I live less than a mile from Peter Chang's first restaurant enterprise in Fairfax City. It was good, but it was only the beginning. For the following years he became a legend of open-and- then-disappear restaurants because of visa issues with China. He has now opened multiple restaurants in Virginia (and MD), and each one is wonderful. I have been to several. The one I frequent most is in Arlington , VA, and I was there today for lunch and brought home takeout for my husband. If anything, this restaurant is better than it was when it first opened. I think Yelpers get their "jollies" downgrading famous chefs, which accounts for the less than 4 star overall review. In reality, the food is stupendous, and the service good. Shame on those who find satisfaction downgrading his cooking because he is a famous chef. If you specify your spice level, they will bring you soup and entree precisely tailored to your spice tolerance. I always ask for very spicy, and there are jalapeños, (mild), dried Thai chilis (medium) plus slivers of habanero chilis (wickedly hot!) They clearly have chilis next to the woks in the kitchen so they can customize the level. The dry fried eggplant is always amazing. I love Grandma's noodles, cilantro egg rolls, bamboo flounder fish, crispy pork belly, seafood in hot pot with black bean sauce, shredded duck with onion on hot plate, hunan fish, beef with onion and chili. I even once tried the pigs' feet, and it was surprisingly good. Avoid the sweet sauces. The big dumpling does not look great. The puffy pancake is all show...I have never tried it, though. I did try the Golden Mountain Chicken which was curiously addictive, although too sweet. You can ask for it to be less sweet and more spicy. There will be a Mama Chang's opening near me next month, and I can't wait. Peter Chang is a genius, and anyone who doesn't see that has not lived in San Francisco, and has not been cooking from Chinese cookbooks for 50 years. I qualify on both counts. There is no other restaurant I hold in as high regard. read more

The best Chinese in Arlington hands down! Great food and phenomenal service. They always good out of the way to accommodate customers.

I did a take out order today but the last time I did a take-out order, I ordered the dry fried eggplant and with a 30 minute drive home it was not crispy but mushy. So this time I didn't order it but ordered the fried pork belly as an appetizer which was still crispy and delicious even with a 30 minute drive home. For an entree I ordered the double cooked pork which my favorite but I also ordered the Spicy Hunan flounder which was very tasty and not at all spicy. Peter Chang is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Northern Virginia. read more

So yummy and fast service for a 5pm on Mother's Day evening. I called for reservations in advance and I sure am glad I did. For a table of 8, it would have been impossible to get a table. Flavorful and filling.so glad we have a location closer to us than VA Beach now. read more

I highly recommend the fish pot (spicy) and the soup with ribs! We always come here and the food is always really nice with fair price. read more

Peter Chang - Fish pot - Szechuan Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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I recommend this restaurant for larger groups (4 or more people) because the menu is huge and so are the portions--perfect for sharing and trying a little bit of everything. Be prepared to take home leftovers! Peter Chang was able to accommodate our group of 12 people at a large table on a Sunday evening. We ordered 3 appetizers and 9 entrees and it was a TON of food. The menu tends to be on the spicy side, so take the pepper ratings seriously! read more

Delicious mapo tofu, and the mushroom hot pot was yummy too. I appreciate that there are options to select gluten free, and also mark "extra spicy" (it's not crazy hot, unfortunately, but is still genuinely spicy). I wish there were more delivery options to get Peter Chang in DC!! read more

This is the most interesting Chinese restaurants I know of - I can't speak to authentic, but it's not your run-of-the-mill American-Chinese place. It's delicious, the heat indicators are for real (5/5 is REALLY hot), and my only complaint is that I don't like the whole dried red chiles in some of their hottest dishes. read more

A neighborhood staple for years - one of the best, most authentic Chinese anywhere, and holds up really well for delivery!

Love it! Especially the seafood and vegetables clay pot, but the parking situation is horrible!!! Remember, you do not have the right of way when backing your vehicle read more

Great experience. Orange chicken all day all night. You must try the seafood. Its fresh read more

great food . tasty BUT 2$ for a side of hot sauce ? wow

Tried calling ahead for reservations but they were all booked on the weekend so we decided to go early and try to wait for a table. I arrived at 5:30 PM on Friday and was told that the wait for two people would be about 15 minutes. It turned out to be more like 40 minutes. I felt terrible for the people coming in after us that were told it would be 30 to 40 minutes but by my guess, it probably would have been over an hour wait. They definitely need to work out their time estimations for seating and for carry out. The carry out line was crazy ridiculous and also over an hour wait so there were tons of people just hanging out by the door waiting for food. The inside space doesn't quite seem like it is utilizing all of its floor plan to serve the maximum amount of customers. Service was prompt in the beginning and the food arrived very very quickly. We were surprised by how quickly it arrived considering the long wait lines for a table and for take out service. We ordered: - Bubble Scallion Pancake - oily and fried giant crispy puffy ball of thin dough with a green onion (or maybe just onion) sweet jam to go with it. you definitely need to try it once but they are huge and you get two per order so you should definitely go with more people if you order it. It was nice to eat it during the meal in between spicy bites to neutralize my mouth but I wasn't in love with this appetizer. - Dry Fried Eggplant - small portion but oh-my-goodness so delicious and worth it. Basically it looks like little eggplant pieces that have been cut like french fries. They are savory with a little kick of spice and also served with a little cilantro. Moist inside and piping hot but absolutely delicious. My favorite of the night...and I'm not usually a fan of eggplant. - Big Bun - basically this is a giant xiao long bao (Shanghai soup dumpling). It is a circular steamed dumpling that is known to hold soup inside (hence the name), except Peter Chang's version is like 3 times as large as the regular. It was delicious but kinda hard to split since you'll probably just want to eat one by yourself so that you don't lose all the juice. - Hot & Numbing Flounder with Tofu - had to order something with ma la (the trademark Szechuan numbing spice) in it since my friend had never tried it before. This has a slight numbing sensation (not too overwhelming) and definitely packs some heat. Good flavor. Overall solid Szechuan dish. Now, our server was great and overall the service was fine. However, when it was time to get the check, we caught the eye of a different server (because we couldn't find our current server at the moment and usually at Chinese restaurants I am used to not really having one server but a whoever-is-closest policy). But, when we were about to request something, the lady just said multiple times, "Sorry, I'm not your server". Rude. I mean, at least you could offer, "Sorry, I'm not your server but I'll go and get your server for you". Instead, just a complete brush off. I think Peter Chang's is definitely still working out the grand opening kinks and definitely may want to reconsider some of the training of staff. read more

Quality has gone done hill as well as service. The last few times quality of food pretty much didn't make me want to go back for a long time. Also, I feel their prices along with quality don't match up with what other local Szechuan restaurants have to offer. read more

Read the article in the Post about the restaurant opening. Always liked his food, so made a call to see about a reservation, only to get a message that their mail box was full. Checked the website - no announcements. Drove to the restaurant only to be greeted by a sign we are closed for a private event. As far as I am concerned, this shows a profound disrespect of customers, and basic rudeness. I think success has gone to their head, and I would not be surprised if the food has suffered. In any case, the food at 88 in Chantilly is every bit as good, and they value their customers! Ciao baby! read more

The food was decent, but everything else was off. We had a reservation and checked in and there was so much confusion within the front staff that no one seated us. Customers arriving after us were seated. So we checked in again but they didn't even acknowledge the mistake. Server was not friendly which is typical in Chinese restaurants but this was a whole other level. Just not a fun experience at all. read more

Food is good. Lunch prices vary on sunday . Service is not great. We went on sunday and received a menu and when we ordered the food we are told price is more on sunday and provide a extra charge when we order shrimp food. Why dont they come up with a standard menu price i mean weekday menu and sunday menu instead of confusing customers and scaring away customers with hidden conditions read more

I'm vegetarian, and usually find ethnic restaurants have many more choices than American fare and can be quite creative in their vegetarian dishes. However, I was really disappointed with this restaurant. I ordered the Mapo tofu, which is supposed to be 3 hot peppers - and it was meh. not hot. kind of bland. I also had the stir fried seasonal vegetables. I don't think this had any seasoning at all - just a very bland white sauce.. about the blandest dish I've had in a while. I mixed some of the Mapo sauce with it to give it ... some kind of interest. so, maybe it is good for non-vegetarians - but if you are vegetarian - I would give this restaurant a pass. read more

Wow lot's of people running to yelp and trashing the restaurant after the WaPo article. I've eaten here at least a 20 times, and while the quality of the food might of dropped a little in the last couple of months it is still outstanding and the waitstaff has always been helpful. Maybe it's because I'm not pretentious and trying to show off in front of my friends. I geuss that they were so emotionally traumatized (do they need a safe to protect them from this micro aggression?) they had run to the Wash Post; please! Get the Wonton Soup, Pork Belly, Dry Fried Eggplant, Pigs Feet, and the Beef Brisket in Hot and Numbing Sauce. They are outstanding!!! read more

Disappointed! first reception then the service! :( We have made a reservation way in advance for 5 people. We arrived on time at 5 pm. The restaurant wasn't busy, not even half full, many empty tables left. We were seated the far left small corner booth table. The table was very small like table for 2 or 3. We feel very squeeze. Looking around, there are many of round tables left empty. We kindly asked to move to the round table. Their response were those are for reservation. I responded, we have a reservation! The small table wouldn't fit 3 dishes with our 5 plates. Normally we order at least 6 or more dishes. Oh by the way, when we finished our meal and walking out those tables they claimed reserved still are empty. After argue with them, my mom complained in Chinese, Finally, they gave us a bigger table. Talk about customer service! Really??? Where's in the world? You have to yank for bigger table when the restaurant is not busy. We are Chinese from South East Asian. We know and ate lots of Chinese food! The food came out ok. Only 2 out of 6 dishes were good. During our meal I kindly ask for more rice. The waitress acknowledged but she never bring it out. Disappointed! It's just bad experience and service. read more

I am a huge fan of the food here but we have had several problems with the staff. Today we tried to go in with a group of 5 and were told that their server had just been sat and they wanted to wait 5 to 10 minutes before they sat him again. I worked in restaurants for years and never told a customer that and have never heard a customer told that. Completely unprofessional and rude. The rudeness of the servers makes me want to return less and less in spite of the quality of food. read more

The hype is real, this place is awesome. The scallion bubble pancake and the fried eggplant are must get appetizers here. The mountain chicken was very good as well, but a more standard entree. The quality of everything was superb. read more

The pork feet was really good. And the big bun was a bit oily. Hard to suck the soup from the straw tho.

I give places 5 stars when they deserve them. If you are pricey, you need to have superior food and service. But really great food and service at a reasonable price deserves 5 stars as well. It's a different 5 stars, but to me, you have to one of the best in your category to get it. Peter Chang in Arlington gets it. Went there tonight with my father in law who was visiting on business. Got there relatively early, but the place fills up quick. Make reservations, because if you come after 6:30 you will be waiting. We ordered some of the most boring food you can in restaurant of this caliber, kung pao chicken and hot and sour soup. Our server, Ethan, was a tad awkward, but he was prompt, courteous, attentive and knowledgeable about the food. Which is a really good quality for a server to have (especially considering how young he was). The food, both the soup and the chicken, came out at a perfect temperature, and the was set on the table in a precise manner. The hot and sour soup had body and a subtle heat. It wasn't salty or all broth. It was a well balanced soup. The chicken was fantastic. The 2 portions we got were the equivalent of 3 portions, and my father and I are not waifs. Lots of chili peppers, not overwhelmed with sauce, and a great ratio of meat to vegetables. One of the things that gets messed up with Chinese cooking is that ratio. There should always be more veggies than meat, but you can't throw 4 cubes of chicken on the an expect it to fly in most parts of this country. No quibble here with Peter Chang. This is a 5 star experience because the service was great, the food was great, and the restaurant excels in their price range (entrees $13-20). If two people can get a good meal in DC for less than 50 bucks and have this experience, you know I will be back. And they do take out! Looks like something to pick up during my next Harris Teeter trip! read more

Went for lunch with my beloved spouse. Easy to get seats between 11:30-12. From 12:30 on, there was a line. And this was a weekday. So plan accordingly, especially since the Lee-Harrison parking lot is like DeathRace2000 on weekends and evenings. They recently opened in a very speedy fashion (I overheard a server saying this was to get the cashflow happening) so it is sort of a work-in-progress at the moment. If you go understanding that, you won't be entirely mad. They currently don't have a liquor license or soda machine, so drinks are limited to diet coke and coke and hot tea. Apparently, some people are complaining because they don't have the little teapots but rather serve tea in big ceramic mugs. Frankly, I think people need to get a grip about the latter. Who cares how the tea is served as long as it is hot and delicious? We ordered lunch specials, which were in the $9-12 range. Lunch specials come with one single tiny veggie egg roll (mine was unintentionally cold - blech); a bowl of soup (egg drop was unremarkable, wonton broth looked like water -- my husband kindly said it was a very nuanced broth, which was his way of saying, no taste); and a generous entree in a clay pot. I had eggplant, chicken, basil, which was VERY greasy. The flavor was nice, but it was hard to get past the oiliness of the dish. I know that eggplant tends to absorb grease, but since the server said that eggplant is Chang's favorite, I'm surprised it isn't prepared with more care. The husband had chicken with numbing noodles. Not a typo. Numbing, as in several types of hot peppers in the dish. It was pretty good, he said, though i never see the point of eating food that hurts me. But the server said that Peter Chang specializes in spicy dishes, so when in Rome... This is not yo mama's Chinese-American food place. No sweet and sour chicken (though there is a small kids menu.) i'm totally cool with that -- it is Szechuan, for those who are interested. But those who like things like Chow Mein and Crab Rangoon will be pissed when they realize those sorts of things are not on the menu. I'm willing to try again once they have put some more time and care into the place. But right now, the food is pretty meh, and if I want to stand in line for meh food, I'll just go to the Cheesecake Factory. I expect better from this place. read more

21. dry fried eggplant 6. Scallion bubble pancake 39 pepper chicken 50. kung pao chicken 48. szechuan double cooked pork belly Don't mistake this place as your typical chinese takeout. This seems to be a more authentic style that even the pickiest eaters can enjoy. Good flavors and though spicy, the food is very flavorful. Give it a shot! read more

Once upon a time I'd heard of a Chinese restaurant in Richmond that was supposed to be splendiferously awesome but I never had a chance to go to it. Lo and behold a few months later I find out they had a branch in Arlington and so I decided to make my way to it in search of Sichuan pastures. The Yelp reviews give this place 3.5 stars out of 5...like really? Whoever is underrated this place or criticised the food clearly does not know anything about Sichuan cuisine or good Chinese food. This place clearly deserves 5 out of 5 stars from service to authenticity to the lack of fear in using real Sichuan spices. I've been to almost 20 Chinese restaurants in the DMV and none (except for Rice Pot in Annandale which I love) can come close to Peter Chang's. For people who know what REAL Chinese food is and what authentic Sichuan is, GO THERE because you won't regret it. If you do, order the fried eggplant as an appetiser and you'll see what I'm talking about! read more

I've been a regular at Peter Changs in Charlottesville so was thrilled to see one open in Arlington. It's a similar experience - not cheap but large portions. Great flavors. Not your 1990s takeout Chinese or mushy Dim Sum. This stuff is fantastic. read more

Great Szechaun food in Arlington! This place gets really busy, so be ready for the hustle and bustle while you are there. Pretty authentic and great portion size for your money. I would definitely recommend this place! read more

We loved the Richmond location so were excited when a Peter Chang opened up here in NOVA. Unfortunately the food was not good when we went on a Saturday. The best thing was the deep fried pork belly, a standard on their menu. OK: - The big bun. The dumpling broth inside is always a great thing about xia long baos and it is fun being able to slirp it with a straw. But due to the size, the wrapper is thicker and meat drier, so novelty aside, normal size XLBs are better - Glutinous rice shu mai (from their summer menu) - they were OK, but we've had much better ones elsewhere for less money (for example at Shanghai Taste in Rockville) - Deep fried whole fish with pine nuts -- excellent presentation. Props to those that prep it for deboning and cutting the meat into nice small cubes. Deep frying it to make it crispy ended up drying out the meat, and the sauce was heavy on the red color but light on flavor Not good: - Triple layer wrap (or something like that from the summer menu) -- soy paper wrapped around glutinous rice wrapped around some pork bits -- pretty flavorless - Sweet and sour prok -- pork cut so thin, battered so much and deep fried that it was hard and chewy - Sauteed Bok Choy with tofu skin -- flavor was fine, but they did not do a thorough job of washing the Bok Choy so it still had sand / grit! Our server was friendly but clearly an amateur. He said the fish was flounder, but it was tilapia. When we told him about the sand in the Bok Choy he said he told the chef, but no offer was made to replace the dish or other rectification. So quite disappointed in the lack of consistency. It's great to have more diversity in specialty regional cuisines here in the DMV, but not so great when the food is not tasty. read more

So sad. But my bad. I'm pretty sure the worst night to try a new restaurant is Sunday. It just worked out that way. I'd revisit if a) it was closer or b) I thought it was worth the drive. I can overlook junior staff if the food was decent, but it wasn't. We left the entire hot pot of duck. It was well past its prime. (Me: inedible. Hubby: pretty bad). So disappointed. read more

This place is subtly amazing and if you take your time and let the food amuse you, you will eventually realize just how incredible it is. We stumbled on the Williamsburg, VA, location quite by accident last fall; when we heard that Peter Chang would open an Arlington location we dropped everything and went. Just like that. It was the weekend after the grand opening and we arrived about an hour into lunch service (bad timing on our part). There was already a 20-30 minute wait (which turned out to be 40 minutes). We had heard about wait times and tried to call ahead, but no one answered. I suspect, after observing, that the hostess is on the phone constantly, calling people on the waitlist. One other issue people raised is temporary: the staff is still figuring things out and being trained. And so, for example, we observed a table that was finished eating but did not receive the check. They had to flag down their waiter and ask for it, and even then it took 5 more minutes to arrive. It seemed to us that most of the waitlist on the day we went had to do with the staff just not turning over tables very quickly, a problem that will solve itself as the staff becomes more of a team and gets the hang of things. No worries. A lot of people waiting seemed to be there less for the food and more for...I don't know. But they sure did complain a lot about having to wait. Relax, people. You're going to get fed, well. Do you get this antsy over having to wait in line at Outback, too? Because this is different. In any case, the wait was completely worth it. Our server, who admitted she was new, ran into the buzzsaw of two very eager, repeat Peter Chang customers, so we pretty much machine-gun-rattled-off our orders at her and hey, surprise! she got them exactly right! So, again,the staff at this location is quite good, from what we saw, but they're also training. For more examples: we did not get chopsticks but when we asked for them they appeared in 30 seconds; we wanted tea and we got it in less than a minute; the first appetizers came out to us in less than 10 minutes. In other words, once you are seated and ready to eat, there might be little bumps in the service but everything will work out all right. Be happy in your anticipation of great food. And, the food: it was spectacular. We had the boneless chicken with scallions and the dry-fried eggplant for starters. Both were excellent (the eggplant is a signature dish and it is so memorable that you will decide, then and there, to learn to make it at home. But you won't. You will come back to Peter Chang for more.). The chicken was savory and a little sweet, not spicy. For main courses, we had the Mapo Tofu (silken tofu, a bit spicy) and the Hot and Numbing Fish. The Mapo Tofu was very good and it had an unidentifiable, savory flavor that the tofu had absorbed. We forgot to order it with beef, but that was OK, actually, as it had a lovely, full flavor of its own going on. The Hot and Numbing Fish in Clay Pot is one of our favorites. It comes with tofu and about 5,000 red peppers (though it is only medium-spicy and the heat is one that builds slowly). The clay pot has a candle underneath it, so it is bubbling-hot when it arrives, but if you wait for the flame to go out and let the dish cool just slightly, losing the radiant heat brings the spices and numbing peppers to the fore. It really is unlike anything else I have eaten; your mouth tingles, as though you had just eaten strong licorice, and any sip of water or tea ignites a rolling wave of icy-hot sensation with a peppery kick; it is exquisite pleasure-pain. The fish and tofu are, themselves, delicious. But the numbing sensation and the way it plays with your tongue and palate in different ways each time you take a bite, is unforgettable. I can honestly say that we crave that dish now, and finding something so unexpectedly exciting makes Peter Chang as memorable as his reputation suggests he should be. In the end, the wait was long (but avoidable, if you can figure out how to make a reservation, or just get there about 90 minutes after they open, when tables should be turning over), but entirely worth it. The service was a bit harried, but that will take care of itself. The food was every bit what we expected, and then some - actually better, in my opinion, than the Williamsburg location. Finally, the bill was very reasonable and we actually took a lot of food home because the portions (especially of the Hot and Numbing Fish) are generous to say the least. If you can be patient and you want to experience food you will not get anywhere else, this one is worth it. read more

If we could we would have given it ZERO stars. Service at this location is sub par. The location has no ambience, seating is crowded like sitting in adjacent patron's lap. We ordered a hot pot speciality dish which had so much numbing spice that we could not feel anything! The server refused to change our order or apologize instead recommended we eat more rice with it. Do yourself a favor and visit the Rockville branch more class, better food, and great service. I love the food and continue eating at the Rockville location. Love the Chinese peppercorn's taste and fresh food. read more

Hands down the best Chinese restaurant in the area. The dry fried eggplant is a must!!! The sliced chicken with chili peppers is so tender and tasty. My favorite dish is the braised fish in Szechwan sauce. OMG - I have never tasted anything so flavorful. I've taken many friends there and everyone leaves there raving about how delicious it is. The servers are friendly and helpful. And they kept my water full - a must with the spiciness of the dishes! read more

Came here for my roommate who had a sudden craving for a pork soup dumpling. Given the limited options in the area we found Peter Chang's would have to do. I ordered the Peter's Big Bun which is their take on a xiao long bao. It was supposed to be my appetizer but takes awhile to make so I had it halfway through my entree. We were definitely underwhelmed. It was massive, much unlike the other soup dumplings I've had. The soup inside was murky and tasted more like ground pork fat than anything else. The pork was just salty ground pork, no herbs or spices. For entree I shared the Sichuan hot pot vegetables with chicken. There was a definite spice factor that I enjoyed, with the red chiles scattered about. Dish was well seasoned and the veggies were perfectly cooked, still crunchy. We both liked the dish but felt something was missing to bring it all together. Like i said, seasoning was good but I feel it was lacking in depth of flavor. Service was attentive but our server was a bit of a creep; budding in on conversations and such. Overall, I have a feeling there are better options at the restaurant. I would give this spot 2.5 stars based on my experience but I'm rounding up to 3 because of my hopeful spirit. If I come back, I'll be sure to try different dishes as I wasn't very impressed. read more

At PC's, the food was delicious and fresh. The prices were reasonable, and the service was excellent. For Sunday lunch, there was plenty of seating. Try the General Tso's chicken! You will enjoy PC! read more

I'll give this four stars because I can't really comment on the entrees or waiter service but the dim sum take out was delicious and so fast! Our order took about 16 mins even with the place being packed. The crispy pork belly, dry fried eggplant and shrimp dumplings were all delicious. I know people have commented about salt and the things I ordered definitely were salty but I think in a good way. Can't wait to go back and try some more! read more

Love their kid options. My 1 1/2 yr old loved the kids steamed lo mein with veggies! Very accommodating with allergy request. Husband is allergic to soy (I know...it is in everything) but they were able to make his food without soy and it was delicious! Loved the bang bang shrimp! Will definitely be eating here again. read more

I heard such great things about this chain but was very sadly disappointed both times I have eaten their food. The steamed dumplings were too doughy and garlicky, the lettuce wraps unappetizing and salty. Fried rice was very greasy. Sauces too rich and salty for my taste. I miss The former fare. read more

Went there for a late lunch on a weekday. Wow! This place is fantastic: Really tasty food, huge portions, and great friendly service. Plus easy parking. We got the Hunan fish and the spicy garlic chicken. Each is about $10 or $11 as a lunch special. (We had enough to bring home for a second meal.) This is our new go-to Chinese place. read more