Xi'an Cuisine — Restaurant in Chicago

It may look like a humble, hole-in-the-wall spot on the outside, but the food is absolutely incredible. I haven't had the chance to enjoy the wonders of traditional Xi'an cuisine in such a long time, but Xi'an Cuisine really brought back so many childhood memories. I tried their vegetable and refreshing liangpi / cold noodles, and they were both delicious and, as the name implies, perfectly refreshing and the best possible meal for a hot summer day. The texture of the normal liangpi was slightly better (the vegetable ones were a bit mushier than a traditional liangpi), but both were incredible. They mixed the sauces wonderfully, with a great balance of the richness of the sesame, acidity from the black vinegar, and slight kick of the chili oil. My parents also tried out their lamb skewers and lamb intestine paomo (羊杂泡馍), and absolutely loved them!! My dad even said that their lamb skewers were some of the best he's had in the United States. And, to make things even better, everything is incredibly affordable with phenomenal portion sizes. You'll definitely leave Xi'an Cuisine feeling full and satisfied!! I can't wait to come back to Chicago Chinatown just to visit...

It was our first time in China Town, I quickly looked up a resturant and came across this spot. Reviews said if you're picky you might like the flatbread sandwiches. I ordered the marinated beef and marinated pork flatbreads, they ask if you want jalapeno and onion added which my husband wanted but I could have gone without. I wasn't fond of the beef only because it was fatty which, again, my husband loved. I however LOVED the pork one. Perfect. As I said I looked it up quickly and didn't notice there wasn't rice which my daughter wanted so that's my fault but just know, no rice. The hot rice noodles were good and the chicken and beef squewers were OK, very "stemy" seasonings on the outside making it a weird texture, again just a me thing lol. BUTTTTT THE STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE!!! when I tell you I don't like strawberry flavored things, if you couldn't tell I'm picky. Amazing. Would go back just for that tbh. Actually going soon for that and a pork flat bread. Smaller resturant but me, my husband, 7yo and 1yo sat and eat easily. And they have high chairs and OK bathrooms. Got there a bit than lunchtime and found a pay to park spot...

Xi'an was great. When we arrived there was no wait. It is a very small and crowded restaurant. Initially, they seated us at a table for four. (There were two of us.) But, before we ordered they said they needed to move us so they could seat a group of four. We were moved to share a table for six with two couples. That added to the experience.

They make the food to order so it doesn't all come out at once. This added to the experience. We had their Thin potato slices in sour & spicy sauce as an appetizer - this was kind of a potato slaw, quite spicy and a little crisp. Very nice.

For our meals, we share two items: (1) Biang biang noodles with beef and (2) Cumin Hand-stretched noodle soup with lamb. Both were excellent. The Biang biang noodles were chewy with a vinegar flavor. There was a light cumin flavor to the other dish. The meat in the Biang Biang was fairly plentiful, both chucks as well as mince. The lamb was flavorful, in small slices.

The other meals at our table, not sure what they were, but they looked really good. The grass is always greener.

Next time I'm in that area, I will go back to try...