My experience was not an enjoyable one at all. A co-worker and myself visited the Green Tea Chinese Bistro for the first and last time on 6/20/06. I have never in my life heard that it was "company policy" to not allow a paying customer to substitute one menu item for another. We would have been willing to pay an additional amount if necessary, but the Manager and his wait staff refused to allow us to order lo mein with our General Tso rather than the rice that it usually comes with. "Company Policy?" That's simply nonsense. We won't be returning, and will be sure to pass our experience on to our family and friends.    [22 Jun 2006 13:03:51]

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     ­Beth   

Above average...
My coworkers and I find that, although this restaurant doesn't match what you'd find in New York's Chinatown, it is a cut above all the Chinese joints in the area.    [28 Jun 2006 11:30:00]

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     ­Ron   

Beth is incorrect...
Before I begin my personal review of the restaurant, I would like to add my two cents to "Beth's" comments. I just don't think its appropriate to substitute lo mein for rice. Its a completely different menu item. Why would this be the entire reason for never returning? I would never expect any Chinese restaurant to do this. It would be like going to McDonalds, ordering a "Number One" and asking for a double-cheeseburger instead of fries. Its just not done. Many restaurants have a blanket no substitution policy anyway, so perhaps, Beth, should just get out a little more.

Now, on to my review. I think it is far and away the best Chinese food I've had in Connecticut. The beef looks and tastes like beef, the chicken always tastes fresh, and the lo mein is to die for. Honestly, I think it is the best Chicken Lo Mein, Beef with Broccoli, and General Tso's I have ever had. (and I have certainly had my fair share of Chinese food.)    [11 Aug 2006 18:12:26]

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Recommended Dishes: general tso's, chicken lo mein, beef with broccoli

     ­David   

I agree with David...
I am a vegetarian and my husband is not. Green Tea offers a huge selection of bean curd and veggie dishes along with enough meat to keep the hubby happy. I have never had General Tso's chicken but thanks to Green Tea I have had General Tso's bean curd and it is to die for!!! Plus how many other Chinese food resturants do you know offer brown rice instead of the reg white or fried rice?    [22 Aug 2006 17:35:24]

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Recommended Dishes: General Tso's bean curd, crab rangoon

     ­Lisa   

Awesome Chinese food
I think that the environment and the food were both superb. It's unlike any other Chinese restaurant I've ever been to...it kind of has a Chili's...TGI Fridays feeling....but it's Chinese.

I love it.

And would recommend it to anyone.    [13 Oct 2006 14:04:47]

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     ­Lindsay Reed   

Great Food - Lousy Service
Consistently the best soups in the state, fresh ingredients & I visit often. However, I generally get take out. On my two most recent "dining in" experiences I was VERY disappointed with the service. On one occasion the waitress refilled my friend's soda 4 times and never told us that we would be charged for 4 sodas on the bill. Not only were the classes filled to the top with ice, but the glass was small as well. During my most recent visit, our service was very slow and they forgot to charge me for a mai tai...maybe they were trying to make up for charging me $7 for soda!!!    [01 Feb 2007 12:50:16]

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     ­Anonymous   

Great takeout food
Great fresh ingredients and consistently enjoyable. The rewards program is also a nice touch. This is the best Chinese food I've had in CT.    [16 Apr 2007 17:43:05]

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Recommended Dishes: beef with vegetables

     ­Anonymous   

We drive by the restaurant often and were thrilled to see a new banner on the restaurant “Authentic Dim Sum Sat and Sun 11-3”, so we went in for dim sum. Upon being seated in the mostly empty restaurant we were informed that they do not serve dim sum. Very confused we looked over the menu. We had some very ordinary Chinese American food, with decent service, and will not be going back.    [18 Jun 2007 10:26:37]

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     ­RobinC1, Chefmoz Editor   

Nice place
The food was great, however our waitress was pretty creepy. She whispered and you could barely hear her. Try the spring rolls they are great. The place is neat looking though.    [11 Jul 2007 15:07:28]

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Recommended Dishes: Spring Rolls

     ­Jon   

A new approach
My girlfriend and I visited this place last night, having driven by it many times. The new twist is that they are now the Green Tea and the Green Olive restaurant - a combination place where you can order from a Chinese menu, a Thai menu, and/or and Italian menu. Or you can do like we did and order from all three! We went there at about 9pm on Wednesday (the Green Tea closes at 10 weekdays, but the Green Olive Sports Bar part stays open later), and the place was empty save for one other patron. Perhaps this accounted for the very attentive service we received, but regardless the waitress was very nice and professional, filled water 3 times, answered our questions, and talked a bit about the recent change to the restaurant. She also took it upon herself, when she realized we were sharing food, to bring us extra plates to make it easier - thoughtful touch. The facility is very nice...not your typical Chinese place - more a modern feel. They have 2 kitchens running, one for the Italian food and the other for the Chinese and Thai. We were in a sampling mood so we shared a tomato and fresh basil soup with a garlic crostini blended in to it, the sweet potato fries with a maple glaze, the edamames, and chicken pad Thai noodles. Actually, we were wondering if they were going to be able to pull off the varied menu...can you get good food that is not Chinese in a Chinese-run restaurant. The answer is very much a big "YES". The soup was very good - flavor, consistency, etc. were all better than expected. We only wished for a bit more of the fresh basil garnish. The sweet potato fries were simply the best we have ever had (we eat them a lot) due to the fantastic sweet maple glaze they put on them. We ate them all, and it was a very generous plate! The edamame were delicious - fresh and a bit sweet as well. The pad Thai arrived and it was a bit of a different spin as well, with fresh tomato chunks, big pineapple pieces, and broccoli mixed in. I liked the dish as did my girlfriend. I thought the pineapple was a great touch, and I am usually not a fan of pad Thai noodles. My girlfriend eats this dish almost everywhere we go, and she did say it needed more peanut flavor. So while she liked it as a stand alone dish and would order it again, it didn't match up to what was in her mind when she read "pad Thai noodles" on the menu. The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time, and the only miss was that we needed to ask for the check because we were in a hurry to get to a movie at 10.

Our barometer for restaurants is twofold - did we like the feel of the place (including the service) and would we order our food again...the answer to both was "yes, for sure". The food was very good all around, the service was good, and it was a comfortable place. We can't wait to go back and try the varied menu again.    [27 Dec 2007 09:51:24]

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Recommended Dishes: Sweet potato fries

     ­Chris