Ding How Restaurant

Delicious chinese cuisine. Never a bad experience.

I don’t know why I have put dining at Ding How off for so long because I am now in love with this place. We were greeted right away from a smiling male host and he promptly took us to our very clean table. In no time our server came and took our drink orders while my boyfriend and I looked at the menu. Tea tasted fresh and refreshing. Our food was at a perfect temperature and tasted delicious just writing this review is making my mouth water all over again! The dishes were not greasy and I felt not overly stuffed when I left. You pay up front after the server gives you the check. The whole process of eating at Ding How is easy and seamless. Update: in total I have eaten at Ding How four times already and I plan to be back more. They even have cute alcoholic cocktails as well if you want to partake.

I tried the pineapple chicken for dinner and it wss delicious. Their plum sauce is also very delicious. I will definitely return.

Used to come to this place and never had a complaint.
Today however the food was really below my expectations.
First of all the waitress took our order in a hurry-didn’t even spend a whole minute at the table. She was very rushed and it seemed almost a bother to ask for anything additional.
When our order finally arrived after about 40 minutes of waiting, it was flavorless and lukewarm.
The general chicken tasted as if it was drenched in a mix of watered down ketchup and buffalo wing sauce. The Mongolian beef had no flavor nor spice.
The only thing the restaurant did right was the steamed rice.
Had time been an option we probably wouldn’t have stayed for the meal nor ate more than a bite but unfortunately we wasted time waiting and were starving enough to eat about ¼.
There’s other places to eat Chinese, I would avoid this place until it gets back to serving real food.

Very great place to eat. Service is fast and friendly. Ice tea is great. Lemon chicken, Mongolian beef and szechuan beef are fantastic. A must try!

Very enjoyable first time experience. Mike our server was very knowledgable and courteous. We will be back as the food was excellent and everything was served in a timely manner. The overall atmosphere is very enjoyable.

The service was friendly and nice, but that doesn’t make up for how mediocre the food was

My family first started eating at Ding How in the 80’s and it was our go-​to Chinese restaurant for over 20 years. We moved out of SA, but came back this past weekend for the first time in about 10 years. It did not disappoint at all!
We had the crab rangoons, egg drop soup, egg rolls, chicken with vegetables (aka, moo goo gai pan) and spicy shrimp with garlic. It was all delicious and seriously made me regret not venturing back here to eat sooner. The service was surprisingly good (and, I say surprisingly because other reviewers seemed to have service issues) and they were packed with the dinner rush and several holiday parties.
My reason for the 4 stars is that they have very obviously changed their fried rice. When I was younger, I always ordered fried rice with my plate and it had shrimp, baby corn, peas & carrots. That rice is the standard that I’ve held every other Chinese restaurant to and they no longer serve it, at least not with their lunch and dinner plates. The fried rice that came with my ‘combo’ had chopped up pork rib in it, complete with the BBQs sauce that is normally served on their ribs and it completely ruined the flavor of the rice. Maybe the rice I remember can now be ordered as a full dish, but it was disappointing to see that it had changed, nonetheless.

I’ve been coming here for years and I’m never disappointed. This is truly the best Chinese food in San Antonio. If your want Chinese food come here. Ask for Ama she’ll take good care of you.!!

Love eating here for lunch is a bit pricey when you go for dinner but its so worth it been going hear for years wont stop anytime soon

Last night my mom and I went to Ding How for the first time. It only took me 15 years or so to go eat at Ding How. With that said, we enjoyed our meal. First, I ordered the Pu Pu Platter for Two and the platter was great. Then we had the Winton Soup and both enjoyed it as well. Great flavor and heat temperature. As for our main dishes. My mom had the Sweet & Sour Combo. She enjoyed it and was amazed on how much they served her. She had to take half home for lunch today. Her only thing about the meal for her is that it was a little too breaded for her. She and I also had some egg rolls as well and they were awesome. I, myself had the Lo Mein Combination with white rice. My Lo Mein tasted great and was served a lot as well. So, I have enough for dinner tonight. My only thing, I wishes the glasses that they served the drinks in were small but that’s not an ice breaker for me. Overall, my mother and I had a great first time experience. We will or I will be going back soon.

How this place is still open is beyond me. This, singlehandedly was the worst dining experience I’ve had in San Antonio and I will NEVER go back.
Our waiter was cool, brought us drinks and took our order. I believe we ordered the walnut chicken, the shrimp with garlic sauce, and a kids meal. Our food came out in 5 min. Seriously, dude took our order, walked away, then 5 min later came back with everything. I should have known then. The food was horrible. The walnut chicken was not only bland, but it tasted like it was drenched in tomato sauce. Granted, the dish says it has a tomato based, spicy sauce. But, this tasted completely of tomato, and it was gross. Oh, wasn’t spicy at all, even though I asked for It to be extra spicy.
The shrimp came with lettuce or something. But it came in a sauce that looked like water and had NO flavor whatsoever. At all. we both determined we did not like our food, and literally only took 2 – 3 bites of each. Now here is where Ding How earned their way down to one star.
Called our waiter over, and told him we didn’t like it. He told us there wasn’t really anything he could do, and asked if we wanted something else. I wasn’t mad at him, but asked to speak to a manager. A female manager came over, and I began telling her about our meal. I don’t know if someone pissed in her Cheerios that morning, but she got out of line and quickly. She proceeded to tell us that there was nothing she could do, and offered to get us something else. I told her I didn’t want anything else, we wanted to leave she told us we still needed to pay for the entire meal. My guest asked why we needed to pay, when we barely ate anything. The manager told us that if she let every single person who came in there, just eat and leave, that they would be broke.
Scuse me?
I told her, I’m not just any person, and it’s insulting that you’re insinuating we just came in here to sample and run. Told her we went in there with full intentions of paying, but we didn’t like it and wanted to leave. She offered to take the plates back to the chef to see if something wasn’t prepared right. Took the plates, left, came back, and said the chef tasted it, and it tastes exactly how it’s supposed to. I told her that the food is horrible then, because it was not good. She tried to guilt trip us by saying the place has been open since 83, and plenty of people like the food. Told her that their experience isn’t ours, and we don’t like it so shouldn’t have to pay for it. told her I was happy to tip the waiter, but I’m not paying for bad food and certainly didn’t appreciate her attitude. She backpedaled a bit and said she wasn’t trying to insult us, but people come in, sample food and try to leave. My guest asked, do people normally come in here and do that? She said no, not often. I said regardless of what they do, that’s not us and this is Ridiculous. She insisted we needed to pay. I told her I’m not paying for it, and she said we needed to pay half, and that was the best she could do. I asked if another manager or owner was available, and she directed me to an individual behind the register.
I went up and explained to him what happened. He had the deer in headlights look and didn’t really know what to say. I paid for half and he asked if there was anything he could do. I told him no, and that we would never be back.

Great place to go for lunch. They are very fast and attentive. If you go here stick to the basics that they provide for lunch and you will be happy. The lemon chicken is very good and the egg drop is very good as well. I see some people complaining about the quality or taste of the food. If there is anything I have learned about Chinese food it’s that everyone has their favorite spots.

I mean it’s Ding. Your All-​American Chinese food with a Mexican touch haha! ;-) This is the only chinese restaurant we come to like for real and no it’s not because it’s the best… It’s just what the husband likes and swears by since his childhood days and to be honest over the years I come to really like it too. maybe just getting used to it. For lunch most of the time, the food is fresh and hot. comes crazy fast and bottomless ice tea. Lunch is crazy though so hopefully you like crowds… Huge portions and for what you pay its a win-​win for us foodies. The house fried rice is signature lol, little chucks on pork and chicken yum :-) and its really tasty when made right (not overcooked). The lemon chicken is decent too… it’s lightly breaded and they use thick whole white chicken breasts unlike other places these days try to short change your a** on the chicken!!! The Lemon sauce is nothing but good olé high fructose corn syrup, water and yellow food coloring but I mean what’s lemon chicken without that secret sauce to dunk it in… I used to get the sesame chicken but the meat portion is not hardy enough for me so that was ex-​nayed… Crispy egg rolls are delicious & flavorful as they get, of course I like them piping hot. they taste better that way ;-) It’s a love hate and in this case I am a Ding How Fan. Egg drop soup is always fresh, hot & tasty with little mushrooms and water chestnuts. Usually the wonton soup tastes like chicken noodle soup and pretty salty… but being the food addict I am I add some crispy wonton noodles to seal the deal and oh you will be fine ;-) Come hungry and leave happy.

This was my first visit to Ding How. I was looking forward to it as a lot of friends had recommended this place. Not very impressed, service was really good, had my order within 10 minutes and servers constantly checked up on me. I had the chicken with mixed vegetables lunch special with steamed rice and egg roll. The food arrived lukewarm at best. Not the worst food but not what I was expecting. I may possibly try another dish sometime in the future.

Not a real Chinese food. but better than I expected

I had the Thursday lunch special. You get to choose from a list of 4 – 5 entrees or a combo of 2 entrees for a dollar or so more. I got the 2 item combo of beef and broccoli and lemon chicken. It came with fried won ton strips and fried rice. The portions were generous and the food was hot, fresh and flavorful. I had more than enough to take home for a second meal. The décor has a lot of Chinese wood paneling which was festive and the servers were friendly and attentive. They came around frequently for refills. The restaurant was packed even for a late lunch at close to 2 pm but service is quick. Highly recommend! Lemon chicken is real chicken breast and nice and crunchy with thick sweet lemon sauce on the side! I loved it!

Complainers need not attend. Perfectionists go away! You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.
Come for lunch, but come early. Get a lunch special. If you come early, it won’t be too greasy, because your portion will be removed naturally drained from the top of a giant thousand gallon wok. If you come at the end of lunch, it will be sloshed out of the bottom dredges, thoroughly marinated and soaked for hours in oily savory sludge.
Lunch will be quick, and 9 out of ten times it won’t make you sick. The servers aren’t too friendly, they don’t have time to be, they’re tending to large sections of hungry fat people. This large restaurant really does the business.
Don’t come in the evening. No dinner specials, and the food becomes more valuable, or so they think. There are better deals.
I’ve eaten here hundreds of times since the 1970s, and I will return. It is what it is. Try the Mongolian Beef EARLY on a Friday lunch special, or the Kung Pao Chicken. Try the shake-​n-​bake lightly breaded white meat lemon chicken. Or call it sweet-​n-​sour chicken, the same thing just with a different sauce on the side.

The Combination Egg Foo Young came with a side if Genghis Khan’s revenge today. Unless you’re looking for a full body purge, I would avoid at all costs!
It wasn’t even that good, bland and flavorless. The tea was colored water and to top it off, table we were sat at was dirty.
I very rarely give a bad review, but when you ruin my Sunday, and make me sick, I’m gonna give it.

Ding How was one of the local restaurants that was a big hit back in the late 80s, early 90s so coming back after several years of not was a nice nostalgic time.
After they remodeled from that kitchen fire, I was surprised to see most of the environment was still the same awesome Asian American theme. The bathrooms were nicely remodeled, however they needed some major attendance to the cleanliness of them. Gross.
The servers come around with their little carts and circle the place often. The food comes out piping hot. The dinner for 2+ still has ridiculous no substitutions rules. But all in all this place still has the best fried rice I’ve ever had. It was fun. My daughter gets a kick out of all the decorations and the fountain in front.
They also have those fish bowl adult beverages. Where else can you find a Chinese restaurant on stilts with fish bowl drinks?