Da Sichuan Bistro — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Cute hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant with great (and remarkably entertaining) service, tasty food, and a huge selection of vegetarian options. I visited Da Sichuan with a fairly large group, made up of about half vegetarian (or almost vegetarian) folks and half meat-eaters. At our server’s recommendation, we collected all our plant-based folks on one half of the table and our less plant-based folks on the other to make it easier to share. They have an entire page of their menu dedicated to vegetarian options, all of which are delicious and do not leave you missing the meat at all. We ordered a smattering of dishes, including the garlic eggplant, stir-fried green beans, gobi Manchurian, egg rolls, chicken Manchurian, vegetarian twice-cooked pork, normal twice-cooked pork, and spicy fish fillet. Everything was outstanding, but my favorites were the eggplant, gobi Manchurian (which is, quite entertainingly, a Chinese reinterpretation of an Indian reinterpretation of Chinese food), and spicy fish fillet. I will note that if you’re looking for truly authentic Sichuan cuisine, this isn’t the first place I’d point to. However, if you’re looking for tasty Chinese food in general (that may or may not reflect a specific region’s cuisine), then this is a great spot.

My favorite part of this dinner, though, was the service. Our server was hilarious; she poked fun at the Asian folks in our party for our lackluster Mandarin skills, praised the non-Asian folks for their superior Mandarin, and went above and beyond to serve everyone. We ordered the gobi Manchurian at her strong recommendation, and when it came out, she was extremely adamant about making sure we all tried a bite. She individually served everyone a piece of cauliflower, including two folks who joined us late / after the gobi Manchurian was originally served. She also singled out one person in our group to “teach how to eat the twice cooked pork,” which really just involved loading up a bit of every ingredient onto a spoon and then putting the spoon into one’s mouth. She co-opted the dish’s serving spoon to demonstrate this, even though he was doing just fine with the chopsticks. All around an entertaining meal with tasty food and great vibes — certainly not one I’ll forget...

If you are looking for a very flavorful Sichuan cuisine, this is the place. In many dishes, it emphasizes on the lovely aroma of the Sichuan peppercorn, in stead of the numbness of the peppercorn and hotness/spiciness of the peppercorn and chili peppers. This makes their dishes very enjoyable.

The Chinese Pickles (泡菜) is very tasty, crunchy, a little bit spicy, and the aroma of the chili old is something to enjoy most.

The Boiled Tofu (水煮豆花) is the vegetarian version of the Sichuan "Boiled" dishes ("Boiled" is a direct translation from its Chinese name which has nothing to do with water boiling. It is one of the special ways of cooking in the Sichuan cuisine). Silky tofu cooked in the special spicy sauce which expresses the aroma of the Sichuan peppercorn. If the dish is too spicy for you, you can consider making it a takeout and add extra vegetables and tofu to it at home to "dilute" its spiciness, but still enjoying its aroma.

The Boiled Tofu (水煮豆花) may not be on their regular menu. If you don't see it on the menu, you can ask them for their special vegetarian menu.

Dishes like Dry Sauce String Bean (干煸四季豆), Eggplant In Garlic Sauce (魚香茄子), Hot Bean Curd (a.n.a., Mapo Tofu, 麻婆豆腐), Kung Pao Tofu (宮保豆腐), Green Pepper Shredded Potato (青椒土豆絲) are also vegetarian and done very well.

The waiting service may not be great, but don't let it stop you from your enjoying the...

Visited on a quiet Tuesday at 1 p.m.; plenty of open tables. After six-plus years in this spot, the owners still greet every customer and check in often—service was warm, fast, and genuine.

What I ate • Spicy Dan Dan Noodles (minced pork): Show-stopper. Perfect chewy noodles, sesame-peppercorn sauce, real Sichuan tingle. They can’t swap the pork for chicken, but it’s worth ordering as is. • Stir-Fried String Beans: Nicely blistered with true wok hei. Salt is on the slightly high side, yet they’re addictive. • Dry Wok Chicken: Plenty of bean sprouts, mushrooms, and jalapeños, but light on chicken and only mild heat. Tasty, just not the bold mala punch I expected—will try another entrée next time. • Canned Herbal Tea: Light, refreshing palate cleanser. • Complimentary Chicken Manchurian sample came out crispy and flavorful—likely a better pick than the dry-wok dish.

Overall • Cozy, no-frills dining room (maybe a dozen tables). • Friendly staff who genuinely care if you like the food. • Great spot for authentic Sichuan flavors on the Peninsula—don’t miss the dan dan noodles.

👍 Recommended. I’ll be back to explore more of the menu, starting with a full order of that...