Shang Hai Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Boerne

Food is very good and plates are plentiful, but service is a DAMN JOKE! The very first time my boyfriend and I ate here, about two months ago, our server delivered our food but then we never saw her again. She never came to refill drinks or ask if we needed anything, not even once. When we were finished eating, we waited around for about 10 mins to see if she would return to bring us our check but she never did. My boyfriend got up to find her, and found her sitting in a chair next to the kitchen drinking a beer. She immediately got up and asked if everything was ok and if we needed our check. We just paid for our food and left but due to the nonexistence of service, we DID NOT leave a tip! We decided to give this place another try a few weeks later, and the service was really good and we were impressed, but when the check arrived, the server wrote in "$2.00 for tip" at the end of our check. We asked what that was about and she said that she had remembered us from a few weeks prior and how we didn't leave a tip for the other server so she wrote in a mandatory tip to make sure we left one. I was absolutely shocked. I tried to explain to her what happened during our first dining experience but she immediately became irate and told us (in extremely broken chinese/english) that if we were in China, nobody would serve us. She continued to raise her voice at us in front of the entire restaurant. We couldn't understand what she was saying or why she was so angry. I just got up from the table, paid our bill at the front desk, and walked out. I absolutely cannot understand the mentality of the staff here. We were totally ready to write off the entire first experience and leave a generous tip, and we had even planned on coming back. Not anymore. These people...

We arrived at 6:15, and we were surprised that the parking lot was not full. We have gone in for pickup and enjoyed it. Because we arrived before 6:30 (now all those other folks missed out!) we were able to order off the lunch menu. That was a savings on the bill, plus we got Hot & Sour soup and an egg roll with our dinners. Every place is different, in Texas, I guess they eat later. We are recent transplants and we are staying at a hotel, and see people at breakfast, but we never discussed dinner with anyone. What is "normal" anyway? The food was delicious, the hot and sour soup had a great balance of spices and it was a treat! The egg roll was crispy and filled with vegetables. The star attraction was the meat dish, I had Mongolian Beef and my hubby has Spicy Shredded Beef. Both of us got steamed rice. I had enough leftover for my lunch today, and it was still great. Vegetables were still crisp and the sauce is still yummy. The rice was perfect. (I warmed it up in a microwave!!! That does not always go so well with leftover foods.) I would say that it is a worthwhile trip and, we will return. Just get the deal, arrive before 6:30, you will be glad you did. Oh, and if my fortune 🥠 cookie is right, in 3 months I will be extremely happy. Just sayin'. Watch this space July 10th is going to be a...

I was very impressed on my first visit to the Shang Hai restaurant. The service was good as was the food. To top it off the prices are very reasonable too. Probably the biggest negative is that it is kind of tucked away in the far corner of HEB parking lot and so you really need to know where you are going to find it. We definitely will be going back so that I can try more selections from their menu.

I have to update my review of Shang Hai Restaurant as we had encountered one less than ideal visit to Shang Hai in the recent past. Herein lies the value of an engaged owner that cares about how their business and their employees interact with the customers. The owner contacted me directly after the aforementioned visit and asked that we come back and let her make things right.

I feel that it is our responsibility to give them that chance if they are willing and wishing to fix whatever problems that they do have. The return was well worth it, as the owner had taken steps to educate their employees, and improve their business.

As such, given the quality of the food, level of service, and value provided, I feel that we have to give them 5 stars for an all around...