Over the past 20+ years, my wife and I have dined at Chen's dozens of times. Ever since the Aloha closed, (many years ago) Chen Garden has been our preferred restaurant for relaxed casual dining and quality Chinese food. It was off the mark yesterday, Sunday afternoon (4:30-5:30).We met another couple for dinner and we were promptly seated in a booth in the alcove that is our preferred spot in the dining room. I noticed things were different almost immediately. There was no Asian music.Tea arrived hot and promptly, but the teapot was noticeably dirty. We ordered drinks which were brought to our table late (our soup order had already arrived). The Martini glass (up) was only partially filled. Two other drinks -my wife's and one of our guests were mixed up.As other patrons arrived (the place filled up fast) the service got sloppy and rushed. Clearly, the place was understaffed! The restaurant became so noisy that quiet conversation became impossible.My wife ordered a Scallop dish only to have the waiter return to say they were out of Scallops. The family-style Tofu came with a brown sauce and was different than usual. One of our guests Lo-mien was cold and inedible when it arrived at the table.All in all, the experience was not up to par! I am concerned that the Chen Garden dining experience is changing, and their previous quality is slipping away. This may be our last visit.
Food: 2
Service: 2
Nelson ns
We takeout from Chen Garden a lot and it has been our favorite Chinese food spot in Rochester. The food is really good and portions are big. We can usually get 2 meals out of one order! 10/10 would recommend
Antonio Arias
Amazing value for money!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
anne thompson
Everything was great. I just thought it was too dark. The food and service were excellent!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soup
Nancy Kaproth
Beautiful restaurant with great table service. The only place that we feel safe ordering gluten free dishes. Equally, their takeout food is scrumptious.Dietary restrictions: Gluten free is clearly indicated on the menu. A separate dish of gluten free soy sauce was served to my husband who has Celiac Disease. We ordered some dishes that were not GF. Our waiter was careful to remind us which dishes were safe.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried
HungryHungryVince
Having visited this restaurant multiple times throughout the years, it still remains a favourite of mine. You wouldn't expect to see a beautiful, old school Chinese restaurant that's impossible to tell from the outside.Starting off with a couple appetizers, the pan-fried dumplings were delicious and 100% homemade. Crisp exterior and tender filling on the inside. The fried squid was phenomenal. Possibly the best fried squid I've had in Rochester. These were fried to perfection and the squid was tender and fresh.For mains, we opted in for sweet & sour shrimp which is difficult to get wrong. The shrimp itself was ginormous which was great, and the sauce had the perfect balance between sweet & sour and the consistency was great.We also opted in for the market priced crispy seabass. This took me by surprise as I wasn't expecting such a huge fish, fried and accompanied with a great slightly sweet and savory sauce. The presentation alone left my jaw on the ground. The seabass was crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside.Overall, a great dinner, an amazing atmosphere and friendly service from "Wendy."10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alyssa S
The sweet and sour chicken was terrible.Beef lo mein and the Winton soup were okay
Timothy Bailey
Really gone downhill in the last couple of years. Used to be the best in Rochester.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Joe Ansuini
I'd rather dine in but delivery works!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken Wings, Fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls
Christmas day. Packed. Not much space to wait. Food was awesome.Wheelchair accessibility: Tight getting in.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soup
Hal Rosensteel
Literally, the worst wonton soup I've ever had. I don't leave bad reviews but this is like snot in broth. It was an accident that we even ordered from there. It was supposed to be China garden. I have a cold and theirs is like magic.
Food: 1
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Sesame Chicken, Soup
MantisMan13
Love this place and have been going here for decades. New management took over when the original brothers retired about a year ago now, but they have picked up the torch wonderfully. Some menu changes were needed to pair down the extensive menu, but the quality is excellent and hard to find better. Don't believe rumors of people who might have tried once during the cross over period when the new management was learning the ropes while many of the original staff also remains.This place is a keeper.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
BDG
always good. had egg rolls , egg drop soup and cashew chicken and beef and broccoli all standard fare but was Hot and tasty. service was really good this time as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Roll, Soup
grace bernunzio
Been coming to Chen garden for 10+ years and it seems like ownership changed last year. I went for NYE and it was really bad. Also the servers are all different now and the drinks don’t taste the same. Sesame chicken tasted rotten. Hope it can improve so I can update my review. Oh and they also got rid of the Thai food in the back it is very limited now.
Family dinner for 3 - amazing food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Over the past 20+ years, my wife and I have dined at Chen's dozens of times. Ever since the Aloha closed, (many years ago) Chen Garden has been our preferred restaurant for relaxed casual dining and quality Chinese food. It was off the mark yesterday, Sunday afternoon (4:30-5:30).We met another couple for dinner and we were promptly seated in a booth in the alcove that is our preferred spot in the dining room. I noticed things were different almost immediately. There was no Asian music.Tea arrived hot and promptly, but the teapot was noticeably dirty. We ordered drinks which were brought to our table late (our soup order had already arrived). The Martini glass (up) was only partially filled. Two other drinks -my wife's and one of our guests were mixed up.As other patrons arrived (the place filled up fast) the service got sloppy and rushed. Clearly, the place was understaffed! The restaurant became so noisy that quiet conversation became impossible.My wife ordered a Scallop dish only to have the waiter return to say they were out of Scallops. The family-style Tofu came with a brown sauce and was different than usual. One of our guests Lo-mien was cold and inedible when it arrived at the table.All in all, the experience was not up to par! I am concerned that the Chen Garden dining experience is changing, and their previous quality is slipping away. This may be our last visit.
Food: 2
Service: 2
We takeout from Chen Garden a lot and it has been our favorite Chinese food spot in Rochester. The food is really good and portions are big. We can usually get 2 meals out of one order! 10/10 would recommend
Amazing value for money!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything was great. I just thought it was too dark. The food and service were excellent!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soup
Beautiful restaurant with great table service. The only place that we feel safe ordering gluten free dishes. Equally, their takeout food is scrumptious.Dietary restrictions: Gluten free is clearly indicated on the menu. A separate dish of gluten free soy sauce was served to my husband who has Celiac Disease. We ordered some dishes that were not GF. Our waiter was careful to remind us which dishes were safe.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried
Having visited this restaurant multiple times throughout the years, it still remains a favourite of mine. You wouldn't expect to see a beautiful, old school Chinese restaurant that's impossible to tell from the outside.Starting off with a couple appetizers, the pan-fried dumplings were delicious and 100% homemade. Crisp exterior and tender filling on the inside. The fried squid was phenomenal. Possibly the best fried squid I've had in Rochester. These were fried to perfection and the squid was tender and fresh.For mains, we opted in for sweet & sour shrimp which is difficult to get wrong. The shrimp itself was ginormous which was great, and the sauce had the perfect balance between sweet & sour and the consistency was great.We also opted in for the market priced crispy seabass. This took me by surprise as I wasn't expecting such a huge fish, fried and accompanied with a great slightly sweet and savory sauce. The presentation alone left my jaw on the ground. The seabass was crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside.Overall, a great dinner, an amazing atmosphere and friendly service from "Wendy."10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The sweet and sour chicken was terrible.Beef lo mein and the Winton soup were okay
Really gone downhill in the last couple of years. Used to be the best in Rochester.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
I'd rather dine in but delivery works!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken Wings, Fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls
Restaurantji Recommends
Christmas day. Packed. Not much space to wait. Food was awesome.Wheelchair accessibility: Tight getting in.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soup
Literally, the worst wonton soup I've ever had. I don't leave bad reviews but this is like snot in broth. It was an accident that we even ordered from there. It was supposed to be China garden. I have a cold and theirs is like magic.
Food: 1
Recommended dishes: Seafood, Sesame Chicken, Soup
Love this place and have been going here for decades. New management took over when the original brothers retired about a year ago now, but they have picked up the torch wonderfully. Some menu changes were needed to pair down the extensive menu, but the quality is excellent and hard to find better. Don't believe rumors of people who might have tried once during the cross over period when the new management was learning the ropes while many of the original staff also remains.This place is a keeper.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
always good. had egg rolls , egg drop soup and cashew chicken and beef and broccoli all standard fare but was Hot and tasty. service was really good this time as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Roll, Soup
Been coming to Chen garden for 10+ years and it seems like ownership changed last year. I went for NYE and it was really bad. Also the servers are all different now and the drinks don’t taste the same. Sesame chicken tasted rotten. Hope it can improve so I can update my review. Oh and they also got rid of the Thai food in the back it is very limited now.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1