Years Later, Authenticity and Pride are still the words I would use to describe this place!!! Have things changed since they first opened and post-Covid, Yes in operations, but the food remained consistently great. Their current operations could definitely use some great improvement! We arrived to a sign on the door saying reservations wete needed to dine- in. So i stood there and called. They encouraged us to get take-out but i said we were outside and was persistent on dining in. She said 5 minutes. They were already inside, but now they keep the front door locked to prevent ppl from just walking in. I think they prefer for people to order online but to me the food just wouldn't be the same taking it home. So this is real Chinese food. Not like the American stuff most people are used to, but Authentic Chinese like if you actually traveled to China. This place used to have 2 menus, 1 Chinese and 1 American "Chinese" but the woman said that they no longer Serve the American Chinese menu. It's mostly the Authentic cuisine and there were only a handful of American Chinese dishes still served. I could sense the owner's annoyance when 1 person in the group kept asking for dishes not on the menu. It was hard for this girl to understand that the Chinese food that she randomly eats isn't real Chinese food lol. I'm sure that they get a lot of that from Americans... Also note that some of the prices have changed, but the owner was upfront about it. The most accurate pricing is with their online take-out menu. I learned that with their culture, everyone typically orders a dish and then the food is served family style. So two people ordering one dish and splitting it, while not illegal it can be offensive to the culture. This time I started with the smashed cucumber salad. It was a good start definitely enough to share with the table. I tried the West lake thick soup. I had to ask what it was since there was No description, but I went for it. Don't remember exactly what's in it is but I would definitely get it again. The owner was more than happy to answer any questions about the food, the history, and their culture. We ordered a number of dishes, beef with scallions and onion, dbl fried sliced pork belly, crispy pork with sweet and sour, beef w/broccoli and potato w/ chili peppers. All were delish! It's definitely not the American version we are accustomed to. There were veggies we couldn't identify, while others used in ways new to us. The food was all very flavorful And everything is still made fresh in their kitchen. Another tip is Pleeeease don't ask for soy sauce, duck sauce, or any other condiments you are used to. They put their heart and soul in these dishes so It is very offensive. Appreciate the food as prepared, and don't try to Americanize out of habit. Taste it first, I can almost guarantee that you won't need it. Remember these are Chinese people bringing a taste of their culture to America. They don't want to be Americanized, which is why i noticed that most of their patrons are Asian. Definitely go with an open mind! Call ahead and reserve a table if you want to dine-in. Just Enjoy! read more

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Service was a little slow, and they were out of certain dishes, but the food was fabulous. We particularly enjoyed the pork hock (expensive but worth trying at least once), and the eggplant in garlic sauce. Will be back for those dishes! read more

Lin's Kitchen - Pork hock--we already dove in and started eating before taking a photo :) - Chinese Near Me - Orange, Connecticut

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Not Many Customers and I never heard a Restaurant to FORCE US to Order Ahead Of Time BEFORE We Even Enter A Restaurant? Have You? I am Appalled and SHOCKED by This Restaurant. I would NEVER DINE Therr as a Customer AND their Meals are TOO SALTY and Greasy, Oily and USE TOO MUCH OIL & NOT FRESH AT ALL!!! read more

This is truly a hidden gem of New Haven! My colleague who went to Yale told me about the place and he said Yale's Chinese students love this place. I was impressed by the food. They have very authentic Chinese food, featuring northeastern Chinese cuisine. They also have the classic American Chinese options for those who want it but honestly ask the owners for recommendations and give the Chinese options a try! They're so much better. The owners are incredible and warm. The place is small and low key but the food is absolutely delicious by Connecticut standards. read more

Lin's Kitchen - Chinese Near Me - Orange, Connecticut

After hearing great things about Lin's, I was excited to give it a try! It was a major holiday so we called at 6pm to check if they were open, and we were asked to place our order ahead of time (for a seating at 7pm) to give the chef time to prep. When we arrived, the door was locked and there was a note to call to be let in, which took a few minutes. In terms of the food, I was impressed by the quality and flavors of the dishes! The veggies were so flavorful, and the wonton chili oil was delicious. However, I was majorly disappointed by the rice - it was room temp when served and didn't taste fresh. They also charged us for the rice (which is really unusual for most chinese restaurants!). The service is expectedly slow - the dishes came out one at a time and the wife of the chef was the only one attending to the customers. There were only two other parties when we arrived and our meal still took 1.5hrs from start to finish. I'd would recommend dining in (and calling ahead to pre order) if you are in the mood for authentic Chinese food at a very leisurely pace. But next time I'd probably order take out and make my own rice at home! read more

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Sweet & Sour Special claimed shrimp, chicken & pork. NO shrimp. No sweet green peppers no onion. only sauce with 3 little chunks of pineapple! RIP OFF.. Total miss representation. read more

Just want to update my review to reiterate that the food is excellent. I also am dismayed by some of the more entitled reviews about the place. Here's the thing: this is a very small operation. I believe it's just husband and wife. Food is made from scratch with love. It takes time. Also, culturally I believe the owners are very cautious of Covid. That situation should be respected. I find the owners very sweet. You have to treat others with respect and have patience, and respect cultural differences. Also, empathy. It is difficult to run a restaurant that makes everything fresh with limited staff--hence their preference to take reservations. I suppose Americans demand to be served and coddled without restrictions, so that has resulted in some negative reviews. This place is a gem. Very few spots like this serve authentic food with pride, in a very old school family run matter. Have some patience, some open mindedness, and you'll be rewarded with some excellent, authentic Chinese food. read more

This is the best authentic Chinese food in the area. Reservations only in the family business. It's best if you preorder because everything is prepared for you. Friendly no-frills service. It's all about the food. read more

Unbelievable! I made a phone call to make sure the Lin restaurant is open as I read good reviews.I was assured by the gal that answered it is open until 9 o'clock. When we arrived after traveling thirty minutes, there is a sign on the door to call for a reservation for lunch. I thought it was bizarre but I started to call. A gal comes to the door and tells me they are not open and we can order takeout only. Aside from the inconvenience, the rudeness of being told they're open was unbelievable. I never tried a restaurant that lied to a new potential customer and I won't in the future! read more

The food was beyond delicious. I just ordered the same dish from a take out and it tasted like water in comparison.as the only ones at the restaurant at the time we had the pleasure of getting to know Linn. We will return soon. read more

So full. So happy. I've finally found a Chinese restaurant in the area that I adore. My friends and I got quite a few items - some off a special secret menu - and it's impossible to pick a favorite. We started with the Chengdu dumplings in red oil, scallion pancakes, and soup dumplings. Dare I say that the xiaolongbao were the best I've had in CT - perfect amount of soup, great meat flavor, and not scalding. Even the scallion pancakes were particularly good, I think because it was a bit thinner than others. TJs eggplant special with pork was delightful. I loved the textures and mix of the two main ingredients, and the sauce was sweet without being saturated. The three cup chicken also really nicely seasoned and moist. And lastly, the squirrel fish was excellent. Great crispness and gooey sweetness. I'd order everything again, but there were also so many other items I want to try. I can't wait to come back. read more

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This is THE best Chinese food we have had in years! Have eaten there twice and both times they were able to accommodate my gluten free needs - I am celiac, but have had no problems with cross contamination - and served us some GF crispy chicken that was so, so, so good that I just kept eating until every delicious morsel was gone. I have not had anything like that since I was diagnosed 10 years ago. Unlike a lot of laces, they didn't;t make it seem like I was asking for a blood donation when I expressed the need for GF. Nice people and FABUOUS food! read more

The pork tasted like charcoal. The waitress was very rude. Tip was automatically added to the bill, and the waitress did not allow splitting. read more

Lin's Kitchen - pork hock - Chinese Near Me - Orange, Connecticut

Red oil wontons - 5/5: I've noticed that no two restaurants do red oil wontons the same, and there's incredible variance in recipes. Lin's serves theirs with very little chili oil, and leans heavier on fragrant aromatics, sesame, and vinegar. I would have preferred it spicier, but it was actually incredibly good. The wontons themselves were a bit small, but were well made. Crystal shrimp dumplings - 3/5: meh. It was ok. Wrap was a bit thick. Very middle of the road, wouldn't get again. Crab and pork xiaolongbao - 4/5: probably the best xiaolongbao I've had in the New Haven area by a large margin. The broth tasted great, the filling was good (couldn't taste any crab, though), and it wasn't overcooked. The one negative was that the wrap was incredibly thick for some reason (see picture). Two other minuscule issues were that the spoons they gave were tiny (give soup spoons so the soup doesn't leak!) and that there was no ginger. Sponge gourd - 5/5: sponge gourd is one of my favorite foods in the entire world, and this didn't disappoint. The dish was seasoned well with garlic, green onion, and pepper, and the sauce was the perfect starchy consistency. Tasted exactly like it should! The one downside was that it was $20, but a higher price is to be expected for an ingredient that's harder to come by in the States, I guess. Taiwan style beef noodle soup - 2.5/5: the dish I was most excited for was unfortunately a miss. The broth was the main offender -- it was opaque and incredibly salty, way too salty to drink, and not authentic at all. The noodles were alright, but definitely not traditional beef noodle soup noodles (which are thin, flat, and springy). They actually reminded me a lot of ramen noodles. The one saving grace was that the beef shank was very well prepared, and tasted great. Overall: Proooobably a 3.5/5. Some hits and some misses. The menu is extensive with many appealing-looking options, but while I'll likely return I'm not incredibly excited to try everything else. When it comes to cost, Lin's falls on the pricier side. For Chinese restaurants, the golden standard is to be authentic, sanitary, and cheap, and most places sacrifice one of the three. Servings are pretty small, and the price is fairly high for what you get. Service was friendly, if a little perfunctory, and the food takes quite a long time to come out. read more

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This indeed is the best authentic Chinese restaurant you can find in the New Haven county. I have been there several times rand have never been disappointed. Every dish was to the best standards from the taste, presentation, and quality. The husband is the chef who I heard used to be a chef in a 5 star hotel restaurant. The wife is the only one takes care of everything else in the restaurant . Although it is a small restaurant, the food is definitely much better than any other bigger ones in town. The owners are very personable and we always enjoyed their delicious dishes. Highly recommended! read more

This was our first time and the LAST time. The restaurant was cold so we had to keep our jackets on while we dined. Sizzling shrimp and scallops on a hot plate was NOT sizzling. It was delivered to our table with a paper towel on top of our food. What was that about ?? It was $27.99 (price hike due to COVID) with 4 shrimps and 3 scallops!?!? All dishes were $1-2 more than prices listed on their menu which was mentioned as soon as we sat down. We were willing to pay, hoping for decent portions but the portions were very disappointing. As a fellow Asian, while I understand the owners try to keep their heating cost down when there were no customers but TURN ON/UP your heat when you have customers! Finally, they added 15% tips (including taxes) to our bill, there are 4 of us so tips should NOT be automatically added to our bill. Tips should be calculated excluding sales taxes. If you enjoy dining with your jackets on and overpriced food. Give this place a try. read more

The food was absolutely amazing! Tastes very authentic. We tried a lot of various dishes such as Dongchu House Special Pork Stew and Crispy Fried Whole Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce and Pine Seeds. All the sauces were flavorful, vegetables right amount of crunch, and presentation was top botch. The one thing I think they can improve on has nothing to do with the food. Though the hostess is friendly, she seems to be the only person waiting on tables, delivering food, cleaning the tables, etc. They should have more help on the service side, especially during the peak lunch and dinner hours. But aside from that, this restaurant is deserving of a top rating. read more

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This is low key my favorite Chinese restaurant in CT. My two favorite dishes here are the chestnut chicken and the stir fried chicken but I also like many of their other chef specials (the spicy pork rib stew and the pork belly with vermicelli and picked veggies). Hard to find a northern style restaurant amongst the Sichuan and Guangzhou influences in the U.S. and so I'm thankful for this small family run business. Please support your local businesses and try Lin Kitchen's! Your taste buds will thank you read more

Lin's Kitchen - Chestnut chicken - Chinese Near Me - Orange, Connecticut

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I have learned there are stellar Chinese restaurants tucked into strip malls that do not attract attention. Lin's Kitchen is one of these places. On busy U.S.#1 it is easy to miss. I joined a group of Chinese friends for dinner on a Sunday evening. The space is small, clean and tastefully decorated. The service is friendly and attentive without being intrusive. Food is served promptly, water refreshed frequently, and plates cleared and replaced. There is nothing overlooked. The food is nothing short of amazing. As a transplanted New Yorker, I think my expectations are pretty high. LIn's delivered. Our opening dish, a spicy tofu soup was outstanding - spicy but did not overwhelm my Western capacity for spice. A whole fish was fresh and cooked perfectly. A tofu and green bean entree was subtle and delicious. We also tried chicken with chestnuts and fried pork with pineapple. Each entree was tasty and served in a sequence so we were not overwhelmed. For dessert we were served a delicate dumpling with red bean paste. I have never had this before and it was excellent. Overall Lin's was a great treat, a real 'find' and we will definitely be back. If you like well-prepared Chinese food that is a far cry from the usual fare, you should consider Lin's Kitchen. read more

Lin's Kitchen - Chinese Near Me - Orange, Connecticut

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The Chef Lin·s wife who works at the front is cocky ,Paranoid, Super rude and have no respect to her customers and she is a liar . She gave me the menu ,didn't' tell me the price has been increased until we were ready to order . She doubled the prices on the menu . We only ordered 3.5 dishes n the bill was $109 plus enforced tips. She even charged the rice. We paid almost $10 for the rice. After the meal, I got super thirty . Never go back read more

If you are looking for the real Chinese food, this the definitely a great place to enjoy this authentic Chinese food culture. The host was from northeast part of China, so they are expertised in northern Chinese food. Ordered 地三鲜&糖醋里脊, which are my favourite childhood food. It tasted like exactly what I was looking for!!! It doesn't like other place offer the American Chinese food with Chinese food label and defraud customers. Again, if you want real Chinese food, just go this place and order the food on real Chinese food menu, don't order Sth like general tso's chicken. The hosts were pretty nice, they explain the menu very detailed and patient. They are pretty knowledgeable about Chinese food. read more

Lin's Kitchen - 糖醋里脊 - Chinese Near Me - Orange, Connecticut

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Very good. Although not nearly as good as Iron Chef in the same location. The scallion pancake was very good. The fried vegetable spring rolls were just okay and totally skippable. The Spicy Rib Tips Stew was very good. Although it got spicier as I ate it. I had it with rice which I am not sure I am supposed to. The Sliced Fried Sweet and Sour Pork was very gingery and pretty good. My meal was $50 before tip. Quite good and definitely not American Chinese food. Unfortunately not as good as Yao's Diner and Iron Chef which both recently closed. I will be curious to try the Beef Noodle Soup next time. And unlike the recently departed Iron Chef they do take credit cards. read more

Lin's Kitchen - Spicy Rib Tips Stew. I did have some before taking the picture. - Chinese Near Me - Orange, Connecticut

My first experience with this cuisine and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The dining room is not open and they don't deliver- everything is pick up. But worth it to try food from the shandong region. Cheers! read more

I want to give them no stars. This was way too expensive. 2 meals large seafood soup and pot stick dumplings and only gave us one box of rice.. $86. The place is by phone only and you have to call them when you arrive. read more

Word of warning--do NOT come to Lin's with a large group of any kind as you will likely get overlooked and/or forgotten about in favor of the other small tables. Alternatively, if you DO choose to disregard this piece of advice, try to come at an odd hour so that you won't be fighting other customers for their attention. Lin's is a small, family-run eatery serving up lots of classic Szechuan dishes. Because we went with a larger group, we ordered a slew of items from their menu to sample. Unfortunately, in addition to being neglected for the majority of our meal, the plates served here just aren't conducive to sharing as a large party. Each dish was made for 4 at most, something I definitely wish I knew at first. In spite of the above, Lin's serves up some pretty solid grub. The good: Chili Oil Wontons--bite-sized, supple and soaked in a savory, slightly sweet, slightly spicy pool of sauce Dried Sauteed Whole Fish--the fried whole fish made for a dazzling sight and the sauce was finger-lickin' worthy Dried Sauteed String Beans--flavor profile here was sweeter and slightly different from what I'm used to, but the fresh beans were crunchy Dried Pork Intestines--when bitten, each deep fried piece of intestine burst forth with juices that made for a delectable bite. This was covered in a mound of fried dark red chilis so be prepared for lots of heat. Heads up, if you've never had intestine before, there is a slight lingering aftertaste. The best: Beef Tripe--with just the right amount of numbing and spice, this cold app featuring a hodgepodge of cuts was extremely fun to eat Twice cooked pork belly--infused with plenty of flavor, each cracker-thin slice of pork was tender and perfectly paired with rice The "could-have-been-better": Dumpling with beef and pumpkin (3/5): Any pumpkin flavor that may have been in these tiny bites were lost on me. Perhaps a larger dumpling may have allowed for a greater quantity of pumpkin stuffing and, consequently, of flavor. Yang Chow Fried Rice (2/5): This was overly oily and hardly contained any shrimp! Fried Chicken Chili (3/5): The chicken had been deep fried for so long that most of the meat had dried up into tiny pieces. It had practically become chicken jerky. This dish was identical to the Dried Pork Intestines, flavor-wise, and was served with tons of spicy dried chilis. Overall, Lin's isn't bad, but the combination of slow service and the rather low portion-to-price ratio, I'm going with a middle-of-the-road rating. read more

If you love authentic Chinese foods, you will love Lin's Kitchen. You will find famous dishes of both Shandong (魯菜) and Sichuan (川菜) on the menu. I even found dishes from Taiwan. We ordered 2 Sichuan dishes: Sliced beef and tripe in red chili oil (夫妻肺片), and sliced beef with vegetables in hot chili oil (水煮牛肉). Unlike other Sichuan restaurants where foods can be over spicy or salty, Lin's interpretation has a great balance of different spices. You won't feel overwhelmed by hot spice and needed a lot of water to keep your stomach cool. It's great for people who want just the right level of spicy. We are served by owner's daughter, Fiani. She recommended her favorite dish, Sliced crispy pork with sweet and sour sauce (鍋包肉). We could not be happier that we took her advice. This is a dish only found in high-end restaurant in China. The pork is crispy outside and tender in side. The sweet and sour sauce is great in bringing out the flavor of the pork while not overwhelming at the same time. We are glad that we finally have a authentic Chinese restaurant in Connecticut whose dishes are as good as high-end restaurants in Taiwan and China. read more

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Arrived at the restaurant around 5pm and attempted to order dinner to go. But was told it's too late, the order wouldn't be ready until after 8pm. So they basically turned me down! It is ridiculous! Especially after traveling for 30 min. Don't think I will return. read more

One of the Best Chinese restaurants in CT (or maybe in US!! ) Much Better than :Taste Of China and Lao Sze Chuan !! At least try one fish . Great chef! Come on ！ read more

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What a wonderful foodie find! The care and attention to the service and food was amazing. Place is not "fancy" but not american chinese either. They really cook at this restaurant, so do order appetizer to allow chef to prepare your meal as ordered. Menu is wide, and everything we ate was good. Shrimp dumplings, soup dumplings, pork raviolis, chicken dumplings in hot oil. One of our guests had not really had much chinese food, and the chef make him some amazing lime in noodles with chicken and no veggies- that was so good, we ordered another round of it for the table. Had the hammer from fish to green beans and the yummy garlic eggplant. Sizzling chicken was authentic chinese, and we were wishing to take everything on the menu home. Expect to make a reservation for the purposes is letting the chef know to be ready, most amazing food find, and if you are not used to authentic chinese food, the chef can make you something you are more comfortable with that might not be on the menu. Wish to go back! read more

Lin's Kitchen is one of the best Chinese restaurants at which I've eaten in Connecticut. It has a terrific menu of authentic northern coastal Chinese dishes. We spoke with one of the owners; the wife runs the front of house and the husband is the chef. They've been open only several months, but they hit the ground running. The dining area is fresh and new, and the bathroom is clean. I don't remember exactly what the dishes were called on the menu, but we tried the crispy pork intestines with green chili peppers, snow pea greens, crab and pork xiao long bao, chicken stew with clear noodles and fried whole golden pomfret in sweet and sour sauce. Everything was delicious, but esoecially the pork and intestines snow pea greens. Orange, Connecticut, is a long way from where I live, but I'll be back, again, for sure. read more

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I'm glad we listened to the reviews and tried this place. It's the best Chinese food restaurant we've been to. Period. The food was so fresh and delicious. Service is a bit slower than American Chinese I'm used to, but it is always worth the wait. The few times that we've gone elsewhere because they've been too busy, we are always disappointed. Now we've learned to plan and order ahead. For those affected by MSG- they don't use it. I've never gotten a migraine afterwards. Try it. read more

The best around. Hands down If u want the real deal this is the place So nice So clean So great Remember there is one chief. All made to order U will not be disappointed Dr Jeffrey Hoos read more

Many reviews refer to the poor service. I agree 100%. No friendly welcome, just menus dropped on the table. There was one table of people when we arrived. After we had been sitting for 10 min two more groups arrived. One table was immediately served tea, the other table gave their orders to the server/hostess/take out cashier which she promptly took back to the kitchen. Still no water or notice of us. We left and will not return. read more

The service at Lin's Kitchen is terrible!! Wait for nearly one hour for three dishes! How ridiculous that you typed the 15% tip on the receipt and forced me to accept this! I would rank it as the WORST Chinese restaurant near New Haven!!! ============ 吐槽一下Lin's Kitchen。。。 今晚四个人去吃 强制收15%的小费 直接打印在receipt上 两个小桌子拼在一起 上三个菜，倒四杯水， 就是将近12块小费？？？ 可能味道比别家好个一二成 然而这强制小费表示接受无能 read more

This is an absolutely FANTASTIC restaurant! It was such a surprise in the night but as a child who grew up back in Beijing I promise this is AUTHENTIC Chinese food!! My favorite is 小笼包, but the others are really nice, too. In order to guarantee that everybody gets high-quality food, dishes might be a bit slow and not too many tables can be held. For me the food is definitely worth a wait! This place is a great recommendation to all Chinese in America that is missing native food, and all Americans who wish to try out traditional Chinese food. Thank you for the amazing dinner!! read more

This Chinese restaurant does an incredible job with authentic Chinese cuisine . Give it a try, absolutely love this place. Meals are prepared to order, so fresh. Nowhere else around is like it! read more

Lao Sze Chuan was the gold standard. We have eating there many many times. However after one meal at Lin's is as good if not better. My analogy is Lao Sze is bigger older more successful confident siblings but Lin's is where the real talent and potential is. Lin's menu is much small and focused but everything we tried was great. We started with West lake thick soup. Broth was more complex that Lao Sze and flavors were deeper . Steamed crab meat and pork buns were the best soup dumping have had to date. Little to heavy on seafood flavor to be perfect for my taste but the skin, broth amount and flavor, filling were all done a extremely high level of skill and care. I am still in search of perfection and this raised the bar. Scallion pancake was good well executed. Four dishes we order were as follows Sliced crispy pork w. sweet and sour sauce. Clearly freshly made and breading was crispy and light no heavy and greasy soggy gummy mess you typically get. The sauce was another level. Not some overly sweet neon-orange sauce. There was a perfect balance sweet and sour was perfect . Shredded beef w. Scallions and onions. It was very good with sauce being the star without overpowering the dish beef was melt In your Mouth Stir fried spinach w. Garlic. Classic dish made with quality greens and lots of fresh garlic. Eggplant in garlic sauce. This simple dish was best Chinese eggplant dish I have ever had. Cooked to perfection. I will definitely come back soon and dig deeper and explore more of the menu. Couple notes. Space is on the small side and tight once this place becomes really popular it will could be an issue. Place was only half full and timing of entree dishes was way off. Two dishes came out at least 10 min before the others. Purely on taste and execution of flavors Lin's is the new and rising champion of authentic Chinese food for the area. read more

Lin's is excellent. Thrilled to have a local place with such a fantastic selection of options that are all well thought out and prepared to perfection. Its a cozy place that is reminiscent of a large family dining room where its not uncommon to have a quick conversation with people at a neighboring table....usually bragging about the food! read more

Lin's Kitchen - Central beef in special hot and sour soup. Absolute happiness. Fantastic! Spicy but not salty. - Chinese Near Me - Orange, Connecticut

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Food is great but since it's a mom and pop shop, you'll need to order in advance for some of the bigger dishes here. Owner is very friendly and taste is authentic. Glad to have found this spot! read more

Call ahead to reserve a table or order takeout. Small staff, so orders are prepared carefully and in the order they come in. Wait time for takeout can be awhile, especially on weekends. The food is excellent. I would compare it to quality Chinese restaurants in Flushing but you're paying a premium for the cost to produce it in Orange. Worthwhile. read more