very good. They won't chat you up but the servers are certainly friendly. I love going for dim sum where the wait is not as long as Phoenix. My Chinese friends from LA and HK gave thumbs up re: the food. Dinner is good too...not as good as dim sum but decent nonetheless.
(4)
Lauren G.
Nothing to write home about or, rather, nothing to write an in-depth yelp review about.
(2)
Natalie S.
I consider myself a dim sum pro... and this place is at the top of my list. I knew I would like it when my Chinese grandmother recommended it... and she rarely recommends places. I am tired of going to places with carts. The food ends up sitting on there for hours before it arrives at your table... the dumplings falling apart from being on a steamer for so long. Not at Mayflower! You order off a picture menu and it comes straight out of the steamer/fryer to your table. You end up with perfectly cooked food that is still hot! Everything there is good. The shu mai are delicious, the jook (congee) is hot... I never feel like I am eating something that has been warmed in the microwave... which is what I get from a lot of dim sum places. There will be a wait if you go at peak times. We try to go for dim sum around 11 before the big rush. It also seems to slow down around 1:00. The wait is well worth it though!
(4)
Ellen M.
Maybe there's a big difference between brunch and dinner? I don't know, but I went for dim sum brunch last weekend, and I had some tasty dishes. I might have avoided the place if I'd only checked yelp before dining. Like I said, MANY tasty dishes. Too many, in fact, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few: Shark's fin dumplings *Deep fried shrimp ball *XO sauce with turnip cakes Beef chow fun Steamed barbecue pork buns Steamed shrimp dumplings Chinese broccoli *Shrimp rolls *Sesame rolls Chicken sticky rice in lotus leaves Congee - can't remember which one... Sweets: *Steamed custard rolls Mango pudding Keep in mind there were six of us, but we still took plenty home when the foodfest was over. $65. We could have gotten away with much less. *Super favorites. Anyway, what I'm saying is, it's a terrific place for dim sum. I appreciated that the menu included photos, and although I usually like the cart, this system was straightforward. Two children were along, including one terribly finicky eater, and they both ate quite well. Service was efficient but not at all rude. Dining room's not much to look at, but the food is.
(4)
Frank N.
This place got decent dim sums and the wheat bun is unique in chinatown. Pricing is very reasonable.
(4)
Cai K.
Came here around 1:30 pm on a Sunday with 5 others. Good (Give me more!): - Steamed Pork Siu Mai (usually don't like it much, but it's pretty good this time) - Shrimp roll (small and crunchy) Ok (Is that it?): - Steamed shrimp dumpling - Stuffed bean curd with pork (did not have it, was told it was ok) - Shrimp crepe (had better, decent shrimp size) - Fried dough fritters crepe - Chinese broccoli (big pieces) - Deep fried taro puff (lurk warm, bland) - Beef chow fun (sort of oily) Bad (Would feed my garbage can if I didn't pay for it): - Chicken feet with black bean sauce (bland flavor-no taste!) - Spare Rib with black bean sauce (bland) - Black pepper beef chop (fatty and bland) - Shark's fin dumpling (dry, did not taste any shark fin, got punk'ed?) - Preserved egg with pork congee (pork sort of tough, bland) Came here after recommendations by two friends about 2 years ago. Did they have a change of owner/chefs? Some of the items are bland in taste. It was not crowded at this time. Food came out in a timely manner, though not was hot as it should be. Service was prompt. Washroom can be more clean and use a makeover. It came out to $12 (including tips) per person for 18 items. Not bad at all. Overall, it was a decent dimsum experience. Not sure if I would come back or not though.
(3)
Raul B.
Out of all the Dim Sum places I have been to in the past half year or so this one stands out. Not only was the food delicious but cheap. The group of seven that I was with couldn't believe how cheap our bill came out even after ordering so much food. The highlights for me were the dumplings and ribs. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and unlike the other Dim Sum places this place was not crazy packed. We did have to wait a little bit for a table big enough to sit all of us but it was not a long wait. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. This is and will be my favorite go to Dim Sum spot from now on. There was some dishes we didn't order that I definitely want to try next time including the desserts. One more thing the curry octopus was to die for.
(4)
Bill M.
I was at Mayflower recently for dim sum on a Saturday just before noon. I was expecting a crazy line, but our group of 5 adults and 2 kids was seated right away in the middle of the restaurant. You order dim sum off a color menu checklist (not as fun or glamorous as ordering from the food pushcarts, oh well). Once the orders go in, the selections come out reasonably quickly. Eating here is perfect for catching up on the good old times with your friends, as the selections we had seemed fairly standard and did not distract from the chitchatting. Egg rolls, shiu mai balls, chicken feet (yup sucked on one), noodles, you bet.
(4)
kiley w.
I went here once with family. I did not find anything too special. But I did enjoy the decor, it reminded me of certain restaurants in Hong Kong. Again, the food was just okay. But the dessert was something different. It was steamed bread and it came with a dish of sweet condensed milk where you dip the bread in. This is the only place in Chinatown that serves this as a dessert. I might give the place another try, maybe I just went on a bad day. They also serve dimsum here.
(3)
Carmen M.
My very big family including 6 uncles and aunts, my cousins, my cousin's spouses, my cousin's children, and many other family members came here to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. Yes I do have quite an extensive family and finding someplace to fit all of us can be quite hard. We decided to try out Mayflower on the recommendation of my aunt who works here. We ordered from a set menu and here is the list of dishes we had. 1. Seafood Soup 2. Seafood Medley 3. Salty Whole Chicken 4. Beef with Mushroom 5. Lobster 6. Melon stuffed with Scallop 7. Crab Meat Balls 8. Whole Steamed Fish 9. Fried Rice 10. Noodles - Yee Mein All in all the food was pretty light on flavor, not too salty and definitely not drowed in MSG. My favorite was the beef with mushroom which was served with a sweet sauce. The beef was soft and chewy. My favorite dish of the night. My sister complained that everything lacked flavor, but I thought it was nice to have something light once in a while. True that it lacked the salt and MSG that other restaurants add in their dishes, but isn't that a good thing? The food still had flavor, but not the oil, salt, MSG drenched flavor. Minimalist tasting foods bringing out the true flavor of the ingredients. Though the foods were minimalist, their plating was extravagant. They used a variety of raw vegetables and fruits to garnish the plates. The presentation of the foods definitely made it much more enjoyable. The combination of minimalist foods and extravagant presentation now that is pretty hard to come by in Chinatown. Though the food was not the best tasting Chinese food I ever had their service was exceptional. The manager of the restaurant served us and was very active in his restaurant. He waitered tables and chatted with his customers. The waiters were also very quick and efficient. We asked for napkins and in under 1 minute the waiter came back with our napkins. The waitering service was quick and friendly exactly what we needed. One complaint was the foods arrived terribly late. One dish would come out followed by another in 5 minutes, but then we were left waiting for 15 minutes for the next dish to come. Perhaps it was because they were extremely busy that day (there were also other groups celebrating birthdays and other such events). All in all this is a good restaurant to have a light authentic Chinese meal.
(4)
Shirley A.
Hands down the best dim sum in Chinatown. The price for the quality and quantity you get in incredible. I've eaten in every restaurant in Chinatown for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is my favorite. The only bad thing about this restaurant is the service, but as a Chinese I know the service in Chinatown restaurants aren't always the best. Tip: Don't be shy to flag down the servers for anything. That's just how Chinese restaurants work; they only come when you ask for them.
(4)
G. K.
REVIEW TYPE: LIMITED REVIEW Mayflower is a pretty decent place to stop for dim sum with reasonable prices and food worth eating. Of the dim sum places I've eaten at (and while I'm no expert on it I certainly have experience having eaten it nearly every other day for a year in the area (living close by and joining the girlfriend's family with regularity) and having enjoyed "authentic" dim sum during my travels in Hong Kong) Mayflower may not have been the best overall but certainly is one of my preferred haunts. The food is pretty good. Dim sum comes in standard portions and with tea (we usually get chrysanthemum, though they brought me Lipton once which I thought was rather funny though slightly rude) and crystalized sugar. They generally leave chopsticks at the table and don't ask if you need a fork if you're over fifteen, which is really quite nice (I've used chopsticks since I was six and can peel oranges with them), and the servers tend to treat you as competent. If you know how to order you'll be just fine. I'd recommend the salt and pepper softshell crab, which has been a little salty on occasion but is usually well balanced. The curried squid is the best I've had, though the portions for vegetable dishes are a little sparser than I'd like. This is family-style, so order a variety of dishes and experiment. The prices are lower than the nearby Ming Hin and tastes about the same, making it a better buy if you are looking for a meal, however the atmosphere is considerably less formal. If you don't like being packed in it may be best to visit later in the afternoon as the mornings and evenings get rather busy with families. Bonus points for the lack of moronic tourists in paddy-hats (it's Chicago, not Shandong). OVERALL: This place is worth a visit if you're looking for a good place to grab a bite.
(3)
Liz R.
Group of 8 people. The waitress kept ignoring us and they forgot two of the di shes ordered. One of the dishes we did receive was incorrect. Unlike most times, the tea was watered down or maybe it wasnt green tea. not sure. We left no tip and one of the waitresses had the nerve to smack around the dishes afterwards and pour tea on the table out of what I'm guessing was frustration. Bizarre experience. No one apologized for forgetting two orders. i used to love this place. A major problem is the fact that one of the two waitresses didn't understand us at all when we tried explaining the lack of good service.
(1)
Lefai K.
place was in the middle of chinatown on the main wentworth street. it was a hole in the wall and parking was difficult to find, much like most chinatown restaurants are. the food dishes were pretty delicious. BATHROOM REVIEW -- again, i made the mistake of using the bathroom BEFORE i ate. its kind of hard to avoid, since chinatown is an hour away and i'm trying to drink more water. i always say, if you want to keep your appetite, don't use the bathroom until after you eat, especially in chinatown. well, lemme tell ya, i wish i just pissed in my pants, or borrowed a diaper from my son. the bathrooms here was downright nasty. it was dimly lit, there was one working stall, and it smelled like stanky ol' piss. i was scared. i faced the tough decision of prolonging my stay in the bathroom in an attempt to wait for someone coming into the bathroom to push the door open for me, versus me catching an STD from touching the door knob. Sit or squat? hold yo shiet in and poop in the street.
(4)
Howard L.
Decent sim sum here, and in the 3.5 - 4 star range. Most dishes are in the $3 range, and they are ordered off a picture menu. I liked that they had English and Chinese cable TV news stations, and the dining room layout was relatively spacious and comfortable for dim sum. I added a star for these features.
(4)
Peter K.
Mayflower Restaurant really deserves 3.5 stars rather than 3. I gave it 3 stars because it doesn't quite deserve the 4. I prefer Mayflower Restaurant over the most popular dim sum restaurant Phoenix in Chicago's Chinatown. Here's why: Why Mayflower is better - Mayflower provides the same quality of food (which is above average for dim sum) vs. Phoenix for much less of the price. - There is almost never a wait at Mayflower Restaurant - The food is a lot faster here than Phoenix. Why Mayflower is worse - Mayflower is so-so at communicating in English. It can be difficult to order tea, get the check, etc. unless you speak Cantonese. - There is a lot less seating and it can be cramped at times. The dim sum here really is pretty good for the low price they offer it at. You can be comfortably full for about $8 (3-4 dishes per person). I'd recommend it. It just doesn't have the nice decor that Phoenix has.
(3)
Susie C.
Just like any Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, this place meets that expectation. I would say it is good food for decent price. It's less expensive than Minghin, Phoenix, and Cai. Food is tasty for a good price!
(3)
Chris W.
Helpings of food were ample for take out and the food was hot hot hot when we got it. Very fast delivery and reasonable prices. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food but the Empress Chicken was decent and my friends Sesame Chicken which I tried was REALLY good. I should have had that instead. The egg rolls were meh, but that's alright. Overall decent experience. I only give it three stars just because it was a three star experience. Not knocking it, not praising it. If we wanted to order cheap Chinese again, I'd get the Sesame Chicken as my entree.
(3)
Nektaria R.
After all the rave reviews from An, Raul and other awesome yelpers, I kept thinking how I missed Mayflower last month and how I'm going to miss dim sum this month. I can't go more than 2 months without it. I thought, how can I go wrong by going here. I can. It's by going without an Asian friend in tow. First off, I placed over an hour on the meter, dim sum is typically fast so... should be enough time. This place wasn't so fast though. We got there around 2:40 which is the end of dim sum and I asked them if they were still serving (this after waiting over 10 minutes to be acknowledged, even thought there were 4 people walking around in the dining area) one young lady said yes and showed us to a table. Tea was brought out immediately which was a plus but then we waited another 10+ minutes for them to take our order even though the sheet was completely filled out! 15 -20 minutes later, all the food came out at once. Mind you, we were starving and now it's about 40 minutes that we're here. Half the food was cold. I was so disappointed but were so hungry that we just started scarfing stuff down. We were adventurous and tried the quail egg and pork siu mai (not so great - very eggy, e-yu! The deep fried shrimp ball, ah, where's the shrimp? The shrimp crepe was typical as was the taro root cake although both were cold and very gelatinous. Whatever, I'll eat cold dim sum at home too but going out, I expect things to be at the correct serving temperature. That's what we get for showing up late! Darn the stupid bathroom break on the Eisenhower. The plus: taro root puff was just wonderful (even when cold!). The shrimp rolls were decent and the rice crepe with crispy skin was very unique. I'm trying to have at least one new thing each time I go for dim sum so we had the fried lotus root cake which was different and OK. As far as the cost, it was decent, $32 for 2 with a 25% tip. Not sure why I tipped so much if they really didn't even care that we were there. Darn these server ethics of mine! It's not like they were even busy! The rush was already gone. Bottom line, I will not be going back unless I'm with An or Cindy since two Caucasians won't get much service. Not even a have a nice day.
(2)
Shyam S.
I have to say that I ate here on a Saturday night over Labor Day weekend, so they were slammed, but it's hard for me to give them more than two stars. The service was piss poor - 45 minutes to get pot stickers and soup? - and our waiter was totally clueless. My father ordered a glass of white wine and this guy went to the kitchen and then returned to ask if my dad wanted cooking wine. What the hell? The food was okay, but not great. The most redeeming part of the meal was the incredible "small" hot and sour soup, which cost only $6.95 and served SIX people. The soup is the only reason I would return.
(2)
Dorotka K.
Quite a disappointment. Met up with some friends and, maybe my expectations were faulty, but the Mayflower looked like your typical Chinese restaurant in the suburbs. The live sea animals swimming in the aquarium in the foyer were just plain creepy. I dined here with a group of friends. The menu was small and lacked adequate descriptions. I was unhappy with my entree and expected something different by the name of the dish. The dinners came with nothing. Usually, an egg roll and soup are included, at least at the restaurants I frequent. The only thing that came with my food was plain rice. A veggie entree, with barely any veggies, and a small bowl of rice cost a disappointing $9.25. Drinks were very mediocre. My Long Island Ice Tea contained more ice than anything else. I thought that maybe I made the wrong choice, because my friends' food looked good. Sadly, everything lacked seasoning and was beyond bland. One person even asked that her dish be prepared very very spicy only to receive one that lacked spice altogether. And on a side note, I hope they keep their kitchen cleaner than their bathroom... Gross.
(2)
Chloe F.
This is my family's new favorite place for Chinese food besides carry-out at Golden Bulls. They offer meals for two, four, and etc, and the best part, you can select almost anything on the menu (except some seafoods) for 10 bucks a plate. I'm serious. It's simply incredible. A lot of the restaurants in Chinatown have "big potions" while they're stuffed with lots of veggies (lettuce on the bottom), but this is not the case here. Thumbs up for their salt and pepper fish fillets! After having dinner here several times, I decided to give try their dim-sum - average. The owner is a guy from either Kaiping or Taishan. He chatted with our family, and I can tell he's a very honest guy working hard to serve tasty food for its customers. It's different from the trendier restaurants like Joy Yee's, Ming, and Cai that are decreasing in their food quality as they get more popular. This place is visited by local Chinese people with hardly any non-Chinese guests.
(5)
Julie T.
We were so desperate to get dim sum and weren't willing to wait so long for seven treasures so we gave Mayflower a go and never again. They had very few selections in their dim sum menu and it wasn't even great. The Sui Mai were huge but weren't good like I was hoping it to be. The worst was the chicken feet. The skin were so tightly stuck onto the bone I wasn't given a chance to really enjoy it like other places where the skin is thicker, softer and soggy. The congee with the 50 year old egg wasn't as bad like I thought everything else was. The service was bad. There was barely any waiters in sight so we had to wait awhile to put in our order and even when we had to ask for silver wear or condiments. The price however was fairly cheap in my opinion but I guess you get what you pay for.
(1)
Joyce W.
If only I can give them 0 stars... We called in for dim sum at 1030. When my sister showed up to pick it up at 1100 (I was outside), they told her they gave the order to someone else and they paid for it. Then, instead of remaking the order, the lady ignored her for 10 minutes until I walked in the door to see what was going on. When I walked in was when they decided to see if we wanted to put in that order and it would take an extra 20 mins. I asked her if we get a discount since they gave away our order. She says no because IT WASN'T HER FAULT SHE GAVE AWAY OUR ORDER. WTF! NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN!
(1)
Trish B.
Food is decent. A bit pricey. But the hostess is soft spoke. And not very friendly. Must not like her job.
(3)
Mark P.
I will NOT eat here again and would give it a ZERO if I could. Three of us came in during a very quiet time of day (after lunch and before dinner) to order take-out. Staff was a bit rude, with most of them coming in before dinner service to eat and laugh in the back portion of the restaurant. Our food came out pretty quickly in about 10 minutes. We hopped back on the Red Line with food in hand, but discovered afterwards that 1 main dish was wrong. We got shrimp with broccoli instead of broccoli beef. Only one of us can eat shrimp, so it WAS a major deal. We couldn't take it back, and to make matters worse, several pieces of the shrimp weren't cleaned well because the poop vein was still there. NOT appetizing at all. I'll find another Chinese restaurant.
(1)
Diana J.
Good cheap Chinese food. Probably one of the cheapest dim sum places around here as their large dish is only $3.75. Never a wait on Sunday morning. Good congee.
(3)
Stephanie S.
The place was not very clean and smelly. We ordered 3 dishes and 1 dimsum menu. Only 1 of the dish was okay and our dimsum didn't even come out. They charged us for the dimsum but fortunately I checked the bill and they took that out. The service was not good and they demanded a certain amount of tip. If you didn't give enough, they will ask you to add more. Not recommended.
(1)
Cloey S.
Very good food. I've been here for dinner a few times and have never had a complaint. The service could be a little faster, but the food makes the wait worth it. They serve things in large portions and you et family style. We usually order orange chicken, general tso's chicken and fried rice. They give you hot tea with your meal and it is very delicious. I love this place.
(4)
K A.
It's all about what you order! Dim sum fresh and tasty! WHERE'S the meat and veggies in our beef chow fun and bbq pork/chashu in our chow mein?!!! Chow mein only had ONE PIECE Chinese broccoli!!! Service unattentive, but functional. Decor seemed newly remodeled, but PLEase do something about the DIRTY dingy women's bathroom!!!! Did they run out of money?? Pricing: seemed high for takeout orders of chow fun and mein. Very small portion with no meat or veggies!
(2)
Tony C.
Having lunch at Mayflower restaurant around 2 pm. today Walked in, not busy at all. The waitress just tossed the menus on the table. Ordered my food and finally brought the foods and tea. Service is inattentive, never asked me if I need my tea refill or need more napkins .They were too busy watching TV in the back of the dining room. Got my bill and left a small tip . The waitress called me as I was leaving. She said I didn't tip her enough. So I asked her, what good services did you provided me? She could not answer me. This is very unprofessional way to asked customers for more tip when the service is lousy.
(1)
Monique G.
Don't waste your time here. I ordered takeout, and it took almost 20 minutes for some dang vegetable chow mein. And when I checked the bag to make sure my order was correct, the noodles were dried noodles that resembled top ramen. Apparently you have to mix the noodles and veggies together and it'll soften the noodles. Not what I was looking for after a long day at work. Save your time, and money, and go somewhere else.
(1)
Bill Y.
As a resident of California, we ventured into Chinatown looking for a Chinese dinner, not an Americanized or "Chinese-style" meal. I am delighted to say that we found it here. Though I am of Asian decent, I don't speak or read Chinese, but was happy to be asked if I'd like a Chinese menu. Good sign. As for decor, the restaurant was okay. Nothing fancy, but I'm not there to be enchanted by the ambiance. I wanted to eat. The restaurant was clean and serviceable. As for the food, we couldn't be happier. We ordered won ton soup (yeah, not the most Chinese of the soups on the menu) but they hit the spot. A small bowl contained 12 large won ton, along with some chopped vegetables and Chinese barbecue pork. Excellent for a cold night. We also ordered chicken with Chinese broccoli, and beef chow fun. Both dishes had very generous portions of meat and both were very large plates. We ordered steamed rice to go with it, and between the 3 of us we brought home enough to feed at least one more. This was an excellent meal at an excellent price. We couldn't be happier.
(5)
Angeline S.
Not recommended at all. This place is not as crowded as the other chinese restaurants in chinatown which is why we came here. But turned out this was a very bad one. The place has a disgusting smell which I think comes from the table. All food was very oily. In top of all, the service given was bad and I was kind enough to give them 10% tips on a lunch but when I was walking out from the restaurant, the server chased me and asked for a minimum of 15% tips in a rude way.
(1)
J L.
Completely fucked up our order and showed no sympathy for it. Instead of trying to fix their own mistake they decided to ignore the problem. They have successfully ruined mother's day for us. And no, the food is not that good.
(1)
Angela C.
Even for a Chinese place Mayflower had terrible service. Our group of four arrived at the restaurant at 10:30a on a Sunday and had to wait 15 minutes to get a table as the morning dim sum crowd trickled out. Except for the menu, we had to flag down the wait staff for things that should've been brought without having to ask, such as soy sauce, red vinegar, tea (they took the pot away to be refilled and never brought it back), a knife (the servers didn't cut our rice noodle rolls, which was unusual), and the check. The dim sum here was hit or miss. Good things included shu mai, fried shrimp/pork dumplings, BBQ pork buns, and tofu skin wraps. The rice noodle rolls (chang fen) were falling apart, and the sticky rice in lotus leaves and the fried taro-wrapped pork had a paltry amount of filling. All the dim sum dishes were $3 each, which came out to $9 pp including tax and tip. Although brunch at Mayflower was cheap, I hope I can find better dim sum places around Chinatown.
(3)
Lily Z.
I haven't been to Mayflower or had dim sum in a while. However, I can tell that the quality of the food has gone down. The boy and I shared shrimp dumpling, pork dumpling, shrimp rice crepe, beef tripe and shark fin dumpling. The only "good" ones were shrimp dumpling, shrimp crepe and maybe the pork dumpling. The beef tripe barely had any taste and it was dry. Shark fin didn't do anything for me. I would go to other places in the Chinatown area for dim sum.
(2)
Jean L.
This was the first dim sum I tried since moving to Chicago. I'm originally from the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, essentially an area extremely populated with cantonese-Americans. In other words, I have had exceptional dim sum. Had I reviewed this RIGHT after I had eaten here, I would have rated it a 3-star. However, I have been to dim sum twice in Chicago post-eating here, and Mayflower's food is superior compared to that of the other experiences. First and foremost, don't expect to be impressed by the decor. As other reviewers have remarked, the bathroom is no picture of perfection. However, that's the case with most "real" Chinese restaurants, so it doesn't phase me. On to the food. Pretty straight-forward dim sum, with okay selection. I still miss places with the little carts, but I'll settle. I was a little disappointed that they didn't serve their full menu until a little later in the morning; because dim sum is traditionally served for breakfast, I went early. I was hoping to order a few entrees to bring back home, but their entree chef had not yet arrived. boo. The prices. Okay, I know Chinatowns are always marked up with prices (blame it on being a tourist trap), but I'm used to dim sum being between $1.50-3 a plate. I'll survive. Plus this place is cheaper than Minghin. The staff. So the moment I got to Mayflower, I headed for the restroom. My non-Chinese looking friend sat at our table, and when I got back, he told me that they brought tea. Given that dimsum is basically tea time, I was a little disappointed at the lipton they sat at the table. The moment the staff realized I was Chinese, I was asked what kind of tea I wanted, a courtesy not extended to my friend. The whole time we were at the restaurant, I was the only one addressed - I attribute this to the language barrier.
(4)
Diana G.
Came here for dinner with family and friend a few days ago. We had 8 adults and 1 child. Crispy Chicken Fish fillets with chives Walnut Shrimp Sizzling Beef Some veggie I can't remember Fried Smelt Not sure if I left anything out I thought everything was ok, nothing wowed me. My mom and her friend really enjoyed the crispy chicken. After dinner they gave us the mon tau (buns) with sweet condensed milk. Then they even asked us if we wanted red bean soup. Prices are great! I believe it was under $80 for everything before tip and we all thought it was cheap. Will have to come try out the dim sum in the future!
(3)
An P.
Attention all Yelpers! Red alert! Red alert! Chicago's cheapest dim sum has been found! At first glance, cheap does not mean better, but in the world of Chinatown that axiom shatters without further inspection! Assembling the warriors of dim sum, we found Mountain View Chef under utter renovation and I had backup ready and Mayflower more than fit the bill. A block down from the plaza into old Chinatown, Mayflower was spacious and was able to take our party of seven without a hitch. Giant glasses of water descended, an absolute rarity in Chinese dim sum hot spots, while hot chili sauce and soy sauce was ready to go. Me and Yanyao N. started checking off all of the necessary eats to feed the dim sum army. I doubled back when I looked more carefully at the menu: the most expensive dish on the menu was a paltry $3.30 for a large plate of dim sum! Steaming bamboo bowls of shumai descended upon the table, shrimp fun rolls, shrimp dumplings, and Chinese broccoli rained down without a snag. Biting in was pure delight as I used my chopstick to quickly slice shumai in half and sunk my teeth into formidable dim sum! Passing the sniff test (no beef shumai, PLEASE!), I then moved over to the shrimp fun rolls and found the shrimp deveined and bathing in sweet, sweet soy sauce. Fried taro was crunchy and the inside mushiness was a yumfest to the nth degree. Shrimp toast rocked our boat while the pork spare ribs came out tender melting my heart. Crunchy shrimp rolls filled our plates and the experience was heightening to seventh heaven with a smooth descension back down to cloud nine. Curry octopus?! Let me dance my way back to the plaza barefoot with my socks knocked off! Y-U-M! When the bill arrived and I quickly calculated the total damage including 25% tip to be $12 a head, I wanted to break out in fist pumps and Andrew Dice Clayian-levels of obscenities and profanities to express my adulation. The joy of dim sum has been found and Yelp dim sum pilgrims, its name is Mayflower!
(4)
Rosanna L.
DIM SUM = Fresh! Delicious! and a Great Price! The food here is made to order so the wait is a bit longer than places that serves dim sum on those carts, but I defintiely prefer it that way because it means FRESH and HOT shu mai, shrimp dumplings, shrimp crepes, and everythinggggg! *drools* I tried their congee for the first time and is pretty good, it has a good flavor to it. My favorite besides the shu mai is their chicken sticky rice! Flavorful, sticky, and delicious! Definitely try this the next time you're there! The service is decent, the waitresses aren't as tentative, but they'll bring what is asked in a timely manner as long as you can get their attention. Also for those first timers their menu has pictures on them! So you can see what you are ordering! Can't wait to go back for dim sum again!
(4)
Jennie T.
They have delicious dim sum here. Don't get the seafood dumplings or even the shrimp rice noodle roll... The seafood dumplings are a bit dry and the rice noodle rolls were thicker than I expected. Everything else should be a-ok though. I love their shrimp dumplings and chicken feet. I love that they have four different options. The unfortunate thing is that Tiff was a little skeptical about trying the other options. Their bean sprouts and green onions noodles were also good. As one of our companions said, "I know it sound ridiculous, but it's good!" Yeah. I actually make these noodles for myself at home sometimes. Oh, and I like that they have actual paper tablecloths as opposed to white trash bags (see my other dim sum reviews). It's more classy, I think.
(4)
Jacob Y.
AWESOME freshly cooked dim sum, better than a lot of the larger restaurants. And the portions are great. Excellent for big groups. Just be cautious...don't over order...the last few times we had dim sum leftover for days! And get there early on the weekends...it's crowded!
(4)
Joanne C.
Came here last night for an early Thanksgiving family dinner. It was very good and Mayflower is on my small list of Chinatown places I will go back to and/or recommend to people. Here is what we had: fresh scallops topped with garlic and vermicelli, Chinese chives stir-fried with pork and tofu, steamed fish, lamb casserole, and some kind of shrimp cake that I don't know the name of cuz my mom ordered it in Chinese. I had everything but the shrimp since I'm allergic but what I ate was very good. Especially the fresh scallops. And then at the end there was a plate of steamed mantou ( Chinese buns) with condensed milk for dipping. YUM. Love those things. My sister's bf comes here for late night snacking and he says it's pretty good so I will be back to try that too.
(4)
Diana L.
The restaurant isn't awesome looking.. but their food is delicious! Nuff said, go try it!
(5)
Len L.
This place has great dim-sum, better than majority of the restaurant's nearby. They have picture menu's that gives you a good idea on how it should look before you order. I usually go to Mayflower for dinner. They have very fresh seafood that they serve, no matter how you like it prepared. I usually get the steamed oysters with black bean and garlic sauce. Delicious!. These oysters are large and not your usual small one gulp per shell oysters.
(4)
Philip S.
This has been my new go to Dim Sum shop since the infamous Happy Chef closed. I know I am a gweilo, but I was a well recognized one at that by the Happy Chef staff. Is this as good as California, Toronto or Vancouver? Most likely not. Do they do a good job and provide excellent value? A resounding YES. The worn carpet and furniture along with the dirty lobster tanks in front will scare off the less daring. Let them run off to Mayflower's prettier counterparts Ming Hin and Cai in the newer plaza. And for those who venture forward, await plump and succulent delicacies of the Guangdong region. The Dim Sum servings are large, hot and tasty. The ambiance is warmer and more traditional than the very austere Happy Chef, but the prices are comparable. As I would tell the squeamish, if the food is hot, don't concern yourself with the decor. You are here to eat, drink tea and of course chat with your friends around large round tables. This review only pertains to afternoon Dim Sum. I have never been there for dinner. English and forks do not appear to be an issue for the staff. As is many times the case in Chinatown, service is on an on-call basis. You don't call, they don't come. Get it, got it, okay!
(5)
Agnes F.
Not bad for dim sum in chinatown, and reasonably priced but service is only ok i had to be my aggressive asian self (i didn't think i had it in me anymore.. but i guess its always there :) to get some service here the black pepper pork stomach was surprisingly good and i do like the chicken feet as well the quail egg dumpling however was not how i remembered in hk though this place get packed early on weekends so you might want to consider getting there early
(3)
Jackie S.
after wandering around chinatown on freezing christmas day for about half an hour, my sister and i stopped in here for our traditional meal, mostly because their menu had vegetarian options we could easily find. it was full, which was a good sign, and full of actual asian families, which was a better sign. it was my first time ordering through the check-the-box-under-the-picture system. we ordered some custard baos, sesame buns, sweet potato cakes, and a great tofu and vegetables entree. yum. while we made a lot of good choices, i made one terrible mistake. veggie crepes. i'm sure this is an acquired taste and other people find it completely normal, but they were slimy. they were chewy. they were white and slimy and chewy. don't order veggie crepes unless you are expecting this. everything came to about $20, which was awesome. i don't eat in chinatown very often (unless i'm picking something up from wan shi da... mmm), but i'd definitely go back to mayflower.
(3)
Dantee A.
I finally popped my dim-sum cherry (I was holding out for way too long) and I was not disappointed with Mayflower. We were referred by one of the workers at the gift shop about 2 stores down from Mayflower. She said that its her favorite place to eat when she's on break. She lived up to her promise. My friend and I ordered the Steamed BBQ Pork Buns, Fried Shrimp Balls, Quail Egg & Pork Shumai, Shrimp Dumplings, and a "Deep Fried Delicious Dumpling" - which was mouthwatering and delicious. The final bill - a little over $15! Now, the food here filled us up with a enough room for dessert. My friend and I are known to eat a lot and we were surprised with the final outcome. I would definetly go back and try their lunch specials (they have a good selection at $4.95 a plate). Friendly service - cheap - amazing dim sum. I do not regret losing it to Mayflower.
(4)
Victor L.
This is one of the joys of my life since coming to Chicago. The food is good and the price is cheap. You can easily spend $12 per person and still have enough for a take out box for a midnight snack. You order the food from a picture menu (genius for those who don't know the names of all the dishes) and then the food comes out in no time. Although I am a fan of traditional dim sum with the carts of food coming to you...honestly, why not have your food hot and fresh out the kitchen. As well, you don't get dissappointed and impatient waiting for your favorite dish to finally cart around.
(4)
Jane L.
My sister and I went here by chance; we were looking for some Chinese food and stopped into a couple places before this one. Mayflower is popular, it had a short wait compared to some half empty places we passed, and good selection. We ordered some delicious vegetarian food. We had a nice tofu and veggie dish off the main menu, and some small dishes off the picture menu. The custard bun was amazing and the sweet potato cakes were pretty good, but we made a mistake in ordering the vegetable "crepes." It's more of an Asian haggis. We left with enough leftover for two more meals and it only cost us about $20 plus tip. Yay!
(4)
Angela F.
I grew up on Chinatown food, esp. the dim-sum, so I know what I'm talking about. I've also went here for dinner as recommended by friends, but I wouldn't recommend it; the food was lacking, but not too bad. They offer the standard dim-sum fare, but the one thing you HAVE to try is their taro cake. If you're looking at who started the shredded taro-cake trend, look no further. We used to go to the Mayflower JUST for their taro cake dish, but now that other places have it + the food is sometimes a hit-and-miss, we've moved onto other places.
(4)
L V.
So typical chinatown service. Can't say too much about that. I come to expect it. The people were just normal. Not particularly rude or super nice. Just to business. It certainly helps my bf speaks cantonese. We always get the family meal dinners in chinatown which are always a good deal...but works a lot better when you can speak chinese to order and figure out whats included. We got a meal with ginger chicken, salted fried shrimp, and seafood stirfry over chinese brocoli. The stir fry was a little bland, but everything else was very good. We also got a traditional broth soup to start and a tapioca red bean desert. As typical of most family meals served at all the restaurants. Having eaten at many of the restaurants in chinatown, I was overall very pleased and would go back.
(4)
Varsha L.
We were walking around Chinatown and there are so many restaurants to pick from, but we ended up picking Mayflower, uh mistake and I really hate to give this place a bad review but it was an awful experience! We got in, no one came by for any drink orders, finally after like 10 min the waitress came by for our food order and still no water... ok so we ordered the crab rangoons and this scallop, shrimp and vegetable dish, they did bring out hot tea but no water until we asked and when asked for water when the meal came it was like I was asking for the waitresses right arm... then I asked for an extra plate which was like asking for her left arm... Crab rangoon was okay, I have had better, then comes our meal, like I said we had the scallop SHRIMP and vegetables-an item the menu and we did not alter it in anyway except to make it spicy, we did not see any shrimp in the dish at all!!!!!! We told the waitress and she is like oh should I bring some out? UH YEAH you should or actually you should have the cook make us a new batch!!!!!! So we told yeah she should bring out the shrimp... This dish is basically was oil and crush pepper flakes-something I could have made on my own... then my husband sees our waitress clipping her nails in the back! NICE! The service here is terrible, food was only okay, no ambience, the only positive was that the vegetables were fresh and the packaged fortune cookie was good....
(1)
Anna G.
I'm giving this 3 stars because I was told to. But it works. Um...it's kind of hard to think of anything to say about it, plus I decided to be a genius and get curry chicken which never really tastes any different from one place to another no matter what. Probably better than the closest greasey chinese takeout in your neighborhood, but not the best in China town...
(3)
Toshi B.
For what it is, this is a pretty good place. Don't expect super fine dining but the ambience is pretty decent for a Chinese restaurant, clean, and service is very good. They won't chat you up but the servers are certainly friendly. I love going for dim sum where the wait is not as long as Phoenix. My Chinese friends from LA and HK gave thumbs up re: the food. Dinner is good too...not as good as dim sum but decent nonetheless.
(4)
Andy W.
At here for lunch on Sunday 9/30/12: Had the WORST dining experience in 16 years in Chinatown. The service is TERRIBLE: we waited 1 hr at the table, but still no food. Called over the hostess who seemed surprised and said it will be out shortly. But no, I was then told they ran out of some vegetable and asked if I wanted another - yeah after waiting one hour?! Should have said so sooner. I think they must have just straight up forgot our entire order. When one dish finally arrived the coconut shrimp was coated in what looked and tasted like mayo straight from the bottle. I had waited so long for food and to receive such a disaster I just had to speak with the manager to take back the shrimp and off our bill. He game out to speak w/ me. At this point, I was still waiting for the other dishes I had ordered an hour ago. He basically said they were busy and no he was not going to do anything about the shrimp because that's just how they made it there. He never apologies or try to make up for our long wait. In the end, he even got ANGRY w/ me for complaining and said I can box up and leave if I wanted too. Wow - some great customer service there. NOT. For refusing to help out a dissatisfied customer, you managed to turn away our business forever and the business of those who will now think twice about trying this place due to this review.
(1)
Desiree Anne A.
This was my first time coming in Mayflower. I heard a lot about this place (good/bad/and eh) but the only reason we came here was because of some of the awesome reviews. I like the fact that the table covers are paper rather than bags. I spilled my soy sauce bottle and it still didn't seep through (ma bad) There are no carts and the menu is a huge sheet with pictures of each order. AWESOME, now I know how its suppose to look. Great dishes and some of the first time having them were: curry octopus, shark fin dumplings (nice and juicy inside), & deep fried shrimp ball (huge!) I'd like to try there shredded taro cake, that's something new I haven't seen before. Overall, great experience at Mayflower. Much fancier than I imagined. At little loud in the morning, but very spacious table for two. I was there on week day so service was fast and fresh! ;) enjoy!
(4)
Annie L.
Terrible service-the waitresses were not friendly. My family and I went here for dinner one evening, and we got 8 dishes. The steamed fish was spoiled and inedible. We complained and they said that they could not do anything about it, so we had to pay $22.50 for something we could not eat.
(1)
Kristina M.
I thought the dim sum was absolutely delicious and a great value! The shu mai were delicious and the fried rice was great. I will definitely be back next time I'm in Chicago. Basically everything was delicious. Get the steamed BBQ pork buns!
(4)
Pavithra M.
OMG! I didn't think you could get that much food for only $10 per head, which included a dish of "kanji" for the kids. Every single dish on the table was delicious. You could taste the freshness of every ingredient in every bite. I could not possibly name all the stuff we ordered, but a few that stood out for me were the shrimp rolls, shrimp crepe, fried dough dumplings and a fried pork dumpling. I am sure the fried dough dumpling has a perfectly good name, which I would have asked for, if I had stopped eating long enough to think. Fantastic food, seriously underpriced. I am dying to go back after just one day!
(5)
Megan L.
Some friends and I went to the Chinatown festival today, and when we realized that the few booths serving food were few and far between (and mobbed) we decided to stop into Mayflower for the very well thought out reason of 'we were in front of it.' Hey, we were starving, what do you want? The first impression is a small entryway with a fish tank in it, full of filthy, murky water, and giant fish, one of which was dead at the bottom of the tank. Um... guys, seriously, clean that tank or move it someplace where your customers won't see it. Anyway, nasty fish tank aside, we decided to stay, because at that point we'd been able to pull up the Yelp reviews on the phone and 3.5 stars sounded ok. The food was good - pretty standard Chinese food for your favorites (egg rolls, crab rangoon, potstickers, fried rice, general tso's chicken), but nothing spectacular. They definitely had a number of more authentic sounding Chinese dishes, but I'm an Irish-Italian girl, so I could certainly be wrong. I have to admit that the service was borderline awful, but I'm going to forgive them because we were there mid-afternoon and there was a wait (I guess we weren't the only ones who thought that opting for a restaurant instead of festival food was a good idea). I'd definitely give them another try.
(3)
MeLissa H.
Typical Chinese dim sum fare. Not the greatest. I wouldn't come again unless someone mandated it.
(3)
Cindy D.
Went here for dim sum and could accomodate 12 people within 30 minutes on an Easter Sunday. Great variation and large portions.. ended up being $14/pp.
(4)
Betty S.
Four stars for the dim sum. I took a dim sum snob here (who is asian and used to SF Chinatown), and he really liked it. - the ordering is different since there aren't the usual carts, but the picture menu is good for people unfamiliar with dim sum (and those willing to wait for the food) - there weren't as many sauces on the table as usual, but you can ask for them - service was pretty standard for a Chinese restaurant, as someone else noted Those were his observations...mine are that I had some good food and they have alcohol. I'd go again.
(4)
Linda C.
Just came back from dinner where we waited 30 minutes for a table and then another 35 minutes before our food started trinkling onto the table. We ordered duck where they sliced the duck off the bone and served it with moo shu wrap and some hoison sauce. The duck was pretty good but I've honestly never had bad duck. The wrap was hard, another 10 secs in the microwave would have done it some good. We ordered two types of fish, one fried and the other steamed. The best dish was the duck noodle and the pea pod tips. Mediocre dishes included sweet and sour pork (chinese style), beef ribs, chinese brocolli, sugar snaps with scallops and shrimp, crab, lobster and chicken. All the dishes were just meh. The experience would have been better if we didn't wait so freaking long for the food to come. Came in at 7:00 and didn't leave until 9:30 :/ It was also very stuffy. they should have turned on the a/c or at the very least opened the door for a few minutes to let get the air circulating. Maybe I will have a different experience with their dim sum.
(3)
Nancy F.
No no no - do not come here for dim sum. I've tried Mayflower many times over the past year or so for dim sum. At first, it was nice to try out someplace new for dim sum but why does my family want to keep coming back? After trying it once more after taking a hiatus from it, I clearly indicated to my mom that we will not come back again! The dim sum is not good! This has to be the worst spare ribs I've ever eaten - I ate one piece and couldn't eat anymore. Chicken feet were ok, but just because everything else is bad. The crepe/funn roll comes out looking pretty (if you order shrimp. The beef looks too pinkish for my taste - why is beef pink?) but thats about it. I cut a quarter of a fried taro cake to try and took a small nibble before I had to put it down: ugh, no thanks. When I saw my mom trying to cut a piece of taro cake for herself, I quickly (like a ninja) chopsticked my taro cake into her plate. "Here mom! Just have my piece" with an innocent smile. BF tried his usual fried dim sum and even he said it was disgusting and threw out the leftovers. This is getting an extra star because we ordered this sticky fried rice and that was actually pretty darn good. However, my mom also told me to keep it in perspective - maybe it tasted so good because it was the first thing that came out and still hot and everything after was just terrible. But I think the rice was actually good. "Sadly", I may never know because i don't think I'll be back.. PS Do not come here for dim sum just because they validate parking... having bad dim sum but easy parking is not worth it (at least to me....)!
(2)
Suzy C.
Dim sum dim sum dim sum galore! Move over, overpriced Phoenix you. This is the new place for dim sum folks. Wow. everything is delicious, the shu mais are huge, and everything comes to your table hot and freshly made. You thought you already knew Chicago dim sum? Well if you haven't tried dim sum at Mayflower, you know nothing. Now, they don't do the cart that walks around each table where you pick out the food you want. White folks- you will get over it, you do not need this gimmick to feel like you're getting some real China experience. Besides, with those carts, things come to you cold and who needs that. They give you a menu with pictures and you pick out what you want. It's fun, it's efficient, and food is awesome. Try it! Only minus is they don't give you enough hot sauce, so be prepared to ask for it constantly!
(4)
Jimmy W.
I was expecting more from this restaurant. Maybe I should have went for Dim Sum and not dinner. When I entered the restaurant, the atmosphere was really friendly and felt like eating at home in a Cantonese restaurant. It started out at a 5 star rating and then slowly went down. I came here for my first dinner in Illinois in Chicago Chinatown. I ordered sweet and sour chicken, and shrimp chop suey. It came with egg roll, crab Rangoon, egg drop soup, and hot and sour soup. I waited a long time for my appetizers, which were the soups and the egg roll and Rangoon. Then it finally came. I was starving. The hot and sour soup and egg drop soup was worth mentioning. I've tasted a lot of soups around in New York and a lot of fast food Chinese restaurants water down the soups. Each of the soup was thick in taste and included lots of condiments. The egg roll and Rangoon was just average. After being served the soup, I waited an extra 15 minutes before being served the main course. Our first main course was the sweet and sour chicken. The waiter said he was going to come back quickly with the rice so I can have something to eat with the chicken. I waited for 8 minutes and I had to ask another waitress to get me the rice. Then I waited another 10 minutes for my chicken chop suey?! They got the order wrong, I ordered shrimp chop suey! This restaurant needs to adjust their cooking method. As I was waiting for my food, I realized that they cook all the food for a specific table and make the rest of the tables wait. One of the tables beside mine was being served constantly, about every 5 minutes with new dishes like Cantonese Lobster, Bak Choy, and steamed fish. Once there order was done, then they moved on to the next table. They need to cook a dish from each table so that every customer will be satisfied and equally the same time. The soup gave it one extra star.
(2)
David M.
There are few places where Dim Sum is actually good. The only place in Dallas is oily and horrible. I went to Mayflower with my friend and it was everything I hoped. The only other place where I've had equally appealing Dim Sum was New York. I would say this place even ranks with the best of L.A. I highly recommend it! I was stuffed and very satisfied. The service was good and overall experience was also, but who cares...THEY HAVE GOOD DIM SUM!!!! I would have given it 5 even if the service was horrible.
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Specialities
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
Lauren G.
Nothing to write home about or, rather, nothing to write an in-depth yelp review about.
(2)Linda C.
Just came back from dinner where we waited 30 minutes for a table and then another 35 minutes before our food started trinkling onto the table. We ordered duck where they sliced the duck off the bone and served it with moo shu wrap and some hoison sauce. The duck was pretty good but I've honestly never had bad duck. The wrap was hard, another 10 secs in the microwave would have done it some good. We ordered two types of fish, one fried and the other steamed. The best dish was the duck noodle and the pea pod tips. Mediocre dishes included sweet and sour pork (chinese style), beef ribs, chinese brocolli, sugar snaps with scallops and shrimp, crab, lobster and chicken. All the dishes were just meh. The experience would have been better if we didn't wait so freaking long for the food to come. Came in at 7:00 and didn't leave until 9:30 :/ It was also very stuffy. they should have turned on the a/c or at the very least opened the door for a few minutes to let get the air circulating. Maybe I will have a different experience with their dim sum.
(3)Raul B.
Out of all the Dim Sum places I have been to in the past half year or so this one stands out. Not only was the food delicious but cheap. The group of seven that I was with couldn't believe how cheap our bill came out even after ordering so much food. The highlights for me were the dumplings and ribs. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and unlike the other Dim Sum places this place was not crazy packed. We did have to wait a little bit for a table big enough to sit all of us but it was not a long wait. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. This is and will be my favorite go to Dim Sum spot from now on. There was some dishes we didn't order that I definitely want to try next time including the desserts. One more thing the curry octopus was to die for.
(4)Bill M.
I was at Mayflower recently for dim sum on a Saturday just before noon. I was expecting a crazy line, but our group of 5 adults and 2 kids was seated right away in the middle of the restaurant. You order dim sum off a color menu checklist (not as fun or glamorous as ordering from the food pushcarts, oh well). Once the orders go in, the selections come out reasonably quickly. Eating here is perfect for catching up on the good old times with your friends, as the selections we had seemed fairly standard and did not distract from the chitchatting. Egg rolls, shiu mai balls, chicken feet (yup sucked on one), noodles, you bet.
(4)Philip S.
This has been my new go to Dim Sum shop since the infamous Happy Chef closed. I know I am a gweilo, but I was a well recognized one at that by the Happy Chef staff. Is this as good as California, Toronto or Vancouver? Most likely not. Do they do a good job and provide excellent value? A resounding YES. The worn carpet and furniture along with the dirty lobster tanks in front will scare off the less daring. Let them run off to Mayflower's prettier counterparts Ming Hin and Cai in the newer plaza. And for those who venture forward, await plump and succulent delicacies of the Guangdong region. The Dim Sum servings are large, hot and tasty. The ambiance is warmer and more traditional than the very austere Happy Chef, but the prices are comparable. As I would tell the squeamish, if the food is hot, don't concern yourself with the decor. You are here to eat, drink tea and of course chat with your friends around large round tables. This review only pertains to afternoon Dim Sum. I have never been there for dinner. English and forks do not appear to be an issue for the staff. As is many times the case in Chinatown, service is on an on-call basis. You don't call, they don't come. Get it, got it, okay!
(5)Agnes F.
Not bad for dim sum in chinatown, and reasonably priced but service is only ok i had to be my aggressive asian self (i didn't think i had it in me anymore.. but i guess its always there :) to get some service here the black pepper pork stomach was surprisingly good and i do like the chicken feet as well the quail egg dumpling however was not how i remembered in hk though this place get packed early on weekends so you might want to consider getting there early
(3)Andy W.
At here for lunch on Sunday 9/30/12: Had the WORST dining experience in 16 years in Chinatown. The service is TERRIBLE: we waited 1 hr at the table, but still no food. Called over the hostess who seemed surprised and said it will be out shortly. But no, I was then told they ran out of some vegetable and asked if I wanted another - yeah after waiting one hour?! Should have said so sooner. I think they must have just straight up forgot our entire order. When one dish finally arrived the coconut shrimp was coated in what looked and tasted like mayo straight from the bottle. I had waited so long for food and to receive such a disaster I just had to speak with the manager to take back the shrimp and off our bill. He game out to speak w/ me. At this point, I was still waiting for the other dishes I had ordered an hour ago. He basically said they were busy and no he was not going to do anything about the shrimp because that's just how they made it there. He never apologies or try to make up for our long wait. In the end, he even got ANGRY w/ me for complaining and said I can box up and leave if I wanted too. Wow - some great customer service there. NOT. For refusing to help out a dissatisfied customer, you managed to turn away our business forever and the business of those who will now think twice about trying this place due to this review.
(1)Frank N.
This place got decent dim sums and the wheat bun is unique in chinatown. Pricing is very reasonable.
(4)Cai K.
Came here around 1:30 pm on a Sunday with 5 others. Good (Give me more!): - Steamed Pork Siu Mai (usually don't like it much, but it's pretty good this time) - Shrimp roll (small and crunchy) Ok (Is that it?): - Steamed shrimp dumpling - Stuffed bean curd with pork (did not have it, was told it was ok) - Shrimp crepe (had better, decent shrimp size) - Fried dough fritters crepe - Chinese broccoli (big pieces) - Deep fried taro puff (lurk warm, bland) - Beef chow fun (sort of oily) Bad (Would feed my garbage can if I didn't pay for it): - Chicken feet with black bean sauce (bland flavor-no taste!) - Spare Rib with black bean sauce (bland) - Black pepper beef chop (fatty and bland) - Shark's fin dumpling (dry, did not taste any shark fin, got punk'ed?) - Preserved egg with pork congee (pork sort of tough, bland) Came here after recommendations by two friends about 2 years ago. Did they have a change of owner/chefs? Some of the items are bland in taste. It was not crowded at this time. Food came out in a timely manner, though not was hot as it should be. Service was prompt. Washroom can be more clean and use a makeover. It came out to $12 (including tips) per person for 18 items. Not bad at all. Overall, it was a decent dimsum experience. Not sure if I would come back or not though.
(3)Jean L.
This was the first dim sum I tried since moving to Chicago. I'm originally from the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, essentially an area extremely populated with cantonese-Americans. In other words, I have had exceptional dim sum. Had I reviewed this RIGHT after I had eaten here, I would have rated it a 3-star. However, I have been to dim sum twice in Chicago post-eating here, and Mayflower's food is superior compared to that of the other experiences. First and foremost, don't expect to be impressed by the decor. As other reviewers have remarked, the bathroom is no picture of perfection. However, that's the case with most "real" Chinese restaurants, so it doesn't phase me. On to the food. Pretty straight-forward dim sum, with okay selection. I still miss places with the little carts, but I'll settle. I was a little disappointed that they didn't serve their full menu until a little later in the morning; because dim sum is traditionally served for breakfast, I went early. I was hoping to order a few entrees to bring back home, but their entree chef had not yet arrived. boo. The prices. Okay, I know Chinatowns are always marked up with prices (blame it on being a tourist trap), but I'm used to dim sum being between $1.50-3 a plate. I'll survive. Plus this place is cheaper than Minghin. The staff. So the moment I got to Mayflower, I headed for the restroom. My non-Chinese looking friend sat at our table, and when I got back, he told me that they brought tea. Given that dimsum is basically tea time, I was a little disappointed at the lipton they sat at the table. The moment the staff realized I was Chinese, I was asked what kind of tea I wanted, a courtesy not extended to my friend. The whole time we were at the restaurant, I was the only one addressed - I attribute this to the language barrier.
(4)Diana G.
Came here for dinner with family and friend a few days ago. We had 8 adults and 1 child. Crispy Chicken Fish fillets with chives Walnut Shrimp Sizzling Beef Some veggie I can't remember Fried Smelt Not sure if I left anything out I thought everything was ok, nothing wowed me. My mom and her friend really enjoyed the crispy chicken. After dinner they gave us the mon tau (buns) with sweet condensed milk. Then they even asked us if we wanted red bean soup. Prices are great! I believe it was under $80 for everything before tip and we all thought it was cheap. Will have to come try out the dim sum in the future!
(3)Diana L.
The restaurant isn't awesome looking.. but their food is delicious! Nuff said, go try it!
(5)Len L.
This place has great dim-sum, better than majority of the restaurant's nearby. They have picture menu's that gives you a good idea on how it should look before you order. I usually go to Mayflower for dinner. They have very fresh seafood that they serve, no matter how you like it prepared. I usually get the steamed oysters with black bean and garlic sauce. Delicious!. These oysters are large and not your usual small one gulp per shell oysters.
(4)Chloe F.
This is my family's new favorite place for Chinese food besides carry-out at Golden Bulls. They offer meals for two, four, and etc, and the best part, you can select almost anything on the menu (except some seafoods) for 10 bucks a plate. I'm serious. It's simply incredible. A lot of the restaurants in Chinatown have "big potions" while they're stuffed with lots of veggies (lettuce on the bottom), but this is not the case here. Thumbs up for their salt and pepper fish fillets! After having dinner here several times, I decided to give try their dim-sum - average. The owner is a guy from either Kaiping or Taishan. He chatted with our family, and I can tell he's a very honest guy working hard to serve tasty food for its customers. It's different from the trendier restaurants like Joy Yee's, Ming, and Cai that are decreasing in their food quality as they get more popular. This place is visited by local Chinese people with hardly any non-Chinese guests.
(5)Julie T.
We were so desperate to get dim sum and weren't willing to wait so long for seven treasures so we gave Mayflower a go and never again. They had very few selections in their dim sum menu and it wasn't even great. The Sui Mai were huge but weren't good like I was hoping it to be. The worst was the chicken feet. The skin were so tightly stuck onto the bone I wasn't given a chance to really enjoy it like other places where the skin is thicker, softer and soggy. The congee with the 50 year old egg wasn't as bad like I thought everything else was. The service was bad. There was barely any waiters in sight so we had to wait awhile to put in our order and even when we had to ask for silver wear or condiments. The price however was fairly cheap in my opinion but I guess you get what you pay for.
(1)Joyce W.
If only I can give them 0 stars... We called in for dim sum at 1030. When my sister showed up to pick it up at 1100 (I was outside), they told her they gave the order to someone else and they paid for it. Then, instead of remaking the order, the lady ignored her for 10 minutes until I walked in the door to see what was going on. When I walked in was when they decided to see if we wanted to put in that order and it would take an extra 20 mins. I asked her if we get a discount since they gave away our order. She says no because IT WASN'T HER FAULT SHE GAVE AWAY OUR ORDER. WTF! NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN!
(1)Trish B.
Food is decent. A bit pricey. But the hostess is soft spoke. And not very friendly. Must not like her job.
(3)Mark P.
I will NOT eat here again and would give it a ZERO if I could. Three of us came in during a very quiet time of day (after lunch and before dinner) to order take-out. Staff was a bit rude, with most of them coming in before dinner service to eat and laugh in the back portion of the restaurant. Our food came out pretty quickly in about 10 minutes. We hopped back on the Red Line with food in hand, but discovered afterwards that 1 main dish was wrong. We got shrimp with broccoli instead of broccoli beef. Only one of us can eat shrimp, so it WAS a major deal. We couldn't take it back, and to make matters worse, several pieces of the shrimp weren't cleaned well because the poop vein was still there. NOT appetizing at all. I'll find another Chinese restaurant.
(1)Diana J.
Good cheap Chinese food. Probably one of the cheapest dim sum places around here as their large dish is only $3.75. Never a wait on Sunday morning. Good congee.
(3)Stephanie S.
The place was not very clean and smelly. We ordered 3 dishes and 1 dimsum menu. Only 1 of the dish was okay and our dimsum didn't even come out. They charged us for the dimsum but fortunately I checked the bill and they took that out. The service was not good and they demanded a certain amount of tip. If you didn't give enough, they will ask you to add more. Not recommended.
(1)Cloey S.
Very good food. I've been here for dinner a few times and have never had a complaint. The service could be a little faster, but the food makes the wait worth it. They serve things in large portions and you et family style. We usually order orange chicken, general tso's chicken and fried rice. They give you hot tea with your meal and it is very delicious. I love this place.
(4)K A.
It's all about what you order! Dim sum fresh and tasty! WHERE'S the meat and veggies in our beef chow fun and bbq pork/chashu in our chow mein?!!! Chow mein only had ONE PIECE Chinese broccoli!!! Service unattentive, but functional. Decor seemed newly remodeled, but PLEase do something about the DIRTY dingy women's bathroom!!!! Did they run out of money?? Pricing: seemed high for takeout orders of chow fun and mein. Very small portion with no meat or veggies!
(2)Tony C.
Having lunch at Mayflower restaurant around 2 pm. today Walked in, not busy at all. The waitress just tossed the menus on the table. Ordered my food and finally brought the foods and tea. Service is inattentive, never asked me if I need my tea refill or need more napkins .They were too busy watching TV in the back of the dining room. Got my bill and left a small tip . The waitress called me as I was leaving. She said I didn't tip her enough. So I asked her, what good services did you provided me? She could not answer me. This is very unprofessional way to asked customers for more tip when the service is lousy.
(1)Bill Y.
As a resident of California, we ventured into Chinatown looking for a Chinese dinner, not an Americanized or "Chinese-style" meal. I am delighted to say that we found it here. Though I am of Asian decent, I don't speak or read Chinese, but was happy to be asked if I'd like a Chinese menu. Good sign. As for decor, the restaurant was okay. Nothing fancy, but I'm not there to be enchanted by the ambiance. I wanted to eat. The restaurant was clean and serviceable. As for the food, we couldn't be happier. We ordered won ton soup (yeah, not the most Chinese of the soups on the menu) but they hit the spot. A small bowl contained 12 large won ton, along with some chopped vegetables and Chinese barbecue pork. Excellent for a cold night. We also ordered chicken with Chinese broccoli, and beef chow fun. Both dishes had very generous portions of meat and both were very large plates. We ordered steamed rice to go with it, and between the 3 of us we brought home enough to feed at least one more. This was an excellent meal at an excellent price. We couldn't be happier.
(5)Angeline S.
Not recommended at all. This place is not as crowded as the other chinese restaurants in chinatown which is why we came here. But turned out this was a very bad one. The place has a disgusting smell which I think comes from the table. All food was very oily. In top of all, the service given was bad and I was kind enough to give them 10% tips on a lunch but when I was walking out from the restaurant, the server chased me and asked for a minimum of 15% tips in a rude way.
(1)J L.
Completely fucked up our order and showed no sympathy for it. Instead of trying to fix their own mistake they decided to ignore the problem. They have successfully ruined mother's day for us. And no, the food is not that good.
(1)Angela C.
Even for a Chinese place Mayflower had terrible service. Our group of four arrived at the restaurant at 10:30a on a Sunday and had to wait 15 minutes to get a table as the morning dim sum crowd trickled out. Except for the menu, we had to flag down the wait staff for things that should've been brought without having to ask, such as soy sauce, red vinegar, tea (they took the pot away to be refilled and never brought it back), a knife (the servers didn't cut our rice noodle rolls, which was unusual), and the check. The dim sum here was hit or miss. Good things included shu mai, fried shrimp/pork dumplings, BBQ pork buns, and tofu skin wraps. The rice noodle rolls (chang fen) were falling apart, and the sticky rice in lotus leaves and the fried taro-wrapped pork had a paltry amount of filling. All the dim sum dishes were $3 each, which came out to $9 pp including tax and tip. Although brunch at Mayflower was cheap, I hope I can find better dim sum places around Chinatown.
(3)Lily Z.
I haven't been to Mayflower or had dim sum in a while. However, I can tell that the quality of the food has gone down. The boy and I shared shrimp dumpling, pork dumpling, shrimp rice crepe, beef tripe and shark fin dumpling. The only "good" ones were shrimp dumpling, shrimp crepe and maybe the pork dumpling. The beef tripe barely had any taste and it was dry. Shark fin didn't do anything for me. I would go to other places in the Chinatown area for dim sum.
(2)Monique G.
Don't waste your time here. I ordered takeout, and it took almost 20 minutes for some dang vegetable chow mein. And when I checked the bag to make sure my order was correct, the noodles were dried noodles that resembled top ramen. Apparently you have to mix the noodles and veggies together and it'll soften the noodles. Not what I was looking for after a long day at work. Save your time, and money, and go somewhere else.
(1)Shyam S.
I have to say that I ate here on a Saturday night over Labor Day weekend, so they were slammed, but it's hard for me to give them more than two stars. The service was piss poor - 45 minutes to get pot stickers and soup? - and our waiter was totally clueless. My father ordered a glass of white wine and this guy went to the kitchen and then returned to ask if my dad wanted cooking wine. What the hell? The food was okay, but not great. The most redeeming part of the meal was the incredible "small" hot and sour soup, which cost only $6.95 and served SIX people. The soup is the only reason I would return.
(2)Dorotka K.
Quite a disappointment. Met up with some friends and, maybe my expectations were faulty, but the Mayflower looked like your typical Chinese restaurant in the suburbs. The live sea animals swimming in the aquarium in the foyer were just plain creepy. I dined here with a group of friends. The menu was small and lacked adequate descriptions. I was unhappy with my entree and expected something different by the name of the dish. The dinners came with nothing. Usually, an egg roll and soup are included, at least at the restaurants I frequent. The only thing that came with my food was plain rice. A veggie entree, with barely any veggies, and a small bowl of rice cost a disappointing $9.25. Drinks were very mediocre. My Long Island Ice Tea contained more ice than anything else. I thought that maybe I made the wrong choice, because my friends' food looked good. Sadly, everything lacked seasoning and was beyond bland. One person even asked that her dish be prepared very very spicy only to receive one that lacked spice altogether. And on a side note, I hope they keep their kitchen cleaner than their bathroom... Gross.
(2)G. K.
REVIEW TYPE: LIMITED REVIEW Mayflower is a pretty decent place to stop for dim sum with reasonable prices and food worth eating. Of the dim sum places I've eaten at (and while I'm no expert on it I certainly have experience having eaten it nearly every other day for a year in the area (living close by and joining the girlfriend's family with regularity) and having enjoyed "authentic" dim sum during my travels in Hong Kong) Mayflower may not have been the best overall but certainly is one of my preferred haunts. The food is pretty good. Dim sum comes in standard portions and with tea (we usually get chrysanthemum, though they brought me Lipton once which I thought was rather funny though slightly rude) and crystalized sugar. They generally leave chopsticks at the table and don't ask if you need a fork if you're over fifteen, which is really quite nice (I've used chopsticks since I was six and can peel oranges with them), and the servers tend to treat you as competent. If you know how to order you'll be just fine. I'd recommend the salt and pepper softshell crab, which has been a little salty on occasion but is usually well balanced. The curried squid is the best I've had, though the portions for vegetable dishes are a little sparser than I'd like. This is family-style, so order a variety of dishes and experiment. The prices are lower than the nearby Ming Hin and tastes about the same, making it a better buy if you are looking for a meal, however the atmosphere is considerably less formal. If you don't like being packed in it may be best to visit later in the afternoon as the mornings and evenings get rather busy with families. Bonus points for the lack of moronic tourists in paddy-hats (it's Chicago, not Shandong). OVERALL: This place is worth a visit if you're looking for a good place to grab a bite.
(3)Liz R.
Group of 8 people. The waitress kept ignoring us and they forgot two of the di shes ordered. One of the dishes we did receive was incorrect. Unlike most times, the tea was watered down or maybe it wasnt green tea. not sure. We left no tip and one of the waitresses had the nerve to smack around the dishes afterwards and pour tea on the table out of what I'm guessing was frustration. Bizarre experience. No one apologized for forgetting two orders. i used to love this place. A major problem is the fact that one of the two waitresses didn't understand us at all when we tried explaining the lack of good service.
(1)Lefai K.
place was in the middle of chinatown on the main wentworth street. it was a hole in the wall and parking was difficult to find, much like most chinatown restaurants are. the food dishes were pretty delicious. BATHROOM REVIEW -- again, i made the mistake of using the bathroom BEFORE i ate. its kind of hard to avoid, since chinatown is an hour away and i'm trying to drink more water. i always say, if you want to keep your appetite, don't use the bathroom until after you eat, especially in chinatown. well, lemme tell ya, i wish i just pissed in my pants, or borrowed a diaper from my son. the bathrooms here was downright nasty. it was dimly lit, there was one working stall, and it smelled like stanky ol' piss. i was scared. i faced the tough decision of prolonging my stay in the bathroom in an attempt to wait for someone coming into the bathroom to push the door open for me, versus me catching an STD from touching the door knob. Sit or squat? hold yo shiet in and poop in the street.
(4)Howard L.
Decent sim sum here, and in the 3.5 - 4 star range. Most dishes are in the $3 range, and they are ordered off a picture menu. I liked that they had English and Chinese cable TV news stations, and the dining room layout was relatively spacious and comfortable for dim sum. I added a star for these features.
(4)Peter K.
Mayflower Restaurant really deserves 3.5 stars rather than 3. I gave it 3 stars because it doesn't quite deserve the 4. I prefer Mayflower Restaurant over the most popular dim sum restaurant Phoenix in Chicago's Chinatown. Here's why: Why Mayflower is better - Mayflower provides the same quality of food (which is above average for dim sum) vs. Phoenix for much less of the price. - There is almost never a wait at Mayflower Restaurant - The food is a lot faster here than Phoenix. Why Mayflower is worse - Mayflower is so-so at communicating in English. It can be difficult to order tea, get the check, etc. unless you speak Cantonese. - There is a lot less seating and it can be cramped at times. The dim sum here really is pretty good for the low price they offer it at. You can be comfortably full for about $8 (3-4 dishes per person). I'd recommend it. It just doesn't have the nice decor that Phoenix has.
(3)Susie C.
Just like any Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, this place meets that expectation. I would say it is good food for decent price. It's less expensive than Minghin, Phoenix, and Cai. Food is tasty for a good price!
(3)Chris W.
Helpings of food were ample for take out and the food was hot hot hot when we got it. Very fast delivery and reasonable prices. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food but the Empress Chicken was decent and my friends Sesame Chicken which I tried was REALLY good. I should have had that instead. The egg rolls were meh, but that's alright. Overall decent experience. I only give it three stars just because it was a three star experience. Not knocking it, not praising it. If we wanted to order cheap Chinese again, I'd get the Sesame Chicken as my entree.
(3)An P.
Attention all Yelpers! Red alert! Red alert! Chicago's cheapest dim sum has been found! At first glance, cheap does not mean better, but in the world of Chinatown that axiom shatters without further inspection! Assembling the warriors of dim sum, we found Mountain View Chef under utter renovation and I had backup ready and Mayflower more than fit the bill. A block down from the plaza into old Chinatown, Mayflower was spacious and was able to take our party of seven without a hitch. Giant glasses of water descended, an absolute rarity in Chinese dim sum hot spots, while hot chili sauce and soy sauce was ready to go. Me and Yanyao N. started checking off all of the necessary eats to feed the dim sum army. I doubled back when I looked more carefully at the menu: the most expensive dish on the menu was a paltry $3.30 for a large plate of dim sum! Steaming bamboo bowls of shumai descended upon the table, shrimp fun rolls, shrimp dumplings, and Chinese broccoli rained down without a snag. Biting in was pure delight as I used my chopstick to quickly slice shumai in half and sunk my teeth into formidable dim sum! Passing the sniff test (no beef shumai, PLEASE!), I then moved over to the shrimp fun rolls and found the shrimp deveined and bathing in sweet, sweet soy sauce. Fried taro was crunchy and the inside mushiness was a yumfest to the nth degree. Shrimp toast rocked our boat while the pork spare ribs came out tender melting my heart. Crunchy shrimp rolls filled our plates and the experience was heightening to seventh heaven with a smooth descension back down to cloud nine. Curry octopus?! Let me dance my way back to the plaza barefoot with my socks knocked off! Y-U-M! When the bill arrived and I quickly calculated the total damage including 25% tip to be $12 a head, I wanted to break out in fist pumps and Andrew Dice Clayian-levels of obscenities and profanities to express my adulation. The joy of dim sum has been found and Yelp dim sum pilgrims, its name is Mayflower!
(4)Jane L.
My sister and I went here by chance; we were looking for some Chinese food and stopped into a couple places before this one. Mayflower is popular, it had a short wait compared to some half empty places we passed, and good selection. We ordered some delicious vegetarian food. We had a nice tofu and veggie dish off the main menu, and some small dishes off the picture menu. The custard bun was amazing and the sweet potato cakes were pretty good, but we made a mistake in ordering the vegetable "crepes." It's more of an Asian haggis. We left with enough leftover for two more meals and it only cost us about $20 plus tip. Yay!
(4)Angela F.
I grew up on Chinatown food, esp. the dim-sum, so I know what I'm talking about. I've also went here for dinner as recommended by friends, but I wouldn't recommend it; the food was lacking, but not too bad. They offer the standard dim-sum fare, but the one thing you HAVE to try is their taro cake. If you're looking at who started the shredded taro-cake trend, look no further. We used to go to the Mayflower JUST for their taro cake dish, but now that other places have it + the food is sometimes a hit-and-miss, we've moved onto other places.
(4)Nektaria R.
After all the rave reviews from An, Raul and other awesome yelpers, I kept thinking how I missed Mayflower last month and how I'm going to miss dim sum this month. I can't go more than 2 months without it. I thought, how can I go wrong by going here. I can. It's by going without an Asian friend in tow. First off, I placed over an hour on the meter, dim sum is typically fast so... should be enough time. This place wasn't so fast though. We got there around 2:40 which is the end of dim sum and I asked them if they were still serving (this after waiting over 10 minutes to be acknowledged, even thought there were 4 people walking around in the dining area) one young lady said yes and showed us to a table. Tea was brought out immediately which was a plus but then we waited another 10+ minutes for them to take our order even though the sheet was completely filled out! 15 -20 minutes later, all the food came out at once. Mind you, we were starving and now it's about 40 minutes that we're here. Half the food was cold. I was so disappointed but were so hungry that we just started scarfing stuff down. We were adventurous and tried the quail egg and pork siu mai (not so great - very eggy, e-yu! The deep fried shrimp ball, ah, where's the shrimp? The shrimp crepe was typical as was the taro root cake although both were cold and very gelatinous. Whatever, I'll eat cold dim sum at home too but going out, I expect things to be at the correct serving temperature. That's what we get for showing up late! Darn the stupid bathroom break on the Eisenhower. The plus: taro root puff was just wonderful (even when cold!). The shrimp rolls were decent and the rice crepe with crispy skin was very unique. I'm trying to have at least one new thing each time I go for dim sum so we had the fried lotus root cake which was different and OK. As far as the cost, it was decent, $32 for 2 with a 25% tip. Not sure why I tipped so much if they really didn't even care that we were there. Darn these server ethics of mine! It's not like they were even busy! The rush was already gone. Bottom line, I will not be going back unless I'm with An or Cindy since two Caucasians won't get much service. Not even a have a nice day.
(2)Rosanna L.
DIM SUM = Fresh! Delicious! and a Great Price! The food here is made to order so the wait is a bit longer than places that serves dim sum on those carts, but I defintiely prefer it that way because it means FRESH and HOT shu mai, shrimp dumplings, shrimp crepes, and everythinggggg! *drools* I tried their congee for the first time and is pretty good, it has a good flavor to it. My favorite besides the shu mai is their chicken sticky rice! Flavorful, sticky, and delicious! Definitely try this the next time you're there! The service is decent, the waitresses aren't as tentative, but they'll bring what is asked in a timely manner as long as you can get their attention. Also for those first timers their menu has pictures on them! So you can see what you are ordering! Can't wait to go back for dim sum again!
(4)Jennie T.
They have delicious dim sum here. Don't get the seafood dumplings or even the shrimp rice noodle roll... The seafood dumplings are a bit dry and the rice noodle rolls were thicker than I expected. Everything else should be a-ok though. I love their shrimp dumplings and chicken feet. I love that they have four different options. The unfortunate thing is that Tiff was a little skeptical about trying the other options. Their bean sprouts and green onions noodles were also good. As one of our companions said, "I know it sound ridiculous, but it's good!" Yeah. I actually make these noodles for myself at home sometimes. Oh, and I like that they have actual paper tablecloths as opposed to white trash bags (see my other dim sum reviews). It's more classy, I think.
(4)Jacob Y.
AWESOME freshly cooked dim sum, better than a lot of the larger restaurants. And the portions are great. Excellent for big groups. Just be cautious...don't over order...the last few times we had dim sum leftover for days! And get there early on the weekends...it's crowded!
(4)Joanne C.
Came here last night for an early Thanksgiving family dinner. It was very good and Mayflower is on my small list of Chinatown places I will go back to and/or recommend to people. Here is what we had: fresh scallops topped with garlic and vermicelli, Chinese chives stir-fried with pork and tofu, steamed fish, lamb casserole, and some kind of shrimp cake that I don't know the name of cuz my mom ordered it in Chinese. I had everything but the shrimp since I'm allergic but what I ate was very good. Especially the fresh scallops. And then at the end there was a plate of steamed mantou ( Chinese buns) with condensed milk for dipping. YUM. Love those things. My sister's bf comes here for late night snacking and he says it's pretty good so I will be back to try that too.
(4)Natalie S.
I consider myself a dim sum pro... and this place is at the top of my list. I knew I would like it when my Chinese grandmother recommended it... and she rarely recommends places. I am tired of going to places with carts. The food ends up sitting on there for hours before it arrives at your table... the dumplings falling apart from being on a steamer for so long. Not at Mayflower! You order off a picture menu and it comes straight out of the steamer/fryer to your table. You end up with perfectly cooked food that is still hot! Everything there is good. The shu mai are delicious, the jook (congee) is hot... I never feel like I am eating something that has been warmed in the microwave... which is what I get from a lot of dim sum places. There will be a wait if you go at peak times. We try to go for dim sum around 11 before the big rush. It also seems to slow down around 1:00. The wait is well worth it though!
(4)Ellen M.
Maybe there's a big difference between brunch and dinner? I don't know, but I went for dim sum brunch last weekend, and I had some tasty dishes. I might have avoided the place if I'd only checked yelp before dining. Like I said, MANY tasty dishes. Too many, in fact, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few: Shark's fin dumplings *Deep fried shrimp ball *XO sauce with turnip cakes Beef chow fun Steamed barbecue pork buns Steamed shrimp dumplings Chinese broccoli *Shrimp rolls *Sesame rolls Chicken sticky rice in lotus leaves Congee - can't remember which one... Sweets: *Steamed custard rolls Mango pudding Keep in mind there were six of us, but we still took plenty home when the foodfest was over. $65. We could have gotten away with much less. *Super favorites. Anyway, what I'm saying is, it's a terrific place for dim sum. I appreciated that the menu included photos, and although I usually like the cart, this system was straightforward. Two children were along, including one terribly finicky eater, and they both ate quite well. Service was efficient but not at all rude. Dining room's not much to look at, but the food is.
(4)Pavithra M.
OMG! I didn't think you could get that much food for only $10 per head, which included a dish of "kanji" for the kids. Every single dish on the table was delicious. You could taste the freshness of every ingredient in every bite. I could not possibly name all the stuff we ordered, but a few that stood out for me were the shrimp rolls, shrimp crepe, fried dough dumplings and a fried pork dumpling. I am sure the fried dough dumpling has a perfectly good name, which I would have asked for, if I had stopped eating long enough to think. Fantastic food, seriously underpriced. I am dying to go back after just one day!
(5)Nancy F.
No no no - do not come here for dim sum. I've tried Mayflower many times over the past year or so for dim sum. At first, it was nice to try out someplace new for dim sum but why does my family want to keep coming back? After trying it once more after taking a hiatus from it, I clearly indicated to my mom that we will not come back again! The dim sum is not good! This has to be the worst spare ribs I've ever eaten - I ate one piece and couldn't eat anymore. Chicken feet were ok, but just because everything else is bad. The crepe/funn roll comes out looking pretty (if you order shrimp. The beef looks too pinkish for my taste - why is beef pink?) but thats about it. I cut a quarter of a fried taro cake to try and took a small nibble before I had to put it down: ugh, no thanks. When I saw my mom trying to cut a piece of taro cake for herself, I quickly (like a ninja) chopsticked my taro cake into her plate. "Here mom! Just have my piece" with an innocent smile. BF tried his usual fried dim sum and even he said it was disgusting and threw out the leftovers. This is getting an extra star because we ordered this sticky fried rice and that was actually pretty darn good. However, my mom also told me to keep it in perspective - maybe it tasted so good because it was the first thing that came out and still hot and everything after was just terrible. But I think the rice was actually good. "Sadly", I may never know because i don't think I'll be back.. PS Do not come here for dim sum just because they validate parking... having bad dim sum but easy parking is not worth it (at least to me....)!
(2)Suzy C.
Dim sum dim sum dim sum galore! Move over, overpriced Phoenix you. This is the new place for dim sum folks. Wow. everything is delicious, the shu mais are huge, and everything comes to your table hot and freshly made. You thought you already knew Chicago dim sum? Well if you haven't tried dim sum at Mayflower, you know nothing. Now, they don't do the cart that walks around each table where you pick out the food you want. White folks- you will get over it, you do not need this gimmick to feel like you're getting some real China experience. Besides, with those carts, things come to you cold and who needs that. They give you a menu with pictures and you pick out what you want. It's fun, it's efficient, and food is awesome. Try it! Only minus is they don't give you enough hot sauce, so be prepared to ask for it constantly!
(4)Jimmy W.
I was expecting more from this restaurant. Maybe I should have went for Dim Sum and not dinner. When I entered the restaurant, the atmosphere was really friendly and felt like eating at home in a Cantonese restaurant. It started out at a 5 star rating and then slowly went down. I came here for my first dinner in Illinois in Chicago Chinatown. I ordered sweet and sour chicken, and shrimp chop suey. It came with egg roll, crab Rangoon, egg drop soup, and hot and sour soup. I waited a long time for my appetizers, which were the soups and the egg roll and Rangoon. Then it finally came. I was starving. The hot and sour soup and egg drop soup was worth mentioning. I've tasted a lot of soups around in New York and a lot of fast food Chinese restaurants water down the soups. Each of the soup was thick in taste and included lots of condiments. The egg roll and Rangoon was just average. After being served the soup, I waited an extra 15 minutes before being served the main course. Our first main course was the sweet and sour chicken. The waiter said he was going to come back quickly with the rice so I can have something to eat with the chicken. I waited for 8 minutes and I had to ask another waitress to get me the rice. Then I waited another 10 minutes for my chicken chop suey?! They got the order wrong, I ordered shrimp chop suey! This restaurant needs to adjust their cooking method. As I was waiting for my food, I realized that they cook all the food for a specific table and make the rest of the tables wait. One of the tables beside mine was being served constantly, about every 5 minutes with new dishes like Cantonese Lobster, Bak Choy, and steamed fish. Once there order was done, then they moved on to the next table. They need to cook a dish from each table so that every customer will be satisfied and equally the same time. The soup gave it one extra star.
(2)David M.
There are few places where Dim Sum is actually good. The only place in Dallas is oily and horrible. I went to Mayflower with my friend and it was everything I hoped. The only other place where I've had equally appealing Dim Sum was New York. I would say this place even ranks with the best of L.A. I highly recommend it! I was stuffed and very satisfied. The service was good and overall experience was also, but who cares...THEY HAVE GOOD DIM SUM!!!! I would have given it 5 even if the service was horrible.
(5)Annie L.
Terrible service-the waitresses were not friendly. My family and I went here for dinner one evening, and we got 8 dishes. The steamed fish was spoiled and inedible. We complained and they said that they could not do anything about it, so we had to pay $22.50 for something we could not eat.
(1)Kristina M.
I thought the dim sum was absolutely delicious and a great value! The shu mai were delicious and the fried rice was great. I will definitely be back next time I'm in Chicago. Basically everything was delicious. Get the steamed BBQ pork buns!
(4)Megan L.
Some friends and I went to the Chinatown festival today, and when we realized that the few booths serving food were few and far between (and mobbed) we decided to stop into Mayflower for the very well thought out reason of 'we were in front of it.' Hey, we were starving, what do you want? The first impression is a small entryway with a fish tank in it, full of filthy, murky water, and giant fish, one of which was dead at the bottom of the tank. Um... guys, seriously, clean that tank or move it someplace where your customers won't see it. Anyway, nasty fish tank aside, we decided to stay, because at that point we'd been able to pull up the Yelp reviews on the phone and 3.5 stars sounded ok. The food was good - pretty standard Chinese food for your favorites (egg rolls, crab rangoon, potstickers, fried rice, general tso's chicken), but nothing spectacular. They definitely had a number of more authentic sounding Chinese dishes, but I'm an Irish-Italian girl, so I could certainly be wrong. I have to admit that the service was borderline awful, but I'm going to forgive them because we were there mid-afternoon and there was a wait (I guess we weren't the only ones who thought that opting for a restaurant instead of festival food was a good idea). I'd definitely give them another try.
(3)MeLissa H.
Typical Chinese dim sum fare. Not the greatest. I wouldn't come again unless someone mandated it.
(3)Cindy D.
Went here for dim sum and could accomodate 12 people within 30 minutes on an Easter Sunday. Great variation and large portions.. ended up being $14/pp.
(4)Betty S.
Four stars for the dim sum. I took a dim sum snob here (who is asian and used to SF Chinatown), and he really liked it. - the ordering is different since there aren't the usual carts, but the picture menu is good for people unfamiliar with dim sum (and those willing to wait for the food) - there weren't as many sauces on the table as usual, but you can ask for them - service was pretty standard for a Chinese restaurant, as someone else noted Those were his observations...mine are that I had some good food and they have alcohol. I'd go again.
(4)Desiree Anne A.
This was my first time coming in Mayflower. I heard a lot about this place (good/bad/and eh) but the only reason we came here was because of some of the awesome reviews. I like the fact that the table covers are paper rather than bags. I spilled my soy sauce bottle and it still didn't seep through (ma bad) There are no carts and the menu is a huge sheet with pictures of each order. AWESOME, now I know how its suppose to look. Great dishes and some of the first time having them were: curry octopus, shark fin dumplings (nice and juicy inside), & deep fried shrimp ball (huge!) I'd like to try there shredded taro cake, that's something new I haven't seen before. Overall, great experience at Mayflower. Much fancier than I imagined. At little loud in the morning, but very spacious table for two. I was there on week day so service was fast and fresh! ;) enjoy!
(4)Jackie S.
after wandering around chinatown on freezing christmas day for about half an hour, my sister and i stopped in here for our traditional meal, mostly because their menu had vegetarian options we could easily find. it was full, which was a good sign, and full of actual asian families, which was a better sign. it was my first time ordering through the check-the-box-under-the-picture system. we ordered some custard baos, sesame buns, sweet potato cakes, and a great tofu and vegetables entree. yum. while we made a lot of good choices, i made one terrible mistake. veggie crepes. i'm sure this is an acquired taste and other people find it completely normal, but they were slimy. they were chewy. they were white and slimy and chewy. don't order veggie crepes unless you are expecting this. everything came to about $20, which was awesome. i don't eat in chinatown very often (unless i'm picking something up from wan shi da... mmm), but i'd definitely go back to mayflower.
(3)Dantee A.
I finally popped my dim-sum cherry (I was holding out for way too long) and I was not disappointed with Mayflower. We were referred by one of the workers at the gift shop about 2 stores down from Mayflower. She said that its her favorite place to eat when she's on break. She lived up to her promise. My friend and I ordered the Steamed BBQ Pork Buns, Fried Shrimp Balls, Quail Egg & Pork Shumai, Shrimp Dumplings, and a "Deep Fried Delicious Dumpling" - which was mouthwatering and delicious. The final bill - a little over $15! Now, the food here filled us up with a enough room for dessert. My friend and I are known to eat a lot and we were surprised with the final outcome. I would definetly go back and try their lunch specials (they have a good selection at $4.95 a plate). Friendly service - cheap - amazing dim sum. I do not regret losing it to Mayflower.
(4)Victor L.
This is one of the joys of my life since coming to Chicago. The food is good and the price is cheap. You can easily spend $12 per person and still have enough for a take out box for a midnight snack. You order the food from a picture menu (genius for those who don't know the names of all the dishes) and then the food comes out in no time. Although I am a fan of traditional dim sum with the carts of food coming to you...honestly, why not have your food hot and fresh out the kitchen. As well, you don't get dissappointed and impatient waiting for your favorite dish to finally cart around.
(4)L V.
So typical chinatown service. Can't say too much about that. I come to expect it. The people were just normal. Not particularly rude or super nice. Just to business. It certainly helps my bf speaks cantonese. We always get the family meal dinners in chinatown which are always a good deal...but works a lot better when you can speak chinese to order and figure out whats included. We got a meal with ginger chicken, salted fried shrimp, and seafood stirfry over chinese brocoli. The stir fry was a little bland, but everything else was very good. We also got a traditional broth soup to start and a tapioca red bean desert. As typical of most family meals served at all the restaurants. Having eaten at many of the restaurants in chinatown, I was overall very pleased and would go back.
(4)Carmen M.
My very big family including 6 uncles and aunts, my cousins, my cousin's spouses, my cousin's children, and many other family members came here to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. Yes I do have quite an extensive family and finding someplace to fit all of us can be quite hard. We decided to try out Mayflower on the recommendation of my aunt who works here. We ordered from a set menu and here is the list of dishes we had. 1. Seafood Soup 2. Seafood Medley 3. Salty Whole Chicken 4. Beef with Mushroom 5. Lobster 6. Melon stuffed with Scallop 7. Crab Meat Balls 8. Whole Steamed Fish 9. Fried Rice 10. Noodles - Yee Mein All in all the food was pretty light on flavor, not too salty and definitely not drowed in MSG. My favorite was the beef with mushroom which was served with a sweet sauce. The beef was soft and chewy. My favorite dish of the night. My sister complained that everything lacked flavor, but I thought it was nice to have something light once in a while. True that it lacked the salt and MSG that other restaurants add in their dishes, but isn't that a good thing? The food still had flavor, but not the oil, salt, MSG drenched flavor. Minimalist tasting foods bringing out the true flavor of the ingredients. Though the foods were minimalist, their plating was extravagant. They used a variety of raw vegetables and fruits to garnish the plates. The presentation of the foods definitely made it much more enjoyable. The combination of minimalist foods and extravagant presentation now that is pretty hard to come by in Chinatown. Though the food was not the best tasting Chinese food I ever had their service was exceptional. The manager of the restaurant served us and was very active in his restaurant. He waitered tables and chatted with his customers. The waiters were also very quick and efficient. We asked for napkins and in under 1 minute the waiter came back with our napkins. The waitering service was quick and friendly exactly what we needed. One complaint was the foods arrived terribly late. One dish would come out followed by another in 5 minutes, but then we were left waiting for 15 minutes for the next dish to come. Perhaps it was because they were extremely busy that day (there were also other groups celebrating birthdays and other such events). All in all this is a good restaurant to have a light authentic Chinese meal.
(4)Shirley A.
Hands down the best dim sum in Chinatown. The price for the quality and quantity you get in incredible. I've eaten in every restaurant in Chinatown for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is my favorite. The only bad thing about this restaurant is the service, but as a Chinese I know the service in Chinatown restaurants aren't always the best. Tip: Don't be shy to flag down the servers for anything. That's just how Chinese restaurants work; they only come when you ask for them.
(4)Varsha L.
We were walking around Chinatown and there are so many restaurants to pick from, but we ended up picking Mayflower, uh mistake and I really hate to give this place a bad review but it was an awful experience! We got in, no one came by for any drink orders, finally after like 10 min the waitress came by for our food order and still no water... ok so we ordered the crab rangoons and this scallop, shrimp and vegetable dish, they did bring out hot tea but no water until we asked and when asked for water when the meal came it was like I was asking for the waitresses right arm... then I asked for an extra plate which was like asking for her left arm... Crab rangoon was okay, I have had better, then comes our meal, like I said we had the scallop SHRIMP and vegetables-an item the menu and we did not alter it in anyway except to make it spicy, we did not see any shrimp in the dish at all!!!!!! We told the waitress and she is like oh should I bring some out? UH YEAH you should or actually you should have the cook make us a new batch!!!!!! So we told yeah she should bring out the shrimp... This dish is basically was oil and crush pepper flakes-something I could have made on my own... then my husband sees our waitress clipping her nails in the back! NICE! The service here is terrible, food was only okay, no ambience, the only positive was that the vegetables were fresh and the packaged fortune cookie was good....
(1)kiley w.
I went here once with family. I did not find anything too special. But I did enjoy the decor, it reminded me of certain restaurants in Hong Kong. Again, the food was just okay. But the dessert was something different. It was steamed bread and it came with a dish of sweet condensed milk where you dip the bread in. This is the only place in Chinatown that serves this as a dessert. I might give the place another try, maybe I just went on a bad day. They also serve dimsum here.
(3)Anna G.
I'm giving this 3 stars because I was told to. But it works. Um...it's kind of hard to think of anything to say about it, plus I decided to be a genius and get curry chicken which never really tastes any different from one place to another no matter what. Probably better than the closest greasey chinese takeout in your neighborhood, but not the best in China town...
(3)Toshi B.
For what it is, this is a pretty good place. Don't expect super fine dining but the ambience is pretty decent for a Chinese restaurant, clean, and service is very good. They won't chat you up but the servers are certainly friendly. I love going for dim sum where the wait is not as long as Phoenix. My Chinese friends from LA and HK gave thumbs up re: the food. Dinner is good too...not as good as dim sum but decent nonetheless.
(4)Lauren G.
Nothing to write home about or, rather, nothing to write an in-depth yelp review about.
(2)Natalie S.
I consider myself a dim sum pro... and this place is at the top of my list. I knew I would like it when my Chinese grandmother recommended it... and she rarely recommends places. I am tired of going to places with carts. The food ends up sitting on there for hours before it arrives at your table... the dumplings falling apart from being on a steamer for so long. Not at Mayflower! You order off a picture menu and it comes straight out of the steamer/fryer to your table. You end up with perfectly cooked food that is still hot! Everything there is good. The shu mai are delicious, the jook (congee) is hot... I never feel like I am eating something that has been warmed in the microwave... which is what I get from a lot of dim sum places. There will be a wait if you go at peak times. We try to go for dim sum around 11 before the big rush. It also seems to slow down around 1:00. The wait is well worth it though!
(4)Ellen M.
Maybe there's a big difference between brunch and dinner? I don't know, but I went for dim sum brunch last weekend, and I had some tasty dishes. I might have avoided the place if I'd only checked yelp before dining. Like I said, MANY tasty dishes. Too many, in fact, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few: Shark's fin dumplings *Deep fried shrimp ball *XO sauce with turnip cakes Beef chow fun Steamed barbecue pork buns Steamed shrimp dumplings Chinese broccoli *Shrimp rolls *Sesame rolls Chicken sticky rice in lotus leaves Congee - can't remember which one... Sweets: *Steamed custard rolls Mango pudding Keep in mind there were six of us, but we still took plenty home when the foodfest was over. $65. We could have gotten away with much less. *Super favorites. Anyway, what I'm saying is, it's a terrific place for dim sum. I appreciated that the menu included photos, and although I usually like the cart, this system was straightforward. Two children were along, including one terribly finicky eater, and they both ate quite well. Service was efficient but not at all rude. Dining room's not much to look at, but the food is.
(4)Frank N.
This place got decent dim sums and the wheat bun is unique in chinatown. Pricing is very reasonable.
(4)Cai K.
Came here around 1:30 pm on a Sunday with 5 others. Good (Give me more!): - Steamed Pork Siu Mai (usually don't like it much, but it's pretty good this time) - Shrimp roll (small and crunchy) Ok (Is that it?): - Steamed shrimp dumpling - Stuffed bean curd with pork (did not have it, was told it was ok) - Shrimp crepe (had better, decent shrimp size) - Fried dough fritters crepe - Chinese broccoli (big pieces) - Deep fried taro puff (lurk warm, bland) - Beef chow fun (sort of oily) Bad (Would feed my garbage can if I didn't pay for it): - Chicken feet with black bean sauce (bland flavor-no taste!) - Spare Rib with black bean sauce (bland) - Black pepper beef chop (fatty and bland) - Shark's fin dumpling (dry, did not taste any shark fin, got punk'ed?) - Preserved egg with pork congee (pork sort of tough, bland) Came here after recommendations by two friends about 2 years ago. Did they have a change of owner/chefs? Some of the items are bland in taste. It was not crowded at this time. Food came out in a timely manner, though not was hot as it should be. Service was prompt. Washroom can be more clean and use a makeover. It came out to $12 (including tips) per person for 18 items. Not bad at all. Overall, it was a decent dimsum experience. Not sure if I would come back or not though.
(3)Raul B.
Out of all the Dim Sum places I have been to in the past half year or so this one stands out. Not only was the food delicious but cheap. The group of seven that I was with couldn't believe how cheap our bill came out even after ordering so much food. The highlights for me were the dumplings and ribs. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and unlike the other Dim Sum places this place was not crazy packed. We did have to wait a little bit for a table big enough to sit all of us but it was not a long wait. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. This is and will be my favorite go to Dim Sum spot from now on. There was some dishes we didn't order that I definitely want to try next time including the desserts. One more thing the curry octopus was to die for.
(4)Bill M.
I was at Mayflower recently for dim sum on a Saturday just before noon. I was expecting a crazy line, but our group of 5 adults and 2 kids was seated right away in the middle of the restaurant. You order dim sum off a color menu checklist (not as fun or glamorous as ordering from the food pushcarts, oh well). Once the orders go in, the selections come out reasonably quickly. Eating here is perfect for catching up on the good old times with your friends, as the selections we had seemed fairly standard and did not distract from the chitchatting. Egg rolls, shiu mai balls, chicken feet (yup sucked on one), noodles, you bet.
(4)kiley w.
I went here once with family. I did not find anything too special. But I did enjoy the decor, it reminded me of certain restaurants in Hong Kong. Again, the food was just okay. But the dessert was something different. It was steamed bread and it came with a dish of sweet condensed milk where you dip the bread in. This is the only place in Chinatown that serves this as a dessert. I might give the place another try, maybe I just went on a bad day. They also serve dimsum here.
(3)Carmen M.
My very big family including 6 uncles and aunts, my cousins, my cousin's spouses, my cousin's children, and many other family members came here to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. Yes I do have quite an extensive family and finding someplace to fit all of us can be quite hard. We decided to try out Mayflower on the recommendation of my aunt who works here. We ordered from a set menu and here is the list of dishes we had. 1. Seafood Soup 2. Seafood Medley 3. Salty Whole Chicken 4. Beef with Mushroom 5. Lobster 6. Melon stuffed with Scallop 7. Crab Meat Balls 8. Whole Steamed Fish 9. Fried Rice 10. Noodles - Yee Mein All in all the food was pretty light on flavor, not too salty and definitely not drowed in MSG. My favorite was the beef with mushroom which was served with a sweet sauce. The beef was soft and chewy. My favorite dish of the night. My sister complained that everything lacked flavor, but I thought it was nice to have something light once in a while. True that it lacked the salt and MSG that other restaurants add in their dishes, but isn't that a good thing? The food still had flavor, but not the oil, salt, MSG drenched flavor. Minimalist tasting foods bringing out the true flavor of the ingredients. Though the foods were minimalist, their plating was extravagant. They used a variety of raw vegetables and fruits to garnish the plates. The presentation of the foods definitely made it much more enjoyable. The combination of minimalist foods and extravagant presentation now that is pretty hard to come by in Chinatown. Though the food was not the best tasting Chinese food I ever had their service was exceptional. The manager of the restaurant served us and was very active in his restaurant. He waitered tables and chatted with his customers. The waiters were also very quick and efficient. We asked for napkins and in under 1 minute the waiter came back with our napkins. The waitering service was quick and friendly exactly what we needed. One complaint was the foods arrived terribly late. One dish would come out followed by another in 5 minutes, but then we were left waiting for 15 minutes for the next dish to come. Perhaps it was because they were extremely busy that day (there were also other groups celebrating birthdays and other such events). All in all this is a good restaurant to have a light authentic Chinese meal.
(4)Shirley A.
Hands down the best dim sum in Chinatown. The price for the quality and quantity you get in incredible. I've eaten in every restaurant in Chinatown for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is my favorite. The only bad thing about this restaurant is the service, but as a Chinese I know the service in Chinatown restaurants aren't always the best. Tip: Don't be shy to flag down the servers for anything. That's just how Chinese restaurants work; they only come when you ask for them.
(4)G. K.
REVIEW TYPE: LIMITED REVIEW Mayflower is a pretty decent place to stop for dim sum with reasonable prices and food worth eating. Of the dim sum places I've eaten at (and while I'm no expert on it I certainly have experience having eaten it nearly every other day for a year in the area (living close by and joining the girlfriend's family with regularity) and having enjoyed "authentic" dim sum during my travels in Hong Kong) Mayflower may not have been the best overall but certainly is one of my preferred haunts. The food is pretty good. Dim sum comes in standard portions and with tea (we usually get chrysanthemum, though they brought me Lipton once which I thought was rather funny though slightly rude) and crystalized sugar. They generally leave chopsticks at the table and don't ask if you need a fork if you're over fifteen, which is really quite nice (I've used chopsticks since I was six and can peel oranges with them), and the servers tend to treat you as competent. If you know how to order you'll be just fine. I'd recommend the salt and pepper softshell crab, which has been a little salty on occasion but is usually well balanced. The curried squid is the best I've had, though the portions for vegetable dishes are a little sparser than I'd like. This is family-style, so order a variety of dishes and experiment. The prices are lower than the nearby Ming Hin and tastes about the same, making it a better buy if you are looking for a meal, however the atmosphere is considerably less formal. If you don't like being packed in it may be best to visit later in the afternoon as the mornings and evenings get rather busy with families. Bonus points for the lack of moronic tourists in paddy-hats (it's Chicago, not Shandong). OVERALL: This place is worth a visit if you're looking for a good place to grab a bite.
(3)Liz R.
Group of 8 people. The waitress kept ignoring us and they forgot two of the di shes ordered. One of the dishes we did receive was incorrect. Unlike most times, the tea was watered down or maybe it wasnt green tea. not sure. We left no tip and one of the waitresses had the nerve to smack around the dishes afterwards and pour tea on the table out of what I'm guessing was frustration. Bizarre experience. No one apologized for forgetting two orders. i used to love this place. A major problem is the fact that one of the two waitresses didn't understand us at all when we tried explaining the lack of good service.
(1)Lefai K.
place was in the middle of chinatown on the main wentworth street. it was a hole in the wall and parking was difficult to find, much like most chinatown restaurants are. the food dishes were pretty delicious. BATHROOM REVIEW -- again, i made the mistake of using the bathroom BEFORE i ate. its kind of hard to avoid, since chinatown is an hour away and i'm trying to drink more water. i always say, if you want to keep your appetite, don't use the bathroom until after you eat, especially in chinatown. well, lemme tell ya, i wish i just pissed in my pants, or borrowed a diaper from my son. the bathrooms here was downright nasty. it was dimly lit, there was one working stall, and it smelled like stanky ol' piss. i was scared. i faced the tough decision of prolonging my stay in the bathroom in an attempt to wait for someone coming into the bathroom to push the door open for me, versus me catching an STD from touching the door knob. Sit or squat? hold yo shiet in and poop in the street.
(4)Howard L.
Decent sim sum here, and in the 3.5 - 4 star range. Most dishes are in the $3 range, and they are ordered off a picture menu. I liked that they had English and Chinese cable TV news stations, and the dining room layout was relatively spacious and comfortable for dim sum. I added a star for these features.
(4)Peter K.
Mayflower Restaurant really deserves 3.5 stars rather than 3. I gave it 3 stars because it doesn't quite deserve the 4. I prefer Mayflower Restaurant over the most popular dim sum restaurant Phoenix in Chicago's Chinatown. Here's why: Why Mayflower is better - Mayflower provides the same quality of food (which is above average for dim sum) vs. Phoenix for much less of the price. - There is almost never a wait at Mayflower Restaurant - The food is a lot faster here than Phoenix. Why Mayflower is worse - Mayflower is so-so at communicating in English. It can be difficult to order tea, get the check, etc. unless you speak Cantonese. - There is a lot less seating and it can be cramped at times. The dim sum here really is pretty good for the low price they offer it at. You can be comfortably full for about $8 (3-4 dishes per person). I'd recommend it. It just doesn't have the nice decor that Phoenix has.
(3)Susie C.
Just like any Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, this place meets that expectation. I would say it is good food for decent price. It's less expensive than Minghin, Phoenix, and Cai. Food is tasty for a good price!
(3)Chris W.
Helpings of food were ample for take out and the food was hot hot hot when we got it. Very fast delivery and reasonable prices. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food but the Empress Chicken was decent and my friends Sesame Chicken which I tried was REALLY good. I should have had that instead. The egg rolls were meh, but that's alright. Overall decent experience. I only give it three stars just because it was a three star experience. Not knocking it, not praising it. If we wanted to order cheap Chinese again, I'd get the Sesame Chicken as my entree.
(3)Nektaria R.
After all the rave reviews from An, Raul and other awesome yelpers, I kept thinking how I missed Mayflower last month and how I'm going to miss dim sum this month. I can't go more than 2 months without it. I thought, how can I go wrong by going here. I can. It's by going without an Asian friend in tow. First off, I placed over an hour on the meter, dim sum is typically fast so... should be enough time. This place wasn't so fast though. We got there around 2:40 which is the end of dim sum and I asked them if they were still serving (this after waiting over 10 minutes to be acknowledged, even thought there were 4 people walking around in the dining area) one young lady said yes and showed us to a table. Tea was brought out immediately which was a plus but then we waited another 10+ minutes for them to take our order even though the sheet was completely filled out! 15 -20 minutes later, all the food came out at once. Mind you, we were starving and now it's about 40 minutes that we're here. Half the food was cold. I was so disappointed but were so hungry that we just started scarfing stuff down. We were adventurous and tried the quail egg and pork siu mai (not so great - very eggy, e-yu! The deep fried shrimp ball, ah, where's the shrimp? The shrimp crepe was typical as was the taro root cake although both were cold and very gelatinous. Whatever, I'll eat cold dim sum at home too but going out, I expect things to be at the correct serving temperature. That's what we get for showing up late! Darn the stupid bathroom break on the Eisenhower. The plus: taro root puff was just wonderful (even when cold!). The shrimp rolls were decent and the rice crepe with crispy skin was very unique. I'm trying to have at least one new thing each time I go for dim sum so we had the fried lotus root cake which was different and OK. As far as the cost, it was decent, $32 for 2 with a 25% tip. Not sure why I tipped so much if they really didn't even care that we were there. Darn these server ethics of mine! It's not like they were even busy! The rush was already gone. Bottom line, I will not be going back unless I'm with An or Cindy since two Caucasians won't get much service. Not even a have a nice day.
(2)Shyam S.
I have to say that I ate here on a Saturday night over Labor Day weekend, so they were slammed, but it's hard for me to give them more than two stars. The service was piss poor - 45 minutes to get pot stickers and soup? - and our waiter was totally clueless. My father ordered a glass of white wine and this guy went to the kitchen and then returned to ask if my dad wanted cooking wine. What the hell? The food was okay, but not great. The most redeeming part of the meal was the incredible "small" hot and sour soup, which cost only $6.95 and served SIX people. The soup is the only reason I would return.
(2)Dorotka K.
Quite a disappointment. Met up with some friends and, maybe my expectations were faulty, but the Mayflower looked like your typical Chinese restaurant in the suburbs. The live sea animals swimming in the aquarium in the foyer were just plain creepy. I dined here with a group of friends. The menu was small and lacked adequate descriptions. I was unhappy with my entree and expected something different by the name of the dish. The dinners came with nothing. Usually, an egg roll and soup are included, at least at the restaurants I frequent. The only thing that came with my food was plain rice. A veggie entree, with barely any veggies, and a small bowl of rice cost a disappointing $9.25. Drinks were very mediocre. My Long Island Ice Tea contained more ice than anything else. I thought that maybe I made the wrong choice, because my friends' food looked good. Sadly, everything lacked seasoning and was beyond bland. One person even asked that her dish be prepared very very spicy only to receive one that lacked spice altogether. And on a side note, I hope they keep their kitchen cleaner than their bathroom... Gross.
(2)Chloe F.
This is my family's new favorite place for Chinese food besides carry-out at Golden Bulls. They offer meals for two, four, and etc, and the best part, you can select almost anything on the menu (except some seafoods) for 10 bucks a plate. I'm serious. It's simply incredible. A lot of the restaurants in Chinatown have "big potions" while they're stuffed with lots of veggies (lettuce on the bottom), but this is not the case here. Thumbs up for their salt and pepper fish fillets! After having dinner here several times, I decided to give try their dim-sum - average. The owner is a guy from either Kaiping or Taishan. He chatted with our family, and I can tell he's a very honest guy working hard to serve tasty food for its customers. It's different from the trendier restaurants like Joy Yee's, Ming, and Cai that are decreasing in their food quality as they get more popular. This place is visited by local Chinese people with hardly any non-Chinese guests.
(5)Julie T.
We were so desperate to get dim sum and weren't willing to wait so long for seven treasures so we gave Mayflower a go and never again. They had very few selections in their dim sum menu and it wasn't even great. The Sui Mai were huge but weren't good like I was hoping it to be. The worst was the chicken feet. The skin were so tightly stuck onto the bone I wasn't given a chance to really enjoy it like other places where the skin is thicker, softer and soggy. The congee with the 50 year old egg wasn't as bad like I thought everything else was. The service was bad. There was barely any waiters in sight so we had to wait awhile to put in our order and even when we had to ask for silver wear or condiments. The price however was fairly cheap in my opinion but I guess you get what you pay for.
(1)Joyce W.
If only I can give them 0 stars... We called in for dim sum at 1030. When my sister showed up to pick it up at 1100 (I was outside), they told her they gave the order to someone else and they paid for it. Then, instead of remaking the order, the lady ignored her for 10 minutes until I walked in the door to see what was going on. When I walked in was when they decided to see if we wanted to put in that order and it would take an extra 20 mins. I asked her if we get a discount since they gave away our order. She says no because IT WASN'T HER FAULT SHE GAVE AWAY OUR ORDER. WTF! NEVER GOING THERE AGAIN!
(1)Trish B.
Food is decent. A bit pricey. But the hostess is soft spoke. And not very friendly. Must not like her job.
(3)Mark P.
I will NOT eat here again and would give it a ZERO if I could. Three of us came in during a very quiet time of day (after lunch and before dinner) to order take-out. Staff was a bit rude, with most of them coming in before dinner service to eat and laugh in the back portion of the restaurant. Our food came out pretty quickly in about 10 minutes. We hopped back on the Red Line with food in hand, but discovered afterwards that 1 main dish was wrong. We got shrimp with broccoli instead of broccoli beef. Only one of us can eat shrimp, so it WAS a major deal. We couldn't take it back, and to make matters worse, several pieces of the shrimp weren't cleaned well because the poop vein was still there. NOT appetizing at all. I'll find another Chinese restaurant.
(1)Diana J.
Good cheap Chinese food. Probably one of the cheapest dim sum places around here as their large dish is only $3.75. Never a wait on Sunday morning. Good congee.
(3)Stephanie S.
The place was not very clean and smelly. We ordered 3 dishes and 1 dimsum menu. Only 1 of the dish was okay and our dimsum didn't even come out. They charged us for the dimsum but fortunately I checked the bill and they took that out. The service was not good and they demanded a certain amount of tip. If you didn't give enough, they will ask you to add more. Not recommended.
(1)Cloey S.
Very good food. I've been here for dinner a few times and have never had a complaint. The service could be a little faster, but the food makes the wait worth it. They serve things in large portions and you et family style. We usually order orange chicken, general tso's chicken and fried rice. They give you hot tea with your meal and it is very delicious. I love this place.
(4)K A.
It's all about what you order! Dim sum fresh and tasty! WHERE'S the meat and veggies in our beef chow fun and bbq pork/chashu in our chow mein?!!! Chow mein only had ONE PIECE Chinese broccoli!!! Service unattentive, but functional. Decor seemed newly remodeled, but PLEase do something about the DIRTY dingy women's bathroom!!!! Did they run out of money?? Pricing: seemed high for takeout orders of chow fun and mein. Very small portion with no meat or veggies!
(2)Tony C.
Having lunch at Mayflower restaurant around 2 pm. today Walked in, not busy at all. The waitress just tossed the menus on the table. Ordered my food and finally brought the foods and tea. Service is inattentive, never asked me if I need my tea refill or need more napkins .They were too busy watching TV in the back of the dining room. Got my bill and left a small tip . The waitress called me as I was leaving. She said I didn't tip her enough. So I asked her, what good services did you provided me? She could not answer me. This is very unprofessional way to asked customers for more tip when the service is lousy.
(1)Monique G.
Don't waste your time here. I ordered takeout, and it took almost 20 minutes for some dang vegetable chow mein. And when I checked the bag to make sure my order was correct, the noodles were dried noodles that resembled top ramen. Apparently you have to mix the noodles and veggies together and it'll soften the noodles. Not what I was looking for after a long day at work. Save your time, and money, and go somewhere else.
(1)Bill Y.
As a resident of California, we ventured into Chinatown looking for a Chinese dinner, not an Americanized or "Chinese-style" meal. I am delighted to say that we found it here. Though I am of Asian decent, I don't speak or read Chinese, but was happy to be asked if I'd like a Chinese menu. Good sign. As for decor, the restaurant was okay. Nothing fancy, but I'm not there to be enchanted by the ambiance. I wanted to eat. The restaurant was clean and serviceable. As for the food, we couldn't be happier. We ordered won ton soup (yeah, not the most Chinese of the soups on the menu) but they hit the spot. A small bowl contained 12 large won ton, along with some chopped vegetables and Chinese barbecue pork. Excellent for a cold night. We also ordered chicken with Chinese broccoli, and beef chow fun. Both dishes had very generous portions of meat and both were very large plates. We ordered steamed rice to go with it, and between the 3 of us we brought home enough to feed at least one more. This was an excellent meal at an excellent price. We couldn't be happier.
(5)Angeline S.
Not recommended at all. This place is not as crowded as the other chinese restaurants in chinatown which is why we came here. But turned out this was a very bad one. The place has a disgusting smell which I think comes from the table. All food was very oily. In top of all, the service given was bad and I was kind enough to give them 10% tips on a lunch but when I was walking out from the restaurant, the server chased me and asked for a minimum of 15% tips in a rude way.
(1)J L.
Completely fucked up our order and showed no sympathy for it. Instead of trying to fix their own mistake they decided to ignore the problem. They have successfully ruined mother's day for us. And no, the food is not that good.
(1)Angela C.
Even for a Chinese place Mayflower had terrible service. Our group of four arrived at the restaurant at 10:30a on a Sunday and had to wait 15 minutes to get a table as the morning dim sum crowd trickled out. Except for the menu, we had to flag down the wait staff for things that should've been brought without having to ask, such as soy sauce, red vinegar, tea (they took the pot away to be refilled and never brought it back), a knife (the servers didn't cut our rice noodle rolls, which was unusual), and the check. The dim sum here was hit or miss. Good things included shu mai, fried shrimp/pork dumplings, BBQ pork buns, and tofu skin wraps. The rice noodle rolls (chang fen) were falling apart, and the sticky rice in lotus leaves and the fried taro-wrapped pork had a paltry amount of filling. All the dim sum dishes were $3 each, which came out to $9 pp including tax and tip. Although brunch at Mayflower was cheap, I hope I can find better dim sum places around Chinatown.
(3)Lily Z.
I haven't been to Mayflower or had dim sum in a while. However, I can tell that the quality of the food has gone down. The boy and I shared shrimp dumpling, pork dumpling, shrimp rice crepe, beef tripe and shark fin dumpling. The only "good" ones were shrimp dumpling, shrimp crepe and maybe the pork dumpling. The beef tripe barely had any taste and it was dry. Shark fin didn't do anything for me. I would go to other places in the Chinatown area for dim sum.
(2)Jean L.
This was the first dim sum I tried since moving to Chicago. I'm originally from the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles, essentially an area extremely populated with cantonese-Americans. In other words, I have had exceptional dim sum. Had I reviewed this RIGHT after I had eaten here, I would have rated it a 3-star. However, I have been to dim sum twice in Chicago post-eating here, and Mayflower's food is superior compared to that of the other experiences. First and foremost, don't expect to be impressed by the decor. As other reviewers have remarked, the bathroom is no picture of perfection. However, that's the case with most "real" Chinese restaurants, so it doesn't phase me. On to the food. Pretty straight-forward dim sum, with okay selection. I still miss places with the little carts, but I'll settle. I was a little disappointed that they didn't serve their full menu until a little later in the morning; because dim sum is traditionally served for breakfast, I went early. I was hoping to order a few entrees to bring back home, but their entree chef had not yet arrived. boo. The prices. Okay, I know Chinatowns are always marked up with prices (blame it on being a tourist trap), but I'm used to dim sum being between $1.50-3 a plate. I'll survive. Plus this place is cheaper than Minghin. The staff. So the moment I got to Mayflower, I headed for the restroom. My non-Chinese looking friend sat at our table, and when I got back, he told me that they brought tea. Given that dimsum is basically tea time, I was a little disappointed at the lipton they sat at the table. The moment the staff realized I was Chinese, I was asked what kind of tea I wanted, a courtesy not extended to my friend. The whole time we were at the restaurant, I was the only one addressed - I attribute this to the language barrier.
(4)Diana G.
Came here for dinner with family and friend a few days ago. We had 8 adults and 1 child. Crispy Chicken Fish fillets with chives Walnut Shrimp Sizzling Beef Some veggie I can't remember Fried Smelt Not sure if I left anything out I thought everything was ok, nothing wowed me. My mom and her friend really enjoyed the crispy chicken. After dinner they gave us the mon tau (buns) with sweet condensed milk. Then they even asked us if we wanted red bean soup. Prices are great! I believe it was under $80 for everything before tip and we all thought it was cheap. Will have to come try out the dim sum in the future!
(3)An P.
Attention all Yelpers! Red alert! Red alert! Chicago's cheapest dim sum has been found! At first glance, cheap does not mean better, but in the world of Chinatown that axiom shatters without further inspection! Assembling the warriors of dim sum, we found Mountain View Chef under utter renovation and I had backup ready and Mayflower more than fit the bill. A block down from the plaza into old Chinatown, Mayflower was spacious and was able to take our party of seven without a hitch. Giant glasses of water descended, an absolute rarity in Chinese dim sum hot spots, while hot chili sauce and soy sauce was ready to go. Me and Yanyao N. started checking off all of the necessary eats to feed the dim sum army. I doubled back when I looked more carefully at the menu: the most expensive dish on the menu was a paltry $3.30 for a large plate of dim sum! Steaming bamboo bowls of shumai descended upon the table, shrimp fun rolls, shrimp dumplings, and Chinese broccoli rained down without a snag. Biting in was pure delight as I used my chopstick to quickly slice shumai in half and sunk my teeth into formidable dim sum! Passing the sniff test (no beef shumai, PLEASE!), I then moved over to the shrimp fun rolls and found the shrimp deveined and bathing in sweet, sweet soy sauce. Fried taro was crunchy and the inside mushiness was a yumfest to the nth degree. Shrimp toast rocked our boat while the pork spare ribs came out tender melting my heart. Crunchy shrimp rolls filled our plates and the experience was heightening to seventh heaven with a smooth descension back down to cloud nine. Curry octopus?! Let me dance my way back to the plaza barefoot with my socks knocked off! Y-U-M! When the bill arrived and I quickly calculated the total damage including 25% tip to be $12 a head, I wanted to break out in fist pumps and Andrew Dice Clayian-levels of obscenities and profanities to express my adulation. The joy of dim sum has been found and Yelp dim sum pilgrims, its name is Mayflower!
(4)Rosanna L.
DIM SUM = Fresh! Delicious! and a Great Price! The food here is made to order so the wait is a bit longer than places that serves dim sum on those carts, but I defintiely prefer it that way because it means FRESH and HOT shu mai, shrimp dumplings, shrimp crepes, and everythinggggg! *drools* I tried their congee for the first time and is pretty good, it has a good flavor to it. My favorite besides the shu mai is their chicken sticky rice! Flavorful, sticky, and delicious! Definitely try this the next time you're there! The service is decent, the waitresses aren't as tentative, but they'll bring what is asked in a timely manner as long as you can get their attention. Also for those first timers their menu has pictures on them! So you can see what you are ordering! Can't wait to go back for dim sum again!
(4)Jennie T.
They have delicious dim sum here. Don't get the seafood dumplings or even the shrimp rice noodle roll... The seafood dumplings are a bit dry and the rice noodle rolls were thicker than I expected. Everything else should be a-ok though. I love their shrimp dumplings and chicken feet. I love that they have four different options. The unfortunate thing is that Tiff was a little skeptical about trying the other options. Their bean sprouts and green onions noodles were also good. As one of our companions said, "I know it sound ridiculous, but it's good!" Yeah. I actually make these noodles for myself at home sometimes. Oh, and I like that they have actual paper tablecloths as opposed to white trash bags (see my other dim sum reviews). It's more classy, I think.
(4)Jacob Y.
AWESOME freshly cooked dim sum, better than a lot of the larger restaurants. And the portions are great. Excellent for big groups. Just be cautious...don't over order...the last few times we had dim sum leftover for days! And get there early on the weekends...it's crowded!
(4)Joanne C.
Came here last night for an early Thanksgiving family dinner. It was very good and Mayflower is on my small list of Chinatown places I will go back to and/or recommend to people. Here is what we had: fresh scallops topped with garlic and vermicelli, Chinese chives stir-fried with pork and tofu, steamed fish, lamb casserole, and some kind of shrimp cake that I don't know the name of cuz my mom ordered it in Chinese. I had everything but the shrimp since I'm allergic but what I ate was very good. Especially the fresh scallops. And then at the end there was a plate of steamed mantou ( Chinese buns) with condensed milk for dipping. YUM. Love those things. My sister's bf comes here for late night snacking and he says it's pretty good so I will be back to try that too.
(4)Diana L.
The restaurant isn't awesome looking.. but their food is delicious! Nuff said, go try it!
(5)Len L.
This place has great dim-sum, better than majority of the restaurant's nearby. They have picture menu's that gives you a good idea on how it should look before you order. I usually go to Mayflower for dinner. They have very fresh seafood that they serve, no matter how you like it prepared. I usually get the steamed oysters with black bean and garlic sauce. Delicious!. These oysters are large and not your usual small one gulp per shell oysters.
(4)Philip S.
This has been my new go to Dim Sum shop since the infamous Happy Chef closed. I know I am a gweilo, but I was a well recognized one at that by the Happy Chef staff. Is this as good as California, Toronto or Vancouver? Most likely not. Do they do a good job and provide excellent value? A resounding YES. The worn carpet and furniture along with the dirty lobster tanks in front will scare off the less daring. Let them run off to Mayflower's prettier counterparts Ming Hin and Cai in the newer plaza. And for those who venture forward, await plump and succulent delicacies of the Guangdong region. The Dim Sum servings are large, hot and tasty. The ambiance is warmer and more traditional than the very austere Happy Chef, but the prices are comparable. As I would tell the squeamish, if the food is hot, don't concern yourself with the decor. You are here to eat, drink tea and of course chat with your friends around large round tables. This review only pertains to afternoon Dim Sum. I have never been there for dinner. English and forks do not appear to be an issue for the staff. As is many times the case in Chinatown, service is on an on-call basis. You don't call, they don't come. Get it, got it, okay!
(5)Agnes F.
Not bad for dim sum in chinatown, and reasonably priced but service is only ok i had to be my aggressive asian self (i didn't think i had it in me anymore.. but i guess its always there :) to get some service here the black pepper pork stomach was surprisingly good and i do like the chicken feet as well the quail egg dumpling however was not how i remembered in hk though this place get packed early on weekends so you might want to consider getting there early
(3)Jackie S.
after wandering around chinatown on freezing christmas day for about half an hour, my sister and i stopped in here for our traditional meal, mostly because their menu had vegetarian options we could easily find. it was full, which was a good sign, and full of actual asian families, which was a better sign. it was my first time ordering through the check-the-box-under-the-picture system. we ordered some custard baos, sesame buns, sweet potato cakes, and a great tofu and vegetables entree. yum. while we made a lot of good choices, i made one terrible mistake. veggie crepes. i'm sure this is an acquired taste and other people find it completely normal, but they were slimy. they were chewy. they were white and slimy and chewy. don't order veggie crepes unless you are expecting this. everything came to about $20, which was awesome. i don't eat in chinatown very often (unless i'm picking something up from wan shi da... mmm), but i'd definitely go back to mayflower.
(3)Dantee A.
I finally popped my dim-sum cherry (I was holding out for way too long) and I was not disappointed with Mayflower. We were referred by one of the workers at the gift shop about 2 stores down from Mayflower. She said that its her favorite place to eat when she's on break. She lived up to her promise. My friend and I ordered the Steamed BBQ Pork Buns, Fried Shrimp Balls, Quail Egg & Pork Shumai, Shrimp Dumplings, and a "Deep Fried Delicious Dumpling" - which was mouthwatering and delicious. The final bill - a little over $15! Now, the food here filled us up with a enough room for dessert. My friend and I are known to eat a lot and we were surprised with the final outcome. I would definetly go back and try their lunch specials (they have a good selection at $4.95 a plate). Friendly service - cheap - amazing dim sum. I do not regret losing it to Mayflower.
(4)Victor L.
This is one of the joys of my life since coming to Chicago. The food is good and the price is cheap. You can easily spend $12 per person and still have enough for a take out box for a midnight snack. You order the food from a picture menu (genius for those who don't know the names of all the dishes) and then the food comes out in no time. Although I am a fan of traditional dim sum with the carts of food coming to you...honestly, why not have your food hot and fresh out the kitchen. As well, you don't get dissappointed and impatient waiting for your favorite dish to finally cart around.
(4)Jane L.
My sister and I went here by chance; we were looking for some Chinese food and stopped into a couple places before this one. Mayflower is popular, it had a short wait compared to some half empty places we passed, and good selection. We ordered some delicious vegetarian food. We had a nice tofu and veggie dish off the main menu, and some small dishes off the picture menu. The custard bun was amazing and the sweet potato cakes were pretty good, but we made a mistake in ordering the vegetable "crepes." It's more of an Asian haggis. We left with enough leftover for two more meals and it only cost us about $20 plus tip. Yay!
(4)Angela F.
I grew up on Chinatown food, esp. the dim-sum, so I know what I'm talking about. I've also went here for dinner as recommended by friends, but I wouldn't recommend it; the food was lacking, but not too bad. They offer the standard dim-sum fare, but the one thing you HAVE to try is their taro cake. If you're looking at who started the shredded taro-cake trend, look no further. We used to go to the Mayflower JUST for their taro cake dish, but now that other places have it + the food is sometimes a hit-and-miss, we've moved onto other places.
(4)L V.
So typical chinatown service. Can't say too much about that. I come to expect it. The people were just normal. Not particularly rude or super nice. Just to business. It certainly helps my bf speaks cantonese. We always get the family meal dinners in chinatown which are always a good deal...but works a lot better when you can speak chinese to order and figure out whats included. We got a meal with ginger chicken, salted fried shrimp, and seafood stirfry over chinese brocoli. The stir fry was a little bland, but everything else was very good. We also got a traditional broth soup to start and a tapioca red bean desert. As typical of most family meals served at all the restaurants. Having eaten at many of the restaurants in chinatown, I was overall very pleased and would go back.
(4)Varsha L.
We were walking around Chinatown and there are so many restaurants to pick from, but we ended up picking Mayflower, uh mistake and I really hate to give this place a bad review but it was an awful experience! We got in, no one came by for any drink orders, finally after like 10 min the waitress came by for our food order and still no water... ok so we ordered the crab rangoons and this scallop, shrimp and vegetable dish, they did bring out hot tea but no water until we asked and when asked for water when the meal came it was like I was asking for the waitresses right arm... then I asked for an extra plate which was like asking for her left arm... Crab rangoon was okay, I have had better, then comes our meal, like I said we had the scallop SHRIMP and vegetables-an item the menu and we did not alter it in anyway except to make it spicy, we did not see any shrimp in the dish at all!!!!!! We told the waitress and she is like oh should I bring some out? UH YEAH you should or actually you should have the cook make us a new batch!!!!!! So we told yeah she should bring out the shrimp... This dish is basically was oil and crush pepper flakes-something I could have made on my own... then my husband sees our waitress clipping her nails in the back! NICE! The service here is terrible, food was only okay, no ambience, the only positive was that the vegetables were fresh and the packaged fortune cookie was good....
(1)Anna G.
I'm giving this 3 stars because I was told to. But it works. Um...it's kind of hard to think of anything to say about it, plus I decided to be a genius and get curry chicken which never really tastes any different from one place to another no matter what. Probably better than the closest greasey chinese takeout in your neighborhood, but not the best in China town...
(3)Toshi B.
For what it is, this is a pretty good place. Don't expect super fine dining but the ambience is pretty decent for a Chinese restaurant, clean, and service is very good. They won't chat you up but the servers are certainly friendly. I love going for dim sum where the wait is not as long as Phoenix. My Chinese friends from LA and HK gave thumbs up re: the food. Dinner is good too...not as good as dim sum but decent nonetheless.
(4)Andy W.
At here for lunch on Sunday 9/30/12: Had the WORST dining experience in 16 years in Chinatown. The service is TERRIBLE: we waited 1 hr at the table, but still no food. Called over the hostess who seemed surprised and said it will be out shortly. But no, I was then told they ran out of some vegetable and asked if I wanted another - yeah after waiting one hour?! Should have said so sooner. I think they must have just straight up forgot our entire order. When one dish finally arrived the coconut shrimp was coated in what looked and tasted like mayo straight from the bottle. I had waited so long for food and to receive such a disaster I just had to speak with the manager to take back the shrimp and off our bill. He game out to speak w/ me. At this point, I was still waiting for the other dishes I had ordered an hour ago. He basically said they were busy and no he was not going to do anything about the shrimp because that's just how they made it there. He never apologies or try to make up for our long wait. In the end, he even got ANGRY w/ me for complaining and said I can box up and leave if I wanted too. Wow - some great customer service there. NOT. For refusing to help out a dissatisfied customer, you managed to turn away our business forever and the business of those who will now think twice about trying this place due to this review.
(1)Desiree Anne A.
This was my first time coming in Mayflower. I heard a lot about this place (good/bad/and eh) but the only reason we came here was because of some of the awesome reviews. I like the fact that the table covers are paper rather than bags. I spilled my soy sauce bottle and it still didn't seep through (ma bad) There are no carts and the menu is a huge sheet with pictures of each order. AWESOME, now I know how its suppose to look. Great dishes and some of the first time having them were: curry octopus, shark fin dumplings (nice and juicy inside), & deep fried shrimp ball (huge!) I'd like to try there shredded taro cake, that's something new I haven't seen before. Overall, great experience at Mayflower. Much fancier than I imagined. At little loud in the morning, but very spacious table for two. I was there on week day so service was fast and fresh! ;) enjoy!
(4)Annie L.
Terrible service-the waitresses were not friendly. My family and I went here for dinner one evening, and we got 8 dishes. The steamed fish was spoiled and inedible. We complained and they said that they could not do anything about it, so we had to pay $22.50 for something we could not eat.
(1)Kristina M.
I thought the dim sum was absolutely delicious and a great value! The shu mai were delicious and the fried rice was great. I will definitely be back next time I'm in Chicago. Basically everything was delicious. Get the steamed BBQ pork buns!
(4)Pavithra M.
OMG! I didn't think you could get that much food for only $10 per head, which included a dish of "kanji" for the kids. Every single dish on the table was delicious. You could taste the freshness of every ingredient in every bite. I could not possibly name all the stuff we ordered, but a few that stood out for me were the shrimp rolls, shrimp crepe, fried dough dumplings and a fried pork dumpling. I am sure the fried dough dumpling has a perfectly good name, which I would have asked for, if I had stopped eating long enough to think. Fantastic food, seriously underpriced. I am dying to go back after just one day!
(5)Megan L.
Some friends and I went to the Chinatown festival today, and when we realized that the few booths serving food were few and far between (and mobbed) we decided to stop into Mayflower for the very well thought out reason of 'we were in front of it.' Hey, we were starving, what do you want? The first impression is a small entryway with a fish tank in it, full of filthy, murky water, and giant fish, one of which was dead at the bottom of the tank. Um... guys, seriously, clean that tank or move it someplace where your customers won't see it. Anyway, nasty fish tank aside, we decided to stay, because at that point we'd been able to pull up the Yelp reviews on the phone and 3.5 stars sounded ok. The food was good - pretty standard Chinese food for your favorites (egg rolls, crab rangoon, potstickers, fried rice, general tso's chicken), but nothing spectacular. They definitely had a number of more authentic sounding Chinese dishes, but I'm an Irish-Italian girl, so I could certainly be wrong. I have to admit that the service was borderline awful, but I'm going to forgive them because we were there mid-afternoon and there was a wait (I guess we weren't the only ones who thought that opting for a restaurant instead of festival food was a good idea). I'd definitely give them another try.
(3)MeLissa H.
Typical Chinese dim sum fare. Not the greatest. I wouldn't come again unless someone mandated it.
(3)Cindy D.
Went here for dim sum and could accomodate 12 people within 30 minutes on an Easter Sunday. Great variation and large portions.. ended up being $14/pp.
(4)Betty S.
Four stars for the dim sum. I took a dim sum snob here (who is asian and used to SF Chinatown), and he really liked it. - the ordering is different since there aren't the usual carts, but the picture menu is good for people unfamiliar with dim sum (and those willing to wait for the food) - there weren't as many sauces on the table as usual, but you can ask for them - service was pretty standard for a Chinese restaurant, as someone else noted Those were his observations...mine are that I had some good food and they have alcohol. I'd go again.
(4)Linda C.
Just came back from dinner where we waited 30 minutes for a table and then another 35 minutes before our food started trinkling onto the table. We ordered duck where they sliced the duck off the bone and served it with moo shu wrap and some hoison sauce. The duck was pretty good but I've honestly never had bad duck. The wrap was hard, another 10 secs in the microwave would have done it some good. We ordered two types of fish, one fried and the other steamed. The best dish was the duck noodle and the pea pod tips. Mediocre dishes included sweet and sour pork (chinese style), beef ribs, chinese brocolli, sugar snaps with scallops and shrimp, crab, lobster and chicken. All the dishes were just meh. The experience would have been better if we didn't wait so freaking long for the food to come. Came in at 7:00 and didn't leave until 9:30 :/ It was also very stuffy. they should have turned on the a/c or at the very least opened the door for a few minutes to let get the air circulating. Maybe I will have a different experience with their dim sum.
(3)Nancy F.
No no no - do not come here for dim sum. I've tried Mayflower many times over the past year or so for dim sum. At first, it was nice to try out someplace new for dim sum but why does my family want to keep coming back? After trying it once more after taking a hiatus from it, I clearly indicated to my mom that we will not come back again! The dim sum is not good! This has to be the worst spare ribs I've ever eaten - I ate one piece and couldn't eat anymore. Chicken feet were ok, but just because everything else is bad. The crepe/funn roll comes out looking pretty (if you order shrimp. The beef looks too pinkish for my taste - why is beef pink?) but thats about it. I cut a quarter of a fried taro cake to try and took a small nibble before I had to put it down: ugh, no thanks. When I saw my mom trying to cut a piece of taro cake for herself, I quickly (like a ninja) chopsticked my taro cake into her plate. "Here mom! Just have my piece" with an innocent smile. BF tried his usual fried dim sum and even he said it was disgusting and threw out the leftovers. This is getting an extra star because we ordered this sticky fried rice and that was actually pretty darn good. However, my mom also told me to keep it in perspective - maybe it tasted so good because it was the first thing that came out and still hot and everything after was just terrible. But I think the rice was actually good. "Sadly", I may never know because i don't think I'll be back.. PS Do not come here for dim sum just because they validate parking... having bad dim sum but easy parking is not worth it (at least to me....)!
(2)Suzy C.
Dim sum dim sum dim sum galore! Move over, overpriced Phoenix you. This is the new place for dim sum folks. Wow. everything is delicious, the shu mais are huge, and everything comes to your table hot and freshly made. You thought you already knew Chicago dim sum? Well if you haven't tried dim sum at Mayflower, you know nothing. Now, they don't do the cart that walks around each table where you pick out the food you want. White folks- you will get over it, you do not need this gimmick to feel like you're getting some real China experience. Besides, with those carts, things come to you cold and who needs that. They give you a menu with pictures and you pick out what you want. It's fun, it's efficient, and food is awesome. Try it! Only minus is they don't give you enough hot sauce, so be prepared to ask for it constantly!
(4)Jimmy W.
I was expecting more from this restaurant. Maybe I should have went for Dim Sum and not dinner. When I entered the restaurant, the atmosphere was really friendly and felt like eating at home in a Cantonese restaurant. It started out at a 5 star rating and then slowly went down. I came here for my first dinner in Illinois in Chicago Chinatown. I ordered sweet and sour chicken, and shrimp chop suey. It came with egg roll, crab Rangoon, egg drop soup, and hot and sour soup. I waited a long time for my appetizers, which were the soups and the egg roll and Rangoon. Then it finally came. I was starving. The hot and sour soup and egg drop soup was worth mentioning. I've tasted a lot of soups around in New York and a lot of fast food Chinese restaurants water down the soups. Each of the soup was thick in taste and included lots of condiments. The egg roll and Rangoon was just average. After being served the soup, I waited an extra 15 minutes before being served the main course. Our first main course was the sweet and sour chicken. The waiter said he was going to come back quickly with the rice so I can have something to eat with the chicken. I waited for 8 minutes and I had to ask another waitress to get me the rice. Then I waited another 10 minutes for my chicken chop suey?! They got the order wrong, I ordered shrimp chop suey! This restaurant needs to adjust their cooking method. As I was waiting for my food, I realized that they cook all the food for a specific table and make the rest of the tables wait. One of the tables beside mine was being served constantly, about every 5 minutes with new dishes like Cantonese Lobster, Bak Choy, and steamed fish. Once there order was done, then they moved on to the next table. They need to cook a dish from each table so that every customer will be satisfied and equally the same time. The soup gave it one extra star.
(2)David M.
There are few places where Dim Sum is actually good. The only place in Dallas is oily and horrible. I went to Mayflower with my friend and it was everything I hoped. The only other place where I've had equally appealing Dim Sum was New York. I would say this place even ranks with the best of L.A. I highly recommend it! I was stuffed and very satisfied. The service was good and overall experience was also, but who cares...THEY HAVE GOOD DIM SUM!!!! I would have given it 5 even if the service was horrible.
(5)