Little Szechuan

The incredibly nice and funny lady who owns the place deserves 5 stars alone, just for being her charismatic self. The food is pretty good, the price can’t be beat, and the service is second to none. If you ever feel that you are receiving service that’s less than excellent, you will promptly see the owner pull aside that employee and give them a talk to remind them of her standards, cause she’s got her eyes on everything. I like always being able to get a table, but it’s a shame that this place isn’t more busy. It’s just easy to miss driving by and the sign at night is very dim. My one and only complaint would be that the hot and sour soup could be less sour and more hot. Otherwise, expect to see me here very often :)

Some of the best Chinese food I have ever had the pleasure of eating! Dumplings, beef and broccoli, and hot and sour soup were all fantastic. Swani, the owner, is one of the nicest ladies I have ever met. She took the time to accommodate us with everything (including free oranges upon request). She clearly is the mom figure to a lot of ASU students. Go here, support her, and get some awesome food!

Food was great, staff was very friendly, low prices. The only downside is they were VERY BUSY and it took a long time to be seated. They have lots of tofu options which is great for vegans ect. Expect a short wait if you come for lunch, but great value and great food!

Finally!!! I have found not only a good Chinese here in Tempe, but also one that can deal with wierd food allergies without making you feel like you are a loser! Hot tea is offered if I am walking to pick up my takeout, and just all-​around great (and properly prepared!) food as well as stellar customer service will bring me back again and again as long as I am living here!!!

For average food this is probably a decent spot for the money. Pot stickers were ok but hot and sour soup was lacking a lot. Chicken and vegetables were decent with a healthy lunch portion. May give them another try in the future but not recommending as a ‘must try’.

First of all, cute spacious chinese restaurant.
The older woman who seats you is an incredible PEOPLE person, talked to us almost the whole meal. Very nice lady.
Food was really good, definitely high end on the fast and cheap chinese food spectrum.

Ok… so again, after reading the reviews I was really looking forward to taking care of a crazy Chinese food jones that I’d been having for a couple days. I don’t know, maybe Aunt Flo was coming to town — who knows. That said America, this place was soooo not up to its 4-​star rating… no sir.
I got back to my hotel, got my bed reDy to assume the psuedo «dining in, in my hotel» position (life on the road can be so mundane by comforting too). Anywho, I started to open up my two orders and bam… right out of the gate the first dinner was completely wrong. Instead of the spicy shrimp, it was some chicken concoction, however, it was loaded with veggies and some jalapeños — cool right? Negative ghost rider… it tasted like a shoe. :(
Then I figured, well, I’ll just eat my fried rice. Fingers crossed, I opened up the second little container and bam… again! Nope, not «bam» in a good way… no ah ah… nope…nada. It was Fried rice yes, but it was a light grey in colour, and yep… you guessed it, this too had an odd smell. This little lovely however smelled like my drawers after a week of hunting. And America, that ain’t nothing I’m proud of.
Well, I ended up having two cliff bars for dinner. I’ll let you draw your own conclusion folks… I eat a lot of Asian food, especially on the road. Still not sure why that is… anyway, I’d point you towards another place if I were to be totally honest with y’all. Sorry… the lady that took my order was very sweet, the place was cosy and definitely didn’t lack character. That said, character, cosy and kind people don’t fulfill a Chinese food jones. :(

This has become my favorite Chinese restaurant. The food is amazing, and at a good price. They are able to make some of my favorite dishes gluten free. The staff is awesome. I’ve been Going there for lunch twice a week for a little over a month now and have not once been disappointed. Their Kung Pao chicken is on point.

Service was great, very friendly and polite. However I did not enjoy the food. This was my first time here, just moved to Tempe from Phoenix and noticed there are very little Chinese food places here. Saw all the great reviews online for this place, so came here. Worst Chinese food I’ve ever had. I don’t know how you can mess up or make bad Chinese food. it’s so simple. If you want extremely over fried/​cooked, tasteless, raunchy food, come here. So disappointing, at least it was cheap. You get what you pay for! yet I’ve had 10 times better Chinese food around the same price. Chinese food in Tempe is weak, I will not be coming back here. To Phoenix I go for good Chinese food!

These potstickers are lifechanging.
Seriously.
Swani is a sweet lady that seems to actually care about the food she serves people, and it shows. Their spicy beef was actually spicy, the beef was cooked fantastically, the lo mein noodles on another dish were heavenly. But those potstickers?
Those potstickers are lifechanging. Hand-​made, pan-​cooked, THEY. ARE. PERFECT.

Chinese food in Tempe is weak. Little Szechuan is the only joint to actually achieve wok hei, and it especially comes through in their fried beef dishes.
Do yourself a favor and make cozy with the owner until she treats you like one of her own. I’m now at the point where she asks how my mom’s doing, and she’s never even met her. Every conversation is like a metaphorical punch card, and when it’s full, you get welcome hugs and cookies on Christmas.

So disappointed.
I really had high hopes for this place based on the reviews, but it turned out to be pretty terrible. I ordered the General Sous chicken which was soggy although the taste of the sauce was good. The chicken appears to be pretty good quality but really soggy. The chicken lo mein was the most ridiculous of any I have ever had. The noodles are huge and gross. The chicken in the dish was good but the noodles were way too big. The vege spring roll was gross and tasted like it was frozen from a box. I will keep searching for good Chinese for here in Phoenix area, but this is not it!

I found this place by chance and I am so glad that I did, the lady that owns this place cooks everything to order so everything is always super fresh. I tested this theory with her potstickers because let’s be honest it’s hard to find hand made fresh potstickers… well these are some of the best Potstickers I have had Period! They are what I would imagine your Chinese grandma would make for a family dinner the type of gems that normal people never uncover Holy Smokes you have to find this place and eat the dumplings (potstickers) true Divinity !!

I love this place! As a Tempe native that grew up down the street I have eaten here my entire life and am always excited to stop here when I’m back in town. My family still visits every week or two. I grew up eating the meat dishes and they were all amazing, but in the last couple years have switched to the vegetarian ones. My favorites are the moo shoo (veggie now, pork before), spicy chinese eggplant with this amazing sauce, and my absolute favorite is the spicy cabbage, it’s truly a wonderful thing.
The service here is also excellent, the owners are really wonderful people that go above and beyond to make you feel like family when you visit. They are also incredibly understanding about any dietary needs and have a very adaptable menu. They have even made my family things off menu to make sure everyone had something delicious regardless of dietary restrictions.
I really can’t recommend this place enough!

My favorite place for Chinese near ASU. I have been a regular for four years and can’t wait to come back after every summer. Fried rice is always a favorite, along with dumplings! Only thing I don’t eat on the menu is the seafood due to my allergies!
Swani is the best!

Delicious vegan /​vegetarian options. Clean, fresh, crispy, savory dishes and huge portions. Plus the owners are super nice and we are always excited to go there!
Our favorite is the spicy eggplant dish. Try it with cashews and broccoli! :)
Definitely the best restaurant in Tempe.

The lemon white meat chicken ($ 8), Mongolian beef ($ 9), and chicken fried rice were excellent. Had lunch here with my daughter and all the other reviewers are right – Swani is super nice and the service is friendly.
A pet peeve of mine involves Mongolian beef pieces that are too large for a single bite, and yet most Chinese restaurants only provide a plastic fork and no knife. Grrrrrrrr! The beef here was actually cut in bite sized pieces and they have REAL silverware, including a knife (didn’t need it though). There are tables and chairs, one large table for larger groups, and a reasonably clean fish tank. Yep, you can be sure that your fish is indeed fresh.
I definitely recommend this place.

The food here is fantastic and the owner, Swani, is the sweetest lady! The building is nothing too flashy, very casual atmosphere. The service is definitely top notch here and the house chicken is always delicious.
They have a great lunch special, but make sure to check the hours before visiting, as they do close for a short period during the afternoon.

Ordered the potstickers, spicy chicken wings and chicken chow mien. First time in Arizona and first time at this restaurant. Everything was excellent!

Great little place West of Mill on University. Went in late after a class and the staff was very friendly and helpful. Food was great and very well priced. I will go back.