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    Peter Chang's China Grill

    3.1 (376 reviews)
    ModerateChinese, Seafood, Noodles
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Peter Chang's China Grill Photos

    Business Info

    PETER CHANG'S CHINA GRILL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

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    Pan Fried Steamed Pork Belly
    Angela B.

    We were looking for a place to eat before the TSO concert. Came across Peter Chang's. Did not disappoint. The staff was great and attentive. The food was decent proportion (probably more than so). Not pictured is the full fish another person ate that I failed to get a picture of. Would recommend going to!

    Scallion pancake

    Got Szechuan dan dan noodles, the scallion pancakes, mapo tofu, basil eggplant, and pork soup buns (soup dumplings). Everything was oily, which is to be expected for Chinese food, so if they have tea I would get that, but I don't think I saw it on the menu. Drinking water didn't completely cut through the oil. The Dan Dan noodles: great, a little spicy, which I liked. Scallion pancakes: a little crispy and oily and paired well with the curry dipping sauce. It's a puffed up sphere of bread which was fun to rip into. Filling though so perhaps skip if dining solo. Mapo tofu: decent. I think the rice came with it, but I'm not sure which dish came with the rice. Basil eggplant: Oily, didn't really taste the basil, but my friend seemed to like it more than I did. Pork soup buns: Very disappointing. I love soup dumplings, but I would not get the soup buns again. 4/6 of them had no soup and some had tears in the skin already (which you can see in the picture). The skin was thicker than expected. They call it a soup bun, but it has dumpling skin. If you're craving soup dumplings, please don't waste your money on this dish. Trader Joe's soup dumplings are much better, just get that or go somewhere else if you're craving soup dumplings. Heads up: There's a policy by the manager to not refund food if it's already eaten, which I did not know about prior to eating some. But how would I know a soup dumpling has no soup until I bite into it? Quality control should be on the kitchen, not the customer. I did end up getting a small partial refund, but still this could have been handled better. Beware of the policy before you order. Btw I don't blame the server at all. Overall: I recommend the scallion pancakes and Szechuan Dan Dan noodles. Skip the pork soup buns.

    the dining area
    Keith A.

    My wife and I both love all the different Peter Chang owned restaurants. My wife, being from Wuhan, loves the authentic Hubei dishes served up at the restaurants. This is our first time here at Peter Chang in Charlottesville, and it did not disappoint. Chef Andy Chang, who went to culinary school in Wuhan along with Peter Chang, is now the chef here since September '22. He came and talked with us after hearing my wife is from Wuhan. We didn't order it this time, but they have bubble pancakes which I would highly recommend as an appetizer. We usually order Wuhan noodles, but that is not available at this location (my wife recommended they add it, and if they do I highly recommend it!). We got a spicy fish pot, and a sizzling beef plate. The sauces used for each were very different from each other, both a little spicy and very, very good! We will stop by every time we go through Charlottesville now for authentic Wuhan dishes

    menu

    Our favorite place to eat Chinese food in town, Dan Dan noodles and bamboo flounder fish are our must go

    Three Pepper Chicken
    Kody P.

    If you want authentic Chinese food, this is the place to go in Charlottesville. Service has always been very good for me, better than average at least. Tried Three Pepper Chicken and Hot & Numbing Beef Brisket Hot Pot upon waiter's recommendation: very good choices. Three Pepper Chicken soft, tender, sweet with a hint of spice. Hot & Numbing Hot Pot much more oily/greasy, beef was very soft, spicier than Three Chicken, but overall great. Enough portions from each entree to comfortably feed two people. TIP: - request the tea (free). With any authentic chinese food, you find that most items can be greasy. The tea is absolutely needed as a palate cleanser. Without drinking tea with the entrees, you may walk away feeling heavy and oily. The food itself is great, but the tea, in my opinion, adds the cherry on top. - Scallion Bubble Pancakes is also a great appetizer choice. Won't say much, you can find out what it is. You can't really go wrong with it.

    Mapo Tofu
    Justin N.

    I decided to try out Peter Chang's one night after studying at the library. At first, I didn't have high expectations because I thought it was just another run-of-the-mill Chinese-American takeout place. I'm also half Chinese and from DC so I have high standards for Chinese food. However, I was surprised to find that their menu contained authentic Sichuan dishes. I ordered the Mapo Tofu and Spicy Basil Chicken. The Mapo Tofu was good. The tofu was perfectly cooked-- silken, nicely cubed, and not broken. The dish was flavorful and perfectly spicy. However, the Spicy Basil Chicken was underwhelming. I personally did not like that there was a high ratio of onions compared to chicken-- almost 50-50. The dish did not have enough sauce and was also not very spicy. I've had much better spicy basil chicken elsewhere. Overall, Peter Chang's is a refreshingly authentic Chinese restaurant with Sichuan cooking in Charlottesville. They are currently only offering takeout during the pandemic but I hope to return to try more of their food in the restaurant. I was surprised by the Mapo Tofu and will come back when I'm craving it, however the cooking of their other dishes left me unimpressed.

    Orange chicken -- beyond awful

    Absolutely the worst orange chicken and sesame chicken I've ever had. Portion size was small, especially for the price. Chicken was not crispy, sauce was bland--lacking both soy sauce and sweetness. Imagine frying chicken and then tossing it in water and duck sauce. That's essentially what they provided. The non Americanized Chinese food here was better--the pork dumplings were great.

    Fried Pork Belly & Bamboo Fish
    J E.

    I've been to a few Peter Chang restaurants over the years and I truly love and appreciate authentic Szechuan food. So, when I had the opportunity to come here for a working lunch, I was excited to try a new location! Unfortunately, the food didn't live up to my expectations at all; in fact, it was a true let down, even if compared to a basic Chinese carry-out joint. The Cumin Beef had absolutely no flavor and didn't even look like it was supposed to... it looked like some pieces of random beef, not even good quality meat that was sautéed, not wok'd with flame kissing the food and some veggies tossed in. The cut on the meat and veggies was unappetizing and the flavor was non-existent - Truly a sad dish! The Bamboo Flounder, which is really supposed to be Szechuan wok'd flounder was boring as well, hardly any flavor. Lots of peppers were tossed in, but it wasn't even spicy. Overall, this was a boring, bland visit. I truly hope Peter can turn things around at his restaurants, because I love the authentic style, I just haven't been getting it on my recent visit, here and to the location in Fredericksburg.

    Overtaxed! Be cautious! They charged us 11.8% instead of 5.3% without any notice. We are just travelers so that we were not familiar with the local tax rate and it was hidden. Food is overpriced too. American Chinese food. Never come again.

    Scallion pancake
    Amy L.

    I really enjoy coming to Peter Chang's. Since I was in undergrad, it's been one of my favorite restaurants. Now, I always make a stop here when I'm in cville to catch up with friends. It's easily one of the best asian restaurants in Cville. Do yourself a favor and be adventurous here! Don't order that basic general tso chicken and fried rice. You can get that anywhere. The Szechuan food is definitely the star here!! I love getting the scallion pancakes, fried fish egg roll, any of the numbing hot pots, tofu skin, pork belly, and three pepper chicken. They're insanely good! Be warned that the numbing hot pots are quite oily. I don't find it very spicy, because I love spicy food. Service is always good here! I'd recommend getting a reservation because they are usually crowded on weekends for dinner.

    Rice, chicken and Chinese broccoli

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    Food is wonderful, ambience was great as well. Service was terrible, they don't even talk to you or smile at you!

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    Page 1 of 10

    Ask the Community - Peter Chang's China Grill

    Are they open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

    Yes

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    The open and clean kitchen. You can see everything that's going on.

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    I came across this spot for lunch on my way back home. It's pretty small with a handful of tables…read moreand an open style kitchen. We were sat promptly as there was only one other table at the time there but once we were sat about 5 more tables came in. Our server brought waters to start and I had a Thai tea, which was good, not too sweet- which I like. I order the dumpling as an app, they're pretty small but you get a good amount and the sauce was really good. In order the red curry and my husband ordered the Thai fried rice. Both were really good. I liked his dish a bit more, it was very savory. The red curry had fresh vegetables in it and still had a nice crunch to it, which I like. If we're back in Charlottesville we'll def go back.

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    Menu cover

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    Peter Chang's China Grill - chinese - Updated May 2026

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