Mao's Kitchen

People who say this place has ""bad service"" have obviously never worked in a busy restaurant and are impatient for a good thing. Mao's has delightful service-but they are in a rush. Don't expect them to hover over you. The plates are perfect-it is Chinese food that is not greasy and you can BYOB as they don't have alcohol. Get the kung pao or the weinheimer lamb. A plus for Mao's everytime. Pros: inexpensive, delicious, BYOB Cons: busy more

People who say this place has "bad service" have obviously never worked in a busy restaurant and are impatient for a good thing. Mao's has delightful service-but they are in a rush. Don't expect them to hover over you. The plates are perfect-it is Chinese food that is not greasy and you can BYOB as they don't have alcohol. Get the kung pao or the weinheimer lamb. A plus for Mao's everytime. Pros: inexpensive, delicious, BYOB Cons: busy more

I have eaten at Mao's since its inception when the place was empty and continue to order take out. I have seen many arguments for and against this establishment and I can understand each. The staff does get overwhelmed by the masses and it's a bit disorganized. But it is a microcosm of Venice, earthy, not much order and overcrowded at times. Why go? Food and atmosphere. Life is too short. If it's not your taste or issues, it's ok not to support it. If I have problems with the food/service/etc at any place, I discuss it with the proper people. If I'm not satisfied, then I tell my opinion to others so they're aware. I think the food has changed a bit since day one but aside from pizza, it's the best leftover food in the fridge the next day. When I order from Mao's, I expect my takeout to take a bit longer than I want, so I plan accordingly. I know it's busy and loud at night so I go at odd hours or deal with it. With so much food being served...you know they have fresh food being cooked for you, so you wait a bit more for that service. I'd prefer this than some places that have food precooked to fend off the masses (anyone who works in a restaurant can understand this). Again, like Mao's, love Mao's, dislike Mao's as you wish. Vote with the almighty dollar. I've dealt with far worse people along the Strand, hopefully you'll agree. The owner came in, fixed up that location and made something out of nothing, and it's a successful small business that brings jobs and $ to Venice. Pros: can make 2 meals out of entree- and flavor sets in with leftovers Cons: crowded latenights more

I have eaten at Mao's since its inception when the place was empty and continue to order take out. I have seen many arguments for and against this establishment and I can understand each. The staff does get overwhelmed by the masses and it's a bit disorganized. But it is a microcosm of Venice, earthy, not much order and overcrowded at times. Why go? Food and atmosphere. Life is too short. If it's not your taste or issues, it's ok not to support it. If I have problems with the food/service/etc at any place, I discuss it with the proper people. If I'm not satisfied, then I tell my opinion to others so they're aware. I think the food has changed a bit since day one but aside from pizza, it's the best leftover food in the fridge the next day. When I order from Mao's, I expect my takeout to take a bit longer than I want, so I plan accordingly. I know it's busy and loud at night so I go at odd hours or deal with it. With so much food being served...you know they have fresh food being cooked for you, so you wait a bit more for that service. I'd prefer this than some places that have food precooked to fend off the masses (anyone who works in a restaurant can understand this). Again, like Mao's, love Mao's, dislike Mao's as you wish. Vote with the almighty dollar. I've dealt with far worse people along the Strand, hopefully you'll agree. The owner came in, fixed up that location and made something out of nothing, and it's a successful small business that brings jobs and $ to Venice. Go early and have some tea, read something, and chill out while you're waiting for the food. Pros: can make 2 meals out of entree- and flavor sets in with leftovers Cons: crowded latenights more

I've been going to Mao's on a semi-regular basis for over three years now. The food, as always, has been consistently good, borderline great for the price. The ingredients are always fresh, the dishes aren't too greasy, and the menu is diverse. Pros: Good food at a great price. Cons: Worst Service EVER! more

I've been going to Mao's on a semi-regular basis for over three years now. The food, as always, has been consistently good, borderline great for the price. The ingredients are always fresh, the dishes aren't too greasy, and the menu is diverse. The service is also very consistent, which is GOD AWFUL!!! In fact, it is some of the most incompetent service I've ever experienced. They really can't do anything right. I've tried all of the following: Dining in, getting takeout, and ordering delivery. They always mess up the order, are rude, unorganized, and/or you have to wait twice as long as they tell you. If Mao's is more than half capacity, don't even bother. They can barely handle it when there are only a few people period. It's really frustrating b/c I enjoy the food immensely. It's a shame that this cheap and cheerful restaurant can't even get the most basic things right. Here are some tips: 1. Act like you care. There's nothing more annoying than having to wait 45 minutes for your drink to be refilled... Once if you're lucky. 2. Train your wait staff. It is so abundantly clear that the waiters have no idea what they are doing. Little things like refilling drinks, getting the check, providing silverware, answering the phone, go a long way. 3. Be polite. There's a gross shortness at Mao's. Don't be annoyed when the customer makes a request. Get another job if you can't deal with people in a polite, professional manner. 4. Act like you care. I know this is a repeat, but I think that would solve a lot of issues. Notice I wrote "act" instead of actually. Pretend the customer isn't annoying and that your job is to be our server. No one is asking to get their butt kissed at this place. We realize that Mao's isn't the Ritz Carlton. But for God's sake, please do something before the locals stop supporting the place entirely. Pros: Good food at a great price. Cons: Worst Service EVER! more

When I eat in: Pros: Good food. Cons: WORST Phone demeanor and delivery/take out personel in Los Angeles. more

When I eat in: Nice waiters. Relatively fast. No real work involved for them at this establishment, but more often than not they give the extra effort. When I order for delivery: Here is my typical workflow when I order (HAPPENED TO ME 1min ago, and happens EVERY TIME) 1) I call. . .I'm put on hold by a gentleman. 2 minutes pass. . .nothing. 2) I call again. SOMEONE ELSE (Spanish/Mexican accent) answers. Asks me to hold for 30 secs. NOTHING happens for 5 mins. 3) I call again. A girl answers. Hangs up on me after she says 'please hold'. doesn't even say the name of the restaurant. 4) I call again. Different girl answers (Fourth person I've talked to now). Asks if she can put me on hold and before I can say anything I'm in limbo. 4 mins pass. 5) I call again. Same girl as last time answers. READY TO TAKE MY ORDER. Weird. No hold time now? Takes my order, asks me to speak up because its so loud in the background at the restaurant. Takes my directions, my credit card number barely says thank you and hangs up. Instantly. About 12-14 minutes to PLACE an order. And now I don;t know MY TOTAL, THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT WILL TAKE TO GET HERE, and hell if I call back to ask for extra sauce for the lettuce wraps. I WILL NEVER ORDER OUT FROM HERE AGAIN. AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU. Eat in. Come early or really late. Pros: Good food. Cons: WORST Phone demeanor and delivery/take out personel in Los Angeles. more

i've been to mao's a ton of times, and without fail, each time, I am astounded by what is horrible service. The waitstaff are, as a whole, extremely rude, and the food takes forever to arrive. Everything seems chaotic and disorganized-- the food is not worth the hassle. If they could get their act together, Mao's would be a great place. Pros: Good food, cheap Cons: Really poor service, loud, long wait time more

i've been to mao's a ton of times, and without fail, each time, I am astounded by what is horrible service. The waitstaff are, as a whole, extremely rude, and the food takes forever to arrive. Everything seems chaotic and disorganized-- the food is not worth the hassle. If they could get their act together, Mao's would be a great place. Pros: Good food, cheap Cons: Really poor service, loud, long wait time more

I've been here a few times, sometimes to sit down, others to get food to go. Either way, the food's decent if not somewhat heavy on the cooking oil, but their meats are decent and their vegetarian dishes are good as well. The real reason to come here is the decor. You'll want to toast to your comrades after eating here, and maybe even pick up a tshirt. No parking lot. Pros: good chinese food Cons: no parking, bit greasy more

I've been here a few times, sometimes to sit down, others to get food to go. Either way, the food's decent if not somewhat heavy on the cooking oil, but their meats are decent and their vegetarian dishes are good as well. The real reason to come here is the decor. You'll want to toast to your comrades after eating here, and maybe even pick up a tshirt. No parking lot. Pros: good chinese food Cons: no parking, bit greasy more

I live in Santa Monica and have ordered delivery from Mao's Kitchen three times. I've never dined in or had takeout but in reference to all the reviews on here citing poor customer service, I have to say that each time, the food was delivered hot and within the time frame that I was told (usually 45 minutes). The portions are generous and the prices, quite reasonable. However, the food itself seems to be hitt or miss. On a friend's recommendation, I tried the Sichuan Eggplant (with beef as my choice of protein, the other choices are: pork, chicken, shrimp, sole, smoked tofu). I'm not a big fan of eggplant, but the sauce was delicious and so the next time, I ordered from there, I asked for the same dish but with just beef and they accomodated the request for a few extra dollars charge. Yum! I also tried the Salt and Pepper (with sole and shrimp) and though it may not be for everyone, I personally found it quite tasty. If they made the dish with fried calamari, it would be even better. The Mushroom Chicken was light, bland and left much to be desired. The Curry Rice-Stick is actually made from rice noodles and was also bland despite the appetizing description on the menu. It definitely needs something to spice it up a bit. I would recommend both the People's Potstickers (with mushroom filling) and Bamboo Steam Dumplings (with mushroom filling) for appetizers. But I would personally skip dessert - the Red Bean Pastries are popular and were interesting - I normally love desserts made from red beans - but these were just fried rice dough filled with red beans and not my cup of tea. I would definitely order from Mao's again and based on the reviews here, I'd also like to try the Maos Hometown dish and the Orange-Ginger dish. more

I live in Santa Monica and have ordered delivery from Mao's Kitchen three times. I've never dined in or had takeout but in reference to all the reviews on here citing poor customer service, I have to say that each time, the food was delivered hot and within the time frame that I was told (usually 45 minutes). more

My name is Jake Li. As the owner of Maos Kitchen, I would like to thank all of you for your reviews, especially for your criticism. Your feed back is very important to us. It gives us a chance to correct our mistakes and to better serve you. We always take your opinions very seriously. more

My name is Jake Li. As the owner of Maos Kitchen, I would like to thank all of you for your reviews, especially for your criticism. Your feed back is very important to us. It gives us a chance to correct our mistakes and to better serve you. We always take your opinions very seriously. Maos Kitchen has been serving Westside for more than six years now and has become a very popular restaurant. I want to tell you how thankful I am for your business. I am one of your fellow citizens, all I want to do is to make Maos Kitchen a nice, friendly place offering good food at reasonable price. Any of your unsatisfied experience at Maos concerns me very much. Honestly, some of your bad reviews did hurt my feeling. but I am not here to ask for fairness. I am here to express our willingness to work very hard to improve, always. I can be reached by phone: (310)963.8305 Thank you very much! more

I had been a loyal customer for a number of years. I never once thought the food was outstanding but you get what you pay for and this was always a quick, cheap and mediocre way to satsify a craving. I recently ordered take out ($50 worth of food). When it arrived, the order was wrong and the food just tasted bad that night (wrong order, rice was undercooked and noodles were overcooked). I took maybe 2 bites of everything to make sure it wasn't just one dish that tasted "off" but it was all pretty bad. I tried to explain this to the manager and he just kept arguing with me saying that I was the only one not happy with the rice that night and he refused to listen to me about the other food. I offered to drive the entire order of food back to the restaurant so they could see for themselves but he said no. After 4 more attempts to call him, he finally gave in and told me he would send a driver to pick up the food and if any of the food was more than half eaten (which it wasn't) he wouldn't give me a refund. THEN, he said to me that HE never wanted to do business with me again. I have never encountered such rude behaviour in all my years of dining out. Needless to say it, I will NEVER eat there again. PS - Later that evening, I got a call from the owner and he apologized for his manager's behaviour. When the owner received my uneaten food, it turns out he tried the food and AGREED with me that all the items were subpar and I had every right to return the food. This still does not excuse the manager's horrific attitude and I still vow never to eat there again. If Mao's is willing to make things right with their customers, maybe they should invest some time training their employees on the values of customer service. Pros: Cheap as dirt Cons: "Dirt" also describes the customer service more

I had been a loyal customer for a number of years. I never once thought the food was outstanding but you get what you pay for and this was always a quick, cheap and mediocre way to satsify a craving. I recently ordered take out ($50 worth of food). When it arrived, the order was wrong and the food just tasted bad that night (wrong order, rice was undercooked and noodles were overcooked). I took maybe 2 bites of everything to make sure it wasn't just one dish that tasted ""off"" but it was all pretty bad. I tried to explain this to the manager and he just kept arguing with me saying that I was the only one not happy with the rice that night and he refused to listen to me about the other food. I offered to drive the entire order of food back to the restaurant so they could see for themselves but he said no. After 4 more attempts to call him, he finally gave in and told me he would send a driver to pick up the food and if any of the food was more than half eaten (which it wasn't) he wouldn't give me a refund. THEN, he said to me that HE never wanted to do business with me again. I have never encountered such rude behaviour in all my years of dining out. Needless to say it, I will NEVER eat there again. Pros: Cheap as dirt Cons: "Dirt" also describes the customer service more

I frequent Mao's about 2-4 times a month. I absolutely love this place. I am vegan, and it is overwhelming how much they cater to us and the food is always so yummy. I have never had a problem with the service, although the place does get very busy on Friday and Saturday nights..but there is a reason for that!! My personal favorites are the Vegan Onion Pancake-a must try and all of my non-vegan friends love it too! Bamboo steamer dumplings with spinach, mush, tofu, Crispy salad with Smoked Tofu, sichuan eggplant (with smoked tofu if you want that extra meaty feel), long life beans (the sauce really is highly addictive) and Please Please Please don't forget the red bean pastries for dessert. Absolutely delicious. Everytime I have a friend in town from out of state, Mao's is on the top of list to take them to impress..this place rocks! Pros: Most delicious Chinese Thai food and Caters to Vegans/vegetarians, byob Cons: gets really crowded and loud inside--so just take it to go! more

I frequent Mao's about 2-4 times a month. I absolutely love this place. I am vegan, and it is overwhelming how much they cater to us and the food is always so yummy. I have never had a problem with the service, although the place does get very busy on Friday and Saturday nights..but there is a reason for that!! My personal favorites are the Vegan Onion Pancake-a must try and all of my non-vegan friends love it too! Bamboo steamer dumplings with spinach, mush, tofu, Crispy salad with Smoked Tofu, sichuan eggplant (with smoked tofu if you want that extra meaty feel), long life beans (the sauce really is highly addictive) and Please Please Please don't forget the red bean pastries for dessert. Absolutely delicious. Pros: Most delicious Chinese Thai food and Caters to Vegans/vegetarians, byob Cons: gets really crowded and loud inside--so just take it to go! more