There are a lot of Asian restaurants within the area, but this venue by far offers the most authentic and tasty Chinese dishes. The owners are extremely friendly, and you can tell they take pride in the quality of their food and service. A few recommended dishes: Moo Shi Peking style pork, pea pod leaves, spicy duck and beef w/long pepper. read more

I was here a year ago.... And I must say, their food quality have really declined. We ordered pretty much the same dishes we ordered last time, but it was not even close to the same. The sweet and sour fried fish came in this dark sweet sauce (general gaos sauce)... It used to have pineapple and peppers in it. But nothing.. It was just a small pile of fried fish smothered with dark sauce. General gao's fish? The rice cake was soaked in grease..... Tasted like salt. The Singapore noodles was over curried and not dry like it's supposed to be. It was also soaked in grease. We also ordered sauteedwater spinach, beef fish, and a couple others. All the dishes (besides the soup dumplings) were a disappointment and I have to say I do not recommend. read more

Love this place! The vegetarian food is outstanding -- and the wait staff is very sweet. Wonderful and surprising flavors. Be prepared to wait a while if the restaurant is busy! read more

We've been here many times over many management and name changes. Heard they had new owners again recently (within the month) and decided to try again. Huge difference from before. The dishes are vastly improved. Chicken with picked mustard is awesome. Juicy dumplings (now called mini juicy pork bun) are even better than they were, one of the few things I liked on the old menu. Wait staff was also very personable and friendly. I wasn't thrilled with coming back before but definitely will after lunch today, very very good. read more

I'm rating this restaurant four stars instead of five because the decor/ambiance lacks a bit, but the food is exceptionally good, beautiful and delicious with generous portions, and the service is always friendly and accommodating. The menu is packed with unusual dishes which seem refreshingly authentic. Every time my friends and I go we try to pick some more menu items we haven't tried before... and nothing has disappointed. We love the place. Run to have a meal there, you'll love it too. read more

I love this place. This isn't your typical Chinese spot. There aren't a ton of fried items. The food is fresh and different. This is the real deal with amazing dumplings, soups to warm the soul and if you so desire: spice!! I don't need to go to Chinatown anymore to get my dumpling fix. The staff are friendly and helpful. The other night I wanted a spicy shrimp dish and I described what I was looking for. The manager basically said "i'll make that for you" and like a genie's wish I got exactly what I asked for. read more

A decent enough Chinese food restaurant. Considering they're named after dumplings, you'd think their dumpling choices would be phenomenal, however they only have the thick "Peking dumpling" style wrappers, not the thin ones that typical Chinese dumplings should made of. Still, when you're lazy and want dumplings, it'll do. Also, don't get the duck. read more

Szech Dump is no dump. I went here being skeptical because I was skeptical but I left here nonskeptical. It was afternoon and I was the only peep in the place. The waitress was very pleasant and spoke "the Engrish." I hastily chose Hot n' Sour Soup as well as Szechuan Chicken. The H n' S Soup was OK -not the best and not the worst. I could tell it was not made that day but it was OK tasting. The coupe de grace though was the Sesh Chik. I asked for extra spicy and it was very spicy and huge and mental as hell. My pet peeve is that usually restaurant food is almost always cold to barely warm as it is rarely freshly made and immediately brought out to the diner. But this fab dish was scalding hot! Yes! Nice hot Make Round eye the Big happy! I would say this puppy was almost a half-gallon bowl and had TONS of meat and was yumski to the ultrauber X-treme. Check out Sesh Dump and get this dish! The Hot Big nice Yum yum! read more

See all

Gelatinous muck. Total disappointment. It was a birthday dinner and it was actually gross. Not just not so good, but really bad. And we aren't that hard to please. Most of it was left on the table. Cold sesame noodles - small portion with - plain peanut butter, maybe? Bad. The dumplings (it is called Szechuan's Dumpling, right?) were underdone in a lame wrapper and the meat was beyond mystery. Sesame tofu - neither crispy nor soft and very glutenous, with TWO little pieces of broccoli. Greasy scallion pancake. Veggie dumpling - thick, heavy, bad flavor. One vinegary sauce for the whole thing. Not inexpensive. read more

Ok not great. We tried things from across the menu, from classic dumpling appetizers to spring rolls to the pork mini juicy buns and a few selections off the "authentic" menu- spicy pork tripe and shredded pork ears. Oh yeah, and shrimp with vegetables. The dumplings were really too chewy. The dough was tough to get through and the pork tasted odd to me. The shrimp with vegetables was standard dull Americanized Chinese fare nothing out of the ordinary there but nothing to complain about either. The authentic menu should've been the stand out, but the spicy pork tripe was only good and the shredded pork ears were really nothing to write home about. Delivery was pretty quick, they said on the phone they deliver to "Arlington area", I'm not quite sure what that means. read more

Very consistent food, service, and quality. I live in Winchester and come here whenever I'm craving dumplings. They have great service and good food. Pricing is reasonable- not cheap nor expensive. They also have a very delicious ginger tea that I've tried to replicate at home many times but it never comes out as amazing as it does here. I love their pork and chicken dumplings the most. They have a bunch of under $10 lunch combo options but honestly I don't trust anything under $10 from an Asian place. read more

Bad news here... Leading me to retract my Five Star rating of a last year. Still an OK spot to eat (and their soup dumplings DO seem as good as ever!) The ** New Management ** however, has wrought unnecessary change for the worse. What was so exceptional about this place was its amazingly varied and unusual menu, this, as well as the huge selection of interesting lunch specials is mostly gone too. : * ( We were told, by the house, that things would remain the same The new owners seem more intent on simplifying operations, than keeping it the customer-centered business that it was. This has always been a fairly unappealing room, So, without great food at a fair price there is little reason to return. Will be happy to revisit this rating if I hear things have changed for the better, otherwise they will have to do without at least one, once very loyal, patron. read more

This is pretty good, above average Chinese food. I have tried a bunch of things, and all of them were winners. I even tried an authentic Chinese dish, and wished I have googled what it was before (cold beef tendons, NOT the same as tenderloins), but even that was good! I love the chicken fried rice here, and the noodles too. I have enjoyed the chicken with Cashew and chicken with long horn pepper very much. Even tried the Peking duck for the first time here. Soups are amazing here too! And the appetizers just what they need to be, mouth watering deep fried food, that makes you regret buying it after you're halfway through. Now for the not so great part. The dim sims were average for me, unfortunately (contradicting the other reviews). And the fried ice cream was just wrong. The dough was waaaaaaaaaaaay too thick, so it was soggy and NOT golden brown. But that's all. I also wish there things i could order that were actually really spicy, with szchuan sauce? But that aside, this place is a safe place to go to, if you don't want to be disappointed. read more

My boyfriend and I both got Beef. Both our beefs were chewy and mostly cartilage. So gross. The noodles were very plain and had no taste to it really. They also got our order wrong. Disappointed :( read more

A real cultural gem in an unlikely suburban neighborhood. Authentic dishes, but unlike most authentic Chinese restaurants, the staff and owner are incredibly friendly to families! We ordered: xiao long bao (juicy buns), pro and chives dumplings, Szechuan spicy fish stew with Napa cabbage, dong po pork, dry sautéed string beans, chicken with chestnuts, amongst others. These dishes were really standout!!! My only minimal comment is that the fish stew might benefit from more Szechuan peppercorns (though that palate "buzz" is an acquired taste that I love, but many might not) This is my go to for Chinese in the area. Love this place! read more

There must be a new chef at the Szechuan Dumpling location in Arlington. I always look forward to take out from there but last night might be a deal breaker. As usual, the juicy pork buns were excellent but everything went downhill from there. The General Tso's chicken was served like fried nuggets and was not sauced properly. I have never seen anything like it. The sauce was covered over the rice but not the chicken. The black mushrooms and shanghai greens had no flavor and the sauce was a plain brown liquid. The worst iteam was the beef and noodles with sha cha sauce. Bland and no sauce. You can tell the chef didn't care or isn't properly trained. The place was empy at 7pm so I am assuming others feel the same way. IT's too bad as the soup dumplings are exceptional. Every time i visit my family in Arlington I visit this place. I'll take a pass from now on. read more

Really nice people. Awesome pork dumplings. And pretty amazing shredded potatoes with chicken. Good hot and sour soup. It seemed a lot of food for $35. But, then we tried all the dishes and ended up feeling we didn't really get what we paid for. However, the green beans in the lunch special were disgusting. The spicy chicken came loaded with green peppers, despite me telling the counter person 3 times no green peppers. The veggie soup/broth which comes with the $6.95 lunch specials was not spectacular and you can't "upgrade" your soup. From my vegetarian daughter: The veggie dumplings would be better advertised as spinach-only dumplings. Sadly, the ginger sauce was sour. All in all, a nice group of folks running this place (and a complete remodel) will hopefully get the kinks out in a few weeks. The good food we had was really good. But, the not-so-good food was "bleh" at best. Three stars for the friendly staff. We will be back later in the spring. We think. read more

Szechuan's Dumpling: Your service is prompt and friendly. Good menu selection. Nice clean dining atmosphere. If only your food were better! Each time I've come here, I've found the food decent but average and a little disappointing. For example, I got the Crispy Chicken Leg appetizer which sounded great, but it really was this over-fried chicken. My mouth had to battle its way through the tough and chewy outside to get into the dry stringy meat. Sorry, this is a thumbs down... The Taiwanese Noodle Soup was a little better. The Q-Q of the egg noodles was just right and the simplicity of the pork strips and spinach in the soup made for a nice flavor combination. The broth is decent but really a bit too oily and fatty, as if someone forgot to skim the excess off the top. Stinky tofu came with pickled cabbage on top and a huge splatter of hot chili sauce. Not bad... but nothing amazing either. Maybe I'm just picky or maybe I haven't ordered the right things yet, but my experience so far tells me not to come here if I want great food. But if I'm lazy and just want a quick okay meal for a decent price and friendly service, I'd consider you. read more

This is a very yum place, its was my second visit, this time we tried the SEAFOOD NOODLE SOUP, and totally love it, the SCALLION PANCAKE was delicious too. i tried the both steam dumpling and fried dumpling too, and it didn't disappoint me at all. i will totally going back to this places again. read more

Super kid friendly restaurant. The staff held my fussy 10 month old daughter so I can eat in peace! Food was great too and decently priced. read more

I can't really speak to the rest of the menu since we only ordered dumplings and an appetizer, but the dumplings are great. While I tend to prefer pan fried dumplings, the steamed pork and chive ones at Szechuan's are very good. Juicy with a nice, sturdy wrapper. The highlight though are the Mini Juicy Pork Buns, which are soup dumplings. The broth is delicious and slurping it out of the dumpling is always fun. The salt and pepper eggplant was advertised as spicy (it wasn't), but the slivers of eggplant were perfectly fried and battered to create a french fry like dish made with eggplant. Good, but I'd probably try something else next time. read more

This is the first time I had to dump out all of the food because of the pure disgust from each item. Not sure if it was because we got takeout. The scallion pancakes tasted like fried chips. The chicken was crunchy in a bad way since it was fried all the way through. The noodles had a plop of peanut sauce in the middle that looked like a swab of peanut butter. Never again. read more

We've ordered from here a few times during covid and they have very good safety protocols. My favorite is the pork mini juicy bun. The authentic Szechuan dishes are delicious and they do the classics well too! read more

Szechuan's Dumpling is a terrific asset for Arlington and we're lucky to have a place that serves great soup dumplings (a.k.a. pork mini juicy dumpling, a.k.a. Xiao Long Bao) so convenient to us. Their soup dumplings are always steaming hot, juicy and really flavorful when you eat them in the restaurant (of course they won't be quite as good if you get them take out as they are meant to be eaten hot right out of the steamer!). Recently I went to Gourmet China House in Chinatown which is a sister restaurant to Gourmet Dumpling house across the street. Their soup dumplings were not even half as good as Szechuan's Dumpling's. I've had soup dumplings at Joe's Shanghai NYC, Ding Tai Fong in CA, and many other establishments and can say that Szechuan's dumplings rank up there in taste, quality of wrapping and juiciness as these famous places and it's CONVENIENT. Their other food is quite good too, though we tend to stick to the more authentic Szechuan dishes rather than the usual Chinese-American fair that they get panned for. Get stuff like baby bok choy with garlic, or the salt & pepper dishes, or Szechuan's Spicy dishes or Stir fried rice cakes or the DUMPLINGS!! and you won't go wrong. I've been to SD at least every other month for the past 3 years and it's always been great. The owner and waitress are always very nice and attentive too. I'll be moving out of Arlington soon, but will still make treks to Szechuan's Dumplings when I'm in the area!! read more

Soup dumplings, yum. Pork in spicy Szechuan sauce, YUM. Could do without the Kung Pao chicken. Not spicy at all. My 10 month old loved it though. In general, almost as good as Gourmet Dumpling House in Boston. However, the sliced fish Szechuan soup there gives Gourmet Dumpling House the slight edge; its got just that little something extra I can't put my finger on . . . However, Szechuan's Dumpling is the best outside of Chinatown I've had. Can't wait to try some more dishes. read more

We ordered take out from Szechuan Dumpling today for Mother's Day, what a huge disappointment! The positives, they forgot my brown rice and had it delivered in less than 5 minutes after I called, my steamed veggies and dumplings were tasty. That is why I gave 1 star. The negatives, the ginger sauce and duck sauce were both watered down (duck sauce was pinkish) and had no flavor, the scallion pancakes were greasy and also no flavor. The chicken fingers box had half fingers, the rest of box had chunks of fried pieces of greasy dough. The orange chicken which is usually spicy and full of flavor, was bland and gross. What a complete waste of money!!! read more

Szechuan's Dumpling - Szechuan Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

Disappointing Takeout. Hot & Sour soup .. ok, but no depth of flavor. Szechuan Beef ... watery sauce, but tender. Chow Fun ... good. Dumplings ... good, but nothing special. Given the many good reviews, I may try again hoping this was an off night. read more

We enjoyed their dumplings; and chicken/basil/eggplant dish very much. Light sauces, delicate thin wrappers on the dumplings, and great wait staff. well done! read more

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT! And disappointing. I live about 400m from this restaurant, and absolutely LOVED the food.... Note the past tense because it is not the same since reopening under new management. I was surprised and saddened when it suddenly closed down in late August as it was seemingly receiving very good business up until that point. A sign on the window indicated it would reopen in a few weeks under new management. Today, we thought we would give it a try. The restaurant looks largely the same. The owner is clearly different, although she is lovely and nice. The menu is notably smaller with old favorites no longer present. The dumpling menu is largely unchanged, however. I was disappointed that they no longer had okra with sacha sauce (no items were on the menu with sacha sauce), but they said they could make anything with sacha sauce ( just not okra). We ordered green beans with sacha sauce but it was not tasty at all. It didn't have the same deep rich flavor as the previous sacha sauce. Very disappointing. They no longer had shredded pork and bamboo shoots, but they did have pork with bamboo shoots and bean curd. We ordered it without bean curd, as they said it was the same dish as before, but it was totally bland, the bamboo shoots had no crunch, the sauce was almost like sweet and sour sauce (ugh). It was bad. They still had the eggplant with basil, which is an old fave, but this too was very bland and boring. No thanks. Mapo tofu with minced pork added is one of my faves, but this one was very bland, not spicy, and didn't have the same richness as before. Utterly disappointing. The dumplings were ok... The soul dumplings were tasty but not as juicy as before. Other dumplings were pretty good. Overall, I am SO sad at how this place has changed. This was our go-to neighborhood place that had reliably consistent delicious food we craved. But not anymore. Even though the owner and staff seem nice, I can't get myself to go back there. I wish they kept the old chefs. read more

We went there on a Saturday for lunch and the restaurant was empty. Food looked ok but was very greasy and quite tasteless. Service was absolutely not customer-centered. read more

Szechuan's Dumpling - Szechuan Near Me - Arlington, Massachusetts

See all

Much more and interesting flavors than the other Chinese restaurants nearby. Chinese cuisine instead of Chinese fast food.

When I noticed this past week that Jade Garden was no more and in its place was the new Szechuan's Dumplings, I was curious. I rarely went to Jade Garden and found the food kind of "meh"- nothing terribly exciting. It was another place with a menu you had probably seen at several other standard Chinese restaurants that focused on serving Americanized versions of Chinese dishes. If we got Chinese food in the area, it was normally from Shanghai Village. In three days I've gone back twice. Yes: that good. During my first visit, I had dinner. From the moment my kiddo and I walked in, the owner, Kuan, introduced herself and made us feel welcome. We were given a little bowl of peanuts and a menu with many interesting selections. This wasn't the standard beef with broccoli and sweet and sour pork type of menu. There were things that sounded interesting and intriguing: Jellyfish! Bitter melon! An assortment of different noodle types! We decided to try the steamed shrimp dumplings...and they were heavenly. Not too doughy, not too thin, flavorful and filled with shrimp and not other filler stuff. We also got an order of kimchi and it was just right: good measure of spiciness to sweetness. We shared a dish of rice noodles and seafood. The portions are generous here- when we were done, we had plenty to take home. It was cooked just right also- not soggy, not too salty, the seafood had been coated in seasonings that were complementary and not overpowering. We went back two days later to try the lunch specials. We ordered vegetable dumplings this time, the stir fried fish fillet and the General Gau's chicken. The staff was running around quite a bit since the restaurant was packed (every single table was taken!) and our dumplings ended up coming out while we were having our main courses, and we had to remind the waitress to bring us our soups of the day, which are included in the lunch special. The soup was quite good and had some yummy seaweed in it, but was on the cold side. Still, my fish was so good I'm still thinking of it now...The vegetable dumplings were also a great surprise; they were not full of the usual cabbage or lettuce: the vegetable in question (I should have asked- it was good) was shredded and dark green, mixed in with bits of spices. The General Gau's chicken was tender and saucy, but again, with well balanced flavors that were not overly tangy or sweet. I'm looking forward to having more meals there, trying new dishes, and introducing friends to this great new place! read more

When I first ate here shortly after it opened, the dumplings were very good. The next time, a few months later, they were okay but not great. Today, a few months after that, a friend and I opted for the lunch specials, and they were awful. The complementary soup was weak chicken broth with uncooked beans and nothing else. My friend's beef and broccoli featured tough meat and overcooked broccoli. My mapo tofu lacked a single Szechuan peppercorn, which is the heart of the dish. When I asked for some, the waitress didn't know what I was talking about but eventually gave me a small dish of stale, powdered peppercorns. The service was lackluster and, unlike when the restaurant opened, there were no Asians eating lunch. It's sad that a restaurant that started out so well has become so mediocre. I, for one, won't be back. read more

Problems with service the first few days or weeks of a restaurant opening should not be in a review. John should go get Chinese *American* food elsewhere - this is an authentic Chinese restaurant. I have only had 3 lunches here so far but it is very promising. I had dumpling noodle soup with rice noodles. Got a huge bowl (think Sapporo Ramen size) with about 10 or 12 *large* dumplings and a lot of noodles. The broth is a vegetable broth, which I was not used to but am told is highly authentic. Therefore it is not as rich as a meat based broth but was very good. And the whole deal set me back $6.25. My other lunches were three cup chicken, with pieces of chicken with bone and vegetables (very good) and seafood congee. The congee is different from what you get in Chinatown. It is not like a porridge but more like a soup with rice at the bottom, but it was delicious. Had clams, shrimp (shell on), squid, and other. The owner told me this is north China style congee. They have a really huge menu, and it looks pretty authentic to me. Items like spicy shredded pork ears, okra with sa cha sauce, sliced pork kidney w spicy sauce, etc. but also dishes more familiar. My hope is that if indeed it is authentic they keep it that way, keep it spicy, and don't water down to some idea of a suburban restaurant. I suspect this could become our favorite Chinese restaurant outside Chinatown, Mary Chung's in Cambridge, and Shangri La in Belmont. read more

My wife and I have visited this restaurant many times this past year. We have always been greeted cordially, and given ample time to peruse the menu. We usually order the Hot and Sour soup as an entree, and have never been disappointed by its taste and serving size. My wife enjoys the Pad Thai from the regular menu, and I usually order the Chicken and Green Beans or General Gau's Chicken. All orders are well prepared, and when we usually go for lunch, we have never been rushed. Parking on the street can be a little tricky, but if you come on the T, it is at the end of an MBTA bus stop. We do plan to visit more often, and will probably try some other items on the menu, like the soup dumplings-Xiao Long Pow, and other items as we learn more about them from other reviewers. read more

The change in management may suit some people, but it doesn't work for us. When Quan and her crew were in charge, they had a really interesting menu with many traditional dishes that were well outside the experience of most American diners, but really tasty and avoiding ingredients that most of us might find off-putting. The new managers seem to have dumbed down the menu considerably and almost all of our favorite dishes are gone. We tried the mini juicy pork (soup) dumplings and they had lost both size and flavor. The moo shoo was very nearly tasteless and the pancakes were too thick. Generally, it seemed to be food one could get from numerous mediocre Chinese joints. Chili chicken was at best, "meh." It is early in the new management's run and we'll try them one more time. However, this meal left me really wishing that the old management...and the old chefs...would come back! read more

We love this restaurant! The food is really authentic, and there's a large variety. The juicy pork dumplings are SO good. We tried the 3 cups chicken last week and it was quite good (bony, but delicious, and the perfect type of food for a cold night in February). We've tried a variety of dishes and are never disappointed. It's fairly family friendly - we have a baby and bring her along - only wish they had a changing table in the bathroom, but at least the bathroom is large enough and clean enough to change her on the floor (only mentioning this as others w/ little ones may find it informative). read more

We ate $84 worth of dumplings so can speak from experience. We recommend juicy pork soup dumplings and pan fried dumplings and spicy Szechuan fish filets with silken tofu and napa. Pea shoots were tender and stir fried perfectly. Service is terrific. Only suggested improvement is to get a higher quality rice. But who needs rice when you have dumplings! read more

Yum! What a great addition to Arlington. Very friendly service and so far the food has been delicious.

Miss the friendly folks of Jade Garden but this is far more excellent food to have within walking distance! Love pretty much everything we have tried over half a dozen visits and takeout. The soup dumplings are deviation worthy. Anything with hot green peppers is delicious. All of the bamboo tips dishes are spicy enough and great. Szechan chili pepper dishes good. Wonton soup good but hot n sour is flavorless and gloppy. Not the place for General Gao or Kung Pao and their friends....PF Changs is not too far away. read more