Mandarin — Restaurant in Bountiful

I'm not sure what inspired a Greek-American family to open a Chinese restaurant in Bountiful, Utah in the late 70s, but this restaurant has become a Utah icon since its founding. Regarded by some as the best Chinese restaurant in the state, your expectations are better set if you think of an amusement parks version of high-end Chinese food - and I mean that in the best way.

The egg rolls are reminiscent of a carnival corn dog; large, well-breaded, and perfectly fried. The sauce that comes with it really makes the dish. Not a must-order, but very good. The pot stickers, however, are a must-order. The ham fried rice is average, where it's not bad but there's not a lot of flavor to it. I'd try the chicken fried rice next time. The sweet and sour almond chicken is really good, but it's nothing like a traditional sweet and sour dish. Think a juicy breaded chicken breast covered in a sweet lemony-sauce with almonds. Again, very good, one of their signature dishes, but not a traditional American-Chinese dish. The orange peel beef was my favorite of the entrees, with good flavor, but it's not on my must-order list. I'd agree with others' reviews on the honey walnut shrimp; it's good, but only order for a minimum of 4 people. It wouldn't be good as a standalone entree. The handcrafted ice cream flight of 5 was fun to try, but the Nutella banana and passion fruit were the only two that tickled my fancy. I wouldn't order it again. The cherry lemonade was great. You only get one refill, but it's a great tasting lemonade, which is rare for cherry-flavored items.

The service was fantastic, and we really appreciated our server, Amanda. She was prompt and personable, and the service from start to finish was excellent.

The atmosphere and story of Mandarin is the true winner. I love Utah and family-owned restaurants, and this has definitely stood the test of time. You can tell many of the patrons have been coming here for 30+ years, and it's a rare trait for restaurants to maintain that level of loyalty. For that alone, it's worth a stop.

Overall, I enjoyed my visit, but it's also not a place I'm rushing to come back to. If Google allowed half stars, my true overall score would be a 3.5. It's charming and iconic, but in a class of its own as far as American-Chinese restaurants...

Tonight we went to the Mandarin Restaurant in Bountiful, Utah. This was our first visit, and there were three of us. We really love Chinese food, and we had heard several good things about this restaurant so we were excited since our favorite Chinese restaurant permanently closed during the pandemic.This was meant to be a special outing for Christmas.

We liked the restaurant decor and the holiday decorations. It was especially nice to find tables with tablecloth‘s, and the plates at our table were still warm from having been placed. We had an excellent waiter as well, Harlem. Our general comments about the food should not detract in any way from the excellent service that we received from him.

We ordered several dishes: two types of soup, three appetizers, and three entrées. The soup was good. We had hot and sour soup and wonton soup. two of the three appetizers were also good. The potstickers were delicious, and the Chinese barbecued pork was pretty good. However, the cream cheese wontons were not very good at all. Only one of the entrées was really enjoyable: the Mediterranean Lamb. It is odd to think of getting that dish in a Chinese restaurant but my wife thoroughly appreciated it. I had Mushu Pork; it was decent, just not very flavorful. I will say that the pancakes that came with the Mushu pork were extremely well-made. The third adult in our party ordered Orange Chicken and did not like it at all. He thought that the dish was mostly breading with very little chicken, and he found the sauce goopy and too sweet. He barely touched his food. We did not send it back, but the waiter, Harlem, did offer to have another dish fixed for him.

I would like to make just a few more random comments. The restaurant was very busy for a Wednesday night as it was December 23. I also paid slightly more for our food there then I normally pay at other Chinese restaurants. It was not exorbitant, but it was more expensive. It is also important to note that their menu was quite large, particularly in the...

5 of us came in Saturday, November 30th to celebrate my brothers birthday. The hostess wasn’t very inviting and we sat down and were rushed to order appetizers. My brother ordered 5 egg rolls which were not up to the good taste we have come to expect. He ordered sizzling rice soup and it was the first time it has came out not sizzling! At best, it was warm making the rice hard to soften. Then so quickly our order was brought before anyone had finished their egg roll and soup it was so rushed and the dishes were also just warm. It wasn’t the hot entries we’ve gotten in prior visits. My brother commented on the dishes not being as good as before and said to all of us “ it’s not worth driving from salt lake to bountiful when the food was sub-par. I asked our waitress if Angel was still involved and she said “yes, about 2 days a week”. It’s frustrating to see the food quality go down since the father is not there wandering through the restaurant. With the egg roll I wanted some red sauce with mustard and the waitress said that would be an extra .75 cents. Seriously, the food is quite spendy as it is and the sauce used to come with the egg roll when I asked times before. Just thought you might want to read this as too much of what happened to us will cause you to lose more customers. Such a shame. Even the sweet and sour pork needed a knife to cut it as it was tough and knives are not given. Also, the sweet and sour chicken was served in such thick pieces you needed a knife. Such a disappointment. Sorry to have...