Szechuan Opera — Restaurant in East Rutherford

I absolutely loved the food and my entire experience at Szechuan Opera. This is one of those restaurants where there's so much variety on the menu that you can easily have a huge meal and spend a lot of money, or simply go in for a quick meal and not break the bank.

I went there on a Saturday afternoon around 3 pm, and at that time there was no wait to get in. It was just my friend and I, so they seated us in the mezzanine level that had booths (each booth could seat 4 people). The tables at the booths are very large and we were very happy with the seating. If you're on a date or have 4 people, or you just like booth seating, you should request to be seated up there.

The menu quality was excellent, with many photos of popular dishes and a spice level next to the dish names.

Our server Sean was extremely helpful and polite. I started our interaction by asking him what the best/most popular items on the menu were and he provided me with a good number of dishes and asked me what my spice tolerance was to make sure I didn't order anything I couldn't handle. Once he gave us all that info, he offered to come back when we were ready.

When we did order, I chose to order his top suggestion for what his personal favorite dad, which was the Spicy Dry Hotpot, and we also ordered General Tso's Chicken, an order of soup dumplings, roast pork buns, and scallion pancakes. We asked to make sure the General Tso's Chicken was made a little extra crispy.

To our pleasant surprise, our dishes started coming out very quickly. Everything looked and smelled delicious. The Dry Hotpot came in a large metal bowl that had a burner that they lit underneath to keep it hot.

The dry hot pot really stood out as the centerpiece of our meal, and could have fed two people. It was filled with lots of red pepper flakes for the spice, beef, shrimp, spam, fish, plus a variety of vegetables (green and red peppers, locust root, cauliflower and cabbage) but it also contained two things I was happily surprised to see.

One of the items was little balls of Mei fun (angel hair) noodles laid over itself in a neat ball and tied up with its own noodles into tasty little noodles balls. The other I'm not 100% sure about, but it might have been a green bean tied up in a knot. Both were really cute and delicious finds in the hot pot. The whole dish is pretty spicy (my friend wasn't into how spicy it was), but that was exactly what i wanted. It is a very salty dish, though, so if you have any issues with salt, either ask the server to have the kitchen modify the dish for you, or avoid this.

The General Tso's Chicken was perfect and the sauce was sweeter than spicy.

Overall, the entire meal tasted perfect to me.

The decor of the place was awesome. The artwork and furniture was really cool.

While seated in the mezzanine, you can either sit on the side that looks out into the mall, or on the side that looks down on the main label of the restaurant. I sat on the side looking out into the mall.

Servers have their tablets slung over their shoulders and when you want to pay, it's a very quick transaction right on the spot.

When leaving it was getting closer to dinner time and a line was forming at the door for seats.

There's also a to go kiosk outside the entrance if you want that option. It might be slghtly limited compared to the sit down menu.

I would definitely return for the delicious food, the cool decor, and the professional, quick and...

Szechuan Opera is a surprisingly solid find if you’re dining with a group and want to stay within budget. The portions are generous; most dishes can easily feed two or more people, depending on how much you order.

Beyond the food, the ambiance really sets this place apart. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with vibrant cultural touches that make the dining experience feel authentic and immersive. I especially loved the booths located one level up, offering a cozy and semi-private vibe. The masks displayed above the cooking area add a striking visual element, and the television showcasing scenes of their homeland and culinary traditions creates a meaningful connection to the origins of the cuisine.

We sampled a range of dishes, starting with the house Chardonnay, which was a pleasant surprise. It had a smooth finish and none of the acidic bite that often comes with budget wines.

Food-wise, the spicy green bean appetizer was a standout. It was perfectly seasoned and cooked with just the right amount of heat. The scallion pancakes were golden and crisp, neither greasy nor undercooked. Although I found the dipping sauce a little too sweet for my taste, my sister enjoyed it and felt it paired well. She did, however, find the General Tso tofu slightly too sweet. The tofu itself had a great texture: crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, though the sauce leaned more toward sweet and sour than the traditional spicy profile we expected.

My niece ordered the soup dumplings and loved them, although she skipped the side of vinegar they came with. My husband had the chive and shrimp dumplings, which arrived crisp and golden. Since he cleared his plate without a word, I’ll take that as a win.

The only slight downside was the bottled water option. They only offer Dasani, which wouldn’t be my first pick. It would’ve been nice to see something like Poland Spring, Saratoga, or Acqua Panna on the menu. Still, it’s a small detail that likely reflects the overall budget-conscious nature of the restaurant.

All in all, Szechuan Opera delivers flavorful dishes, generous portions, and a rich, culturally vibrant atmosphere; making it a great place to relax and share plates with friends or family after a long day at the mall. We’ll...

As one of the few places with over a 4 star rating at American Dream Mall, I was hopeful going to this restaurant. But to get straight to the point... the dishes they cook are wonderful, we had the Bok Choi and Double Cooked Pork, and when I looked around all the stuff that you would generally cook to order all looked fantastic. So if you're coming here, order legit dishes that you can do family style and share.. The ridiculous disappointment was the Dim Sum options... they were absolutely horrible and disgraceful. We had the Char Siu Bao which tasted frost bitten and the Xiao Long Bao which tasted like they were purchased from a supermarket. My mom would buy the Xiao Long Bao from Chinese supermarkets and steam them for me growing up and they tasted like those... Not saying it's bad but for $9 per 6, you expect something definitely of higher quality. Also, the service was just meh, we got water topped off once and then after we were finished with our meal, it took 30 minutes for the waiter to come around where we could flag them down... To the owners of Szechuan Opera... either do Dim Sum properly and make it in-house or source them properly or completely remove it from your menu. The fact you can charge $9 for those 6 Xiao Long Bao that tasted like supermarket quality is an absolute disgrace and embarrassment. If they AREN'T supermarket bought then you need to go back to the drawing board on all your Dim Sum and do some serious reflecting cause it tasted terrible. All-in-all, knowing what I know now, I would actually revisit this place but 110% avoid the Dim Sum options like the plague, other dishes like Double Cooked Pork...