Little Sichuan Restaurant

I used to love this place just for its Mongolian dishes. But today when I went. The experience was terrible. Their service sucks. The restaurant is really dirty especially if you sit by the window. I can accept all that if the food is decent. But it wasn’t. The quality of the beef. Omg. I don’t know what I was eating. My son had to spit out a piece because he said it was hard and had a weird texture. Combination chow fun had 3 shrimp. Never ever coming here again. Oh and when I went to pay. I had to wait there. No one was by the desk. They saw me but kept on cleaning the dirty tables. I could’ve just walked out.

We came here on the recommendation of my best friend. She ordered three dishes she knew she would like based on previous visits (eggplant, salty green beans with pork and the sautéed green beans). I ordered garlic chicken. Because I’m not a fan of eggplant or pork I didn’t try either of those dishes but she said they were both great. I loved the sautéed green beans but the garlic chicken was bland and had almost no sauce to it. Service was interesting as it felt like a traditional Chinese restaurant with a lot of screaming and yelling. Best friend said service there varies, but our waitress was wonderful. I don’t I think I would go back, but if I did I would do research on what to order first.

i invited my family to lunch today, we like the restaurant, we’ve been there before, but today we had a very unpleasant experience, the male waiter, and all female waitresses were seemed having a bad day, all long faced, no smiles at all and very rude, especially the male server. if they continue to treat their customers like they treated us today, no one will return for meals.

Very bad service, this is the last time eat here. We are eating, while they just talking loudly behind us. We did not pay tips, and they asked us we should pay for the tips after. How coulda a bad service need people to pay the tips?

If I’m going to eat Chinese food, I can’t eat what I call «cafeteria style» Chinese food. It has to be good. It has to be fresh. Little Sichuan is the real deal. We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and found the parking lot full and two tour buses in front. This was a good sign! The service is what you expect from a place like this — not overly friendly and a little hard to communicate with. The menu is huge. It was so big it was hard to choose, however, everything we tried was great: hot and sour soup, steamed pork dumplings, dry fried green beans, chicken and broccoli, and my new favorite ma po tofu. YUM! I’m obsessed with this tofu dish now!

Little Sichuan means not big Sichuan… Little heat like little Sichuan.
Their spicy scallop {house specialty} had almost no tingle on palette and not like others in Millbrae this place has no chili. But tons of oil.
Boiled shrimp and chive dumpling however was much better.
Food nonetheless is fairly good as tour buses dump Asian en masses here.

Came here last week for dinner. We ordered a big bowl of pork soup with noodles, a eggplant dish, and a fish plate.
Positives:
Food had just the right amount of spiciness, our dishes came out quick, the server was attentive, and the menu prices are low.
Opportunity areas:
The food was a little too oily for us, and while the prices were very reasonable, the food quality could be better. The ambiance also felt a little dated.
Conclusion: You get what you pay for. If you are looking for spicy Chinese food at low prices, then this is the place to be. Don’t expect high quality food.

I do not understand what kind of service that we are hoping to get from a traditional Chinese restaurant. Traditional Chinese restaurants do not have fancy white glove services. How you call for the servers? You look at any waiter and raise your hand HIGH. That is how you call for Chinese waiter’s attention for «traditional» food.
I ordered a lot of dishes, from garlic pork as appetiser to Mao Xua won pot. They are as good as you can get outside of Mainland China. I love spicy foods with good «flavor». If you could not handle the heat, this is not the traditional place for you since they are famous for their spicy food.
It is like that you are going to the top steak house and you want to order vegan dish. I meant the expectation must set it right at the first place.
I do not give 5 stars review anymore because I think I leave that one star for room for improvement.

Very good chinese option in San Mateo, the food is tasty and well prepared.
The service was not great, our waiter didn’t speak English, so when we asked about a dish she was not able to explain it clearly and we ended up to order something that we didn’t like at all. For the other 3 dishes ordered I can say that we just loved them.
I highly recommend the onion pancake to start, the cold noodles and the delicious duck as main courses.
The environment is not very clean… but if you can skip on this, you will definitely enjoy a good meal!!!
We will definitely be back!!!

The food from this place have gone through ups and downs over the years. However, on a recent visit, it was as good as ever.
I always go back to two of my favorite dishes. They don’t sound good, but my very great ex-​coworkers got me hooked many years ago.
* Cold Noodles (mild) — the sauce is as good as ever. The noodles seem slightly better than before because it’s thinner and therefore less doughy. I still wish there is more cucumber and meat.
Another place that does Cold Noodles (for take-​out) well is Sichuan Chili (S De Anza Blvd) if you don’t mind super spicy.
* Black Bean Sauce Chicken — I normally don’t order something that sound so westernized, but this is not what you would expect. The sauce is just very yummy. If you like the sauce on steamed fish, this is like a thickened version of that. I love the variety of veggies, especially the zucchini.
The sauce is special with chicken, because you normally would not expect it to be that good. Nevertheless, I also recommend the fish version of this dish (Black Bean Sauce Fish). Substitute the chicken with the kind of fish fillet you get in most Chinese Restaurants.
This restaurant would be a regular for me if I live close by.

On a cold night christmas day not many places stay open, this is probably is one of the only places that will be open in the area, pure and utter disorganization is how I can describe my wait for my order mind you it was togo, wait was about 45min for 4 items, how come the 4stars you ask? The wait was probably the funniest experience, write down your name don’t write down your name say you’ll be back in 20min and don’t write your name down pure comedy, «I spoke to this waitress, who is clearly nowhere to be seen hahaha party of 3 sure 30min, party of 10 haha not without a reservation, wait they don’t take reservations WHAT!!! How can you not want to be a part of this Xmas day? Given the comedy of these patrons arguing and the waitresses looking like they are going to lose it, it was a fun experience.
I got to sample several items let me break down what I sampled and how it faired
Combo seafood fried rice — standard, flavorful not oily, good pairing for anything that comes with sauce
Salt and pepper pork — not on the menu I do not recommend this item, if it is not on the menu do not ask for it, sad pieces of pork bones more bones then meat, you know how there is some silver of meat on korean short ribs, not allot but some, their version there is just the cartilage part if that piece of hanging meat, flavored yes with salt and pepper, did not taste fried, green and red bell peppers kinda just an utter mess of a dish, pretty to look at but not good to eat
string beans and beef — decently made string beans still had the snap when biting down on them even after a 20 minute transport the meat was standard and flavorful not to salty not too wet, made just right
walnut prawns — standard mayo on top of some shrimp, no frills, decently sized, more walnuts then prawns but pairs well with the fried rice
I will probably be back but not on a holiday just to avoid the crowds and craziness that ensues when the staff seem to be stressed out, it was comedic but you can see the frustration and terror in the staff eyes and in hatred look in the patrons after not being served or acknowledged and waiting for orders or just to order
food ***
price $$
service **** on all days xmas was highly comedic for me and the family, again the order was to go, +45min wait, I know this only happens once a year so I give them credit for trying hard to keep there patrons happy
ambiance *** older chinese restaurant feel, on that particular day mayhem including yelling from patrons, madness running down the aisles trying to sit people or verify an order, or place an order

smells of cigarette… average food… terrible service. almost called cops
Place
Firstly, the place smells of cigarette smoke. Avoid sitting anywhere near the entrance or exit doors.
Food
I love Sichuan food. The quantity was reasonable, but the taste was average. It was more oily than all other Sichuan places I have eaten and less spicy than others. Also, there was very less meat. The house special version of a dish is around $ 8 more than the regular version of the same dish. There was nothing special about the two special dishes we ordered. Avoid ordering special dishes.
Service
We waited for about 20 mins to get our tea. That is the first thing that should have been served. We had to ask 5 times and 3 different people for the tea. We never got water despite asking for it. So we had to finish our dinner without water. Throughout our meal no one came to ask us how the food was or if we needed anything. The restaurant was not even half full. I was with 2 of my Chinese friends and we all agreed that there was lot of favoritism being showed. Especially, the Chinese customers were ignored.
After we were done with the food, it took us another 15 mins trying to get hold of someone who can get us a check. Due to the bad experience, my Chinese friend decided not to tip.
So far I cared less about this whole experience. But what happened next prompted me to give this review. One of the waitresses came outside the restaurant and started abusing my Chinese friend in Mandarin on the road, making racist comments for not tipping and creating a scene. I picked up my mobile to call the cops, but damn, it was dead. While I took my friend’s mobile to call the cops, she started walking away.

different offerings than other Chinese restaurants locally in San Mateo. Szechuan or Sichuan cuisine.
We had a good experience, though last time we came with other people the dishes weren’t memorable. Perhaps knowing which dishes are their specialties can help guide a better experience here.
We ordered:
Pea sprouts with garlic — hard to mess this dish up.
Cold noodle — they are known for their child noodle dishes. Spicy or non spicy options, though tastes much better even with a little of their chili. You can ask for the chili on the side. It has a garlic flavor that sets it apart.
Tea brazed duck — the girls loved this.

They get huge bus loads of Chinese tourists so dinner service can sometimes be slow. But this is the real deal. Don’t even bother ordering dishes that you can find in generic American Chinese restaurants. Instead eat Sichuanese. Must get items:
— Sichuanese cold noodle with chicken
— Dried fried prawns
— Crispy chicken with edible red peppers. The chicken almost has the consistency of jerky.
— Boiled fish
— «Paper» wrapped duck

Slow service, even after lunch. This place cater to bus of kids from tour group. So when you see a big bus out side, avoid it.
Quality and tastes are good, heavy on the oil!
I would come back again sometime.

Mehhh. This place wasn’t too great. We had a pretty large party of around 20 people, and we got seated in a separate room, not the main dining room they have.
Service: ¹⁄₅ The waitresses seemed nice enough, but the restaurant was just so poorly ran. Nobody brought us our rice (we asked several times), nobody gave us glasses for our beer (we used TEACUPS, for god’s sake, because we were so impatient with the service).
Food: I felt like I was cheated out of the service and food quality I was supposed to get. First, they didn’t have serving spoons. They gave us PLASTIC spoons to service our food with. Like I said earlier, we were drinking our beer out of teacups. -.- Second, they were out of a TON of seafood that we wanted. No lobster, no scallops. And I did believe that they said it wasn’t because they were out, but because they didn’t have the kitchen staff to cook it? Third, all the meat dishes were TINY. SUPER TINY. We sat at two different tables, and our table’s soup dish was enough for about 20 people, but our meat dishes could barely be split up into 6.
Another thing about the food, it wasn’t spicy enough for me. There were way too many peppercorns in their cooking (the bf and cousins kept coughing).
I will not be coming back here.

Pretty large restaurant located in part of San Mateo downtown, providing a small lot of their own. Not a very clean place but the sichuan food is good here.
I enjoyed the juicy thick dumplings that was accompanied by a spicy soy sauce dip.
Complimentary tea, pickled vegetables to start, and orange wedges to finish.
Nice portioned servings.
Service is incomplete but cooperative, so I will be back to try other dishes.
Why was it incomplete? Walked in and was seated and they never gave me a menu. Had to ask a few minutes later. They forgot to bring out the rice too! Though, when reminded they did bring it out.
What you need to know:
— Cost is $ 1.50 per bowl of rice. If you order for two the big bowl that they bring out can easily give you almost four servings.
— Teams up with tour bus. (Saw a flood of people come in at once as I left and the tour bus parked right outside)
— They have a wine selection for those that would like to wine while they dine.
— Consider this place for take out.

Mostly a family-​style chinese restaurant
The place looks like it’s been around for ages! Once you walk in you can tell it’s basically on auto-​pilot mode – the wait staff are nice and friendly, they keep the place running, but aren’t exactly going for «best in class» kind of deal. Which is ok – the food tastes like the real deal, especially the spicy fish fillet – a LOT of spices, crazy spicy, and in a large portion. Everything you could ask for. They even give you free soy milk at the beginning, which is a nice touch I don’t see anywhere else.
Overall, a pretty good place to visit.

Some items were good, some items were sub par.
The Cumin lamb was just Ok. I like when the lamb is thinner and slightly crispy.
Sizzling rice soup was pretty average.
The Jellyfish with greens was just Ok. I love jellyfish but it was lacking flavor.
The Hunan Shredded Chicken Noodles was not good. The noodles were mushy and the flavor was off.
The stir fried cabbage was ok. I think maybe the spicy version would’ve been better.
I did enjoy the slice side pork with spicy sauce and the Spicy beef tenders.
None of the dishes were spicy in my opinion but they told us that we wouldn’t be able to eat it if they made it to their spice level.
100 $ for this and 6 beers.

My family usually prefers our native Cantonese cuisine when we go out to eat, but sometimes it’s nice to switch it up a bit every once in a while. We’ve been coming here since I was a little kid, and it’s 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. I’m an ABC who’s never been to that region, so I can’t 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. It’s lathered in an oily chili dressing with ground Sichuan peppercorns to give it a citrusy highlight and numbing sensation. I like that they don’t 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. It’s 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 it’s equally delicious.
Our meals always include the Tea Smoked Duck. When it’s good, it’s heavenly. The luscious pink meat shows that it’s 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 don’t make it smoky enough, but Little Sichuan’s is consistently flavorful. Sometimes, it comes out on the dry side so we usually order half first. If it’s good, then we’ll 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. It’s kinda like soupy Dan Dan Noodles.
I haven’t tried many of the newer Sichuan/​Szechuan restaurants yet, but so far, this place and Z&Y are my favorite.