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China Pavilion - Chapala
1202 Chapala St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 560-6028

  • Category: Chinese
  • Hours: Mon-Sun 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-10pm
  • Price: $10 - $20
  • Serving: Lunch, & Dinner
  • Reservations: Yes, but usually not needed
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Reviews by the General Public

Sugar City!, 9/12/2009
Reviewer: Mike from Santa Barbara, CA
The service at this restaurant was good, but some of the food had so much sugar in it I was not able to eat it. I forget the name, but I has fried shrimp for lunch and the sauce had so much sugar it tasted more like a desert. I will not go back again unless they remove the sugar from their food.
Tasty eats when you dont do it often., 8/22/2009
Reviewer: michael gardner from Santa Barbara, CA
As a guy who grew up on San Francisco chinese food, I will not rate this compared to other cities. So, as far as chinese in Santa Barbara goes, this is one of the best. Their hot and sour soup is pretty good. The Singapore noodles are alright. They could be worked a little better, but the simple fact that they offer them is terrific! We tried the Beef Pavilion style and we were pleased with the result. Not truly authentic food, but tasty none the less. Also they have Dim Sum on the weekend...I really wish they would get the carts rolling. We would go much more often if we did not have to order from their picture menu. Now they have a full bar!! If they start a late night happy hour with Dim Sum at the bar, we will be there nightly!!
Real, Great Chinese Food, 8/8/2009
Reviewer: David C. from Santa Barbara, CA
I am also 100% Chinese. I literally grew up in a Chinese restaurant. My mother and father were the best cooks - can't get more authentic than that, but home cooking is different than restaurant cooking, and it is entirely too severe to say that the China Pavilion is JUST a fancier Panda Express. China Pavilion's Yang Zhou Fried Rice is sublime. Another favorite of mine is the Pork with Five Spice Tofu. The Pavilion has dishes that contain watercress, bamboo piths, gourd squash, bitter melon, and salty egg. Can you find that at Panda? No. Go to China Pavilion. While it is not Guangdong or Hong Kong, the Pavilion doesn't deserve the comparison to the Panda.
Good food but authentic? I think not, 4/29/2009
Reviewer: Katie from Santa Barbara, CA
I love the decor of the place, it definitely adds to the enjoyment. Food-wise, I am 100% Chinese and this place is honestly just a fancier panda express. But since this is one of the most decent places to get Chinese food, I have tried almost everything on the menu. Recommend: seafood soup, szechuan pork, and basil eggplant. Service DEFINITELY needs improvement and they need to be less stingy about the rice.
YES!!, 3/9/2009
Reviewer: Alex from Santa Barbara, CA
FINALLY dim sum comes to Santa Barbara, and to non other than China Pavilion, the place with the ridiculous eggplant dish. I don't know exactly which eggplant dish it was but it was so amazing, I didn't even order it but felt compelled to sneak more than my allotted portion onto my plate. And the mandarin chicken dish... words cannot express the party that was in my mouth. Prices are a little high, especially for a poor UCSB student like myself, but hey they give complementary rice! And every time i've been there the service has far exceeded my expectations, maybe busboy was on his game that night but my glass was never half empty. Everyone: try this place! do not be discouraged by indignant dinners, people get crazy and irritable when operating on an empty stomach but no worries it's all worth it!

I suggest they start valuing their customers. , 1/31/2009
Reviewer: Brian from Santa Barbara, CA
Went to the China Pavilion this morning at 11:30 for lunch. It was not busy, and the servers were gathered around the bar chatting. We were seated without menus and then sat for ten minutes with no acknowledgment. After ten minutes with no menu a server came to offer us water. When we asked for menus he looked at us dumbfounded. We decided to leave. Terrible service...the service usually isn't very good but today was exceptionally poor. This is the last time we will give them the chance. They better start valuing their customers if they want to keep their restaurant open!

Go for the dim sum!, 1/24/2009
Reviewer: Erica from Santa Barbara, CA
After living in the Bay Area several years and getting hooked on dim sum, I am so glad that there is a dim sum place in SB. Thank you China Pavilion! I am disappointed that the servers do not circulate pushing carts around, but the relaxed and soothing ambiance is enjoyable. Each dish we tried (gai lan (broccoli) with oyster sauce, char siu bao, shu mai, pork-stuffed egg plant, tofu vegetable wrap, fried lychee shrimp, and lotus-wrapped glutinous rice with chicken) was delicious. The dishes were not brought out all at once (resembles the rhythm of usual dim sum places), and you may order more dishes throughout your meal without much delay. Other than the gai lan, which was brought to the table several minutes before the other dishes, I found the food to be quite hot (in contrast to other reviewers' experiences). One suggestion I have is that the chefs make sure their slices (in portioning the food) cut all the way through. I had a difficult time wrestling the tofu wraps and lotus chicken apart with only the plastic chopsticks at the table. With a couple orders of tea and a beer, lunch for 4 came out to $38 plus tip, which is very reasonable for SB. Come and enjoy this wonderful addition to the SB weekend brunch scene!
Disappointing Lunch--How About Hot Food?, 12/18/2008
Reviewer: Steve from Santa Barbara, CA
Ordered the Lunch special with Chicken and Broccoli. Hot and Sour Soup arrived tepid. It was much spicier than Hot and Sour soup is typically; but no big deal. But the temperature was a disappointment. When the main course appeared, I tasted it quickly while the waiter was in the vicinity. I sent it back for reheating. Took a long few minutes, meanwhile the steamed rice cooled. It was a cold day. Restaurant should be sensitive to food temperature. No steam should be a warning sign.
Ok food, good atmosphere, 12/2/2008
Reviewer: Bob from Santa Barbara, CA
First time eating there. My food (a vegetarian Buddha's Delight) was acceptable, but nothing to remember. Atmosphere was nice, service was simple, discreet and efficient, which I appreciate.
Worth the price!
Reviewer: Rianne from Goleta, CA
GREAT FOOD! I have tried many Chinese food restaurants in SB, and this is by far the best. The house beef, chicken chow mein, egg rolls, and crab rangoons (although I'm not sure they actually have crab in them... I only taste cream cheese and green onion) are the MOST DELICIOUS at this particular restaurant. So far we've only ordered it to go, but it's a nice, cozy environment in the restaurant while we wait. I usually cook at home, but when I don't feel like cooking I drive the 10 miles to China Pavilion. Highly recommended!
Dim Sum rating only...
Reviewer: Erin from Santa Barbara, CA
Keep in mind that this review is only for the dim sum, but I have eaten here several times for the other meals. That being said, I'm happy that dim sum is finally in Santa Barbara. Granted, it's not on the scale of dim sum eateries in LA or San Francisco, and it's not quite the "experience," either. Instead of carts being pushed around with servers yelling out the names of the dishes in broken English in a noisy room of hungry customers, this is more like a quiet English tea service. I love the experience of dim sum, but I will also take what I can get. In any event, the food was pretty good, but portions smaller than what is typically served (one less dumping, etc.) per order. The only thing that I really didn't like is that you have to pay for tea, which is normally served free of charge at dim sum. I also agree with the last reviewer that some of the dishes were colder than they should have been, but nonetheless edible. The rice porridge was delicious, however. So, while it's not quite like the experience of dim sum in LA or SF, it is dim sum and I will take what I can get and be grateful.

New Weekend Dim-Sum
Reviewer: Joe A from Santa Barbara, CA
Just tried the new weekend dim-sum (I think 11-3 every Sa-Su) and it was pretty good and a welcome addition to the SB restaurant scene. I can't vouch the quality or "authenticity" for those who've been weaned on Bay Area or San Gabriel Valley dim-sum, but this is great for SB. Even though the restaurant was really packed when we first arrived, service was pretty prompt and very friendly. My Chinese-American friend's only complaint was that some of the items weren't hot enough -- they don't wheel a cart around, but bring steel steamer baskets or dishes out individually from the kitchen. Congee (rice porridge) was a real treat, especially the one with pork & fermented egg. Other very good dishes were the pearl-sticky-rice meatballs, har gow shrimp dumplings, and BBQ pork buns. Give China Pavilion a try.
Not a family Chinese restaurant, expensive. Food Good
Reviewer: Glenn from Buellton
Food was good here. For what you got for the price though it was very pricey(smaller portions compared to other places I've been). The service was nonexistent. I would have ordered more if they would have come by more. Is it not polite to come by to see how you are doing maybe? The water boy refilled things a lot though. No tea unless you asked was strange along with no free starter soup. I don't think I'll be back.
Great Atmosphere
Reviewer: Jas from Berkeley, CA
We ate here and really loved our experience. The crispy walnut prawns are excellent, definitely a classy joint. Not overly greasy like some less expensive Chinese food places, but definitely worth the price.

Great Everything
Reviewer: Ema A from Santa Barbara, CA
The place is nicely decorated and very clean. The food was great, at least those dishes we ordered, as well as the service. I recommend it.

Yum...!
Reviewer: Jennifer from santa barbara, ca
Great first experience here... we loved it! We got the orange peel chicken - very crispy, tangy, with a nice sauce - and the Spicy Basil Calamari in a clay pot- amazing! Whole cloves of sauteed garlic in there... wonderful sauce, basil taste was strong and wonderful. Calamari were perfect, decoratively prepared. I am ordering this again next time!

Love it!
Reviewer: Marie from Santa Barbara, CA
This place is just around the corner from my house but I only recently tried it for the first time and absolutely love it! The decor is beautiful and the food was so so tasty. I have been there a couple times for lunch now but only once for dinner. The service is great and the beef, veggies, chicken, all of it...its great! Thanks!

Nice environment, Food was good.
Reviewer: Amery Chen from Palo Alto, CA
I'm Chinese, and I want to say that this restaurant is the best Chinese restaurant in town. It's true that the food is not that authentic, but at least the restaurant is very clean and the service was great. On the same day I also ate at Madam Lu and Shanghai, and the food tasted....pretty trashy, not to be mean, but it seemed like they just threw everything into the pot, and quickly stir fried until it's cooked. Whereas in China Pavilion, each dish that we ordered had its own unique taste, and they also looked/tasted fresh, and you can tell that the food was prepared with care. So for our two days trip to SB, I think this is the restaurant that I liked the most.

Great food Great service
Reviewer: Amy from SB
I was surprised to see the previous post, it must have just been a one time thing. We just came home from a wonderful meal! We found the service to be exceptional. We were seated right away in a nice booth, then our waitress came over right away to see if we wanted water or drinks... I was very surprised by the amount of food, we ended up taking home three boxes! Very good food, service and value. I also think the atmosphere is wonderful and clean.
Food was ok... Service was HORRIBLE!!!!!!
Reviewer: Rebecca Taylor from Santa Barbara
The food here was ok. What really got to me was the service. When we were seated and had looked at the menu the waiter came up to us and said "are you ready?". We ordered and before we had a chance to finish left the table. We had to flag him down to get drinks and he brought one of the two dishes out. After we had finished our dish we were left sitting at the table wondering if we were going to receive our second dish. Ten minutes after he brings it out and doesn't say a word. When we were finished we sat for 10 minutes before I started stacking the plates up. Then a different waiter came over and brought us our check. I ended up tipping the waiter $0 and leaving very disappointed. This place really needs to train their waiters how to greet people, take drink orders, check up on their tables, and interact. I am usually very understanding about waiters forgetting thing, but this went WAY TOO FAR!!!! WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!!!!
best place so far
Reviewer: pepito from Goleta, Ca
we have been there many times.we liked the food and the service. The staffs are friendly

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