Fan Szechuan Restaurant & Bar 大宅门餐厅酒吧 — Restaurant in New York

Unfortunately we fell for the reviews that were bought via offering a free appetizer. Which honestly is quite surprising as the spring roll they offer is essentially unseasoned and completely bare-bones with no meat, nor vegetables (besides a piece of cabbage). Also ordered the scallion pancakes which were not bad; just lacking in personality.

We did not have water served to us until after our appetizers were done and we had to flag a server down to request it. Things were off to a rocky start, but we were still looking forward to our mains.

We got the wagyu beef truffle fried rice and the sweet and sour crispy shrimp. My fried rice bordered a vegetarian dish because there was so little meat in there. Like most of the dishes here, it tasted completely neutralized with zero spice, seasoning, or flavor. The only flavor this had was that fatty tallow taste. Served as a neutral side, this would be ok, but extremely disappointing as a main.

Breading wise, the shrimp was extremely comparable to Panda Express — that is not necessarily a bad thing. However, Panda Express takes the edge with better sauce. None of these dishes are at all comparable to authentic Chinese cuisine. I’m not sure if they’re trying to compete in that sector or if Panda Express is the main competition, but frankly I much prefer Panda Express either way.

Finally, the dessert was the only inedible thing. It was fried horribly, with some spots being oily and getting stuck in your teeth, and the non-butchered areas were simply bland; paired with a ridiculously overpowering syrup. We both tapped out on bite #2. This was the only dish that we felt was complaint-worthy, and let our waiter know. He picked up the fried rice stick with his hand, broke it apart in two, set it back down on the plate, and then informed us he would take that off the check.

Overall service wise, very disappointed. The only points of contact we had were when 1) the food was being dropped off, or 2) we flagged somebody over. The staff were also standing by the bar arguing very loudly in Chinese. They even made the restaurant go quiet the first time it happened.

Thermostat was kept at 63/64F in the middle of winter and a table of four next to us asked to be moved as they were sitting under the vent fan. It was bordering uncomfortable the entire time.

Ambiance wise, this place was pleasant upon first glance until you sit down and everything seems to have been from Temu. Their food runs perfectly parallel to this — looks great in the pictures, but much like those clickbait Temu ads, you leave...

Fan Szechuan is a new Chinese restaurant in Lower East Side, serving exquisite and delicious Szechuan dishes. Modern and comfortable dining area, attentive service, and most importantly, INCREDIBLE FOOD!

They now have some grand opening offer: FREE steam dumplings if you spend over $30 FREE any kind of chicken dish if you spend over $60

＊Thin Sliced Pork Belly 晾衣白肉** We have never tried this classic Szechuan cold appetizer. The thin cut pork and cucumber are hung over a wood. It is delicious to dip into the garlic chili sauce on the bottom.

＊Golden String Mayo Prawns 宅門金絲蝦** My favorite dish! My jaw dropped at this beautiful presentation. The prawns are wrapped in shredded crispy batter and drizzled with golden mayo sauce. It is literally a culinary art.

＊Wagyu Beef Black Truffle Fried Rice 和牛黑松露炒飯* Okay this fried rice is the star of the show. They add a generous portion of black truffle and wagyu pieces to the fried rice. Incredibly fragrant and packed with truffle flavor. The wok hei hits the spot, and the fried rice texture is just perfect.

＊Eggplant w. Garlic Sauce 魚香茄子 The eggplant is stir-fried in a rich sticky garlic sauce. Very delicious yet spicier than what we usually have at a cantonese restaurant.

＊Steam Juicy Bun 小籠包 The skin wrapper is too doughy for my liking, but the meat filling is juicy and yum. Free pork or veggie XLB if you spend over $30.

＊Handmade Fried Sticky Rice Cakes w. Brown Sugar 純手工紅糖糍粑 Imagine it is the dessert version of crispy rice, coated with soybean powder. We thought it would be chewier like tteokbokki but it was actually like...

Racist people work here and won't even allow me to use the restroom even if I am a paying customer. Asian girl who came to the front even uttered the N word under her breath at me.

Update: Let me say this again. I am a paying customer so whomever met me at the restaurant at the time had no right to deny me access to the restroom, unless, I am being a public nuisance, a random homeless person or someone under the influence of controlled substance, which I was not. I still completely disagree with the way I was treated and the situation would have been better had I been treated with courtesy. Do not invalidate my opinion or how I feel about the way I was treated. I just want to know, why, even as a paying customer, I am not allowed to use the restroom facilities but your company is allowed to take my money and still mistreat me? Is this how you allow people, even paying customers to be treated? Is that part of your business module? Even if whoever employee involved did not use a racial slur at all, they still had no right to be unprofessional. Just simply tell me the bathroom is out of order, or that it is only for employees, that's all. Just say that from the beginning but do it kindly, not snidely and rudely. Some businesses only have bathrooms for employees only and that's fine, but they are still courteous to me about it and are upfront and honest, not insolent and inconsiderate. So don't just write off rude behavior just because of what you perceived as a misunderstanding. That is not right at all. Why are you even in business at all if you treat...