4 = I would come here again and recommend it for others The food here is very authentic and not too oily. I am Chinese (though not from the Szechuan province). The portion sizes are good for families/ sharing. The service is a little slow but everything was very hot and fresh so I have no complaints. I had a non-Chinese friend with me who had questions about the menu and the staff answered the questions. The restaurant is airy has a lot of seating. They also have fermented items for sale. My only complaint is that some of the items tasted extremely similar (cumin lamb and dan dan noodles) read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Cumin Lamb Salted Egg Yolk Stir Fried Corn w. Salted Egg Yolk Chengdu Dan Dan Noodles chef special dry chili chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Lao sze chuan looks like it was recently renovated and the menu changed a lot. I couldn't find the beef noodle soup I used to order. The receipt had a totally different restaurant name and I can't find it on Yelp. We ordered some family style dishes. I really loved the chef spicy chicken - so spicy and crispy!! The pork belly melts in your mouth. The service was just okay -- you order on your phone and food comes to you. The dishes came out all at different times, with the last dish coming out at least 20 mins after the first dish. We couldn't enjoy all the dishes today unfortunately. read more

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Compared to other Chinese restaurants in the area, portions are smaller and more expensive. Parking is not convenient. Food tasted OK. I would not go out of my way to return. read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Pork fried rice and sesame chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

The food was phenomenal. We ordered the dry chili chicken and the pork flat noodles. It was great. The chicken had a great flavor, loved the dry chilies. Noodles tasted great as well. Service was prompt and kind. Nice vibe and chill ambiance. Would say perfect for families. Only thing holding it back is the parking, it was hard to find and I wasn't sure if all the spots were paid or not. Otherwise, overall great experience. read more

Had dinner there with my friends. While the restaurant was neither on Green street nor downtown Champaign, it was huge and had great decor inside. We ordered several dishes including Baby Bok Choy, Glutinous Rice Ball in Wine Sauce W/ Osmanthus & Goji Berry and Mongolian Beef. The bok choy was a hit! They kept it simple and plain, very authentic flavor. The Mongolian beef and rice ball dishes were just so so. Also it's kind of weird that the rice ball contained black sesame inside. Besides, the price was not friendly enough to us. read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Mongolian Beef - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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GPS got me there and I passed it right by. It's in a residential building with very little signage. Parking is not convenient either. It's around back with monitored paid spaces. No entry from there. The staff was friendly and the food was good. It is somewhat "full service"-you are seated, you place your order by scanning the QR code. They bring out your food. You see your total on the app also. The Kleenex boxes on the table were a first for me. I would have preferred a real napkin. Not very good at following up after the food was delivered but quick to present the tip screen on the I pad. Good but probably won't return. read more

Overall the food is good but like many Chinese restaurants in the Champaign area, the spice level seems too low, especially for Sichuan food. Prices are reasonable and parking is readily available. Lots of booth-style seating which is always appreciated. One annoying thing is that they close at 9:30pm even on a Friday night. Seems way too early. read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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Initial walk-in/ they were very friendly, and courteous. We were seated right away. The tables and chairs were nicely wiped and clean. Everything looks modern and very high class. This place was voted the best in champaign and one of the best chinese food in Illinois area. We ordered the dry chili chicken, garlic spinach, west lake beef soup, the hot and sour soup, and the Mongolian beef. The food presentation was very good, the taste was actually excellent. It was not too salty, not too bland, perfect ingredients. The soup was good, i felt the atmosphere was good here . The reason why i gave it a 4 stars is because it was a bit pricey for some of the food portions. I would return here again when I am in town and need my Chinese fix. read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Garlic spinach. Mongolian beef. Dry chilli chicken - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

just left and the was so nice and the chicken egg rolls are to die for. The nice. helpful and I will come back for sure.

Food was very good! We tried the Chef's Special Dry Chili Chicken and Szechuan Chicken*. I made the error of asking for extra spice on these already spicy dishes and my tongue vibrated like a lawnmower. But that was my own mistake, dont ask for extra spice on the dishes with chilli next to them. They are already quite hot! Otherwise the food and the taste was fantastic. The ambiance was quite nice and the staff was also quite courteous. read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Szechuan Chicken* - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Lao Sze Chaun swings between "among the best food I've ever eaten" to "pretty good." Originally, it was quite authentic (as verified by the food I ate when I visited China), but at some point (mid covid-era), the owner had his chefs retrained to Americanize some of the dishes. Things became more bland and salty, although it was still very good food. I started going back in late 2023 and the food quality had returned to the original quality level, and all was good. Most recently (March 2024), the food quality took another dip. The inconsistency dampens my desire to return, but I keep going back because when it's good, it's really tasty. I wish they'd just create a portion of the menu for American staples and leave the Sichuan dishes alone. Favorites for me: spicy boiled fish in chili oil, the chef's special three-chili chicken, dan dan mian (basic, but really good), and their Sichuan dumplings. That said, everything I've ever tried has been, at times, fantastic. The downsides: parking is annoying, and I don't like ordering food through an app if I'm act the actual restaurant. I'm not sure about the complaints about service I've seen elsewhere. In my experience, it's not hard to flag down the waitstaff. Part of the problem might relate to American dining expectations where you have a single server who stops by (ideally) regularly. This is more of a Chinese-style service where you flag down anyone who walks by and they're happy to help. Granted, I wouldn't have known this if someone hadn't explained it to me. It's hit and miss, but the hits are phenomenal, and the misses are still pretty great. read more

The food was OK if you like the style of food with lots of oil. The service was sub par. No offering of choice of seating even though we went at a non busy time. The chairs are too low in the booths. A 'manager' of sorts came with the payment tablet, quickly showed the total bill on her screen from a distance. No details itemized. I offered my credit card. She processed the account then proceeded to stick the tablet rudely towards my face., the whole point of this obviously was to force pressure and scrutiny and assurance that they would get a tip of their choosing because 15% was highlighted. tablet in my face, pretty much demanding I sign in mid air on the line there. Very rude . Never coming back. Not a chance I'll try this place again. That were also stingy with take home containers. read more

Lao Sze Chuan prides itself on being the "number one Chinese restaurant in the USA". It's a chain restaurant with about nine locations, most of them being in Illinois, and has an impressive menu of Szechuan dishes. This specific location in Urbana Champaign is one of the newer locations and just opened at the end of August 2017. If you are unfamiliar with Szechuan cuisine, just know that it is really spicy. The Szechuan province in China has weather that is perfect for growing red peppers and therefore food that comes out of that part of China usually includes a lot of garlic or chili peppers. A special type of spicy called "Ma La", also known as numbing spicy, is really big in this kind of food and comes from Sichuanese pepper corns. I've been to that part of China and the food here is actually really authentic. The green beans and twice cooked pork were my favorite dishes that I tried. The pan-friend meat buns were also good and had a very nice crispy bottom. However, I do wish the buns had more meat inside. Other than that, I have no complaints and I enjoyed everything from the soup dumplings to the mapo tofu to the pepper chicken. I think the poor service other Yelpers mentioned could have been due to the fact that this location was very new. So, the management and servers were definitely working out the kinks and familiarizing themselves with the menu. I had no problems with my service when I was there a few days ago and my food came out relatively fast despite my 20+ person table ordering 30+ dishes at one time. In fact, the servers handled my large group's appearance really well and catered to us by moving tables together / apart based on our preferences. read more

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This is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in town. The food is really authentic and the wait staff is great. We wanted a custom order to match some traditional foods from a specific province in China, and they made it for us! The food is delicious, and I love taking my friends here to try the food. If you get the beef noodle soup, adding a bit of spice makes the dish so much better. read more

Probably the best Chinese in town no doubt. Unique style of Chinese that isn't common in certain areas. Haven't had a dish there that I don't like. Must try place read more

When ever I visit the restaurant in Champaign I'm always impressed. My fave dish to order is the dry chili chicken. It's the best dish ever, very crispy yet not over cooked and very spicy and tasty. They serve it with white rice and it's so filling . I also order the short ribs and it's also not disappointing. This restaurant is one to visit whenever you're in town because every meal is a HIT!!!! read more

amazing service, even better food James and Hannah make sure that everything is perfect for their customers so read more

Love this place. Used to be my haunt in college days. Their Sichuan food taste is authentic, portions huge and service is quick. I love many of their dishes but the Beef brisket in beer sauce is my favorite. Their Mapo tofu is amazing too. So are scallion pancakes, green beans, twice cooked pork, Napa cabbage with shrimp, spicy chili chicken. read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Beef Brisket w/ Beer in Pot* - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This place is big enough to hold large parties. We were here right after graduation and it fit a lot of people. They have authentic Chinese and American Chinese food. We only had authentic Chinese food dishes. The food came out quick and I have no complain about any of them. Maybe the tofu I had. It looks like it's spicy and flavorful, it tasted like greasy fried tofu. I wish the spice was seep into the tofu. We also had duck, which was tender, my favorite dish was double cooked pork and the bok Choy. They are vegetarian friendly but maybe not vegan friendly. I would come back again if I'm back in town. read more

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No wait (0 minutes) and fast service once seated. The Lamb with Pure Cumin Powder, Chef's Special Crispy Duck, Baby Bok Choy, Farmers Style Sliced Pork Belly, and Stir Fried Beef w Cilantro were so good. The Beef Brisket w. Beer in Pot and Orange Tofu were tasty and their portions were large. read more

Food is ok, but if I hadn't picked up by myself I'd have thought someone had eaten my food! The toothpick lamb is too less , it looks like only half ! Anyway it's different than before . read more

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I kept coming back here for the dry chili chicken and the sczechuan green beans when I went to grad school in Champaign. It's so bad for you, but so, so, so damn good. I recommend the dry chili chicken, the green beans, and the mapo tofu. They mapo especially really hits the spot. It's second to only Golden Harbor, but that's cause I'm biased (I went to undergrad here, too). That said, this place most likely gives Golden Harbor a run for its money - and it's a lot of money, considering it's more expensive than others in the area. read more

We went there many times. Recently they changed menu and maybe chef. Taste went down hill.

The food is good and the crew are friendly. If your a fan of chinese and taiwanese food this is the perfect place to dine in.. the ambiance is also nice and clean. Perfect to dine in with friends. read more

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The first time I went to this restaurant was in Chicago. I was very impressed with the quality of the food and good price. Then, I had this good surprise of having the same in Champaign. I always order the Mongol beef, it is very tender and delicious. read more

Sichuan food made by them is absolutely delicious and definitely worth to try. Just a bit on the pricier side.

It was yummy! Yummy yummy yummy We ordered some crispy chicken Japanese tofu Mongolian duck braised and pork. read more

an amazing place for chinese food. big portions of high quality food and their dining space is beautiful. we got orange beef, hunan chinese cabbage, salt & pepper short ribs and salted egg tofu. everything tasted so yummy and service was great! would recommend this to everyone :) read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Crispy Japanese Tofu w/ Salted Egg Yolk, Orange Beef Tenderloin*, Chinese Cabbage, Salt & Pepper Short Ribs* - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Believe the bad reviews about service. Got in and waited about 20 minutes before getting waters. After hunting down a waiter we ordered appetizers and main dishes. Only one appetizers came out. Then two dishes later came out and they were COLD, not warm, COLD. We sent one back, but we were so hungry we kept the other. It was also obvious that they just microwaved our original dish when it came back. Portions were small for the price. I would suggest Golden Harbor over this place as this place might as well be serve yourself too. Total for 5 dishes and a couple of appetizers was $106. Overall, the food was good. We were also charged for 18% tip with our party of 6. Service was a 0 and food was a 4 for the cold dish read more

This is definitely my go to place in the area. Everything I ordered was tasty and arrived quickly. This restaurant is extremely well kept and looks super nice. Glad I was able to find this spot because I'm definitely coming back again soon! read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Braised Duck - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This restaurant is probably my favorite restaurant in Champaign. I could honestly say that the best and most authentic Szechuan food I have ever had! Great service and excellent food!! Our whole family went there for dinner after visiting our niece and, we cleared every single dish!! Yummy!! read more

I've been here a handful of times and was super impressed with the quality of food coming out of the kitchen. Szechuan food can be overly greasy at times but that's never the case at Lao. The large space is inviting and I loved the clean, open vibe of this restaurant. Definitely a must-try for all szechuan food lovers!! read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Boiled Sole Fish Fillet Stewed Whole Fish w/ Chili Bean Sauce (w. Bone) & Hunan Cabbage - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Excellent food every time we go! We also routinely try new dishes and haven't yet been disappointed so far. Highly recommended!

First time dine in here. Food is tasty. Services has lots of space to improve. The server forget what I order. Besides, in the end of the meal saw small flies walking at side of the plates. Cleanliness also need to improve. read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Flies at the side of plate. - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Really disappointing crab rangoon had no filling and over cooked all the food had bones in it. On the rabbit there was more bone than meat and in the the 3cup chicken bones thought-out trying to break my teeth. Dry chili chicken was chewy and over cooked for 70$ definitely not worth it hardly any of the order was edible. No quality at all read more

Something embarrassing about me: I've visited this place four times. Each time, I left saying 'never again.' This time, I really, really mean it. The final nail in the coffin:Lao Sze Chuan, famous for its authentic handmade Chinese dumplings, HAS STOPPED OFFERING DUMPLINGS. SERIOUSLY, NO MORE DUMPLINGS AT LAO SZE CHUAN. The employee on duty when I visited told me the "dumpling ingredients are no longer available from Chicago." This same employee sat at the bar playing on his phone while half the tables remained soiled, covered in half-eaten plates of food, untouched since their occupants had left sometime earlier in the evening. That's been typical every time I've visited. I think 'prior restaurant experience' was a disqualifier when Lao Sze Chuan hired its staff. No one knows or cares about what to do to run a restaurant. The menu has items with no English description, like "Xia Lao Bao", but when you ask the waiters, "What is this?" they say, "I don't know, I'm just a waiter." All in all, Indiana Jones 4 was less disappointing than Lao Sze Chuan. read more

I was craving some Xiao Long Bao and knew that Lao Szechuan was the plave to go. Unfortunately they were out the day that I came in for lunch. I wound up ordering potstickers, shrimp eggrolls and crispy shrimp with lemon sauce. The potstickers for OK fairly average yet underseasoned. The eggrolls were fine, nothing to write home about. The crispy shrimp in lemon sauce was questionable. They were heavily breaded and heavily coated in a thick mayonnaise/unknown substance kind of sauce, and it made me gag. The waitress seemed impartial when i told her that it didn't taste right. My kids love fried shrimp, yet they wouldn't even touch this one . Funky taste and it was practically inedible. My kids finished off the potstickers, eggrolls and were even eating plain white rice yet complaining they were still hungry, while there was a large plate of fried shrimp untouched in front of them. I'm not sure if I'm gonna come back here ever again. read more

Lao Sze Chuan Chinese Restaurant - Thicky, gooey, lemon/mayonnaise sauce over crispy shrimp. - Szechuan Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

When I think of franchise based Chinese restaurants, I am usually skeptical(Panda Express you know what I mean) We had plans of having a get together for a couple of our friends. The portion sizes reminded me of Golden Harbor (another favorite of ours). Must have is the Chef special dry chili chicken and the fish fillet in szechuan sauce. Prices are not super crazy but also not meant for a cheap date dinner(wink wink) Overall ambiance is nice and definitely a better Chinese restaurant to try in the C-U area. read more

Good food and good service. The food comes out very fresh and their ingredients are fresh. I came here for my graduation lunch with my family and everyone was very pleased with the experience. read more

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Got the Xiao long bao and Szechuan chicken and both were great! It's a little pricier than other restaurants, but totally worth it!