Sichuan Impression 锦城里 — Restaurant in City of Industry

TL;DR - Food quality and service between 2 visits were very inconsistent. It can vary drastically, likely caused by how busy they are.

I have been to this location twice within a month, both for dinner on a weekday. Our first time was awesome - amazing and attentive service and the food was cooked and seasoned to perfection. The quality seemed on par with the prices they charged and we left very happy and excited for a future visit again soon. Our second visit a couple of nights ago was the complete opposite. I think the reason is because there were barely any guests the first time I went. The restaurant was just about full this recent visit. The very few waiters - maybe just 3-4 seemed very, very busy. It seemed like they needed to be better staffed.

We input our order through our phones this time instead of with a waiter. I was concerned about our order not being done correctly because of this and I was perhaps right. We wanted mild spicy but maybe the chef’s did not pay attention or read the requests but the dishes came out filled with a lot of chilis. During our first visit when we placed the orders with the waiter we received food that were not spicy or mild as requested. When asking the server about the spiciness, the first server just awkwardly laughed and walked away. We felt completely brushed off. Some time later a second server asked about the food and we mentioned the spiciness again. She looked at the dish and said next time we can ask for mild and we stated we did. By her judgment perhaps she didn’t think it was mild either.

At that moment I felt that the staff were not well trained enough in handling dissatisfaction and couldn’t offer any solutions. I could understand there wasn’t much they can do at that point, but what was frustrating is that I can tell that they know what was on our plate was not made to mild spiciness, but also would not admit to it and would only say that the mountain of peppers on the dish is still considered mild.

The spiciness was also not the only issue. The cumin lamb was way overcooked. The outside was so over-fried it was hard to chew. The first time we came it was a light crispiness with tender meat. There was no tenderness this time.

The pork ribs is a highly recommended dish. I think they gave 7 ribs each time. I guess they cannot control the ribs they get each day, but the size difference was huge. The second time it was under seasoned and there was barely any meat. It was mostly bone. Again, a huge difference from first visit.

There are other comments I can make about the food but I will leave it right here. Maybe I’ll be back after I shake off this visit. But we shall see. I was hoping to have a new favorite restaurant to frequent, so this left me...

i visited on 4/5/25 with my family (a party of 7) and had a disappointing experience that left us frustrated. after waiting for over an hour, we noticed a large, empty table that had been unoccupied for more than 60+ minutes. since we were the only large group in the queue, we politely asked if we could be seated there. however, the waitstaff informed us that the table was "reserved.” many restaurants offer a grace period of 10-15 minutes for reservations, so this lack of flexibility was disappointing. we later saw the same reservation show up an hour and 30 mins later at around 7:30. had we been sat there at 5:45 when we arrived, we would've already finished our meal by then.

we had also already placed an order for ribs, and after finishing all of our other dishes while waiting, we waited an additional 20 minutes for the ribs to arrive, only to have find out ourselves that they were sold out. no one had informed us that the dish was unavailable, and as a restaurant, it’s your responsibility to communicate that to your guests

update: after we finished our meal, that same empty table was still sitting there unused. while the food we did have was good, the overall experience was incredibly frustrating. it’s disappointing to have such a negative experience, especially when the quality of the dishes...

I’ve always been a loyal fan of Sichuan Impression, so when I heard about the soft opening, I rushed over on the very first day! I used to live in Rowland Heights and could only visit the Alhambra or Tustin locations occasionally, but now it’s within a 30-minute drive–so much more convenient!

The classic dishes are just as flavorful as always, but what really surprised me were the new desserts. The Rice Mochi Taro Bowl is beautiful, delicious, and not overly sweet–you can really taste the natural fragrance of the ingredients. I also tried the Steamed Ice Americano, even though it was a bit late in the day, and it was incredible. I never knew iced coffee could have such a creamy, foamy texture. Honestly, I might come back just for the coffee next time!

The interior design is stunning–modern and thoughtfully done–but the prices are still what you’d expect from Sichuan Impression: super reasonable. I felt like I got so much more than what I paid for. Great service, great food, and now right in my...