This is a wonderful place to have large parties. Was able to host about 15 to 20 people for a Sunday dinner. Great atmosphere as it's well decorated and quite modern as well as has a ton of space. The best part was every dish were delicious and authentic. Do you come here if you like your food spicy as this a definitely the place to go for some Hunan/Szechuan food. Would certainly come back and have other parties here!! read more

See all

Looking for an authentic Szechuan Chinese Cuisine? I would recommend Chef Tan in Highland Park. This is the most authentic Chinese Restaurant in town. The food is phenomenal and well prepared. The price is reasonable as well. This is the first time I made a review for Chef Tan and I've been here many times and never disappoints me. The service was fantastic and the ambiance is very nice. All the lists in their menu were great but their Roasted Peking Duck stands out the most. We're planning to have dinner again here next week and we will keeps coming back. The food just doesn't get any better. Highly recommended! read more

See all

Chef Tan is one of my favorite restaurants. I've been coming here since 3 years ago and their service and food is always so exceptional. They recently went through a renovation which made the space bigger and better. They now have more seating available and also a group room. We always get the same dish when we come here, but also sometimes explore. Our all time favorites are; Sautéed Pig Intestines in Hot chili oil - always crispy, the perfect spice and heat. Hearing that crunch just makes you want to eat more. Second, Shrimp ball with salted egg yolk - i don't know why but to me this dish is very comforting. It's crispy on the outside but very juicy on the inside. The shrimp is always cooked perfectly. They coat it in salted egg yolk which compliments the shrimp really well. I also love eating the shrimp chips that it comes with. Lastly, Wontons in Hot chili oil - be careful cause this for sure will burn your tongue because of how hot the meat inside the wonton is. Again, perfectly cooked. The wonton skin and meat ratio is perfect for me. We also use the chili oil to put over our rice and it makes our rice so flavorful. Overall, I don't think anything is going to stop me from ever coming back here. I've celebrated my boyfriend and I's anniversary here for the last 3 years and this place is always so dear to us. We are for sure coming back soon! read more

See all

This restaurant is incredible. We were from out of town and my son was craving Peking duck. Quick google search led us to Chef Tan. The Peking duck did not disappoint. The presentation can't be beat with the table side carving. And then when you think your meal is done, they then bring out the duck soup made from the duck bones. When they ask what you want done with the bones, I highly recommend the soup. It's too bad we live in Virginia. I would definitely frequent this restaurant often. read more

Best Sichuan cuisine I've had in NJ so far. The twice cooked pork was full of so much flavor, the century egg and eggplant cold dish complimented each other really well, and the Peking duck was crisp, juicy, tender, and all around really delicious. I'm also not usually a fan of sour fish soup but this one hit just the spot, and there was some fatty pork belly slices in the soup as well. read more

See all

This food is just delicious! I was looking for just some random Chinese takeout and a coworker of mine told me about this place , so I ordered a few things off the menu and we drove right over. The place is very serene and it smells amazing as soon as you walk in. But the food?? Good lord, I cannot wait to come back here with my wife. This food is just delicious. read more

Love their food. Authentic, Not American Chinese style. Their food Quality is very good and tasty. Flavorful read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - My Favorite Restaurant has lunch special now! More variety! - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey

See all

Came to Chef Tan for takeout - ambiance inside was beautiful, cozy, and date night vibes. We ordered green beans with garlic, beef cumin, and mapo tofu - everything was delicious! The portions were large that two of us had enough for the next day for one more meal. Each item came with rice too. Service was excellent - handled allergies really well. read more

Great authentic food in an authentic setting. Lots of dishes to choose from. The whole family really loved it.

Five years later and the portions have improved. The food authentic Szechuan spicy hot and delicious. The ambience now getting long on the tooth and the service okay but who cares, as it's all about the food here. Still pricy for certain but we should get two meals out of our food with take home portions a plenty. Sixty five mile round trip drive today but worth the effort to sample Chef Tan again at this point in time. Highly recommended for their cuisine if you like hot and spicy this is the deal. read more

See all

There is not much Hunanese cuisine in my current city, so when my friend suggested we try the Chef Tan - Raritan location, I jumped at the chance! The food came out piping hot and steamy. Food in Hunan is famed for its spice level but my friend cannot tolerate a lot of spice. We ordered mild dishes and the kitchen brought our perfect plates that were still developed in flavors of garlic, ginger, and meats. We ordered scallion pancakes, steamed perch, bamboo shoots and broccoli, and "stir fried lettuce" which appeared to be chopped gai lan. The perch was my friend's favorite but I honestly loved the stir fried greens because they were so garlicky and brothy. Very good meal! Service was perfectly acceptable! The staff were courteous and never let our water cups run dry. A large family came in after us and was seated nearby and I could see they received the same attentive service. I was struck by how stylish the interior was organized! I grew up at small, family-owned hunanese place in my home city in the midwest that was homey and welcoming but not nearly as moody and elevated as this Chef Tan. I could see coming to this location to celebrate a relative's birthday or meeting up with friends for a family-style meal. read more

Order 了北京鴨。半隻12張餅，一隻鴨給15張餅，要加餅不讓說不可以，態度也不好，下次不會再order了。菜的份量也比以前少很多，湯的味道水水的沒有什麼味道＇跟以前比差太多了 We order a whole Peking duck $88, half duck comes with 12 pancakes, but whole duck only comes 15 pancakes, we asked the server for two more pancakes they told us they couldn't even we offer to pay for them, bad attitude, very rude, will not order again read more

This is a very authentic szechuan Chinese restaurant. If you like spicy food, then this is the place you need to check out. They have a big menu selection that would please the people that love spicy food, as well as the people that shy away from it. My personal favorites have to be the Chongqing chicken, and the salted egg shrimp. read more

See all

An awesome place. We had a party of 20 with a "spicy table" and a mild table. Servers and owner were very accommodating. Food was terrific and the decor was very pleasant. read more

Great amazing tasteful Chinese authentic cuisine! Service was ok. Family style. Every dish was delicious. Highly recommend read more

See all

This place is amazing. The food is so excellent. Everything we've tried has been great. Among our favorites are: C5 - Fried Chicken in Chongqing Style: A crunchy, spicy, garlicky dish that is so much better ordered while sitting in the restaurant than ordering in....but it's still miles ahead of most chicken (or any) dishes when ordered in! My wife is NOT a fan of spicy food, but she loved this dish as it is spicy in that Chinese (or Chongqing-ese, more exactly I suppose) way that makes it more flavorful without burning your mouth too badly. F2 - Scallion Fried Rice: So so savory and delicious. A8 - Crispy Cucumbers with Garlic Sauce: An excellent, simple, tasty, light accompaniment to a fairly heavy meal. J11 - Bean curd with Shredded Pork: Just another extremely savory dish that is almost a requirement when we eat here. I'm also a big fan of their Dandan Noodles, Mapo Tofu and Sichuan style Hot and Sour Glass Noodles, but those are all fairly spicy so I order those just for myself. Really a great place, and somewhere we take guests all the time. read more

See all

I never leave reviews, however, I am shocked this place doesn't have 5 stars! I ordered a quick takeout, just pan fried pork dumplings and the eggplant with garlic sauce. The eggplant was fresh and beautifully seasoned, melts in your mouth! The dumplings were extremely high quality, a thin wrapping with great flavor. Was looking for something quick and took a chance on a new place, I am delightfully surprised! Made my day! read more

Great food but prices are definitely a little steep. Stopped by with my friend for lunch and the restaurant was empty except for another party seated next to us. My friend and I ordered the cumin lamb, braised pork belly, and sauteed bok choy (not sure what it's called on the menu) and everything was very flavorful and tasty. They do Szechuan food perfectly, IMO. Our total came out to around $60 for two people. Definitely more than I expected to pay but we had plenty of leftovers. read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey

Cannot begin to describe how flavorful the food was. Each dish was incredibly delicious and felt true to actual Chinese cooking! The pork trotters were rich and fatty, full of savory flavor. The pork belly was tender and paired wonderfully with the earthy, sweet taro. The pickled vegetables with minced pork offered nice freshness to the otherwise heavy dishes. read more

See all

Excellent dinner we had today on nye with the family. The food and service were great. Even the ambiance was surprisingly nice for a Chinese restaurant - my cousin in law said it looked like a repurposed night club. Lol. There were string lights outside by their outdoor dining area. The price too was very reasonable during these inflationary times. They are byob and there's a liquor store around the corner where I got a great bottle of wine. We had so many good dishes. The beer cooked fatty beef (啤酒牛肉) was my favorite, with a delicious broth with peppers and pickled cabbage inside - we even took this soup home to hopefully use tomorrow to make a new dish with. The mustard green tips ( 雪里红) were also good having a mild but fresh taste. Even the non spicy such as the the 5 color tofu (五彩豆腐) and the scallion beef (葱爆牛肉) were on the money. It's nice to have good options in the area when we are in the mood for spicy Chinese food. read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey

See all

Chef Tan is my favorite Chinese restaurant in New Jersey, and I'm really happy that they've started delivering to Princeton on Chowbus since the pandemic started. They have a really large menu with a wide selection, including many Hunan and Sichuan dishes, but their specialty is Hunan cuisine (I believe the chefs are from Hengyang in Hunan). Most of the dishes I've tried have been good, but my favorites so far are: A10. Century Egg and Cold Eggplant 皮蛋辣椒擂茄子 ($14.95) - super delicious cold dish with century eggs, tender silky eggplant, and lots of aromatics. The portion is quite big, and if you eat it in the restaurant they give you a mallet to mash it together and led the flavors meld. J9. Sauteed Slice Lamb in Hunan Style 小炒羊肉 ($17.95) (takeout) - tender lamb slices with three different types of peppers. Not that spicy but full of flavor. A few pieces were slightly stringy but most of the lamb was great! Z1. Fish head w. diced hot red peppers 金牌剁椒鱼头 ($29.95) - super delicious steamed fish head. The meat is really tender, and there's a lot of it. It's not as spicy as it looks. H16. Braised Pig Trotters - Hot & Spicy 木盆猪手 ($17.95) - perfectly cooked pig feet with tender meat and a great gelatinous texture. H12. Pigs Intestine In Casserole - Hot & Spicy 煲仔肥肠 $17.95 - flavorful, fatty intestines with bell peppers. It's not very spicy despite being labeled as such on the menu. read more

See all

Came here for a family dinner and celebrated my Chinese roots. Food: I was impressed by most of the dishes here. The spicy stewed beef dish was a little bland to our taste. The stir-fried pork mince with pickles was a good balance for the blandness. Rice was the belle of this flavor fiesta and the perfect vehicle for each dish. Yum yum Service: We ordered in Mandarin so knowing the language here is a plus. The menu has everything in English for easy ordering. Ambiance: The decor here gives a nice modern feel with good lighting. Food here is served family style so don't be surprised if the cheersing gets a little rowdy. It didn't blow our socks off but we left satisfied and full. read more

See all

We always come by when the line for Tasty Moment is too long, and it doesn't disappoint. Restaurant is always tidy and elegantly decorated with some paper hanging pendants. Consistently authentic and tasty dry pot chicken to 稻香炒饭 to shredded pork with bamboo. We recently tried the Hunan spicy noodle instead of the usual dan dan and cold noodle, and the noodles were cooked just right in a slightly spicy chili oil. read more

Nice experience in this cozy restaurant. The food was good and the staff gentle and nice. Good quick service and tasty dishes.

Food was delicious. One of my preferred hunan spots in nj. It's a little on the pricey side but worth the premium imo. Came during covid times and they have a great setup. Shaded area with very comfortable seats. A few parties had brought dogs. The staff take guests temp at table for screening purposes. Portions were generous. Food was really flavorful with ample spices. My favorite was the lamb dish... great combination of flavors. Only complaint was that the pepper chicken dish was a little too salty. read more

See all

Chinese food just doesn't get any better than at Chef Tan. In fact, both times I've been there, I was with foodies from China. I've eaten some of the most wonderful dishes there. I had no idea spices like cumin and meats such as lamb were part of Chinese cuisine! Sure, there are dishes with ingredients not to American tastes, but anyone looking for fabulous Chinese food should go immediately to this restaurant. read more

1. I originally came here back in 2018 with my family for my brothers graduation and I thought it was absolutely delicious and I was excited to have a new Chinese restaurant in the area that you could come into and dine in. I wasn't yelping then so I guess I would say I've been holding this review for about 5 years. 2. I came back a couple of weeks ago and it's not only new and improved but it's also officially a staple within highland park. There are consistently packed days/nights here at chef tan and reasonably so. First off the ambiance and decor of the interior was very nice and made me feel very in touch with the food I was eating and the person I was with. Second, the food was all very delicious and fresh. Definitely cannot wait to come back read more

Decor: 4/5 - the interior was well decorated and didn't feel crammed with the seating arrangement. Bathroom was relatively clean, but didn't flush well so one of the stalls was always dirty. Food: 3.5/5 - most of the dishes were oily, which is expected of the cuisine. But some of the dishes felt overly salty while others lacked flavor, which wasn't very well balanced on the palate. Service: 2/5 - when seated, no complimentary water was provided unless asked for. Napkins were not provided unless asked for. It was difficult flagging waiters down unless we were vocal as most of them were not very attentive. They were not proactive in providing good table service (i.e. refilling tea, clearing plates, etc) compared to most other Chinese restaurants I've been to. read more

I have been a longstanding customer for this restaurant but they really disappointed me during my last visit. We ordered a Peking Duck at the hefty price of $88, and the chef sliced the meat in front of us, which was mostly duck skin (small amount of duck meat). Most of the meat, including both duck legs were still intact and were not sliced. We had decided to pick the option of frying the leftover duck. However, when the dish was brought out, the picture below is what we saw. There was no meat left and the duck legs were nowhere to be seen. As I have ordered this dish before, I knew this was not what I should be expecting. I questioned the employees, who gave me differing answers that contradicted each other and did not seem logical. Will not be ordering this again!! read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - Specially ordered Peking duck - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey

We LOVE Chef Tan's! I originally came upon their Jersey City location and was blown away by their signature (and spicy) Chongqing Style Fried Chicken. It's their signature dish! The HIghland Park joint has all the same delicious dishes. The hits: Chongqing Style Fried Chicken Steamed Eggplant w Minced Pork Beef Tripe w Chili Oil Other lovely items: Shrimp Fried Rice Beef Lo Mein Sichuan Beef Noodle Soup They used to have an outdoor section but due to COVID and lack of staffing it remains closed. Hopefully one day soon it'll be back. Staff are very friendly and expertly pack your to go bag. They can be a little cheap with their to-go plates... small gripe. They still ROCK! read more

The place and food are amazing! Highly recommend 小炒肉 and 鱼香肉丝。Wanna come again next time. read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey

Atmosphere: ? We were only able to order as take out since during the pandemic. Portion: 4 I ordered the minced beef chowder soup and the quart container wasn't filled all the way up. There's also not much minced beef in it. For over $10 I felt like it wasn't getting the portion that I paid for. The portions are on the smaller side considering the price. My husband also mentioned that the amount of dumplings for the price nearly made it over $1 each dumpling. Flavors: 5 Not too salty and extremely authentic, the dishes really hit the spot. I also ordered the minced pork with pickled beans which wasn't too spicy for me. It had a nice sour and spicy flavor. Due to Covid-19, we are only able to order it as take out. I'm happy they are open and the menu looks so authentic. We just ordered through Beyond Menu app and waited in our car. I can't give it an atmosphere rating since we aren't eating in. I think the price is a bit expensive for what you get, so you're mostly paying for the authentic flavors. I would order from there again. They have a nice menu to try but probably not very often. read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - Minced Beef Chowder Soup - I added some scallions at home. You can see there isn't much minced beef and somehow they added tofu. - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey

See all

This is me and hubbys date night spot. He loves the spicy chicken (I would too if it was white meat but alas). We always get shrimp fried rice and scallion pancakes. I love the dan dan noodles. We love to sit at the window booths and people watch. It's especially beautiful during the holiday season Pro tip: their regular table seats are "contemporary" style and not fat friendly. Advocate for yourself and get a booth. You'll be much more comfortable! read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - Shrimp Fried Rice - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey

See all

Food is authentic and very well made. Definitely worth a trip. Real Hunan food. Very reasonable. Staff is also friendly.

Authentic and delicious Hunan food! My grandmother is from Hunan province and so my mom always longs for authentic hunan food. I brought her here and she LOVED it. She won't stop raving about it either and can't wait until the next time she comes back. Most of the dishes aren't too spicy, but that's probably to cater to spice tolerance in the area. Everything we ordered was flavorful! Standouts include the eggplant with garlic sauce, hunan style lamb, braised whole fish, clear noodles, beef and tripe in hot oil appetizer... The restaurant also has a nice ambience with a cute outdoor patio space. I've eaten here twice so far-- I'll definitely be back some more. read more

See all

I have to update my review! We decided to give this place another try after a mediocre experience and we are glad that we did! This time we came for dinner and the food was amazing! This time we ordered the scallion pancakes (again), spicy tofu pot with chicken, Chinese cauliflower, a mushroom mix stir fry, beef noodle soup and westlake beef cilantro soup. The Chinese cauliflower was cooked with a few slices of bacon which gave it a really good flavor. The cauliflower was crunchy yet thoroughly cooked. This was very tasty and a must-order item. Spicy tofu pot with chicken was good too. It was tasty but wasn't very spicy. The beef in the beef noodle soup was tender and there was a good amount of noodles. Like all chinese restaurant food, though, the food is oily though not more oily than other Chinese restaurants. Previous review: 3.5 A great place for an authentic spicy meal. Decor The decor is really nice; more pleasant compared to your standard authentic Chinese restaurants. There are many booths and most of these are window seats. There is also a really cute outdoor seating area. My husband surmised that they kept the furniture and decor from the previous restaurant (not sure if this was the Mediterranean place previously) because it bears no semblance to a Chinese restaurant. Food: Food is good here. I'd rate it 4 stars for the food. Almost all dishes are Sichuan spicy. We ordered the scallion pancakes, twice cooked pork Sichuan style, cumin chicken, and chicken Lo mein. The scallion pancakes were good. Thinky rolled and nicely layered, this was delicately pan seared, not deep fried. It's the type of scallion pancake that I like. The twice cooked pork was very tasty. It's like the red cooked braised pork belly but instead of chunks of pork, it is very thinly sliced, like bacon. The sauce is very tasty. The cumin chicken was ok but not bad. The chicken Lo mein was just that, not any different from your local takeout place. I really like the tea here. Fragrant and pungent, it has a hint of some type of flower. Service: This is the area that needs to be improved. When we placed our order, we ordered the steam egg hunan style but the waiter said they were too busy so they can't make this for us (huh?). The table behind us was eating this. The restaurant wasntcompletely full either. Most tables were occupied but there was no wait line and there were some empty tables. There was no service. You had to work to flag someone down. It wasn't like they were hustling around busy with their tables. The wait staff mostly stood huddled together chatting. Some played on their phones. I also get the impression that they only speak mandarin. read more

I love their food. The fish is delicious. I will come and introduce you friend to come. I give five stars. read more

Food was very good. Service could be better . Got our order wrong and then charged us the same price for a plain fried rice for my son as the one with shrimp and veggies and were rude when i questioned it . read more

This is my favorite authentic Chinese restaurant in NJ. The food choices are plenty consisting of spicy and non-spicy choices. The recent roast duck addition is a must try - juicy and delicious. in addition, the on-site parking makes everything so much easy. Strongly recommended if you are in the neighborhood. read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - Roasted duck - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey

Honestly, my family and friends all Love this place! Especially their Peking Duck, very authentic. We also enjoy other dishes as well. Very authentic Sichuan and Hunan cuisine. The staff are also very friendly. Btw, if you want the Peking Duck, it's best to order before you arrive. It takes about an hour to cook Peking Duck. read more

Chef Tan 蜀湘门第 - Peking Roast Duck. - Chinese Near Me - Highland Park, New Jersey