Red Pepper

I had an incredible meal at Red Pepper and couldn’t be more impressed. We ordered the Green Sichuan Pepper Beef and Shredded Pork with Green Peppers, and both dishes were absolutely delicious. The Green Sichuan Pepper Beef was a standout — tender beef slices served in a flavorful, numbing broth filled with green peppercorns, fresh herbs, and chili. It had the perfect balance of heat and that signature tingling sensation that makes Sichuan cuisine so addictive. The Shredded Pork with Green Peppers was equally satisfying — stir-fried to perfection with just the right amount of spice and crunch from the fresh green peppers. Every bite was bursting with savory goodness. The service was friendly, and the ambiance was comfortable and welcoming. If you’re a fan of bold, authentic Sichuan flavors, Red Pepper should be at the top of your list. Highly recommended!

Delicious, and great portion size. I ordered the braised pork and potatoes over rice bowl, and it was very yummy. Friendly service that doesn't bother you by talking too much or interrupting beyond what's necessary. My food was marked a level 1 spice, and it was barely spicy. If you have a Caucasian American spice tolerance, feel free to bump the spice up to a level 2 and you should be fine. Great price too! We got the lunch special, and it was only $10 per person. Giving the atmosphere 4 stars because it's a little bit loud, but that's probably just me being autistic/my sensory sensitivity. Good vibes tho!

Service was fast and efficient. Spice level was a little more than typical spice levels in similar restaurants in the US (a good thing but our mouths were tingling!) A big hit with my Chinese parents and grandma!

Red Pepper is a Szechuan restaurant that delivers bold, authentic flavors in a casual setting. From the moment the dishes hit the table, you can tell this is a spot that understands the art of spice, depth, and traditional Chinese cooking. I’m giving this place 4 out of 5 stars, primarily for its solid execution on flavor and standout entrées. Ambiance: 3.5/5 The interior is simple and unpretentious, with the focus clearly on the food. It’s a functional and comfortable space, though nothing about the atmosphere particularly stands out. Still, it serves its purpose for casual meals and group gatherings. Authenticity: 4.5/5 This place knows its Szechuan roots. The flavors are unmistakably traditional—from the tangy fermented bean base to the numbing kick of Szechuan peppercorns. You won’t find watered-down interpretations here. Flavor: 5/5 The boiling fish (水煮鱼) was the highlight—intensely flavorful, spicy, and layered with that signature málà numb-and-tingle sensation that defines real Szechuan cuisine. The fish was fresh and tender, bathing in a rich, spicy broth that soaked beautifully into the accompanying vegetables. I also ordered the crab roe tofu, a softer, more delicate dish that balanced out the spice beautifully. The silky tofu with that crab roe umami richness was perfect over white rice and one of my personal favorites. Service: 4/5 Service was friendly and efficient. Dishes came out hot and fast, and the servers were attentive without being intrusive. Nothing particularly exceptional, but definitely above average. Cost: 4/5 Portions are generous and the pricing is very fair for the level of authenticity and ingredient quality. You’ll leave full and satisfied without feeling gouged. All in all, Red Pepper is a strong choice for anyone craving bold, spicy, and authentic Szechuan food. I’ll definitely be coming back to explore more of the menu—especially if the rest of the dishes are as solid as the ones I tried.

Absolutely loved this place! The food was incredibly delicious — every dish was full of flavor and beautifully presented. You can really tell the ingredients are fresh and thoughtfully prepared. The service was friendly and attentive without being overbearing. The atmosphere is cozy and welcoming, perfect for a casual dinner or a special night out. Highly recommend the hot boiling fish it was a standout! Will definitely be coming back again soon.

We went here for the first day of restaurant week! It was such a great deal - $65 for 4 dishes and everything was so yummy. I would come back just for the green beans and cumin beef noodles. Mapo tofu was ok

We ordered four dishes, and each one was excellent. The flavors were bold and authentic—perfect for anyone who loves Sichuan spice or wants to explore real Chinese cuisine. Everything tasted amazing, and the service was warm and attentive. Highly recommend!

Awesome awesome place. Big portion sizes, delicious food. The one in front is an eggplant in garlic sauce over noodles lunch special and the one behind is pork and potato over rice lunch special. I couldn’t be happier with what I got and neither could my husband. The service is a little hands off, but in a nice way. It feels unobtrusive rather than in your face. Nothing to complain about but much to enjoy.

We got dry pot combination of 7 items, Taste amazing indeed! Service was also great, fast paced and servers are all so helpful. We visited during Christmas, place is clean & plenty of tables. Great and amazing experience

Really yummy food in a chill ambiance. Absolutely loved the spicy dry noodle bowl with lamb mushrooms and lotus root. The tofu was super moist. We got another dry noodle bowl with soy base, bamboo, and chicken. 2 bowls between 3 people was a lot, and it was super affordable. Waiters were attentive, but not super quick as expected in a chill environment

Pretty good food for its value. Lunch special was $9.99 and came with rice or noodle. The dry hot pot was huge and very tasty.

If you love numbing spice, there are tonnns of options. But if you can't handle numbing spice like us, there are still loads of yummy dishes! Have eaten here and done take out quite a few times and the food has always been tasty. We love their dry pot and little hot pot which are great for sharing and you can add whatever ingredients you like. My personal fav is the tofu with special yolk sauce. I get this every time and if you like salted egg yolk you have to try this! It's so rich and flavorful and while I love mapu tofu... I have to order this dish! Their prices for some dishes are higher but I think the portions here are overall pretty generous.

Solid spot for authentic Chinese food! I came on a Wednesday night and there was no wait. We got the dry pot with chicken, shredded pork with bamboo, and beef fried rice. The dry pot was my favorite. It was packed with flavor and the veggies were delicious. The food can get quite spicy though so I'd be mindful of spice levels -- I think you can ask to adjust them. The only thing I didn't love was the beef fried rice since the beef was quite dry and chewy. Staff was helpful and friendly, and the place was clean Would recommend checking it out!

Great szechuan food! We got the lazi chicken, twice cooked pork, and eggplant with garlic sauce. The eggplant was cooked really well and unexpected. Good flavors all around. Service was speedy with decent ambiance. Would have to come back for the lunch special which is only $10!

This place is one of the spot for Sichaun around the Ave. There are many different dishes to try. I always like spicy plus numbness. Give a hit to my mouth. Dry pot is one of my go to as well as the stir fry with pork belly and cabbage. Great combination with rice in each bites! They also have lunch special as well. So if weekday you have nothing to eat or thinking what to eat. Come here!

Good ambience and very fast service. The eggplant was very saucy and tasty and the Napa cabbage was very good. We got the dry pot with numbing spice flavor but it wasn't super numbering and was quite oily but the overall dish was tasty. Would recommend this place if you're looking for dry pot in Seattle.

excellent tasting food with great portion size. there was a lot of fish in this dish, which i appreciated. many szechuan peppercorns in it as well, definitely ate more than a few but overall, i appreciated the szechuan spice's numbing sensation as well as the taste of the dish. it tasted refreshing while still having a nice kick of spice and was full of flavor. we don't have many places with authentic szechuan cuisine where i live, so this spot was a treat. ambiance was nice as well with a QR code menu and nice staff that were reasonably attentive to my table. food came out fast as well. i will say that it was on the pricey side, although i did order this dish that normally would be shared among 2 or more people i would say by myself, so do consider that. ~$30. overall: 8.75/10 taste: 10/10 price: 7.5/10 portions: 10/10 would recommend!

Food so good we finished before we could take a photo. Ordered the twice cooked pork and lazi chicken. Chicken fills your mouth with mala so come prepared.

Well seasoned, tasty, friendly service. I loved everything I ate here! My favorite (non spicy) was the salted egg tofu. Cumin lamb was tender, well seasoned, and a good mix. The chicken something (no idea - my friend ordered - it was over fire ha) was probably my favorite. Usually don't love ordering chicken, but would order this one again bc of how tender, spicy, and flavorful it was. Had some (I think) Napa cabbage as another side. Solid food all around - would come back for sure

Red Pepper has a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere. The server gave us plenty of time to look at their menu which was nice because there was a lot of delicious looking food on the menu. The tofu with special yolk sauce was creamy with the perfect amount of salt and the tofu was soft with a lot of flavor. The dry hot pot chicken's meat was tender and juicy with crispy thin cut potato. I'm very excited to come back and try more of the food here in the future

Usually order fish here. This time try the chicken. The chicken is tender. Recommended.

BEST DRYPOT IN SEATTLE!! I've been coming for soo long and it's still soo good. Defo my fave and will always come back. Thanks for being here!!!

Came here with 2 other friends and overall food was pretty good. I really liked the xinjiang spicy chicken since the chicken was tender and flavorful. The potatoes also tasted really good since they absorbed some of the chicken flavor. I don't think the noodles needed to be part of the dish though. Mapo tofu was decent but definitely not as good as the chicken.

AMAZING SERVICE FROM JIM he was so lovely and definitely made the experience elevated. Food was lovely, we ordered the fish in sour cabbage, mapo tofu, and pork intestine!

This one of the best Chinese Food in U District. We have come several times. We always order fatty beef mushroom with tomato base. There crab tofu is my children's favorite.

Came here for lunch per a friend's recommendation, and it was a great meal especially on a more chilly day. The authentic numbing Szechuan flavor came through in the best way possible, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Located on the ave in U district so lots of fun things nearby!

We came back again today and it was just as delicious as last time. Today, we just got the little hot pot and the kung pao chicken, which were our favorites from the last visit. The little hotpot was super flavorful, not too spicy and had a nice balance of numbing flavor. They put quite a lot of the add-ons, but personally I felt like they could have included more meat. The kung pao chicken came out nice and hot and had a good amount of sauce. Again, I think there could have been slightly more chicken, but overall I really enjoyed it. We came around 8pm on a Thursday night and there were plenty of tables. It was not busy at all and we were sat right away. Also, the service was great! I dropped the spoon in the pot and they brought me a new one after noticing. I would highly recommend Red Pepper as a late night eat on the Ave!

We came here for a dinner on Friday, the place is popular, there was a line and we waited for about 15 minutes before being seated. The menu is offered via QR code, but you have to order with the server. We ordered the boiled fish in green chili oil, which came with lots of fish. This has less heat than the boiled fish in chili oil, but make up for it with numbing Sichuan peppers. The sauce in the tofu dish is made from salted egg yolk, and is a good accompaniment for hot and spicy dishes. The beef noodle comes with a good amount of chili oil, and was actually the hottest (in terms of spice) of the 3 dishes. Overall a good dinner, will be coming back to try the personal hot pot.

There's this unexpected gem, you MUST try, in the U-District! It's the Red Pepper Chinese Cuisine! They are this great clean and fairly fast restaurant, that serves up hearty and delicious meals! Most of their entrées serve 2 or more people (almost family style), so bring your appetite!!! We had their Dry Pot dish, where you can choose 5 mix and match ingredients, on their menu. A Stir-Fried Noodle, with Chicken and a Deep Fried Chicken Soft Bone, with RED PEPPER! Everything was super delicious and filling!!! It looks like they have great lunch specials too, so go check them out and lmk what you try! Cheers!

Nice spot in the u district. Service was good at prompt! I got a stir fry chicken noodle dish. The flavor was good but it was too soupy for a stir fry. It was pretty spicy.

Griddle Cooked Meat Dry Pot: I adjusted my dry pot to be 1 star spicy with numbing flavor and my custom toppings are frog leg, quail egg, cabbage, beef tripe, and crab stick! The frog leg was chewy and I love everything in the pot Boiled Beef and Enoki Mushroom with Tomato Sauce: this dish is my favorite!! Beef and tomato sauce is my favorite combo now, it's not spicy since the tomato sauce is sweet and there are noodles included Beef and Cumin Stir-Fried Noodle: the dish was too spicy for me but flavors are strong Rice: definitely needed rice to balance out all the flavors These dishes were in veryyy large portions, I was already full after eating less than half of everything. Service was amazing, they gave me food recommendations!

I am always on the hunt for delicious frog legs! This place has very authentic Sichuan food if you know what to order. Not ordering takeout from this restaurant every week was the hardest thing for my self control. 辣子鸡丁 (lazi chicken) and 跳水蛙 (frog legs) were my go to dishes. Delicious!!

The food is really delicious and the service is nice! The soup is very good with other spicy dishes.

Good quality with the price. Good for a quick bite for authentic Chinese food. Recommend it.

Service was good and food was pretty good too! I was starving so I might be biased though. The portions are a little small for the price point, but I would say it's still reasonable. I love pea tips, highly recommend them! They were garlicky and savory (MSG), so tasty, but you could probably make the same thing at home. The fried chongqing chicken on the other hand is something I always order and have never/could never cook at home (seems like a lot of work). It is super tasty, very strong numbing spice, and crispy. The chicken chunks are a little small though Service was good (decently fast and polite) and restaurant felt like any other chinese restaurant!

Really nice authentic Szechuan food! One of the best spots in the Ave. Service was nice and attentive. The vibes are all around good

Authentic Szechuan food. Mid to hot spicy level. A little salty. Reasonable price. Good for lunch.

It's hard to find a good authentic Sichuanese restaurant but this place certainly hit the spot! We went on a Tuesday around 8pm and it was lively but we got seated quickly. We got the twice-cooked pork belly, stir-fried lamb with cumin, sweet and sour stir-fried cabbage, and stir-fried noodles with beef. Everything came perfectly spiced and the portions were generous. We particularly loved the lamb, the sauce was flavorful and the lamb was tender and fatty. The cabbage was also great, perfect texture and a balanced sweet and sour taste. The cherry on top was our servers who were friendly and very attentive. Will definitely be going back soon!

While the Sichuan Spicy Food restaurant delivers above-average dishes that tantalize the taste buds with their bold flavors and fiery spices, it may fall short of being the absolute best in its class. However, its commitment to authenticity and the overall dining experience still make it a noteworthy destination for those craving a taste of Sichuan cuisine.

This was highly recommended when I was out visiting two friends in Seattle. I hadn't had Sichuan food in almost a year, and it was really hard to find outside of New York City. Even though Atlanta, which is where I'm temporarily based, has a decent Asian food scene, Szechuan cuisine is not a strong point here, and actually has a low presence. My two friends recommend going in on a dry pot, and we also ended up getting the salted egg yolk tofu. Szechuan dry pot: you essentially put your dish together, by selecting think Lillian said she wanna put in there. However, I wouldn't advise against putting everything in there as too much stuff can muddle up the flavors. PROS: - Great amount of flavor, fantastic, Szechuan, spice and heat and saltiness. - Fantastic quantity, again this is dependent on what you add though. - Can also take home, and reheats well. As long as you don't mind the smell. CONS: - none. Salted egg yolk tofu PROS: - Fantastic quality for sharing. - The sauce was so good. It wasn't overly salty because it is salted egg yolk, and not egg white. - It wasn't spicy, so this is a nice complement to go with the dry pot. - Also wasn't as oily as the dry pot, so overall nice addition to the meal itself. CONS: - not a con, more of a health awareness alert. This is so cholesterol heavy. If you are not supposed to be eating fatty, cholesterol heavy foods, I would probably stay away from this. It is definitely not the healthiest thing for you. But it definitely feels healthier than the dry pot! I would 100% come here again. The food was great, the service wasn't too bad either. We were tucked away towards the window, and it was a little hard to get the attention of the servers. I'm not the type of person who minds getting up from my seat and walking over to the counter to ask for the check or ask for more water. It's a super small, almost minute price to pay, for amazing food.

This place opens on thanksgiving day! Boiled fish in hot chili sauce was so bomb. The chewy noodles on the bottom definitely added texture. The chili oil was spicy and rich. I also added pork into an existing dish (egg plant) for an additional cost and it tastes even better. I was pleasantly surprised with this place and definitely will come back later! Parking can be difficult to find since it's located in central u-district. Uber/bus/walking would prob be better during peak hours.

yumyy its so good we came in with 6 people and everyone things the food is good. me, friend one, friend two, friend three, friend four, friend five, friend six is going to come back for sure

Food was really good especially the green beans. Would have been nice to know that the chicken had bone.

Solid Sichuan restaurant if you're in the mood for some boiled fish in chili oil (to keep you warm during rainy Seattle days). You know it's good here because all the Chinese people (including me!) are here. Even though the restaurant was full, we got our food very quickly. The cold beef appetizer was also decent. This is nestled in University District, so street parking only.

They got some good authentic chinese food here! I had the griddle cooked meat pot. It's recommended you choose at least 5 ingredients, so I chose, fish cake, lamb, lotus root, enoki and eggplant. The combination was pretty good! It did cost a bit more than I expected so I'd take off a star for that but I cannot complain about the dish in general. I chose the spicy soup base but it wasn't very spicy for me. All in all, definitely check it out!

The go to dish, good for people who eat spice and good with rice, sometimes it can be a little salty, make sure to tell them put less salt maybe, just personal opinion.

The food is awesome. I take my friends here all the time, the dry pot is the best in Seattle and we love eating here. Keep up the good work!

We had double cooked pork, cumin lamb, sichuan fish, and braised beef shank soup with noodles. Everything was delicious and finished it all! Picture- midway through the food decimation.

The food was great. The service was quick. It was good ambience, and I would come back again.

Food very good service very good we got the $88 meal set and you can select 4 drinks pretty worth it. Red pepper is always good, we got max spicy it's pretty spicy but good spicy.

Went for lunch a week ago on a Friday. It wasn't busy--only 1-2 other tables were occupied. I had the mapo tofu and my friend had a beef noodle dish. The mapo tofu was vegetarian, but super salty. I picked out the tofu which wasn't enough to fill me up. There was maybe four ounces of tofu! My friend said his dish was only so so. I'm surprised this place has so many positive reviews.

Quick, friendly service. Food is very tasty and it's the right amount of spice. Would definitely come back.

Everything tasted so good! Ordered the red pepper chicken & the shredded pork w/bamboo, both had the right amount of spice for a little kick!

Great food, and service. Spicy and authentic for sure. Make sure to get the sour cabbage and fish

Authentic Chinese cuisine! Service is also very good! Will definitely come back. Ambiance is casual and cozy. To be honest, I've been constantly dining here at least once a week for 2 years. The best Chinese restaurant on the University Ave IMAO. Tho their menu hasn't changed much - I've tried most of the dishes - but each is very delicious and authentic.

Food is very delicious. Staffs are super friendly. Price ia affordable. I basically visit it every week.

I don't really venture out with Chinese cuisine often but I was invited by a fellow Seattle foodie to try out this place & was not disappointed! I personally didn't like one of the fragrant flavors in one of the dishes but I really enjoyed the pork belly & beef griddle pot! The flavors are really delicious, different, & although we requested some of the less spicier dishes, it looks like you can really amp things up if you wanted with the levels of spice! This little gem is located in the U-district area with all sorts of delicious foods on the block. I'd definitely wouldn't mind coming back with my husband to try some other dishes as well! The portions are generous & for even the 4 of us with a hungry appetite, we had plenty of leftovers! We all liked different dishes so there's something for everyone to try! Their menu is pretty big too hence why I want to come back and try their other dishes!