Chinatown Restaurant
3407 Greystone Dr, Austin, TX, 78731
Chinatown Restaurant Menu
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Appetizers
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Soups
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Shrimp
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Noodles
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Rice
Healthy Meal suggestions for Chinatown Restaurant
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Appetizers
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Soups
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Shrimp
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Noodles
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Rice
Visit below restaurant in Austin for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Austin for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
3407 Greystone Dr
Austin, TX, 78731 - Phone (512) 343-9307
- Website https://www.chinatown-mopac.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 10
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : Yes
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : No
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Classy
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Chinese Cuisine
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
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John N.
Can this place be better? Of course. Its not perfect, but g' dang this is the best Dim Sum place I've ever been to! Now now, not to over-hype this place, I only eat Dim Sum once every 2-3 months or so. Its safe to say the place is well decorated and the restaurant actually pretty clean. Its refreshing to experience good service from a dim sum place. The Dim Sum gets rolled around to your table in carts with the food steaming fresh. Shrimp dumplings - standard, nothing special but done right. Fried shrimp ball - my favorite dim sum item Sticky Rice - Really good, but smaller proportion than one would like. Bacon wrapped Prawn - The Honey Sauce went really well with it. (picture uploaded) Egg custard - standard, nothing special but done right. Mango dessert - The outside part has an interesting texture with a nice hit of coconut. The inside has slices of mango. Overall it was a great experience, but I would rather trying other deserts. (picture uploaded). All in all, the food is either standard to pretty good with good service and a nice atmosphere. Bonapetite!
(5)Sarah M.
Tonight is my grandfather's 89th birthday. We made a 7:00 reservation at China Town three weeks ago to celebrate. When we got to the restaurant, the waiting area was packed. Groups with reservations had been waiting for over an hour. They told us it would be an hour for us as well, even with a reservation. The restaurant had lots of empty tables, but apparently not enough staff to use them. The food here isn't anything special anyways, I've eaten here many times. Treating my grandfather like this on his birthday was completely unacceptable. My family and I will not be going back here again, and I will advise anyone else I know not to go either.
(1)Keri B.
We had a dinner date with some friends this past weekend and the onus was on me to pick the restaurant, Yelp Queen that I am, apparently. This is not an easy task with the strict diet my hubby is on right now, but I thought he could eat some sashimi. And this place looked sexy enough for my friends as well (and when I say "this place" what I meant was Musashino, which is what I suggested and where I thought we were going, but my grrl sidetracked us to Chinatown). My girlfriend happily boasted many a girls nite out here and was excited to go back. However, when we got there, she immediately led us upstairs where there was a crowd that would make a Brazilian soccer match look tame. Luckily, being a loyal customer (esp a hot loyal customer in a looooow cut top) paid off, and my friend's usual waiter, Jimmy, spotted her (ok, everybody spotted her...ahhhooooga!) and immediately took us back, threading thru the hostile crowd, to a "reserved" table by the back door. Just like the rock stars that we are (I wonder who that table was initially reserved for?). It was a little chilly back there with the door opening and closing but again, that worked in our favor as my friend had chosen to go braless. I mean, a LOT can be said for the ambiance that nite :) As soon as we sat down, we all ordered miso soup while we perused the hefty menu. Jimmy was the perfect waiter, making apps recommendations that were spot on. He brought out some escolar that was in a spicy, vinegary ponzu sauce which made my toes curl. Then he brought out a piece of sea bass cooked in a sweet miso sauce. Amazing! One thing I learned on Yelp was to order the hamachi kama which is the neck meat ("collar") of yellowfin tuna. As soon as I put that in my mouth a look came over me that concerned my friends. It was soo good, it just melted in my mouth and made me speechless for a few minutes. That's what concerned my friends but they were soon to learn that the eyes rolling back and gurgling noises was not me dying....or rather it was me having a "little death" :) After that we ordered an assortment of rolls, and I wish I could tell you which ones we had but I can't find sushi on the Chinatown menu. I do remember the biggest being the Mexicano that my grrl and I made a show of, getting those huge pieces in our mouths. Lemme just reiterate how confusing this whole Chinatown/Musashino thing is. Our menus said Chinatown and my grrrl swears we were in Chinatown, but some of the sushi rolls on those menus are the same as Musashinos. And if you look at Chinatowns menu, there's no sushi at all, just traditional Chinese food that we didn't even eat. I even asked Jimmy if they were affiliated and he said no. Believe me, I have copied and pasted this review between the two businesses several times, but in the end I gotta believe my grrrl is right. She's not only sexy but verrrry smart :) But, whoever they are they did us and our sushi right and I can't wait to go back!
(4)Isabelle K.
I've reviewed this restaurant before. Where did that go? Someone deleted all reviews? Recently they launched dim sum for Sat and Sun lunch. So I took my mom for a try. It's not a typical dim sum you will have in other Chinese restaurant. They did some creative invent, like sugar cane shrimp, coffee glazed baby back ribs, honeydew jelly drink, Avocado crab ball, etc. They all look so good, you definitely will over-ordered. I like their Peking duck although it's not authentic. I'm from Beijing. We don't eat duck in a bread, but a wrap. My mom likes their Satay Chicken most. She doesn't understand why they used black napkins because no Chinese restaurants use black napkins. But I like it. One of their red bean dessert has mouse shape. Very cute. I will bring my son for it next time. The bill is almost double of other regular Dim Sum places. You pay for the creativeness too. Btw, at lunch time, Chinatown is totally packed and the first floor restaurant Musashino has nobody.
(4)Christine T.
Dim sum with a fusion touch. Chinatown offers an array of fusion dim sum to give a twist to the usual flare. The dishes were hot and the food was savory.
(4)Crystal L.
This is the best, by far, Chinese food I have ever, ever had. I love their crab puffs, their egg rolls, all of their fried rice, kung pao chicken, chef's special beef, dumplings. That's just for dinner... try their fried shrimp balls, or shrimp dumplings for dim sum- UNBELIEVABLE. AND their sushi is fantastic as well. So many people come to Musashinos downstairs and dont even know what Chinatown is, or what their sushi tastes like. It's soooo funny because Chinatown is excellent. Its not the kinda of food where you get full and then realize you were just hungry. No no, its the kind of food that you can't stop eating because it is so great. If you haven't tried it, it's your loss.
(5)Debra M.
Had lunch here for the first time yesterday. Food was really good and I think the egg rolls were awesome ( I love egg rolls). They have a Sushi menu as well. Staff was really nice, I will be going back soon.
(4)C M.
I want to love it. It is close to my house and I love Chinese and sushi. The service and the attentiveness of the owner leave much to be desired. Let's just say we had a very bad experience with a misplaced hair and the owner's response made us feel like we were the ones to blame. The food is OK but we are taking our business elsewhere. I find the dim sum to be lacking and would recommend avoiding Sunday brunch if at all possible.
(2)Elise K.
This is probably the best dim sum in town and that's saying a whole lot. This is authentic and the variety is tremendous. I usually go for shrimp shu mai and baby spring bokchoy in garlic along with chicken feet and spare ribs. The dim sum is served on weekends just like in Chinatown's across America so make your reservation early. I've gone on several other occasions for dinner and was never disappointed. Still I prefer the dim sum which is their speciality hands down.
(4)Pamela R.
I was here just after the lunch hour so I ordered off the regular menu. I was craving sushi and thought "what the heck". I had no expectations really. I actually wanted sashimi, not sushi, although the sushi roll descriptions sounded really good....but they had a sashimi app with baby yellowtail!!! My favorite! I proceeded to order the baby hamachi along with an order of the Tuna tataki and a seaweed salad. The baby hamachi did not disappoint! It was so fresh and delicious! The tiny jalapeños really added to the preparation. It was a 4.5 stars. The tuna tataki was disappointing. The tuna was good and fresh but it did not appear to have been seared at all. It was covered in a mayo sauce. I should say drowned in a bland, tasteless, heavy mayo sauce. Ugh!! I could barely scrape enough of it off to eat it. It was a 2 star dish at best and that's just because the tuna was fresh. The seaweed salad was very generic and totally overpriced at $7! I expected something better or a new take for that price. It was a nice atmosphere and good service. I do want to return to try the dim sum. Hopefully soon. Overall, I give it 3.5 stars.
(3)Mandy E.
Depending on when you go - for Dim sum lunch vs. Chinese food dinner - the experience is quite different. This 5 star review is for the great dim sum they serve. It's difficult to find dim sum here in Austin, and they do it right. It's very traditional and delicious. They have a huge variety to choose from and constant carts coming through the restaurant. Yes, it can be a little hectic and crowded with the carts - but that's exactly what I expect, and like to experience, when I get dim sum. The whole experience lends itself to a family style meal - a social gathering of all to enjoy great food... and after all, thats what it's all about.
(5)Lindsay S.
Not sure why this place has horrible reviews. My family has been coming here for a long time, and I have never been disappointed. I love coming for Dim sum. While it is more expensive than the average dim sum place, the food is always delicious and creative. Plus if you ask for anything they will find it for you and bring it back. Some of my favorites are the BBQ pork buns, the walnut shrimp, and really anything shrimp related. For their actual food, I LOVE the sizzling beef. It is AMAZING.
(4)Jeff P.
Used to eat here for years but the quality and taste of the food has literally taken a deep dive in the last 2 years. Now it's hard to distinguish this place from your standard "buffet palace MSG laden greasy" fare. Ouch. Ho Ho off Palmer is way better (although the service is horrible - menus in Chinese and wait staff don't speak a lick of English)
(1)Jessica S.
This place is far and away my favorite brunch spot in Austin. The dim sum here is ridiculous. It is gourmet, delicious, fast and the service here is impeccable. I love this place. I can't say enough about it.
(5)Noelle W.
It's insanely easy to overeat here. Once you start, you can't stop.
(5)exploring f.
Went there for dinner, didnt have any expectations as we hadnt heard about the place before. We actually ended up liking the place. There werent many people when we went so it was kind of quite, the ambience was nice and the food wasn't bad. Service was okay.
(3)Heavy D.
chinatown is awesome. this is my favorite chinese restaurant in town (used to be a tight race with tien hong) - the quality and freshness is well above average and extremely consistent. the pan-fried dumplings are made to order and as good as you'll get outside of a taiwanese family's kitchen. other big favorites in our house are: general tso's chicken - spicy and tangy. i always go for extra spicy! chef's special beef - they use orange zest!!!! it's a party in your mouth... jalapeno chicken - big chunks of chicken and big chunks of jalapeno in a savory brown sauce. chicken fried rice or lo mein are always cooked to perfection. oh, the soups! the hot and sour is maybe the best in austin...you'll have to hit up h-town to find better. and the wonton soup is very elegant....sometimes my mom just pops in and grabs a container to go. they also have great, fresh sushi (musashino is located below in a sort of split-level setup) and wonderful weekend dim sum! i found the servers to be extremely friendly and helpful during dim sum service (had my first fried chicken feet there at the encouragement of the servers). the dining room is nice and very spacious and the bar can be downright happening on the weekends! in short - i can't think of a single good reason that you shouldn't eat at chinatown several times each week --- i often do!!
(4)Avalon D.
So many good things! And they even have take out! I love being there and getting to see all of the different foods and picking out what I want from the cart! The sesame balls are amazing!!!
(5)David J.
Always good food and service. waiters are the nicest and always keep your drink full... excellent egg drop soup and egg rolls...
(5)Connie W.
Hands down, Chinatown offers the best dim sum in Austin as far as taste goes. My party went on a Sunday afternoon, and despite the long wait that I had read about, we were seated in about fifteen minutes. The dining area is very cramped, and the situation is exaggerated by the flow of push carts and waiters carrying platters of food. Luckily we were seated off to the side but right next to the kitchen. Immediately as we sat down, servers would come by and offer freshly-cooked dishes. After only ten minutes of sitting down, me and my guest had about four or five plates on our table. The food here is phenomenal. While some dishes were evidently fusion food and not traditional, it was refreshing to see some new innovation to dim sum. My guest and I could not stop raving about how wonderfully flavored each dish was. My favorites included the dumplings (finished tableside), turnip cakes, and sticky rice. We also indulged in their delicious desserts. The coconut pudding and lychee pudding were simply amazing. To me, dim sum has always meant eating a various amount of small-portioned dishes for cheap. Chinatown Restaurant doesn't fit this description as far as their price. The medium dishes, which were the majority of our selections, were $4-5 per plate. Several of our selections were also considered large and therefore in the range of $7-10 per plate. While the prices don't completely deter me from coming back, just be aware that you'll be paying significantly more for dim sum here than at other restaurants.
(5)dave a.
Chinatown has the most amazing Dim Sum in Austin and beyond. I frequently travel to the Bay Area and checked out plenty of places in San Fran's China-town district. Ronald and the gang at Chinatown have it down great service, great presentation, very reasonable prices, it's all you could expect and want -- oh, did I mention the sushi down-stairs and upstairs? Superb - yet I dont get the Sushi/Chinese connection!
(5)dale B.
This restaurant is chinese restaurant and should have nothing to do with Sushi. The owner figured he can sell chinese, Kobob, Sushi, and Thai food. The food is terrible and the Sushi is worse than what you can buy from some grocery stores. The atmosphere is dark and dirty and it stinks. the waitress added her tip automatically to the receipt eventhough we were only party of five and she was a terrible waitress. They charged one of my friends $17 for a Crown Royal. Go at your own risk.
(1)Jim L.
The next time I go to Chinatown, I am bringing my own mah jongg set. I feel like I have been going there so much that it's my new living room. Some new dim sum included the fried shrimp "cevice," which donned five large prawns and some yummy, spicy salsas. Another fave of the day was the steamed shrimp dumpling.. very nice.
(5)Miki M.
It is time to rate my Dim Sum experience at Chinatown. In my previous life, before I moved to Austin, I always rushed out of bed really early in the morning, and tried to arrive at the restaurant by 10am, or else there was always more than 1 hour wait to get seated. It's like that in LA, SF and any other large US city with serious authentic Dim Sum choices. But when I called Chinatown to reserve a table for 4 + 2 kids for 10:30AM, they told me they will open at 11:00AM. I was gonna fall off my chair. So relaxed. Isn't it a little late to open for Dim Sum at 11? Oh, ok- yes of course, we are indeed in Austin. Shouldn't forget this small detail. Anyway, let's forget the odd working hours and move on to the essence. 1) Ambience: this is a nicely decorated Chinese restaurant... Downstairs is, as most of you know already, the Musashino Sushi Dokoro Japanese restaurant. For some reason, I didn't really appreciate such a close proximity of the sushi & dim-sum restaurants. I guess they are owned by the same dude? Anyway, as experienced Dim Sum eaters, we felt this restaurant caters a lot to Caucasian taste. But then, we did see many Asians and some African Americans. I'd say there were maybe more Asians than Caucasians, which was a good sign. You don't wanna go to a Dim Sum restaurant where 95% of the clients are white, trust me... 2) Food: generally speaking, the service was kind and fast, and the dim sum dishes are good. I'd use the word "pretty decent". It was my first visit and so I had lowered my expectations... but even so, none of the dishes really stood out or impressed us. Come on! At least 1 or 2 dishes should have been pretty good, memorable. I have hard time remembering which dish was our favorite- there simply wasn't one... That's why this will not be our choice for Dim Sum in the future... I'm not saying I'll never come back again- I'm just saying it does not make me wanna visit every weekend. Some comments: - We liked the duck (can be seen on the uploaded Yelp pic) and the Seabass appetizer. The Taro Balls were pretty good too. - We really wanted steamed dumplings. But for the first almost 30 minutes after we sat, they were constantly bringing a lot of cooked / fried stuff. We did order a few of those, but come on. After asking at least 10 times for the steamed cart, we saw it slowly making its way from the other side of the restaurant. Another 10 minutes later, we finally got to talk to the steam cart dude. - We ordered several dim sum dishes that ordinarily we prefer to be sliced in 2 parts with scissors. This is something very normal to ask at most dim sum restaurants in the world. You say "can you cut my shrimp noodle" or "can you split my taro balls" or "cut the baby bok choy for us, thanks" and the cart pusher takes out a scissors and cuts it for you. Here, I asked the server to split it in 2... they looked at me as if I am an idiot that fell of the sky or something. I asked several times, they could not understand what the heck I'm asking. They called other servers... The manager... Then, finally they brought me a really dull (and cloudy) knife and said "there, you can cut it". I got really upset! If you are a frequent eater of Dim Sum, I am sure you understand what I'm saying about splitting up noodles with scissors- it is the way they always do it for you! So how come these people have no idea? Well, they are simply NOT AUTHENTIC. - So, like I said, there were too many fried choices, took too long to get the steamed dumplings cart, and let me add one more impression: SUPER expensive tea price. $10 bucks for a Chinese Tea? You have got to be kidding me. It's not right- sorry. I would be OK if you charge me 2-3 bucks, since the restaurant looks "high-end" fine. But $10 is kind of sour, I don't like it. Rip off. Conclusion. As I suggested above, overall, the servers are all very polite and nice. The atmosphere is "beautifully decorated" with a Chinese theme, but definitely meant to appeal to a western taste. I guess it is supposed to be a sort of PF-Chang's feel. But to me, the definition of a "good" dim sum is often just a modest hole-in-the-wall type of place that has outstanding food. That is where most Chinese people would go, I am convinced. I've been to Dim sum places that were dirty, loud, noisy, stinky, really busy with human traffic, really chaotic. But I couldn't wait to visit again...
(2)Vincent N.
Best sweet and sour chicken I've had in my entire life.
(4)melinda w.
Had dim sum for the first time here, super good. From the looks of the inside I was afraid it would be super expensive but the prices are really good for dim sum!
(5)Peter J.
I wish that I could like this place b/c the dim sum here is very good. However this place is so deeply flawed that I even good food cannot save it. Put simply the ownership/business model and the clientele at Chinatown suck so bad that ruins the food. I ate here several time upon recently returning to Austin from the Bay Area. Even coming directly from SF I felt that this place was on the pricey side (they really gouge you for tea). So some of my turn offs: The owners of this place both have expensive Mercedes convertibles and have the habit of conspicuously driving them around the parking lot, parking them in best parking spots in front of the restaurant and leaning on them while loudly talking on there cell phones. While working the room, one of the owners went on at length about how they went out of there way to create a special atmosphere and experience. We commented that the service was very attentive, this led a very weird comment where the owner stated that the service was so good b/c he goes in the back to "cane the boys" to keep them in line. Just a joke, but very creepy. The menu is overly complicated and focused on showy high priced dim sum, salt and pepper shrimp in a martini glass, pork ribs in a coffee mug (really in a coffee mug). While waiting for numerous carts of $10 -$15 per item dishes to go buy so that we could get our shu mei and har gao, one of the waiters cluelesly asked us if we where there for dim sum. All this song and dance appears to be put on for the sake of an overly white, overly pretentious, condo / North Austin aging yuppie clientele. Based on how these people where dressed, what they ordered and how they acted they cared at lot more about being seen "in the right place" spending a lot of money than they did about the food. I am serious, these people where stuffy overly dressed or loud "look at me" rude assholes constantly checking their iphones and talking about who they knew. Upscale food in Austin has always suffered from the fragile egos of Austin's elite and this is perfect example of how great food is utterly ruined when the owner decides that pampering these egos his primary responsibility. I am not opposed to expensive food or fancy restaurants but the food needs to come 1st.
(1)Mike A.
Let me start off and say that the food is awesome. I've been a dozen or so times and have never been disappointed. It's the service that guarantees that I will never go back. The last 3 or 4 times I've gone, my group is pretty much ignored by the waitstaff. (It not just us, everyone in the section looked very unhappy.) The waitstaff is very slow to get your drinks (5 to 10 minutes after you've been seated), very slow to provide refills, and it took almost 15 minutes to get us our check after we indicated that we where done. I would write this off to an isolated incident if this hadn't happened the last three times I've gone. Sorry guys, but this is probably the last time I dine here.
(2)Jarod N.
Okay, so we went to Dim Sum there this weekend and I have to say it may be the best Dim Sum in Austin. The selection is pretty diverse with some extravagant options (fried jalapenos, espresso glazed short ribs) and they also warm the pot stickers and taro cake at your table on a metal cart. The steamed dumplings come in a few varieties and are good, the BBQ pork buns are excellent, and the dessert selection is more extensive than most Dim Sum restaurants in Austin. Highly Recommended.
(5)lauren F.
My husband and I went to enjoy some Dim Sum at Chinatown this Sunday at around noon. We haven't enjoyed any Dim Sum since Marco Polo which is now closed. Anywhoo, we really loved the Peking duck in the steamed bun, personally I could have eaten all of them on the cart. YUM... I thought some of the dishes were just the same thing showcased in different ways, kinda a bummer if you ask me.... I like how they have carts with a flat top skillet to pan fry the dumplings at your table. The ambiance is really nice, the Dim Sum carts are cute (they are red with hearts). Service was great (obviously, they push the food and mimosas right up to your table)! For dessert I had a cute little sweet mouse filled with red bean paste(no mice were hurt in the making of the dessert)
(4)Diana D.
Excellent dim sum but can get really expensive. Don't go any other time outside of dim sum. We went once when they weren't serving dim sum and ordered off the menu, they made everything weird, trying to make it "fusion" or something and it just didn't taste good and was expensive to boot!
(3)Jason L.
This place is fantastic! I've had their sushi (which was delicious) and their dim sum. I was most impressed by dim sum. It's definitely not traditional at all but a gourmet take. Overall - delicious and I will definitely be back. Several times.
(5)R. D.
Really disappointed in this place. The food was very average...I literally could have gone to any other Chinese restaurant in Austin and gotten similar quality...for half the price. Also, the interior is odd. Lots of cheap, elaborate decoration, not too much style. It was very dim inside when I was there and, although I can't verify this, it felt like the dimness was a way to cover up the dingyness.
(2)David D.
We ordered the dinner for two that included soup, appetizer plate and entrees. Appetizers were typical, but good. Both entrees were very disappointing, tough and bland.
(2)Dario S.
So this place does dim sum which is halfway decent but a little too pricey I prefer shanghai instead. They dont have enough carts going around in my opinion and the dining room is not well planned out for such a service. The sushi is good pretty much tastes like the sushi from downstairs at musashino. Sometimes going there for sushi will get you it alot faster than downstairs and is just as good. The chinese food has never been bad just too overpriced for my wallet. It never seems to be that busy mostly a big crowd waiting at there bar for musashino.
(4)m f.
If u know what real chinese food is supposed to taste like, u wld not eat at the Chinatown on W 5th street. We ate there this wknd; it was awful! Rubbery, greasy, heavily Americanized something. We ordered 4 different dishes (meats & sauces). Surprise - all the sauces had a similar, salty taste! And then ... the waiter simply wrapped our mostly uneaten food - with no regard to who ate what dish by dumping the four leftovers into two styrefoam containers. I dnt know about the other two locations. But for $15 per entree, this was ridiculous cuisine!
(1)Heather L.
The only dim sum in Austin worth eating, but you do have to pay a premium for it.
(4)Justin C.
I've been here a couple of times for lunch/dinner. Mediocre at best. But the dim sum is very good. There are both standard dim sum dishes and specialty dishes like Beijing duck, sea bass, shrimp in spicy mayonaise on avocado. All the dim sum is very good, each item distinct, not greasy like some places. The prices are the highest I have ever seen for dim sum. The last time we went was strange- there were many fewer customers (Saturday afternoon) than usual, with fewer carts. Is business falling off?
(3)David N.
So I recently ate dim sum at a place where I had to order dishes instead of the carts and then I remembered this place. Yes they have the carts but they also have Speciality dishes they they carry around on plates and you can order specific dishes here too. This was by far the best dim sum I had in Austin. But when the bill came out I was shocked. This place is EXPENSIVE!!! If it wasn't for the price I'd give this place 5 stars. This place awesome offered the dumplings you eat with the spoon, don't know the name but only other place I found these were in New York so I was very impressed.
(4)Arlyn D.
Don't come here rude server. I have called because we got over charged on our menu but instead of apologizing the server was so mad that he over charge our meal. On their menu they have imperial dinner that says for two or more person so me and my husband were suppose to just share with the meal the server told us that we can choose to from the entree, so that's what we did. When I called the server said that you cannot order one imperial so I told hold that doesnt make sense if I cannot order just one emperial why whould the 19.99 on the menu he said that the imperial was 19.99 per person for two or more..say what...that's is so dumb we got charged two imperial but he only serve 2 soup and 1 pupu tray and the 2 entree which we were told he said that since we get two entree we get charged for 2imperial and I was like that's not right because if we get charge 2imperial we should have gotten 2 servings of each soup, pupu tray and the entree I told him that the only 2servings we got was the entree but Fred the server was so upset that were complaining and doesnt want to admit that he made a mistake..do not come here rude server and will not resolve problem if you encounter one. they loose my business, friends and family that I know of I will tell them how stinky this restaurant is.
(1)Zach A.
A great place to go eat sushi or chinese food. Ask to be seated in the bar if you don't mind a louder, more festive atmosphere. The sushi is top notch and as good or better than what you get downstairs @ Musashino. If you like sushi try the Shrumy roll & Mamma Mia rolls.
(5)Daren C.
I went to Chinatown a couple of weeks ago with my girlfriend. I heard about it first in some Austin dining magazine a few weeks where I read it was opened in the 80s by a hardworking UT grad and has not changed management since. It was not too hard to find off the Mopac service road, and beautifully designed from the exterior. We were a little confused as when we came in through the downstairs level on the street, we saw there was an empty bar with several thrown around chairs, not a worker or patron in sight, and finally a sign that said "CLOSED." This was, again, a little confusing, but not off-putting enough to make us vacate the premises (as we later learned, during certain days and times during the week there is some nameless ground floor bar operating somewhat separate from Chinatown). We then went upstairs and found a table. Initially the hostess seemed to want us to sit in the loud crowded upstairs bar area, but quickly accommodated us when we asked to sit in the quiet, more spread out area to the left. We came on a Wednesday, and there were several people there, but at the time around 7 or 8PM, it really didn't seem overly busy or what I would call "packed." At the same time, it didn't seem like a ghost town, which was nice. Actually, I'm glad there were some people there, as the intense, austere, yet beautifully-designed wood paneling of the dining room might seem otherwise a bit menacing. We started with an order of the Ozzy rolls, classified as being part of the "USA" sushi. It was delightful, and consisted of a mix of eel, avocado, shrimp, and cucumber with fish roe. It was decently priced as good sushi tends to be at near $10. We also shared the Sizzling Honey Pepper Steak for $15.95 which the server suggested best among the beef dishes. It was very good, and tasted much like it sounds --- sweet, yet with that familiar peppery taste. I liked how it was served much like fajitas on a sizzling platter so you know it is as hot and fresh as could be. It was the perfect amount of food (didn't get too full, didn't leave famished), and well priced. I can't wait to go back and explore some of their more exotic dishes, such as their duck Chef Specialties. I think these dishes are the key to separating Chinatown from Austin's other fine Asian restaurants --- that and their stellar service. I also have no idea what Dim Sum is, and can't wait to possibly let Chinatown initiate this to me.
(4)Henry W.
As Palin doesn't give out very many smart quotes, I don't give out many 5 stars.. The dim sum at Chinatown really surprised me .. in a good way obviously. I've had some of the best best dim sum in the world in Vancouver, SF, and Taiwan so I'll toot my horn and say my experience/palate shouldn't be taken lightly here. Now the dim sum doesn't compare to any of those places, but its definitely the best dim sum I've ever had in Austin and daresay Houston. The selection here is tremendous.. its quite reminiscent of the vast array of choices you are assaulted with in the three cities mentioned previously. There were things I had never seen before.. places like this really deserve appreciation. Instead of going with the status quo and serving up what everyone else does, they create a whole plethora of new dishes that no one else has. Adding to that, everything was fresh and hot.. too many times have I gone to a dim sum place in Houston only to have cold, made an hour ago dishes. Everything, and I mean everything, was hot.. and you could really taste the freshness of each dish. Combined with Obama's victory I'm on cloud nine with this dim sum discovery!
(3)Lucy L.
Dim Sum here is great! The coffee ribs sounded good so I had to try them, but I really could live without them. Everything else was delicious, and if they had 1/2 price dim sum days I would go there every weekend!
(4)Colleen W.
Best Dim Sum in town. I think the more traditional offerings are actually better than some of their specialty offerings (and cheaper). Although there can be a long wait, it's definitely worth it. The food is delicious. It's pretty tight quarters, but again worth it for the food.
(5)Amber T.
I just can't find anything wrong with Chinatown. So, here's 5 stars! I have been to this location several times, as well as the one in Westlake. This one is a little fancier. Also, something about it being 2 stories makes it seem more "big city" and I like that. The menu is enormous! Like, 8 pages or something crazy. It was a bit confusing but I know what I like (spicy bean curd with vegetables) so it wasn't too hard. I don't know a whole lot about any asian cuisine, as a matter of fact I have never had "dim sum" and am a little too intimidated to try it, but I love their chinese food! My favorite dish is SUPER spicy so they always have to keep the water comin', and they do a great job. My favorite guy there, "Fred", is so great, fast, and funny. They have a large, impressive wine selection and can accomodate large parties if you need. I would definitely recommend it- even for those who aren't very hip to the asian food scene, like me.
(5)Nancy L.
Love this place. Im from Houston, Texas, and went to Austin for ACL. The one type of food I made sure I had to have before I left was dimsum, and only bc I haven't had it in ages, and simply bc Im Chinese. haha.. I was hyped up about this place thru a friend, and so I already had high expectations. First impression when i walked in was the ancient antique decor which I truly loved. I liked that the minute I sat down, food was coming from all directions, and everything was delicious!!! Food was fresh, quality of food was superb. We had their coffee-glazed ribs that made an impression on me, shrimp wontons were great, and also the pan-fried turnip cake, xiumai, chinese salt peppered battered shrimps, jalapeno blackbeaned pork ribs, and just a few other items which made the experience worthwhile. I could honestly say it lived up to it's hype. Everything else I had was just about typically what I would order when I go to any other dim sum joint, but what makes this place different was the consistency in freshness and quality. Price was ok, 100 dollars including gratuity between 5 hungry people. Only reason I gave it a 4star instead of 5star is bc of the service. It wasn't horrible, but it did lack. I like my siracha, chili oil, and mustard when I have dimsum, but halfway thru eating was when we received it. I dont like asking for passing by waiters for refills either, or hunting down waiters for a togo containers. I give them credit for not being rude, just need to be a little more attentive, since I'm a 20 percentile tipper. I dont expect a foot rub for the tip, but if my glass is empty.... please ask for a refill.. All in all, I'm looking forward to the next visit to Austin just to come here.
(4)Sherry B.
just had special orange beef and general tso's chicken delivered via eat out in and it was terrible!! not what i expected at all. my husband and i just threw out $50 worth of chinese food and are calling snow pea our trusted favorite...
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