Chongqing Lao Zao 重慶老灶 — Restaurant in New York

My family and I had high hopes for this restaurant and we were unfortunately very disappointed. I rarely leave negative reviews but I felt the need to give some insight since other customers seem to have great things to say.

The service: We were EXTREMELY disappointed by the service that was provided. There was an overall lack of respect and no attention to detail. The tea they gave us was delicious, but we ran out almost immediately and it was never refilled through our entire meal. We added some sliced beef to our meal, and they took so long to bring out the food that we genuinely assumed they forgot about the order. After a long wait, we decided to just ask for the check and leave. We ended up calling out to the waiter and waving our hands multiples times only to get completely ignored by the staff. I understand that the waiters are likely very busy with the loud environment and full restaurant, but we were practically pleading for any waiter to notice us. When the check finally came, lo and behold, they brought out the beef that we had waited practically an eternity for. The timing felt almost comical. We were just in disbelief.

The food: Service aside, the food was not bad at all. The quality and everything seemed pretty good, but also nothing extraordinary. I do believe that for what you're getting, the pricing is a little steep. Usually at a hotpot restaurant you're expecting to eat enough to be extremely full and satisfied. We didn't feel that was possible here without spending upwards of $50 per person.

The environment: The restaurant is decorated to feel like 1960s China, with a village-like feel. This was executed very well. The environment is nice and feels like a great place to catch up with friends. I do prefer a more structured style, but the vibe wasn't a turn-off in any way. That being said, I wish the seats had cushions and backrests because sitting on a stone bench was not awesome after half an hour. This was more personal preference, but I think it's definitely a cool place to look at.

Overall, if you're looking to come here, I highly recommend you take everything into account. I would recommend just going to HaiDiLao for hotpot since the wait is around the same, but the overall experience is just so...

I think Chongqing Laozao has made its way to the top of some rankings list of top Chinese food in NYC - I'm not necessarily sure if I fully agree that it's the best, but it is definitely a fantastic restaurant - authentic, delicious, and reasonably-priced. (I'm a fan of the immersive traditional decor, too.)

My party of 3 arrived around 2pm on a Sunday and waited ~15-20 to be seated. They're well known for always having a Long Queue, especially during peak hours (up to 1-2 hours, I've heard!), so do make plans to explore Flushing in the meantime (or come at off peak times XD).

For our broth we ordered the triple flavour option, with spicy beef tallow, green pepper, and tomato. The mala broth and tomato broth were fantastic, both very rich and savoury flavours that really infused into the meat and veggies, but I would say the green pepper option was a bit of a flop (not a very "full" flavour and didn't add much of a spicy kick, either).

We ordered a lot of food (definitely too much), so some highlights -

Sliced beef 肥牛卷 - super delicious, light and savoury (and one of the cheaper options for meat, too).

Milky beef 拔罐牛肉 - I thought the beef was tender and cooked nicely (esp in the tomato broth), but I didn't really taste any difference from the milk that it was sitting in when served.

Fish balls w fish roe (魚籽丸) - the roe filling was SO good, I loved the savoury flavour that paired nicely with the chewy fish ball.

Brown sugar glutinous rice cake 香酥小糍粑 - this was nothing like I expected; I thought it was going to be like chewy mochi with some sauce/sugar, but it's actually (deep-?) fried and airy. It was really delicious and I loved the sugary syrup they poured on top. Definitely would recommend trying this.

We were all extremely stuffed at the end of our meal (and learned an important lesson about not ordering when you're too hungry), but even so, price point was pretty good (esp for hot pot in NYC nowadays ,,) If it weren't for the queue I'd definitely come...

Recent update for a 8/24/25 visit. This place has disappointed us, lowing the review to 4 stars for food quality and service from a year ago.

We came here at 2-3pm on a Sat, and waited 1.5 hrs just to be seated. This was the 3rd time we've visited. One thing we noticed immediately was the decrease in staff numbers since our last visit. The servers were also much less attentive and felt very rushed.

One of our favourite dishes is the sticky rice ball which is a signature item here. When we ordered it and took a bite this time, we were so disappointed by the downgrade of material used. This place used to offer the most legit rice ball, where stick rice was smashed and fried. This resulted in the crispiness, as well as the thin crust the balls are suppose to have. This time we noticed immediately that they have resorted to just use rice flour. It has turned into a big, fried, mochi. Which is not what 糯米糍粑 should be. It has become a 糯米粑粑.

This swap of using a lower end material is a telltale sign that the place is trying to cut cost at the expense of lowering quality.

I hope it does not mean this place will be going downhill. This is by far the best hotpot restaurant I've been to in USA period. Lovely decor that people lived in china in the 90s and prior will definitely appreciate. They also sticked to the theme with the music selections and eating utensils.

We got the mild spicy soup and tomatoe soup. Both are very flavorful and you don't really need additional dipping sauce. I was surprised at how spicy even mild level is.. so if you cannot tolerate spicy, don't even try. Chongqing hotpot is known for it's spiciness and this place is very legit.

They also have a very unique selection of ingredients and cooked food. Definitely a must visit if you...