Bamboo Cuisine - Restaurant & Bar - Chinese Food Delivery and Takeout — Restaurant in Los Angeles

It's always heartbreaking to write about a place you used to love- it used to be one of 'those places' you told all your friends and fam about...

... took out-of-town'ers to, to show off how awesome your neighborhood is, how upscale and yum the local hot spots are.

And it used to be my 'go to' place to celebrate special occasions.

No Mas.

I'd like to blame it on Covid - but the truth is, as far back as 2018, there were already signs that the Ownership had either sold, or sold-out. There used to be 3 owners... now only one of the original remains, 'Joseph' - and he seems to no longer enjoy his guests nor his own place. Rude might be a word to describe how is now is even with his most loyal customers.

This also describes several of the 'hosts' who sound downright unhappy to be taking your 'to go' orders - no warm smile when you arrive to pick up your food - in fact, they may just absent-mindedly POINT AT YOUR BAG as if actually GREETING a paying customer who keeps them employed were too much of a strain.

This past year, delivery orders have been wrong. If you call to describe the problem, they might work with you on a resolution - or they might argue with you that you are wrong (!)

And actually DINING IN on most nights is a downright depressing experience. The decor has not been freshened or updated since a few years after it opened (back in 1990- 34 years ago), and the waitstaff are mostly silent, solemn, and disinterested. They recently lost their Head Chef to a new venture downtown, and it also shows.

And all those things you USED to get with your entrees - a bowl of rice, jasmine tea, ice water...? GONE. Unless you want to pay for your rice ($4.00!!! For 2 scoops of white rice that costs them maybe 30 cents).

OH - and all the things you would EXPECT for a single-entree dinner that costs $40+ at a 'nice Chinese Restaurant' (chopsticks, plum sauce, spice mustard, napkins, crunchy noodles...?)

FORGET IT. UNLESS YOU OUTRIGHT ASK - they'll send you home with your entree WITH NO CHOPSTICKS. Cause being stingy I guess helps keep them afloat, maybe. Or they just don't care enough to offer and ask you if you'd like any of the items you'd hope for from a 'classy restaurant'.

Parking still requires valet (though the restaurant itself is not that busy, a very popular sushi restaurant a few doors down now takes up all the street parking and back parking lots).

My last order was a few days ago. I called the owner by name, was friendly, asked how he was. I was cut off with 'What do you want to order?" I ordered. Realized I'd forgotten to request chopsticks, call back - he hollers in Chinese to the staff to add chopsticks and then - HANGS UP ON ME. No, "No problem, we'll add those", or even a 'Good bye". Just CLICK.

Seriously? This after 34 years of loyal patronage?

Do yourself a favor - go to the sushi restaurant up the street, or call any one of the 3 dozen other Chinese restaurants in Sherman Oaks who might actually treat you like your patronage matters. The food is fine - but at exhoribitant prices and sub-par service - not worth it...

TL:DR As someone who LOVES Chinese food, I would advise against this place for multiple reasons. Mediocre food, horrific customer service, lack of rice w/entree, high prices, do yourself a favor and go elsewhere.

Anywhere else.

More Details: After placing an order for delivery, early evening on a Wednesday, we were told the food would be delivered in an hour.

After 75 min, I called for an update. The young woman who answered said it would be another 20 min. bc "I don't know, I guess it's busy".

When the food was delivered – half an hour later – there was no rice with the entrees, cutlery, utensils, napkins or sauces. Surprising as those are usually included with Chinese cuisine... but not the end of the world.

One entree was missing entirely (another was only about 3/4 full) so I called to let them know. I also asked about the white rice with entrees and was told they don't include rice.

The gentleman who answered the phone was nice. He took my order info and said he would send the missing entree over right away.

He called back a little while later and said the manager had packed the bag and they did include the entree. They said it was a double order in a bigger container.

He ended up handing me off to the manager who was extremely rude. The manager insisted I was wrong, our order was correct and that the food containers have size numbers on them. I informed him the container did not have a number on it. I looked at all sides, including the bottom*. He refused to accept that I could possibly be telling the truth and when I told him I wasn't going to argue with him, he said he wasn't arguing. I told him that since he was the manager, I wanted to complain about our entire experience with this place and he said he didn't care, he cared about the size of the containers (to prove me wrong). *Photos of container attached.

I told him that we would not be visiting this restaurant again and he said, "that is fine".

I have literally never seen worse customer service. Particularly notable as 3 entrees and fried rice was almost $80. In my experience, great Chinese food is reasonably priced AND higher prices usually come with better customer service and customer experience.

If the food was amazing, maaaaybe this manager would have a leg to stand on... but it's not. The orange chicken was mostly breading with little pieces of meat and the home style sauce was mediocre.

The one thing that was good was the fortune cookie. They sent two (for three entrees/people).

As someone who LOVES Chinese food, I would advise against this place for multiple reasons. With mediocre food, horrific customer service, no rice with entree and high prices, do yourself a favor and go...

We went around 8:30pm on a Thursday night. There is no parking in the back and the front is valet, very limited spots aside from that. We were able to park 2 blocks away and parking was free since it was after 8pm. They seated us 6 right away. Simple and plain decor. We ordered the Mongolian beef, orange chicken, Joe' fried rice, shrimp fried rice, kung pao chicken, and shrimp soft noodles. Food came out quickly. Orange chicken was a bit tough but the flavor was good. Nice kick. The shrimp fried rice had no real flavor and felt greasy. Kids had to add soy sauce, which we don't usually use. Joe's fried rice was not as greasy and had a nice hint of lime. Kung pao chicken was the winner with juicy chicken and nice spice level. Lots of peanuts. We all got water and the cups are tiny so the waiter got tired of refilling the cups and just left the pitcher, which is usually the best bet. Only problem I had was when the check came out. The server was standing by the table, just staring us down. Walked over 3 times to ask were we going to pay. We gave him the card and he came back and proceeded to stand there waiting for us to sign. He finally asked us to sign it so he could take it. I said I would and he just stood there. I felt like it was rude and when I filled in the tip and signed, he took it and looked at it right then and there as to approve of the tip. Very unprofessional. The food was roughly $20 per plate. Not sure that we would come back after that awkward interaction but...