Golden Temple

I've been ordering lunch from GT for years. After my recent experience this past week I will never give them my business again. Pros: Food is really great if they manager to get your order right. Cons: If they get your order wrong ITS YOUR FAULT!! more

This is my first review, but I felt inclined to let other Bostonians know that chivalry is not dead. I had gone to the Temple with a group of friends to have expensive cocktails (quite tasty, and you only need a couple), however I had never ordered take-out. The food arrived in 20 minutes (Living in JP, I find this 4 star worthy alone) and the delivery guy was dressed in a shirt and tie. He was by far, the most polite, well mannered, friendly take out delivery man i've ever encountered. We tipped him 25% for his manners alone. When we opened the bag, which boasted organic, and go green slogans, we were suprised to see a well packaged take out situation. For those looking for not greasy, well made, non-MSG take out, definitely call in here. My boyfriend and I will absolutely be ordering from there again soon. Pros: Fresh Ingrediants, Well Mannered Staff more

Real good.... more

The food is unreal. Everything was delicious. The servers were all very attentive, great atmosphere, etc. Would reccomend to anyone. Pros: Food, Drinks, Ambience Cons: Parking during the weekend nights when its busy. Get there early. more

The Golden Temple is a fun place, giving locals an light alternative to heading downtown. That said be WARY - on the 'dance floor' part the wait staff seem to help themselves to 5% tax on the hand written bill given to you. This is very effective on the inebriated patron. The guy even had the audacity to tell me that he was correct. I had about 3 receipts from the night - 2 without taxes, and the last one with. Strange coincidence - NOT!! Pros: convenient for locals Cons: you have to be alert otherwise wait staff will rip you off more

Excellent more

Me and my boyfriend went there last night and I absolutely loved it! the atmosphere is great and not to mention the food! we started off with the seafood appetizer, it was a bit greasy but still good. then our entrees came out so quickly and it was so delicious! I would definitely recommend it to anyone!!! Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Service, and the overall experience. Cons: Everything was great except for parking, you have to be on the lookout for a spot! more

We were seated immediately as we arrived early on saturday evening. Our server was rushed and rude. He brought out the wrong appetizer and then argued that we had ordered the wrong item. When our dinners arrived, they were bland and cold and tasted and luke warm. The black bean sauce on the spare rib appetizer was thick and greasy and the ribs made us think they were last weeks left overs. Shrimps were few and overcooked. Overall this was a severe disappointment. I've had better meals in food courts at malls. Pros: Clean Cons: Valet parking only, unpleasant service more

Fantastic fine dining Chinese restaurant off Beacon street in Brookline. Prices are fair and run between... more

Fantastic fine dining Chinese restaurant off Beacon street in Brookline. Prices are fair and run between $7.00 to $60.00. Gourmet Chinese food is t... more

The restaurant itself is an odd split of a dining only area and a bar / dance floor (the latter about 12' by 12'). The atmosphere is typical 'new age' upper class Asian - odd angles and fashionable lighting with minimal colors and high ceilings sporting odd statue like plates. There are mostly booths which are comfortable and relatively secluded by the standards of larger restaurants which this certainly is. Before I even get to the food, do NOT go here and pass up the cocktails. Without a doubt the best pina coladas I have ever had and fantastic margaritas that surpass ANY Mexican restaurant in Boston except the Border Cafe' in Harvard. The service was mixed the two times we went there, great in the dining area and terrible in the bar area. I would not recommend the bar area for that reason, and it also gets shady past ten pm with a bizarre mix of disco dancing and meat market displays that seem so out of place in such a fantastic eatery. The food here simply has to be eaten to be understood, it manages a perfect balance of true Asian cooking and Americanized preferences. The sauces are superb and do not drown the food in salty or spicey obscurity. The portions are largish, I ended up taking my first meal home (which I almost never do) and having another full meal from the leftovers. This place is everything P.F. Changs wishes it was, not to be missed if you are an Asian fine dining fan. Pros: Some of the best Asian fare going, drinks that are as powerful as they are delicious Cons: Bar area is lacking in atmosphere and service, pricey night out with drinks included more

I eat at Golden Temple once a week and get delivery from them once to twice a week. I have had Chinese all over Boston and have eaten Chinese in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, Hong Kong, London, Japan. All these cities have very good chinese; my favorites being Hong Kong, Vancouver, and Japan. But I have never had Chinese cooked with high quality ingredients as Golden Temple; they cook with extra virgin olive oil, no processed sugars, sea salt, local farmed vegetables, organic meats, and poultry. The food tastes great; you feel good after eating and the menu selection is to big to chose from. They have a great wine selection and the Martinis are the best (chilled glasses and quite large) The dining room and bar are so beautiful you'd think you are in New York, Los Angeles, South Beach. This place is not dark and dirty; it's actually clean. The delivery service is great; they always arrive on time and the same drivers (I think they have there own delivery trucks) My favorites are Clams and Black Bean, Chicken Soong, Beijing Duck, Golden Temple Ribs, Chicken Wok Seared Potates, Green Tea Buckwheat Noodles, Spicy Green Beans, Beef Teriyaki, Salt Pepper Lobster, Chicken Pea Pod Leaves, Chilean Sea Bass, Mandarin Chopped Tenderloin. It's great for when you are alone as you can chose either small or large portions. The service is very good for a Chinese restaurant but sometimes you might get a server who isn't so fluent in the english language. Pros: High Quality Ingredients, Serves Late, Great Martinis, Feel Good After Eating Cons: More Expensive, Servers Communication Skills more

I'm reading these reviews and I am puzzled by the positive buzz about Golden Temple. The only thing I do like about this place is that it is cleaner and more upscale than most restaurants that serve this type of fare. Chinese restaurants still have some ways to go in terms offering great customer service, like most Japanese restaurants, so I can also see how a little service here can go a long way for some reviewers. I am Chinese and my non Asian friends raved about this place, but when I went there to eat I realized it is not authentic Chinese food. The only way I can see this place getting the glowing reviews it has received is if it's being compared to other non-authentic places, which tend to be less clean, not as upscale, and the service not as friendly as at Golden Temple. I love ambience and service as much as anyone else, but in the end it's all about the food. So to all the readers, if you like and want the chop suey style American Chinese food, this is your place. However, I believe most of the employees are really Chinese, so perhaps if I ever go there again with my friends, I'll let them order from the menu and I might strike up a conversation with the waiter in Chinese and tell him/her to bring me what he/she and the rest of the staff will be eating when they take their breaks. Pros: ambience, service Cons: not authentic Chinese more

I've never really quite understood why this very ordinary restaurant gets such high ratings. The food is just okay, rather bland and westernized. The service is indifferent, the drinks weak and made from packaged mixes, but, most importantly, this restaurant is severely overpriced. Their prices are about twice as much as other like establishments in the area, which I would not object to paying if they were justified by the quality of the food. But overall it is bland, boring, thoroughly unmemorable Chinese food....and the portions are too small. It's not exactly the best value for the buck by any means. Pros: Nice atmosphere Cons: Way too expensive more

We went for my sisters graduation. Yes we were seated promptly. It was the worst customer service experience of my life. The waiters were rude, kept getting the orders wrong and bringing the wrong order. Once the food finally came it was just plain. Not authentic and my 9 year complained his spicy shrump had no spices and only 4 shrimp. I could have bought a pound of shrimp for the money I was charged. There is a minimum purchase of $23.95 per person which isnt expensive if you are actually hungry. The waiters try to rush you out of the restaurant by grabbing plates not even completed plates. Since we had 10 people eating the tip was added to the bill. It was quite amusing that the waiters gave themselve a 20% tip!!! Pros: Quick Seating, Valet parking if you have money Cons: tables cramped for a large party, bad customer service, regular food. more

not greasy at all, expensive for chinese, try not to order too much like i did -- i ate a ton. plenty of street parking near the restaurant. more

I chose this restaurant to celebrate my anniversary because of all the great reviews. However, I can't say that I was overly impressed. Granted, it's a nice, fancy place with good atmosphere, but neither my wife nor I were very impressed with the food. I guess you can't get good Chinese without the authentic Chinese atmosphere (i.e. standard Chinatown decor); Golden Temple seems to sacrifice the authenticity of the food for its presumably more Caucasian audience, so the food is much more Westernized than I like. It's also kind of surprising that, given the high prices, they charge you for tea and rice, typically staples of Chinese food. An overall decent experience, but I guess I'll have to keep looking for nicer Chinese dining that doesn't sacrifice authenticity for atmosphere. more

Combine high prices and bad cooking and you have a recipe for a ""place to avoid."" I took my daughter for dinner the other night and ordered an old standby-favorite, Kung Pao Chicken. It was about twice what I expected to pay, but worse than that, what was served bore no resemblance at all to Kung Pao. It was utterly bland, 80% celery, 20% chicken, with a sprinking of peanuts. I asked the waiter if there had been a mistake, he called the manager, who had it prepared again --- another tasteless, pepper-free, celery with a sprinking of chicken. I've had Kung Pao chicken in restaurants ever since Joyce Chen started serving it in the 60's. I don't know what this dish was, but it had no taste at all. Pros: nice decor Cons: VERY bad food, and high prices more

I used to go here a lot when I lived in Brookline and had fond memories of it.... unfortunately I must have been delusional - the food is horrible!!! The pad thai noodles were under cooked, the crispy beef was far from crispy - it was thick and fatty and gross, the sesame chicken was soggy and covered in WAY too much batter... I've always loved the crab rangoon there and that was good, but the veggie spring rolls were overly greasy. I'm sending it all back. Gross! Pros: Open late, wide delivery area Cons: Over priced, horrible food more

I think the only reason this place gets any good reviews is because it stays open really late so caters to the bar crowd that is probably too intoxicated at that point to tell good food from average food. Pros: Drinks Cons: Non-authentic Food, Service more