We come here at least once a week and have done so for a few years. It's pretty top tier for the suburbs. Genuinely flabbergasted by the poor reviews. If you're going to order standard cantonese fare, I suppose you could probably do slightly better elsewhere. For Sichaun, I really can't imagine finding much better this far west of the city. Tony's Chicken w/Three Chilis is a Chicago Icon and an absolute must. read more

Very fast friendly service! Food is delicious. I usually just get Mongolian beef or any fried rice dish or fried chicken

This fish soup was light, comforting, and full of flavor. The fresh fish and greens made it feel wholesome without being heavy. Sometimes, the simplest dishes are the most satisfying! Ordered their chicken and beef too. read more

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The dry chili chicken is my favorite menu items. Most of their food is good but my go to is the spicy chicken. It's crispy, salty, and spicy. We usually order the dumplings and the chow mein as well. I like the complimentary cabbage salad they give - I only wish it came with more! read more

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Flavors and spice levels were perfect, but the amount of oil on the food was much more than I liked. Double cooked pork, spicy beef noodles, and the chilly chicken were all great. The cabbage salad on the table was interesting. I would go again and try something else, hopefully less oily. read more

We were disappointed with the food we took out from Lao. We are new to the area from the Northeast ( CT) and, I guess, our version of Chinese food is much different from Skokie's. Lao calls their Lo Mein Chow Mein, which we all know is quite different, but not here. We found it to be inedible. Also, our order of chicken and broccoli came with no sauce ( we are used to brown sauce). read more

I really enjoy their food. My kids love their orange chicken and dumplings. We also had like a spicy chicken with chillies and it's spicy but delicious. We also go their combination chowmein. We were the only ones in the restaurant so service was excellent and everything was clean. I would definitely go back read more

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I eat here at least 3 times a week for the lunch special. Hot and sour soup, crab Rangoon and Mongolian Chicken, or salt and pepper shrimp or cashew chicken. Always superior. No complaints. Never had a miss. Will continue to eat here. read more

I ordered a couple of lunch specials from Lao Sze Chuan for pick up: Chow Mein and Orange Chicken with Fried Rice. Both lunches came with an egg roll. Customer service was too quick-cashier took multiple orders at same time that I was concerned I would get the correct card back. The food was decent, not amazing. Orange chicken was just how I like it seasoned, however had too much breading and Chow Mein was not seasoned much. It was my first time there and I would consider trying it again in the restaurant, which had a pleasant atmosphere. Private Parking lot so plenty of spots for all. Cheers!~ read more

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Good Chinese restaurant hidden in a strip mall near Old orchard shopping center. Nice ambiance and decor. Service was really good, very nice and attentive. Prices were good for the portions. I got the mango smoothie with boba and it was thick yet smooth, sweet and fresh. We got the spring rolls for appetizers, the Mongolian beef with pea pods, string beans, house special fish fillet that had a little bit of spicy kick to it, and shrimp with mixed vegetables. Everything was very tasty! I guess this is a chain since I've been to the one in Naperville and that one was good too. read more

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First time here! So glad to have authentic Szechuan food in town. I'd say the food is pretty decent but not as good as the same brand in downtown Chicago. The crispy duck was so dry! Service was not as attentive. It is a nice sit down place if you are craving for some spicy food. But if you have time, I recommend peppercorn kitchen in Evanston that is not too far away but much better food! read more

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We went in about two weeks ago and had horrible service. Waiter seemed like she was bothered with our requests and rushed us for our orders. My glass of water had something foreign inside of it. The food was not good for the price. Overall just bad experience. The restaurants ambiance is that of a typical Chinese restaurant. I think other locations do better this one just did not do well at all. read more

Pleasantly surprised that the food is solid n similar to the og Chinatown one. For a while I avoided this chain bc of the tax fraud issue with the owner Tony but sometimes you just have to eat and there isn't a lot of good Chinese places in the burbs. Most burb places are too Americanized so lacks that msg kick. Also u can do extra spicy !!! We got the beef lung salad which is one of my fav stuff bc it's a perfect blend of tendons n beef n spice along with cilantro n onion. My fav stuff in the world a def must try!! Next I would highly recommend the mapo tofu and lamb with cumin or dried chili chicken or beef!! Can't go wrong with any of those n get extra spicy - it's not that hot, Any ways I always forget to take pics but that's why it's so good . The only off thing is the door has diff hours than their online hours. So instead of 1030 it's 10 pm on Friday n sat. Otherwise no issues - they do call u if u order late like 915 bc all the staff wants to go home lol read more

Overall, my opinion of the majority of Chinese restaurants in the USA is that they are pedestrian at best leaning towards Americanized recipes in place of any authenticity. Having said that... I was surprised at how good the food was here! Typically, beef dishes are served with the beef being tough and over cooked. Not so the Szechuan Beef here. It was tender, the mushrooms were cooked 'al dente' which was great and the sauce was delicious. Likewise, the Basil Chicken was tender and the sauce delicious. Our go to dish when available at any Chinese restaurant is the Garlic Egg Plant and Lao Sze Chuan did not disappoint. Again, the garlic sauce was excellent. The Hot and Sour soup was spot on though we are used to having a bit of pork... didn't really miss it. The beef egg rolls were crispy, not greasy and quite good and the Chicken Satay was enjoyed by all. We were a party of 4. The price was very good, the service was good, not great, but good. We really have no complaints.. all compliments, We'll go back again for certain... Oh... sorry, no photos, the dim lighting would not help to make reasonable images. read more

Was looking for a nicer Chinese restaurant in the area to celebrate Mother's Day and Lao Sze Chuan fit the bill. It is a little bit more expensive than your typical Chinese sit down restaurant, but you're paying for ambiance and I feel like more options in terms of food (way more seafood options than usual). Service was good, I think they usually take reservations but not for Mother's Day which is understandable. It got pretty full around dinner time but I never saw people waiting at the front for very long. Food was good also, they started us off by placing a complimentary small plate of the spicy cabbage cold appetizer which was pretty good. We also had the salted egg shrimp, dry chili chicken, and Korean style seafood noodle soup. Everything was delicious, they asked about spice level for each of the spicy dishes and nothing was too spicy. Of note also they didn't have their full menu on mother's day due to the holiday and I think how long certain dishes take to prepare. Overall a great experience, a little fancier than the typical hole in the wall Chinese restaurants I tend to frequent with the parents read more

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Attentive, weight staff, food is amazing. Both taste and presentation were impeccable.

We went here for a quick dinner before a show across the street at Northlight. I've always been a fan of the original Lwo Sze Chuan so this was my first experience at a non Chinatown location. To me the food was very similar quality and packed the same heat like the signature dry chili chicken dish. The vegetable dish was massive as well! We went around 6 pm and there were plenty of tables and the food came out very fast. Ambiance is not a cool as Chinatown but it's the burbs so what do you expect. read more

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Food is really good. Environment is calming and peaceful. The BESST spicy dumplings ever !!!! read more

Kitchen staff does not wash hands. Came in for lunch with my family and before ordering I went to wash my hands. While in washroom someone came in and went to stall. I was drying my hands and went to open door when person in stall came out, and proceeded to follow me out of bathroom. I turned around and saw it was one of the cook staff. I asked if he washed his hands and he said no and walked around me to head back into the kitchen. I let the staff know - not sure what if anything was done about this, but the carefree attitude makes me feel that this is normal. Regardless of their response, we all up and left and marked this place as one we'll never go to. Thankfully we realized the disgust in which this place operates before ordering. read more

Obviously, this wasn't my first time at this restaurant, but today I was really taken back. I went for a solo lunch take myself out to lunch. As I'm working in the area, I thought it'd be a good option right so I ordered the lunch special. The soup was weird. Very slimy. The crab Rangoon was cold. I mean ice cold OK whatever room temperature to them may be but not a fan of that. But how the hell can you mess up orange chicken. I brought it to their attention. I said listen. It's super hard like it's like a rock literally it took me time careful chewing each piece. The smaller pieces were OK. They gave you a bunch of huge pieces mixed together with inedible hard batter like it was either sitting there or cooked twice.Did not like it. Fried rice was very mediocre. Personally for me it was a very hard pass today. I didn't wanna redo a new plate. I didn't wanna wait another 20 minutes as well. read more

We were in the area and our party of 4 came here out of convenience for a nearby dinner. It's my first return visit in 9 years and it's still a moderately popular place for the locals. Our party ordered: - garlic peapod leaves, $17.95 - dry chili chicken, $17.95 - Szechuan smoked tea duck, $19.50 - combination meats chow mein, $14.50 - xiao long baos (8), $10.95 Service wasn't great as there were no menus nor water for a while as we sat and waited a bit. When the server finally did come, she was attentive from that point on. The food quality was nothing to write home about. The dry chili chicken was particularly disappointing as it was more like popcorn chicken being basically small overbattered pieces. I recalled this signature dish being better. The peapod leaves were not fresh. The XLB's were ok. The space has low ceilings and it got pretty loud even though the place was only maybe 60% full. Overall, I'd personally take a pass, unless convenience is the key driver. read more

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Good authentic Chinese food in the northern suburbs which isn't easy to find. Dining room is nicely decorated and clean. The service was above average compared to other Chinese restaurants. The appetizer, soup, and entrees were all prepared quickly and in the right order which isn't always the case with other restaurants. read more

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Food is great. Everything I've had so far has been delicious. Love the egg rolls. Prices are high so beware but portions are good so maybe you get what you pay for? Either way the have great food read more

Arrived at opening to place a carryout order. They didnt seem ready to be opened for business. Waited 25 min which was not reasonable time for food prep. I ordered Wonton Soup which was not great and had a sight greasy taste. The Shrimp Dumplings were excellent but shrimp came out of dumpling and were hard to eat. My entree of Chicken and Vegetables was very good. Prob more of 4* for food. Wait was not great. read more

I highly recommend Lao Sze Chuan as a favorite Chinese restaurant. Every item our family has tried on the menu has been exceptional. They are very adaptable to special requests, and their take-out is fast and reliable. Nothing but 5 stars for Lao Sze Chuan! JKLefty read more

Love this place! Great smoothies! The service is great! Amazing shrimp fried rice! This is a family style place so the portions are large. My favorite is the honey lemon shrimp! read more

Always great food. We have two 'go-to' items that we order at lunch and dinner. The crispy shrimp with creamy lemon sauce is amazing- tart, Light sauce. The white fish filets with black bean sauce and bok choy is very good. The fish nuggets are smooth and velveted. I like lunch because dining in comes with kimchi, soup, rice, and appetizer. Spring rolls are crispy, hot and sour soup seems to be a vegetarian version - no pork - it's all good. I've eaten there at dinner and carry out- good portions! read more

I'm a really big Lao Sze Chuan fan and I've been to the South side Chinatown, Uptown and Evanston locations too. Of course I've been to this Skokie location a number of times and I don't know how I've missed writing a review for them. Because this is the most convenient to me, I've eaten here the most between the 4 locations. They have solid crab Rangoon, egg-rolls, Mongolian beef, hot red chili with chicken, fried rice, and my favorite - fried eggplant with garlic and minced pork. This time around, I ordered shrimp with lobster sauce and it did come out like a soup (as pointed out by Teena). Not the best and not the worst. I was expecting it to be a little thicker. I'll be back again because of the numerous good choices and location. I also try to force myself to have something new, otherwise I'd be sticking to egg foo young. read more

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The lunch special at Lao Sze Chuan is the best deal! I also enjoyed a spring roll and sweet and sour soup to start with. I chose to order the Sze chuan beef dish with rice (not pictured because I forgot haha). Everything was delicious, but I could tell my rice was not fresh which affected the enjoyment of my meal. I was also was unimpressed with the attitude of the workers and servers. I know everyone has their ups and downs and that it was peak lunch time and a lot was going on but l, when in the service industry, customer service and interactions are very important. I will probably go to the Evanston location for my next visit. read more

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Amazing food, great service and very clean and classy environment. I have been going here for 4 years and never had a bad experience

* Favorite Dishes: Crispy Shrimp with Lemon Sauce, Salt and Pepper Tofu, Sago with Mango Cream * Service is pretty good. * Pretty anterior and decorations. * Pricey but worth it. The lunch specials are a great deal though. read more

Lao Sze Chuan - 328 Crispy Shrimp with Lemon Sauce - Szechuan Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

I was with a large group of folks who had reservations after an afternoon theater performance. The reviews I read were mixed, so I was not expecting great food or service, But we had excellent service for our group of 14 and the food was delicious. It was one of the best orange beef dishes I 've had. A big shout out to our waiter who graciously took our photo after the meal, and the patience of the wait staff who had to deal with a lot of questions about the menu items. A great meal and will consider returning, even though it is a bit out of our neighborhood. read more

I asked for extra fried and combination but they didn't listen and barely put any vegetables and meat but plain oily sticky rice!! read more

Lao Sze Chuan - Szechuan Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

Stopped in at this resturant for dinner after smelling the amazing aroma when exiting a neighboring store. The food was delicious and the serving was large enough to enjoy 3x. The staff were attentive and friendly. read more

Lao Sze Chuan - Fortune cookie - Szechuan Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

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I am hoping the 3rd time is a charm for us tonight. They are available for dine-in. We were given spicy cabbage before ordering food. We ordered salt and pepper squid, garlic pea pod leaves, Sichuan string beans, house special fried fish, sole fish fillet black bean sauce, mini sesame balls and crab Rangoon. The spicy, garlic cabbage is quite yummy. Their crab Rangoon is crispy, creamy and good. The garlic string beans are nicely blistered and quite tasty. The green pea shoots are okay, could use some garlic or flavoring, it's quite bland. The sole fish in bean sauce was just okay to me, my cousin liked it at least. The salt and pepper squid is so-so, it's more salty than I would like. The general tso is delicious, breading is a tad happy but the sauce is quite good. The house special spicy fried fish is okay, breading is quite heavy. Better with the black vinegar. Service was okay, not friendly or warm or super attentive either. Our waitress did forget our sesame ball and had to change our bill to add it. Additionally I had asked for black vinegar for the fish for me and received it well. I asked for another for my cousin and she brought out white vinegar. If you have ever had black vinegar, it's quite different from white vinegar and plus she had just brought me a bowl minutes before. Food was pretty good overall. read more

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So disappointed...It's NOT my thing to have food delivered or even to pick up BUT..when you FORGET or TRUST the establishment you don't normally give it a thought to look at your order The gentleman who took my order ASSURED me the LARGE SPICY CABBAGE is TRULY large..I was happy to hear..and ordered PEAPOD LEAVES and String Beans...When he handed me my order it felt quite substantial so I didn't open the bag When I got home I was SHOCKED to see the small order of cabbage and a HEAVY container of WHITE RICE (the cheap filler)...I definitely will NEVER leave an establishment again without checking my items..nothing like feeling DUPED!!!! I called immediately when I got home and discovered my findings and was told..."that's a LARGE"... read more

lao szechuan is one of the most popular szechuan places in chinatown, for good reason too-- it offers authentic szechuan spices and flavors (always a fan of peppercorn ma-la) and a wide range of classic szechuan dishes. we got lao szechuan for takeout dinner and it didn't disappoint. we got the following dishes for family-style sharing (** = highly recommend): - **boiled spicy sole fish fillet: this is a classic and must-have in any szechuan restaurant, and lao szechuan does it well-- fish fillets are tender and soft and the spicy chili oil it's submerged in gives it an strong spicy kick! - **chinese eggplant peking style: personally, i will always love a good chinese-style cooked eggplant. this dish did not disappoint and was one of my favorites. eggplant was soft and flavorful-- the texture was truly exquisite. moreover, the sauces on this dish were impeccable and really augmented the natural eggplant taste. - tofu with mixed vegetables: the weaker link of the 4 dishes we ordered; nothing special in taste or texture-- i did appreciate the light and fresh taste though, which helped balance out the other strong and/or spicy flavors. - sliced beef & maw szechuan style: a little over-cooked but well-seasoned collection of beef parts and tendons. each piece had a nice spicy kick to it. overall a solid meal with great portion sizes; we even had some leftovers with a group of 5! the dishes can be expensive, but our meal split between 5 was only about $15 each. read more

Lao Sze Chuan - 311. House Special Spicy Sole Fish Fillet 705. Eggplant 755. Tofu with Mixed Vegetables 101. Sliced Beef and Maw Szechuan Style - Szechuan Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

We ordered take out from here as I was craving Chinese food. A friend recommended this restaurant to me. We ordered the following: West Lake Beef Soup - a bit bland but still good (just needed a little it of salt) XLB - Really good (glad we ordered 2 orders of this bc my kids wanted more) Chicken Fried Rice - Large chunks of chicken Peapod Leaves in garlic - My favorite dish and perfect amount of garlic This place is authentic and my receipt on the bag was even in Chinese :D Overall, I'd try this place again and order some other items off the menu. read more

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We go there for lunch frequently. The lunch specials are a great value. They come with choice of soup, a spring roll and fried or white rice. We rarely finish an order and bring a box home for dinner. Our go-to meal is L16. We have always had fine service although once in a while a server has an accent making it hard to understand. The restaurant is attractive, nicely lit with a bank of windows. Always several tables of customers during lunch but never crowded or too noisy. Nice to support a family-owned restaurant in our community. read more

This place tastes delicious! There is such huge variety to choose from! The menu has everything you would think plus more! The service was very friendly and the vibes were good. Would recommend. read more

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