Celebrating my daughter's partner graduation from Wharton. Had reservations at 8pm for 12 people. Arrived 15 minutes early. Place was packed with UBER Eats drivers, about 15+! Hopefully it's good food!? The hostess warned us of 15 minute delay for seatings. No worries. Sat at bar enjoying a beer which was nice. Got to be sat in a room, circular table which was perfect! Then the staff got to work. Took drink orders and food orders. The food was ordered by my daughter so I really don't know what was name of each dish. The Hot and Sour was super. Had a chicken dish like orange chicken that was really good. Something tasted like moshu beef was very tasty. Then they served a spicy chicken that was fantastic! I wish I knew the name!! All in all a good experience. read more

Visited EMei on the recommendation of my wife's cousin. Upon arrival, they made a table for seven and we were seated and given water. We had been walking for a while, so we were thirsty. They had an extensive menu, most of which, I've never tasted. So we requested some egg rolls as an appetizer. I also requested won ton soup. My daughter and I decided to share some Singapore noodles and my son requested orange chicken. My cousin requested beef and tofu and two different kinds of dumplings. The food is served family style and it turned out that we requested too much. However, all the dishes were yummy. Favorites were the spicy dumplings, won ton soup, orange chicken, and beef and tofu. There are so many Asian restaurants in this area that you could never try all of them. Anyway, I'm glad we enjoyed EMei. Recommend. read more

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This restaurant was recommended by a work colleague. I ordered Hunan chicken, stir-fried spicy eggplant, homemade spring roll, and rice (not included with the entree). The food was delivered and warm on arrival. Everything looked great - colorful and nice-sized portion for the money. Unfortunately, everything lacked flavor. I mean, no seasoning, no heat/spice, and not even enough salt. The rice was gummy to boot. One item that had some flavor was the spring roll, however, it was nearly inedible because it was dripping oil. The spring roll rapper was surprisingly crispy, but I had to wrap it in several paper towels (this is not an exaggeration) to absorb the oil before I could eat it. To make my point, I poured nearly a tablespoon of oil out of the wax paper-like pouch it came in. My son said his was still too "greasy" to eat and threw it away. What a shame. We ate enough and have lots of leftovers that will likely end up in the trash. read more

EMei - Hunan chicken and spicy eggplant - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I've been remiss in posting this review. It was several months ago we visited on a Saturday evening after a matinee at WST. It was around 5pm. We did not have a reservation but they got us a table (next time I'll plan to reserve ahead of time). The place was lively, clean, and both warm and bright at the same time. I had the tea infused duck and it was delicious as well as the black mushrooms with bok choy with garlic. My niece had lo mein that she enjoyed. I will plan to come back for another visit next theater season. read more

EMei - Tea Smoked Duck (Half) 樟茶鸭（半只） - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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THEY HAVE GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS!!!! The food was very good, we ordered the Dan Dan noodles and the peppercorn steak. The steak was so incredibly tender, 5/5 . Kevin, our waiter was so nice and took care of us well, he kept my water cup full! It is a neat and clean restaurant definitely recommend! read more

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Delicious! My friend happened to want Chinese food and we were close to Philly Chinatown so I went with her. We wanted to eat healthy and we got it at Emei! It was delicious as well. We got the famous pickled greens & white fish with vermicelli and baby boo choy with black mushrooms . Service was good. Food came fast and we had to leave for our next museum. Ambiance was busy but thankfully not packed. read more

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Green beans seasoning is good but texture is not crunchy at all. Chongqing chicken is good, like deep fried chicken w some seasoning. I asked for mild spicy level and it is not spicy at all. On the on the hand, mapo tofu is still pretty spicy, and I don't really like the seasoning of this dish here. They forgot to put in my order for green beans and I had to wait a long time, and they didnt do anything about forgetting to order my plate :/ read more

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Came here for my birthday last week. I heard a lot about Emei. The location contained a young Philly crowd. Somewhere between formal and casual dining. These guys sell alcohol. There is a $20 table corking fee if you bring your own. We started off with the pickled wood ear mushrooms and cucumbers. The mushrooms were a cold dish intense in flavor. Strong Szechuan chili and standard chili flavors my personal favorite of the night. The cucumber dish had the same taste but milder in flavor. They had the added benefit of being a cucumber which promoted some sort of refreshing note. I'm still partial to the mushroom. The dumplings were fine. I probably wouldn't get them again. Good dumplings but I might be in the same tier as Mrs. T's pierg There was the crispy chicken pieces that was fine as a texture on the side. A little crispier than a Chick-fil-A nugget but a lot of them. A lot of folks at the table liked this. I preferred the other main dishes. Mapo tofu was exceptional. My personal favorite main dish. This was a week ago at this point so I cannot say specifics but if there was one main dish would get at this location it was the mapo tofu. Flavorful, decadent, velvety. The fish soup was also nice. Tender fish with veggies and noodles. Light and delicious. There was a hot pot beef order that the waiter suggested that I was not incredibly impressed with. The rice cakes and brown sugar sauce were nice. Gelatinous feel and the sauce wasn't too intense in flavor. I would appreciate them more if I wasn't so full at the end of the night read more

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Flavorful pork and bamboo shoots. Lots of spicy dishes and sichuan specialties. A lot of seating and comfortable lighting and ambiance. read more

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I make it a priority to come back to EMei when I'm in Philly and I'm never disappointed. We walked in at noon on a Sunday and were seated immediately. The restaurant had a good amount of people and was crowded by the time we left. The ambiance is always warm and pleasant, nothing felt out of place during this visit. Ordered the Dry-Fry Wok with Lamb which comes with lotus root, cauliflower, potato, onion, and green onion. The ma la/Sichuan peppercorn flavor from this dish was excellent and they were also kind enough to reduce the number of chilis in the dish so we could focus on the numbing spice. My friend's mind was blown by the flavors and we both enjoyed how well cooked everything was, especially the lamb which wasn't chewy at all and the potatoes which weren't too raw or too soft. Really excellent dish and a must try. We also ordered the White Fish & Green Peppercorn Pot with Mung Bean Noodles. This one doesn't provide as much of numbing sensation but it was excellent and great for balancing out the more intense flavors of the lamb dish. The noodles were perfectly cooked, as was the soft fish. Always happy to be back here and looking forward to next time. read more

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Very good spicy mala food here! I love getting the chili fish filet with the wide noodles. The mala spice is so addicting and so good. Cucumber salad is nice and fresh as an app. read more

Very crowd on a Wednesday night. A popular Sichuan restaurant in Philly! The food is somehow interesting. Our favorite is Chongqing spicy tofu! Sliced beef shank and tripe in chili oil tasted well but very hard to chew on , and a bit salty. Cold spicy noodle was very sweet for a 麻辣凉面. They were kind to remove it from my order after I complained. Sea bass with peppercorn looked so pretty but taste was ordinary, though soup was good, bit below my high expectation read more

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My husband and I had a delicious meal here during our visit to Philly. Everything was freshly made and had wok hay. The beef with mushrooms and bamboo was our favorite, but the squirrel fish was a close second. The ambiance was also great and seating was comfortable. Will definitely be coming back to try their other dishes. Minus one star because service was a little lacking and the beef tripe was a little chewy. read more

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New favorite restaurant in the midst of Chinatown Philly! Each dish is about $10-20 and the portions are very large. For five of us we order four dishes and were very full and went home with leftovers. Highly recommend the Mapo tofu and scallion pancakes! The food was very tasty but does have a lot of salt, we all felt mildly dehydrated after eating. Nevertheless, will definitely be returning! read more

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Clean interior with tasty food! The interior is more fancy than your typical restaurant in Chinatown. A lot of our friends recommended Emei so my fiance and I went to go scope it out as a potential wedding welcome dinner venue. We taste tested several dishes including the Dan Dan noodle, cumin lamb, potato slivers, and beef chow fun. All were very yummy (if not spicy for the Dan Dan noodle and cumin lamb!! The three chili peppers on the menu are actually very very spicy!) We ultimately were able to make a large reservation in advance a few months out to hold around 50 seats for our guests. Daisy from Emei was very communicative during the whole process and was able to answer a lot of questions about it specific dietary restrictions (we have some guests who are Celiac so required gluten free food prep). Unfortunately the day of, I didn't take any photos of the food! But, we added on several dishes given wide dietary preferences of guests--popular ones were the Dan Dan noodle, Mapo tofu, Cumin lamb (all three very very spicy). As well as the sea bass and pork belly over mushrooms. I liked the egg drop soup as well. Dessert wise, we picked the mango ice cream which was super yummy!!! Perfectly creamy without being overbearing. read more

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Some of the best Dan Dan noodles w/ pork I've had in a while. The mapu tofu / pork was excellent too. Highly recommended.

Went to Emei for the first time last night and I was blown away by the food. First and foremost, make a reservation because this place was packed on a Saturday evening. Secondly, just get the Hot and Spicy Bowl with whatever protein you like - we got the sliced beef - it is hot, bursting with flavor and perfect for a cold evening. The sliced beef was melting in my mouth. The spicy sichuan mung bean noodles were tongue numbingly delicious but too cumbersome to eat because they are very slippery. Skip the dessert for sure - we got the rice balls filled with sesame paste and it was just ok. We only later realized why no other table was getting any desserts - because there are so many better options in Chinatown. read more

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Walked 5 mins to Emei for lunch after visiting the African American Museum. I did not have a reservation but was seated right after booth seating was cleaned. I ordered hot tea, Jumbo shrimp and steamed broccoli are stir-fried in a brown sauce , Lightly dusted and deep fried jumbo shrimp tossed in a caramelized walnut and honey sauce, served with crispy, fried rice noodles, and elder & violet cocktail. The food was good and the serving are just enough for 1 person. It was pretty busy for a Sunday afternoon. read more

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The food here is very good. There was a pretty good line of people waiting to be seated when we arrived, so we opted to sit at the bar. Very intimate dining area with circular tables available to share, traditionally. We ordered the chicken dry pot and dry fry green beans. I wish the chicken dish was spicier, but it still had great numbing flavor and the vegetables were cooked perfectly. The salty greens added to the green beans were very balanced. My only negative with this place was the service. It was incredibly disorganized when we came. The host/front of house was missing quite frequently, so one of the servers (ours) had to continuously seat people at tables and get to-go orders ready for pickups. There were a ton of people working here, but just no organization on what their tasks should be. read more

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Awesome Chinese food! Get the cabbage and pork dumplings, so good. We had orange chicken, General Tso's chicken (which were similar) and Lo mein, noodles were done right. Would definitely go back. Also, we didn't have a reservation and had to wait, and they did everything they could to get us in. read more

EMei was one of my favorite restaurants to eat at while visiting Philadelphia. So good that I came back twice! On my first visit, I ordered the house special lo mein. The portion was huge which I was able to save for dinner as well. The second time I came, I had to try the chicken and broccoli which was simply delicious. The restaurant is pretty spacious and can hold any group of people. It feels cozy inside. The waiter and waitresses were great and service was amazing. I will definitely will be back! read more

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Lots of friendly and helpful staff. We got a nice booth in the back. We got a kettle of hot tea. Delicious! The house fried rice was so yummy and dreamy & dan dan noodles were spicy (for me) I was able to take it home and tame it ! & sesame chicken my friends loved it. All items were for the table. I knew I was in good hands at this restaurant because Gerald has been here. I enjoyed his recos. The staff was very wonderful and the decor was pleasant! I'm very grateful for all the hard working folks that made this experience go so well. See you again! read more

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Great staff serving excellent food. More than just the most reviewed restaurant in Phillys Chinatown this place has unique food, generous portions and great food. It's busy. Reservations suggested. Bar gets you fed. Locals love it. Large takeout business. I had the cold noodles with port. Noodles were fresh with a homemade flavor. Just the right amount of sauce and pork. Wonton with chili oil had my lips tingling. Highly recommend. read more

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Really good food and great ambience - well suited for small as well as big groups. We got the Mapo Tofu (4/5). Very delicious and flavorful. Would have loved to have more sichuan peppers in it. Dan Dan noodles (3/5): quite good and the flavors were great, but nothing extraordinary. Chilli oil dumplings (5/5): the best dish we had. Highly recommend trying it. The chilli oil has the right amount of garlic and offers a kick to the dish. Quick service and friendly staff read more

EMei - Famous Mapo Tofu (w or without Pork) Dan Dan Noodle (w or without Pork) - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This restaurant jumped off the page of reviews for my wife and hence made reservations for 4 for 5:30 last Wednesday night for dinner before seeing a musical performance at City Winery Philly. Honestly, I had higher expectations based on what my wife read in the car on the way down, and frankly, the 4 of us were let down. Of all the dishes we had shared, the 2 rated tops by the group: 1) Eggplant and Century Eggs in Chili Oil - was a very unexpected dish, we read about it and were hesitant at first, but glad we tried it. The second winning dish was the Black Mushrooms and Bok Choy in Garlic sauce. Fulfilling and tasty. The beef with black mushrooms and bamboo shoots underdelivered on overall flavor. The house special rice with chicken was okay, nothing great, not bad. But the Chongqing spicy chicken was the biggest disappointment... we clearly asked how fried and crunchy as that is not our preference. It was super crazy hard, coated, fried, crunchy. We left most of it behind. With so many options in Chinatown, we'll have to try somewhere else next time. Was not worth my effort to take and post food photos. read more

We went to Emei for the first time this weekend. It does live up to the good reputation. All the dishes we ordered are authentic and tastes good. There are good selection of spicy and non-spicy dishes. Service is prompt. read more

I haven't had dim sum this delicious since I've been to China. Every dish ordered was bursting with flavor. We had a reservation for two on a Friday night which I recommend making as they are very deservingly popular and busy. Our food came quick, but that didn't sacrifice the experience or flavor. Highly recommend if in Chinatown read more

EMei - Homemade Pork & Cabbage Dumplings (Steamed / Fried) 猪肉水饺/锅贴 - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Realistically, I would rate them 3.5 stars. Here's why. For a Sichuan restaurant, I was hoping that the spicy food would be at least result in some numbing tingles, instead the chili flavor was lackluster and the chicken dry. Additionally, many dishes were salty, so much so you NEED copious amounts of rice to balance it out. Likes the decor and the server was great and very attentive and welcoming. read more

EMei - Mungbean noodle, crispy chicken with chili, peatips, cumin beef - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Delicious. EMei was recommended by our tour guide Nick on the Philadelphia Hop on & off bus, and I'm glad we listened. Elevated Chinese food in both flavor and quality. The steamed pork dumplings were the best I've had and the sesame chicken was sooo good. The broccoli was big and fresh, and my kids loved the lo mien. It felt like you were eating healthier food with Chinese flavors, not super fried or too much sauce to overcompensate for the lack of actual meat. The decor was nice and the staff were friendly and accommodating. Chef's kiss, I highly recommend read more

Found my way to EMei and have been telling people about it ever since. The restaurant is mid-size, cozy and constantly packed - expect a wait - unless you're a single, like I was. Instead of waiting an hour, I got the last seat at the bar without a wait. With it being so busy, the bar seats had more service, too. The menu, it's significant. It was difficult to choose one or two things to try. Some of the appetizers could be considered a meal. I ordered a Dan Dan Noodle and homemade dumplings in hot chili oil. Prices are so reasonable! Def now on my go-to list when in Philly. Thanks everyone at EMei. read more

My friends and I flew in from Houston and decided to try out EMei for dinner. We were seated quickly. We thoroughly enjoyed the fried fish entree (10/10). We also enjoyed the shrimp fried rice (9/10). The rice was very flavorful and included a generous portion of shrimp. My only complaint is that it has an overabundance of onion. I also tried the spicy shrimp (6/10). The shrimp was wet, overly spicy and included excessive garnish (i.e. red peppers, large bits of green onion, cilantro, etc.). Cons At the conclusion of dinner, the waiter (an older gentleman) came to the table to process our checks with a portable credit card reader. After each guest processed their credit card, which clearly prompts the user for a Tip option, the waiter directly asked each person "did you leave a Tip?". Who does that? We were mortified and actually insulted by the question. What seemed like a fine dining restaurant was quickly diminished to a low budget take out experience. Overall, the food is good but this establishment should seriously reevaluate its customer service and training procedures. read more

EMei - Spicy Dry-Fried Jumbo Shrimp 香辣大虾 - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This place was great! The best chinese food i've had in a while. Servings are big. Servers are all very friendly. Definitely need a reservation! Orange chicken (5/5): this was everyone's favorite dish. fresh orange peels and cut up oranges but not too overwhelming, the breading was light and this dish was all around just amazing Hunan chicken (5/5): love the assortment of vegetables and the flavor of the sauce was similar to chicken with broccoli but more flavorful Chicken with broccoli (3/5): This is usually my favorite dish when i get chinese food but this one was subpar. The chicken was pretty dry and the sauce was very minimal. Broccoli was steamed perfectly though. Kung pao chicken (5/5): Great portions and love the amount of peanuts they add to the dish. Wish it had a little more spice to it. read more

We came herein Thanksgiving for lunch. It was busy but they got us in and food was fast. The menu has a lot of options it was so hard to pick. Great place and the servings were huge. The entrees are easily 2 meals! read more

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Great experience. Great food. Quick service. Very nice and chill vibe inside. Highly recommend read more

EMei - Szechuan Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Delicious! There is a ton of indoor seating. We ordered family style and got the sesame noodles (so good), sweet and sour crispy pork, garlic chicken, snow peas, and scallion pancakes (super fluffy) between four of us. It came out to about $20 a person. It was super filling and delicious. read more

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Delicious food for dine in & takeout!! Good for large groups of people to go family style - really enjoyed their dry wok pot and mapo tofu Service was quick and fast too read more

Highly recommend this restaurant. The stir fried eggplant is very savory and well seasoned. The twice cooked pork belly is so good. Green beans are excellent. Great customer service. Great vibes. One of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Philly! read more

Food Finding good szechwan food is difficult outside of CA and NYC. It is served family style so be prepared to share or bring home plenty of leftovers. They are good about leaving the menu at your table so you are tempted to order more (and we did) String beans: much more salt than your average garlic laden green beans. They were cooked really well and super crispy and otherwise a good flavor. Dan dan noodles: liked that you had the option to include or remove the pork from the dish. The peanut sauce was really good and matched the noodles. A smaller portion was perfect to balance out the rest of the food and allow you to get a taste without having too much. Eggplant with garlic: Well cooked as always, this was voted the number one dish by one person in the party. Mapo tofu: easily the best dish we had, a pro tip was skipping the rice (I KNOW!) to allow more room for the food. This was perfectly extra spicy without being numbing. I love when you actually can get the taste of the food without the spice being too much. This was on the oily side so maybe rice would have helped, but know it will be on the heavier side. Service Super quick and friendly service once we got seated. The server outlined the menu and was good about dietary restrictions and told us what we could/could not modify in order to make something vegan. Made sure we had enough water as well. Ambiance This place is busy so be prepared. We had a reservation at 7:30 on a Saturday night and had to wait 20 minutes for our table to be ready. It seemed like they had a busy rush because there were open tables when we were getting close to leaving. We got to make friends with the other people waiting for their food so it made the wait less terrible. There were people coming and going to get takeout and try reservations so note that. read more

Dandan noodle is amazing! The service is great and quick! Has private room for party! read more

We've eaten here a few times and every time it's been delicious. I recommend reservations because it's always busy! We recently booked the two private rooms for a birthday dinner and it was wonderful. They were easy to work with via email. Our server, Nina and the staff that night were wonderful!!! The cocktails were delicious. I had the death of south and the lychee gin one... so good!!! All the food was delicious! Here's everything we tried and my personal rating but I also can't do too much spicy food. Dan Dan noodles with and without pork (8/10, spicy) Chongqing Spicy Chicken (so good and crispy, but spicy... 7/10) Dry fried green beans (10/10) Kung pao chicken (8/10, not spicy) Mapo tofu (5/10... I think it was a texture thing for me. Personally didn't like it but everyone else did) House special lo mein (our toddler loved this 10/10) Dumplings in chili oil (10/10) Scallion pancake (10/10) Salt pepper squid (10/10) Farmhouse pork belly (10/10... so so so good my favorite) Spicy pork trotters (6/10... so flavorful but too spicy for me) We brought our own cake but Nina brought out the fried sticky rice cake for us and that was delicious too!!! Highly recommend EMei!!! read more