Lotus Garden

Honestly not sure why the reviews aren't good!!! I came to Pinetop to get away from Seattle and I throughly enjoyed my food!! Our server Richard was great, felt bad he seemed like the only server and was running the whole place. He was nice, helpful and joked around with us. The food was great, my mom is hard to please and she even loved it. My sister and her husband loved their sushi and for a small town they said it was fabulous. If I even came back, I would stop here. Thanks for the great experience Richard and team!!!

I was staying in Pinetop for a little less than a week for work. After looking at close by dinner options, I opted for Lotus Garden. I ordered the cashew chicken with rice and an order of dumplings. I'm not sure what kind of combo I accidentally ordered, but holy cow did I receive so much food! Thankfully my hotel had a fridge and microwave because this was multiple meals for me. The cashew chicken had a great flavor and was full of cashew nuts and tender chunks of chicken. The side of rice was standard, plain but fine once the chicken and sauce was mixed in. The dumplings were moist and flavorful with tender pork inside. The wrappers were a little thicker than I prefer but it was fine. I did also get soup (unexpectedly) but it was egg drop which I don't like so I didn't try it. The crunchy fried wonton strips were great though! There aren't a ton of options in Pinetop and this place does a big takeout business. My food took about 15 minutes but that shows me it was made fresh and was piping hot when I got it back to my room. I'll definitely stop back again when in the area.

Having checked out the other Chinese restaurants in town, I can confidently say that Lotus Garden is one of, if not the, most authentic Chinese restaurant in Show Low. However, it's too bad that you could easily miss this, as it advertises a very Americanized lunch buffet, and by the very fact that the buffet table is the first thing you smell and see when you walk in, you would assume that's the whole menu, the only thing they sell, but it's quite the contrary. When we first visited, we walked in, saw the buffet bar and decided to leave, but I also took a menu with me. We returned because I had noticed that the menu is huge, and includes lunch combos, separate from the buffet. Dishes such as lemon scallops, shrimp in lobster sauce, sauteed lobster, sizzling rice soup, etc.. these are not your typical Panda Express orange chicken or broccoli beef 2-item combo entrees, these are dishes you won't find in most Chinese restaurants because they are specialties that require culinary knowledge and skill with Chinese cuisine. We ordered the sweet & sour fish and the tofu in brown sauce and were pleasantly surprised. Not only are the portions big, but the taste was excellent, and the price was good. It's not only less expensive than some nearby Asian cuisine, it tastes far better. The lunch combos include soup, egg roll, won ton and you can get hot tea as well. The large fish tank was a nice touch, you can get seated right next to it for the full experience. There is also large group seating in another room, which could host a party or other event. Other seating around the restaurant is also good, but I would avoid getting too close to the buffet as you may not want the smell of it nearby. I assume several of the lower ratings for this place are either due to a specific incident that may have affected multiple patrons on one day, or are complaints about the buffet only, which I couldn't comment on. The only other thing I can mention is the good service from the servers. The waitress who serviced our table was fantastic, always helpful with suggestions and came by often to check on us. You also get a greater sense that this is a family-owned local restaurant (which we found out later is the case, the owner was in when we arrived and we got a chance to chat, which was very enjoyable) than a chain or corporate-owned place, which we felt at other restaurants in the area. I enjoyed our first visit so much, that I returned the very next day for lunch again.

The war wonton soup is very delicious. Flavorful and not over cooked. A go to favorite! Everything is exceptional. Not always the case up here on the Mountain. Nothing was over or under cooked. All perfect. If your lucky you can catch the Sake sale $3.75 for a large, $2.75 for small. I found the staff to be very friendly, present, and knowledgeable about their menu. Full service bar with a large TV. Casual dress. Service dog friendly!! ‍ Highly recommend and know we will be back!!