Jade Garden — Restaurant in Charlottesville

Easy to sum up...

Decent American Chinese fast food. I ordered a lunch special sesame chicken from a not so upfrontly nice or engaging staff member (see other reviews about rudeness) and added a drink and an egg roll. I think I paid 2 bucks to add the egg roll and drink.

I was given a wait time of 10 mins so I left and came back. When I came back to pickup my order was ready. Jade has COVID-19 precautions in place as far as a plastic wall that blocks customers from staff. The wall goes from the floor to the ceiling. There is a notched slot to pass cash and cards and a small hatch to retrieve your food. I did not notice any staff wearing masks so the wall might only be to protect the staff from the customer. The staff member forgot my drink but had already pulled it out to hand over to me. When I mentioned it she cracked a smile and we had a laugh. Other reviews speak on Jade's customer service lacking but overall I was fine with it. The humor about the drink made things better.

I carried my order back to work but on the way I couldn't help but smell the egg roll. I was starving and snatched it up...fried to perfection and very tasty. So tasty that I didn't get a picture of the golden browniss, sorry fam. As for the main entree the chicken was fried well, having crispness and a sauce that wasn't too sweet. The rice was bland and not what I was hoping for as a friend rice but in totality I could return and try something else... Definitely craving another egg roll...

It’s close to the extended stay place I frequent so tried it out. Been getting delivery from a restaurant further away but there have been problems with price and delivery. Jade Garden offers only take-out. The operation is fully exposed when you walk in. Very strip-mall. And yes, as others have mentioned, the staff you talk with are surly. But the food is very good Chinese American. I did my usual opening gambit: Pu-Pu platter for 2, hot & sour soup, moo goo gai pan and house special egg foo young. The appetizers came with a s&s sauce tub, soup with crunchy noodles and the entrees with rice. Generous other packets upon request. 40 bucks total. Thankfully the quality is excellent, esp the white sauce. Quantity is more than usual, as they advertise. Good packaging too. Their containers can be reused by a guy on the go. For such an unimpressive first look it’s pretty darn high level. The prices seem pre-pandemic. They prefer you order directly from them since BeyondMenu hits them for 5%. I’ll be trying their...

This place is our go-to Chinese takeout joint. Call ahead, and the food is consistently ready hot and fresh within 10 or 15 minutes, no matter how busy they are. The folks who work here are super efficient, and quite friendly once you get to know them.

It can be a bit jarring ordering over the phone for the first time, since they don't follow some of the unofficial American protocol for placing orders over the phone. However, once we got used to it, we've come to enjoy how little time it takes to place an order with them. They say hello, you tell them what you want, and they say "OK, thank you" and hang up. They don't give you an order number or take down your name/phone number-- you just tell them what you ordered when you get there and they ring you up. They don't tell you when it will be ready-- the food is always ready within 10-15 minutes, no matter how busy they are.

If you're looking for good, fast, and reasonably priced americanized Chinese food, this...