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Szechuan Chef

3.6 (331 reviews)
ModerateSzechuan
Closed 11:00 am - 3:30 pm, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Order Szechuan Chef Takeout or Delivery

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SZECHUAN CHEF ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

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String green beans
Youn S.

This place is one of San Diego's most authentic Chinese restaurants. It was my first time visiting with friends and we had a pretty good experience here overall. With the iPad, you can see pictures of each food, and then you have to order when the waiter comes. The iPad is not orderable. The food were all really good quality, spices were very authentic, I recommend people trying the spot if you really like Szechuan style Chinese food. A lot of people came even during the week so the restaurant was pretty busy. Overall, it looks pretty clean as well.

LINA M.

I was craving authentic Chinese so did a search and wanted to try this place out based on their menu items. I didn't know it was located in a shared plaza with Boba Time, Melody Karaoke, Olleh, Monsta Ramen, etc so as you can imagine parking was a nightmare just like how everywhere else in Convoy. The restaurant is pretty spacious with a lot of patrons. I went in to grab takeout yesterday evening around 6pm. They have an iPad menu but you don't order off the iPad. I made it a point to ask for extra chili oil mentioning that I eat spicy. The lady at the register kept saying yes and even mentioned she'll pack me 2. They were half filled and I don't understand why places are so stingy with their chili oils for takeout when it's openly at tables and I clearly ordered 4 entrees. So I ordered: *Mongolian Beef $18.99 - it was good, not spicy at all and the meat was tender. *Garlic Crispy Pork Ribs $16.99 - they were nicely crunchy. A bit too small of pieces so they could've cut it bigger so it wouldn't feel too crispy with the bones. It had this after taste that I can't put my hands on but it wasn't bad. *Pork Intestine in Hot Pot $19.99 - now this was good. I had been craving intestines for a while and it hit the spot. The flavors complimented each other well. *Combo Chow Mein $13.99 - it came with a mixture of beef, chicken, shrimp. I was expecting the bigger rounder chewier noodles. The noodles were a bit on the thin side and it was just ok for me. They were kind of plain as well. *Rice $2 small/$4 large - they do charge for rice here.

potstickers
Hubert Z.

Good size portions, large variety of food to choose from. Food and service was ok. Food came out fast.

Steven Y.

My mom and I come here to eat a few times in the past few years since it's the closest thing to authentic Chinese food we have back home. Over the years, the prices has gone up and the portion size is good, they use a lot of oil in their food so make sure if you don't like extra oil, ask the chef to reduce it. Overall the price is decent and I enjoy the food. It's definitely worth it

12-25-24
Sue D.

12-25-24 I came here on Christmas Day, 5pm. It was packed but the wait was only 15min, not bad. Ordered: 4/5 -Porky Intestine Lao Gan Ma Chili $19.99- very tasty but the intestine was a bit on the chewy side. -Eggplant w minced pk $14.99- yummy delicious and filled w tasty oil. -Szechsty braised pk $16.99- needed to be more braised, pork was a bit dried. -Rice $2 for each order. Service: 2/5 due to reasons below Liked: yummy food Disliked: -They took orders from customers who came after us of not one table but two other tables before coming to us. That is a big No No. -They forgot our 3rd dish until we asked about it (toward the end of our meal). Overall experience, although I gave 2 stars for service, I still would return for the yummy food. Note: No paper menu

Momo Z.

We arrived at 5 PM and skipped the line. Three of us ordered four dishes, and the portions were generous. Unfortunately, the pork intestines were way too spicy to handle, and the other dishes were overly greasy. We ended up leaving without eating much.

Sasha P.

Everything was amazing! The fish was absolutely incredible and super flavorful. There were only two other tables, so service was great. Spacious restaurant and nice for large groups of ppl.

Tim T.

Adding an update review - this time we ordered a pork and vegetable stew, soup, seasoned green peas and an eggplant dish. Service was also prompt and ambiance was also great.

My family and I love this place. We went there for the first time last week and came back again today. The spicy food is very flavorful and the ingredients look fresh and beautiful. My favorite is the Pork Intestine in Hot Pot. It comes in a heated pot with fire under it to keep it warm and delicious throughout the meal. The Szechuan Style Braised Pork Belly is also great. I know intestine isn't for everyone but you should definitely come try their other spicy dishes at least!

Han L.

Pretty good. I liked the fried rice and the texture of the ribs was good. I would come back to try more things.

Joe H.

By far our favorite Chinese restaurant in San Diego. We have been coming here for more than 6 years. It's not the restaurant for those in their 20's and 30's but it is very popular with families. My husband was born and raised in China, it's authentic Chinese food. Great value, friendly staff, and nice and clean.

Dried Spicy  Chicken #052 辣子鸡丁
Georgie M.

Szechuan Chef is located on busy Convoy Street, the home of many Asian businesses and restaurants. The food here is very good, but the service can be spotty and is lacking any ambiance. We came early on a Thursday, a little after five. We had the pick of several parking spaces. A novelty, given how crowded Conroy can be around seven-thirty. The three of us found a seat inside and started reviewing their absolute massive Menu. It must have been over Forty pages long! I gave up taking photos after twenty-five pages LOL. See separate post. After having a snack at nearby IKEA, we ordered only two entrées and two appetizers. The Oolong tea was fresh and hot. We decided to share our food which came out Asian style. Meaning whatever the Chef decided to make, it came out first. We had, in order of plating... * Shredded Pork $16.99 京酱肉丝 * Chicken Fried Rice $12.99 鸡肉炒饭 * Dried Spicy Chicken $15.99 辣子鸡丁 * 2 White Rice $4.00 米饭 * Scallion pancake $5.99 葱油饼 * Gyoza Pork Potstickers $10.99 The portion sizes were huge and everything was great and very tasty. We had more than enough for leftovers the next day. We will definitely will be back.

Soup Menu
Clara C.

Gotta keep these authentic Chinese restaurants at 3.5 stars on Yelp :') I'm a frequent flyer of Spicy City when it comes to Szechuan food in San Diego. This restaurant seems cleaner (maybe newer) but prices are comparable. They have a shared parking lot, but on a weekend night, it legit took 20 minutes to wait for an open spot. Beware! I was here with a party of 6 adults and 2 kids, so they gave us a round table in the back. The menu is so extensive, but so helpful that they have photos! The menu has both English and simplified Chinese. I came here because someone said orange chicken was good ......... It was not :') The chicken with lao gan ma sauce was much better. The "fish in thickening sauce" is like water boiled fish. Instead of bean sprouts, they had small pieces of cabbage. I enjoyed that dish. I'd order the sautéed pea shoots again. It's one of my fave veggie dishes. They charge like $2 per person for rice, but for our large party, they brought it out in a red tub. They take American Express!

Spicy wood ear mushrooms- delicious!!

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6 months ago

Great food! Loved it! Only problem is the horrible parking in that center! Go check it out!

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3 years ago

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9 months ago

I'd avoid this place like the plague! too greasy no flavor customer service socks! And too expensive!

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4 years ago

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Good music. Good food. The Biangbiang noodles here are unmatched in San Diego. If anyone finds…read morebiangbiang noodles better than here, lmk. My mouth tasted like garlic for a whole day but honestly worth it. You order through a QR code here which makes it pretty easy.

An incredible gem or an absolute flop -- depends heavily on what you decide to order. Luckily, I…read morearrived with a group of 7 so we all had the opportunity to find out the easy way. Beef noodle soup - excellent flavor overall, including a strong broth and a nice, soft texture to the noodles. Out of the countless Chinese restaurants I've visited for beef noodle soup, this makes its way into the top three. 5/5 Lamb skewers - wayyyyy too dry. This is certainly not their specialty, and asking for extra cumin to sprinkle on the lamb did not redeem the firmness. I struggled to slide the meat off the skewer and ended up just eating it while still on the stick. 1.5/5 Fish fillet - so good. Easy to eat texture-wise. Caution -- a bit saltier than it looks. The bell peppers in particular were seasoned spectacularly. 4.5/5 Dry fried green beans - a delicious option for vegetables to add to the table. Most people will enjoy this one in my opinion. A bit more crunch than I expected, which is not a bad thing. 4/5 Double cooked pork - I've never seen it cooked this way, and am not a fan. I'm used to a more oily version of this dish. It contained a bunch of dried and crunchy... yams? Potatoes? Overall, the dish was mainly crunch with no flavor, and contained a relatively small amount of pork. 1/5

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Shancheng Lameizi - Sauce bar

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4.4(180 reviews)
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I love hot pot so much esp when the its cold out and you just wanna eat comfort food and chill/chat…read morewith friends (and not feel rushed). As per usual, we ordered way too much food. We got a half and half pot: Medium Spicy + Bone Broth. TBH the medium spicy side is too spicy for me. Mainly the oiliness that gets to me. The Bone Broth is the way to go. We ordered the Boneless Duck Feet (must have~ my friend introduced it to me once and now im hooked!), White Tripe (yum), veggie combo, beef, lamb, mushrooms, noodles, fish balls, honestly i can't rmbr what else but there was a boat load of meat. I love this place for their sauce/snack bar (yes you do have to pay extra) but its worth it imo. They have the crunchy sesame red bean balls and they are always so crispy and fresh! I also love their coconut jelly, it is so addicting and such a refreshing way to cool down after all the hot pot. I also like having a few of their haw crackers/jellies as an appetizer/dessert. Meat tasted fresh, and broth was so tasty to drink on its own. this parking lot really sucks and is a major deterrent buttt that doesn't stop us from eating good food. We parked like 2 streets away and it was well worth it.

My first time here and it won't be the last…read more Parking: 5/5 I arrived on a Saturday evening and I found parking in the plaza location of Shancheng. So did my other friends. Not sure if I just got lucky because parking on Convoy can usually be troublesome for how popular it is, but perhaps we just came on a lucky day. Customer Service: 5/5 Lovely staff. I arrived before our party of 7 and they were able to accommodate us by offering two table options. Thoughtful and friendly people work here. Hotpot: What a selection! I loved the mushroom broth, the assortment of fresh veggies from bok choy, romaine lettuce, lots of mushrooms options - my favorite is the enoki, and I loved the tofu skin. Beef lovers and seafood fans will enjoy this place as well. One of my fave items we ordered is a shrimp paste dish for our hotpot. That was delicious. I also love how they have a sauce bar. Snack Bar: I frequented the snack bar. The coconut jelly and coconut crackers is my favorite. They have a lot of snacks to pick from and it's complimentary! Ambiance: This place is gorgeous. Lots of interesting architectural decor. I had a great time capturing photos of the restaurant while I waited for my party to arrive. I'll definitely be coming back and recommending this place.

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Szechuan House - Szechwan Garlic Chicken

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3.5(487 reviews)
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So my family and I were soo impressed by this place that within the same month we came here twice…read more My family and I used to have a tradition that every New Years Eve we'd get Chinese food. Since we moved out here to California its been hard to find a place that matches the quality u til we stopped by here. From the moment we walked in we were greeted and told we could sit wherever we'd like. Our server was David and he was so kind and attentive. The food portion was enough to eat there and bring some home which was great. My dad was in love with the egg rolls because they were soo crunchy, he only wished they were bigger. The food was quick to come out and easy to leave us stuffed. My mom loved their tea and my dad tried the Tsingtao beer. Honestly, one thing that left me surprised was that place isnt busier

Okay, let's be clear, this is an old school, love it for what it is American Chinese Restaurant,…read morebut heavy on the Chinese and light on the American. Reenact your favorite scene this winter with some Christmas Duck at Szechuan House! This family run eatery is critically underrated, and in my humble opinion that's a function of the many of the clientele simply don't leave reviews, or if they do, it's because they're unhappy. What I hope I can do is highlight the positive of this fantastic, but very humble establishment. The dining room is large, like X-Large. If you are looking for a big venue, this can easily be booked and with the rotating table tops, you can get all your greats eats to everyone in style. The booths are large, spacious and massive table to spread out what you'll see is an enormous lunch special in the photos. Most items outside the lunch special are traditional family style, but even the lunch portion is so large that we usually eat about half and then take the rest home. Absolutely a great value. The food is always ridiculously hot, and the service by the family/staff fantastic. They're always attentive and helpful as your order from a menu that can breach American style Chinese to some pretty near authentic dishes. Once the family gets to know you, the spicier options open up like an Asian In-N-Out secret menu. If you like Salt-n-pepper wings, in my view, these are best in San Diego. Tons of flavor, heat, but be careful, they are beyond hot at arrival, which we love. Now....some things may surprise you....I've never been a fan of sweet and sour...well...anything. My mind was blown when I was talked in to trying the sweet and sour FISH. Holy smokes! It is now a family favorite, along with the moo shu pork aka Chinese burritos. I'm not sure what sauce they use, but it may be illegal. Treat yourself to a great lunch, family outing or company / group event. Parking is always easy, and we've never had to hunt for a spot. There's also some great options for some post lunch tea nearby! Don't be put off by the exterior, THIS IS a fantastic place to grab a BIG lunch!

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This place is so Chinese they answer the phone in Mandarin. I knew it was going to be good. We…read morecalled ahead to reserve a table for 8 and the process was smooth. The food is good and authentic. The best thing we ordered was the sauerkraut fish. Big dish with very tender fish. The veggie ( A choy) was very good. Beef dishes should be more tender. Very nicely decorated inside, feels like just China. After a meal, you can grab a melona bar!

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