Hunan Coventry — Restaurant in Cleveland Heights

tl;dr -- okay food, not good but not bad. certain dishes were quality. worth a shot!

I've been living in Little Italy for a year and a half now and am still looking for a great local Chinese spot for when that inevitable craving hits. Looking at the reviews for this spot, I saw that they were very mixed, and the general consensus was that Hunan has fallen off a bit in the past few years. The food was certainly not bad as some have said, but it wasn't anything great either, especially for the price. It was ready in just about 15 minutes, though. The spring roll was excellent -- a lovely texture to the filling, packed to the gills and crisp without being overly oily. The scallion pancake also had a great texture but sadly lacked in scallion flavor, though the dipping sauce was the perfect accompaniment. I got the General Tso's chicken with white rice, and my girlfriend got the Singapore Mei Fun. The General Tso's was, as some others have said about other chicken dishes here, mediocre. The chicken was a little overdone, the breading was soggy, and the sauce was watered down and lacked any serious flavor. Another reviewer said that the sauce was bad because it had "clearly been thickened with cornstarch," but this is expected and standard of these kinds of sauces; what I think they meant is that the cornstarch slurry was overused resulting in the bland and thick nature of the sauce. The white rice was very good, holding together enough to be picked up with chopsticks but perfectly cooked so that each grain could be felt while eating. My girlfriend very much enjoyed the SMF, as did I. The shrimp were well-cooked, and the dish had a very light feel to it with a clean and pleasant taste. Overall, I would say this place wasn't worth the price, but certain dishes may scratch that Chinese itch should it strike you. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat...

New Review for 2024: Even though this place was a family favorite, it has gone down hill starting significantly in the past few years. While I would have considered this a fine dining establishment 5 years ago and a regular place to visit even through the pandemic, now I'd compare it to a standard low-quality takeout-only Chinese restaurant that I had in college. And the college food was better.

My standard litmus test has always been the sesame chicken. It is my favorite and Hunan set the original bar for comparison of other resturants. The chicken was juicy, the breading was crispy, the sauce was thick and flavorful. So much so that I'd regularly save leftover sauce and use it for other meals. But last time, I couldn't believe how much things had changed. The chicken was dry and bland. The breading was pale and gooey, clearly undercooked. The sauce tasted like vinegar, had no sesame seeds at all, and was very obviously thickened with corn starch. You could taste it!

We gave them a serious try, ordering $60 in food. Ultimately, the only thing we didn't throw away immediately were the potstickers (clearly purchased in bulk, and the sauce is basically just soy sauce now) and the white rice. The beef and broccoli, tofu dish, and sesame chicken were all tossed immediately since we knew we wouldn't eat them and didn't want to put that evil on someone else.

Original Review:

This place has been a family favorite for decades. Whenever my brother returns to town to visit family, Hunan is always on his list as well. The food is great and the quality is consistent. Unfortunately, or fortunately if you want to eat in, it isn't very busy except...

Hounan's is one of the longest-running restaurants on the Coventry strip, and they've earned their loyal clientele by having excellent food and good service. The restaurant sits comfortably between a good place for the artsy and casual Coventry crowd to grab a bite (there is a Pokemon stop and you're not made uncomfortable if you show up in shorts and a T-shirt) and fancier dining for dates or family outings.

Additionally, they're very good about allergies -- they'll triple check your needs and won't just assume it's a casual request. They don't use sesame oil in any of their cooking and can avoid cross-contamination. (I get sick at most chinese restaurants or places that use sesame extensively, but I've never gotten sick at Hounans).

Strangely, their New York Cheesecake is some of the best in town -- they usually serve is still frozen, which some people may not like, but it's my absolute favorite, because it's like an ice cream cheesecake. Request it not-defrosted!

They're also wheelchair accessible and family friendly.

The only real improvement I'd suggest is that the single-stall bathrooms be made gender neutral instead of clearly binary (that makes it more awkward to take one's cross-gender kid or disabled companion in for caregiving, not to mention nonbinary/trans clientele). Why have a label if there's only one stall? That said, they've never given me grief for going in the "wrong" one or otherwise treated me as lesser for being...