Chef Yu

So I have been here several times and the only reason that I bother to go back is mostly for nostalgia, (this happens to be one of the first places I went with my now husband on our third or fourth date.) The atmosphere is decent, the food is okay (one step above your traditional chinese food restaurant in the hood), and the drinks are cheap on happy hour.
This would be a great spot to go to after work or on a date, if and only if the servers weren’t crap. I mean it’s golden from the moment you enter and are seated, after that it’s pure unadulterated shit. And I’ve been to this place multiple times… everytime the service is shit.
You will be ignored for a good ten to twenty minutes in an empty restaurant with 3 or 4 servers just milling about the restaurant trying to look busy. Make sure you don’t drink your water or soda while waiting for your food because you will never see your server again to request a refill.
But what takes the cake is the «mandatory service charge» that they tack on to your bill so the shit servers can get a tip. I am all about tipping, I usually would pity tip if a server is having a bad day, however these servers are lazy af.
Terrible place.

I ordered beef chow fun, noodles were over cooked and had little flavor. The beef was tough and chewy. Not going back

An honest description of this restaurant is best compared to the soggy, uninspiring vegetable dumplings that arrived in front of me. With frantic and confused floor staff running around like Spaniards in the midst of a bull run, I was left being stared at like a mad man when I repeatedly explained my order. Don’t come here unless you get a kick out of being hungry and writing poor Unilocal reviews.

Very average Chinese-​American food. They have lunch specials that will run you up to about $ 10 after tax. I got the General Tso’s Chicken. It’s doused in a sweet sticky sauce and any crisp the chicken had was entirely killed by the sauce. I like that they offer the option of white, brown, and fried rice. The lunch special also comes with a small salad and two veggie spring rolls that were entirely mediocre. I suspect you can get similar food at Ying Du for half the price.

I’m writing this review at 1am, up with stomach cramps and nausea after a meal at Chef Yu. I’m disgusted and I don’t feel well at all. I’ve eaten here probably 7 to 10 times over the years. I periodically take classes nearby and it is convenient and it’s reasonably priced. In the past, the food has been pretty good, although I’ve had some problems with the cleanliness in the past. One time, a waiter was standing in the dining room, digging in his nose like he was searching for gold. Gross, I know!
Anyway, the place is big and spacious, which is a change from most New York restaurants, and therefore good for large groups. Today however, I went there with a party of seven, and everybody said their food tasted a little off. It kind of seemed like it was old, but that doesn’t make sense because they do a really brisk business. Shortly after my meal, which I only ate half of, my stomach started gurgling and I couldn’t eat anything else for the remainder of the day A classmate complained of a stomachache, too.
I don’t know what happened there today, if they’re using spoiled food, or someone forgot to wash their hands, or what, but whatever it is, i’ve eaten my last meal there. I’ll complain to them in person tomorrow because I feel like they should know. As for now, I’m tired, uncomfortable, and waiting for the Pepto-​Bismol to do it’s thing.

I’ve been coming to this place for the last 7 years. I always order 208,209 or 213, which are the dumplings with Sechuan sauce. Absolutely delicious and always a hit. I have had sweet and sour chicken which I wasn’t very happy about, but the Sesame Chicken is excellent and comes with rice.
The service can be disappointing. Some servers are simply put rude, but some are delightful. It really is a hit&miss.
The restaurant itself is spacious and two floors but I’ve only seen the top floor seated once, years ago. The tables are not crammed next to each other which makes it easy to move around. Bathrooms are clean. The decoration is simple.
I plan on coming to this place for the next 7 years to come.

I’m not specialist in Asian food but I like and recommend this place, fast, clean, cheap and luckily just had nice plates!

Great for happy hour drinks as most drinks are $ 4.50 and the rest $ 5.00, and ends late for those who don’t get out at 5pm. They have a cocktail list of probably over 100 drinks which it seems they could have copied out of a bartenders manual. Surprisingly out waitress knew what ingredients were in almost every drink we asked about. The service is fairly quick and the food comes out just as efficiently. As per taste, I’ve had better and paid less, but the large open atmosphere and service will probably bring me back here… for happy hour at least.

If you looked up mediocre in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Chef Yu. The food was not bad, but not great. Service took a while to start serving us, but we were served well once they started — so overall mediocre service.
Chef Yu is basically Chinese fast food that you can find anywhere in the city, served in a restaurant setting.

Bei der Big Bus Tour wurde uns dieses Restaurant empfohlen… Wir haben es danach direkt ausprobiert und waren wirklich sehr zufrieden. Preisleistung stimmt!!! Leckeres Essen!
Wenn die Bedienungen ein bisschen lächeln würden, wäre es perfekt.

I ate at this restaurant years ago and remembered it to be decent so I decided to check it out today. I guess my memory was foggy. The service is slow and negligent (they seated me in a corner by the door and after I ordered another couple came in and they received their food first). Still, I wanted to give the food a chance. The general tso’s was oily and soggy, literally swimming in unidentifiable brown liquid and the chicken did not taste like chicken. After two slimy bites I asked for my food to go so I could run out of here and trash it as fast as possible. I will not be back. For the price (almost $ 20 once you add tip), you’re better off hopping on the train to china town and getting real Chinese food.

I came here one evening after work with my brother. We were both pretty hungry so we were pleasantly surprised when we were seated right away. I couldn’t believe how spacious this restaurant was. Definitely not typical of a New York City restaurant.
We started off with a drink since happy hour was still happening. From4−8 all drinks were between $ 4.50 and $ 5.00 which was a deal we couldn’t pass up.
We then started off with fried dumplings. Perfectly crisp on the outside but all in all was a typical dumpling.
For my entrée I ordered chicken and eggplant. This is my go to dish at a chinese food restaurant so I feel it is my obligation to try it everywhere. They didn’t skimp on the portion size or the eggplant and it came with a nice heaping of brown rice.
Overall, a very pleasant experience. Definitely a reliable chinese food restaurant. Will have to try here for lunch one day since I work near by.

Just stop in to wait for a meeting and I’m very pleased. My miso soup came out hot and full of flavor. My red sangria is excellent very tasteful. So looks like I’ll be comin back

The one star wasn’t only about the food. After all, the food was over greased, shrimp was bland, and portions for $ 13 per dish was not worth it. The service was what got me enraged. After eating with my group of friends, we were paying for everything and made sure to pay of how much it was exactly (with includes change) and add money on top of it because we wanted to tip the waitress the most of I can without giving her change. She decides to takes my check and tells me it a mandatory 18% gratuity. I would have been gladly to tip, but at the way she said to me that I «had» to tip was something else. She also messed up on our order and her manners were out of this world. She said one more dollar 5 times and basically took money out of my wallet and ran towards the cash register. My parents are immigrants themselves, but they would not be greedy enough to force upon a gratuity bill on someone. Therefore, my friend tipped $ 1 due to her manners and said he could not tip anymore. Obviously, she was mad because her bitchass couldn’t be nice to us.
Rude waitress = Bad Businesses.
I have never encountered with such poor customer service in my life in eating at any place before.
Lastly, one star is what this place deserves. Chinese people trying to make a living, but can’t afford to have manners. No offense to Chinese people, I’m Chinese myself. But to those Chinese waitress who have no manners and all look forward to money and not for the customer’s happiness. You are in the wrong job. Anyone in general.
— Charles Tran
Still enraged about this place.

If this is not the worst Chinese restaurant, it is surely one of the worst. The food was awful and the service was as bad (if not worse) than the food.
We ordered the pan fried dumplings as an appetizer. The dumplings were very dry inside. With the shrimp and broccoli we ordered, the coating of the shrimps no taste and the shrimp itself tasted like old cardboard. And the vegetable dish (which you would expect to be more fresh tasting) was way too oily.
We will definitely never return to this establishment. We left more than half of the food untouched and almost asked for refund.
The service staff had no smile and no manners. Other than delivering the food, they offered no extra words or assistance.
Terrible experience.

I have to assume they must have a really good deal on their lease. They have a huge, simply but elegantly furnished space, but their pricing is incredibly affordable.
I was introduced to this restaurant by a Chinese friend who told me it was her favorite Chinese restaurant in midtown (and it’s now my favorite).
The lunch specials are especially great. If you like spicy foods, I’d recommend their spicy baby shrimp, beef with green chili pepper, or stir-​fried chicken with spicy capsicum.

This is more of a 3.5 star and I didn’t feel like rounding up because it definitely is not a 4 star restaurant. It’s a decent lunch spot if you’re craving Chinese food. It’s close by to my work place so when I want some chicken and broccoli, this is the place I opt for. Lunch menu is super cheap ($ 7) and filling. Service is usually really quick.
The restaurant has really high ceilings which makes it look bigger than it actually is. Never sit on the second floor because the lighting is terrible. Seating is also never consistent. Sometimes I’ll be seated by the window in a secluded table whereas other times I’ll be seated in a table 6 inches away from the one next to me. I absolutely hate when I can hear my neighbors conversations and vice versa. But it’s whatever. I usually come here only because my boyfriend likes some cheap Chinese food.

If you are looking for authentic Chinese food in midtown with nice ambiance that can accommodate big group of people, and with reasonable price, then this is the place.
However, if you are looking for authentic Szechuan cuisines, go somewhere else.

Dirty restaurant with okay food. Appetizer was good but the rest failed.
Vegetable Szechuan in spicy peanut sauce was good
Shredded spicy chicken was blah. Over-​fried and not good.
We sat upstairs where it’s hot and disgusting! Don’t do it!
Not interested in coming back.

Whenever we find ourselves in midtown and hungry we come to Chef Yu.
I won’t give it five stars because it isn’t stellar. BUT it is consistently good food and service for a decent price (especially for the area).
Today I had Seschuan Shredded Beef and it was excellent. I prefer a little more spice in my dishes so I used the red chili sauce in the glass jar to add a little heat.
I don’t drink but I noticed a full service bar at the front door.

Food: Excellent
Service: Hit and Miss
Ambience: Decent
This place is a family favorite. Do they serve authentic Chinese food? Hmmm doubtful.
Having said that the food is unorthodox and tastes good.
I have been here so many times and really have never been disappointed. My favorites are the shrimp dumplings, spicy basil chick, beef with green chilies and the chicken fried rice.
So the question is why the three stars the reason for that is the service. They are crazy busy most of the time but I feel that service gets worse as they slow down. Is it always bad and the answer is No. But there have been numerous time the servers have been rude and inattentive.
I like the food so I keep going back and taking chances with the service.

Gutes, günstiges chinesisches Essen in Manhattan. Preis-​Leistung stimmt, Atmosphäre und Sauberkeit auch.
Uneingeschränkt zu empfehlen. Speisekarte siehe Website.
(Student mit kleinem Budget und mäßigen Ansprüchen)