Spices

Had the whole restaurant for ourselves on a quiet weekday lunch hour. First time dining here and pretty impressed with what we ordered! Would skip Calamari, didn’t taste fresh! Fried rice and cumin lamb were some of the best dishes we had in a while!

The best best best Chinese restaurant in the city. They made the best blend of Sichuan and Hunan. It's spicy (like really) and numbing at the same time. I go to a lot of Chinese restaurants and this one is hands down the best. Move aside Z&Y.

the explosive spicy chicken (there is a tofu and fish version too) is sooo amazing. So are the veggies that are sauteed with garlic. This is my 3rd time coming here this month and it’s always a great experience — friendly staff too. Bring a friend because the portions are large.

We visited Spices as a group and had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of dishes. The flavors were absolutely delightful, and each dish was wonderfully seasoned and tender. We will definitely be back. If you appreciate spicy and authentic Hunan-style cuisine, this restaurant is worth a visit.

Their iron pot is one of my favorite comfort foods in the city. It's perfect for when I want to feel full of warmth and joy while craving something spicy and flavorful. The portion size of the vegetarian small iron pot ($30.99) is generous and can easily be shared between 2-3 people, or enjoyed solo and split into multiple meals! Pairs well with rice.

This is the perfect place to get your tastebuds tingling.. I loved my experience and the food here . The chicken wings was fantastic, crisp and crunchy to the core . Friendly staff , clean tables and lots of seating area . Quantity of the dishes also is fantastic, I ordered a couple of dishes and every dish has its own unique taste and flavors. I so so so recommend this place .

Food was good with generous portions. Dining environment was nice. Service was okay, but slow. I believe they were too busy and under the staff. Authentic Hunan dishes. Recommend the sizzling cumin lamb. Very hot so you might need to ask them for different level of spice. Will come again to try more.

I’m on business trip from Texas and this place is the traditional Chinese food, lots of flavor and color on the dishes and best of all yummy! Definitely will be back next time. Good stuff! And service is good!

Spices is absolutely amazing. My partner and I went with a friend and ordered the orange chicken, seaweed, braised chicken with chili pepper, and the fish fillet bowl with flaming red oil, and every single dish was bursting with flavor. The orange chicken was crispy and perfectly balanced, the braised chicken had that deep, spicy kick you hope for, and the seaweed was surprisingly flavorful and refreshing. But the standout, without question, was the fish fillet bowl. It came out sizzling hot, coated in a rich, fiery red oil with layers of spice that changed as the dish cooled, every bite felt like a new experience. That said, this is not the place for anyone who can't handle heat, the food definitely packs some fire. But if you love bold, complex flavors, this is the spot for you. The service was a little lackluster, but the food more than makes up for it. Don't hesitate to ask for what you need, it's worth it. I'll definitely be back. This place is crazy good and absolutely a must-try at least once.

Spices is the wicked cousin of the chinese food you're used to. It's the one always partying, always a little hung over. If you're expecting broccoli beef or anything Cantonese-comfort, this isn't that. It shows up loud and unfiltered. My first visit was with a big group, and somewhere between all the shared dishes I fell in love with this place. The fish stew was the star. Packed with crab and all kinds of shellfish, deeply flavored, and perfect on a cold day. Then the dry braised string beans came out with crispy tofu. Little rectangles, perfectly breaded, salty, and so crunchy. I still think about them. I came back for lunch and kept it simple. The Mongolian beef hit the spot with tender meat and bold seasoning. The salt and pepper squid wasn't my favorite. A bit chewier than I like and the breading needed more crisp. Still tasty though, and not enough to stop me from returning. Lunch leans more familiar, but the soul of this place is Sichuan. The peppercorns give that electric tingle that numbs your lips and makes every bite feel like a whole experience, not just a flavor. Service is straightforward. Limited English, no small talk, just your order delivered exactly as requested. Spices is wild, bold, and memorable. I'll be back.

Quick update - still (consistenly) delicious! Pricing has always been very reasonable, but with how expensive things are getting in general, Spices is now a super great value as well.

The most flavorful sizzling pot of veggies and tofu ever. Came here for a late dinner and ordered the large vegetarian sizzling iron pot and it totally hit the spot. Service is quick and food is fresh. Portion is massive, so it's a major value for money too. 10/10 would recommend.

My coworkers and I planned to grab dinner before hitting another spot for trivia. My friend said one of his favorite spots in Richmond is Spices, so that's how we decided to come here. We arrived on a weekday evening. There weren't any other parties so it was pretty quiet. The restaurant is pretty spacious, with ample seating inside. The decor is pretty minimal and the service was fine. We were served our food quite fast but had to flag our servers down to be helped. We ordered and shared family style. We got: Spicy Cucumber, Scallion Pancake, Orange Chicken, Fried Tofu with Explosive Chili Pepper, Dry Braised String Beans, and House Special Chow Mein with Shrimp. I can't handle spicy food at all. My tolerance is so low. So most of what we got was too spicy for me, but it was really good! My favorites were the tofu and string beans. Everything was well seasoned and had some spice to it. If you like spicy food, I recommend Spices. The food is good and the prices are reasonable. The restaurant is off 6th Ave. with street parking around.

No gatekeeping here. They have a "secret menu" that's basically stinky tofu prepared in several different ways. My favorite is just the original, deep fried and dipped in sweet chili sauce. This is the real deal. Legit STINKY and oh so good!!! It's highly addictive and I'd come back just for this one dish. It's a deep craving that can only be satisfied by the stinkiest of dishes.

Ambiance: casual Service: okay Food: hit or miss Came here a few times and I do like their dry pots, it has a decent amount of protein and pretty spicy! Goes so well with rice! But recently we ordered their spicy shrimp which I thought would be lightly fried with szechuan spice, but it was deep fried. It just tasted like batter and oil, wasted $30 for old tasting shrimp.

Have actually been obsessed with this place for the iron pot, which is essentially like hot pot flavors, but with no soup and in stir fry form. I usually get it with the fried fish filet which is *chef's kiss*, flavorful and crunchy but has a kick to it! Come hungry because the small iron pot is perfect for two people, and I usually take the rest home since I also order additional things. The leftovers even taste good the next day because the flavor has soaked in even more. I do recommend that you consider the spice level because like their name, "spices", the food can be pretty spicy even for a medium. I also LOVE their fried eggplant, for an appetizer. It's crunchy on the outside with that spicy chili and peppery flavor, and balances out the eggplant flavor so well. Like I said, service is quick and I'm so happy it's close to me in my neighborhood. I go all the time for some comfort food and am still not tired of it!

I've come here for years and finally writing a review. Great food. Well prepared - they cook it right each time. They specialize in spicy food, and if you like that, this is the place. The food is hot and flavorful. Some places are rely on hot without good flavors. This place knows how to blend the hot into the flavors. Today I had the twice cooked bacon. It's 2x bacon goodness. I've had thr hot pots in the past and they rock. For the Veggies out there, the dry braised green beans are a treat.

So happy to discover another dry pot place in SF! I came here for Sunday dinner and they were immediately able to seat my group of 9. We ordered a bunch of dishes, but the highlights for me were the dry pot, tofu in meat sauce, and string beans. The dry pot portion is HUGE and the large can easily feed 4 people. Everything we tried was amazing and definitely worth the price! There's a ton of variety on the menu. Bonus points for friendly staff!

I had to try stinky Tofu and boy does it live up to its name. I thought I was not going to eat it but I never back down to a challenge. After asking for some rice I was able to eat it. I had some wonton soup and that was really good. The service was excellent and I enjoyed the Restaurants peace and quiet . The place was clean and well spaced.

Even though I didn't visit them as often as I wish I did, Spices (Spices II?) was one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in SF. In part because, for the longest time, they seemed to be one of the best Szechwan restaurants in The City, but mostly because they were just really good in general. Which, given all of that, probably makes it rather curious as to why it took me so long to finally make my way to the "new" Spices. It certainly hasn't been due to a lack of desire, but I will say that the tepid experiences from family and friends absolutely didn't exactly light a fire to make it here... Compared to how the old/original Spices looked, the current version has a far more modern look. Gone are the colorfully painted walls and table cloths, having been replaced with relatively darker tones and monotone colors. The menu has been similarly revamped with a comparatively narrower range of options (they dropped a lot of their Taiwanese dishes), though most of their main offerings and Szechwan classics, like iron pots, noodle soups, map tofu, and tan tan noodles, are still found. However, even then, a bunch of them don't seem to be exactly the same as before, for better or worse. -- TAN TAN NOODLE WITH GROUND PORK...$16.99 (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/spices-san-francisco-6?select=N5rovqiSwHAdOCt4VSkVZg) I was super excited for this one, but I thought it was just okay. The noodles were great, and I liked the flavors of the ground pork/sauce a lot, but I was surprised by how oily the sauce/broth was (it was more than I expected). -- HOUSE SPECIAL SPICY BEEF CHOW FUN...$16.99 (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/spices-san-francisco-6?select=NsUg1dpr_ft7YR8AgZcwOg) This was...fine. While there wasn't anything "bad" about this dish, it didn't do much to amaze either. The noodles had a slight kick (which I loved), but not in the mouth numbing way (it had more to do with the slices of jalapeno). -- PORK IN GARLIC SAUCE OVER RICE...$14.99 (Lunch Special) (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/spices-san-francisco-6?select=R8a5HpjcJ9Su-4z0q0-kgA) Despite how it's marked with two chili signs, we actually didn't find this to be spicy at all. The version that the old Spices also just tasted better, too; while there was a fair mix of pork and veggies, the overall flavors for this just felt lacking/muted. -- MAPO TOFU WITH GROUND PORK OVER RICE...$14.99 (Lunch Special) (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/spices-san-francisco-6?select=0r0RcXkOjvqHogPKjJBuIA) Pretty solid, for the most part. The chunks of tofu were soft and plump and i liked that the sauce had a good amount of white pepper and Szechwan peppercorns. However, for $15, the portion seemed really small... Also, in terms of service, I generally don't expect, nor need, anything exceptional, but I thought it was interesting how different it was between our two meals here. The first time, we had a young female server who was great - super nice and very attentive. The second time, we had a comparatively older female server who wasn't rude, but didn't exactly give off the warmest of vibes and seemed to disappear for really long stretches. Given how big of a fan I was, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the old/original Spices better, but that's not to say that this one is "bad". If this was the only Spices I knew, I admit I might feel a little differently about the food (though, not necessarily the value); it's just hard not to compare all of those old experiences to my most recent meals here. Plus, this is still one of the better Szechwan spots around these parts, so I'm sure I'll still make it back to try more of what the menu has to offer every now and then.

Yum! Pretty good food for Szechuan in SF. Everything has really great flavor and spice. The eggplant was really good - switched it up and got a different style than normal. Honestly all dishes around are pretty good. Service is ok - it is usually quick to order but took a while to get food. The spot is not too busy but definitely decent crowds in there. Would return for sure!

There is one word to describe Spices -- FIRE. I've been to so many Sichuan restaurants, and this is hands down one of the best out there. The food is incredibly fresh and bursting with flavor. It's not for the faint of heart, though. This is true Sichuan, packed with spices and garlic and oil, which is what makes it so special. We got the veggie iron pot with fried tofu and lotus root added. This was my favorite because of a) how nourishing it was, b) the complex flavor profile, and c) the little candle that kept everything piping hot and start to char a little on the bottom of the pot. We also got the explosive chili chicken wings, which were nice and crisp and despite having a ton of chillies, were not overpoweringly spicy. We've also had the fish filet version of this dish before, which is even better than the chicken. It's a casual restaurant run by a family, and the service is extremely warm! They don't rush you out of the restaurant and make sure your water glass and bellies are full

Still just as good as before! The highlights were the dry pot, egg tofu, lotus root, and chongxing chicken wings. Just make sure to get dry pot MILD cuz the medium was v spicy

Got the pork intestine and beef pot. it was delicious! The pot comes with a bunch of sides (bean sprouts, potatoes, green onions, etc). We opted for numbing spice which wasn't too spicy. In addition we got a side of chili oil wontons which were only okay in our opinion. This place was packed on a Friday! The owners definitely looked overwhelmed but were trying their hardest to accommodate everyone. Definitely recommend!

If you're needing to scratch that Sichuan food itch, this is the place to be! My friend and I ordered the Spicy Cucumber salad, the Fish Fillet Bowl w/ Flaming Red Oil, the String Beans (not pictured) and the Pork Shoulder w/ Garlic Sauce. I'm telling you...the Pork Shoulder is braised PERFECTLY. Imagine the most tender, juicy fall-off-the-bone meat, now imagine it having enough to feed 3-4 people. You will not regret getting this. All the spicy food got us drooling and blowing our noses, as per usual. Well done!!

This is, for me, the best Chinese food in the city. I almost always went there with someone Chinese (usually from Taiwan), so they helped with ordering, although the fish in red hot oil and the strignbeans dish were usually on my menu, and it's easy to pick what sounds good. Everything is great, appetizers included. Strong flavors, really hot oils. It's amazing. There's another restaurant nearby just called Taiwan, and it's great but not as good as Spices. I haven't been there since before the pandemic, which is sad. I should go by myself. It's worth the MUNI ride, plus you can go to Green Apple Books afterwards. Spices gets my highest recommendation.

Super underrated. I really love the string beans, the pickled cabbage fish soup and the cumin beef

My favorite spot in the neighborhood! I normally come in on a Wednesday or Thursday when Katie is working, she is wonderful and very honest about her recommendations and I always try something new. So far my favorites are the Mapo Tofu w/ Ground Pork, Pork Shoulder w/ Garlic Sauce, and Special Meat Sauce w/ Japanese Tofu.

One of my to-go places for spicy food. I always get the deep fried fish fillet with explosive chili and spicy beef tendon. I had their beef rolls a couple of times, but the garlic is a little too strong for me.

serving great amount of food and taste fantastic! services were super nice and helpful

For as long as I've been in the Bay Area, I've been hunting for the best dry pot place to replace my love for Mala Project in NYC. I definitely feel like Spices satisfied all my cravings and is my new favorite place for dry pot (even over Mala Project). It's truly a hidden gem in the Richmond. FOOD: We ordered a small numbing spicy iron pot with lamb, rice noodles, fish cake, and Napa cabbage. For two people, this was more than enough and we were absolutely stuffed by the end of it. Thankfully, we had basically half of the iron stone pot to take home with us for another meal. We only got the mild level for spiciness and we could definitely feel the numbing feeling. It was the perfect spice level for me. I also liked that the meal is served over a small fire, which kept our food steaming hot until the very end. SERVICE: I went pretty late in the evening, so the restaurant had plenty of seating. We did have to flag our server down to take our order and for to-go boxes, but it wasn't a big deal. Our food came out pretty fast, so overall no complaints.

Honestly pretty flavorful food, and nice that it's open later than other spots on Clement. We ordered: - Beef Noodle Soup (3.5/5): this was surprisingly spicy!! The noodles were a little soft. I liked the pickles and very good portion size! - Dry Braised Eggplant (3.5/5): This was more like a deep fried eggplant! Very cool texture and my friends liked it a lot! - Chicken wings with explosive chili (5/5): This was BOMB! The chicken was juicy, flavorful, and so fun to eat. The wings are kind of more short and the meat falls off. The place seems like a good family business, so love to support :) We also got free tshirts for their 20th anniversary!

Incredible quality of food, fantastic flavors, well balanced, very clean, modern style restaurant, incredibly kind service, top notch. We heard about this restaurant last week. We already went there three times. Can't get enough of it. We highly recommend it.

Like this place. The stinky tofu that I tried was great. The backgrounds look more machine designed and I've seen the owner and he's great. I liked this place back when I was a kid.

New favorite Sichuan spot for sure! Loved the dishes we ordered - plentiful portions with appropriate level of numbing spice. Spacious interior, attentive and kind server, and food brought out very quickly. Would be a great place to order takeout as well!

Spicy chicken was indeed that. There were lots of poor leftover cuts. Not a lot of meat, mostly bones, and skin. It was hard to eat, and not a lot of substance. Sauce was flavourful , but tea was weak.

Excellent, flavor fresh food, I may tell you that the spicy Chinese food here is truly amazing. Hot spicy stir fried lotus root was delicious. Lotus root in your diet can prove to be beneficial for skin, hair and eyes. It is also an excellent sour of Vitamin C. It is a popular vegetarian ingredient widely used in Chinese cusine. I always recommend my friends to try this place. The food has never disappointed me. Good service.

Food and service both good, but we found food a bit too salty. The shrimp we ordered was crispy and puffy but not much meat in there.

Change the rating to 5 stars after another visit to this place. They have my favorite fried stinky tofu. The tofu are different from what I got in Changsha. Mainly the color and shape are different. But still a good option for these people who like to have this dish in United States.

Spice alert, this place is very aptly named. I crave and daydream of dan dan noodles perhaps more than the usual person, and this fine day I was around the richmond. I ventured in during a lull and had the entire restaurant to choose seating from. Requested the lady for a bowl of the vegetarian dan dan noodles, but I noticed it had just one chili mark next to it (the max being 3). I wanted the full spice bomb so I asked her if they could make it with a max spice rating along with the numbing sichuan peppercorn, but she said it packs a decent bit of numbing sichuan spice as is, so I went with it. She was right, it packed a lot of numbing spice, and I'd say the spice level it comes with by default is enough. A few bites in my mouth was crackling and I knew I needed to be stopping soon to not blow fire later. I spared myself and took the rest home. It is a large bowl and easily works out to be two meals. The noodles infuse the spice as leftovers so get ready for a higher sizzle second time around.

Fabulous and friendly service, bright and clear restaurant, A-plus Szechuan food, great range of spicy for those that love it or those that are not a fan, and a favorite respite for the residents of the island of misfit toys on major holidays (if you look really desperate, you might be rewarded with some sake or beer :-) ). If you have favorite Szechuan items, no need to rock the boat, they knock them all out of the park at Spices: - Ma-Po Tofu and Fish in Spicy Oil ('Shuizhu Yu') are both exceptional, - S+P Fried Chicken or Calamari, braised eggplant, - fried beef tripe if you're feeling adventurous, fried wheat noodle with pork PS: love the little bar and TV and CSN Bay Area on weeknights.

I love the stinky tofu, spicy cucumber, green beans, pig intestines and chicken dish I had. I've eaten stinky tofu anywhere I can find it and can't wait to come back. Amazing service too!

It's my new favorite Chinese place in the city! Their explosive fried tofu is mind blowing - it's the nicest tofu I've ever had and pretty spicy. We also got the fish in flaming oil and it was incredible. Portion sizes are large ish, one entree probably covers two people if you aren't starving. Don't get the dumplings, they're meh. The place is also open late which is terrific!

I've always come here in groups, so our orders have always been somewhat expansive. Nonetheless, the staff has always been prompt and friendly, and the food itself has never been anything short of sublime. I notice that the meat dishes here are quite popular, and for good reason. But I hope people aren't sleeping on their veggie dishes either, because these are my favorite things to get. If you intend to order family style or multiple courses, their spicy cucumber dish is the perfect palate cleanser between dishes!

Great spot. The food was fantastic, I came in slow hours during weekday lunch, and I could hear the wok flames coming from the kitchen after ordering. All the food came in piping hot. Ambiance is casual. The prices for pretty much every menu item are probably a dollar or three higher than I'd like them to be.

This is it fellas. The hidden gem in SF that hasn't blown up (yet). Generally Chinese food in SF leaves more to be desired but this place consistently delivers. It is a mom and pop feel in a modern setting. They are understaffed yet attentive and kind. This is the BEST place for dry pot and they do not SKIMP on the portions (side-eyeing you, Sizzling Pot King) as the 4 of us struggled to finish the large portion. A crowd pleaser is the exploding chicken. My god, it is like a perfect little firework in your mouth with the complexities of texture, salty, and spiciness. And please, please do not stop making the pork and lotus root soup. I will order this every time I am feeling home sick or craving something comforting. Please support this business!

Spice is true to its name: SPICYYYY. My body did not like it as much as my tongue did (granted I was never able to tolerate spicy very well ever). However, the food just kept going down my throat, if that says anything... We visited on a Saturday during dinner time, and the restaurant was quite empty (only two other tables): a hidden gem! The service was very fast and the owner (I think) was so friendly and was always smiling the whole entire time he was serving us. It really added to my experience! The food arrived at our table within 15 minutes of placing our order, and some of our main dishes even came before our appetizer (the scallion pancake). There were 5 of us, so we got 7 dishes to share. It was the perfect amount of food, though we were all quite hungry. The dishes we got are: - Scallion Pancake: very crispy and thin, but it was quite bland; I will probably not get again - Dry Braised String Beans: AHHH They are sooo good, and this is coming from someone who doesn't even eat string beans on normal basis; very flavorful and a perfect blend of spice - Eggplant with Garlic Sauce and Basil: What could go wrong with a classic Sichuan dish right? - Chicken Gizzards with Pickled Beans: the Pickled Beans are VERYYYYY spicy - dont say you aren't warned - Deep Fried Fish Fillet with Explosive Chili: ahh the deep fried. It made the day, though I couldn't tell it was fish from all the breading HAHA - Dan Dan Noodle with Ground Pork: Please get this. The noodles are sooooo tender. One of the best texture I have ever had!!! - Spicy Beef Tendon All in all, I can definitely see myself coming back all the way from the other side of SF!

such a great meal & such great service. they also had the basketball game playing, so if you're into that, great place to hang, get a beer (which they have on tap) & eat some amazing food-- this is your place. have been on the hunt for a good hot & sour soup and oh my GOD , this did it. it has tofu & of course the delicious egg and just yes. the small (as pictured) could feed a really hungry one, but shared between 2 people was more than enough, especially if you order other dishes. AND YOU SHOULD. the pork pot stickers were thiccc and so yummy. my partner and i were in awe. couldn't remember the last time we had such good potstickers & we order them OFTEN from joints. lastly the beef udonnnnn. the noodles were cooked to PERFECTION & the meat was so tender. i'm just going to keep hyping this place up. just go. dont walk, RUN.

The food was really good! Service is okay, and the ambiance is nice! We will be coming back!!!

Came here and wasn't sure what to expect. We ordered some food and it literally took an hour for our food to get to our table. So idk if I'm coming back just cause of that. Got the large dry pot and a tofu dish. Honestly both were quite good and the large was enough for 4 people. Got the mala spice and the highest spice level...and I think I would recommend dropping the spice to a 4 vs 5. My favorite item to add was the fish fillet. The fish tofu was so minimal that I can't recommend it honestly. It missed some noodles (maybe vermicelli or potato starch noodles). There isn't much veggie in it so be sure to add those. If there were no wait for food, definitely would recommend. Maybe they had an off day though.

Ahhh..Spices! This is the place where I first tried stinky tofu! Not my kinda dish, but glad to have tried it. So we haven't visited for a long while, and recently did a delivery order and the food is amazeballs! Pork intestines with lots of chilies! So good! The spicy cucumber is also numbing hot and delicious. My hubby and I are super fond of the special meat sauce with Japanese tofu. The meat sauce is spicy and meaty while the tofu is silky and smooth: perfect!

Hunan/ Sichuanese spicy meal. This place is actually quite good, really spicy. Indoor dining only. Staff is young and are great at wearing masks. overall clean and pleasant environment. Ordering and food delivery is fast. We tried: Gan Guo Yang Rou spicy dry lamb pot. Pretty good Rou mo Jiang dou pickled bean with minced pork - a sichuan and hunan classic that's hard to find. Grandma's cooking. Shou Si Bao Cai stir fried cabbages. Great Qing Jiao Rou: not my style but great portion and tasty green peppers. If you like jalapeños this may be for you. Generous meat portion. Overall superb! Most guests are respectful put on masks when not eating. It was a surprisingly good experience

True OG spices, fast service, and a quiet place (for now) for a couple bites to eat. Cumin Beef, Eggplant, Scallion Pancake, Pot Stickers

Spices has been my go-to Szechuan establishment since I first discovered what Szechuan cuisine is. Having frequented this place several times, I have several favorites that I can't not order when I go. The dry braised string beans are perfect: clean, crisp, and nicely flavored. They also appear to be vegetarian (unlike other establishments which sneak some fried pork into the dish - which I also like, but my veggie friends do not). The eggplant with garlic sauce and basil is also excellent: soft, almost sweet, and delicious. The eggplant in particular also travels exceptionally well for deliver/takeout. It evaporated from the table as soon as we opened the box, such was the demand for it among the people at our dinner table. The main event is always an entree with the term "explosive chili pepper" attached to it. I prefer the fried fish, but the tofu is also excellent. My only gripe is that when the restaurant opened they spiced this dish so you really got a solid tingle on your tongue after just a bit or two. Now they go much easier on the Szechuan peppercorn and I wish they wouldn't (or if there was some secret password I could provide in my order that would inform the chefs that the buzzing, numbing sensation on my tongue is the thing I crave most about Szechuan).

We came here around 7:30pm on a Thursday and had to do a couple laps before we could find parking. Our party of 3 was seated immediately and food came out in no time. We ordered the fish fillet in spicy chili oil and it was delicious. The szechuan and spiciness was not overwhelming and the cabbage in the thick broth absorbed the juicy flavor. We also got the pea sprouts which were the most flavorful pea sprouts I've had. It had a good umami garlic flavor. We also opted for the cumin lamb which was a bit greasy and not as spicy as I'd like. I think it was missing cilantro and I prefer eating it with hand pulled noodles instead of rice. Service was great. We sat there talking until they were almost ready to close and they allowed us to take our time. Great late night find!

I absolutely love this place. Best mapo tofu in the city, hands down. I also always get their salt and pepper fried chicken. It's more of a spicy fried chicken, so it's not very aptly named. Their dan dan noodles are fantastic - not soupy, like some other places.

Sooo good. Got the explosive fish because it was what was recommended on Yelp and it was so delicious. This and the white rice alone would make me very happy. It's quite spicy. Got the pig feet and combination fried rice which were okay.