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    Hunan Lion

    3.8 (302 reviews)
    Closed 12:00 pm - 2:00 PM, 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM

    Hunan Lion Photos

    Business Info

    HUNAN LION ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Hunan Lion

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    Reviews With Photos

    Sichuan  Szechuan Pork*
    Eve R.

    I wasn't sure what to expect, but understood that this is a beloved restaurant to many in Columbus. I don't have a history with it, but was eager to meet up with family for a midweek lunch. The host was friendly and we were seated quickly, which is saying something because nearly the entire (huge) restaurant was full. Full of very old people and zero diversity (always a bit sus). Our server wasn't great. He wasn't actively keeping eyes on the middle circle tables, so ordering was extremely slow and we had to wave him down for a soda refill. No one came to refill everyone else's waters. I watched an outside table be sat after us and ordered before us all full of "thank you sirs". I had to ask 3 times for chopsticks for a 4 top. He brought 2 and one had a dirty wrapper. Minus points. The servers all seem like old guard. One lady kept having to bump into my sisters chair and say a rude excuse me every time - like my sister put her chair in the way on purpose? We ended up physically moving our table over to make it stop. Minus points. I love a more authentic Chinese food. I also love spicy. You're not going to get either here really. I ended up with Szechuan Pork - it was a mild spice but cooked well and flavorful. The chicken with asparagus didn't come with all the veg it said on the menu, but was tasty for Chinese American food. Same with the Tso's though it was a bit on the sticky sweet side for me. The house/combo lo mein was really good. I'd probably get that again if I ever go back. It's all *fine* for very Americanized Chinese food. Leans bland for a bland palate so if you like that, you will probably love it here. So ultimately the food tasted good, but for the mid service and extra price, it was a GENEROUS 3 for me. FWIW It's pretty - the renovation after the fire was well-executed and feels like an old-school Chinese restaurant so that's something. Also: The guy who puts the white paper on the tables also let the paper drape and drag over the head of one of our party while passing our table. So weird.

    Crispy Sesame Chicken...yummy!

    Atmosphere -vintage Chinese American style decorations with soft piano music playing. Quite classy considering the location. Don't be afraid. Chicken lettuce wraps mild...super delicious. Loved the presentation, the flavor of the sauce and texture of the minced chicken. Slight flavor of peanuts...would be a great meal by itself. Tom yum gai...very lemony, lovely tender chicken and bamboo shoots. Crispy sesame chicken. Not breaded but still has a nice chewy crunch to it. Sweet and tangy. Perfect amount of sauce. Delightful! Spicy Triple Delight- beef tenderloin, chicken and shrimp. Spice level about 3-4 out of ten. Almost tasted like a spicier version of the lettuce wraps. Meat was tender and savory. Perfect amount of sauce. Had a lovely wok hei flavor. Portions are good sized and high quality. Service was great...very friendly!

    Sesame Beef
    John S.

    Hunan Lion is a Columbus institution and is a throwback to old school fine dining Chinese reataurants. I found the food to be just okay and mostly average. The Phoenix & Dragon is General Tso's chicken and Ginger Prawns. The Tso's was mall food court quality, not tender and juicy pieces I would have expected for the $22 price. The prawns were overpowered by too much garlic and onion. While the two dishes are separated, I found the entire dish a bit too much citrusy because of what tasted like orange juice used in the prawn sauce. The sesame beef was too sweet. Everything else we ordered (Hunan Shrimp, Hunan Tofu and even the spring rolls, hot & sour soup and crab rangoon) didn't blow us away either, especially considering the higher price point for their dishes. Service was good and attentive.

    Hunan Chicken
    Sandy W.

    Tonight's meal was a disappointment to my husband and I. First off, the Sizzling Rice soup did not sizzle like in the past. We also ordered Sesame chicken with prawns and the entree was soaked in a way too much sweet sauce! The brown rice was good. Service was okay and seats well comfy.

    Crispy Orange  Chicken slivers with bland fried rice
    Stan B.

    I was excited to see Hunan Lion reopen and had an opportunity to eat lunch here. Business was brisk for a lunch service. The refurbished decor was nice and the way the space is divided up keeps noise down. The service was prompt and friendly. I started with a bowl of Hot and Sour soup. A good amount of spicy warmth but not much flavor. Skimpy amount of pork and tofu. Just lots of bland broth. The soup was disappointing. There were two in our party. We ordered Crispy Orange Chicken and War Shu Chicken. Both added fried rice at $3.00 extra per serving. The War Shu Chicken came with descent sized chicken pieces in a flavorful gravy sauce. The Crispy Orange Chicken tasted very good with the flavor of orange perfectly delicious. But the chicken pieces were slivers that ended up being mostly batter. You can see this in the photo. It looks to me like Hunan Lion is sacrificing quality for higher prices to make up for lost time? This is unfortunate when they had such a homerun before.

    Chili sauce
    Barb H.

    Went for lunch a few days ago. Of course, they're crazy busy but we were only two people and had an easy order: two entrees and that's it. My friend ordered the Chicken & Eggplant and it came piping hot and she loved it. I ordered the Hunan Chicken ("Sliced chicken, fresh broccoli and mushrooms in a spicy hot pepper sauce") and it arrived lukewarm and NOT HOT AT ALL. When you forgot to add the spicy hot pepper sauce or seasoning or whatever to a Hunan dish, that's a serious flaw. It's just plain old brown sauce. Also, it would've been better to bring it out when it was done (and piping hot) rather than wait for the other dish to get done. By the time someone stopped by to ask how our food was, I was done eating. He did bring me a small dish of hot pepper sauce which I took home to use on my leftovers.

    Shredded Chicken in Garlic Sauce
    Ben J.

    I don't know if I would call Hunan Lion the best Chinese restaurant in Central Ohio. But I would say that it was the best Chinese food I've eaten since returning to Ohio. Saturday night, there was a line waiting to be seated. Could not figure out why there was no one at the host stand checking people in. 10 minutes later, an older woman showed up to check people in. We were told it would be 20 minutes (but it was 30 to seat two people). As we sat down, a guy came by to fill our water glasses. But our waitress took some time to take our order. There was only three tables of people in this section. We ordered hot and sour soup, pan fried noodles with chicken, beef, and shrimp, salt and pepper shrimp, and shredded chicken in garlic sauce. They were out of wor sue gai at 7pm (not good planning). We waited 20-25 minutes to get our soup. Good sized bowl $4.95 each. Good flavor and bite but it could have used a bit more vinegar. No cloud ear fungus for taste and a little carrot would have been nice for color. We couldn't tell if the little pieces of meat was pork or chicken, but there wasn't much meat. As for our entrees, we didn't see those for another 30 minutes. Didn't seem like food was coming out of the kitchen with regularity but in occasional batches. Can't blame the service if the kitchen can't keep the food coming out regularly. Finally got our first two entrees, shredded chicken in garlic sauce and the pan fried noodles. The salt and pepper shrimp came 5 minutes later. Have to say, the three dishes were good. Especially loved the pan fried noodles using the thin egg noodles - no one in Columbus has this. Good amount of meat and shrimp came with each entree. But it should with the entrees costing $16-$20 each. Overall, except for the wait, and the wait, then again the wait, the food was the best we have tasted in the past 1.5 years back in Columbus. And that's a lot of sit downs and carry outs.

    Appetizers
    Tara S.

    Never been here before but since it reopened been hearing great things. Definitely recommend having a reservation as they are still quite busy. I found the restaurant to be quite lovely and spacious. My party and I were seated promptly and our server was great. We ordered several appetizers and each one was delicious. For my entree I ordered the sweet and sour chicken. Very generous portion size and I loved the variety of vegetables included. I found everything delicious and wi definitely be coming back.

    Kung pao Kuns Po Scallops & Shrimp*

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    10 days ago

    The food is awesome. Service leaves a little to be desired! It may have been a bad night for our waiter.

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    3 months ago

    The food is not as good as it used to be. I was not impressed with my meal at all. Too pricey. Don't waste your time or money.

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    Page 1 of 8

    Ask the Community - Hunan Lion

    Is there any option for delivery? Even with a fee

    They don't offer delivery that I know of. Not sure if Uber eats or something picks up from there.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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