This place is located right off the Embarcadero exit and easy to miss if you're just driving by. Surprisingly, they were getting busy when we arrived. There were various dishes on the menu with appetizers, different proteins, carbs, etc. We had already looked at the menu prior to coming so we were able to place our order fairly quickly. Thick stir fried noodles: The noodles were pretty good! They were a mix of bouncy and chewy with small slices of chicken and bok choy throughout the dish. It was quite oily though. Spicy wontons: I thought these were going to be soaked in a peanut sauce but it was definitely more of szechuan chili oil. Maybe I read the description wrong. The wontons were tiny but plentiful. These were just okay, the pork filling was bland. Pan fried dumpling buns: The buns weren't as crispy as they're supposed to be. They had a small amount of pork filling but good soup inside. Be careful biting into one because it was hot. Sweet and sour chicken: Our favorite dish out of everything! It was the perfect combo of sweet and sour. There was more than enough chicken and gave us leftovers for another meal. I enjoyed the extra textures of the bell peppers, onions and pineapple throughout the dish. Definitely recommend! Service was as usual for a Chinese spot. There's a small private room on the right side if you have a reservation for a larger party. They do have a sign up at the front for a $2.50 credit card fee due to rising inflation so heads up. read more

This was a resy restaurant! Came here as a group of 3 without a reso. The staff doing the walk ins was really friendly and apologetic about the wait time, which wasn't even his fault;it was ours. I liked their XLB in particular, but we were satisfied with our other dishes. FYI: they charge a 2.5% credit card fee, but I'd probably come back again. I think it's a nice place to go to with friends even without any resy creds! read more

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A great visit to Chef Zhao Kitchen. !he service was very goo, friendly, attentive, and impressively fast getting dishes to the table. The dining room felt clean, bright, and comfortable, and there's plenty of parking in the lot, which is always a plus in Palo Alto. In the back there's also a small counter area that appears to sell specialty items and frozen dumplings; I didn't explore it much, but it looked interesting for a future visit. The food was delicious across the board. The steamed XLB were delicate and rich, each one filled with hot, savory broth that made them hard to eat slowly. The pan-fried XLB added a crisp golden bottom to that same juicy filling; the best of both worlds. The garlic-sautéed green beans were bright, fragrant, and just oily enough to feel indulgent. The braised beef noodle soup was deep and comforting, with tender beef and a broth that tasted like it had been simmering all day. Perhaps one piece of meat was a bit on the lean side. And the combination fried rice was hearty and satisfying, packed with flavor and just the right texture to keep you going back for another bite. read more

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Absolutely ridiculous -- a Chinese restaurant server treating Chinese customers differently! Avoid this place. Here's what happened: Around 2:20 p.m., we were almost done with our meal and only had one dish left to finish (which was only because the server forgot to put in our order earlier and later had to bring it out separately). A Chinese male server came over and abruptly threw out, "We close at 2:30," and then immediately walked away. If this had simply been a normal reminder, we would have completely understood and accepted it. However, there were several other tables still eating at the time. Right behind us was a large table of white customers, and this same server had been happily chatting and laughing with them earlier. They still had multiple dishes left on their table. Another table of white customers was also casually taking their time eating. Yet this Chinese server did not rush any of those tables at all -- he came straight to our table, dropped the line "We close at 2:30," and walked away. His attitude was very forceful and rude. First of all, he came to rush us at 2:20, not even 2:30 yet. I have never experienced a restaurant being this aggressive in pushing customers out before closing time. I honestly don't understand what kind of service attitude this is. Did I leave almost twenty dollars in tips for this kind of service? (And I'm not even bringing up the forgotten order.) Secondly, and what was most disgusting to me, was that he didn't rush any of the white American customers at other tables and specifically came to rush the two Chinese people at our table who were already almost done eating. I genuinely never expected to encounter someone in the U.S. treating fellow Chinese people like easy targets while trying to cater to white customers. This was honestly too much. I wanted to report this issue to the restaurant owner, but when I asked, the staff told me there was "no owner and no manager"! So unfortunately, the only thing I can do now is leave this review and hope the owner somehow sees what happened. 离大谱，中国餐厅服务员区别对待中国客人！避雷这家餐厅，服务员区别对待中国客人！前因后果是：两点二十，我们就差一个菜快要吃完了（因为服务员漏单了没给我们上后来补的）一个中国男性服务员过来跟我们甩下一句饭店两点半要关门了，如果这是正常提醒我们完全可以理解和接受，但是当时有几桌都在吃饭，我们身后一桌是一大家子白人（该服务员和人家之前有说有笑聊得不亦乐乎），还有很多盘菜没吃，另外一桌也是白人，在悠哉悠哉地吃，然而这个中国服务员根本没有催其他桌的顾客，直奔我们这桌，甩下句我们两点半要关门就走了，态度非常强硬。 首先，催我们的时候是两点二十，根本没有到两点半，我从来没有碰到这么强势催顾客离店的餐馆！不知道这是什么服务态度，我付了快二十美元小费是为了这样的服务吗（点菜漏单就不提了）？其次，最让人恶心的是，不催其他桌的白人客人，单单催我们这桌快吃完的俩中国人，我是真没想过美国还真有把中国同胞当软柿子的，真的是欺人太甚！ 我想向餐馆老板反应情况，店员跟我说没有老板没有经理... 那很遗憾只能通过留评论的方式看看能不能向老板反应一下这个情况了 read more

All the food we ordered were authentic Shanghainese cuisine! Eating there in a hot day without AC wasn't pleasant for the big group though. They accept credit card but charge a fee though. read more

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Chef Zhao is our family's go-to spot for group dinners. We've been almost every year and reserve their group dining room. It's hard to hear in the separate dining room; we can usually only hear the people next to us, not across the table. We come in with anywhere from 10 to 15 people, so the menu is always comprehensive. We've ordered and enjoyed their XLB, fried dumplings, honey walnut prawns, thick stir fried noodles, sweet and sour pork, general tso's chicken, stir fried green beans, and crab with rice cakes. Everything is always really generous and flavorful. The owner is so friendly and always greets us warmly. Staff are attentive, and we always feel welcome and familiar there. The parking lot can get crowded, especially around dinner time. We typically come in on weeknights and find parking on the other side of the lot near the market. For dine-in for large group dinners ordering lots of food, and taking home leftovers, it's usually between 45-65$ per person. read more

Chef Zhao Kitchen - One of two tables in private dining room - Shanghainese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

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Below mediocre food & worst service. Made reservation for 5, gave up a table for 2 said it will fit us. But just our plates filled the table. So waited extra 15mins for larger table. We ordered 7 dishes, only two were good. The green onion pancakes had few sprinkles of green onion, scallion beef came without scallion but onion, the server said they ran out of scallion, but the sauce is correct, server said. Bamboo shoots appetizer, the bamboo was very tough, horrible quality. 食物不道地，服務糟糕。我們預訂了5個人的位子，服務生把一張兩人桌讓給了我們，說足夠我們坐下。5人份的盤子桌子就滿了。於是多等了15分鐘才換到一張大桌子。我們點了7道菜，只有兩道尚可。蔥油餅裡只有幾粒蔥花，蔥爆牛肉居然用洋蔥，服務生還信誓旦旦說蔥用完了，但醬汁是對的。油燜筍很老。 read more

Need better quality control. Pan Fried Bun 生煎包 from take out is definitely not freshly made. It not the usual juicy filling that we are expecting. It's dry and the bun skin feels saggy. Plz stoping giving out overnight food even for takeout. Chef Zhao you can do better! read more

Chef Zhao Kitchen - Overnight Pan-Fried Bun 生煎包 - Shanghainese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Food is fine, typical for a Chinese restaurant, but does not stand out. Service was 2/5. Please note they are strict with reservation times. Our whole party arrived 15 minutes past the reservation time and we were turned away. There were no other parties waiting besides us. A minute later, we ended up being ushered in. They also seemed impatient with us when we were debating what to order. We had a group of 5 friends, so naturally we wanted to see what the others in the group were thinking. We were hoping to ask for chef's recommendations, but given how much they were rushing us, we decided not to. I don't expect amazing service at restaurants, but poor service should at least be made up with good food. read more

Great! We are back in CA over the holidays. Big windows, 2 private rooms and a mix of round and regular square tables. They were packed but we were seated quickly. The food was properly seasoned, vegetables were fresh and chicken was good quality. We loved every dish. The fried rice was especially good. If we lived closer we would be back soon. read more

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There were 2 of us and we ordered six dishes. Strangely, after ordering two dishes started coming out immediately -- it felt like the dishes had already been prepared long before we ordered. Out of the six dishes, only one was actually good. The rest were not enjoyable at all. Especially we ordered salt and pepper pork rib , but it was made as sweet and sour. They then added a bit of salt and pepper on top. After about 30 minutes, we decided to pack up and leave because the food was simply not worth staying for. The most frustrating part happened at checkout. After paying, I noticed my phone showed an extra $2.50 charge. I asked the waiter for the receipt, and then I realize that a credit card processing fee had been added without any prior notice. I questioned why this fee was not shown or mentioned at the time of payment. If I hadn't asked for the receipt, I wouldn't have known at all. The waiter responded by saying they charge this fee "every table." This is not about the amount of money -- it's about transparency and ethics. What made it even worse was his attitude. He then said something like, "You used Resy, don't you still get $100 back?" That comment was extremely unprofessional and dismissive. Overall, the food quality, service, and lack of transparency made this a very poor experience. I would not recommend this place. read more

Chef Zhao Kitchen - salt& pepper pork rib taste like sweet & sour - Shanghainese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

Every dish I tried was excellent in quality. The chefs clearly put care and passion into every plate. I especially loved the pan-fried Sheng Jian Bao. The standout for me was the Pine Sweet & Sour Sea Bass -- it was every bit as impressive as versions I've had in China. Service was also prompt and attentive. Authentic Shanghainese cuisine! read more

I tried giving this restaurant the benefit of the doubt regarding their service; however, the owners as well as the staff were not friendly or cordial to me on all three occasions. This will be the last time I frequent this neighborhood eatery. While waitng for my food, I also observed the way they spoke and were arrogant toward other's who were not of Caucasian or of Asian descent. So disappointing. By the way, they could care less as I tried to speak to the gentleman who took my order, who walked away pretending he did not hear. read more

Loved this place! The ambiance was great, service was speedy and friendly. The food came out quickly and piping hot. I enjoyed almost all of the food: the duck didn't look the most appetizing but tasted great and was very tender. Green bean flavor was great, and the texture of the Shanghai rice cakes were perfect. I wouldn't order the chili wings again, it had a strange taste of dry rub and was extremely bony. read more

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Solid Chinese fare hidden away in a little strip mall outside of downtown Palo Alto. The restaurant interior is basic, but the food is worth the trip. Their soup dumplings were great. The pan fried dumplings were okay. I thought the bun dough was a bit thick. The pork ribs were great. The Mongolian beef lacked spice and heat. The combo fried rice was straightforward. Service was straightforward - polite but nothing stellar. read more

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What a delight an authentic ShangHai bistro tucked inside this charming shopping corner. And how did I not know about this place till now? There are several "test dishes" for any eatery claims to be Shanghainese. The "pot rice" 菜飯 was excellent: veggie still crisp, meat smoky as they should (instead of just use bacon bits), rice just the right doneness. They also passed the fried bean curd 韭黃肉絲炒豆乾 test in flying colors. Their famed fish gluten 魚麵筋 was well-balanced with chicken and veggies. The "fish in distilled liquor" 糟熘魚片 was quite reasonable. Lastly, the must-order fried-bun 生煎包 was tasty but not looky. Overall, quite happy. Next time, I will take more risks in ordering. read more

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Food is alright but the service is not good. There was a server who wear glasses and has short hair. Super rude and has an attitude problem. Always trying to hurry us up even though there were still 45 minutes until closing. read more

This was my pick for a quick Mother's Day dinner. We arrived at 8:20, they refused to seat us because they were already cleaning. Their open sign was on and they are supposed to be open until 9pm. Happy Mother's Day to me, thanks CZK. read more

Went there with my friends from Shanghai. He says the place is very Shanghainese. The food, the price , the portion read more

Been here twice- Our first time here was about 30 minutes from closing and we asked if it was ok. They asked if we could order everything that we wanted within 5 minutes so they could start closing down the kitchen. No problem! We were thankful they didn't turn us away :) + Veggie chow mein - delicious, fresh + Chinese broccoli - perfectly cooked + Chili Flake Cilantro Fried Rice - my Favorite! + Honey Walnut Prawns - hubby gave it a thumbs up + Sweet & sour pork Tenderloin - so good! + Hot & sour soup - good Honestly - the second time we came back - we practically ordered the same thing! lol. I'd like to try something different our next time out. They have a large menu so we're definitely coming back. Place is small but can accommodate larger parties in private rooms. Super convenient place off of 101. Friendly and very helpful staff! read more

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Tried the special fish gluten and flounder in black bean sauce. Loved, loved, loved both. Flounder was tender and well seasoned balanced by the sweet bell pepper and onions. Special fish gluten was a surprise in both texture and flavor. Didn't care for the strips of chicken that was mixed with the special fish gluten. Definitely coming back to taste the rest. Service was great too. read more

If I could give zero star, I would. The food was ok but th service was really bad. Just right after we finished the food, the waiter brought us the check immediately. Then awhile later, the waiter told us that they were going to have an afternoon break and wanted to us as soon as possible while they just seated another family and the whole restaurant was fully of customers. I did not see any customers waiting for a table. Bad service. Bad experience. Will never go there again if you are Asian too. read more

I've come here a couple of times for pickup, most recently around 1pm on a Friday, and most tables were taken despite it being a later lunch, which is a good sign. While I didn't dine in, the ambience seemed nice. Wooden floor, wood beams, wood tables, just felt clean and traditional with some decorations. Also lots of natural light with one side of the restaurant being mostly glass. The prices are good especially considering where it's located imo. Parking is pretty easy most of the time too. Seems like a no-nonsense restaurant which is par for the course. I got 3 things this time: XLB -- I think these were big and the dough skin is nicely thin. The inside is meatier than some others, so it depends on your preference (we liked it). Sautéed pea shoots -- we basically get this anywhere we go. Chef Zhao's was very fresh tasting, not oily at all, garlicky, and tender. Always a good choice for veg. Seaweed fish -- tender fish, a very light crispy batter, and the batter has a bunch of what looked like seaweed powder in it. Think salt-and-pepper fish but seaweed flavored. Even our 3-year-old loved it. If you like seaweed flavored snacks like chips or etc. that you can buy at Asian supermarkets, this would be straight up your alley. The order was huge for the price too. Also, they apparently have a loyalty program which isn't super super common for sit-down Chinese restaurants, so it's nice when you're coming back again (like I intend to). read more

Pretty busy on a Saturday evening but my party of 3 was seated with no wait. We got the preserved rice cakes, pan fried buns, dried chili chicken wings, and seaweed & fish. Pan fried buns didn't stand out too much. Preserved rice cakes were pretty flavorful and had good chewy texture. Dried chili chicken wings were very crispy and had a kick of spice from the chilis. Seaweed & fish definitely my favorite dish here! Exterior is a light crisp and tastes even better fresh + piping hot when dining in versus takeout. read more

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Had a pretty disappointing time at Chef Zhao's today. When the rice arrived, there was a curly hair in it. I ended up complaining to the server (young guy) and his attitude was very defensive saying that he replaced it (which he did, but that doesn't make it justifiable). For the rest of the meal, staff gave me wife and I dirty looks which was really unenjoyable. Plenty of other restaurants with much better service and food read more

Golden State Pork Feet 金牌猪脚 4: stewed in herbal soy sauce for 3hrs, lightly fried, skin not crispy, minced onion, jalapeno, tender, juicy, medium flavorful Crab Meatball 蟹粉狮子头 5: crabmeat mixed w/ pork, topped w/ crabmeat, veggie, golden soup, juicy, flavorful read more

We had takeout from this place. Food was just ok, nothing special, probably won't be back. Since we didn't dine in, can't comment about ambience or service much. - Cabbage & Pork: didn't have much flavor, way too oily and watery, too much liquid. - Beef & Scallion: this was the best dish - It came with onions though not scallions. - Prawn Chow Mein: It was ok, too oily and not very flavorful. read more

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Ordered the street side chow mein for take out, which is a vegetarian dish. When I opened it, it had pork in it. Here are the listed ingredients: Yellow noodle (extra portion) ,bean sprout, onion and soy sauce. I didn't have time to wait for them to redo it and started feeling not good while I was in the restaurant so I just left. Out $32 and also didn't eat today. I recognize that is a first world problem but it's frustrating that they would put pork in a vegetarian dish. I have enjoyed eating here before. read more

I really love this place. The Beef Chow Mein in particular was really, really good and you get a very large portion ($16). I also appreciated their ability to accommodate dietary restrictions. We have someone in the group who can't eat garlic nor onions and they were careful to not add those to any of the dishes. We also got: Vegetable Buns $9 -- tasty veggie filling Chicken & Vegetables $19 -- I wouldn't normally order this dish, but someone in our group had dietary restrictions. It was a good version of an intentionally bland dish. Kung Pao Chicken $19 Brown Rice $3.5 -- I really liked their brown rice, which is the purple-red version that I really like. read more

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Some of dishes are good. You have to choose the right one. Sweat pork is good , you Xiang rou si is good. The fried rice is good.

The food was good, and came out fast. Getting the bill however took forever which at lunchtime is not a good thing. Even an Asian couple had problems getting their bill. It doesn't seem like the wait staff know what the ingredients are. Our waiter didn't know the answer to my question about a fish dish that has "Shepherds Purse" in it. He couldn't describe what it was. All he could come up with was that it was something Korean. For those that are interested according to Google Shepherds Purse tastes like arugula. read more

AMAZING! Homey, delicious food, welcoming environment. Lots of choices! They even have brown rice. There is piping hot jasmine tea on the table when you arrive during dinner hours!! read more

Very good and fast service. Food is good but a bit pricy. I would recommend to go but expect to pay more

I would recommend chef zhao if you're into Chinese food traditional from China. The price is mediocre and fair. We had dined in the private room because we had a party of over 10. We ordered about 12 different dishes. The best one in my opinion was the sautéed pea sprouts, it was crispy and made to perfection. Their pan fried Shaolin Bao was amazing. Overall, I would give them a 3 1/2 star due to the service. Parking was easy to find on Sunday afternoon. This place was packed to the rim, that usually is a sign of good business and great food. read more

EXPENSIVE but LOW QUALITY ingredients! I've bought thousands of dollars of meals from this place, but the quality has plunged lately. I don't think I'll be going back. The reason is the quality of the ingredients being used has gone way down. I spent $92 on a simple meal for me and my wife, and: 1. the pea shoots (normally tender) were like eating straw. INCREDIBLY tough, thick, and stem-like. 2. the meat in the soup was total gristle. Incredibly chewy and fatty. This place could thrive if it were better quality, but I think I'm done going there. read more

I came here for dinner with a pretty large group (7 adults, 3 kids) and we had a great meal. The place is a little crowded but there is one large round table where we could all fit. There are a decent number of vegan/vegetarian dishes- we ordered the green beans and celery/lotus root/wood ear, both of which were really good, better than I had expected. Note that the dishes do not come with rice, you have to order it separately. Overall great authentic tasting food and pretty good service, would recommend. read more

Chef Zhao Kitchen - Shanghainese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

This place tastes a lot better than the rating suggests! Came with 3 friends on a weekend for lunch, and I had heard good things about them. One thing is the service is noticeably slow- we waited a long time just for service and just as long for food. The dishes came out at a reasonable pace though, and the starters did come first. The XLB was very juicy and the soup was delicious, definitely one of the better ones I've had. The rice cakes were delicious as well! I'd have to come back to try more dishes as each one was pretty good. read more

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I entered the restaurant and was sat down immediately. We ordered kung pao chicken and broccoli and beef. I didn't like the Kung Pao chicken because it's huge chicken chunks. The service was slow for getting water. I'd come back here again one day. read more

Chef Zhao Kitchen - Inside of the restaurant - Shanghainese Near Me - Palo Alto, California

The food is good, but the customer service is terrible. The cashier, who may also be the owner, did not smile at all. I requested two sides of hot sauce, but she only gave me one. When I politely asked for another, she handed it to me rather roughly, as if my request had annoyed her. read more

After our go-to Shanghai restaurant in Cupertino closed, my family and I had no choice other than to explore other Shanghai restaurants nearby, and this one's the winner! It ranks the highest in my list of Shanghainese spots as the food is more refined but still casual. Service is no frills, and the food comes out fairly fast. The XLB and pan fried juicy buns were filled with so much soup, and the meat was fluffy. The dumpling skins had the perfect thickness. These come with a lighter vinegar for dipping, but I personally prefer the dark vinegar. Other dishes I recommend are the special fish gluten puff, sweet soybean milk with fried Chinese donuts, fan tuan (sticky rice burrito with pork floss and Chinese donut inside), sweet and spire pork spare ribs, Shanghai rice cakes, drunken chicken, and kao fu. It's worth the slightly longer drive! read more

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