Lao Sze Chuan

I have been to the one in Rockville I am actually thinking they are doing great job at this location near John hopkins the price was good for the portion. We were surprised with the portion of appetizers. All the food was great quality and quantity. Some of the tastes were a little bit too sweet in my opinion, but good value. The salt and pepper pork rib and sticky rice desserts were my recommendations.

Clean and nice environment. I like the duck bone soup, but the tofu pot doesn’t taste good. Green beans were nice!

This is a new spot that opened up where the old Busboys and Poets used to be. The fod was all quite delicious especially the popcorn chicken and fried rice. The portions were also perfect for sharing amongst three people. Service was generally fast, but they did forget one item for our table despite charging us for it. We notified them and they corrected the receipt.

We had a reservation for a party of four last night and unfortunately, our experience was quite disappointing. First off, the Peking duck was awful. It wasn’t crispy, lacked freshness, and was even served a little cold. Given how overpriced it was, we were expecting much better quality. Secondly, the table we were seated at was far too small for our party, which made things uncomfortable. Additionally, when we were still working on our dish of stir-fry cabbage, the server took it away without asking because he needs to put down a new dish, and it was never brought back. To make matters worse, no one came around to refill our water throughout the entire meal, and we had to flag down someone for assistance. Lastly, it was unsanitary to see the server touch the food directly with their hands as they served it to us. It left a really unpleasant impression. Overall, we were really dissatisfied with both the food and the service. We won’t be returning.

The food is very basic. Very restricted options. We had ordered vegetable spring rolls which were comparatively very small in portion size with very little to no amount of filling also quite pricey compared to other restaurants. Menu needs to be expanded also options for dietary restrictions needs to be added. The combo chicken noodles and fried rice we ordered were very oily and was very basic. Felt like just tossed some frozen veggies with chicken and egg.

Lao Sze Chuan in Baltimore offers an overall pleasant dining experience. Our group of 10 sampled a variety of dishes, with the cucumber salad, Szechuan pickles, chili oil chicken, crispy fish filet, crispy eggplant, spicy beef cubes, Dan Dan noodles, Chongqing spicy chicken, and string beans being standout favorites. Each dish had a unique blend of flavors, especially the crispy fish filet and Chongqing spicy chicken, which delighted the taste buds. However, there were a few hiccups. The braised pork belly was overly sweet for our liking, and the crispy chicken turned out too salty. The European sea bass, while cooked well, didn't leave a memorable impression. The service experience was a bit challenging. The staff seemed inexperienced, requiring explanations to manage our order in staggered stages, considering the large group's constraints. This necessity for repeated instructions was frustrating. This location of Lao Sze Chuan is more casual compared to their Bethesda counterpart. While the food generally met our expectations, these service hiccups affected the overall experience. I'm eager to try their duck on my next visit, but some improvements in service would elevate the dining experience. Overall, I'd rate the visit 3 stars.

I got 3 different things from the dim sum portion of the menu and it was delicious. The place itself is absolutely gorgeous and my waiter was sweet, didn’t constantly check up on me (which I really appreciated). They do not have their liquor license and i asked if byob is accepted, got the nod of approval. License should be active in October. I highly recommend coming here to support our local businesses, new places will always have mess ups but they learn from them no matter what. Will definitely be coming back.

Ordered take out, over priced for the portion compared to the other location with chengdu style red oil chicken. The sauce is not nearly enough to be called chengdu style chicken. Taste is also different than the other location and has a mild hint of the chicken's meat scent taste, not seasoned with enough sauce/chili. Bit disappointed. Also missed an order of rice. Visit the Rockville location for the best combination of experience.

Had a good meal for our second visit but the service left something to be desired. Our waitress was very nice but the restaurant was almost empty and she hardly checked on us at all. We sat there for 15 minutes after we were finished and I finally had to get up and ask the hostess if she could ask our waitress for to go containers. As for the food it was quite good. The dumplings in spicy chili oil were very good. The shrimp fried rice was fine, nothing too special. The general tsaos chicken was good. The dry fried green beans were very good and the lemon shrimp was decent.

After a great experience at the Bethesda location, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Lao Sze Chuan also has a restaurant in the Baltimore area -- and of course, I had to check it out. Once again, it did not disappoint! I tried some of their seasonal drinks, which were unique and very refreshing -- something I haven't seen at other Chinese restaurants. The dishes were consistently delicious, just like at the other location, and the service was attentive and welcoming. I enjoyed the food so much that I ended up ordering extra to take home. Overall, this Baltimore location lived up to the same high standard, and I'll definitely be coming back. Highly recommended!

We order take-out at least once a week! It comes hot and fresh, and the packaging...those bags! Our go to items are definitely the pan fried dumplings, Kung Pao Chicken, Cucumbers and fried rice. We were so happy that they moved to this location as we were missing some really good authentic Chinese food. We have gone there once to eat and was able to get a table with no problem. It's roomy...not too loud and the service is spot on.

Woke up from anesthesia craving the duck bone broth soup here. Its flavor is plain, but nurturing. Its exactly what I needed after getting my wisdom teeth pulled. My typical order is the braised pork belly, which is served with quail eggs! A happy little surprise. The portions here are meant to be shared, emphasized by the family portions listed across the menu. Sometimes I stop by just to get the Szechuan green beans so I have a little snack to nibble on as I walk around town. I've only eaten inside once, but the high ceiling and simple décor makes it easy on the eyes. On such a busy campus it is truly a place of refuge, where one can truly enjoy their meal in peace. This will be an excellent spot to have a dinner party once the private dinning room is completed.

I ordered some food from this restaurant through DoorDash to be delivered to the hotel. I got their Chong Qing spicy chicken, dan dan noodles and steamed rice. The food came so well packed in an insulated bag and tasted so fresh, warm and delicious. I highly recommend this place.

Great tasting Szechuan food! We liked the Spicy chicken the most, as the pieces were crunchy on the outside and very juicy on the inside. The fish fillets with Sichuan peppercorns were also a highlight of the meal. Definitely get some rice! Though it is marketed as Szechuan cuisine, we felt that there was a decent amount of western influence as well. The spice levels for one were not as high as we imagined. But overall was a great meal! I really hope this stays around for a while - previous restaurants in this location haven't lasted more than 2 years each, so I hope this is able to stick around longer than that!

This chicken is killer! I got it medium spicy and it has the perfect kick, a tasty crunch, and everything in between. The rice noodles were also so chewy and perfect. The guy working the counter was super nice and the only reason it's a 4 star is because I asked for no onions in my to-go order but there were lots of onions.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food was! Dined here for lunch on a weekday-Service was fast and efficient, the food came out piping hot, and everything was delicious. The space is quite large, clean, and very nicely decorated with plenty of seating. We ordered the pork soup dumplings and the spring rolls to start. Both were good but one of the soup dumplings had been ripped prior to arriving at our table and the soup leaked out onto the plate. The dumpling was still good but we didn't get to slurp the soup out which is the best part! Spring rolls were pretty standard but good. The crispy sesame beef was perfectly fried and had a great texture combined with the glossy, sweet, savory sauce. Yum! Definitely will be back to try more of their dim sum menu!

I don't understand the people here who said then food is authentic. Despite the low ratings, I saw certain comments that made me want to give this place a try. It was certainly disappointing. My biggest issue with this place is that the ingredients did not taste fresh. Even under heavy spices, you can tell the cumin lamb had a weird stink to it. The cold appetizer of beef with chili oil was even worse. Despite the heavy vinegar, you can still taste underneath the meat had a strange flavor. This is my favorite dish so I eat it all the time at other places but never had this. I honestly was afraid to eat it and I thought I would get sick from the old meat they used. The braised pork belly was fine, but overly sweet and you can tell they used food coloring. The chili fish was just fine, did not have a lot of flavor and was not authentic. We did not mean to order the "sesame beef." We thought it was some sesame beef dish with sliced beef, but it ended up being a panda express dish. It had so much breading that you can barely taste the beef.

This place serves delicious, elevated authentic Chinese food. We went there for lunch, and got soup dumplings, fried dumplings, , bbq pork buns. salt and pepper fish fillets, beef chow fun, braised pork belly and Peking duck. Everything was beautifully presented; especially the braised pork belly served in a bubbling red pot and Peking duck, has the fat trimmed off the skin serves with pancakes and accompaniments. The service is exceptionally attentive. The dining room is modern and clean. This is a wonderful place to go for elevated Chinese food.

Great space! Very upscale and yet not too much. We stopped by for some dim sum and were not disappointed. We ordered braised pork belly, dry stirfry beef rice noodle, frided fish, pork bao, soup dumplings, half of a duck and puer tea. Everything was very flavorful and delicious. The staff were very awesome and helpful. Will definitely come back at some point!

We've been here multiple times, most recently we sat in for dinner! We usually do pick up, so I can finally comment on service/ambiance. Service 10/10. Speedy, responsive, attentive. Kept our water glasses full and gave a good wine recommendation for those in our group who don't like the taste of wine. For food, I recommend a few things: -mongolian beef -chilli chicken -vegetable lo mein -chilli oil dumplings That is literally everything we have tried from here. Nothing has disappointed us. Everything has been hot, fresh, and flavorful. I love the schezuan spices. We go here every other month at this point, love it so much!

I've been to the Bethesda location of Lao Sze Chuan so I decided to give the Baltimore location a try since it's so close to the Homewood campus. I was not disappointed! The four joy lion's head meatballs and the vegetable stir-fried rice noodles were fresh and tasty. Service was very friendly and attentive. Even though I was so full, I got some dan dan noodles to go. Would love to come again!

Got the lunch dimsum which we didn't know they had. This runs til 5 pm. Ordered two orders of pork soup dumplings (6), one order pan fried pork dumplings (6), salmon firecracker, ha gao shrimp dumpling (3), 1 scallion pancake, brown sugar mochi, and the charcoal yolk buns (2) for $80 ($40 pp). It was pretty ok, 3.5 stars for dimsum, to be honest not the best and kind of pricy, +1 star for being less than a block away from my dorm and new restaurant on St. paul's. Recommend the salmon firecracker thought, that was ok price for the amount you get.

I've had the shrimp dumplings but the veggie dumplings are some of the best. A little pricey but a nice treat once in a while. They come with a sauce made in-house that is spicy and delicious. I feel the veggie lo mein was good. There are other vegetable dishes but you have to order rice. All in all it is kind of expensive so it's better to go in a group so you can share. Service was okay.

The servers seemed new but super attentive and friendly. Open space is refreshing. Big windows are nice. The food is some of the best Chinese food in the state. It rivals Rockville/Gaithersburg places, which is the real Chinatown of DMV. Flavors are sublime. The shredded chicken is both tender and super thin, packed with flavor. The shumai is better than most dim sum joints in MD (I am looking at you Far East in Rockville). Sizing is right on. And like that rice can be ordered separately. This is the place to eat if you want Chinese in B'more.

Ridiculously expensive for take away. Yes fancy warm bag but do we need it and GET THIS No rice included! AND We asked if we could order food without MSG And they said absolutely NOT! Chef won't do!!! They ask about all kinds of allergies but not to msg. GO ELSEWHERE !!

i went during the soft opening. they have a dedicated vegetarian menu, which is nice. the ambiance is very nice, soft lighting and very wood-y vibes. the service was very chaotic, but i assume that's because it was during the soft opening and things weren't fully ironed out yet. water refills were unfortunately nonexistent. i ordered the basil tofu pot. the food itself was quite good, although it didn't taste like basil it was still very enjoyable. the main gripe i have is the price. my tofu dish was the same portion as my friend's beef dish for almost the same price when tofu is usually significantly cheaper. also, i find it silly that a 22 dollar dish doesn't come with rice automatically. although pricey, you can easily split it up into 2 meals. i would probably come here again, but only for special occasions or for dim sum.

The staff was great. They worked to seat us immediately. Our server, Brandon was kind and pleasant. The vibe was calm and warm. The food came out nice and hot and the wait was not long at all. My favorite was the firecracker fried salmon roll.

The mapo tofu and cabbages were great. However the crispy beef was hard to chew and not recommended.

Kinda going downhill? Hot and sour soup tonight (delivery) was like a cornstarch slurry. Mongolian beef ($24) sad, soggy onions, no aromatics, just a salty brown sauce. The cold apps are always great! Chengdu chicken in red oil sauce is very good. Just does not hit the same for me as it used to. I am SO grateful they label things gluten free and have a less oil/salt option, otherwise i'd never get Chinese food. But kind of an off night

We order take-out at least once a week! It comes hot and fresh, and the packaging...those bags! Our go to items are definitely the pan fried dumplings, Kung Pao Chicken, Cucumbers and fried rice. We were so happy that they moved to this location as we were missing some really good authentic Chinese food. We have gone there once to eat inside, roomy...not too loud and the service is spot on.

Love their Yuxiang shredded pork as well the dumplings and hot and sour soup. Take out is very efficient.

I waited for a while to try them, based on some middling reviews on a few sites, and I wasn't really excited with the food that I got. Salmon firecracker rolls were mentioned in a lot of reviews as being great, but I wish they'd put the sauce on the side - they were soggy and aggressively sweet. Many rolls were 90% wrapper with just a knuckle-sized amount of salmon, too. The spicy chicken was bland, overcooked, and too tough to chew. Super disappointed - for this price had hoped it was a step up from cheaper takeout options.

Great food. Huge portions. Lovely staff. One thing needed-- availability of pots of tea.

Firstly , the menu was varied and looked interesting. We were excited to see they have a vegetarian hot and sour soup, sadly it was thick, gelatinous, brown and salty . The rest of our meal was a bit lack luster, mediocre and on the greasy side. The decor was lovely. The service was excellent and they have nice bathrooms . Ultimately it didn't live up to the Szechuan a Block down the street at the Orient Express. Possibly an off night ? They are newly opened , maybe in the future they will tighten up the flavors.

My favorite Chinese restaurant in Baltimore city. They're really great with flavors and textures. Nothing I've had is bland or soggy. My favorite dishes are the dan dan noodles, the hot pot soup, and the salmon rolls. Atmosphere is nice and service timely. Great for a date, group hangout, and even carryout.

The restaurant has provided the WRONG ORDER several times thorough Door Dash. Door Dash being themselves have not refunded me the full amount of the order, nor will they ever. Furthermore, Door Dash won't let me leave a review or rate the restaurant, so here I am. The quality of this food does not warrant the prices AT ALL. I like their Sesame Chicken, but it's hard to get when they consistently provide the WRONG ORDER. Avoid this restaurant and Door Dash at all costs.

We had a great time at LaoSze Chuan. The service was great and the food was delicious. The ambience was great!

This new restaurant is fabulous. The service was great and the food gets a chefs kiss for sure! My partner is allergic to garlic so we were very pleasantly surprised that they have a separate garlic (and onion) free menu! He loves onions so they were able to keep that in his main dish for him. I'm a vegetarian and this was the absolute best tofu I've ever had. The sauce was delicious as well. Rice doesn't come with the dishes so make sure you order it on the side. We can't wait to return. We are thinking of going there for our birthday next month.

This place opened a few months ago and we after walking by it a few times, we finally made a reservation. The restaurant looks beautiful with great indoor designs and surrounded by glass overlooking the busy St. Pauls street. The people at the restaurant are very friendly. Good experience from door to seating. Their dimsums are a must try. My recommendation would be the pork dumplings in red oil , pork pan fry dumplings, beef stir fry.

The food was good and my friend and I enjoyed it very much. We ordered spicy fish fillet and mapo tofu. If you enjoy authentic spicy sichuan food, this isn't the right place because their spice levels were nowhere near the descriptions. We ordered three peppers for each dish and it felt like 1 pepper. Also, the wait was absurdly long. We entered the waitlist at around 5:40 pm and got seated around 7:00 pm, and we were 1st on the waitlist for half an hour. They told us our expected wait time was 20-40 minutes, but left us waiting for double to triple the time.

There were no people in the restaurant, all of the food was weirdly soft, and the waiter could have cared less

We ordered carry out and were surprised that rice is not included. A Chinese restaurant and rice is not included with the meal? This is not a reflection on the restaurant, but may be of concern to diners who are environmentally conscious: The carry out containers are plastic and the food is wrapped in plastic wrap. Next time, we'll eat at the restaurant. No more ordering from them! It's kind of easy to use recyclable or compostable containers . I wish more restaurants would do it! That being said, the Kung Pao chicken was delicious as were the vegetable dumplings.

We went because they advertised a "dedicated vegetarian menu".....we were pleased to have veggie hot and sour soup. But oddly there was only 1 tofu dish. The 3 other dishes on the vegetarian part were just vegetables.

Pretty good! My hot and sour soup was decent- not the best I've had but definitely not the worst. My friend said her dumplings were very good and her kung pao chicken was delicious (I tried it). My pineapple green tea was good and very good at cooling my mouth after the very spicy soup.

We noticed this restaurant in our neighborhood was having a soft open so we stopped in to try it out. We had the cucumbers in garlic sauce, the dry-fried green beans, and the chongqing chicken. Everything was delicious. The service was outstanding. We arrived at the same time as a large group that kept the wait staff busy. Our service was *hardly* delayed, but nevertheless our waiter and the manager both apologized repeatedly and even gave us a discount on our check as a goodwill gesture. The restaurant seemed very clean and up-to-date. I'm not sure if they redecorated since taking over from the last business, but it was a comfortable space. We will be back for the official opening.

The food went so crazy. The portions were nice. I will keep coming back. The food was so fresh and tasty.

I ate lunch with a friend today and everything was terrific. I ate pork dumplings and since it was my first time there, tried General Tao's chicken. I've had that dish many times in many places, and it was outstanding! The broccoli was fresh and I had enough to bring it home fur dinner. The dumplings were tasty and my friend enjoyed his soup and main dish, too. The service was excellent, and the space was good. Nice to have a good Chinese restaurant not far from my neighborhood.

Ordered carry-out and the food did not disappoint! The crystal shrimp dumplings were our favorite, soooo good!!! The dan dan noodles and crispy spring rolls were really good, green beans were good, vegetable dumplings were underwhelming (we wouldn't order those again). Just got lite fare this time but we'll be back for more!! Excited to have quality Chinese food in the neighborhood.

The food was very bad. The beef tripe is all tendon, not acceptable for Sze Chuan food.

My third visit to this recently opened Szechuan restaurant. Fantastic dim sum assortment at lunchtime, a long menu full of authentic dishes besides the dim sum. A friend I took with me was just amazed at the quality of all the food. A notch above the usual Szechuan (Chinese-American) place. My faves among appetizers: Chengdu stir fry (pork belly and green peppers) and Dan Dan Noodles, topped with chopped pork and cucumber shreds, with a moderately spicy sauce with soy and sesame.

The food was pretty good, although a little saltier than my standard. The service was quite nice! Dan Dan Miami is really good from there!

Got takeout Kung Pao Chicken. Service fine, came out very fast (~7 min). Rice is $1.5, none is included. The kung pao chicken is either inauthentic or missing a few ingredients. Image included. Not as good as the Chicago original unfortunately, will update if I return after grand opening

It is very tasty! Good! I love to eat the food. 好吃好吃好吃好吃好吃好吃 Better than the orient express

Had heard mixed reviews of this place, but have been wanting to give it a try. Coming from New York I have never had really good Chinese food in Baltimore to fill that need. Well after hearing my wife and daughter were tired and wanted me to pick up dinner in a heavy rainstorm I suggested dinner out. We were not disappointed in the least. We were very warmly greeted and all the waitstaff were sweet, pleasant and helpful throughout. Due to the weather we ordered duck bone broth. The broth was rich and deeply flavored with vermicelli and green veggies made it tasty and refreshing at the same time. Warmed our hearts and bellys. Also had enough to take home and have for dinner the next day. We also ordered the cucumbers with garlic sauce, stir-fried eggplant apps and the savory sea bass. The eggplant in particular was most pleasing. They were crispy and chewy little pillows of flavor. Superb! The sea bass was cooked perfectly and the ginger sauce with scallions just blended so nicely with a bowl of sticky white rice. I am a convert! The place was also well-lit, with ample seating and I must say that the chairs were super comfy. Go now!

Such good szechuan and so exciting to have it in Charles Village. Best garlic eggplant I've ever had and excellent dan dan noodles and ma la wontons

Excellent food, service, and ambience! Broad scope of options, I'm vegetarian and loved my choices (hot dry spiced green beans, steamed veggie dumplings with delicious dipping sauce, and stir fried veggie noodles). I am thrilled to have this in our neighborhood, and hope it thrives!