Went here for the first time with some friends who go often. We shared a bunch of food - my favorite being some of the apps. The scallion pancakes were perfect. They were soft but still crispy and still tasted really fresh. The crab rangoons were the little wonton ones but the flavor was fantastic. The beef fried rice had a little zing to it. It also had peas. (I personally hate peas but I also get a small allergic reaction so I pick them out). My husband enjoyed some of the dishes the we shared but I can't remember what they were. He & our toddler liked the Dan Dan Noodles. The service was good and attentive for the most part. Towards the end, our waiter disappeared for a while until it was clear we were trying to pack up. I didn't take pictures this time but we'll be back for sure. This might be our new go-to Chinese spot. read more

I love coming here. The service is so fast and friendly, and they have the best prices. This time, we tried the braised lamb with spicy sauce in hot pot; this was delicious. And we had the sautéed fish with bone (flounder); this was incredible. The strong odor of spices can be off-putting, but the taste is incredible. read more

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When looking for a restaurant that servers authentic cuisine from their home country, look into the dinning room and see who is there. We came here for lunch and it was filled with a Chinese tour group that had just pulled in. Beyond the tour group the dinning room was packed with everyone speaking Chinese. You would have thought we were in Chinatown and not out in the middle of Western Massachusetts. We ordered the Brisket in Clay pot, Spicy Crispy chicken , and Sautéed ginger pork. The spicy crispy chicken was definitely the start of the meal. It was crunch but yet still super moist and juicy in the center. Lots of flavor and just enough heat. Although it looks very intimidating with all the red chili peppers, it's very mild and delicious. The ginger pork was also good, but a little too sweet. However, my little guy loved it just as it was. The clay pot brisket was unfortunately not as good as I had hoped for. The flavors were underwhelming, especially when compared to other places we have had this. It was well executed, with the beef being cooked long enough to be soft and delicate, but just was not seasoned enough. The staff were very friendly and even with a packed dinning room, they checked on us frequently. Very good restaurant with plenty of parking and highly recommend coming if you are in the Worcester area. read more

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I go here for the Mongolian Beef and the Baby Pea Leaves. Not cheap, but very tasty and authentic! I wish they had "Ants Climb the Tree" (ground pork with mung bean thread noodles). read more

Truly authentic Sichuan food and delicious at that. Red Pepper is an older building with simple interior, no frills, and a TV with Chinese media on it. Service was a bit dry but attentive and helpful enough. The 5 stars are really about the food. All six of us, non-Chinese, out of towners were craving Chinese. Needless to say, everyone in our party was very happy and very full after our meal. We had the Duck Blood, Beef Stomach, & Bean Sprout Stew, General Tso Chicken, Deep Fried Chicken with Dry Pepper, Salt and Pepper Shrimp, Mongolian Beef, House Fried Rice, wonton in spicy sauce, egg rolls, and spring rolls. Everything was delicious but the whole table agreed the Deep Fried Chicken with Dry Pepper and Duck Blood, Beef Stomach, and Bean Sprout Stew were the stars. We originally got the stew because we all dared each other to try it, thinking it was so unusual, and then we all were shocked to find that we really enjoyed the flavors. This is as authentic as it gets. read more

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Always authentic, fresh , and great service! Best in Worcester. Couldn't find better in or out the area.

My favorite Chinese place here! The food is super good and the staff is super friendly and helpful! There is a lot of seating and it is good for both big and small groups! My favorite dishes are definitely the spicy wontons which had a lot of flavor. The dry pot with fish, the orange chicken and any of the vegetable dishes. They were all seasoned well and were not too greasy. I also really liked the fried rice and the dan Dan noodles. Would definitely go back because the prices are reasonable and food comes fast. read more

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It was ok. We ordered house lo mein, chicken fingers, crab, Rangoon, boneless pork, ribs, and eggrolls. We found everything to be quite greasy with a very strong flavor of grease as well. The lo mein was very mushy. We ordered it without onions so would've expected it to be on the fresher side, but it wasn't. Staff was friendly! We ate it, but it was just meh. read more

I ordered catering from Red Pepper for the first time recently. I was very pleased by the quality as well as quantity of the food. The small size was more like what I expected of a medium size. There were generous amounts of meat and it was tasty and enjoyed by those at the event. I will definitely order from Red Pepper again. read more

A little pricey for what you get ... but this is as close to authentic food you'd actually find in China to anything else in the area. Lots of college professors from Worcester and exchange students go here. Don't expect Yong Shing-style Chinese food with chicken fingers and egg rolls. This is fairly authentic Schezuan Chinese Food. Lots of spices and ingredients like black fungus (sounds worse than it tastes) that you don't normally find in American Chinese restaurant dishes. The menu is a bit hard to read ... and the staff is REALLY very gruff and abrupt. Don't expect any warmth or humor at all ... it's very robotic in the way you are served. There are a LOT of options ... and many of them are not dishes one would be familiar with, if they aren't fond of actual Chinese cooking. In terms of the actual restaurant ... you don't get a very 'clean' feeling when you walk in and sit down. It's not dirty, per se, but it def. could use with a sprucing up and wipe down. If you are sketched out by worn rugs/booths and a little dust or grime, this might not be your place. Go for the food ... not the atmosphere. It is amazing to me that a place like this even exists outside of Chinatown. I was a little surprised at how expensive the dishes are. Even for lunch, an entre and a soda will be over $20 with the tip. Given how 'basic' the surroundings are, hopefully that means the ingredients are high quality. The flavours are very unique ... and you have to get used to them, if you aren't really used to it. At most American-style Chinese restaurants, the dishes look the same but the sauces have much more sugar in them. Here, the spices aren't hidden behind sugar and sweetness. I recommend giving it a try, if you are into authentic Chinese food. I came across this place because one of my friends works at a company with an office in China and when their employees come over to present or work on a project, they head right to this place for all their meals. read more

Red pepper definitely makes the best authentic Chinese food in Worcester area!!! The quality and taste are almost always great! Good portions, fast service, the food came out pipping hot! These are my personal favorites and I have been coming for 4-5 years. Love the sauterd pea leaves with garlic, Hot and sour soup, yang chow fried rice, spicy wonton, Sichuan eggplant and steamed chicken with chilli oil in the appetizer menu. Ambiance of the restaurant: tables and chairs are very closed together. So if it's gets crowded, you are sitting back to back sometimes with another customers from the other tables. Could space out the table to table a bit! Special menus are written on the white board in Chinese and English! Some servers were attentive but it's a typical Chinese restaurant style that they don't really come and check on you during the dining experience. You sort of have to grab their attention if you needed something like refilling more tea or water, napkins etc. read more

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I love Mala. This is one of the only places in Worcester where you can order Mala dishes. We got the dry beef hot pot and the Mala pot without fish. Both had very nice spice, I could honestly handle more spicy but my fiancé would probably faint from it. The dry pot was more on the sweeter side, but it still tastes good. Together, the food cost about $50 dollars for both of us, without tip--however, we had two trays worth of leftovers to bring home! The service was sufficient. The staff were friendly, polite, attentive, and sent our food out in a timely manner. The ambiance is very straightforward. It's not just a quick pickup spot where you can pick up the greasy, fried Chinese food, but it's an actual place you can sit down and taste some authentic Chinese dishes. The decor is not the best, but it's very comfortable and casual. We would definitely return with our friends! read more

Red Pepper - N01. Dry Braised Beef Spicy Hot Pot - Chinese Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

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My rating is actually 3.5 stars but Yelp won't allow it. It fills my Chinese cravings after weeklong business trip in Europe but it's a bit out of the way, not worth extra 45 min. detour, probably won't come again. My ratings on the dishes: 1, Fuqifeipian, the signature Sichuan dish only earned 3 stars, not bad but the taste was a little off & 2/3 of the slices were too thick. 2, Scallion lamb, a substitution from the beef dish, was the star of the night, more rich flavor than beef yet not gamy, well deserving 5 stars. 3, Pork kidney, 爆腰花。 3 stars. This is a tricky dish & it was executed subpar to my standard. A bit watery with a sour taste, might be because the type of hot sauce used. Might be better to use dry pepper & make it 干爆 style, & make sure to pre-rinse the kidney briefly in boiling water to achieve the clean taste. 4, beef tendon pot, 牛腩煲。 3.5 stars, well cooked & tender, but flavor was a bit bland, mostly 板筋 with chewy skin lacking true tendon pieces & fatty tissues for ultimate rendering of this classic Chinese dish. read more

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The skinny: One of the best authentic sichuan places you can find in the Boston area. Overall was very impressed by this spot - it sits unassumingly in Worcester away from the hustle and bustle of Boston or Chinatown. But if you're ever in the area and craving chinese food I'd recommend you come here. We ordered a few dishes to share: Dry Braised Pork Intestine w Spicy Sauce in Hot Pot, cumin lamb, tendons in chili, wontons spicy and the sliced fish tofu with spicy sichuan pepper. The favorites were the fish and the tendons - perfect mala spice - just enough to taste the different flavors - without overpowering the dish. Would definitely recommend these. Everything else was absolutely delicious as well. Cumin lamb had a great spice balance and came in a large portion. Wontons spicy were the only item that I was not super impressed by - solid but was flavors were bland compared to our other dishes and a little less juicy than I would have liked. Would I come back: Yes - this will be my go to place for authentic sichuan food when I'm in the area. read more

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The most authentic Chinese food in the city. Always excellent dishes cooked to perfection. Our consistent first choice for Chinese food!

I don't understand why so many reviews cite the authenticity here -- the food is Americanized and Panda Express level (note I didn't say PF Chang's, it's not quite there). Old cooking oil, overly sugary sauces, very confusing about the reviews. Maybe I came on a bad night for them, or maybe there just aren't options and they're "good" by default. read more

I really enjoy mala and thought this place did it well. Food came out fast and the dishes were tasty, flavorful, and fresh. Very authentic and captured true Chinese flavors. I recommend getting the fish filler dry pot read more

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This restaurant provides well-done Americanized Chinese food. The walnut mayo shrimp was HUGE and crispy. The spicy dumplings were tender and had a great kick. Service was a little bit slow, however, there was only one waitress servicing the restaurant. Overall, would recommend this Chinese restaurant over many others in Worcester. 4/5. read more

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All I can say is is this what you get for 8.50 crab Rangoon that taste like pure cream cheese with sugar. 9.95 boneless spareribs in a burger container a small burger container $14 house fried rice that was pretty common and two eggrolls for 5.45 all I can say is look at the pictures read more

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The food here was great, more authentic than some of the other places around. The dove in the Hunan chicken was perfect. We walked in and was seated right away along with a pot of tea, the food was on the table in about 5 minutes after we ordered. read more

Red Pepper - Chicken with Broccoli, white rice and boneless spare ribs - Chinese Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

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Went here for my son's 29th birthday. He wanted to try it. First thing to note: No alcohol. Nada. Zip. Menu was extensive- lots of items I've never seen anywhere else, and some organ dishes (kidney- heart- intestine) that seemed pretty authentic! Service was ok- if a tad slow. The place was empty (it was 4pm on a Thursday) and it took a LONG time for our food to arrive. Food was tasty, but not "amazing". If you're up for authentic cuisine or you're an adventurous diner with no thirst for alcohol - this may be the place for you! I don't think I'll be back anytime soon though. read more

This spot serves the most authentic and flavorful Chinese food in Worcester. It's far better than any Americanized options you'll find. read more

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Authentic food Noodles. Deep fried fish in spicy sauce . I saw folks are washing and picking green beans when I arrived this place. Then I knew they must sell food fresh! I saw a trunk from Ipswich seafood came to their back kitchen. You can trust their seafood quality too read more

Red Pepper - A fish fillet dry pot with vegetables and chili peppers in a glass dish, and a plate of noodles topped with minced pork and chopped green onions. - Chinese Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

Went here multiple times before Covid and never went back because several times my party felt the service was dismissive and disrespectful. So maybe that colors part of my review. My family had takeout and on the food alone, I'd definitely recommend. I've had some bad luck with Chinese restaurants lately, had a lot of dishes that were just heavy in grease. Not an issue at Red Pepper. The crab rangoon were some of the best I've had in a while as was the lo main and boneless ribs. The Mongolian chicken was very spicy in a good way. But I'd avoid the salt and pepper calamari. The issue wasn't that it was a fried food takeout issue, it just didn't have much flavor which was a disappointment. Can't comment on the service this time around but the place did still seem to be quiet and homey. read more

The best way to enjoy Red Pepper is in house with a bunch of friends, then you all can share the dishes! But since that's not possible right now, I still enjoy their takeout. The service is always friendly, and my takeout orders have always been properly and delicately packaged. Recently I've been a fan of their Dan Dan noodles and order them almost every visit. All in all, I haven't found anything I didn't enjoy. There is a discount for cash payment + BYOB. read more

Red Pepper - Dan Dan noodles - Chinese Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

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Good place for a quick bite. Roomy if you have kids and in need for a large party celebration. Service is quick and friendly. Sichuan food so you need to be able to handle your spices. read more

I have always wanted to give Red Pepper a try since they opened because I knew they specialize in Sichuan style cuisine and when I wanted that, I'd just go to Framingham or Boston. Never have I ever decided it was time to stop in, passing the property even since it used to be Chopsticks restaurant and I live so close! I've been noticing this place get a lot more attention nowadays with the influx of Chinese students at Clark and the opening of the Chinese supermarket in the plaza. Anyways, so glad I finally did! They got exactly what I had in mind... deep fried chicken with dry pepper, an absolute favorite Sichuan dish. The numbing sensation from the peppercorn and the mild spiciness from the dried (edible) peppers with seasonings is just so addicting. I just wish it were more crispy but I think having it steam up in a takeout box before eating had softened the texture. The rice that came with it was fluffy and fresh, and I'm so glad they actually prepare it the right way unlike some restaurants who try to save money on their water bill by not washing and rinsing their rice multiple times before cooking. I also ordered the Dan Dan Noodles because people seem to recommend that on Yelp and it was good and only $6.95! Can't say much about table service but the two ladies there seem nice and welcoming and the interior modest and accommodating, but the food is definitely pretty darn good and it's not too expensive. You get a 10% discount if paid in cash and there is plenty of parking. Definitely would come back! read more

Red Pepper - Wontons with Spicy Sauce - Chinese Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

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The worst restaurant I have ever ate at and i barely had any just enough to eat tasteless supposedly chinese food. The service was non existent, she spent more time vacuuming. Paid no attention to us. The food was awful I had the beef with green beans, the beef looked like inedible mini sausages instead of beef. The rice yuk, the sweet and sour soup was too spicy so i wasted $41 bucks here. This place should be shut down and I don't know how they are still opened. BOH should get in there. There is no ambiance too unless you count her vacuuming. The yelp reviews are lies!!! They must have their friends write them too. jmo read more

YUM! So many things to try here that I haven't tried before! I loved the moo shi, lotus root, and steamed fish with tofu. Service is great and we always leave happy! read more

We checked out this place an hour before they closed on a Friday night. It wasn't busy at all. The service was a little confusing and super casual but not bad. They offered us jasmine tea which was great. The food came quickly and boy did they give us huge portions. We order the cold beef and tendon with chili and cilantro, the crab Rangoon, the cumin lamb and chili fish. The fish and Rangoon were very oily. They didn't allow the foods to drain before serving them to us so that wasn't fun. Otherwise the foods were good. The fish came out in a 9x13 dish. My favorite was the beef and tendon which came with rice. I'd definitely order that one again. These foods were recommended to us so we didn't really look at the menu. With this I'll give the place four stars rather than three because we didn't have the best experience with what was recommended to us because it was so oily. I'd definitely check this place out again and order something different. read more

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I am giving three stars because the food was palatable, even if not appetizing. The scallion pancake appetizer was fine and much like what I've had elsewhere. The vegetable mooshi was adequate. The ginger and scallion fish was at least a generous portion of white fish, but quite bland, at least for my tastes, as the garnish of green onion was not enough for flavor, and I couldn't taste ginger at all. The pot of tea was somewhere between lukewarm and warm. The ambience was rather uninviting. Service was fast but without a smile; we felt tolerated but not welcomed. read more

Amazing food! Nice people working here. Very tasty and very high quality meat! Their tea is great too! Must eat here if you're in Worcester! Very nice and quiet ambiance. Good place to relax and eat a hot meal. read more

My mum hates going out to eat at restaurants, she's more of a home-cooked meal kind of gal, but I somehow convinced her to let me take her out for Mother's Day and she LOVED it! The first time we went was great and it definitely had us coming back! We are big seafood eaters and she had ordered the spicy sliced fish and tofu with sichuan pepper and I had ordered the fish with scallions, onion, and ginger. Both were delicious! It's a family owned restaurant and they're all really nice. It's family style, lots of lighting, seating, and you can enter from the front or back entrance. The menu is quite impressive, there's something for everyone. Everything I have tried on the menu is really good. Definitely check it out if you're looking for good, FRESH, Chinese food in the city! read more

We've been coming to Red Pepper for at least five years. It is very likely the best authentic Szechuan food you'll find west of Boston. We have tried multiple Szechuan restaurants across New England and none of them are at this level. The service is always fast and the food is always delicious. The ambiance isn't great but the food absolutely makes up for it. In fact, I've determined that fancy ambiance is usually a distraction from mediocre food. If you're looking for "American Chinese" food this isn't your spot. It's the real authentic deal. read more

Came back to see my mother who was in the hospital. Drove by the Red Pepper decided to stop in great food, service, and authentic Chinese atmosphere. Wish we had one of these in west virginia read more

First time visit. My wife is Chinese from Harbin...Ice Country...northeast China. I had General Tsao...the first time in 10 years that I enjoyed the General and I can say it was very, very good...crispy with a delicious slightly hot sauce. My wife had a pork and pepper dish that was spicy but really delicious...on a hot scale I would say it was about 8...10 would be too hot for most Americans. Very happy with the portions and the price...will definitely make a stop there again. By the way across the street is, Asian Supermarket, one of the best oriental markets in the northeast...good prices; fresh fish and vegetables and everything you need to make a Chinese dish... Robert and Xiaohong Jin Guilbault North Kingstown, RI read more

This place was recommended to me by some folks at my job. I even had some delicious food from them at a work function. I was thus dismayed when I went by the next week for food and couldn't make a purchase. First, the entree I wanted did not offer any rice which had to be ordered separately. My chicken and rice dinner came to over 23 dollars. I wanted to pay with my credit card, but the cashier discouraged me from doing so. He wanted cash and told me that if I had it that there would be a little discount. I told him that I didn't care about that and had no issues using my card. He then asked me to get cash and return for my order. I have never been to a place that essentially rejected my card. If you eat here, bring cash. Unfortunately, I don't think that I'll be back. read more

The food is excellent ! I have eaten Chinese food all over the US and this food is as good as it gets . This establishment has been in business for ten years and the restaurant has been Chinese since the mid 1980's . I went there in 1984 when Chopsticks was beginning. Don't let the plain surroundings mislead you . Great value . read more

Authentic Sichuan cuisine that is consistently good. I try to limit myself to once a week but this place is seriously addictive. 90% of the clientele are Chinese which tells you it is legit. Affordable too. Highly recommended. read more

I want to like this place but everything I order is laden in oil and underwhelming in its seasoning.