I can't believe it, our take out was delicious!!! When I used to live closer to No. 1 China, it was my go to, but something happened a decade ago that turned me off. I can't remember now, but I stopped going for some reason...Until today... We are typically disappointed by Chinese take out in our area, so we don't get it. My son, however, loves the chicken and broccoli at a place his out of town grandparents order from, so, today I tried No. 1 China again. I'm glad I did. We ordered two small chicken and broccolis, one with their standard brown sauce and one sub white (garlic) sauce. They both received rave reviews!!! I had the brown sauce and loved it! The chicken and veggies were cooked well and the sauce was very flavorful, exactly what I wanted it to taste like. My son loved the white sauce, he said it tastes as good as his favorite out of town Chinese restaurant. Don't let the strip mall and sort of smelly buffet sway you. The made to order take out was fresh and delicious! read more

Less than 1 star. We have had take out from here 3 times and each time was good. Today my sister in law treated me to lunch and we decided to eat here. BIG MISTAKE. The entrance door was blocked by high chairs. I had trouble getting in with my walker. A wheelchair would be impossible. The tables were packed in and VERY DIRTY. it's like nobody bothered to wipe them off for months, very sticky. Service was non-existent. My sister in law had to order at the counter, wait and bring our food to our filthy, dirty table. We were given styrofoam plates and very small, cheap plastic forks. The egg foo young looked disgusting with a heavy thick over fried batter that included cheese??? My Szechuan beef was so heavily salted it was inedible. Very heavily salted. I cook better Chinese than these folks because I use Chinese spices. VERY SALTY. All in all a horrible experience. After seeing how filthy this place is you couldn't pay me to eat here ever again. Very disappointed. With as dirty as this place is I would bet hands are not washed after using the bathroom. The people that run and work here do not care or practice cleanliness. The tables, chairs, windows, floor, counter, every surface was very filthy. read more

Just gross. Duck sauce and hot mustard expired and flavorless. Menu is illegible Buffet is limited and really gross Took 20 minutes for an entree. Very bad tasting. Won't be back read more

I now go to this restaurant maybe just once or twice a year but I noticed that whenever I go to this place it has deteriorated every year. They've been around since the mid 90's and they continued their decline--food quality is less than average, the atmosphere became poor, and not well maintained. I remember back in their early years we used to eat in but now it's just not worth it. read more

Food is very good with hugeee portions and for only 10 bucks for a buffet with a decent selection this place is amazin!

This place is absolutely disgusting not even worth the $10 recharge for buffet. They do not have mini selection. Food is not fresh has nothing to do with Chinese food even though it looks like Chinese food and to top all of that off the attitude of the owner sucks she is extremely rude and aggressive. I didn't eat much food a couple of bites of the chicken, I went to the buffet to get three almond cookies she came up behind me shouting you were gonna pay two dollars for those cookies because you are leaving and I was not even through eating. I was getting ready to sit down to eat the cookie her attitude sucks the place is not clean food all over the tables sticky tables. I definitely will never come back to this place. Absolutely disgusting and for the owner, she really needs to fix her attitude. read more

I have mostly come here because of the lunch buffet. It is a small buffet nothing too crazy, but the price is pretty cheap and it comes with a drink cup. Mostly here because of the price and its all you can eat. The salt and peppered shrimp is ok but keep in mind its the very small shrimp so peeling the skin will take some time. read more

The service was great. There is a wide selection of foods to eat, I recommend the lo mein and egg rolls. It's very affordable and everyone is so kind there, one of the hidden gems in South Elgin and anyone in the area should come visit. read more

good quality ingredients and taste. Much improved over a few years ago. Quickly cooked and close to us here. Thanks read more

Food does not have a good taste. Chairs are dirty and the service is bad. Even heard the lady yelling at her employees in the back. Not coming back to this place read more

No sign about wearing a mask. None of the employees had a mask on. Very disappointed.

This place is so run-down, dirty, seating is torn up, the walls are dirty, the floor is dirty etc They serve everything on paper plates and silverware that breaks easily. Sweet and sour chicken was plain, everything is old too. The fruit is possibly the only good thing available. read more

The food was disgusting. The service was disgusting. The chairs was disgusting and everything about the place was disgusting. There was flies nat's and bugs everywhere the place was two packs. And it makes it seem like it's a cheap place but they won't stop asking you to tip them and they say that it's really generous if you tipped them and the food isn't even really that good for them to push and push and push for you to tip don't eat here I slipped when I was walking to get my food. please do not eat here. Because you really want enjoy it. It's a really big waste of money and I got sick when I got home read more

Very disappointed with this Chinese restaurant. For one thing they didn't give me any soy sauce and whe I said fried rice instead of white rice they actually came out to my vehicle to tell me that there was an up charge of $3 after I already payed which I really don't care about the money but to come to my vehicle was a very poor decision on their part. Since they made the mistake they should have just let it go. So for the $3 that they shortened me now they will be loosing a $25 if not more customer. Will never go back there again. Good luck and good riddance read more

***NEVER ORDER FROM THIS PLACE*** I ordered chicken fried rice and when I took a bite, I ate a nickel sized bone and almost chipped my tooth. When I called to complain, they told me the manager would call me and hung up. Minutes later he called me and told me to eat around the bones. I told him I didn't want this anymore. He said he would make me another chicken fried rice and I told him I don't want more food and just want a refund. He said No One gets a refund. And that i am his number 1 worst customer for complaining and told me to never come to his restaurant again and hung up. Not sure that's how customers are supposed to be treated but I will make sure to let everyone I know, to never eat at the place. Worst place ever!!!! read more

No. 1 China Buffet - Chicken bone - Chinese Near Me - South Elgin, Illinois

I ordered food for delivery a little before 2pm. At 2:30 the lady calls me and says they have no delivery driver and tells me I can come in and pick it up or wait until 5pm for delivery. As someone who is hungry and doesn't have a car neither one is an option. It wouldn't have been a big deal if she had called right away but nah she waited almost 40 min. They should really turn off the delivery option if it is not even an actual option. read more

This restaurant needs to be shut down due to negligence. We ordered for delivery last night and specifically stated that we have a severe nut allergy and there could not be any nuts in any of our food and the hostess confirmed that there would not be. 2 bites in, my girlfriend needed to be rushed to the hospital for an allergic reaction and we spent the next few hours in the ER. I went in today to ask for a refund because we had to throw all of our food away as well as the potentially deadly mistake they made, and they basically told me I was lying and that I would not be getting a refund. I've never been treated with more disrespect by anyone in my life, let alone a business. Never eat here, whether you have allergies or not, they are terrible people that don't care about any of their customers. The $40 we spent was more important to them than the health of my girlfriend - by the way, they never even asked if she was ok... read more

First time ordering delivery, they were fast and the order was right. I cannot complain about the taste of the food because it was good. However, half way through my egg roll I felt something sharp poke my gum inside my mouth. As I removed the foreign piece I pulled out this skinny piece of black metal ( kind of resembled the wire to a twist tie). I'm really disgusted and honestly don't want to finish my food because I don't know what else I will find. Sorry No 1 China, you will not be our #1 choice for recommendations. read more

No. 1 China Buffet - Chinese Near Me - South Elgin, Illinois

See all

Food is ok,restaurant isn't very clean. Placed an online order. Told me total was 17.40. 30 min wait,no problem. I get there,everyone else waiting or otherwise was served first. Finally it's my turn. I was charged 19 and some change and still had to wait for my food. I won't be back. read more

I disagree with 90% of the posts on Yelp. This is basic take out. It is what it is. You don't go to McDonald's expecting filet Mignon. Open your eyes and enjoy it. I have had no bad experiences here. The staff is what's expected, once they know you....there is nothing you can't have made. read more

We did take out tonight. It was pretty good. I really can't complain but I also can't totally rave about it either. It was pretty good for "hole in the wall" greasy spoon Chinese. We ordered the dinner special (comes with an egg roll and fried rice) Sweet and Sour Chicken and General Tso's Chicken. We got the S&S with steamed white rice instead of fried. The white rice was kind of an overly moist giant too sticky mashed rice ball though. The flavor was good but the consistency was lacking. The breading on both chicken dishes wasn't overly thick and had good flavor. Both sauces were good as well, but the General's had overall a better flavor profile. We got a side of the garlic green beans too. Those were decent. Not overly garlicky. The egg rolls were crispy and had a pleasant all around crunch and taste. All in all, we would go back and try other items. Maybe if the rice was better and the dish had a little more overall flavor & taste complexity, I could bump it to a 4 star... read more

See all

Definitely my favorite Chinese restaurant! I never used to eat a lot of Chinese food besides sesame chicken, but this restaurant had so many entree items to let me see what I like and what I don't. Honestly, everything is so good. They also have a lot of fruit, veggie, and desert options too! read more

Ordered over the phone like I always do, right after my son gets home at 245 pm. Came home made us some plates and started to chow down. I tasted something funny couldn't quite pin point it. It was the beef fried rice. It stunk like ammonia and rancid meat. I gagged. I packed everything up and headed back with the bag full of food. I couldn't eat any of it after that. I wanted a full refund. They started counting the egg rolls and trying to determine how much food was actually left in the containers even though you could clearly see that 99 percent of the food was still there. Number one china does not take care of their guests even those of us who have been loyal. I have been coming here for years and even then they refused to acknowledge anything was wrong. I should have puked on the counter to return 100 percent of their food back. read more

We've been in the mood for a Chinese buffet, happy to come across this one as we were out & about. The empty parking lot should have been our first clue but there were several people inside. They seated us in a booth with very low seats and the table wasn't stationary so every time we moved the table moved. The food was hot & there was a good selection but nothing had any flavor. The sweet/sour sauce was neither sweet nor sour. The seafood casserole & a few others were blah. Thought we'd be luckier with dessert however, when we tried to get ice cream the cover on the freezer didn't fit properly so it was difficult to open & close, there was melted ice cream all over the handle and at least 3 of the bins were empty. Didn't look too appetizing so we opted for jello & cookies. Wrong again, the jello was like rubber & the cookies were soggy. We are not local so there is no way we'd go back again. read more

Number One China (or as we call it, "No One China") is probably the best Chinese restaurant Elgin or South Elgin has going. Bold statement, I know. I've only gotten carry out, though they deliver and have a full service restaurant (and daily buffet). They are so fast, the prices are comparable to any of the others in town, but their food is so much better than their competition. The orange beef and chicken are great, as is the General Tso chicken. Mom loved her steamed veggie plate (with choice of brown or white sauce). Portions are generous, fortune cookies better than average and while they don't pan fry their pan fried noodles enough for my taste, I order them anyway. Deeeeeelish. read more

Worst gross food ever. The food tasted like week old rotten meat. All the food had a floor cleaner smell and flavor to it. Had to throw away all the food. read more

We ordered $50 worth of food and the portions were extremely generous and everything was exceptionally good. We had our order delivered. They said it would take 40 minutes and the doorbell rang in 30. Very nice delivery guy who was genuinely grateful for his tip. Will be ordering from here regularly. read more

See all

Do not eat here. We received beef fried rice with the meat spoiled. We quickly returned it and they refused to refund. Customer service is bad and just an overall horrid experience there. I called health inspector on them and hopefully they will close out soon. Hopefully after everything is evacuated from my body I will feel better. read more

There should be two reviews for this place, one for the food and one for the actual restaurant space. As others have said the food is good. I'm not going with great, but it's pretty good. Prices are good. And they deliver, which is the most important part of all of this, because...... .....the restaurant space is a rat-hole. As others have said, the main problem is that it's dirty. The last time I ate their food we stopped on the way through and decided to eat there, which was the first time I'd actually set foot in place as we normally get it delivered. We had to play duck-duck-goose down the row of tables to find one that wasn't covered in gunk, which nobody bothered to clean the entire time we were there, although we were the only people in the place and the guy behind the counter was texting merrily away on his smartphone and doing next to nothing most of the time. My shoes stuck to the floor in a couple of places, so the floor could use a regular washing while they're at it, or not at it, as the case appears to be. This place reminded me of an L station or something. If there had been a bum sitting in a pool of his own vomit while downing some mu shu and talking to an invisible parrot I would not have been totally surprised. To put it in perspective, I am basically a pig in blue jeans that figures that a wok, or any metal object sitting on an open flame, is a mystical tool that must kill the shit out of bacteria, so I'm generally not worried about this sort of thing, but if this sort of thing bothers you.... ummm, it might bother you. The fact that it bothered me even a little, quite frankly, should scare the living hell out of you. So: food: good value: good decor: F minus minus minus. Have it delivered. read more

Do NOT eat here. Be warned. I had one of the worst nights because of their bad food. The food smelled off and I stopped eating it right away. Apparently what I ate was enough to keep me in the bathroom all night. This is after getting ripped off by not getting my free eggrolls offered by their coupon. They will not give refunds and can care less about their own coupons. Be warned. read more

We went there tonight for the first and last time. We stood at the counter for several minutes before they came up and took our orders. Then it took a long time for one plate to arrive at the table. They didn't bring my wife's plate out for another 10 minutes. The tables were sticky and the place smelled. At one point one of the employees was cleaning the buffet pans making a lot of unneeded noise even though we were eating 4 ft away. The food wasn't even that good. Horrible place. read more

Ordered here for the first and last time. I ordered online and one of my entrees was completely wrong when I got home and had the wrong item on the receipt. I called and they started yelling this was not their fault they just follow what was entered on the site. I told them something is wrong with their system then so I go back there and show them my email showing what I ordered and they said they will make it. No apologies or anything and I asked if the rest of my order was going to be cold now and they said no it's warm. I get that it's not completely their fault if the system isn't working right but it didn't seem like they had any intention on figuring out why this occurred. I get home and the rest of my order is now cold and the food was average at best. Customer service here is a joke which of course doesn't make a person want to spend money here in the future. read more

Selena was the best thank you ! She helped me translate sso It made me feel way mote comfortable to be honesst. I think she mentioned that she just started buut she's already doing great ! read more

We ordered for the first time tonight. We usually order from another Chinese restaurant, but wanted to try something new. I Found coupons for No1 China in the SaveOn magazine. I entered their web address to order online, it was invalid. I googled their website, which is connected to beyondmenu.com to order We wanted to use the coupon to get free eggs rolls but wasn't sure how to order as there was not a place for a coupon. My husband called they said to put it in the comment section so I did. Food came quickly, I live maybe a mile from the restaurant. Guess what is missing? THE EGG ROLLS! My husband called the store and the woman said they would have to pay a driver $3.00 to deliver and said we could use the coupon next time. I wanted my free eggs rolls. As I said, I live @ a mile from this place, seriously, if you want my business you are going to try to correct the error! My husband order the scallops and beef. That was a joke. It had 3 small scallops in it. The beef had a lot of gristle and fat. I had the beef and broccoli. The worst I have ever had The only good part was the rice and the broccoli. We WILL NOT be ordering from you again. You just lost a potential customer. Shame on you for not trying to correct my order. So what if you have to pay your driver $3.00, wouldn't future business be more important? unbelievable. read more

This is a review for the buffet. It's a compact restaurant, but the buffet table had a decent selection and I'm guessing the selection changes. One plus was quality seemed good and fresh for buffet standards. One negative, plates, bowl, utensils were all of the disposable type. Maybe I am a little too aggressive with eating, but I am fearful of breaking the plastic stuff. With real plates and real utensils, solid 4 star as food was good and fresh. read more

I went here with a friend the other day and the food was awful. If there was an option to give this place negative stars I would. People should not eat here they had flys in the windows and the food had too much grease on it. They also had garbage cans way to close to the food. This place needs a food inspector along with a foreclosure. read more

Decent food at a fair price. the by the pound buffett is a crowd pleaser and very filling and fair for the price. Other than that the food isn't the most flavorful or freshest but its decent if you're looking for a good quick spot to grab a bite. read more

The food is very run of the mill Chinese place. What really soured me is they sorted me an entire $10 entrée. Add that on top of the 1 hour 20 minute delivery time, I will not be giving this place any more business. This area suffers for great Chinese so I think many of the high reviews reflect that void in the market. read more

They serve delicious food during there buffet hours and take out hours. Great service, friendly even when there busy.

So wishing to find decent Chinese in the area. This is exactly the opposite. Greasy, tasteless Mongolian Beef , I asked for heat and there was none. Beef was tough and grisly. I could swim in the oil in the fried rice. Blech! read more