Not your typical "American Chinese restaurant". This place has real delicious Asian dishes! Clean, fast, everything was tasty and well presented. The service was outstanding. The waitress of my table was very attentive, polite and sweet. I hope they will have their reservation system on Resy or OpenTable soon. read more

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Decided to try their food after seeing so many good reviews.. We ordered four dishes: 1). Wine-soaked Chicken $14 - this was not what I have expected, the wine taste is watered down, but I do like the hint of the Chinese herbal flavor 2). Pure Tea Soaked Rice w. Sea Urchin $16 - this was one of the most disappointing dish... Not worth trying, do not recommend 3). House Special Fish Stew $27 - this was the best one out of all four dishes, perfect sourness 4). Shanghai Style Mao Xue Wang $27 - this was a disappointing dish as well..... The beef tripe and the blood tofu had no taste at all (just floating in a bunch of chilli oil which was not spicy either) I will not go back to this place, it was a very disappointing experience, PLUS the aftertaste of their food was (very artificial) read more

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This place is so authentic, I wish it could have more locations open up soon. My favorite is braised Pork belly and season half duck. The meat always tastes so fresh and delicious. The service has been excellent, I will definitely keep coming back. read more

Everything was so delicious and authentic. I was so hungry and I couldn't wait to order. I especially loved the soup dumplings. They had lots of flavor and were very fresh. I really wanted to try the duck but they didn't have it when I went. Our servers were excellent, they took care of us well and helped us serve the soups that we got. We came here twice because it was so good. Nice presentation and very authentic flavor. Also great location with lots of other Asian food nearby. Definitely a great dining experience at CHELI read more

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CheLi is fantastic. I had such a great experience both times that I came here. There is nothing more comforting than ordering their fish stew and splitting the massive bowl with a friend. It's tangy, hearty, and has a bunch of textures and flavors that go so well together. I'd also definitely recommend ordering the yellow rice wine milk tea - it's served as a pot of tea alongside a cup of sweet custard, and when combined it melts down into a milk tea. It looks lovely and it's delicious. The service is also so kind and the environment is spacious and relaxing. I would take anyone here! read more

Oh. My. Goodness! This is the best ever Shanghainese restaurant I've ever tried. Kind of a long wait time but the servers did mention that and they were very attentive and kind. A little loud inside and once we got out the smell of the food is stuck in our shirts, but it was all worth it. We spent around $80 bucks and we are very willing to spent that much again. 10/10 !!! read more

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Food is pretty good but the size of the portions are pretty small. We ordered 8 dishes for 4 people. read more

Cheli - Wine-Soaked Chicken - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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Five star for its service! Our food was late but they kept checking on us and gave us complimentary drinks. Like all Chinese food, it's better to go with a group so you can try more dishes. read more

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Cheli is an upscale Chinese restaurant on St. Mark's Place, just next door to beloved sister restaurant Szechuan Mountain House. The cuisine is far-ranging but focuses on seafood and draws from traditional dishes, with a sweeter and more delicate palate versus the spice and tingle next door. I've been three times now and I'm placing them somewhere between "the best Chinese in New York Right now" and "overhyped." Let's start with the great: - Wine-soaked chicken should be on every table. Beautiful broth, tender chicken, just perfect technique. - Braised rice should also be on every table. It's stuffed with mushrooms and slightly spicy peppers, soaked in a not-too-sweet sauce. - House special fish stew is addictive, and on par with what you can get out in Sunset Park and Flushing. - Cony meat is amazing. Do not look up what they are because they are unfortunately extremely cute, but this spice on this perfectly complements the gaminess of the meat. - Sixi wheat gluten (or braised kaofu as I've seen it at other places) is delicious, slightly sweet, and unique. - Soup dumplings are perfect, gives specialists like Nan Xiang a run for their money. Then the okay: - Longjing shrimp is presented dramatically with its billowing smoke, which may merit an order on its own. This was tender and tasted fine, just didn't get any tea flavor. - Puer tea soaked rice with urchin is also dramatically presented, but also thought it was just fine. - Braised pork belly was also fine, the quail eggs were the best part. - Sea urchin egg tofu stew was okay, I'd skip given the premium in price. - Triple crisp (on the dim sum menu) were intricately constructed, but all kind of similarly flavored flaky pastry. Except for the durian, which was actually not bad. - Lobster was good and not a bad value for price, but nothing that interesting about it. - Steamed yellow croaker was small for the price and ordinary tasting, though the rice on top soaked in a sweet rice wine sauce was delicious-- wish we could get a plate of that. - More "to each their own," but the peach resin stew with crab meat is... interesting. I found the sweet and preserved taste combined with the funky seafood taste to be nauseating, but my boyfriend thinks this is amazing. Dishes are fairly expensive, and it can rack up if you go seafood-heavy, but I've found our bills to be reasonable, especially if ordering large dishes in a group (under $50). Ambiance is fantastic-- immersive restaurant design, feels like you're in a rural yet refined teahouse. This carries over into the scroll-like menus and elegant dishware. On a recent visit, the dishware was somewhat chipped, including the spout of a teapot, which feels dangerous. Many teas on offer and some traditional beverages (think sweet rice wine) and beers; I don't think of it as a drinking place, though. Service is mixed. Food comes out as-ready; this has generally worked out well but we were once waiting for a fish 20 minutes after finishing the rest of our food. Majority of servers are great, not super friendly but working quickly and easy to get their attention. But there's one female server I've had twice with an attitude, who literally tells you not to get certain things. I'm not talking gently steering away or helping you construct your meal, but as in we tried to order signature dishes and she said, "No, don't get that" pretty rudely. This was on repeat visits where we knew we wanted specific dishes, and the second time we just pushed for those dishes anyway (and liked what we got). Both times she was also shocked (shocked!) that Asian people in our party did not speak Cantonese, and kept bringing it up even after we laughed it off? Just weird. Finally, it's still annoyingly difficult to get a table. Reservations are only for groups of 6+, so you'll typically be quoted an hour plus wait, which I don't find to be that accurate. My visits went something like: quoted over an hour and a half, took 45 minutes; quoted an hour, took an hour fifteen; quoted 20 minutes, took an hour. Overall, I think Cheli is definitely worthy of a visit. The menu is just so big and varied, and the hit dishes so well executed, that even after some meh experiences I'd be happy to go back to try more of the menu. read more

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I've heard the place always has a long wait do we decided to come for a late lunch. This place is pretty authentic. I really love the meat ball (top 1) and the drunken chicken (appetizer). I was a bit disappointed with the mixed crab meat tofu since there's just not much egg yolk added. read more

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I got scam. Very funny. I laughed. Gotta be kidding me!!!!!!!! Photo attached. Called the restaurant never give any solutions. read more

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The Shanghai cuisine served here is authentic, with the Hunan style stir-fried sliced beef being particularly flavorful. The house special fish stew is also quite good. The service and ambiance are also commendable. read more

Had a few pretty stand out dishes in the pork belly and the house special eel. Found the XLB and the fish to be solid as well. We liked the yunnan beef ans the prawns and the golden fried rice and some of the veggie dishes but they weren't standouts. Service was good but docked a star as we were a group of 7, spent about $50 per person and left still a bit hungry read more

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I've had high expectations since so many of my friends have recommended it. I think it's a good choice if you want to bring out of town guests and it truly is an experience. On top of this really attentive and organized service with a very authentic feel. Overall, the food was good and there were some knockout dishes. However, some of the dishes fell a bit flat for me. The free pickled radishes - Okay, they were on the table and maybe not up for review, but they really had such a nice subtle flavor. Not too sour and well balanced with the beans. Xiao long bao with crabmeat - Delicious. On the larger side, but hey, not complaining. It was one of the most enjoyable dishes because of it's easy going nature. Longjing shrimp - More memorable for the show than the flavor, but impressive nonetheless. The smoke was cool. Felt fresh and cooked well - yet somehow boring at the same time. String beans - Extremely pungent. I wasn't expecting it to smell like fish (almost like cat food) but it tasted better than it smelled. Wasn't my favorite and probably would have preferred some minced pork on it over fish. But it wasn' t bad. House Special Fish Stew - I think this was the most memorable. Spicy without being drenched in a thick red oil like other restaurants. Very complex flavors and spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. The fish was fresh and the mushrooms were quite nice. read more

Best Shanghainese (or southeastern Chinese in general) food in the city! We were a group of 8 so we went and ordered every signature dish they have (about 20 in total). Have to say that not one dish disappointed! Every dish had beautiful presentation and amazing flavors. They have not just authentic flavors but lots of innovative twists to them. The service was great too. Highly recommend for anyone interested in innovative Chinese food! read more

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The food was sooooo good. The squid was to die for, I highly recommend. Service was friendly and helpful. Overall restaurant ambiance was relaxing and quiet despite it being busy. read more

Cheli - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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I was really looking forward to trying this restaurant; unfortunately their food was really, really not great. We ordered their spicy cockles (little clams) which came sitting in a bowl of red oil. They had zero flavor--I mean absolutely no salt or spices beyond the red oil. Because of the lack of flavor, the clams tasted extra fishy. It is the first time I have ever requested to have a dish sent back. It was really that awful. Our second dish was their house special fish stew with pickled cabbage. This was actually quite delicious. Their fish didn't have a chemical taste to it like most restaurants do. It wasn't overpoweringly spicy to the point of spontaneous combustion in your mouth. And the soup base has a nice creamy quality to it. This was the only dish we finished--partly because it was good and partly because we were hungry and this was the only edible dish we ordered. We also ordered their frog legs with hot and sweet spicy sauce. This dish was absolutely drenched in the sauce. The sauce was not spicy, mostly sweet to the point of cloying. We had a few bites and couldn't stomach the rest. It was like scooping pieces of meat drenched in jelly into our mouths. For our vegetable dish, we ordered their lotus root with carrot and snow peas and asparagus. Again, it was grossly under flavored and their sauce was also goopy. For our rice dish, we tried their golden seafood with ham fried rice with pine. I think if the rest of the food had been slightly more edible, I would've enjoyed this dish, but I was already so put off by the meal that this also felt oily and over cooked to me. Overall, my meal was either too well seasoned or too under seasoned leaving me completely underwhelmed and still hungry at the end of my dinner. Perhaps I ordered all the wrong things on the menu, but hard to believe when we ordered a good variety. Regardless, disappointed and will not be coming back or recommending this place to friends. Or even not friends. read more

Everything was on point. Food was delicious, carefully cooked and well seasoned. Service was good and fairly fast, just needs improvement on explanation of dishes. The ambiance is really nice as well. When you walk in you feel like you are in a traditional Chinese restaurant with beautiful decor. My partner and I will definitely be coming back. We highly recommend the soup dumplings, the pork belly with quail eggs and yellow croaker fish. read more

Excellent cuisine, decent service, and such a fun ambiance to be in. Food is served in an aesthetically pleasing way. Love the traditional lanterns hanging above at this location. read more

Two friends and I ate at Cheli. We loved our late supper. We were among the last tables left in the restaurant at 9pm on a Monday. One of my friends had selected the place based on a recent NY Times ranking of the best restaurants in the city. I would not dispute the inclusion on the list. The specific Chinese cuisine is from Jiangnan. We had the pork belly, green beans, and pumpkin coated in salty duck egg. That was what one friend and I ordered before the other arrived (per discussion). Those three dishes were excellent. We also had the Shanghai noodles. That was a great accompaniment. Then we added an uni dish and fried rice. They were even better. The pork belly was decadent. That cut of meat (cut? is that the proper word?) typically is. It was rich and moist and a lovely dark hue. The green beans were better than average, considerably, with a smokiness and complexity usually lacking with this vegetable, which I almost always order, meaning I have eaten many many many iterations. Although I am sure they used good ingredients, I would attribute the superiority to technique. The pumpkin by itself is tasty. The egg coating, which is available with various dishes, was strong and crispy over the creamy flesh of the gourd. The texture complemented the taste, and it is only in some instances that texture is as important as taste, and here it was interesting (that word is too bland; maybe substitute intriguing). The uni I liked. One of my friends raved. I trust her. She has a better trained palate and is more educated. I would not say her Asian origins (birth and upbringing, versus merely lineal) give her an advantage, but perhaps others would. The fried rice was the same. I thought it was expertly made. She pointed out it is rare to have that fluffiness. I had known China had, according to those who like to assemble such arrays, eight culinary traditions. Jiangnan is a subset, it seems. Although I am of Chinese descent via Taiwan, the combination of my family's exodus from the mainland and subsequent assimilation into American culture ensures I am ignorant of what would be assigned to me as heritage. The flavors here, however, seemed familiar, and that no doubt is because my ancestors on both sides were from approximately this area. Whenever I visited China, I think to myself, my mother was right -- should have paid attention in Chinese school. At least I can enjoy this food. i will return. The service was kind. They spoke to me in Mandarin. I replied. That is the limit of my ability to transact business. I have restaurant level fluency (not kitchen, which requires the vocabulary of cooking). You can bring your own wine for a modest corkage fee. We did that. I had to assure them our white wine was not hard liquor. That was funny, their concern -- it was polite and unobtrusive. The food also came out very quickly, yet could not have been other than freshly prepared. That must be an efficient back of the house. I praise the chef. read more

If you are looking for authentic, clean and high quality Chinese food -- try Cheli. They get very busy for prime time so try to book in advance. The restaurant are set-up like ancient Chinese wooden rooms with tea served with the meal. My Chinese friend called this place "Chinese fusion" -- you can find good Shanghai food as well as savory and tongue numbing Sichuan food. read more

Qianlong's favorite eel - made like regular stir fried eel but the presentation is like Peking duck, served with sauce, veggies, and tortilla. Braised pork belly - their signature dish. The flavor profile is very similar with the eel dish. I wouldn't order them together again. read more

Cheli - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

Location and atmosphere was so nice. They offered great presentation as attached but food is average grade for me. Will try one more time. read more

Great interior design, food is solid but not amazing. Came on a Saturday afternoon and only had to wait ~10 minutes. When you walk in to the restaurant, it feels like you've stepped in a portal and transported to somewhere in China. Everything from the silverware to the menu to the box in which you receive the bill is Chinese inspired which I appreciated. I thought the soup dumplings (xiao long bao) were good, but not great. They weren't the best I've had but still were very satisfying and fulfilling. The skin wasn't too thick but I felt it could've been thinner. The shanghai stir fried noodles were great, definitely the favorite thing I had. Was slightly disappointed with the braised pork belly. While it looked great and the quail eggs were well cooked, the pork belly felt a little too chewy. I'm not sure if it was because they were cut into pretty thick/chunky slices. Maybe it would've been better if the pork belly was cut into thinner portions. The food was on the expensive side; but I chalk that up to NYC (and inflation lawl). Overall, it was a solid dining experience. I appreciated the ambience and atmosphere inside the restaurant. While the food didn't 'wow' me, it was good enough to have an enjoyable meal. There's a lot of great food in the St. Mark's area so Cheli is definitely stacked against some tough competition. That said, it is still a solid option! read more

Cheli doesnt take reservation unless it is for a party of 6+. Getting there early and putting your name on the waitlist is highly recommended. We went on a Fri night, which is hugely popular day as per the hostess (also the weekend) We asked how long for a table of three and she said 2-3 hrs! Insane, yes! We still put our name and number down and a link for to check the wait list is sent via text. I think the estimated time is exaggerated. We put our name down at 6:02pm and got seated at 6:50pm. So the timing is way off. Some ppl wont wait given the estimated time. Interior design is magnificently done. Although it might be because of the design that not much AC circulates inside. Therefore it is hot and not enough air. Many dishes are sold out already on the menu which we werent happy about. We chose five dishes and two drinks. Drink designs were cool, cups designed like how it used to be back in China. The recommended steam fish took long and it really wasnt anything special. Mainly everything tasted bland. The pork belly was recommended and that is worth ordering. But portion size is small. Service is good and attentive. There are two restrooms in the back and the design was neatly done. Overall, the hype was exaggerated. If I really had to wait 2-3 hrs for these dishes, I wouldnt be happy. Food was average to us but you dont have to take my word for it. Go try it out if you would like to try out Shanghainese food. read more

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3.5 stars. Beautiful space imitating a traditional Chinese village with an extensive menu with some hit or miss dishes and friendly but spotty service. We walked in on a Wednesday night at 830p and waited a couple minutes for a table. The two of us shared: - Longjing shrimp: 28 pieces to be exact, per the waiter. Small, tender pieces of glossy shrimp with a vinegary dipping sauce. I could've done without theatrics of the smoke. This dish is supposed to be a specialty but it wasn't that special and the flavors were muted. Wouldn't order again. - Drunken crab: it was tiny and barely had any meat. Don't order! - Pork soup dumplings: the broth lacked salt. Meh - Stir fried water spinach: I enjoyed it. Would order again. - Half duck: good flavors. Would order again - House Special Lobster: initially lacked salt so we asked them to bring salt and they offered to re-cook it and it was so much better with the added salt. The sauce is garlicy and finger lickin good. Order a side of rice to go with this. It's a shame that this place is pretty inside but some of the food is lacking in flavor. I don't think I'd go back. read more

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A 4+ star restaurant. Rounding up for their creativity and designs. We ordered the wine soaked chicken and wine soaked crab from the cold dishes. The chicken was a winner, and we will definitely order it again. Xiao long bao was authentic and delicious according to friends from Shanghai. Personally I still prefer savory Xiao Long Bao but I agree this is not too sweet and still yummy. Longjing Tea Shrimp was a bomb in both the presentation and the taste. So as the Qianlong favorite eel. These two were soooo flavorful and creative. Highly recommended. The mushroom mixes rice was also good. Though it got a little too much sauce and feels a little heavy at the end. The water spinach with garlic was average. Nothing surprising but nothing bad. The wine milk tea was surprisingly not bad. Still a little bit of weird alcoholic tastes that overpowers the milk tea but not unacceptable. Would recommend give it a try if you are interested. In general their dishes are heavy on sauce and go on the sweet side of seasoning. I still love it even though I prefer savory dishes more-that means, they did a good job in designing their flavors. Cons include small portions, so we spent $40 pp. But I feel it really worth it. read more

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Really like the ambiance of this location. However I think the location in Queens is newer. But this east village is nice too. Food is great but portions are smaller in Manhattan locations. Overall still a recommend. read more

Cheli has a Chinese fine dinning setup but with a very reasonable price. Their aesthetics represents the typical water towns in Southern China. The dishes are not only presentable but truly delicious and authentic. We had the LongJing shrimp, Qian Long's fav eel, smoked fish, mushroom braised rice, water spinach, and crab soup dumpling xiao long bao. Each and every dishes were so good, and the eel, smoked fish and soup dumpling even exceeded our high expectations. We were impressed by the meal and convinced that the long wait time (~2hrs on a Sunday night) was totally worth it. We will certainly come back for more flavorful surprises. read more

Cheli - Qianlong's favorite eel. Now is also my favorite. - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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- wasn't a fan of their signature eel dish, the flavor and presentation were fine but the preparation of the eel was a bit strange....they leave the skin on so there's a bit of a snap to the meat of the eel causing a chew/textural issue for me, served like peking duck with a side of thin wraps (which honestly I could've eaten a 100 of by themselves), cucumber, and scallions - I tried both the crab/pork and pork soup dumplings and they were some of the best if not the best soup dumplings I've ever had, flavorful broth and very thin skin tho slightly more expensive than their chinatown competitors - feels fancy, authentic and intimate from the mini candle tea heater to the individual carved wooden box that the check comes in, their attention to detail is impressive - the traditional chinese music definitely sets a vibe that my nana thoroughly appreciated - the bathroom is gorgeous and clean - will be back for my next family occasion read more

chinese restaurant. regular standard. won't be too disappointed if you give it a try. go for their house specials. read more

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Cheli is a little overrated. For a Friday night we had around a 2 hour wait so try to get there earlier or make a reservation for a weekday! All the food was pretty good and there's definitely a good amount of both Sichuan and Shanghainese type dishes but it's definitely a little overpriced for what you get. read more

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In love with this place. The atmosphere in here takes you back to ancient China. I recommend their wine-soaked chicken. It's very flavorful and have a strong cooking wine taste. The sweet and sour short pork ribs is also very good, but I just wish the portion size could have been bigger for the price. I would recommend the mixed flavor cony meat if you like spicy food. I liked their white rice (perfectly cook, easy to digest). I finished the whole bowl myself! read more

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this place is, what i would consider, pretty authentic! my favorite dish was the house special fish stew which was a numbing spice and also a little sour!! it was so good. we also got the braised pork belly but i thought it was just ok. read more

Cheli - House special fish stew - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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This was on my bucket list for my longest, and boy, am I glad I finally made it here. It was worth the wait. I am salivating thinking about the crab tofu, braised pork belly, garlic beans, and.... Drum roll... their soup dumplings! Everything was phenomenal so come with a big group, so you can try everything - duh, and a big appetite. read more

Really nice food and environment. Really authentic Chinese/ Zhejiang food. Would 100% recommend. read more

Cheli - Longjing Shrimp - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

Very nice experience, highly recommend the soup dumplings and pork authentic Dongpo pork belly! And the salty egg York squash is super if you like the sticky creamy texture dessert-tastes like food! (FYI, make a reservation beforehand) read more

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Food is delicious and service is wonnnnnnderful. A+++ Recommend: west lake fish, long jing shrimp, mushroom braised rice, walnut puff read more

Delicate and authentic Chinese dishes. Great service and drinks. Wish their drunken crab was bigger. read more

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Can't make reservations. Superrrrrrr slow service and insanely long long waitlist. Fucking wrong estimation of waiting time. Will definitely never come back AGAIN. read more

Cheli - "Almost there" for 1 hour - Shanghainese Near Me - New York, New York

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