Delicious food! This place is simple in decor but most excellent from a taste standpoint! A Taiwanese coworker recommended it so we drove there just to try the beef noodle soup and other authentic fare. Totally going back!! read more

Walking in the person and the front counter is super nice and greets with a smile. Dining is upstairs where the wait staff is unenthusiastic, but not rude- typical Asian service. However I don't go to Asia restaurants for the ambiance or service- I go for the food! I'm Taiwanese and this is the best app around Taiwanese place I've had in Boston. There are a few places that do really good bubble tea or field chicken filet or popcorn chicken. However this place offers a much more expanded menu and we have found a few staples! The hotpot, stinky tofu, beef noodle soup are our go to dishes and then we usually try a few new ones. Some hit or miss but the misses are not bad by any means. The soup dumpling is definitely not their speciality so I would avoid that but don't you should try this place for a more varied Taiwanese dining experience. If you want popcorn chicken head to Harvard street! Bubble tea head to Kung Fu. For more traditional non street food- head here! Enjoy! read more

Came with the family on a Friday night at around 6 pm. Not very busy when we got there but started to fill up when we left. The first floor has a bar and the main seating area is on the 2nd floor. The interior is simple, pretty clean, and bright. There's a small enclosed parking lot in the back of the restaurant. The food was standard American-Chinese but with some Taiwanese influence. Dishes were kinda hit or miss but everything seemed decently prepared and nothing was really terrible. Fried Pot Stickers were good. Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet (for the kids) wasn't too bad although very sweet. Spicy Tendon cold appetizer was okay. Sirloin Beef Noodle Soup was disappointing because the noodles were not chewy. Felt like the noodles had been precooked and had lost their texture. Three cup chicken was also a disappointment since we thought a Taiwanese place would do a better job with it. Despite not having a great first visit, feels like there is good potential here. Looking forward to trying something different next time. read more

Returned here for a lunch takeout, and liked what I ordered a lot: sausage fried rice, house lo mein, mince pork over rice, and beef rice cake. The place was very busy during a weekday lunch hour, and while there is a parking lot, it is small and was full when I stopped by. Not clear where to park if you can't get a spot, as the restaurant is on a busy street. Host was very friendly. Would come again! read more

Jean & Lee Kitchen, why haven't you moved to downtown Boston so I could eat your food all day everyday? Or at least some variation so I stop going to Dumpling Cafe? J&L does Taiwanese food right...at least for Boston standards, so I'm giving it 4 stars. Their XLB isn't as juicy as I'd like them to be but the smell of the stinky tofu that permeates the entire parking lot makes me do a little happy dance every time I come here. Not sure if the people are actually from Taiwan though, as I've heard the owner speaking Cantonese, Fujianese, AND mandarin. I usually order for two people: Oyster Pancake, Beef Scallion Pancake (although this is a hit or miss, depending on which day), Stinky Tofu (SO, SO GOOD), XLB, and the Beef Noodle Soup. Food usually tastes really good, but there have been some hit or misses sometimes even when ordering the same thing. Service is spotty, but, hey, it's a Chinese restaurant! Can't expect too much there. All in all, though, that stinky tofu is what brings me back every single time. read more

Good spot for Taiwanese food. There is parking in the back. Spacious on the inside. Menu has pictures which I find as a great help on figuring what to order. I like the beef soup noodles, fried chicken, garlic peapods, spicy tendons, and sweet hot soy milk. read more

Absolutely delicious!! Will definitely be going back for more! As a Taiwanese, I would say their food is pretty authentic, reminds me of home~ Overall, I would say their food is great! Though some of their dishes were average, but not bad given the fact that there aren't many other restaurants around here that offer good Taiwanese food. The fact that you see 99% of the diners here being Asian is a good sign! Also, they serve you hot, fragrant, jasmine tea free of charge that goes well with your Taiwanese dishes, which is a great plus to our meal! A satisfied meal was completed with the complimentary, delectable hot tea. What is an authentic Taiwanese meal to do without the hot tea? If I live closer I would definitely come back more often! When I feel homesick in the future, I know where I will go get my fix now. :) read more

First time here and came for lunch on a Sunday. The food is pretty good here overall. We ordered the xiao long bao, scallion pancake, beef noodle soup, as well as double cooked pork. Double cooked pork and beef noodle soup are both very flavorful. The xiao long bao is good but the skin is a bit thick, which makes it not as smooth. They have plenty of parking in the back. read more

Jean & Lee Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Newton, Massachusetts

I had the ginger chicken with string beans and it very good, Our server was very rushed and inattentive which really angered my colleagues, making this very uncomfortable for me. I would suggest slowing down, perhaps making small talk, and be more engaging and hospitable. read more

Jean and Lee almost seems like it would be more fitting in Chinatown than Newton Upper Falls, but that's definitely not a bad thing. They have the standard Chinese-American standards, plus a decent selection of more authentic dishes that you usually have to trek into the city for. It's a nice departure from the nearly identical menus most Chinese restaurants in this town offer. We were served tea as well as small plates of peanuts and seasoned cabbage before even ordering, which I though was a really nice gesture. I was intrigued by their Taiwanese dishes, so I opted for two of the small dishes instead of getting a regular entree. Of the two, I loved the daikon cakes - the texture was perfect and the sauce it was served with was terrific. I was less excited about the tofu and snow cabbage (or just edamame?) - it was basically just a simple salad. Not bad, but nothing too out of the ordinary either. We also got the steamed vegetable dumplings for the table and they were fantastic. Served piping hot in a bamboo basket, these were really a treat. I also tried some of my brother's vegetable rice noodle which I liked enough that I think I'll have to order it for myself next time around Service was very accommodating. I'm definitely glad there's a restaurant that actually stands out from the pack so close to me! read more

Been there twice. Very authentic Taiwanese food. Really like the beef noodle and spicy fish filet. read more

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Food I have ordered from there was very tasty. Hot and Sour soup is really delicious. Some waitresses there have a very bad attitude, not friendly at all. read more

Just went back for dinner again and am upgrading to 5 stars. Ordered peapod stems, fried rice noodles with beef, and shrimp with salt and pepper. I expected the shrimp to be fried with the shell on as they usually serve in Chinatown but here they remove the shell. I like it with the shell but my husband doesn't - it was still very good. Peapod stems is a must, a little pricey at $17 but worth it since I don't know how to cook them to taste like that. Food comes out quick! read more

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Genuine Chinese food, great service and clean restaurant. Beef noodle soup, beef wraps, pepper fish, eggplants. I like all the dishes here. They also have special seasonal snacks for traditional festivals. read more

Went here for saturday brunch. I think, and the people in my party agree, that the brunch food here is pretty bland. You can find better taiwanese brunch at shangri-la. We ordered quite a number of food, some highlights - * the stinky tofu is not too stinky, it's okay * the beef in scallion pancake is not as fresh - jojotaipei version is better * chive and egg pie is not as crispy and the dough was too thick * several food was quite bland including the daikon cake, oyster egg and sticky rice with bamboo The best we got was peapod stems and the spicy beef noodle soup. Maybe the dinner dishes are better? read more

This place is the best!!!! Food is great. Service is great. They are all very kind and willing to be helpful. Can get very crowded sometimes. But they are still fast, which is nice. Even if you are bored but not hungry. You can go to their downstairs bar and talk to Alvin. He is very kind and talkative if you just feel like taking and having a cool drink in general. But he is busy when the store is busy, so just keep track of the time you go. read more

Had two recent meals at this new place in Newton just around the corner from another favorite restaurant (Biltmore) First meal we went for brunch after church and had a sampling of dishes. The beef in scallion pancake wrap and the pig ears were tasty. The spicy beef noodle soup was good with plenty of beef. The pan fried Taiwanese potstickers and the fried pork buns were okay, could have had a little bit more crunch on the bottom. The salt and pepper fried chicken was seasoned well with fresh basil. The lang mein could have had a bit more seasoning. The least memorable dish was the fish soup. We went back later in week for dinner and had a great meal. The bubbly fish dish was spicy and tasty but not too hot. The salt and pepper shrimp dish was good but a bit small. The three cup chicken and the yushiang eggplant was excellent with great flavor. The pork belly and mei tsai was also very good, not too fatty and good flavor. The sweet and sour chicken was okay but nothing special. The meal was very authentic and satisfying. The main dining room is up a flight of stairs and is bright and clean. The service is okay for new opening and not up to full staff yet. If you are in the area, I'd recommend giving it a try. read more

Service - Fast! I'm surprised there are a few comments about slow service considering each time we've been to Jean and Lee, the service has been memorably quick. It might be because we have gone in the evenings and the lunch service is slower? Restaurant Conditions - New and clean. Tables and eating areas are well maintained. Most Importantly, the Food - Very good. We've eaten the scallion pancake, which is flour based instead of an egg based version you may try at a Korean restaurant - great flavor and awesome with the dipping sauce. We've also had the fish soup with mustard greens - really great taste and very comforting when you're under the weather. Also, their meat and vegetable dishes, such as pork with string beans, have all been excellent, though ever so slightly greasy. They have some of the "classic" Americanized Chinese foods, but they also have many great, authentic Taiwanese dishes you should definitely make the trip to try. Overall, a very good dining experience! read more

We recently moved into the neighborhood and were curious about this place. Our first time in we were greeted warmly at the front door and had a delightful meal, even better than we had hoped for. We've been back several times since, with never a letdown in food or service. A new favorite place! read more

My family has been eating here about once a month and sometimes more since its opening quite happily but today we went there for brunch and ordered about eight dishes. Everything changed from here. All the food came out in about ten minutes which was odd. We're used to waiting 20-40 minutes for all the dishes, which a lot of reviewers complain about but we don't mind because it usually means they're making it on the spot and it comes out piping hot. All the food served to us today were a bit cold. The oyster pancake had some oysters that were still cold as if they were frozen and the oyster pancake didn't even have the gooey sauce that every oyster pancake I've ever eaten has had (which includes previous ones from this place) The Xiao long bao wasn't that hot either. Some of them were also broken already. The beef noodle soup, which I used to love all the time, came with dried out beef in a lukewarm broth. The sticky rice in bamboo cup was a bit off texturally and also cold. From a service point of view, a new lady wearing glasses that I've never seen before kept bringing us all the wrong dishes. They were for the table next to ours. This same lady also was bossing around the workers. Not sure what's up with that. If I hadn't known how good this place used to be, maybe I would just cast it off as inexperience, but because they used to be great but now pretty such suck, I would not go here again. I didn't mind the slow service, at least the food came out great. Now the service is not good, and the food is bad. We ate for a while long enough for the cooks and waiters to start eating after the lunch shift. They ordered two boxes of pizza and the lady with glasses said in Taiwanese, only 1 slice per person... A restaurant that orders pizza instead of eating their own food?? what is going on? I feel disappointed in this restaurant. I don't know why it has gone downhill so abruptly and severely. They sacrificed quality for speed, perhaps in response to some of these yelp reviews. Big mistake. Now you guys have neither. read more

The service is slow and the food is somewhat tasteless. However, I will say it's better than a lot of Asian food in the Northeast though, so if you're really strapped/crazy craving Asian food, this is a good choice. read more

This place sneaks up on you. It looks unassuming, but make no mistake, the food is a full 5 stars. The service is lacking but worth it. Sit in or take out. We will keep coming back. read more

After reading all the positive reviews, we visited Jean and Lee's Kitchen yesterday for dinner. It was early about 5:40PM and me and my husband were the only customers. The waitress who seated us was extremely rude and tried to make us feel bad for not ordering soup and appetizers. We love Taiwanese food and know what we want (we go to Mulan, Cambridge very often). The food portions were small and did not look like the pictures on the menu. The waitress did not come to check on us even once during the meal. I wanted to wave to her but did not see her. The food was alright and only one dish (stir fried pea pod stem) was piping hot. Needless to say, at this point we were disappointed with the service. When the bill arrived, the waitress stood overlooking my husband's shoulder as he filled in a tip amount, snatched the check while we were still sitting and loudly complained about the amount. We had tipped a little over 10% because we were not happy with the service or the food. She pointed to the 'suggested 18% tip amount' and said 'you are required to pay 18%'. We told her we are happy to discuss our experience and this requirement to pay 18% with the manager. There were a few more tables occupied by then and perhaps she thought she can make a scene about the tip and have us increase the amount. My husband offered to make the tip zero. She muttered something in a language we don't understand and stomped away. In all the years of eating at restaurants, I have never come across waitstaff that read the tip on the check while you are still seated and demand that you pay a higher amount. Needless to say, I will never return to this restaurant. Owners - you need to train this lady in basic etiquette or you will lose all your business. No one wants to deal with this when they come out to eat. read more

Two floor restaurant with a somewhat tight parking lot. Luckily the two times I've been here for family dinners, the restaurant wasn't very busy so parking wasn't an issue. The staff is nice and attentive. The food comes out quickly and tastes pretty great. Come here is you like spicy food as this is the type of cuisine they serve. I'm not a fan of spicy but they have options. The dishes are somewhat on the smaller side compared to other Asian restaurants but we ordered enough to feel just right - not too full but not leaving hungry either. read more

My fav Asian restaurant! Alvin is a wonderful host! The hot and sour soup is how I judge most Asian restaurants, and theirs is 5 stars! Many different specialty foods not normally found on most Asian restaurants! Highly recommended! ***** read more

We usually order delivery from another top rated Chinese restaurant but don't like eating there (it is run down). So we tried Jean and Lee Kitchen and LOVED it! The host was a young man that told us his favorites and guided us based on our likes. The waitresses are nice but English is a far 2nd language. We tried the beef wrapped in scallion pancakes for an appetizer and they were so fresh with great flavor! I had my old favorite Sesame Beef and this was the best I have ever had. My wife had the 3 pot eggplant, tofu and declared this the best Chinese food she has ever eaten. I wish they delivered! We are now regulars! A lot of reviewers complained of not much parking but on Tuesday night at 7:00 we had no problem. read more

Authentic Taiwanese food. We love their taiwanese smelly tofu, pan fried pork buns and dumplings. Cold appertizers are always delicious. It is a must go place if you miss Taiwanese food. read more

Hidden gem in Newton. Enjoyed authentic Taiwanese cuisine. The owner was very courteous and it was great to hear their story. In particular they had delightful Xiao Long Bao (juicy yummy pork dumplings). I also had the Mango Chicken and the deep fried pork belly with red wine sauce. Everything was delightful and I will most definitely return. Best of all, great prices and value for the quality of cuisine! Definitely my go-to spot in suburban Boston. read more

Try any of the Noodle Soups. I cannot order without having some House Fried Rice (loaded with chicken, pork and shrimp. Can't miss with the Vegetarian dishes either. read more

Big Chinese restaurant, typical service for a Chinese place but quick and traditional food. The egg served with tomato stew was amazing, as well as the pork belly. Pretty cheap place as well. read more

Finally, a decent Taiwanese restaurant! Some dishes were OK and others were yummy over weekend brunch. Since this is MA after all, ain't gonna be all super duper! I wouldn't intentionally trek all the way over here to have brunch or dinner; but if I was in the area or meeting up with folks in the area - it's definitely worth coming back. Overall, they don't do a MSG overload so that I like. So the 3 cup chicken was OK. I personally am not a fan of well done chicken meat so that's why I careless about this dish. I had it once for take out and another time for dine in. It's just way too overcooked for my bloody palette. Pig's ear was pretty good. Then again, it's hard to screw that up! The one dish that is still sticking in my head is the pork belly (梅菜扣肉). OMG, it was so tender and the perfect blend of ingredients and spices. Just thinking of it, my mouth is watering. This is probably the most unhealthy dish there but it was so darn good! I would give them another star if they had cold sweet soy milk on their brunch menu. Also, if their Xiaolongbao (小籠包) had a thinner skin with Chinkiang Vinegar (镇江香醋) instead of the red vinegar. read more

I'm not super clear on why Chinese restaurants don't do this, but I've gotten used to American restaurants comping part of the meal upon making a mistake. Please, don't lie to me and tell me that the kitchen is just being slow. You forgot the dish. Own your mistake and fix it. And we'd seriously appreciate some sort of apology, instead of "Yeah, kitchen was slow, here's your food" after we've finished the rest of the meal. The rest of the restaurant is just as previously experienced. Average food and a moronically placed kitchen fan (don't they normally point upward, instead of at the parking lot?) plus the now disappointing service firmly place this restaurant on my "avoid" list. read more

Worst ever, we walked in at 9:16p.m. And host told us they can't seat us because they are closing at 10 p.m.

This is one of my favorite Taiwanese Chinese restaurants in Boston area. We just visited west coast and tried several different restaurants but we still miss Jean and Lee Kitchen a lot. Almost all the food we ordered are so so good. The dumplings is yummy. I would like to recommend spicy beef tendon is delicious. Love it. read more

I am a Taiwanese. Jean and Lee is truly a good and typical Taiwan taste. I can say this is my recommendation in MA.

I love the food here! 90% of the food is authentic. If you are a fan of Stinky Tofu, the one from here is highly recommended! The owners are very friendly and came to ask what we think about the food. It is awesome not having to worry about the parking given that they have private parking lot and the street parking is easy as well. The owners brought some sample desserts in the end including ginger tofu pudding (薑汁豆花）, Red bean n Taro fried dough (紅豆芋泥餅）, and bubble tea (珍珠奶茶）which are all awesome, especially the ginger tofu pudding which taste 99% like what I have all the time in TW. I highly recommend this place!!!! More Inf: http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/amyou/post/1327538154 read more

This is the best and most authentic Chinese restaurant I've ever had during my living in Boston area over 5 years. I don't know how you would like it if you are a non-Chinese, but if you are, come! read more

Tofu Skins Peapod stems 3 cup chicken Pork chop rice plate!!! HEAVEN!!! I miss Taiwan so much, and I am so glad to discover this place. It will be my go to place whenever I am I the area. Thanks J&L!! 吃喝玩樂! read more

The food is great, no doubt! It's the closest food to authentic Taiwanese food I have had in a while. Definitely would recommend. The place is clean, the servants are nice, and even the owners really cares about their customers' opinions. I ordered the "Shacha Beef Noodle", so I can only speak for that one as of now. At the end of the bill, you would also receive the classic fortune cookies! read more

The lunch menu at this place is bad, the food is very average, better Chinese food is available in Needham, service is slow AF. If your going for lunch on a weekday, dont go there read more