I was looking for dinner and discovered this place. It was around the corner from the hotel I was staying at. Didn't know it at the time, but this restaurant is a chain. It looked nice enough inside to eat at. The interior is bright. Red, black, and white color scheme. Plenty of seating. I was seated at a table on the side of the wall. You wait to be seated, scan the menu on your phone, and order on your phone. They offered a handful of promotional items. I took advantage of the spring rolls for orders over $20. I also ordered the orange chicken, garlic green beans, and pot stickers. Meals come with a bowl of white rice. I enjoyed everything I ordered. The food was delicious, but my eyes were way bigger than my stomach. You can also add more food or checkout on your phone. When you checkout, staff come to your table and take payment. Service was friendly and efficient. read more

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If you'd like some really great Chinese food right off the lake, this is your place to go. What this place offers is some very traditional, with an edge, Chinese cuisine. It's really good! Located just a block off of Michigan Avenue, this restaurant is very easy to find. Once inside, you'll find an inviting atmosphere, and a fun place to eat. The way this place works is that you can pull up the menu on your phone, and order right on your phone. This way, it's very easy to get exactly what you want. Plus, if you want to order another dish, or another drink, or something like that, it's very easy to do. Of course, if you want to go old school, the staff here is happy to come to your table and take your order. Either way, you're gonna end up with a really tasty meal. In terms of atmosphere, this restaurant has a number of tables spread throughout the entire establishment. Thus, if you need a small table for just two people, or a larger table for an entire group of people, it's easy to find here. Overall, the staff here are friendly and very efficient. If you need any assistance, they're happy to give it to you. Plus, whenever you order a new dish, or a drink, they bring it to you very quickly. This is one of the main things I like about this restaurant, there's very little waiting to get your drink drinks or your meal. Overall, if you want a great Chinese dining experience in Chicago, this is an excellent place to find it. read more

Stopped here with four of my friends. We were confused if we needed to wait to be seated. A short time later someone popped up and said we can sit anywhere. As we were waiting for our food, I noticed the restaurant had a nice chill vibe and the had a steady stream of online order. The House Special Hot and Sour soup was spicy with plenty of flavor packed into the broth. The peanuts provided a nice contrast to the soup. The Shanghai spring rolls were delicate and loaded with crispy veggies. The Fried Rice with added chicken was a hit at the table. You can tell the rice was kissed with wok hei. That's when they tossed the food in the work and the flame char some of the pieces. The Sweet and Sour chicken was flavorful without being overly sweet. Nice piece of bell pepper were crisp. Overall, I still crave the House Special Hot and Sour soup. read more

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Highly recommended. Their food was amazing, very different that any other places. 10/10.

I got take out from here and the food was ok. I got a few beef/lamb skewers and it came out a bit dry. The hou fun noodles I got was also a bit bland. There was not much seasoning and was lacking on the meat quantity too. The spicy beef dish I got was also a bit dry and lacked a lot of vegetables. They also took almost an hour to make the food which is longer than expected. read more

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What an amazing choice on a cold night! We were recently in Chicago for St. Paddy's weekend, and after a progressively windy and chilly day, we were walking back towards our hotel (The Palmer), when we ducked into Lao Sze Chuan. You order at your table w a QR code, then waitstaff bring dishes out from the kitchen as they are ready. This was the hottest, freshest, and most flavorful Chinese food I've had! Can't remember what all we ordered, but some favorites from our group: pork pot stickers, Shanghai spring rolls, Wonton soup, Short Ribs, and Fried Rice. Definitely recommend, and we'd definitely go back. read more

Had a large order delivered. Pleased with every dish. Well packed for delivery. Chili chicken a Spicy Tendon were my favorites.

Didn't like at all. Food was not served in order...like soup first. Nothing very hot. Everything too sweet. I am here from out of town. Do NOT recommend read more

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Chicago is awesome in that you can find every cuisine in their city limits, and Lao Sze Chuan brings that too! Their service is ordering through a QR code at the table and they bring food to your table when you're ready. The sesame chicken is quite delicious and worth two meals if you get the dinner portion. The space inside is also really nicely well kept! I'm not local to Chicago but I'd recommend for travelers and locals, alike. read more

My friend and I wanted to get some Chinese for lunch. We decided to check this place out because it's near our school, and we fell in love!! The interior is extremely clean and it looks beautiful. The table service was through your phone, and they do bring it to you. The staff were extremely polite, caring, and very friendly. They made us feel extremely comfortable. The food was outstanding, my friend, who's really into the Chinese culture said the food was authentic just like when she visited China! The Crab Rangoons were so spot on, creamy and crunchy on the outside. We're definitely making it a tradition to be coming here after school from now on! read more

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A bit greasy but the kick of spice really gets the senses going on a cold Chicago day. read more

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The prices are great, but i didn't really like the pan fried noodles - wasn't a fan of the texture of the noodles. otherwise its a good place if you need something quick and cheap on DoorDash read more

Disappointing. I'd been visiting Lao Sze Chuan restaurants since the first one in Chinatown. Chef Tony himself. It's been a couple decades and I've been to at least three other locations, but it's been about five years since I went to the one in Uptown and six years since the one on Michigan Avenue. All previous visits, the cuisine was consistent at the locations. Not here. This was my first time in the South Loop location. Maybe it has something to do with having a lot of college students, but I don't think so. I question if Chef Tony is even supervising the locations any more. Nearly everything we ordered was far too sweet. The best things we ate were only average... and up until this visit, nothing I ever had from LSC was below 4 out of 5. Service was lackluster. One person didn't speak English but was helpful. One person spoke great English but was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, he was doing so much all over the place. And one person was incredibly brusque. Bordering on hostile. I hope they can straighten things out. The soup broth was too heavy on sesame oil. The mushu was overcooked and too sweet. The crab rangoon were crunchy but bland. The garlic chicken was too sweet. The Mongolian beef was mushy (overcooked?) and -- you guessed it -- too sweet. I've ordered all these before, 25 times over the years I'm guessing. Never thought it would happen at LSC. read more

This is one of the 20 top meals they recommend that you try while visiting in Chicago. The dish they recommend is their braised tofu in stonepot. It did not dsappoint. We also got their Sting Bean Spicy Black Bean Sauce, This dish was delectable. One of my favorites were their Xiao Lng Bao. So delicious. We also got their fried rice with egg. This dish was a nice filler. I am a fan of this restaurant because it is as authentic as it gets. read more

Ordered from Uber Eats when we arrived in Chicago - too tired and too late to go out! We ordered: Spicy dry chili chicken, garlic eggplant, Singapore noodles, orange chicken, dumplings, and sesame balls. The sesame balls were delicious Everything else was fine, but kind of bland - even the things we ordered spicy. Oh well. read more

Absolutely enjoyed the amazing food tonight. Super fast and flavorful!! We ordered the general tso chicken, crab ragoons, and Szechuan chicken. Then they are running a special for a free chicken fried rice. read more

Lao Sze Chuan - Szechuan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

As I've become a more regular customer, I've loved Lao Sze Chuan more and more. I regularly get the lunch box- my favorite items are the egg fried rice, mongolian beef, and sichuan string beans. The chicken is good, but when the beef is fresh, it's great. Ultra-tender with perfectly cooked and crisp veggies, snappy string beans with great wok-hei, and mild yet flavorful dishes are found in the lunch box. Don't forget the crispy fried rice, and nicely fried egg rolls. This chain concept works. The service is efficient and polite, and as I've become more of a frequent customer, I feel very comfortable reading or getting work done throughout lunch at Lao Sze Chuan. The restaurant is always clean and peaceful, and I recommend Lao Sze Chuan to become a go-to lunch spot if you work or live in the area. read more

Lao Sze Chuan - Lunch Box - Szechuan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This is a clean and better, yet casual, Chinese restaurant that we walked to. The area looks iffy, but the restaurant staff and food are great. This is a chain. We had eaten at the high-end one in Orange/Beachwood, Ohio. This one on Wabash didn't disappoint. The dining room filled with Chinese and a few other patrons. We were taken care of, and checked on several times. The dishes are large portions and can be shared. Friends shared the General Tso, lightly breaded chicken in a sweet/sour sauce. I liked my lightly fried Sole Fish with black bean sauce, although the sauce was like a sweet and sour, and brought half home. Hubby had Sauteed Three Delight. It was wonderful with shrimp, scallops and calamari with vegetables and a white sauce. This was a lighter dish than the other two. The sticky rice had a great flavor. The menu includes Dim Sum, Pots, Paste, and Tofu dishes, too. Take a walk. It was a good walk. read more

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Highly recommend the steam egg with special sauce. Perfect with rice. Kids & senior all friendly. I can have 3 order of rice with the egg. For the off the menu seafood, you gotta call the restaurant and rsvp. They also have a private room with karaoke if you want to organize a private party. read more

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I should have walked right out when I walked in. There were two completely overpowering smells: cigarette smoke and mold/mildew. It was so disgusting I had to wait out in the cold for my food for 20 minutes. When I asked why it would take so long - considering there wasn't another customer in there, another red flag I shouldn't have ignored - he said it was because I ordered 2 things. What, they cook one dish at a time? You couldn't pay me to come back here, and the health department should really try to swing by this place. Add to all this the fact that this was the most expensive Chinese restaurant I've found in Chicago, and the fact that even though I was standing right outside the window as the guy watched me standing there, he did not wave or anything to let me know that my food was ready so when I went in at about the 17 minute mark, it was just sitting there on the counter with about five DoorDash orders. Didn't even feel lukewarm so it was probably sitting there for about 10 minutes. One star is too many for this dump. read more

Recommended by a Chinese friend, I had high hopes for Lao Sze Chuan, given its reputation for authentic Sichuan flavors, but my experience was a bit mixed. The mapo tofu and spicy dry chili chicken were fantastic--packed with flavor and heat. However, some of the other dishes I tried didn't quite hit the mark, feeling a bit one-dimensional and not as exciting as I'd hoped. I travel to Chongqing quite often, so I know what a good Sichuan flavor is. I can see why some people love this place, but for me, it was just okay. I might go back for a few standout dishes, but it's not a spot I'd go out of my way for. read more

My sister placed an order via Postmates one night since she had a promo code. We'd never eaten at Lao Sze Chuan but figured we'd give it a try. We didn't realize it was a chain restaurant when the order was placed. Anyway, long story short... the food was flavorless and unmemorable. We ordered the beef with snow pods, beef with broccoli, Szechuan chicken and shrimp fried rice. I wish I could say there was a saving grace, but there wasn't because every dish was bad. We both had a few bites of each dish and promptly tossed the rest. We didn't bother saving the leftovers because we knew we weren't going to eat them. Needless to say, we won't be ordering from this restaurant again. read more

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I almost never post on Yelp but the 3.5 stars for this restaurant is a culinary injustice second only to world hunger. For background, my grandmother is from south China near Sichuan and I'd frequently visit growing up. I have yet to find another restaurant in the city that reminds me more of her and delivers such powerful childhood nostalgia with each bite. Chef Zhou is a true master of his craft. The jab-jab-punch of garlic, ma la, and chili in his Dry Chili Chicken still knocks me out my seat each time even though I know to brace for flavor impact. His Mapo Tofu is genuinely "ma" spicy (ask your Chinese friends what it means if you need) and I haven't had Yu Xiang Rou Si (Pork in Garlic Sauce) this authentic since I was in Cheng Du that I can't even bring myself to call it by its English name. Our other favorites are the Garlic Fried Prawns and the famous Boiled Fish Fillet in Spicy Szechuan Sauce (Shui Zhu Yu). Mary, Edison, and Meagan make us feel like family every time we dine here. The hospitality they provide with each meal, the efforts they put in wiping and sanitizing each table, the kindness they offer each patron is inspiring. This location opened up last summer, unfortunately during both COVID and a labor shortage (so apologies to the reviews complaining they don't pick up the phone fast enough) and has not received the publicity it deserves. Selfishly, I want this to remain my best-kept secret in Chicago but the folks that work here deserve so much more. I encourage everyone: before you post anything harmful against an establishment or its staff, please consider if the feedback should be geared towards the delivery or ordering platform itself. Chicago winters can be brutal enough already. But I've always entered here with a warm welcome and left with a full heart and stomach. While my grandmother is no longer strong enough to cook, I see her culinary spirit through these doors, welcoming me in, tossing the woks, placing the dishes--asking me what I'd like to eat. Thank you, Lao Sze Chuan. read more

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Really awful experience, the food so bad, too salted. We came in and already ordered the food, the food coming and the waiter ask us to switch the table, WTF, why wait until the food is ready on the table and force to switch the tables????? read more

Well I have been coming here for awhile, I work next door, the barbershop. I came today to get lunch and one of the items I wanted was rice. And I went to tell the man the last time it seemed like it wasn't cooked thoroughly, as I order rice everyday, it's my fav. The man didn't even let me finish, he cut me off said "you wanna see?" And proceeds to take me in the back, like I assume to watch it cook? Or tell the cook? I have no clue! But it was VERY uncalled for, I had to make him stop cause I'm on break I don't have time for this. But you don't do that, and he's just staring at me with death eyes, being kinda smart Ellic.... Smh. I don't even write reviews EVER but I felt this needed to be addressed as I know the company will see it and see there employee being disrespectful. And I don't deal with disrespect I'm very kind. And polite and respectful. So maybe they will contact me! Hope they fix it read more

They allowed another delivery person to take my food. When asked if they could re-make my food due to their mistake they said "no". Not only did they give my food away to the wrong person but they took no ownership of the issue nor did they try to assist with fixing the issue. Very poor customer service, very poor accountable, and very poor care to the people who are placing delivery orders through their facility. read more

I asked them to make my dishes extra hot and that was more than satisfactory. It's the first time that I have had this authentic Chinese food ever since I came to North America. read more

Very friendly environment, the food is super and authentic. I had spicy and sour soup which is very tasty and good enough to open your appetite, followed by the delicious sichuan boiled beef, a huge bowl with large amount of tendered beef and different kinds of vegetables. Will highly recommend! read more

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Had a great experience here for a friends birthday. The staff went out of their way to customize our experience, and made sure everyone had a great time. The food was delicious, really loved the fried rice! I also had the Kung Pao chicken which was excellent, and an amazing shrimp dish (can't remember the name unfortunately). Everything was fresh and cooked to perfection. Will definitely return the next time I'm in town! read more

I'm really perplexed by some of the reviews. Why are you marking down a restaurant for issues with the delivery service? I was never a Chinese food aficionado until I dined here. Unlike the fast food prepared at most Chinese restaurants, LSC food tastes fresh, well prepared, and it's always good quality. My go-tos are Xiao Long Bao, American Broccoli w/ chili peppers, and Mongolian Beef tenderloin. I've also eaten Lao Ma Chow Show, chicken lo mein, and orange chicken. Every dish was great. Yes, their dishes are well seasoned which some may find to be too salty, but the spices they use (garlic, ginger, soy) blend well together. My only recommendation to the owners is to 1. change the music (country music at a Chinese restaurant is annoying), and 2. assume customer is always right. Often, a frustrated customer creates a negative experience right at the entrance door because there is a misunderstanding. Most of the misunderstandings happen because of bad food delivery services. Assume these customers are right, get them their food, and penalize the food delivery service that's damaging your reputation! read more

This is a chain with several locations and my family and I love several dishes that we've had from the Skokie location. This one on Wabash is on my daughter's college campus, and we ate here after visiting the first time. We planned to take her to dinner here once a month and yesterday went for lunch after moving her in her dorm. They have changed their ordering process so that it's contactless and you make your selections online and they're sent to the kitchen. The app kept glitching and after we would add something to the cart, it would disappear. My daughter also clicked on something in error and it went to the kitchen! We were unable to recall it so we tried to flag down the waitress. When she came to the table we tried to explain what happened and she became exasperated with us and belittled us for having problems with their system! She rolled her eyes, had an attitude, and spoke rudely to my daughter about the mistake. The way she treated us was totally uncalled for when all we needed was a little help with ordering the dishes that we wanted. Due to her rudeness and absolute lack of customer service, my husband told her we would leave and not be back. We went to Chinatown and had a much better experience. Sadly this location has lost us as customers. read more

I normally go to the one on Michigan Ave. Ordered dried chili chicken, spicy beef and green beans from this location by mistake. The food tasted different. What a disappointment. Will not order again. read more

Lao Sze Chuan - Szechuan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Finally! A location in the south loop. Just a new spot, but still the same authentic Chinese food! I was able to sit in the party room for this, which is amazing. It is the only round table that is perfect for family style eating. There is only a private rest room and Kareoke machine for those who are feeling fun Before talking about the food, I must say, the service was fabulous. Hospitality is really a focal point. Now to the food. We started with crab Rangoon and pot stickers for apps. The crab Rangoon were huge compared to other places. It was so worth it! The potstickers were also very filling. Pair them with the chili oil, game over! We ordered the sesame chicken, dry chili chicken, crispy duck, green beans, shrimp in lemon sauce, and steamed egg. The sesame chicken was so delicious. It came out with the right amount of pieces and saaaaauce. The dry chili chicken was a table favorite. Literally crispy crunches of chicken with some dried chili surrounding it. It was not intensely hot if you don't eat the peppers, but these pieces of fried chicken were so flavorful. It's hard to not love it! The crispy duck was done so well. Duck is very gamey, but this was prepared in a way that that hides that specific taste. It is pretty dry, so make sure to have soy sauce! The shrimp in lemon sauce is MY FAVORITE OF THE NIGHT. The lemon sauce was thick with mayonnaise. This actually reminds me of honey walnut shrimp, but without all the sweetness. It was actually kinda savory! The shrimp were large and were likely battered! Lastly, the steamed egg was put in special sauce, which is a traditional dish. The egg was really soft and looked like the yolk was blended with the whites. The specifically sauce was tomato based with some green onions and cuts of beef. It was very a unique but gentle dish. Lap Sze Chaun is working hard in providing an expanding chain of amazing high quality Chinese food. This is a must try in Chicago 9/10 IG: Carlo_hiit_the_town read more

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Delicious food and fantastic service. Thank you! I would recommend pork belly, dim sum, pot stickers, and duck. read more

Food was four star, but service was 0. People say this is typical for Chinese restaurants, but I'd say that those in California we've been to were never this poor. We placed an online order and to make sure they were prepared in time, I also called to confirm the order and was assured that the order would be ready in 10 min. However, the order was not ready until 20 min after the promised time. The attitude of the waitress didn't help at all -- she blamed me for arriving too early and ordering food that would take longer to prepare. She sounded way more grumpy than hungry travellers who walked a mile just to pick up the lunch! We also requested sets of utensils and small plates for 4 people. They refused to provide them. Instead, she suggested us use the cover of the togo box as plates. I think the food offered by this restaurant deserves a much better waitress. read more

We ordered through the new app, Chowbus--mainly because no one answered the phone. Our order was not cheap, at almost $100. It was supposed to be ready in half an hour. My husband has been at the restaurant waiting for over an hour beyond the promised time. Nobody speaks English. We don't want to lose that amount of money so are stuck waiting. I would never, ever order here again. Also, the dining room looks unpleasant and dirty. OK, the food finally came--and it was not good. The kung pao chicken was full of gristly pieces that were almost inedible. The moo shoo pork was tasteless, and they had not included any plum sauce! Plus, there were only two pancakes instead of the four promised. The Mongolian beef, supposedly sirloin, was bland and tasted like it had had a whole package of tenderizer added. I don't know how this business became a chain. I'm terribly disappointed in every aspect of my experience and can hardly believe I paid so much for such a sub par meal. Panda Express is gourmet compared to this. read more

Dinner tonight... Did a takeout of piping hot mapo tofu and dry chilli chicken from Lao Sze Chuan (Grant Park) that opened up only a few months ago. Ordered them extra spicy and they certainly did not disappoint! Definitely going back again. read more

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Ordered this on Uber Eats during one of Chicago's Heat Dome waves. I wanted to like this place - but save yourself the hassle and try something else. Average food and didn't have much flavor. It delivered well and was packaged appropriately, but for the price, I wouldn't recommend. Ordered general tso's chicken, and it came with peppers and pineapple - so I'm pretty sure it wasn't the correct order. The noodles were only butter noodles and they were completely flavorless. read more

Literally cried over the scallion pancake. Most delicious, authentic Chinese I have had in the US! A must-try!

Food was super late being delivered. 70 min from ETA given at ordering and no communication until delivered. The driver did call and send a text showing it delivered which was super nice. Restaurant called after as well. Before I called and called. After one pick up no one answered. This is Impacting the score. You can order direct or on DoorDash. If you order direct no notes can be added. I called and was told yes yes for extra spicy on one and another not spicy (that's not supposed to be spicy any ways). Also a side of extra rice. None of this happened. MoPo Tofu was amazing. Mouth numbing in a good way and not overly spicy. Great flavor. Can't say enough on this dish. My gf got the chicken and broccoli that was super spicy and was not supposed to be by the menu and requested. Food is solid. Go in person to eat if you can. We just got off a 5 hrs road trip so ordered in read more