Golden Horse Seafood Rstrnt

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238 NW Fourth Ave
Portland, OR 97209

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(503) 228-1688
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Reviews
( 5 )
( 8 )
( 4 )
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( 8 )

Best

If you go, ask what fresh vegetables are available and what fresh fish are available. they have a combination where they take a whole fish, make a soup, a main dish and a vegetab...

Worst

A friend and I went there for lunch this weekend. It took us 45 minutes to get our food, and we watched a whole family of 6 get food, eat and leave before we ever got our food. It...

YIKES 1/17/2011

Father's Day 2009: I took my partner & father of my son for Father's Day lunch at his request. His mom was also there. She ordered the deep fried pepper calamari (I forget the exact name). An older waitress (seemed like owner) brought the plate of what we thought was calamari to my partner's mom. She began to eat it, said...OOOh this is good. So my partner too began to taste some if it. Just then while they were both eating off the same plate, the waitress walked up and snatched the plate right off our table scolding us ""not yours not yours"". We kind of chuckled nervously and looked around. I personally watched the waitress carry the plate to the cashier counter and leave it there. It was NEVER out of my sight. A couple minutes later the same waitress came out and picked up the SAME PLATE they were eating off of and put it on someone else's table. We were horrified. Needless to say I never want to eat there again. more

I enjoyed my meal 6/11/2009

Not NYC Chinatown quality, but a good basic restaurant. Far superior to many others I've eaten in on this coast, and a mostly Chinese clientele tells me there's something there which I need to explore further. Wait staff wasn't friendly initially but they do respect good food choices and warmed up. Went with a group of friends who ordered American-Chinese dishes, Lemon Chicken and the like. Not authentic Chinese fare and it was typically bland and disappointing, but everyone else enjoyed it. The duck I ordered was very tasty although a bit dry, but my order of string beans was huge and cooked superbly, deep fried tender and tossed with just the right amount of Szechuan preserved vegetable. I had hoped to find Cho Tofu but was told that it's not served in this area. Pros: Quite decent for the PNW Cons: Not overly clean more

Best Chineese in Portland, take my advise, go with someone that speeks the language or one of the many dialects. 11/22/2008

If you go, ask what fresh vegetables are available and what fresh fish are available. they have a combination where they take a whole fish, make a soup, a main dish and a vegetable dish from the same fish. it is wonderful. Pros: fresh, high quality, inexpensive meals Cons: location, decor could be updated more

Horrible food and atmosphere! 11/1/2008

I do tend to be picky when it comes to Chinese food but I thought this was horrible. I am NOT a fan of greasy, saucy, fried foods and that's all they have here. The restaurant itself was not very clean and appealing and the food was even worse. Even the tea tasted like dirty water. I would NOT recommend this place to anyone!! Cons: Horrible food, dirty restaurant more

No good food, no atmosphere, curt service. 10/13/2008

The place was full of people, so we guessed it had to be decent food. Unfortunately we were wrong. I ordered the Sesame Chicken and my hubz ordered the General Tso's Chicken - and he asked for it extra spicy. The hot tea was very bitter. The service was curt. Both of our dishes looked and tasted exactly alike - except mine had sesame seeds. The General Tso's was not one bit spicy. Both dishes had sliced jalepenos on them. Really? In chinese food? The chicken was burnt on the edges and every bite began and ended with overly crispy, burnt flavored yuck. I definitely don't recommend this place. Cons: food, service, atmosphere more

Authentic Cantonese restaurant, reasonable price 4/4/2008

This is obviously not a place for a date with its outdated decor and fluorescent lighting. However, if you care for authentic cantonese food, you will not be disappointed. We came from San Francisco bay area. Me, raised in China, husband, an HIGHLY TRAINED white , both agree that food is genuinely delicious. Pros: Authentic delicious, Good price Cons: outdated interior more

eew. Just...eew. 3/2/2008

Anyplace that smells primarily like urine and old wood more than cooking food should probably be avoided. But, having eaten here before and enjoying it, I ordered the orange chicken anyway. It came out drowned in soy sauce. My date's sweet and sour chicken was undercooked. Both dishes were completely inedible. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone, under any circumstances. *shudder* Cons: smells awful. more

authentic chinese 2/29/2008

I see lots of reviews that talks about the poor service, but all of these raters need to remember...these people are from immigrant business people from Hong Kong. They are not American, so are they going to act like American waiters. They are brisk, they are curt, but they are professional. The food portions are huge, and delicious. The English is not the best, but when we walk in and see that we are the only white people in the restaurant it confirms that the food is great. And it is! If you do not like the service, sorry, but remember that not everyone acts like you want them to. The food is amazing and they are friendly when you get to know them. Pros: FOOD! Cons: restaurant is a bit dingy, ambiance is blah more

Authentic Experience and Food, Fun staff. 11/14/2007

I love Golden Horse. It is one of the few restaurants in town that make me feel like I am in Chinatown. I could see how someone with limited experience of Chinese food and culture might take offense to the decor, style of service, and flavors of food, but this is the real deal folks! This is authentic Chinese food that offers many classics that you can't find elsewhere such as ""ung choy"", a delicious Chinese green in a garlic sauce that is to die for. The Buddha's Delight contained an unusual, crunchy ""wood mushroom"" that imparted a flavor that took some getting used to, but was delicious nonetheless. It's a shame that the special board is written only in Chinese, because that's where some of the best food I've had comes from. It doesn't hurt to ask about the specials. The main point I want to make here is that Golden Horse is a really good restaurant, but it takes some patience, savvy, and a little cultural understanding on your part to have a good experience. Pros: Very Authentic Cons: Special Board could use some english translations. more

I feel dirty after eating the food here 8/15/2007

Usually i'm a food snob; I won't eat it unless you can tell me or prove to me the superiorority of the food i'm about to eat. Even if it's not that good, I can appreciate when someone has put effort and creativity into food that is still edible. I can even send my food snob home and enjoy things that usual food snobs wouldn't, like fast food fries or ballpark hotdogs! But both my boyfriend and I were seriously upset and disgusted after the meal we ordered, and did not eat, at the Golden Horse last night. Pros: There aren't any Cons: The food causes gastric distress more

bad customer service, good food if you tip 7/3/2007

The food is good if you know what you are getting. The service is bad!! Do not go in there expecting good service or you will be very disappointed. My faves are the Mongolian beef and mandarin chicken; you will not be upset ordering that. One day I went in and left a tube of lipstick there and the next time I came in the lady gave it to me( almost a month later!) Not to be ruse but they are veryprejudice, if you go in with a man you will get better service than a woman going in by her self. Please do not take offence but I was a frequent guest there a few times a week for a very long time and if you are not white or Chinese they treat you really bed there, I went in with a friend that was African American and we had to wait a very long time for the waitress to come and help us, to refill our water, to give us our check and our food, I had to beg for another napkin and when I asked for more water she pored the water all over my arm left the pitcher there and ran off. She got a quarter tip that night. Pros: good quick food and you can purchase live shrimp there. Cons: poor service, dirty and just plain rude. more

Are There Two Golden Horse Restaurants? 1/26/2007

My daughters wanted a new dining experience so I found the reviews of ""Golden Horse"" on the web. I was dazzled by the reviews of fresh asian seafood and the ratings of potstickers I had read at WWEEK so I thought, perfect. (saw the rating from CS but didn't read all the reviews here til now) So we wandered downtown to try and find this highly rated restaurant. When we got there, my youngest daughter looked inside and then back me stating that it had ""school lighting!' Okay, so the ambience wasn't very good, and there weren't very many people there on a Friday night, was that a good thing? But the visions of what I had read about the sweet and sour fish kept me from turning around and leaving. So I sat down with my daughters, grandly assuring them that the best food I'd ever had in restaurants had been served under fluorescent lighting with plastic covered chairs. When the waitress came, we ordered potstickers, fried shrimp, the sweet and sour whole fish, seafood fried rice, tso chicken, buddhist noodles, dried fried geen beans, the lot. I like to really be able to try a lot of different things! So after tasting the sweet and sour soup, I wanted to go back and look at the sign outside to verify I was really at the Golden Horse that so many nice things had been written about. The buddhist noodles were really awful, I think we only ate three bites. One bite. Each. The potstickers were palatable but nothing like the bites of yum I was expecting, the fried shrimp was edible, but not special. The green beans were okay, the noodles tasted like two day old dishwater, the tso chicken was, well, like something you 'd pick up at Indifferent Panda. Honestly, I would tend not to go back. I'd love to know what sort of epicurians gave their glowing reviews to this place. I am totally not a food snob, by the way. The sweet and sour fish was good. Not excellent, just good. Kind of like a blooming onion, but made out of a fish. At least it was cheap and fast! Pros: Service. Cost. Cons: Inconsistency between dishes. more

Golden Demise 11/6/2006

No way, no how. Golden Horse has become less than what it used to be, which unfortunately wasn't much. The dishes used to be plentiful and full of flavor. Now they're skimpy about portions and if they're not, the food still tastes weird. Service has taken a spill for the worst as well, as now the staff is limited to two waitresses who could care less about you or your party. Pros: Prices, Food Cons: Service, Parking, Atmosphere more

To the rude lady who I've known for years 7/28/2006

I've been to Golden Horse many many times. Their food is good, not great, but very tasty and a must if you like Chinese and live downtown without a car. However, beware when you go in a small group and you're the only one there!! The last time I went in, mind you I've been in there with family, friends, partners since the early 90s, the waitress STOLE my tip!! I left a tip on the table and she took it from me saying ""well, you WERE goin to tip weren't you??"" What the..? I've waitressed for 4 years and never took my tip out of someones change let alone said something like that!! So she got a six dollar tip for a 12 dollar meal, and that's the last time I'll ever eat at the Golden Horse -- also if you're skiddish about hair being in your food you might want to watch out. It's never been a problem for my family and I, but we have found more hair than usual in the food at the Golden Horse. FYI. Pros: cheap food, close-in Cons: parking, hair in food, over tipping against your will more

Great food, great value! 4/5/2006

I find myself at Golden Horse enough that I no longer need a menu. The food is fabulous (well, unless you get one of the combos. I never have, but they look a bit like the fare in the safeway deli) and authentic. The service is surly, but endearing (the Chinese equivelant of a truck stop diner). This isn't the place to go on a romantic date, but it is definitly the place to go to chow down with good friends. Pros: the food!, one of the waitresses, location Cons: sometimes surly, the combo meals more

Get what you pay for.... 2/7/2005

Very dissappointed. At $4.95 it's a very cheap lunch with healthy portions, but you get what you pay for. On my first (and last) visit there I found the food was greasy and my cashew chicken was severely undercooked (raw in middle). Staff was friendly enough but there was only one woman waiting on the whole restaurant. We waited to seated, waited to order, waited to pay our bill......I couldn't wait to get out of there. Pros: Cheap Cons: Food, Service more

Where is the service? 1/18/2005

Do NOT expect to get any friendly service there. I waited for 10 minutes for waitress to come up to me and bring me a glass of water. AND another 20 minutes for the waitress to come and take orders. I was not happy. After the meal, I paid, and left a couople of bucks for tip. A lady came after me and said ""YOU DID NOT GIVE ENOUGH TIPS!! IT IS A LAW TO PUT 10% TIP!"" I mean....What kind of restaurant is that?!?!?! I'll never go back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more

I liked it! 5/15/2004

It is a no frills restaurant but the prices are low, my husband and I had a soup and two entrees, bill was $24. Of course they have the usuaul American Chinese dishes but where else in the country besides NY could you get Conch, Sea Cucumber and Abalone. The place was filled with Chinese families, that tells me that the food is authentic. I had the Seafood Combination Pot that the other writer complained so much about, I found it delicious, there was alot of squid but alot of scallops too. Obviously it is made in a big batch and you kind of get what is ladled out. If you don't like what is in a dish then don't order it! I liked the resturant and would recommend it especially to someone who is tired of the usual American Chinese dishes. more

It doesn't get better than this 4/12/2004

Fantastic vegetarian dishes. Try spicy eggplant (best ep I ever tasted), sauteed spinach w/garlic, Hong Kong style vegetable chow mein (w/tofu). They cook your food to order, bring it out as soon as it's done, and give you the check shortly thereafter. Consistently excellent & delicious. Pros: Masterful seasoning more

Disappointed 1/15/2004

I frequented this restaurant and enjoyed the fare until I ordered a tofu dish stuffed with shrimp that was inedible due to the amount of salt in its preparation. I asked to have this dish removed from my bill and a staff member attempted to bargain with me since I ate one of the five pieces on the plate. I complained about the saltiness and I was told that it wasnt salty.. I literally had to get very forceful, insisting that this dish was not edible and that I wouldnt pay for it.. Consequently, I wont return to this restaurant again Pros: good portions, varied menu, rapid service Cons: food often salty, not accomodating, lack of customer serv more
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Menu for Golden Horse Seafood Rstrnt


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Editorial
  • In Short
    The no-frills, fluorescent-lit dining room and brusque, but smiling waitstaff keeps the focus on the expertly prepared food. Seafood is a specialty here; everything from...

  • 7/21/2006 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Payments: Visa, Master Card
  • Neighborhoods: Neighbors West - Northwest, Old Town - Chinatown
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