Gong Ho Restaurant — Restaurant in Downers Grove

Gong NO

I have been trying to figure out how this place gets good reviews. I believed them and went and was appalled by the food. But let's back up.

You enter into a bleak and ugly storm room and then into the dining room and are transported back to 1964.

The only reason for the reviews I can think of is that if you grew up eating at Gong Ho, you might be under the illusion that THIS is Chinese food. It is not.

The booths are lumpy and there is years old tape and grime on the booth separators. Each booth has a circa 1970 grimy NO SMOKING metal sign on each. Food is served on a gray plastic kitchen utility cart. Not clean, not attractive and not cute dim sum tray.

The menu is literally stuck in a time warp. Chop Suey and Egg Foo Young. I grew up in the 60's so I don't hate these tired dishes. The pictures in the menu are also tired, dated and unfortunately true to the dishes that will be rolled to your booth.

Eggroll starter. Waitress claims they are home made in house. Do not believe it for a minute. The wrap was thick, doughy and filled with a conglomerate mush with not a sign of fresh vegetable. Sweet and sour sauce in a pancake syrup pourer and hot mustard in plastic packages.

Ordered a schezwan pork dish. Inedible. Jelly like pork and fat strips coated in a glutenous unnaturally brown gravy with black specs in it. Was sold as a spicy dish yet only tasted of mono sodium and, well, nothing. See attached picture.

I ate nothing of the dish. Let the waitress know it was inedible. She asked me if I wanted to take it with me. ???? She comes back and says "the kitchen thinks maybe you don't like bamboo shoot" ah...no.

I told her it's not the price of the meal, it's just inedible and judging from the food we'd received, had no confidence in the kitchen to try another dish.

So, she took me literally and charged us full price for 2 dishes and an appetizer. My husband (I'm not going into his opinion-which was the same) ate maybe 1/4 of his benign dish and I ate none. We paid, tipped the waitress 20% and left.

Oh, I did tell them that if they did insist on not even compensating for one dish, I would be writing a bad review.

Delivered...

Some dishes are good. Price is good but the costumer service was terrible. I should have walked out from the beginning because the female employee threw the menus on the table without telling us that was our table and proceeded to keep walking to the table she was sitting at. I gave her the benefit of the doubt because she was eating. However, when a group of 3 walked in after us they were seated properly at the booth and they were taken care of before my sister and I. We should have walked out but I have never done that before so I didn’t want to do it this time. The other groups food got to them before ours did. My sister’s food was out before my food. Which I wasn’t going to complain about but my food came out at the same time as another couple that came in way after us. I ordered food to go too and it was the worst kung pao shrimp. It was the nastiest food my guest has ever had. It looked liked it was cooked with canned tomato sauce and it was full of onion with no veggies like a proper Kung pao dish. Needless to say, this was my first and last time going to...

Tried it first time today and everything was awesome, too good. Have been seeing them around since a long time. Their flavor full food must be the reason. Plus I love their prices, fast service and paying attention to details , they exactly made it the way I wanted 2x spicy, portion size was good too, quantity of meat in every entree is noticeable too. I ordered lunch special general tso’s chicken, hunan beef, Kung pao chicken chicken Lo Mein everything extra hot and spicy. After 10 minutes I was there and it was ready actually I added 1 more item beef lomein after reaching there and it was ready in 2 minutes. Couldn’t be more satisfied with tasteful food it was yummy. This place will be my favorite chinese to go from now on hate places who charge you so much and their portion size are small with no meat and they usually don’t make it as par your taste. I was tired of those places I think It’s the best chinese food in town. And they are in Downers Grove and I am in bolingbrook but gladly I will go there to...