Evanston Restaurants

Evanston restaurant reviews

View all Evanston restaurant reviews

Hunan Garden
Nov 9, 2008 by Brenda Caleb from Clark, NJ
Overall Rating: 1
Food:[2] • Service:[1] • Atmosphere:[1]

• Nothing.
• Everything including the drap inside of the restaurant.

“I am a contractor worker assigned to the local hospital and one evening I had a taste for Chinese food. I called in my initial order and when I left work to pick it up, it was ready. I ordered Hunan Chicken. When I got it, it wasn't what I'd been used to seeing. It had no vegetables but was loaded with a brownish/reddish sauce with some type of hot seeds in it. It wasn't all that good but I ate it. I again, on another occasion, wanted Chinese food, so I order it again but when I arrive, the order hadn't even been placed. I waited a good 15 minutes before I called the waitress to ask about it. She only said that it's coming. So the owner, who was waiting on tables, serving all the dishes, except beverages, finally asked, what I'd ordered. Oh my God, I said, Hunan chicken. She said okay and went back to the kitchen. This back and forth continued for about another 10 minutes to which my break had ended. I got up out of the seat where you wait for the take out and left.”

Hunan Garden
Jul 1, 2006 by Craig from Cedar Rapids, IA
Overall Rating: 1
Food:[3] • Service:[1] • Atmosphere:[1]

• Convenient parking.
• Food, decor, ambiance, service, attentiveness to complaints, availability of menu items.

“Our party of six arrived to find about 4-5 of the 20+ tables in the main dining room occupied. Two waitresses were busing tables and wrapping silverware with napkins. One of them asked how many in our party then said we'd have to wait. She went to the kitchen, then came back and returned to silverware. We waited 5-10 minutes. Then a woman came out of the kitchen, looked at us, and shouted "table 2" to one of the girls. She shoved a stake of menus into the girls hands, and the girl took us to our table and took our drink order. We were seated in a secondary dining area, where there were about 12 tables and one other party. While the two girls came and went over the next 15 minutes or so, nobody took our order. Then the woman from the kitchen came out and took our order. I ordered pot stickers, which are a common Chinese appetizer. "Thirty minutes" the lady said. Now, as you know, you can order pot stickers in any Chinese carry-out and have them in less than five minutes. I asked why so long and she explained how they had to be taken out of the freezer and steamed and fried and "it take long time". So we skipped the pot stickers. I ordered a dish that was marked "hot and spicy". I said she could make it very spicy. She said "medium spicy or very spicy". I said "very spicy". She said "very spicy?" and I said yes. More time passed. Another party was seated. Carry out orders were coming and going during this time. Fifty (50) minutes after we placed our order, we received our food, for a total of one hour and ten minutes from the time we walked in the door. As we observed the workers we realized a couple of things: The proprietor, the woman from the kitchen, was taking orders, cooking food, and running the cash register. The other two girls were clearing tables and taking drink orders. Also, carry out orders were being handled very quickly. We concluded, it turned out correctly, that the woman in the kitchen was fulfilling carry-out orders before working on dining room orders. When we left, I asked why it took so long to get our food. She said "always busy on Friday and Saturday". I reminded her that this was a Thursday. "Oh, Thursday too." She said she was the only one in the kitchen, confirming our conclusion that she was doing it all while her two employees filled water glasses. I told her she needed to make better use of her employees and explained we had been there for over an hour before getting any food. She just waved her hands and walked away. When a carry-out customer interjected himself into the discussion saying the food was worth waiting for, I asked "who are you?" -- as in, why are you interrupting my discussion. At which point the proprietor turned to me and said "yeah, who are you?" and walked away. If you're a local Evanston resident, be advised that you're not getting anywhere near real Chinese food at this restaurant. The spicy dishes are not close to spicy and the curry dishes are too salty. You already know that you should order your food to go, so that you get served quickly. Those of us who make the mistake of sitting down get no priority in the kitchen. This is both the worst restaurant service I've ever had and the worst-run small business I've ever encountered. This woman will work herself into an early grave and still be an hour and a half late for her funeral while her minimum wage employees smile quietly and pile dirt on her coffin.”