Golden Gate Chinese Fast Food — Restaurant in Santa Ana

I have been to a number of Chinese restaurants (fast food, casual, semi casual, upscale) and this is one of the worst places ever with horrible services. I only decided to try it because I was passing through and craving Chinese food. It was the 1st one that caught my eye and I wasn’t really familiar with that area. As soon as I walked in, the spaces were cramped and the interior was filthy. They did not even greet or welcome me. My instincts told me to leave instantly and I should have listened to my intuition. There was an older man changing out the trash bags who was also in my way. The path leading to the register was so narrow and here this fool is blocking my path. I said, “Excuse Me,” and was able to squeeze through when he moved out a little bit unintentionally. He did not even bother to move out of the way out of courtesy so that I could pass through. When it was my turn to order, the stupid man tried to pass me carrying the huge bag of trash nearly hitting me without saying excuse me, sorry, or anything. What is wrong with them??? No common courtesy and no brains either. I had to sit down on the bench just so he could pass through down the narrow path without hitting me. He headed towards the back of the kitchen. He didn’t even wash/sanitize his hands afterwards. It is unsanitary, rude, and brainless of him to do that while customers are trying to order. He could have briefly waited to hold off on that a while considering the narrow spaces. It’s also disgusting because he didn’t clean his hands after handling trash and he could be cooking foods at that point. Then, the woman at the counter rudely took my order, but didn’t listen carefully so she almost gave me the wrong items but I caught it in time. She also tried to rip me off. She also charged me an extra fee just for using my card. Who does that??? I confronted her about my order and the extra fee and told her that nobody else charges extra fees for simply using our cards. She said that all cards require an extra fee if the order is under $10. I said that is so ridiculous. I have seen that mostly Vietnamese and Koreans do that. I heard her speaking Vietnamese (I am familiar with many foreign languages). No other places I frequently go to charges extra fees for using cards and that includes Panda Express, PickUp Stix, or PF Chang’s. This place deserves to be shut down. With bad sanitation and hygienes, I don’t trust the quality and cleanliness of my food. I immediately threw it away after I got it. Did not have the appetite for it anymore. Went to Osaka Japan instead. I love their teriyaki chicken. It’s one of the best and services are excellent too! There are better Chinese fast food places with much better services, food, and integrity. Sadly, there are no good Chinese Fast food places in my area in south OC, so I have to drive to Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Tustin, or Santa Ana to get some.

Here are some in that area: Hong Kong Express in Costa Mesa, China Town Express (17th & Cabrillo), Spicy Noodle House (Bristol and Alton), China Wok (Euclid & Chapman), Chinese Food Express (Warner & Fairview), Dragon Bowl (McFadden & Harbor).

For a more decent dining experience, try Capital Seafood in Irvine, Din Tai Fung in Costa Mesa, & AnQui Bistro in Costa Mesa. Pricier but good quality authentic Chinese...

I thoroughly enjoyed the Teriyaki bowl from Golden Gate. It was a nice-sized piece of chicken breast that they chopped into slices and served over a bowl of fried rice. You may request white rice instead. I couldn't determine if lo mein could also be substituted. The rice wasn't all that, but the Teriyaki more than made up for it.

The space is small wit a couple of 4-seater booths and three or four 2-seater booths. It's set up buffet style with several of their most popular items in steam trays: fired rice, kung pao, sesame, beef /broccoli, egg rolls, shrimp. You may also order a la carte. For drinks they have a soda machine with coke products and they also have BANG! drinks which seem to be pretty popular in this area. Almost every QSR I've been too has them outside of the big chains.

A flat screen is situated over the seating area. You can't really watch it while you're dining. I think its for the staff.

The previous reviews are hit or miss which I attribute to new restaurant blues and growing pains. Again, its nothing to write home about, but if you're looking for decent Chinese fast food this is your place and it'll be mine for the...

First time here. I was greeted with a smile by a very nice man who took my order. I came in knowing exactly what I wanted to play it safe, and went with the classic fried rice, orange chicken, and veggie egg roll but when I saw how good the rest of the food looked, I began to question my choice... Anyway, the orange chicken and egg roll were absolutely delicious, and the portion was generous. I highly recommend it, and look forward to trying something else on the menu next time I'm craving...