I've been to this spot twice now, and both times the food has been outstanding. It's a great value for the quality you get. Every time I've visited, there's been a line out the door, which is always a good sign of a popular and well-loved restaurant. Whether you're grabbing takeout, going on a date, or having a work lunch, this place works for every occasion. Definitely one of my favorites in DC! Plus, if you're into celebrity sightings, word is that a few well-known politicians frequent here. read more

This place is great for authentic food. I went with two people who have lived in China and eaten authentic Sichuan food and they highly recommend this restaurant. We got several dishes to share for the table, which I definitely recommend so that everyone can try multiple dishes. read more

The beef had been prepared earlier and wasn't fresh, while the seafood was spoiled. The rice was undercooked, making this the worst Chinese restaurant I've been to in the U.S. Though the service seemed friendly, it felt rushed, as if they just wanted you to finish quickly. read more

This place has great food and fast service. However, our waitress was terrible (I don't know her name). Me and a group of friends sat down and ordered only 3 dishes. For a Chinese restaurant that serves family-style, obviously this isn't a lot of food. After ordering our dishes, the waitress was shocked and laughed saying "ONLY 3 DISHES?? ONLY 3??" She proceeded to laugh and tell her co-workers about how much we ordered and criticized us (she was a few feet away and we can clearly see them look at us). For the entire meal, she kept walking by and her and a few other co-workers continued to look at us in mockery. We felt very embarrassed and extremely uncomfortable. Growing up as an Asian American, I've been to plenty of Chinese restaurants. My friends aren't accustomed to Chinese restaurants and they wanted to try this place out, but they weren't sure how much they can eat here (which is why we only ordered 3 dishes). Personally, I can eat more but I was flexible for my friends in how much we ordered. I understand that we did not order a lot, but the fact that we were clearly criticized and laughed at for our order was completely unacceptable. If you find it funny, just keep it to yourself because you clearly made us feel embarrassed and caused a poor customer service. I rarely write any online reviews but this was probably the most uncomfortable situation I've ever been in a restaurant. I will never go here again. read more

Great Chinese food in the heart of our Nation's capital. Service is friendly and caring and food is exceptional, particularly for D.C. Highly recommend the kung pao shrimp, sour cabbage fish fillet and salt and pepper scallops. Bravo! read more

This restaurant is a classic example of why Yelp needs to give raters the half star ability. The food at this establishment is 5 stars but the service is 2-3 stars. I would give this place a 3.5 stars overall even despite the delicious food. We ordered: -Vegetable Rice (came with a variety of fresh vegetables which is hard to find at Chinese restaurants) -Kung Pao Lamb (the lamb was very fresh and not chewy at all) -Scallops in Hunan Sauce (had a abundance of scallops- so yummy) -Eggplant in hot garlic sauce (very fresh) -Pan fried chicken dumplings (best pan fried dumplings I have ever had, and very big in size) When we were seated, we asked if we could have a bigger table because we wanted to order a large quantity of food and it would make the table they were planning to seat us at crowded. We were told the open table was for 6 people only and they couldn't seat us. The table wasn't used by any other customers all night.... Our specific server was very nice but a bit distracted. After our meal, we had to wait a bit for the check as he was amongst his other waiter friends sitting in the restaurant chatting away. I don't understand why the restaurant allows this in plain sight for customers to see. If the waiters want to take a break there should be a separate area for this- not in the middle of the restaurant. The food is very good here but if the service doesn't match your experience can be tainted no matter how wonderful whatever you are eating is. My suggestions is that if you really want to come here then lower your expectations and you will walk out having a great time. I also recommend packing any leftover food at your table yourself- just ask them for take out boxes. read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Kung Pao Lamb - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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I've heard so much about this place. It is a staple in DC. I am late to the sichuan party but it's one of my favorite parties. When I learned this landmark was near my job, I decided to get lunch to go. Noting Yelpers report how expensive some items were I thought it strange given the menu I was viewing. Perhaps the one I looked at was out of date, as the official menu was blocked at my job. I ordered the tripe and tendon appetizer as I was told that the homestyle gravy-like tendon shown in photos wasn't made anymore. I also order dan dan noodles. Both were listed as $9.95 which I thought was cheap and thought maybe it's gone up a little. Well apparently it has as when I picked up the meal it was $30. Ok no problem, costs have increased, let's see how it tastes. I enjoyed the tripe and tendon which I am not a fan of tripe. So this was pretty good comparatively. It is sliced much thinner. The tendon was not gelatinous but like a thin slice of meat. It also was good. It was cold which was fine as that was the style. The flavor was great. The Dan Dan noodles though came in like a large soup plastic container and was 75% oil. I love chili oil as much as the next guy but this was like soup level chili oil. I wasn't digging the flavor per other dan dan noodles. Also the reviews were claiming this was soo hot and it wasn't, which i was sort of glad about it. But what the oil did have was that little tingling heartburn feeling and I was glad I bought milk to go with it or I would've been struggling. Don't get me wrong, I crushed it, including guzzling the chili oil like a savage against my better judgement. It had some flavor in there for sure. I guess I can't really complain, perhaps it was expectation and we know how that can create problems. I guess it was decent. The milk definitely got me through though. And I'm still giving this place a 3-star rating until I have something 4 or 5 star level which I believe I will. But for the price there's a couple of other places that are more to my liking. read more

Fantastic food, very welcoming and attentive. Food was served family style and was top notch.

I've been to Sichuan Pavilion once in person and now we get delivery from there a lot. My favorites there are the dan dan noodles, the mapo tofu noodle soup (which is mala flavored), and we recently got the zhajiang noodles, which I liked too. Clearly I'm all about the noodles. When I've been there I liked the sour spicy boiled fish--think it's called this in Chinese 酸辣水煮鱼片 We also got the pea shoots or maybe it was 油菜 i don't remember but they had a vegetable that was good. I think for DC this is a good Chinese food option and like most Chinese restaurants here I think they have a lot of American Chinese food options too. read more

Stopped by today while out and about and this was one of the few places open on the empty streets. Great service, wonderful dining room, really good food, and big servings. They're slightly more expensive than I'd usually go for, but my leftovers were significant and have reheated really well. I got egg drop soup ($4.50), pork buns ($6.50), kung pao chicken ($15.95), and mapo toufu ($14.95). Everything was incredible, especially the mapo toufu, I hugely recommend it. This is a great place whether you're on a date, have a big group, or are just ordering in. 5/5 read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Mapo Toufu ($15), Kung Pao Chicken ($16), Egg Drop Soup ($4.50), and Pork Bun ($6.50) - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

We come here often. Food always brings us back. Spicy food is pretty spicy, and the food seems pretty authentic read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Tendon Comb Of Beef Tripe - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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We came here for the first time.. and we accidentally ordered too much.. the server didn't even try to remind us that we ordered too much .. besides that, she keeps asking us if we want any vegetables even after we ordered too much!!! Very very bad.. the food is not authentic at all! Not come here anymore !!! read more

Wow! I almost didn't walk into this place because of 3 stars, but this place is FAR from 3 stars. From the food, to the service, to the environment....seriously just AMAZING. I love how this place is decorated, I love the tea pots on the table just ready to be poured. This restaurant is large and spacious. My boyfriend and I came on a Friday night, and got immediately sat. The server did such an amazing job recommending all of our dishes. We told him what we liked and he immediately picked the spicy beef and the dry pepper chicken. We also ordered the dumplings well to start off. I meannnnn GET the spicy beef and dry pepper chicken, it was honestly some of the TASTIEST food I've had. We really enjoyed the food. We talked about the food for about a week after! The two entrees were enough for both of us, and we even took food to go. And the dumplings were very good as well! We will definitely be back!! read more

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Ordered fish with spicy garlic sauce at sichuan pavillion . Portion is too small compared to the price. Taste was not bad. Order came in 1 minutes, which means they already made before . read more

I am from Chongqing and I can say this is the best Mapo Tofu I ever had in US, and will be competitive even in Sichuan. It is GOOD read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Mapo tofu - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I love the mapo tofu here and while it's always a little questionable how the food's prepared in 5 min, sometimes it's better not to ask questions. The rice today was undercooked which will probably affect my indigestion but otherwise, solid meal. read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Oops. Nearly finished my mapo tofu before getting a picture. - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Totally thrilled by the food and service. I was in DC for three days and put Sichuan Pavilion on my list of places to eat. Gin martini to relax with until we were ready for the appetizer, which was the tripe and tendon, sliced thin to perfection. I had the Crispy Duck (half) with pancakes and hoisin sauce, my wife had the Cumin Lamb both superb and very filling. If you want a great Sichuan place in DC I highly recommend coming here. read more

I really like this place, for me is probably the best Chinese food in the city. I have came here several times now, the first time it was with Chinese colleagues, that in on it self tells you that it is good and traditional taste. The food is awesome, very tasty and very delicious, some of the dishes are also very spicy. Ideally you would come here with a group of friends (at least 3 people) so that you can order different entres and taste different flavors. My favorite dish is the "Kung Pao Chicken", I also recommend the following dishes "Egg plant in Hot garlic sauce", "Ma Po Tofu" and the "Mongolian Lamb". I promise you will love this place! Service is "ok" don't expect too much, you are there for the food. The space is a bit crowded, the area is small and they fit a lot of tables in the dining area but it is worth it! read more

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The food is really really good and really really fresh. The portions are big. So bring somebody with you. I was by myself because I'm in town for work and I needed a smaller portion but it's not happening at night time. Your smaller portions are more than lunch specials. I had chicken fried rice which was delicious and spring rolls and tea. And it was really nice. The place looks exactly like the photos. It's small and close so if you don't like closeness this is not the one. It's not necessarily cheap or expensive. It's kind of in the middle. I spent about 25 bucks. I couldn't take my food home because I didn't have anywhere to store it at the hotel but had I had a space I would have taken it with me. It was so good. And the server was really sweet and really helpful. It was all yummy. read more

Food: meh. Service: excellent. Ambiance: peaceful. Sichuan wife ordered fried pork belly and beef tripe. I ordered Dan Dan noodles. Wife and I had cup of noodle soup. Son ordered shredded chicken with rice and hot and sour soup. Food came to table very fast. Wife: pork was not of good quality and was not cooked or seasoned well. Beef tripe sliced razor thin was not bad in the very light sauce with hints of onion and cilantro. Noodle soup flavor not bad, but almost entirely broth, with one or two thin shards of meat, like a miso soup. Me: Dan Dan noodles tasted like rehydrated ramen noodles, spices not bad, but could've been improved by adding a bit of peanuts, also think a bit of bean sprouts would've given it more texture and soaked up juices better than the dry stringy noodles. Son said the shredded chicken was not bad, but it was not spicy at all, which disappointed him. We were polite and good tippers, but we will not return. Rockville has more authentic Sichuan cuisine, almost as good as my wife's. read more

I happened on this restaurant walking home. There was a small line to get into the restaurant so I waited. It was well worth the wait. I loved that they gave me a pot of hot tea - nice touch - along with water. I ordered duck and broccoli with white rice and soup. The meal was delicious. The service was very good and I could tell by the clientele that this is a popular restaurant with locals and tourists. This is my new go to restaurant for Chinese food. read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Duck and broccoli along with white rice and great hot tea! - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Sichuan Pavilion is one of the few delicious, no frills, and authentic-leaning Chinese restaurants in DC. However, service is definitely lacking in terms of waiting in line for table, which is a huge problem during lunch rushes The food ranges from more authentic Sichuan and other regional dishes to more American-Chinese dishes, ensuring a good variety of choice. The mapo tofu is probably the best I've eaten. It is both spicy and full of flavor, and I have to order it every time I go. When I took my parents here, the tofu was the first dish to be completely finished. Other dishes that are excellent are the mooshi pork, shrimp in dry hot pepper, beef in hot oil, and beef noodle soup. However, some dishes are disappointing and leave a lot to be desired, such as the dumplings in Sichuan sauce. Service at the table in excellent. Staff are attentive and will help with suggestions if needed. However, there is not a system for waiting in for a table as there is no waiting list of any sort. Instead, the host will call out available tables for X people and ask who was first. This can lead to pretty chaotic situations during the lunch rush with hangry people waiting in the cramped stairwell asserting they were there first. I recommend coming on a weekend when there is no work lunch rush. read more

Sichuan Pavilion - The amazing Mapo Tofu - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

We choose this restaurant because we don't have another choice because we don't wanna driving too far. so the taste was OK and the service was poor and the table was sticky and the the cups it's very dirty they charge 17%service fee without a notice and they prefer cash. I guess they know we are tourism so we don't care if we come back or not. read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Add 17% Service fee. - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

My favorite chinese restaurant. In this place you will find true Chinese food from southern China, that is, a little sweet and quite spicy. By eating in this place you will really know if you are a fan of Chinese food. I recommend trying the eggplants, completely delicious, get obsessed with this dish. also the best kung pao chicken I had ever tasted. The place has a pretty traditional decoration, and a good sign is that many Chinese people eat in this place. Highly recommended read more

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It was ok, nothing special about it. Sister ordered duck, and had to ask for rice, duck was good, but by the time the rice came it was cold and greasy. read more

this place is always packed and busy, but it's super good and authentic! i love the eggplant in garlic sauce and the crispy duck dishes -- restaurant environment is well decorated and brings lots of chinese culture into the place. read more

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Meh. It was fine, nothing to write home about. I'd go to 14th Street Asian Bistro or Peter Changs before returning. read more

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They had the yummiest best fried general tsos tofu; also our waiter was really nice and filled our drinks whenever he noticed they were emptying!! It's 1 am and I just finished the leftovers read more

So very impressed. Family owned and run authentic Schezwan restaurants are a dying breed and Sichuan Pavilion truly impressed. Amazingly fast service. All the servers work together and are so efficient. The flavor of the food is SO good. I wish I lived in DC -- I'd be here every week! read more

Ma la in Mandarin quite literally translates to "numb spicy." Technically speaking, the ma la huang gua (spicy cucumber salad) at A&J has it in the name, but they just use basic chili oil. Sichuan Pavilion, however, uses the real thing: Sichuan peppers. Anytime the boy -doesn't- complain about food being not spicy enough for him, I consider it a personal win. It's unclear to me whether or not Sichuan Pavilion takes reservations, but if they do... it's probably not a bad idea to have them. Fortunately, we came as a party of two, but even so, it was absolutely packed at 1930 on a Thursday evening and we were sat at the sole table for two remaining in the entire restaurant. And for the love of all that is good and right with the world... stick to the Sichuan offerings here. The dan dan noodles and mapo tofu with ground pork are both delicious. I'm always particularly impressed with the hearty texture and perfect balance in the heat on the mapo tofu. Even though I grew up on this stuff from my mom and grandma, I'm still enthralled by the dish here. And, per my wont, I prompted our pleasant server for a recommendation for fresh greens in Mandarin - total trick I picked up from my parents to avoid anything that might be on the menu that isn't fresh in that day. The primary offering were a basic sauteed buo tsai (spinach) or si ji do (green beans). Although he tried steering us away from the spinach since there's a little bit of it in the dan dan noodles already, we ended up ordering them over the beans anyway. Solid choice. Suuuper tender, and cooked with just some salt and garlic, the way I like it. It's extra reassuring that the staff here speaks fluent Chinese by default, and that suited businessmen can be overheard conversing in Mandarin all around. This is totally one of those joints (like Mama Wok in Reston) that I wouldn't hesitate to take my parents out for a quality traditional Chinese meal. ... now, could I -please- have a refill on my water? read more

Came here after attending a friends graduation at Constitution Hall. We were all hungry and so I took out my trusty Yelp app to look for something good to eat. After reading some of my Yelp family's reviews, we decided to head towards Sichuan Pavilion. As soon as we walked through the door, we were greeted by a kind gentleman. He seated us immediately. It's quite spacious in here and I loved the subtle Chinese music playing in the background. A pot of complimentary tea was placed on our table. Nice. Our server was friendly and offered suggestions. Our water cups were always full. Ordered the Pork Dumplings in Sichuan Sauce from the Hot Appetizers section, Dan Dan Mein Noodle with Ground Pork in Hot Sauce from the Rice & Noodles section, Tea Smoked Duck (half) and Chicken/Hot Dry Pepper from the Authentic Entrees section. We enjoyed each and every one of these dishes. The dumplings were delicate and fresh. It had a thin wonton skin, filled with savory pork and topped off with garlic and Sichuan sauce. The sauce tasted sweet to me. The Dan Dan Mein definitely had a good kick. I love spicy foods, so this is right up my alley. The noodles still had a nice bite to them. The ground pork was seasoned well. The dish is packed with flavor. The tea smoked duck had a light crispy skin and the meat was tender. It comes with freshly made buns, spring onions, and hoisin sauce. Spread some hoisin sauce in your bun, add a slice or two of crispy duck, and garnish with a few slices of spring onions. Now you've got yourself one tasty duck sandwich. The chicken with hot dry pepper isn't as spicy as it looks. The pieces of chicken are crisp and do have a bit of kick to them. Very flavorful. The chicken is tossed with loads of dried peppers, which makes the presentation of this dish lovely and maybe a bit intimidating for some. Overall, the service and food was great. We never felt rushed and the employees here are extremely hard working. read more

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Chinese cuisine has never been a preferred style of food for me, but I love Sichuan Pavilion. I love the ornate tables, the instrumental Chinese music, the great service, and most of all, the spicy food. I've been twice: a mid-winter Saturday night around 8, with a line; and an August Saturday afternoon with no line. Between both times, I've had the pork dumplings in Sichuan sauce, cumin lamb, chicken with hot dry pepper, kung pao chicken, fried rice, ma po tofu, and tea smoked duck. As much as I love spice, the duck is my favorite, though closely followed by the cumin lamb. The duck was tender with an awesome crust; adding that to the doughy pancakes with scallions and hoisin sauce made for a great meal. The cumin lamb is great - thin, well-done lamb pieces with lots of cumin and a fair amount of heat on a bed of peppers. Kung pao chicken was tasty, though there was not as much heat as I would have preferred. Chicken with hot dry pepper is great, and the hot dry pepper is exactly what I come here for - that unique blend of a little heat with a numbing sensation. I really enjoy it. Though I usually veto Chinese food suggestions, this is one place I will always approve. read more

Decent Sichuan food but not great or amazing. There's a lot of grease and oil on everything. For example, the dried fried chicken was spicy, but because they drizzled chili oil to add spicy instead of using more Sichuan peppercorns, the chicken didn't stay crispy for long. Everything just kinda felt mushy in the mouth. Green beans were kinda mushy, fried chicken was kinda mushy... Overall the food wasn't that spicy. Portion sizes for each dish were fairly large, so you can easily get your money's worth. Definitely, a place to go to if you just need a quick Sichuan fix, but don't plan to come here to impress your chinese friends haha. read more

Excellent. Get the Egg Drop Soup and anything chicken! Super fast as well if you do take out.

Sichuan is the only good Chinese restaurant I've found in DC. They're located on K street so unless you work nearby and go for lunch it's not the most convenient place to go to for dinner, and their delivery range is super limited. As in, we moved across the street from our former apartment and they initially refused to deliver. Same street, same block, just the other side of it. They're not always friendly on the phone, and I am somewhat concerned that they save customer's credit card details, but delivery is always fast and it is wonderful, delicious food. I think everything is probably good (except the lo mein, tried that once and regretted it) but I recommend the Dan Dan Noodles, the Ma Po Tofu, Mongolian Beef, Spicy Garlic Eggplant, and chicken with vegetables. The soups are delicious, too! read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Dan Dan Noodles and Moo Shu (chicken). Yum!! - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Good tasty food. Fast service. Can't go wrong with good old Sichuan pavilion. Nice stop when visiting DC

Went for lunch with a friend, although the food was good but the person who brought our bill embarrassed me to pay tip. (Though I had rounded the figure). When I said my friend had already paid the tip as we split the bill he went on to say that we were supposed to pay 15% of the amount. Never in my stay in DC have I experienced a server come to the table to forcefully pay the tip or say that the amount mentioned is very low. Pathetic customer service. They didn't do anything additional to deserve a tip, serving customer is their job not embarrassing them. read more

Best Chinese restaurant in DC that is specializes on Sichuan cuisine . I have been a loyal customer for a decade. I took Chinese friends, African American friends and Caucasian friends here and everyone loves it. I was very emotional when they announced that they were reopened after the pandemic. Then I started visiting them at least once per week. Occasionally my wallet and belly do a protest but I ignore them. read more

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I have been eating here for more than 10 years now. Best Authentic Sichuan food in DC. It is not the same as Hong Kong Chinese food. This is fresh and good and always great experience. My kids love it! The whole fish is 6 stars and we almost always take out of town guests here and get rave reviews. The steam veggies are tender and crispy and tasty and soooo good! We re happy they are open again, after covid!!! Eat here, you will be happy you did! read more

3.5 stars The mapo tofu is everything people say it is, BUT I would say it could be better if it had ground pork like the versions I'm used to. The flavors are on point, though, as it has that numbing effect. I also tried their beef two ways, which is great for indecisive eaters -- imagine half the plate consisting of deep-fried beef and the other braised beef. The latter was very salty, though, so I won't order this dish again. I think the service is good, but not great here. Came here at 2 PM on a Saturday and noticed many empty tables, yet the servers were not accommodating about my friend and I sitting at a larger table so we could order lots of dishes to try. Your loss, Sichuan Pavilion, as that limited the dish count to two since I could barely spread my arms out on the table. read more

Sichuan Pavilion - Beef, two ways - Szechuan Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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