Gator Suyaki
3830 SW 13th St, Gainesville, FL, 32608
Gator Suyaki Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Gainesville for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Gainesville for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
3830 SW 13th St
Gainesville, FL, 32608 - Phone (352) 377-4773
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 10
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : Yes
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Chinese Cuisine
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
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Steph G.
Worst service ever. Everyone is rude and it took over an hour for us to get our food. No one seemed to care as well.
(1)sherrie p.
Third time I've been here. Had the lamb hot pot. It was wonderful. The fish covered in peppers was great too but I couldn't eat much of it because it was HOT. I plan on going back again soon. Our waiter was attentive and had a great sense of humor. I love this place.
(5)Chris K.
My recent experiences with Gator Suyaki do not reflect the experiences of some of the other reviewers who've given this restaurant four and five star ratings. I'm assuming that the quality has just slipped over the life of this establishment. There's a lot of potential here, but the food and service has been more misses than hits. I'm giving it a 3 star, but it's really more around a 2.5. Their location is a bit out of the way down 441 almost to Waldo Road. This area of town isn't the cheeriest place to go to, and the restaurant, while clean, feels like it could use a little love. Fixing the sign's light and making the outside of the business look more inviting would help it not feel like the run down area around it. The inside of the restaurant is a big open space with two smaller rooms and a bar area. The bar area has not been lit when I've visited and looks like a place to be avoided. I know saving energy is good, but in a restaurant, you should always have your lights on to avoid customers getting bad vibes from your establishment. It's worth more than the money that can be saved. Their menu is way too large, and immediately makes me concerned that the quality is going to suffer for the sake of selection. The prices for the most part are reasonable, and for lunch are very affordable. Most of their lunch specials come in the form of a bento box or a rice bowl. I'd recommend not going the bento box route as their salads are flat out inedible and fried wontons sometimes cold. Also from their lunch menu, avoid their bulgogi dishes. The seasoning was so offensively bitter I wouldn't eat it. It lacked the ginger & garlic which usually heavily flavor bulgogi dishes. While just like a fried dish from Panda Express, their sesame chicken was good. The best dish I've eaten here has been their chicken lo-mein. I'm probably not the best person to vouch for the authenticity of their cooking, but the dishes I've tried here (see my photos), have mostly tasted just slightly better than the slew of Chinese food take out establishments around town. For what I believe to be more authentic Chinese I'd much rather prefer to go to Hong Kong Deli & Market, despite that location's equally depressing atmosphere.
(3)Nhi P.
Would you like some hot pot? No? Clearly, you're a robot. It's ok. You can take my word for it. *hug* They'll develop taste buds for you soon, hopefully. Yes? Of course you do! And may I say, sir/madam, you have excellent taste. Hot pot is an Asian dish which consists of boiling a broth (of which Gator Suyaki has many choices) and cooking various ingredients to make a perfect stew of deliciousness. Think fondue, but better. I know it may seem like blasphemy to type those words; but you need to try it to see what I mean. When my friend recommended Gator Suyaki for dinner, I was apprehensive. Hot pot in Gainesville? But I'm glad I tried it, one of the best meals I've had there. I had the Seafood Combo with a Spicy Thai broth. The Combo came with noodles, fresh veggies, an egg, squid, shrimp, crab, and clams. It was a lot of food; I even took a canister home with me. Lol. There was also the option of choosing the ingredients separately (like dim sum) and building your own hot pot, but I think I made the right choice. The atmosphere was decent. It wasn't too memorable aside from having such colourful paint choices. Everything looked clean and the staff was really friendly. My only real complaint is how long it took for the food to come out -- we waited almost an hour. I noticed people who spoke Chinese were serviced quicker than non-speakers and that irked me a bit. Even though the staff was super polite and nice to us as well (quick with refills, etc), the group of six Chinese students that came in after us got their hot pots way before we did. We only had a group of four and we'd been waiting for our food for about 30-45 minutes at this point. That seemed a little ridiculous to me because, essentially, we're cooking our own food. They just had to provide the broth and ingredients. Maybe the kitchen was having a slow night or there was some miscommunication or confusion with our order, but for now, I'm going to deduct one star for the wait time. Otherwise, amazingness. Eat here nao!
(4)Carly A.
Unequivocally one of the best Chinese meals I've ever had. Nice array of fresh vegetables in many types of sauces. It's not centrally located but well worth the drive. The service was great and they were very attentive to our every need. Highly recommended!!!
(5)Dave J.
It was exciting to come here after someone suggested it was good. I had the Mother fried rice and it would have been very good but the pork was like half way turned from being too old and threw the whole dish off. I liked one of the appetizers and thought their prices were pretty decent. I just wish I could know the pork is usually better and I would return soon. I will write an update whenever I do.
(2)Oanh N.
Overpriced authentic Chinese food with terrible portions. I haven't had a good meal here since 2011. Don't get the walnut shrimp, the portion is small and the taste isn't right. A lot of the dishes and times I've tried this place, I haven't been happy. The only good thing is the service. Hot pot is ok too but way too expensive and you must get individual soups.
(2)R E.
Amazing food and vegetarian menu! Hands down the best Chinese in Gainesville but my order has been forgotten or messed up the last three consecutive times I've gone.
(3)Caitlin N.
I'm a regular takeout customer of Gator Suyaki, and a less regular dinner diner. There are a lot of mixed reviews here, which kind of surprises me given that the food is great and varied. I think the prices are reasonable, especially since I can eat three days of meals from two takeout entrees, or we can go as a family and share. In-house dinner service: slow, seriously - but if you know that, just prepare. And they have hired more help in recent months. Tip: don't go starving, and order an appetizer right away (steamed dumplings or spicy wontons are great!) Takeout service: Totally great - good packaging, lots of extra rice and sauces, hot food. And they separate the noodles from the soup broth like pros. Ambiance: Okay - some nights it can be crowded (I've only ever seen 80% Asian / 20% Non-Asian customers, which I take as a good sign) which is kind of fun. In that case it's çƒé—¹ (renao): hot and loud! When it's emptier mid-afternoon it's not as good. Food: TOTALLY DELICIOUS! Great spices, great flavors. Their veggie dishes and meat dishes have all been great. Keep in mind they have an "authentic" menu and an "american-style" menu, and the quality is different. The lunch boxes are NOT their best offerings - they're more American style, so if you see people here complaining about the Bulgogi or the General Tso's Chicken, that's one thing, but the Tripe, Pig Blood, Bean Curd, and Pickled Vegetables are really great. Location: It's far and kind of depressing, what can I say. But they deliver now, and have an online menu :) Overall: I love the food, and that makes up for the other meh things about this place.
(5)Cindy M.
This is definitely a great place for legit Chinese food. The menu is pretty extensive, and can get overwhelming especially since there aren't any pictures of the dishes. There was plenty of seating, and it's easy to accomodate large parties. I went here on a Sunday night, around 7pm, and it was pretty busy, many mandarin speaking folk. We were seated promptly, and given plenty of time to peruse the menu, we just chose whatever sounded good, they waitstaff couldn't really suggest anything to use because of the language barrier, but that wasn't an issue. We chose: crispy beef, eggplant with garlic sauce, pork with sichuan spicy sauce and beef ho fun. Crispy beef: it was sweet and came with some veggies, it reminded us of typical general tso's chicken you'd get at the mall. eggplant: nothing out of the ordinary, the sauce was pretty tasty, it had some pork in it. I thought the eggplant would come out cubed, but it was long strips pork: it was shredded pieces with some veggies, it wasn't too spicy, and it tasted like garlic and szechuan sauces combined ho fun: it was really good, I liked the flavor, it wasn't overly salty, but the noodles could have been a little more "stir fried" I don't know what I was expecting but I wanted something more. Overall, it was a pretty decent meal, the refilled our bowls of rice a few times, so that was good. We spent a total of about 45 without tip, and we'll most likely return. I want to try the dim sum and the hot pot!
(4)Batter H.
Nothing much to say Unskillful servers fast food restaurant Something they think is spicy true Chinese food but not real authentic .
(2)Shuai H.
The service is so bad. Those waiters really don't care about you. For several times I waited for more than one hour to get my pick up with a phone call order ahead. They won't start to prepare your food before you show up. Never go there unless you are familiar with the owner.
(1)Simon P.
Went for lunch with a party of four on a weekday. Food was okay but I've had better. I had the orange chicken, which was not too bad but tasted a little bit like whatever they had cooked for the previous customer. My iced tea was so weak that I was honestly puzzling over whether it was really tea or just water with lemon. The dining room was virtually empty, and three or four other groups trickled in during the almost *ninety minutes* that we were there. That is the problem -- very slow service. There were two waiters on duty but they seemed to be struggling to keep up with a nearly empty dining room. The one who took our order spoke almost no English at all. They brought our food out one dish at a time, with about 5-10 minutes between dishes - really annoying. Took forever to flag down the waiter and get our check, although he was quick about it once I got his attention. In short, Gator Suyaki would be fine as a quick, cheap lunch place, but it's not quick and it's not exactly cheap either. I won't be coming back.
(2)Stephen G.
First time here and first time having Chinese style hot pot. The food was great, large portions and very fresh. I ordered the southeast Asian style hot pot with black fungus and whole shrimp. My wife got the seafood combo "mini" hot pot. The mini hot pot is anything but mini. It can easily feed two people. Another in our party got the BBQ based sauce with the sliced lamb. All the food served was wonderful. The negative comments would be that there were a few menu items that they were out of and unless you speak Mandarin you may have a difficult time communicating with some of the staff!
(5)Alison L.
This this place has reallly gone down hill. The portions are smaller, so the value has decreased tremendously. There's no way that an eggplant vegetarian dish should be 11 dollars... Also the service was horrible. I think there was one chef in the kitchen or something. The food came out one dish at a time, and we waited ten minutes between each one. Which meant by the time we got our final fish, 40 minutes passed by. Also, they charge for tea, and it's quite expensive. 2.50 for a pot. Boo. And, the first time we poured the tea, a crumpled up fortune cookie label came out. Gross. And they didn't do anything to compensate for it. Please step it up! You will lose many customers!
(1)Blair R.
Boyfriend deemed this the most authentic Chinese in Gainesville (after living & traveling around China.) I really hope people check this place out. It's super clean, and the section is both huge and varied. If you're into dim sum it's one of two places in town that serves it; we've tried the taro cake, tripe & black mushroom/scallion bun. Prices are steepish ($9 + for a selection) but they load it up; you'll leave with tomorrow's lunch. Staff is attentive and eager to please. Be brave! You'll leave happy
(5)Elena N.
We were on vacation visiting friends and ended up at Gator Suyaki twice because it was so good! At first I was skeptical becoz how good could a Chinese restaurant with the name 'Gator Suyaki' be, right? Where does it even hint that its a 'chinese' restaurant. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. I have to say that in the 15 years I've been living in South Florida, I've only found 1 awesome Chinese Restaurant - 'Tropical' in Miami. Everything else has been a 'meh' experience... until GATOR SUYAKI! There was a big group of us. 11 in all, 6 adults and 5 kids. We ordered the Kung Pao Chicken which was superb! Just the way it should taste, with the right about of sauce and kick, General Tso's chicken also gets an all-star. If you like seafood and spice. The salted fish and chicken fried rice was also excellent. The kids had wanton noodle soup and lo mein, both of which were devoured quickly. We also ordered the baby bok choi sauted. The 2nd time we went back, we had the Kung Pao, General Tso, Fish Fillet in Dry Wok - definitely would get this again too, right amount of spice and peppercorn in that dish and th Wanton Noodles again. (They use vermicelli noodles in this dish, so if you want to sub-out with other noodles, make sure you ask them ahead of time). We decided what the heck and to try the Har Gao (or crystal shrimp dumplings) to see if they were good. And I can definitely confirm that they were better than the ones at Yummy House. We also had the Chinese Cabbage with Shitake mushrooms. All in all, both trips were awesome. The service is slow but everything is well worth the wait. The restaurant wasn't packed. We were there on a Friday night, and then also on a Wednesday night. Already told my gf that I'll be visiting her again and soon, to get real chinese food! Forgot to mention that they serve hot pot as well. Didn't get a chance to try it, but definitely going to the next time we are in Gainesville. If you love Chinese food and you want SFO, Seattle or NY - which is as authentic as you can get - definitely give Gator Suyaki a try.
(5)Chris T.
Finally tried this place after a long time of convincing myself it wouldn't be good and, of course, I was totally wrong. Don't judge a book by its cover (see: lime green motif and what is a gator suyaki). Once in, you'll see they have ample space, a clean environment, and a HUGE menu (maybe too big?). It consist of many Chinese favorites including hot pot and lots of super rare items. Of course, they have other popular asian dishes on there as well i.e. pad thai, pho, japchae, bulgogi, etc. I've been here a few times and their flavor is at least average to above average depending on the dish; dim sum is not bad but I still prefer Mr. Han's. BUTT...overall, I definitely recommend this place.
(4)Brian M.
This is our go-to place for authentic Chinese (to the extent anything in Gainesville is authentic). The menu is vast and varied, and nothing comes out bland or overly greasy like most Chinese restaurants. I am no expert when it comes to authenticity, but my Chinese wife is always happy here.
(5)Carrie G.
It's shameful that this place only has 3.5 stars right now. Gainesville is a black hole when it comes to legit Chinese/Indian/Thai/Korean/Vietnamese food, and Gator Suyaki is a DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH as they say. (If you haven't heard them say it go watch Aladdin.) Anyway this place is fantastic. Someone gave it 3 stars because it didn't have a buffet or sushi and her "BFF" was sadface? Don't judge a place on the food it doesn't serve, judge it on the food it does serve, which is unfailingly delicious. JESUS H. CHRIST, PEOPLE. Everybody come eat here. If it closes it will be like when the one independent bookstore in Gainesville closed or when Arrested Development went off the air. Recommended: Bean curd salad, house special eggplant, sichuan string beans, scallion pancakes, EVERYTHING ELSE. (Unless you feel weird about unidentifiable meat parts, in which case don't get anything described as "assorted pork.")
(5)Arthur L.
I have never written a review but feel compelled to in order to try and keep this place running. There is nothing like this in Gainesville. I'm Chinese and used to the assortment of authentic places in New York. This is authentic Chinese food. I've only been once but tried several dishes and the hot pot. It was very good. Ma po Tofu is killer. Fried rice very good. salt pepper squid looked good but didn't try it yet. Casseroles look yummy too. I told my brother about it and he's been there 4 times in the last 3 weeks! I'm dying to go back. This is a must try for everyone and i encourage you to go a few times trying different dishes before judging. Even better would be to go with someone who knows authentic chinese. Most of the people in the joint were chinese. My only criticism is the menu is too big. Go and try it! We need this place to stay...
(5)Wayne W.
We came by tho place randomly while driving down. It was next to our motel and we were tired and not expecting much. we were pleasantly surprised by the food! The wonton in chili oil is a great appetizer, and the dry woks are amazing. We went out of our way to come again before we left Florida. The service is middling and a bit disorganized, but I can't fault the food.
(4)LC B.
So the bestie wanted to take me to some buffet she had gone to for some so-called good sushi and we ended up here at Gator Suyaki. As we walked in and were seated, she groaned and said, "Oh no! It's not a buffet anymore!" Nevertheless, we took a look at the menu and everything on it was Chinese. It would have been perfect if we were craving hot pots or Chinese food, but we were on a mission for some sushi. We decided to just get something small so we wouldn't look rude walking out. They had some dim sum on the menu so we opted for shrimp shomai and some kim chee. Kim chee came out first and it took a while for the shomai. The bestie was hoping for some bigger looking shomai with a lot more filling, but it was average to me. Both shomai and kim chee were eh-okay. An order of shrimp shomai came with 6 pieces..6 pretty small pieces. Well at least we were still on a mission for some sushi. Service was decent and I guess the dim sum served okay as appetizer to our next sushi stop. But will want to come back to try some hot pot.
(3)April O.
This locale has gone through several name/brand/management changes since I came to live in Gainesville, and truthfully ever since they stopped being "Szechuan Panda" I've been a little unsure about them. I'm not a fan of buffets to begin with, and a sushi buffet just sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Mike W.'s review made me think I should give the place another chance--at night. If you come here, you will probably get the server we had. She seems to be one of two people waiting tables and is usually running around the dining room very fast with food in one or both hands. She doesn't speak English very well, but she has a great sense of humor and will very patiently explain that the orange menu is translated directly from Chinese and that the names of the items aren't to be taken literally. So don't worry about that dish called "5 a.m. cooked" ... it's just pork and vegetables. Odd naming aside, the food is absolutely delicious here. There's an Americanized menu available, and you can get fried rice/lo mein if you want it, but you can also get that at any take-away in town. They have several duck dishes here, along with lots and LOTS of different pork/beef/chicken/seafood items. If you're unsure, tell the server which flavors you like best and she will make recommendations. Or just surprise yourself. I got the Lychee Pork and it was miles away from the average sweet n' sour meal you'll get in town. The sweetness came from the pineapple slices and carrots, and the sour seemed to be apple cider vinegar. It was real food, not the "fried nuggets" that you get all too frequently. Two "heads-ups" (not really complaints): Meals come out slowly, and while the dim sum will take the edge off, compared to Mr. Han's and South Garden's it's really not that great, and if you're not used to eating "bone-in" food, make sure you chew slowly. The meats are cleavered after cooking ... there are a lot of splinters in the food and you can get a surprise if you're wolfing it down. Neither of those issues will stop me from returning regularly, though. I'll be back. I'll bring friends who need their horizons expanded beyond house fried rice and tofu. 4.25 stars.
(4)Barbara B.
I like this place A LOT. The service was good from welcome to finish. The atmosphere is elegant and authentic. The food was excellent. Fresh, tasty, delightful. Servers provided recommendations, and I LOVED my food. Will DEFINITELY be back.
(5)Gigi A.
I walked into this place anticipating a delicious lunch. I was hungry and eager. I walked out with a headache. The waiters don't all understand english very well. Whats worse is I was dining with people who are also non native english speakers, so that made for a very difficult time ordering. The food is subpar at best. We ordered a LOT of food and it took a long time coming out. What's worse is that they served three other people with bento boxes and items from their Chinese menu, but left me without food for 20 minutes. When my spider roll finally came, it was a disappointment. The crab was not fresh at all, and there was no panko to make it crispy. The flavor was completely off. I had to drown my roll in spicy mayo and chase it with my drink. I've never had a spider roll so bad in my life. I did like their mango boba tea. It was pretty good, but you can probably find better. The bento boxes were just ok, nothing great. I tried their shrimp tempura and one of their chicken bento boxes and they were not very good at all. The only redemption of their bento box was the little piece of cake, which they probably dont make themselves. The waiter brought my friends egg rolls on the bentos even though they explicitly told him they didn't eat any pork. One of my friends actually bit into it, and the waiter did not so much as apologize! We actually had to switch waiters, who then fixed the issue by apologizing and bringing out some spring rolls. I also had one of their tuna rolls (can't remember exactly which roll) that was not that bad. I wouldn't go back for it or anything, but that roll was better than my spider roll. The buffet no longer exists. Not a pleasant experience at all. AVOID. AVOID. AVOID.
(2)Ping N.
Authentic Chinese food! Hot pot!
(5)Johnny L.
It never seems like Yelp comes through when I submit business name changes, so I just made a new page. This place is where Sushi Yami is, except it changed it's name to Gator Suyaki, new management, and slightly newer menu. It still is an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet but the food quality wasn't as good as I remember. Service was still pretty good. They were friendly enough. We came for the sushi lunch buffet, but there weren't that many pieces of sushi around. (Then again, it's probably cause there wasn't that many people, so they didn't want to make rolls just to have them sit around.) It took a while before sushi came out to the buffet tables. The sushi was alright. I wish they had more normal rolls like a california roll, eel roll, tuna roll, or such. They had a lot of combination things and, though it was creative, it didn't mesh too well together. They would have 5 different things within the sushi. It wasn't all too bad though and they have unlimited eel sauce or spicy mayo. Took a look at the hot food, but there wasn't much selection. Sushi Yami used to have some decent curry fried rice and noodles, but they got rid of it. (They were pretty good too). That was kind of disappointing. They also never really refilled the hot food which sucked cause I wanted more shrimp and chicken. They also have a dessert and salad bar which was alright. The ice cream selection isn't big, but it wasn't bad either. (The ice cream scooper was nasty though. The water looked like it had more than just ice cream sitting around in it). I didn't expect too much from this place, but it was kind of disappointing. My friends seemed to like it, but I've had better.
(2)Peter F.
1st Visit: This is one of the most authentic Chinese restaurants I have visited and the Hot & Sour soup is, by far, the best I've had. I ordered the Pork Ribs with onions and jalapeños; it had good flavor but the ribs had little meat and tons of cartilage (it may just be the cut of pork meat they use?). I also ordered one of their Bun from the Din Sum selection (steamed rice and meat dumpling). It was well cooked and pretty flavorful. The pieces of meat in the Bun were really tiny, but flavorful. The service was friendly and helpful (Eric made good recommendations) I would go back and take friends. 2nd Visit: Took the family back to Gator Suyaki. The Beef Dry Wok is really great, but be careful it is spicy as hell and telling them to make it "mild" was of no help.... It was HOT! The Chicken Dry Wok is also very spicy but I will not be ordering it again.... the chicken was nothing but bones and batter. We tried the Bun from the Din Sum selection again... some of the rice was dry to the point it was not-edible. The service remains friendly and helpful. I still recommend Gator Suyaki after this second visit; I'd just avoid the pork ribs and the chicken. Stick to the beef!
(3)SungYee Y.
Yuk yuk Been there for a lunch buffet but sushi seems it was there since yesterday. Sushi was dry and poorly wrapped, every piece fell apart. But....Guess what... the service was even worse.. I enjoyed it before when it was 'Yami' but after that, it'll be my last time there.
(1)Kaitlin C.
Amazing service and food! I have been in gainesville for 6 years and just tried this place for the first time, and I am so excited to go back! Our host was amazing and the food was to die for! No slimy celery filled mall Chinese- This is flavorful, crispy, wonderful and spicy (if you choose). The servers have to be able to write in Chinese bc that is how the cooks read the order! It can't get more authentic than that! I drove past this place for years bc of the outside decor, but after trying it once it will be hard to drive past ever again!
(5)Kristen S.
Gator Suyaki replaced the old sushi buffet (and before that Szechuan Panda buffet) and it is now possibly the best Chinese restaurant in Gainesville as far as regular, family style Chinese food goes (dim sum is another category). Their orange "Chinese" menu is huge, with tons of different meat and vegetable dishes available. The translations are not that great, but if you ask, the servers are more than happy to explain each item. I really enjoyed one of the steamed fish dishes, and the short ribs are always great. The hot pots are good, but be prepared that they are spicy, and may have ingredients that seem a bit foreign, depending on what you're used to. I've been probably 4 or 5 times over the past year, and I've never been disappointed. I haven't had their sushi, but much like I wouldn't go to a Mexican restaurant to eat Italian, I don't go to Chinese restaurants for Japanese food. As at tip, you should know that serving sizes are large, and are meant to be placed in the middle of the table and shared (each person has their own bowl of rice)....It may seem pricy, but usually with a group of 4 we can order 3 dishes and leave stuffed (and I eat a lot!)
(4)H K.
I will contribute the opinion of someone who wouldn't know authentic Chinese food in China and wouldn't go for a sit down dinner to a huge Chinese restaurant so not looking for ambience: GREAT GREAT GREAT. I'm a very healthy eater 90% of the time and about once a month I get such an undeniable craving for greasy American Chinese food. I'm from a big city and after my first 18 months in GNV I decided it wasn't worth indulging anymore since I was always disappointed with the half a dozen takeout places I'd tried here. So glad someone suggested this place to my bf - (who by the way is a bit more interested in the authentic stuff and has been very pleased). Would never get Chinese from anywhere else in GNV again- the only downside is now the lo mein craving hits more than once a month!
(5)Norm H.
Lots of Asian students here, I guess because the food is authentic and good and not very expensive. But the service! Yech! Allow for at least a half hour wait for your food. Norm H.
(3)Hechen L.
The restaurant is so good! It's a real Szechuan restaurant. I love shui zhu yu, san bei ji, ma la fei chang. They are very authentic.
(5)Della S.
Oh no! This place used to be a great standby but under the new ownership or management it's horrible! The buffet items looked and tasted like it had been sitting around for too long. The service was lacking as well. Whatever you do, DO NOT order the Thai iced tea!
(1)P M.
Decided to give this a try on verbal recommendation. Delighted! Love the fact that we were only non-Asians in the crowded place. Love the fact that waiter had a hard time understanding us and wrote order in Chinese. Love the fact that the owner went out of her way to welcome us. I spend summers in San Francisco and like to eat my way through Chinatown.....this was as close as it gets. Food was amazingly scrumptious. Look forward to sharing with friends and family.
(4)James T.
They have a new chef from the same province (Hunan) that I come from in China, and his food was great. It was incredibly authentic, and he even came out to talk to us for a little bit. There isn't a better place for Chinese food in Gainesville at the moment.
(5)Ken G.
The restaurant hired a new chef from China. Chinese dishes are served for dinner. I have been there more than 10 times. They are so tasty. The only problem is that they don't have enough servers; therefore, the serve is a little bit slow. However, it is worthy to wait. I heard that they still serve sushi buffet for lunch, but I never try it.
(4)Becky S.
Actually, it turns out to be a place offer authentic Chinese food, especially Szechuan Style (spicy and hot). You have to tell the waiter that you want to order dishes rather than eat the buffet. They have both Chinese and English on the menu. Worth a try if you want authentic Chinese food. About $8-12 per entree. BTW, have no idea why all the good reviews are not count...
(4)Coty S.
For Gainesville, this is the only authentic style Chinese restaurant that I can sit in a booth and be comfortable. It is not San Fransisco Chinatown or any large metropolitan area, it is Gainesville and this is as good as it gets. There are some customers that appear to be the Panda crowd. They have American-Chinese style food for you, too. I also avoid their Hong Kong style dishes, because they seem to be a little off. Keep in mind that I have only dined here for dinner and on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. So, I don't know what goes on during lunch hours on weekdays. All I know, is that whenever I come to Gainesville (about once a month), I come to Gator Suyaki every time for delicious Szechuan style dishes. Like I said before; best food I have had here is when I order from a Sichuan/Szechuan formula. Don't know what other dishes to order? Then, search Szechuan cuisine on the internet and look for the staple dishes to try. The food tends to have a Shanghainese twist, which means sweet as well as other attributes. 1. Cold Cucumber Salad (served cold) 2. Sliced Beef in Mala Sauce (served cold) 3. Wontons in Chili Oil (my favorite dish), sometimes called "Spicy Wonton Soup." Not a soup at all. 4. Fish Filet in Chili Oil 5. Snow Pea Leaves with Garlic or Ong Choi with Garlic There is a video of these dishes on my food vlog to get the full experience: youtu.be/Eq0ZLCmCxDg?t=1… The Wontons in Chili Oil are what brought me to this place to begin with and still remain my favorite dish. The balance of sweet and salty is perfect. But, what puts the entire dish over the edge is the chewy-ness of the wonderful wonton skin. The texture is.... ahhhhhh.... I'm crying right now. From happiness. Sometimes, I will even order an additional plate of pan fried dumplings to use up the rest of the chili oil. The restaurant name has a much different meaning in Chinese, written on the menu. Would someone please translate? I think it is "___ Garden." But, I don't now for sure.
(5)T K.
Found the food to be mediocre at best. I heard this place was known for having spicy dishes but none of the spicy dishes I ordered were even spicy..disappointed. And it took way too long for us to get our food when the place was half empty. About an hour to get food for two people and when we got the food it wasn't hot either...the waitress rarely came by our table so we went without water for a while.
(2)Mann S.
Poor service. Took 1 hour to take order. Served very very salty food. Thankfully they offered to replace it, but took another 1 hour to serve it. My friends were very patient, so no major harm done. A very unpleasant dining experience. Food(reserved) was average, nothing spectacular.
(1)Desiree M.
AWESOME! The food was authentic, delicious and prepared fresh. The atmosphere was casual and for dinner it ran us about $27 plus tip! They serve heaping portions with house made noodles (for an extra buck and so worth it!).
(5)Tiff H.
This place wasn't so memorable... one of the only authentic Chinese restaurants in Gainesville though. We ordered... 1. Mapo Tofu (4) i mean... you really can't mess this up... or can you...? 2. Kong xing vegetable with garlic (5) i love veggies cooked with garlic 3. some sort of fish dish... which was pretty good, just don't remember the name of the dish. it was pieces of fish fillets. Good, but not memorable. Relatively, though, for an area that lacks in authentic Asian food, it would definitely be 4.5.
(3)Y C.
The most authentic Chinese food in Gainesville. I hear their lunch buffet is super gross, and I don't really know why they even offer sushi since I hear it sucks really horrible, but if you go, make sure you get the AUTHENTIC Chinese menu (I always get it, but I'm not sure if they give it automatically to non-Chinese looking people...) Their roast ducks is AH-MAZE-ING, I always get it. The prices are reasonable for an authentic Chinese restaurant. Everyone Chinese (FOB-y) knows about this place and goes there, I'm assuming the only reason this place doesn't have more stars is the people who go don't really write yelp reviews because they are from China. Again, the place is really really good for authentic Chinese food, I've been there for lunch and dinner. It's the closest to real Chinese food I've tasted in Gainesville. Recommend for sure. Their salt and pepper squid is a favorite of mine, too. EDIT: oh the waitress doesn't speak perfect English just FYI...
(4)Alan C.
The food is authentic and the restaurant looks clean but the service is lacking and rather slow. The server didn't return to refill drinks and just came back to drop off the check.
(4)Foodie R.
By far the most authentic Chinese food I have ever had in USA. The seafood pancake is great, although it might be oily for some people. And they have amazing fish dishes, juicy&spicy.
(5)Adam R.
I hate this place so much. It's seriously hard for me to even review this place without it just being a string of profanities. The main problem with this place is that the service is beyond terrible. We went after graduation as a party of 10, and even with us there the place was only about 75% full maximum. Our waitress took half an hour to even ask us what we wanted to drink and an hour to take our food orders. She ignored our tea and soda orders and just brought water. During our entire 3 hours there, the waitress only refilled our drinks ONCE, and she didn't even do that right. She brought ONE pitcher for TEN people with empty glasses. That is horrendous. She didn't even understand us when we ordered. Mind you, my friend and his family spoke Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, and English, and she still couldn't understand anyone! WHAT MORE COULD WE POSSIBLY DO TO ORDER SOMETHING?! God, I'm so blinded by rage even thinking about this place again. Oh yeah, and the food was whatever. You'll be so filled with hatred that it will consume all your senses and all you'll taste is scorn and resentment. In conclusion, this place is awful and they should feel awful about it.
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