Little Sichuan Restaurant
| Address: | 168 E 4th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-345-9168 |
| Site: | littlesichuanrestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–9:30PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11:30AM–9:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 18
NE
Nei Ng
My family usually prefers our native Cantonese cuisine when we go out to eat, but sometimes its nice to switch it up a bit every once in a while. Weve been coming here since I was a little kid, and its still our go to place for Sichuan food. It used to be one of the very few Sichuan restaurants around San Francisco. Nowadays, it seems like a new Sichuan place pops up every few months. Im an ABC whos never been to that region, so I cant tell how authentic it is, but I think they make some pretty delicious food here. We always start with an order of Spicy Beef Tendons and Garlic Pork Belly. The tendons are thinly sliced and have a firm chewy texture. Its lathered in an oily chili dressing with ground Sichuan peppercorns to give it a citrusy highlight and numbing sensation. I like that they dont make it extremely spicy so you can get the tingly numbing experience without mistaking it for hot spices burning off your taste buds. The pork belly is similar. Its thinly sliced and has a smooth tender texture. The sauce has a more soy sauce savoriness and garlicky flavor to match the rich meat. Z&Y in Chinatown makes a good version of this also. Theirs is more sweet, but its equally delicious. Our meals always include the Tea Smoked Duck. When its good, its heavenly. The luscious pink meat shows that its thoroughly infused with smoke. The flavor is different from hickory or mesquite. Whatever they use for smoke is more fragrant, sweeter, and slightly floral. A lot of other places dont make it smoky enough, but Little Sichuans is consistently flavorful. Sometimes, it comes out on the dry side so we usually order half first. If its good, then well think about ordering another half. We also always order the Sichuan Family Style Noodles. The noodles get too soft, but the broth is really delicious with many layers of flavor. The soup base is enhanced with hot chiles, ginger, and garlic, while the finish is highlighted by the lemony and citrusy notes of the Sichuan peppercorns. The signature numbing sensation lingers around as you slurp some noodles and sip some broth. Its kinda like soupy Dan Dan Noodles. I havent tried many of the newer Sichuan/Szechuan restaurants yet, but so far, this place and Z&Y are my favorite.
FR
Francesca Guido
We go back time and again. Pay attention to the strengths of the menu: Szechuan. The staff takes us seriously because we order from the Szechuan part of the menu, such as twice cooked pork and smoked pork with Chinese broccoli. These are acquired tastes, yes, fatty, smoky, real regional peasant food. I also love the complimentary spicy pickled daikon and five-spice peanuts that meet you on arrival. We have never had any misses on the regular menu, either. General Chos Chicken is a crowd pleaser - sweet, sticky sauce. Cashew Chicken is delightful. Really good potstickers. Exploring, we found a treasure - Mu Shu Vegetables. I dont ask a lot of service, expecially in Chinese restaurants. The staff is always rushing to and fro. I take it on myself to wave them down for water, forks (!?), to-go boxes, and the check and they respond very well. I have hosted group dinners here with success. I ordered the menu in advance and found dishes to everyones taste. We ate well with smooth service.
SA
Salil Bhatnagar
This place used be be good but something has happened to it. Saturday evening at 7 pm and 2/3 restaurant was empty. That was the first clue that something is not the same. The food was just bad. It was way too salty. Ordered the cold noodles, Kung pao chicken, hot and sour soup, dry spicy beef, sautéed green beans, and pot stickers. Cold noodles, had some ingredient, which made the tounge feel numb. The beef had chunks of their salty seasoning fried along with the beef and every time one of those exploded in the mouth, I had to spit it out. The beef was fried beyond recognition. It was dry like leather. The chicken was too salty. Beans were good. Pot stickers were okay. Soup was the only thing I had to add salt to. It was neither hot or sour. For the four of us the bill was $70, including tax and tip. There was a lot of left overs but we left everything.
PA
Patric Lee
喜欢正宗川味的食客请注意：这家店现在的大厨很可能是苏州或上海人，我最近在这里吃过的所有的菜肴，无论是辣的还是不辣的，都相当甜，连此店的湖南腊肉都带甜味，在这方面比大部分上海餐馆都不逊色。 Convenient parking, good customer service, pretty fresh food, decent portion, and reasonable price. If you would like Americanized Sichuan dishes, this is your place.
SH
Shelby Garrett
I got a veggie rice that had a sauce consistency of dumpling sauce. My spouse had the beef rice which was decent but also a strange texture. They served green tea as a drink, but never offered anything else. The server was nice, but didnt speak any English. It was a lot a food, but just okay taste.
WI
William Whitney
Excellent food, lacking service. Ive been here for lunch twice, and the food is excellent. The cold noodles are simple and sublime, and the lamb is addictive. The service is deeply lacking at ordering and ticket time, but the food arrives quickly and is definitely worth putting up with the service.
RY
Ryan Sawadichai
Gotta get the cold noodles. Everyone says that this food is numbingly spicy, but I didnt even break a sweat during dinner at all (there might be something wrong with me). Loved the twice fried tofu, although there seemed to be a lot of filler vegetables. Everything is deliciously red and spicy.
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Pno Ens
Havent been here for at least 10 years. The very very spicy dishes were still very good. Loved every single plate I ordered. Highly recommend for anyone whos craving for great spicy food. The service staffs actually improved a lot, but not every one of them though.
LU
Lukas Jaglowski
Awesomeness all around. You cant beat it in terms of the portion sizes. Old vintage decor brings you back to the 70s. Will see many immigrant families from China dine here, which is a seal of approval that the place is excellent. Pumped to go back.
JI
Ji Yang
I would have given it 4 star if its name didnt have sichuan in it. The food is decent, but is not authentic sichuan. You can have a good meal here if you dont care much about real sichuan food. Hardcore sichuan food lovers will be dissapointed.
ZG
zg m
服务太烂！坐下10分钟没人过来招呼，连口水都没有！点完菜半个小时都没上来一个。绝对不要来这里！
JA
James Aguilar
Great place to find authentic spicy Sichuan style cuisine. They also serve your standard Chinese Restaurant food if you dont like the spice. The cold noodles and the Sichuan Spicy Beef are my favorites here. Staff ia friendly.
PE
Perla Ni
The restaurant lost its head cook. The food quality has nose-dived. The menu is radically different. Chinese people have stopped coming here. Saturday night and the place was pretty empty.
SU
Sunil S A
Taste of the food is good. Waiters who can help vegetarians would have been better. We were served shrimp momo which they called it as vegetarian. Service was decent. Tea was excellent.
A
A Private User
We love love love the food here, can get it megar-spicy like we like it. Service is also nice, but not horribly attentive. The green onion pancakes more than make up for that though.
DE
Deborah Hooker
Best Chinese I have ever had, anywhere. Used to come here years ago, so made a special trip down to San Mateo when I was in town, and it is just as amazing as I remember.
YU
Yumio Saneyoshi
It is good spicy Chinese food. Get the cold spicy noodles. This is numbing spicy, not the Mexican hot spicy. You can also get non-spicy dumplings & onion pan cakes.
A
A Private User
Make sure you understand what Sichuan food is. If you want generic Chinese food, this is NOT the place for you. If you want true Sichuan-style food, then youll enjoy it.
