Full Kee Restaurant is one of DC's authentic Chinese restaurant appropriately in Chinatown in downtown DC. They serve lunch and dinner in two tightly filled dining rooms. Here's what they have going for them: 1) It's cheap food served out quickly making it a perfect spot for the tourist on a budget and wanting to venture back out to site see quickly. 2) The food is decent. They have all the usual Chinese dishes, including some of the more unique dishes actually found in China. 3) They can host large groups. I went with a group of twenty for lunch on a Tuesday and we got in fine right away. Despite the authentic experience, one thing to note is they don't have lazy Susans so sharing is a little more complicated compared to other nearby Chinese restaurants. read more

See all

SOLID CANTO JOINT. One of the few gems in DC where you can find decent Cantonese food at affordable prices. I'd been dying for beef stew wonton mein ever since we moved to this city, devoid of decent Chinese food, a year ago. Their noodle soup brought tears of joy to my eyes--my first bowl of wonton mein relieved my palate that had grown nearly apathetic after 11 months of frustration at the blandness of DC Chinese takeout-- slop cooked in fake caramel coloring 'soysauce.' What I also looove about this place is that the staff speaks toisanese, the villager dialect of Chinese that my parents and ancestors spoke. It's the only dialect I can understand and speak with working proficiency and it was just so comforting to hear the familiar tones and accents of my mother tongue. I hope they get much more business under their new management. I'm definitely taking all my friends here for social gatherings. read more

Full Kee - Beef stew wonton mein - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I'm surprised at the positive reviews! The health department needs to go there. If there are a swarm of flies in the dining room, then imagine what's going on in the kitchen. I don't mind a good dive, but this is beyond what I can do to eat in or take out. The place also has a horrible odor. read more

Second Chinese place I've tried in Chinatown for takeout, third place I've tried since moving to DC. It's better than the garden place but not that much better. Ordered two general tsos chicken. Looks good but the chicken is mostly fried cornstarch and very little chicken. $15 per entree which is way too much for what you actually get. The egg rolls were fine but they were small and not worth $4. Will not be returning. read more

Full Kee - Everything in bag - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

ChinaBlock stalwart Eat First (https://www.yelp.com/biz/eat-first-restaurant-washington) closed this past July, and now sadly as of September 2019, another ChinaBlock favorite, Full Kee, has also shuttered their doors. A few of my office mates walked down to Full Kee for lunch, only to find the place dark with the doors locked and a sign on the door indicating that the owners had "retired" as of 8/31/19. For a long time, Full Kee was the BEST Chinese restaurant in Gallery Place. A display of barbecued meats hung in the window to entice hungry diners, and they served authentic wonton soups. Honestly, I think Full Key's fate came down to high rents and changing tastes. Diners these days (especially Millennial types) are all about the fast-casual concept and this mentality did not synch up with the 1980's decor and sometimes slow service at Full Kee. Capital One arena continues to bring in the crowds for sporting and other entertainment events, but I can only imagine what the rents must be like. During my daily stroll from the metro to my office building, I count no less than SEVEN empty store fronts along H Street in the Gallery Place neighborhood. Gentrification is fine, but what happens when merchants can't afford to do business? So long Full Kee...you'll be missed. read more

I wasn't familiar with the first Full Kee but excited by this one. It isn't a chain and it's in Chinatown, that right there piqued my interest. Without shame I admit that I love American Chinese food. I'll wait until I go to China to fall in love with the "real" thing. I ordered the General Tso's Tofu and I really need to learn to fry tofu. It was nicely crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I was so glad that I got what I did and not Mongolian Beef which was mainly an onion and scallion platter. No joke, dinner be awares. So yeah, service great. I even enjoyed the warm tea on a cold night. 3.5 but I am rounding up. read more

Full Kee - 06 October 2019 - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

I don't understand why this place doesn't have a higher rating. It's a small, authentic Chinese restaurant in "Chinatown." These type of places are being run out of the neighborhood by the corporate overlords. Everything I've had at this place, I devoured. Sure, it's a little greasy, but what are you going to do instead? Eat a salad? Some reviewers may say the staff isn't friendly, but they just mean the staff aren't the 'American hospitality friendly' they are used to at places like Olive Garden. Though, they've always seem thankful for my patronage. read more

Full Kee - Beef chow fun - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

The crab rangooooooons are simply delectable. The other dish I tried was snow peas with bbq pork. It wasn't amazing very average but the crab Rangoon are definitely the best I've ever tried! So crunchy! read more

Full Kee - Crab Rangoon - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

Terribly slow service (typical). They forgot to put in my takeout order and instead of letting me know, they had me stand clueless in the middle of their dining room for 30 minutes while they made it. Food is ok. I tried the roast duck on rice, lo mein, and stir fried chicken with cabbage. All ok, but nothing spectacular, again, typical of DC Chinatown I think. I had a bite of someone's general tso which was on par with the dish at any other takeout spot. It's very close to work/home, so I'll try more options in the future. read more

When I got my food from Grubhud and as I was eating I noticed a small roach in my food. read more

Full Kee - Chicken Szechuan Style (L) - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

It's said the best food comes from the little holes in the wall. Full Kee is one of those places. You might walk by, but it'd be an unfortunate miss - especially if you're looking for authentic Cantonese food. The tempura shrimp was crispy yet not over cooked. The salt fish with tofu was tender and tasty and the chive flowers with garlic were perfectly cooked and the garlic eggplant was excellent. A couple of Chinese gentlemen recommended the restaurant and we're thrilled we took them up! Especially because so many Chinese restaurants are struggling to survive in the aftermath of Covid. It's casual and unpretentious but very GOOD! read more

Full Kee - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

It's no secret that Washington DC's best Asian food is most likely found outside of The District in North Virginia or Montgomery County. Full Kee is an example why: middling Chinese food that is bland and unremarkable. When I entered Full Kee with a friend I couldn't remember the last time I stepped foot inside but as I saw the empty restaurant I was reminded why I haven't been back since: the quiet, empty dining room. The food was simply ok at best, the roast pork was dry and salty as it swam in a bath of soy sauce. The spicy squid was inconsistently spiced, some pieces were bland, others red hot. The seafood fried rice was mostly rice and could have benefited from more seafood. With better options in Eden Center, Rockville, and even 14th Street; Full Kee has classic Chinatown looks but misses the mark. read more

Family owned traditional old-school Cantonese food. Of course there is the Americanized Chinese menu, but we ordered real Cantonese food. We got the congee, white cut chicken and soy sauce chicken combo, roast pork, pea shoots, and wonton soup. They accidentally brought us American wontons (which have no flavor), but they replaced them with real Chinese pork and shrimp wontons upon request. Service was fine, they were nice, food was solid. Pea shoots were quite good, rest was "fine". Support a traditional, local family business as very few are left in DC Chinatown. read more

See all

Chinatown has a lot of options, definitely try another one. Ordered "crispy" tofu from them with fried rice (for which they upcharge $2). The tofu was bland and SOFT and covered in a sickly sweet sauce that was probably some bland and spice-less variation of General Tso's (aka: not what I ordered). The fried rice was epically awful. It was basically white rice that they threw in a wok for 30 seconds with an egg and a splash of soy sauce. The food was flavorless unless you count the epic amounts of salt and sugar poured on to make it taste like ...well, who knows what. SMH. I had my mouth fixed for deliciousness. This was NOT it. Won't be back and so glad I didn't waste money on anything else! read more

Came here for a work lunch. Great lunch specials at $7. Waitresses were super attentive and my water glass was always full. We got a nice big round table for 9 of us. Singapore noodles - love the thin noodles. Veggies were cooked perfectly. Nice kick from the curry Beef a broccoli lunch special - beef was tender, broccoli al dente. I had enough for lunch and dinner read more

Used to be a wonderful place to eat - a downtown legend. Now it's like shell of it's former self. Rude wait staff, and a menu you'd find anywhere... I was disappointed. read more

Don't come, the restaurant smells like trash and a dead bug was found in one of my dishes. The owner is friendly but the restaurant makes me feel sick. read more

Full Kee - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Tucked right alongside H street in the remnant of DC Chinatown, Full Kee may not look like much, but this place has some good stuff. (BTW, There's a Full Kee in Maryland as well - also great, not sure if same owners.) Anyway, what to get here: Hong Kong Noodle soups. They have these ~$10 specials on a laminated one-pagers - get those!! The last time we came, the hot and sour was a little too sour (even for the "queen of vinegar" as I'm known in the family). However, the wonton (pork AND shrimp) or beef noodle soups (see the theme of noodle soup?) are consistent and solid 4.5/5. So get those. The broth is nice - not the water+soy sauce you get around DC. I also got their beef+tomatoes over rice once and that was good too 3.5/5 (although to be totally honest it was just a little too sweet for me so I took the leftovers home and added more veggies/tomatoes to cut the sweetness down for an improved dish!). The green beans aren't the standard Sichuan blistered green beans - so that's one is alright, maybe 2.5-3/5) I've been here a handful of times already and will continue to return. Hoping to try some porridge/congee some time soon. All in all, it's one of the more affordable places in DC - why not give it a try? Tip: Pair this off with some boba from ShareTea just a few steps away and you got a pretty darn good treat for yourself!! Word of caution: do not use the bathroom downstairs (if you go downstairs) - that can be gross. I think it's for the restaurant staff? Use the one upstairs (main level). read more

My coworker and myself were in DC for a work convention. We had seen Chinatown from our bus tour a day or two earlier and knew we had to go back for lunch . We looked up on Yelp and decided on this restaurant. We both entered out food so much ! It was a wonderful experience and I hope to come back with my husband ! He also loves Chinese food ! Until next time ! I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who may be passing through or if you live close by ! You won't regret it , I promise ! read more

See all

Supposedly this restaurant has been around 40 years. The flavors in my entree are the testament to how a restaurant stays in business so long - it was fantastic! Unfortunately, my soup arrived cold and when I sent it back, it came warm, but completely without flavor, unlike my entree. It also suffered from some temperature issues, but was still good. Service was friendly and inviting showing that Full Kee obviously has staying power, but needs to re-evaluate its execution. read more

Full Kee has been around for years and during that time has always been mentioned in various articles as a "must try" restaurant. Yet we only now got to try it. You know---so many restaurants, so little time. We recently spent the night in DC and I was looking for a new place to try that wouldn't break the bank. My husband said that he wanted Chinese food, so...finally!...we got to Full Kee. We were here on a Friday night around 5 p.m. Business was slow then but shortly thereafter, started to pick up. Our server was very attentive and prompt. We were given a pot of tea as well as some water. We started with a cup of soup. My husband had wonton soup. This soup has wontons filled with pork and shrimp. The soup also had some strips of cured pork. He enjoyed the flavor and the generous amount of stock. I had hot and sour soup. While the soup had a lot of stock, it was disappointingly bland. After we had our soup, my husband decided that he wanted some beer. As he was looking at the card on the table that listed the available beers, our server noticed and came right to our table. He ordered a bottle of Tsingtao. Before we came here, my husband said he was going to order moo goo gai pan. Then he saw the scallops and mixed vegetables on the menu and changed his mind. He really enjoyed the scallops saying that they were properly prepared and the veggies were cooked tender crisp. They were a nice assortment that had broccoli, baby corn and snow peas, to mention a few of the veggies. I ordered beef lo mein. This dish pleasantly surprised me. The beef was very tender and the lo mein was not greasy. Plus there was a generous assortment of veggies. All in all a tasty but filling dish. We're both glad that we finally paid a visit to Full Kee. My husband has said that he wants to go again---and I agree with him. Dinner was very reasonably priced. While I forget the exact amount, it cost around $40 before the tip. read more

See all

Wo de pinyin bu dzemeyiang. I would otherwise make an amazingly painful attempt at crafting my review in Chinese pinyin, which would be a fun exercise in phonetic spelling, but would be less-than-useful, funny only to me, and questionably cool. So, here goes my lamified update: There is very little more satisfying than a late night snack of the cha shiu pork noodle soup after being out carousing in Chinablock/Penn Quarter. It'll only run you $5.50, and it's more than filling. Plus, all of the nutrients and water will help to replenish what you pass from your body from the imbibing of earlier. I foresee not returning during daylight hours ever again. read more

Full Kee is definitely a favorite of mine. Not just because it's cheap, but because it's delicious. For $7.95, you can get a quarter roasted duck over rice. Yes, it's bone-in, but who cares? The skin was crispy and meat fatty, plus a quarter duck is bigger than you might think. Also a good deal? $2.95 for a small wonton soup. The two big wontons are set in a flavorful broth, and it's one of the better wonton soups that I've had. A plate of chow fun can feed four people, and it's a perfectly salty, carby dish that can definitely soak up some alcohol. Plus, Full Kee has awesome hours in a fairly convenient, if somewhat hellish, location. I'd like some duck now, please. read more

Full Kee - Roast duck - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

I ate here three times in the past five years and always had the same dish, wanton noodle Hong Kong Style Noodle soup. It was recommended by a friend in 2009 and I try to come here for this noodle soup every time I am in town. All three times, the food was consistent and good. It's so simple yet tasty. Good for lunch or late night snack after drinking. Service and ambiance is not at its best but that's just fine. They always talk to me in Chinese for some reasons. They get busy during peak lunch hour but the food comes quick. If I come here more often, I would try other dishes but for now, I will keep coming for my noodle soup. read more

Full Kee - Wonton Hong Kong Style Noodle Soup - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Satisfied with beer, coffee, Internet and electricity, I noticed that I was at the big Chinatown arch and so my Yelp search turned to Chinese food. And at the top of the list, Full Key showed up as a good option. Sadly, I was only on my own and while I wish I could have ordered a couple of platters to share, I had to choose one. I went with the Beef Chow Fun, which is a big pile of wide egg noodles, beans, bean sprouts and sliced beef with a brown sauce. There was a lot of it when it arrived a few minutes after ordering. The flavor was a bit on the bland side - I think a good scoop of hot mustard would have cured that but I couldn't seen to catch the waitresses eye any time that my mouth wasn't stuffed with food. I was a little sad that I couldn't try a few more things from their menu. I really need some DC friends. Will you be my DC friend on my next trip? With a Tsingtao and a full tummy, I was more than happy to pay the check of less than $20. read more

Full Kee - Beef chow fun - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

True Chinatown food. Good food. Service was friendly, but not exactly fast. We came at a very slow time (~9pm). They stay open until 2am. I enjoyed the spicy fried squid the most. The squid was tender as ever. read more

See all

This place is definitely overlooked. The decor is old but the food was good. I ordered the wonton noodle soup and it had flavor. The broth wasn't over seasoned but I'm glad because I hate the taste of MSG and the feeling it gives of being dehydrated and tired. The wontons were very well seasoned on the other hand and the noodles were generous. For $8 a bowl definitely cannot complain. read more

Full Kee - Wonton Soup - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

The pork in the sweet and sour pork was very tasty. Sometimes restaurants throw cheaper pork in the dish because many just eat it because it's sweet and sour. But with theirs the meat was tasty and tender! read more

I didn't realize until Hannha H reminded me of my old review of Full Kee (Chinatown) with rather negative comments back in 2009. Well I really like the restaurant now, for a while. I should have updated my review long time ago. I'm sorry! Thank you Hannah! I particularly love their Hong Kong style wonton noodle soup and the sauteed beef and vegetables on rice because of their high quality taste at low price. I dined there tonight just before the Michael Bublé concert at Verizon Center and I really enjoyed those two my favorite dishes. read more

Full Kee - Sautéed beef & vegetable on rice. - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

Order was delivered (DD). Paid for pan fried dumplings - did not receive. I ordered 5 items and you'd think they could fill the order completely!! That alone will prevent me from ever ordering from them again. Egg rolls were run-of-the-mill. I always judge an asian restaurant by the quality of the hot & sour soup, this soup missed the mark completely - spicy but flavorless. Crispy spicy pork chop - if they were cut any thinner there would have been nothing but breading and no taste. And finally, sesame chicken - less expensive dark meat and sauce overly thickened with cornstarch. Will not order again. Complete waste of money. If you serve this level of quality, then you must have contempt for your customer. read more

Takeout when in town as tourists. Ordered an early dinner including dumplings (tasty filling, good sized dumplings), general Tso's, chicken lo mein, Mongolian beef. Fried good dale was a noodle dish with a curry seasoning, shrimp and pork. fried good dale is the same that I call Singapore Mei fun closer to home. Spend $40 get a free small chicken fried rice. read more

I can't recommend the food here. I ordered the congee with pork squid and peanuts and the Hong Kong style noodle soup (shrimp and pork wonton) and paid extra for vegetables. I chose this order because of several recommendations on yelp from chinese customers were highly complimentary. The congee was bad. It had very little flavor, was watery, and the rice was undercooked. I make congee from time to time, and it isn't hard to make tasty. This was flat out boring and disappointing. The soup was even more disappointing. The broth had almost no flavor at all, despite what several reviews states. It tasted like they had taken 1/4 of the volume of properly seasoned broth and just diluted it with water to fill my container. The noodles were fine, the wontons were fine, but that broth almost made me cry. Tonight was really cold and I wanted the satisfaction of a rich, warm, and unctuous soup, but I didn't get that. The cherry on top of this disappointing sundae was the fact that they didn't bother to include the vegetables I paid extra for. It's possible that the food here is good if you don't have a white name, but I will never know because I'm not spending another dollar here. read more

This place is the real deal. My meal showed up to the table and it was picture perfect. So much so, I had to take a picture. The broth was hot and perfectly seasoned. The wontons were handmade on the spot. The entire meal was made with care and to perfection. THIS IS CHINESE FOOD DONE RIGHT!!! I will return again and again. read more

Full Kee - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I was in the mood for some general Tso's chicken with white rice and this place hit the spot. The service was very friendly and fast and all safety precautions were taken (if you're reading this post-COVID then gladly disregard the last bit). Overall, definitely recommend! read more

The sweet and sour chicken wasn't particularly good. It tasted like the oil was a bit burned. I've been here a few times and it's a bit underwhelming at best. read more

My visit here is specifically for the wonton noodle soup. It's a solid dish and I liked it, it reminds me of being a kid and complaining to my parents that we ate it too much. The amount of noodles I was given was a tad on the small side, but the vegetables, wontons, and roasted pork were fresh. The broth wasn't oily and tasted like it should. We tried the kung pao chicken and beef chow fun. The kung pao should be renamed to peanut chicken as the plate had a TON of peanuts. The chicken was bland and overcooked. Although there were chilies in the dish, there was absolutely zero spiciness. It was also $14 - complete rip off. The chow fun was loads better, almost like how my mom used to cook it. The noodles, beef, vegetable combo was done right. It wasn't too salty or greasy and the meat and veggies were not chewy. Service is good and fast. When we arrived, I noticed a party of 6 people showed up and told the host that they had 20 mins to eat before catching their tour bus. They were graciously accommodated. If we lived closer, I'd definitely choose this place to frequent for the noodle soup and chow fun. read more

Full Kee - Wonton noodle soup w/ bbq pork - Chinese Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

25 years ago, this was the best Chinese in the district. They changed owners recently. I'm sorry to say, the food was pretty bad. The won ton soup was abysmally flavorless. Not good food. Not quite 1 star but close. read more

One of the best Chinese restaurants I've been to in d.c. We did a family style dinner with a bunch of different entries and everything was super delicious. I highly recommend this place if you are in the area. Try the seafood fried rice as the base with your orders. read more

See all

This place was suggested by my uncle while I was in town with a friend, and he said his go-to dishes were the General Tso's Chicken and the house fried rice. So, my friend and I ordered the General Tso's Chicken and the stir fried Chinese broccoli. The chicken itself was flavorful and not too sweet and soft. The broccoli was good like any other Chinese place except I feel like it didn't come out hot like the chicken. I would have given 4 stars for this place EXCEPT: My friend was deciding on the cash tip and put down $4 (~15%) and one of the waiters had counted the tip from afar and then came over to tell us that we had to tip 15%, 18% or 20%. It initially left me confused because I didn't hear her properly so while my friend and I were still deciding, another waitress had the audacity to come over and tell us we had to tip 18-20% since it was the weekend. However, the service was terrible and no one was there so we didn't expect to give high of a tip anyways. That left a very bitter taste in our mouths so we just gave them $5 so we could leave. I would never set my foot in there ever again before of that. Just wanted to share our experience before anyone experiences this as well. read more

Review #500 goes to one of my favorite places in DC. Full Kee redeemed DC Chinatown for me, and I'll keep going to get a taste of authentic Cantonese food and to support this little local business. I've been putting off my review for Full Kee for over 8 years because I have such mixed feelings about DC's Chinatown. Like many people new to DC, I was saddened by China-Block and discouraged about finding good Chinese comfort food so far from my native California. Is Full Kee the best American Chinese restaurant you'll ever go to in a major metropolitan area? No (I'm looking at you NYC, CA, Boston). BUT, is this the best Chinese food adapted for the environment it's in, specifically DC's historic Chinatown that has been gentrified and caters to tourists while the last of the elderly Chinese residents are being pushed out? YES. Judging by what's available, on metro in DC proper, this and Sichuan Pavilion are the best Chinese restaurants, hands down. I credit my mother with their discovery, as she spent an entire week sampling different places in DC's Chinatown and convinced me that I was just ordering the wrong dishes at some places. My go-to comfort food is the Hong Kong Style soup noodles with BBQ pork and adding in greens (usually gai-lan/Chinese broccoli). Anything on the little yellow menu will be more in line with comfort food (eg. jook a.k.a. Chinese porridge). If you're more of the Chinese takeout person, try their lunch specials! Things can tend to be a little greasy (big surprise, this is a product of American tastes), but it'll hit the spot for the right price. I personally like their Singapore noodles. If you want to have the *full experience,* try ordering off their main menu (dark red leather, the fat one that is full sized). I had a conversation with David Chang at the last Yelp event I went to about how to order authentic Chinese food in DC Chinatown (probably applies to other ethnic foods in touristy areas too). Don't order the General Tso's chicken/Crab Rangoon/Beef and Broccoli or anything you would see at a takeout place! Order things that are more challenging because the chef will be relieved to be doing something different, or order the dishes that are authentic, less generic, or take more time (eg. at Full Kee order any Cantonese or Hong Kong dish, including pan fried noodles, duck, softshell crab, jook, choy sum vegetable in oyster sauce, anything in black bean sauce). Note: I could go further into the long history of Chinatowns, and why they exist (Chinese diaspora, mostly men, taking on "women's work" like cooking and laundry due to job discrimination; housing discrimination concentrating the Chinese into Chinatowns, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882) but I would greatly exceed Yelp's character limit. More info on the history of Chinatowns and Chinese food: http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/03/15/515792846/chinatowns-across-the-country-face-off-with-gentrification http://time.com/4211871/chinese-food-history/ https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/yp7bx5/the-struggles-of-writing-about-chinese-food-as-a-chinese-person read more