La Chinita's Restaurant — Restaurant in San Antonio

If you're looking for the best-tasting, most authentic Chinese restaurant in the San Antonio area, look no further. Because I found this little gem of a restaurant back in the 2005 timeframe. And it's still my go-to place whenever I'm in the mood for some scrumptious and savory Chinese food.

And that's saying a lot, because I live on the far north side of town, off Bulverde Road outside Loop 1604. And I'm willing to travel all the way through downtown SA, and down IH 37 to the Hot Wells Blvd exit on the southeast side of town, to make a beeline towards Goliad Rd. to the not so easy to find La Chinita's Restaurant (located at 1012 Avondale Ave, San Antonio, TX), instead of dining at much closer Chinese restaurant alternatives that simply don't hold a candle to this go-to place of mine.

To be sure, La Chinita's doesn't look like much from the front of the building. But go ahead and enter the doors of this nothing less than awesome Chinese food experience. And don't prejudge the modesty of the whole place, before you get a chance to taste the wonderful, freshly cooked, always piping-hot and very reasonably priced Chinese food, served to you by an equally wonderful wait staff, who are always more than happy to take care of every one of your dining needs. For the record, my favorite server is Adrian. So, when you get to the restaurant, make sure to specifically ask for him to serve you (provided that he's working the day you come), and I promise you won't be disappointed.

As far as I know, there are no other Chinese restaurants in San Antonio that make their own egg rolls from scratch, like La Chinita's does. You wouldn't believe how tasty one of their freshly made, nearly two-inches-in-diameter egg rolls are, until you finally get to taste one for yourself. And once you do, you'll most likely become a La Chinta's customer for life, just like I am.

And it's not just their large egg rolls that sets La Chinita's apart from the other Chinese restaurants in town. They also serve other yummy, authentic dishes that you've probably never heard of, like Kan Pan Beef.

Another favorite dish of mine is their House Special Egg Foo Young that has four different meats (shrimp, beef, pork, and chicken) all wrapped up and cooked inside the perfectly textured egg and smothered with a homemade dark Egg Foo sauce that is second to none.

And I do believe that they have some of the best Moo Goo Gai Pan that you've ever had in your mouth, with the chicken and the vegetables cooked perfectly, each and every time.

Consistency is the one thing that makes a good restaurant outstanding, and La Chinta's food consistency from visit to visit has continued to be truly remarkable!

I don't believe there's anything on their Chinese food menu that you won't find to be very well cooked, authentic, and super-tasty. I've tried a lot of the different Chinese entree dishes over the last couple of decades and still have yet to find one that I don't enjoy eating. The Lo Mein dishes are killer, and the Cashew Chicken rocks, and the Shrimp with Mixed Vegetables is great too.

Even their unsweetened, fresh brewed iced tea is incredible, believe it or not. So, they must be doing something right.

In fact, just thinking about their Chinese food while I'm writing this is making me very hungry right now!

For the record, La Chinita's also serves some Mexican dishes off its own separate menu pages. But having said that, I have yet to notice anyone at the restaurant who was eating anything other than the Chinese food...

My girlfriend and I decided to try La Chinita's Restaurant because of the positive reviews (4.4 stars out of 758 reviews as of this writing). Unfortunately, their food is not nearly as good as the reviews state. Honestly, it was more like buying some frozen Chinese food from H-E-B or Walmart…it wasn't good at all. We barely ate anything off our dishes (see the photo). Maybe we picked a bad day to go there, who knows. Anyway, if you want AMAZING Chinese food, and I mean the best of the best with egg drop soup like no other egg drop soup you've ever had, then check out Shangrila located at 2727 Goliad Rd, San Antonio, TX 78223. My girlfriend's mom, Laura, works there, and trust me, you won't be disappointed. I just wanted to try something new today, and I regret it. I didn't ask La Chinita to discount our food despite us not eating it. They are a small business probably suffering a lot from COVID-19, so I let it go. $31 probably matters more to them than it does to me, honestly. Had they offered on their own to discount it, I would have gladly accepted and praised them for fantastic customer service. I would have given them another opportunity to serve us again in the future – but we will not be returning. And get ready for this: When we left, they asked how everything was. I told them "Honestly, I've had better. In fact, Shangrila is a lot better than you guys," and I didn't choose to say it discreetly; I said it loud enough that everyone looked up with their jaws dropping." Hey, they asked me a question, and I gave them an honest answer. What was I supposed to do, say it wasn't too bad. They can take the feedback to do better! I will say though, the staff is, however, courteous and polite, but that's about it. Go to Shangrila; they follow right behind La Chinita but with only 4 stars and 470 reviews. You won't be disappointed. Shangrila KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK AND FANTASTIC SERVICE!!!! And, La Chinita, take this review as a...

La Chinitas is a family owned restaurant. The family not only owns the restaurant but operates it as well. The owner can be found running the register, taking orders to the kitchen, and waiting the tables almost every day of the week.

The food is excellent, and super fast, your average time from order to table is minutes, even during the lunch rush. La Chinitas has been around for decades, and a neighborhood establishment. You see a lot of the same people each time you visit once you start eating there regularly.

Daily specials are offered. My favorite is the Thursday Mongolian beef. The Chinese dishes are prepared to order. You can tell the vegetables are crisp and fresh when the orders come out Especially on dishes like the beef and broccoli. Lunch specials are served with fried rice, soup and a rangoon. Another recommendation are the egg rolls. They are fat, crispy thin crusted rolls, with ground beef and fresh cabbage inside. Some of the better egg rolls I've had anywhere.

What makes La Chinitas unique is not only the personal attention by the family who owns it, and the quality of the food, but the fact that they have a split menu. You probably saw the name and though thats a weird name, its Chinese but also Spanish.. That because they offer both traditional and American Chinese, as well as Mexican food. One side of the menu has enchiladas, & spanish rice. The other side has sweet and sour chicken, beef and broccoli and fried rice.

I prefer the Chinese menu over the Mexican, but know many a local order from both menus alternating visit to visit. I've tried items from both menus and can say that the Mexican food is pretty good as well.

The family who owns the establishment is very friendly and takes the time to chat and great the customers, especially the regulars. So make sure to say Hi to the guy or lady at...