This is my "go to" Chinese Restaurant in Ames. They do many things well such as hot pot, dry-braised, noodle soups and cold and hot appetizers. My all-time favorite is a sour fish noodle soup with pickled mustard cabbage. Try the cold, ox organ appetizer! The service is friendly, but not great. Sel-help is required when ordering and boxing up leftover food. The ambiance is acceptable, but not outstanding. I go there for a quick lunch so my expectations for service are nominal. I go there because I like the food so much. read more

Had the chicken with 3 pepper and it was absolutely excellent. It was recommended by the super friendly guy behind the counter who gave me advice on what to do in town as well. Whole place was vibes reminded me of flushing queens. No frills but great food and people. read more

This was the first time here for my mom and I. Although they had signs up saying that due to being short staffed, please order at the register, they must have been slow enough that a server did come to our table to take our order. We had several questions about the menu and she knew each item and was able to explain the ones we asked about. We were in a noodle mood and stuck with the basics. We started with an order of pork potstickers. They were pretty good and my mom really liked the dipping sauce they came with. It was good, but I prefer straight soy sauce - which the server brought us. We ordered Chicken Lo Mein, Pan-Fried Thick Rice Noodles with beef, and Pan-Fried Vermicelli with pork. Each dish had a good amount of meat which was great since each of the meats were the most tender pieces I have ever had from a Chinese/Tai/Asian place in Ames. Even the white meat chicken was so tender and not dry at all. Every piece of meat was so soft and flavorful! We cant' wait to go back and try some more adventurous dishes. read more

Szechuan House - Pan-Fried Vermicelli w/ pork (front), Lo Mein w/ chicken (right), Pan-Fried Thick Rice Noodles w/ beef (back) - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

We ordered take out for dinner on a Saturday, and the front desk waiter was friendly. We ordered the eggplant dish, kung pao chicken, flat noodle dish, and a spicy pork dish. The eggplant (came with bits of ground pork) was very good and I would order again. The kung pao was okay. There were diced zucchini and a lot of chili peppers. Some of the chicken pieces were cooked and others seemed to be slightly under cooked. I didn't think the flat long noodle dish had a lot of taste. It was also stuck together and had very few vegetables. As we didn't eat in, I can't speak for the inside of the restaurant, however there was parking in the front. read more

Szechuan House - Dishes - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Tom is my favorite Iowan waiter. He says the right things and brings out the right food. He's won't let you down because his spirits are up!

Saturday and I find myself in Ames. Been a while since I've been here. In town for a wedding. Brought Mom and Dad as well as my daughter. Each has their own tastes. What to do? We yelped it of course. Good ratings. Let's check it out. First the lady who greeted us was very polite. She sat us down and took our order. In less than ten mn our orders started coming out. Made exactly as we asked. Mild for Dad and Madison, meaning all the flavor, no hot peppers. Robust for Mom and me... Meaning a lot of heat! The tofu was great even if you don't care for it, this one is amazingly spot on. read more

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I've been here three times now. Love it every time, I would highly recommend trying there Hot pots. They have soup and dry ones. The drive ones would be very close to traditional Chinese but remember this is Szechuan Chinese. This time I took my wife with me who is vegetarian so we only did veggie dishes. Didn't care for the spring rolls as much but the sauce was on point and I do know The crap raccoons are amazing that I got last time lol. I'm giving you a five stars, all their meals have been amazing. Indecently priced, and I always been full with leftovers. read more

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Busy but my order to go was taken quickly. The food was decent but I may have ordered the wrong thing as it was not the best I've had. The place was packed though so it seems very popular. Loved how many different languages were being spoken. read more

Best Chinese food in Iowa City! My research group and I went for lunch over the summer. Their food tasted like authentic Szechuan food with a refreshing kick to it after eating spiceless dining hall food for weeks. I was surprised to find a great Chinese place in the middle of Iowa. We ordered the cucumber salad, potstickers, spicy tofu (fiery red though not very spicy), scallion pancakes, sauteed ginger beef, crispy duck, spicy crispy chicken (my personal favorite!), kung pao chicken, shanghai eggplant, house fried rice, stir-fried udon (yum!), thick noodles, and brown sugar rice cake. Since they were operating on one server that day, service was relatively slow, but it was nice to converse in Mandarin with the waiter. My main complaint is their policy of maximum splitting the bill three times...why!? read more

Szechuan House - food on spinny table! - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Food's good and tastes amazing. Spicy crispy fish and dry braised hot pot chicken are our favorites.

BEST IN TOWN! Been eating here for a couple years moved out of town and still frequent. Have had a couple of different dishes and they all HIT! THANK YOU SZECHUAN for staying consistent! read more

Oh YES. After what seems an inordinate amount of time, The Spring Roll Quest finally brings me to Szechuan House. Went in on Sunday around 2, just as the lunch rush was winding down. I guess the routine during that time is to grab a menu, seat yourself, then, when you've made your choices, you come up to the cash register and place your order. Luckily, my buddy and I were so indecisive as we pored over the menu, our entire dining section cleared out, so the lady who greeted us actually had time to come to our table to take our order personally. Being so late in the day, I was especially hungry, so I decided on TWO appetizers to go with my entree. Landed on the "Shanghaimese" (that's how they're advertised on the website) spring rolls, the Szechuan House's take on shumai, and Menu Item #101: sliced pork with Beijing sauce. My tablemate got the crab rangoons and a dish called "San Bei Chicken" (more on that later). Let's get right down to what you came for: the spring roll review. I don't know exactly how Shanghai differentiates itself from the rest of China when rolling their spring rolls, but whatever it is produces a great product. They came to the table blazin' hot, golden, flaky, and impossible not to chomp right into. Thank God they give you those big glasses of ice water when you sit down. After I recovered from that first bite, I decided to try the sunny, orange dipping sauce that came with the rolls. Maybe this is what Shanghai does different. Avoiding the usual red color, this sauce is uniquely THICK, and not overpoweringly sweet. I traded one of my spring rolls for two of my buddy's rangoons, which also went well with that dipping sauce. But the main draw of these rangoons wasn't the wonderfully crispy-chewy exterior; it was what was inside. Definitely not the usual cream cheese filling; this stuff was sweet and silky and amazing. Now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing any crab meat in there, but no matter! The rangoons held their own against the spring rolls, even though they weren't in direct competition. Then there was the shumai. Such a letdown! It tasted alright, and was wrapped in a unique way (different than the classic, "open" style) but it was cold when it got to the table. I'm not asking for it to be as scalding as the rolls and rangoons, but lemme have a little warmth in these things--I'll even settle for tepid, okay? Nope. Even the little bowl of dipping sauce that came with it couldn't reverse the disappointment. I dug into my 'Beijing Pork' and really enjoyed the deep, rich, but-not-salty flavor. If there was a complaint about this dish, it would be that there wasn't surplus sauce. Evenly distributed over all the pork, there was precious little available for the rice, but them's the breaks, I guess. My buddy, on the other side of the table was enjoying his dish too, so I swapped some of my pork for his chicken. Holy Szechuan, that flavor was incredible! That gravy was rich, delicious, and somehow tasted like fried chicken! I don't know what San Bei means, but if you told me it translated to "Super Flavorful", I would absolutely believe you. HOWEVER!...if you ever visit Szechuan House and decide to order this incredibly tasty entree, it comes with a warning: brace yourself for bones. Not sure why, but the shards abound in almost every bite of this dish, so get that empty plate or bowl ready to catch those sharp little bits as you carefully chew each mouthful. Other than that, this was a good one. Friendly, speedy service, GREAT flavors in the dishes, and (mostly) fantastic appetizers! I do have to mention it was a bit pricier than your average Chinese restaurant, but then again, EVERYTHING'S more expensive these days. Maybe that's why we didn't get fortune cookies after paying our bill. Oh well; if it keeps prices down, I'll gladly go without my lucky numbers. read more

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The food was okay but the Braised Beef noodle soup is superb. The reason I said the food was okay is because they put too much salt, MSG, and sugar. The service is perfect and they were taking their time to cook. The ambiance is not too good and the restaurant looks old and. Do not go unless if you do not care about the sugars, salts, and MSGs. read more

It was great experience in the restaurant. The dishes are quite delicious and authentic. We all like it. And the manager sincerely checks with us if we like everything every time we went there. Appreciate it! read more

I am from Arizona, I took Chinese for 6 years and experimented with a lot of Chinese food, as well as visited China and appreciated the food there. So I appreciate good Chinese food I find in America! I miss the restaurant we visited at home, as they provided authentic tastes and enjoyed conversation in Chinese and teaching me new terms! I got 宫保鸡丁 (Kung pao chicken) and plain rice, my easiest, favorite dish! The rice was great, and the kung pao was pretty good, 7/10. I noticed someone suggest 麻婆豆腐, (ma po tofu) and I will try that next, because that was easily my favorite dish in China. The kung pao chicken features spicy chiles, cucumber, peanuts, ginger and a sweet and spicy glaze. It is not too spicy, but if you don't like any spice, it won't satisfy you. I would get it again, but will be experimenting with new foods there, as I just moved to Ames and this is my first taste of Szechuan House. A lot of ingredients are hard to find here in America to make authentic, healthy Chinese dishes (mostly because Chinese foods don't contain a lot of the preservatives and ingredients we use). But this restaurant hits close! I would definitely recommend trying it! 谢谢！ read more

Szechuan House - 64. Kung Pao Chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

I drove all the way up here from Des Moines and the dining room was closed. So I decided to have a Schezuan picnic. I ordered La Zi chicken, cumin beef and Dan Dan noodles. The food wasn't very good. It certainly wasn't anywhere near spicy or mouth numbing like Schezuan food should be. Chicken was greasy. Beef had an off taste that wasn't good. Noodles were mushy and the sauce was tasteless and lame. I wanted to like it but I threw most of it away. read more

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My favorite Chinese restaurant in Ames! I would frequent this spot with my family whenever they visited while I was in college! The beef chow fun and shredded pork with garlic sauce were my absolute favorites! Also loved the tofu dishes and every pork dish I've had was delicious! I miss this place and the next time i visit ames, I must come here! read more

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Still operating under pandemic protocols with a nice pass through plexiglass box. The ordering and pick up is sheltered. It is much quicker to order ahead plus the menu is extensive so that might be a more comfortable experience. Despite the rundown exterior of the business, the food is first rate. I had the Szechuan General's Shrimp which can best be described as puffed shrimp fritters about the size of a meatball in a wonderful brown chili garlic with Szechuan pepper chili peppers. The potstickers were also very good. The dipping sauce is the star there though. read more

Szechuan House - a table with a menu on it - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Szechuan House is the reason I have trust issues with fast-food Chinese. I just got back into town for the week and my dad suggested we go for Chinese and try out Szechuan house. When we got there we were promptly seated and we ordered the crab Rangoons right off the bat. The crab Rangoons were sub-par at best and I wasn't a fan of the sweet and sour sauce. My dad ordered broccoli chicken and I ordered General TSO's chicken. I was starving and it looked super good upon arrival. I took a couple bites and was enjoying how it tasted until I noticed something white and stringy on the bottom of one of my pieces of chicken. I started digging a bit to investigate what the white stringy stuff was....there was only one way to figure out the mystery substance, I was going to have to sniff it. I raised the sticky substance up to my nose and immediately a violent, wretched, dry heave rolled through my body. I knew that smell. SPEARMINT. There. Was. CHEWING. GUM. in. My. Chicken. GROSS. read more

Szechuan House - L20. General Tso's Chicken Lunch Special feat. chewing gum - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Good food and nice service. Easy to place phone orders and get delivery from grub hub. Spare ribs are a touch salty but very well cooked and good amount for price. General Tao chicken was more of a sweet and sour but was good. read more

AAAAAMAZING! This is my favorite place to eat! Not only do they have the BEST crab ragoons I have ever had- but their portion sizes are huge! You get 2 meals for the price of one. The staff are super nice and the food is always fresh. As a college kid I can confidently say this is my favorite restaurant in Ames. Afforda- fast-amazing tasting food! read more

Szechuan House - 37. Chicken lo mein, and 11. Crab Rangoon - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Hot pot serves 2-4 people. Large servings of meat, vegs and soup. Salt and pepper squid - it is decent, but not the best I have had. At least you can get it in Iowa. Eggplant in garlic sauce - surprisingly delicious. Lots of vegs in yummy garlic sauce. Highly recommend this dish. Skip the thrwe ingredient potstickers appetizer - all store bought and fried. Skip this one. House special spare ribs - decent and similar what you would get at dim sum. Would come back if in the Ames area. Price is on the higher side, but they have authentic dishes. read more

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Incredible menu and portions. Meat is always so crispy and veggies are fresh and crunchy. amazing taste and great teas!!! New favorite restaurant in Ames. read more

The food here is AMAZING, the people are quick to serve you and are always quite friendly and their prices are fair.

I wasn't expecting a lot when was driving over to Szechuan House. I received the recommendation from an individual who lauded the Szechuan house as being super-"authentic." Whenever, I hear about an American Chinese spot being "authentic," it's usually followed by "their General Tao's chicken is the best!" and my BS radar gets turned on. But pulling into the parking lot at Szechuan House, I quickly learned that this was the real deal. Not only was every sign in the foyer written in Mandarin, but I could quickly see by the hot pots and offal that they truly serve the real stuff. I sat down and perused the menu and it was as wide as it was deep. What I mean is that they have a ton of options...and I mean a ton. I wanted the fatty beef. I wanted the cow stomach. I wanted the lamb. More than anything I wanted the hot pot with all the offal. But alas, I was on my own and the hot pot will stuff 2-4 for the reasonable price of $34. Ultimately, I settled on the Dry-braised duck tongues. My server warned me that there are bones in tongues, but that was all for the better! A nice little challenge. They came in a mini hot-pot/wok with a flame underneath to keep things piping hot. I took my first bite and fried my mouth, but I didn't care because the tongues were so delicious. They were tender and rich and fatty. And spicy! But those peppers and the Szechuan peppercorns kept me coming back for another bite like a heroin addict. If you can tolerate a little heat, go for it. Unfortunately, I was in town on business, so I don't know when I can come back again. However, I guarantee that I'll be making a trip back to the Szechuan House and will be dragging other people with me so I can have that hot pot! read more

Szechuan House - Dry-braised duck tongues - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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Good food, good service, good price. The environment is clean and tidy. Best Chinese restaurant I have seen in Iowa.

First time back to the ISU stomping grounds and finally an authentic Chinese food place!! Serv s family style so f you go with a huge group order several plates and share! Fried rice is fragrant! Beef hot pot was delicious! The lamb with buns...not going to lie the seasoning was like tacos so you don't taste lamb...you taste taco mushu. read more

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I've only been to Ames twice but I've been here both times. Service for food is fast! I had the noodles with spicy minced pork and I only finished half. The noodles to sauce portion was perfect!! Nice big portions and decently priced food. We always order and always have left overs to take home to enjoy the next day. Will come again. Edit: my boyfriend got the house special spareribs and he said they weren't spicy at all (which he didn't mind) and that there was a ton of meat on the bones. read more

I love Szechuan House, always great food, so happy they've reopened for inside dining. As most places they're short staffed but have an excellent way to serve you. The staff is always pleasant and happy. read more

VERY authentic Chinese food, if that's what one is looking for. They also have Americanized Asian food, which is what I'm used to. If what you order is less than $10, they only take cash. If over $10, they allow for credit cards. The food is good. The decor is pretty nice. The staff was helpful. They have enough room for bigger parties, probably up to 10+, call and let them know ahead of time. Prices are reasonable. I rarely carry cash. Lot parking. Marcy'sDinerTantrumScale 5/5- NoScreamingKids. CyHawkApproved. read more

Been here a couple times and haven't found anything to complain about. The food is always hot and delicious with a dish on the menu for anyone. The price is a little higher than other Asian restaurants in the area but the quality comes with it. And the lunch specials during the week are very comparable to others in the area. I would recommend the hot pot here if you haven't had it, an authentic dish that is tasty but quite spicy. read more

Szechuan House - General Tso's chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

First of all, the service is excellent and staff are very friendly. Every time the staff has recommended me a dish, I've ended up loving it. If you're not sure which dish to choose, let the staff know what general food you're in the mood for (chicken, spicy, vegetarian, etc.) and they will make recommendations. The portions are generous; I know when I come here I'm going to have lots of leftovers the next day. One of my favorite restaurants in Ames! read more

Szechuan House - Tomato and Egg Soup, San Bei Chicken, Ma Po Tofu, Scallion Pan Fried Cakes, and buns - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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One of the best Chinese (szechuan style) restaurants in town! Menu does hame your standard chinese fair. You can't compare to the standards of the LA 626 or Flushings but this place is authentic as it is. Most dishes are legit but their noodles and fried rice dishes are legit. Aromatic, moist, and flavorful. Nothing compare to those dry, nasty, salty selections around the areas in other restaurants. Private parking, close to campus and Hy-vee. Close to residential as well. Walking distance on Lincoln. Good stuff. read more

After multiple visits, I'm not as impressed as I was after my initial visit. Because so many whiny white kids complained about the long wait time for food, the food quality went down to increase speed. There are more waitstaff now, but initially there were only a few. I hope they finally got a regular cook as for a minute there were immense inconsistencies. I ordered pad thai for delivery and it was the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten. I go in maybe days or weeks later and was served a plate of something with a big glob of ketchup. I went last night because I still had some money on a gift card a friend gave me. The food came in a reasonable amount of time, and they were a packed house and I think doing delivery as well. The food was really good and not the watered down sugary Americanized crap they gave me last time, though it'd been over a year and I didn't order the pad thai again. Their dan dan noodle was absolutely fantastic. As Ames Chinese restaurants go, Szechuan is in the top 3. I hope they stick around as West Ames doesn't have many good restaurants and Szechuan House has had some good food. Hopefully by now all of the new restaurant kinks have been removed and it's smooth sailing. I think so. read more

Szechuan House - to go: dan dan noodle and shrimp vermicelli (rice noodle) - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Greeted immediately with polite gentleman upon arriving and seated. Ordered hot tea but served untraditionally, not served in small tea pot. Not impressed. Noticed pictures in menus and asked the server about what's it's called looking at pictures. Server was not familiar with its name but told that it's not on the menu because it's not served anymore. Also, menu didn't states that if you order additional meat mixed with your entree is additional charges. I thought that the menu is misleading customers. It's not about the money it's the expectations. Lo mein noodles was not the greatest. Paid extra for chicken and shrimp on it The rest of the food seems to be very authentic Chinese food made by fresh veggies. Noticed that there was no canned goods like: bamboo shoots ingredients on it. Delicious. Quantity is exceeded expectations. Plenty of food. Over all: good Chinese food but needing updates on their menu info. read more

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I got shumai and pork dumplings to go! They were really good. Kind of some bickering in there when I was picking them up. I'd like to try to eat in their sometime. I'll be back read more

Szechuan House - Shumai and pork dumplings - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

Wow! We just had some of the tastiest, authentic Chinese food near us! Szechuan House in Ames, IA was delicious, fast, and had friendly service! Y'all need to try it! We drove from Des Moines to try this place because of my cravings! First part of the menu is authentic Chinese dishes, Last part is Americanized Chinese. They can help you with suggestions and flavors you are looking for. The servers were really polite and knew all about the menu. They have quite a few booths and tables. Clean establishment. A lil older looking but clean. Don't let the price deter you because the amount of food you get is definitely worth it! Food: Ma Po Tofu with Minced Pork- 3 and a half/5 not as sweet as the local Hawaiian version that my hubby is used to but he said it looks the same and tastes as good Pepper Salt Shrimp- 4/5 I actually liked the crispy light flavors of this dish and the fried crispy noodles on top were a plus Kung Pao Chicken (authentic version vs American they have both) - 4/5 very tasty and on the sweeter side but the chicken was a nice crispy light-fried texture Sautéed Udon with Chicken- 4/5 a nice alternative to the beef chow fun because my hubby doesn't like chow fun but he liked this. Great flavors and the chicken was just as flavorful as the noodles. Light tasting, not too oily Eggplant in Garlic Sauce- 5/5 they did this dish just right. Perfect flavors and they cooked the eggplant perfectly Thanks to Sumita B. for the suggestion and Yelp review! I heard their hot pot was decent too! read more

Got DoorDash from here, the food came quick and was still hot. The meat dumplings in spicy sauce were delicious, not that spicy so if you have a low tolerance for heat but enjoy it, i suggest these! Pad Thai was okay, wish I'd have asked for some spice, not too flavorful but still alright. The spring rolls were very tasty. read more

Szechuan House - 19. Meat Dumpling in Spicy Sauce - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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Szechuan House is located across the street from the HyVee on Lincoln Way. Their fried rice and the eggplant with garlic sauce is definitely pretty good and reasonably one of the better one's I've had in a long time, and a few days later we stopped by to go try their hot pot. The five of us were able to finish the hot pot (which you could choose four meats, four vegetables, and add on any additional food, and a base). The spicy broth was surprisingly not too spicy, and it was quite fun to cook our own food in the hot pot (albeit it was a hot day, so leaving the restaurant all sweaty wasn't a particularly good idea). read more

Szechuan House - Szechuan Near Me - Ames, Iowa

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I heard about this business from a colleague of mine when I lived and worked in Georgia. He knows the family who opened the restaurant and told me it was authentic Chinese food. Naturally, I was looking forward to trying Szechuan House. The restaurant is a nice space with lots of seating. Menus on the wall are in Mandarin (I think) but the printed menu has both English and Chinese characters. Now, I only got take out for lunch so I can't comment on wait staff or service, but my order was ready in less than five minutes after ordering. That's pretty impressive. I ordered the broccoli with beef lunch special. The meal was very tasty, but there were a few minor areas that could be improved. First, the beef is sliced very very thinly. That's nice, the beef is very tender and not chewy. Sadly, that meant I couldn't really taste the beef under the flour coating. I also got a lot of fat. The broccoli though was nice and crisp, just as I like it. The sauce has soy and garlic, as you would expect, and isn't overly salty or sweet. It's nicely balanced. In addition to the bits of gristle, I'm deducting one star because my to-go package didn't include any sauces, chopsticks, or a fortune cookie. Also, the lunch special isn't what I would consider a traditional lunch special. The "special" is the price; the meal does not come with anything other than the main and rice. No eggroll, soup, or drink. read more