Authentic Szechuan

If you’ve been in NYC long enough, you’ll realize that every Chinese restaurant in NYC always closes down after a couple years and reopens with a new name. There’s a restaurant near my workplace that I refer to as «Dragon», simply because I’ve lost track of what they call themselves anymore.
Authentic Szechuan used to be the olé Tofu on 7^th… a Park Slope institution. I guess the rent on 7^th Av must be getting too expensive, but lucky for me, they chose to relocate just down the street. The menu is divided into 3 categories:
1. Sushi — I have NO idea why they are doing this. Focus on you core competency people! Needless to say… I’ve never ordered it, and never will.
2. Stock chinese — your general tso, kung pao, sweet and sour: insert random meat here:. Meh, it’s okay… but really not why you oder from this place.
3. The szechuan specials — Now this is where they win. The ma po tofu… crack. The cold noodles… crack. The pepper pot chicken… the dry cumin lamb… C.R.A.C.K.
Honestly, if they just focused on the latter category, they’d do much better for themselves. I’m a fan… regular rotation on my takeout speed dial.

Review based only on delivery, but it was good. We really loved the scallion pancakes: light, crispy and totally not greasy. Dumplings in chili oil were good but could have used more heat. We were divided on the crispy chili cumin ribs: I loved the spice rub and cilantro but found them a bit too salty. Hubby did not care for them. The shredded duck with ginger had great flavor but was a bit overwhelmed by the red & green peppers. Delivery was reasonably quick. We will definitely order again soon

Sometimes you just want Chicken and Broccoli and General Tso’s chicken — and this place does both very well. I haven’t tried the less «Americanized» side of the menu, but I’m sure the more interesting dishes are also delicious based on how well they do the basics. Favorite takeout Chinese in the area, hands down. I wish there was a place like this in SF.

Best Chinese delivery in park slope that I’ve been able to find! Definitely pick the Szechuan dishes over your more standard American-​Chinese take out fare, though fried rice and hot & sour soup are both solid. Great Dan Dan noodles (called noodles with minced pork I think I’m appetizer section) and dry pot chicken. Have tried the more standard dishes, like General tso’s and scallion pancakes and both were pretty terrible, so stick to the Szechuan stuff or experiment with your go-​tos, as those dishes just may be hit or miss. They’ll actually make stuff spicy too!

This is the only authentic Chinese food in the area. The dishes are a bit oily, but not fatty (Chinese chili oil is used as an ingredient, but the meats are not fatty). We have ordered delivery over 20 times here (5^th Ave) and also at their former location (on 7^th Ave). The food is consistent and delicious.
My favorite dishes here are the cumin lamb, Chong Qing chicken, and snow pea shoots. Their house specialty is Szechaun food, which is known for their mouth numbing peppers, so their chefs specials and house specialty dishes are the best dishes and they are not shy with their peppers, so make sure you can handle the heat before ordering! We have ordered mainly from these two sections on the menu. Haven’t been disappointed with any dish yet. It’s a decent place with authentic Chinese food and pretty consistent. Flavor-​wise, to find a better restaurant, you would have to venture to Flushing in Queens or Chinatown in Manhattan. This restaurant is a trusted go-​to for us in this neighborhood.

Great food everything was excellent. Good service waiter very informative. Best chinese food i had in a very long time. Gone there twice and cant wait to go again.

Great authentic Szechuan food comes to park slope. Finally!!!
The whole bass in hot bean sauce was huge and meaty. Crab and pork bun were delicious. Great service

Not as good as when it was tofu on 7^th. I’m guessing the chef changed or they just tweaked it the wrong way. Was my spot for spicy sechuan but that is now toned down on the spice level and seemed greasier. I also don’t like spots that mix up Chinese and sushi together. Pick one and do it right. I mean what the fuck, just cause they’re both asian doesn’t mean you should have them together. They might as well add some pizza and burritos to the menu and we can Kumbaya ourselves to a crap dinner.

I used to love this place when it was Tofu on 7^th.
Everyone says such wonderful things about the Szechuan menu which I loved when they were on 7^th avenue but I went with someone else today who wanted only food off the American menu and it was so so so so so so so incredibly awful. Like worse than bad take out joints awful. I’m either avoiding or sticking to the Szechuan food but it’s a shame that the Americanized menu has gone down hill. While I love authentic Chinese food, particularly some numbingly spicy Szechuan, I don’t always eat with people who share my affections… There are other spots in Park Slope that do both well!

I just came back from living in taiwan for a year and this place is easily the best and most authentic Chinese food in all of park slope. Yes, better than Hunan delight. The menu has some American Chinese staples, in addition to some more daring fare, but the part that really soars is the chefs menu. They even have dry pot!
I was also so happy that this place is very very vegetarian friendly, offering protein replacement for many of the chefs menu items!
The sign outside isn’t great liking but the interior Is classy and cozy.

On first glance, the menu posted on the window seems to offer up your general variety of American Chinese food, i.e. Orange Chicken and Beef with Broccoli. However this is a true hidden gem of Park Slope. The menu are divided into «Americanized Chinese Food» and «Authentic Chinese Food», and on the «Authentic» side, there are some really amazing stuff. I had the Authentic Sichuan Fish Fillet and Beef Cumin Style. The cumin style beef (or lamb — more traditional) is really good and we had it with some steamed flat buns. The fish fillet is the best, you can have it really spicy but I opt for a non spicy version. It’s the best Chinese food I’ve had in a long time. I will come back to have it again: P

Try their more authentic, less Americanized dishes– great! I am eating the shredded pork with bean curd and it’s fantastic! Also, finally some excellent dumplings in the neighborhood– the steamed pork dumplings come with delicately thin wrappers and they generously give you far more than the usual 6!

Don’t let the sad «50% off Sushi!» sign in front turn you away. We tried this place one night when everything else was closed and loved it. We’ve since been back several times. The Chinese food is always excellent (we’ve tried all kinds of greens and meat dishes, spicy and not), as is the service. LOVE the pork dumplings. We’ve gotten a few sushi rolls as well but Szechuan seems to be this place’s strong suit. (And there is better sushi elsewhere in the neighborhood — jpan, for example.)

The sushi are good enough plus they’re half off! !it’s a gimmick they’re using as a grand opening thing. Works for me. I went on the evening of pride parade. Got pretty busy. They became less attentive to me but it’s cool. They’re nice enough. I saw many people drinking their alcohol, must be good.

This place is really legit. I got the pork juicy buns (Xiao Long Bao) and it’s really good. It’s bigger than the Chinatown ones but the skin is just as thin. I also got the shredded pork with small peppers and mapo tofu. Both dishes came with a choice of white/​brown rice each. They didn’t charge extra for brown rice which is really nice. Super delicious and not too greasy. Finally, a good Chinese restaurant in Park Slope! Will order from here again!

*SPOILER ALERT*
I’m just gonna come right out and say it; this is the best Chinese food in Park Slope.
I was initially confused by this place. It used to be Shamisen, a Japanese/​Sushi restaurant. Then the signage abruptly appeared claiming «Authentic Szechuan — Chinese & Japanese Cuisine.» Huh? I wasn’t sure if they partnered with Shamisen and rebranded or what. As it turns out, the owners of Tofu on 7^th took this place over and are allegedly going to close their other location. So, this is effectively now Tofu on 5^th, Authentic Szechuan, or whatever you want to call it. The important thing is, the food is great!
I am a sucker for classic, spicy Szechuan food, so it thrills me to no end that this place opened up shop right around the corner from me. I have only done takeout, so can’t comment on the décor, ambiance or service, but most people I know don’t go to Chinese restaurants for any of those things, anyway. Everything I’ve tried has been excellent, from authentic dishes to Americanized classics. These are the items I’ve sampled (I need to specifically call out the first two):
— Spicy Dan Dan Noodles: The Szechuan classic. They’re hot and mouth-​numbing, just as you’d expect, and the portion is HUGE. On the menu, it’s called Spicy Noodle w/​Minced (Pork).
— Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings): !!! You read that right, folks. They serve them here, and frankly, they are quite good. I’m not talking Chinatown or Flushing good necessarily, but for Park Slope, they are killer. On the menu, they’re called juicy buns or something like that. Get them.
— Mapo Tofu
— Chong Qing Spicy Chicken
— Steamed Dumplings
— Ginger Chicken
— Chicken w/​Black Bean Sauce
— Pork Chow Fun
That’s a lot of different things to try, and they were all good. Seriously, if you like Chinese (and specifically Szechuan style) food, you must check this place out. It’s unfortunate that the only other review so far was so abysmal, I don’t think it’s reflective of what this place’s strong suit is. If you want sushi, I would go to an established place in the area that specializes in it. If you want kick-​ass Chinese food, look no further.