Szechuan Garden

Delicious food and great service, I suggest the 10 ingredient lo mein and orange chicken. The egg drop soup is also delicious and they have great bubble tea. 5 stars, love this place. Especially the weekday lunch special!

Szechuan Garden serves no nonsense authentic, Szechuan cuisine that is expertly prepared.
Unfortunately, this relatively new restaurant is not wheelchair accessible, which makes it not possible for many people with disabilities to access and makes it harder for strollers. We have a special request to the owner who we notice reads these reviews — would you please make your restaurant accessible to wheelchairs? This could be accomplished by installing a ramp or a small lift. Thank you for your consideration. Adding accessibility (like Han Dynasty) would change our view to 5 stars and cause us to recommend you to others.

Still gets better and better. Love the place, love the service and LOVE the food.

If you’re a Szechuan fan then you’ll like this place. There is a great variety in food choices. If you don’t like or can handle spicy food you can tell waiter to make it less spicy or order the other foods without the spices.
The ox tongue and kidney are actually tasty if you’re willing to try something exotic or can get over that is tongue and kidney.
The place is bigger than I thought and there is another section in the back part the kitchen.

Went here with my Dad for lunch. He owned two successful Chinese restaurants for 20 years and is hard to please when it comes to going out for chinese. That being said, we both really enjoyed it! We had the fried pork dumplings, eggplant in garlic sauce, and a noodle dish. Will definitely be back soon!

Don’t order from this place. Safety concerns. We just found several pieces of hard plastic in the dumplings! On top of that, the manager was very rude and refused a refund when I called them to inform them about the issue. STAY AWAY.

How many places in the area serve tripe, kidney, duck, ham hock, lobster, frogs, chicken feet, lamb and other intestines/​meats and veggies with wonderful presentation, flavor and sides? You tell me if you find another.
We started off sharing steamed veggie dumplings, after a glass of the pinot noir and their honey green tea. I had had a late lunch and really just intended to have a light appetizer. However, my dining companion refused to feast on a meal of the stir fried maine lobster while I nibbled. I figured I’d order the crispy fish fillets with a sweet vinegar Sauce and take home the leftovers.
All of the above was delicious, light on the stomach and well flavored. I stole a piece of the meaty Lobster and was confused as to what dish I preferred more. These are good problems to have.
The place was spotlessly clean, the service was well timed and friendly but not overtly familiar – which is great. They offer beer, wine and sake options as well as smoothies and hot, Cold or bubble Tea. However, aside from the ocassional glass of alcohol everyone was focused on enjoying their food with a clear palate.
Definitely recommend and am glad to have tried and found a restaurant with character on the UWS. Will be back to try some other dishes.

Authentic, but a tad bit too salty szechuanese food on the uws. The dishes we ordered all used the same pepper oil mixture, so they were all very salty. The cumin lamb 孜然羊肉 was good, but a bit on the salty side and filled with dry peppers that you can’t eat. I don’t know if I’ll be back… Szechuan gourmet 56 is way better. But, if you live in the 90’s and above, there really aren’t any other choices. An overall ok experience at Szechuan garden

We were looking for Uncle Luoyang’s storefront restaurant on Amsterdam, but it was shut down so we walked around the corner to Szechuan Garden. What started with disappointment ended up fortunate for us as we found excellent Szechuan food here.
The first good sign was that the place was packed. We waited maybe 15 minutes for a table, and between waiters handing in orders and people coming in for takeout, we felt a little like we were in the way. The staff was nice, though, and kept us updated on when we could expect our table.
We ended up ordering the Spicy Cucumber Salad (#13) and Spicy Sliced Kidney (#24) appetizers. It was my first time to have (pork?) kidney, and it was very good. The cucumber salad is one of my go-​to Szechuan dishes – I like the cooling sensation after all the spicy chili dishes – and it was very good at Szechuan Garden.
We shared the Braised Tender Pork w/​Napa & Roasted Chili (#147) entrée, and this dish was also delicious. They have a huge menu, and I’m looking forward to coming back to try their other Szechuan dishes, like the Ma Po Tofu, spicy sesame noodles, and spicy fish filets.
It’s good to know that we don’t have to go all the way down to Chinatown in Manhattan, much less Flushing, to get good Chinese food.

Wow. Here is an excellent Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side. Love it. Love it. Love it. From service to atmosphere, to food; it’s a winner. Lots of Asians happily sharing all kinds if exotic looking dishes. If the Pea Shoots are on special, the $ 19.99 price is worth it. The scrambled eggs with baby shrimp is delightful and the chicken with red and green chilies is firery hot goodness!

I came here for lunch and was really underwhelmed. The hot and sour soup was pretty good, but the general Tso’s chicken was not. I know, I know — it’s the last thing I should’ve ordered, and perhaps a bit sacrilegious, but it sounded good. I asked the server if the chicken was crispy and he assured me that it was. To me, that’s a deal-​breaker with this guilty pleasure, and I would’ve ordered something else. Well, it wasn’t even a little crispy and I didn’t particularly enjoy the flavor either. The chicken had a lot of unchewable pieces and wasn’t appetizing. I had three or four bites and couldn’t force myself to eat any more. Left hungry.

Considering the nearby options, this is definitely the most decent place that I have found to get (Americanized) Chinese food on the UWS. Although they do serve authentic Chinese, as well, I can’t speak to how good it is at this time.
I have ordered the shrimp fried rice from them on multiple occasions. In fact, I once ordered it twice in one week. Their fried rice actually includes a variety of vegetables, as opposed to just being fried rice or rice coated in soy sauce.
If you like duck sauce and/​or soy sauce, make sure to ask for them. Although they’re free, they won’t provide them unless requested.

Steamed spareribs with rice flour-​bad. Tastes burnt. There is a hair hidden inside the meat. Tender spareribs though.
Sautéed diced chicken with chili and pepper-​good. Tender chicken. Neither spicy nor too oily.
Braised beef fillets with Napa and roasted chili-​good. Tender beef. Flavorful with chili.
Sautéed fish fillets with mixed veggie-​above average. Tender fish fillets. Average veggies.
Crispy lamb fillets with chili cumin-​below average. Strong taste of cumin. Lamb fillets are essentially all flour.
Honey glazed spareribs-​very good. Tasty red sauce. Well cooked spareribs.
Stir fried five spiced tofu with green house chive-​average. Well cooked chives. Tender tofu. Too salty.
Sautéed baby bok choy-​below average. A little oily. Juicy but not well cooked.
Rice-​average. A little dry but better than a lot of other Chinese restaurants in the area.

Had just left a meeting with clients and needed to eat lunch (yes, I know it is dinner time) because I gave away my cumin lamb sandwich earlier in the day to someone on the train.
Walked a little and noticed the place which seemed to be packed with overseas students from Columbia so I figured it had to be good.
Now with sinuses clear from the various spices and my belly full of tongue tingling meats, fish and veggies I now know the easy way to find a good meal on the UWS is to look for the students.
Really enjoyed the sliced beef and onions and the cucumber and black mushrooms. Bubble tea helped temper my overzealous «Yes, I like to eat spicy» orders. Back of the restaurant is nice a large glass wall and skylights. The front is better for small parties and people watching.

Update on my previous post: the next day, I call them again to put in the same order (I was sick and have to order delivery, and there is nothing else around that I really feel like eating.). They remembered the incident from the night before. Apparently the owner David found out about it, and had the restaurant figure out what went on — there was a computer problem, so my order never went into the kitchen. The guy (restaurant manager) took over the phone, explained and apologized. A day later, I also got phone call from the owner David to apologize again.
Overall, I appreciate their effort to correct their mistakes, and I still love their food. I decided to change my rating to reflect their food quality.
— — — — - old post from 10÷2÷2015 — — — — — — —
First, I am a regular of this restaurant and I love the food there. However tonight (Oct 2, 2015) the experience has been so terrible. I ordered a delivery (at 7:45pm), the lady said it will arrive in 1.5 hr since they’re busy. I thought I am not that hungry so it’s fine. 2 hrs later the food is still not here. So I called back and a lady (not sure if is the same one) picked up the phone and said it’s not sent out but they will send out soon. I was a little mad but still said fine (cause I was really craving for Chinese food!!). Another 30 min later I got a call from a guy asking if I got my order, I told him no. He started to blame me not calling them even I didn’t receive my order after so long. I told him I did call them, but he said neither of his two front desk ladies got my call. It was outrageous, does he want to check my call history?! And why is it my duty to call him for my order anyway? He cancelled my order cause they were closing. No apology was given and he was very rude throughout.

Szechuan Garden is GREAT!!! In a city with so many awful Chinese restaurants, including the overpriced, pretentious ones, like Shun Lee, Szechuan Garden on West 105^th Street is an oasis. The food is fresh, simple and well prepared. (Be careful what you order when you see little chile peppers next to the name of the dish… they can be ultra hot!) The scallion pancakes are amazing as are the steamed vegetable dumplings. There are so many menu items I could list here as outstanding I wouldn’t know where to begin, and the prices are beyond reasonable. Extremely casual, friendly servers, clean, pleasant atmosphere — what more can you ask for? I highly recommended this place!

Absolutely LOVE this place.
Its authentic chinese. yes they have weird food, just avoid the frog and stuff if that scares you.
The eggplant was hands down the best eggplant I’ve ever had. It was fried and in a sweet gooey sauce… SO GOOOOOOOD.
It has very authentic chinese flavors, which the asians will love, lots of hoa jioa and just YUM. They have braise whole fish or beef which is amazing.
They also have really good american chinese food (yes. there’s a difference). Their chow fun, noodles, general tso’s chicken is all really good.
Prepare for SPICE. they use flower spice and LOTS of chili, and it’s SO good.

Believe the hype! There’s an actual good– nay– great Chinese takeout spot on the upper west side.
I was sick with a cold and feeling like takeout. We got:
— spicy cucumber salad (so fresh tasty and great spice!)
— wonton soup (real solid wontons)
— hot and sour soup (very tasty)
— pork dumplings in chili (the best dish– incredible flavor and the right amount of heAt)
— Mapo tofu — (soft, silky tofu, though it was not as complex as I would have liked– will try a spicy chicken dish next time)
Baby Bok Choy (best way to get your veggies from Chinese food)
Next time I’ll try their Dan Dan noodles and sesame noodles.
All appetizers $ 5 — $ 8 and entrees were a solid $ 10 or so. They had some specials that went into the $ 20 range but we didn’t get those. This will be our new takeout spot.

My wife and I live down the street from this restaurant. Being that she is originally from Hubei, we eat here A LOT. I think I’m the DUKE here lol. This is the best Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side.
We love it here so much that we had our after wedding dinner here. We probably eat here every or every other day haha. It’s just too easy. Everything on the menu is SOLID and the lunch specials have just enough food for you to eat for one day’s worth of eating. The staff always is nice to us and we consider Jenny the manager, a neighborhood friend. Our favorite things on the menu include Dry Hot Pot special, Chicken with roasted chili (on lunch special), Mapo Tofu, and anything with Cumin (Lamb, Beef, or Fish). Also recommended is the Madam Song’s noodles under the «noodles» as well as the «water boiled beef/​fish». In short, order anything on the menu that is SPICY. You can’t go wrong. One thing I did noticed is that portions seem larger when eating in as compared to take out. Maybe its just me…
Bubble tea is very good here and is competitively priced.
Please be aware that this is a SZECHUAN restaurant. It’s almost sacrilegious to order anything that involves the word «GENERAL TSOS» or «SWEET AND SOUR…». If you want that stuff, order from (see my other local UWS review on profile) Open your mind to real authentic Szechuan cooking and get the spicy stuff if you can. We love this place and will continue to support it.

Why are you still sitting here reading they reviews? Just GO god damn it! If you’re a spice-​head or just like more authentic delicious chinese food. You must go here. This is a sister to the Szechuan Gourmet in midtown (which I’ve hooked my entire office up to and now everyone is addicted). But this place is so much nicer in décor, service, and pace. You don’t have the midtown + tourist crowd packed into this place elbow to elbow. Instead, you have a super restaurant with waiters that don’t rush you and treat you well.
Now on to the food. Huge portion, fresh ingredients, abundance of spices and good prices. Need I say more? The roast port in napa cabbage and chillis is one of our fave dishes (you can sub with beef, lamb, fish, etc.). It’s basically huge bowl of tender sliced meat swimming in hot lava (but flavorful!!) over a bed of tender cabbage and bamboo. Get it, and then spoon the sauce over your rice like it’s crack.
The crispy cumin lamb is my BFs fave dish. If you like cumin, and lamb, and anything deep fried… go here. you can’t go wrong. I personally love any of their fish filet dishes. Because it’s always made with tons of huge chunks of tender fish. They do not skimp.
My friends all love their crack dumplings… or some call them death dumplings… the menu says spicy szechuan pork dumplings. but I’m sure it’s a mixture of garlic, chillis, and crack. It’s addicting and if they bottled the sauce they used, I’d buy 100 bottles and stock up for life. Every Single Person I’ve ever ordered this appetizer for has fallen in love with it. There is usually a moment of silence, a widening of eyes, a ‘where have you been all my life” look of wonder… and then total beast mode.
Oh yeah, and if you get their beef noodle soup on a cold day, you can’t go wrong. It’s a huge bowl. The beef is tender and flavorful. The brought is light (not fatty) but flavorful at the same time. I think its the broth the beef was stewed in. And the noodles are tender. Home run.
Honestly just go already. Live a little. And if you do go, remember, it’s an authentic szechuan place. Don’t come here and get chicken with broccoli or orange chicken. i’m sure even their Americanized Chinese food is good compared with other places… but just don’t.