The best Chinese restaurant in the greater Charlottesville area since the reopening this summer 2026. The previous owner ran it into the ground since buying it from Peter Chang, but now the original owner is back. We have had two family banquets here over the past month and they were fabulous. The sleeper on the menu is the great curry fish soup. Peking duck is available every day and is simple and superb - crispy skin and slivers of rich meat. The "party room" has big round tables with huge lazy Susans, so passing dishes is easy. That room has a wall size TV which was playing the World Cup both days we were there. The main dining room is more elegant. They are still waiting on their wine and beer license as of July 2026. We ordered a huge amount of food and the bill with tip came to $50 a person. Also recommended is the fragrant numbing hot pot. Don't hesitate to order very spicy - this is Cantonese cooking, not Szechuan. Any drawbacks? Well, although there are lots of vegan options, don't expect to find low fat. steamed vegetables- this is traditional authentic Chinese with a heavy hand on the oil in most dishes. The soup dumplings were a little disappointing, too doughy. Final recommendation: split an order of the burnt sugar glutinous rice for dessert - it comes with 4 big pieces, easy to share. read more

I used to come here a lot and after it reopened, I was stoked. But! Hot sour soup was awful. The tofu in it tasted like rubber, the soup was thick like jelly, and someone must've spilled a whole tub of pepper in it. The tofu roll thingy was like tasteless flesh that had been left out to dry then slapped on meat? I think it was meat. Not sure. The dry fried eggplant, which was one of my favorites from before the reopening, tasted like carnival food oil slick fingers. The wonton soup and Peking duck were fine I guess. I was disappointed. $140 disappointed. read more

Nothing to write home about. Ordered take out. Menu and prices have changed. What used to be full portion is now tapas size. Tiny portion of dried green beans. Barely a cup full. Cost was $9. Shrimp fried rice had very few shrimp in it. Taste was decent. Two items cost $31. I guess that's one way to pay for renovations. I was impressed with the new layout. read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - Shrimp-less fried rice and dried green beans - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Love the upgrade. Food was amazing. Highest quality Asian food anywhere. So glad they are back.

The return to Peter Chang's ownership has been a great change. The space has been freshened up and the food is excellent again. It's a shame the ratings/reviews can't be reset to reflect that this is essentially a whole new restaurant, just with the same name. read more

One of the better authentic Chinese food in Charlottesville. Seating is dim sum style and was not busy on a weekday evening. I loved the dishes we got, specifically the pork belly, eggplant, mapo tofu, and the puffy dough dish were all really good. A bit on the pricier side with average portion sizes. It satisfied the craving and I'd recommend to anyone looking for authentic Asian food! read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

The food and service are very good, but the wall art is AI-generated. In addition, there was a big bright screen in the room I was seated in which was a little distracting. I'm hoping that they'll change these things, given that the restaurant has only be re-opened for about a week. read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - AI-generated wall art of moss and tiles. There are various wavy lines and inconsistent strokes. - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Chinese food on Christmas is a worthy tradition, and this place was open as one might expect. I rushed in expecting there to be a crowd, and business was busy by the time I departed. The vegetable section of the menu has a decent range of choices. Things were a bit rough around the edges, but perhaps the holiday was part of that. My tea came in a pot with an exterior that wasn't really clean, and I asked for the spicy version of my green bean dish and it was not spicy. However, my green beans were still delicious, as was my stir-fried smoked tofu. I'm all in favor of the ability to order large dishes with nothing but vegetables. If I came back, I'd ask them to dial up the spice level. read more

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Listen Up Friends: the old Peter Chang that went downhill is GONE. This is the NEWLY REFURBISHED, REDECORATED AND AMAZING, AUTHENTIC Peter Chang Chinese restaurant (specialty focus of course on Sichuan). This new place is nothing at all like the one we saw bite the dust. Here we have a place that got a face lift and the result is refined. The bar looks amazing. I was there for lunch. Also I have from a very reliable source that Peter Chang himself is overseeing the new place. The menu is expansive and interesting to read, a great mix of 100% Chinese and some fewer dishes American-Chinese. Also, the service is outstanding! I am sure UVA students and faculty will be showing up in droves. I will definitely go back! read more

Wow, a bust. What an unexpected and disheartening disappointment. Have eaten here many times before. This time, takeout, Two dishes, basil chicken and a shrimp dish. Uber delivered, proved *so extraordinarily spicy* due to chili peppers in both, as to be *inedible-- burning hot-- to the trash (and I speak as someone who orders 'hot' at Indian restaurants) So, every restaurant has an off night or a chef who perhaps misread an order. I grant that without reproach. Restaurants are a tough business. But we nicely called the restaurant and after verifying and affirming our order, etc- the manager's response was repeatedly 'Sorry, Call Uber.' ( that is a quote). And he kept repeating that. And that was the stonewall-- basically 'tough luck.' So a bad taste in the food --and a worst taste from the 'Manager.' It's a customer service business. So we'll permanently move back to Taste of China-- a superb Charlottesville Chinese restaurant with dishes akin to ones I've had in China..... read more

We were looking for a place to eat before the TSO concert. Came across Peter Chang's. Did not disappoint. The staff was great and attentive. The food was decent proportion (probably more than so). Not pictured is the full fish another person ate that I failed to get a picture of. Would recommend going to! read more

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Got Szechuan dan dan noodles, the scallion pancakes, mapo tofu, basil eggplant, and pork soup buns (soup dumplings). Everything was oily, which is to be expected for Chinese food, so if they have tea I would get that, but I don't think I saw it on the menu. Drinking water didn't completely cut through the oil. The Dan Dan noodles: great, a little spicy, which I liked. Scallion pancakes: a little crispy and oily and paired well with the curry dipping sauce. It's a puffed up sphere of bread which was fun to rip into. Filling though so perhaps skip if dining solo. Mapo tofu: decent. I think the rice came with it, but I'm not sure which dish came with the rice. Basil eggplant: Oily, didn't really taste the basil, but my friend seemed to like it more than I did. Pork soup buns: Very disappointing. I love soup dumplings, but I would not get the soup buns again. 4/6 of them had no soup and some had tears in the skin already (which you can see in the picture). The skin was thicker than expected. They call it a soup bun, but it has dumpling skin. If you're craving soup dumplings, please don't waste your money on this dish. Trader Joe's soup dumplings are much better, just get that or go somewhere else if you're craving soup dumplings. Heads up: There's a policy by the manager to not refund food if it's already eaten, which I did not know about prior to eating some. But how would I know a soup dumpling has no soup until I bite into it? Quality control should be on the kitchen, not the customer. I did end up getting a small partial refund, but still this could have been handled better. Beware of the policy before you order. Btw I don't blame the server at all. Overall: I recommend the scallion pancakes and Szechuan Dan Dan noodles. Skip the pork soup buns. read more

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My wife and I both love all the different Peter Chang owned restaurants. My wife, being from Wuhan, loves the authentic Hubei dishes served up at the restaurants. This is our first time here at Peter Chang in Charlottesville, and it did not disappoint. Chef Andy Chang, who went to culinary school in Wuhan along with Peter Chang, is now the chef here since September '22. He came and talked with us after hearing my wife is from Wuhan. We didn't order it this time, but they have bubble pancakes which I would highly recommend as an appetizer. We usually order Wuhan noodles, but that is not available at this location (my wife recommended they add it, and if they do I highly recommend it!). We got a spicy fish pot, and a sizzling beef plate. The sauces used for each were very different from each other, both a little spicy and very, very good! We will stop by every time we go through Charlottesville now for authentic Wuhan dishes read more

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This is awful Chinese Chinese food. Gummy meat, soggy fried food, oily, and just plain bad. The booth walls were covered with food stains, the table top was sticky, and the inside was run down. Fine for a dive, but not for these prices. We moved from DC where a trip to a Peter Chang restaurant was always awesome. I love his identically named Arlington location and Momma Chang in Fairfax is stellar. By contrast, this is...horrible. I still feel gross from the food. At least the service was good, but there's no way we can recommend this. read more

Our favorite place to eat Chinese food in town, Dan Dan noodles and bamboo flounder fish are our must go read more

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If you want authentic Chinese food, this is the place to go in Charlottesville. Service has always been very good for me, better than average at least. Tried Three Pepper Chicken and Hot & Numbing Beef Brisket Hot Pot upon waiter's recommendation: very good choices. Three Pepper Chicken soft, tender, sweet with a hint of spice. Hot & Numbing Hot Pot much more oily/greasy, beef was very soft, spicier than Three Chicken, but overall great. Enough portions from each entree to comfortably feed two people. TIP: - request the tea (free). With any authentic chinese food, you find that most items can be greasy. The tea is absolutely needed as a palate cleanser. Without drinking tea with the entrees, you may walk away feeling heavy and oily. The food itself is great, but the tea, in my opinion, adds the cherry on top. - Scallion Bubble Pancakes is also a great appetizer choice. Won't say much, you can find out what it is. You can't really go wrong with it. read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - Three Pepper Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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I stopped by Peter Chang after getting off work late to order the shrimp fried rice as I got home to enjoy it there was no shrimp at all in my rice. This was the third time this happened to me. I'm done with them. Ugh!!!! read more

I decided to try out Peter Chang's one night after studying at the library. At first, I didn't have high expectations because I thought it was just another run-of-the-mill Chinese-American takeout place. I'm also half Chinese and from DC so I have high standards for Chinese food. However, I was surprised to find that their menu contained authentic Sichuan dishes. I ordered the Mapo Tofu and Spicy Basil Chicken. The Mapo Tofu was good. The tofu was perfectly cooked-- silken, nicely cubed, and not broken. The dish was flavorful and perfectly spicy. However, the Spicy Basil Chicken was underwhelming. I personally did not like that there was a high ratio of onions compared to chicken-- almost 50-50. The dish did not have enough sauce and was also not very spicy. I've had much better spicy basil chicken elsewhere. Overall, Peter Chang's is a refreshingly authentic Chinese restaurant with Sichuan cooking in Charlottesville. They are currently only offering takeout during the pandemic but I hope to return to try more of their food in the restaurant. I was surprised by the Mapo Tofu and will come back when I'm craving it, however the cooking of their other dishes left me unimpressed. read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - Mapo Tofu - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Absolutely the worst orange chicken and sesame chicken I've ever had. Portion size was small, especially for the price. Chicken was not crispy, sauce was bland--lacking both soy sauce and sweetness. Imagine frying chicken and then tossing it in water and duck sauce. That's essentially what they provided. The non Americanized Chinese food here was better--the pork dumplings were great. read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - Orange chicken -- beyond awful - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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I've been to a few Peter Chang restaurants over the years and I truly love and appreciate authentic Szechuan food. So, when I had the opportunity to come here for a working lunch, I was excited to try a new location! Unfortunately, the food didn't live up to my expectations at all; in fact, it was a true let down, even if compared to a basic Chinese carry-out joint. The Cumin Beef had absolutely no flavor and didn't even look like it was supposed to... it looked like some pieces of random beef, not even good quality meat that was sautéed, not wok'd with flame kissing the food and some veggies tossed in. The cut on the meat and veggies was unappetizing and the flavor was non-existent - Truly a sad dish! The Bamboo Flounder, which is really supposed to be Szechuan wok'd flounder was boring as well, hardly any flavor. Lots of peppers were tossed in, but it wasn't even spicy. Overall, this was a boring, bland visit. I truly hope Peter can turn things around at his restaurants, because I love the authentic style, I just haven't been getting it on my recent visit, here and to the location in Fredericksburg. read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - Fried Pork Belly & Bamboo Fish - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I was waiting to post a review until after several visits. I have now decided that the staff really don't ever greet politely or smile. If you have any questions, you will get looked at like you have 2 heads and then treated as if you've questioned the staffs intelligence. The hotpot is good here. The rest is on par with frozen meals from the grocery store. I doubt I'll be back read more

It is always the first place I go when visiting C-Ville and I crave that authentic Szechuan flavor and spice when I can't be there. Very nice service too. read more

Overtaxed! Be cautious! They charged us 11.8% instead of 5.3% without any notice. We are just travelers so that we were not familiar with the local tax rate and it was hidden. Food is overpriced too. American Chinese food. Never come again. read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I really enjoy coming to Peter Chang's. Since I was in undergrad, it's been one of my favorite restaurants. Now, I always make a stop here when I'm in cville to catch up with friends. It's easily one of the best asian restaurants in Cville. Do yourself a favor and be adventurous here! Don't order that basic general tso chicken and fried rice. You can get that anywhere. The Szechuan food is definitely the star here!! I love getting the scallion pancakes, fried fish egg roll, any of the numbing hot pots, tofu skin, pork belly, and three pepper chicken. They're insanely good! Be warned that the numbing hot pots are quite oily. I don't find it very spicy, because I love spicy food. Service is always good here! I'd recommend getting a reservation because they are usually crowded on weekends for dinner. read more

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Wow, I don't know what happened to this place! We went back for the first time in awhile this past June and the place felt incredibly run down. They seem to do a great take out business but the ambiance inside is kind of sad now. We still liked the bubble pancakes and the dry fried eggplant but most of the dishes were just ok. (And the Chinese girl from CA in me also hates having to pay for bowls of rice.) Overall disappointing. read more

I think this is the worst Chinese food. Period. Had a get together with friends and they picked up take out from here. Had I of known I would've warned them my last experience was terrible. Well, safe to say that my take out order was just as bad as my first experience. So gross. At least I didn't have to deal with nasty waitress lady, but still. I'd rather waste my money and trash their food than eat it. It's so gross. read more

Some of the worst food I've tasted in a long while. Ordered sesame chicken only to pick it up to find it slathered in red sauce. Took one bite and chicken was mid. Worst $34 spent read more

THE BIG: I believe this is the cousin of P.F. Chang's. Anyhoo, delicious food in the middle of Virginia. THE BLACK AND WHITE: I came here for the bae's graduation with her parents after she walked the lawn. The other places on the corner were full, however Peter Chang's was quite the opposite. Interesting decor inside. Thre were chinese lanterns as well as kid hand cut snowflakes. Pink walls adorned the inside. The lazy susan tables were a nice touch. We ordered the double fried pork belly, the daily fish special, ma po tofu, chinese broccoli, the fried duck and the chicken special. My favorites were the double fried pork belly and the daily fish special. Be warned, those were the two spiciest dishes for those who don't like spicy. The ma po tofu were nicely sliced into manageable pieces and the chicken special resembled thinly sliced general tso's chicken. My least favorite was the fried duck, it was way too gamey. THE FINAL BAMBOO: Ultimately the final bill for 6 dishes was around $124 including tax and tip. Good portions, good flavors, definitely best Chinese I've had in Charlottesville. read more

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went to Peter Changs China Grill on 01/21/2025. i ordered Seame chic and bang bang shrimp. when I got both dishes THEY had the same sauce, for 2 different. DISHES! I let that slide! because in there head they probably think our taste BUDS and EYES doesn't work. so I told my family member that I'm not leaving a TIP! well when we came up to pay. I was heading for the first booth . so since we were heading that way Server Jessica yelled out that we hadn't paid. so she assumed we was trying to leave since the door was in that direction! read this ! once we're outside. she runs out behind us with the receipts. and YELLED you left me no TIP! I sa I know I didn't! and i told her the food was NASTY! she said I wasn't the cook! well so what if you have an eye for food! she shouldn't SERVED wouldnt EAT there again if the food was FREE! read more

I've eaten a LOT of Chinese food in several states. I've been a student of Chinese cooking for years and have prepared many dishes not typically seen on menus. This restaurant is outstanding in terms of variety and preparation. The service was wonderful. Do yourself a favor and GO. Try something different! We all tend to order the same food all the time but here you may find a new favorite. We're only in town for a day. If we were here longer, I would try a new menu item every day. read more

I've been dining at Peter Chang's for 7 years. The food is always amazing. They know what they are doing. Today was our very best dining experience. Janie gave us the best service ever! The other server even came over to our table to look at everything we ordered and gave us her approval when she saw our feast. Hot and Sour soup... perfect Wonton soup... perfect Crazy Ghost Beef Chili.... So HOT, so good! 3 Pepper Chicken... amazing Shrimp with leek.... Amazing Our cozy booth was also a bonus. Janie is a true professional. It is not easy to give perfect service and make guests laugh at the same time. We are on Cloud 9 since dinner. Prices have not gone up in years either. Please keep it that way. read more

The person working there was just fine (I got takeout), but this was the worst Chinese food I've ever had. The spring rolls had almost no filling, and the grandmother noodles weren't even mixed with the sauce, so they were completely stuck together. The sauce had very little flavor, it just had chunks of chili in it. So you have some noodles with all sauce and other noodles with zero sauce. Really odd. read more

Food is wonderful, ambience was great as well. Service was terrible, they don't even talk to you or smile at you!

truly truly horrible. I've watched this place fall apart over the last ten years. First, the comments made by others about management and staff being indifferent to customers is correct. The last 3 times I have been in, the manager, or senior woman, or staff have the TV on watching sports. No one shows any interest in taking your order. I suppose the noisy TV doesn't matter since the restaurant is now always empty, but why I, the customer, have to sit and listen to it while waiting for my takeout order, is baffling. Second, the restaurant, booths, floors and bathroom are filthy. Third, the food is awful. My husband's scallion and onions was ALL onions (yes i have photos) and was full of grease. In fact, the grease/fat content made the dish (take-out) feel heavy, he threw it out. Fourth, yes, as others have pointed out, you will find hairs and other food items in your dish so people with allergies should not go. In a single order of stir fried eggplant, I found a hard white object about an inch long as well as pieces of chicken (yes, took photos); Fifth, I paid a whopping $33.69 for only Dry Fried eggplant and scallion onion beef; and Sixth, when I asked for the standard tiny container of condiment hot chili oil, the indifferent staffer told me they were $1.00 each now. Wow, in all of my years eating authentic chinese in China, in LA, Boston, NYC, wash D.C. and England, not one establishment has ever asked for money for condiments. Since I had already paid by credit card and had no cash, I left without it. I and my family and colleagues will not be back For those that don't know. Peter Chang left for Maryland long ago after selling off this place. read more

Expected more but should've tempered my expectation knowing that I'm having Chinese food in Charlottesville. Don't ever get the salt and pepper spare rib. It was spiced right, however, 80% of that dish were bones deep fired with mostly over fried batter. whatever 20% meat we that came with the bones were old and/ or leftover from the night(s) before read more

Bland food, overcooked chicken, doughy dumplings. I had the orange chicken and the breading was soft and thick and there was no perceptible orange taste at all. The dumplings we had with our meal had overcooked filling and excessively gummy wontons. First trip and it'll be our last. Very disappointing. read more

This year Mr. Chang was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as a finalist for outstanding chef. They obviously never tried his namesake establishment in Cville. Let me say that we've been fairly regular customers for more than 10 years. And have seen a slow decline in just about every facet of this establishment's business: the dining room falling into disrepair, the staff hardly interested in your existence, and both the quality and portions of food shrinking. Tonight we had a taste for the Peter Changs we remembered when we arrived in Cville a decade ago and ordered the Kungpao shrimp and scallops. It was our favorite. Back in the day the scallops were plump and shrimp plentiful, the sauce exquisite. Better than anywhere else you could go. Tonight, there was no discernible scallop and four very sad, overcooked shrimp in a pile of undercooked celery and other green vegetable. For $21. When we called to ask what was up with the food, the worker said, "Well, we upped the price but decreased the amount." Now certainly there is a small amount of inflation but if you can't cook a meal at a decent price point that is actually edible then you should take it off the menu. Sadly, this has been more of our experience the last few years. The fact is, Chang has been riding on his ego and neglecting the Charlottesville restaurant. His name is on the side of the building and his food is a direct reflection of him. I've now also lost a lot of respect for the James Beard Foundation. They should have done their home work before feeding his ego. Skip this place and grab something from the dozens of other nice establishments around the area that take pride in their restaurants. read more

Went here for a second time and I have to say I am more impressed with both the food and service than I was last time. At first I thought the service was average but upon visiting again they have changed my mind about this. Both times we were greeted in a friendly way and seated almost immediately. The server was prompt and although some of them are not native english speakers, they all are proficient enough to understand and accommodate special requests. I was especially pleased with how they were happy to accommodate my request. The last time I visited this restaurant, my husband had ordered the Szechuan Hot Pot Chicken. His dish looked and smelled so good but as a vegetarian, I could not indulge. This time I asked if they could make a vegetarian version for me with only tofu and carrots. The waitress was very kind and immediately said yes of course they can do that! I was not disappointed! The Szechuan Hot Pot Tofu was the best tofu I have ever had in my life! The numbing effect of the szechuan hot peppers was an interesting experience. I loved that the dish was spicy and it came out sizzling for a very cool effect. If you like really spicy food, ask for the hot oil - which is actually spicy here. I cannot recommend this restaurant more!! I will be eating here every time I visit Charlottesville. read more

Peter Chang's China Grill - Vegetarian spring rolls with sweet dipping sauce - Chinese Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

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Came here today for lunch with my friends! It wasn't very busy, but the service was nice! The ambiance was a bit lacking compared to other restaurants I've been to. The food was average in terms of taste, but the prices are very reasonable. read more

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This was my first time eating at Peter Chang's. Someone recommended that I come here after I raved about how much I love soup dumplings. I ate here Friday night around dinner time and the place was packed--we waited by the door for 10-15 minutes (it was cold) before a table was available. I ordered food for my friend and I to share: 1.) soup dumplings (it came 6 for $10), 2.) scallion bubble pancake, and 3.) an entree: seafood on hot plate. The scallion bubble pancakes (came in 2) was HUGE (it was larger than my head) and super yummy. It was served with a side of curry paste, which wasn't too bad. The soup dumplings were INSANE. Soup dumplings are dumplings that have warm, delicious soup that fills your mouth when you bite into it. Generally, it's better if you pop the whole thing in your mouth to prevent any spillage of soup. Anyways, these dumplings were bigger than I expected so it was definitely worth the $10 price tag. By this time, I'm nearly full, even before the entree came out. The entree itself was less exciting than the two dishes that I had before. It was mostly boneless fish, veggies, and 4 pieces of shrimp in a large clay pot drenched in curry paste/sauce. The curry paste itself is a bit bland and I thought the dish was superfluous in the amount of fish. However, the veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery, asparagus) was also plentiful and went well with the curry paste. I would for sure recommend the two appetizers that I mentioned above but not so much the entree. The pancakes were $6 and the entree was $20. The service itself was phenomenal, the waitress (and other staff) were very friendly and food was served in a timely manner. Please note, the place does not take reservations if you're a party of less than 6 people. Another note: this is the only place in Charlottesville that serves actual soup dumplings!! HIGHLY recommend. read more

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