Gary Chu’s Chinese Seafood Restaurant

The last several times I have eaten here, although the food is always good, the women servers are not very friendly or personable. They rarely smile, never chitchat, and act like they can’t wait for us to finish and leave. We were a group of 12, and the 13^th didn’t join us because she remembered the server from last time.
This restaurant has a good reputation for high quality food and the ambiance is nice, but I would love to see a nicer staff.

It’s not like the food is inedible, but I wouldn’t call it good either. I might have been temped to give it 3 stars if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s also about 30% more expensive than any other Chinese restaurant in the area.

Went twice in a few weeks because we were given a gift card – food was ok the first time: ordered mandarin beef and a shrimp dish that was overly sweet and shared with my daughter. Went back again – service was slow-​despite restaraunt being near empty, ordered different shrimp dish – was nearly inedible it was so sweet, lamb, and chow mein – despite asking for low oil the food was very oily. My husband ordered a soda and when we got the bill was charged $ 4 for it – would have been nice to be informed about the overinflated drink charge – seemed like a way to price gouge unsuspecting diners assume sodas are around $ 2.50. This really made me mad – felt sleazy. Was fun to try w the gift cards but would not go back. Seems like it was once a nice restaraunt but they have grown lazy in food preparation, quality & customer service resting on an outdated reputation they no longer live up to. Not very good chinese food at high prices.

We don’t understand what people see in this place. Our server was unfriendly and indifferent, the food was average but overpriced. The best thing was the aquarium, which was outstanding.

What happened to this restaurant? Flavor quality presentation lacking Gary Chu we will not be back! spicy plum pork, orange peel beef did not taste anything but greasy.

The food is good and we have been going for over 10 years and I always know what to expect with the food and service. My problem is the restaurant décor which has never been updated and has a look of dirty fabric chairs and booths and as I looked down at everyones tables there was layers of dust on all of the tables and chairs. Not a place I would like to eat at again. Made me wonder what the kitchen looked like.

The food is good. Anybody giving this place a good review must have got the food to go though.
To be fair, who expects good service at a Chinese restaurant? Yet, even with those expectations, the service is so bad we will never go back.

We have dined at Gary Chu’s through the many, many years this establishment has been in business and the last two times we have said «we’ll never go back!» Last night was the final time. Ever noticed all the awards this place received (framed and hung around the place) date way back to 7+ years ago? Any way, service: what SERVICE? ZERO stars. The lady barely spoke to us. I recall her specifically not even saying hello. We were only met with menus thrown at us by the hostess and the waitress coming over asking coldly «ready to order now?» It appeared there were only 2 servers working the entire large dining room. I remember this place having much better service in the past. In fact the entire night she never really said any thing unless we asked her a question, she never once smiled and she never once asked us how our food was or if we needed more water or anything at all. Kid Friendly: NO NO NO! This place is just not kid friendly at all, our little boy was perfectly behaved the entire night at the restaurant but they did not have a children’s menu to order from and would not accommodate us when we asked if they could «prepare a small bowl of steamed rice with a little steamed tofu on top.» We were met with a blank expression and «no, we don’t do that.» We also were not offered a booster seat for him, (and because the 2 servers were running all over the place all the time we had to go hunt one down ourselves). I also asked for a small cup for my little one to have for water and they brought him a tall wine glass style goblet! Also, the bowl of steamed rice we ordered him turned out to be a huge family style size serving of rice (I am sure we paid accordingly) and my husband and I don’t eat rice. Anyway, the FOOD– TWO star. First off the menu is very strange these days with non-​chinese food items such as CRAB TACOS being offered. We ordered kung pao chicken, broccoli spears, hot and sour soup, and chicken chow mein. The small pieces of chicken were the size of a dime and tasted fatty and rubbery, the broccoli and noodle dish we ordered to share as a family with our child was way too spicy for him (we were never asked about level of spice). Everything tasted super greasy! I recall this place being really fresh tasting in previous visits (years and years ago) and typically less greasy and more health conscious than the average Chinese Food place but that is no longer the case. In fact, about 10 minutes after finishing my last bite I was super thirsty and drinking tons of water and my head immediately started to hurt. The hostess happened to walk by and I asked, «You don’t use MSG here in the food do you?» I mean, Gary Chu used to be famous for no msg and the healthy «McDougal– vegan» menu options in the past, I never expected they would be using MSG! But to my horror, she responded coldly «Yes, we do, in the future you can request that the kitchen doesn’t use it on your menu selections.» Are you kidding me? NOW you tell me! Ugh… YUCK!!! I left feeling frustrated and sick to my stomach. I am sad it is not what it used to be. My husband says the owner has several restaurants all over town. Maybe he has been doing it all too long and has too many establishments to worry about this place anymore. Waste of money, upset stomach, headache (literally!) We will never go back!

I’m amazed by the negative reviews on here.
I’ve gone twice in the past 6 weeks; it has become my favorite Chinese restaurant in Santa Rosa. By far.
The flavors are just delightful. And, for the excellent meat/​seafood and produce in each meal, the price is surprisingly reasonable. I’m bowled over by the place. I’d been a Ting Hau guy for years — but there’s no comparison with Gary Chu’s.
Admittedly, the décor is a bit dark and formal (which may lead people to believe it’s expensive). I eat alone, and I find the service to be good. Sometimes you may have to catch their eye for a tea refill but, when you do, they’re very responsive.
This place is now my favorite treat in the city of SR — certainly downtown.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve been here and I was concerned that it may not live up to expectations as I remembered it. It actually exceeded expectations and was even better than I remembered. We had the asparagus wrapped in ribeye steak — perfection.
For the entrée my wife had the lettuce cups and I had the Mongolian beef. Again wayyyy better than I expected. The beef was cooked perfectly and was bursting with flavor. At many Chinese restaurants the beef is chewy and breaded — not here — it was excellent.
Growing up in Santa Rosa I always had fond memories of Gary Chu’s and I am really pleased to say the memories are intact and we are making new ones over awesome food!

Hi Gary love your place, I was in last night for my birthday, (seems like an annual thing) it is a little dark in there to see the menu (newer color), maybe the stand out wall to roof part could be brighter? I ordered the exact same thing I always order, for I don’t know how long maybe over 15 years +, the item I ordered was the crispy ginger chicken (awesome flavor) except it was rather quick coming out of the kitchen and I think it was slightly under done because there was a tenon from the the meat that was not cooked thru, I didn’t mention it to the wonderful waitress. Also the portion was slightly smaller (this I understand be cause of inflation, but not higher prices) but also the sauce was minimal, I usually have plenty to coat my rice but it was dry when I went to eat it. Thank you for your restaurant, just letting you know I would never not come it because of one under par experience and my mom ate most the chicken so I’ll have to come in by myself to have it all. PS I have almost perfected your recipe for the sauce but the crispiness of the chicken a lodes me. Maybe I can work a day or two for free for you and you can revel the process! LOL Thank you Randy Locke

We used to eat here at least once a week. My family and I have been going since its opening. The service and food slowly started to get worse and worse… we always were forgiving, trying to find an excuse for them just because of our long history there. Our last straw was after a mix up where we picked food up… they gave us the wrong order and offered us nothing after we had to drive it all the way back to them, not even a real apology for the major inconvenience. It’s completely obvious Gary has checked out and devoted all his time to the Japanese restaurant in Montgomery Village.

The seaweed salad.good. The seafood wontons a bit stinky fishy. but still good. Wonton soup yummy. Service cold and distant. Got a little better towards the end of our visit. No Unilocal check in perks. Overall a 3. Has promise needs work.

I would love to give this restaurant a great review as the food smelled incredible, but seeing as we were ignored to the point of walking out I can’t. We are very patient people. I used to wait tables, and my boyfriend is studying to be a chef– We understand the strain of an understaffed floor (and they were)
But watching tables that came in well after us receive drinks and place final orders, when nobody had come to our table whatsoever proved the issue was more than the light coverage. Maybe it’s because we are both alternative in appearance. Maybe it’s because we’re young. We’d been looking forward to trying this restaurant for a long time, but after being ignored for over 20 minutes we had no choice but to walk out. We will likely give it another try in the future, and I will update this review accordingly– hopefully next time we can get some food.

I have been liking going to Gary Chu’s more often after learning about their executive lunch menu, since it’s a better deal than ordering a few separate items. I recently started ordering lunches to go to save time and a little tip money. I ordered the mongolian beef executive lunch, which is supposed to include soup, salad, and rice. The green salad was warm and there was no soup. I called to ask about that and apparently they just don’t serve soup to-​go. That was my favorite part and they excluded it without telling me. Ting Hau has containers to send the soup to-​go. So while the lunch is good when dining in at Gary Chu’s, I don’t think I’ll be ordering to-​go.

I always love adding the martini prawns to my lunch special. –So yummy!
The mongolian beef and the assortment of cookies at the end of the meal are always delightful!

I’ve found over the years that a menu will often signal a less than stellar experience is on the immediate horizon. Gary Chu’s is not the exception.
Per the restaurant’s name it is a Chinese restaurant but there are a number of clearly not-​Chinese dishes on the menu. Would you order Thai at a Chinese restaurant? How about a burger and fries at an Ethiopian restaurant? Why would Gary Chu’s not stick to Chinese food… and do you want to eat their Chinese food if they are clearly so bored they are now offering crab and guacamole tacos?
Yeah, crab and guacamole tacos at Gary Chu’s Chinese Seafood Restaurant.
Anyway. It had been several years since I had dined at Gary Chu’s and it wasn’t memorable then but for date night we tried it again.
When looking at the menu it occurred to me that of the seafood options at the «Seafood Restaurant» it consisted primarily of differing food options with shrimp. The menu also has a «Gary Chu’s Suggestions» section which is strange because I would think he would suggest we try anything on his menu. The suggestions aren’t food pairings, merely other food not on the rest of the menu. Kind of like titling the menu pages; I’d Eat This, I’d Not Eat That.
The food itself was just pedestrian and going into detail about bland uninspired Chinese food gives me a feeling of weariness and that ennui has taken over my fingers as I type. Most Chinese food in this county is lacking mightily, and although Gary Chu’s had glory days she is very clearly not standing out from the crowd.
Michelin gave Gary Chu’s a «Recommend» rating in 2012 which is no small feat. Explaining how that happened probably requires a physicist, high level calculus, and a magic bean.
Service was standard. Pricing was a little higher than your average Chinese place but the décor was significantly more pleasant, even if a little dated.
Full disclosure: What we ordered was not on the Gary Chu’s recommended portion of the menu. Perhaps that is where we went wrong.

Despite any negative reviews you may read on here; I have not had any complaints with this place. When I come here with my family and friends we all usually end up ordering the following:
Cashew chicken
Sweet and sour pork
Beef broccoli
Kung POWWWW chicken
Fried rice
EVERYTHING is good. Keep in mind with being in a large group make sure to over order rather than under order, the last time I came here I was with a group of 4(including myself) we each ordered a separate dish to share. The portions were somewhat on the small side (no leftovers).
Fortune cookies, sliced oranges, and if I remember correctly almond cookies (which are totally amazing) are also included when you get the bill.

I have been here twice before for lunch and I was very satisfied.
It’s a little more expensive than your average Chinese restaurant but the food it really really good.
The ambiance is nice, food has a gourmet twist and flavor to it. I especially like their fried rice which is served in a shareable container for you and your dining mates. The fried rice is moist and flavorful and pairs wells with the richness of the dishes I’ve had. The first time I went I ordered the Szechuan Prawns (not 100% sure if that’s what they are called), they were good. However, today I had the Szechuan chicken drumette which is essentially a few chicken wings coated and fried with the sauce tossed with some fried dried chili peppers and diced veggies and mushrooms. Wow, I was very impressed. I like the consistency and the variety of flavors.
The service was good.
This is a good place for a nice lunch. I haven’t tried the dinner but based on the lunch menu I tried, I would be open to come for a upscale gourmet dinner experience.

I agree with Diane M. that there is a reason why Gary Chu’s has been around so long. I have been coming here for 20 years and have never left disappointed. When you walk in there is a gorgeous fish tank in the waiting area. Word to the wise, the fish tank goes through to one of the dining rooms. Fishy faces will be magnified to the people on the other side. The Chinese food here is some of the best in Sonoma County. While I have tried the better part of the entire menu, I have some favorites:
Mu Shu Pork. Make sure to order extra pancakes. Once you run out of filling, pancake + hoisin sauce is amazing.
Lemon Chicken. So sweet, so delicious. Their lemon chicken is not as fried as it is at other restaurants giving it a fresher taste.
Walnut Prawns. This is my grandmother’s go-​to. These prawns are served in a white sauce and are divine.
Gary Chu’s is great for groups and birthday dinners. They have a handful of big round tables with lazy susans in the middle perfect for group dinners. At the end of your meal you get orange slices, fortune cookies, and almond cookies. How could you not like a restaurant that basically gives you a free dessert platter?
One last thing — their executive lunch is a great option 11:30 — 3:00. For $ 10 to $ 12 you get a huge entrée served with a soup, salad, and rice.