I admit that I am no expert in American Chinese food, and it's possible that if I were, I'd have given a 5-star review. (One of my dining companions was such an expert, and was a fan.) It's obviously an unusual choice for James Beard America's Classic to be mostly take-out only, with dine-in only for dinner a few nights a week (most of which are buffet). And some of the myriad online debates about this place say that maybe it's about community and history more than food. In any case, I did really enjoy the egg roll and shrimp chow fun. I don't have much grounds for comparison for egg rolls, but they were fresh-fried without being too oily, and had a nice contrast in the pickled filling. The shrimp chow fun--which my companion was excited was on the menu, as it's especially old-school--was cooked perfectly and wasn't too crazy salty. I wasn't as blown away by the pork fried rice (which seemed maybe more darkened by sauce than by frying) or the chicken with string beans (with the string beans not being as charred as I'd expect). read more

The food is excellent. Tasty, satisfying, and a lot of options. The VIBES are 10/10. It's SOOO cool inside. Never change. The service is impeccable - the staff are incredibly friendly, and the food arrives pretty quickly. Prices cannot be beat. I genuinely don't understand why this isn't consistently reviewed as 4.5 - 5 stars. I have very high standards, and I am lowkey obsessed with this place read more

Eng's Chinese Restaurant - Entry area - Chinese Near Me - Kingston, New York

I hate to give such a bad review, however, this place recently received a James Beard award? I cannot understand what in the world is going on? The food here was pretty bad. I took loads of photos. The place has been around for half a century or more and it has that old school vibe which I can appreciate. Its clean and service was lovely. The woman who served us was warm and friendly. The food was just not hitting it. I normally wouldn't want to bash a local mom and pop spot but since they got a James beard award??? I had to write this review. We ordered the pork dumplings and they were so thick and doughy. 75% dough and 25% pork filling. That's a bad ratio. I had to take off more the an half of the dough. The pork filling was tasty, like most traditional dumplings. We also ordered shrimp egg rolls. It came two per order. It was filled with diced celery???? 95% celery and a few morsels of tiny baby shrimp. No cabbage or any other vegetables. I was surprised it was heavy on celery? Not the most appetizing to say the least. Just call it celery roll. We also ordered the chicken and broccoli. The chicken was tender but the flavors were very different. It was a heavy sesame oil flavor, that's all I could taste. Disappointing big time. We also ordered the triple delight? Not delightful, more like scary! Beef, chicken, shrimp and veggies in heavy brown sauce. The plate came out and it was all so dark swimming in dark brown sludge. So not appealing whatsoever. You could barely make out the veggies, everything was drowned in the dark brown thick sauce. Only four pieces of small shrimp. The beef was tough not tender and had a strange taste. Not good. Couldn't eat it. The restaurant is darkly lit so it was hard to tell what was chicken and what was beef. The flavor wasn't good. Better than the other dishes but that not saying much. I would not recommend. That's is for sure. We also got the tofu and broccoli in hot garlic. It tasted very unusual. My husband ate it since he's a vegetarian but I cannot make out any of the flavors in this dish. How in the world did they get any type of award is beyond me? I will not be returning to this establishment ever again. How has this business stayed around for this many years boggles my mind. Truly the worst Chinese food I have ever consumed. I wish I could erase this memory from my mind. I really wish we never stepped foot in this establishment and could have saved our $$ for a better meal. Worst meal by far. Huge disappointment. read more

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Finally found authentic, delicious Chinese food! I don't even know where to start. The egg rolls are some of the best egg rolls I have ever had. Crispy on the outside, full of veggies and pork. The celery stands out as extremely fresh and delish! The wonton soup is flavorful and the filling in the wontons is fresh and tasty. The combination platters are a great portion size with fried rice and your selection of main entree. Definitely will be looped into a regular spot!! read more

The food is incredible. Unlike the typical American Chinese "to go" places. Real, delicious fresh ingredients. The beef and broccoli, is outstanding. The egg rolls are the absolute best I've ever had. And they're home made. The staff are all friendly and kind. The inside of the restaurant is like something out of a movie, and pristine. Wonderful family dining establishment! It's no surprise it's been around as long as it has. They've certainly earned it! read more

the homemade mustard they gave me smelled like feces and one of the employees told me that the old man at the front (the former owner) is "crazy". I understand why you can't see into the kitchen. I would bet that anything that hits the floor is going to go right back into the wok. Draw your own conclusions read more

Very good old style Chinese food. Definitely recommend if you are ever in the area. Could use more spice was not spicy at all the Szechwan delight. The egg rolls are delicious and crispy, not soggy at all. read more

Eng's Chinese Restaurant - Szechuan delight. Chicken and shrimp - Chinese Near Me - Kingston, New York

Time has stood still at Eng's on Broadway in Kingston and looks like it was the daddy of all Chinese restaurants in the area back in the day. The look is best described as major wood paneling bling and not much has changed. Our Friday dinner inside plans completely flopped as Eng's stopped indoor dining 4 corona years ago. We somehow crossed paths with a woman who'd placed her take-out order by phone and was ready to pick up. She realized coming here was our very first time when we were caught off guard by Eng's take-out only habit then also said she truly comes here out of nostalgia- despite the food being 'not that good'. Should we just run now or dismiss what she'd said? The staff here is mixed (as we were told)- with a Chinese cook, a Latin guy in the kitchen helping out and herself, who's non-Asian and non-Latin. Our take-out meals traveled well for our very short ride home. My shrimp egg foo young was already drennnnched in sauce. The broccoli+brown sauce was limp and missed that true crispness. Hubs liked his spare ribs and shrimp in lobster sauce- but said his pork fried rice had no meat. We had hoped for crispy wonton strips but instead got a whole bag worth of crunchy noodles. I'm not sure what's the thing to order here. As an added bonus though, the menu is very cheap because our 5 meals didn't top $50- all to say, our dinner was unfinishable. read more

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Besides being an amazing setting, the Chinese-American classic food is on point. I guess the word is out and the diehard locals are now sharing the space with Instagram viewers. Id recommend the menu over the buffet- Chinese food needs to be right out of the wok not sitting around m... read more

First time at Eng's newly open buffet. An experience I will never forget. DONT GO TO THE ENG'S CHINESE BUFFET YOU WILL BE LET DOWN! Food was not as good as I thought, bland, and Just all around not good. Like 9 options best thing I could find was egg rolls. All of the good food this place is known for you have to order off menu. I repeat DONT GO HERE. Service was ass was. 3 people counting me and it was $71 for shit food and a shit service. read more

On Friday, March 1, we agree with friends to dine on takeout Eng's Restaurant offerings. Our friends ordered and arrived to collect our dinner but instead of 6pm our food was not ready for nearly an hour. And it was very unsatisfactory, big on boiled rice and noodles but lacking good flavors. My moo-shoo pork arrived with no pancakes, in spite of assurances there will be four of them. The ribs and egg rolls were dry. We all agreed this was the worst food we ate in quite a few years. Ironically, the restaurant just received this year's James Beard Award... so, what's happening here? Are all good cooks away, celebrating, and left the place in incompetent hands? read more

A classic spot that's been around for a long time. The owner is in the kitchen, and everyone I dealt with was efficient and helpful. The food is traditional, American style Chinese food, which was everything I expected it to be. The night I came they were hosting Some sort of community event so I had to take my food to go. Not that big a deal but maybe check first before you just show up. read more

The wonton soup had 3 wontons that were paste balls, think hot Elmer's glue. Fried dumplings 4 were burned not editable, chicken/shrimp chef special...gelatinous. Hot & sour soup..it was both. Disappointed, looking for good chinese in Ulster Co.... read more

I've enjoyed Eng's Chinese food for over 60 years! I haven't lived in Kingston for more than 50 years, but any opportunity I have to make a stop on the NYS Thruway to pickup takeout, I do! I've tried chow mein at many Chinese restaurants over the years and none compares to Engs!! May they continue their business for many years to come. read more

For one person in the buffet YOU WILL BE CHARGED $24 NOT WORTH IT AT ALL me and my 2 friends went there for a nice quick dinner and got charged $74 for shit food that was bland with about 5 different options id rather eat right out of the hudson DO NOT GO HERE U WILL BE DISSAPOINTED read more

The best Chinese American food I've ever had, the ambience is incredible as well. We make it a point to get takeout or eat in every time we're in Kingston . Their egg rolls, Singapore chow mei fun, chow mein and lemon chicken are amongst my favorites read more

Our tiki cocktails would of gotten 4/5 stars, ambiance and service 5/5 but food 1/5. The banana daiquiri and love potion both delicious! Love the variety of tiki glasses. The decor is soooo perfect and has SO much potential! We had a mix of the smorgasbord (buffet) on Friday night and also ordered mains. The only thing I found edible were the crab rangoons, and well, how can you go wrong with fried cheese? The "bourbon chicken" was chicken drowned in straight maple syrup. The chicken and broccoli was like a thick gravy. And from others heard the table a spicy pork dish was again just meat coated in Frank's red hot sauce. The shrimp fried rice was blank and without any freshness/veggie bites. The price for the buffet as $18 which was affordable. You also can get a scoop of ice cream at the end and the green tea was perfectly crisp and light. I really can't say I'd go back or recommend aside from maybe having a drink. read more

Classic Chinese American restaurant. It's like stepping back in time upon entering this place. Great service and wonderful old school atmosphere. Complimentary tea and Chinese crackers with duck sauce and mustard were brought to our table promptly upon being seated. Many different tropical drinks to choose from, like mai tais and pina coladas, served in fun kitschy glassware. Will definitely be returning to this historic Kingston standby. Reasonable prices to boot! read more

Great place. Great people. Great food. A place folks should absolutely support. A total gem.

I ordered takeout last evening and was extremely disappointed. The sesame cold noodles had so much peanut butter in it, I couldn't taste the sesame noodles .I found a large blob of unmixed peanut butter in the noodles . I also ordered vegetables with shrimp and white sauce. It was so runny , oily and flavorless. I called the next day , and spoke to an employee . I was told to tell them not to add so much peanut butter or oil. He cut me off and hung up. I will not be going back . read more

We're so back. Eng's is great ! Little pricy but the food is excellent and the dining area is open again. read more

Holy crap. I am used to the mediocre quality of most of our local Chinese places in Kingston, so I wouldn't go out of my way to make a comment if it was the usual fare, but this is a new low. Avoid avoid avoid, please, for your own health. Food wasn't just insultingly bad, but felt borderline dangerous to eat. We had a few bites of each thing we ordered and decided it was better to chuck it in the trash. Even the white rice was stale and old. You can take me at my own 2 cents here, but I own a restaurant, I know about ingredient quality and food safety and this was just nasty and old and I can't believe I was served it. Better and safer food is probably served in most correctional institutions in NY. I know yelp is a place where some get on a roll and b*tch and exaggerate to an unfair degree about their experience with a restaurant but this is not the case here. This is a PSA. Avoid for your own well being. Cheers! read more

Yesterday I had the chance to eat at Eng's Chinese Restaurant in Kingston NY. It's a place that I have wanted to eat ever since I first stumbled across it and saw it's amazing, old school, retro-signage advertising an "All you can eat chop-suey smorgasbord." The original Eng's was founded in 1927 and while it has changed owners it is still one of the oldest Chinese-American restaurants one will find anywhere in the USA. And it still has an amazing, old-school, old-style Chinese American menu and vibe. Now people who know me know that I lived in Asia for over six years, I have degrees in Asian studies (both an MA and my bachelors) I took lots of cooking lessons while I lived in China, I have shelves of Chinese cookbooks, and I write a weekly substack email column on Chinese, Asian and Chinese American history. I also watch documentaries and read books on the subject of how Chinese food changed when it came to the USA and the history of Chinese restaurants in the USA, so it's safe to say I know a thing or two about Chinese food and Chinese American food. So, if you are looking for authentic Chinese food, this is definitely not the place (personally I would recommend NNortheast Chinese Restaurantin Albany for that). However, if you are looking for a place with the look and feel of a Chinese-American restaurant of 50 years ago, Eng's in Kingston is a rare opportunity to get that. (apparently it was a film set for the popular TV show "Severance," which I have never seen but might be interesting) While they closed for indoor dining during the pandemic, they recently restarted indoor dining. The place definitely lived up to my expectations. It was like walking into a Chinese -American restaurant from 50 years ago, but in a good way. My main dish was Chinese roast pork ( standard cha sha sao) with American style brown gravy, Chinese American style egg roll and fried rice. Chinese food does not really involve western style brown gravies, but it was yummy. Old school vibe, friendly and cheerful Caucasian American waitresses who seemed to appreciate the place and their jobs. If you want real Chinese food go elsewhere. If you want a low priced, yummy meal with a feel for living Chinese American restaurant history this is the place. It's commonly said that one way to recognize a truly authentic Chinese restaurant is that it is full of Chinese people with few if any non-Chinese. Eng's, however, had zero Chinese people. Just lots of ordinary White American folks who all seemed to be enjoying their meals and you could tell most thought that this was their favorite "Chinese" restaurant read more

Popped in for some egg rolls. All I can say is Yum!! On repeat stops for more egg rolls, they are absolutely the best anywhere. read more

Unfortunately, the awesome dining area is closed and I never had a chance to eat or drink in there. OPEN BACK UP GUYS!!! but you can still order delivery and takeout. Eng's has been around for many years and it is owned by nice humans who I met while ordering take out. The food was decent especially for a city that is not known for great Chinese grub. One of the only places I have found who knows how to make fried rice. aka it's not yellow. The chicken on a stick is good. I wasn't impressed with the crab rangoon cheese puffs. Being from Boston who has great Chinese food, New York has been a challenge. Eng's gets four stars because although it's not amazing food it's decent and fresh and I would order again. read more

The owners are wonderful, the staff attentive and good buffet delicious! Clean, comfortable and a must try!!!

This location has not recovered from Covid. Eat in is take-out at a table. Their gorgeous dining room and sushi services are gone. No staff and nothing specialist anymore. Still friendly and food is OK but NO experience. read more

I love the food it's some of the best Chinese food I've ever had and I think there should be more businesses run in such a way. 10/10

We ordered vegetable fried rice and chicken chow mein. They were both ok but not great. The chicken was really tough and the rice had too much soy sauce read more

Food is absolutely delicious!Service was always good!Ambiance peaceful and relaxing!Been eating there for my entire life!BEST CHINESE FOOD EVER!! read more

Great food made fresh and according to tradition. And timely. I always enjoyed a Saturday meal in the dining room pre- COVID. Nothing else could come close to this tradition establishment. read more

Fresh tasting for Chinese food. Their egg rolls are the most crispy egg rolls I've ever had.

Best Chinese restaurant in the area. I am writing this review after visiting it over 10 times. Homemade egg rolls (I order the shrimp rolls) that are crispy and full of flavor. I also like the Crab Rangoon, Shrimp with mixed vegetables, and Singapore Noodles. The staff are friendly and efficient. The ambience is of an LA Chinese restaurant from the 1970's. Check it out! read more

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The egg rolls were good and I'll try more dishes next time. The people here were very nice!!!!! Very kind and sweet!!!! Says so Much about a place!! I love the retro interior!!! read more

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We like it so far! Some really hard to find Chinese dishes on the menu. Haven't tried them yet but will soon.

This restaurant is family owned and operated and we've been diners here often, but this is only the second time we've had alcoholic drinks. Prices are low, quality is always great and quantity of food is oversized. We dined with our adult children and it was superb! They deliver to your table crunchy noodles, hot mustard and duck sauce (apricot sauce) when you're seated, so as you peruse the menu you can snack. The table set up also included Chinese tea and small tea cups. They took our drink order, we ordered a Pina colada, Mai Tai and a third drink. Their drinks arrived in old style Tiki glassware decorated in theme, making for a nice presentation. Drinks are delicious and under priced for a typical restaurant at $ 4.50-6.00. We ordered a large order of their Chinese ribs for our appetizer. Our 4 dinners included various selections which ranged in price from $8.00 to 10.00. They have a large menu to select from and most came with a side of white or fried rice. They greet you like you're family and always with a smile. Our bill with drinks, & tip for four was under 90$ a bargain for all that was served. Three of us took a portion of our dinner home as well! Of all the local Chinese restaurants this is Kingston's finest! read more

Eng's Chinese Restaurant - Mai Tai and Pina Colada's are awesome! - Chinese Near Me - Kingston, New York

Eng's Chinese restaurant! Wouldn't think of ordering anywhere else. I can remember my nana walking myself and cousins every weekend, what a treat! Food is as amazing 45 years later, Our Family orders food at least twice a month. The most flavorful Chinese food in this area, George is always welcoming :) and service is friendly... the wonton soup is the best around. I've enjoyed this food for nearly 50 years! Keep up the tradition of consistently great food, price, and service.... Chambers Family read more

Went to Eng's over the weekend and after 30 years, he still has the best shrimp egg rolls! Bruce H. read more

I've been eating Chinese food from this place for the last 30 years. What a great place and friendly staff. Their food is great on the go but I highly recommend taking the time to sit down and eat. You get more for your money. Including a nice arrangement of hot tea. read more

We got take out from Eng's the other night and were terribly disappointed. While we have heard that Eng's food was delicious I had also been told that they did not make Szechuan food. When looking at the menu I saw that they did offer spicy food and was pleased to see that. We opted for Hot and Sour soup and Sesame Chicken. The soup was so very sour that we couldn't eat it. The chicken in the main dish was lovely but was not spicy and tasted like it had peanut sauce on it. I know Eng's is a staple in Kingston but if you like spicy Chinese food go to one if the other Chinese restaurants in the area. We won't be going back. read more