China Bistro

Came here with the fam. Got the shredded chicken with cilantro. You must love cilantro to love this dish. For me, it was a little too much cilantro. Felt like I was eating the whole plant. Still, it wasn’t bad, I just wouldn’t get it again. Our food came out at different times which was annoying. The kid was finished eating before our food even arrived. Crab Rangoon was great. My won ton soup was good as well.
Staff was friendly. Prices are reasonable

China Bistro is by far the best and one of my favorites. Their lunch menu offers variety (each meal includes rice and egg roll) and fantastic prices. The dinner menu is a bit more pricy, but each entee is more than enough for two very hungry individuals. Great quality food and delicious presentation.

Delicious. The orange chicken was amazing, and the Mongolian delight was delicious. Service was fast and competent, other than the server who almost insisted on giving us someone else’s order!

We like this place and have visited several times but usually with large hiatuses in between for one reason — the woman (owner?) who works there unintentionally annoys my boyfriend. Here’s the thing: She’s very very very attentive. It’s as if someone gave her a book titled «How to Wait Tables for Americans» and she took it to the extreme. I’m not American myself, so I understand that the expectations of restaurant goers differs vastly in various parts of the world. It took me years to acclimatize to the amazingly fast ass-​kissing service that is revered here. So I get it, Mrs. China Bistro. I really do. You’re just trying to do it right. However, toning it down a few notches would be helpful. Three most recent examples: Don’t ask if we want a box when we have barely begun eating and have 80% of our food left; Don’t take away the dipping mustard when we’ve each taken one bite of our egg rolls; Don’t stand to the side of our table watching us eat the entire time — it’s unnerving.
Now the food is why we keep coming back. It’s good! The egg rolls are large and better than average. The Crab Rangoons are awesome. Beef Dry Pot is delicious (and spicy). We’ve also had noodles, Mongolian Shrimp, Garlic Shrimp, Sweet ‘n’ Sour Chicken, and probably a couple of others that I’m forgetting, but it’s all good.
The décor is modern and clean.

We went for an early dinner on a Sunday and we were the only people there. However, all of our food was very tasty and fresh. We had Crab Rangoon as an appetizer which was very good. I ordered hot and sour soup and cashew chicken. The soup was awesome, and the chicken was very good but nothing special. My husband ordered beef lo mein and fried rice which he really liked.
The staff was very friendly and helpful. We are happy to have a new go-​to Chinese place for dinner.

In a pinch for some convenient lunch while on an errand, Unilocal!smartly guided me to China Bistro. I was greeted & seated immediately upon entering and was presented with their lengthy authentic menu. I enquired about the beef & black bean sauce dish, which to my dismay is only offered at dinner; however, I quickly detoured to the Mongolian beef lunch special. It delivered solidly, being clearly more freshly prepared than in your run-​of-​the-​mill Americanese joints. The egg roll was freshly fried, but nothing special. I’ll be back for seconds.

Let me first preface this review saying we moved to Alabama from Atlanta… Having said that… We have found our regular Chinese place!!! We always get the crab ragoon’s at every place. By far this place is bar none the BEST we have had in a very long time. These are done perfectly!!! And when i say that it is a true accomplishment. My second test is the sesame chicken, again this place does it right!!! I usually wait a day or so to write a review. In this case i cannot wait to share so others can understand what a great place this is.

After MONTHS of living in Birmingham and trying multiple Chinese restaurants to find one that actually meets my standards. China bistro was by far the best I have had! Big thumbs up from me and they will most definitely be seeing me again. Only issue: they need another location– preferably near downtown

Awesome burger, the food is consistently fresh and made to order. The staff is always friendly and courteous. This is a must if you live in the area or visiting.

Good classic Chinese restaurant. Stopped by while driving thru, after reading good Unilocal reviews. 5-​star service, good food.
Pork fried rice is standard. Kung Pao Special with shrimp, chicken, and beef is tasty with lots of veggies, but not spicy at all. Wonton soup is very good, hot, with 3 wontons.
Waitress said «no iced tea,» but then 2 other tables walked in and ordered iced tea, so apparently I lost something in translation.
Worth a try. $ 33 + tip for 2 drinks, 2 souos, fried rice, and an entrée.

When I saw the signs by the road announcing that China Bistro was opening in Patton Creek, I was expecting another run-​of-​the-​mill strip mall Chinese restaurant. From my first visit I was pleasantly surprised and have continued to be impressed on my subsequent visits. China Bistro is a full service sit-​down Chinese restaurant located in Patton Creek on the inner drive by the theaters. I’ve tried a number of different items on the lunch and dinner menus and have yet to be disappointed. My favorite so far is the Kung Pao Combination with beef, chicken, and shrimp. They use a fair amount of fresh vegetables in their dishes and this adds to the enjoyment. Other dishes that I would highly recommend include the Cashew Chicken, house fried rice, and the spicy chicken (be careful-​the spicy chicken is just that and your mouth will feel the burn if you eat too much – but it’s really good!). There are a few more exotic items on the menu, but I’ll let someone else share their opinion on the Frog In a Pot entrée. Egg Rolls are large and served with bowls of hot mustard and sweet and sour sauces. Prices are very reasonable with lunch specials priced between $ 6-​$ 8 (which include egg roll) and most dinner entrees between $ 9-​$ 13. Mr. Chen’s has been my favorite Chinese restaurant in the area, but China Bistro is now running neck and neck with it in quality!

This is a kind of Americanized place. Some waitress was not quite courteous since she throwed the chopsticks to our desk and looked impatient. For me, it is OK. I am not expecting too much in Birmingham.

I love Tofu! But not the General Tofu. The tofu had a sticky, slimy, layer on top of it. Not a fan.

I was a little early for lunch but still not much of a crowd by the time I left. Probably more of a nighttime and weekend crowd.
Seated immediately and ordered as soon as I was ready.
I ordered the cashew chicken lunch special. It came with egg roll and fried rice. Egg roll was hot and fresh. Hot mustard was a little «hotter» than most but not too much, gave a nice kick. Entrée arrived quickly. Portions were appropriate to lunch. Flavor was a little bland for my taste but better than most I’ve tried in the area since my favorite restaurant closed.
Overall it was good atmosphere just not what I expected based on previous reviews. Will likely give it another try.

I am visiting my sister I live in Atlanta. I’ll admit I was a little nervous trying to locate a good Chinese Food. This place wasn’t good but it was GREAT! My niece is very picky and she loved the Sesame Chicken & Wonton Soup. I got Egg Rolls & Vegetable Fried Rice. Some places put to much veggies & others not enough this was just right! Definitely will be returning during future visits!

Solid choice… I had the lamb hot pot and it was excellent. I would expect all of the hot pots would be excellent. They even had frog… Maybe next time :)

It was a really nice experience. We ordered pig feet, dry oil pot lamb, vegetables and some appetizers. Quite authentic and somewhat like Mr. Chens.

I recommend the dry oil hot pot!
All I can say is awesome.
I really like that they have more than just your average Chinese food.
Really great service too.
We will be coming back!

The Galleria/​Patton Creek Area needed a good Chinese place to add to the mix and this fits the bill. My wife and I took a risk before catching a movie and I am glad we did. We have egg rolls, Spring rolls. Kung Pao beef and combination fried rice. Everything was homemade with fresh ingredients and served hot and quickly by a friendly and helpful wait-​staff. The atmosphere is plain but pleasant.
I’d rank this up there with Mr. Chen’s which is a big compliment.
We will be adding this to the rotation of places to grab a reasonably priced meal before a movie or for lunch.

This Chinese restaurant opened on November 10^th. It is located in the Patton Creek shopping center near the Rave Theater. The good news is: they offer some authentic Chinese dishes that you won’t find at other places in Birmingham. Examples include the cold appetizers like Five Spiced Beef Tendon and Spicy Pork Ears in Chili Oil. And, they offer several dishes prepared dry pot style (the new hot pot).
I felt at home when the waiters and waitress greeted us speaking Chinese. After being seated we were served a small plate with pickled vegetables and another with cooked peanuts. This presentation is going to be unique around here, but it is common at many Szechuan style restaurants.
Our waitresses recommended the Wonton Chili Oil appetizer. This was interesting, and a combination we had never tried. The wontons were served in a bowl with chili oil and other seasoning underneath the dumplings. We started by cautiously dabbing a bit of sauce on each wonton. That was good, but the flavors really kicked in when we decided to mix the sauce and coat the wontons. Delicious.
The highlights of our entrees included the West Lake Beef Soup, Sauteed Pea Leaves, and Fish Fillet in Hot Bean Sauce. The soup was hot and a good consistency. It had a generous amount of meat and egg whites, and was topped with fresh cilantro. The Sauteed Pea Leaves were excellent. They were fresh, not too cooked down, and not oily. My favorite dish was the fish. The sauce was awesome; lots of ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppers, and other seasoning. It had a good amount of spice from the chili oil and peppers, and the dish was perfect with the white rice.
The service was good, and our food was ready soon after we ordered. The restaurant was fairly busy for a Sunday night. I estimate about half of the customers were Asian so word has already spread in the community. If you like Mr. Chen’s and The Red Pearl then I think you will enjoy the China Bistro.