Shanghai Garden Restaurant — Restaurant in Sacramento

I've heard about this place a time or two before, so I decided to check it out for lunch. I should have followed my first mind and went to Safeway for a deli sandwhich. Let's start with the parking, or lack there of! The parking situation was horrible. There is a very small shared lot that can be easily filled by Shanghai Garden customers alone. I had to circle the block three times to find a park near by. The restaurant itself was pleasant. I didn't take any pictures of the inside, because there was nothing "photo worthy" nor was there anything that stood out for me. The people were pleasant and greeted my upon entering. I noticed there was a special of the day and decided to try it. The special was crispy fried salt and peper chicken over steamed rice. I placed my order and waited patiently for my food. The order was filled quickly, and I was on my way back to the office. Upon further inspection of the food, I found it to be bland. I eat chinese food a lot, and this food tasted like it needed some seasoning. How does chinese food need seasoning? The breaded chicken was greasy and had no taste; not even salt. The vegetables were steamed appropriately, but they too lacked seasoning or taste. Overall, the meal tasted just like the white rice, BLAND! I tried to drown it in soy sauce, but hypertension is not something I want to play with, so I ended up eating only half...

The food is good, but the service is not. I have been to this restaurant three times during my lunch break. The first time, I dined in; during my second visit, I ordered my food over the phone while walking from work to ensure I had enough time to eat and return. When I arrived, my food was ready, but when I asked if I could dine in, Nikkie said no. When I asked her to explain why, she simply repeated, "No," which I found to be very rude and unprofessional. I had to leave with my food.

I decided to give them another chance one week later, since it’s one of the few restaurants near my workplace. However, during my third visit, I dined in again, and Nikkie was still very rude. It felt as though she was upset with me for inquiring about dining in the week before, making me feel uncomfortable. She was very attentive around the other customers as I was there. I had to get her attention to ask for condiments. I asked for her manager’s name when I paid because I said thank you and she stayed quiet. I said thank you again and once again she just handed me my receipt without saying a word. She said her manager wasn’t there and refused to provide his name. Bad customer service will drive customers away. last experience was...

We recently ordered takeout from this restaurant via DoorDash, including orange chicken, pot stickers, crab rangoon, pork fried rice, the house special chow mein, ginger beef, and steamed rice. This was our third time ordering from here, and we’ve enjoyed the crab rangoon, pot stickers, and ginger beef—they were flavorful and well-prepared.

However, we’ve noticed that the orange chicken often arrives soggy, likely due to a lack of ventilation in the packaging. While this might not be an issue when dining in, it doesn’t maintain its crispiness during transit.

Unfortunately, we found the pork fried rice and chow mein difficult to enjoy. The dishes had a strong burnt oil flavor that overpowered the other ingredients, which may have been an issue with the wok seasoning.

While we appreciate some of the menu items and could see myself ordering a quick lunch here in the future, we’ve found that larger family-style orders don’t meet our expectations. We hope the restaurant can address some of these concerns to enhance the takeout experience, as their menu has great potential. I am sure by the reviews the dine in experience must be...