This place was sooooo good. Super spicy and delicious Chinese food! Service was friendly and attentive.

I used to be a big fan of the Han Dynasty in University City when I lived in that area, and when I was in the Penn's Landing area recently I decided to eat at the Old City Han Dynasty for old time's sake. However, I found that the meal didn't live up to what I remembered at the UCity Han Dynasty or the Sichuan food I've had at other spots. My partner and I ordered the dan dan noodles and double cooked pork belly to share, our longtime regular order. The portions were generous and prices were affordable, but both dishes fell short in some ways. The dan dan noodle sauce was mostly sesame-based with little of the chili heat I remembered, and there was only a bit of the ground pork topping. It left me wondering whether they hold off on the spice at this location due to the clientele, whether they changed the recipe, or whether it was just an off day. The pork in the double cooked pork was overcooked and tough, and the dish didn't have enough of the veggie components (leeks and peppers) to balance it out. Another minor nitpick - there was a World Cup game going on while we ate and the multiple downstairs TVs had the game on. The second floor where we were seated also had a nice big TV, yet it seemed to be left on a screensaver slideshow of random landscape photos. Would have been nice to watch the game! I was overall left feeling pretty meh about the meal. I'd give the UCity location another shot, but don't think I'd come back to the Old City one. read more

I think it's time to update my review since the restaurant moved locations. The new location is definitely less classy and has lost the old Han Dynasty vibes. Kitchen is separated from the dining area by just a curtain. We came here on a Sunday afternoon and were promptly seated. There were a few full tables. Service was good. I feel like their food has lost the charm as well. It's still pretty solid sichuan food but it's not the same as before. Dan Dan noodles lacked meat and flavor. Spice level 7/10 in entrees was not so spicy anymore. All in all, i will definitely eat here again when I'm craving Sichuan food but will keep looking for alternate options. read more

See all

Wow this place is popular with good reviews? Does Philly not have any Chinese options? Found it to be very average. Dishes were on level (some worse) than an average authentic Chinese place. Probably should've realized when the person who answered phone to take order did not speak Mandarin. In particular, reviews about the dan dan were very surprising. Not sure if I went on a bad day, but this has to be the worst dan dan that I've had. Overcooked, mushy noodles. Wasn't very flavorful. We ended up throwing most of that away. The other disappointing dish was the cumin lamb. Had the same issue... lamb seemed to be overcooked, and also didn't love the flavor. The spicy fish dish, as well as the crispy rice were the only decent things, but again just in line with many many other places. read more

Han Dynasty - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

See all

Everything from beginning to end was AMAZING! It was my 1st time there so I didn't put any expectations that way I'm not disappointed. Everything was fresh, the taste like nothing before. The customer from the staff was just the icing on the cake. Great experience, will definitely go there again. read more

See all

The Dan Dan noodles, wontons in chili oil, cumin chicken, garlic sauce lamb, and hot sauce beef are outstanding. Each dish I have sampled offers deep flavor and richness. This is a remarkable restaurant. read more

Ordered some takeaway for lunch - dry pepper Sichuan chicken. Also comes with a portion of steamed rice. A bit on the higher priced side for this dish but as I've had some great food from a different Han Dynasty location I didn't mind trying them out. Portion size was average on the chicken. The spice level says 8/10 but it was definitely on the weaker side. Maybe the peppers themselves were older / dried out and the flavor faded too much vs fresher peppers right before cooking. Maybe a bad choice of dish or an off day but as compared to a few other Sichuan dry pepper dishes from other restaurants around Philly it was a clear step below them. Might try a different choice if I order again. read more

Friendly service, food came out fast. Dan Dan noodles were a big miss for how highly recommended they are. They were drowning in sesame sauce and overcooked. Barely any spice. Not enough meat. Dry spicy Chicken was better, but not that spicy. Reasonable prices. read more

Han Dynasty - Dry spicy chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

See all

One of my favorites when I'm in the mood for spicy food! I used to go to the one by University City/Penn's campus more back in college. I love the chili oil noodles - sometimes I just have cravings for these noodles. I personally don't like dan dan noodles as much for some reason but the one here is really good. Three Cup Chicken and Double cooked fish are some other great dishes. Finally, also loved the string beans with minced pork back in the day. Keep an eye on the spice levels/ratings because some of their dishes are super spicy. The seafood soup wasn't really worth it. Also unfortunately spilled a bit on the walk home - the lid came loose - but at least it was double bagged so didn't make a mess. Their new location is down the block from where they originally were in Old City. read more

Han Dynasty - Chili oil noodles, double cooked fish - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This place was so great!! Surprised by how busy it was on a Monday night but that did not stop staff from being attentive and from the food being delivered so fast! Everything was actually sooo delicious and convenient to do family style so we can try many things! They were also really accommodating. One member of our party was vegetarian and they made all of our dishes with the protein on the side. Decent place overall, I ate so much and hope to come back soon! read more

See all

What can I say that hasn't been said? If you want spicy food, they got you. The dan dan noodles live up to their reputation. I also really like the cumin chicken. Read the other positive reviews and you'll learn all you need to know. Love that they are open late. There's a full bar, if you are looking for a party. read more

We have been dying to find a place like this for a while and I'm so glad we finally did! We ordered takeout and got the beef lo mein, chicken fried rice, chicken fried dumplings and General Han's Chicken. Everything is absolutely delicious! I do wish the portions were much bigger for the price but overall a good spot! read more

This place is more like a Mexican Chinese food to me. I was staying at a hostel nearby and decided to check this place out. I ordered their scallion pancake, they came out fast within a few mins, BUT they aren't Hong Kong style or Korean style, they just didn't put enough scallions in it. Glad they are only $5 cuz I m not paying more than that for a mediocre scallions pancake. I also ordered their chicken dry pot with plenty of white rice. It was good, but it was just OK. The bartender didn't really ask me how my food was. I m not sure if they have a bar upstairs or not because the bar downstairs does not look like the one I saw on Yelp so I was kind of disappointed, it wasn't as fancy. And how come I didn't see one single Asian works there???? maybe this one should be call Juan Dynasty. LOL read more

Han Dynasty - Chicken Dry Pot. The presentation was nice, but the food was just OK to me. - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Visiting Philly & I was looking for a decent Chinese restaurant. I was willing to give this a try since it was walking distance from my hotel. When I first walked in, I was about to walk out as the atmosphere was very hipster-est & not of traditional Chinese restaurant. We sat down. Gave us a menu and tea was served immediately. Good sign. Ordered a twice cook pork and garlic eggplant. It was very good. What impressed me the most was that the food was out within 10 minutes. Now that's authentic! Service is good. Poor server (Angela) was by herself and always kept a happy face. What a professional! Highly recommend if you are looking for good Szechuan food with good service. read more

I had a great dinner at Han Dynasty. The real wow factor was the interior, but I think they might have moved buildings in the time since I visited. I also had a great experience with the service. Han Dynasty has a pretty solid menu, with tons of options. I went with the Dry Pot Style Chicken, which was absolutely delicious. The portion was sizable, enough for two meals. If you want something hot and spicy, I would definitely recommend that dish! I didn't get to try any of the happy hour dishes, but they seemed like a great deal. read more

See all

Trying to find a place to eat during Lent is tougher than you think here in Philly. We opted for Salt and Pepper Shrimp, which was amazing. Rice noodles with shrimp was a little bland. Vegetable soup had two pounds of tofu, the slight spicy flavor added to the flavor (if that makes sense). Please be aware, the soup feeds 6 people! The restaurant was cool, very hip as were the staff. Unfortunately the service was a dud. We felt like we were a bother and I didn't want to ask for salt or soy sauce. read more

The waiter was excellent. Friendly. Drinks and food was AMAZING. Dan Dan noodles and scallion pancake best I ever had. Nice chill relaxing ambiance. Great place whether for a business meeting and dinner with friends. read more

My partner and I have been planning our next trip to Philly since our last one got canceled and we finally decided to go the week before my birthday. We were both tired after a long day of work and decided to get some takeout and call it a day. We called ahead, placed an order for pickup, and were quoted a 25-minute wait. Upon arriving, our order was neatly bagged and sitting on the counter; it was just a matter of announcing ourselves to the receptionist and paying. Service was friendly and we were in and out of the restaurant in under five minutes. Unfortunately, utensils were not provided, which we didn't realize until after we arrived at our hotel, so just be mindful of this! * Garlic Sauce Style (Pork) 魚香系列 (猪肉) Sweet, sour, spicy, and tangy-- with tender pork, ginger, garlic, bamboo, and wood ear mushrooms. The portion was huge and incredibly savory. You definitely need a tub of rice with this. Thankfully, all entrees come with rice. * Mapo Tofu with Minced Pork 麻婆豆腐 Mapo Tofu is one of my all-time favorites for its spiciness, deep savoriness, and málà flavor. This one was just alright. The sauce was literally just chili oil and it was far too oily for both our liking. read more

See all

My experience is from university city. The food is always great fresh and hot. I had a small hiccup after delivering from the hospital. My sauce was accidentally left out of the bag. When I made the manager aware of this via telephone, he promised to take care of me if I ever by. Well I stopped by and it happened to be his birthday. The manager took such amazing care of me and my family. I will never forget it. He made my day. He deserves to be recognized for his extremely wonderful customer service. read more

Sichuan food is my guilty pleasure. The numbing Sichuan pepper is so addicting in moderate amount. I was excited to find Han Dynasty which specializes in Sichuan cuisine. This place is so good. I ordered take out and it was still delicious. The food is well seasoned and portion size is great as well. I got the homestyle tofu dish and the fish dry pepper dish. I need to come back again and dine in person! It's probably a good thing that I don't live right next to this restaurant or else I might be coming here every other week. If you like spicy and flavorful food you've got to give this place a visit! read more

Han Dynasty - Dry Pot Style tilapia - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

See all

Where to begin. This place was hyped up big time. First impressions a dark, dingy, kinda scary. Service was ok. It was slow and there was one guy waiting on three tables. He was nice enough. We placed our order, and there was a mistake (we don't eat pork so asked for the dan dan noodles with no meat). The guy who brought it out from the kitchen was a little angry when we pointed it out. On to the food. Dan Dan noodles - 1/5. A little sweet for me and the noodles were way overcooked. Pretty mushy. Spicy cucumber salad - 2/5. Definitely needed more salt. Something to balance out another sweet dish. Chicken lo mein - 3/5. This time noodles were cooked fine. Flavor was alright. Not bad, not amazing. Cumin chicken - 4/5. This I really enjoyed. Loved the flavor. Very good. Could have gone spicier, but you can ask for that and I had no real reference. Steamed rice - 1/5. It wasn't fresh. Very dry and stale. I really wanted to eat this with my cumin chicken. read more

See all

Cate was my bartender and she was super attentive and recommended some drinks and appetizers that ended up being my favorite things I've had in Philly. Thank you for the great experience! I will be returning. read more

Our waitress was very kind and attentive; the space was large and well decorated. We got the wonton soup, veggie lo mein, scallion pancakes, and sticky rice entree. All of the food was large and shareable ( we had tons of leftovers and there were three of us.) only complaint was that the place wasn't very clean- floors were sticky and tables, chairs etc had sauce and such on them. Otherwise, it was a great meal. read more

I've been to the Han Dynasty in university city and have loved the food every time I've been there. Decided to try this location, but was somewhat disappointed. The cold sesame noodles had way too much raw garlic which overpowered every other flavor in the dish . It was a really unpleasant few mouthfuls . The wontons in chili oil were pretty good. The dry fried chicken with peppers was inconsistently cooked with some pieces of chicken overcooked and dried out and some barely cooked through. The pork in garlic sauce was pretty tasty, though it was over sauced . The servers were friendly but made several mistakes in bringing out wrong dishes and presenting the bill when we were waiting for our main courses. I think I'll stick to the west Philly branch of the restaurant going forward read more

Came here for dinner with coworkers and enjoyed every bite. The food here is family style so we were excited to share and get to try more of the menu. The scallion pancakes were delicious and our favorite entree was the black bean sauce dish with chicken. I would come back just to get those. read more

Stopped by here for a late lunch with the family. It was close to our hotel (walking distance). We went during a time when it wasn't busy. We were welcomed by a staff member who seated us right away. Those who took our order and brought out the food were friendly and efficient. Overall, the food was good. The scallion pancakes were a little on the smaller size. The shrimp for the honey walnut dish was not what we had initially expected -- it was breaded, similar to that of Chinese chicken fingers -- but still good. The shrimp lo mein had an added taste which I was trying to identify. It reminded me of pork or some kind of meat -- but again, still good. The place was nice, spacious with high ceilings, and has a huge bar. It reminded me of a bar/lounge back in NYC, but it was a little dim. Overall, it was a decent place to get some Chinese food in the area. Also, I believe they will be moving locations soon. read more

See all

Still happy to come here like 20 years later since I first used to go to the old school jawn further down chestnut. This is still my favorite location out of all the ones I've tried in the Philly area, Jersey and New York City and out in the burbs. read more

Han Dynasty - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

On the downward slide. Dinner on Sunday was quite disappointing. The ambiance is looking glum and downtrodden, somewhat goth and foreboding. We were sat at a table right by the kitchen and were bumped multiple times by waitstaff entering or exiting. Why they put a table there, I don't know. We ordered drinks, only to be told that the bar was unable to make an Old Fashioned and that they were out of ingredients for it. Highly unusual for what appeared to be a fully stocked bar. The waitress appeared to be very unsure of herself, and I have to assume she is new to the job. When it came time order, we were told that they couldn't make one of the entrees as they "were out". OK, we switched to something else. The group ordered 5 entrees, but other than the DanDan Mien, everything tasted the same, mostly like Heinz ketchup with some garlic. The food was very disappointing, not enjoyable, and tasted quite different from the HD in Cherry Hill. At the end of the evening there was a significant amount of food left. We asked the waitress to pack up the leftovers. She promptly stacked all our dishes and scraped our food into the trash-bin by the bar. I have eaten at the Old City location many times. I don't think I will be back. read more

Cold tendon appetizer was delicious, but the dan dan noodles were completely overcooked and gummy. The sauce was pretty gross too, just tasted like peanut butter, and there was approximately 1 tablespoon of pork. I had like 4 bites and threw the rest in the trash. read more

Didn't get a picture of the food before it was gone but had a great cocktail and was surprised by the inside compared to the outside - I never would have expected it! read more

Han Dynasty - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

See all

You can dress up or dress down when eating at this restaurant. There is a nice size bar. This restaurant is great for a date night or to meet up with friends. I ordered the house Lo Mein noodles and it was cooked perfectly. Also ordered shrimp Crispy rice style and outside of the great flavor , I was happy to notice the tails were removed and the shrimp were deveined. I ordered the tiger martini and it was so good that 2 additional were ordered. I was disappointed that they do not serve dessert. read more

See all

This was a solid 3 star for a group performance. All the dishes were well prepared and the group enjoyed their meals. Nothing noteworthy for or against. I think they use to have more "authentic" menu offerings years ago ... but I suspect many are too strongly favored for the American pallete. . read more

Han Dynasty - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Service very fast & efficient. Love the building they are in with the high ceilings, still seems casual enough. I ordered the chicken lo mein as I know some of their other dishes are made to be spicy. It had familiar comfort food goodness. read more

Han Dynasty - Chicken Lo Mein - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Did somebody say Dan Dan noodles? Yes! Let's head to Han Dynasty for the best dan dan noodles ever. They have just the right amount of chew. Be warned that they are VERY spicy. I love spice but it doesn't love me these days, so I ask for them not spicy and with chili oil on the side. My go-to combo for takout is the noodles and the crispy cucumber. Since both are appetizers, the meal is very inexpensive. The dishes complement each other perfectly. Another favorite of mine is what I call 'the kids' meal.' When I have a cold or if my stomach is acting up, I order just the wonton soup. When I walked in and hadn't preordered my takeout, I thought the soup would be quick since most Chinese restaurants keep wonton soup hot and ready. Nope! I had to wait while they MADE the wontons. This explains why they're so good. I have to mention the hostess who is always lovely and welcoming. There are times I don't order in advance just so I can hang out with Monica! read more

I love this place! It has a huge bar with lots of specialty cocktails and beers to choose from. They have happy hour choices for both food and drink, and this is a cheap way to start your evening. I cannot say enough about their spicy cucumbers and wontons in chili oil. Both are on the HH menu and delicious. They also make sure you understand the spice levels of their dishes, as they literally go from 0 to 10. The long hot dish is one of my favorites as well if you like a little spice! High-quality and fresh ingredients. Delivery is available via many services, and the portions are the same whether you're eating in or having it at home. read more

Did take out with this location. The shrimp lo mein was probably some of the worst I had. There was only a few shrimps in the entire container. The noodles were soggy and not fresh. The second dish I got was the pickled fish with rice, I'd encourage people to order spicy if you're South Asian. There's a lot of oil in the dish which I expected as it is similar to South Asian achaar. Good flavors! The bamboo shoots had great texture! read more

Han Dynasty - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The lunch menu options are pretty small portions. But most of their Chinese food is pretty good, upscale, not like your neighborhood Chinese restaurant. Slight pricier than most other restaurants. Food 7/10 Atmosphere 7/10 Service 5/10 Tips Lunch menu is until 3 pm! read more

See all

Han Dynasty in Old City has moved across the street and down a few doors from their original location recently, and sometimes that can affect the food, the service, and if the place takes reservations, the possibility of not getting a table. I am happy to say, none of these have happened to Han Dynasty! While the space is now considerably smaller, and has an upstairs dining area (I haven't seen this personally, but saw waitstaff taking food up and bringing plates down), the portions, taste, prices, and ambiance has stayed true to form! This is awesome. If you haven't been to a Han Dynasty yet (there are several locations here in Philadlephia), I highly recommend you seek one out. For the uninitiated, this is NOT your average "chinese take out" spot. This is Szechuan Chinese food (Southwestern China), the spiciest of the three main types you'll find here in the USA (Mandarin and Hunan are the other two, with many others we've probably never had yet). The waitstaff will ask if the spice level shown on the menu are okay for you. If for even a moment you don't know if what is there is spicy enough, minus one from what you order. I can't go above a 6 myself without some serious consequences later! Everything I've had there is excellent, and made fresh on the spot (having talked to one of the cooks on the way back from the bathroom once), so I suggest you explore for yourself. Unlimited water, and white rice refills as well. If you haven't been, definitely go! read more

I came here for a friend's event and they booked about half the room early-mid afternoon. I can't say anything about their drinks as I didn't order any but their bar area is certainly impressive. The interior is definitely grand with high ceilings and you can tell that this was converted from a bank. The architectural details are really nice and it's definitely a more casual eating area. I would say that it's not your typical banquet style Chinese dinner meal that you're thinking about when looking around this place. I get more lounge vibes/bar crawl from it. Let's get onto the food. The food is fine. It met expectations. Don't come here expecting a Michelin star meal or one of those new contemporary style Chinese restaurants. The food is similar to Panda Express except with more flavor and it's cooked well. Overall, it's a really chill place and the staff are really nice. read more

Han Dynasty - Interior - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This place is now only give a small individual bowl of rice for a family size entree. Make it make sense. Rice is not a hill to die on, but students need value for the money spent, so we will not frequent this place anymore. A group of people sharing an entree cannot share a small bowl of rice. read more