Mandarin King

Laguna Beach, United States

4.6

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 949-494-8992
Website:
www.mandarinkinglaguna.com
Address:
1223 N Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA, 92651
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
2.9 miOCTA
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Garage, Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:30 am – 9:30 pm
Open now
Local time (Laguna Beach) 11:31 Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:30 am – 9:30 pm
Tuesday 11:30 am – 9:30 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am – 9:30 pm
Thursday 11:30 am – 9:30 pm
Friday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday 3:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Description

Specialties

Family Style Dining

Mandarin & Szeshwan Cuisine

Made with NO MSG

Dine In, Take out, Catering

*Great for parties*

Gluten free, vegan, low-​sodium or low-​sugar dishes made upon request

Home of the Famous: Honey Walnut Shrimp, Spicy Peppered Fish, Mongolian Beef, Seafood Happy Family, House Special Chicken, Aromatic Shrimp, Orange Peel Chicken, and Cream Cheese Wontons

History

Established in 1984.

Mandarin King Restaurant is a small family owned restaurant that has proudly served the city of Laguna Beach and its visitors for 31 years since 1984. Today, we continue to strive for excellence by offering delicious food selections and great customer service. The restaurant’s goal is to provide fresh and quality food with an inviting family atmosphere without charging a fortune in order to make new family memories and start new family traditions. We hope to share our passion for food with those who step into our doors.

Meet the Manager

Aaron F.

Manager

Starting at the age of 16, Aaron has been very involved in the family business for more than 8 years. Growing up in Southern California, he has been able to help bring the restaurant into the new era. Making the push for health consciousness, our dishes now have the option of being gluten free, vegan, low-​sodium or low-​sugar upon request. By doing so, we hope to give our patrons the memorable American-​Chinese food dishes that were enjoyed in the past without the guilt that usually came with it.

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20 reviews of Mandarin King

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Place rating: 5
Laguna Beach, CA
I have been coming here for years and I can definitely say it is one of my favorite restaurants in Laguna Beach. I recommend the house special beef as well as the orange chicken. Aside from the great pricing, I love how I am always able to leave with a large amount of leftovers. :)
Place rating: 3
East Bay, CA
It was actually pretty good which shocked me. Okay, I just think that the places on the Newport coast tend to be overpriced and not very good. However, this place was actually quite good.
We had the orange chicken (yes, I know it’s very generic but with an 8 year old that is hooked on orange chicken you have no choice but to order less than authentic dishes!) and the mongolian beef. Both were quite good and tasty.
We also had the pop sticker which I did not care for. It was gummy.
There is ample seating and spacious enough to accommodate small to large parties. It can be very busy at dinner time and there are a lot of take-​out orders from what I observed.
The service was good but it took a while to get the bill and leave because it was so busy.
Overall, it’s a great option if you are staying on the coast and don’t want to fight horrible traffic to get somewhere followed by waiting in line for most the the popular restaurants.
Place rating: 1
Las Vegas, NV
To start off I’m visiting from Vegas to celebrate my moms birthday. We love Asian food and we saw all the hype on this place so we were like why not? But now it’s more like «why did I go here» the food is extremely bland and almost taste like it just came out of the freezer. We ordered Szechuan shrimp Kung pao chicken and Mongolian chicken. As soon as we got the Kung pao it literally tasted like chicken bits with soy sauce all over. Nothing more nothing less. As for the shrimp we didn’t even try because it smelled awful when they brought it to the table. Smelled extremely «fishy» so we requested that they just take it back. As for the Mongolian chicken the best thing honestly was the onions. The flavor profile on it was exactly the same as the Kung pao chicken. And the chicken itself was over cooked with a «rubbery» texture. All in all the food to our taste buds was not hitting the spot at all :(Service was slow but the owner seems genuine so that’s that.
Place rating: 5
Newport Beach, CA
We went there tonight with friends and had a very good dinner experience First we had egg drop soups and wonton crispy and delicious The soup was very comforting and just I wanted. We shared four dishes. Shrimps with garlic was really tasty and fresh, the Mongolian beef was great the sauce was so good I wished I had bread. The chicken with vegetables was a bit bland but ok. The fried rice was a great addition to all the dishes Definitely will be back as prices and service was perfect
Place rating: 4
Aliso Viejo, CA
Love it! My mom lives in Laguna Beach so we go to Mandarin every so often. The service is outstanding and I love little small Ma & Pa restaurants like this. Parking can be a little tricky especially in summer on weekend nights.
The go to dishes are honey walnut shrimp or chicken, almond chicken, and the house special beef
Only reason I didn’t go a full 5 stars is my daughter only really likes orange peel chicken and this one she did not like nor did I simply because the sauce is not orangey if you know what I mean
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
The people that run this place are very kind and welcoming– truly happy it seems. As a gluten intolerant person, they were extremely knowledgeable and could take nearly any meal and make it gluten free. I ordered general Tao chicken and loved it! Great place.
Place rating: 5
San Clemente, CA
Love Love Love it here! The best Chinese food in Orange County in my opinion. The staff is always friendly and remembers you, and treats you like they genuinely appreciate your business. You can tell they love their restaurant and take pride in it, and it sincerely shows in their food! So good! The honey walnut chicken is my absolute favorite! And the almond cookies at the end are amazing!
Place rating: 5
Placitas, NM
This is a perfect example as to how social media is so critical or rather can be absolutely critical to a business’ success. I found this place here, on Unilocal America. And guess what, America was right. I most drove 23 miles to try this place and I am so happy!!!
I could go all that way and only try «a» dish… so no judging America when you see my photos!
Garlic shrimp, house special chicken and of course, wonton soup. All — excellent. If you’re jones’en for some good, fresh tasting, Chinese food — definitely try the Mandarine King — you won’t be disappointed. From the moment I walked in, j was warmly greeted and thanked for coming. Again, and I’ve mentioned it in previous reviews, but it’s so nice to simply be thanked for coming in. These little things go so far with people and they definitely get it!
Remember America, nonjudgmental views only when examining my photos! I was hungry! :)
Place rating: 5
Long Beach, CA
I was craving Chinese food and with Mandarin King right up the street from my place I figured I’d give it a try after driving past it 1000 times. Best decision I’ve made in a long time. Very reasonably priced. Try the honey walnut shrimp and house special beef. Great for takeout if you want a good meal without the hassle of finding a table.
Place rating: 5
Dixon, CA
Best deals and amazing service, everyone here was so polite. The sweet and sour chicken and almond chicken are delicious. Glad i found this place while on vacation would definitely return.
Place rating: 5
Pomona, CA
The wife and I popped in on a whim and found a diamond in the ruff. Talk to Aaron, who’s getting his PhD. in physical therapy, about any knee problems you have (barring any legal, medical advice). The food was excellent, and the atmosphere was like being amongst friends – five stars from me.
Place rating: 5
Elmwood Park, NJ
OMG food was so good. we had the family for two meal and it was awesome. Warning the wonton soup did come out with shrimp which my husband is allergic too. They were quick to bring him one without shrimp. I had the Mongolian Beef and hubby had the Chicken. Everything was really good.
Place rating: 5
Glendale, CA
These guys are always super polite and friendly. The food is great. They have my continued patronage.
Place rating: 4
Los Altos, CA
Service and friendliness 5 stars. Food was basic American style Chinese food, so 3 stars. My brother ordered the mushu pork and i ordered chicken with vegetables. It was ok but was expecting more for Laguna Beach. I’d go back if i wanted cantonese– american food.
Place rating: 5
Salt Lake City, UT
Delicious Chinese food!
While visiting Laguna Beach, we popped into Mandarin King on a whim (after a quick check of Unilocal while standing out front of course). We ordered 4 dishes for the two of us and each dish was superb. The delicious leftovers were boxed up and we gave them to a homeless person in the main Laguna beach area.
Service was excellent — it seems to be a family operation. We drink a lot of iced tea and they never let our glasses go empty. This restaurant appears to do a ton of takeout based on the number of people that we saw come in for pickup. It was a 10 minute walk back to our Inn at Laguna Beach hotel.
Place rating: 5
La Verne, CA
Ummm where has this place been ALL my life?! What an amazing location & so small but HUGE in flavor! LOVE LOVE LOVE this place, and would drive all the way to Laguna just to eat here and go home completely satisfied!
When you come here you HAVE to try their Honey Walnut «Chicken», yes I said CHICKEN! This is the FIRST place I have been too that serves that & am now craving it everyday after we left!
Well done, Mandarin King! We can’t wait to come back!
Place rating: 5
Laguna Beach, CA
I don’t care what is real Chinese food or not. I like this place. Five lunch stars for good tasting reasonably priced large portions. The owners and other waitstaff are very gracious and go out of their way to please.
They also don’t skimp on the protein especially the chicken dishes.
Place rating: 5
Laguna Beach, CA
My favorite place for Chinese in Laguna! We usually order to go and the service is always fast and friendly. But the main thing you need to know is that the food is amazing– our favorite dish is the house special fried rice which comes with shrimp, chicken, and beef — so flavorful! We usually have to order 2 of these for a family of four, each carton is tightly packed and steaming hot but us girls devour it so we leave the extra one for my hubby:) My younger daughter loves the honey walnut shrimp (very rich sauce) nicely served with broccoli and my hubby loves the Kung pao chicken, perfect amount of spice. My older daughter is always in the mood for noodles so she almost always orders the chow mein with chk, a safe dish for kids:) Our order is always ready in abt 15 min, and never wrong or missing anything, which I truly appreciate!
Place rating: 5
Quincy, MA
My boyfriend and I got take out from here while I was housesitting in Laguna Beach one night. We called in our order and walked to the restaurant to pick it up. The food was ready when we arrived and the staff were very friendly. They made sure we had chopsticks, sauces, and of course an abundance of fortune cookies before we took our food home.
The food itself was phenomenal! We started with an order of vegetarian eggrolls and they were cooked perfectly and delicious. Then we shared a couple of entrées. We had one order of the honey walnut shrimp, one order of the spicy peppered fish, and one order of Mushu chicken. The honey walnut shrimp was cooked perfectly and the sauce was rich and plenty. The spicy peppered fish was fresh and the breading was phenomenal. And my boyfriend was pleased with the Mushu chicken.
I will definitely come back to this place and try it again. Next time maybe even eat in the restaurant which looked welcoming and very friendly.
Place rating: 5
Downtown, Saint Louis, MO
We stayed in Laguna Beach over the weekend. I am so grateful we were staying right down the road from this restaurant. We felt so welcome from the moment we walked in. This is definitely a neighborhood place with take out being picked up throughout the night. We understand why it was busy. The food is simply delicious, the portions hearty, and the staff are friendly. We enjoyed both dishes (cashew chicken and honey walnut shrimp) and the appetizers. The hot and sour soup was flavorful without being too spicy. I will definitely be back!