I'm back! The restaurant is located on 156 Shield St., West Hartford, CT. This is Szechuan. I'm starting it off with a Sapporo. Sapporo Premium Beer is Japan's oldest beer brand, founded in Hokkaido in 1876 by brewer Seibei Nakagawa. Known for a crisp, refined taste with a clean, dry finish, it is a pilsner-style lager (roughly 4.7-5.2% ABV) frequently packaged in iconic silver cans. It pairs well with Japanese food and is known for its high-quality ingredients and brewing standards. It was founded in 1876 during Japan's Meiji-era modernization in Hokkaido, it is the nation's first and oldest beer. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo, and it also operates a renowned museum in Sapporo. As for taste, it's a golden-colored, light-to-medium-bodied lager with mild bitterness, a subtle sweet malt aroma, and a sharp finish.. While technically a Japanese beer, many cans sold in the U.S. are brewed in places like Escondido, California, and Richmond, Virginia, Key products include Sapporo Premium Lager, Sapporo Black, and Yebisu. This is THE beer to have with this cuisine (Chengdu or Szechuan). This is good! It's ice cold too! For our appetizers, we are having the Steamed Vegetable Dumplings and Spicy Flavored Jelly Noodles which are dressed in scallions, ginger, garlic, celery and cilantro. These are good! They come with soy sauce. The noodles are made from mong beans. Mung beans (Vigna radiata) are small, green legumes native to India, widely cultivated in Asia, and known as green gram or moong bean. They are a highly nutritious, versatile ingredient, rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, used in both savory dishes (soups, curries, noodles) and sweet desserts, often sprouted for increased nutritional value. Mung beans are easy to cook, require little to no presoaking, and offer health benefits like antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. I am also having the Seafood Hot and Sour Soup (small size). This seafood soup is good! Not too spicy! It's similar to the standard Chinese hot and sour soup in taste. For my entree, i'm having the Sliced Chicken with Crunchy Rice. This is made with chicken slices, crunchy rice, black fungus, ginger, scallions, garlic, pickled chili peppers, lettuce and pea sprouts. They fold the crispy rice and put it on top. This is piping hot! Spicy too! For dessert, we are having a Chocolate Truffle (made with Zabione cream center surrounded by chocolate gelato and caramelized hazelnuts topped with cocoa powder), Cappuccino Truffle (made with cappuccino gelato with a heart of espresso covered with coffee flavored merinique sprinkles) and Capps Pistachio (custard gelato swirled with chocolate and pistachio gelato ago topped with praline pistachios). Zabaione (or zabaglione) is a classic Italian dessert made from whipped egg yolks, sugar, and sweet wine (traditionally Marsala) cooked gently over a double boiler until light, foamy, and custard-like. It can be served warm as a sauce over fruit or cookies, or chilled as a standalone dessert, often garnished with berries or biscotti. The name comes from the Venetian word for "whipped," reflecting its airy texture. These are absolutely great! read more

Shu Restaurant - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

I've tissue on occasions in the past and mostly have searched for hot and spicy fair. The slice trip I went with shrimp and scallops. They arrive sizzling and were very delicious. All the ingredients were very fresh. I was extremely impressed with the variety and quantity of mushrooms in the dish. It's a lovely little restaurant and very different than most Chinese restaurants. I would say it's probably my favourite in Connecticut. read more

Shu Restaurant - Shrimp and scallops with broccoli and fancy mushrooms. Called Sizzling Shrimp & Scallops《铁板双鲜》on the menu. - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

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Over my three years in West Hartford, Shu has been a mainstay for great Szechuan food. Their dan dan mien is incredibly rich and flavorful, and to which I compare all other dan dan mien as it is just so satisfying. Their twice cooked pork is also super flavorful and has a great combination of textures with the tender pork belly and crisp leek slices. If you want flavorful, rich and aromatic Szechuan, Shu always delivers. read more

Shu Restaurant - Twice Cooked Pork《回锅肉》and Beef & Fried Tofu《熊掌豆腐》 - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

The wait staff wasn't very good very unfriendly, I ordered chicken lo main no chicken in the lo main ..The peanut and chicken dish had tiny pieces of chicken .For the price this isn't worth it . I didn't have a very good experience there . read more

We were a party of three without a reservation on a Saturday night who were seated as soon as a table could be cleaned for us. Our server was unobtrusive and efficient. The best items we ordered were Kung pao shrimp and scallion pancakes. I've been to Shu LOTS of times, but this might be the first time since the pandemic. The interior is attractive, and I've always had good experiences there. read more

What a menu!! Nice portions with a great variety of Chinese's food Reasonably priced Will definitely return read more

Why did I come back? Oh I thought give them another chance. Disappointed. It still is over priced and quality went down. For a dish with fish tofu I got two small pieces. Vegetables are tough. Two waiters working 20 tables. It's all about money no service now. read more

This was a last minute stop as we weren't sure where we were headed. After joining Xiaohongshu, I really wanted to experience authentic Chinese Cuisine. Shu definitely hit the target! we had a lovely server that even recognized that we had joined the Xiaohongshu app. She was nice enough to answer questions that we had. It is definitely has a date night ambiance. If you have never been to Shu, I highly recommend that you stop by early. Then go to Cha Papi afterwards for dessert! read more

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Upon walking in, I can smell the different aromas of the dishes that were brought out to the diners that arrived before us. Then lighting created a dim atmosphere which made the whole environment very calming. Service was phenomenal, the waiter got all the orders correctly, the man bringing out the dishes was very respectful to the customers. The waiter ensured we have everything we need. The soup had a refreshing taste to it and I completely wasn't expecting the pork ribs to be so tender. The scallion pancake also impressed me. I love the golden crispness of it all. It was my first time at this location. I will definitely be returning . read more

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Vegan reviewer here! This review is gonna be short and sweet. I'm visiting from out of town and wanted some Chinese food and saw they had a vegetarian section. I've been here twice in two days and honestly had some of the best Schezuan dishes I've ever had. The vegetarian Napa pork is my favorite and a must have if you like garlic and chili oil. Their shredded potatoes and vegetarian kung pao is delicious as well and all served with rice. They have quick service, the restaurant is clean, and prices are fair. For my 3 dishes after tax it came out to $48 and some change before tip. I had plenty of left overs. Don't sleep on this restaurant! read more

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Great Sichuan food in a small Asian plaza. Next to Cha Papi, A Dong Asian Supermarket, and some other spots, Shu is a great spot for some authentic, spicy, delicious food. We were a party of seven and we ordered a host of appetizers and entrees to share, including dumplings, scallion pancakes, dan dan noodles, sea bass, pork belly, beef with chilis, and tofu in this amazing sauce. A lazy Susan in the middle of the table made it easy to access and share everything amongst the table. Wide variety in spice levels for dishes too, as we had people in the group on the spectrum of no spice to "I love when it hurts so good." We had plenty of water as well as beer and wine to wash it all down. Beer and wine selection was simple, but got the job done. There were Asian beers available in cans and bottles, including Sapporro. They also had three white and three red wines to choose from. You definitely come here for the food, of course. The service was excellent and you just could not beat the price. The smorgasbord pictured does not capture all eaten as quite a few dishes we polished off to make room for more. To fully stuff 7 hungry adults who had 2 drinks each, it was about $320! A rare and valuable find! Highly recommend this spot especially if you are looking to catch up with your favorite foodie friends. read more

Shu Restaurant - A family style feast - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

Food is ok. Their place is going to significantly improve if the owner or manager or whatever know that although she is the owner, no one would like to sit in a space where she keeps chatting and nagging very loudly with one customer she knows for like half an hour. I was like if you two wanna have a party or something, the restaurant probably is not a good place because this drives away other customers read more

Shu Restaurant - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

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Okay, this review is a really mixed bag. Please read the whole thing. I first met Shu while shopping at the next-door A Dong market and decided I'd have to get food some time. A year or two later I was coming home from work feeling pre-migrainey and desperately needed a pick-me-up. I got the Kung Pao chicken, which I'd never had before. Not only did it pick me up, it made my whole day better. Awesome sichuan pepper kick, perfectly cooked chicken, fresh greens, heavy aromatics, delicious and flavorful. I kept telling myself I'd try something new but I loved the dish so much I went back for it 3 or 4 times. On the next occasion I roped in a friend and added the black bean spare ribs and Chengdu wontons to the order. Unfortunately this is where the review takes a turn. The wontons might as well have been absent - one-note and just barely passable. The black bean spare ribs had great flavor, but were overcooked, chewy, gristly and generally depressing. Worse, the side-by-side experience dragged down the beloved Kung Pao chicken (which, otherwise, was up to par). My review weighs favorable. I mean, the Kung Pao chicken is really really good. And it's consistent. The bad experience was just one time, but it was two separate dishes that were totally lacking. For context these were all take-out orders and the black bean spare ribs were ordered with gluten free sauce (again, solid fava bean and chili oil flavor in the sauce - no complaint there, just on the cut and cook). I've never had a sit down meal but the interior is lovely, very calm and soothing, and the staff are always very easygoing. I feel sad giving it 3 stars and I can't bring myself to do 2, but it had equally big hits and misses. It might be a while before I feel like going back. read more

A very solid dim sum restaurant, with solid flavors but the proteins are a little light On the hunt for a new restaurant. Girlfriend found this place, so we made the trek and gave this place a try. The menu is fairly extensive, contains lots of items to try. We decided to keep to the staples: A scallion pancake, some dumplings, some noodles, and a crispy duck entree. The scallion pancake was more cracker like, a little greasy but good onion flavor, the dumplings had a good amount of filling, but I could only really get the pork and peanut flavor out of the 7. The crispy duck was a little fatty, but was cooked well. Surprisingly, lots of the food was missing spice. I usually associate Sichuan food to be hot, but it's barely spiced. That being typed though, the dishes were tasty. Nothing was bad, but everything was heavy in grease which made the dishes land harder on the stomachs. It's a nice place with nice servers, the food was good, but not the greatest overall. For the area, it's really good food though. read more

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I live down the street so I get take out from Shu a lot and the Chengdu Dumplings are ALWAYS on my list. They are sooooo good. The Mongolian beef is good however a bit too sweet for me and the beef is a bit over cooked and chewy/dry. All their other dishes are amazing. Their waitstaff is always nice and good service. The ambiance is great and clean and they have plenty of tables. Definitely a must try! read more

Great food and great ambiance. This authentic Chinese restaurant is located in west Hartford and offers a wide variety of Chinese cuisine. Staff was very friendly and took our orders as we got in. Any items we were not sure about they did not hesitate to explain it to us. For appetizer our table had steamed vegetable dumplings, scallion pancakes, sweet and sour pork ribs, corn pie and fried pork dumplings . All were very delicious. For dinner there was a wide variety of orders placed which all came with a bowl Of white rice. I had the crispy fry chicken with seeet and sour sauce and white rice which was delicious. The chicken sauce was not too sweet and the rice was very fluffy. Other meals my family had included steam fish, beef and fried tofu, crispy chicken with spicy garlic sauce and stir fried shredded potatoes. Everyone enjoyed their meal. read more

Shu Restaurant - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

Got takeout from here and it was ready in ten minutes; hot and sour soup was delicious and had a good portion of peas, mushrooms, and tofu in it. Beef lo mein was also great, just wish it had more beef. The black chicken (AKA chicken with mixed veggies) was okay, too oily for my taste. The place itself is cool, lots of tables and booths and busy on a Saturday night. The service was quick yes, but the woman who took my order was outstandingly unfriendly. She scowled while taking my oder and when I asked for a plastic bag for the takeout, she looked at me like I just asked for some hugely inconvenient flavor- meanwhile, the black chicken was leaking everywhere because they didn't close it properly, so I'm very glad I asked for one. She just left such a bad impression on me. read more

3.25 stars. I think I might look Shu a lot more upon a second visit as my original order here was rather tame. I went with the chengdu dumplings and dan dan mien. The chengdu dumplings seemed to be rather dominated by the oil even by chengdu dumpling standards. Moreover, while it's just on oil based sauce, this one just didn't set so well with me. On the other hand, the dan dan mien sauce had a great peanut butter taste, but the sauce simply didn't cover up all of the noodles. I feel like Shu might be a place where I need to try something a bit more exotic than these traditional offerings, and perhaps that is the reason others have had a more enjoyable experience than me. read more

This is such a cute place!!!! Gives a very authentic Asian ambiance. The staff is extremely friendly and the service was great. No specific server for your table - everyone helps everyone. The food was well done. Great flavors and executed well. The only negative was that while everything we ordered was supposed to be "spicy" nothing was actually spicy. It was well flavored nothing was bland by any means. But definitely not "spicy" - which was slightly disappointing. Overall, a great little place for some more authentic Asian flavors - versus you typical Chinese-American place. Would definitely recommend stopping by if you are in the location. (Do not judge this place by it's location). read more

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Did someone say dumplings?! The chengdu dumplings with the spicy garlic sauce are so yum! And don't let them take away the extra sauce -- it's good on everything! I'd go back just for that. (Side note: they sell the garlic sauce in bottles too!) The scallion pancake appetizer was good. I also liked the flavor and crunchy texture of the green beans, though they were a bit on the salty side. And I wish the lo mein had more veggies and meat, but it was good. The service was great! read more

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Many good restaurants go down hill over the years but Shu seems to be the opposite, getting even better with age. My latest visit was totally a 5 star worthy lunch. The Fuqifeipian was perfection, & the pepper fish slices was worth 6 out of 5 stars. It's not on the main menu, rather, it's part of lunch special not available on weekends. However, they are willing to make it dinner portion on Sat. during my visit. It tastes very similar to the fish slices black bean sauce, my fav. Chinese dish in the entire state of CT, thats's only available at Mohegan Sun. Too bad they could not offer this in black bean sauce but they more than made up to it by putting in twice the amount of fish. read more

Shu Restaurant - Pepper fish slices - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

We went to Shu for lunch. Had Scallion Pancakes (excellent), Kung Pao Shrimp (Wonderful) and Eastern Beef (Good). There was a lot of Sichuan Pepper in the Kung Pao Shrimp. It is a bit of an acquired taste. But, the Kungpao shrimp was really good! read more

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Second time ordering take out from Shu and have not been disappointed. I'm very biased when it comes to Asian foods (as I'm from NYC) and I think Shu holds true to its authenticity. We ordered : Mongolian beef (very American) but was delicious lightly fried I think. Shredded chicken and pickled Veggie noodle soup was great ! Hot and sour fish soup - not bad - had too much starch but flavor was good Sautéed pea shoots - great! Would continue to order from them again ! read more

Shu knows how to cook. Authentic Chinese cuisine experiences. Only thing I don't give 5 stars is because sometimes not consistently good enough. For example, sometimes fried rice come out with improper rice texture. Soup can be too salty at times. Overall experience is good though. read more

Have been to Shu multiple times now and the food is seriously spectacular. The scallion pancakes are A MUST, so crispy, so delicious. The fried dumplings are also very tasty, crispy on the bottom and still soft and chewy almost as if steamed on the top. The crispy Mongolian beef is amazing , they also made us chicken broccoli, even though it wasn't on the menu. And their fried rice is also very good and can be ordered with whatever protein you want. read more

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Authentic schezwan food. Great portion size. Nice ambiance. Service was excellent. Had a nice peaceful dinner experience. read more

Shu Restaurant - Schezwan Pork Belly - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

Having lived in New York for over a year and trying everything from Chinatown to Flushing, Midtown to Long Island City, no place has been better than Shu. Politicos and gourmands get their Chinese here, or Taste of China on the other side of the state, and frankly this place has better 辣子鸡。 Service as always is expedient, cordial, bilingual, and knowledgeable. Ambiance is wood and booths, brocade and warm lantern light. The food is the draw though, utterly incomparable. read more

Shu Restaurant - Chongqing spicy chicken and Napa beef, a delightful sweet and sour meat dish. - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

After seeing my Yelp friend Don's picture caption complimenting this dish, I ordered the Dry Stir-Fry Pork Belly with Wild Mushrooms from West Hartford's Shu Restaurant tonight. The thin sliced pork belly, leeks, thin strands of wild mushrooms, and red and green bell peppers were all well-cooked and had great texture and contrasting colors. The low simmering heat from the dry chili peppers was just right for me. Szechuan flavor with training wheels. Shu is one of the best Chinese restaurants in the Greater Hartford Area. Let me pull the lever. Ding. Five Star Upgrade! read more

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Happy Lunar New Year from Shu Restaurant. This year, Lunar New Year marks the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese zodiac, which assigns different animals to years over a 12-year cycle. The Lunar New Year arrives today, bringing us into the Year of the Rabbit, specifically the Water Rabbit. The Chinese calendar has a six decade cycle defined by 12 earthly animal totems and the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The Rabbit: 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 We tried: Dan Dan Mein noodles in a flavorful broth with minced pork Dry Pot Delight Shrimp, fish fillet, squid beef, sausage, tripe and mix vegs in spicy sauce Smoked Duck Chengdu Wonton- Chengdu style pork wonton in a spicy garlic sauce Awesome meal. Great company. Will definitely return again and again. read more

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The Mongolian beef at this restaurant is not like anything you've ever had before, especially if you're comparing it to P.F. Chang's. It was horrible. It was pieces of beef that had been covered in cornstarch then deep-fried and put on a plate like corn chips with some scallions here and there. There was no sauce whatsoever. It was so dry and to top it off, it was dusted with sugar. Skip it and save yourself $21. read more

I purchased takeout from Shu for a team lunch at work. This is a really good spot serving what I would consider pretty authentic szechuan cuisine. For my meal I had the pork Chengdu Wontons in spicy garlic sauce and the chicken with bamboo shoots. The wontons were super tender and the sauce pretty spicy. As well as bamboo shoots the chicken also had ginger, peppers, spicy peppers, and scallions. I'm looking forward to going back! read more

There aren't many authentic Chinese restaurants around. They serve Szechuan food, which tends to be spicy, but there are also non-spicy dishes. I had the salt and pepper cuttlefish, dan dan noodles without pork, squirrel fish without the sausage, and vegetable lo mein. Food was average, but there is a lack of this type of food in the area so I am glad for their presence. The dan dan noodles were mixed in front of us. The sauce has a slight peanutty taste. I had much better. The salt and pepper cuttlefish was nicely fried and pretty good. If you haven't had it, it's sort of like calamari but with a lighter batter. The vegetable lo mein was pretty good. The squirrel fish is so named for the shape of the cut and fried shape, not a type of fish. This dish uses sea bass. It's pretty to look at and fun to eat. It was the first time I had it. The sauce tastes like sweet and sour sauce. Portions are on the small side. read more

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Extremely authentic Szechuan Chinese spot with a massive menu of options. I got the Kung-pow Shrimp lunch special, which came with a side of soup. It was all very tasty, even though I generally don't love Chinese. All of the ingredients were very fresh The servers were also very friendly and the food was prepared very quickly. The space was very cozy as well 9 read more

Shu Restaurant - Szechuan Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

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If you're craving chinese food, this is the spot to hit up. Everything is delicious here, although it might be on the pricey side it's worth the price! read more

Back again after awhile and this place is so solid. Got Mongolian beef snd fried tofu ) Really great experience Plenty of parking , yummy food and portion size Everyone raves about this being the most authentic....had a great experience. read more

Plenty of vegetarian options. I tried their vegetarian kung pao chicken and fried rice with eggplant. Both weee delicious. The kung pao had a strong flavor of pepper and sichuan style. Scallion pancake was crispy. Will be back to try more menu items read more

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Shu is always consistent as I have been going here for many years. Outstanding quality and service always.

Disclaimer: this review is strictly for takeout. I absolutely adore Shu and it has become my go-to takeout Chinese restaurant. I first visited their sister restaurant Song and fell in love with the Chengdu dumplings that come covered in the most delicious chili oil. When I realized that I could get them at Shu I started going there because it's more convenient for me in terms of take out. Also, I can place my order online for pick up and I've used Door Dash countless times as well (see photo). My go-to items are those dumplings, the fried pork dumplings (so fresh and tender) and the chicken with hoisen sauce fried rice. My wife loves the spicy pork fried rice (it's pretty spicy). I'm a creature of habit so it may take some time to branch out from my favorites, if I ever do, but since the food is so damn good I should just get out of my comfort zone and dig in. So should you! read more

Lovvvve Shu! Authentic Szechuan Chinese! I've been to the one in Fairfield years ago and have been dreaming about their wontons in hot oil since. We tried a little of everything. The chicken and leeks was excellent - loved the kick of spice, it was light, not greasy at all. The spare ribs were tender, not your regular Chinese spareribs; these are seasoned short ribs with a light black bean sauce. Excellent, excellent twice fried rice- do not skip this! And I was happy they had a couple leafy green options- snow pea leaves were delicious. They were a little salty, I would recommend asking for them to go light on the salt. The chengdu dumplings we're very similar to the Chengdu wontons, prepared in the same sauce, thicker dough as the wontons are thin. Both are great but I'm team wonton! Not pictured was my absolute favorite- the chicken lettuce wraps, definitely headed back there for another order soon!! Highly recommend, looking forward to trying more items. read more

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The place was actually not as big as what I expected. I have been meaning to try something different so I stumbled across this restaurant when I was searching for some good authentic Chinese foods. This is exceeded my expectations In so many ways. Service is fast and efficient. Nice serving staffs! I love the squirrel fish with sweet and sour sauce. It's a whole fish that was fried, then smothered with yummy sweet and sour sauce filled with mixed veggies in it. Totally cleaned the plate in no time. Perfect pairing with a bowl of rice jasmine rice. Would highly recommend this and would totally order this again. Chengdu dumplings are soooo good too. Pork and veggies. The sauce is ma lai (little numbing chilli sauce) I kept dipping my dumplings in it. Delicious and homemade. Highly recommend this too! 1/2 Peking duck It was a skinny duck. The meat is way too dry. I feel like the duck could have done a bit more basting to make it more juicy. The duck was just a C grade. I have been to Beijing and had Peking ducks there. So I do preferred to have thinner pancake wrapper and serve with cucumber and scallions on the plate for me to wrap the duck skin and meat. It's $30. Definitely not worth it because I think the duck doesn't have too much to it. The sweet bean sauce was nice though. The moo shu wrapper is store brought. So it's a bit thicker than the authentic wrapper/ pancake. I'm glad I have tried this though. But I would order this again. They definitely have to work on the roasting skill on the Peking ducks! Salt and pepper cuttlefish They were fresh and crispy! Hmmm like calamari But the batter was light so they were tastier! Nice job! Good for appetizer! Hot and sour soup (small) It's a good portion to share. The ingredients were great. It's got black wood ear mushrooms/ tofu, bamboo and scallions. Just the taste wasn't too hot or sour. I took some home, so I would definitely add a bit more Chinese black vinegar and some hot chilli oil in it to dress it up!! Cucumber appetizer was super good and garlicky if you like garlic though. Super refreshing but afterwards I had the worst garlic breath for the rest of the day Hahhaa Overall, this is a wonderful experience! The foods I have tried so far are all authentic Chinese food and they have done beautifully!! Thank you! I will be back for sure. read more

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