Szechwan Garden
5055 W Ray Rd,Ste 1, Chandler, AZ, 85226
Szechwan Garden Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Chandler for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Chandler for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Chandler for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
5055 W Ray Rd,Ste 1
Chandler, AZ, 85226 - Phone (480) 718-5088
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
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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Brynn Y.
My go-to for authentic Chinese food. I get nervous about some places but this one I "trust."
(5)Nicole J.
Szechwan style is not for the light-hearted. It's spicy! However, for the amount of chilis you see in your entree, it's nowhere as hot as you are led to believe. I do appreciate that they don't go crazy with the whole peppercorns as many Szechwan restaurants do because I don't enjoy the numbing aftertaste. The prices are very reasonable, especially if you come for the lunch specials. For any person that remotely loves spicy and Chinese food, Szechwan Garden is a must. Fantastic Dishes: -Fish fillet with hot chili peppers -Shanghai style steamed dumplings -Hot pot with fish and beef
(4)James F.
This place is a pleasant surprise. I stopped in for an early dinner.The staff was very tentative. The food will surely surprise you. Fresh and extra large portions. Beef was tender. The pot stickers were the best. Oh, also tried the chicken ginger. Both entrees amazed me! I will continue going to this restaurant.
(4)Minnie H.
If you like spicy food this is the right place to go to. The lunch menu is an extremely good deal!! Cheap!! The only downside is that the food taste is not always consistent.
(4)Al H.
Very good. Service was friendly. It was nice to have a noodle bowl that was more unique than the usual fare. Would suggest English descriptions of all menu items for convenience.
(4)Gangan H.
I honestly would give negative stars if I could. I was trying to decide what I was gonna get and the waitress came and since I was undecided, she will come get our order later. She had the attitude and not friendly at all. And she never did. My bf had to walk up to the counter and ordered the food. And she was like: That's it? We were 2 so we ordered 2... And after we ate she didn't come back with check so we went up to pay. We ate $18 of food and I was trying to write the tip down. And she showed us how many tips we should give: 20% 25% Well I know we should appreciate the service but none was provided. But we still gave 10% tip. She said 'what the' and gave us the attitude... Seriously. She is sooooo RUDE!!!!! Horrible customer service!! Never going back and I recommend never going there again
(1)Donna K.
This service here was really slow & our waitress didn't speak much English. We had to repeat ourselves multiple times for her to understand us. I found this place on Yelp, of course. We had to go to the front to tell them we were ready to order after waiting about 15 mins after we sat down to order food. We order the Spicy shrimp in the hot pot, dumplings and beef and tofu hot pot. The shrimp wasn't bad, but it was a little dry. The beef was a bit soft and chewy, the tasted way better than the beef. Lastly the dumplings were juicy and tasty, I would recommend those. The food was horrible, but it wasn't great. I most likely will not come back here.
(2)Ana S.
The decor was interesting. I didn't like that they didn't have coffee, but it was really intimate and the price was reasonable, so I would recommend it for a change. The white rice was good.
(4)April S.
You know you are at an authentic Chinese restaurant when you see lots of signature dishes written in Chinese hanging on the wall and almost all customers are speaking in their native tongue. Service: The kitchen was super busy cooking food for customers who were dining in as well as keeping up with the to-go order. Servers were trying their best to serve food as quickly as they could, checked up on orders and super polite to all customers. All of them speak little to no English, but I admire their hard working ethnic and politeness. If you don't speak any Chinese, please be patience with them. Food: oh boy oh boy oh boy. I haven't had steamed dumpling and fried pork this good for a very long time. As soon as the dumpling came out of the kitchen, all 4 of us cleaned it in less than 5 minutes. The fried pork was so tender that the meat falls off as soon as you chew on it. The boiled fish was spicy as advertised, but unfortunately the fish has lost a bit of its flavor. We also ordered the hot & sour soup and it was absolutely delicious. You can tell that they aren't cheap on their ingredience neither. Orange and kuo pao chicken isnt chinese food. If you want to know how authentic Chinese food really tastes like, this place is it! I cannot wait to come back here again
(5)Tess K.
I walked in a quarter passed 11 on Labor Day with my two buddies, we were pleasantly surprised by the authentic smells and television channels. We were taken aback that they even had amenities as wonderful as lazy Susan's on most of the tables. We felt as if we were immediate transported into south east Asia, we almost forgot America even existed. After eating the wonderful food we were overcome by a magical Asian glow. I was even approached by several men at the Fry's Marketplace while I did my weekly grocery shopping, later that day.
(5)Chris F.
Thought this place was great. Very friendly, Great Food....hint try the braised spicy frog if your on the adventurous side.
(4)Kirk S.
Abandon hope all ye who do not like spicy food, because this place will pretty much kill you. Szechwan Garden specializes in one thing: Hunan-style spicy food. The walls are red, the place is decorated with peppers, the food is full of peppers... etc. There is no safe place here - virtually every single dish will nuke the unprepared from orbit with absolutely delicious heat. I had a variety of dishes and unfortunately forgot the names of the vast majority of them, but I will say everything was good and spicy. Only one dish - a shrimp dish - didn't have huge chili peppers added. Everything was amazingly savory and spicy, which basically made it hard to stop eating. The only negative from this food was the aftermath on my stomach - I literally ate myself until it hurt! Service is good, but I can tell they are easily overwhelmed. I suppose this is normal for places with only 5-8 tables. That being said, be seriously warned - your entire dining party must like spicy food for this place to be a good choice. If not, you'll be in trouble!
(4)Christina W.
Tried a couple of times now and was heavily disappointed on visit #2. Got the frog legs, fish in chili oil, beef noodle soup, some fried rice and beef roll. Frog and fish were same seasoning - just salty. Beef noodle soup was eh. Don't remember beef roll. Fried rice was maybe the best of it all which is sad.... It was really busy though on a Saturday night but I won't be a part of that crowd in the future.
(1)Janet Z.
If you're looking for orange chicken, kung pao chicken with fried rice - stop reading now!! Turn around and go back to Panda Express. If you're looking for authentic and flavorful Chinese food, you found your place. Being Chinese, I can honestly say, I know the difference between good Chinese food and Americanized Chinese food. Moreover, both of my parents loved this place. After my mom passed, my father came here nearly every other day to get food. If that's not a vote of authenticity, I'm not sure what else is. Onto the food! It's flavorful, filling and if you're willing to try new things, you may find your new favorite dish. I personally can't start a real Chinese restaurant experience without a bowl of hot and sour soup. Their 酸辣汤 has the right amount of heat and tartness. I always add in a dash of white pepper to kick it up a bit. The eggplant is a hit if you're eating with Chinese food newbies. I believe they have two kinds. Ask for the one with wood ear... trust me. Service! If you don't speak Chinese, please, for all that is good and holy, BE POLITE AND PATIENT. Don't get your panties in a bunch of the Chinese (and very sweet) servers take awhile to understand that you really can't have anything with gluten. You think they were taught "gluten" in their night classes? Hell, do YOU even know what gluten is? But I digress... This place is awesome and again, authentic. So please take it for what it is. Enjoy the Chinese TV and trust me, loud slurping is a total compliment.
(5)Lira Anne D.
First time here. Brought my mother here for lunch. Ordered the seafood crispy noodles, honey walnut shrimp and orange beef - it was all delish! Staff was very friendly as well. I'll definitely be coming back.
(4)Alex J.
Some of the employees here are friendly and helpful. But I didn't appreciate the female maitre'd starting an argument with me over the size of my tip. That took nerve. She got an extra couple of dollars out of me that one time but lost a customer.
(2)Sam K.
Service was a little slow. The food made up for it. I ordered a chicken dish and it was the best I have eaten since China Town in San Francisco. While is is a little pricey it was worth the treat. Even had enough left for later. It is busy for a reason. That is why you should try it
(4)Christopher L.
Great food but service suck. The waitress literally came out and chase us for the tips when I left it on the table aleeady
(1)Carolyn H.
Excellent food. Love the Eggplant with Garlic. Order for pick up during lunch is recommended.
(5)Brenda H.
Not a huge fan. This is very authentic Chinese just so you know. I have to watch my sodium and after eating here my ankles and feet swelled. If your looking for frog this is your place. Most menu is in Chinese language and wait staff are hard to understand.
(1)Crystal P.
This place deserves no stars if I could. I've read some of the yelp reviews and based on the feedback I thought it would be worth the try. Bad idea, I was soooooooo dissapointed. I ordered the orange chicken and husband ordered Kung Pao Chicken. The chicken didn't even taste like real meat. Not sure what the hype is about this place but I'll pass. I will never eat here again!
(1)Ramya M.
Our go to chinese place. Not a fan of taste bud numbing Sichuan peppers but they can take those out for you from any dish, and still make the dish spicy (with chilli peppers instead) Ingredients are fresh, especially fish. Never had a bad meal here but if it involves their fish in black bean sauce it's a whole lot more delicious! Service can be spotty and decor is cozy at best but the food speaks for itself. Always a good sign.
(4)Sarah G.
Quality was excellent. Food was fresh and reasonably priced. We ordered the house spicy special chicken, shredded pork with green onion, honey walnut shrimp, braised spicy shrimp in hot pot, and beef with string bean. The egg drop soup and sweet and sour soup was included with the lunch portions (two of the dishes we ordered was the lunch portion ones) and even the soup was excellent. This is the best Chinese/Szechwan food we have found in Phoenix yet. Will definitely return! Ambiance was nice, facility was clean, restrooms clean. And they had a nice selection of beer- Heineken, Tsingtao, and coors light.
(5)George C.
Been here more than a handful of times and I love their szchewan dishes! Some dishes I always get at szchewan places are spicy water boiled fish(shui zhu yu pian), yu xiang eggplant, fu qi fei pian (it's a plate of three different items you can choose from the front counter and I'd recommend the pig ear, the beef, and kidney), and usually get the garlic string beans as well. For those of you who feel numbness or tingling in your mouth, that would be due to Chinese peppercorn which is what szchewan cuisine is known for! The food is consistently very good but the service can be lacking at times. (Went for lunch and had to fill the water ourselves). If you're looking for authentic szchewan food though, stop on by!
(4)John T.
If you like food that is any of these things - spicy, zesty, flavorful, ethnic, unusual, or even just interesting - you must try this place. As a normal American guy I can't pretend to know much about "authentic" Chinese or Szechuan cuisine, but this sure seems authentic to me. Most of their menu (that I've tried) is characterized by lots of peppers, oil, a good amount of vegetables, and well-balanced, unique flavor combinations. I'd highly recommend Hot and Spicy anything (especially Hot and Spicy Fish), Salt and Pepper Calamari, Lamb with Cumin, and the Eggplant dish (can't remember the exact name, but I think there's only one). If you aren't adventurous, don't like spicy foods, or are unsettled by the presence of items like "Flaming Pig Intestines" on the menu, then...well... maybe you should sit this one out.
(5)Wei Y.
Came here for lunch and dinner a few times with friends. I am impressed by how consistent and good their food is. I would like to come here for lunch more often, but they're usually understaffed and it takes a while to get served and cashed out. I'd recommend coming here for dinner, it's definitely with a try.
(4)Pana T.
I love Chinese food especially szechaun style Chinese food. I usually order the tong qi chicken but today I let the waiter order for me & he did not disappoint. He ordered salty pork, which is stir fried pork belly tossed with veggies in a black bean sauce. He paired it with garlic eggplant which was also delicious.
(4)Adriana G.
Love this place so much, I just need it to try it ones and then I became a regular, the food it's so good, full of flavour and so autentic, the portions are good size, and the service is so friendly. My favourite is the Hot and Sour sup, it's so delicious, the fry rice with shrimp, and the chicken with red peppers and ginger, I been trying different plates and you definitely can't go wrong with any of them, all so good and full of flavour. Definitely a must try highly recommended.
(5)Tra W.
Almost the best Chinese restaurant that Id ever have in Tempe/Chandler area. Needless to say almost all their dishes are amazing. Serving is good, quick response. The best dishes I like is water boiling fish. It's not spicy at all. People can not take spicy food like me can actually fall in love with this dish! Tons of dishes that I haven't try yet. But I think those are all good to taste! 100% recommended!
(5)Nicole J.
Szechwan style is not for the light-hearted. It's spicy! However, for the amount of chilis you see in your entree, it's nowhere as hot as you are led to believe. I do appreciate that they don't go crazy with the whole peppercorns as many Szechwan restaurants do because I don't enjoy the numbing aftertaste. The prices are very reasonable, especially if you come for the lunch specials. For any person that remotely loves spicy and Chinese food, Szechwan Garden is a must. Fantastic Dishes: -Fish fillet with hot chili peppers -Shanghai style steamed dumplings -Hot pot with fish and beef
(4)Genesis B.
The Service here is great for a fast past place. Being from Southern California I find it hard to find Chinese food worth ranting about. The food here is very good and well priced. I was even offered a cup of ice water as I waited for my take out order to be prepared (which I ordered in person); which consisted of chicken fried rice, beef and broccoli, sesame seed chicken, and orange chicken. It's not the prettiest place inside, the layout is awkward but the food is great hands down. I ordered over the phone last time and that was somewhat challenging, at that visit I ended up with something I didn't want but it was so good I came back for more!
(4)April S.
You know you are at an authentic Chinese restaurant when you see lots of signature dishes written in Chinese hanging on the wall and almost all customers are speaking in their native tongue. Service: The kitchen was super busy cooking food for customers who were dining in as well as keeping up with the to-go order. Servers were trying their best to serve food as quickly as they could, checked up on orders and super polite to all customers. All of them speak little to no English, but I admire their hard working ethnic and politeness. If you don't speak any Chinese, please be patience with them. Food: oh boy oh boy oh boy. I haven't had steamed dumpling and fried pork this good for a very long time. As soon as the dumpling came out of the kitchen, all 4 of us cleaned it in less than 5 minutes. The fried pork was so tender that the meat falls off as soon as you chew on it. The boiled fish was spicy as advertised, but unfortunately the fish has lost a bit of its flavor. We also ordered the hot & sour soup and it was absolutely delicious. You can tell that they aren't cheap on their ingredience neither. Orange and kuo pao chicken isnt chinese food. If you want to know how authentic Chinese food really tastes like, this place is it! I cannot wait to come back here again
(5)Tess K.
I walked in a quarter passed 11 on Labor Day with my two buddies, we were pleasantly surprised by the authentic smells and television channels. We were taken aback that they even had amenities as wonderful as lazy Susan's on most of the tables. We felt as if we were immediate transported into south east Asia, we almost forgot America even existed. After eating the wonderful food we were overcome by a magical Asian glow. I was even approached by several men at the Fry's Marketplace while I did my weekly grocery shopping, later that day.
(5)Chris F.
Thought this place was great. Very friendly, Great Food....hint try the braised spicy frog if your on the adventurous side.
(4)Rui Z.
no1 chinese food around this area，no question. also reasonable price.
(5)Kirk S.
Abandon hope all ye who do not like spicy food, because this place will pretty much kill you. Szechwan Garden specializes in one thing: Hunan-style spicy food. The walls are red, the place is decorated with peppers, the food is full of peppers... etc. There is no safe place here - virtually every single dish will nuke the unprepared from orbit with absolutely delicious heat. I had a variety of dishes and unfortunately forgot the names of the vast majority of them, but I will say everything was good and spicy. Only one dish - a shrimp dish - didn't have huge chili peppers added. Everything was amazingly savory and spicy, which basically made it hard to stop eating. The only negative from this food was the aftermath on my stomach - I literally ate myself until it hurt! Service is good, but I can tell they are easily overwhelmed. I suppose this is normal for places with only 5-8 tables. That being said, be seriously warned - your entire dining party must like spicy food for this place to be a good choice. If not, you'll be in trouble!
(4)Audrey G.
This is a go to restaurant for my family, and has tasty, authentic Szechwan food. My favorite dish here is the "Tong Qing Spicy Chicken", and their "Fish Filet in Black Bean Sauce" is another good authentic dish to try. We've been going for a couple of years now, but recently the quality seems to have gone down a bit. Went there today when it was extremely busy, and they didn't have enough servers. Normally I don't mind poor service if a restaurant is busy, but when it leads to sub-par food that's a problem. Our chicken portion was smaller than usual, and our potato dish had too much vinegar.
(3)Patricia M.
The place was full of Chinese folks so you know that is always a good sign. We liked the eggplant but the beef dish was too salty. Service was rushed and the staff was hustling.
(3)Brynn Y.
My go-to for authentic Chinese food. I get nervous about some places but this one I "trust."
(5)Donna K.
This service here was really slow & our waitress didn't speak much English. We had to repeat ourselves multiple times for her to understand us. I found this place on Yelp, of course. We had to go to the front to tell them we were ready to order after waiting about 15 mins after we sat down to order food. We order the Spicy shrimp in the hot pot, dumplings and beef and tofu hot pot. The shrimp wasn't bad, but it was a little dry. The beef was a bit soft and chewy, the tasted way better than the beef. Lastly the dumplings were juicy and tasty, I would recommend those. The food was horrible, but it wasn't great. I most likely will not come back here.
(2)Ana S.
The decor was interesting. I didn't like that they didn't have coffee, but it was really intimate and the price was reasonable, so I would recommend it for a change. The white rice was good.
(4)Janet Z.
If you're looking for orange chicken, kung pao chicken with fried rice - stop reading now!! Turn around and go back to Panda Express. If you're looking for authentic and flavorful Chinese food, you found your place. Being Chinese, I can honestly say, I know the difference between good Chinese food and Americanized Chinese food. Moreover, both of my parents loved this place. After my mom passed, my father came here nearly every other day to get food. If that's not a vote of authenticity, I'm not sure what else is. Onto the food! It's flavorful, filling and if you're willing to try new things, you may find your new favorite dish. I personally can't start a real Chinese restaurant experience without a bowl of hot and sour soup. Their 酸辣汤 has the right amount of heat and tartness. I always add in a dash of white pepper to kick it up a bit. The eggplant is a hit if you're eating with Chinese food newbies. I believe they have two kinds. Ask for the one with wood ear... trust me. Service! If you don't speak Chinese, please, for all that is good and holy, BE POLITE AND PATIENT. Don't get your panties in a bunch of the Chinese (and very sweet) servers take awhile to understand that you really can't have anything with gluten. You think they were taught "gluten" in their night classes? Hell, do YOU even know what gluten is? But I digress... This place is awesome and again, authentic. So please take it for what it is. Enjoy the Chinese TV and trust me, loud slurping is a total compliment.
(5)Lira Anne D.
First time here. Brought my mother here for lunch. Ordered the seafood crispy noodles, honey walnut shrimp and orange beef - it was all delish! Staff was very friendly as well. I'll definitely be coming back.
(4)Alex J.
Some of the employees here are friendly and helpful. But I didn't appreciate the female maitre'd starting an argument with me over the size of my tip. That took nerve. She got an extra couple of dollars out of me that one time but lost a customer.
(2)Sam K.
Service was a little slow. The food made up for it. I ordered a chicken dish and it was the best I have eaten since China Town in San Francisco. While is is a little pricey it was worth the treat. Even had enough left for later. It is busy for a reason. That is why you should try it
(4)Scott S.
Wish I lived closer to Szechwan Garden - I love their spicy dishes. I don't understand people who rave about this restaurant, then give it just 3 or 4 stars. I think it among the best Chinese restaurants I've been to. We ordered Tong Qing Spicy Chicken (boneless) and shredded pork (#34). Contrary to a lot of reviews, the food here is not burn-your-mouth hot, just spicy & flavorful. Food was served very quickly, though we were there at an off-peak time. Highly recommended.
(5)Jennifer O.
I was super impressed with Szechwan Garden! I came here for lunch with a couple coworkers and the place was packed, but we were seated quickly. We ordered the sautéed green beans, the spicy pork lunch special, the chow fun, Xiao long bao, and scallion pancakes. I wanted to come here specifically for XLB, and they did not disappoint. They were a little on the big side, but not too big to eat all in one bite. My only issue with them were that they didn't bring any sauce for them and then kinda disappeared so we couldn't get any..... I think this may have been more of a product of their busy -ness than what is typical. Anyway, the xlb were juicy and delicious. I would come back for that alone. The rest of the food was also tasty, with the green beans being the best item - they were spicy and garlicky and delicious. The chow fun was good, but forgettable, the pork was also tasty. We ate a ton of food and still only paid abut 10$ per person. I will definitely be back!
(4)Kat P.
Szechuan style food has a unique taste and is known for they're super spicy dishes. Pretty much everything has chili peppers in it. There's an under tone of Chinese five spice and star anise that I felt was in most of the dishes we ordered. But the waitress said it was Szechuan pepper corns and they make your tongue a little numb. I recommended: Mao's style braised pork, mapo tofu, shrimp fried rice, and chongqi spicy chicken. And like everyone has commented, this place is legit! Who cares that most everything is written in Chinese and the waitress has bad English. GREAT food is more important people !!! We happen to like our waitress very much :)
(4)Carolyn H.
Excellent food. Love the Eggplant with Garlic. Order for pick up during lunch is recommended.
(5)Eddy Y.
The food has always been good. The service...so so. It seems like the prices are going up and portions getting smaller (lunch and dinner). If you have a to-go order, they give you a small portion of rice and get mad if you request more. If you dine in, you get all the rice you want. Doesn't make sense.
(3)Minnie H.
If you like spicy food this is the right place to go to. The lunch menu is an extremely good deal!! Cheap!! The only downside is that the food taste is not always consistent.
(4)Al H.
Very good. Service was friendly. It was nice to have a noodle bowl that was more unique than the usual fare. Would suggest English descriptions of all menu items for convenience.
(4)Gangan H.
I honestly would give negative stars if I could. I was trying to decide what I was gonna get and the waitress came and since I was undecided, she will come get our order later. She had the attitude and not friendly at all. And she never did. My bf had to walk up to the counter and ordered the food. And she was like: That's it? We were 2 so we ordered 2... And after we ate she didn't come back with check so we went up to pay. We ate $18 of food and I was trying to write the tip down. And she showed us how many tips we should give: 20% 25% Well I know we should appreciate the service but none was provided. But we still gave 10% tip. She said 'what the' and gave us the attitude... Seriously. She is sooooo RUDE!!!!! Horrible customer service!! Never going back and I recommend never going there again
(1)James F.
This place is a pleasant surprise. I stopped in for an early dinner.The staff was very tentative. The food will surely surprise you. Fresh and extra large portions. Beef was tender. The pot stickers were the best. Oh, also tried the chicken ginger. Both entrees amazed me! I will continue going to this restaurant.
(4)Christina W.
Tried a couple of times now and was heavily disappointed on visit #2. Got the frog legs, fish in chili oil, beef noodle soup, some fried rice and beef roll. Frog and fish were same seasoning - just salty. Beef noodle soup was eh. Don't remember beef roll. Fried rice was maybe the best of it all which is sad.... It was really busy though on a Saturday night but I won't be a part of that crowd in the future.
(1)Brenda H.
Not a huge fan. This is very authentic Chinese just so you know. I have to watch my sodium and after eating here my ankles and feet swelled. If your looking for frog this is your place. Most menu is in Chinese language and wait staff are hard to understand.
(1)Crystal P.
This place deserves no stars if I could. I've read some of the yelp reviews and based on the feedback I thought it would be worth the try. Bad idea, I was soooooooo dissapointed. I ordered the orange chicken and husband ordered Kung Pao Chicken. The chicken didn't even taste like real meat. Not sure what the hype is about this place but I'll pass. I will never eat here again!
(1)Ramya M.
Our go to chinese place. Not a fan of taste bud numbing Sichuan peppers but they can take those out for you from any dish, and still make the dish spicy (with chilli peppers instead) Ingredients are fresh, especially fish. Never had a bad meal here but if it involves their fish in black bean sauce it's a whole lot more delicious! Service can be spotty and decor is cozy at best but the food speaks for itself. Always a good sign.
(4)Jake M.
First time here. Honestly, probably the best Chinese food in Phoenix. Authentic. Delicious. Great flavor. Highly recommend. I had #20 or #21 (sliced chicken) spicy. Definitely had a little kick to it but not overly spicy at all.
(5)K J.
If you're a chilehead like me, then you MUST try this place. These people do spicy food RIGHT! I just got lunch and dinner here, and the Triple Delight I had for lunch ROCKED! Beef, shrimp, and fish for $6.95 with rice, and soup. I had heard good things about this place for a while, and now I am kicking myself for not going sooner. This place is my goto Asian food place now. Try them out you'll not be disappointed.
(5)Ashley S.
I LOVE this place. I always order the spicy fish soup and it is my favorite dish in Chandler. Anytime my family comes to town we go here. The portions are huge so splitting an entree or two is always a great idea. The dumplings are delicious too!!
(5)Paul G.
The place is crazy busy at dinner time, so expect to wait a little for a table. It is well worth it. Do not come to this place for the hospitality. The wait staff runs all over the place when it is busy and just throws the food on the table... Lol... The best Szechwan food in town! Get the Water Boiled beef! Or what ever protein you want to put in it! The flavor is amazing...Shredded pork in garlic sauce and the Szechwan green beans.
(5)Neha S.
Our favorite Chinese place in town, my husband is from Taiwan and vouches for the authenticity of most dishes. I love the Mei Wei La Shanghu (spicy mushroom) and the hot and sour soup is to die for on a cold night. We also order the beef rolls everytime we visit. Go to place for excellent Chinese food at a reasonable price :)
(5)Chad C.
Ive been here now about 5 times.if you want Chinese.it doesnt get any better.seriously you have got to try this place.i cant say enough good things about it.AMAZING!!
(5)Anish S.
I had the twice cooked pork and it was amazing. Pretty close to the Sichuan style. :)
(5)Jessica K.
Probably the best Chinese food I've ever had, and I don't really like Chinese food. My husbands friend is from China and he recommended the place. He even went with us and ordered in Chinese. The menus are all in Chinese and English - very authentic with many, many choices! Family style dining with a big lazy susan in the middle to make sharing easy. Loved the orange chicken - lightly breaded with no chewy fat pieces like I'm so used to getting at other places. My brother got the sweet and sour ribs and they were also delicious. Would highly recommend - its even cheap, under $10 a plate (big enough for 2-3 people to eat from with complimentary rice)
(4)Han L.
They have lunch special 7 days a week from 11 to 3 but the amount of food is not stingy kind of amount. Very tasty ! My fav is the egg and shrimp, fish with black bean and the normal dish spice fried chicken!
(5)Stacey R.
I took my family here recently was very good. Even my picky son ate a lot. Bf also ate until he hurt. I love spicy and I loved my food. Already craving!!!
(5)Arthur Y.
Went there for lunch and ordered several items: crispy onion pancake, shanghai style steamed dumplings, sautéed fish filet, and a sweet and sour type pork spare ribs (don't remember the actual name). My 3 yr old daughter liked the dumplings so much we ordered a 2nd one. Overall, their food is very good. Maybe the best szechwan food in the East Valley. The only complaint I had with our visit is more with the service. Their service is probably like a lot of Chinese restaurants where the wait staff is not very friendly and attentive. Good food, ok service.
(4)Hendrix H.
Best Szechwan (Sichuan in Mandarin) restaurant in AZ. Being Chinese and having lived in China for 2 years, this is the real deal. My family dines at this restaurant almost weekly. Our favorite dishes are Tong Qing Spicy Chicken, Crispy Onion Pancakes, Hot & Spicy Fish Fillet (aka fish fillet with hot chili peppers), Yu Xiang Rou Si (forgot the English name; it's pork strips with bamboo shoot). Almost every Szechwanese dish that we have tried is good. Other non-Szechwanese dishes may not be that great, e.g. beef noodle soup (niu rou mian), little dragon buns (xiao long bao). My only complaint is the occasional sewage smell outside the restaurant. I think it's fixed now.
(5)Ravi C.
Amazing Szechwan place! This place is now on my itinerary. The food tasted amazing and it was so cheap. I am so glad that unlike place in San Francisco they don't nickle and dime you by charging for rice per serving. We ordered Hot and Spicy Tofu, Fried Chicken cubes with hot pepper and hot and spicy pork kidney. All the dishes were amazing and the waiting staff was super friendly... as with all the good food places, it's pretty packed at lunch so plan accordingly.
(5)Jaswant A. S.
Located in a strip mall at the southwest corner of Ray and Rural is Szechwan Garden - a place I have gotten take out from a number of times. Came here today with some friends and I was thinking perhaps I should have warned them. We got seated right away and were handed menus. These were the regular menus and they had stuff like pig intestines, frog, kidneys, lungs. Also on the wall were specials written out in chinese characters. There were probably 40 people in there for late lunch/early dinner and we were the only table speaking to our servers in English. I was expecting one of my friends to say something along the lines of: "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Panda Express/Pei Wei/PF Chang's anymore." But no - everybody was totally into it. We got the Crispy Sesame Duck - fried and salted with juicy crispy skin. That one was a winner. We also got Mapo Tofu - always a winner with me since I love the soft tofu in black bean sauce and Szechwan spices and oil. We also got the Shredded Pork In Hot Garlic Onion - which was also delicious. Service was great. We had an unruly kid in our midst but the servers were VERY patient with him. Once the food came he calmed down and dug into it. Needless to say we all left full and happy. My goto place for Szechwan has been both Szechwan Garden and Szechwan Palace ever since Miu's closed. This one is the closest to where I live so I know I will be back again. It's in a strip mall in a corner by itself so there's always lots of parking. Check it out.
(4)Sarah G.
Quality was excellent. Food was fresh and reasonably priced. We ordered the house spicy special chicken, shredded pork with green onion, honey walnut shrimp, braised spicy shrimp in hot pot, and beef with string bean. The egg drop soup and sweet and sour soup was included with the lunch portions (two of the dishes we ordered was the lunch portion ones) and even the soup was excellent. This is the best Chinese/Szechwan food we have found in Phoenix yet. Will definitely return! Ambiance was nice, facility was clean, restrooms clean. And they had a nice selection of beer- Heineken, Tsingtao, and coors light.
(5)Christopher L.
Great food but service suck. The waitress literally came out and chase us for the tips when I left it on the table aleeady
(1)Juntian H.
This restaurant is fucking stupid. Food is extremely bad and the server's attitude is really bad. We came to eat at 6:30 and our food was coming in 7:00, last time, they charged me 18 more dollars and they do not want to refund it to me . I will not go to that fucking place again. FUCK.
(1)Karen W.
Your taste buds will tingle at Szechuan Garden, both from the great flavors, and from the spiciness of the food! We attempted to eat here on a Friday night, but it was packed to the gills, with several people waiting outside for a table to open up. We decided to eat somewhere else, and come back again for lunch. The lunch specials are a very good deal. They come with a very good portion of main dish, with rice and soup. Prices will range from $5-7 depending on what "tier" you order from. I had #19, the "Fish fillet with hot chili peppers). Although I've had spicier and bolder tasting versions of this dish, this version wasn't so spicy that it left a weird aftertaste as I ate more, which I appreciated. Also, the lowered heat level allowed more of the flavor of the spicy peppercorns and chilies to show through, and occasionally I'd get a hit of some fragrant whole peppercorn as I chewed. The spicy bold broth was a good contrast to the delicate texture and mild flavor of the fish. In addition to fish, there were bean sprouts and napa cabbage in the dish, with a sprig of cilantro on top. The only slight negative, which is probably more of a syndrome regarding the dish itself rather than the kitchen's preparation, is that it is a very unctuous broth, layered with a copious amount of chili oil. I also tried some "Shredded pork with hot garlic onion". It was also a good portion, with tender pork and a salty, slightly pungent flavor. Service was good, and drinks were refilled as needed. It helps if you speak Mandarin here, and they do have specials on the wall, but they are written in Chinese. This is definitely a new favorite for spicy authentic Chinese food!
(4)Brett H.
If I want great, authentic Chinese food then this is where I will go. If i want to try something adventurous this is where I go. They have great lunch specials that are on the menue, your usual American stuff, orange chicken, some fish dishes, some teriaka stuff. If you want to try something fun then you can ask the waiter to translate some of the specials that are posted on the wall in Chinese. I have never had something I did not like from here. Top marks for service, flavor and adventure.
(5)Hal N.
If your not into authentic Chinese spicy cooking, then don't waste your time or money. We were very pleased to find this cafe with the flavors we enjoyed while in China for the past few years. We enjoy the spicy chicken and pork chop (#58). So many local cafés are American Chinese and not authentic Chinese. They also offer a few Hunan style dishes....if your in a rush go to a drive thru....and remember, the staff is Chinese so speak slowly and be patient...they too are authentic.
(5)Phoebe M.
They stop serving lunch special on weekends now. The lunch menu was cheaper version of the dinner menu. Still very good XLB!
(5)Hooch D.
Wow what the hell just happened in my mouth? Went here for lunch today and had the hot/spicy beef, I was a little confused when my tongue went numb. Had to ask the waitress if that's supposed to happen, yup. Some weird awesome pepper they use that doesn't have an English name. Wonton soup was the cats ass, great! Think we were the only white people in here so obviously it's the place to go to. Hot/spicy chicken next week, this place and magic noodle are my new favorites for Chinese food.
(4)Kate G.
I've been to Sichuan and this is the closest authentic food we've found here in the valley. We love coming in and getting the cold plate to start with the cucumbers, tofu and sliced pig ears (yes you read that right). Then we usually get the stir fried green beans and Shanghai style dumplings. Today we also ordered the ma po tofu - soooo good! Not so spicy that we couldn't eat it, it was just right. They have tons of Chinese hand written signs around the dining room advertising the specials so next time, we're going to ask what some of them are. They are usually the ones that are truly good!
(5)Wowezow E.
Overrated. This place was so rude, the food was ok, and the prices were a little high for what you get. Skip this place and go to ACE in Mesa. Way tastier and ACE is a lot cheaper. Never going here again.
(1)Tiffany Z.
Szechwan Garden is a nice Chinese restaurant, which is worthy of having a dinner if you like Szechwan dishes. There are three stars at the top of the website of Szechwan Garden, which is evaluation index for this restaurant. In addition to that, there are many reviews below about restaurant setting, taste of dishes and price and so on from customers. Most of people who like spicy speak highly of its dishes, but someone who do not like chili remark that dishes are so spicy that they cannot swallow it.
(5)Ben G.
This was outside my comfort zone for my Americanized pallet for Chinese food but I am so glad I did it. Family style eating. Was so much fun.
(5)Tom K.
Traveled there specifically to celebrate Chinese New Year in an authentic restaurant and was very pleased with the quality of both the food and service. My wife had the green onion ginger beef and I the spicy fish filet each from the lunch menu. The beef was among the best ever, and the fish, while delicious,, was somewhat too salty. The servers were welcoming and attentive acknowledging my halting Chinese with broad smiles. All of the restaurant staff were engaging and gracious throughout the entire meal. Large portions and good value for the price.
(5)Morgan E.
Went to Szechwan Garden for lunch yesterday. This was our 4th or 5th time here. We have been trying different dishes to enjoy their flavors. On this occasion we ordered: Hot and sour soup that was excellent Fish fillet in black bean sauce. very good Eggplant with garlic sauce. Superior, the best I've ever had. Pan-fried string bean. Again Superior. I think the beans were Chinese long beans as they were crisp and without any large beans as so often is the case. Overall the service was superior, attentive but not intrusive. The meal came quickly. And the bill came without having to chase down a waiter. We had been frequenting the Miu's Cuisine since they opened, but find the Szechwan Garden to be more pleasant and the food just a little better.
(5)Wayne K.
Long wait at lunch. 5 min just to acknowledge I was waiting. Hostess running table tickets, takeout orders and seating tables. Strange when I'm already eating with chopsticks the server comes over to ask if I want a fork??? WTH? I wonder what kind of reaction I'd get asking a group of Asians eating with forks if they'd like chopsticks? Ordered beef and broccoli. Tried to substitute fried rice for the steamed rice but no can do. Hint people. Figure out how much additional the same amount of fried rice is and ADD THE ADDITIONAL CHARGE. Telling a customer no you can't do it will ensure one thing: the customer goes somewhere they will. Try visiting other restaurants and see how they do it. So I got my lunch they way they wanted me to have it. Result? Loss of additional revenue and an unhappy customer. I guess not all business owners actually have business sense. Two stars only because the food is good. Not great, but good. The service and flexibility to the customer is substandard.
(2)Mandy S.
The WORST customer service EVER! I tried to order beef chow fun. I knew it wasn't on the menu, but being that I've ordered it multiple times, I thought I knew the ropes. Or I thought I did. I usually order it, they go in the back, talk to the chef and I get my beef chow fun. Tonight,, we came across a very rude, short bald guy. He assured me they never had chow fun and that I must've went somewhere else. He even went as far as showing me the menu. I told him I knew it wasn't on the menu but they made it before. I asked him to ask the chef, he refused. Whatever. I let it go and tried to order our other dishes but this guy kept talking about the beef chow fun. At one point, I asked him to drop it. Instead of dropping it, he proceeded to tell my mom that he could make it at home, but he can't bring it from home. Really? WTF? Drop it dude. We tried to continue to order but he kept talking about the beef chow fun and laughing at us. News flash: We were there to eat and pay for our food. Not be degraded and harassed by a lazy waiter. We wound up leaving. I will never go back. I hope it was worth losing a family of 6 that has been loyal customers for 3 years.
(1)Melissa H.
Great to find another tucked away Szechuan restaurant. All the old classics are here and executed nicely. Definitely come for family style ordering. Not everything has to be made spicy and the kitchen will adjust. The one thing I'm not always used to (mostly because Cantonese people tend to like light flavors) is the amount of oil used. I just find myself telling the kitchen to go a little lighter on the oil and I've never had a problem.
(4)Sb M.
It was great to see another szchewan style restaurant open up in the valley. The staff is awesome and the food is the best in the valley. However, the guests are terrible. The guests are very demanding. I speak some chinese so I was able to pick up on a conversation when a group of 5 arrived who were also impatient to wait for a seat. They had asked the boss if people could be moved (who were already eating) so they could occupy a group table. The managers gave in and asked people to move to another table. Some of the guests here can be real arrogant from time to time. I just wanted to smack those guests in the face.
(4)Jeremy L.
Kung Pao chicken for daaaaaaays. Real cheap lunch specials with large portions. Dinner entrees are still cheap with even more good food. Oh and get a side of onion pancakes. Trust.
(5)Mayo B.
For Chandler this is a really good location for Szechuan food. I love their cold entries where you can go to the display and choose 3 for $6. I usually get the "Fuqi Feipian" and the beef tenders and any other dish. This with some rice is good for lunch and some. Finally a place to get my "Ma La" fix.
(4)Bao H.
From what I know the Chef from Szechwan Palace left to open Szechwan Garden -- talk about a punch in the gut! Pow! The food here is pretty authentic and tasty. Very spicy I might add so if you're a lightweight please step aside. We ordered the Mapo Tofu, Fried Green beans, some sort of fried rice noodles that was dipped in a brown sauce (I didn't order this one my friend did so I don't know what it's called haha) Finally, my favorite fried Frog Legs in a medley of vegetables - Yum! It was my favorite of them all. Frog Legs are small but very meaty. Plus, the spice they cooked it in was delicious! Service was pretty good since my friend was a regular and I think they know her by name. Oh the perks! What I like about this place is that it reminds me of those old Chinese restaurants back in LA. No uniforms and the staff ate their lunch next to us :) The decors could use a modern touch, but the tackier the better I guess - Enjoy!
(4)Duke B.
Great Place. If you like Chinese you'll love it
(5)Tiff D.
I really liked this place!! Looks like a pretty authentic Chinese restaurant. We went for lunch. We were seated and greeted very nicely. The waitress was very kind and checked on us periodically through the meal. Just enough! Their lunch is a pretty good deal. Plates are categorized by $5, $6, $7 categories. About 10 per category. And the meal comes with rice and hot n sour soup which was some of the best I've had. I asked for medium spice since I know this kind of Chinese food is known for the spice but when the dishes came they were very mild. But the flavor was extremely good. Now I know next time I can handle the regular spice. We got the ginger scallion beef ($7), fish fillet with hot chili peppers($7), and the eggplant in garlic sauce($5). We had PLENTY of leftovers between the two of us. All were great but surprisingly the eggplant was our favorite. Can't wait to go back to try more dishes!! :)
(4)Jennifer C.
I've passed by this restaurant a couple times, and it has always been packed full of Chinese families, which is always a good sign. So, I decided to try it out. Overall the dishes were pretty good and lean towards the salty side. Tonight, I had the "three cold side dishes" of pork stomach, pig ears, and tofu which were FANTASTIC. The seasoning was perfect and the pig ears were sliced extra thin. The second course was no.6 - live fish with peppered bean curd. This dish was a bit on the fishy side, and while it is definitely cheap for a whole fish ($13), I would not recommend it. Instead, try the beef noodle soup. It is very flavorful and the meat is part fatty and part lean, just the way I like it. It also went well with the pig ear side dish. Finally I ended the night with the xiao long bao. The skin was good but the meat filling was average. Overall the service was good and the waiters were all very nice, especially considering how busy the restaurant was. It was also a bit loud and cramped inside, but definitely worth a visit for the food.
(3)Tyler T.
The beef rolls are my main addiction. They're a little pricey, but it spares me from making them myself and they are darn good. The waitress currently working there is super friendly and remembers me every time I go. I generally eat to-go just because I usually stop by quite late. I love this place. I don't eat seafood, so maybe I didn't have a crazy reaction like Brother Diarrhea did. It reminds me of several Chinese restaurants in Rowland Heights/San Gabriel. If you're not used to those kind of joints because you're afraid of a little "added MSG" or hygiene, go to Panda Express! If you're in it for a dang good meal, then you've found your place.
(5)Rachel W.
4 stars? Are you kidding? This is the grossest restaurant in the entire planet! My brother had severe food poisoning after eating Shrimp Fried Eggs here (Xia Ren Chao Dan). The shrimps must have been toxic and the eggs were not fresh at all. He was throwing up the night after eating this crap here, and then continuously puking and suffering from severe diarrhea day after day, night after night, even fainted a few times. This lasted a few days. He had never been this violently sick in his whole life. The reviews are so inflated here... I'd say that the level of hygiene in this restaurant is highly questionable, if not downright appalling. I'd recommend that you go elsewhere for your meals unless you want to risk being poisoned by unknown toxins hidden in their dishes. Stay away!!!
(1)Darrell B.
I had the orange chicken. It was very flavorful but should be a little spicier. Very tangy!
(4)Mary C.
I had dinner here with my mom, who spent most of her life in Taiwan, and my brother, who lives in San Francisco (where good Chinese food is abundant). We ordered Water Boiled Fish, Tong Qing Spicy Chicken, Xiao Long Bao and Stir-fried Green Beans. We thoroughly enjoyed every dish, but especially loved the Tong Qing Spicy Chicken. Sichuan cuisine is known for its numbing pepper corns and spicy chili oil, both of which were prominent in the spicy chicken dish. Authentic Chinese restaurants aren't really known for their ambiance and service, so if you're looking for a nice night out, you might want to go somewhere else. If you're looking for good authentic Sichuan food, this is your place!
(5)Linda K.
Tried this place twice. Once for take out and once dine in. Both times we got the soft shell crab. Me likes! With all the fried garlic to pick at, Yum! It's a little on the $$ end, but hey, it's soft shell crab. I wouldn't say it was the best I've ever had, but for what we can get around here, I was satisfied. I'll just mention the things we got during the dine in since it was more recent and I remember it better... ;) The cold appetizers - tofu, white - not spicy, greenish (not sure if that was tofu, but hey, I don't really mind. If it tastes good I'll try it!) - little spicy, pig ear - spicy. All were delish! There's a hot oil & spicy fish dish. They're known for it. That was super good! We did ask for it not to be as spicy and they accommodated us, which was nice. It was just enough kick for us. TRY THAT! She also recommended the equivalent dish, but with lamb. Next time I'd like to taste test that one. The fried pork ribs were just normal. Nothing special or out of the ordinary. We also got a veggie dish. We always ask what kind of veggies they have. Sometimes they have ones that aren't on the menu. All this filled the 6 of us and was pretty reasonable in price. I liked the service. I mean really, I never go to a Chinese restaurant expecting good service. I just look forward to the food. But the lady gave us her recommendations. We were hesitant on the fish dish (bc we weren't sure if it'd be too spicy), and she told us to get the lunch portion vs the dinner since it was smaller and if we didn't like it, we wouldn't have as much. That was cool. If you like spicy, I'm sure this place would fill your tank. If you aren't total spicy fans, there's still enough stuff and ways for them to accommodate to your liking, like they did for us.
(4)Craig W.
My daughter tells me, next time I'm in her area for lunch I should call her and she'll meet us. My wife is Chinese and we spent time in Sichuan and both love Sichuan and Hunan cooking. So we meet at Szechuan Garden. My wife is certain to get her favorite Hunan frog legs which of course my daughter won't touch. But my wife drags my daughter over to the cold 'deli' counter and when they return, my daughter has a sickened look on her face and basically is telling me that she can't believe the things they eat. Anyway, the deal is like 3 selections from the cold deli for $6. The cold chicken is very tasty, the tofu strips were a concession for my daughter and the pigs ear skin in Sichuan pepper oil were one of the things that my daughter was struggling with - but rather tasty. Those with less of a sense of adventure should definitely get the beef tendon in the pepper oil since it is one of the things that truly reminds me of being in Chengdu. My daughter gets a rather bland, Cantonese lunch and of course is unimpressed. Wife suggests that this probably isn't the place to bring my daughter who pretty much has issues with eating anything that reminds her that it once walked/flew/swam on earth. But of course that leads me to the second phase of this review... the next time I go there. I'm to meet my wife there and I am running late. She orders without me. Frog legs and pigs ears were not on today's table... Now I pride myself on being able to eat pretty much anything and I certainly recognize that the only thing Chinese won't eat is the oink itself but today is a struggle. Wife has already ordered and already gracing the table is another Hunan inspiration but instead of frog legs, it's pork intestines. I pause a moment and say, what the heck and I'm almost embarrassed to admit that it was outstanding. Next up was the cold deli mix which contained my favorite oil/pepper mix but instead of beef tendon (my #1 choice) or pigs ear (eh), my wife suggests that this is cow lung. That Sichuan peppery oil has a chocolate quality to it... enough of it could probably make shit taste good. I'm really struggling though with the psychology of eating pigs intestines and cow lungs. Thankfully, we had the lamb ribs dry rubbed with cumin which although was rather sparse in the available meat category, the flavor was rather exceptional. So this is the bottom line here. If you want to eat Szechuan (and the real Chinese pinyin spelling is Sichuan), you have to: - do as good as you can to suspend your beliefs on what is edible and be willing to try something out of ordinary to find the real live food tastes available here. - don't order Cantonese items... go to a Cantonese restaurant for Cantonese food. Cantonese is sweet, plain, bland. Egg Foo Young, Fried Rice, Orange Chicken, Sweet and Sour anything... go somewhere else. This is the Szechuan Garden. - definitely do a plate from the cold deli counter and make sure you get something with the Sichuan peppery oil whether it's beef tendon or even just the cold chicken with the oil... it's a true slice of Sichuan - Water boiled (fish / beef / chicken) etc. is incredible and most highly recommended. - Hunan cuisine is quire rare in the valley and while I won't say that Szechuan Garden is great Hunan cuisine, it's certainly quite good, definitely different. I'm hoping that there's laws on the books that prevent restaurants from selling dog because my wife would definitely order it. As it is, she is under instructions never to let me eat dog when I am with her in China and as insurance, a secondary promise to not tell me that I am eating dog. As for the pork intestine... I admit it was extremely good and while I would have a difficult time ordering it myself, if it's put in front of me, I'm sure I would eat it again. Restaurant... don't know about Szechuan Palace now that they changed ownership but this is one of the real gems in the valley
(5)Qianying Z.
Very delicious Szechwan food! As a fan of tranditional szechwan food, the chili food is so testy. My favourite dishes are hot and spicy fish and beef.
(4)Julie P.
Came here with my parents who did all the ordering. I love this place! The food is really authentic, but you can also order the dishes less spicy. Everything we ordered was excellent, but my favorite was the fried mushrooms. There was a unique spice, and the mushrooms were sliced very thin. It's so different that you have to try it if you like mushrooms. You can't go wrong with anything you order. All dishes are so flavorful and well made.
(4)Lynn K.
I really like this place. I am begging the owner to please print some of the specials in English.
(4)Andrew C.
Went there for lunch with 5 coworkers. Nobody liked the food and the atmosphere was horrible. Sat under a TV blaring Chinese news at a table with an off kilter lazy susan that pushed our dishes into our laps. The staff had to be flagged down several times - to bring forks, to fill water, to ask for the check, etc... I had the orange chicken which was overly wangy with a cloying citrus sauce and large chunks of orange peel that I accidentally chewed on (and spit out) a couple times. yuck. 10 bucks (including tax and tip) for chicken, white rice, diet coke, and a headache. Not going back.
(1)David D.
I tried asking some other Yelpers one morning if they liked this place more than Tao Garden. I've always liked Tao Garden the most in Chandler area, but the Long John Silvers decore of old was a little too much to handle after a while. I came to Szechwan Garden with a friend, and I saw the noticeable change in the decor. It was previously iKitchen (korean/ramen). iKitchen didn't do much to change the look from the TOGO that was there before them. Szechwan Garden added touches of red with lanterns. They changed the tables into the classic round table with red cloth we see at most asian restaurants. Though there were plenty of free tables, we somehow got stuck with the two seater next to the bathroom. I wish we could've sat elsewhere, but I assumed they were expecting a massive lunch crowd and didn't want to have wasted seating.. I could deal with that. Prices were in three tiers: 4.98, 5.98, and 6.98 for their lunch specials that included the entree, soup, and a mini tub of rice. The distinction between Szechwan Garden and other places is that lunch comes out family style. You have your own place, there are the entrees in the middle, and you pass around a tub of rice. It allows sharing of others dishes which you usually wouldn't do. I was really happy with this too. I ordered the fillet in black bean sauce with tofu, and my friend ordered the orange chicken. The orange chicken was tangy, crispy, and not overly deepfriend with a nice underlying orange taste from the zest. The fillet was hot, tender, not dry, and hot (i know its sad when "hot" is a criteria). My dish also had a nice spice to it from the black pepper, but it wasn't too bad that my friend couldn't eat it. Service was fast. Water was refilled often. I liked this, but then I also thought it was too fast. By the time our entree was on the table, she already laid the check next to my arm. They kept repeatedly coming by asking if everything was okay and turning and leaving before I could really answer. I felt like they wanted us to leave as quickly as possible so they could turn the table. I don't get it, since there were still plenty of tables open. Service aside, I would've given the place 5 stars, but the food is too good. It's definitely my go to spot in Chandler for Chinese from now on.
(4)Heather C.
Amazing flavors, lots of good spice, inexpensive. Great place, will definitely frequent!
(4)Mike H.
Wow was this place great! Most of the patrons in there were chinese speaking people of college so right off I knew this was going to be good autthentic chinese food. We ordered so pretty tame items but the flavor was out of this world. Great Service even though the place was PACKED. We will definitely be going back.
(5)Jennifer S.
Their food is very tasty for a decent price. If you enjoy spicy cuisines, this is the place for you.
(4)Jeff P.
Highly Overrated!! If you are asking if it's the best Chinese in the immediate surrounding area...then yes, it's the best Chinese food. Sure, it's better than Wangs, and the place over in the Kyrene and Ray strip mall but it's not better than Gold Chef. For one thing, the spring rolls are reheated frozen spring rolls; it's obvious! Pretty bush league if you ask me...especially for a restaurant that people are giving 5 stars to; they were mushy and cold as if they were reheated. There are no egg rolls on the menu and while some of you may respond by saying it's not a Cantonese restaurant...my response to that is...they offer other Cantonese items so why didn't you offer egg rolls too. I know a frozen spring roll like the back of my hand. The food also lacks seasoning. The flavors are good but it could be better. For a Szechwan restaurant, the food was lacking in heat and flavor. While it's good, it's also underseasoned. The fried rice is lacking flavor. When my wife had to apply Sriracha to her Szechwan style Chinese food...that's a bad sign! But I will say this dishes are prepared well. You don't see any of the pale watery chicken dishes that you observe at most other "good Chinese restaurants" that you witness in the Valley. If you live in the immediate area, you will not be disappointed getting carry out but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.
(3)Suze S.
The calamary and pepper is good. I ordered orange chicken, it is not the regular orange chicken that you've got when you are going to the chinese restaurant. it was tasty too. The restaurant was packed on Friday night. Service is not too good, but i definately will be back because the food is worth it.
(4)Caitrin C.
Excellent food, friendly service. They took time to explain things on the menu when we had questions. I would definitely go back. And if you are an adventurous eater there are plenty of interesting menu items.
(4)Barb H.
What a great neighborhood find! Pleasant surroundings and a huge menu with some pretty wild stuff. Nice servers who explain everything.the shanghai dumplings were as good as any in SF's Chinatown, and the shredded pork with onion sauce was a new delight for us. It'll be a standby in this house!
(4)Joe W.
Went here today. Its pretty nice and clean inside. Everyone says its an "authentic chinese place" which I would agree with. The waiters were polite. The prices were average. As a vegetarian I was pleased to see a bunch of options. Soon enough though I learned almost all of their vegetarian options contain meat included. You can just ask for no meat but its a hassle imo. The food was ok. It had a unique taste but was pretty plain. I ordered the homestyle tofu minus the meat and all it came with was tofu and 3-4 mushrooms. Nothing else. Normally this dish comes with a bunch of different veggies at other places. The portion size was the smallest I have ever seen. I left hungry. I will not be back. There are just too many other places to eat around here that are better value.
(3)RL L.
My husband loves Szechuanese food. We went for his Birthday and we really enjoyed every dish. Definitely worthy of the five star rating.
(5)Scott B.
If you try to give your pallet new experiences, flavors, you may NOT have ever tasted, there is a dish for you. Although, I must warn you. It is spicy! My wife is asian and I eat a lot of Asian food. Chinese food has always been at the bottom of my list for my asian food preferences. Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese food are preferred before Chinese food. However, this restaurant has literally moved the entire genre chinese food up my list! Wow!!! - Fish Fillet with Hot Chilli Peppers (SPICY & delicious). I only had one dish, but I may never have another when I eat here. This dish is soooooo good, if you like spicy. There is something in it that I haven't tasted since I ate spiced Jako while I was in Japan. There isn't an english word for this ingredient, but it is a small herb about the size of a peppercorn, that causes a tingle in your mouth. (My mouth is watering while I type). This little herb mixed with the hot chili peppers and light tender white fish. What a delight!.....almost sensual! If there were 6 six stars on Yelp's rating system, I would give them to this dish. An epicurean delight. Oh and the prices really good too!
(5)Tom S.
I have been to this restaurant twice with mixed result. The food is generally good to very good but a little inconsistent. Service being normal to very slow. Items on the "Hot & Spicy Style" menu is hot and tasty but can be very oily (I scooped out almost a small rice bow of pure oil from 2 dishes ordered). Seafood items, I tried sauteed shrimp and salt & pepper calamari, are good with just the right amount of spicy and crunch. Service is where this restaurant needs much improvement. The first time I came at 11:30 am and were able to get out in 45 minutes. The second time I came at 12:30 and spent 2 hours for lunch with most of the time waiting for the waiter to take order and do miscellaneous service like getting bows, spoon or cheque (I ended up getting the to-go box myself).
(3)James T.
A friend of mine told me this place recently opened and when we pulled into the plaza, they only had a cloth banner mentioning of a grand opening. I would love to give this place 4 or 5 stars, but they need to improve on many things before that happens. Here is what happened. We ordered two beef noodle dishes, but when the order came out, there was only 1. Isn't it a bit obvious that there are X amount of people and there is 1 less entree ordered? It took 3 different waiters/waitresses to get it fixed and by the time I got my bowl, my friends were already done eating. Shaolin bao's are tasty, but they are a bit overpriced at 8 bao's for $8. We asked the server how many bao's per order, but he didnt know so another server came and said "8, but am not sure." Shouldn't the server know these things? They shouldn't be so stingy with the ice, our cups literally had like 3 cubes per cup, and when they refilled our water, there was no ice in it at all. When we sat down, when they poured our water, the waiter guy overfilled our cups resulting in water spilled on the floor and splashing onto my feet. It's just water, but still annoying. In all, the food is pretty good, worth 4 stars. Their service was a 2. Give them a few weeks to work out the kinks and improve their service and I will visit this place again.
(3)Katherine L.
WOW...what a disappointment. Zero stars would be more appropriate! My daughter and I chose this restaurant based upon the stellar ratings of others on Yelp but were shocked to have had the opposite experience. We started with an order of egg rolls to give ourselves time to study the menu. This was the first warning of things to come. . They obviously were not fresh because I could not tell what the filling was made up of since it was a mushy mess. We ordered several dishes based upon the recommendations of the waitress. The shrimp dish looked wonderful in the color photo, but was overcooked and tasted less than fresh. The rib dish also didn't compare with the photo of juicy plump ribs; rather, we were served a plate of what looked and tasted like dried up left-over re-fried ribs from who knows when? The only bite I took was one of pure fat and splintered bone that had been cut through. After complaining politely to our waitress and asking for the check to pay for our two beverages (and even generously offering to pay for the egg rolls) a man came from the back and began shouting angrily to our waitress in a language we did not understand. We were embarrassed because he was obviously talking about us and we assumed that some of the other customers understood what he was saying. He had instructed our waitress not to remove the shrimp dish from our ticket because we had taken bites out of two of the shrimp! We paid the bill and left a tip for our waitress who was very nice and was not to blame. I am not in the habit of writing restaurant reviews, in fact, this is my first, but the level of disrespect I felt after not only the meal, but the offensive way we were treated, compelled me speak up. I do not understand how the other reviewers could have had such wonderful experiences whereas our's was utterly disastrous. I am a culinary school graduate and ex-culinary professional, so I know a bit about food, lest I be attacked for not appreciating good food. I notice that several of the reviews come from the same person. At any rate, if you have a hankerin' for Chinese food, I would suggest that you go anywhere other than Szechwan Garden.
(1)Katherine F.
I wrote a review about this awfull place 2 weeks ago and it disappeared. Why? Where did it go? It might explain all the AWESOME 5 star reviews they are getting! I see the same guy leaving the same fantastic review over and over. Szechwan Garden is HORRIBLE. People need to know that before they spend they time and money here. Do your stomach a favor and go anywhere else.
(1)Peter F.
This place has authentic Szechwan cuisine. People who are used to pseudo-Szechwan cuisine from other restaurants will find some differences. Be sure to try their Water Boiled Fish Filet with Chili pepers. This dish comes in a bowl (as it looks more like a soup) and is topped with cilantro. I tried it for lunch and will definately return for dinner. They don't have alcohol yet but have applied for their permit.
(5)Ethan H.
I feel as though this place needs a little more love. First of all, its nice to go to a Chinese restaurant that specializes in Szechuan food. If you haven't had food from this region of China, it kind of like comfort food. It tends to be spicy and, yes, a little oily some times. Most of the spicy dishes are also complimented by the nice floral flavor of ash berry, also know as Szechuan peppercorn. Some people have complained about oil but when I have not ordered the spicy and hot, the food has been less oily than most places. Everything I have tried, I have enjoyed.
(4)H L.
Food is awesome but the service is iffy. Sometimes it's good and sometimes they treat you like you are something stuck to the bottom of their shoe. I think it depends on which waiter you get. Nonetheless, the food is good. Szechwan Palace over in Phoenix used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I love spicy foods! However, the past couple of times the food has been overly salty or not as tasty. My parents informed me of Szechwan Garden and said I HAD to try it. Rumor has it that the chef from Szechwan Palace left and opened up Szechwan Garden, but I have no idea whether this is actually true or not. I must say I definitely was not disappointed. Excellent flavors and it is much closer too. I can't say that it tastes exactly like Szechwan Place used to, but it is up to par. If you go you must order the 'cold platter' trio combo. Go up to the front display and you can visually pick what you want. My favorite is the spicy beef tendon. As for dishes, I recommend the Kung Pao Chicken, very flavorful. If u can, go for lunch, the dishes are cheaper than dinner and they are still very decently sized. My parents go here like 3-4X a week and say the hot pot is amazing too, but I have yet to try it.
(4)Eric L.
Very authentic Szechwan style restaurant. On a average Sat evening, the restaurant is pack full of Chinese family. The service has improved a bit recently. The first opening months usually has very long wait. Szechwan restaurant style dishes tend to be spicy and salty on purpose. Most dishes are medium spicy here. So if you can take the average Mexican food, you should have no problem here. Just ask for lots of ice water. If you don't eat very spicy, there are still many great noodle dishes and dumping dishes.
(4)Carl L.
Only had their food once... my friend brought it to me "to go" amazing... really ... cold dishes ? am i really stuck in PHX, or did someone teleport me to real chinese food again? i live in the bay area, and miss this so badly... personally love the Happy Couple ... fuqi feipian! just wish i could have a vegetarian version!!! ha ha..
(5)Jessica B.
Best Chinese Food in AZ. I am from SF and am used to the best Chinese. I haven't found one place that has come close to Bay Area food. This place tastes like home.
(5)Eloise F.
i LOVE the food here, most the staff doesn't speak english, and most the guests are chinese, that's when you know the place is really authentic! Most items in the menu are on the spicy side, i particularly like the kung pao chicken and ma po tofu. The rice is bottomless, and you can eat a ton here for under $10.
(5)esther h.
Great food. My Mother and Father whom both are from China loved the food. The service was fast and pleasant. They must of worked out all the kinks out. Would return.
(5)Ams m.
4 star for food quality! Lovely food. I would order take away rather eating there as restaurant setting is not so appealing. It smells over there pretty bad if u want to dine in.
(4)Anish S.
I had the twice cooked pork and it was amazing. Pretty close to the Sichuan style. :)
(5)Jessica K.
Probably the best Chinese food I've ever had, and I don't really like Chinese food. My husbands friend is from China and he recommended the place. He even went with us and ordered in Chinese. The menus are all in Chinese and English - very authentic with many, many choices! Family style dining with a big lazy susan in the middle to make sharing easy. Loved the orange chicken - lightly breaded with no chewy fat pieces like I'm so used to getting at other places. My brother got the sweet and sour ribs and they were also delicious. Would highly recommend - its even cheap, under $10 a plate (big enough for 2-3 people to eat from with complimentary rice)
(4)Han L.
They have lunch special 7 days a week from 11 to 3 but the amount of food is not stingy kind of amount. Very tasty ! My fav is the egg and shrimp, fish with black bean and the normal dish spice fried chicken!
(5)Stacey R.
I took my family here recently was very good. Even my picky son ate a lot. Bf also ate until he hurt. I love spicy and I loved my food. Already craving!!!
(5)Arthur Y.
Went there for lunch and ordered several items: crispy onion pancake, shanghai style steamed dumplings, sautéed fish filet, and a sweet and sour type pork spare ribs (don't remember the actual name). My 3 yr old daughter liked the dumplings so much we ordered a 2nd one. Overall, their food is very good. Maybe the best szechwan food in the East Valley. The only complaint I had with our visit is more with the service. Their service is probably like a lot of Chinese restaurants where the wait staff is not very friendly and attentive. Good food, ok service.
(4)Hendrix H.
Best Szechwan (Sichuan in Mandarin) restaurant in AZ. Being Chinese and having lived in China for 2 years, this is the real deal. My family dines at this restaurant almost weekly. Our favorite dishes are Tong Qing Spicy Chicken, Crispy Onion Pancakes, Hot & Spicy Fish Fillet (aka fish fillet with hot chili peppers), Yu Xiang Rou Si (forgot the English name; it's pork strips with bamboo shoot). Almost every Szechwanese dish that we have tried is good. Other non-Szechwanese dishes may not be that great, e.g. beef noodle soup (niu rou mian), little dragon buns (xiao long bao). My only complaint is the occasional sewage smell outside the restaurant. I think it's fixed now.
(5)Ravi C.
Amazing Szechwan place! This place is now on my itinerary. The food tasted amazing and it was so cheap. I am so glad that unlike place in San Francisco they don't nickle and dime you by charging for rice per serving. We ordered Hot and Spicy Tofu, Fried Chicken cubes with hot pepper and hot and spicy pork kidney. All the dishes were amazing and the waiting staff was super friendly... as with all the good food places, it's pretty packed at lunch so plan accordingly.
(5)Tyler T.
The beef rolls are my main addiction. They're a little pricey, but it spares me from making them myself and they are darn good. The waitress currently working there is super friendly and remembers me every time I go. I generally eat to-go just because I usually stop by quite late. I love this place. I don't eat seafood, so maybe I didn't have a crazy reaction like Brother Diarrhea did. It reminds me of several Chinese restaurants in Rowland Heights/San Gabriel. If you're not used to those kind of joints because you're afraid of a little "added MSG" or hygiene, go to Panda Express! If you're in it for a dang good meal, then you've found your place.
(5)Juntian H.
This restaurant is fucking stupid. Food is extremely bad and the server's attitude is really bad. We came to eat at 6:30 and our food was coming in 7:00, last time, they charged me 18 more dollars and they do not want to refund it to me . I will not go to that fucking place again. FUCK.
(1)Brett H.
If I want great, authentic Chinese food then this is where I will go. If i want to try something adventurous this is where I go. They have great lunch specials that are on the menue, your usual American stuff, orange chicken, some fish dishes, some teriaka stuff. If you want to try something fun then you can ask the waiter to translate some of the specials that are posted on the wall in Chinese. I have never had something I did not like from here. Top marks for service, flavor and adventure.
(5)Tiffany Z.
Szechwan Garden is a nice Chinese restaurant, which is worthy of having a dinner if you like Szechwan dishes. There are three stars at the top of the website of Szechwan Garden, which is evaluation index for this restaurant. In addition to that, there are many reviews below about restaurant setting, taste of dishes and price and so on from customers. Most of people who like spicy speak highly of its dishes, but someone who do not like chili remark that dishes are so spicy that they cannot swallow it.
(5)Morgan E.
Went to Szechwan Garden for lunch yesterday. This was our 4th or 5th time here. We have been trying different dishes to enjoy their flavors. On this occasion we ordered: Hot and sour soup that was excellent Fish fillet in black bean sauce. very good Eggplant with garlic sauce. Superior, the best I've ever had. Pan-fried string bean. Again Superior. I think the beans were Chinese long beans as they were crisp and without any large beans as so often is the case. Overall the service was superior, attentive but not intrusive. The meal came quickly. And the bill came without having to chase down a waiter. We had been frequenting the Miu's Cuisine since they opened, but find the Szechwan Garden to be more pleasant and the food just a little better.
(5)Darrell B.
I had the orange chicken. It was very flavorful but should be a little spicier. Very tangy!
(4)Mandy S.
The WORST customer service EVER! I tried to order beef chow fun. I knew it wasn't on the menu, but being that I've ordered it multiple times, I thought I knew the ropes. Or I thought I did. I usually order it, they go in the back, talk to the chef and I get my beef chow fun. Tonight,, we came across a very rude, short bald guy. He assured me they never had chow fun and that I must've went somewhere else. He even went as far as showing me the menu. I told him I knew it wasn't on the menu but they made it before. I asked him to ask the chef, he refused. Whatever. I let it go and tried to order our other dishes but this guy kept talking about the beef chow fun. At one point, I asked him to drop it. Instead of dropping it, he proceeded to tell my mom that he could make it at home, but he can't bring it from home. Really? WTF? Drop it dude. We tried to continue to order but he kept talking about the beef chow fun and laughing at us. News flash: We were there to eat and pay for our food. Not be degraded and harassed by a lazy waiter. We wound up leaving. I will never go back. I hope it was worth losing a family of 6 that has been loyal customers for 3 years.
(1)Sb M.
It was great to see another szchewan style restaurant open up in the valley. The staff is awesome and the food is the best in the valley. However, the guests are terrible. The guests are very demanding. I speak some chinese so I was able to pick up on a conversation when a group of 5 arrived who were also impatient to wait for a seat. They had asked the boss if people could be moved (who were already eating) so they could occupy a group table. The managers gave in and asked people to move to another table. Some of the guests here can be real arrogant from time to time. I just wanted to smack those guests in the face.
(4)Mayo B.
For Chandler this is a really good location for Szechuan food. I love their cold entries where you can go to the display and choose 3 for $6. I usually get the "Fuqi Feipian" and the beef tenders and any other dish. This with some rice is good for lunch and some. Finally a place to get my "Ma La" fix.
(4)Bao H.
From what I know the Chef from Szechwan Palace left to open Szechwan Garden -- talk about a punch in the gut! Pow! The food here is pretty authentic and tasty. Very spicy I might add so if you're a lightweight please step aside. We ordered the Mapo Tofu, Fried Green beans, some sort of fried rice noodles that was dipped in a brown sauce (I didn't order this one my friend did so I don't know what it's called haha) Finally, my favorite fried Frog Legs in a medley of vegetables - Yum! It was my favorite of them all. Frog Legs are small but very meaty. Plus, the spice they cooked it in was delicious! Service was pretty good since my friend was a regular and I think they know her by name. Oh the perks! What I like about this place is that it reminds me of those old Chinese restaurants back in LA. No uniforms and the staff ate their lunch next to us :) The decors could use a modern touch, but the tackier the better I guess - Enjoy!
(4)Duke B.
Great Place. If you like Chinese you'll love it
(5)Tiff D.
I really liked this place!! Looks like a pretty authentic Chinese restaurant. We went for lunch. We were seated and greeted very nicely. The waitress was very kind and checked on us periodically through the meal. Just enough! Their lunch is a pretty good deal. Plates are categorized by $5, $6, $7 categories. About 10 per category. And the meal comes with rice and hot n sour soup which was some of the best I've had. I asked for medium spice since I know this kind of Chinese food is known for the spice but when the dishes came they were very mild. But the flavor was extremely good. Now I know next time I can handle the regular spice. We got the ginger scallion beef ($7), fish fillet with hot chili peppers($7), and the eggplant in garlic sauce($5). We had PLENTY of leftovers between the two of us. All were great but surprisingly the eggplant was our favorite. Can't wait to go back to try more dishes!! :)
(4)Jennifer C.
I've passed by this restaurant a couple times, and it has always been packed full of Chinese families, which is always a good sign. So, I decided to try it out. Overall the dishes were pretty good and lean towards the salty side. Tonight, I had the "three cold side dishes" of pork stomach, pig ears, and tofu which were FANTASTIC. The seasoning was perfect and the pig ears were sliced extra thin. The second course was no.6 - live fish with peppered bean curd. This dish was a bit on the fishy side, and while it is definitely cheap for a whole fish ($13), I would not recommend it. Instead, try the beef noodle soup. It is very flavorful and the meat is part fatty and part lean, just the way I like it. It also went well with the pig ear side dish. Finally I ended the night with the xiao long bao. The skin was good but the meat filling was average. Overall the service was good and the waiters were all very nice, especially considering how busy the restaurant was. It was also a bit loud and cramped inside, but definitely worth a visit for the food.
(3)Rachel W.
4 stars? Are you kidding? This is the grossest restaurant in the entire planet! My brother had severe food poisoning after eating Shrimp Fried Eggs here (Xia Ren Chao Dan). The shrimps must have been toxic and the eggs were not fresh at all. He was throwing up the night after eating this crap here, and then continuously puking and suffering from severe diarrhea day after day, night after night, even fainted a few times. This lasted a few days. He had never been this violently sick in his whole life. The reviews are so inflated here... I'd say that the level of hygiene in this restaurant is highly questionable, if not downright appalling. I'd recommend that you go elsewhere for your meals unless you want to risk being poisoned by unknown toxins hidden in their dishes. Stay away!!!
(1)Mary C.
I had dinner here with my mom, who spent most of her life in Taiwan, and my brother, who lives in San Francisco (where good Chinese food is abundant). We ordered Water Boiled Fish, Tong Qing Spicy Chicken, Xiao Long Bao and Stir-fried Green Beans. We thoroughly enjoyed every dish, but especially loved the Tong Qing Spicy Chicken. Sichuan cuisine is known for its numbing pepper corns and spicy chili oil, both of which were prominent in the spicy chicken dish. Authentic Chinese restaurants aren't really known for their ambiance and service, so if you're looking for a nice night out, you might want to go somewhere else. If you're looking for good authentic Sichuan food, this is your place!
(5)Ashley S.
I LOVE this place. I always order the spicy fish soup and it is my favorite dish in Chandler. Anytime my family comes to town we go here. The portions are huge so splitting an entree or two is always a great idea. The dumplings are delicious too!!
(5)Wowezow E.
Overrated. This place was so rude, the food was ok, and the prices were a little high for what you get. Skip this place and go to ACE in Mesa. Way tastier and ACE is a lot cheaper. Never going here again.
(1)Ben G.
This was outside my comfort zone for my Americanized pallet for Chinese food but I am so glad I did it. Family style eating. Was so much fun.
(5)Tom K.
Traveled there specifically to celebrate Chinese New Year in an authentic restaurant and was very pleased with the quality of both the food and service. My wife had the green onion ginger beef and I the spicy fish filet each from the lunch menu. The beef was among the best ever, and the fish, while delicious,, was somewhat too salty. The servers were welcoming and attentive acknowledging my halting Chinese with broad smiles. All of the restaurant staff were engaging and gracious throughout the entire meal. Large portions and good value for the price.
(5)Wayne K.
Long wait at lunch. 5 min just to acknowledge I was waiting. Hostess running table tickets, takeout orders and seating tables. Strange when I'm already eating with chopsticks the server comes over to ask if I want a fork??? WTH? I wonder what kind of reaction I'd get asking a group of Asians eating with forks if they'd like chopsticks? Ordered beef and broccoli. Tried to substitute fried rice for the steamed rice but no can do. Hint people. Figure out how much additional the same amount of fried rice is and ADD THE ADDITIONAL CHARGE. Telling a customer no you can't do it will ensure one thing: the customer goes somewhere they will. Try visiting other restaurants and see how they do it. So I got my lunch they way they wanted me to have it. Result? Loss of additional revenue and an unhappy customer. I guess not all business owners actually have business sense. Two stars only because the food is good. Not great, but good. The service and flexibility to the customer is substandard.
(2)Melissa H.
Great to find another tucked away Szechuan restaurant. All the old classics are here and executed nicely. Definitely come for family style ordering. Not everything has to be made spicy and the kitchen will adjust. The one thing I'm not always used to (mostly because Cantonese people tend to like light flavors) is the amount of oil used. I just find myself telling the kitchen to go a little lighter on the oil and I've never had a problem.
(4)Jeremy L.
Kung Pao chicken for daaaaaaays. Real cheap lunch specials with large portions. Dinner entrees are still cheap with even more good food. Oh and get a side of onion pancakes. Trust.
(5)Rui Z.
no1 chinese food around this area，no question. also reasonable price.
(5)Linda K.
Tried this place twice. Once for take out and once dine in. Both times we got the soft shell crab. Me likes! With all the fried garlic to pick at, Yum! It's a little on the $$ end, but hey, it's soft shell crab. I wouldn't say it was the best I've ever had, but for what we can get around here, I was satisfied. I'll just mention the things we got during the dine in since it was more recent and I remember it better... ;) The cold appetizers - tofu, white - not spicy, greenish (not sure if that was tofu, but hey, I don't really mind. If it tastes good I'll try it!) - little spicy, pig ear - spicy. All were delish! There's a hot oil & spicy fish dish. They're known for it. That was super good! We did ask for it not to be as spicy and they accommodated us, which was nice. It was just enough kick for us. TRY THAT! She also recommended the equivalent dish, but with lamb. Next time I'd like to taste test that one. The fried pork ribs were just normal. Nothing special or out of the ordinary. We also got a veggie dish. We always ask what kind of veggies they have. Sometimes they have ones that aren't on the menu. All this filled the 6 of us and was pretty reasonable in price. I liked the service. I mean really, I never go to a Chinese restaurant expecting good service. I just look forward to the food. But the lady gave us her recommendations. We were hesitant on the fish dish (bc we weren't sure if it'd be too spicy), and she told us to get the lunch portion vs the dinner since it was smaller and if we didn't like it, we wouldn't have as much. That was cool. If you like spicy, I'm sure this place would fill your tank. If you aren't total spicy fans, there's still enough stuff and ways for them to accommodate to your liking, like they did for us.
(4)Craig W.
My daughter tells me, next time I'm in her area for lunch I should call her and she'll meet us. My wife is Chinese and we spent time in Sichuan and both love Sichuan and Hunan cooking. So we meet at Szechuan Garden. My wife is certain to get her favorite Hunan frog legs which of course my daughter won't touch. But my wife drags my daughter over to the cold 'deli' counter and when they return, my daughter has a sickened look on her face and basically is telling me that she can't believe the things they eat. Anyway, the deal is like 3 selections from the cold deli for $6. The cold chicken is very tasty, the tofu strips were a concession for my daughter and the pigs ear skin in Sichuan pepper oil were one of the things that my daughter was struggling with - but rather tasty. Those with less of a sense of adventure should definitely get the beef tendon in the pepper oil since it is one of the things that truly reminds me of being in Chengdu. My daughter gets a rather bland, Cantonese lunch and of course is unimpressed. Wife suggests that this probably isn't the place to bring my daughter who pretty much has issues with eating anything that reminds her that it once walked/flew/swam on earth. But of course that leads me to the second phase of this review... the next time I go there. I'm to meet my wife there and I am running late. She orders without me. Frog legs and pigs ears were not on today's table... Now I pride myself on being able to eat pretty much anything and I certainly recognize that the only thing Chinese won't eat is the oink itself but today is a struggle. Wife has already ordered and already gracing the table is another Hunan inspiration but instead of frog legs, it's pork intestines. I pause a moment and say, what the heck and I'm almost embarrassed to admit that it was outstanding. Next up was the cold deli mix which contained my favorite oil/pepper mix but instead of beef tendon (my #1 choice) or pigs ear (eh), my wife suggests that this is cow lung. That Sichuan peppery oil has a chocolate quality to it... enough of it could probably make shit taste good. I'm really struggling though with the psychology of eating pigs intestines and cow lungs. Thankfully, we had the lamb ribs dry rubbed with cumin which although was rather sparse in the available meat category, the flavor was rather exceptional. So this is the bottom line here. If you want to eat Szechuan (and the real Chinese pinyin spelling is Sichuan), you have to: - do as good as you can to suspend your beliefs on what is edible and be willing to try something out of ordinary to find the real live food tastes available here. - don't order Cantonese items... go to a Cantonese restaurant for Cantonese food. Cantonese is sweet, plain, bland. Egg Foo Young, Fried Rice, Orange Chicken, Sweet and Sour anything... go somewhere else. This is the Szechuan Garden. - definitely do a plate from the cold deli counter and make sure you get something with the Sichuan peppery oil whether it's beef tendon or even just the cold chicken with the oil... it's a true slice of Sichuan - Water boiled (fish / beef / chicken) etc. is incredible and most highly recommended. - Hunan cuisine is quire rare in the valley and while I won't say that Szechuan Garden is great Hunan cuisine, it's certainly quite good, definitely different. I'm hoping that there's laws on the books that prevent restaurants from selling dog because my wife would definitely order it. As it is, she is under instructions never to let me eat dog when I am with her in China and as insurance, a secondary promise to not tell me that I am eating dog. As for the pork intestine... I admit it was extremely good and while I would have a difficult time ordering it myself, if it's put in front of me, I'm sure I would eat it again. Restaurant... don't know about Szechuan Palace now that they changed ownership but this is one of the real gems in the valley
(5)Qianying Z.
Very delicious Szechwan food! As a fan of tranditional szechwan food, the chili food is so testy. My favourite dishes are hot and spicy fish and beef.
(4)Julie P.
Came here with my parents who did all the ordering. I love this place! The food is really authentic, but you can also order the dishes less spicy. Everything we ordered was excellent, but my favorite was the fried mushrooms. There was a unique spice, and the mushrooms were sliced very thin. It's so different that you have to try it if you like mushrooms. You can't go wrong with anything you order. All dishes are so flavorful and well made.
(4)Lynn K.
I really like this place. I am begging the owner to please print some of the specials in English.
(4)Andrew C.
Went there for lunch with 5 coworkers. Nobody liked the food and the atmosphere was horrible. Sat under a TV blaring Chinese news at a table with an off kilter lazy susan that pushed our dishes into our laps. The staff had to be flagged down several times - to bring forks, to fill water, to ask for the check, etc... I had the orange chicken which was overly wangy with a cloying citrus sauce and large chunks of orange peel that I accidentally chewed on (and spit out) a couple times. yuck. 10 bucks (including tax and tip) for chicken, white rice, diet coke, and a headache. Not going back.
(1)David D.
I tried asking some other Yelpers one morning if they liked this place more than Tao Garden. I've always liked Tao Garden the most in Chandler area, but the Long John Silvers decore of old was a little too much to handle after a while. I came to Szechwan Garden with a friend, and I saw the noticeable change in the decor. It was previously iKitchen (korean/ramen). iKitchen didn't do much to change the look from the TOGO that was there before them. Szechwan Garden added touches of red with lanterns. They changed the tables into the classic round table with red cloth we see at most asian restaurants. Though there were plenty of free tables, we somehow got stuck with the two seater next to the bathroom. I wish we could've sat elsewhere, but I assumed they were expecting a massive lunch crowd and didn't want to have wasted seating.. I could deal with that. Prices were in three tiers: 4.98, 5.98, and 6.98 for their lunch specials that included the entree, soup, and a mini tub of rice. The distinction between Szechwan Garden and other places is that lunch comes out family style. You have your own place, there are the entrees in the middle, and you pass around a tub of rice. It allows sharing of others dishes which you usually wouldn't do. I was really happy with this too. I ordered the fillet in black bean sauce with tofu, and my friend ordered the orange chicken. The orange chicken was tangy, crispy, and not overly deepfriend with a nice underlying orange taste from the zest. The fillet was hot, tender, not dry, and hot (i know its sad when "hot" is a criteria). My dish also had a nice spice to it from the black pepper, but it wasn't too bad that my friend couldn't eat it. Service was fast. Water was refilled often. I liked this, but then I also thought it was too fast. By the time our entree was on the table, she already laid the check next to my arm. They kept repeatedly coming by asking if everything was okay and turning and leaving before I could really answer. I felt like they wanted us to leave as quickly as possible so they could turn the table. I don't get it, since there were still plenty of tables open. Service aside, I would've given the place 5 stars, but the food is too good. It's definitely my go to spot in Chandler for Chinese from now on.
(4)Heather C.
Amazing flavors, lots of good spice, inexpensive. Great place, will definitely frequent!
(4)Mike H.
Wow was this place great! Most of the patrons in there were chinese speaking people of college so right off I knew this was going to be good autthentic chinese food. We ordered so pretty tame items but the flavor was out of this world. Great Service even though the place was PACKED. We will definitely be going back.
(5)Jennifer S.
Their food is very tasty for a decent price. If you enjoy spicy cuisines, this is the place for you.
(4)Jake M.
First time here. Honestly, probably the best Chinese food in Phoenix. Authentic. Delicious. Great flavor. Highly recommend. I had #20 or #21 (sliced chicken) spicy. Definitely had a little kick to it but not overly spicy at all.
(5)Jeff P.
Highly Overrated!! If you are asking if it's the best Chinese in the immediate surrounding area...then yes, it's the best Chinese food. Sure, it's better than Wangs, and the place over in the Kyrene and Ray strip mall but it's not better than Gold Chef. For one thing, the spring rolls are reheated frozen spring rolls; it's obvious! Pretty bush league if you ask me...especially for a restaurant that people are giving 5 stars to; they were mushy and cold as if they were reheated. There are no egg rolls on the menu and while some of you may respond by saying it's not a Cantonese restaurant...my response to that is...they offer other Cantonese items so why didn't you offer egg rolls too. I know a frozen spring roll like the back of my hand. The food also lacks seasoning. The flavors are good but it could be better. For a Szechwan restaurant, the food was lacking in heat and flavor. While it's good, it's also underseasoned. The fried rice is lacking flavor. When my wife had to apply Sriracha to her Szechwan style Chinese food...that's a bad sign! But I will say this dishes are prepared well. You don't see any of the pale watery chicken dishes that you observe at most other "good Chinese restaurants" that you witness in the Valley. If you live in the immediate area, you will not be disappointed getting carry out but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.
(3)Suze S.
The calamary and pepper is good. I ordered orange chicken, it is not the regular orange chicken that you've got when you are going to the chinese restaurant. it was tasty too. The restaurant was packed on Friday night. Service is not too good, but i definately will be back because the food is worth it.
(4)Caitrin C.
Excellent food, friendly service. They took time to explain things on the menu when we had questions. I would definitely go back. And if you are an adventurous eater there are plenty of interesting menu items.
(4)Barb H.
What a great neighborhood find! Pleasant surroundings and a huge menu with some pretty wild stuff. Nice servers who explain everything.the shanghai dumplings were as good as any in SF's Chinatown, and the shredded pork with onion sauce was a new delight for us. It'll be a standby in this house!
(4)Joe W.
Went here today. Its pretty nice and clean inside. Everyone says its an "authentic chinese place" which I would agree with. The waiters were polite. The prices were average. As a vegetarian I was pleased to see a bunch of options. Soon enough though I learned almost all of their vegetarian options contain meat included. You can just ask for no meat but its a hassle imo. The food was ok. It had a unique taste but was pretty plain. I ordered the homestyle tofu minus the meat and all it came with was tofu and 3-4 mushrooms. Nothing else. Normally this dish comes with a bunch of different veggies at other places. The portion size was the smallest I have ever seen. I left hungry. I will not be back. There are just too many other places to eat around here that are better value.
(3)RL L.
My husband loves Szechuanese food. We went for his Birthday and we really enjoyed every dish. Definitely worthy of the five star rating.
(5)Scott B.
If you try to give your pallet new experiences, flavors, you may NOT have ever tasted, there is a dish for you. Although, I must warn you. It is spicy! My wife is asian and I eat a lot of Asian food. Chinese food has always been at the bottom of my list for my asian food preferences. Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese food are preferred before Chinese food. However, this restaurant has literally moved the entire genre chinese food up my list! Wow!!! - Fish Fillet with Hot Chilli Peppers (SPICY & delicious). I only had one dish, but I may never have another when I eat here. This dish is soooooo good, if you like spicy. There is something in it that I haven't tasted since I ate spiced Jako while I was in Japan. There isn't an english word for this ingredient, but it is a small herb about the size of a peppercorn, that causes a tingle in your mouth. (My mouth is watering while I type). This little herb mixed with the hot chili peppers and light tender white fish. What a delight!.....almost sensual! If there were 6 six stars on Yelp's rating system, I would give them to this dish. An epicurean delight. Oh and the prices really good too!
(5)Tom S.
I have been to this restaurant twice with mixed result. The food is generally good to very good but a little inconsistent. Service being normal to very slow. Items on the "Hot & Spicy Style" menu is hot and tasty but can be very oily (I scooped out almost a small rice bow of pure oil from 2 dishes ordered). Seafood items, I tried sauteed shrimp and salt & pepper calamari, are good with just the right amount of spicy and crunch. Service is where this restaurant needs much improvement. The first time I came at 11:30 am and were able to get out in 45 minutes. The second time I came at 12:30 and spent 2 hours for lunch with most of the time waiting for the waiter to take order and do miscellaneous service like getting bows, spoon or cheque (I ended up getting the to-go box myself).
(3)James T.
A friend of mine told me this place recently opened and when we pulled into the plaza, they only had a cloth banner mentioning of a grand opening. I would love to give this place 4 or 5 stars, but they need to improve on many things before that happens. Here is what happened. We ordered two beef noodle dishes, but when the order came out, there was only 1. Isn't it a bit obvious that there are X amount of people and there is 1 less entree ordered? It took 3 different waiters/waitresses to get it fixed and by the time I got my bowl, my friends were already done eating. Shaolin bao's are tasty, but they are a bit overpriced at 8 bao's for $8. We asked the server how many bao's per order, but he didnt know so another server came and said "8, but am not sure." Shouldn't the server know these things? They shouldn't be so stingy with the ice, our cups literally had like 3 cubes per cup, and when they refilled our water, there was no ice in it at all. When we sat down, when they poured our water, the waiter guy overfilled our cups resulting in water spilled on the floor and splashing onto my feet. It's just water, but still annoying. In all, the food is pretty good, worth 4 stars. Their service was a 2. Give them a few weeks to work out the kinks and improve their service and I will visit this place again.
(3)Katherine L.
WOW...what a disappointment. Zero stars would be more appropriate! My daughter and I chose this restaurant based upon the stellar ratings of others on Yelp but were shocked to have had the opposite experience. We started with an order of egg rolls to give ourselves time to study the menu. This was the first warning of things to come. . They obviously were not fresh because I could not tell what the filling was made up of since it was a mushy mess. We ordered several dishes based upon the recommendations of the waitress. The shrimp dish looked wonderful in the color photo, but was overcooked and tasted less than fresh. The rib dish also didn't compare with the photo of juicy plump ribs; rather, we were served a plate of what looked and tasted like dried up left-over re-fried ribs from who knows when? The only bite I took was one of pure fat and splintered bone that had been cut through. After complaining politely to our waitress and asking for the check to pay for our two beverages (and even generously offering to pay for the egg rolls) a man came from the back and began shouting angrily to our waitress in a language we did not understand. We were embarrassed because he was obviously talking about us and we assumed that some of the other customers understood what he was saying. He had instructed our waitress not to remove the shrimp dish from our ticket because we had taken bites out of two of the shrimp! We paid the bill and left a tip for our waitress who was very nice and was not to blame. I am not in the habit of writing restaurant reviews, in fact, this is my first, but the level of disrespect I felt after not only the meal, but the offensive way we were treated, compelled me speak up. I do not understand how the other reviewers could have had such wonderful experiences whereas our's was utterly disastrous. I am a culinary school graduate and ex-culinary professional, so I know a bit about food, lest I be attacked for not appreciating good food. I notice that several of the reviews come from the same person. At any rate, if you have a hankerin' for Chinese food, I would suggest that you go anywhere other than Szechwan Garden.
(1)Katherine F.
I wrote a review about this awfull place 2 weeks ago and it disappeared. Why? Where did it go? It might explain all the AWESOME 5 star reviews they are getting! I see the same guy leaving the same fantastic review over and over. Szechwan Garden is HORRIBLE. People need to know that before they spend they time and money here. Do your stomach a favor and go anywhere else.
(1)Peter F.
This place has authentic Szechwan cuisine. People who are used to pseudo-Szechwan cuisine from other restaurants will find some differences. Be sure to try their Water Boiled Fish Filet with Chili pepers. This dish comes in a bowl (as it looks more like a soup) and is topped with cilantro. I tried it for lunch and will definately return for dinner. They don't have alcohol yet but have applied for their permit.
(5)Ethan H.
I feel as though this place needs a little more love. First of all, its nice to go to a Chinese restaurant that specializes in Szechuan food. If you haven't had food from this region of China, it kind of like comfort food. It tends to be spicy and, yes, a little oily some times. Most of the spicy dishes are also complimented by the nice floral flavor of ash berry, also know as Szechuan peppercorn. Some people have complained about oil but when I have not ordered the spicy and hot, the food has been less oily than most places. Everything I have tried, I have enjoyed.
(4)H L.
Food is awesome but the service is iffy. Sometimes it's good and sometimes they treat you like you are something stuck to the bottom of their shoe. I think it depends on which waiter you get. Nonetheless, the food is good. Szechwan Palace over in Phoenix used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I love spicy foods! However, the past couple of times the food has been overly salty or not as tasty. My parents informed me of Szechwan Garden and said I HAD to try it. Rumor has it that the chef from Szechwan Palace left and opened up Szechwan Garden, but I have no idea whether this is actually true or not. I must say I definitely was not disappointed. Excellent flavors and it is much closer too. I can't say that it tastes exactly like Szechwan Place used to, but it is up to par. If you go you must order the 'cold platter' trio combo. Go up to the front display and you can visually pick what you want. My favorite is the spicy beef tendon. As for dishes, I recommend the Kung Pao Chicken, very flavorful. If u can, go for lunch, the dishes are cheaper than dinner and they are still very decently sized. My parents go here like 3-4X a week and say the hot pot is amazing too, but I have yet to try it.
(4)Eric L.
Very authentic Szechwan style restaurant. On a average Sat evening, the restaurant is pack full of Chinese family. The service has improved a bit recently. The first opening months usually has very long wait. Szechwan restaurant style dishes tend to be spicy and salty on purpose. Most dishes are medium spicy here. So if you can take the average Mexican food, you should have no problem here. Just ask for lots of ice water. If you don't eat very spicy, there are still many great noodle dishes and dumping dishes.
(4)Carl L.
Only had their food once... my friend brought it to me "to go" amazing... really ... cold dishes ? am i really stuck in PHX, or did someone teleport me to real chinese food again? i live in the bay area, and miss this so badly... personally love the Happy Couple ... fuqi feipian! just wish i could have a vegetarian version!!! ha ha..
(5)Jessica B.
Best Chinese Food in AZ. I am from SF and am used to the best Chinese. I haven't found one place that has come close to Bay Area food. This place tastes like home.
(5)Eloise F.
i LOVE the food here, most the staff doesn't speak english, and most the guests are chinese, that's when you know the place is really authentic! Most items in the menu are on the spicy side, i particularly like the kung pao chicken and ma po tofu. The rice is bottomless, and you can eat a ton here for under $10.
(5)esther h.
Great food. My Mother and Father whom both are from China loved the food. The service was fast and pleasant. They must of worked out all the kinks out. Would return.
(5)Ams m.
4 star for food quality! Lovely food. I would order take away rather eating there as restaurant setting is not so appealing. It smells over there pretty bad if u want to dine in.
(4)George C.
Been here more than a handful of times and I love their szchewan dishes! Some dishes I always get at szchewan places are spicy water boiled fish(shui zhu yu pian), yu xiang eggplant, fu qi fei pian (it's a plate of three different items you can choose from the front counter and I'd recommend the pig ear, the beef, and kidney), and usually get the garlic string beans as well. For those of you who feel numbness or tingling in your mouth, that would be due to Chinese peppercorn which is what szchewan cuisine is known for! The food is consistently very good but the service can be lacking at times. (Went for lunch and had to fill the water ourselves). If you're looking for authentic szchewan food though, stop on by!
(4)John T.
If you like food that is any of these things - spicy, zesty, flavorful, ethnic, unusual, or even just interesting - you must try this place. As a normal American guy I can't pretend to know much about "authentic" Chinese or Szechuan cuisine, but this sure seems authentic to me. Most of their menu (that I've tried) is characterized by lots of peppers, oil, a good amount of vegetables, and well-balanced, unique flavor combinations. I'd highly recommend Hot and Spicy anything (especially Hot and Spicy Fish), Salt and Pepper Calamari, Lamb with Cumin, and the Eggplant dish (can't remember the exact name, but I think there's only one). If you aren't adventurous, don't like spicy foods, or are unsettled by the presence of items like "Flaming Pig Intestines" on the menu, then...well... maybe you should sit this one out.
(5)Wei Y.
Came here for lunch and dinner a few times with friends. I am impressed by how consistent and good their food is. I would like to come here for lunch more often, but they're usually understaffed and it takes a while to get served and cashed out. I'd recommend coming here for dinner, it's definitely with a try.
(4)Pana T.
I love Chinese food especially szechaun style Chinese food. I usually order the tong qi chicken but today I let the waiter order for me & he did not disappoint. He ordered salty pork, which is stir fried pork belly tossed with veggies in a black bean sauce. He paired it with garlic eggplant which was also delicious.
(4)Adriana G.
Love this place so much, I just need it to try it ones and then I became a regular, the food it's so good, full of flavour and so autentic, the portions are good size, and the service is so friendly. My favourite is the Hot and Sour sup, it's so delicious, the fry rice with shrimp, and the chicken with red peppers and ginger, I been trying different plates and you definitely can't go wrong with any of them, all so good and full of flavour. Definitely a must try highly recommended.
(5)Tra W.
Almost the best Chinese restaurant that Id ever have in Tempe/Chandler area. Needless to say almost all their dishes are amazing. Serving is good, quick response. The best dishes I like is water boiling fish. It's not spicy at all. People can not take spicy food like me can actually fall in love with this dish! Tons of dishes that I haven't try yet. But I think those are all good to taste! 100% recommended!
(5)Nicole J.
Szechwan style is not for the light-hearted. It's spicy! However, for the amount of chilis you see in your entree, it's nowhere as hot as you are led to believe. I do appreciate that they don't go crazy with the whole peppercorns as many Szechwan restaurants do because I don't enjoy the numbing aftertaste. The prices are very reasonable, especially if you come for the lunch specials. For any person that remotely loves spicy and Chinese food, Szechwan Garden is a must. Fantastic Dishes: -Fish fillet with hot chili peppers -Shanghai style steamed dumplings -Hot pot with fish and beef
(4)Genesis B.
The Service here is great for a fast past place. Being from Southern California I find it hard to find Chinese food worth ranting about. The food here is very good and well priced. I was even offered a cup of ice water as I waited for my take out order to be prepared (which I ordered in person); which consisted of chicken fried rice, beef and broccoli, sesame seed chicken, and orange chicken. It's not the prettiest place inside, the layout is awkward but the food is great hands down. I ordered over the phone last time and that was somewhat challenging, at that visit I ended up with something I didn't want but it was so good I came back for more!
(4)April S.
You know you are at an authentic Chinese restaurant when you see lots of signature dishes written in Chinese hanging on the wall and almost all customers are speaking in their native tongue. Service: The kitchen was super busy cooking food for customers who were dining in as well as keeping up with the to-go order. Servers were trying their best to serve food as quickly as they could, checked up on orders and super polite to all customers. All of them speak little to no English, but I admire their hard working ethnic and politeness. If you don't speak any Chinese, please be patience with them. Food: oh boy oh boy oh boy. I haven't had steamed dumpling and fried pork this good for a very long time. As soon as the dumpling came out of the kitchen, all 4 of us cleaned it in less than 5 minutes. The fried pork was so tender that the meat falls off as soon as you chew on it. The boiled fish was spicy as advertised, but unfortunately the fish has lost a bit of its flavor. We also ordered the hot & sour soup and it was absolutely delicious. You can tell that they aren't cheap on their ingredience neither. Orange and kuo pao chicken isnt chinese food. If you want to know how authentic Chinese food really tastes like, this place is it! I cannot wait to come back here again
(5)Tess K.
I walked in a quarter passed 11 on Labor Day with my two buddies, we were pleasantly surprised by the authentic smells and television channels. We were taken aback that they even had amenities as wonderful as lazy Susan's on most of the tables. We felt as if we were immediate transported into south east Asia, we almost forgot America even existed. After eating the wonderful food we were overcome by a magical Asian glow. I was even approached by several men at the Fry's Marketplace while I did my weekly grocery shopping, later that day.
(5)Chris F.
Thought this place was great. Very friendly, Great Food....hint try the braised spicy frog if your on the adventurous side.
(4)Kirk S.
Abandon hope all ye who do not like spicy food, because this place will pretty much kill you. Szechwan Garden specializes in one thing: Hunan-style spicy food. The walls are red, the place is decorated with peppers, the food is full of peppers... etc. There is no safe place here - virtually every single dish will nuke the unprepared from orbit with absolutely delicious heat. I had a variety of dishes and unfortunately forgot the names of the vast majority of them, but I will say everything was good and spicy. Only one dish - a shrimp dish - didn't have huge chili peppers added. Everything was amazingly savory and spicy, which basically made it hard to stop eating. The only negative from this food was the aftermath on my stomach - I literally ate myself until it hurt! Service is good, but I can tell they are easily overwhelmed. I suppose this is normal for places with only 5-8 tables. That being said, be seriously warned - your entire dining party must like spicy food for this place to be a good choice. If not, you'll be in trouble!
(4)Audrey G.
This is a go to restaurant for my family, and has tasty, authentic Szechwan food. My favorite dish here is the "Tong Qing Spicy Chicken", and their "Fish Filet in Black Bean Sauce" is another good authentic dish to try. We've been going for a couple of years now, but recently the quality seems to have gone down a bit. Went there today when it was extremely busy, and they didn't have enough servers. Normally I don't mind poor service if a restaurant is busy, but when it leads to sub-par food that's a problem. Our chicken portion was smaller than usual, and our potato dish had too much vinegar.
(3)Patricia M.
The place was full of Chinese folks so you know that is always a good sign. We liked the eggplant but the beef dish was too salty. Service was rushed and the staff was hustling.
(3)Brynn Y.
My go-to for authentic Chinese food. I get nervous about some places but this one I "trust."
(5)Donna K.
This service here was really slow & our waitress didn't speak much English. We had to repeat ourselves multiple times for her to understand us. I found this place on Yelp, of course. We had to go to the front to tell them we were ready to order after waiting about 15 mins after we sat down to order food. We order the Spicy shrimp in the hot pot, dumplings and beef and tofu hot pot. The shrimp wasn't bad, but it was a little dry. The beef was a bit soft and chewy, the tasted way better than the beef. Lastly the dumplings were juicy and tasty, I would recommend those. The food was horrible, but it wasn't great. I most likely will not come back here.
(2)Ana S.
The decor was interesting. I didn't like that they didn't have coffee, but it was really intimate and the price was reasonable, so I would recommend it for a change. The white rice was good.
(4)Janet Z.
If you're looking for orange chicken, kung pao chicken with fried rice - stop reading now!! Turn around and go back to Panda Express. If you're looking for authentic and flavorful Chinese food, you found your place. Being Chinese, I can honestly say, I know the difference between good Chinese food and Americanized Chinese food. Moreover, both of my parents loved this place. After my mom passed, my father came here nearly every other day to get food. If that's not a vote of authenticity, I'm not sure what else is. Onto the food! It's flavorful, filling and if you're willing to try new things, you may find your new favorite dish. I personally can't start a real Chinese restaurant experience without a bowl of hot and sour soup. Their 酸辣汤 has the right amount of heat and tartness. I always add in a dash of white pepper to kick it up a bit. The eggplant is a hit if you're eating with Chinese food newbies. I believe they have two kinds. Ask for the one with wood ear... trust me. Service! If you don't speak Chinese, please, for all that is good and holy, BE POLITE AND PATIENT. Don't get your panties in a bunch of the Chinese (and very sweet) servers take awhile to understand that you really can't have anything with gluten. You think they were taught "gluten" in their night classes? Hell, do YOU even know what gluten is? But I digress... This place is awesome and again, authentic. So please take it for what it is. Enjoy the Chinese TV and trust me, loud slurping is a total compliment.
(5)Lira Anne D.
First time here. Brought my mother here for lunch. Ordered the seafood crispy noodles, honey walnut shrimp and orange beef - it was all delish! Staff was very friendly as well. I'll definitely be coming back.
(4)Alex J.
Some of the employees here are friendly and helpful. But I didn't appreciate the female maitre'd starting an argument with me over the size of my tip. That took nerve. She got an extra couple of dollars out of me that one time but lost a customer.
(2)Sam K.
Service was a little slow. The food made up for it. I ordered a chicken dish and it was the best I have eaten since China Town in San Francisco. While is is a little pricey it was worth the treat. Even had enough left for later. It is busy for a reason. That is why you should try it
(4)Scott S.
Wish I lived closer to Szechwan Garden - I love their spicy dishes. I don't understand people who rave about this restaurant, then give it just 3 or 4 stars. I think it among the best Chinese restaurants I've been to. We ordered Tong Qing Spicy Chicken (boneless) and shredded pork (#34). Contrary to a lot of reviews, the food here is not burn-your-mouth hot, just spicy & flavorful. Food was served very quickly, though we were there at an off-peak time. Highly recommended.
(5)Jennifer O.
I was super impressed with Szechwan Garden! I came here for lunch with a couple coworkers and the place was packed, but we were seated quickly. We ordered the sautéed green beans, the spicy pork lunch special, the chow fun, Xiao long bao, and scallion pancakes. I wanted to come here specifically for XLB, and they did not disappoint. They were a little on the big side, but not too big to eat all in one bite. My only issue with them were that they didn't bring any sauce for them and then kinda disappeared so we couldn't get any..... I think this may have been more of a product of their busy -ness than what is typical. Anyway, the xlb were juicy and delicious. I would come back for that alone. The rest of the food was also tasty, with the green beans being the best item - they were spicy and garlicky and delicious. The chow fun was good, but forgettable, the pork was also tasty. We ate a ton of food and still only paid abut 10$ per person. I will definitely be back!
(4)Kat P.
Szechuan style food has a unique taste and is known for they're super spicy dishes. Pretty much everything has chili peppers in it. There's an under tone of Chinese five spice and star anise that I felt was in most of the dishes we ordered. But the waitress said it was Szechuan pepper corns and they make your tongue a little numb. I recommended: Mao's style braised pork, mapo tofu, shrimp fried rice, and chongqi spicy chicken. And like everyone has commented, this place is legit! Who cares that most everything is written in Chinese and the waitress has bad English. GREAT food is more important people !!! We happen to like our waitress very much :)
(4)Carolyn H.
Excellent food. Love the Eggplant with Garlic. Order for pick up during lunch is recommended.
(5)Eddy Y.
The food has always been good. The service...so so. It seems like the prices are going up and portions getting smaller (lunch and dinner). If you have a to-go order, they give you a small portion of rice and get mad if you request more. If you dine in, you get all the rice you want. Doesn't make sense.
(3)Minnie H.
If you like spicy food this is the right place to go to. The lunch menu is an extremely good deal!! Cheap!! The only downside is that the food taste is not always consistent.
(4)Al H.
Very good. Service was friendly. It was nice to have a noodle bowl that was more unique than the usual fare. Would suggest English descriptions of all menu items for convenience.
(4)Gangan H.
I honestly would give negative stars if I could. I was trying to decide what I was gonna get and the waitress came and since I was undecided, she will come get our order later. She had the attitude and not friendly at all. And she never did. My bf had to walk up to the counter and ordered the food. And she was like: That's it? We were 2 so we ordered 2... And after we ate she didn't come back with check so we went up to pay. We ate $18 of food and I was trying to write the tip down. And she showed us how many tips we should give: 20% 25% Well I know we should appreciate the service but none was provided. But we still gave 10% tip. She said 'what the' and gave us the attitude... Seriously. She is sooooo RUDE!!!!! Horrible customer service!! Never going back and I recommend never going there again
(1)James F.
This place is a pleasant surprise. I stopped in for an early dinner.The staff was very tentative. The food will surely surprise you. Fresh and extra large portions. Beef was tender. The pot stickers were the best. Oh, also tried the chicken ginger. Both entrees amazed me! I will continue going to this restaurant.
(4)Christina W.
Tried a couple of times now and was heavily disappointed on visit #2. Got the frog legs, fish in chili oil, beef noodle soup, some fried rice and beef roll. Frog and fish were same seasoning - just salty. Beef noodle soup was eh. Don't remember beef roll. Fried rice was maybe the best of it all which is sad.... It was really busy though on a Saturday night but I won't be a part of that crowd in the future.
(1)Brenda H.
Not a huge fan. This is very authentic Chinese just so you know. I have to watch my sodium and after eating here my ankles and feet swelled. If your looking for frog this is your place. Most menu is in Chinese language and wait staff are hard to understand.
(1)Crystal P.
This place deserves no stars if I could. I've read some of the yelp reviews and based on the feedback I thought it would be worth the try. Bad idea, I was soooooooo dissapointed. I ordered the orange chicken and husband ordered Kung Pao Chicken. The chicken didn't even taste like real meat. Not sure what the hype is about this place but I'll pass. I will never eat here again!
(1)Ramya M.
Our go to chinese place. Not a fan of taste bud numbing Sichuan peppers but they can take those out for you from any dish, and still make the dish spicy (with chilli peppers instead) Ingredients are fresh, especially fish. Never had a bad meal here but if it involves their fish in black bean sauce it's a whole lot more delicious! Service can be spotty and decor is cozy at best but the food speaks for itself. Always a good sign.
(4)Jake M.
First time here. Honestly, probably the best Chinese food in Phoenix. Authentic. Delicious. Great flavor. Highly recommend. I had #20 or #21 (sliced chicken) spicy. Definitely had a little kick to it but not overly spicy at all.
(5)K J.
If you're a chilehead like me, then you MUST try this place. These people do spicy food RIGHT! I just got lunch and dinner here, and the Triple Delight I had for lunch ROCKED! Beef, shrimp, and fish for $6.95 with rice, and soup. I had heard good things about this place for a while, and now I am kicking myself for not going sooner. This place is my goto Asian food place now. Try them out you'll not be disappointed.
(5)Ashley S.
I LOVE this place. I always order the spicy fish soup and it is my favorite dish in Chandler. Anytime my family comes to town we go here. The portions are huge so splitting an entree or two is always a great idea. The dumplings are delicious too!!
(5)Paul G.
The place is crazy busy at dinner time, so expect to wait a little for a table. It is well worth it. Do not come to this place for the hospitality. The wait staff runs all over the place when it is busy and just throws the food on the table... Lol... The best Szechwan food in town! Get the Water Boiled beef! Or what ever protein you want to put in it! The flavor is amazing...Shredded pork in garlic sauce and the Szechwan green beans.
(5)Neha S.
Our favorite Chinese place in town, my husband is from Taiwan and vouches for the authenticity of most dishes. I love the Mei Wei La Shanghu (spicy mushroom) and the hot and sour soup is to die for on a cold night. We also order the beef rolls everytime we visit. Go to place for excellent Chinese food at a reasonable price :)
(5)Chad C.
Ive been here now about 5 times.if you want Chinese.it doesnt get any better.seriously you have got to try this place.i cant say enough good things about it.AMAZING!!
(5)Anish S.
I had the twice cooked pork and it was amazing. Pretty close to the Sichuan style. :)
(5)Jessica K.
Probably the best Chinese food I've ever had, and I don't really like Chinese food. My husbands friend is from China and he recommended the place. He even went with us and ordered in Chinese. The menus are all in Chinese and English - very authentic with many, many choices! Family style dining with a big lazy susan in the middle to make sharing easy. Loved the orange chicken - lightly breaded with no chewy fat pieces like I'm so used to getting at other places. My brother got the sweet and sour ribs and they were also delicious. Would highly recommend - its even cheap, under $10 a plate (big enough for 2-3 people to eat from with complimentary rice)
(4)Han L.
They have lunch special 7 days a week from 11 to 3 but the amount of food is not stingy kind of amount. Very tasty ! My fav is the egg and shrimp, fish with black bean and the normal dish spice fried chicken!
(5)Stacey R.
I took my family here recently was very good. Even my picky son ate a lot. Bf also ate until he hurt. I love spicy and I loved my food. Already craving!!!
(5)Arthur Y.
Went there for lunch and ordered several items: crispy onion pancake, shanghai style steamed dumplings, sautéed fish filet, and a sweet and sour type pork spare ribs (don't remember the actual name). My 3 yr old daughter liked the dumplings so much we ordered a 2nd one. Overall, their food is very good. Maybe the best szechwan food in the East Valley. The only complaint I had with our visit is more with the service. Their service is probably like a lot of Chinese restaurants where the wait staff is not very friendly and attentive. Good food, ok service.
(4)Rui Z.
no1 chinese food around this area，no question. also reasonable price.
(5)Hendrix H.
Best Szechwan (Sichuan in Mandarin) restaurant in AZ. Being Chinese and having lived in China for 2 years, this is the real deal. My family dines at this restaurant almost weekly. Our favorite dishes are Tong Qing Spicy Chicken, Crispy Onion Pancakes, Hot & Spicy Fish Fillet (aka fish fillet with hot chili peppers), Yu Xiang Rou Si (forgot the English name; it's pork strips with bamboo shoot). Almost every Szechwanese dish that we have tried is good. Other non-Szechwanese dishes may not be that great, e.g. beef noodle soup (niu rou mian), little dragon buns (xiao long bao). My only complaint is the occasional sewage smell outside the restaurant. I think it's fixed now.
(5)Ravi C.
Amazing Szechwan place! This place is now on my itinerary. The food tasted amazing and it was so cheap. I am so glad that unlike place in San Francisco they don't nickle and dime you by charging for rice per serving. We ordered Hot and Spicy Tofu, Fried Chicken cubes with hot pepper and hot and spicy pork kidney. All the dishes were amazing and the waiting staff was super friendly... as with all the good food places, it's pretty packed at lunch so plan accordingly.
(5)Jaswant A. S.
Located in a strip mall at the southwest corner of Ray and Rural is Szechwan Garden - a place I have gotten take out from a number of times. Came here today with some friends and I was thinking perhaps I should have warned them. We got seated right away and were handed menus. These were the regular menus and they had stuff like pig intestines, frog, kidneys, lungs. Also on the wall were specials written out in chinese characters. There were probably 40 people in there for late lunch/early dinner and we were the only table speaking to our servers in English. I was expecting one of my friends to say something along the lines of: "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Panda Express/Pei Wei/PF Chang's anymore." But no - everybody was totally into it. We got the Crispy Sesame Duck - fried and salted with juicy crispy skin. That one was a winner. We also got Mapo Tofu - always a winner with me since I love the soft tofu in black bean sauce and Szechwan spices and oil. We also got the Shredded Pork In Hot Garlic Onion - which was also delicious. Service was great. We had an unruly kid in our midst but the servers were VERY patient with him. Once the food came he calmed down and dug into it. Needless to say we all left full and happy. My goto place for Szechwan has been both Szechwan Garden and Szechwan Palace ever since Miu's closed. This one is the closest to where I live so I know I will be back again. It's in a strip mall in a corner by itself so there's always lots of parking. Check it out.
(4)Sarah G.
Quality was excellent. Food was fresh and reasonably priced. We ordered the house spicy special chicken, shredded pork with green onion, honey walnut shrimp, braised spicy shrimp in hot pot, and beef with string bean. The egg drop soup and sweet and sour soup was included with the lunch portions (two of the dishes we ordered was the lunch portion ones) and even the soup was excellent. This is the best Chinese/Szechwan food we have found in Phoenix yet. Will definitely return! Ambiance was nice, facility was clean, restrooms clean. And they had a nice selection of beer- Heineken, Tsingtao, and coors light.
(5)Christopher L.
Great food but service suck. The waitress literally came out and chase us for the tips when I left it on the table aleeady
(1)Juntian H.
This restaurant is fucking stupid. Food is extremely bad and the server's attitude is really bad. We came to eat at 6:30 and our food was coming in 7:00, last time, they charged me 18 more dollars and they do not want to refund it to me . I will not go to that fucking place again. FUCK.
(1)Karen W.
Your taste buds will tingle at Szechuan Garden, both from the great flavors, and from the spiciness of the food! We attempted to eat here on a Friday night, but it was packed to the gills, with several people waiting outside for a table to open up. We decided to eat somewhere else, and come back again for lunch. The lunch specials are a very good deal. They come with a very good portion of main dish, with rice and soup. Prices will range from $5-7 depending on what "tier" you order from. I had #19, the "Fish fillet with hot chili peppers). Although I've had spicier and bolder tasting versions of this dish, this version wasn't so spicy that it left a weird aftertaste as I ate more, which I appreciated. Also, the lowered heat level allowed more of the flavor of the spicy peppercorns and chilies to show through, and occasionally I'd get a hit of some fragrant whole peppercorn as I chewed. The spicy bold broth was a good contrast to the delicate texture and mild flavor of the fish. In addition to fish, there were bean sprouts and napa cabbage in the dish, with a sprig of cilantro on top. The only slight negative, which is probably more of a syndrome regarding the dish itself rather than the kitchen's preparation, is that it is a very unctuous broth, layered with a copious amount of chili oil. I also tried some "Shredded pork with hot garlic onion". It was also a good portion, with tender pork and a salty, slightly pungent flavor. Service was good, and drinks were refilled as needed. It helps if you speak Mandarin here, and they do have specials on the wall, but they are written in Chinese. This is definitely a new favorite for spicy authentic Chinese food!
(4)Hal N.
If your not into authentic Chinese spicy cooking, then don't waste your time or money. We were very pleased to find this cafe with the flavors we enjoyed while in China for the past few years. We enjoy the spicy chicken and pork chop (#58). So many local cafés are American Chinese and not authentic Chinese. They also offer a few Hunan style dishes....if your in a rush go to a drive thru....and remember, the staff is Chinese so speak slowly and be patient...they too are authentic.
(5)Phoebe M.
They stop serving lunch special on weekends now. The lunch menu was cheaper version of the dinner menu. Still very good XLB!
(5)Hooch D.
Wow what the hell just happened in my mouth? Went here for lunch today and had the hot/spicy beef, I was a little confused when my tongue went numb. Had to ask the waitress if that's supposed to happen, yup. Some weird awesome pepper they use that doesn't have an English name. Wonton soup was the cats ass, great! Think we were the only white people in here so obviously it's the place to go to. Hot/spicy chicken next week, this place and magic noodle are my new favorites for Chinese food.
(4)Kate G.
I've been to Sichuan and this is the closest authentic food we've found here in the valley. We love coming in and getting the cold plate to start with the cucumbers, tofu and sliced pig ears (yes you read that right). Then we usually get the stir fried green beans and Shanghai style dumplings. Today we also ordered the ma po tofu - soooo good! Not so spicy that we couldn't eat it, it was just right. They have tons of Chinese hand written signs around the dining room advertising the specials so next time, we're going to ask what some of them are. They are usually the ones that are truly good!
(5)Wowezow E.
Overrated. This place was so rude, the food was ok, and the prices were a little high for what you get. Skip this place and go to ACE in Mesa. Way tastier and ACE is a lot cheaper. Never going here again.
(1)Ben G.
This was outside my comfort zone for my Americanized pallet for Chinese food but I am so glad I did it. Family style eating. Was so much fun.
(5)Tom K.
Traveled there specifically to celebrate Chinese New Year in an authentic restaurant and was very pleased with the quality of both the food and service. My wife had the green onion ginger beef and I the spicy fish filet each from the lunch menu. The beef was among the best ever, and the fish, while delicious,, was somewhat too salty. The servers were welcoming and attentive acknowledging my halting Chinese with broad smiles. All of the restaurant staff were engaging and gracious throughout the entire meal. Large portions and good value for the price.
(5)Wayne K.
Long wait at lunch. 5 min just to acknowledge I was waiting. Hostess running table tickets, takeout orders and seating tables. Strange when I'm already eating with chopsticks the server comes over to ask if I want a fork??? WTH? I wonder what kind of reaction I'd get asking a group of Asians eating with forks if they'd like chopsticks? Ordered beef and broccoli. Tried to substitute fried rice for the steamed rice but no can do. Hint people. Figure out how much additional the same amount of fried rice is and ADD THE ADDITIONAL CHARGE. Telling a customer no you can't do it will ensure one thing: the customer goes somewhere they will. Try visiting other restaurants and see how they do it. So I got my lunch they way they wanted me to have it. Result? Loss of additional revenue and an unhappy customer. I guess not all business owners actually have business sense. Two stars only because the food is good. Not great, but good. The service and flexibility to the customer is substandard.
(2)Melissa H.
Great to find another tucked away Szechuan restaurant. All the old classics are here and executed nicely. Definitely come for family style ordering. Not everything has to be made spicy and the kitchen will adjust. The one thing I'm not always used to (mostly because Cantonese people tend to like light flavors) is the amount of oil used. I just find myself telling the kitchen to go a little lighter on the oil and I've never had a problem.
(4)Jeremy L.
Kung Pao chicken for daaaaaaays. Real cheap lunch specials with large portions. Dinner entrees are still cheap with even more good food. Oh and get a side of onion pancakes. Trust.
(5)Brett H.
If I want great, authentic Chinese food then this is where I will go. If i want to try something adventurous this is where I go. They have great lunch specials that are on the menue, your usual American stuff, orange chicken, some fish dishes, some teriaka stuff. If you want to try something fun then you can ask the waiter to translate some of the specials that are posted on the wall in Chinese. I have never had something I did not like from here. Top marks for service, flavor and adventure.
(5)Tiffany Z.
Szechwan Garden is a nice Chinese restaurant, which is worthy of having a dinner if you like Szechwan dishes. There are three stars at the top of the website of Szechwan Garden, which is evaluation index for this restaurant. In addition to that, there are many reviews below about restaurant setting, taste of dishes and price and so on from customers. Most of people who like spicy speak highly of its dishes, but someone who do not like chili remark that dishes are so spicy that they cannot swallow it.
(5)Morgan E.
Went to Szechwan Garden for lunch yesterday. This was our 4th or 5th time here. We have been trying different dishes to enjoy their flavors. On this occasion we ordered: Hot and sour soup that was excellent Fish fillet in black bean sauce. very good Eggplant with garlic sauce. Superior, the best I've ever had. Pan-fried string bean. Again Superior. I think the beans were Chinese long beans as they were crisp and without any large beans as so often is the case. Overall the service was superior, attentive but not intrusive. The meal came quickly. And the bill came without having to chase down a waiter. We had been frequenting the Miu's Cuisine since they opened, but find the Szechwan Garden to be more pleasant and the food just a little better.
(5)Mandy S.
The WORST customer service EVER! I tried to order beef chow fun. I knew it wasn't on the menu, but being that I've ordered it multiple times, I thought I knew the ropes. Or I thought I did. I usually order it, they go in the back, talk to the chef and I get my beef chow fun. Tonight,, we came across a very rude, short bald guy. He assured me they never had chow fun and that I must've went somewhere else. He even went as far as showing me the menu. I told him I knew it wasn't on the menu but they made it before. I asked him to ask the chef, he refused. Whatever. I let it go and tried to order our other dishes but this guy kept talking about the beef chow fun. At one point, I asked him to drop it. Instead of dropping it, he proceeded to tell my mom that he could make it at home, but he can't bring it from home. Really? WTF? Drop it dude. We tried to continue to order but he kept talking about the beef chow fun and laughing at us. News flash: We were there to eat and pay for our food. Not be degraded and harassed by a lazy waiter. We wound up leaving. I will never go back. I hope it was worth losing a family of 6 that has been loyal customers for 3 years.
(1)Sb M.
It was great to see another szchewan style restaurant open up in the valley. The staff is awesome and the food is the best in the valley. However, the guests are terrible. The guests are very demanding. I speak some chinese so I was able to pick up on a conversation when a group of 5 arrived who were also impatient to wait for a seat. They had asked the boss if people could be moved (who were already eating) so they could occupy a group table. The managers gave in and asked people to move to another table. Some of the guests here can be real arrogant from time to time. I just wanted to smack those guests in the face.
(4)Mayo B.
For Chandler this is a really good location for Szechuan food. I love their cold entries where you can go to the display and choose 3 for $6. I usually get the "Fuqi Feipian" and the beef tenders and any other dish. This with some rice is good for lunch and some. Finally a place to get my "Ma La" fix.
(4)Bao H.
From what I know the Chef from Szechwan Palace left to open Szechwan Garden -- talk about a punch in the gut! Pow! The food here is pretty authentic and tasty. Very spicy I might add so if you're a lightweight please step aside. We ordered the Mapo Tofu, Fried Green beans, some sort of fried rice noodles that was dipped in a brown sauce (I didn't order this one my friend did so I don't know what it's called haha) Finally, my favorite fried Frog Legs in a medley of vegetables - Yum! It was my favorite of them all. Frog Legs are small but very meaty. Plus, the spice they cooked it in was delicious! Service was pretty good since my friend was a regular and I think they know her by name. Oh the perks! What I like about this place is that it reminds me of those old Chinese restaurants back in LA. No uniforms and the staff ate their lunch next to us :) The decors could use a modern touch, but the tackier the better I guess - Enjoy!
(4)Duke B.
Great Place. If you like Chinese you'll love it
(5)Tiff D.
I really liked this place!! Looks like a pretty authentic Chinese restaurant. We went for lunch. We were seated and greeted very nicely. The waitress was very kind and checked on us periodically through the meal. Just enough! Their lunch is a pretty good deal. Plates are categorized by $5, $6, $7 categories. About 10 per category. And the meal comes with rice and hot n sour soup which was some of the best I've had. I asked for medium spice since I know this kind of Chinese food is known for the spice but when the dishes came they were very mild. But the flavor was extremely good. Now I know next time I can handle the regular spice. We got the ginger scallion beef ($7), fish fillet with hot chili peppers($7), and the eggplant in garlic sauce($5). We had PLENTY of leftovers between the two of us. All were great but surprisingly the eggplant was our favorite. Can't wait to go back to try more dishes!! :)
(4)Jennifer C.
I've passed by this restaurant a couple times, and it has always been packed full of Chinese families, which is always a good sign. So, I decided to try it out. Overall the dishes were pretty good and lean towards the salty side. Tonight, I had the "three cold side dishes" of pork stomach, pig ears, and tofu which were FANTASTIC. The seasoning was perfect and the pig ears were sliced extra thin. The second course was no.6 - live fish with peppered bean curd. This dish was a bit on the fishy side, and while it is definitely cheap for a whole fish ($13), I would not recommend it. Instead, try the beef noodle soup. It is very flavorful and the meat is part fatty and part lean, just the way I like it. It also went well with the pig ear side dish. Finally I ended the night with the xiao long bao. The skin was good but the meat filling was average. Overall the service was good and the waiters were all very nice, especially considering how busy the restaurant was. It was also a bit loud and cramped inside, but definitely worth a visit for the food.
(3)Tyler T.
The beef rolls are my main addiction. They're a little pricey, but it spares me from making them myself and they are darn good. The waitress currently working there is super friendly and remembers me every time I go. I generally eat to-go just because I usually stop by quite late. I love this place. I don't eat seafood, so maybe I didn't have a crazy reaction like Brother Diarrhea did. It reminds me of several Chinese restaurants in Rowland Heights/San Gabriel. If you're not used to those kind of joints because you're afraid of a little "added MSG" or hygiene, go to Panda Express! If you're in it for a dang good meal, then you've found your place.
(5)Rachel W.
4 stars? Are you kidding? This is the grossest restaurant in the entire planet! My brother had severe food poisoning after eating Shrimp Fried Eggs here (Xia Ren Chao Dan). The shrimps must have been toxic and the eggs were not fresh at all. He was throwing up the night after eating this crap here, and then continuously puking and suffering from severe diarrhea day after day, night after night, even fainted a few times. This lasted a few days. He had never been this violently sick in his whole life. The reviews are so inflated here... I'd say that the level of hygiene in this restaurant is highly questionable, if not downright appalling. I'd recommend that you go elsewhere for your meals unless you want to risk being poisoned by unknown toxins hidden in their dishes. Stay away!!!
(1)Darrell B.
I had the orange chicken. It was very flavorful but should be a little spicier. Very tangy!
(4)Mary C.
I had dinner here with my mom, who spent most of her life in Taiwan, and my brother, who lives in San Francisco (where good Chinese food is abundant). We ordered Water Boiled Fish, Tong Qing Spicy Chicken, Xiao Long Bao and Stir-fried Green Beans. We thoroughly enjoyed every dish, but especially loved the Tong Qing Spicy Chicken. Sichuan cuisine is known for its numbing pepper corns and spicy chili oil, both of which were prominent in the spicy chicken dish. Authentic Chinese restaurants aren't really known for their ambiance and service, so if you're looking for a nice night out, you might want to go somewhere else. If you're looking for good authentic Sichuan food, this is your place!
(5)Linda K.
Tried this place twice. Once for take out and once dine in. Both times we got the soft shell crab. Me likes! With all the fried garlic to pick at, Yum! It's a little on the $$ end, but hey, it's soft shell crab. I wouldn't say it was the best I've ever had, but for what we can get around here, I was satisfied. I'll just mention the things we got during the dine in since it was more recent and I remember it better... ;) The cold appetizers - tofu, white - not spicy, greenish (not sure if that was tofu, but hey, I don't really mind. If it tastes good I'll try it!) - little spicy, pig ear - spicy. All were delish! There's a hot oil & spicy fish dish. They're known for it. That was super good! We did ask for it not to be as spicy and they accommodated us, which was nice. It was just enough kick for us. TRY THAT! She also recommended the equivalent dish, but with lamb. Next time I'd like to taste test that one. The fried pork ribs were just normal. Nothing special or out of the ordinary. We also got a veggie dish. We always ask what kind of veggies they have. Sometimes they have ones that aren't on the menu. All this filled the 6 of us and was pretty reasonable in price. I liked the service. I mean really, I never go to a Chinese restaurant expecting good service. I just look forward to the food. But the lady gave us her recommendations. We were hesitant on the fish dish (bc we weren't sure if it'd be too spicy), and she told us to get the lunch portion vs the dinner since it was smaller and if we didn't like it, we wouldn't have as much. That was cool. If you like spicy, I'm sure this place would fill your tank. If you aren't total spicy fans, there's still enough stuff and ways for them to accommodate to your liking, like they did for us.
(4)Craig W.
My daughter tells me, next time I'm in her area for lunch I should call her and she'll meet us. My wife is Chinese and we spent time in Sichuan and both love Sichuan and Hunan cooking. So we meet at Szechuan Garden. My wife is certain to get her favorite Hunan frog legs which of course my daughter won't touch. But my wife drags my daughter over to the cold 'deli' counter and when they return, my daughter has a sickened look on her face and basically is telling me that she can't believe the things they eat. Anyway, the deal is like 3 selections from the cold deli for $6. The cold chicken is very tasty, the tofu strips were a concession for my daughter and the pigs ear skin in Sichuan pepper oil were one of the things that my daughter was struggling with - but rather tasty. Those with less of a sense of adventure should definitely get the beef tendon in the pepper oil since it is one of the things that truly reminds me of being in Chengdu. My daughter gets a rather bland, Cantonese lunch and of course is unimpressed. Wife suggests that this probably isn't the place to bring my daughter who pretty much has issues with eating anything that reminds her that it once walked/flew/swam on earth. But of course that leads me to the second phase of this review... the next time I go there. I'm to meet my wife there and I am running late. She orders without me. Frog legs and pigs ears were not on today's table... Now I pride myself on being able to eat pretty much anything and I certainly recognize that the only thing Chinese won't eat is the oink itself but today is a struggle. Wife has already ordered and already gracing the table is another Hunan inspiration but instead of frog legs, it's pork intestines. I pause a moment and say, what the heck and I'm almost embarrassed to admit that it was outstanding. Next up was the cold deli mix which contained my favorite oil/pepper mix but instead of beef tendon (my #1 choice) or pigs ear (eh), my wife suggests that this is cow lung. That Sichuan peppery oil has a chocolate quality to it... enough of it could probably make shit taste good. I'm really struggling though with the psychology of eating pigs intestines and cow lungs. Thankfully, we had the lamb ribs dry rubbed with cumin which although was rather sparse in the available meat category, the flavor was rather exceptional. So this is the bottom line here. If you want to eat Szechuan (and the real Chinese pinyin spelling is Sichuan), you have to: - do as good as you can to suspend your beliefs on what is edible and be willing to try something out of ordinary to find the real live food tastes available here. - don't order Cantonese items... go to a Cantonese restaurant for Cantonese food. Cantonese is sweet, plain, bland. Egg Foo Young, Fried Rice, Orange Chicken, Sweet and Sour anything... go somewhere else. This is the Szechuan Garden. - definitely do a plate from the cold deli counter and make sure you get something with the Sichuan peppery oil whether it's beef tendon or even just the cold chicken with the oil... it's a true slice of Sichuan - Water boiled (fish / beef / chicken) etc. is incredible and most highly recommended. - Hunan cuisine is quire rare in the valley and while I won't say that Szechuan Garden is great Hunan cuisine, it's certainly quite good, definitely different. I'm hoping that there's laws on the books that prevent restaurants from selling dog because my wife would definitely order it. As it is, she is under instructions never to let me eat dog when I am with her in China and as insurance, a secondary promise to not tell me that I am eating dog. As for the pork intestine... I admit it was extremely good and while I would have a difficult time ordering it myself, if it's put in front of me, I'm sure I would eat it again. Restaurant... don't know about Szechuan Palace now that they changed ownership but this is one of the real gems in the valley
(5)Qianying Z.
Very delicious Szechwan food! As a fan of tranditional szechwan food, the chili food is so testy. My favourite dishes are hot and spicy fish and beef.
(4)Julie P.
Came here with my parents who did all the ordering. I love this place! The food is really authentic, but you can also order the dishes less spicy. Everything we ordered was excellent, but my favorite was the fried mushrooms. There was a unique spice, and the mushrooms were sliced very thin. It's so different that you have to try it if you like mushrooms. You can't go wrong with anything you order. All dishes are so flavorful and well made.
(4)Lynn K.
I really like this place. I am begging the owner to please print some of the specials in English.
(4)Andrew C.
Went there for lunch with 5 coworkers. Nobody liked the food and the atmosphere was horrible. Sat under a TV blaring Chinese news at a table with an off kilter lazy susan that pushed our dishes into our laps. The staff had to be flagged down several times - to bring forks, to fill water, to ask for the check, etc... I had the orange chicken which was overly wangy with a cloying citrus sauce and large chunks of orange peel that I accidentally chewed on (and spit out) a couple times. yuck. 10 bucks (including tax and tip) for chicken, white rice, diet coke, and a headache. Not going back.
(1)David D.
I tried asking some other Yelpers one morning if they liked this place more than Tao Garden. I've always liked Tao Garden the most in Chandler area, but the Long John Silvers decore of old was a little too much to handle after a while. I came to Szechwan Garden with a friend, and I saw the noticeable change in the decor. It was previously iKitchen (korean/ramen). iKitchen didn't do much to change the look from the TOGO that was there before them. Szechwan Garden added touches of red with lanterns. They changed the tables into the classic round table with red cloth we see at most asian restaurants. Though there were plenty of free tables, we somehow got stuck with the two seater next to the bathroom. I wish we could've sat elsewhere, but I assumed they were expecting a massive lunch crowd and didn't want to have wasted seating.. I could deal with that. Prices were in three tiers: 4.98, 5.98, and 6.98 for their lunch specials that included the entree, soup, and a mini tub of rice. The distinction between Szechwan Garden and other places is that lunch comes out family style. You have your own place, there are the entrees in the middle, and you pass around a tub of rice. It allows sharing of others dishes which you usually wouldn't do. I was really happy with this too. I ordered the fillet in black bean sauce with tofu, and my friend ordered the orange chicken. The orange chicken was tangy, crispy, and not overly deepfriend with a nice underlying orange taste from the zest. The fillet was hot, tender, not dry, and hot (i know its sad when "hot" is a criteria). My dish also had a nice spice to it from the black pepper, but it wasn't too bad that my friend couldn't eat it. Service was fast. Water was refilled often. I liked this, but then I also thought it was too fast. By the time our entree was on the table, she already laid the check next to my arm. They kept repeatedly coming by asking if everything was okay and turning and leaving before I could really answer. I felt like they wanted us to leave as quickly as possible so they could turn the table. I don't get it, since there were still plenty of tables open. Service aside, I would've given the place 5 stars, but the food is too good. It's definitely my go to spot in Chandler for Chinese from now on.
(4)Heather C.
Amazing flavors, lots of good spice, inexpensive. Great place, will definitely frequent!
(4)Mike H.
Wow was this place great! Most of the patrons in there were chinese speaking people of college so right off I knew this was going to be good autthentic chinese food. We ordered so pretty tame items but the flavor was out of this world. Great Service even though the place was PACKED. We will definitely be going back.
(5)Jennifer S.
Their food is very tasty for a decent price. If you enjoy spicy cuisines, this is the place for you.
(4)Jeff P.
Highly Overrated!! If you are asking if it's the best Chinese in the immediate surrounding area...then yes, it's the best Chinese food. Sure, it's better than Wangs, and the place over in the Kyrene and Ray strip mall but it's not better than Gold Chef. For one thing, the spring rolls are reheated frozen spring rolls; it's obvious! Pretty bush league if you ask me...especially for a restaurant that people are giving 5 stars to; they were mushy and cold as if they were reheated. There are no egg rolls on the menu and while some of you may respond by saying it's not a Cantonese restaurant...my response to that is...they offer other Cantonese items so why didn't you offer egg rolls too. I know a frozen spring roll like the back of my hand. The food also lacks seasoning. The flavors are good but it could be better. For a Szechwan restaurant, the food was lacking in heat and flavor. While it's good, it's also underseasoned. The fried rice is lacking flavor. When my wife had to apply Sriracha to her Szechwan style Chinese food...that's a bad sign! But I will say this dishes are prepared well. You don't see any of the pale watery chicken dishes that you observe at most other "good Chinese restaurants" that you witness in the Valley. If you live in the immediate area, you will not be disappointed getting carry out but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.
(3)Suze S.
The calamary and pepper is good. I ordered orange chicken, it is not the regular orange chicken that you've got when you are going to the chinese restaurant. it was tasty too. The restaurant was packed on Friday night. Service is not too good, but i definately will be back because the food is worth it.
(4)Caitrin C.
Excellent food, friendly service. They took time to explain things on the menu when we had questions. I would definitely go back. And if you are an adventurous eater there are plenty of interesting menu items.
(4)Barb H.
What a great neighborhood find! Pleasant surroundings and a huge menu with some pretty wild stuff. Nice servers who explain everything.the shanghai dumplings were as good as any in SF's Chinatown, and the shredded pork with onion sauce was a new delight for us. It'll be a standby in this house!
(4)Joe W.
Went here today. Its pretty nice and clean inside. Everyone says its an "authentic chinese place" which I would agree with. The waiters were polite. The prices were average. As a vegetarian I was pleased to see a bunch of options. Soon enough though I learned almost all of their vegetarian options contain meat included. You can just ask for no meat but its a hassle imo. The food was ok. It had a unique taste but was pretty plain. I ordered the homestyle tofu minus the meat and all it came with was tofu and 3-4 mushrooms. Nothing else. Normally this dish comes with a bunch of different veggies at other places. The portion size was the smallest I have ever seen. I left hungry. I will not be back. There are just too many other places to eat around here that are better value.
(3)RL L.
My husband loves Szechuanese food. We went for his Birthday and we really enjoyed every dish. Definitely worthy of the five star rating.
(5)Scott B.
If you try to give your pallet new experiences, flavors, you may NOT have ever tasted, there is a dish for you. Although, I must warn you. It is spicy! My wife is asian and I eat a lot of Asian food. Chinese food has always been at the bottom of my list for my asian food preferences. Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese food are preferred before Chinese food. However, this restaurant has literally moved the entire genre chinese food up my list! Wow!!! - Fish Fillet with Hot Chilli Peppers (SPICY & delicious). I only had one dish, but I may never have another when I eat here. This dish is soooooo good, if you like spicy. There is something in it that I haven't tasted since I ate spiced Jako while I was in Japan. There isn't an english word for this ingredient, but it is a small herb about the size of a peppercorn, that causes a tingle in your mouth. (My mouth is watering while I type). This little herb mixed with the hot chili peppers and light tender white fish. What a delight!.....almost sensual! If there were 6 six stars on Yelp's rating system, I would give them to this dish. An epicurean delight. Oh and the prices really good too!
(5)Tom S.
I have been to this restaurant twice with mixed result. The food is generally good to very good but a little inconsistent. Service being normal to very slow. Items on the "Hot & Spicy Style" menu is hot and tasty but can be very oily (I scooped out almost a small rice bow of pure oil from 2 dishes ordered). Seafood items, I tried sauteed shrimp and salt & pepper calamari, are good with just the right amount of spicy and crunch. Service is where this restaurant needs much improvement. The first time I came at 11:30 am and were able to get out in 45 minutes. The second time I came at 12:30 and spent 2 hours for lunch with most of the time waiting for the waiter to take order and do miscellaneous service like getting bows, spoon or cheque (I ended up getting the to-go box myself).
(3)James T.
A friend of mine told me this place recently opened and when we pulled into the plaza, they only had a cloth banner mentioning of a grand opening. I would love to give this place 4 or 5 stars, but they need to improve on many things before that happens. Here is what happened. We ordered two beef noodle dishes, but when the order came out, there was only 1. Isn't it a bit obvious that there are X amount of people and there is 1 less entree ordered? It took 3 different waiters/waitresses to get it fixed and by the time I got my bowl, my friends were already done eating. Shaolin bao's are tasty, but they are a bit overpriced at 8 bao's for $8. We asked the server how many bao's per order, but he didnt know so another server came and said "8, but am not sure." Shouldn't the server know these things? They shouldn't be so stingy with the ice, our cups literally had like 3 cubes per cup, and when they refilled our water, there was no ice in it at all. When we sat down, when they poured our water, the waiter guy overfilled our cups resulting in water spilled on the floor and splashing onto my feet. It's just water, but still annoying. In all, the food is pretty good, worth 4 stars. Their service was a 2. Give them a few weeks to work out the kinks and improve their service and I will visit this place again.
(3)Katherine L.
WOW...what a disappointment. Zero stars would be more appropriate! My daughter and I chose this restaurant based upon the stellar ratings of others on Yelp but were shocked to have had the opposite experience. We started with an order of egg rolls to give ourselves time to study the menu. This was the first warning of things to come. . They obviously were not fresh because I could not tell what the filling was made up of since it was a mushy mess. We ordered several dishes based upon the recommendations of the waitress. The shrimp dish looked wonderful in the color photo, but was overcooked and tasted less than fresh. The rib dish also didn't compare with the photo of juicy plump ribs; rather, we were served a plate of what looked and tasted like dried up left-over re-fried ribs from who knows when? The only bite I took was one of pure fat and splintered bone that had been cut through. After complaining politely to our waitress and asking for the check to pay for our two beverages (and even generously offering to pay for the egg rolls) a man came from the back and began shouting angrily to our waitress in a language we did not understand. We were embarrassed because he was obviously talking about us and we assumed that some of the other customers understood what he was saying. He had instructed our waitress not to remove the shrimp dish from our ticket because we had taken bites out of two of the shrimp! We paid the bill and left a tip for our waitress who was very nice and was not to blame. I am not in the habit of writing restaurant reviews, in fact, this is my first, but the level of disrespect I felt after not only the meal, but the offensive way we were treated, compelled me speak up. I do not understand how the other reviewers could have had such wonderful experiences whereas our's was utterly disastrous. I am a culinary school graduate and ex-culinary professional, so I know a bit about food, lest I be attacked for not appreciating good food. I notice that several of the reviews come from the same person. At any rate, if you have a hankerin' for Chinese food, I would suggest that you go anywhere other than Szechwan Garden.
(1)Katherine F.
I wrote a review about this awfull place 2 weeks ago and it disappeared. Why? Where did it go? It might explain all the AWESOME 5 star reviews they are getting! I see the same guy leaving the same fantastic review over and over. Szechwan Garden is HORRIBLE. People need to know that before they spend they time and money here. Do your stomach a favor and go anywhere else.
(1)Peter F.
This place has authentic Szechwan cuisine. People who are used to pseudo-Szechwan cuisine from other restaurants will find some differences. Be sure to try their Water Boiled Fish Filet with Chili pepers. This dish comes in a bowl (as it looks more like a soup) and is topped with cilantro. I tried it for lunch and will definately return for dinner. They don't have alcohol yet but have applied for their permit.
(5)Ethan H.
I feel as though this place needs a little more love. First of all, its nice to go to a Chinese restaurant that specializes in Szechuan food. If you haven't had food from this region of China, it kind of like comfort food. It tends to be spicy and, yes, a little oily some times. Most of the spicy dishes are also complimented by the nice floral flavor of ash berry, also know as Szechuan peppercorn. Some people have complained about oil but when I have not ordered the spicy and hot, the food has been less oily than most places. Everything I have tried, I have enjoyed.
(4)H L.
Food is awesome but the service is iffy. Sometimes it's good and sometimes they treat you like you are something stuck to the bottom of their shoe. I think it depends on which waiter you get. Nonetheless, the food is good. Szechwan Palace over in Phoenix used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I love spicy foods! However, the past couple of times the food has been overly salty or not as tasty. My parents informed me of Szechwan Garden and said I HAD to try it. Rumor has it that the chef from Szechwan Palace left and opened up Szechwan Garden, but I have no idea whether this is actually true or not. I must say I definitely was not disappointed. Excellent flavors and it is much closer too. I can't say that it tastes exactly like Szechwan Place used to, but it is up to par. If you go you must order the 'cold platter' trio combo. Go up to the front display and you can visually pick what you want. My favorite is the spicy beef tendon. As for dishes, I recommend the Kung Pao Chicken, very flavorful. If u can, go for lunch, the dishes are cheaper than dinner and they are still very decently sized. My parents go here like 3-4X a week and say the hot pot is amazing too, but I have yet to try it.
(4)Eric L.
Very authentic Szechwan style restaurant. On a average Sat evening, the restaurant is pack full of Chinese family. The service has improved a bit recently. The first opening months usually has very long wait. Szechwan restaurant style dishes tend to be spicy and salty on purpose. Most dishes are medium spicy here. So if you can take the average Mexican food, you should have no problem here. Just ask for lots of ice water. If you don't eat very spicy, there are still many great noodle dishes and dumping dishes.
(4)Carl L.
Only had their food once... my friend brought it to me "to go" amazing... really ... cold dishes ? am i really stuck in PHX, or did someone teleport me to real chinese food again? i live in the bay area, and miss this so badly... personally love the Happy Couple ... fuqi feipian! just wish i could have a vegetarian version!!! ha ha..
(5)Jessica B.
Best Chinese Food in AZ. I am from SF and am used to the best Chinese. I haven't found one place that has come close to Bay Area food. This place tastes like home.
(5)Eloise F.
i LOVE the food here, most the staff doesn't speak english, and most the guests are chinese, that's when you know the place is really authentic! Most items in the menu are on the spicy side, i particularly like the kung pao chicken and ma po tofu. The rice is bottomless, and you can eat a ton here for under $10.
(5)esther h.
Great food. My Mother and Father whom both are from China loved the food. The service was fast and pleasant. They must of worked out all the kinks out. Would return.
(5)Ams m.
4 star for food quality! Lovely food. I would order take away rather eating there as restaurant setting is not so appealing. It smells over there pretty bad if u want to dine in.
(4)Karen W.
Your taste buds will tingle at Szechuan Garden, both from the great flavors, and from the spiciness of the food! We attempted to eat here on a Friday night, but it was packed to the gills, with several people waiting outside for a table to open up. We decided to eat somewhere else, and come back again for lunch. The lunch specials are a very good deal. They come with a very good portion of main dish, with rice and soup. Prices will range from $5-7 depending on what "tier" you order from. I had #19, the "Fish fillet with hot chili peppers). Although I've had spicier and bolder tasting versions of this dish, this version wasn't so spicy that it left a weird aftertaste as I ate more, which I appreciated. Also, the lowered heat level allowed more of the flavor of the spicy peppercorns and chilies to show through, and occasionally I'd get a hit of some fragrant whole peppercorn as I chewed. The spicy bold broth was a good contrast to the delicate texture and mild flavor of the fish. In addition to fish, there were bean sprouts and napa cabbage in the dish, with a sprig of cilantro on top. The only slight negative, which is probably more of a syndrome regarding the dish itself rather than the kitchen's preparation, is that it is a very unctuous broth, layered with a copious amount of chili oil. I also tried some "Shredded pork with hot garlic onion". It was also a good portion, with tender pork and a salty, slightly pungent flavor. Service was good, and drinks were refilled as needed. It helps if you speak Mandarin here, and they do have specials on the wall, but they are written in Chinese. This is definitely a new favorite for spicy authentic Chinese food!
(4)Hal N.
If your not into authentic Chinese spicy cooking, then don't waste your time or money. We were very pleased to find this cafe with the flavors we enjoyed while in China for the past few years. We enjoy the spicy chicken and pork chop (#58). So many local cafés are American Chinese and not authentic Chinese. They also offer a few Hunan style dishes....if your in a rush go to a drive thru....and remember, the staff is Chinese so speak slowly and be patient...they too are authentic.
(5)Phoebe M.
They stop serving lunch special on weekends now. The lunch menu was cheaper version of the dinner menu. Still very good XLB!
(5)Hooch D.
Wow what the hell just happened in my mouth? Went here for lunch today and had the hot/spicy beef, I was a little confused when my tongue went numb. Had to ask the waitress if that's supposed to happen, yup. Some weird awesome pepper they use that doesn't have an English name. Wonton soup was the cats ass, great! Think we were the only white people in here so obviously it's the place to go to. Hot/spicy chicken next week, this place and magic noodle are my new favorites for Chinese food.
(4)Kate G.
I've been to Sichuan and this is the closest authentic food we've found here in the valley. We love coming in and getting the cold plate to start with the cucumbers, tofu and sliced pig ears (yes you read that right). Then we usually get the stir fried green beans and Shanghai style dumplings. Today we also ordered the ma po tofu - soooo good! Not so spicy that we couldn't eat it, it was just right. They have tons of Chinese hand written signs around the dining room advertising the specials so next time, we're going to ask what some of them are. They are usually the ones that are truly good!
(5)Jaswant A. S.
Located in a strip mall at the southwest corner of Ray and Rural is Szechwan Garden - a place I have gotten take out from a number of times. Came here today with some friends and I was thinking perhaps I should have warned them. We got seated right away and were handed menus. These were the regular menus and they had stuff like pig intestines, frog, kidneys, lungs. Also on the wall were specials written out in chinese characters. There were probably 40 people in there for late lunch/early dinner and we were the only table speaking to our servers in English. I was expecting one of my friends to say something along the lines of: "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Panda Express/Pei Wei/PF Chang's anymore." But no - everybody was totally into it. We got the Crispy Sesame Duck - fried and salted with juicy crispy skin. That one was a winner. We also got Mapo Tofu - always a winner with me since I love the soft tofu in black bean sauce and Szechwan spices and oil. We also got the Shredded Pork In Hot Garlic Onion - which was also delicious. Service was great. We had an unruly kid in our midst but the servers were VERY patient with him. Once the food came he calmed down and dug into it. Needless to say we all left full and happy. My goto place for Szechwan has been both Szechwan Garden and Szechwan Palace ever since Miu's closed. This one is the closest to where I live so I know I will be back again. It's in a strip mall in a corner by itself so there's always lots of parking. Check it out.
(4)Neha S.
Our favorite Chinese place in town, my husband is from Taiwan and vouches for the authenticity of most dishes. I love the Mei Wei La Shanghu (spicy mushroom) and the hot and sour soup is to die for on a cold night. We also order the beef rolls everytime we visit. Go to place for excellent Chinese food at a reasonable price :)
(5)Chad C.
Ive been here now about 5 times.if you want Chinese.it doesnt get any better.seriously you have got to try this place.i cant say enough good things about it.AMAZING!!
(5)Paul G.
The place is crazy busy at dinner time, so expect to wait a little for a table. It is well worth it. Do not come to this place for the hospitality. The wait staff runs all over the place when it is busy and just throws the food on the table... Lol... The best Szechwan food in town! Get the Water Boiled beef! Or what ever protein you want to put in it! The flavor is amazing...Shredded pork in garlic sauce and the Szechwan green beans.
(5)K J.
If you're a chilehead like me, then you MUST try this place. These people do spicy food RIGHT! I just got lunch and dinner here, and the Triple Delight I had for lunch ROCKED! Beef, shrimp, and fish for $6.95 with rice, and soup. I had heard good things about this place for a while, and now I am kicking myself for not going sooner. This place is my goto Asian food place now. Try them out you'll not be disappointed.
(5)Eddy Y.
The food has always been good. The service...so so. It seems like the prices are going up and portions getting smaller (lunch and dinner). If you have a to-go order, they give you a small portion of rice and get mad if you request more. If you dine in, you get all the rice you want. Doesn't make sense.
(3)George C.
Been here more than a handful of times and I love their szchewan dishes! Some dishes I always get at szchewan places are spicy water boiled fish(shui zhu yu pian), yu xiang eggplant, fu qi fei pian (it's a plate of three different items you can choose from the front counter and I'd recommend the pig ear, the beef, and kidney), and usually get the garlic string beans as well. For those of you who feel numbness or tingling in your mouth, that would be due to Chinese peppercorn which is what szchewan cuisine is known for! The food is consistently very good but the service can be lacking at times. (Went for lunch and had to fill the water ourselves). If you're looking for authentic szchewan food though, stop on by!
(4)John T.
If you like food that is any of these things - spicy, zesty, flavorful, ethnic, unusual, or even just interesting - you must try this place. As a normal American guy I can't pretend to know much about "authentic" Chinese or Szechuan cuisine, but this sure seems authentic to me. Most of their menu (that I've tried) is characterized by lots of peppers, oil, a good amount of vegetables, and well-balanced, unique flavor combinations. I'd highly recommend Hot and Spicy anything (especially Hot and Spicy Fish), Salt and Pepper Calamari, Lamb with Cumin, and the Eggplant dish (can't remember the exact name, but I think there's only one). If you aren't adventurous, don't like spicy foods, or are unsettled by the presence of items like "Flaming Pig Intestines" on the menu, then...well... maybe you should sit this one out.
(5)Wei Y.
Came here for lunch and dinner a few times with friends. I am impressed by how consistent and good their food is. I would like to come here for lunch more often, but they're usually understaffed and it takes a while to get served and cashed out. I'd recommend coming here for dinner, it's definitely with a try.
(4)Pana T.
I love Chinese food especially szechaun style Chinese food. I usually order the tong qi chicken but today I let the waiter order for me & he did not disappoint. He ordered salty pork, which is stir fried pork belly tossed with veggies in a black bean sauce. He paired it with garlic eggplant which was also delicious.
(4)Adriana G.
Love this place so much, I just need it to try it ones and then I became a regular, the food it's so good, full of flavour and so autentic, the portions are good size, and the service is so friendly. My favourite is the Hot and Sour sup, it's so delicious, the fry rice with shrimp, and the chicken with red peppers and ginger, I been trying different plates and you definitely can't go wrong with any of them, all so good and full of flavour. Definitely a must try highly recommended.
(5)Tra W.
Almost the best Chinese restaurant that Id ever have in Tempe/Chandler area. Needless to say almost all their dishes are amazing. Serving is good, quick response. The best dishes I like is water boiling fish. It's not spicy at all. People can not take spicy food like me can actually fall in love with this dish! Tons of dishes that I haven't try yet. But I think those are all good to taste! 100% recommended!
(5)Scott S.
Wish I lived closer to Szechwan Garden - I love their spicy dishes. I don't understand people who rave about this restaurant, then give it just 3 or 4 stars. I think it among the best Chinese restaurants I've been to. We ordered Tong Qing Spicy Chicken (boneless) and shredded pork (#34). Contrary to a lot of reviews, the food here is not burn-your-mouth hot, just spicy & flavorful. Food was served very quickly, though we were there at an off-peak time. Highly recommended.
(5)Jennifer O.
I was super impressed with Szechwan Garden! I came here for lunch with a couple coworkers and the place was packed, but we were seated quickly. We ordered the sautéed green beans, the spicy pork lunch special, the chow fun, Xiao long bao, and scallion pancakes. I wanted to come here specifically for XLB, and they did not disappoint. They were a little on the big side, but not too big to eat all in one bite. My only issue with them were that they didn't bring any sauce for them and then kinda disappeared so we couldn't get any..... I think this may have been more of a product of their busy -ness than what is typical. Anyway, the xlb were juicy and delicious. I would come back for that alone. The rest of the food was also tasty, with the green beans being the best item - they were spicy and garlicky and delicious. The chow fun was good, but forgettable, the pork was also tasty. We ate a ton of food and still only paid abut 10$ per person. I will definitely be back!
(4)Kat P.
Szechuan style food has a unique taste and is known for they're super spicy dishes. Pretty much everything has chili peppers in it. There's an under tone of Chinese five spice and star anise that I felt was in most of the dishes we ordered. But the waitress said it was Szechuan pepper corns and they make your tongue a little numb. I recommended: Mao's style braised pork, mapo tofu, shrimp fried rice, and chongqi spicy chicken. And like everyone has commented, this place is legit! Who cares that most everything is written in Chinese and the waitress has bad English. GREAT food is more important people !!! We happen to like our waitress very much :)
(4)Genesis B.
The Service here is great for a fast past place. Being from Southern California I find it hard to find Chinese food worth ranting about. The food here is very good and well priced. I was even offered a cup of ice water as I waited for my take out order to be prepared (which I ordered in person); which consisted of chicken fried rice, beef and broccoli, sesame seed chicken, and orange chicken. It's not the prettiest place inside, the layout is awkward but the food is great hands down. I ordered over the phone last time and that was somewhat challenging, at that visit I ended up with something I didn't want but it was so good I came back for more!
(4)Audrey G.
This is a go to restaurant for my family, and has tasty, authentic Szechwan food. My favorite dish here is the "Tong Qing Spicy Chicken", and their "Fish Filet in Black Bean Sauce" is another good authentic dish to try. We've been going for a couple of years now, but recently the quality seems to have gone down a bit. Went there today when it was extremely busy, and they didn't have enough servers. Normally I don't mind poor service if a restaurant is busy, but when it leads to sub-par food that's a problem. Our chicken portion was smaller than usual, and our potato dish had too much vinegar.
(3)Patricia M.
The place was full of Chinese folks so you know that is always a good sign. We liked the eggplant but the beef dish was too salty. Service was rushed and the staff was hustling.
(3)