This place pulled through for us for our New Year's Eve dinner. We never heard of them till we did a search here on yelp for some Asian fusion type/style food. The usual places that we'd get our new year Chinese dinners from all had shut down their businesses. We called this business and the guy graciously took our to-go order. But first we had to keep calling like their voicemail said to do. We got two soups the wonton and the egg/flour one. One thing we noticed on their menu is they lack the description of what meat they use in the wonton soup. Assuming it was pork we ordered it anyway. I'd personally prefer it to be veggies or chicken inside. Or to have an option. Though I absolutely love the broth it comes with! The egg drop was great for me too as it had just the right amount of flavoring. I really do enjoy a good orange chicken (rice is at an additional cost when ordering it) so we put in an order for their orange peel chicken. The pieces came small and a little bit too done. I attribute this to it being a busier night than perhaps their usual and maybe because it was only a couple to a few people working. So I'd be willing to try it again. When ordering we specified please no sesame seeds. He assured us that this dish doesn't have it. You see we're beginning to see and experience sesame seed trending on so many dishes elsewhere else even when it's not advertised. So I'm very happy it's automatically not on theirs. You can see in my picture the size of the chicken I got. I had it in a small Japanese soup/salad bowl for reference. I'd order from them again and perhaps dine in their nice & casual establishment for a different experience. Happy 2026! read more

Chef Tang - Szechuan Near Me - Vista, California

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I enjoyed the Sesame Chicken at Chef Tang In Vista! I'd never had it before and the sauce was both savory and sweet. It wasn't my favorite sauce and the chicken could've been crispier though. read more

Chef Tang - Sesame Chicken/ - Szechuan Near Me - Vista, California

I was extraordinary restaurant, but chief's son or son in law didn't help in the recent years...quality went way down, might due to the aging chief. Sometime food got alot saltier than usual and everything else went down too. That's life. read more

We ordered take out for the 1st time and loved it! We will definitely order from here again. Ordered: Steamed pork dumplings, chicken with green beans, vegetables, chicken chow mein and shrimp chop suey. All delicious and not oily! Our order was ready when we arrived and the gentleman was very friendly. read more

Looking for great tasting Chinese food? Look no further. CHEF TANG located in Vista (on Melrose Drive) has an exceptional menu. Amazingly enough, every single dish is cooked to order! You can see the Chef firing up the Wok in the kitchen and you can taste the FRESHNESS and quality in every bite. My family dines in this sit down restaurant which is always clean and the staff is always courteous. My husband loves that they have a BAR (beer, sake, wine). He is happy to eat , drink and watch his Sports there! In the past few years of frequenting Chef Tang we have NEVER had a bad experience. We dine out at least 3-5 times a week so we know that a great dining experience is a rarity in todays restaurants . I Recommend this restaurant to all my friends who value quality dining at a good price $$. Pictured: Mangolian Beef , Fried Rice , Shrimp Chop Suey and Egg Rolls ! read more

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We had the urge for Chinese take out for dinner and apparently that's a little hard to find in our area. But we saw that chef tang was super close, so off we went. We ordered a variety of options and overall I would say this is classic old school Chinese. We enjoyed our dinner. read more

Best Chinese restaurant in north county. We order takeout here all the time. The owner is super nice and always there taking care of everyone. The spicy Szechuan dishes are incredible. Everything on the menu is 10/10 read more

Always a great meal from Chef Tangs. We have tried most things on the menu and they are all great. My orders always include the hot and sour soup. Unfortunately this last time we went, there was no pork and no mushrooms in our soup. We were disappointed. Will just double check next time we get food what the soup situation is. read more

A+ 5 stars all the way. I have found my dream tofu. It has actual Sichuan peppercorn in it! I never find that anywhere. I love this restaurant so much. read more

Best place to get Chinese food in Vista!! I love their fried rice, orange chicken, and chow mein. I usually get food here to go and the service ensures it arrives nice and hot. The restaurant itself is a mom and pop type of Chinese eatery. It's always clean inside whenever I've picked up for take out at Chef Tang. They also have their own parking lot. read more

Chef Tang is a great place for a quiet lunch or dinner of delicious Chinese food. We been going there for years and our favorites are the Moo Shu pork, Mongolian Beef and the Chong King Chicken which is both spicy and mouth numbing. The entrees are generous and reasonably priced, and the lunch specials are an especially good value. I only wish we lived closer! read more

Found this spot while for lunch. The lunch special is a great value and I particularly like the Beef with Black Bean Sauce. Lee was courteous and expedient with service. The layout and decor is allows the place to be quiet and peaceful. I will definitely be back for lunch. read more

Chef Tang - Beef with Black Bean Sauce. - Szechuan Near Me - Vista, California

Amazing food, a must-try, and excellent service. Clean and friendly service, family-owned! read more

This evening was the first time ordering from this restaurant. I ordered orange peel chicken. It tasted as if it were deep fried in old dirty grease in a fryer that needed cleaning and the oil needed changed. I threw it in the trash after the first bite. the color was almost black, the breading was heavy with grease and it did not taste like orange chicken anything. It's always disappointing when you are disappointed in food, but this was $15.95 and came with a single serving of white rice. For these competitive prices, they should clean their fryers and give people what they're expecting. Great tasting clean food. Thank You. read more

Chef Tang - Szechuan Near Me - Vista, California

Everything was delicious! An old-fashioned Chinese restaurant where you can sit down and get a great meal at a reasonable price. Will be going back frequently! read more

We have returned to Chef Tangs several times and have enjoyed everything we've ordered. The hot and sour soup always hits the spot!

Excellent food and serving size from great people. Their customer service is outstanding.

I'm extremely picky with my Chinese food and Chef Tang really surprised me! This is the best Chinese food I've had in all of San Diego North County! My boyfriend and I order the Kung Pao Chicken the Shrimp Fried Rice! read more

We're new to the area and were not disappointed. Walking in I was pleased to see the kitchen was open, with the chef prepping fresh produce in a classic Chinese kitchen layout. The food was properly sauced and not overly salty. Kudos to the chef. There are plenty of mediocre fast food joints around, so thanks to these folks for their extra effort. We'll be back. read more

Food and Service is amazing! Cozy and always quiet, not a lot of hustle and bustle. Nice Date night vibe if you don't go for the fancy!!

Great food with fresh ingredients and exceptional service. Lee took care of us and provided a great experience.

Hadn't been to or had takeout from Chef Tang in almost 2 years so I do not know if there are new owners, a new chef or it was just a bad night....but we had Uber Eats from there last night and it was terrible! The Uber driver was prompt, friendly and she brought the food piping hot but that was the only good thing. All 3 dishes, but especially the Ma Po Tofu, was OVERLY salted and had a strange spice that did not blend well. The Hot and Sour soup had not much in it but broth and a few bean sprouts and the Sichuan beef had a good flavor but definitely had a lesser quality beef than what we were accustomed to from Chef Tang. As with most other restaurants these days, quality has gone down and prices up! Guess we better stick with Chin's, never have had a bad meal delivered from there! read more

Poor Customer Service for Take Out will cause me to never return. Cashier/Waiter had his back turned to me while discussing every single ingredient in a dish with a seated couple. No backup workers. I waited 10 minutes to be noticed and asked for help. Cashier/Waiter turned and glowered. "You can wait, Sir," said the Cashier/Waiter. read more

Great food very comfortable dine in with the family. A lot of options at very reasonable prices. This is my favorite pizza in the area. Some of the best customer service I've had in awhile feels like your at families house read more

I ordered through Uber Eats and can only speak for what I ordered. I always worry a little when I order food delivery because sometimes by the time the food gets to you, it's just not as tasty as if you were eating in the restaurant. Can't really complain much because we're stopping the spread of covid, but still. I keep that in mind when doing food reviews and give some grace. I got the shrimp egg foo yung, chicken curry (no onions), hot and sour soup and egg flower soup. The chicken curry was fabulous! Like FABULOUS. So flavorful and the chicken was still super tender even after the delivery time. I ordered it specifically with no onions because honestly, who even eats the giant pieces of onion in food? It's just filler. The egg foo yung...a little more "eggy" than I normally like but well it IS called Egg foo yung, so it's probably just a weird quirk with me! Seriously delicious food! read more

Chef Tang - Hot and Hot & Sour Soup-Bowl and Egg Flower Soup-Bowl - Szechuan Near Me - Vista, California

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If you want the freshest Chinese food order from here. Dine in or to go. The menu is delicious. Reasonably priced as well. Great fast service. Ambiance is OK There is a bar area as well. read more

The fried rice is so good. It is my favorite spot after work. Highly recommended to other

Chef Tang did they're thang!!!! I'm from Chicago and have notttttttt tasted Chinese food thats tasted like home until tonight!!!! Please keephis magic!! Fresh, flavorFULL and just GOODT!!! I ordered shrimp fried rice, shrimp egg foo young and the chicken egg rolls. Reminded me of home read more

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This was my second time coming here and I really have enjoyed both times. This time we ate inside, the waiter is very friendly. The room fills up with smoke pretty quickly as the wok is very hot. We ordered the general tsao's chicken, hot and sour soup, and cream cheese wontons. The chicken was pretty good, however I would have enjoyed a little more flavor. The soup was good, pretty peppery but still enjoyable. The wontons were very good. Both chickens I have tried have been good enough to keep coming back to find my favorite dish! read more

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If could give a zero I would! This is the worst food I have ever eaten! The food was tasteless and dry. I don't see how the place is even in business. I'm certain that they don't have any people returning to dine. The orange chicken was a black blob of tasteless hard chicken. The kung pao chicken was dry and tasteless. The pork fried rice was tolerable with minimal flavor. Please do yourself a favor and don't gamble on getting good food . Big thumbs down! read more

What a hidden gem!! You must come here. This is the best Chinese in Sd county! Shredded pork was incredible and black pepper chicken was killer! Beef and beans too notch and fantastic orange chicken A must stop for Chinese!! Fun ambience that is traditional with some fun tossed in! The service was awesome,attentive helpful and anticipated our needs! read more

Great food and service. Quick, friendly and delicious. They have lunch specials too. My favorite is Mongolian chicken.

I came here about a year ago before COVID. My boyfriend and I agreed that they served us the best fried rice we had had in a while!! My soup(I think I got hit n sour) was okay. Also ordered honey walnut shrimp which was also good... but the fried rice stole the show! read more

They have excellent Chinese food and really good mushrooms pork. The sauce was so Good. Service is excellent.

Hey, It's Christmas Day and to keep it with tradition - Chinese food indeed. This place is 5 minutes drive from us vs Chin's (either Vista or Carlsbad), but it was open only for takeout (not a problem with us) and from 4 PM till 8 PM. So we ordered 1) vegetable spring rolls (4) - $6.99 2) Sweet & Sour Chicken (comes with a steamed white rice (small) - $16.25 3) Chicken Chow Mein (soft noodles) - $13.99 Last dish was probably the biggest, will feed us both for 2 days. The food was good, but not outstanding. As far as a second part of the tradition - movies, after COVID - we are staying away from the cinemas (and who could seat for 3 hours, watching latest Avatar?) read more

Great tasting food. Worth the drive. Will be there again. Ambience was nice, did stay for long as my order was to go. read more

First time at Chef Tangs, and it was phenomenal! Boiled beef was my favorite. And it comes nice and spicy! Chow mein was delicious and the greenbeans were perfectly cool. The owner even came by to say hello! read more

Chef Tang - Szechuan Near Me - Vista, California

I ordered General Tso's chicken for lunch today. What I got was huge balls of something that had no flavor and when I cut into it I found a small piece of chicken within a huge doughball. I tried and managed to eat two but had to quit. I told my server in three years of living in California that it was the worst meal I ever had in a restaurant. read more

Man just left here! Had the sweet and sour chicken plate and steamed dumplings (6) and it was DELICIOUS. We knew about this place for a little and finally decided to try it today and we WILL be back! Such a hidden gem and the service is quick and the gentlemen who helped us was so nice and we got to even see his pup:) Not as packed after 630-7 so it was nice being one of the only ones in there read more

To start off, Chef Tang provides wonderful service! Also, don't forget to check in on Yelp to get 2 free spring rolls (or egg rolls if you will). Spicy seafood and tofu: The soup was spicy, but didn't have much flavor in the broth. It was basically boiled seafood with a spicy broth. The seafood included a few pieces of fish, scallops, and squid. There was also a few pieces of bok choy, bamboo shoots, and black fungus. I probably would not order this again, since this dish seemed pretty simple. Szechuan and Guangxi chili fish: Probably my favorite dish besides the spicy green beans. It had a perfect amount of spiciness and kick. If you want to up the spice a notch (or three, haha), take a bite out of the deep fried chili peppers! Mongolian beef: I was somewhat disappointed by how much onions there were in this dish. The beef was good because it was seasoned well, but an overwhelming amount of the dish (think 3/4 of the dish, maybe 2/3 at best) was comprised of sauteed onions and green onions. Sauteed onions are great for bringing out the flavor, but I wouldn't eat a bunch of it as if they were vegetables... Spicy green beans: This was a hit with my family. The garlic was cooked well, and there was plenty of flavor in this dish. I enjoyed that the green beans were cooked enough that it had a slightly firm texture. I would probably order this dish again! All of these dishes came with a side of rice, so you can still enjoy all of the dishes family style! Overall, the portions are a bit on the smaller side than what I'm used to, but I generally enjoyed the flavors of the dishes served here. read more

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