This is my go to Chinese place in Evanston. It's a large space so there's usually seating and the menu has plenty of variety but they do each thing well (based on the few dishes I've tried so far). Service is fast and the waiters are nice but would definitely recommend going with a Mandarin-speaker to make ordering and menu-clarifying easier. Cold Noodles: We expected glass noodles but these were more like angel hair pasta noodles. Still tasty and refreshing. Good replacement for white rice if you're looking to lower your carb intake. Not too spicy. Eggplant with Garlic Sauce: They do this classic dish justice. Not too salty and not too much sauce. Eggplant is fresh and pieces are cut into to the perfect size. Great dish to share. Chongqing Popcorn Chicken: Very popular dish. It's a Szechuan restaurant so it's no surprise they do spicy well. It's got a bit of a kick but isn't unbearable, even for someone that can't handle spice. Great sharing dish. Dry Pot with Wood Ear Mushroom and Chicken: This place does dry pot well. Lots of veggies, decent portion size, good flavor, and not too saucy. If you're looking for more veggies, I'd recommend getting the wood ear mushroom dry pot and adding chicken. This is def my go to dish. It's meant for sharing but I could probably eat this by myself. This is a good place to go if you like family-style meals and want to try a bit of everything. It's good for both spicy and non-spicy foods and portions are significant. read more

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We ordered the shrimp spring rolls, egg drop soup, mapo tofu, and walnut shrimp. Overall the food was very bland. The sweet and sour sauce tasted like it had alcohol and was very ginger forward. We questioned whether or not it was rancid. The egg drop soup lacked very much in flavor. It needed salt or msg or sesame oil or something. The mapo tofu was okay but it did not come with ground pork as listed on the menu. The walnut shrimp tasted fresh and the texture was good but the sauce was very mayo forward and heavy and again lacked for flavor. Our server was very curt and left the restaurant in the middle of our meal. We had plenty of food left over and they didn't offer us to-go boxes but I guess we didn't need them. read more

This restaurant was recommended by some Evanston locals familiar with Chinese restaurants. Peppercorns Kitchen proved to be a pleasant, decorated, and clean place to have a reasonable dine-in Sichuan-style lunch. In early June, some of the staff seemed very new and not yet familiar with the menu items, so this eatery is best for those who (i) know what they like in Sichuanese food, or (ii) fine with trying out the lunch special menu items. read more

Great addition to Evanston, if you like chili pepper (szechuan) sauce laden dishes, this is the place to go in the area. My heat tolerance is higher than their standard spice they use for their dishes, so next time I'll ask it to increase the spice level. The service is a bit slow when I was here for lunch, looked like they were short staffed. I ordered the house special ribs and chili wonton, my coworker the fried fillet with chili pepper. The chili wonton was delicious, the pork ribs was crispy and tasty with the chili sauce, but will order for it to be spicier next time. I tried some fried fillet, it was a bit overcooked but the flavor was there. They do offer lunch specials but we opted to order from the chef special and appetizer. The portions are large you can definitely share. Overall, we had a great lunch. read more

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I was excited when I saw that they had fish filet in Szechuan pickle soup on their menu and dragged hubby with me to try it. It was flavorful and was exactly what I hoped it would be. We also had Chongquing popcorn chicken which seemed to be slightly overcooked and dry. Service was acceptable. Someone came to refill our water every now and then but we had to stare them down in order to receive the check. I also found it strange that a few of the workers were vigorously scrubbing down the nearby tables even though they weren't even closing soon. read more

This restaurant was crowded on a Saturday afternoon, including at least two loud family parties. I started out with an iced jasmine milk tea. I ordered it with no sugar despite the warning from the server that it would be bitter. It was not. It was in fact perfect with the spicy entrees. I ordered the chef's stir fried pork special. It was very spicy, which I liked. The menu indicates which entrees are spicy. The wife had ma po tofu that she said among the best she has ever had. The portions are generous and the prices reasonable. Our bill was under $30 before tip. Service here was good. When the wife asked for her leftovers to go, the server gave her extra rice. The leftovers were sufficient for another meal. read more

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When we walked into the restaurant, there were a good amount of people and the food smelled great so we were excited to try the place. We ordered the honey walnut shrimp and fish with spicy soy bean paste. Unfortunately the flavor and texture was not what we expected. They also brought the ordered dishes 20 minutes apart, which by then we finished one dish already and our appetite had diminished when they brought out the second dish. The service was also not great, the staff stood around and did not check in to see if we needed anything. Overall, we were fairly disappointed with our experience. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - 088. Whole Fish w/ Spicy Soy Bean Paste - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Although I had a bad delivery experience in the past, I gave this place a try last night in person, since a friend had been dying to try it. The place was clean, although the repercussions of the pandemic's affects on the food industry were apparent, as 2 people were running the whole front of house. There were maybe 6 people in at a time for take out orders plus the 7 or so tables for in-dining. Regardless, the team stepped up and provided probably the most authentic and delicious Szechuan Chinese food. The entire menu looked great and we ate some of the server's recommendations: kung pao chicken, beef short ribs, dumplings in chili sauce, and the scallion pancake. All were dynamite. Next time I'll try the dry or hot pots, which looked amazing. They also offer milk tea at a really good cost. The food was fresh and came out quickly. I'll definitely be back read more

Clean spacious restaurant with delicious authentic Szechwan / Szechuan / Sichuan food. They take strong attention to detail for example in my shrimp dish they shrimp were fresh, deveined and cooked perfectly. Chili oil in my jelly noodle dish is very authentic. Suggest checking it out! read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Szechuan style "jelly" noodles and shrimp with snow peas and mushroom. Delish - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Mongolian beef was fine, mapo tofu was incredible. Nice atmosphere and good service. Will definitely be back.

HOLY SMOKES! Mapo Tofu is like my go-to Chinese dish if I'm looking to flavor test a restaurant. It should come as no surprise that Peppercorn's version is SPICY and absolutely delicious. Super complex flavors mixed with super complex textures (tofu, meat, onions, sauce etc). Basically, it's beautiful and perfect. As a recommended side, the cucumber and dried tofu salad is really interesting. Refreshing, slightly chewy, and a little bit spicy... it's worth at least one go. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - The spiciest mapo tofu I've ever had. - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Ordered the curry and didn't love it. I was expecting more of a soup like dish something creamy and a strong curry flavor. I got only a hint of curry. I fully believe that I just ordered the wrong thing but definitely want to go back and try other dishes on the menu. read more

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Saw this place on Check Please and had to try. I love Spicy food and especially in the colder weather. The food was very tasty, but definitely not spicy. To be fair, we only had items rated 3 dots or below-- not the highest, which was 4. But there was very little heat to any of it. Not sure if they tone it down based on what you look like when you dine in....or if that's what it is for everyone? Very much enjoyed the eggplant and garlic--very very tasty!! The Dan Dan Noodle (which had ground beef ) was tasty. Not spicy and tasted like a spaghetti with bolognese, Chinese version. Didnt care for the popcorn shrimp. Shrimp had weird rubbery texture. Not very good. Would not get again. The Chef's Special Stir Fried Pork was Excellent!! The thinly sliced and very flavorful pork was very nice. Would get again! My guy enjoyed his House Special Grilled Pork Ribs very much. I didn't get a pic. The food was flavorful and not overly salty. But if you're looking for heat, I think you have to reinforce it in a request. We were surprised at the lack of it despite seeing peppers in the dish. Weird. read more

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We ordered carry out and everything was BLAND. The crab rangoons were just cream cheese. The eggplant with tofu had no spice, no garlic, no ginger, no soy sauce. The shrimp with mushrooms and snow peas had no salt. And the tapioca with coconut and mango was watery, not sweet, and had carrots in it. Overall an extremely unsatisfying meal. Would never go back. read more

EXCELLENT is the best word to describe the taste of everything I ordered. We enjoyed a meal of spicy chicken wings, amazing fried short ribs with green beans, veggie fried rice, and flat noodles with beef. Everything was fresh. The sprices were complex and satisfying. read more

I was working on a student film set at Northwestern and we had Peppercorns' Chicken Fried Rice for dinner. I think we ate EVERY last grain of rice. The food was SO good and everyone was asking where it came from! Thank you Peppercorns! read more

I can't believe I have never left any review for this place. I've come here so many times that I've lost count. Everything on the menu was just perfect and authentic. I can literally point to any random thing on the menu. And it would turn out to be great. One thing I loved the most about this place is that they have all those secret menus -- the chef kept renovating and introducing new dishes. I honestly cannot express in words how much I loved this place. read more

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My husband and I had a great dinner at this restaurant! We were starving as we had just moved to Evanston hours before and wanted to find somewhere where we could relax and eat a lot of delicious food. My husband is from Hong Kong and so we are always looking for the most authentic Asian places. Peppercorns had a lot of unique Chinese dishes that were definitely not Americanized. The portions are large and you can pick different spices levels which is great bc I can't handle spice but my partner loves it. I had Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce and it was delicious. We will definitely be coming back for takeout or sit in, it was great to find a local Chinese spot so soon after moving! read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

The food was delicious and service was excellent! We had a large group and they were very kind to accommodate us even though busy. Highly recommend. read more

Food is relatively authentic but kind of oily and salty. They have small size dishes which is good to try with a small group of people. Bad service. My friend and I arrived at the restaurant around 7:30 pm. There were about 20-30% empty seats at that time. We were required to sit by the door which made us cold. We asked to switch the seats further down the restaurant but were rejected by the waitress. She said we must have at least 3 people to be seated there, even if those seats were empty all the time until we left. When checking out, we waited for 15-20 min because no one responded us for a long time, and we boxed food by ourselves. read more

Just discovered @peppercornskitchen in Evanston. Did not disappoint! SPICY popcorn chicken, House flat noodles, eggplant with garlic sauce, braised pork, crispy tofu with spicy veggies, and pea shoots with garlic. Rice included. read more

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OMG beware! I Just received a delivery order and I am still wondering what has happened to this restaurant. Potstickers were so over cooked and completely lacking flavor, because you know, they were dried out shells, with almost no filling. Yuck! And now, the chicken wings!!! Basically, fried bones, almost no meat, pedestrian sauce with no real spice. With so many great wing places...really??? Entree chicken with flat noodles, arrived in a huge foil pan, like you have seen at a child's Birthday party. Did not request family/party platter, will have to check. read more

I love this place so, so, so, so, so much. I can't count the number of times I've been here now, and every time I always leave feeling stuffed, with left overs, and having no regrets. Now that I live on the north side of Chicago, this is absolutely going to be one of my "go tos" rather than making the trek down to Chinatown on the south side. Peppercorns is incredibly authentic with most of its dishes. The foods are always very flavorful, rich, and just a delight. The portions are ridiculously generous which makes the only challenge to the experience a question of how much food to order and fighting over who will take whatever is left over. read more

My husband and I had never been here. He got the hot & sour soup and the popular popcorn chicken, while I just got the vegetarian dry pot tofu (which also has some green bell pepper, carrots, onion, and long tree mushrooms). Both dishes come with rice. The soup is much spicier than what you might find at other Chinese restaurants. The popcorn chicken is a plate heaping with small pieces of the fried chicken and LOTS of red chili peppers. It looks and tastes good for a few bites, but gets one-dimensional quick. The dry pot tofu is also quite spicy with red chili, jalapeño slices, and darker peppercorns, and every now and then you bite into something REALLY salty. So we both reached for the rice often. The water that was served tastes a bit funky. So we ate maybe a quarter of the food, and took the rest home. The waitress maybe wasn't the warmest and chattiest, but she was helpful with recommendations and checked in with us, asking how the food was. We've seen many Chinese people come to the restaurant, which usually is a good sign. But we're probably not coming back. read more

Don't go at the early part of the evening around 5pm. Even though I was impressed that my food was ready for pick up six minutes later, but my carryout dishes taste like they were cooked at lunchtime and warmed up again for the dinner. They didn't taste fresh and they were not flavorful. We ordered: 1) Sautéed Shredded Pork with bean curd wrap. 2) Fish Filet with Clear Noodle in Szechuan Pickle Soup. We're surprised because we've had good meals here before. read more

If I had written this review a year ago I would've given this place 4 or 5 stars in taste of food. But, after my recent visit from today they're looking more like 1 or 2 stars because of taste and service. I ordered the dumplings in chili sauce, eggplant in garlic sauce, shredded pork and tofu and string beans. My total order was a little over $40. I'm sorry but after today's quality I don't think I'll ever be making that kind of large order again. I was very disappointed when I came home to taste the food. It tasted old, waaaay too salty and any dish that had sauce was very thick and clumpy. I didn't like service today. Waiters were very impatient with me due to taking time to order. I didn't realize they took out several things on their menu but never bothered to update their menus. I agree with other reviewers that they are known for the schezuan cooking and maybe it was just my luck today but the food has changed. Did they change their chef? Or maybe the kitchen people today were just not that great. I tried calling the restaurant at 5-6pm but someone would keep picking up the phone but not answering into it. I would hang up and try again and the line was busy for over half an hour. You guessed it, they never hung up the line when I initially hung up. We will see if I give this place another try. But over $40 went down the drain. None of the food is salvageable. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Dumplings in chili sauce - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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2.5 stars. Yes, there are some authentic dishes (frog legs, pig intestines, etc.) Maybe if I had stuck to the Szechuan dishes I would have had a better experience. But I wanted less spicy dishes, something different than your typical toss-it-in-the-red-chillies plate. So we got potstickers (they were fine), shrimp fried flat noodles (ok too), dan dan noodles (mediocre, I've had way better, and the noodles were too similar to Italian angel hair pasta), and mango chicken (the biggest disappointment of the evening. The chicken was clearly previously frozen, fried up katsu-style, and served with a ridiculous amount of sweet red sauce with tiny bits of frozen mango. I can make better chicken at home.) Hot and sour soup was lackluster. Shang Noodle has better noodles and soups. read more

I came here once when they first opened, and ordered a beef soup that was just okay. Didn't return for over a year, but recently have seen it always busy, and long lines. I thought I'd give it another try and was not disappointed! It was a busy Friday night, and by the time we got seated at 6:30 the restaurant was full and people were waiting in line. Our waitress was on top of her game, and was very attentive and quick. We ordered, and our food came really quickly. We ordered the Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, Braised Pork Belly, and Fried Noodles with Pork. All were good, and I really like the eggplant dish. So flavorful! We will definitely come again and try other entrees. The menu is extensive. It's hard to believe how fast the kitchen can make those dishes considering how many are listed. It's very authentic Chinese food, and majority of the patrons were Asian (a lot of NU students). It's family friendly. A bit loud if you are wanting quiet conversational ambiance. read more

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Authenticity is rest assured. Sure some might say they use alot of oil for the dishes, but this is how SiChuan (szechuan) does it. Only that its maybe half of the spicyness. Services were great, everytime i was here the server were very attentive. Decor is warming, they try to use traditional chinese decor. Typical Chinese restaurant. The food were awesome. I mean the popcorn chicken were above expectations. The Spicy Fish too were made from live fish which is a major plus (since typical Szechuan cuisine uses frozen fish for spicy dish). The other dish i like were the Beef Slice, their flavoring is so heavy yet defined. Spicyness were just right and the ratio of all-spice and Szechuan-pepper-star-anise are just the perfect ratio! Also their green pepper frog is so good! This has become my regular biweekly meal since i get my haircut at Kami just down the street. read more

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Very authentic Szechwan cooking. If you not a fan of spice and heat then this is not the place for you. The majority of dishes that I tried were very spicy. Tried the following: Dumplings in chili sauce: The dumplings were made in house. Very flavorful and loved the chili sauce it came floating in. The sauce was hot but also sweet. Great combination Duck with Taro Jelly: The duck was chopped up with bones and cooked in a spicy sauce with the taro jelly. I never had the taro jelly before and really thought it complimented the duck well texture wise. The duck was a little hard to eat with the bones but the meat was full of flavor. Mao Pao Tofu: Very basic dish. Seasoned well and bought the right amount of eat. I could not stop piling it on top of rice and eating it. Bubble Milk tea is also served it. Get it with the coconut jelly. Definitely want to come back here to try more items on the menu read more

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A Chinese friend of mine in college said if you go into a Chinese restaurant and you see a lot of Chinese people eating there, it's good. That certainly proved true at Peppercorns Kitchen. Walking in it had all the hustle and bustle you'd find in the tiny nook-and-cranny restaurants in NYC's Chinatown. I lived there three semesters, so I became familiar with the vibe. All this place is missing is a giant fish tank by the kitchen. Like Chinatown, don't expect luxurious service or much guidance on the menu. The place features primarily authentic Chinese dishes, so you can expect to find kidneys, brains, feet and giblets on the menu alongside hotpots, braised dishes and seafood. Don't worry, fellow white people! They also offer excellent versions of some of our Americanized favorites! The orange beef was one of the best I've ever tried, and offered a sweet relief to the mouth-melting heat from some of the more fiery, traditional dishes we tried. Plus, it actually tasted like orange! Go figure. We started with an order of the dumplings in chili sauce, which was simple and delicious. It was a great entryway into some of the spicier dishes we would encounter as the evening progressed. The sauce was spicy, yes, and so flavorful. I could eat a bucket of those things! The hot and sour soup was good, but not necessarily my iconic hot and sour soup. For entrees we had mapo tofu, a dish that straddles popular and traditional menus. The Peppercorns version swam in an oily stew of luscious pork and Szechuan peppercorns that, instead of igniting a fire from lips to uvula, numb all they come in contact with. And if you think this is spicy, wait until you get a taste of the Chongqing Popcorn Chicken, a house specialty of lightly-fried, crisp chicken bites tossed in more Szechuan peppercorns and chilis than is legal in some states (Mississippi, I'm looking at you). I'll absolutely go back. If you are adventurous, like spicy food, and are ready to move past sweet and sour chicken, this is your new favorite Chinese restaurant. And if you have a friend or mom who isn't quite that bold, they have plenty of familiar options available as well. read more

Thanksgiving 2023. Food quality has significantly dropped. Ordered Black pepper Beef tender. Very few pieces of thin beef and a lot of soup. Pea shoots has sand in it. Dandan noodle is totally different from before. Chef must have left !! Disappointed. Will not come back again. read more

Worst Chinese restaurant ever. The color of food doesn't look right and they dont explain anything. Taste like shit.

Sorry: I think the oil they fry in is old and the meat is not fresh. Ugh. I decided to leave. That bad. I tried what the sever recommended...that was the most frustrating part. read more

Excellent place for Chinese cuisine. My palette isn't acceptable for Chinese cuisine, but I think this one is good enough.

This spot has one of the best lunch specials around! Had the Dry Crispy Chicken hot pot and it was super tasty I've had their hand-stretched noodles before, and continue to be impressed with their food. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Dry Crispy Chicken Hot Pot - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Here's the breakdown: I ordered mapo tofu 1. It has a nice atmosphere. It's a Chinese restaurant that's not over the top fancy but also not dirty. 2. The portions are large. Easily make two, maybe even three, serving from the mapo tofu. 3. Good prices. Mapo tofu is $10.50. I think prices can range from $10-25 depending on what dish you get but mostly around the $13-$20 range. 4. Good service. They are fast and kind. Not too much interaction with the customer. Overall, I would recommend this place to a friend or coworker. It has good prices and the food is pretty good. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Mapo tofu - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

The truth is it's not very good Asian & Szechuan food, In fact there's nothing really Szechuan about it, dishes are OVERLY SAUCY with one base sauce for everything from Kung Pao to Mongolian beef. Lots of fillers with meat dishes, like lots of carrots. (Lacks Asian vegetables & spices). Every saucey dish is sweet , (America loves sugar) , food lacks true flavor, one & done. Oh almost forgot the hot & sour soup is not sour with no bamboo shoots, Tofu & no Chinese mushrooms just full of shredded carrots in a pasty dark broth, YUCK. I've read the negative Yelp reviews before trying the restaurant thinking maybe they are wrong, well in regards to the food they are ALL spot on, so I question who are these positive reviews?? Who's back in the kitchen? read more

Pork kidney with green peppercorns (青花椒腰花) is the best ! We drive one hour every other week to the restaurant just for it ! Glad that you're still serving the community and thanks for the great food ! read more

I was in downtown Evanston when I was hit by a craving for some tea. I was told that this place has really good tea options so why not drop by? ATMOSPHERE/ARCHITECTURE: 8/10 Long spacious interior probably seating 60+ people. This place has a large amount of food offerings as well but that wasn't why I came here so I won't comment on that. SERVICE : 7/10 A little on the slow side. I know they were busy running the tables and since we were just ordering some tea to go, they didn't prioritize us. But it still took a bit longer than I think was needed. FOOD: 7/10 I intended to get boba tea initially but there were a lot of different tea options and I decided to try jasmine lychee tea instead. The menu evoked my other craving for lychee and so I went for that instead. Jasmine Lychee Tea - Very crisp and clean tasting if I were to describe it. The underlying jasmine tea rang through with a small hint of the lychee. I wish the lychee flavoring was stronger but it was good overall. PROBABILITY OF RETURN: 7/10 They have many tea options and apparently their food is good too. I wouldn't mind stopping by here again to try either of them. TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT: Worth a shot. OVERALL: 7/10 read more