Mark's Kitchen — Restaurant in Fresno

Mixed Feelings at Mark's Kitchen: A Review of Fresno's Popular Chinese Spot

Rating: 3 out of 5

I ventured to Mark's Kitchen, intrigued by the buzz surrounding this Chinese food joint tucked away in Fresno, California. With eager anticipation, I ordered their combination chow mein and fried rice, both boasting chicken, beef, and shrimp. As the aroma tantalized my senses, I couldn't help but notice the bustling crowd, a testament to its popularity.

The staff, despite the chaos, remained attentive and welcoming, guiding me through my first visit. They provided all necessary condiments for a takeaway feast, ensuring a seamless experience. However, the sheer volume of patrons hinted at a potential wait, which indeed stretched to nearly an hour for my order.

Upon finally sampling the dishes, I found them generously portioned and piping hot, promising a satisfying meal. Yet, my excitement waned as I detected an unexpected sweetness in both the chow mein and fried rice. While I appreciate diverse flavor profiles, this departure from traditional savory notes left me puzzled. It reminded me more of teriyaki sauce than the robust Chinese flavors I had anticipated.

Despite this, the food held its own in terms of taste, albeit not entirely to my preference. The affordability factor was questionable, with each dish costing a steep $35, albeit large enough to serve a sizable group. Nevertheless, the friendly ambiance and accommodating staff softened the blow of the price point.

In conclusion, Mark's Kitchen presents a mixed bag of experiences. While the food is undeniably decent, the unexpected sweetness may not suit everyone's palate. The bustling atmosphere and potential wait times, especially during peak hours, are factors to consider. I'm willing to give it another chance with smaller portions to truly gauge its culinary prowess. For now, it's a promising yet polarizing addition to Fresno's...

“After eating here, I don’t think I can eat at any other Chinese restaurant “ these are the words from my husbands mouth as he sat in a food coma when he was done with his plate.

This is NOT the place to go if you’re looking for a fancy sit down restaurant. This IS the place to go if you want some delicious food.

As soon as walked in the door we could smell the beautiful aroma of a mixture of Asian spices wafting to the front from the kitchen, and shouting coming from behind the order counter. “Hurry up I have lot of boyfren waiting for me” this counter lady taking your order not only gets your lunch and dinner but puts on a great show! Trying to get everyone to order spicy or extra spicy, her eyes lit up when I ordered super extra extra spicy.

After the first bite I was hooked, of course the counter lady isn’t the only one to thank for everything but the cooks deserve their kudos as well, the flavors of the Mongolian beef, garlic shrimp, and pork chow mein all complimented each other like the violins in perfect symphony. This place will be a regular in our dining out repertoire.

As we sit there and enjoy our food, we hear the rest of the clients having a great time giggling at the words coming out of the counter lady’s mouth and all the mmmmm’s as they take their first bites of their foods.

In short, this place is sassy not classy, delicious and hilarious, hot and steamy and just a great food place to be with friends and/or family and friends that have become your family.

So if you’re ever near the southeast corner of Chestnut and Belmont, I strongly suggest you stop by and have a experience.

I do have three “complaints”:

This place does not use any type of delivery service. 😭 My super extra extra spicy could have been spicier 😉 (that’s for you counter lady) I didn’t get a picture with the counter lady....

Mark's kitchen is decent mid tier at best. Fresno is a big place, and there are plenty of other CHEAPER and taste just as good, if not better than Marks.

First off, the lady is hit or miss with many people, mainly hits seeing as how many people greet her. She is a nice person, but comes off crude at times, with social media influence amplifying the behavior. The social media influence is a double edge sword. It's great that the restaurant is being recognized and she is being recognized for her hard work, however the two or three times I've been there, has been delayed a good chunk of time because of her talking to "influencers" and food reviewers wanting to take a picture with her or chatting with her, while there is 3-4 customers in line waiting to be serviced. I think there is a time and place for it, but not during busy hours.

I wanted a simple plate with fried rice and a protein (Orange chicken, but they didn't have that, so I opted for tangerine, tasted fine). However, when calling and trying to place a phone order, she will fight to the ends of the earth to try and upsell you on a "better" combo that she has in mind, which also comes with a significant price increase. My total overall ended up being around $25 or so for just two items. In Chinese food, this is unheard of, especially in Fresno.

The food is great, the pork fried rice is amazing, and the tangerine chicken is nothing to write home about. I think Mark's kitchen is using the social media influence to increase prices, and the locals are paying for it. If Mark's kitchen prices were more inline with other Chinese restaurants I would give the place a 5/5, but it will have to be a 3/5 due to food prices,...