I've been eating here since I was in high school- I can remember the first time I ever had their wonton soup in 2021. Fast forward to 2026, it's my go to place for quality, inexpensive yet delicious and hearty, and a great family owned restaurant. The woman who works the counter is so kind, please spend a visit here and see their hospitality. I actually don't remember when I took this picture, but I worked across the street from them for years and was probably mid review and forgot about it, so it automatically attached. It was a combination plate I believe, it's my favorite thing get there because I don't finish them. What prompted this review? I was craving a quart of wonton soup and it was ready in 5 minutes and it is the only thing I've been able to keep down in three days besides water. Lovely place, you guys are amazing. read more

How Lee Chinese Food - Orange Chicken Combination Plate - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Had a very positive experience ordering takeout while visiting the area. Order was ready in a timely manner, we were impressed that it came in a reusable bag. Sweet and Sour Chicken, Orange Chicken, Sesame Chicken, egg rolls, fried dumplings and fried rice. Fried rice did not contain corn or egg, which our group considered a plus. Taste, texture and temperature were all good. read more

How Lee Chinese Food - Takeout - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

past it many times finally went in and glad I did. Finally got what I wanted which was something with lots of mixed vegs in a light sauce (requested) with fried rice and hot n sour soup. Had the shrimp& scallopes ( but scallops were a bit hard!) Bascially the meal was great for the price. I'm going again soon. So many interesting things to choose from that I know I will like. It's clean inside pleasant and waitress was nice. I was stuffed to the brim and had to leave a bit All that food, pop , soup, tip for about $18.00 only!!! read more

So overpriced. Today, was the last straw. An order of "Shrimp with Garlic Sauce" that ended my attempt to keep giving this place a chance. I realize that this is takeout Chinese-American food, but today I found a piece of beef swimming in the brown sauce among the shrimp. This confirmed to me that there is no garlic sauce, but a nondescript brown fluid that probably goes into every dish that calls for a "sauce," including beef with broccoli. That is not the foundation that one expects for garlic sauce. On the menu, it's referred to as "hot and spicy," but it's nothing of the sort. I also had more than half the vegetables turn out to be soggy celery. There was a respectable amount of shrimp, but after those are gone, the rest of the food went uneaten. Not worth $17.95. read more

Very solid option for Szechuan cuisine in squirrel hill-- I especially enjoyed the mala-style fish with tofu which had an addicting numbing spiciness (the sauce went great with rice). The eggplant was tender and chongqing chicken was very crispy (though would not travel well if eaten as take out). This is a no-frills spot but service is attentive and fast. read more

How Lee Chinese Food - Eggplant with Mala Chili Sauce - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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General Tso chicken wasn't even edible. Tasted like something reheated from 2-3 days ago. Just awful. Garbage

Very poor quality. The pork belly with leeks was so over-cooked that we might have soled shoes with the pork, The sweet & sour fish was wrapped in a soggy crust that only got more soggy when it was sauced. The "hot and sour" soup was neither hot nor sour and lacked the solid ingredients that make this soup interesting. read more

Short wait time to get everything. Loved the saiteed green beans. Chongqing chicken and scallion pancakes were decent, but more soggy-oily than crunchy-oily if that makes sense. Next time, I'd order something else but the restaurant itself is nice! read more

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Good food and quick delivery. I would highly recommend them. The food is delicious and well priced.

My dad is the greatest food critic of all and he actually enjoyed the meals he has had here! So that's saying something. Growing up with home-cooked meals and living near New York Chinatown and Philly Chinatown, we have high standards for good Chinese food. My dad said How Lee has food ON PAR with both Chinatowns and that's a huge statement coming from my dad who would say something good as "not bad". I've read and seen the poor reviews here and I'm convinced that they're just ordering the wrong things. We ordered the CHONGQING FRIED DRY HOT CHICKEN (chicken deep fried), CHENDU FRIED DRY HOT CHICKEN (chicken pan fry), FISH FILET WITH CABBAGE IN PASTE CHILI, SHREDDED PORK WITH DRY TOFU, WEST LAKE MINCED BEEF SOUP, AND MAPO TOFU. The fried dry hot chicken explains itself and is very spicy so be careful! Many items are spicy and/or are cooked with chili oil so look closely at the menu if you want to less/no spicy food. The shredded pork and other stir fried items have great "wok hay", meaning the chef is experienced with the wok and how to maintain it well. Also the west lake minced beef soup is my all time favorite, and what I order when I'm homesick. Cantonese soups tend to be thicker than what people are used to, and it gives a different experience where you "eat" your soup. Whenever I'm craving Chinese food, this is the place to go. Service: The service is also on par with typical Chinese restaurants. Don't be offended if it's not "as friendly as American restaurants", that's just how our culture typically is. Interior: Every time my parents come here when they visit, they wonder why there's a big discrepancy between the food quality and the foot traffic in the restaurant. It has such a good location in Squirrel Hill and there's plenty of foot traffic on the corner of Forbes and Shady. We concluded that they probably should take initiate to market more and to modernize their interior a bit. The seats are taped up showing wear and tear, the decor is sparse and dusty, and their blinds are always closed making the restaurant more fluorescent and could mislead people to think they're closed. I think small changes can lead to big results! tldr; Food 5/5 Service 4/5 Interior 3.5/5 read more

How Lee Chinese Food - Left: Chongqing Fried Dry Hot Chicken; Middle: Fish Filet with Cabbage in Paste Chili; Right: Shredded Pork with Dry Tofu - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The front desk customer service was less to be desired here... But... the food made up for it once I finally was waited on and got my order home to try it. I was very hungry after work. I walked in and stood in what I thought was a line and noticed there were a bunch of delivery drivers there in line and some appearing to be waiting on orders. The front desk worker (I think her name was Shirley) was busy however, she got off the phone several times and never asked me if she could help me. Never acknowledged me. Some people came in from outside after me and she gave them orders. I am thinking hello... I moved to the counter directly in front of her. Stood there. I noticed she picked up the phone again - then got off, gave a few folks their orders and then busied herself with checking bags until I finally asked her if she can assist me please. I asked her if she saw me standing there. I let her know that I had been there waiting and was ignored / overlooked for about 10 minutes. She said she did not. She then said you could of said something too. I guess a random person standing there was not a customer? Ok, No apologies. It was what it was I guess. Breakdown in acknowledgement and communication I guess. My order was $ 95.66 and because of the poor service experience I wanted to hate it because I was annoyed with her but, some of the food was decent but, a little pricy for the portion size. Egg rolls were tasty almost $2.00 each Steamed $7.95 and fried dumplings $ 7.95 with the sauce they provided was good General Tso good but at $16.95 the order was super small like lunch size small Vegetables Lo Mein good $ 9.95 Egg drop soup lacked flavor $ 2.00 Sesame beef meh was used to the meat not being as slimy and more fried - just my preference $ 16.95 Beef egg foo young was good. 13.95 I had wonton soup too but did not taste it yet. I will try other places in the area before recommending them to see the comparison or to see if I have a better experience. Left with a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Money earned can always be spent anywhere. read more

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The food here was alright, but nothing too special. I tried numerous different items. The order consisted of fried dumplings (most likely pork), fried scallion pancake, and a shrimp egg roll. The price was relatively reasonable, although there are some cheaper options. How Lee offers mostly traditional Chinese dishes, but they also have the Americanized items like General Tso. The dumplings were decent, but I've had much better. There isn't much filling and the filling they do have isn't too flavorful (just a bit of cabbage with the meat). Too much dough around them, and they were not very crispy either. The side sauce was great, though! Flavorful and a great balance of sweet and savory. The scallion pancake I order came from the more authentic side. The portion was fair for the price. It was very crispy, almost to the point of being a bit burnt. There is not a significant scallion flavor, but you can feel them in the dough. Texture is similar to paratha (Indian bread) but even crispier. The side dipping sauce was the same as with the dumplings. The shrimp egg roll was tasty. It's a pretty thick egg roll with loads of cabbage inside of it. Quite crispy on the outside; great texture! The price was very reasonable too. I will say, though, that it was almost entirely cabbage. Very few pieces of shrimp. And, of the pieces of shrimp they did have, they were not very clean and had a strange flavor plus texture. All in all, definitely not the best Chinese food in the area. It wasn't terrible, but I'd recommend going to New Dumpling House or Szechuan Spice instead of How Lee. read more

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I love Chinese food. However.. worst I've ever had. I ordered the sesame chicken with only white meat, paid extra for that. It has an orange sugary sauce and the breading is terrible. Even the white rice was bad it was soggy and inedible, both dishes. Will never order that again. Ordered on Uber eats so I don't know how the customer service is. read more

the waiter looks at height I'm assume that i can't eat spicy I try the schez potatoes noodle hot spicy and it didn't had no flavor or taste and waiter keep say it spicy And she didn't like idea why I keep asking for chili oil I will ask 4 round of chili oil . When I eat at Thai restaurant I go for no10 for spicy level super tall Asian or some American ladies are the one that cant eat spicy and waiter assume they can eat spicy. I'm adult with short stature and I'm older then all those tall young Asian and American students unless they visit coun with spicy flavors read more

Growing up in the East End, How Lee has been a go to for a cheap fast dinner option. Over the years prices have increased which is to be expected but sometimes it the price doesn't seem to match the quality. Over all this place is okay. This tends to the place my family will settle one when we can't decide on what we all want and just want some thing quick and simple. read more

Love this place no matter what the food is always good never had a bad experience here

Pretty classic Sq Hill Chinese joint. It's a little greasy but like I said - classic. The people are very nice, but don't go when they're getting near closing time - they won't serve you in person. read more

Lunch special update: prices have risen about $1.50 per plate. Still tasty and filling, but definitely not as (financially) appealing as last time I came for lunch. If you're down to spend $8 for lunch (which still isn't a bad deal) How Lee provides quick service and dependable food. I don't think I'll be back for dinner though, since the price-to-quality ratio gets a little skewed when lunch specials end. read more

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Just had a bad customer experience. We order from here frequently and the food is consistently great. Tonight, we decided to pick up instead of using Grubhub. I went to HowLee's website to place pickup order. The cart went over to Eat Street to process my payment thru my PayPal account. Eat street displayed an error but the money $154 came out of my checking account from PayPal. So, I called the restaurant. Whoever answered gave me a hard time yelling at me that they no longer use Eat Street and it is my problem and I should cancel the order. There was no where on eat st to cancel. I then checked PayPal after I hung up from being yelled at and there was a refund to my checking account that posted. How is it my fault that the ACTIVE website still processed orders through Eat St? the customer service was terrible and we will never order from here again. read more

Very fast service. The food arrived very hot. They always get it right and it's fresh and delicious

Definitely could have been better. I decided to order off the Sichuan menu. I got the Chengdu fried dry hot chicken. The chicken was super greasy and poor quality, and it wasn't even crispy fried, it was essentially oily chicken. They do give you a lot, especially with it being ~$13, so there was at least that. I wish I had ordered something else because I was super disappointed and barely finished my food because I didn't want to keep eating the chicken. read more

How Lee Chinese Food - Looks like it could be good, then you taste the quality of it and it's meh - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

If you want authentic beautiful and delicious food you're in the right place. I've never tried the American style Chinese food they have. They are so kind and happy to accommodate needs. I'm vegan and my two favorite dishes are the moa pow tofu (no Pork) and the yok choy greens w garlic. read more

How Lee Chinese Food - Yok choy W shechuan peppers Perfection! - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I've been going to this place for years. Having been to top tier Chinese restaurants in LA and NYC How Lee is nothing less than equal to those places. In fact it innovates on the food, the bamboo pork has pickled peppers added to it enhancing its flavor by a magnitude although technically not traditional. These white american reviewers don't have any clue what they are talking about in terms of the foods flavor profile. The only valid complaint is that sizes have however shrunk over the years, that is my only complaint. Nothing but one of the best Chinese restaurants In pittsburgh. read more

How Lee Chinese Food - Twice Double Cooked Pork Belly - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I went here the other day to meet a friend for lunch since we heard How Lee Chinese had some pretty good lunch specials! It was a cold day in Pittsburgh, so we each started with a soup. I had the hot and sour soup which was really good! Super flavorful and just the right amount of spice. My friend got the egg drop soup, and he said his was very good as well. Then for our entrees, I got Chongqing Dry Hot chicken, which is very similar to a spiced up fried chicken, with a side of fried rice. this was a dish I had never had before, but was really good with all of the dried peppers in there as well. When it was combined with the fried rice, it turned out to make an epic combination. My friend ordered the Hunan Style Chicken with a side of fried rice. By the time I looked up after eating mine for a little bit, he was already about half way through his so it must have been delicious! He told me that the sauce was super flavorful and not overpowering! The total for each of us came out to be right around $10, which made for a really good lunch special! Looking forward to coming back here soon, and I'd recommend it to anyone in the area looking for a quick lunch meal, quality food, and an amazing price! read more

How Lee Chinese Food - 3. Hot and Sour Soup - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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As someone who has had authentic Chinese food but also enjoys American-Chinese food, this place is just fine. I've only ever gotten take out from this place, so here are the dishes I recommend: 1. I enjoy the Chongqing dry hot chicken, it's like spicy small bits of fried chicken, half meat, but the other half of the container is red peppers. This is often too spicy for most other people I enjoy dining with. There are Schezwan peppercorns in this, which make your tongue go slightly numb and feel lemony. So good! You'll probably feel iffy ordering it, because the name sounds like a bad, racist Rosie O'Donnell joke. 2. Eggplant in garlic sauce. Huge fan of this vegetarian dish. So flavorful. The eggplant has the wonderful firm but slimy texture. 3. My partner loves getting the salt and pepper chicken. It's small bits of fried chicken, similar to the chongqing chicken, but this dish is sweet but black peppery. Always a hit. 4. Lastly, we like to get veggie hor fun, because the name applies to us, and the noodles are so wide and delightfully chewy! I am only giving this place 3 stars because the portion sizes to go seem small to me, for the price. The food has never wowed me, just been alright / good enough to go back to them. read more

Good service. Good food options. The food was prepared well. Not undercooked. Garlic was el debate. The portion sizes are average/ expected. Love the eggplant, Bok Choy, and fried chicken. read more

I had a long weekend and wanted Chinese, How Lee was easy to order from and I always notice it when I am walking in that area. I ordered a small shrimp Lo Mein, two diet cokes, and an egg roll. It came out to be $14.56. I was expecting the small to be larger--the price is steep for Lo Mein and at other Chinese places the small is plenty. But here it is TINY. Delivery was fast and they found my place with no issues. (Not easy to do!) I deducted one star due to price --$15 is a lot of money for dinner when you didn't even get a full sized meal. I deducted a second star due to food quality. The egg roll was decent but the Lo Mein left something to be desired. Also I'm still hungry because the portion is so so tiny. Next time I will try a different dish! read more

How Lee Chinese Food - LM5. Shrimp Lo Mein - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This place is great for authentic Sichuan food in Pittsburgh! I have been here multiple times and every time I love the food. Last time we went I had the leek and pork belly and the hot spicy pepper chicken. The leek and pork belly was decent and had a good amount of pork belly although was a slight bit dry. The hot spicy pepper chicken is a classic Sichuan food and is done really well here (be warned it is very spicy!). Portion sizes are great, and I can usually only finish half of a dish and save the other half for a tasty lunch later. The restaurant itself is small and nothing special, but don't let that fool you! It is truly the best Sichuan food in Pittsburgh. read more

How Lee Chinese Food - Leek and pork belly (left) and spicy pepper chicken (right) - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Super inconsistent. They have made some of the best Chinese food I've ever had, but also the worst. Sometimes it's nice and spicy, sometimes its not. They made the made the lo mein of dreams once, but never again. Most of the time it tastes like the crappy chinese food we ordered in college. Their spicy eggplant is either super wet or very dry. Same with the dry fried string beans and the chonqing chicken. The chonqing dumplings are sometimes reliable, but sometimes seem to be too old and too sweet. We order from here (sometimes we used to eat in) when we feel like gambling on dinner. May the odds be ever in your favor. read more

I was disappointed with the staff and the atmosphere. We walked inside excited to try a different restaurant in the city, because we are in the food industry and foodies we love supporting local restaurants. However, no other customers were in there for lunch, so we should have been greeted right away, but no. That should've been a red flag, but we wanted to give them a chance. We were finally seated and the waitress was a little short and kind of rude. My partner asked about the different kinds of tea because she loves tea, but the waitress was not helpful and acted as if placing our order inconvenienced her sitting down at a empty table scrolling on her cell phone. The waitress also tried charging more than what the many menus stated. She brought our plates to us with her thumbs on the plates where the food is and there were gnats in the sweet and sour sauce on my plate. I was done for sure after that and my partner instantly put down her fork. We made the decision to get up and go to our waitress who was on her cellphone again and didn't have time to check on her paying customers. After explaining why we were leaving as discretely as possible and wanted to pay for at least the bottled drinks and 1 soup, because at this time there was another table of two inside and we didn't want to ruin their experience. However, the waitress and her horrible hospitality skills caused me to post my experience on Yelp. She called us Black b*tches who can't afford their menu (never mind it's the lunch menu for about ($10.75 each), the waitress also said she did not care about the bug in the food and for us to get the f*ck out of the restaurant. All while yelling at the top of her lungs, people walking by outside stopped by the door. A bug or hair in the food, typically I just won't order anything else, I won't go there again, and I warn my family and friends as we do when restaurants are great. However, this human changed that with her attitude and disrespectful words. I hope the restaurant gets inspected by the health department and she gets fired. That humans calling is absolutely not in hospitality for sure. She does not need to work with people. Karma bites and I hope it is hard! My advice is to go at your own risk. If you are searching for great food, a comfortable atmosphere, with great staff, Do Not go to How Lee's in Pittsburgh PA! There are plenty of other amazing places to eat or experience as a foodie in Pittsburgh. read more

I am satisfied about Sichuan Cuisine here. Only one thing is that I am not quite into (Although I understand why they do that) is that they passed my receipt a bit too soon. Overall, I have no problem since I just had a road trip and stopped by Pittsburgh. read more

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I am always looking for authentic Chinese food, and I have tried a few Chinese restaurants around this area, How Lee is the most authentic. The ingredients are very fresh, the food tastes fresh and clean. Everything I have tried at How Lee was cooked perfectly. read more

So disappointing. I thought that this was an authentic Asian cuisine restaurant but it wasn't. I ordered the chicken rice noodles and the beef ho fen as those are my safe to go dishes. Unfortunately, both dishes were so bland with no flavor. Portions were generous but as mentioned, it was flavorless. read more

How Lee Chinese Food - H4. Beef Hor Fun - Szechuan Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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I ordered the Dan Dan noodles (texture was a bit rough but flavor was decent), 3.5/5. Chow Har Fun was decent 3.5/5 (might be a 4/5 if I ate it fresh instead of taking out due to the COVID19). Braised Beef Noodle was decent but not as good as the one from Everyday Noodles. One of the more authentic Chinese foods in the area. read more

I have enjoyed the food at How Lee on prior occasions. But tonight we ordered delivery through EatStreet, the only available option, and it was misdelivered. Apparently the driver delivered it somewhere ... but not to us. EatStreet had no way of contacting the driver. Which meant we got no dinner. read more

I love the cold noodles! If you like sweetness and spice (very spicy), you will love these. They come in a small container, I'm a girl so it's a whole meal for me but if you have a taste for sweet and spice and tangy flavors, this is the meal for you. I've been going there since I was 10 and the people are so kind, and the food is soo good! If you are reading this How Lee, your service is amazing, the food is great and I love y'all! best Chinese place around! God bless you !!! read more

Food is average with regard to flavor. Portion size is great-no left overs. Hot and Sour soup had a very off-putting flavor. But, be warned if you order on-line. They use a 3rd party that charges a lot! If we go back, we will call the order in ourselves. read more

My mom was craving authentic Chinese food and we looked up a bunch of places on Yelp and this seemed to be the best one. We weren't wrong! I'm so glad we tried How Lee. Their specialty is Szechuan food. We tried a little bit of everything but they also appeal to anyone who wants "regular" Chinese, as well. We started with the Dan Dan noodles and scallion pancake. The Dan Dan noodles weren't as spicy as I thought they would be, which was good for me because too spicy isn't a favorite. The noodles were silky and had great texture. I also enjoyed the pancake, as it wasn't heavy, it was crispy and light. We ordered the green beans, tofu chili pot and the twice cooked pork belly with veg. All of the dishes were tasty and it was a different kind of taste, one that I have never had before because all of the Chinese I've had is very Americanized. The waitress actually took the time to show us the chili's and peppercorns used in the dishes, so the service was great! The tofu chili pot was absolutely filled with chili's and fried tofu and veggie goodness. I couldn't even describe to you half of the veggies that were in the pot, as I've never had them before but it was delicious. They also put fresh cilantro on top, which made the dish for me. It was spicy (and they toned it down for me). The pork belly was sliced super thin, not a texture I enjoy but the taste was great. My mom loved it. The bok choy was cooked perfectly - it was crunchy and flavorful, which is rare for bok choy, I feel. This is exactly how I would also describe the green beans. These were the star of the show. They tasted lemony and crisp and full of t. I can't wait to have the left overs of them. I could rave about them for a long time. We will definitely be back again! Great location, clean restaurant, nice staff and great food! read more

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Avoid! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but this is a typical Door Dash delivery ripoff. We ordered General Tso's Chicken, chicken fried rice and crab Rangoon. 30 minutes and $40 later we get a tiny bag of food. General Tso's Chicken is 3/4 white, mushy, tasteless rice - Where's the chicken? The chicken fried rice is just as mushy as the tasteless mushy rice which constitutes 3/4 of the General Tso's dish and tastes like it been sitting in a vat of sesame oil all afternoon. The Crab Rangoon is basically a bunch of deep fried wontons that taste like the same disgusting oil used on all the other food, with essentially no filling whatsoever. Time to start standing up to these rip-off joints. These food delivery services are just an excuse for the cheap restaurants to rip-off customers. Stop the madness. read more

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Ordered the Kung Pao chicken because I heard this place was pretty good. The dish was 90 percent spices, 10 percent chicken. It was disappointing i needed to dig through to actually find meat. On top of that something in the dish tasted metallic. I will definitely not being ordering this again. read more