Szechuan House — Restaurant in Ames

Went to this restaurant for the first time yesterday and it turned out to be a huge disappointment despite all the favorable reviews I've read online. We ordered vegetable fried rice, vegetable lo mein, eggrolls, crab rangoon, seafood soup and cashew tofu. The seafood soup looked and tasted awful. It was a mixture of unidentified pieces of seafood (and probably tofu?) in a whitish, slimy broth - just from looking at it we lost our appetite. The taste was terrible, as well. The rest of the dishes were also less that ok, with cashew tofu being the worst. The sauce looked like it was based on ketchup, very thick and lacking flavor and the tofu itself was fried and had an off-flavor. There were barely any vegetables in the lo mein. Also, the food was hot and cold on the same plate, like it was heated in the microwave. As for the service - it was very poor. When we said that the seafood soup doesn't taste good, they simply informed us that they don't offer substitutions or refunds (and we didn't even complain about the rest of the food). It was our first visit to this place and we don't plan to ever come back. I would give it 0...

My fiancée and I have been coming here for a while on the regular and it is by far, some of the best authentic Chinese food we have ever had.

My fiancée grew up in Brooklyn, NYC and got authentic Chinese food just about every day and this is on par, if not better than what the both of us would get in NYC!!!

It’s one of my favorite restaurants in Story County... and I was born and raised here.

The outside isn’t the best visually and unless you know it’s a functioning business, you may drive right past it. The interior isn’t really made for a lot of foot traffic, more set for us loyal customers that would eat there no matter what setting or even takeout. They have some decor and they run the building a little on the warm side, but the food is really where it is at.

Again, it’s on par with food you would get in NYC and it’s really good, especially the price of most dishes. Whether you’re an Asian food fiend like my fiancée and I, you’re really into Asian culture and want to start eating authentic Asian cuisine, or even a few locals looking to try something new; Szechuan House...

Ever since Szechuan House opened in Ames, I haven't frequented any other Chinese places in Ames (except for Panda Express when i want some orange chicken and Beijing beef). Although their food prices are quite high for Ames standards (unless you frequent The Cafe and Aunt Maudes), their portion is also quite large and is suitable for family-style dining. Szechuan House does live up to their name and serves very good/authentic Szechuan cuisine. If you don't know what this means, just beware of the evil little "hua jiao" that will leave an exquisite tingling sensation on your tongue. Pretty much over half of the menu is spicy, and there are some fairly authentic Chinese ingredients (like animal innards) that might deter your typical American diner. The staff is very friendly and the service is lightning quick. There is a private dining room available, but I've never inquired as how to reserve the space given that the main dining space is more than sufficient for my...