I've been here a few times with some fellow students and the overall consensus is that Peppercorn is pretty good. Even my Chinese friends thought this was pretty decent too. I particularly liked the eggplant and the fried fish that they have here. I normally don't eat fish but thought the fish tasted like popcorn chicken. Food is very flavorful here and I love very savory foods. Their crispy chicken with garlic sauce was too Americanized for my liking though. It's huge chunks of chicken that's covered in the sweet sauce. I think they use the same sauce for the eggplant but for some reason the fried chicken was just too much. read more

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.

When you eat at Peppercorns, you definitely experience the flavors of a true Chinese Kitchen. It is centrally located in Evanston and what more can you ask for than a great spot and great food to enjoy with friends and family. Authentic Chinese cuisine can sometime be daunting, but with Peppercorn, the food feels like a warm hug, with a little bit of extra grease on the side. I have been to Peppercorns Kitchen since they opened in 2015 and they have always been consistent with their food every time. When we go, we always go with a group of at least 3-5 people so that you get to share multiple items and try all the dishes. In a Chinese restaurant, the style is always family style. Large portions of food served in front of you on a Lazy Susan and you spin the lazy and serve yourself a small amount to start. Our go to dishes at Peppercorns include Salted Crispy Tofu, Chongqing Popcorn Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, Pea Shoots and the Peking Duck. Give it a try. We always ask for less oil and less salt because that is the healthier way to go. Grade : B read more

We like Chinese food, especially when it has some degree of authenticity. There's a place around the corner that serves up PuPu platters and all manner of fried things, and we've gone once or twice in desperation, accepting the heartburn that follows. We'd thought to get good Chinese we had to go into Chinatown, but while we do enjoy that, it's a bit of a hassle. I was complaining to a friend, and they were aghast that we hadn't been to Peppercorns Kitchen. We came into a wonderfully fragrant wave of spices and were quickly seated; as far as we could tell, we were the only ones speaking English, which we've found is usually a good sign with ethnic cuisine. Open the menu, and there's a picture of the chef posing with Anthony Bourdain and Stephanie Izard: another good sign. The first time, we started with the spicy beef tendon: I love the chewy, meaty goodness, and this was in a perfectly balanced, spicy chili sauce. We each got an order of dumplings, and two "small" soups, which each, then split an order of the fried sweet potato cakes (taking home some of our appetizer) which were delicious, and certainly ample desert for two, or possibly more people. The next time we got just the tendon to start, followed by the Kung Pao chicken: perfectly fried morsels surrounded by hot fried chilis and citrusy, lip-numbing Szechuan peppercorns. That's become a mainstay for us, and I always take the leftovers, eat the remaining chicken, then set aside the fried chilis/peppercorns and using them as toppings and flavors for anything else I eat that needs a kick. Pro tip: I even used a few handfuls to infuse vodka: it makes a bomb Bloody Mary. We also took my family and cousins when they came to visit town. My youngest cousin was a little freaked out by the pig brains, but I thought they were custardy and delicious. Meanwhile, the Peking duck kept the youngest, and everyone else more than happy. The service is always good, the menu is extensive, and food comes out fast and hot. We still like going into the city for dim sum, but we're so glad we always have Peppercorns Kitchen to turn to in a pinch. read more

I live in Nob Hill/Chinatown San Francisco and this is probably the best Szechuan I've had (big shout Z&Y but your line is so... ya). Super fresh, crisp, combination of peppery spice and numbing spice that most folks like me spend years and years not experiencing for fear of ordering outside of the more traditional American-Chinese plates. I'm sure their Mongolian Beef & Sesame Chicken are awesome too, but I also appreciate that when the fish order below piqued my curiosity, the waiter kept it 100 with me and sure enough let me know this fish w/ chili pepper dish would be his preference. Really glad I stumbled in here on this visit, and if you're ever in Evanston do yourself a favor and spend the best $13 for two meals-worth of high quality szechuan Chinese food you'll likely spend. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Epic Fried Fish Fillet w/ Chili Pepper - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

A nice Szechuan-style restaurant that provides an alternative to Lao Szechuan down the street. The Chongqing popcorn chicken was decent. It is crispier than the dry pepper chili chicken at Lao Szechuan (that one is more on the juicy side). Both are only moderately spicy despite the 3 pepper rating. The mongolian beef was nothing special. Overall, their menu seems to have a wide variety of foods and seems pretty authentic. I might come back to try some of their more unique dishes. Prices are inflated, so it's not worth it to come here to eat something you could get at any other Chinese restaurant in Evanston (e.g. Mongolian beef). Service was very slow, though. It was quite hard to get a hold of a waiter. Atmosphere was nice. UPDATE (1/8/2017): I have come here many more times since its opening, and can confirm it is one of the best Chinese restaurants in Evanston. While it is on the pricier side, they have such a good variety of amazing dishes. Fish filet with black beans is a fantastic choice, as well as braised pork belly and what I mentioned above. read more

I thought this was a 5 star place when I first came 3 months ago, but now it is more of a 4 star place, 3.5 stars maybe. They no longer offer complimentary tea or pickled veggies. Portions seem smaller, and service is VERY slow. We finished one of our entrees before the other one finally came out, half an hour later. Disappointing! Food is still good, though. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Eggplant and tofu ($10.95) - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Saw this place on "Check Please" and was happy to see somewhere close had DanDan noodles! I did order it as a takeout The flavor was delicious! And yes!! The dish stands up to it's restaurant name! "Peppercorns" I think it would be better if I was able to enjoy this dish fresh at the restaurant! Very authentic and the place looked great! Can't waIt to have a sit down meal and really get the full effect! read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Dan 11a Dandan Noodle 11a Dandan Noodle - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

This spot was mediocre. I went because people raved about the food here but I thought it was just ok. I was excited for the popcorn chicken but it tasted very salty and overfried in oil. The mapo tofu and the noodle soup was bland. I would try this place again but I think there are better places in Evanston for Chinese food. read more

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I came here with a friend during its lunch hours. The interior is nice and you habe the option of sitting by the windows or in a more private area. I ordered the sesame chicken, which comes with an eggroll and a choice of corn or sweet and sour soup. The sesame chicken was crispy, fried to perfection and glazed with the appropriate amount of sweet and sour sauce. Very filling! The service was great and the waiter was very friendly. Definitely coming back again with more friends. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Excellent food, went for lunch had garlic eggplant cane with a tasty egg roll. Nice fresh rice . Perfectly seasoned eggplant with a good amount of heat. And excellent hot and sour soup. New place clean and modern went on a Monday and everything was fresh. read more

Even though Lao Sze Chuan is a couple blocks away, Peppercorns definitely holds its own when it comes to authentic Chinese cuisine. I came here with my parents on a 5:00PM on a Sunday, so it was pretty quiet. It was our second time coming, so we more or less knew what we wanted to order. Peppercorns always cooks fantastic fish (I got the Whole Fish w/ Spicy Soybean Sauce most recently) that was just flakey enough to pull of the bone, but not fall to pieces. It's difficult to get good fish around Evanston, so I'd definitely recommend ordering a steamed fish related dish here if you get the chance. The Kung Pao Chicken was deemed authentic by my parents, which is impressive because they're from China and very nit-picky when it comes to their cuisine. The chicken was diced into small bite-sized pieces, and mixed quite well with the peanuts. It also wasn't very spicy, which might be good or bad depending on your taste. Lastly, we ordered the Eggplant with Garlic Sauce. The eggplant had a slight bite to it, and the flavor wasn't overbearing. The only qualm I had with Peppercorns is the fact that we weren't given rice with our dishes, which is pretty strange when it comes to Szechuan cuisine. It was always a hassle to get more because we were just given small bowls of rice, instead of a larger container of rice. Furthermore, we were seated close to the door even though there wasn't anybody in the interior of the restaurant. This is just me being nit-picky, but the food is definitely excellent. If you're looking for solid Szechuan cuisine, give Peppercorns a shot. -Edit: Forgot I had the Pork Intestines dish here. If you're interested in this dish, it wasn't amazing; it was over-seasoned and the intestines were a little bit chewy. It was lack-luster compared to the other dishes in terms of flavor as well. read more

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Awesome food! Very authentic Szechuan cuisine! This is THE BEST Chinese/Szechuan cuisine I have ever found in the Middle West region in US! We went on Wednesday night and they are very busy! Then we went back again on Friday night and there is a line. Thumbs up for the food! Highly recommend - dry pot tea tree mushroom - moo shoo beef - tea smoked duck - lamb shank read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Lots of tables and lots of people waiting in line - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Their Sunday Dim Sum is absolutely ridiculous. Waited for over 39 minutes and still no food came. If they are not ready to deliver the service, they shouldn't even take people's order. When the food finally arrived, they tasted just horrible. They were obviously just reheated frozen Dim Sum. Will never return to this place. read more

This restaurant was the last stop that I made on my move out of Chicago. I came here based on a friend's recommendation. This restaurant has slightly different dishes from Lao Szechuan and I felt that the dishes in general were slightly less greasy than Lao Szechuan's. The service was adequate, although the waiters needed a little nudgy for water and rice refills, and the food was delicious! Would recommend! *warning- like most traditional Szechuan dishes, most of the dishes that I tried were spicy* read more

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Eek this place is bad. I'll give it 2 stars bc I don't know if it was just a bad order one time or what the deal is. I've heard a lot of good things about this place, but in trying take out of Mongolian chicken, I was soooo disappointed. I grew up in Los Angeles and being half Japanese, I have had a LOT of incredible asian food. This place gives ample portions, but the food has ZERO taste even with the few chili peppers they included in the dish (didn't even know that was possible) and the meat legit looks and tastes like fake meat. My bf and I were wondering if maybe I ordered a vegan meal bc the consistency was legit like cornstarch covered cardboard. I will definitely not be returning here. The prices weren't on par for other Chinese food places I've been to but I thought maybe this place was more high end. For $17 including tip, I definitely expected more. I am extremely disappointed read more

BEWARE! The price you see on their dimsum menu is wrong, and they will charge you more! Went for lunch and ordered a bunch of dimsum. They gave us a menu but was never told that they increased their prices. When I asked for the check instead of giving me a receipt they just come with their credit card payment system and show you the total. It's super hard to read so I just assumed everything was correct. After paying and looking at my receipt, I realized they charged me more than the prices on the menu! When I confronted one of the servers she just said they increased the prices and the new menus are on the way. If this is the case, you should let your customers know prior to ordering. read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - BEWARE! Prices on the dimsum menu is wrong, they will overcharge you without saying anything! - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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This is my favorite Sichuanese place accessible by CTA, even more than Chengdu Impression on Halsted. They got the numbing peppercorns and the chili oil, but Peppercorns also has extraordinarily satisfying knife-cut noodles that you can have in hot or mild preparations like the rich and simple egg and tomato noodle soup. The kitchen didn't have to make a delicious, hearty, umami-ful not-spicy broth for the egg and tomato noodle soup, but they did, because they care. Also love that they have some legitimately for Chinese people items with offal and whole fish and flavors and textures that may only be familiar and beloved by those who grew up eating them. Really worth the trip to Evanston! read more

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This is now my favorite restaurant in Evanston. I LOVE the spices they use here! The fried fish, beef noodles, and green bean dishes were all amazing! The pork appetizer was our group favorite. We got more mild-spice level dishes this time but I would love to try spicier options next time! read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - One of the fish dishes... forgot the name - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Great service, waiters are attentive. Food is good, but I think it's overrated as the "best" Szechuan food in Chicago area. There are better options at Chinatown. If you live around Evanston and you like spicy Chinese food, this is the place to go! read more

New Chinese restaurant opened at Evanston in 2016. It is a combination of Xinjiang and Szechuan Cusine. We ordered Eggplant w/ Garlic Sauce, House Special Fish Hot Pot, Braised Beef Brisket Flat Noodle Soup and Braised Pork Belly. The preparation of the meat and flavoring were excellent. The flat noodle has great texture and is definitely a must-have item on my recommendation. The Fish Pot is huge and with a numbing spicy taste, and lots of vegetables embedded in the red soup. The fried fish was kind of small compared to he big hot pot. The pork belly was slightly deep fried to eliminate the fatty taste, then stirred fried with green pepper. The steam rice was slightly too dry for my taste, and the eggplant we ordered had tough skin that was hard to chew on. Overall, the meal was excellent. We will definitely come back to sample other dishes, especially the lamb. They serve free pickled vegetables and hot tea! read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Braised Beef Brisket Flat Noodle Soup - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Ordered dinner today and food was bland and meat tasted like its old and dried out. Popcorn chicken tasted like dried out beef. This is not how Chinese food is supposed to taste. Dont go here and they are rude. Terrible food. I was forces to give it one stat read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I absolutely LOVE Peppercorns Kitchen! I've already been here a couple of times with my friends. Solid 5*'s SO many options on the menu! My favorites: Pea leaves with garlic Shredded spicy and sour potatoes Husband and wife (beef tripe and lung pieces served cold in chilli oil) Water cooked beef and hotpot! read more

customer service employee was very rude. my noodles were very hard, and he gave attitude when i asked to have it fixed.

Poor-est service with unsatisfied food. The best part, they have a 18% gratuity built in when the service really deserves a 1.8% at most (and I usually give 20%) So for you evinston ppl, if you can drive, just don't go there. Highly recommended if you have not tried posting 1 star review before read more

It was our first time ordering from this restaurant. W picked up four dishes including sting beans, kung Pao Chicken. Overall, while nothing was bad per se, we ad two key observations: 1) Meat quality was poor: fatty bits, chicken that has no structure to it and beef that overly fat. 2) Lack of taste: Kung Pao is usually very tasty and a little spicy. It was none of those. It's the first time I actually eat this dish with a sweet sauce. Food wise, clearly a disappointment for this restaurant. read more

Really enjoy the spicy food here! Authentic flavor, authentic ingredients and the authentic service style! Eating here reminds me of home Anyway way better than Koi read more

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Pricy, semi-authentic Szechuanese but likely the best local option given limited options in Evanston. Cumin lamb is authentic, has that "ma la" spice which is from this region. Pea sprouts were tasty and fresh. Beef tendon noodles, on the other hand, were a complete disappointment. Tendon was undercooked and hardly edible, not braised well and unfortunately bland. Noodles were overcooked and fell flat, which is a rare failure for a Szechuan place. Tea was watered down, water? Rice was no bueno. Owners are either too cheap to turn on heat or they're having major HVAC issues- during peak weekend dinner hours, half the patrons had their coats on while dining. Note of caution: the "tables" in the front have you seated on half benches - not actual seating, and are directly against icy windows. read more

Excellent food; friendly service. Had takeout ready on time and thee order was complete and correct.

I really enjoyed my dinner. Peppercorn kitchen offers a vairiety of szechuan food. Best spicy food in town! read more

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I had a chance to try Peppercorns Kitchen after many months of hearing raves about the food here. My friend and I came at an early dinner hour and there were plenty of seats. I've heard this place can get packed during busy hours. We ordered a creamy walnut shrimp and Mongolian beef since it was my first time here. I thought you can't go wrong with choosing those entrees. Food was tasty and interesting! The Mongolian beef had peppers, which made it the spiciest Mongolian beef I've ever had in my life. The creamy walnut shrimp was my favorite part of our meal. It was crispy and had the right amount of creamy sauce. The walnuts were sweet and caramelized. Portion sizes were fairly large and we were sooo full at the end of the meal. Service was slightly questionable at times since we ended up waiting longer for service when we were one of the only ones at the restaurant, but service picked up as more people came. Next time, I'm curious to try something more adventurous on the menu. I peeked over at other tables and saw some unique dishes, which looked really yummy! read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Creamy walnut shrimp - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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We came here the first time because the publicity of Anthony Bourdain and WTTW "Check Please!", We ordered from the Chef's Special section. The first dish we ordered was "Fish Filet w/ Clear noddle and bean sprout in chili oil soup", an famous Szechuan dish. The fish was taste and flavor was balanced, but there was lot of noddle and bean sprout and not enough fish in my opinion since this was a fairly expansive dish. The 2nd dish we ordered was "Fried short ribs w/ Chili pepper". Once again the dish was tasty, but the ribs were small pieces, lots of bones and nothing like the picture we saw on Yelp. Not sure if there was a different version of this dish. Overall, the service was good, the food is reasonably good, price is little high for the food we received. The two dishes came to $43 with tax. We will probably come back to try some different dishes in the future. read more

A-mazing! Wide variety on the menu, lots of delicious vegetable options. We enjoyed all the sauces and flavors.

This is hands down my favorite restaurant in Evanston and in Chicago!!! The food are so authentic they taste exactly the way it's cooked in china. The price is really reasonable as well. The staff and the owner are super nice and accommodating. I love their spicy braised noodle soup. Their boba is great as well. MUST GO IF YOURE STUDYING AT NU OR COMING TO EVANSTON FOR SOME BOMB ASIAN FOOD BO read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Most authentic Chinese food I ever had in Chicago area! I really love the Dandan noodle! read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Came here for a birthday dinner. The table ordered a bunch of food but my favored was the taos general chicken!! Orange chicken was mehh. The service is alright read more

We love this place! We drive up here often from Chicago, because it is our favorite Chinese restaurant. It's clean and great for large groups. Our go to is the beef, tender and well spiced! read more

Peppercorns Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Dou: Shiw and Dou here, bringing you a review of the newly opened Peppercorns Kitchen Shiw: Ok so we REALLY wanted to love this place. We walked by the window a ton of times and talked about how much we would go there, and how there would be finally a Sichuan place in town that could challenge Tony Hu and his Laos Szechuan monopoly on spicy chinese food! Dou: Lol yeah seriously. And I think part of the problem may have been our expectations were too high, but this place we thought was just ok. We ate here twice - the first time we got the Fish, and the second time we got the Xinjiang Chicken Noodles. Shiw: So the fish we thought was pretty solid, but not as authentic as it could have been. The main issue was the broth - much too watery. When you have this dish in China the broth is mostly oil, and a lot more flavorful than it was here. The spicy chili chicken wings are really good though, a very recommended appetizer. Dou: Yeah so I was super excited about the Xinjiang Chicken - its usually one of my favorite dishes to have in China. This one was also a little disappointing. I thought the noodles were a bit overcooked, and most importantly the chicken didn't quite seem as flavorful as it should've been. I feel like this dish should really just be a kick in the mouth of flavor and that was kinda missing. Otherwise it was ok, I guess. Shiw: Do you think we're being a bit harsh? Dou: Maybe...I mean, value-adjusted its better than Lao Szechuan, which can get a bit pricey. But in terms of absolute flavor and taste, still gotta say Hu's number one. Shiw: *slow claps* Dou: Thanks for reading, and see you next time! read more

Modern looking Chinese restaurant in Evanston featuring Szechuan and central Chinese cuisine with an authentic flare. The Dan Dan noodles is a great cold plate to gear up the palette. Moving to the mains, the menu has good variety between spicy and mild dishes. Xinjiang style sautéed beef is crispy and a milder flavour. The whole fish with spicy soy bean paste is super soft, flaky and a good peppercorn kick. Also had the braised duck with taro jelly...a little much on the bone to meat scale but otherwise really good. Service is super attentive even changing plates between the appetizer and main. Not something expected at their price point. Great value. read more