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We love this restaurant! Historical to Butte, friendly, and best of all, Delicious Authentic Chinese Food! Know your Chinese America history, and you will know how and why Chop Suey and Chow Mein came about. This restaurant stays loyal to its American Butte roots. The Dim Sum is fabulous, and my favorite dinner is the Ginger Shrimp! However, all the food is fantastic, and with generous servings at a very reasonable cost. We also love the atmosphere, the servers, and the private traditional dining booths; not former brothel rooms as some here have claimed! I received my Masters degree in NYC, and would often go to Chinatown for a great meal. But, this is my favorite restaurant of all time, and lucky us, we live in Butte, so we can go anytime!!! If you don't fall in love with this historic restaurant, then you are most likely an unbearable snob that is ignorant of Butte Chinese history, a notoriously bad tipper, or just a difficult customer to serve. Regardless, please have some respect in your reviews. This Chinese restaurant has been operating for over 100 years with the same family generational members using the original recipes. This restaurant is precious. Pekin Noodle Parlor is a Cherished, Family Restaurant that Butte loves, and always will.
My wife and I were looking forward to this place. Thinking it is the oldest running Chinese restaurant in the USA we thought it would be dialed in to perfection. Were we wrong. One of the dishes was shrimp fried rice. Thawed raw bay shrimp was served on top of fried rice. If you order anything the same sauce is used for every dish. Very little meat served with nothing but mushy celery and onions. There was no white or brown rice served at the table. The food was tasteless. From New York to Chicago to San Francisco to overseas and every place in between this is the worst Chinese food and any food we have experienced. We left with our plates full. Food was horrible. We were so excited to come here, total disaster.
I like this place for the historical interest and the service was very good. The food that I have had was okay to not great. But it's fun to be in the little orange brothel booths and think about old miners chowing down.
Since this is the oldest Chinese restaurant in America AND is in an old brothel & opium den, I knew I HAD to have a meal here. Unfortunately, the food was not nearly as noteworthy as the historic facility itself. Upon arrival, you have to climb a staircase to get to the restaurant. That will make it inaccessible to some, so keep that in mind. Each table is inside a small partitioned area with a curtain for privacy. It's kind of neat and makes for a unique dining experience. The food is delivered on a metal rolling cart by the servers-ours was exceptionally personable. That's where things get a little dicey. The food was pretty bad. The flavor was off, the texture of the noodles was nearly unpalatable, and the meat barely tasted like meat. We did not finish our meals, but attempted to politely take a few bites and then push it aside. If I was rating on food alone, it would warrant one star. But strictly due to the history and the unique environment, they garnered a participation trophy. Visit so you can experience the oldest operating noodle parlor, but don't come for the fine cuisine.
The experience is a must. Historical and memorable. But my dish mes were not good- the chicken in the egg flower chicken soup had processed/pressed chicken strips that were so icky! Sorry- not sorry. I couldn't eat it. The pork fried rice was just white rice doused in some soy sauce, 4 peas, and some poor quality pork pieces. Nothing. $9.95 for a teeny serving. If you're gluten-free, just note that no accommodations can be made. Soy sauce is in everything. I really couldn't eat anything on the menu except for rice and a soup. Our waitress was kind and efficient. The place is quieter than I thought it'd be. I'm glad I got to go, but cannot really recommend it to anyone who likes authentic Chinese food...or good food, in general. This was much like a fast-food style, but not as good. The canned mushrooms and tiny little bay shrimp on others' dishes looked so sad.
We were recommended this location from a coworkers friend who's been here multiple times. This is one of the city, staples, and kind of a oddity of the city. Apparently the Chinese restaurant also used to be a brothel. Thought we would give it a try. When you first walk in, you do have to walk up about 20 to 25 steps to get to the top of the building. As the restaurant is located on the second floor. When you go through the door to the restaurant, it is a little crowded and claustrophobic. When I was reading that they had pink booths, I did not really read much into it and thought that it was just kind of upholstered boots like at a normal restaurant. Boy was I wrong, when they say boots, they mean more like private rooms, and the walls are painted pink. We were sat in a booth with a little room to squeeze around the chairs as we did have the radiator right up next to our table. You could tell they were busy because most of the tables had the curtains drawn and the wait staff was running around, like chickens with our heads cut off. Are we just was good she was very attentive to us, but she did disappear for periods of time, knowing that she was busy running up and down because you could hear the trolley cart on the floor. When it came time to order all three of us wanted something to do with the spare ribs but unfortunately we were told they were out. So next plan we had to figure out what else we wanted to eat. We all did get a combo plate, which is a little bit of rice noodles, and then whichever protein we had chosen . I chose to go with the fried shrimp. I played sizes are good but for the price that you pay would've expected to pay a little less or gotten a little more food. I did have the chicken chow mein. It was a little on the weird side because the chicken was cut into strips and just placed on top. When I've had this type of chicken chow mein in the brown gravy sauce, the chicken has been, cubed up and cooked within the entire meal. Also, it was lacking some bean sprouts, which added some of that heft to the meal. My rice was a little on the dry side or overcooked and again it just had chicken strips on top. The best thing out of my meal I would say it would be the fried shrimp and the fortune cookie at the end. If you don't mind mediocre Chinese food, and you want to see the wonder of oddities that light in the restaurant, then I would say this would be a perfect place for you to go.
For our 9 yrs annevesasary took wifee to THE oldest chinese restaurant in the states, no it's not in NY or San Fran, it's actually in Butte Montana believe me or not. How was the food? Forget the food we here for the history in the making. It's not even fair for me to critique as i grew up in Flushing Ny lol But was fun and took a lot of pics
We really enjoyed the history of the restaurant. We had the Pekin Dinner Special, and we were able to try a number of dishes. We also got a side order of the Tomato and Beef Chop Suey, which was really good and probably the highlight of our meal. The restaurant is way more than just the food. It's the history!!!
Pekin Noodle bar is the longest continuously running Chinese restaurant in the U.S. First off 10/10 experience. There are a lot of rumors that this restaurant was a brothel. If you don't already know, Butte had a lot of brothels in it's previous life, and the noodle bar has private booths that give cause to the rumors. However, true Butte historians know this restaurant was purchased by the original restaurant owner sometime around 1911, shortly after it was built, and apparently passed down through family/friends for generations now. These booths were very common in Chinese noodle parlors at the time, and they brought the traditional style here. When you walk up the stairs, it's confusing. No signs, but the right door is the bar and the left door is the restaurant. Most people who leave good reviews for this spot leave them for the bar, which can get lively on occasion despite limited hours. 10/10 service, our waitress was honest about the food and extremely polite 10/10 price - cheaper than any Chinese restaurant I've been to which is surprising for sit down service. 0/10 for the food. Do not come here for the food. It is not good and honestly do yourself a favor by ordering something extremely simple like soup, chicken fried rice or something off the vegetarian menu. You will regret ordering any type of meat. This is okay with me, because I came for the experience, not for the food. If they improved the food or changed it, I would have given 5 stars.
This is a must-see place. It's full of history and is incredibly interesting. The ambience is like no other place. The service is very good. Unfortunately, the food is not. The experience is 5 star. The food is 1 star.
Take a picture in front of this historic building, walk up the stairs, look around and LEAVE! Now you can say you were there! Food was not edible. Chicken was processed strips of lunchmeat. The white strips in photo is the chicken strips! Super nice server so tried a bit of our sampler dinner and went to Dairy Queen! Life is short, paid and left! What a travesty! Dairy queen saved our evening and good thing we have a sense of humor! Ps: soap and water is cheap! Clean your restaurant and wash your dividing curtains!
Szechwan Chicken 4.3/5 overall. Meat 4/5. Sauce 4/5. Flavor 4/5. Size and value 5/5. Super cool place!!!! The oldest continuously operated Chinese restaurant in America, owned by the same family since 1909! The whole experience there is fun, the bar and bartender were fantastic, the eating booths, and of course an extensive and delicious Chinese menu. Great portions, and fantastic staff! Highly recommend making a stop here!
6 months ago
Coconut Curry Chicken and Ginger Beef were excellent. Chop Suey was good. Bartender was very friendly and helpful. Very busy kitchen, worth the visit. read more
This is a very popular spot and even if you arrive near opening a wait is not unusual. The only drawback to a great and historic dining ambiance. A mixture of seating types are used to fill out the top floor of a building that makes up the oldest continually operating chinese restaurant in the states (at least as near as I can tell). My father and I took up one of the dining booths that provide a surprising amount of privacy to enjoy your dining company and food. The Special M is all two people could ask for with normal appetites, and you can get that rate for everyone in your party for simplicity and variety. Nothing in the lineup failed to satisfy. As to the famous noodles: the basic one l served in a broth that won't win over enthusiasts of ramen or pho, but this classic Chinese style is an interesting legacy of a historic restaurant that rounds out a destination dining experience. read more
10 months ago
10 months ago
We love this restaurant! Historical to Butte, friendly, and best of all, Delicious Authentic Chinese Food! Know your Chinese America history, and you will know how and why Chop Suey and Chow Mein came about. This restaurant stays loyal to its American Butte roots. The Dim Sum is fabulous, and my favorite dinner is the Ginger Shrimp! However, all the food is fantastic, and with generous servings at a very reasonable cost. We also love the atmosphere, the servers, and the private traditional dining booths; not former brothel rooms as some here have claimed! I received my Masters degree in NYC, and would often go to Chinatown for a great meal. But, this is my favorite restaurant of all time, and lucky us, we live in Butte, so we can go anytime!!! If you don't fall in love with this historic restaurant, then you are most likely an unbearable snob that is ignorant of Butte Chinese history, a notoriously bad tipper, or just a difficult customer to serve. Regardless, please have some respect in your reviews. This Chinese restaurant has been operating for over 100 years with the same family generational members using the original recipes. This restaurant is precious. Pekin Noodle Parlor is a Cherished, Family Restaurant that Butte loves, and always will. read more
7 months ago
1 year ago
My wife and I were looking forward to this place. Thinking it is the oldest running Chinese restaurant in the USA we thought it would be dialed in to perfection. Were we wrong. One of the dishes was shrimp fried rice. Thawed raw bay shrimp was served on top of fried rice. If you order anything the same sauce is used for every dish. Very little meat served with nothing but mushy celery and onions. There was no white or brown rice served at the table. The food was tasteless. From New York to Chicago to San Francisco to overseas and every place in between this is the worst Chinese food and any food we have experienced. We left with our plates full. Food was horrible. We were so excited to come here, total disaster. read more
1 year ago
I like this place for the historical interest and the service was very good. The food that I have had was okay to not great. But it's fun to be in the little orange brothel booths and think about old miners chowing down. read more
Since this is the oldest Chinese restaurant in America AND is in an old brothel & opium den, I knew I HAD to have a meal here. Unfortunately, the food was not nearly as noteworthy as the historic facility itself. Upon arrival, you have to climb a staircase to get to the restaurant. That will make it inaccessible to some, so keep that in mind. Each table is inside a small partitioned area with a curtain for privacy. It's kind of neat and makes for a unique dining experience. The food is delivered on a metal rolling cart by the servers-ours was exceptionally personable. That's where things get a little dicey. The food was pretty bad. The flavor was off, the texture of the noodles was nearly unpalatable, and the meat barely tasted like meat. We did not finish our meals, but attempted to politely take a few bites and then push it aside. If I was rating on food alone, it would warrant one star. But strictly due to the history and the unique environment, they garnered a participation trophy. Visit so you can experience the oldest operating noodle parlor, but don't come for the fine cuisine. read more
3 years ago
The experience is a must. Historical and memorable. But my dish mes were not good- the chicken in the egg flower chicken soup had processed/pressed chicken strips that were so icky! Sorry- not sorry. I couldn't eat it. The pork fried rice was just white rice doused in some soy sauce, 4 peas, and some poor quality pork pieces. Nothing. $9.95 for a teeny serving. If you're gluten-free, just note that no accommodations can be made. Soy sauce is in everything. I really couldn't eat anything on the menu except for rice and a soup. Our waitress was kind and efficient. The place is quieter than I thought it'd be. I'm glad I got to go, but cannot really recommend it to anyone who likes authentic Chinese food...or good food, in general. This was much like a fast-food style, but not as good. The canned mushrooms and tiny little bay shrimp on others' dishes looked so sad. read more
We were recommended this location from a coworkers friend who's been here multiple times. This is one of the city, staples, and kind of a oddity of the city. Apparently the Chinese restaurant also used to be a brothel. Thought we would give it a try. When you first walk in, you do have to walk up about 20 to 25 steps to get to the top of the building. As the restaurant is located on the second floor. When you go through the door to the restaurant, it is a little crowded and claustrophobic. When I was reading that they had pink booths, I did not really read much into it and thought that it was just kind of upholstered boots like at a normal restaurant. Boy was I wrong, when they say boots, they mean more like private rooms, and the walls are painted pink. We were sat in a booth with a little room to squeeze around the chairs as we did have the radiator right up next to our table. You could tell they were busy because most of the tables had the curtains drawn and the wait staff was running around, like chickens with our heads cut off. Are we just was good she was very attentive to us, but she did disappear for periods of time, knowing that she was busy running up and down because you could hear the trolley cart on the floor. When it came time to order all three of us wanted something to do with the spare ribs but unfortunately we were told they were out. So next plan we had to figure out what else we wanted to eat. We all did get a combo plate, which is a little bit of rice noodles, and then whichever protein we had chosen . I chose to go with the fried shrimp. I played sizes are good but for the price that you pay would've expected to pay a little less or gotten a little more food. I did have the chicken chow mein. It was a little on the weird side because the chicken was cut into strips and just placed on top. When I've had this type of chicken chow mein in the brown gravy sauce, the chicken has been, cubed up and cooked within the entire meal. Also, it was lacking some bean sprouts, which added some of that heft to the meal. My rice was a little on the dry side or overcooked and again it just had chicken strips on top. The best thing out of my meal I would say it would be the fried shrimp and the fortune cookie at the end. If you don't mind mediocre Chinese food, and you want to see the wonder of oddities that light in the restaurant, then I would say this would be a perfect place for you to go. read more
1 year ago
For our 9 yrs annevesasary took wifee to THE oldest chinese restaurant in the states, no it's not in NY or San Fran, it's actually in Butte Montana believe me or not. How was the food? Forget the food we here for the history in the making. It's not even fair for me to critique as i grew up in Flushing Ny lol But was fun and took a lot of pics read more
8 months ago
8 months ago
1 year ago
2 years ago
We really enjoyed the history of the restaurant. We had the Pekin Dinner Special, and we were able to try a number of dishes. We also got a side order of the Tomato and Beef Chop Suey, which was really good and probably the highlight of our meal. The restaurant is way more than just the food. It's the history!!! read more
Pekin Noodle bar is the longest continuously running Chinese restaurant in the U.S. First off 10/10 experience. There are a lot of rumors that this restaurant was a brothel. If you don't already know, Butte had a lot of brothels in it's previous life, and the noodle bar has private booths that give cause to the rumors. However, true Butte historians know this restaurant was purchased by the original restaurant owner sometime around 1911, shortly after it was built, and apparently passed down through family/friends for generations now. These booths were very common in Chinese noodle parlors at the time, and they brought the traditional style here. When you walk up the stairs, it's confusing. No signs, but the right door is the bar and the left door is the restaurant. Most people who leave good reviews for this spot leave them for the bar, which can get lively on occasion despite limited hours. 10/10 service, our waitress was honest about the food and extremely polite 10/10 price - cheaper than any Chinese restaurant I've been to which is surprising for sit down service. 0/10 for the food. Do not come here for the food. It is not good and honestly do yourself a favor by ordering something extremely simple like soup, chicken fried rice or something off the vegetarian menu. You will regret ordering any type of meat. This is okay with me, because I came for the experience, not for the food. If they improved the food or changed it, I would have given 5 stars. read more
3 years ago
Take a picture in front of this historic building, walk up the stairs, look around and LEAVE! Now you can say you were there! Food was not edible. Chicken was processed strips of lunchmeat. The white strips in photo is the chicken strips! Super nice server so tried a bit of our sampler dinner and went to Dairy Queen! Life is short, paid and left! What a travesty! Dairy queen saved our evening and good thing we have a sense of humor! Ps: soap and water is cheap! Clean your restaurant and wash your dividing curtains! read more
Szechwan Chicken 4.3/5 overall. Meat 4/5. Sauce 4/5. Flavor 4/5. Size and value 5/5. Super cool place!!!! The oldest continuously operated Chinese restaurant in America, owned by the same family since 1909! The whole experience there is fun, the bar and bartender were fantastic, the eating booths, and of course an extensive and delicious Chinese menu. Great portions, and fantastic staff! Highly recommend making a stop here! read more
2 years ago
4 years ago
2 years ago
I have never had a worse experience at a restaurant. The food was completely inedible. We ordered appetizers, soups and multiple, main dishes. There was not one single dish that should have been served the way we received it. ****IF YOU WANT TO WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY, GO AHEAD, BUT MAKE SURE WHEN YOU ORDER, YOU ASK FOR FRESH CHICKEN. THE OWNER/COOK (JERRY) ACTUALLY SAID THAT. YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR FRESH INGREDIENTS IF YOU WANT THEM INCLUDED IN YOUR MEAL.**** My husband and I have worked in the culinary field for decades, and could not believe that this was an ACTUAL suggestion by the owner/cook. This place is NOT a must-see, and definitely not a must-eat. I wouldn't give this food to my worst enemy. Even they deserve better. You definitely deserve better. read more
Sadly, the food is very very bad. It's not only the worse Chinese food you've ever had, it's the worse food you've ever had in a restaurant. We were excited to eat here for the history, but it's just very bad all around. Food seems all precooked. The shrimp fried rice is just white rice with soy sauce, then topped with canned mini shrimp. Fried shrimp was so tough, it hurt to bite. I could only take one bite of the egg foo young...it was inedible. My husband's chop suey was even worse. We left and headed to Walmart Superstore to get something good to eat . read more
3 years ago
2 years ago
So, here's the thing. The Pekin is COOOOOL! The history is fun to research and when you climb the stairs and enter the restaurant , it is NOT what you were expecting. Unless of course you were expecting wooden orange stalls with a little curtain surrounding each table. It's fun but also in a super weird "this reminds me of Covid times" kind of way. I read that The Pekin earned a James Beard award last year so I was expecting great food. Unfortunately, and I hate to say it, the food was no better than the average Chinese restaurant you find in a small town. It was fine. That's all. We tried the House chop suey (since they invented it) it was fine. Wonton soup? Fine. Sweet and sour wontons? Also fine. Shrimp fried rice? Yawn-it was fine. You know what wasn't just fine? The ghost that moved my bf's tea across the table. I'm not kidding. I watched the damn thing slide 5 inches. More than once! Anyway NOT joking about the tea moving and also I do not believe in ghosts. But that happened. read more
3 years ago
Since I was passing through Butte, I was told I should stop and eat here due to the historial significance. Mistake. I've had better Chinese food at a grocery store. I would have kept the terrible quality to myself, if I hadn't just gotten sick to my stomach, two hours after this meal. read more
3 years ago
6 years ago
First time here and I gotta say go for the history, not the food! One star goes to the Pekin Special fried rice and our waitress (who was very patient with crazy Aunt). We ordered the egg roll and fried wonton appys; for food we ordered the PS fried Rice, the Szechuan beef, the pea pod chicken, and the ginger shrimp. Our favorites (I say this very loosely) were the ginger shrimp, the PS fried rice and the Szechuan beef. Everything else was very bland. The appys were edible, very weird because we all though the egg rolls tasted like gravy was inside very odd flavors. Each meal comes with plain white rice and plain noodles. I wish there was an option to forgo those since we ordered the PS fried rice. The rice/noodles went untouched. I had 2 big issues tonight. The 1st one was that my Aunt had asked for no green peppers and no onions. Our waitress put that on the ticket and the kitchen didn't read it so her food came back wrong. When our waitress went to have them remake, they refused and blamed our waitress (rude much). We were also told how the cooks hate to modify ANY dish. The 2nd issue is this place has been around like over 100 years. Yet they pass on the 4% charge to their customers when a credit card is used. Come to this century please, claim that on your taxes like normal businesses. Needless to say we have zero desire to ever go back. Go for the history, have a beer and then go somewhere else for the food. We went read more
3 years ago
Iconic Chinese restaurant in Butte, MT. Supposedly it is the oldest running Chinese restaurant in the United States. It's quite as adventure for sure. The private booths are very cool. Go here for the history and the intrigue, but not really for the food. It's definitely not authentic Chinese. It is their take on Chinese-American. I do believe the sauces are all homemade. But again, don't expect unbelievable food. But the experience makes it well worthwhile. read more
2 years ago
6 years ago
I expected the food to not be great, I expected it to be pretty rough but nothing prepared me for just how awful it is. Our bartender Cam was so lovely to chat with, really fun convo. The server was also friendly, professional and prompt. The environment is fun and has such an interesting history. And here we go on the rest..... We got the meal for two and it seemed like it might have been prepared in bulk at some point in the week and reheated with some scallions thrown on top of it. The sweet and sour ribs had a really weird texture in addition to the sickly sweet sauce they swam in. The chicken chow mein had cold sliced loaf chicken with super soft and gooey celery. The pork fried rice was beyond salty while the limp noodles sat in what I suspected was dishwater. I hate to write negative reviews. It was just astonishing just how crazy bad the food was. I would say go and get an app/beer and tip very well. read more
2 years ago
2 years ago
4 years ago
This restaurant is the oldest continously running Chinese restaurant in USA: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/history-first-chinese-restaurant-in-america-180980552/ So, you want to come here for the experience, not necessary for the food. Where else can you still order "Chop Suey" dishes, which used to be the most popular dishes in Chinese restaurants in America. The last time I had a Chop Suey dish was more than 40 years ago! read more
7 years ago
Look, you come here for the experience not because it has a Michelin Star. Oldest Chinese Restaurant in America, open since 1911! Don't be a hater on the Pekin! You need to do it at least once and have a story to tell if you ever find yourself in Butte, MT. 4-Stars from this gal who throughly loved it! UPDATE: The food was fine, nobody got food poisoning. read more
3 years ago
Worst Chinese food I've ever had in my life. First, the rice tasted dry and over cooked.... How do you mess up cooking white rice? We ordered to go sweet and sour pork and chicken fried rice. The pork tastes terrible.... But nothing beats the chicken fried rice. The fried rice tasted like regular rice dumped with a bunch on soy sauce and no other seasoning. And instead of mixing the chicken together they just dumped a bunch of chicken that looked and tasted like it came out of a can. Please don't call these Chinese food, it's a shame. read more
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