Changsho

Changsho ranks under Panda Express and P.F. Chang’s in my personalized Chinese restaurant litmus test. What’s my rationale? Panda Express does not even try to be authentic fare. Indeed, I recall seeing one cookbook that attempted to recreate the strip mall’s standard chicken entrée.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have places like Changsho. No one’s going to try to mimic their take on Chinese. I think that this venue fails because they attempt to appeal to the masses. This results in a lack of authenticity that is neither creative or remarkable.

The service is terrible beyond belief. They can’t make it more obvious that they don’t give a crap about their customers. It should be called «$$$$$$$ cha ching! Give us your money and screw.»

Clutch lunch buffet. Changsho manages to keep it classy despite being a great buffet deal. When you pick the buffet option, they first give you a choice of egg drop soup and hot and sour soup. Then it’s off to the buffet bar. The buns are excellent, and I also enjoy the stir-​fried seafood, string beans, and vegetables. Also, the oreo mousse at the dessert table is excellent. The food isn’t overly greasy, but will definitely fill you up. Changsho offers Western-​friendly Chinese dishes that can please a range of people. Nice décor, polite service, and an easy lunch option. Will definitely be back the next time I’m craving Chinese food.

The food is a little expensive but overall the quality is good. The service is another issue. When I went to the bathroom after signing the credit card receipt, the waitress complained to my wife that the tip was not enough. they made my wife go to a bank a nearby bank and withdraw cash because she did not have enough on her. If this was a full service meal, I can understand the waitress frustration. However, you are not required to tip on a lunch buffet. And I see that other people have also experienced the same treatment at this restaurant. So if you go here beware of the service, if you don’t tip well even in a self serve lunch buffet, they will retaliate against you. They are now on our never go list.

I had long thought this place must be a front. Recently remodeled, somewhat out-​of-​place swanky interior plus a parking lot on what has to be expensive Mass Ave real estate and often… empty.
But I’ve gotten takeout General Gau’s from here a few times (so judge my depth of Chinese food sophistication) and can confirm that I was not the only customer.
Compared with the other Chinese offerings in Harvard/​Porter, the quality is notably higher (i.e. more chicken than fried) as are the prices. $ 15 for the aforementioned with no sides, soup, etc. feels a little expensive, but I guess they’re paying for that parking lot from the proceeds of their legitimate business. So feel better about that.

Vegetarians beware!
I enjoyed this food for a while and went to their buffet occasionally. I always asked what was vegetarian and ate only that. Then one day I asked specifically about every dish on the buffet: «does this have chicken broth?» Everything that was always identified as vegetarian had chicken broth. Everything. From the menu, the ma po tofu I always ordered «vegetarian» — yep, chicken broth.
They say they can make anything actually vegetarian if specifically asked to make it without chicken broth. I hope that they start to realize that when people ask if something is vegetarian, that means no chicken or other meat broth.

We had a delicious meal here last week. The egg plant with garlic was tasty with just the right balance of garlic and oil. The waiter was funny and recommended good dishes. We will definitely return

Best lunch buffet in boston… #BOOM

Yikes! Changsho was quite bad. Calamari and spring rolls came out quickly and were what could have expected from any Chinese restaurant. It took a very long time for spinach, duck and rice to come out. The duck lacked flavor and had a poor texture from not being cooked properly. The pancakes for the duck were cold. I won’t go back even though its walking distance from my house.

Changsho is definitely one of the higher quality restaurants around Harvard (i.e. «The Kong» or Yenching. Notably, the ingredients are better quality and the ingredients more fresh. The service is also amazing, especially for a Chinese restaurant. The waiters are kind and attentive. I tried to eat at Changsho last night for Chinese New Year but they were closing early so we could only order take-​out and couldn’t be seated. This is completely understandable, but the host was extremely apologetic. The sincerity is much appreciated!
As for the food, I’ve had the Kung Pao Chicken, Peppercorn Chili Fish Fillet, the Peking Duck, and Pad Thai. All are tasty and the portions are filling. The dishes aren’t grease-​packed, so you will leave stuffed but not weighted down. The restaurant sit-​down experience is nice — the restaurant is roomy.

Best Chinese food in Cambridge? Let’s take a look:
Good tasting — check
All the standards — check
Holds up well for leftovers — check
Just enough fried goodness — check
Good take out — check
Lunch time Buffett — check
Parking — across the street!
Prices — on par with the CBridge lifestyle.
This is a great place and besides Christmas Day, I would recommend this place fully.

So, I am not an expert on Chinese food by any means, but this place was solid. Food was good, servers were attentive, and the ambiance was really nice. It’s a spacious place, which I don’t see a lot in Cambridge or Somerville and, while I didn’t use it, they apparently had a parking lot.
I got a tofu lunch special and learned one important thing: the food really isn’t very spicy. The menu said it would be spicy, and while it was flavorful, there was almost no spiciness to the dish. I ended up asking for hot sauce, which had a smoky flavor to it, but was still good!
I’d say definitely visit if you’re in the area and looking for a solid experience.

Beautiful restaurant. I used to go to Changsho for lunch when I worked in Cambridge for the buffet. We went here for dinner on a Sunday night. We got the orange chicken, shrimp fried rice and vegetable and shrimp tempura. The tempura was delicious. The rice was really good as well as the orange chicken.
I love coming here because the parking is also really easy for Cambridge.
I recommend the buffet as well! Great food.

I walk by Changsho’s frequently. Most of the time I walk by, some of the kitchen staff is outside smoking. I find this to be kind unappealing and unsanitary.
There is a little tin that sits outside the side entrance that has all the cigarette butts in it. It’s pretty gross.
One of the times I walked by, a staff was smoking and hacking/​spitting on the ground, near the little tin can filled with cigarette butts. This was pretty gross, too.
Bottom Line: I recently was forced to try their sunday brunch buffet. They were friendly, it was clean. Food was fresh, hot, delicious. Smoke and spit away.

The last time I was in Boston, we went here for my birthday lunch. There were 2 vegetarians at the table and we ordered from the regular menu. Everything was fresh and delicious. Interesting dishes, presented nicely. We even got those silly volcano drinks with all the straws just for shits and giggles.
In rethinking this place, there really is nothing bad to say. Food is excellent and fresh. Prices are decent (esp the buffet). Service is always good. The space is so big and elegant. And they have their own parking lot. if you don’t know Cambridge… let me assure you this is a BIG deal!
Cant wait to go again this year!

This is my favorite place.
The interior is beautiful, like a restaurant in a hotel.
The price is not expensive though, their service is really good and servers are professional.
I recommend iron plate dishes, scorched rice, and Beijing Duck.
It is spacious, you can bring your special guests.
About foods, my Chinese friends said that the taste is for American people, but for Japanese, or maybe for non-​Chinese people must like them. Actually most of customers I see in this restaurant were not Asian.
お気に入りのお店です。
建物の外観と異なり内装はホテルのレストランのように綺麗です。
また手軽な値段の割にサービスも素晴らしく、サーバーもプロフェッショナルだと思います。
ジュージューと音を立てながら運ばれてくる鉄板の料理や、テーブルの前であんをかけるおこげのパフォーマンスも豪華で、北京ダックなどの料理の取り分けも素早くきれいにしてくれます。
中華料理店にしてはテーブルもゆったりと配置されリラックスして食事できますし、ゲストがいらした時にも利用できると思います。
お料理に関しては、本場中華圏の友人たちは味がアメリカ人向けだと言っていますが、日本人には合うと思います。実際まわりのお客さんはアジア人がほぼいませんでした。

My wife introduced me to Chang-​Sho as her go-​to Chinese restaurant.
I’m usually perfectly happy with a place like Number One Taste in Belmont, but this is definitely a notch above.
We go every couple of months and I am making sure I try something different every time. Last time I got a spicy beef dish that was perfectly done. The first few bites you think «no big deal» and about 20 bites in you are sweating and need a refill on your drink. That’s the way spicy food needs to be done.
My wife always gets General Gao chicken, and they do it well here. The chicken is not overbreaded and is always crispy and delicious. Highly recommended.

My friend and I ate here for the first time this week for dinner, and immediately returned for the weekend brunch with 13 of our friends as a reward for surviving midterms. The food is incredible, and service is extremely attentive.
The food is scrumptious. For a weeknight dinner, I got the wonton soup, shrimp and chive dim sum, and the soup dumplings. The weekend dim sum buffet just could not get any better. There were unlimited soup dumplings that flowed at our table, and our server, Sharon, kept on bringing hot steaming bamboo trays of deliciousness throughout our meal.
There are regular events here for these weekend brunches, and we happened upon one of them, a Chinese opera performance that was part magic show with a face mask performer who just floored all of us.
The 14 of us at brunch are grad students, and with differing schedules we all filtered in and out over a two hour period. The staff was very accomodating and were fantastic with our group.
The food was hot, tasty, and authentic. I’m from Seattle and we take our Chinese food seriously. The soup dumplings were steaming hot with a perfect proportion of soup to bun. The skin is thicker than the type of dumplings you would get at Din Tai Fung, or in Chinatown, and it still hits the spot for me.
The range of eats were incredible, from meat (tea smoked duck) to dumplings (soup, dumplings, pot stickers galore) and an entire full of dessert options, including my personal favorite, mango pudding (I think I devoured four of these suckers).
My friends — including a Brazilian who finally had her first soup dumpling explosion of an experience — all had very different eating tastes, though all dumpling lovers, were all very happy with the meal and we all happily paid $ 25/​pop with one of the best dining experiences in our recent memory. This is a tall order as I’ve been celebrating my birthday month for almost two months now having gone to some of the best dining establishments in the area — O Ya, Craigie on Maine, and Toro. Changsho’s experience was just up there with these guys.
Am happy that this restaurant is in my neighborhood and will be coming back, with a huge group, regularly. Enjoy!

Place is amazing… Don’t listen to all the negative reviews below… Sure the prices are high, you are in Cambridge after all… They have a lot of items not on the menu, and they will make them if you ask…
I used to go to their sister restaurant lotus blossom all the time and it is great to have this place at the end if my st.
Definitely give this place a try, you won’t be disappointed!

First of all, Dim Sum. That grabbed me. Second, this place is a serious throwback. Décor-​wise you have to love the cavernous dining room, the giant faux-​Ming vases on stands, the soft orange lighting, the fine Corinthian leather booths — it’s all good. They do a smaller menu of well-​made, vaguely Americanised Asian food, and also DIM SUM.
Soup Dumplings. It’s no Dumpling Café, but it’s probably the best spot for soup dumplings in Cambridge. Scorpion bowls happen here, too. The staff is SUPER friendly. Nice quiet bar area for a singleton to read a book and enjoy some soup dumplings.