Happy Hot Hunan

Ordered delivery and thought it was one of the better deliveries in the neighborhood. My big thing is authenticity and this order seemed very authentic. Double cooked hunan pork and mouthwatering spicy chicken. Both dishes were expertly spiced and executed. I do like it spicy though so if you don’t maybe this isnt for you. Happily the chicken had been hacked up with no bones and balanced out by the peanuts and cilantro. The pork was perfect. This will be on the regular rotation for spicy Chinese food.

The place was packed with mostly Asians (students since it’s near Columbia?) on a midweek lunch. There is a reasonable lunch special ($10-11) that includes a 6oz soup. The Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce was spicy (I asked for “a little spicier” in Chinese) and flavorful with the ‘right’ vegetables (bamboo shoots, onions carrots celery?, not whatever veg-on-sale that is a filler to make the dish look big) albeit more vinegary than I’m used to. The Fish fillet with Ginger and Scallions was tasty and the fish tender. Both with a good amount of sauce for the rice. The Sweet and Sour Soup was a little bland (not sour enough, not enough earthy mushroom taste) and spicy, but, was too gelatinous (too much corn starch) and tasted too much like chicken bouillon. I would return to try other dishes. 2/2023. Returned 2/2024. Food is very good. I would like to say authentic but I’ve not been to Hunan - just lived in China for 8 years and have been eating Chinese food in Chinatown for a long time. Food is as authentically Chinese as you can get in the US. I had the Double cooked fish lunch special. The hot and sour soup was much better this time.

Came here for dinner and was completely satisfied. Cozy spot with delicious food. Started us off with a teapot full of yummy tea. Everything is shareable, large portions. Had leftovers to take home. Food is flavorful and worth it. Will definitely come by again. They also have a lunch special!

The food is pretty authentic, it is a relief for a person like me who occasionally misses the TRUE Chinese food available nearby. Good taste at affordable prices! But well... it is way too salty and I find the rice noodle here always come overcooked. Doesn't have that firm/chewy texture I love about 湖南米粉！ Really hope the restaurant will improve on these, then it will be awesome I will eat here everyday.

I used to love Happy Hot Hunan. It's the place I'd bring my Chinese friends to prove I have decent taste in Chinese food. Their fried rice had this special spice that made it taste amazing, and the chicken was always crispy with excellent flavor. However, over the past year, it seems like they've lost their touch. The fried rice now consistently tastes bland, and the fried chicken dishes have become soggy, undercooked, and lack the character and sophistication it once had. It’s still okay, but it's just average now, and probably not worth the price compared to other neighborhood Chinese spots. There are better options in the area, though this place still seems to be a favorite meeting spot among Chinese students.

Stopped in to take out some highly regarded Hunan food. It did not disappoint. Note that their flavor palate is different than Szechuan. No numbing here. More chili-hot or sour-hot options in Hunan food. With that said, some dishes overlap, but the flavors are different. Ended up getting the following: -Spicy cucumber salad ($8.95) -Three Pepper Chicken ($16.95) -Chairman Mao's Red Braised Pork ($17.55) -Fried Egg w Chopped Chili ($13.95) -Beef in Hot Chili Sauce ($19.95) The spicy cucumber salad was good. You must like pickled flavors though, which separates it from Szechuan style. The three pepper chicken was the most the similar to Szechuan, minus the numbing of course. I asked them to make it more spicy and they complied. Chairman Mao's Braised Pork was excellent. It has a sweetness to it that's a perfect complement to the spicy food. This is one of the namestay dishes in Hunan cuisine. The Fried egg with chopped chili was my favorite. It was also asked to made more spicy and was among the top spiciest dishes. It was a little salty. I'd come back for this for sure. The Beef in Hot Chili Sauce was flavorful and good amounts of beef inside. The menu technically says its creamy. I'm not so convinced on that description, but it was pretty good. Not too hot. I can't comment on service, but the young lady working the front was pleasant to me.

Hands down the best place ever. It’s no frills but consistently churns out some of the best Chinese food (American and authentic) that I’ve ever had. There’s a reason when Columbia starts back up that you can’t get a table here!

Came here today with my mom to eat after church and the food was okay. The service was not too bad but it wasn't great either. What ruined the experience for me was after we paid for the food, they demanded that we tip them. My mom paid for the food with her card and she gave a $3 tip but the waitress called up the manager and he told us that $3 was too small and we should tip at least 15 percent tip. So rude. I was so angry because you Cannot force customers to tip and demand them how much tip they should give. Giving tip should be the customers decision. Its Not required. Especially when the food prices are expensive as it is with little food portions. I am not coming here again. Now they lost two customers because of Greed.

Delicious Dan Dan Noodles, Mouthwatering Chicken, Chairman Mao's Red - Cooked Pork and Eggplant Dry Pot. Pleasant service in a bustling restaurant where weekday, evening - on - street parking was easy. My first time eating in a genuine Hunanese restaurant - I'll definitely be returning - it was just what the Doctor ordered. BTW - This is real Hunan cuisine, not your run of the mill Chinese takeout. Try something besides your usual Chicken with Broccoli or General Tsao's.

Recently dined here for the first time and was impressed by the incredible flavors. When I came, the inside was packed with most of the tables occupied, but the service was still efficient thanks to the many attentive waiters. The tables are close together and lots of college students dine here--makes a good quick and casual spot. We ordered: - steamed whole fish w chopped chilis - spicy cucumber salad - mapo tofu w minced pork - rice balls w rice wine The highlight of the meal was def the fish--tender and bursting with flavor without being overly spicy. I also recommend the spicy cucumber salad for a refreshing yet flavorful option and the mapo tofu if you want a lil more kick. The rice balls didn't meet my expectations as the soup felt a bit diluted, lacking flavor, and the rice balls were on the firmer side. Tldr; delicious dining experience, the steamed whole fish w chopped chilis is amazing

Food - excellent Ambiance - wonderful Service - slow, I tipped in cash and hope they finally saw it. Lol. 5 stars goes to the vegetable soup and shrimp dumplings. So delicious. I will return for both of those when I return to NYC. Went during the end of the lunch special time frame. Wonderfully affordable lunch special menu that comes with a choice of 2 soups, and brown or white rice. Love the brown rice option. Great healthy option for my hometown hood. Would have rated them 5/5 stars but the service was slow. In their defense, they were also split between food prepping, so I tipped 20% anyway. Great veggie soup and shrimp dumplings!!'

3.75/5 Came in for lunch and got 2 lunch specials - eggplant + string beans - twice cooked fish filet (fried) Both were super good! Smaller portions than normal bc lunch special, but came with soup and rice. Pretty good deal! Also got a hunan beef noodle soup, it was ok, but others in my party liked it.

Fish in peppercorn broth Sautéed string beans Shredded pork and bean curd These were all flavorful. Good options for lower spicy tolerance folks

Stopped in to take out some highly regarded Hunan food. It did not disappoint. Note that their flavor palate is different than Szechuan. No numbing here. More chili-hot or sour-hot options in Hunan food. With that said, some dishes overlap, but the flavors are different. Ended up getting the following: -Spicy cucumber salad ($8.95) -Three Pepper Chicken ($16.95) -Chairman Mao's Red Braised Pork ($17.55) -Fried Egg w Chopped Chili ($13.95) -Beef in Hot Chili Sauce ($19.95) The spicy cucumber salad was good. You must like pickled flavors though, which separates it from Szechuan style. The three pepper chicken was the most the similar to Szechuan, minus the numbing of course. I asked them to make it more spicy and they complied. Chairman Mao's Braised Pork was excellent. It has a sweetness to it that's a perfect complement to the spicy food. This is one of the namestay dishes in Hunan cuisine. The Fried egg with chopped chili was my favorite. It was also asked to made more spicy and was among the top spiciest dishes. It was a little salty. I'd come back for this for sure. The Beef in Hot Chili Sauce was flavorful and good amounts of beef inside. The menu technically says its creamy. I'm not so convinced on that description, but it was pretty good. Not too hot. I can't comment on service, but the young lady working the front was pleasant to me.

They are SOOOOOOOOOOO RUDE. It is disgusting !!!!!! food is just ok. Wish they go bankrupt soon and other restaurant replaces it.

Amazing service. Delicious food. Very affordable lunch specials ($10-12). My friend fell and cut his hand outside, and the waiters were very attentive and gave him antiseptic and bandaids. My favorite place around Columbia.

The soup tastes good but the rice noodle was too hard to chew...... maybe they didn't have enough time to boil it? very disappointed :(

I've been here many times. their noodles are delicious. Their speciality dishes are authentic. I highly recommend. One star off because of service (or lack of). Often met with impatience. But, that does not stop me from ordering here because the food is that good! I will say, I do take out now instead of dine-in.

One of my favorite restaurant in the neighborhood! Taste is delicious and authentic, I highly recommend the fish

Their food is just at low to medium level speaking of authentic Chinese Hunan food. I hate services people here. As many have mentioned, they are arrogant and extremely rude. I went here multiple times (at that time they are indifferent to me but still endurable), so the manager could recognize me. And when I checked out today he joked me about my figure and touched my belly while speaking "you should lose some weight". That makes me extremely angry. Listen to me, don't come here. Especially don't come here multiple times, or they would make bad jokes about you.

authentic food. no MSG aftertaste, not greasy. i drive 45 min to find an authentic place. Columbia students know what's good and this place i always crowded

Takes way too long to prepare food. Ordered a pickup order an 30+ minutes later, food was still not ready despite time estimate being 15 minutes. Restaurant was not even busy when I showed up. Service was very rude when I showed up to pick up my order. They immediately went to say the pickup order was not ready even though they didn't know my name and match it to any order. Would not recommend!

I enjoyed this place very much. The price isn't cheap but the food quality and taste are both satisfying. They offer a great variety of authentic Chinese food. And if you like spicy foods, you would find great options here

This place is amazing. Got picked veg, Kung Pao Chicken, Smoke pork and bamboo shoot, and pot stickers, and mustard greens for takeout. All of the dishes were great. The kung pao was super interesting in that it had onions and green pepper, so it was kind of Hunan-fied. Everything hit hard af and I wish I could have ordered more things.

This is in my opinion the best Chinese restaurant in the entire area of Upper Manhattan. I haven't ordered a single dish from here that tasted bad. Granted this is a no-frills place so don't expect warm welcomes from courteous waiters and such...they are usually super busy. DO NOT go to this restaurant and order the regular American-Chinese takeout dishes that you find everywhere else in NYC...I have seen so many people do this and it is such a waste of money and time. This restaurant truly shines in its authentic Hunan cooking, they make it exactly the way people would have it in China, with no compromises. My recommendation? Ask the waiters for some local specialties/delicacies usually they point you in the right direction. For non-Chinese some of the dishes may feel like an acquired taste but trust me, you'll grow to love it!!

Was in the area and craving dumplings and ended up trying this place for the first time and I'm glad I did! The soup dumplings were the star of the show, super flavorful and great size. The scallion pancakes were also great, super flaky and crunchy. The pork dumplings were just okay, would probably try another dish instead next time. The pork noodles were good, flavorful! Would come again.

Solid chinese food, very authentic. Definitely hits the spot when you're craving chinese. Hot food and good packaging. The soup was not very drinkable though in the Hunan noodle soup.

I ordered thousands eggs years salad and pork intestine dry hot pot. I do like the taste of their food but i hope for the regular pork intestine not the red one thier used but its fine. I will try something else from their menu soon.

For the UWS, not bad Hunan food. Reasonably priced, large portions and friendly owner. I'd recommend this out of the other choices within the Morningside Heights area. The shredded potatoes are very delicious, the spiciness on most of the dishes could have been more present however. Overall would return!

Solid choice if you're looking for something spicy and off the beaten American Chinese path. One of my favorite mapo tofu's in town. Their chili chicken is salty and savory and just a bit tingly. I impulsively added on an order of Shanghai shao mai (on the menu as Brown Shumai), and was pleasantly surprised! Definitely worth adding to your delivery rotation.

We moved back to UWS and so incredibly happy to discover Happy Hot Hunan! Three week running. I could live on the string beans and eggplant. Mapo Tofu is as good as anything in Chinatown or 39th Street. Thank you HHH!

Hands down this is the best Hunan restaurant in the city!!!! The spicy level is no joke but that's why we love this place! they have absolutely the most authentic Hunan Cuisine, which is spicy, savory, full of flavors and ingredients you've probably never had before. That being said if you want general tsos chicken this ain't the place for you

I happen to love soup dumplings and this place definitely satisfied my craving. Happy to have found them open during this pandemic. Only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that I wasn't fond of the dipping sauce. It was a bit to pungent for me.

we got their sautéed beef with vegetables both times! It was good and a big plate, shared with 3 people and white rice. The flavor was good, a bit spicy, I relatively enjoyed it. Good service and kind people! They recognized us when we came back hehe Miss that area!!

I live just a couple blocks away and I go to school nearby. Whenever I do poorly in class, I come here to cheer myself up and whenever I do well.. I come here to celebrate! In other words, I'm here about three times a week. I've never had anything I've disliked and I've probably tried more than half of the extensive menu. Dishes I regularly order include: Mapo tofu, twice cooked pork, spicy fish filet stew thing, and soup dumplings. Prices are, of course, more expensive than what you'll find in Chinatown but I'll assure you the food will be good.

Came across this Chinese restaurant when we were looking for a good place to actually sit down and eat. Very clean inside. Free WiFi is a plus. Not your typical Chinese so don't be expecting the generic dishes. Very quick service. I ordered the three pepper chicken and I really enjoyed the spicy dish. The chicken was a little drier than I would have liked but it was crispy and crunchy which I liked. I eat a lot of rice as well so I had to order another cup of rice. I ended up taking over half of my food home because of the large portions. Good prices. Hope to be able to try the other unique dishes soon!

Don't go there worst waiter ever I have seen , rude to customer . Me and my two friends was there today thinking to enjoy some good foods , but there was a waiter was so rude , at end when we end up leaving the place he told us enjoy yourself.

Kidney with picked beans is awesome!!! String beans with chicken is a little bit salty.

Came with a group of friends a week ago. They made authentic Hunan dishes and used very fresh ingredient. A must go restuarant! Highly recommended. Service was fantastic! Nice and quick. Will definitely visit again very soon! (P.S. They have very good non-spicy food too! Was too focused on eating and didn't remember all the dishes names. Lol)

The service was horrible. Immediately upon entering they tried to direct us to a different restaurant . We ordered apps. Spring rolls and dumplings. The dumplings were cold. The spring rolls were horrible. We asked for soy sauce and the bald headed hoe of a server caught an attitude. I don't know why. We immediately asked for a box to leave and she started screaming at us. But why. The owner didn't attempt to calm the situation. I'm highly disappointed. This WAS THE WORAT SERVICE IVE EVER RECEIVED. Do better.

Ordered lunch delivery, it took 60 min to get here. Mustard Leaf with Grounded Pork Lunch Special $8.95 It was very oily and wasn't seasoned with anything. Nice ginger and garlic flavor but seems like there was no salt added. Also, check out my picture for the side egg drop soup. Never seen a Chinese place giving such a small portion of soup for lunch. Egg fried rice $7.55 It was so unevenly seasoned. Since it is called egg fried rice, I expected it to be real Chinese 卵炒飯 where main ingredient is the egg. but it was no different from regular fried rice.

Cool quick bite spot. Scale above the local chinese spots but not your China Town restaurant.

I used to exclusively order from Happy Hot Hunan but my order yesterday was far beyond disappointing. I ordered the beef flank casserole for $25 + $6 tip and received a bowl of pure fat. I was genuinely shocked by how little edible parts there were in the dish. I first assumed that it was how the dish was supposed to be consumed but 98% of the dish was inedible and I was extremely upset to have been charged this much for leftover scraps. Not to exaggerate but there was only a single piece of edible beef- the rest was pure fat and cartilage. I tried finding a substitute for the fatty beef casserole ever since they took it off their menu but made a mistake by ordering the beef flank casserole. I also started to feel extremely unwell about an hour after consuming the food.

Noodle soup with pork, vegitable. Service : so good Environment : clean. Nice decor. Food : I was so dissapointed with noodle. It was pre-cooked so the texture was terrible. They have to start to cook noodle when I order. If the price of noodle soup were about $5~7, I might not have complain of the quality. However, this noodle is about 13 dollars. Should be better.

Four stars instead of five stars because the pork soup dumplings fell apart too easily and didn't have the flavor like other soup dumplings offered in the city. The smoked pork with lettuce dish was really tasty but I'm not a huge smoked pork fan.

Friendly place, well mattered, catered to their customers need, not too crowded and the food is delicious but very spicy if you not a spicy person and can't tolerate mild food maybe this isn't the place for you or it could be the dish I ordered I will give this place another try it seems like they have alot of other dishes that could taste really good without too much spicy stuff in it but they can make an adjustment to your spices in your dish the way you want it that's another plus they'll work with you for food comfort zone I will recommend ppl to come to this restaurant nice job guys keep an A on your restaurant good luck good to go

We've only ever ordered delivery so I can't speak for the wait service or atmosphere. Happy Hot Hunan was my first Chinese food experience in NYC and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After trying numerous dishes we've settled on a few favorites: -Hot & Sour Potatoes (wonderfully delicious and crunch) -Egg Drop Soup (strangely yellow) -Hot & Sour Soup (classic) -Vegetable Fried Rice (another classic) -Cumin Lamb (interesting) Delivery times tend to be 15 minutes and the delivery guy always looks in a hurry to get in and get out. Good for him! One of these days we'll have to eat there...

Hot and spicy shirmp were actually spicy which has been a rarity in the city as too often spicy should be left in quotes. The pickled cabbage soup had a refreshing acidity and the eggplant with garlic was a hit as the large slices of garlic are always a welcome sight.

Pork in Hot Creamy Chiti Sauce!! Spicy and oily and satisfying and in a HUGE serving. The pork was thinly sliced, of low quality, and very salty. Included plenty of tender cabbage and stewed onion. Not creamy at all but not disappointing in the slightest. Fried Minced Pork with Pickled Beans!! Exactly as advertised - crispy bits of pork and chilis. It's difficult to make this one photogenic, but only because it's so real. Simply fried meat and chili with some prudent seasoning. I was given the option, so I sent went with "spicy". Excellent choice. Had to sip here and there but my palate was never ruined. The sauce on each dish was exclusively savory, spicy, and slick. None of that viscous sugary business you get from low-grade spots. Delivery arrived within 40 minutes - earlier than estimated - and was polite. Included cutlery and soy sauce too! Until tonight, there was but a SINGLE Chinese Food restaurant I was happy to order from. Oh, but I can't wait to try more from Happy Hot Hunan.

Happy Hot Hunan is in a neighborhood that I rarely visit: the Upper West Side near Columbia University. Even though I don't know too much about the neighborhood, it was still surprising to me to find a good regional Chinese restaurant, in this case Hunan cuisine, in the area. When we stepped inside, I immediately noticed that there were lots of 20-something Chinese in the restaurant. I thought perhaps these were students who lived in the area. In any case, it was a good sign as to the authenticity of the restaurant. The restaurant's modern interior was pretty big could seat about 40 people or a bit more. We were there during lunchtime and ordered two lunch specials, each approximately $10 and a family-sized Yang Chow Fried Rice. One of the lunch specials was their version of Chongqing Chicken, although I couldn't remember the alternate name for it. It appears on their menu as a picture in the lunch special so you could just point to it. The other lunch special I ordered was a braised fish fillet with scallions and ginger. We like the Chongqing Chicken although I felt the chicken was chopped into tinier pieces than normal, slightly larger than a pea. The good thing about the dish is that it was an adequate size for a lunch portion and it wasn't greasy. As the fish fillet dish, the fillet had a smooth texture with a mild salt sauce laced with scallions and ginger mixed in. It is a good mild dish for those who don't want spicy Hunan dishes. Both lunch specials came with a soup. We chose the Hot and Sour soup and this was head and shoulders above your conventional Hot and Sour soups at other Chinese restaurants. All the ingredients you would expect are in the soup, however, the spicy level was a 9 out of 10! We was very pleasantly surprised to say the least. Finally, the fried rice was much better than average and had a savory edge to its preparation. It was a large portion and among 3 persons, we devoured everything. As for the service, it was fast and efficient. For a neighborhood restaurant, we were so happy to come across such an authentic place uptown. Thumbs up for more places like this!

I came here with my friend drunk at 12 am they have superb service and great ambience! The stir fried air dried old meat is soo good'! Legit authentic Chinese food and after hours too !!!

Went here for lunch today, lunch specials are around 10 dollars and they come with rice and egg drop or hot and sour soup. We also had the scallion pancake which had good texture, crispy on the outside but mochi-ee on the inside. Tried pork with celery, the fried chicken and shrimp with broccoli (but we ordered kung pao shrimp, but they gave us this instead, the guy with the iPad must have pressed it wrong). Anyways, all three were good they come with tea. Service is whatever, but I don't expect much from asian restaurants anyways. I'd come again, so hopefully it stays consistent.

blah. i ordered general tso chicken. at first, i said this doesn't even look like general tso chicken. it was red, it looked more like spicy buffalo chicken wings. i can't even say that it was gross because it had absolutely no flavor. it wasn't hott, it wasn't spicy... it was literally just chicken in red sauce. some of the chicken wasn't even breaded, so it just looked like a block of meat...complete turn off. needless to say within 3 minutes of receiving our order, it was in the garbage. $28.00 plus a $3 tip for a small egg fried rice, white rice and general tso's chicken. the only reason why i even wrote this review was because i had a taste for general tso's for the past few days and upon receiving this order....#disappointed i would take a photo but the garage is downstairs by the time i decided to write this review. ‍

Excellent food! This was my first visit to this restaurant and the food exceeded my expectations. The portions for each of the dishes were impressive. I came with my family and we each ordered different dishes. I got the General Tso's chicken which came with white rice as well as the egg drop soup which was very generous. We were also given water and tea to accompany the meal. The other dishes that we tried were the Orange Beef, Pork Dumplings, Spicy Beef, and a few other items. All of them were delicious and I would certainly come back.

The delivery's excuse was: it's raining outside (so it's also leaking inside?) and I don't speak English (why is that my fault?) you call the restaurant! I called the restaurant their excuse was: our manager was not here so all I can do for you is give you 5% discount

Looks questionable (as in resembling an American Chinese place) on the outside but it is actually owned by a Hunan native and is very authentic! I love their Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili AKA 剁椒鱼头. So good with rice!

3* and a half Great place for lunch specials. I admit this place is great to have lunch special dishes which are small portions and come with rice and soup. However, some large plates like spicy hot pot are not good. The seafood in the spicy hot pot taste does not taste fresh. Anyway, this is a good place to have work meals, but not a nice choice to have dinner.