Simon's Chinese Cuisine

Walking into Simon’s Chinese Cuisine for the first time, I expected the usual strip-mall takeout vibe. What I didn’t expect was how much care went into everything from the tea to the sauces. The restaurant sits at 3975 Old Milton Pkwy Ste 1, Alpharetta, GA 30005, United States, tucked near busy shopping plazas, yet it feels like a neighborhood staple rather than just another stop on the way home from work.

I’ve eaten Chinese food professionally for over a decade while helping food blogs test new menus across metro Atlanta, and this place immediately stood out. On my last visit, I ordered the house special fried rice, mapo tofu, and beef with broccoli. The fried rice arrived fluffy, not greasy, with evenly diced vegetables and properly seared bits of pork-something many kitchens rush. The tofu had that gentle numbing heat that food scientist Harold McGee has written about when discussing Sichuan peppercorn chemistry, where hydroxy-alpha-sanshool triggers sensory tingling rather than burning heat. That effect was present here without overpowering the dish.

A lot of diners rely on online reviews before choosing a restaurant, and that makes sense. According to BrightLocal’s 2024 consumer trust study, over 87 percent of people read local restaurant reviews before deciding where to eat. Scanning feedback from Alpharetta residents, one phrase kept popping up in bold: authentic flavors. Another recurring compliment was consistent quality, which is rare in casual dining. Consistency is usually the mark of a kitchen that has standardized its prep methods, from marinating proteins overnight to prepping sauces in small daily batches rather than buying them pre-mixed.

I chatted briefly with a staff member who explained how they blanch vegetables before stir-frying, a method widely recommended by the Culinary Institute of America because it preserves color while keeping texture crisp. That small detail explains why the snow peas on my plate still snapped instead of sagging into the sauce. Real process, real results.

The menu itself covers a wide range, from Cantonese comfort dishes to spicier regional plates. You’ll see staples like sweet and sour chicken, lo mein, dumplings, and hot and sour soup, but also lesser-known options that reward curious diners. I once watched a family order three different noodle dishes just to compare textures, turning dinner into a friendly case study in how wheat-based noodles behave differently depending on hydration and cooking time. They left glowing reviews on their phones before even paying the bill.

Location matters too. Being right off Old Milton Parkway puts this spot within easy reach of Avalon shoppers and tech offices nearby. It’s not unusual to see coworkers grabbing a quick lunch, then parents rolling in later with kids still in soccer uniforms. That mix tells you the restaurant has become part of daily life here, not just a special-occasion place.

Food safety and transparency are always on my radar, especially when recommending eateries. The Georgia Department of Public Health publishes inspection data, and while no restaurant is perfect, this location has maintained strong compliance in recent reports, which supports the trust locals place in it. Of course, public records don’t tell you everything, and I haven’t personally audited their entire kitchen workflow, so there’s always a small information gap-but from both paperwork and personal experience, standards appear solid.

What really keeps me coming back is how the flavors evolve. One month the chili oil leans smoky, the next it’s brighter and more citrus-forward. That kind of variation suggests a kitchen adjusting spices based on seasonal ingredients rather than following a frozen formula. It mirrors findings from the American Culinary Federation, which emphasizes that adaptive seasoning is key to maintaining flavor integrity across different supply batches.

Whether you’re browsing menus online, reading Alpharetta restaurant reviews, or just trying to decide where to eat tonight, this place offers a dependable, flavorful option that goes beyond the basics. I’ve recommended it to friends who normally avoid Chinese food because they associate it with heavy sauces, and every one of them has circled back with the same message in bold: I didn’t know Chinese food could taste this clean.