Lucky Chao’s

I am so impressed with Lucky Chao! Gorgeous atmosphere, great food and drinks. I am a dancer and this is by far the most beautiful dance floor in the state. Very elegant and worth the trip from anywhere! Come out and dance! :)

Lucky Chao is exquisite in every sense of the world. From the dramatic Art Deco furnishings (that chandelier!!!) to the sumptuous Asian fusion dishes, everything I’ve tried here has been perfect.
Nick and I started with a plate of the lemony braised calamari and moved on to the Cambodian duck noodle dish, plus an astoundingly fresh sushi/​nigiri sample platter. In terms of their extensive cocktail menu, I tried the French 75 (my go-​to cocktail, very well made) and a perfect for fall Manhattan with black walnut bitters. In a nutshell, this drink inspired me to buy the same bitters to make my own manhattans so I wouldn’t need the 45 minute drive to New Haven! I also tried what (to me) was the drink highlight of the evening — a red pepper & jalapeño infused gin cocktail.
All in all, a lovely first impression of Lucky Chao. I can’t wait to return!

go there only if you would like to wait

Beautiful restaurant but… It was totally empty. Had small plates. Ribs were tasty but dry, spring rolls bland, dumplings good. and food took forever to come out. Asian fusion and no Sakatinis?

Solid addition to the local dining scene. They did a bang-​up job on the art deco décor, and I’ll definitely be back for some live jazz.
Sushi wise, we did not order much — but the selections seemed decently fresh.
Butternut squash soup was a miss, a bit bland. Pork belly was mostly very good, but the reduction/​sauce/​whatever was too sweet and heavy.
Overall, impressed for a brand new restaurant and service and atmosphere are great. Looking forward to trying it again.

Maybe I didn’t get the GOOD food from menu. I ordered snow crab signature roll which I think OK. Then the duck and spinach salad is a not good try combination and not recommend.
As some people wrote really amazing review, I guess I just ordered the wrong dishes.

We came in last night with another couple. A friend had recommended this place to us. The décor and ambiance was great! Very modern and chic with a little art deco. They have a full band stage which made us curious of the live music they have on weekends. The service was great; very friendly, knowledgable and not intrusive. Our server knew the menu and was able to recommend some yummy items. One disappointment is that the sushi chef is off on Sundays therefore we couldn’t order anything from the sushi menu and we came there specifically for that. We ordered a lot of items to share; the duck spring rolls were amazing and the ox tail pad thai was out of this world. Other than that, everything else we ordered was so so. We’ll have to come back and try the sushi another time. :)

We went here on Saturday because we hadn’t gone yet. The place looks a bit different from its predecessor (Kudeta) and thankfully many fewer curtains. Décor was kind of interesting, sort of art deco with a spinny chandelier type fixture in the middle of the dining room over us.
Service was decent, food was pretty mediocre. We shared 4 sushi rolls and they were, at most, okay. Two or three were supposed to be spicy and had very little kick. A special salmon roll my boyfriend ordered was incredibly bland and he said it seemed like they tried to put the flavor into the sauce on the plate rather than the fish itself. The restaurant was also out of the snow crab rolls which we’d wanted, too. I can’t attest to their other cuisines but the sushi was bleh.

Met friends out for the night wanted to try a new place and heard great things. Atmosphere was very inviting and service was good from beginning to end. Sushi was made perfectly especially for those with a seafood allergy. Main course was seared sesame ahi tuna cooked perfectly. Overall wonderful experience.

Food was excellent. They have a great drink selection with live jazz on Thursday Friday and Saturday. Nice atmosphere in a central location.

Great food! We were a bit worried about being underdressed, but they were very friendly. We got the wonton app, it was very good! Then I had the cold soba noodles with flank steak was DELICIOUS! My husband had the fried rice another really good dish! I think the only spoiler was an annoying fly that was by the window buzzing.

Fresh ingredients, wonderful presentation, and a nice city atmosphere combine for what is surely New Haven’s Best New Restaurant. Executive Chef Eric Maes is a name to remember.

Lucky Chao is an upscale Asian fusion restaurant with a bar and live jazz on Thurs, Fri, and Sat. The menu samples a wide range of cuisines, from Japanese to Cambodian. The price tag is on the high end, with most entrees coming in at $ 20-​$ 30. Since they just opened, I feel like they’re trying really hard to impress customers. For me and my dining companion, it worked. Here’s my experience.
First, I have to say that our server was incredibly gracious and attentive. He allowed us to switch out kale in one if our dishes for Chinese broccoli, even when the kitchen initially disagreed. Later on, when we suspected that they had still included kale he actually brought a plate with both kale and Chinese brocoli to prove to us that they had performed the substitution, while giving us the option to send it back to the kitchen. I respect how he handled and defused what could have become a bad situation.
It took a while for the food to come out, but the wait was worth it. We ordered pork belly, and it was a real standout, with a wonderful crisp skin and savory melt-​in-​your-​mouth meat, as well as a noodle dish. The dishes were seasoned well, and portions though small weren’t surprising, given the nature of high end establishments. Afterward, the manager came to our table and chatted with us a bit, ending our meal on a personal note. Overall, I enjoyed both the food and service, though the dishes seemed a little overpriced. The service was exemplary when we visited though.
Lucky Chao is a nice addition to the city, good for intimate meals or a date night, and definitely an improvement over Kudeta.