Ambassador Chinese Restaurant
| Address: | 4326 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77027, USA |
| Phone: | +1 713-877-9394 |
| Site: | ambassadorchinese.com |
| Rating: | 3.7 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 5–11PM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 12
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Jay Francis
Let me tell you about my own personal favorite hangout for classic Chinese-American food in Houston. The Ambassador Chinese Restaurant is located on Richmond just next to the Rajun Cajun. There is no question that there are superb Chinese restaurants in town, along the Bellaire Boulevard corridor. No argument here. But sometimes, it isn’t just about the food. And I promise you, for an all around fun experience you cant beat Ambassador. It is like taking a time machine back to the 50s. You walk in, and youll hear Frank Sinatra playing through the stereo system. The waitresses are so sweet. They have been serving customers there for years, and if you say something that gets them to give a nervous laugh, they will cover their mouth with their hands. It’s kind of like trying to get the guards at Buckingham Palace to crack a smile. But in a good way. They are real sweet-hearts. On some nights you might see a group of WWII veterans hanging out at their own table. Or ladies from the River Oaks crowd. Or hipsters. And old white guys like me (“Hey, that’s ME in the corner”). The food is Cantonese and it is the Cantonese that used to be all that you could find in Houston when I was growing up in the 50s. The egg foo yung is crazy. When it comes out you will swear they brought you a giant chicken fried steak. The egg rolls are super sized, probably the biggest ones in town. The hot and sour soup is just perfect with the right amount of rice wine vinegar to white pepper. And yes, theres even a great typo on the menu (Human beef instead of Hunan beef). If you have an opportunity to talk to the owner, she is an absolute delight and will share wonderful stories about the Ambassador over the years. Yep, for me, its the Ambassador. I recommend staying with the tried and true Cantonese dishes: sweet and sour pork, egg rolls, egg foo yung, a chicken with vegetables stir fry and on the side a big bowl of egg drop soup or (not Cantonese) hot and sour. From Jay Francis, Houston native, ethnic food explorer, cooking school teacher and creator of The Fried Chicken Blog website.
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A Private User
This was my very first visit and the staff/owner acted like they knew this and really provided individualized service- they treated me like an out of town relative...making certain that all my possible needs were met. I really like to support local small business and this restaurant appears to be my new Chinese food restaurant. Like any restaurant in a strip center (next to a larger, more well known restaurant), parking is not a breeze, but is tolerable. It appears that the delivery service is sketchy at times according to the delivery person waiting on an order from the kitchen. I ordered the steamed chicken and Chinese vegetables/ hot and sour soup and Vegetable deluxe. Everything was quite good, but I was astounded by the steamed vegetables-they had a freshness and FLAVOR of each vegetable-usually the vegetables I get from other Chinese restaurants are overcooked and flavorless. I look forward to going again!
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reve charley
If I could give this place zero stars I would!! Me & my friend walked into the place & was seated. The workers was stretched out on the chairs sleep like they were homeless which was very unprofessional for customers coming in. I ordered shrimp fried rice w/o vegetables,two jumbo shrimp eggrolls,& a Dr. Pepper. The rice was dry, and tasted burnt, the eggrolls, that was filled with undercooked cabbage, were over indulged with pepper with one little piece of shrimp in them &Ive never seen a can drink that cost $2.25.I understand why we were the only two customers in the place. & to top it all off, the server had the nerve to ask me if I was going to leave a tip! Lol Im so tickled! This place is a joke!
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Heather Schilling
I ordered 4 dishes for delivery, and did not receive one of them. I called first thing the next morning and received a call back from the Chef who assured me all of the dishes were inside. He said the Lo Mein was in the same container as the rice. Well, the 3 rice containers were all filled with rice... no noodles. When I said that, he passed the phone back to Wendy, who just said that he said they were in there. The food wasnt very good considering their prices, the chicken is very, very dry. I will not eat here again, nor would recommend anyone to eat here. There are plenty of other Chinese food options, and probably with better food, better prices, and more honest employees.
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Bennett Brown
Amazing food! Been eating here for over 40 years!! Thats a testament for any restaurant in Houston, a town that has witnessed restaurants disappear regularly. Run by Wendy and her husband Henry, still here every day. Talk to Wendy, she treats everyone like family, no kidding! Try the special salad, for years it was off the menu and you had to call ahead. Hot braised prawns and twice cooked pork. Sauté baby bok choy, yummy. I shouldnt be posting this because it is already busy weekends etc...
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Wille Hughes
Ive been going to Ambassadors for the last decade and I love this place. The food is authentic and top notch. The restaurant interior itself is extremely tired and dated. It needs a massive refresh but its all perfectly acceptable to partake of the delicious food. Short soup is yum. Lemon chicken is amazing. Special fried rice. All amazing.
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Anna-Marie Young
ordered online; wonton soup, egg rolls and sesame chicken. the chicken was okay, it was very spicy to be sesame. the egg rolls are awful, they were filled with burnt grease. I was really disappointed in the wonton soup because it was just wanton wrappers no meat and it seemed like the broth was just water. will not go back to this place.
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Jonathan Figliola
Best Black Pepper Shrimp Ever! I used to go here with my Father and friends when I was younger. The food is as good as or better than when I was a kid. The egg rolls are oversized and delicious, and the pan fried dumplings are on point. The Owner and her sister are awesome they make sure that everyones visit is one to remember.
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Kevin Bragdon
Had the Spicy Shrimp. The bamboo shoots in the dish were tough, so didnt eat them. However the shrimp itself, as well as the spicy garlic sauce, was superb. Steamed rice was just okay. Both the Wonton soup and the Egg Rolls were excellent. Somewhat pricey at dinner, since everything is a la carte. Service was outstanding.
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Diane McKinney Pilcher
My whole family has been eating here for years. Food is always great, service is great and the owner is hands down one of the loveliest people. Not near my house anymore, but we still make the drive. Mandarin noodle soup is one of my favorites. Garlic chicken and chicken chop suey are my go to meals. Huge portions.
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george
Had a delivery order as I have several times before. The 2 orders of egg rolls were cold and mushy. The 2 entrees were just okay. I asked for EXTRA mustard and instead got NO mustard nor sweet and sour sauce or fortune cookies that are usually included. Not sure what is going on but seems to be going downhill.
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Nicole Williams
Not much to look at but the food was very good. Large portions so we ordered a little more than we needed but wound up eating almost everything because it was so tasty! I ordered the Garlic Chicken with veggies instead of rice which they graciously substituted without fuss. I would go there again.
