No frills Chinese restaurant near the Belmont blue line. They have about 3 tables and not really meant for dining in, but you definitely can if you get a seat. Otherwise it's best for carry out. The Chinese food is decent and I always go with the dinner specials. You can't beat it as it comes with fried rice, an entree, and an egg roll, all for under $15. For those days when I don't feel like making dinner - this place is super convenient. I normally get either the egg foo young, shrimp with vegetables, or beef and broccoli. And all did not disappoint. They make their food as you order, so depending on what you order, it could take 10-20 min for your food to be ready. But their portions are normally a nice size and hit and fresh so worth the wait. read more

Quick, delicious, & big portions. It's exactly what I thought it'd be and that's exactly what I wanted it to be.

Main service is take out here. Only one table and a counter against window with 6 stools. Restaurant is clean. Large Cantonese menu serving old style Cantonese food to American taste. Ordered standard lunch food of Win Ton Noodle soup to eat in. Even though ordered as eat in it was served with a container of soup and wonton and noodles in a round to go container. It should have come in a bowl. They did not have a good soup spoon or chopsticks until I asked. Soup contained 8 meaty wonton. Noodles had little flavor probably because it was not in the soup. Texture of noodles ok and not too soft. Soup was ok but not real flavorful. Char siu, cabbage and onions were garnishes. If you are craving Wonyo noodle soup this place will do but if they don't have a bowl or reasonable spoon I'll take it to go. Location is a small strip mall next to the blueline El stop. Parking was not full. There was a constant stream of takeout customers. read more

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Guy at the counter was surly and kind of rude, at least his tone was. It's pick-up only I think. There was 1 table you could theoretically eat at. I'll say this, you get a lot of food. We got egg foo young and it weighed about 3lbs. I really wanted this to be my go-to place, but alas, the search continues. egg foo young: really interesting texture, good flavor, could use more flavor, gravy was very boring. first time having EFY so maybe it's always like this hot and sour soup: had meat which was cool but needed more flavor eggrolls: classic, very good, not too greasy! general tso's: man, it was a LOT of food, but really needed more flavor. read more

I generally like their pork fried rice, but today I ordered it and there was scraps of hardly any meat. I feel like someone that may have ordered the same, that they got all the meat. Very disappointed read more

Got the hot and sour seafood, soup.. no seafood in it, not sour. Think the cap fell off the power shaker while they were making it ...I cannot finish it, I would not have served it if I owned the place. read more

Eat First - This is supposed to be hot and sour soup with seafood... - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been going here for years, food is always hot and tastes great. You have to try the eggrolls! Heads up, they are made with peanut butter and they taste sooo good read more

The two stars are for the best thing that they have which are their fried chicken wings very good and crispy, otherwise the rest of the food is pretty mediocre and overpriced for the quality and taste in my opinion I've had the egg for young, fried rice, orange chicken, general tso chicken, beef broccoli, egg rolls, and out of all those things everything is just bland. And they're very expensive in my opinion for what you get. read more

Great food, reasonable prices, timely pick up, close parking. Rice and fortune cookies included with each meal.

Food is great, service is great and the portions are MASSIVE.. my 1st time back in a long time and they haven't skipped a beat.. I was able to take it too go, so I can make my bus.. LoL..... check this place out of you're in the area and in the mood for good Chinese food.. read more

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Best Chinese food. Good portions and it's always consistent... best crab Rangoon ever. I drive far to support this place!

I have been ordering food from this establishment for 7 years now, at least once every other week and last night when I put my food on a plate there was a roach in my yu shan chicken. When I called to complain the woman on the phone didn't sound surprised. I can deal with late food or cold food but hair or a roach in my food is an absolute no no. The woman said well can you just bring the food back and we'll give you a full refund. Excuse me? It's in the trash and I'm not repacking the roach infested food and bringing it back but I will bring a photo and my receipt. read more

Eat First - Roach in my food! - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Fantastic food, great service. My go-to for local Chinese food! Best egg rolls, Mongolian Beef and Mushu pork around!

The truth: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjJjWjZjxt3/?igshid=MDE2OWE1N2Q= Doesn't get much better for Chinese take-away. -1 star for the Crypto exchange sponsored fortune cookies read more

I went there the food is good that's not the problem. The problem is I ordered the food and it took them almost 1 hour and a half to get the food cooked and ready when they weren't busy. I had asked them and they said 15 minutes. I still waited for 45 minutes. The food itself even came sloppy. Don't recommend. read more

Absolutely disgusting. The orange chicken is dry, tough, and oily. The "chicken chow mein" looks like slop and is inedible. I'm pissed off it took an hour and I'm still sitting here starving. Complete waste of $22 I called to let them know they can't be serving this to people and she insisted that I didn't like the style. read more

Eat First - Orange chicken - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I love this place!! Always great service and yummy food! This place definitely deserves a higher rating

I have to admit: I liked Eat First. I was desperate for something to eat, and I didn't want to wait until I got back to civilization...I mean, the north side. I know y'all loves you some Avondale, but DAMN. You really do need a car in this neighborhood. This restaurant probably does more delivery and carry-out business than dining-in. There are just three small tables, so do not plan on coming here with more then 3 or 4 people in a group. Anyway, turns out, my meal was pretty good. I'm probably the only person who orders their Kung Pao chicken mild and not spicy no matter where I order from, and at least these folks didn't give me a weird look. The white meat chicken was fresh and tasty. The rice served with the Kung Pao was disappointing--bits of dark meat chicken mixed in with otherwise tasty fried rice. This is one of the few places where fried rice is served with entrees instead of white rice. I also ordered an egg roll (OK, but a little too heavy on the corn starch which makes it ultra fattening) and a large order of shrimp fried rice. For fast-food fried rice, the shrimp fried rice was wonderful. A special shout out to the staff there--all yelling at each other, running around, etc. Love it. Reminded me a little bit of Chinatown with all the commotion and noise in the back and semi-friendly/semi-rude people in the front taking the orders and answering phones. But then...you remember you're in a friggin' strip mall. In Avondale. read more

This is my go-to Chinese place. I've been to others in the area but this is the best! Faves: Empress Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, and Happy Family. Also Wonton soup, pot stickers and egg rolls. People who know me know of my love for Chinese. Can't go without my comfort food for too long. Get the Avocado smoothie! read more

Eat First - Happy Family - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Only came here to order some smoothies with tapioca. The smoothies are surprisingly cheap for the size (only $3, tapioca is an extra $0.50 though). We had to wait 10 minutes because they didn't have any tapioca left, which was fine by us. The flavor of the smoothies were actually pretty great! I tried the matcha, strawberry, and coconut and all were pretty tasty. My friend told me they use fresh fruit in the smoothies, which honestly I'm not too sure about since all the flavors I tried tasted like syrup. Still good though. Very very small place -- only seats maybe 10-15 people. So it's mostly good for take-out. read more

What a surprise! Great quality (and quantity) food. You wouldn't think much of this place from the outside, but they really crank out some delicious American style Chinese food. I've driven past there numerous times an finally decided to give it a try. Had trouble ordering through the website, but a call worked. Food was ready in 20 minutes. If you're comparing American Chinese food, this is much better than Panda Express (a guilty pleasure), and the prices are better for the lunch specials. Plus, the appetizer assortment was huge and had all the best treats. We were eating for three days from 4 entrees and the appetizers. I give it a big thumbs up. read more

This is a "hidden gem". I just moved to the area one evening and stopped by my Chase bank. I noticed the place, small and cozy, and thought I'd give it a try. I ordered the chicken and pea pod dish, rice, and the two egg rolls. It was great. Chicken and pea pods could have used a SLIGHT bit more flavor, but was otherwise fantastic. Good quality and quality. The egg rolls were also great. Lots of filling and for a great price. The place is more of a take out or delivery, but has about five tables, and a bar like area for about six people. The owners were friendly, and food was prepared quickly. Despite being busy with take out orders and delivery, only waited about 15 minutes on a Thursday evening. L If only more Chinese places in Chicago were like this. read more

Eat First - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This small restaurant is nestled in the middle of a tiny strip mall near the Belmont Blue Line stop. Their chicken fried rice and Mongolian beef is a great pick if you're looking for a no-frills lunch or dinner, but it's no 5-star meal either. It's more your typical local Chinese restaurant. BUT, their smoothies here are always great! They use a simple recipe of fresh fruit (or powder if you're getting the green tea), simple syrup, and ice to blend up a refreshing drink that hits the spot! They have a range of great flavors, from matcha to coconut to watermelon. You can mix and match flavors or stick to something simple. I highly recommend the green tea smoothie with extra matcha and tapioca pearls. 5 out of 5! read more

Eat First - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Their food isn't traditional pineapple chunks in general tso chicken wasn't even spicy onion chunks in crab ragoon. I got pan fried dumplings and they looked and tasted steamed sweet and sour chicken had pineapple and bell peppers in it sauce wasn't the best ... the worst food I've had in the neighborhood. $50 a WASTE last time eating there only thing good there was the egg roll but it had all meats in it including shrimp ! read more

This was my favorite restaurant till we found a long black hair in our sesame chicken. Just so you know when reported to Grubhub, they said report it to the restaurant. read more

Order from Eat First all the time. Fast delivery, great food, large portions. Order the combo appetizer-it's delicious!

Have never left a negative review until now but felt this warranted one-ordered online from grubhub with an expected delivery time between 7:35 and 7:45. My friend and I left instructions which bell to ring when the delivery arrived and sat by the window to periodically check. I received an email through grubhub saying they had tried to call me and to urgently call back. As I have an Irish mobile number I thought this might have been the issue (although I left the area code so there should not have been an issue). We spoke on the phone to an employee at Eat First who said the driver had not left, and that there was no issue. The grubhub app confirmed the order was not yet on its way. We then left my American friend's number with this employee as well as emailing it to the app and consequently the restaurant. At 8pm I suggested we ring Eat First again. We were put on the phone to a different employee, who said that the driver had come not once but twice. Given we had left instructions for which bell to ring, had left the door open in case he knocked, sat by the window and left two cell numbers to call, as well as checking with another employee, this is disgraceful. The employee on the phone offered nothing but a weak apology and explained the driver "refused" to come to our address again. When asked what more we could have possibly done to make the order easier to deliver, they had no answer for me. Do not order from this establishment, or if you do ensure you pay by cash, as this could have been a lot worse if they had taken my money in advance. read more

Never befriend an individual who dislikes Chinese food. They are not to be trusted. Honestly, you can never go wrong with a meal that involves some orange chicken, fried rice, eggrolls, and/or some Mongolian beef with sweet n sour sauce. Chicago's home to many, many Chinese restaurants, big and small. In the northwest side, right next to the Belmont blue line, is a little eatery called Eat First with a nice big menu filled with Chinese food favorites. I went one day around lunch time, which was nice since they had a lunch special going on. I had some general tso chicken and fried rice with some crab ragoons on the side. God, you cannot go wrong with this combo anywhere; great meal! Good sized portions and hardly a wait time for your food. Perfect for take out too. read more

Chinese food is my comfort craving food. There are times I just neeeeeed it. I'm still in search of an amazing spot in my new 'hood but Eat First is a completely acceptable option for the deep fried, ooey gooey American style Chinese food. Their eggrolls are kind of mini sized but they are decent. Same goes for the sweet & sour chicken...there's about 5 times as much rice as there is main dish. However it's not packed full of tons of vegetables which is a plus for me. They do seem to enjoy MSG. I had a bit of a food coma post binging. read more

Eat First is slightly better than the standard Chinese take-out place, but not quite a 4. I say slightly better because they do have some less generic options - fish is an option, and their combination special, which has zucchini is different. The food doesn't taste bad, but everything is over-salted for my preference. The fried rice is soy sauce overload. The lunch special appears to be a good deal, but keep in mind that it comes in a container that is one-third entree and the remainder is rice. Egg rolls are also smaller than normal and rather bland. It'll be hit-or-miss, depending on what you order. read more

Eat First - Fish with Vegetables Lunch Combo - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We have been ordering from here for years. Love the food and quick service Great neighborhood restaurant

Very classic spot. Traditional menu with many options available. Good portions. Great prices! I've never had an issue with staff or delivery. Order here often and will continue to! read more

Been ordering from here for years. Service is friendly, food is made to order, delivery is fast. Definitely order delivery directly from them, it's faster and cheaper than delivery apps. Their crab rangoon is the best I've had anywhere. Food is authentic and fresh. The avocado smoothie sounds weird but tastes amazing! Some faves are vegetable dumplings, egg rolls, mandarin noodles, cashew chicken, yu shan scallop with vegetables, and moo shu vegetables. My husband loves their mongolian beef and shrimp fried rice. My daughter always orders the singapore rice noodle or lo mein. Definitely give it a try. read more

go to Chinese food. my family and i have ordered from here for yearssss and it's never a disappointment. definitely recommend!!

It's your standard hole-in-the-wall Chinese spot. I haven't frequented it too much, though. Shrimp Egg Foo Young - It's okay. passable. nothing special, but not bad. Fried Rice - it's okay. Again. nothing special, but not bad. Fried Shrimp ball - I was craving Shrimp toast (from #1 Chop Suey) and tried this as an alternative.... DON"T GET IT. too salty. On a most recent order... Shrimp lo mein with extra shrimp. Tasty, saucy, on point. Big butterflied shrimp. I'd order it again, but geez. $3 for extra shrimp when the dish itsself was $8 seemed kinda much to me. Smoothies: I've tried the mango, and it does taste fresh! Overall: I'm sure I'll order again, but I think i need more absolute wins in order to gain it another star. The interior seems all business. I'd only order here for lunch, though. *shrug* i just think it's affordable and gets to the point, but not a place I would look forward to. In the area, I'd still prefer #1 Chop Suey. read more

Eat First - Shrimp lo mein. Extra shrimp - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is my family's spot! We have been coming here for YEARS. I absolutely love their food and their smoothies are SO DELICIOUS. Love these guys/gals! Nothing but amazing experience with them and delicious food! read more

Didn't feel welcome when I first walked in and leaving. I told the cashier I was vegan she did not quite understand. Ask for extra mushrooms on a dish and didn't get much. I wish they would be a lot nicer to people that are American English speakers. read more

Five stars... Food is great and prices are low. Its more for take out but a very small place with 3 tables. read more

They have the best fried rice and egg foo young. Has that fresh Asian cuisine taste I absolutely love. Good portions and descent prices.

Luv my yummm Shrimp Chop Suey and Crab Rangoon. They never fail me here, yumm food and Anna's service. Thank you read more

Eat First - Small spot near Belmont Blue Line, quick grab and go lunch special. Yummm Can't forget Anna is a sweetheart - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois