Five Spice

Casual spot for delicious Chinese food. Big portions, a pretty good value for the price. Dishes came out fast and steaming hot. Don’t sleep on the mapo tofu - packed with flavor and all the spices, a crowd favorite. Drenched the extra sauce in everything. The others standout dishes that we got were the sizzle steak, pork and tofu, and the green beans. They have a few Thai dishes as well, the green curry was quite heavy on the coconut milk. Looking forward to trying some of their noodle dishes next time. A great option for tasty Chinese food in Boulder!

Pretty darn good. A couple dishes just needed a bit more pop with depth and flavor. We had the spicy beef tendon appetizer... but it was only about a 1/5 spice level. The chicken Lo mein was great as well as the Szechuan chicken. M15 hot pot needed some more flavor. The staff is awesome and friendly. I definitely recommend the restaurant!

Our new got-to in Boulder! We had Mongolian beef and sweet and sour chicken and it was perfect, even the s&s sauce was real instead of the pink syrup served in other restaurants. They have a full traditional menu also which I will be ordering from next time. Portions are generous and service was great.

This is such a great place for group dinners! The salt and pepper shrimp was incredibly delicious, and the beef brisket clay pot was amazing — cooked until perfectly tender. The Chinese food here is very authentic, which is really rare to find in Boulder. Highly recommend!

The food tastes like authentic Chinese family cook. The service is thoughtful and friendly. Highly recommend!

If you’re looking for an authentic Chinese dining experience in Boulder, this place is a hidden gem! I’ve had the pleasure of trying several dishes here, but my favorites are definitely the Steamed Whole Fish, the Beef Brisket & Tendon Hotpot, and Spicy Chicken (bone). The service is also worth mentioning—it’s always warm and attentive. The staff makes you feel welcome and is more than happy to offer recommendations or customize your order to suit your preferences. It’s clear they genuinely care about providing a great dining experience. Overall, this restaurant has become my go-to spot for high-quality Chinese food in Boulder. If you’re in the area and crave something authentic, don’t miss out on this place!

Five Spice is a place we come back frequently. It has a few dishes we order almost every time, such as scallion pancake, basil eggplant, beef brisket & tendon hotpot, etc. We’d recommend Five Spice if you’re looking for a nice Chinese Restaurant in the Boulder.

The food here is very nice.The staff always pay attention to the table.The fried rice is a must-have.

Casual spot for delicious Chinese food. Big portions, a pretty good value for the price. Dishes came out fast and steaming hot. Don't sleep on the mapo tofu - packed with flavor and all the spices, a crowd favorite. Drenched the extra sauce in everything. The others standout dishes that we got were the sizzle steak, pork and tofu, and the green beans. They have a few Thai dishes as well, the green curry was quite heavy on the coconut milk. Looking forward to trying some of their noodle dishes next time. A great option for tasty Chinese food in Boulder!

This is a staple on our delivery options. Everything has always been hot, super fast delivery (we call & order over the phone), and good food. The main thing I look for in Chinese food is fresh looking, good chicken. We've never been disappointed. The chicken fried rice is excellent & is enough for two meals for us. The fried pork dumplings are the best we've found & the sweet & sour chicken is full of fresh, real chicken (white meat). They even accommodate my picky eaters by not adding the pineapple & veggies, lol. Can't speak to the ambience of the location, as we've driven by but never dined in.

For a restaurant called "5 Alice" it sure would be nice if they knew how to use them. Everything was bland.

I ordered sweet and sour spare ribs- I reviewed the tops of spare ribs deep fried in sticky over salted sauce, not what I was hoping for. Not described online... Fried rice is also just salty colored rice no veggies in there. Save your money- go someplace else.

I really enjoyed eating here! I highly recommend the pan-friend pork buns. They were fantastic! The service was also quite good. I came in quite late and my server was very sweet and accommodating! I will definitely be returning.

Love this place sooo much!! Obviously very authentic with huge portions (hence the $15+ prices). Food comes out quick and have loved everything i've gotten here. The drunken noodles are my favorite by far. Definitely recommend!

I was totally surprised when I went to this restaurant. Honestly, I was a bit reluctant to eat at a tiny restaurant in a strip mall on the side of Safeway in North Boulder. Boy was I surprised! The menu was HUGE! I grew up in San Francisco, and lived in a Chinese neighborhood. I've eaten Sechuan food, Cantonese, I've had it all, and I think I'm a good judge. Our food came out sizzling hot! We could actually hear the person making our food in the wok to order. The whole place had that familiar smell of smoky wok oil, that's present in authentic Chinese restaurants. The egg foo young was light and fluffy, golden brown, and not the least bit greasy or heavy. The mushu pork was just as hot, and you could tell that someone paid attention to shredding the cabbage into delicate shreds that were expertly cooked. It had that nice smoky wok flavor I love. With the plum sauce and pancake, sooo good! Although the ambiance wasn't that great, I would happily overlook that aspect because the food is so good! The waitress was kind, and very accommodating. The prices are a bit on the high side, but you definitely get what you pay for. It's worth it since the portions are so large, and the food is so good. If I lived closer to this place, I'd eat here all the time.

Ordered carry out. They got my order wrong, served me vegetable spring rolls instead of vegetable dumplings, and the spring rolls were mostly doughy wrap w/ hardly any veggies. The hot and sour soup was neither hot nor sour; rather, there was lots of bland liquid with, again, very small amounts of veggies and tofu. I had to add soy sauce just to get a hint of flavor. I'm not going back!

Ordered over Uber eats, got the crispy duck. It was a delicious meal like chicken wings, but better. I would highly recommend this restaurant.

Lovely food and service. We got multiple dishes and they were all very tasty. Very nice servers as well I appreciate their work and business.

We found this place on yelp and was skeptical with the two and half stars. However, the food was amazing and the customer service was excellent! Highly recommend you to stop and try this lovely food!

I was extremely pleased with the authentic perfectly seasoned Asian dishes served in this tiny place where You would not expect to find it--in a strip mall next to Safeway in North Boulder. I knew I would love the food when I realized all the other customers Were of Asian descent which added to the ambiance both at lunch and dinner. I can admit I desperately missed the BayArea Asian restaurants until I found 5 Spices. It's a hiddenGem

Five spice has excellent Chinese food!!! The average rating here is absurd, and it appears there has been an effort to intentionally sandbag the restaurant. One reviewer commented that Panda Express is superior. Come on, really? Panda Express is trash. Five Spice serves really good Chinese dishes. My wife and I have eaten from here probably 2 dozen times. When we dined in, we enjoyed a pleasant experience. The family that owns the place is very friendly. We often get delivery or pickup. Okay, now the food. There is a reason why I'm willing to give this place 5 stars, their food is excellent for the price. Having not eaten here in many months, I wanted to order again before giving a rating. I posted a pic of my order below. Everything was excellent (as we have experienced in the past for many years), especially the shiitake mushroom duck. Also, their tropical fried rice can't be beat. Give this place a chance. The vegetables are crisp, the flavors are delicious, and the price is right!

I ordered two different kinds of meat (chicken and beef) both tasted really old and expired. There may be a quality control issue. Green beans were fine and sesame balls were good. Won't go here again.

Honesty, if you want some authentic Chinese food this is the place. If you only want some American Chinese food, you better go to a carry out restaurant not here. The service is warm and welcoming.

Awful. Ive never seen worse looking/or tasting crab cheese rangoons. The hot sour soup was bland and the basil fried rice was literally jalapeño fried rice. Never again

Authentic Chinese food, reminiscent of my chiildhood eats. Great staff, extremely helpful with recommendations.

Always consistent. They are nice people, food is always god whether it's to go or dine in.

I ordered the egg drop soup and the orange chicken on the phone for pick up. It was ready on time and very hot by the time I got it home, so we were off to a good start. The restaurant itself was clean and sweet, and located on the north end of the Safeway building. I enjoyed the egg drop soup, and found the serving very generous. I did not enjoy the orange chicken. The ratio of breading/batter to meat was off and leaning towards too much batter. The sauce was also lackluster and the chicken had been sitting in the sauce for at least 15 minutes, by the time the food was packaged, picked up, and gotten home/plated so the crust was soggy. I wouldn't say I recommend, and I wouldn't say I don't. I'd probably try it again, but not if I had other options.

I like more authentic Chinese food and ordered off the Traditional menu which was delicious. Best Chinese food in Boulder by far.

My favorite Chinese restaurant in boulder. Super authentic, vegan friendly, affordable, fast, delicious, the owner is so nice! AnGet the sechuan eggplant - it's to die for. And most importantly, the rice is perfect.

I have eaten here a few dozen times over the last few years, I have not gotten a bad meal here. The last meal I had was the Hong Kong noodles combo it was outstanding! The service at times has been spotty and at times a bit gruff, the ambience?, not much. The food consistently good and reasonably priced.

It's not good. Go to Panda Express!! I understand the restaurant business and Covid because I work in the industry. It is all the more reason restaurants should put out quality food!! These days when we get take out, it is a treat!! I just wasted my "treat" on garbage and it stinks and I wish I went to McDonald's!!!

Came here with work colleagues for lunch and I was impressed with the quality of my Thai Basil tofu lunch deal. The food was fresh, spicy, and the portion was enough to take home leftovers (for less than $10 dollars!). The dining room was full of other dinners and their dishes looked equally as tasty as my table's orders, including hot pots, noodles, and large shirmp portions. My minor criticism to offer was that when it came time to ring up the bill, the tab as all on ticket and it took some sorting out. It wasn't also the fastest service, but again, it was busy with both dine in and take out orders. Will be back again!

This is one my favorite restaurants in Boulder to get authentic Chinese food. The options are vast and all the dishes were delicious and melt in your mouth. The Host/sever was very nice and took his time to explain the dishes that we were interested in. Truly one of the best experiences in this place!!

This place has phenomenally delicious food! Their boiled fish and Mapo Tofu is excellent. My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed every single entree ordered from this place. I'm surprised this place has 2.5 stars.

Great Cantonese style dishes, especially the Egg Foo Young! Brings back my New York childhood memories. Can't wait to try the Szechuan dishes and many others!

I went on line and ordered my meal based on the web pricing as well as the delivery pricing. When they delivered my food, I saw that they had over charged me. I called the Five Spice and they told me they changed their pricing however they did not update their on line menu. I let the owner know I was not happy that they had done this and he did nothing to correct the problem. To add insult to injury, the food was ok. I have been to East Moon in Longmont and their food is far superior. I cannot recommend this restaurant and won't be going back. For me, it's not the money, it's the principal. I am very disappointed.

Worst miso soup and worst service ever. I went to pick up my order and they gave me the wrong order. So I took it back and they gave me the most pathetic order of miso soup. It had no scallions or seaweed-just tofu and broth. I called and they said they were "out of scallions" and didnt add seaweed because I also ordered a seaweed salad...And then the lady hung up on me. Never will return here, especially for such shitty quality food and service

Great place to have some authentic chinese food. The taste is awesome and the services are also good.

Out of 5 dishes only 1 was palatable. The "Pad Thai" (if you can call cold spaghetti with sweat and sour sauce, Pad Thai) was patjetic. My BBQ chicken tasted like dish soap. General Tso's chicken acceptable, but what General Tso's isnt.

I arrived at 4:45 PM on a Tuesday so it was not a surprise that I was the only customer. The decor inside is pleasant and the establishment feels clean enough (mostly, see below). An earlier reviewer here raved about the Singapore noodles, and that's exactly what my hungry mind was set on. Love those fine noodles, similar to my favorite noodles of all, Thai woon sen (bean thread). A young man - probably a family member - told me I could sit anywhere so I stationed myself next to north-facing front window on a bright and warm day after a cold and wet spring. It was obvious that the table surface had been wiped earlier in the day, but clearly with a not-so-fresh towel and not-so-motivated attitude. What I'm saying is that some sort of semi-crusty film coated some of the surface. Whatevs. I've been on two extended trips through Asia so have certainly experienced worse (as well as very clean) there. My cup of hot and sour soup was served promptly. The temp was hot, nice and peppery, but not as sour as I prefer. Missing was even a couple token green peas. Not bland, not really flavorful, either. A plate of what I was told were Singapore noodles arrived only a minute after the soup. Being the only customer, it's not that the cook was too busy to time the arrival of these items for me. It was simply clear that the time-old tradition of giving the customer savor-time for his starter is simply not thought of here. Take a look at the photo of my noodles and you'll why they were disappointing before I shoveled any in my mouth. Where are the vegetables? For both palatability and visual appeal, there is no color mixed into this mound of wheat paste. Once I got into the curry powder flavored dish (all of which I ate nevertheless), I did locate the tiniest slivers of carrot. Also present in micro amounts were onion and cabbage. Overall the dish was oily, especially the deep-fried tofu. The server was nice and attentive. He actually (believe it or not!) refilled my water glass as it approached empty and just generally seemed awake and aware. For that I will bump this review from two to three stars.

The waiter was very friendly and attentive. The fried rice tasted good. The restaurant is clean. The free dessert sesame balls are tasty. So ends the positive things I have to say about Five Spice. The menu looked delicious, but all of the dishes our table tried (including soups and dinner courses) ranged from boring to gross to odd tasting. Additionally, the soda was $1.25 for a flat can of Pepsi. I did read other Yelps that mention a second menu . If you go, I guess ask for that because the posted menu is not worth seeking out.

Hit or miss: the first time I went I was super impressed with the Szechuan string beans. However this appears to be a seasonal dish under "assorted vegetables", so I couldn't order it the second time. The mapo tofu is great. The second time the spices seemed to be a little much (overpowering and causing me to become tired much more quickly), but in general still very tasty. A reasonable and tasty price for Chinese food in Boulder!

Terrible food with terrible service. Gave me all overcooked pork and not even a sorry when I complain to them.

This place was one of my favorites when we lived in Boulder so we came here with high hope again this time. Usually I came here with our Chinese friends so never got to order myself. On Yelp it says they open at 10.30 but actually they are open at 11 am so we gotta wait for a bit which was totally fine. We waited at the waiting area when they were cleaning up and getting the tables set up. We went through the menu first and planned to order sth authentic. Got some ideas what to order as I loved some dishes when I lived in Boulder and we got them all the time. As u know they have regular and Chinese menu so we got the Chinese menu that has English translation. The highlight was they had some sticky note with a totally written in Chinese (see picture) then we asked what they were. The host said she didn't wanna explain because once she did and customers won't order anyway. She made it sounds like it would waste her time. Also she said I can tell you that everything is delicious here. Holy Moly! We were stunned...If u don't want customers to ask why u put it there. Or the rule was I have to come here with Chinese friends only? I didn't believe this was a real manner of the person who works in a restaurant. Sadly our good friend is a friend of someone who works there but so sorry this wasn't right. Maybe they had a bad day...or we picked a wrong day. Mannn...good luck everyone. I know that they probably don't care anyway because they have a base of customers in Boulder. It was just sad that this place used to be one of my favs that I told people to check it out. Also, this was not at all typical Chinese hospitality. I love Chinese restaurants in general with people' s friendliness...sigh. Zaijian.

It's really good...when they get my order right. I've been here many many times because the food is so good but sometimes my food gets replaced by Pad Thai which I can't eat because of allergies. Employees are very friendly.

As a Chinese who spent my past 23 years in Beijing, I think Five Spice is the best Chinese food place I tried in Boulder. I even doubt whether there is a better place in Denver. I sew some reviews said that the food provided to native and mandarin spoken people is very different. The food provided to native is worse. I want to explain. Americans loves American style Chinese food, which is modified according to American people's taste. You may not like the way of authentic Chinese food. Chinese people may like western style food but they do not like American style Chinese food. That's why in most Chinese restaurants there are 2 kinds of menus, one in English for native Americans and the other one for mandarin spoken people. The second kind of menu is often printed in Chinese with no English translation. I have to say that authentic Chinese food is just looked better, more colorful than American Chinese food. That's why people think that the food served to native is worse than food served to Chinese spoke people. Actually in the aspect of ingredients and cooking(not condiments), I think they are the same thing. Both authentic Chinese food and American Chinese food needs boiling, stir frying and friding, but in authentic Chinese food there are much less of friding. In China we never fried dumplings. Instead we use steam. If you want to try authentic Chinese food, I would suggest you to ask the waiters in five spice to recommend you some dishes in the Mandarian menu to start with. If you want me to recommend you something, I would say twice cooked pork, which is Sichuan style spicy pork belly, very spicy and kind of greasy( just like other pork dishes). You can also try tang cu li ji, which is kind of like orange chicken but in pork fillet.

My dinner was very greasy. Chicken was slimy and wierdly chewy. Waitress was surly. My wife's dinner, Lemon Grass Chicken, smelled strange. Kind of a barnyard smell, not lemon grass. Viet spring rolls were overdone. Oil needed to be changed. Overall, not what we hoped for. The other one in Louisville is worlds better.

Disappointed for the food. I order sasemi chicken and tell them for extra crispy. But it was crispy at all. I order a shrimp spring rolls also. It's nothing. Just noodle and shrimp and some veggies. Spring rolls cost for $4.95. Really? Don't wanna be mean or anything but if you want to have a good Chinese food. Please check somewhere els.

I agree with all the other reviewers, the food is really mediocre and unimpressive at this place. So then why the four star rating? Because they have a SECOND MENU. And that menu is awesome, very authentic, and deliciously prepared. It actually makes me feel bad for the kitchen that they're forced to prepare those lackluster pan-Asian dishes on the regular menu, when really they are yearning to bust out the delicious Chinese food on the other menu. If you're a fan of China Gourmet's second menu or of Spice China, or if you're just yearning for "the real deal" Chinese food, check out Five Spice and ask your server for the "other" menu.

Here's the thing. If you run a restaurant, your rep is not only based on the tastiness and quality of your food, but on the service that you offer your patrons. The food here was good, not exceptional but definitely okay, and priced appropriately. Based only on the food, I'd go back. However, the service was easily some of the worst I've experienced in a restaurant. I've never before had a wait person throw the plate onto my table in passing to go chat with a friend, never make eye contact with me except for about 3 seconds when taking my order and 3 seconds when taking my money, loudly chat with other staff/friends/family, and then throw the receipt and cookie on the table at the end. I hope the snit was worth it because although I almost always tip at least 20%, tonight, for the first time in years, I only tipped 15%. And I won't be back.

Like a lot of cuisines outside of their original contexts, Chinese food in the United States comes in two flavors: Americanized Chinese cuisine, and Chinese cuisine. It's interesting to me that we don't make a distinction between these more obvious. We don't have a term that would be analogous to "Tex-Mex." Maybe we should call it Chi-Merican... No? Anyway, my point is that Five Spice seems to be splitting this difference with their two menus. I was introduced to Five Spice by someone who didn't even hesitate about asking for the "other menu" and I've never ordered off of the normal one. I don't know why you would. It looks like typical Chi-Merican grub to me, and it sounds like, from the other reviews, that it's poorly executed. Again, I don't know why you would be ordering this stuff and I'm not sure why they even have that menu. I would never claim to be an expert on Chinese Cuisine, but I have eaten some pretty awesome meals in places like China, Taiwan, Hong Kong (I'm distinguishing it from China because I was there a lot before it was re-absorbed), San Francisco and New York. I think I know what authentic Chinese cooking tastes like. And everything I've eaten at Five Spice tastes like authentic Chinese Cuisine. This is my new favorite place to eat in Boulder! The food is of an incredible quality for the price. A strong value. I know that sounds like a back-handed compliment but I don't mean it that way. My favorite dish, so far, is the absolutely delectable Shitake Mushrooms with Bok Choy. And instead of the Chi-Merican tradition of giving you a fortune cookie with the bill, at Five Spices you get a delicious, if small, sweet-bean sesame ball!!! And I'm someone who thinks that you can't EVER get enough sweet-bean sesame balls!!!

I had every intention of finally writing them a review, and for the most part, it would have been a good one. Sadly, tonight, we ordered delivery, and after requesting "Vegetable Pad Thai", specifically mentioning that it was for a vegetarian, my partner was horrified to discover her meal full of chicken. I'm sure it's a simple mistake, but if it was an allergy situation, this could've been disastrous.

This review is only based on take-away from Five Spice; I haven't dined in the restaurant yet. I ordered the sesame beef with fried rice, egg drop soup, and crab rangoon. The soup was what you'd expect, the rice was okay (if a little dry), and they forgot my crab rangoon and gave me an egg roll instead. The sesame beef itself was bland and looked disgusting. The service was friendly and prompt (though they did commit my ultimate Chinese restaurant pet peeve - not giving me chopsticks). The price was about average for Asian take-out in Boulder. Overall, the food was simply poor and can't compete with other similar restaurants in the area; I may return to give it another try in the dining room, but it won't become a lunch staple.

Hmmm... This is home to two of the worst dishes I've ever eaten. Skip the Pad Thai (horrid) and the Chicken, Peanut & Red Curry dish (absolutely horrendous). Both made me lose my appetite for days after eating them. (I'm not kidding!) On the flip side, this place does have two of the best Thai dishes I've eaten in a long time: The Drunken Noodles and the Pad See Ew. Both are excellent. Proceed at your own risk...

I really don't know what Boulder yuppies expect from an Americanized Chinese food restaurant. The food here is inexpensive for the generous portion size. It's greasy--that's how it's supposed to be--but it's perfectly seasoned. We had a meal ready for 6 people (roughly 20 pounds worth of food) ready to go out the door in 15 minutes. My dad is braver than I and prefers to order off the traditional menu and orders from here numerous times during his semi-annual visits to see us in Boulder. We come from Flushing, Queens, so have high expectations for our fast food Chinese restaurants, and outside of NYC this is one of the best.

I've been here a few times, and it's really hit or miss. When I go for things that aren't found on typical Americanized Chinese menus, I'm happy. If I go for something I've heard of before, it's just alright. However--huge bonus points for the bean paste sesame buns instead of fortune cookies!

Picked up a to go order and asked the person who rang me up to verify that what was in the bag was what was ordered. I could not tell because everything was boxed up. She was extremely nasty and threw the receipt at me. She wasn't busy either as she was sitting at a table chatting with another worker. Food is not great. Mediocre at best.