Chili Szechuan

i went there 2days ago, I had dry pepper chicken, dry braised beef tender, chinese special sausage as appetizer, it’s so good, never had that before, love it.

I’ve ordered from here a few times and on my fourth order I literally found a piece of rock in the fried rice, could have chipped my tooth if I hadn’t noticed it. Will not eat here again, dissappointing given the tastiness of some of their food items.

Interior and atmosphere was beautiful! Hardly anyone there at 6pm on a Thursday and it felt like we had almost the whole place to ourselves. The food came out really quickly, within 5 minutes, which was reminiscent of Han Dynasty. Pricing is definitely better than that of Han, but food equally as good. Not the most outstanding food I’ve ever had, but solidly comforting. Service was amazing!

Excellent flavor. Very traditional Chinese food. Like it so much. Frequently come here.

I’ve eaten frequently at Chili Szechuan since they opened at their previous location. Judged on the basis of their food, I absolutely love this place. Very spicy, varied Szechaun menu, plenty of choices for timid diners used to more standard american-​chinese dishes as well. I’ve got a regular order that I make, but frequently branch out to other items and am generally pleasantly surprised each time.
When people have complaints about Chili Szechuan it seems to have something to do with the service. I’ve definitely had experiences her that left me a bit confused, but frankly I’ve spent big chunks of my life working in food service, I don’t expect the staff of a restaurant to treat me like I’m the best thing that ever happened to them. They’re at work. Customers are annoying. Shit happens.
Order the Dan Dan Noodles, the Chinese Broccoli w /​Fresh Garlic, The Szechuan Chili Tofu.

This is one of the best Szechuan food restaurants I’ve I ever been in US so far. The Szechuan food there has right amount of chili oil. Service was excellent but kinda slow. Food like dongpo pork belly and sprareribs are not quite impressive. I guess it’s was because that they are food from other parts of China but not from Szechuan. In summary, you may want to order Szechuan food (with more chili marks) there. Sorry to miss out reviewing the orange chicken or other American Chinese food but I personally prefer authentic Chinese food.

The new location seems to be better in every way. I would frequent the previous location because it was near my church. I always loved the food and thought it was more authentic than other szechuan restaurants around the city. The new location looks great inside and the food quality is still top notch. Favorite dishes include: Dan Dan noodles, chungking chicken, double cooked pork, chicken with capsaicin, Chinese broccoli, and others. Almost anything you get here will be worth it

Went with a group of friends who frequently go here. Delicious authentic schezuan dishes and the best Dan Dan Noodles. Get the fried chicken dish!

I have never had a bad experience here. The food is always fresh, flavorful, and delicious. Definitely try the dry pot dishes, double cooked pork, fish in chili oil, and chongqing chicken. Also, the vegetables are all great! Not too salty and complemented the other dishes well!

if you’re into traditional spicy szechuan food, come to chili Szechuan. the food here is authentic and very flavorful, even more authentic than Han dynasty.
just comparing Dan Dan noodles from chili szechuan and Han dynasty, chili Szechuan Dan Dan noodles have more pepper corn and Szechuan flavors where Han dynasty’s have more peanuty flavor.
I highly recommend double cooked pork, double cooked fish, Chungking style spicy chicken, salt baked shrimp and squid, and dry pepper chicken!
One down side is that waiters really don’t come around too much. if you don’t mind taking time to eat and sit around, great place to come!

Dry. Pepper. Chicken. Super spicy nuggets of thrice-​fried chicken swimming in hot peppers, garlic, scallions, ginger and Szechuan peppercorns? Yes, please. This dish has ruined all other food for me and I can’t find anything like it in Maryland, DC or Virginia. I’ve tried recreating it at home, but can never quite get it right. Warning: this is a wicked spicy and oily dish. If you’re cool with that, dry pot style is also hella good.

Love this restaurant! The food here are very traditional Szechuan style !!! Love it !!! The best service and Chinese food !!!

Please follows our Instagram for more information and updating events & discounts. Ins: chiliszechuan_​kelly

love that place，be back。they have new sausage dish for Chinese New Year, you can chose spicy or not spicy, they both taste so good, it’s perfect for the new years

Took about 10 minutes for our server to get to us and ask us what we wanted to order on a sparse Sunday night. Server had very little idea of the ingredients in each menu item, and had to consult with the manager. Had a crab rangoon, fried dumplings, chicken with Szechuan chili seasoning, and taro milk tea with boba. Crab rangoon and dumplings came out cold. The chicken was succulent and tasty, and properly seasoned. The taro milk tea was tasty, but the boba in the drink came out hard and tasteless.
With the lackluster service, we decided to tip, but not as much as we would with good service. They picked up the check while we were still finishing up. They came back to our table and insisted we tip more. I’ve worked as a server in the past. Since when is 20% EXPECTED when you give crappy service? I have never encountered such arrogance.
Also, I never noticed the discrimination with the 10% discount written in only Chinese on the front of the menu. Wow.
Never coming back.

I’m torn.
I’ve eaten here on multiple occasions, taking friends and family alike. I love their cumin lamb, fried intestines and pepper, west lake beef soup, salt and pepper seafood. So much that I hesitated to write the following review and nothing will turn me away from such a place except one:
Food poisoning.
A few nights ago, we ordered a tofu with pork and spicy fish fillets to go. I only had the fish and felt fine, but my parents had both and felt ill soon after. From discomfort in the abdomen to vomiting everything that was ingested, they experienced the whole range of food poisoning symptoms throughout the night. It pained me to watch, and they only started feeling better the second day. I hate to make such grave statements, but we are certain it was what we ordered here that gave them food poisoning.
This has never happened before, but as a long-​time customer I’m extremely sad and disappointed that it did. I can no longer vouch for the integrity of the food here. I don’t know if it’s the source of their supplies, sanitation issues or expired ingredients, but in any case this is completely unacceptable. Until it has been thoroughly investigated, as much as I would love to recommend this place and even return myself, I can’t bear to do so in fear of bringing upon the same misfortune to anyone else.

The food is delicious but they take 2 hours to deliver is… Order for pick up instead

New location and upgraded environment. But totally as great as what I tasted 1 yr ago before I graduated from upenn! Hot and sour rice noodle is so authentic as in China!

I really enjoy the spiciness here. The seasoning was better than at Han dynasty. TBH I thought that the Dan Dan noodles were not as great as Han Dynasty but the seasoning was superior.
Loved all the dishes we got. It’s not that big since its located in CC. Parking is pretty hard to find on a busy day.
I would come here again as this place is legit. I recommend the spicy beef tripe and tendon.

Attention — SAVE MORE THAN 10% ON TAKEOUT by picking up yourself and spending at least $ 25.
1-​CALL THE RESTAURANT DIRECTLY to place your order — prices are $ 1 cheaper than the on-​line ordering menu.
2-​PAY IN CASH — 10% WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM YOUR TOTAL. It’s that simple !!
You’ll also pocket the $ 2 delivery charge — there’s always easy (free) parking on street in front.
I’ve always had positive experiences with Chili Szechuan, at both their former and current spots. If there’s an inconsistant aspect, it’d be ‘deliveries’ which I avoid – but I don’t fault the restaurant for these problems – too many other factors are in play.
Staff is attentive, cordial, provides good communication and serves tasty Szechuan food without charging ‘center city’ or Han Dynasty prices. That’s all I need.
PS – ‘Eating In’ is nice too. The restaurant is newly furnished and always neat + clean.

I’ve ordered delivery from Chili Szechuan, eaten in and picked up dozens of times. Delivery can be really inconsistent. I’ve had it take anywhere from a half hour to an unbearably long hour and a half, and they always quote you the same 45 min-​1 hr time. Since the moved to a new location, the dine in service has declined in quality and warmth. The service staff has an attitude. They imposed a new $ 25 minimum on cards (unheard of) and propose a $ 2 convenience fee to use a debit card for an order of $ 6 noodles. Like other reviewers have noted, items are marked up on GrubHub and they won’t budge on their delivery minimum even if you fall 25 cents short.
I tried to order a side of bok choy and was charged $ 9 I kid you not; this is on the menu under veg entrees as Chinese Greens. it was a generous portion but I can’t help but get the feeling that this business is just trying to cut costs, to make as much money as possible.
A major issue this business faces is inconsistency. On multiple occasions I’ve ordered their boneless spare ribs only to be delivered dried out, hard pieces of inedible meat. Or to the contrary, its large pieces of chewy fat almost akin to pork belly but literally just PURE FAT. I’ve also had this dish come as perfectly edible, tender pieces of pork so that’s why I continue, perhaps foolishly, to order it.
I also ordered cumin beef and got a strange chewy cut of beef– the kind of texture of meat I would’ve trimmed off and thrown away. Never served to a paying customer. I’ve gotten lamb here which was the same, shaved thin and bone in (?!). The Ben Ben chicken was full of fat and ligaments. When you call to complain they aren’t very helpful. I get it, waste not want not, different culture. But I could roll with this in a dingy, dirt-​cheap SF Chinatown dim sum joint NOT at a tastefully remodeled $ 15/​entrée restaurant.
So as a safe bet, I figure, just stick to noodle dishes, right? Welp Unilocal,they are now using a regular semolina spaghetti noodle for their wildly popular Dan Dans as opposed to they old chewy, egg based wavy noodles. I really preferred the yellow eggy ones, as they had some texture to them and held the sauce much better. The new ones are like regular noodles, slick, slimy and often slightly overcooked. I suspect this is not a supply issue but another penny pinching move, as I frequent local Asian groceries and the correct noodle isn’t difficult to find.
I don’t know, Chili Szechuan. I mean, some of your food still rocks my world and blissfully numbs my face but I think maybe we need to take a break and do our own things for a bit. You doin’ me dirty.

I’ve ordered many, many times from Chili Szechuan with little to no problems. Occasionally I’ve gotten room-​temperature beverages in the middle of summer (more than once, actually, until I learned to ask whether their bottled green tea was cold before ordering it) or received white rice despite having paid extra for brown, but nothing has upset me like my experience tonight.
I called on the phone to order some delivery, despite hating to place orders on the phone. (Ever since the restaurant moved from it’s Baltimore Ave location to it’s current address on Chestnut St and subsequently redid its GrubHub page, the delivery parameters on the site are incorrect; the restaurant delivers to my home in actuality but GrubHub claims it doesn’t…annoying. It’s just as well because many of the items are marked up by $ 1 on GrubHub, presumably to recoup the fee that the site charges the restaurant, so I make out better by calling on the phone and saving money. Other restaurants, at least in this area, do this too, so you might wanna check it out if you’re a frequent online orderer.)
Anyway, I call on the phone to order my favorite CS dish, the Dry Pot with Pork Feet. Sounds gross but is pretty delicious and my go-​to item. The dish costs $ 15.95; the delivery minimum is $ 16. I already knew this information and, while I sometimes order a drink or an appetizer with my food, I was already splurging by having this tonight (with tax, delivery fee and tip I was looking at $ 23-​$ 24) and didn’t want anything extra. I knew the rule, though, so when the person on the phone told me I was just under the minimum and suggested I order something else, I simply asked her to charge me an extra nickel, bringing me to the delivery minimum (I should note that I’ve made and been granted this request before… like I said, I almost always order this dish… I’ve sampled several others but none that I’ve enjoyed more). They refused, even after checking with someone, and kept suggesting I order a drink or an appetizer. This was really upsetting to me, as I didn’t think I was being at all unreasonable. It’s not as if I expected special treatment or for them to make an exception to their delivery minimum, I simple wanted them to charge me FIVE MORE CENTS so that I’d meet the minimum, If they had it their way, though, they’d get to charge me several more dollars for an item that I didn’t even want. Needless to say, they won’t be getting any more business from me… sad, as they’re apparently so hard up for cash that they’d rather lose a steady customer’s business than accommodate a simple and reasonable request.

These people should get 0 stars for their terrible service. We go here on a Wednesday night after calling and confirming that they close at 10pm. We reached at 9pm and actually felt good about the place. It was kept very clean. We sit to order food. The waiter is already in a hurry looking at his watch. We ordered and we got the food pretty fast. Of course they are in a hurry! He was literally throwing stuff on the table. The waiter was standing there the whole time watching us eat — he was so ready to grab our plates and kick us out. As soon as my friend took last bite from her plate, he just grabbed her plate, placed the check on the table and still stands there. I am still eating! I was so afraid that he will just push me out, so I finished my food and decided to not tip this guy for his rude behavior the whole time. He tells me to pay 15% tip when he saw that I didn’t tip him. Seriously? Who does that. I am not tipping because I absolutely hated the service.
The food is ok. But I would never recommend this place to anyone. You need to learn some basic etiquette of talking to people before opening a restaurant.
By the way, we were out by 9:30pm.

Unlike most Chinese restaurants, this one is clean and has good decors. However, the food quality was not as good as other Szechuan restaurants near University city. We ordered water-​boiling-​fish and it seemed that the fish was deep-​fried with a lot of flour. I didn’t even have a taste of fish.

Chili Szechuan has moved to a more spacious location with nicer décor.
SERVICE has improved in that there seems to be a new, friendlier manager. Thus far at the new location, I haven’t come across the old manager who bordered on rude (she was always at the old location).
Unfortunately, FOOD QUALITY has declined in several ways:
1. Some of the same ingredients used are of a lower quality. For example, the fish pieces used in various dishes are smaller and thinner than before; there are more scraps of fish where there used to be large succulent pieces of fish. The beef used in the Dry Pot Beef is tougher now (it used to be tender).
2. They have omitted ingredients or replaced them with cheaper options that don’t work well in the dish. For example, Dry Pot dishes are described as including bamboo shoots, but for the past 3 times I’ve ordered it, there’s been no bamboo at all. Instead, there are large chunks of celery stalk. Celery seems to be a cheap vegetable filler that now dominates some other dishes as well.
3. Steamed rice was extremely undercooked one day, almost raw.
VALUE has declined in general. Not only are the ingredients worse, but also the dishes are more expensive & contain noticeably smaller portions. Delivery fee has increased.
Lower-​quality ingredients aside, the dishes are still good and authentic in terms of flavour. Chili Szechuan has declined, but it still has the best Szechuan food in West Philly.
3.5 stars

My favorite go-​to Chinese restaurant! First off, don’t order the americanized items here — these items do this place INJUSTICE.
I always order the same 3 items: dry pepper fish, cold pork belly appetizer, and jellyfish with cucumbers. Once in a while I’ll add in some soup on those cold rainy days, or if my stomach can’t handle the spices I’ll order some additional vegetable dishes. Hands down I always choose this place over Han Dynasty.
My only con to this place is that since I’m a regular here, I have seen many different plating styles and portions for the same item. Although this detail is inconsistent, it doesn’t push me away because their FOOD is always consistently awesome!

As the daughter of a restaurant owner I really wanted to give them more stars but the dishes were just not up to par considering the price. We had the Mapo tofu and Mongolian beef dishes in the lunch special. The Mapo tofu was ok but the Mongolian beef was the worst I’ve ever had at any Chinese restaurants. The beef was chewy and the sauce was tasteless. My husband who is definitely not a picky eater at all was barely able to eat it. We have had their food before at their previous location and it was much better so we’re hoping this was just an off day for them.

i don’t know why they moved and i don’t care… as long as i can still order food from them! delivery takes a little bit longer but well worth it. if i can eat here everyday i would. their egg rolls, eggplant in garlic sauce, chicken dry pot and house special spicy rice noodles… all very delicious and their portions are large. you’ll def have leftovers! it is szechuan food so expect spicy… if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen!

Perhaps the new location has some upgrades in seating and menus, but something that’s stayed the same is the poor quality of service. From all the visits I’ve made, it always seems like they are understaffed. The hostess, waitresses, and other staff are sharing responsibilities that service gets sloppy and disorganized. The food is pretty solid so if it weren’t for the service, I would give a better rating.
I ordered a starter with two entrees — spicy pork kidney, cumin lamb, and fish («tofu pudding» style). The kidney and lamb came out at relatively the same time and we enjoyed both. While the pork kidney is traditionally a cold dish, I just felt the temperature was a little off. Nevertheless, it redeemed itself on flavor. The kidney was cleaned well and the chili oil added lots of spice. The lamb was also very tasty but the meat was a bit chewy. We then waited quite some time until our last entrée arrived, I was literally digging through morsels to keep myself occupied. When our fish finally arrived, my appetite was renewed. Again I felt like the temperature of the tofu was pretty cool compared to the boiling hot fish. The tofu chunks and sauce hit the spot! I submerged my rice under spoonfuls of this sauce and was craving more and more bowls of rice so I could just eat it with the sauce (too bad they charge for every extra bowl of rice). The fish stayed crisp even soaked in the sauce and was salted perfectly. Despite my experience undulating between peaks and valleys throughout dinner, I thought it ended on a strong note (I even had some leftovers to enjoy!)
I hope this restaurant revisits some of its service pitfalls and starts changing — I’m not sure that its food can stand alone.

For those who can read Chinese, the cover of their menu says that when you order takeout over the phone and pay with cash, you get 10% off. (Notice that’s not printed anywhere in English… Racist much?) So I do what it says and when I get there the woman at the counter says «sorry, that’s only for orders over $ 25.» If that’s your policy, say so in advance!
Very disappointed.
UPDATE: As I’m eating my chicken, I literally find a piece of metal IN the chicken. Not to mention disgusting, this place’s food isn’t safe. See the pics on Unilocal for the weird triangle-​shaped piece of metal.

Grand opening on Chestnut. It has a bigger space than the one Baltimore, and a lot of new dishes. Good dining experience.