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    Sichuan River

    3.7 (442 reviews)
    ModerateSzechuan
    Open 11:00 am - 9:30 pm

    Order Sichuan River Takeout or Delivery

    Sichuan River Photos

    SICHUAN RIVER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Reviews With Photos

    Christian J.

    My brother and I enjoyed the venue itself- it's cleaner than other Chinese-buffet type restaurants. I ordered the beef fried rice, my brother ordered the wanton soup. The food came out within 5 minutes of when we ordered; this made me question the freshness. The wanton soup tasted strongly of pepper, like the chef dumped in the whole can of McCormick black pepper. My rice was burned and flavorless. Two stars go to the venue and the solid menu.

    Beef Lo Mein
    Ashley W.

    5 star for takeout beef lo mein! Generous portion that I can split between two meals. Not too oily and very much the comfort food I was looking for. I was honestly iffy about trying this spot but definitely excited to come back to try more items on the menu. Not a fan of the interior ambiance as it's windowless and all dark but it's a great place for takeout!

    VG8 Mapo Tofu
    Christina H.

    First, don't expect bells and whistles at this no-frills South Austin restaurant. Second, don't expect Chinese food, as this is Szechuan! Szechuan food is more flavorful from due to its powerful peppercorns, dried chili peppers, and garlic. Expect tons of potent flavor and spice with every bite. If you are looking for good Sichuan food, look no further. Must try: The Mapo Tofu and the Spicy Stir Fried Chicken.

    Mapo Tofu
    Hannah K.

    This is the best Chinese food in Austin, as far as I'm concerned. I'm talking real Sichuan Chinese food, not just American Chinese food, with mala (mouth-numbing) spice, wok hei (char), and vegan options. I'm extremely picky about my mapo tofu, and this is the ONLY restaurant I've ever found that can rival the version that my chef friend makes. Soft tofu, rich, pungent, and boldly seasoned sauce with all the funky notes of fermented black beans; it's what I crave and could happily eat every single day. Don't overlook the seemingly plain vegetables, either. They do downright magical things with humble cabbage. The eggplant melts in your mouth. Green beans are tender-crisp and as compulsively munchable as potato chips. I can't explain why or how it's all so good. My big dilemma is that I want to try the whole menu, but I always want to eat the same things, too. Consider this a review in progress, but I haven't found a disappointing dish yet.

    CS12 Sichuan Sauteed Spicy Chicken
    Andrew L.

    I came here for lunch early on a Saturday afternoon. We had no wait and immediately got the vibe that they cater more to their takeout audience. Something about the vibe felt off, almost as if we had shown up to someone's house uninvited. The staff was nice and attentive, but almost everything else about the restaurant screamed "we may be open for dine in, but we'd really rather you didn't" The menu is absolutely tremendous and had a lot of interesting options. Since my Sichuan experiences are rare in Austin, I stick to a more traditional dish and went for the sautéed spicy chicken. The portion size was quite large, but it's about in line with what I'd expect for their price point. The chicken was pretty good, it had a fairly mild pepper kick and you got a little bit of the numbing spice. I purposely ordered this dish because it wasn't described as popcorn chicken, as opposed to the similar spicy chicken dish, but the chicken I had was still quite bready. On the positive side, I thought the mix of vegetables was a great choice and went really well with the chili oil. One other downside to the dish was the sheer volume of oil used in the dish. Across all the plates my group ordered everything was drowned in oil. Overall, if you live in South Austin and are craving Sichuan, this spot should reasonable satisfy you. However I wouldn't come out of my way to try them and likely wouldn't have them in my regular rotation of spots to eat out

    VG7 Dried Sauteed Green Beans

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    4 months ago

    This place is recommended. Foods were not fresh. The pig elbow we ordered tasted like in refrigerator for long time. Will not come again

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    7 months ago

    The chicken was tough and chewy. I couldn't eat it :( the egg roll I got was super soggy.

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    3 years ago

    Not bad for Austin. I always get the fish in chili oil whenever I want fish and I recommend that dish.

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    Page 1 of 12

    Ask the Community - Sichuan River

    Anyone know who has the best GARLIC EGGPLANT in Austin?

    sichuan river on gateway at 290 has an impressive, traditional rendition fortified with ginger. but i suspect that asian cafe on 183 at spicewood springs will have a very good one.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    First time here. We've been on the hunt for all of the live crawfish, Asian Cajun style in Austin…read more I found out about Mala Chili via a Foodie FB group I'm in. So here we are. We arrived around 7:40p Saturday evening and this spot is bumpin busy and very lively. The outdoor patio was even packed. We were so lucky as a walk-in party of 2, a table was being cleaned so we were able to be seated quickly. Our server brought us each a tablet to order our food. I ordered the cucumber salad and general tso chicken with fried rice. My man ordered 2 lbs of live mala style crawfish $18 per pound (min 2# per order) with 5 shrimp. He also ordered the sesame chicken dish. Our food came out within 10 minutes, super fast. The crawfish took a little bit longer because I believe they make it fresh. Here's where it gets interesting. My man said his mouth was tingling and his tongue felt funny and when he took a drink of his tea it tasted super weird. Come to find out, the crawfish mala sauce has Szechuan peppercorn which has a numbing tingling effect to your tongue and mouth. We did not know this before we ordered. So He thought he was having an allergic reaction to something. We asked our server and she explained a traditional mala seasoning. I highly recommend that this is listed on the menu item as a forewarning to those that have never had the Mala live crawfish here before. Sadly, there were a lot of crawfish wasted tonight because He wasn't able to eat them all That seasoning just did not agree with his mouth or taste buds at all. :( But....The general tso and sesame chicken dishes were tasty! Another call out, We both ordered ice tea at the beginning and it came out pretty quickly, But no one returned to our table during our time here to offer refills or to check in on us after everything was delivered. I understand the restaurant was busy when we arrived but it slowed down while we were there. We may return to this location if we are in the area to try other dishes but unfortunately, he is unable to eat the live crawfish due to that one seasoning. Everyone was super friendly and I recommend trying the restaurant if you haven't before it.

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    Sichuan River - szechuan - Updated May 2026

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