Szechuan Gourmet — Restaurant in New York

Came here with a friend out of the blue. Never been here before but thought we give it a try. One of my friends had reviewed this place, lets see if I agree with his assessment.

Caution: You must be able to handle spicy foods to truly enjoy this restaurant. The foods can get really spicy.

We ordered: Dan Dan Noodles * with chili minced pork Chef's Ma Pau Tofu * with chili minced pork Braised Whole Bass w/Sichuan Chilli Miso

The Dan Dan noodles portion is really small and barely enough to share with 2 people. Basically a taste test if you were to share it. I did love the flavors from the very first bite. It reminded me of a popular noodle shop back in Taiwan. It was spicy and oily but tasted delicious.

The Chef's Ma Pau Tofu was good. There's one ingredient in there that I didn't agree with. Perhaps next time, I'll try other combinations of tofu. Overall the dish still had a lot of flavors and the portion size is definitely enough to split with 3 people. This dish was my least favorite dish of the night.

We asked the waitress which fish dish she would recommend so she pointed out the Braised Whole Bass with chili miso. It was a nicely sized fish. Lots of meat but do be careful of the bones. They aren't microscopic bones, but at least the bones are long and thick enough for you to pull it out easily. The sauce was flavorful. I loved the sweet and spicyness to the dish. The dish is good for 2 people. One side of the fish for each person.

Service was excellent. Our water glasses were always full. Never went below 25%. That's impressive for a chinese restaurant.

The decor isn't decent. Bright colors, doesn't feel gloomy at all.

They are tight on space though so I wouldn't recommend huge groups for this place. A party of 4 is excellent.

From our encounters, they speak both Mandarin and Cantonese.

Service was fairly quick. I guess they depend on volume and turn around time. Definitely enough workers to make this happen.

I wasn't paying too much attention to the bill but the waitress gave us something like 10 or 15% off the bill because I think we ate at a certain time or something.

I would definitely recommend this place and come back again! I will re-review this place when I come back in the future to see if they deserve 5 stars or not. Still on the...

I made plans to hang out with a friend today and have an early dinner here at Szechuan Gourmet. Unfortunately, my friend canceled at the last minute, but I decided to go anyway since I already had reservations set. Thank goodness I went, or I would have missed out on this amazing restaurant.

The décor is sort of modern Chinese with cool looking recessed lighting, plushy booths, and wood accents. I loved the whole floor plan and the way the tables were set up. There are a couple of nooks and semi-private tables and an area in the back for larger parties. It’s just on overall lovely looking restaurant.

The menu is quite robust, and it took me a good 5 minutes of reading to finally decide on what to order. I got an order of pork soup dumplings, the shredded pork with sweet miso sauce and the crispy chicken with citrus lemon sauce. It was quite a lot of food for one person!

Let’s start with the soup dumplings. They came to the table steaming hot (as it should be). The skin was thin, and the broth was very tasty. It was so good, and I devoured the whole order!

The shredded pork dish came with shredded carrots, cucumbers, scallions, and several pieces of crepes so that you can make your own pork sandwiches. Anyone who likes eating with their hands would love this.

The crispy chicken was another outstanding dish. The chicken was crunchy from the breading and the sauce was a nice blend of tangy and sweet.

By now as you can imagine I was quite full. I had not planned on getting dessert, but the waiter talked me into getting their pumpkin cakes. Thank you, mister waiter, (who I did not get their name) for being so attentive and for recommending this dessert. The pumpkin cakes were made of glutinous rice and stuffed with pumpkin and red bean paste. It was crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft and sticky on the inside. Absolutely yummy. I would come back just for this.

If you are in the Bryant Park neighborhood and looking for a serene spot with great food,...

Szechuan Gourmet is a long-standing Sichuan restaurant, and its decor and atmosphere reflect its storied history. Initially, I was concerned it might lean towards Americanized “Sichuan” cuisine, but after tasting the food, I was pleasantly surprised by its authenticity.

The presentation of each dish is thoughtful, showing the restaurant’s effort to stay visually appealing and up-to-date. The cold appetizer, Garden Diced Chicken in Spicy Sauce, features tender chicken immersed in rich red oil that enhances the flavor without being overly spicy. However, the chicken itself was a bit loose in texture and could have been firmer. The Beef with Silky Tofu is a bold, spicy hot dish, perfect for pairing with rice. Although the flavors are spot on, the beef itself was rather ordinary.

The Trotter Soup, unfortunately, didn’t impress me. The broth lacked depth and authenticity, missing the herbal notes typically associated with traditional Sichuan soups, and the dipping sauce was just basic doubanjiang, adding little to the experience.

The biggest highlight was the Roasted Chili Spiced Broth (Mao Xue Wang). This dish stood out due to its impressive variety of ingredients—fish, pork intestine, luncheon meat, beef tripe, and vegetables—all served in a beautifully designed vessel. The sheer diversity of ingredients makes it one of the most abundant versions of Mao Xue Wang I’ve had, and I highly recommend it.

Overall, while Szechuan Gourmet has some areas for improvement—such as a more coordinated serving order and slightly higher-quality meats—the flavors are genuine. For a restaurant with such a long history, it’s commendable that they’ve maintained a level of authenticity in their Sichuan dishes. A satisfying...