A restaurant with an identity crisis. On the one hand, the fact that they have around 150 dishes on their menu, mostly around the $5-7 range, caters clearly to the college students in the area and those seeking fast and cheap Americanized Chinese food. Conversely, if you order the right items, then you can get a pretty good value meal, but don't expect any high-quality mainland dishes. My tip: Look around at what some of the Chinese customers are having, and you'll probably have better luck with them. Their noodle soups, in particular the beef are usually quite large and very satisfying. On the other hand, I dared to try some of their new, more ethnic, dishes when they expanded their menu a few months ago, such as the Spicy Chicken, but they leave much to be desired. It is well known that they may offer certain discounts if you order in Chinese, but even if you can't the food is cheap enough as it is. The eating environment is not very attractive, and it can get crowded and loud while the tables and trays aren't exactly clean. Mainly an eat and go type of place. read more

If you're looking for greasy Chinese delivery, look no further. Two pad thais and two egg rolls came to less than $20. The pad thais were huge and left more than enough for next-day lunch leftovers. The egg rolls were pretty greasy but hit the spot. Not the greatest food I've ever eaten, but sometimes a girl just needs some really greasy noodles. Delivery available through Meals Delivered. and Campus Food. (Campus Food is cheaper.) read more

I love this place so much and their food is always super yummy and made SO quick. Staff are always super nice and welcoming! For such great food, the price is cheap and they give you such a large portion. Definitely one of my favorites in Oakland. For a broke college kid this place is a wet dream read more

Very fast service almost too fast that it makes think twice about ordering again. But the food is usually good and what you would expect from this place. read more

If you grew up on the streets of Mumbai like me, eating good food from food carts and hole in the wall joints-then you will certainly appreciate this place. The restaurant is plastered wall to wall with pictures of various menu items and at first can be a bit overwhelming. My go-to favorite has to be the shrimp fried rice with dried chili pepper (extra extra spicy pleeaseeeee). This place is perfect for a cheap fulfilling meal for a hungry bear like myself. read more

If you're a student and you want some good, tasty Chinese food. This is the place for you. The quality of food isn't always the best but man does it taste good. I typically get the General Tso's chicken with white rice. The General Tso's sauce is very good, much better than other Chinese food places in the general area. To be clear this isn't like five star dining, but if you're in-between classes and need a quick tasty bite, this is the place for you. They are also family owned and local so it's great to support a local business. read more

Honestly one of my favorite Asian food joints in Oakland. It's cheap and the portions are huge, so as a college student, it fills all of my expectations. I've gotten their veggie egg rolls a few times and wasn't a huge fan because it was basically filled only with cabbage so I wouldn't get it again. Their tofu dishes are always great- my favorite is General Tso's. Last time I went, they gave me the wrong tofu dish, but that was great, so I'm not too upset about it. They're fast, cheap, and conveniently located; I'll definitely go there again. read more

LOVED the food here! Got take-out due to COVID. Ordered 2 orders of orange chicken w/ steamed rice and a chicken and broccoli. We also got an order of crab rangoons. The food was warm and delicious! I definitely recommend! read more

First few times, it was great. But then....I got orange chicken. I was shocked the orange was bitter and rotten. My son this week was sickened by the shredded pork. Cheap but not worth the agony he suffered. read more

Like this place for lunch, waiting time was not long. Had lunch for a few times. They are not good Chinese food by any means, but match their prices in general. read more

This is a decent place for cheap Asian food with large portions. I usually get the beef noodle stew, but this time I ordered a lo mein. The food here is pretty greasy and salty but it's acceptable. I come here when I can't decide where to eat basically. read more

Szechuan Express - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

It is a bit dodgy looking but good for take out. You can order and within less than 10 minutes they will have your order ready. Cheap prices for large portions, so don't expect high quality. Their food is decent and satisfying for a hungry college student. I usually like their szechuan chicken or hunan chicken with white rice. However, I try to stay away from this place because it can be very oily sometimes. read more

Fast service, cheap prices, and decent food hot off the wok. I came here every week when I was in Pittsburgh. Some dishes were sometimes a little too salty, but the variety of selection kept my palate entertained and the generous portions kept my stomach full. read more

3.5 stars. Place is a dump. However, tasty food for 7 bucks. It's an Oakland staple.

Szechuan Express is a great place to get Chinese food for a decent portion at a decent price , and being at a college campus ( Where there is bound to be broke students) ,it's convenient. The place is like a Chinese food version of McDonald's. In addition it's almost like a melting pot of culture ,cause of the different people that are there. Surely if your the type of person who likes to experience a decent meal in a good Social atmosphere , with a cashier who is truely a "cool-dude", then it's the place for you . P.S. you can ask for extra sauce for the General T'so if you think it's a little dry ^_^. read more

Hands down, this is the BEST pan-asian cuisine in the city. There are some great places to get chinese food, or pad thai in this wonderful city, but the combination of raw-quality and cheap cheap cheap prices rockets this place to the top of the list. This place is amazing. It's always a good sign that the food is good when you watch the other patrons order and many of them are students at the Universities in the Oakland who hail from Asia, and order in their native tongue. This place is NOT fancy... and there are poorly shot 8x10 photos of all the food lining the walls, so if you don't know the name of the dish you want to try you can always see it. I prefer this to some kind of kitschy wallpaper with pandas. Also, I've never waited for than 8 minutes for anything here, and a single dish has never cost me more than $6... and that money will get you a take out container PILED with food. Get takeout, and eat it for at least 3 meals. I once commented on how good the Pad Thai was here, and the guy behind the counter told me in good english, through a bit of an accent, that their old chef was originally a chef in Thailand, and he had brought his own recipe from home, and allowed them to keep making it that way. It is the best i've had in the city... not the prettiest, mind you, but the BEST tasting. I HIGHLY recommend this place. Besides all this, where can you eat and feel like you are in the movie Blade Runner? read more

On my way home from work, I always walk by this place and I always see people walking into here. So I decided to give it a shot and see what's up. I'm not a health freak or a food guru nor am I picky about food but this place is just plain bad. The $5/meal is pretty decent until they charge you an extra $2 for lo mein instead of rice. But the biggest thing that bothers me is the huge puddle of oil that the food sits in. Again, I'm not a health freak but eatting this food just made me feel guilty. With every bite, I think about getting a heart attack at 27. There's as much oil as there sauce and you see the thick oil floating above. don't expect a fantastic dining area either. it's dark and feels icky. I've had my fair share of cheap chinese food, and this is probably the worst I've tried. read more

My girlfriend and I have ordered from here twice and she has gotten sick both times. I have been OK, but the quality of the food is definitely in the "cheap" category so those with sensitive stomachs need not apply. read more

I ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice. The small container of sauce was only half full. The fried rice was just rice with a little sauce nothing else. There was a 2 large chunks of green pepper and a piece of pineapple thrown in the box. I have had much better. And it had a "different " taste to it. Will not be going back. The only thing good about the place was the man at the counter taking orders. He was very fast. read more

Greasy cheap chinese food. Ordering was a bit confusing. It seemed like there's about one employee who speaks English. You get a big styrofoam box of whatever meat and vegetables you order, with a lot of rice underneath. Everything runs around five bucks. So lots of bang for your dollar. Food was prepared pretty quick. I certainly wasn't wowed by the food, but it was fine. If I was drunk it would probably have been revelatory. Food was expectedly Americanized. The decor is kind of dumpy. But this isn't a place you go for atmosphere anyway. read more

I only get Mongolian pork and beef noodle soup here as most other things that I've tried are lackluster. But I mean, $5 for a quick meal is really not bad. Just don't take your date there. read more

The food is really really good! The service is a 10/10, it took literally 5 minutes at the most to get our food, and the workers are extremely polite and welcoming. the prices are very reasonable and I would definitely recommend if your looking for good Chinese!! read more

The chicken tenders are absolutely terrible. Processed and spongy. Could not believe they charge $6 for what are essentially 6 chicken fries/long shaped nuggets. I won't be back. Get that trash off the menu. For $6 you should be serving actual real chicken strips like every other place in America read more

Not the most sanitary, but definitely the most convenient. If you're feeling like a quick lunch, you can't go wrong with it.

Nicest owner and staff in the city. The interior is rough but the food is AWESOME despite being ridiculously cheap and fast.

I stopped in here to pick up some food between classes. The inside was fairly small with no seating (not sure if thats due to covid or normal). There were a few people in front of me but the ordering went fairly quick. The girl at the counter was very focused on just taking orders and money and moving to the next person. She did not give me a receipt to sign even though I used a credit card. The standing room while waiting was somewhat crowded with only a few other people waiting for their food. The food did come out quickly which helps with keeping the crowding down. When your food was ready the girl at the counter just said what you ordered and left it on the counter. If you are not paying attention you may miss your order. I ordered the general tso's chicken which was good and was a lot of food for the price of the meal. I would return here if I am in the mood for some cheap and quick Chinese food. read more

I am a big fan of a smeggy Chinese takeout and this place fits the bill. You get a big portion of hot food, real quick. There are numerous dishes that I have had that have been pretty meh but after a few attempts I found some dishes that are exactly the kind of Chinese artery clogging that I want some times. read more

I been going here for at least 8 years and they have been here i think for over 30 years. At first the prices were low and they still are but the portions were all larger but eventually a year later they used smaller containers it prices stayed the same $6 for almost any entree and even with the smaller size it still fills you up. I don't want to know but the food comes out so quick that it doesn't seem possible but on average a 5 minute wait after placing the order and the people in the back somehow get it out. the dining area is small but there are lots of places to eat at in oakland read more

I went to order the pad Thai. A lot of my friends said this place was decent and it would make your stomach hurt after. Turns out I had it yesterday and got food poisoning. Went to the doctor and they said it rooted from this place. I would not recommend going. Very unsanitary. read more

Szechuan Express used to be my go-to for quick, cheap Chinese food. They always had large portions, short wait, and were really inexpensive. The quality was never amazing, but I put up with it because the price was just too good to pass up. A typical trip to Szechuan Express involved walking in and searching the wall-covering giant menu for something that looked good, unless you knew everything by name. You place your order with the same cashier who is there every time who calls your order to the kitchen over the microphone. He then calls you when your food is ready. Recently, in the past couple of months, or maybe it was after a returned after the summer, I noticed that the prices had gone up. That, combined with a few below par orders of sesame chicken and fried rice have me questioning why I still go here, especially when there are now better places for the same price point. They're still a decent place to get large portions of Chinese food, especially for Oakland standards, but I won't be frequenting Szechuan Express as much as I used to. read more

The place is small, cramped, dark, and dirty. However, they have cheap food and large portions (enough to last me two to three meals). If you order in Chinese, they give you an extra discount. The food is made really quickly--under five minutes, usually. The food itself isn't that great. Everything is either too greasy, drowning in sauce, or both. Also, I wish they'd fill the boxes with less rice and more of the entree. I've had the beef noodle soup, which is flavorful but greasy. Both the beef and broccoli and chicken and eggplant dishes had too much sauce. I rarely go; usually, I bring people here only because they're curious about the cheap Chinese food. read more

Kinda put off a little by the snell and its cobstant use of styrofoam and plastic for everything and both dine in and out. And everytime i try something new here instead of the usuals, i immediately realized why i always go for the usual. read more

Food is always hot, delicious, and exactly what i ordered. I love this place, it is the number 1 restaurant in Oakland. Must go if in the mood for good food. read more

Tons of options, not very good food, but cheap. The second star is because they are quick and cheap. Sometimes, that's what you need.

Yea it's cheap, but I'm not kidding when I say that I found a piece of thick hair as I was almost done eating my $7 Pad Thai. It was a long strand of black curly hair and I swear it was a pube. It was disgusting and I immediately threw the pad thai away and almost threw up. NEVER ordering there again. Don't waste your money here, and get a better quality pad thai. read more

Try the authentic menu! I have to admit, the first time I tried this place, I didn't like it. The huge portions and low price was great, but the food was mediocre. But that's because I ordered from the americanized menu. If you want great General Tso's chicken, go elsewhere. If you want more authentic chinese food, turn your head to the left and read the fine print English translation of their authentic menu. It is absolutely fantastic, and hard to find this type of food in the Burgh. read more

Listen, You want cheap and good authentic Chinese food, this is it!!! It's not fancy, it's not big. It has the authentic Asian market feel. Employees there speaks fluent English, Chinese and Cantonese. $5 for most common dishes! Can't beat that! I go there every night if I lived closer! read more

If you're a busy person on a budget this is the best place to go for Chinese food. I go to this place all the time for good takeout. They always make my food super fast, hot and good. I've been going here since high school and it's still just as good. I love their orange chicken and orange shrimp especially when I ask them to make it spicy. Feel free to try all of their items you won't be disappointed. read more

I got the Asian pan fried noodles with shrimp, a vegetable egg roll, and the vegetable fried rice. The noodles were disgusting. They were so hard and inedible. I could not chew the noodles and ended up throwing that away. The vegetable egg roll was good, but not worth going back for. The vegetable fried rice was edible, but did not seem sanitary. There was a lot of eggshell in the rice and some questionable things. I would not recommend this to anyone! I ended up throwing away the noodles and the rice, and my money. read more

Ordered from here for probably the second or third time. The food took 1.5 hours to be delivered. I ordered an shrimp egg roll and beef with garlic sauce. The shrimp egg roll was actually pretty good but the beef with garlic sauce was absolutely disgusting. It had an almost jello like texture. Far too sweet and mushy to be even called food. So disappointed as I eat ANYTHING and I thew mine away. Add that to the 90 minute delivery time, and I wished I had saved my money. read more