Mr. Chow

07/16/2008 Posted by Musiclover81

I love Mr. Chow's! I cannot get enough of it and just took my husband there. You must try their crunchy seaweed and the sweet and spicy seafood. The service is amazing and I love the atmosphere. Really great and everything you expect while living in LA. David Beckham and Victoria were there while we ate and the staff treated them the same way they treated my husband and I.

Pros: Food, Service, People Watching, Drinks!

Cons: Pricey

06/26/2008 Posted by Zadamsmom

Being from San Francisco I eat Chinese food A LOT. I was recently visiting in LA (6/17/08) with some friends and we all wanted to go to Mr. Chow as we had heard it was so great. I had read in reviews to NOT let the waiter make our food choices, so we were spared the agony NoFoodDummy experienced. We opted for the Prix Fix menu - three apps and 3 entrees. The appetizers were so-so. The noodles I had heard so much about were just blah. The beef and asparagus and velvet chicken were very good, but I can have the same thing in Chinatown, San Francisco for $8 and feed 6 people. And the waiters. SF being a foodie town I know good wait staff, and a good waiter will ask you if you are finished with a plate BEFORE taking it away. The waiters were in such a rush to keep your table clear of plates it made me feel unwelcome. Also, we were so jammed in that when one of my friends had to use the restroom, we actually had to move the table out so she could get out. I guess you need to be an "A" list star to get a table that doesn't make you feel like a sardine. With so many great places to eat in L.A., I'd pass on Mr. Chow.

Pros: We actually did see an 'A' List star and family

Cons: You can get better chinese food, at better prices in a more comfortable place anywhere

06/20/2008 Posted by NoFoodDummy

On June 9th 9 of us had the misfortune of dining at Mr. Chows. It was a landmark birthday for one of us and we all wanted a good time. After being seated our flim-flan man....er....I mean waiter.... came to our table and with the sincerity of a loan-shark told us that it was "more fun" to let the "chef bring out dishes for us to try". In the interest of saving the time that would have been consumed while 9 of us picked through a menu- we naively agreed. What followed was a series of 3 courses of very average Chinese food. I have had better in any number of locations this side of Shanghai. Very typical- your basic spring rolls, pork chunkies and fried rice, chicken satay. Better stuff could be had at a Panda Express. Then came the surprise! Suddenly our average Chinese fare would become magical! A 'wonderful' dish called the "turbot fish" would enlighten our palates. Our shady waiter batted his baby blues at us and asked us if we liked fish. We all said "yes". The dog and pony show that followed can only be outdone by a waiter in a Mexican joint making guacamole tableside. Great ceremony was made of "deboning" the turbot fish and slicing tiny portions onto a serving dish. It was average at best. I have cooked better dover sole in my kitchen. Up to this point everything was so-so. OK food, some good wine. Then came the bill. I am sure that the heart palpitation I got when I saw the $585 price tag on the turbot fish will lead to an early coronary at some point for me. There it was- tucked in among the $20 & $30 dollar dishes of lame Chinese food I could get in any hash-house for 1/2 the price- was a FISH that cost more than I paid for my first 2 cars combined! No mention of the sudden increase in the price of our food was ever mentioned by our ex-convict of a waiter. A major rip off. If you insist on being mugged & beaten wear a KKK robe to a Compton barbecue. It would be a lot more fun. Leave this rip-off restaurant to the rich phonies that made it "famous".

06/18/2008 Posted by joejoe1213

My wife and I were on vacation and staying near the Beverly Hills area and decided to make reservations to this restaurant. We heard lots of good things about it on tv, and that many celebrities frequent it and thought it would be a good idea. I'm not into looking at Celebrities, but I figured that these celeb's certainly have eaten at some of the finest restaurants on this planet, and if they like this restaurant it must be good. And I will be honest with you that the food wasn't bad. We too did the no menu thing because we didn't know any better, and our food consisted of a few small appetizers and a small chicken dish and a beef dish. The food is on par with something you would have at PF Changs, but the price was very expensive. They charged us almost $60 per person for the food plus the drinks. I can tell you that the portions were very tiny. The service was excellent, we had a head waiter and an assistant to him. So the bottom line is that the food we had was good, very expensive, and the portions are very small. The service was excellent. I would not make it a regular stop but on occasion if you want to splurge and don't mind being frivilous with your money then this might be the right stop for you.

Pros: good food and good location

Cons: expensive, small portions

06/12/2008 Posted by tweaston

I wasn't sure WHAT to expect after reading the horrible reviews on this board, but 3 of us decided to check it out last night (a Wednesday evening). We checked in about 5 minutes early, they directed us to the small bar, which was crowded, but the bartender was attentive and mixed a great martini. Our table was ready in 10 minutes and the bartender transfered the tab to dinner check and walked our drinks over to out table for us. We were put in the "side room" which was fine, although I think the more fun action is in the main room. Nonetheless, our waiter was great, guided us through the menu with honesty. I recommend the scallion cakes with chili sauce, and the steamed pork dumplings for starters. We shared three dishes, all good, but the pork with spicy red sauce was delicious!! As was the shrimp fried rice. Velvet chicken was a good basic dish. Didn't love the crab, but it wasn't terrible. We had lots of drinks and the tab for the dinner was about $90 each, which is to be expected in the heart of Beverly Hills. It was bustling and fun, a good atmosphere to go with friends. I'm not sure where all the hate is coming from in the reviews. I would recommend it and we will be back.

Pros: Great service and fun Beverly Hills atmosphere

Cons: None!

06/12/2008 Posted by Raped

ASK TO SEE A MENU AT THIS PLACE!! Nine of us went to Mr. Chow's in Beverly Hills to celebrate my 50th birthday. The waiter asked us if we wanted to see menu's, or just have him surprise us with a variety of items. Feeling celebratory and having fun we chose to have him surprise us. He asked a few questions to get an idea of what we liked and what we didn't like which was good. He asked if we liked fish and he suggested this Turbot fish that would show up on a platter whole and they would filet it for us next to the table. We all love fish, so said "sure!". When the bill came we all choked when we saw how much this fish cost. We were charged $65 per person to share this one fish that was no longer than 12 inches after being de-boned. That was $585 for a fish! Overall I thought the food was excellent and the service was great. But, how can a waiter not mention how much this fish will cost? An FYI would have been nice. I realize we also didn't ask, but who would ever expect a fish to be $585? The fish by the way was tasty, but pretty much just tasted like a flounder - it was good but not for $585!

Pros: Nice ambience, friendly service, tasty food.

Cons: Not upfront with customer when customer is trusting them to give a nice array of items.

06/06/2008 Posted by MikeSchwartz

As someone who eats out 3 to 4 times a week, I have a pretty good idea of what is a good restaurant experience. When you go to Mr Chow, as I do perhaps once a year, you have to know what to expect. The room is quite small, and tables are close together. The portions are very small and quite expensive. But whenever I have gone, including this past week with 3 other people, we were taken on time, treated courteously and had an outstanding meal. The total check was no more out of line than any other restaurant of Mr Chow's caliber,e.g, Spago, Jar, Melisse, Patina, Valentinos, etc. Now, if you had a reservation and were dumb enough to wait 2 hours before being seated, rather than walking out, that's too bad. Not excusing the restaurant, but why not call a neighboring place and leave? After waiting 2 hours, I would probably write a negative review, regardless of what transpired after I was seated. I have been taking people to Mr Chow since it's opening. I am not a "regular" or a celebrity, so I do not get any special treatment. I do not recognize the restaurant that is described by some of the negative reviewers; I wonder if they have other motives in bashing Mr Chow. Mike S

Pros: Good service, unusual dishes

Cons: Depending on table, very crowded; overpriced valet parking

05/31/2008 Posted by homewrek

I feel bad for people that go to Mr. Chow's and actually expect edible food and decent service. This was a very good place in the late 70's and into the early 80's before they sold out to the celebs. Why do you think the celebs hang out here? Nobody with half a brain, good sense or any taste would waste there money at this place. The celebs figure that they can hide out because nobody else will go there. If you have extra money to waste and don't mind going to McDonald's after dinner at Mr. Chows to eat higher quality fare to fill your stomach after the garbage you'll eat at Mr. Chow's then it's your kind of place. There are at least 5 dozen Chineses restaurants within a 10 mile radius of Mr. Chows that have better food and ambience.

Pros: See some wealthy people with money to burn and waste on garbage food at high prices.

Cons: food, ambience, price, service, accessibility, value

05/26/2008 Posted by jiverj

Can someone explain how this works? This place has 47 bad (1 or 2 star) reviews, and only 28 good (5 or 4 star) reviews, yet this is listed as 4.5 stars? I have tried to post an HONEST reviews about this place 3 times and an editor keeps deleting it! It seems obvious to me that the people who own Mr. Chow actually pay citysearch to delete bad reviews and list them as 4.5 stars! Anyway, the truth is that we eat at all of the great restaurants in LA, and the one time we ate at Mr. Chow it was a very bad experience. We had a reservation that we made a month in advance, and they kept us waiting over two hours for our table with no apology, no offer of a free drink, nothing! The only people who go here are tourists and D-list celebs who want to be seen! The food is below average and the management is incredibly rude and condescending. Avoid this place at all costs!

Pros: Waiting for over 2 hours for our reserved table taught us lessons in humility and patience.

Cons: Bad food, rude management, keep people waiting over 2 hours for a reserved table!

05/25/2008 Posted by dillarb

i went last night on saturday for my friends 16 birthday. Before hand i went on this website so i was not expecting much. When i first arrived there the valet were very kind and opened the door for me. When everyone got there and we were seated around 4 or 5 waiters helped us to are table were very kind. The only thing that made me mad was when they asked us for are drinks for some reason they never brought me my drink even though i asked 3 or 4 times. For the food they recommended 4 appetizers and 4 entrees. My favorites were the rice and fillet mignon it was really good. The only thing was when they told us the 4 and 4 things and said it would be 54 dollars. When the check came it was around 90 dollars a person. Overall it was good, and i would maybe go again.

Pros: the steak

Cons: service