I came here 25 minutes late to my reservation and still got a seat while the restaurant was busy. The food was really fresh and came out hot. Meat in the dishes were also cooked at the right temperature not leaving it chewy or hard. They hands down have the best dumplings in the Bay Area, the filling is just right and the skin doesn’t break when you pick it up. The only con in my opinion is the automatic gratuity of 18% and it was a party of 2 including myself.
1st time here. We arrived at 230pm. Table was dirty, and napkins from prior family were on the chairs. We were handed with a menu and pen and you write how many you want from each item. We were asked if we wanted hot or ice tea, but not told it's $4 per tea. The food is brought out as its prepared, and it's hot. ? we tried each item, and I was impressed. For 3 teas and 7 dishes my bill was $133 and gratuity was included. Straff was friendly and answered my questions regarding the food. I'd go back.
Good thing we had a reservation at dinner open time, seated right away and place filled up quickly. We had 3 adults, 1 child, 1 toddler... place doesn't have kid friendly menu, sharing the fried rice and XLB was the best option. Had to order wagyu beef noodle for the kids too but noodle wasnt that great. High chairs available. They forgot to put in 2 of the many items that I marked, and by the time I realized, the other adults were full so I didn't get to try those 2 recommended items (lobster ha gaw and crab crepe)... (deducted a star for this). Fancy dim sum that tasted great but some items are overpriced - example, the truffle duck fried rice tastes great (not too salty, nice chew) but barely any duck. Bang bang chicken had nice flavor and crispy but too fatty. Abalone siu mai was one of my favorites. Would return to try some items I didn't get to eat, but it's definitely more of a "for an occasion" type of place due to the price.
In A Nutshell:-If you decide to come have a meal at Palette Tea Garden, your palette will thank you every time you take a bite!-Seriously, if you are looking for authentic Chinese food, this is a great place to satisfy that hunger.-The service is top-notch 5 stars & they even have a robot helping out.-The surf clams were delicious, make sure you order that.Overall, if you live in San Mateo you already have a ton of great restaurants, Palette Tea Garden is another great option especially if you are in the mood for authentic Chinese food.
Good thing we had a reservation at dinner open time, seated right away and place filled up quickly. We had 3 adults, 1 child, 1 toddler... place doesn't have kid friendly menu, sharing the fried rice and XLB was the best option. Had to order wagyu beef noodle for the kids too but noodle wasnt that great. High chairs available. They forgot to put in 2 of the many items that I marked, and by the time I realized, the other adults were full so I didn't get to try those 2 recommended items (lobster ha gaw and crab crepe)... (deducted a star for this). Fancy dim sum that tasted great but some items are overpriced - example, the truffle duck fried rice tastes great (not too salty, nice chew) but barely any duck. Bang bang chicken had nice flavor and crispy but too fatty. Abalone siu mai was one of my favorites. Would return to try some items I didn't get to eat, but it's definitely more of a "for an occasion" type of place due to the price.
The place is so pretty! The food is delicious and the employees are so friendly! Everything came out fast. We ordered a lot of food but it was all worth city to try and take home. Next time we come we will not come and order 17 dishes for 2 people but our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. We will definitely come back here.
Enjoyed the dinning indoor with great vibes at the lounge area. Good place for dim sum with some upgrade in presentation and fusion taste. We ordered quite a bit and portion is pretty good with 3 or 4 to share.
[4/5, San Mateo, CA] A friend really loves this place so we went. I found it okay. Fried rice, crispy cheongfun thing, lobster har gao, green beans, pork ribs, was all good. However, for that price, I feel like we should get more. Price to value wasn’t there for me - a lot of it probably went to the rent for this place. We sat indoors but in reality it was outdoors and it was cold. Service was basic. Might eat here if near the area but won’t come specially for it.
The food was exquisite! The food Presentations also spoke for itself. The food aroma teases your sense of smell making you mouth water before the food even hits your table. And lastly, the food were bursting with flavor and never an overwhelming taste of soy sauce. Did I mention how succulent and tender the food were?
We went for brunch on a Sunday at 11:15. The place was slammed, completely overflowing with people. They were about 45 minutes late with our table, so we didn't get seated until noon. You order from your phone using a quick response code. Then the dishes start coming. They brought out the first dishes without any sauces and it was hard to get away to bring us things we needed. The food was all good and the whole bill was less expensive than I thought it was going to be, it was about $50 each for the six of us including tip which they added on automatically. Overall the experience felt a little bit impersonal, we all prefer the old style dim sum places that bring around dishes in rolling carts for you to choose from. It was also a bit difficult to know how much to order. Overall the food was good but the service issues bring the place down a notch.