Cate Zone Chinese Cuisine — Restaurant in Chesterfield

I was a big fan of this place in U-City, and I would make the 40 minute round trip drive about once a month to have it (or Chili Spot nearby). Now, with their new location in Chesterfield, they are right in my neighborhood. The decor is very nice and clean, and not cramped at all. It's a little bright at dinner time, but that is being very picky. The staff is fantastic, very attentive, and quick, always checking on you to make sure you are OK, and doing a great job on take out orders. And the food is just amazing. Warning: This is not an "orange chicken" place. General Tso's is not on the menu. Most of the food on the menu is spicy, it is Szechuan after all, but there are plenty of good choices for those who want something mild and tasty (i.e. Sweet and Sour Pork and Salt and Pepper shrimp or chicken). I've eaten there 4 times in the first week I found out they were open. I recommend the Chengdu Chicken, the Kung Pao Chicken (without veggies), the Cumin Beef, Lamb, or Chicken, the Twice Cooked Pork, and the dry fried green beans. There are some things on the menu that I won't eat, but I wouldn't have them change a thing, as it would run the risk of "Americanizing" the dishes I really love. So happy...

Upon arrival you’ll find Cate Zone unassumingly located next to a Dierbergs, don’t let the location fool you, Cate Zone is not one of your standard Chinese takeouts, and offers significantly higher quality Chinese cuisine than one might expect. The staff are friendly and swift to greet and seat. Compared to the U City location, the Chesterfield location has a much roomier dining room that makes their decor pop. I ordered sweet and sour pork, braised pork belly, Chengdu chicken, Kung Pao chicken. The sweet and sour pork had a nice thick and light crisped fried layer and a healthy coat of sweet and sour sauce that paired well with the pork, the braised pork belley was succulent, well seasoned, and almost melted in my mouth, the Chengdu chicken also had a light crisp to the fry and was well seasoned and had mala chili oil aroma of Sichuan pepper and red chili pepper, the Kung Pao chicken was a little sweet and lighter on the mala than I would expect, but none the less far superior than many Kung Pao chicken dishes you’ll find in the area. I also ordered a Mapo Tofu to go, which made for a nice late night mala delight. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with anything you try...

First time trying Cate Zone, we wanted to try after reading about it in STL magazine. We made a reservation for a Saturday night and we were so glad we did, our wait was maybe 5 minutes! They did have a large line of people waiting and the traffic coming in was steady. The staff was extremely nice and attentive, our waiter made great recommendations. The food was EXCELLENT. They were so busy, yet the staff was calm and stayed on top of everything. The restaurant is very clean and the tables are not packed together. Even though it was crowded, we felt we had plenty of room to ourselves. Our food came out in good time. I recommend the sweet and sour pork, it was AMAZING. If you are sensitive to spice, do ask about spice level when you order, our waiter was very great asking about our preference! We...