Joy Garden
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We've passed by every now and then wanting to try the Chinese food. Tonight we finally did and were pleasantly surprised. We ordered the #8 specialty, split between two people. The food portions definitely exceed what you're paying for! The Mandarin Chicken was super crispy, freshly fried - NOT FROZEN! Top marks for the fried rice and ragoons. Only thing I wasn't crazy about was the Almond Chicken. I had another entree in mind and unfortunately an entree from another restaurant entirely has ruined that dish for me (Bird Nest from Pad Thai House - see that review for context). For the $10 a person ($20), the food could have been $30 and I would have been just as happy. I was surprised to see an empty-ish restaurant but this was actually kind of nice. No loud groups made for an enjoyable evening. The 4 person-staff were quick to move around (they definitely want to deliver your food quickly) and despite 13 orders during our meal, they had our food within 15 minutes. Would recommend - Support your local restaurants!
DeathSentence WADeathSentence WA
00
DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND ORDER FROM GOLDEN STAR. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COST. We had a terrible experience with our food, the management and the staff. The sweet and sour pork was sub par, dripping in grease, soggy, full of gristle and more connective tissue than actual meat. The mandarine chicken was mostly fat. Thigh meat is great but not when its that fatty. The fried rice was the only saving grace. I should have known better than to order anything else besides rice!!! I usually order from Golden Star on Orchard. But i took a chance because I really like the pork fried rice from Joy Gardens. Ugh what a mistake. I placed a very large family order with 5 boxes of chow mein. I did not want soupy vegetables in clear gravy, so I specifically asked for "fried noodles" The girl taking my order (who was very sweet) heard "dry noodles" and I ended up with, you guessed it, 5 boxes of vegetables with clear gravy. All 5 boxes went into the trash can. This was a birthday meal for my 17 year old and these kids wanted chow mein. This order was well over $100 and we left a $15 tip on a "pick up" order because we have much respect for restaurant staff and it was quite late. I called to tell someone about what happened and they immediately started arguing with me. Telling me how I ordered incorrectly and giving me a lecture on the different types of chow mein. Apparently when I said I dont want a box of mush, I want crispy fried noodles, it was my mistake. I was simply trying to differentiate betwen the mushy stuff and Firm Pan Fried Noodles. I just thought we were on the same page and we werent. Ultimately, this was never about money, I was just hoping that as a business, they would care enough about good customers to offer a gesture of kindness or at the very least, not disrespect and blame me. I work in customer service. I get it. Dealing with an upset customer can be tough but this was next level. They jusy kept talking over me, blamiing me, and telling me how it was my fault and I got what I ordered, how is that their problem?" No "I'm sorry that happened, no offer to correct it, not even a "hey I'll throw in a box of chow mein with your next order, Im sorry about the confusion" After I asked why as a business owner, they wouldn't want to at least acknowledge me or extend any kind of gesture of kindness, I was offered the pan fired noodles if i wanted to pay $2.50 per person for the difference? So did I want to pay another $15 for some chow mein the day after my meal when they just treated me like garbage? It wasn't about the money. Just show a little humility or remorse or something 😔 I would have been a lot more understanding. Super disappointed all the way around. 😔
Ida McclureIda Mcclure
00
Food: Low quality meat and ingredients. Portion sizes are large, but the quality of ingredients is very poor. I wouldn’t return to this restaurant. Here is what we tried: Broccoli Beef: VERY rubbery meat, sauce was okay (lacking in flavor), veggies cooked well. I don’t know what they used as a tenderizer but it’s super gross. We ate the broccoli from this and left the rest. Mandarin and Orange Chicken: placed together on a plate so unsure which was which. It’s chicken thigh and pretty fatty. How they bread huge chunks of thigh together so lots of it is over cooked. It’s kinda chopped up in massive chunks which makes it rubbery as well. One of the sauces was okay flavor wise, but not which one. Again, large portion but horrible quality of meat. I’d be okay with half the meat portion if they used chicken breast and did small bite size pieces. The breading itself was tempera style and not bad, but the execution just killed it. Majority of this left on the plate untouched. Fried rice: okay flavor, but extra oil added (greasy). We ate this because we had to eat something. BBQ pork and seed: What a joke! They put 4 teeny pieces of dried pork on the plate. No sauces or anything making it pork and seed. Just the dry pork. Hard pass on this one. Crab Rangoon: The only decent item we had. As you can tell food was an utter disappointment. Service: It was okay. About what you expect, but expecting $5+ to just drop off food and not check in with guests is outrageous. Price: Overall prices are decent but poor quality and NOT worth perceived “savings”. As for our check the price seemed high when we were checking out, but so didn’t have the menu to reference. We just paid for a shitty meal and left. Over half the food was not eaten (2 people) and they didn’t bother to ask how the meal was. Note to Joy Garden. It was nasty and we won’t return. Anyways … on the drive home I pulled up the menu online and they overcharged us $5 which just pisses me off further. Spending $30 for us to leave home still hungry as your gross Chinese food still sits on the plate means loss of business. We LOVE supporting local, but not this restaurant
M LeeM Lee
00
A hole in the wall kind of place. When I choose foreign eatery, I like to be transported to their world. Walking in, you get blasted by their door ringer which is on the door and not in the depths of the kitchen, assaulting customers as they come in. The fish tank, had but one lonely fish and while decorative, their counter could use a tapestry to hide their storage area behind it. . There was no cultural transportation, just a menu with no mentioned tofu options, and American pop radio in the background. I asked for a tofu dish and the smiling waitress was happy to accommodate, but when it came, there was nothing special about it. I had to ask for chilli sauce for something to interest me in the food. I had to go to the counter to pay, and a vegetable tofu lunch was $16! Way too much for the offering. I'd skip, and try somewhere else.
J. CollinsJ. Collins
00
Pros- Good parking, convenient location, clean restaurant, fast service. Cons- Tofu available, but hard to locate on menu. Interior needs a design refresh.
Edward KowalskiEdward Kowalski
00
Nearby Attractions Of Joy Garden
Independence Indoor Shooting
D1 Training Boise
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Meridian - Boise West

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Nearby Restaurants Of Joy Garden
Red Fort Cuisine Of India
Moe Joe's Breakfast Eatery
Big Jud's Meridian
Rudy's Pub & Grill
The Griddle
Gramercy Park Pub & Grill
Giggy D's
Fat Guys Fresh Deli
Soup Kettle Grille
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Red Fort Cuisine Of India
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Moe Joe's Breakfast Eatery
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Big Jud's Meridian
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Rudy's Pub & Grill
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Basic Info
Address
2951 E Overland Rd #125, Meridian, ID 83642
Map
Phone
(208) 888-6007
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Website
joygardenidaho.com
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Reviews
Overview
3.9
(318 reviews)
Ratings & Description
Description
Simple, family-owned restaurant turning out familiar Chinese-American staples like General Tso's.
attractions: Independence Indoor Shooting, D1 Training Boise, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Meridian - Boise West, restaurants: Red Fort Cuisine Of India, Moe Joe's Breakfast Eatery, Big Jud's Meridian, Rudy's Pub & Grill, The Griddle, Gramercy Park Pub & Grill, Giggy D's, Fat Guys Fresh Deli, Soup Kettle Grille, Coned Pizza

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