Chili Wok — Restaurant in Vienna

If you're seeking a delicious and authentic Szechuan dining experience, look no further than Chili Wok. I stopped here for lunch with some friends and found that while the location is small, it boasts a friendly staff, easy parking, and a great variety of delicious cuisine.

We ordered family style, selecting five different dishes along with small bowls of rice for each person. The pricing was good for the value; it cost us $25 per person, though individual items are available for under $20.

Our meal included Szechuan green beans, mapo tofu, baby bok choy with tofu, chili oil with beef, and double cooked pork. My favorite was the double cooked pork, which I enjoyed even more when soaked in the chili oil dish, a technique that also enhanced the green beans. While the food wasn't the spiciest I've ever had, the flavors were outstanding.

Despite the place being very busy in the afternoon, it remained clean and organized. I will definitely be visiting again to try other items on the menu and perhaps sample the individual meals. Since I didn't get takeout, I can't comment on that aspect.

One minor drawback is that all the drinks are bottled, which wasn't ideal for me, but there's a water machine available for those who prefer unlimited water.

Overall, this was a great experience and is worth trying if you're in the area and craving Szechuan cuisine. I highly recommend Chili Wok for its authentic flavors and...

Really, it was the potstickers! Some of the best I've had ever, including from an esteemed Chinese chef. (Hers were second.) Big, incredibly tasty, and fried to perfection! The dipping sauce, while not elaborate, was really good, too.

The restaurant was empty. And there didn't seem to be takeout orders or delivery. But, except for the cheery murals on the wall, the place was also cheaply furnished - and utensils, which you had to get yourself, were plastic. And some nice hot tea I ordered came in a plastic container, like for to-go soup. So a less than ideal dining experience. Still, food was delivered to the table, which was surprising, but nice.

Which was a shame because the rest of the food was good, too. The egg rolls were decent - not committing the sin of being mushy in the middle. And were not served with "duck sauce," which I despise. The beef broccoli was serviceable, but a tad overcooked. The brown sauce was flavorful. And the accompanying jasmine rice was fragrant, tender, and tasty. Not like my brown rice, which is $2 extra, which was dry and almost flavorless. My eggplant was perfect, but a bit spicy (for me, a 🔥 wimp). The pork he added at my request was good, too. Oh, and very large portions, too.

I guess the almost $50 was about par for the area. Still, it made me cringe, especially after bussing our own table and the aforementioned plastic.

So if I want Chinese on the way to Wolf Trap,...

Chili Wok is so good that I came here twice in a row. For Day 1, I came with my boyfriend, and got the crispy golden mountain beef and sweet and sour chicken, both of which were so flavorful, and close to authentic Chinese food. Portions were great for being under $15. The server was really nice and offered to move our table, so that we wouldn't be close by the door on a cold day. The crispy beef is so much better here, and I used to think that my general chinese takeout place was the best. I came back here the next day, and got the ganghood chicken and chow mein. The chow mein was cut really nicely, and succulent supported by the sauce. However, if you want to get the ganghood chicken, I would recommend getting it by yourself as, when you bite into the chicken, it will have a palate-cleansing effect that makes you feel like you are going to another dimension, and may affect how you taste other foods. The ganghood chicken is nicely crisp, and I love how the flounder roll doesn't have a super fishy smell or taste, which made it feel like ordering a regular chicken spring roll.

I definitely hope to come...