I absolutely love their potstickers. It taste so authentic like I make them. Now I don't have to make them. Just drive to Chin's Gourmet and get my fix.
Rogelio Andersen
A nice place with a calming atmosphere. I like the food a lot, occasionally on the edge of too much salt/msg but never crossing the line.Their menu is a little less inspiring than their competitive siblings at Chin's Szechwan, but both Chin's are better than so many other Chinese restaurants.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Chris A.
Utter disappointment. The vegetable fried rice is just awfiul. The vegetables exclusively the contents of a bag of frozen peas and diced carrots--limp and slimy. No garlic, nothing leafy, no snowpeas, no green (or any) onions; peppers?--sorry, nope. Just a frozen bag of peas and carrots dumped in. Also, I requested and offered to pay for 3 extra eggs in my fried rice, she said "Okay, extra eggs" and of course it was just the regular, paltry amount of egg. Maybe they put more effort into the meat-meals, but this bland fried rice was far below par. The fast-food places like Panda Express or Pick-up-Stix could probably do better and cost a good deal less. Sad, because I live so close and really wanted to like this place.
Donna Lynn S.
Very disappointed today. I was greeted and seated promptly, but it went downhill from there. Late lunch and I wanted a fish with vegetable dish. I picked the salt and pepper fish and asked the server if I could have something other than green pepper. She just said no vegetables. I wish she had suggested something else, but I guess they were only serving the limited lunch menu. I also asked if I could have hot and sour soup. She said no, "corn soup today". She was curt and borderline rude. She brought my plate, set it down and left. Everything was brown. Didn't come back until she brought my check. I would have liked chopped sticks and some soy sauce. There was a tiny bowl of sweet sour/mustard sauce, but it wasn't enough. She came back and seemed disappointed that I hadn't looked at the check yet, I asked for a box which she brought back and then grabbed my plate and put everything in the box. I wasn't finished eating. I'm just finishing my tea and she came back and said "I need to clean the table" and started pulling off the paper tablecloth. I told her I wasn't done so she left. It wasn't busy. This was around 3:15 and all the other tables around me were empty. So weird.
Terri Allison G.
Ordered takeout. Sweet and sour chicken tough inedible. Potstickers lukewarm didn't taste fresh. Expensive and terrible food quality.
James B.
Our go to Chinese spot in the area! Love the sweet and sour shrimp. My fav dish. Normally order take out, so not too sure on the inside experience.
Jack R.
Food is very good. Tastes are authentic. Nothing clever, just good old fashioned Chinese food. Ambiance is nice and quiet and cozy. Service was prompt and courteous. I took away a star because during our second visit, they told they were out of red meat and all dishes were chicken. Apparently night before was really busy. We made due but that was a first for me. Come here but call and make sure they have a variety of meat available.
Niva G.
Definitely coming back for the Kung Pao chicken - didn't like the general Tsao's chicken as much.. They were open on Christmas Day so we went to grab lunch here. They served us dirty plates for our appetizers so that's why I'm giving them 3 stars. Would give them 4 otherwise!
We've been here a few times, I think it's best to give a new restaurant a few visits before making a review. First, the atmosphere is great! When you walk in, the interior stands out from most of the restaurants you see in El Cajon. It looks very upscale with a waiting area that is separated from the dining room. The only thing I find odd is the three outdoor umbrellas scattered in the dining area but I'm not a designer. I've been there twice for lunch and once for dinner and found the service good. There were more people working at night when it was busier than at lunch but each time the service and food were quick. Each time I've been there, there were more people than I'd expect at my regular Chinese spot. Food is good...probably geared more to western tastes than traditional Chinese food you might find on Convoy. Favorite entree so far was the plum beef and we really liked the soup dumplings as an appetizer. The lunch options are a great value! Overall, I love that this place is so close, the staff is very friendly, and the service and the food are good. I look forward to coming back often!!!
Jenni G.
Subpar food -- vegetable fried rice had sour snow peas, a few scraps of carrots, and uncooked egg. Vegetable soft noodles had a few snow peas and soggy cabbage. No broccoli, mushrooms or anything you'd expect. Egg rolls were overcooked inside, overcooked outside, and soy sauce packets had MSG. And all packed in styrofoam. Will not be returning.
Lauren G.
Absolutely disgusting. I picked up dinner after work and it was so bad I could barely eat it. I posted a pic of what I order and the pic of the food is supposed to be to be the chow mein. It had almost zero noodles, had a large about of water/liquid at the bottom of the container, and was basically unseasoned vegetables. The tangerine chicken didn't even taste like citrus and was barely edible. The egg rolls were the only thing I ate. What made it worse is it was not busy at all.
Zena D.
I have been to a lot of Chinese restaurants and this one is great. They make everything fresh, and the flavors are great. They are polite on the phone, and in person. The amount of food you get for the price is fair.
Maria G.
If I could, I would give this place 2 1/2 stars but I rounded it up mostly for the good service we received. The food could be better. When we came for lunch we ordered the Shanghai steamed dumplings and wonton noodle soup. It's not called wonton noodle soup on the menu but I forgot the item name. We just wanted wonton noodle soup and the server suggested something on the menu. This wonton noodle soup had a lot of different vegetables and chicken which may sound good but it made the bowl very chunky. We would have been okay with this dish if it tasted good but everything in it was bland and I don't mean that it wasn't salty enough but that there wasn't much flavor to anything including the few pieces of wonton. And the noodles seemed overcooked. So this dish itself gets one star. The dumplings were okay. The skin is thicker than most other dumplings we have had elsewhere or made on our own. The flavor for these dumplings was also lacking but better than the noodle soup. I would rate this dish 3 stars. The restaurant is comfortable and parking was pretty easy. We need to find a better Chinese restaurant in this area.
Good service, quality food, large portions. There is a separate lunch menu as well. My suggestion is: Honey Walnut Shrimp. Lots of yummy choices .
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Love the food here. It was really busy the night we ate there but service was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tangerine Crispy Chicken, Shanghai Steamed Dumplings, Fried Rice, Sesame Triple Delight
I absolutely love their potstickers. It taste so authentic like I make them. Now I don't have to make them. Just drive to Chin's Gourmet and get my fix.
A nice place with a calming atmosphere. I like the food a lot, occasionally on the edge of too much salt/msg but never crossing the line.Their menu is a little less inspiring than their competitive siblings at Chin's Szechwan, but both Chin's are better than so many other Chinese restaurants.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Utter disappointment. The vegetable fried rice is just awfiul. The vegetables exclusively the contents of a bag of frozen peas and diced carrots--limp and slimy. No garlic, nothing leafy, no snowpeas, no green (or any) onions; peppers?--sorry, nope. Just a frozen bag of peas and carrots dumped in. Also, I requested and offered to pay for 3 extra eggs in my fried rice, she said "Okay, extra eggs" and of course it was just the regular, paltry amount of egg. Maybe they put more effort into the meat-meals, but this bland fried rice was far below par. The fast-food places like Panda Express or Pick-up-Stix could probably do better and cost a good deal less. Sad, because I live so close and really wanted to like this place.
Very disappointed today. I was greeted and seated promptly, but it went downhill from there. Late lunch and I wanted a fish with vegetable dish. I picked the salt and pepper fish and asked the server if I could have something other than green pepper. She just said no vegetables. I wish she had suggested something else, but I guess they were only serving the limited lunch menu. I also asked if I could have hot and sour soup. She said no, "corn soup today". She was curt and borderline rude. She brought my plate, set it down and left. Everything was brown. Didn't come back until she brought my check. I would have liked chopped sticks and some soy sauce. There was a tiny bowl of sweet sour/mustard sauce, but it wasn't enough. She came back and seemed disappointed that I hadn't looked at the check yet, I asked for a box which she brought back and then grabbed my plate and put everything in the box. I wasn't finished eating. I'm just finishing my tea and she came back and said "I need to clean the table" and started pulling off the paper tablecloth. I told her I wasn't done so she left. It wasn't busy. This was around 3:15 and all the other tables around me were empty. So weird.
Ordered takeout. Sweet and sour chicken tough inedible. Potstickers lukewarm didn't taste fresh. Expensive and terrible food quality.
Our go to Chinese spot in the area! Love the sweet and sour shrimp. My fav dish. Normally order take out, so not too sure on the inside experience.
Food is very good. Tastes are authentic. Nothing clever, just good old fashioned Chinese food. Ambiance is nice and quiet and cozy. Service was prompt and courteous. I took away a star because during our second visit, they told they were out of red meat and all dishes were chicken. Apparently night before was really busy. We made due but that was a first for me. Come here but call and make sure they have a variety of meat available.
Definitely coming back for the Kung Pao chicken - didn't like the general Tsao's chicken as much.. They were open on Christmas Day so we went to grab lunch here. They served us dirty plates for our appetizers so that's why I'm giving them 3 stars. Would give them 4 otherwise!
Restaurantji Recommends
We've been here a few times, I think it's best to give a new restaurant a few visits before making a review. First, the atmosphere is great! When you walk in, the interior stands out from most of the restaurants you see in El Cajon. It looks very upscale with a waiting area that is separated from the dining room. The only thing I find odd is the three outdoor umbrellas scattered in the dining area but I'm not a designer. I've been there twice for lunch and once for dinner and found the service good. There were more people working at night when it was busier than at lunch but each time the service and food were quick. Each time I've been there, there were more people than I'd expect at my regular Chinese spot. Food is good...probably geared more to western tastes than traditional Chinese food you might find on Convoy. Favorite entree so far was the plum beef and we really liked the soup dumplings as an appetizer. The lunch options are a great value! Overall, I love that this place is so close, the staff is very friendly, and the service and the food are good. I look forward to coming back often!!!
Subpar food -- vegetable fried rice had sour snow peas, a few scraps of carrots, and uncooked egg. Vegetable soft noodles had a few snow peas and soggy cabbage. No broccoli, mushrooms or anything you'd expect. Egg rolls were overcooked inside, overcooked outside, and soy sauce packets had MSG. And all packed in styrofoam. Will not be returning.
Absolutely disgusting. I picked up dinner after work and it was so bad I could barely eat it. I posted a pic of what I order and the pic of the food is supposed to be to be the chow mein. It had almost zero noodles, had a large about of water/liquid at the bottom of the container, and was basically unseasoned vegetables. The tangerine chicken didn't even taste like citrus and was barely edible. The egg rolls were the only thing I ate. What made it worse is it was not busy at all.
I have been to a lot of Chinese restaurants and this one is great. They make everything fresh, and the flavors are great. They are polite on the phone, and in person. The amount of food you get for the price is fair.
If I could, I would give this place 2 1/2 stars but I rounded it up mostly for the good service we received. The food could be better. When we came for lunch we ordered the Shanghai steamed dumplings and wonton noodle soup. It's not called wonton noodle soup on the menu but I forgot the item name. We just wanted wonton noodle soup and the server suggested something on the menu. This wonton noodle soup had a lot of different vegetables and chicken which may sound good but it made the bowl very chunky. We would have been okay with this dish if it tasted good but everything in it was bland and I don't mean that it wasn't salty enough but that there wasn't much flavor to anything including the few pieces of wonton. And the noodles seemed overcooked. So this dish itself gets one star. The dumplings were okay. The skin is thicker than most other dumplings we have had elsewhere or made on our own. The flavor for these dumplings was also lacking but better than the noodle soup. I would rate this dish 3 stars. The restaurant is comfortable and parking was pretty easy. We need to find a better Chinese restaurant in this area.