I recently had found this place open late after a wedding reception and was very impressed with the food especially the seasoning and flavor of the skewers. The ambience is nice with decorations and music (which is a little on the louder side.)The service has been great both times we have been . You scan a QR code to get the menu and place an order but they do come to the table to verify the order. They have a lot of options to choose from and we had ordered lamb, wagyu, beef with fat, chicken, mushroom, and corn which were all were very good. We also ordered the Yong Chou fried rice and Egg fried noodle and both were well seasoned and full of flavor. We will definitely be back to try more and highly recommend this place if you are in the Allen area read more

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We visited Gao's Barbecue and Crab in Allen, Texas, after discovering the restaurant on TikTok. Unfortunately, our first dining experience left much to be desired. Our party ordered a variety of items, including the snow crab seafood boil with corn, broccoli, sweet potato, and fries, along with calamari, a mojito, and peach iced tea. Other members of our party ordered prawns, broccoli, cabbage, and seafood boils with additional ingredients. When we arrived, I specifically told our waitress that this was our first time dining at the restaurant and asked her to explain how everything worked. Instead of walking us through the ordering process, she simply instructed everyone to get on their phones and place their orders. The biggest issue was the lack of communication. At no point did she explain that orders could not be placed separately or that the sides were served family-style. As our food began arriving, we were confused about whose food was whose because several people had ordered similar items. What should have been an enjoyable meal turned into a confusing situation that interrupted our dining experience. After a lengthy and confusing conversation, we finally understood how the food was served. Had this information been communicated upfront, we could have avoided the unnecessary confusion and simply enjoyed our meal. Someone who I assumed was the manager eventually came out and attempted to make things right, and I appreciated the effort. However, the situation could have been avoided altogether with better communication and customer service from the beginning. To make matters worse, the check was also very confusing. I will include photos of the receipt so others can see what I mean. As for the food, I would say it was just okay. Nothing about the meal stood out enough to make me want to return, especially considering how stressful the overall experience was. By the time everything was sorted out, I honestly wasn't enjoying myself anymore. My recommendation to management is to invest in additional customer service training. When a customer tells you it's their first time visiting your establishment, that is your opportunity to explain the ordering process, how the food is served, and what to expect when the bill arrives. Customers should not have to figure everything out through trial and error, especially when a simple explanation could prevent the entire situation. Unfortunately, based on this experience, I don't see myself returning. Good food is important, but so is communication. This visit fell short in this area read more

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We went to Gao's BBQ & Crab in Allen after a graduation celebration with a party of 14 people. I'll do my best to give an objective review. The biggest issue for us was the ordering system. Everyone has to scan a QR code, place their own order, and enter their phone number. For a large group, this became very confusing because when the food came out, there was no clear way to tell who ordered what. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out which dishes belonged to each person. If you're coming with a big party, I definitely recommend making a list of everyone's orders ahead of time so it's easier to organize when the food arrives. The food itself was extremely spicy. Most of the BBQ items -- seafood, chicken, beef, and pork -- seemed to have the same heavy cumin and spicy seasoning, so the flavors started tasting very similar. Personally, that wasn't for us. However, the soy sauce fried rice and the cold noodles were really good and stood out the most from the meal. The service was good overall, although communication was a little difficult at times because it was hard to understand the staff's accents. The restaurant itself was clean and well kept. I think this place may work much better for smaller groups, but for our large party it was stressful and the food flavors were too repetitive for our taste. Unfortunately, it's probably not somewhere we would return to. Also they added 25% tip mandatory without mentioning it anywhere ; It was an experience though read more

Great deal! Enjoyed this spot for date night. $88 combo was impressive. We'll come back read more

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We were welcomed immediately upon arrival by all staff which was so lovely snd refreshing. The ambiance is amazing, a bunch of beautiful neon signs and 4 big flag screens conjoined to make one. It's lively with some cool Asian "r&b" and k pop sounds. The music isn't too loud and you can converse without yelling. To get to food; you order everything off your phone and can add as you want. The lamb skewers were SO good and tender! The garlic oysters were delicious and had the right amount of kick with the pepper. The egg noodles were perfect! The soy sauce fried rice was just "okay", it lacked seasoning. The drinks were great and loved the presentation. I replaced the vodka with tequila in the watermelon punch and it was amazing. It was so fruity, and I'm almost 100% they've got to be using real watermelon juice. It was so refreshing that I almost drank it like juice. Everything came out in a timely fashion and our servers explained everything so well. Can not wait to go back & they're open late night! We went around 10 and still had amazing service and food. My new favorite night spot read more

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Gao's - it's lively, but not to the point where you can't hear the people you are with. It's colorful but not to the point where you're shined out by the lights. The food is always delicious. The meat is flavorful with the best spices and never dry. read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

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The online menu said that the cucumbers were lightly dressed with garlic, but that is inaccurate to my standards because it was extremely garlicky. There should be a warning The skewers were great and full of flavor. The brocolli, cauliflower and corn were very well seasoned as well! Both noodle dishes were tasty and the yogurt soju was great! The ambiance inside is great and the service is fantastic!! read more

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Great services at always. Great seafood and lamb stews , new menus for Japanese steak is great too. read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Best Chinese BBQ and crawfish in town, with free kids meals on the house . Weekly dinner place. - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

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Small space, not the best for large groups. They have a seafood boil 35$ which is a really good price. The skewers are very flavor but all the ones we tried have same flavor and not spicy. Our fave is the enoki and fish tofu and the chefs special which is skin on spicy shrimp for 9.99$! read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Chef Special Fried Shrimp 爆炒大虾 - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

Came here on a Saturday night with a party of 8. We arrived before the rush (yay) so we were seated right away. Ordering is done using a QR code on your table, you add the items to the cart and send the order to the kitchen. Then the waiters will bring out everything. I personally love this form of ordering because it makes it much simpler in a restaurant like this with a large group. Food and drinks were delicious. I tried so many different things and left feeling like I was going to explode. xD There was even a performer that started singing on their small stage area. This was very fun and added more to the already fun ambiance. My family and I all agreed that we will be coming back! :) read more

GAO's has not only amazing Chinese style skewers and crab, but the deals are next level! Current happy hour deal was $1 lamb skewers from open to 6:30p when we went. I love the accessibility and ease of using the QR code to see the menu and order. Service was fast and efficient. Food: Northern Style Dan Dan Noodles: if you like bouncy jelly noodles GET THIS. Super addicting and nice spice kick with the chilli oil. Skewers: all good just get what you like! All of the meats and vegetables were tasty. Crab: Surprisingly really good! They don't skimp on the sauce and love that they provided a bib and gloves for easy and clean eating. Milk tea and fruit teas: on the sweeter side. The vibes were very upbeat, they had a whole stage for karaoke and a projection of music videos playing while we ate. Overall very good Chinese skewers place in Allen. read more

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Don't make the same mistake we did and miss the Happy Hour menu! From open until 6:30 PM daily, they offer $1 lamb skewers that are seriously worth showing up early for. We tried several items, but the standouts were the Chef Special Fried Shrimp and the Small Beef with Fat Skewer. This might just be our favorite skewer spot in DFW. read more

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Good food and good ambiance... service was excellent until it took 3 reminders to get our beers... read more

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I had so much fun I forgot to take pictures! The skewers were excellent and I recommend trying ANY that sound good to you. My favorite was the pepper beef. The servers were very helpful and the restaurant is neon and clean and OPEN LATE! Bring your friends for a great night out. read more

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The food is really good! come at happy hour! The kids meal is free and yummy. Drinks are all very good. Kabobs are authentic! Service is super good. Ambience is comfortable. read more

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I love this place ! Their BBQ are so good ! I love the wagyu beef skewer and tofu skin ! read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Stir Chef Special Squid 爆炒鱿鱼 - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

Reservation: Made reservation on OpenTable. Highly recommended since the restaurant is not huge, and Saturday night was pretty busy! Food: There's a huge variety available, including some more adventurous items (like frogs and silkworms- Eek). We ordered lamb, beef, chicken, green beans, and garlic fish! Ambiance: Interior is cute, but the tables are smaller, and would not recommend it for a group larger than 6. It looks like they have a whole karaoke stage set up for after hour parties! lol Parking: lots of parking read more

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Checked out this Bbq place in Allen and so glad I did! Everything tasted amazing, staff was friendly and service was fast. The stir fried shrimp was my favorite and the skewers were also amazing. Would definitely come by again! read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

The skewers are always delicious, and I also love the energetic vibe! I was jamming to the music as we ate lol!

This location *does NOT* do the AYCE for $45- I don't understand why ppl post videos that say that, unless they stopped doing it and just didn't tell us-- idk. The place was nice and good for large parties; even had a karaoke stage. Service was okay, one guy would give one word answers and then just walk away which got annoying but the girls were better and saved this review from being a 2 star coz the disappointment was real from the get-go. Here is what we ordered: spicy chili oil shrimp (6/10) Garlic edamame (7/10) Snowcrab combo + 2 extra clusters (9/10) 2lb crawfish (8/10) Beef & Chicken skewers (5/10) not worth it if you're going there for the seafood boils Flat noodles (6/10) for them being made fresh The best thing was definitely the crablegs, they were huge in size and so delicious! Would I travel that far again? No. They also did not have any cracking tools for us to use except for 1, there were only 7 tables, maybe, and you only have 1 per table? Weird. Total we spent was $280 with tip. read more

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Drinks and food were so good!! We got a bunch of food too. Will be coming back again with more family read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

This is your sign to visit Gao's BBQ and Crab (open until 2am) with your friends! They also have a variety of noodles, rice dishes, milk teas, alcoholic beverages, and Cajun inspired Chinese dishes. Here's everything I tried: Snow Crab Combo Seafood Boil -- Snow Crab, Shrimp, Corn, Potato, A Boiled Egg, and sausage!! So amazing and filled full with garlic flavor! Drinks -- Guava Juice and Jack Daniel's + Fresh Watermelon Juice and Rum Northern Dan Dan Noodles (cold dish) kabobs - big lamb, pepper beef, chicken skin, corn kernels, small beef with fat, octopus legs, chicken gizzards (these were all amazing!!) Garlic Grilled Oysters and Garlic Scallop with Vermicelli read more

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We drove 40 miles out to experience this restaurant and it was nice and different. The service was good the food we tried was delicious but only thing was strange is they served everything separate One skewer at a time which was weird but the veg. Were seasoned well the meat was delicious a bit fatty read more

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Lamb and beef screwers are very tendered and juicy. Great atmosphere and service. Will come back! read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

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great variety of well seasoned skewers that are never tough/chewy. i really like their lamb skewers, corn skewers (trust me on this), and their chives are also very good if you want a break from all the proteins. lively atmosphere and i appreciate that the background music isnt too loud to the point where you can't have a conversation. read more

I had the skewers that they offer here and I can say I've never tasted anything that good from a place like this. Some people do not like lamb, I love it. It's a delicacy in my eyes, and the way this place made those lamb skewers was outstanding. Service was fine by me. I tip good when it's good, and it certainly was. I will definitely be back after this well deserved 5 star review! read more

Not sure if this is the best Chinese BBQ skewer in DFW or what. I still prefer Fat Ni because we are so used to their boatloads of cumin. We are addicted to cumin and it's chili sauces. Back to Gao....place isnt that big, if you come on the weekends, make sure you come early and get your spot. This is a popular place Prices are OK, portion are OK. Dont get chicken skewer, it's dry. Not too impressed with the beef skewer either, I think where this place got great reviews is due to Lamb skewer. If you don't like lamb...well...maybe this place is average to you. They offer massive amount of food variety...so many options to choose from. I"m glad they open in DFW area. read more

Crazy Delicious Fun It's not inexpensive but the culinary adventure is worth it. Try all the things! I did find it hard to understand what was coming out but at it all. The Chicken Hearts, Pork Intestines, Beef Tendons were all good. If you're not that adventurous the Peppered Beef and Lamb were also good. Really there was nothing I didn't enjoy. It's bright and loud. I felt I was transported to another country. Great experience and I'll definitely be back. read more

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Came back today and it was just as good as last time! Super yummy skewers and this time we tried the crawfish as well! read more

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I love this place. I went there almost every night that I was in Dallas! The staff is very kind, helpful, and the food was amazing. We ordered a little bit of everything and had a ball every night. Great for groups read more

The lamb skewers are soooo good !!! This is my second time here and i have no critiques !! I will be bringing more friends the next time i come read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Big Lamb Skewer(1) 红柳大羊(1) and Beef Tongue Skewers(3 Pieces) 亲吻牛舌(3) - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

Unique and creative menu options. Great skewers and seafood! Fun atmosphere and hands on food. Great flavor even if you don't get spicy.

Food was decent, nothing to complain about there but the service was terrible. The blonde guy who greeted us was very kind and helped us when our waiter wouldn't but our waiter was terrible. Then they have the audacity to shove a screen in your face like they did anything, he literally avoided us the whole night. Safe to say, wife and I won't be coming back because at this price there's better options. read more

A fun experience. The food was overall good. I suggest going during happy hour and trying the skewers that are on special. Orders came out fast and we were able to add to our order quote easily. read more

So, my offspring, the fruit of my loins, wouldn't stop yapping about this culinary hotspot in the villages of Allen. Naturally, I had to see what the fuss was about, lest I be branded the family's gastronomic luddite. Lo and behold, this eatery is the new belle of the ball amidst the smorgasbord of dining options in the area. So naturally, I must YELP and let the people know! Stepping inside, I was greeted by an ambiance that can only be described as 'dinner by disco ball'--a charmingly dim setting with neon lights doing the tango on the walls. It's like eating in a foodie Batcave, and folks, I was here for it. We plopped down and were soon met by a waiter who was like a walking, talking QR code. He schooled us in the art of digital dining--snap a pic of the barcode, and voilà, the menu's on your phone. It's DIY ordering at its finest, and I could double-check my order to ensure no culinary surprises. It's like having a food diary at your fingertips. Our culinary sherpa then gave us the lowdown on the menu, dishing out his personal hits and misses and what he'd bet his apron on. Taking his sage advice, my better half and I dove into a feast of chicken and pork skewers, Garlic Grilled Oysters, Grilled Abalone (both fashionably still in their shells), broccoli, fried rice, and edamame. It was a veritable United Nations of flavors and we were ready to dig in. Let me tell you, the grub was top-notch. The fried rice alone was worth writing home about. But a word to the wise: if your taste buds are more 'vanilla' than 'volcano,' do inquire about the spice level. My dear wife's encounter with the fiery abalone was a culinary baptism by fire. Needless to say, she will be cautious next time and sure to order entrees that honor her mild taste buds. If I were to get nitpicky--and I shall--the menu could use a little storytelling. A brief tale of what's in each dish wouldn't hurt, and a spice-o-meter would save some from a surprise scorcher. All in all, it was a dining experience that tickled my fancy and filled my belly. It's a fresh take on the age-old question of "What's for dinner?" and I'm already plotting my return for the next time the Korean food siren calls. read more

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The ambiance here is lovely, with cute neon lights and signs. Even though it was just two of us on a busy Friday night, the place was packed. We had to wait a bit, but they offered free snacks and water. We ordered various skewers, grilled oysters, broccoli, garlic, potatoes, dan dan noodles, and 24 shots for $13. The skewers were well-cooked, and the prawns were my favorite. However, they all were seasoned the same. Different sauces would have been nice to get a variety of flavors. The dan dan noodles was very tasty! The appetizer was also good. However, we got the skewers first and the sides like potatoes and broccoli last. It would have been better to get everything together to enjoy the meal throughout the time there. There was a live performer, which was fun but a bit too loud at 7 PM. Overall, the food was good, but the service could be better. read more

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The food is really great here. I love the small beef with fat skewers. The service is good.

Food was delicious and fresh! The meat was tender and flavorful. Great service and atmosphere -- will definitely come back! read more

Gao’s BBQ & Crab - Chinese Near Me - Allen, Texas

We were seated quickly and since it was our first time, they helped us order our food! The place is a vibe and nice for families Ordering is super easy and I sorta like this way better because the server isn't just standing around waiting on you to decide what you want to eat, they are able to move around and help other tables out. When you order the spicy chicken make sure you are ordering it for more than just you lol because it's a lot and I had to take it to go The drinks are okay and as a light weight, I didn't feel anything.. I would definitely come again! read more

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Absolutely fantastic experience. The restaurant atmosphere is so fun and exciting and the food is incredible. Super authentic menu with even more authentic flavors. The owner Oscar was so inviting and made our experience amazing by offering suggestions for a great meal. We tried so many things from the beef skewers to the Dan Dan noodles but my favorite was the Crab leg boil. I will definitely come back! read more

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