Szechuan House — Restaurant in Hamilton Township

Great food -- Horrible service. Before I get into this review, I'll be clear...This was Christmas dinner (5:30pm) and the place was packed. We arrived before our reservation time at 5:30pm and was seated promptly. However, no one took our order until 6pm. When placing our order (4 adults, 1 child), we were warned about ordering too much food (huh?) - The menu looked great and we like to sample food, then take any leftovers home...so no problem. at 6pm we are told that the most difficult order would take 45 minutes with everything else coming before. No problem, just bring the food as it is ready, especially all the appetizers we ordered. 30 minutes later we started to get food...4 spring rolls. Then about a 1/3rd of what we ordered started to coming out. To make a long story short, the final 2/3rds of our meal still hadn't come 2.5 hours after ordering...including appetizers like a bowl of soup! So we canceled some items, were told the other items would be out 10 minutes later which we had them package to go. So we dealt with problem like our waiter disappearing, mass confusion when we pulled aside other people who couldn't verify the status of our order, and other issues. The lady at the front desk said that they only had 2 woks (wow) - Also, we noticed several plates of food being returned to the kitchen and other tables complaining about the lack of service and chasing down waiters to get their status...and also people canceling their orders and wanting to leave. Whoever manages this place clearly just didn't care enough to think through how to handle Christmas dinner. Terrible first impression for me. Crazy thing is, the food that did come out was GREAT. The other crazy thing is, I will give them a shot for takeout, and MAYBE another dine in experience...But I hope someone is doing an assessment on what happened on Christmas night and making sure it NEVER...

This restaurant is very unassuming on the outside and not much to look at. I did not expect much when my mother and sister invited me here for lunch on a recent Sunday.

But as soon as I walked in through the door, I knew I was in for a treat. It was the aroma and the sight of the food: authentic. It was also another observation: every customer that noon -- aside from members of my party -- was Asian.

As Brad Heller's review points out: this is not your typical Americanized Chinese take-out. This is the real deal. The best Szechuan style Chinese I've had in New Jersey and it's been hiding nearby for all this time!

Let's just get this out of the way: the decor is very sub-par. The seats are old. The cushions are worn. The outside looks...cheap. But if you can look past the visuals, you will be in for a treat of fantastic, spicy, authentic Szechuan style cuisine.

The older reviews seem to indicate that there was a change the kitchen that lead to a downgrade. But the current rotation seems to be back to a crew of very skilled chefs in the kitchen. Everything we ordered was delicious and delectable. Every dish that came out was fresh and cooked to order. And while some of the food looked oily and greasy, we all commented afterwards that none of us felt "heavy" after gorging ourselves.

I would not recommend this place for those that like their Americanized Chinese food. I would not recommend this place for those that can't look past the atmosphere. I would not recommend this place if you don't like authentic, spicy, Szechuan style Chinese food. However, I would recommend this place to anyone that wants to appreciate a truly authentic offering of Szechuan style cuisine hidden in a tiny nook in an unassuming building in Hamilton, NJ (or all places!).

Serious foodies will absolutely LOVE, LOVE,...

The only authentic game in town, I might cry if they ever close. I grew up in Edison where excellent Sichuan food is common, but this is the only option within miles of Hamilton; I'm so grateful they're here. Nice people too! I have a huge sour tooth where most people's sweet tooth would be so I'm OBSESSED with their duck with pickled radish soup. It's a lovely clear broth that's about as sour as it gets. I ask for pickled hot peppers added to also satisfy my spice cravings and while I would completely understand being charged extra, they never have.

All their other pickled vegetable soups also hit the spot for me, as do their hot and sour sweet potato noodles (the noodles are not sweet) and minced pork with pickled green beans. Dishes that aren't sour but I still thoroughly enjoy include the wontons in chili vinaigrette, cumin lamb, string beans, and their ma po tofu is solid. Keep in mind lots of oil is standard for authentic Sichuan food. My husband prefers sweeter, more Americanized Chinese staples, of which they also have tons of choices; he gravitates to their chicken and broccoli and fried rice. They are a great choice for families or friends with varying tastes.

Small criticism: their hot and sour soup is more miss than hit, though every so often it's wonderful and you won't find a better price anywhere. At $4/quart I mean that literally.

Thanks to Szechuan House for being a rare gem around here and the much appreciated generosity with the pickled hot peppers! ❤️

Update: recently placed a delivery order but forgot to leave a note to add pickled hot peppers to my favorite soup. They must have recognized my name/order as they added them anyway. That is some uncommonly top notch...