Kaojiu Restaurant — Restaurant in Brookline

I dined at KaoJiu Restaurant in North Brookline with a friend in October 2024, and while I waited some time before writing this review, I still find the experience very disappointing. On the positive side, the lamb hot pot was absolutely delicious — rich in flavor and beautifully presented — and other savory dishes like the scallion pancakes, eggplant, and short rib were also good.

The interior of the restaurant is beautiful, but the all-wood seating was uncomfortable, which made it hard to relax and enjoy the meal. We came in for an early dinner and were practically the only ones in the restaurant, yet the service was very slow and our server disappeared for long stretches of time.

The desserts were where things really fell apart. The purple dragon ice cream was visually striking but not edible, and from her response it was clear the server already knew this dish had been a problem before — yet she made no effort to address or remedy the issue. The menu also described “BBQ marshmallows,” which made us think it might be an Asian spin on toasted marshmallows. Instead, what arrived was just a deconstructed s’mores kit: a Hershey’s milk chocolate rectangle, graham crackers, and stale marshmallows with a small candle. The candle did light, but it wasn’t strong enough to toast the marshmallows or melt the chocolate. We both felt the restaurant should have called this dish “s’mores” on the menu rather than something more creative, because the reality didn’t live up to the description. Both desserts went uneaten, yet nothing was removed from the bill, which was surprising given the circumstances.

For the price point and atmosphere, I expected attentive service and thoughtful follow-through. Instead, despite some standout dishes, we were left frustrated with how key parts of the meal...

Kao Jiu is a very beautifully designed Chinese restaurant. The interior is decorated very traditionally Chinese, with dark, lacquered wood, red lanterns, and Chinese art all around. Their menus come in the form of scrolls, which I thought was very cute and creative.

I came here for the lunch special though, that's available Mon-Fri 12-4pm. The place was empty - only us in the restaurant, so service was quite fast.

The lunch special came in a square wooden box with an appetizer, a choice for protein, a choice of veggies and a staple food. I came with a friend, so I was able to try 2 of everything. :) And despite initially thinking it wouldn't be filling, it actually was.

The chicken kebab was the fan favorite. It was soft and moist, and had amazing seasoning. The beef kebab was a lil hard to chew with all the fat. The potato chips were my second favorite, as they were thinly sliced, very crisp and nicely seasoned. The fried tofu, oyster mushrooms, and the egg fried rice were all pretty good as well. The only thing that was slightly lacking was the lamb burger, as it did not have much meat inside and lacked a...

The ambiance is very very unique, the menus are on scrolls or bamboo wood boards that unfold, the whole place has Chinese written all over and a lot of artifacts, and a very cool jade Bok Choy at the front.

We got 2 drinks to try, a Pomelo Honey Tea/Fascinate Lychee Mocktail. The fascinate lychee tastes well, a lot like Chi forest drinks and comes with a lychee on top. The pomelo honey was good, though stronger on the tea flavor.

For the meal, we got Chicken/Lamb/Shrimp skewers, teriyaki squid, Cold noodle salad, and a Chicken Karaage. The chicken Karaage was alright, sauce was decent but the pieces were kinda small and felt more like chicken skin? The Cold noodle salad was a bit spicy but tasted really good. The skewers were pretty decent, for the price and portion we got a decent amt. the teriyaki squid was a highlight, as it was savory and had a little spice but wasn’t overwhelming. The least favorite was probably the chicken, but that’s probably cuz it didn’t have enough spice. Spice was a cumin blend so it wasn’t exactly too spicy.

Very good place, best for smaller groups and definitely want to...