China Chef

The food is decent. There’s no AC so it gets pretty hot inside when it’s hot outside.

I originally ordered from them on Christmas and they were very, very busy so we had some delays in getting our food (a large order for 15 people). The food was so good that I went back recently and Lisa, the owner, was really kind, warm, welcoming, and apologetic for the delays on Christmas. The eggplant dishes are my favorite. I also really appreciate that they have gluten-​free and organic options on the menu.

The owners let us order a few minutes after they were closed, gave us a free box of almond cookies for dessert, and were very hospitable! The food was delicious! Definitely will be back!

Nice Chinese restaurant with a good selection for lunch special. Lunch special has a choice of soup, choice of side, and entrée. Nice service. Food filled me up.

Disgusting food. I walked out with the kids while hubby paid the bill. Hot n sour soup was congealed and had no flavor. Pot stickers were greasy and spongy. Sesame chicken tastes bland, maybe old chicken, and looked slightly grey. Hubby said it vaguely tasted of soap to him YUCK! DO NOT EAT HERE! on top of all
If it service was poor, the heat was off in December and at least one platter was chipped and dirty.

I should preface this by saying that I really love that China Chef caters to so many unusual diets– I realize it isn’t very «authentic» to have free-​range, gluten free, vegan, etc etc Chinese food options, but for those with dietary restrictions it’s very pleasant. I do appreciate the service provided (since I’m vegetarian). Also the staff are very friendly.
However, I went there for Christmas dinner last night, and I feel I really do need to leave some kind of feedback. Long story short, 2 of us got our food 30 minutes after we ordered, while the other person didn’t get their food until long after we’d already finished, almost an hour after we ordered. 2 different servers came to check on what we had ordered because they weren’t sure what had been delivered and what hadn’t. Some of the food was already cold when it arrived, and there was a fly in the soup (Ok, I’m being petty — I realize there’s no way to absolutely prevent that. It was actually kind of funny and we all laughed.) We had to ask for rice 3 times to 3 different servers before we got it, and the servers were so harried and understaffed that just waving one down took about 10 minutes each time. Basically it was just very chaotic and disorganized, and it felt like there wasn’t really any particular server assigned to our table — we were there for nearly 3 hours and we only saw our original waitress for the first 40 minutes or so of it.
The part that really irritated me was that it took 45+ minutes to get an order of Fried Rice without egg to-​go (after we’d been told not to order our to-​go orders with our food, and to wait instead), in spite of the fact that the waiter told me it would take 15 – 20 minutes. Then, when I got home, I found it was filled with egg! After waiting for SO long, I at least expected it to be made right, so it was pretty frustrating.
I totally understand that they were swamped and just didn’t anticipate so many people, so it all just fell apart. But I hope that next year they take the feedback into consideration, and make some changes to keep things more organized.

My husband and I used to love this place, but last week we tried it and honestly it was not good at all. The chicken and beef lacked flavor and the fried rice was the same. I probably wont go back. I am sorry but it isnt worth my koney or time.

Christmas day nightmare. 2 hours for food to come out it was ice cold. The schewan beef was so awful. The hot sauce tasted like rotten meat. Not to mention now of the employees that came up to me and tried to make us leave our table as my daughter was still eating. Her breath smelled soooooo bad. Never again.

I have had both take out and dine in over the last week. The hot and sour soup is very good. I also had the BBQ Pork chow mein which was very tasty. Fair pricing. Food did come out fast each time. I will be back.

This place has ok good but the service is horrible I waited 2 hours for food then when I called to cancel she argued with me and kept offering me a discount, I had to finally tell her NO I DONT WANT IT, then she hung up on me and kept putting me on hold and transferring me to other people very frustrating will never order again

Not authentic Chinese food. Very bland. Nothing to write home about.
Obviously we won’t be returning. :(

I have been going to this place since it was Happy Garden. This was my first time ordering since the name change. The dining room has a nice ambience. They have delivery which is a must for me. The food was ok. Not great but good. I love that they have vegetarian choices that is also a must for me. We’ll be calling them for delivery again soon.

Came in pretty late and ordered 4 items to go. It was ready so quick! & it was cheap too. We got the egg rolls, chicken chow mein, broccoli beef, and a side of rice. The food was super yummy and filling for two people. The atmosphere was pretty bland and could use some sprucing up. But hey, the food is good and that’s all that matters! The employees were very nice & friendly and we were offered water while we waited. Overall my experience was really pleasant and I would recommend this place if you are looking for some quick, inexpensive Chinese food!

It seems the little city of Cotati continues to offer some great eating establishments — making up for the mediocrity expanse that is western Sonoma County.
China Chef’s vegetable chow fun is positively delicious; their walnut prawns dish is the best I’ve had north of the Golden Gate; but, the potstickers with the house sauce ranks up there with Yank Sing’s very own.
As a side note, the takeaway food surpasses the restaurant’s dining room experience.

Went back recently for dinner… hmm…not as good… food was bland and if you say a dish is spicy it should be spicy! Not much sauce on the chicken and beef dishes either
Disappointed to say the least. Not going back for a while.
Wonder what happened…

We’ve ordered delivery from this place a few times now. It’s not terrible, but it’s not the greatest either, which is why it’s getting 3 stars. Recently, we placed an order and were told 30 minutes for delivery. Over an hour later I called and was told driver was trying to find our place but that he should be there any minute. He did arrive a few minutes later with our food, and I have to say, he was the nicest, most kind delivery driver I’ve ever met. Good customer service seems to be a thing of the past, so it was refreshing to get that from the delivery guy. He was apologetic that he got lost and we had to wait, which is all one really wants to hear. The food was slightly cold/​soggy, but was warm enough and we were starving so we didn’t really care about temperature at that point. The food was pretty good. The egg rolls were the worst though… totally bland and no flavor with hardly any filling. The crab cheese wontons are yummy and my favorite app to get at any Chinese restaurant. The walnut pineapple prawns were delicious, although they used pecans not walnuts, so that was random. The sweet and sour pork was disappointing. That’s my boyfriends favorite dish to order, and he wasn’t impressed and neither was I. The sesame orange chicken and the BBQ pork fried rice were both okay, and their chow mein is decent as well.
It’s nice to have a place so close that delivers other than pizza, and we’ll give them another try for sure. Hopefully they keep that super kind delivery guy employed. You could tell he likes his job and appreciates customers. One suggestion; they should probably stop telling people their food will be delivered in 30 minutes. Their website says you can call ahead or stop in and «in just minutes you’ll have everything you need to enjoy an excellent Chinese meal». I can attest, you’ll be waiting longer than «just a few minutes» if you call ahead for delivery. Maybe placing an order there and taking it home is faster, but if I’m going to head over there to pick up I’ll likely just eat there. All I know is that if you tell someone 30 minutes for delivery, that’s when they expect their food to arrive. If you say an hour, that sounds more realistic and then your customers can be reasonable with their expectations on delivery time. Food for thought.
Another thing that caught my attention on their website was they mention you can request organic _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​, but if they have organic ingredients on hand, wouldn’t you think they’d use them for every order, not just by request only? I will always choose organic over non-​organic, but most places don’t have the option to request one or the other, so that’s sorta different. Maybe it’s a mistake on their website and all ingredients ARE organic, but it doesn’t come across that way based on the wording they have on their site.

Yum, no need to ask if there’s MSG. WHy can’t more restaurants be like this? I’m a veg, so I like their potstickers and steamed dumpling.
I followed LIsa, the owner from China Fresh.
I hope more restaurant follow suite.
This is the only Chinese restaurant I eat at.
At times, the restaurant might look like it doesn’t have business. I noticed as much as l/​2 of their business during dinner is TAKE OUT.

Since the daughter took over the restaurant, the food has greatly improved.
It is so fresh tasting and not greasy like some places. The asparagus beef is crispy and yet cooked… mmmmm delicious.
Also since they opened up the curtains and really done up the place it is more up beat.
Service has always been great.
Honestly everything they make is delicious as far as I have tasted.

Under new ownership apparently, and the food is amazing!
We came in an hour before closing with our whole family, a party of six, and they were more than welcoming. It was empty, but it was a Monday night, and a few pickups came through while we were eating. I don’t know if anyone knows how good the food is here yet. I don’t know how good the food was under the old management.
We wanted dim sum, and she set us up with a whole assortment. Wor Won Ton soup had flavorful broth. The entrees were delicious and plentiful. The service was great as well.
We’ll definitely be coming back.

Okay, here we go. New owner. No MSG. Free Range Rocky Chicken. Organic Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce. Organic Veggies. Sea Salt. Vegetable Oil 100%. And no food coloring. And now they Deliver!
Well, the owner isn’t exactly new. She’s one of the older owners, but bought this place out and struck out on her own.
She cares about her customer’s happiness. The first time we came here two weeks after change in ownership my friend and I felt sick after eating. We brought it to her attention that it felt like MSG was still in the food. I get massive migraines from it. She informed us she would speak with her staff (all of whom she kept on), so basically they were using old canned and packaged ingredients they shouldn’t have been. It was really sweet of her to take it up so quickly. And though we couldn’t understand Chinese (Mandarin/​Cantonese, yeah whichever), she sounded angry and very clear to her staff in the kitchen. She assured us ALL of the old stuff would be thrown out promptly. She would use nothing canned or packaged.
I’ve been back twice since. The food is solid, though not highly gourmet. The owner is still the one whom greets you. I asked her for something special last time I was there, to give my boyfriend whom was suffering the hot day — she suggested spicy peanut sauced won tons. Okay, it wasn’t really spicy, but it was decent. We doctored it up a bit and it was decently tasty. Though the best things to note … ask her to not close the box if you order the bean curd wrapped shrimp to go (or anything crispy), it will keep them moderately crispy till you get home. Not as crispy as freshly made but good enough. The other thing to note, she gave me free rice to accompany my Mongolian beef. Awesome!
My boyfriend mentioned the bean curd wraps were a little bland. Funny enough, that is what I like about them. Where you can actually taste the mild flavor of the freshly ground shrimp. He mentioned he would like a dipping sauce with them, with which I made something for him at home. But you should also note, no beans. The wrap is the crispy nummy thing made of once beans, but alas, no more. This thing is straight filled with meat with a crispy outer wrapper. I crave it at least once a month.
The Mongolian beef is pretty standard, and even though my boyfriend works at a fancy Chinese restaurant … this he will still eat. Picky mo’fo … but just know it’s solid.
Otherwise, I love the hot and sour soup. It’s vegetarian style. And sometimes they over pepper it which makes it awesome. So if you want that real spice, add it yourself if they don’t do it. I’m not a huge pepper lover, but here it works like magic.
Overall, solid Chinese food in Cotati … at last. And the owner rocks. You can order a drink while you wait for food to go and she’ll always give you a goodie like a cup of soup or some cashews to munch on. I love that they now deliver … for «a few bucks». And it’s solid food. I’ll be back.
My only real complaint? The fortune cookies have the ingredient list and that includes bleached flour. Ah, sigh. Can’t win everything. At least she serves high quality chicken!