Top 100 Chinese Restaurants (Overall Excellence) (2012)
Top 100 Regional & Specialty Chinese Cuisines (2009)
Top100 Overall Excellence (2006)
Comments(11)
Reviewed by:
beachsurf1621 on:
2016-02-25
amazing Chinese Restaurant, food is out of this world, better than China Town in NYC. :) Staff is friendly and outstanding. Food is delicious and really out of this world.
Reviewed by:
Marinda H. on:
1/11/2013 9:14:00 AM
Visit time/day: lunch on weekendsAtmosphere: Casual, typical kitschy ChineseI have been to Ivory 3 times for lunch. The staff is friendly and service is good. The lunch menu is very reasonable ($5.25 - $5.60 for entrée, soup, & egg roll). The food I have tried is good for the price. Portions are not huge, but enough. The Egg Drop soup and Egg Rolls are good, nothing amazing. I love that they offer Tofu as an option, I love that the chicken is thinly sliced white chicken, and I love that the vegetables are crisp and not overcooked/mushy.Here's what my lunch partner and I have tried on our 3 visits and my recommendations:Hunan: garlic-y flavorful brown sauce - by far the BEST sauce here in my mind. I ordered it no spice and it was still very good.Szechuan: spicy flavorful sauce and included good vegetables (broccoli, snow peas). I ordered it mild and it was rather spicy. My 2nd choice.Garlic Sauce: much sweeter and less garlicky than most garlic sauces I have had. Had almost a sweet and sour sauce taste - did not like.Cashew Nut: brown sauce with a weird 5 Spice seasoning - the 5 Spice overpowered what is usually a fairly bland sauce.Kung Pao: exact same sauce as the Cashew - usually this is a fermented black been flavorful sauce. Disappointing.Sweet and Sour: bright orange, really sweet, no sour. Do not recommend.Side note: I originally rated this 3 stars after 2 visits, but after trying other Chinese restaurants in the area (that were horrible), I upgraded to 4 stars.
Reviewed by:
Jim B. on:
12/31/2012 2:48:00 AM
Very very good. Def. Will go there again
Reviewed by:
Kai N. on:
12/11/2012 10:44:00 PM
They get a 3 by Clearwater standards. Nothing to write home about, but if you really need a chinese food fix this place can kinda get you there.Staff is friendly, your food is ready pretty fast and they deliver.My general issue with them is that most things, especially meats, taste overcooked or have clearly come from the freezer.The basics they tend to get right but last time we ordered we got burnt fried rice with raw onions in it, how do you even do that?The dining room(s) is/are huge, if you need a place to take 50 people they have you covered.
Reviewed by:
Lauren C. on:
11/15/2012 10:53:00 PM
My first time at Ivory was for dinner on New Year's eve and I have stopped by a few more times since then. Since I am a huge fan of peanut sauce, I always order the "I don't know chicken", which is a joke for "I don't know why it's so good" according to the menu. It really is a delicious entree, served with plenty of steamed white rice, fresh broccoli, snow peas and carrots and sliced chicken on top all tossed in peanut sauce. I can't get enough! The overall feel of the restaurant seems slightly unclean and outdated (which seems to be the norm for most Chinese restaurants), but the food makes up for it. The lunch combo includes soup, an eggroll and the entree is usually enough for 2-3 left over meals, so it is a great value for the money. I will probably stop by again sometime since it's one of the best chinese restaurants in the area.
Reviewed by:
Bev M. on:
7/15/2012 3:55:00 AM
My first time today and the food was FABULOUS!!Three other persons ordered from there as well. All gave rave reviews. And the one person who can never seem to get his food hot enough gave a "thumbs up".Their lunch combinations are priced just right and come with Egg Roll, Soup of your Choice and BBQ Fried Rice (or steamed rice). And they deliver.
Reviewed by:
Mike J. on:
6/6/2012 7:07:00 PM
Awesome fried rice and orange chicken!!!!! And fast delivery!!!
Reviewed by:
Coty S. on:
5/21/2012 11:28:00 AM
There is really nothing else good in the area, as far as Chinese goes, unless you drive down to St Petersburg or over the bridge to Tampa. If you know an authentic dish that you are looking for that is not on the menu, and can say it in Chinese--- they will probably make it for you. And, I use the term "probably" very loosely because I am not a regular at Ivory, nor will I ever be due to the location.I heard that there are two menus. But, I am always handed the regular menu, which still has a large variety of American-Chinese dishes and some more authentic style dishes. Everything we had was decent and even reheated well the next day. But, the flavors were lacking as far as brightness and freshness compared to other restaurants in the Tampa Bay Area. Basically, there are many dishes with over-sauced canned vegetables that are not cooked at high enough heat to char. The seafood is not fished out of a tank and shown to you before cooking, and there is not meat hanging in a glass case--- take that for what it's worth and give this place a try to draw your own conclusions.Surely, the regulars know the best items and how to get fresher dishes.
Reviewed by:
Leo G. on:
2/29/2012 12:35:00 AM
Best Cantonese sit-down restaurant in the area, with delicious flavorful food. Comfortable seating, quiet ambience, especially good for seniors.If their spicy dishes aren't good, it is because the chefs are Cantonese.Worth a half-hour drive instead of eating in a take-out place.Service is generally good, but sometimes a little slow.My Mom was born in Boston, brought up in China, and this is her favorite "fancy" Chinese restaurant in Pinellas County.
Reviewed by:
Jia Z. on:
2/9/2012 6:15:00 AM
This restaurant in Tampa area is considered a little above average. If you're Asian and use to real Chinese food, this will be sort of a 1-2 star for you. The presentation is not appetizing and the food tastes ok. I'm giving it a 3 star for this area only.. And the service is good. The manager, owner, and wait staff are pretty nice. If you want to eat here, don't have too much expectations... You're in Tampa Florida after all.
Reviewed by:
RivaRich on:
2010-06-15
Basically the best one around for consistantly delicious food especially when you consider the lovely surroundings, fair prices and friendly staff.
AVG:(NaN)
