Lotus Garden - Utica

I never like writing this sort of review, but it has to be done. The good: The interior is nice. There's a lovely outdoor dining space, though it had no chair set out, so we didn't know we could sit there. The bartender did her best, though she had no front of house help whatsoever. The Cambodian fish curry- Amok) was delicious. A bit sweet for my partner, but I loved it. The bad: sadly, pretty much everything else. The spring rolls- whoever made them was unable to roll them properly, as all of them split open and spilled everywhere, all down the top. Use bigger pieces of rice wrapping, maybe. The shrimp tasted off. It tasted old and fishy. I am honestly a little concerned that I may get sick. The XO sauce beef- Oh, this made me so sad. : I found a few fragments of what might have been dried scallop in it, but it was mostly just a thin, watery, generic brown sauce with oddly sweet tones. The beef itself was WAY too sweet. I don't know what happened to it. I do know it wasn't tenderized in any way, however. It was incredibly tough, dry, overcooked, and grey. It's a shame. A cow died for that. The flat rice noodles we got the Chinese style ones with shiracha, but I do not remember the menu name) seemed like they must have been really old. They're only good for about half a day after you make them. Either they were cooked and ended up dried out after spending time in a fridge, or they were just undercooked and not separated properly when being stir-fried from the start, as there was a very hard, dry chunk in the middle that seemed uncooked. Almost all the noodles were stuck together in a clump. Chow fun style noodles should be tender, not mushy, and not hard and dry. Two of the dishes we got were supposed to be Chinese food, and if you want to judge the quality of a Chinese restaurant, try their beef and try their flat, wide rice noodles. They are a bit of a challenge to get right, but if the chef cannot make them right, don't bother with anything else either. I was surprised by how good the curry was compared to the rest, but I haven't had Amok before, so I have no Cambodian dining experiences to compare it to. The menu is so incredibly eclectic that it is easy for one to get lost. I see the appeal in having a little something for everyone, and a wide variety of things to try from that you might not have access to anywhere else in central new york, which is not exactly a culinary Mecca. It's easy, however, for such a concept to fall apart in execution. So many different dishes prepared in so many different styles. I would advice refining the best dishes and letting the rest go. Make the menu smaller, and really work hard at making the things you do keep shine, as well as ensure that all the ingredients are fresh. Maybe it'll take less than an hour to prepare the food that way, too.

I dined at Lotus Garden alone as I am in Utica on business. The only reason they did not receive 5 stars was service related. Here is the breakdown: I had first had the Peking dumpling app (pork filled with sweet soy sauce). They were delicious. My entree was chicken Lo mein, and it was full of flavor and really well balanced. I enjoyed it. I also tried California roll. In comparison to some of my local sushi restaurants, it was probably a bit below...the cucumber was not as crisp as I would expect. Personally, my service was fine. But I sat at the bar alone. I observed another guest come and try and find waitress and he complained about poor service to me while I was there. Another local came in and was clearly irritated that his take out order was taking so long. He told me ?the food here is excellent, and worth the wait, but the service is consistently slow.? Overall, I would dine there again.

They have indoor and outdoor seating. The food is good but I really didn't like their service. They gave us the wrong order and took too long to give us the bill. I'm hoping to try out dining here again soon to see if it was just a bad day for the staff.

Food was fresh and delish, calamari, spider sushi and bulgogi(beef).....Only two staff visible a waitress/hostess and bartender...both dining rooms packed and service was efficient and excellent, a short wait after our reservation time but worth every minute..highly recommend...great job CJ

I don?t live in Utica, we come home every summer to visit the family. I have to say I?ve been more and more disappointed with how businesses restaurants operate here and how the quality of food in this town has diminished. Well, not here, Lotus is phenomenal, authentic, very good quality food. Very friendly and exceptional customer service as well. Zucchini flowers are a must try! We?re on our third visit here to eat and we will definitely be returning. 5 stars all the way!