Hunan Garden

Message from Hunan Garden

Although located on an unimpressive stretch of El Camino, this place serves some of the best Chinese on the Peninsula.
  • Seafood
  • Vegetarian Dishes
  • Luncha and Dinner

Hunan Garden serves a vast array of Chinese food to its customers. Sizzling appetizers, steamy soups and spicy entrees make Hunan Garden a treat for the whole family.

Editorial and merchant content by Citysearch

Marker Hunan Garden

(650) 521-5103

3345 El Camino Real Palo Alto, CA 94306
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Editorial Description by Citysearch
The Food
The long menu boasts impeccable English, but this by no means is a sign of muddy, Americanized Chinese food. The kitchen staff concocts fragrant and artfully arranged dishes, like fried cinnamon chicken with steamed sticky rice or braised prawns with tomato and ginger sauce. Served as an appetizer or as an entree, one of the most savory dishes is the deep-fried spareribs with spicy salt, lent flavor by a mound of sliced chilies, scallions, and ginger. Quickly wokked heads-on shrimp, beef with tender greens, and velvety soft tofu, brought in daily from San Francisco, also share a huge following.

The Scene
Designed by Bruce Yelaska, it may just be the prettiest Chinese restaurant on the Peninsula.
Rated 8.0 out of 10 by Citysearch.

12 Reviews of Hunan Garden in Palo Alto

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Great little Chinese Restaurant in PA  4 Star Rating - Very good

By Andrea O. | insider_expert Insider Expert | Rank: 6,193

Small and quaint with excellent food. Their lunch specials are yummy and reasonably priced. You won't be dissatisfied with any of the selections. My favorites, walnut prawns and cashew chicken.

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Susan O.  2 Star Rating - Wouldn't recommend

By Susan O.

Love this place, great food, great price and so quick. I love the lunch specials and often get either the cashew chicken or the scallops, yummmm. I would definitely recommend this place. I also love to watch the fish in the big fish tank.

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Good Chinese Food  4 Star Rating - Very good

By Marilyn P. | insider Insider | Rank: 14,292

This neighborhood restaurant is tucked away between a food chain and a little motel but when you walk in the wonderful smell of Cantonese and Szechuan food hits you. The owner is very friendly and he recently helped me with a catering order for 50 people. I told him our budget and he selected the menu items for me and even delivered free of charge. The food is varied with more traditional dishes as well as vegetarian, sizzling platters and specials of the day or week. Their seafood menu is large and they have a few fish tanks in the dining room with fresh fish in them. They also have a lovely patio and a full bar.

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Hunan Garden Restaurant  4 Star Rating - Very good

By Evelyn G. | insider_guru Insider Guru | Rank: 1,471

The restaurant offers a typical Chinese restaurant menu. One of the good things about the restaurant is that they will leave the chicken broth out of the vegetarian dishes when requested. The braised bean curd is delicious.

PROS: Accommodating to vegetarians.
CONS:

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Latest reviews by Citysearch: (read all 8 reviews on Citysearch)

Great food...Great Service! 5 Star Rating - World class

By StanfordGal

I've been living here for years, looking for a great Chinese restaurant and I've finally found the place.

Not only do they have great food, but I have never experienced such great service at a Chinese restaurant before. The matre d at the desk was extremely friendly and accomodating.

My friend and I ordered the Mu-shu chicken, which we both really enjoyed - I would highly recommend this dish.

We also ordered a beef dish that was too spicy for the both of us (we prefer milder food). When we explained to the waiter that we'd like to order another dish because it was too spicy, he actually just took it off the menu and exchanged it for something milder. We never expected them to do that. While we would not take advantage of that, it was great customer service!! He recommended that we express our spice preference when we order, something we will remember to do next time.

Instead we ordered the orange-peel chicken, another delight that I would strongly recommend.

For the great food and AMAZING service, I would give this restaurant 5 stars and recommend it to everyone!

Pros: Service, Food
Cons: Parking
Posted 02/18/09

best place for chinese food 5 Star Rating - World class

By watermelon1

this is a wonderful place, the food was great, i have been there for many many times. the prices are reasonable and i really enjoy the time that i was eating over there. i love this place, the service was great. after i eat over there, i can't go to other restaurants because they did not have the taste. whenever i go out and eat, Huan garden is the place that i usually go and i think they are the best in the town. one day that i saw a large group eating over there like around fifty or sixty, i was thinking that was so great that next time i can have my birthday party over there too! if you need to find out a chinese restaurant, i definately recommend this one. oh, if you have more than five people, it is a good idea that you should call them up and make a reservation.

Posted 12/03/08

GREAT FOOD 5 Star Rating - World class

By RyanT33

Yeah you have to give it up for Hunan Garden. All of the dishes i have had form this place are deelish! The service leaves a little to be desired but hey lifes not perfect, and the food more then makes up for it. We frequent this place at least two or three times a month, enough said.

Posted 08/05/08

Outstanding Chinese food at reasonable prices 5 Star Rating - World class

By WayneGarr

Feeling hungry for Chinese food and not knowing where to go I did a Citisearch wow am I glad I did! Looking at star ratings I found the Hunan Garden so I thought I would trust the high rating by other members. Well here is the low down food is way above average everything was fresh and tasty. Parking on the other hand is cramped and inadequate if you have a small car it?s possible, if you drive an escalade SUV you better use street parking or risk bent fenders. Pricing not too bad and value very high for the $ spent. Cocktails were pricy at $8 but you did get a lot of booze in your drink so again it was fair by today?s standards. Overall I have to say A- and since I am writing this the next day I was happy I didn?t get the indigestion usually associated with Chinese foods! So give it a try I doubt you will be disappointed!

Pros: Great food at a good value
Cons: Parking was really inadequite
Posted 07/26/08

Great seafood, Peking duck, customer service, on the fly menu modification . . . 5 Star Rating - World class

By boscoj

As it is very near my work streetwerkedotcom I eat here about once a week for lunch.

I imagine it's pretty standard lunch special fare. Hot and sour soup, an egg roll, rice, your entree, hot tea, water. Your bill arrives with orange segments and a fortune cookie. The cost is usually $7.52. Each table has salt, white pepper, soy sauce, some black bean hot chili oil and some sweet and sour sauce.

I think the elements that stand out for me after 2 years of eating here are the consistency and the excellent service provided by enthusiastic people.

What I like most is just chucking the menu and asking my server "what should I get?" I have found this to be a very rewarding approach. How else would have I discovered the bliss that is "Pork Chop Soup Noodle"?

Your basic broth with noodles, veggies and some very thinly sliced pork chops (about 1/4" thick) lightly floured and 5 spiced, flash fried and placed on top of the soup bowl. Very yummy.

Ask about the Hunan Chicken - White meat, sauteed with cabbage and leeks in the chef's hot sauce. I routinely get the negative head wag. "No, don't get that."

The decor is very pleasant and understated. Various aquariums and fish tanks hint that seafood is the specialty of the house and the big dollar items such as lobster, local crab and langoustines are alive until you order them. The outside garden area is wonderful on a warm summer night or an overcast winter day. Plenty of shade and gas heaters make this a very versatile and enchanting seating area all year round.

Customer service is what really sets this place apart for me. Service is snappy but one doesn't feel rushed. You don't like a particular ingredient? Just tell them, they will make even the most standard sweet and sour pork to your exact liking.

So if you need your Audi or VW serviced call streetwerke and then go to Hunan Garden for lunch/dinner.

Tell them "Jeff" sent you . . .

Pros: Everything you go out to dine for
Cons: Parking, easy if you're not yapping on the phone
Posted 01/01/07