Great Village Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Tucson

Hadn’t been in years — and this restaurant has been here for years and years! My parents loved this place; they first brought me here back in the 1990s whenever I came home to visit. Perhaps feeling a bit of nostalgia, I decided it was time for a return.

In brief, this is your stereotypical 1970s/1980s Americanized Chinese food restaurant. The kind where they likely use cornstarch to thicken the sauces. The menu is ideally suited for folks of my parents’ culture, perfect for lunch after church on Sundays or the ladies’ social group luncheon. It’s good, tasty, and they have lunch specials. You’ll find your Cachew Chicken, Almond Chicken, Beef With Broccoli, etc, served with steamed or fried rice and a small bowl of egg drop or hot & sour soup. The eggroll used to be included but is now an extra.

Today I ordered from the lunch specials. Beef in Oyster Sauce, hot & sour soup, fried rice, added the egg roll. The Beef in Oyster Sauce was tasty, but the bamboo shoots and mushrooms in the dish tasted and had the consistency of canned goods. The fried rice was plain, light brown colored, and didn’t have a fried texture as if it had been subsequently steamed.

Service is efficient, you won’t wait long for your meal.

The tables and table service are clean, but as you look around you’ll see surfaces that need a good spring cleaning: greasy smudges on the windows and plastic card holders, etc. Also, lots of clutter & empty boxes around the dining area entrance that need to be moved out of their diners’ sight. I understand they’re used for take out, but they make the place look a mess for dine-in customers. The decor has that 70s/80s feel that defines the ambiance, sets the mood.

Would I return? Well certainly, it’s a nice family run place, the food is good and...

So, the two stars is primarily due to service and cleanliness. I had read about Great Village somewhere and how amazing their food was and trust me I tried to just focus on the food which was good with large portions. Unfortunately, it is hard to focus on just the food when there is a bunch of trash in the dining room area and the place looks like it is falling apart. There must have been a hundred boxes and boxes filled with empty plastic bottles located right in the dining area. The ceiling tiles were hard core stained, unless it was a tile that was a pretty gold Asian design tile (icky tiles and nice tiles comingled was strange). The man who was taking orders and serving was incredibly abrupt and impatient. I get it dude, you are in a lunch rush but being rude is not helpful. The little lady refilling drinks and doing some serving was really sweet but the guy was just beyond bad in customer service.

The food. It was good. We did the lunch menu and upgraded with soups and egg rolls. I must say the egg role was one of the best I have ever had, I mean REALLY good. We each had a different soup which we all enjoyed - hot & sour, won ton and egg flower. I had the Sesame Chicken which was delicious, as was the friend rice. My hubs had the Mongolian beef which he said was good. My Dad had some sort of curry meat dish which he really liked.

The outside is not much to look at and is very run down, as is the inside. I get it, upgrades and maintenance take $ but you have to keep your joint clean and spend a little money (like get a new Open sign, they are like $5 at Home Depot) to keep drawing folks in. And those tons of boxes and empty plastic bottles in the dining room... no...

WOW. Moving from Phoenix to Tucson, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of Chinese food places. I researched and found this place to be the best in terms of positive reviews.

I wasn't disappointed.

The service? Sweet and all smiles. They were really nice to us! I love pleasant people.

The food? My sister ordered seafood, the house lo mein which she thought was good and the shrimp in lobster sauce which she raved about. She absolutely loved the gravy. We both agreed the steams rice was perfection. It might seem simple but so many people screw up rice. I loved it. I tried the beef lo mein which I thought was okay because it was so different than my last place, but the more I tasted it the more I fell in love. No dry noodles, the beef didn't have a ton of fat on it to gnaw through and it was really addictive. The orange chicken was a wee bit sweet for my tastes, but with the rice? It was awesome. The sweet and sour pork? I LOVED that. It's my favorite dish. Not a ton of breading, the sauce didn't go into gel after an hour and it was ACTUALLY sweet and sour not just sweet. Also tons of veggies which I love. The egg rolls were okay. Not the worst certainly, but not the best. I did enjoy them though and they were really crunchy, great with the mustard.

All in all, we loved it. It's hard to please us when it comes to good food, but this place hit the nail on the head! We're going back soon to order the peking duck. I've always wanted to try it and I trust this place to do it well.

Oh and fyi, you get a GREAT amount of food for the price. I thought the little boxes were small, but when unpacked there was SO much food! Really we couldn't ask for more. Can't...