Lucky Strike

PLEASE come here in the next two days, Unilocal community. Lucky Strike, the only Chinese restaurant in Portland that I KNOW specialses only in Sechuan region food – is only open thro’ December 27 of this year – i.e. Sunday.
GET THERE FAST!
It’s quite awesome – give it as much business as ye can in the remaining three days!
Hot and Sour Clear Noodle soup=nummy.
LOVE their spicy jellyfish salad.

Excellent and very authentic Sichuanese cuisine. The owner comes from Chengdu from what I understand. Having spent time in Sichuan province I can attest that the flavors you will encounter here are the real deal. My favorites include the Hot pepper chicken bath, Dan Dan noodles, drunken belly, and beans and beans, though most everything we’ve tried has been great. The environment has its own character which is well liked, but not particularly up-​market which ensures its status as a local favorite, possibly a little underground and above all, non-​pretentious. The constantly running kung fu movies is well liked ranging from comedic Shaolin Soccer, to the very epic House of the Flying Daggers. There have been some times when what I suspect were kitchen staff changes resulted in lower quality attempts at what can be challenging dishes to prepare, but these periods have been short lived. Unfortunately, I have just learned that the new owners of the building are raising the rent effectively forcing them out. It seems that December 2015 may be your last chance to experience Lucky Strike.

I love this place! The food is fantastic. If you are looking for something a little closer to authentic that our typical American Chinese, this will be a great place to try. If you enjoy spicy Sichuan flavors, stop by Lucky Strike. For food I would give this restaurant 5 stars, every time. My favorites are the spicy fish bath and the mapu tofu. For service I have to give them 4 stars. They are often a little slow and usually don’t have everything on the menu. But, I don’t really mind waiting for this food because I enjoy it so much! The bar is nice, and they are good for take out as well.

I’ve never been during regular hours, but the late night happy hour menu is tops, and one of the best for taste and value. Don’t sleep. The bar and wait staff have always been friendly.

I really only go there for one thing: Kim chi fried rice. I had it once and fell in love. The price is a little high, but it is huge and can be two meals. I really should try something else but I always get the craving for that spicy fried rice with chicken. Its a little annoying that they keep pushing back their hours to open later in the day, makes it hard to plan to get it for pick up. Also, it takes up to 30 minutes for them to make it, but overall their food is worth it.

This use to be one of my favorite places. The last few times I have been there have been very disappointing! I think they have a new kitchen staff, the dishes have gone downhill. The last 4 times I have been there they were out of so many things. The cumin beef didn’t have any of the delish prickly ash, the dan dan noodles where bland and squishy, the spicy sliced beef shank was cut far too thick. Overall all the dishes that were fantastic and now just ok.
I hope its just growing pains, I love this restaurant it makes me sad the quality has gone so far downhill

Pickle fish (酸菜鱼) is amazing! I am a native Chinese and was literally crying when that juicy fish tender was delivered to my mouth. 好吃跪了啊啊啊啊！！

I don’t think this place deserves 3,5 stars.
The services were super friendly even though we came about 10mins before closing time.
Too bad when they were out of the Pork ribs when I came but I had Dan Dan noodle which was great.
I felt there was some fried garlic on the noodle, tasty salt on the noodle as well.
You should order a fried egg on the top (only $ 1,25) — it is such a match with Dan dan noodle.
Definitely will be back again to try pork ribs but Dan dan noodle will be ordered again :)

Wonderfully delicious. So spicy and fresh. Don’t sleep on Chinese food, folks. Panda Express has done it horrible injustices, but this place. This place is doin it right.
Get the garlic baby bok choy and fried leopard jalapeño peppers. Dooo it. And a Tsingstao. Or 3.

It’s hart to find good Chinese food in town. I’m so happy that I found lucky strike. It’s my spot for Chinese food from now on. Love their food! Great service and great food. I’m coming back!

My favorite Chinese restaurants tend to be those that focus on a specialty of some kind. Lucky Strike does this quite well, pursuing the spicy glory that is Sichuan food.
I like how Lucky Strike has a comparatively short menu, and focuses on a few specialties. While I usually get the Ma Po tofu, I can also highly recommend the Dan Dan noodles, especially when you order the fried egg on top.
The Ma Po tofu is very spicy, full of numbing Sichuan peppercorns. It’s just a bit on the salty side, but not unpleasantly so. The menu description of the tofu as «silky» is very accurate – rather than the lumps of rubbery nothing that are so often found at other places, it’s soft and smooth, and is the perfect vehicle for all that spice. Not just fiery, but tingly, the Sichuan spices in the Ma Po tofu are as complex as they are strong. I can’t think of any flavor like them at all. Word to the wise: If you don’t eat meat, you should specify you want yours vegetarian/​vegan, as the standard issue version is made with meat.
My friend ordered the Guinness ribs with sweet soy glaze and sesame seeds. Much sweeter than the other dishes I’ve had here. It’s good, though I’d say it reminds me a lot more of well-​made American Chinese food than anything I’ve had in China. The meat is very tender and flavorful. I can see this being good comfort food.
Finally, the Dan Dan noodles are delicious, and a great value, too. I love the spicy meat with them, as well as the peanuts. The egg is essential, in my opinion, as it adds further richness and protein (it’s a small meal). For someone looking to try traditional, spicy Sichuan food but wants to proceed with a little bit of caution, these are a great choice. I love my spicy food, and wouldn’t consider them wimpy by any means, but I do think they’re more approachable than the lovely Ma Po tofu.
If you eat inside, you may find yourself distracted by the large screen in the dining room, upon which they project Chinese movies with subtitles and a low volume (though recently they showed Ghostbusters for some reason). The décor (even in the bathrooms!) is very cool, too. While distinctly Chinese, it isn’t kitschy or over-​the-​top like so many places seem to do.
With its powerful food, projected films, and dramatic décor, Lucky Strike can be an overwhelming experience. If you’re looking for intense, though, I’d definitely recommend it. For those who crave spice most of all, it’s a must visit. And finally, for those looking to explore China’s diverse cuisines in greater depth, it’s a great starting point.

I came here since I was here in town for a conference and searched online for good Chinese food in town. This one came as one of the recommended one. We ordered two beef dishes since the waiter told us that they didn’t have any fish dishes. The beef in both dishes were really disappointing as compared to the ones I had in China. They were too chewy and not tender at all. Only the fried rice was OK. Wouldn’t say its the best Sichuan food.

A nice, cool spot. Go during happy hour (4pm-​6pm everyday). The plates are smaller and cheaper which allows you try more things. Dan dan noodles are good, along with the guinness pork ribs and sauteed baby bok choy with garlic.

Bought a groupon to try this place and was pleasantly surprised. We ordered a variety of dishes and really enjoyed them. We’ve been back twice since and we’ve enjoyed the food each time. The décor is super cute with the mahjong motif at the bar. I do think it’s slightly overpriced on a couple of things.

Flavoful and spicy Szechuan. Tried the dumplings in spicy sauce, very good and spicy The string beans and black bean was milder and perfectly done, as was the bok choy (fried with garlic and seaame oil). The kung pao tofu was less like kung pao than a general tso stule sauce good but not what we expected. Dan dan noodles were perfectly cooked and the hottest dish we tried.
As a plus, the waiter was kind enough to give us free dessert for a birthday.

It has been several months since i went here, and was putting off writing a review due to not being able to decide on 2 or 3 stars… but after thinking about it a long time, i decided it would have to be 2 as I am not inclined to ever go back.
I had heard rave reviews of this place from friends years ago. I believe the place had changed ownership or management since my friends recommended it though.
We were seated at the table right next to the bathrooms and i noticed an immediate and pervasive smell of urine that never dissipated through our visit there.
While our waiter was friendly, they didn’t bring a water refill during the entire meal, until i asked at the very end. In fact they didn’t ask how we were enjoying our food either, which was not super enjoyable to me. Everything was swimming in oil, in fact the noodle soup i got (sorry, can’t remember the name) literally had a ½ inch of oil on top and was so overpoweringly oily and bitter that i could not finish it (which is extremely rare for me). My boyfriend had cashew chicken, which was tasty, but again, far too oily. The sechuan string beans were the highlight of the evening, with whole sechuan peppercorns on it… a truly unique experience. They aren’t actually so much spicy as kind of tingly, sour and tongue-​numbing, in a pleasant way. The beans were cooked well, but still WAY too much oil.
If you have never experienced sechuan peppercorns, i would go there just for that. It is something not common in Chinese restaurants in America anymore. Other than that, i can’t really recommend this place, sadly.

I came here alone before Christmas, order lots of snacks =) there is nothing special about the food（for Chinese） because the taste is very common in Chinese families, I mean… home cooking. But the decoration and atmosphere is brilliant!
Anyway, I will come again
Waiters are good looking BTW

there are a few dish that i juuuuuust can’t have enough from this place.
dumplings in spicy oil
spicy pork in garlic sauce
dan dan noodles
bok choy
and best part is most of them are on happy hour menu! the servings are small enough that i can order multiple items to curb my cravings every time i go :)
it is very spicy and lots of flavors. if you dont like spice and garlic then you won’t like it here. But if you’re ready for some heat… try it!

Go frequently for Happy Hour before shows at The Hawthorne. I’m partial to the spring rolls. They are simple but have a nice hint of garlic and area always hot and fresh. One of my companions is completely obsessed with the Kim-​Chee Fried Rice. He loves the spice and goes often to the restaurant to order — even for take-​away.
Bar-​side service is always very good and they serve good stiff drinks. Prices are very reasonable and portions are just right.

Ugh. I confess that I am much more versed in Cantonese cuisine. However, I also know what I like.
The sauces were very sugary and everything seemed very one note. I have read in other reviews that the spice is THROUGH THE ROOF. I ordered the spicy versions of certain items, and I am uncertain if spice levels fluctuate on certain days depending on the cook (possible), but to me, the spice level was very nominal.
I do like that they use Ota tofu.
Generally, I ended up dragging peanuts through the sauces and felt like I was simply attempting to recreate a flavor of honey roasted peanuts with a hint of chili. I thought to myself that this can’t be what it’s truly like in Northern China — or say it ain’t so.
I could see how many would find the décor claustrophobic, but there were a lot of touches I found fairly cute, like the mah jong counter. But all in all, I’ll stick with other restaurant offerings we have. Nowadays, there are so many Chinese restaurant choices available (surprisingly) in Portland and the surrounding area that really do give an amazing gastro-​experience, I’m not certain why I’d go for the hipster Szechuan choice. I mean, I was kind of appalled that splitting one appetizer and one main between two people came to over $ 15 each — Ai-​ya! That’s not how we do. Next time I steer clear of the neon mah-​jong bar counters.