Szechuan House

Lowkey some of the worst Chinese food I’ve ever had. I ordered beef fried rice with chicken wings (my go to for Chinese) and it was terrible. Rice was bland, beef was rubbery and you could tell the chicken wings are old and have been sitting around for sometime. I could barely even eat it to be honest. Definitely 1 star review worthy. How could you even serve this?

Authentic Old-School Chinese with Attitude (In a Good Way) I stopped in for dinner while visiting Columbia for work and was pleasantly surprised. This place serves solid, home-style Chinese food — the kind you remember from classic family-run spots. The hot and sour soup was spot-on: tangy, spicy, and full of flavor. The egg rolls were crisp and tasty, and the Kung Pao chicken with steamed rice? Easily one of the best I’ve had — perfectly balanced heat, crunch, and sauce. The vibe here definitely leans old-school, and the staff have that classic no-nonsense East Coast edge. A little gruff, a little bitchy — and honestly, it just made the experience feel more authentic. The waitress did finally crack a smile when she brought my credit card back. lol. If you’re into traditional Chinese-American fare done right, this place delivers.

We grabbed a quick lunch today between errands. Located downtown yet they have their own small parking lot which is nice. Getting in and out can be a little challenge depending on the time of day. The food has always been great here. They have Americanized and authentic Chinese food here so most people will be able to find something they like. The restaurant itself is small and the building is older. However these minor inconveniences are overshadowed by the quality and taste of the food.

This is by far the best experience I’ve had at a Chinese restaurant, and specifically one that serves true Szechuan cuisine. We came in not knowing exactly what to expect, but what we were treated to was something far beyond just a good meal. It was an experience—one I’ll be thinking about for a long time. We were welcomed in with genuine kindness and seated almost immediately. The servers were attentive, but more than that, they felt like they actually cared whether or not we enjoyed our food. The drinks came quickly, and not long after that, the table was filled with dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted like they came from a chef who really knew what they were doing. The moment I bit into the Chongqing Chicken—crispy, spiced, and dancing with that signature Szechuan tingle—I felt like I had been transported somewhere far away. The Dan Dan Noodles were packed with flavor and had this nutty, spicy richness that wrapped around my tongue in the best way. I don’t think I’ve ever had tofu as tender and flavorful as the Mapo Tofu here, and the fish in chili oil was something else entirely—so soft it melted the moment it touched my mouth, surrounded by a spicy broth that made me close my eyes for a second just to take it all in. I was reminded of the power of food to carry memory and culture—how something cooked right can make you feel things you didn’t know were still somewhere inside you. I would highly recommend you come to this place to feel what I felt at that table. It’s not just a restaurant. It’s a taste of a different world—one that stays with you long after the meal is done.

I've been here a few times, and service is always very fast. So far, I've had the Vermicelli, sweet and sour chicken, meat dumplings, and the orange chicken. The sweet and sour chicken and vermicelli weren't my favorite, but the reason I decided to give this restaurant 5 stars is because their orange chicken is the best orange chicken I've ever had. It's so perfectly crunchy on the outside and has a well cooked inside. The sauce is amazing! My boyfriend who has eaten his fair share of orange chicken while living in Springfield stated he would drive all the way to Columbia for this orange chicken. He too believes it's the best orange chicken he's had. I highly recommend the orange chicken!! The meat dumplings are also a nice appetizer.

Good food but consistently poor and discriminatory service. We tried to sit down tonight to eat and one person was telling us it was fine while the female owner was very rude to us and would not let us be sat. Shaking her head to have us seated. this is not the first time this has happened with the female owner. we have been overcharged for our food, charged for things others are not charged for, and we have consistently had her be rude to us. the poor service is something that no longer can be made up for by the food, it is CONSISTENT and we are not the only family of color this happens to. If you want great service AND good food, there are other options in town.

Wow! It's been a while since we ate at Szechuan House as they were closed due to pandemic. My husband and I were super excited to dine in at its new location. In my opinion, it would be nice if there were even more Chinese restaurants we like to go to in Columbia; this is certainly one of them. The food delivery is lightning FAST and food quality is great! The owner is really friendly and super efficient. Highly recommend if you haven't tried here. If you can't eat food too spicy, just let them know before you order as they have a plenty of options here. Can't wait to come back trying more things on the menu. 😊

We have come here for a couple years now. The food has always been excellent except for one time. The service, however, has always been horrible. The main waitress there which there is usually only the one is very angry to be there and is the most unfriendly person in any establishment I've ever been in. As much as I love the food there, I think I need to find another place as I have tried very hard to be friendly toward the waitress with with her randomly being a little nicer. But generally she is very very unfriendly and as the guy said earlier she acts like she hates me.

This is, by far, the best Chinese food I have found anywhere in Missouri. I am from New York so I'm a bit of a Chinese food junkie. Egg rolls, Fried rice and General Tsos chicken all done perfectly. This is now my only source for Chinese food.

Food was satisfactory but nothing to rave about. I keep waiting for a Chinese restaurant who sells General Tao's chicken, instead of General Tao's fried batter embracing skin. The taste was good however and the spicy green beans were good. I would try them again and my advice is to step up your quality. On Sunday's you're one of the few open, so it's a chance to shine in quality. I do wish them well.

The food is AMAZING! The host/server however was extremely rude. She didn't speak to us when we came in, and was rude the entire time we were there. I ordered a tea and decided on a soda instead, she told me she couldn't take the tea back and never brought the soda. Another member of my party had to go to the front counter to ask for it (along with a missing appetizer) when brought to the table she slammed it down in front of me. She also never checked in for refills or anything of the sort. If you want to eat here I highly suggest takeout.

I came in the other day and when I asked them what meat it was cause I'm vegan they meowed at me to refure that the meat was cat. The service was pretty slow. When I asked them what they mean by saying meow they told me that it was cat cause they are chinnese and thats what they eat. They started screaming at me and told me "to get out of the fu€king store".

Delish and spicy D9. Mixed Vegetables (shrimp) In white sauce Light, simple & delicious with a bowl of hot steaming rice 30. Spicy and Crispy Chicken So crunchy and spicy with bits of salty broad beans and 1/2 pieces of garlic. Delicious with plain hot rice

We came in on Christmas Day, and the place was pretty crowded! This was our first time here, and we had heard they had reopened at this new location. We were seated right away, and the menu was pretty extensive so it was hard to decide what to get. - Eggplant with chili sauce (4/5): this had good flavor, I love eggplant. It was semi sweet but still very savory. A bit on the oily side but tasty overall. - Beef fried rice (4.5/5): I loved this fried rice! Super yummy and very flavorful. The beef was cooked well and pretty tender too. - Sliced fish and tofu with spicy sauce (3.5/5): this dish was pretty unique, lots going on and lots of flavors. Pretty spicy but not overpowering. Tasted like a Szechuan flavor and reminded us of amazing Chinese food. My husband was in love with this dish!

Went back. Way different. Hostess was super rude. Food was straight up bad. Bland, generic, poorly prepared. Really surprising. And a bummer considering it costs more than most Chinese restaurants in town. Total opposite experience from my last visit. Won't be back.

Food is AMAZING. The Mongolian beef is delicious and honestly we finished that plate in 5 minutes. Hands down the best Mongolian beef I've ever had. The taste is unmatched. The General Tso's chicken is soooo crispy in a wonderfully slightly sweet, tangy sauce. The crunch is perfect. Their rice is cooked to perfection. Overall it was a great experience with awesome food!

Not friendly, but right down to business and gets you your food and it is good. I can respect that.

General Tso Beef was tender and sauce didn't overpower the taste of the beef. Very good local restaurant in Columbia.

I was really disappointed with going to this restaurant and being misled by previous reviews. With how high the prices were, I was expecting really good quality Chinese food, instead I received food that tasted like it came from a mall court. We spent over $110 in takeout, and I wish I had chosen a different restaurant to eat at. One dish, the kung pao chicken was completely inedible and we just threw it away. I likely will never eat here again, it was that unsatisfying and disappointing especially considering how expensive it was. In addition to that, the checkout person was not that friendly or accommodating. Do not go here! I suspect some of the other reviews are not real, likely friends of the owners bc this place is FAR from the best Chinese place in town.

Food was hot and also spicy but it was pretty good. Everything was made to order it seems. Service was kind and friendly. The ambiance is very local but it was a good time. Happy to have tried it. Id go back but it wouldn't be at the top of my list.

Best Chinese food place in Columbia! The flavor is there food is unmatched and not over priced!! Fast service and clean place

The spicy crispy chicken was really good! I did a to go order, so Im sure food would have been much better if it was fresh off the fire! Altogether, im happy

Just ordered takeout from this place. Highly recommend the food here. I ordered: 1. steamed chicken with chili oil...it's served cold but you can also heat it up and it will still be moist and tender. This dish is spicy for those who can't tolerate spice but I love spicy food 2. Cucumber in chili oil- this one is good and fresh but there is a lot of chili oil and that might be a turn off for some but you just have to pick out the cucumbers if you don't like the oil. The oil is nice over steamed rice 3. Eggplant with chili. This one is my favorite. It's spicy and flavorful. Not too much oil either. Goes well with steamed rice I would order all these dishes again and try some new ones

Very nice food! So flavorful. They do not skimp on any spices! I particularly like their chicken and pork dishes. Really great place and I hope they do well. Our water cups were never empty either, and that is such a bonus. Please try them out!

Just got take out on Christmas day. Very grateful they were open! They have lots of choices with organ meats and very authentic looking offerings (and plenty of familiar American-Chinese options as well, for those of you feeling less adventurous). The staff was very courteous. When ordering online, we asked for no utensils except for chopsticks and they listened! Most places don't listen and give us lots of plastic dining ware. We ate: -Eggrolls: Well prepared and tasty. Did not come with my favorite duck sauce, so if you want the sauce, just make sure you ask for it. -Hot & Sour soup: Definitely hot, but didn't get much sour. I'd probably skip it next time. -Pork in garlic sauce: My favorite item! Lots of pepper flakes and chili oil, mushrooms, bamboo... It was delicious and flavorful. -Singapore noodles: They don't offer a choice of protein with these but they come with chicken or pork (I wasn't sure which), and were delicious! We don't live in Columbia but we pass through here a lot, and it's nice to add a new solid restaurant to our mix, CoMo has so many great ones.

I got the crispy and spicy chicken and it was soooooo good also it delivered pretty quickly!

Good food here for a pretty reasonable price, when you order you'll get an amount of food that's sure to leave you with some leftovers for the next day. I ordered on grubhub so not sure what service is like in person. Only complaint is the rice, which was very underwhelming and hard the next day

Excellent food, authentic Chinese food, not the best service, but food makes it worthwhile.

Crab Rangoons were fantastic. Spicy sour pork was great and spicy crispy chicken was really spicy. Very friendly service and great as take out. Location easily accessible with drive in drive out.

The food is delicious but be careful when you pay--especially with pick up orders. When I went to pick up my food I saw two different receipts (one stapled to the bag and one on printer paper) with different prices. If you order for pick up on their website, they require you to add a tip and then when they run your card at the restaurant there is another tip line again. CAREFUL WITH THE COUPON CODES. If you want the free rangoons that come with a $30 order, DO NOT ADD THEM TO YOUR CART. Only add the coupon code. When I went to pick up my order the price was higher than I expected. They said I ordered two orders of rangoons--the one I added to my cart and the one I "added" by using the coupon code (literally no other website does this). I told them I only wanted one order. They refused to let me just take one free order from the coupon code. All of their payment system is quite deceptive and made to have you overpay or double tip. Be cautious.

By far one of the best Chinese places in town! It might seem pricy but it's such good quality, flavorful food. No more cheap takeout for me, I will be coming here from now on!

The hostess was very rude and that spoiled the experience right from the start. The hot and sour soup was almost inedible due to the excess spice level. The kung pao chicken was totally fried chicken with a strange sauce that made the taste even worse. Never heard or seen or tasted kung pao chicken made this way, especially poorly. The lady waiting on me and the other guests was very rude, especially to the non-Chinese visitors. It was a crazy experience. Never going back again.

i ordered twice cooked pork. The flavor was incredible but the pork had so much fat on it that I couldn't eat it without becoming nauseous.

Very glad to see the Szechuan House took over. It's a family business. Very nice owners and the food is very authentic. I like that they give so many good options (including hotpot) to choose from. I can literally eat here everyday.

The food was amazing. I only wish I had enough courage to step out of my comfort zone and try some of the more authentic dishes. They looked amazing.

Ahhhh-Mazing authentic Chinese from many different provinces. Try the Szechuan cucumbers, double cooked pork belly, and sizzling lamb dry hot pot. Friendly service. New location with great atmosphere.

Today is Thanksgiving 2023. I rate the food at a 10 for taste, pricey, but the menu does have rare items. The service was a 3 and I may be being generous. Surly service by the young lady working the counter (the two older employees seem nice), who seemed to not want me there. I was dressed as everyone else there, clean clothes fresh shave. I look Latino so that maybe an issue, also this entire town seems to have a problem with a single man who just want a nice meal and relax. Seems like they want you in and out of the place asap to get more white families and couples in there, though the place wasn't busy. the tea pot was greasy on the outside so I asked for a wet towel so I could clean it myself and be sure it was done right. I'll endure anything for beef tendon soup (they call it brisket but this is the traditional north Chinese beef tendon delicacy Imperial body guards and Kung Fu fighters prized). If You're a group of white hipsters or a family you might get better service.

We really liked the Korean restaurant previously at this location. We tried Szechuan House for the first time tonight. It will be a new favorite. The food and the service were excellent.