Szechuan Tasty House 川味坊

Authentic Szechuan food, period. I miss the various regional cuisines I got to taste when I lived in mainland China, and this place is a hidden gem that delivers the same flavors and textures I tasted there. We tried chef’s special roasted fish, eggplants with fish flavored sauce, and shredded potatoes with vinegar, steamed rice, and hot tea, which was a nice variety of spiciness, sweetness, savoriness, and sourness. All of them were done well. The eggplants especially were done in perfection with just the right amount and level of everything that goes in to this seemingly humble dish. Portions are generous. One thing to note about this place is that, as the name suggests, it specializes in Szechuan cuisine that is known for its use of the numbing, spicy peppercorns. For instance, the “general” (which may seem to mean “mild”) version of the roasted fish is actually the default version of deep fried fish in rich broth with spicy chili oil. It still has higher levels of spiciness available. Same with the potato dishes—although it may look pale, it still carries a hint of the numbing flavor and sensation of the Szechuan peppercorns. The dining atmosphere can definitely be improved—it is very much a hole-in-the-wall place. Might be better for a take-out.

yummy Sichuan food like mapo tofu and cabbage in a modest setting. very friendly. good fuel.

Last year, we wasted 1 hour in traffic to come to this restaurant and found it was closed! Today we managed to get in and tried the food. Ordered pork in chili oil Soup and Mutton Cumin. They tasted authentic like home cook meal. Very nice. Will go back there again when we are back to Denver. The restaurant environment is not very welcoming for dine in though. But the owner is very friendly.

The food is INCREDIBLE. You can’t go wrong with anything you order. Certainly not upscale dining but if you don’t care about the atmosphere and are searching for incredible food, this is your spot.

Hands down the best Chinese food in Denver. Had the sesame ball, dumplings, spicy noodle and mapo tofu, will be back to try more. Portions are absolutely huge. Owners incredibly friendly!

This is the most authentic Szechuan food in Denver metro. They are so authentic, if you know Chinese you can write your own menu selection and the kitchen will cook them! Their best dishes includes Fishes in Chilly Oil 水煮魚, Chongqing Spicy Chicken 重慶辣子雞. Everything is very tasty there and the cook came from Tianjing, China and had had her Szechuan Restaurants in China for more than 20 years.

Went here on a whim and I’m glad I did. The inside needs a little love but the food was fast and phenomenal. I got the chicken lo mein, chicken fried rice, and pork dumplings and they were all delicious. The sauce for the dumplings was amazing. Will be back

This place has the best food ever. Home cooked. Delicious. Fresh. It's a hole in the wall so there's really no ambience, but who cares? The food is so worth going. I always recommend everyone visit if they want authentic delicious Szechuan food. The staff are great too. 10/5 support local businesses and give it a chance. Get the green beans. Get the eggplant. Try everything.

This place was so good! We were craving Asian food and came across this restaurant on Yelp and had to try it out. If you're looking for a restaurant with ambiance then this is not your place, however if you are looking for delicious food, this is the place to check out. We got the meat dumplings, Mapo tofu, and stir fried chicken with spicy sauce. The flavor of the meat dumplings was on point and the heat was perfect. The mapo tofu was definitely spicy and the tofu melted in our mouths. Finally the stir fried chicken was the perfect balance to the spice of the tofu and was crispy and the combination of chicken, bell pepper, and ginger was perfect. Highly recommend check this place out!

Awful quality. Ordered spicy noodles among others things. Noodles were poor quality ramen noodles. Spicy chicken was not spicy or crispy and soggy. Owner wouldn't help fix low quality food. Avoid

Don't expect ambience lol. Food is tasty. The boiled fish fillet in chili oil is hot and delish. May need tums after.

Pretty spicy! You might ask for mild if you don't like it hot! Food is pretty "authentic "...

Was there at 11.40 today, there was a bicycle lock on the broken front door. Called and no answer. Can anyone confirm the hours that this place is open? Place was deserted. No one has answered the phone all day????

The food was so delicious I would love to go there again. The staff were very nice and they got the food ready pretty quick. The vibe was a little sketchy from the outside but the inside was nice.

We ordered takeout and food was decent and they're serious about their spice level here, which I appreciate! However halfway through my meal I bit into something hard that chipped my tooth. Definitely could have been a one-off situation, but it's left me wary of coming here again.

Misleading Information What a disappointment! We made a special trip to try out this restaurant based on the information provided by Google Maps, which indicated it was open on Sunday at noon. However, upon arriving, we were met with a closed restaurant. This inconsistency between the advertised hours and the actual operation was incredibly frustrating and ruined our dining plans. We hope the restaurant can address this issue to avoid similar disappointments for others.

So sad they're not continuing the Szechuan specialty anymore (sad face + cry face). Every time I dined here, I felt like I was eating homemade food. Not that I'm from Sichuan but the way the dishes are cooked... very homey. Most comforting of all is the hand pulled noodles in a soup base with tomatoes and eggs! I know of the Cantonese stir fried tomatoes with scrambled eggs dish but never imagined it in a noodle soup! It is by far not the most flavorful offering from this place, yet I love hugging the big bowl close to my body and slurping all the noodles out. Everything I've had here tastes good, from cold to hot dishes, spicy to non-spicy foods. Proteins that walked on land or swimmed in the sea. It's not the most authentic Sichuan cuisine yet I'm going to miss it dearly.

Food and service is excellent. Older building but clean and easy to access from the street. Everything we have ordered has been prepared quickly and it's been delicious. It's our new go for take out!

Beat fry rice ever the owners are very kind d and portions are huge definitely great flavor

This place is Horrible with a Capital H. Ordered Volcano Chicken and some eggrolls, both were refried because all I could smell all the way home was grease. The chicken pieces were hard and the eggrolls were Almost blackened. Please Don't Waste Your Time or Money. Prices online are all wrong as well.

Really love this place. Favs are Szechwan dumplings, dry fried string beans, chongquing chicken, twice cooked pork, noodles with minced pork. Some tips: takeout orders only via phone right now. I'm adding photos of the current menu.

The food was solid. The garlic cabbage was my favorite. Most things on the menu were not available. Very quiet, not welcoming. Strongly recommend take out, not dine-in.

Szechuan Tasty House was our first opportunity of tasting real authentic Chinese food when we first relocated to the downtown Denver area. I could have cried tears of joy for how good this food was after having palate fatigue with the consistent white diet that happens when you're in the the throes of moving and trying to be efficient. We've had the beef and fish filet in spicy oil, dry fried green beans, wonton soup (my favorite), tomato and egg, and a pad see lew dish (not great, wouldn't recommend). Hahaha, this was for 2 people which meant we had plenty of leftovers! It's a hole in the wall and the dining area is not fancy by any means but the cutest little Chinese grandma comes and brings out each dish and the food is PIPING hot when it arrives so you know it's all fresh.

My husband and I went there yesterday. We ordered the hot and sour soup, the Chong Qing Spicy Chicken, and the beef and fish in hot chinese chile oil. They were all very good and a really big portions.

So, I went to this place expecting some great food and what I got was something completely different. I looked at the menu on the website and decided that I wanted to order the szechuan chicken, and an order of 2 pork eggrolls. When I got there, The tall gent behind the counter told me it would be $26.00! On the website it said the szechuan chicken was 9.99 and the eggrolls were 3.99. I was shocked when i received the total. It was a complete ripoff and the food was not good at all. It was dry and the chicken was old and had a breading on it that I have never seen with Szechuan chicken. I don't like being cheated out of my money. I will never be returning to this place and I would not recommend anyone else go there either.

The food is so good here! The first time, we tried the Chong Qing chicken and the beef in hot Chinese chili oil. Second time, we tried the cumin chicken and the beef and fish in hot Chinese chili oil. The owner is so sweet. She always makes it a point to open the door for you on your way out. Service = 10/10. Can't wait to come back.

Great food. Though it looks a little bit empty on the Sunday afternoon, might due to the location of the restaurant. I hesitated once I stepped in to see the empty tables but the food ended up meeting my expectation.

We tried Chong Qing chicken, stir fried cabbage with garlic, and the spicy dumplings. My brother and I liked the cabbage, but the dumplings didn't taste very fresh and the fried chicken was pretty ok

Great food. The Sweet and sour pork was a good portion and was cooked perfectly. The Beef Lo Mein was also very tasty.

If you're visiting Denever and looking for Chinese food then come here! I'm not sure if there's a lot of Chinese restaurants in Denver but I'm glad Szechuan Tasty House popped up on my Yelp search. This place is kind of in the middle of nowhere and service is ehh, but food is delicious! Come here for the food, but don't expect A+ service. We ordered Mapo Tofu & Twiced Cook Pork with a side of rice for just two people. This was more than enough for two people and we had leftovers. The tofu and pork had the perfect amount of flavor and spice. If you like Szechuan food then I definitely recommend this place in Denver (unless there's a better Szechuan restaurant in Denver then please let me know). Side note: If you're expecting amazing A+ service then definitely don't come here. The man at the front (probably the owner) is ehhh and not the most polite person. All you'll get is probably a hi, get your order taken and if you're lucky he will come refill your cup of water, which is more than enough for me. Lol. Giving 5 stars cause I enjoyed the food and didn't care for the service :)

Chinese-American gal here, giving this place 5 stars! We typically order directly through their website and pick it up. Pro-tip: if you're curious about a food item, copy and paste the Chinese characters from their ordering site into Google images. Boom. You're welcome. Go to items: Chong qing chicken - perfect spicy/crispy nuggets. No bones. Not too much heat. Eggplant - smoky and sweet. FYI it has pork in it (which I don't eat), even though the menu doesn't say it, so if you want it meatless you'd need to ask. Worth it. Cabbage - so underrated. Get it as a mellow sweet side to balance the spicy food. Fish in oil - THIS IS SO GOOD! Not too spicy. Very addictive. Great thing to try if you're ready to graduate your Chinese food consumption from orange chicken, but not ready for chicken feet. Pan fried noodles - medium thickness flour noodles, pan fried, then covered and a veggie gravy. New favorite. Spicy cucumber - cold, crunchy, perfect for snacking while waiting for other food. Finally, a word on service. Restaurant service in China/Hong Kong is very hands off. It's actually polite for the server to spend as little time with you as possible so you can enjoy the food and company at your table. Just consider that when eating at authentic Chinese restaurants!

The food. The food! The service is eh and the ambience is industrial not in a good way. The food itself deserves 5 stars. A truly unassuming looking restaurant with a brilliant wok chef behind the scenes. Mapo tofu and sliced beef in chile oil were terrifically done and authentic tasting. Also, the dry fried green beans were addictive. I'm sure I'll be thinking about this spread for awhile. Don't let the neighborhood fool you. This place cranks out excellent Sichuanese food. Call ahead to order.

Authentic Szechuan Chinese food. Expect most of the authentic dishes to be spicy for the most part. We had three dishes, all of which we enjoyed immensely. The cumin mutton was my favorite, with the chili oil fish/beef was the second. The mutton was very tender and extremely flavorful, while the fish was perfectly cooked and tender. We also got the Chong Qing spicy chicken, boneless. They were out of the bone in chicken and I was very disappointed with this. I think the bone in chicken would have been much more tender, as the boneless chicken ate a little dry. Still, this was not a bad dish. Just wish there was a little sauce on it. All in all, Szechuan had good value, typical Asian restaurant service, and excellent flavors. Come here if you want to try some different Chinese food.

I ordered takeout from this place a few days ago, and was very underwhelmed. The food was "meh" at best. Sesame chicken pieces were tough and hard to cut in half. Sweet & sour pork was very heavily breaded - about half of the pieces were just big balls of fried breading with zero pork inside - ended up throwing away half of it. Lo mein noodles were like store-bought. From a customer service point of view, I arrived about 5 minutes before they said it'd be ready, and had to wait in my car for about 20 minutes. They weren't busy - just slow. And finally a COVID note - the guy bringing the food out to the cars wasn't wearing a mask. Come on.

Very authentic szechuan food!! Love everything we ordered. Great portions and good service. One of best post-hike meals I've had. Already planning to come back. I think prices are a little high but we really didn't really mind.

We did take out today. Called ahead to place an order and it was done within 15 minutes. I was very happy because I have been here thrice and every time the wait for dine-in has been over an hour. They only do take-out at this time. They were practicing social distancing and wearing masks when I picked up my order. The lady that helped me was very nice. We ordered the beef shank cold plate ($11), the cumin lamb ($17) and the broiled fish ($15 or $16). You get a lot of food and I can easily get another meal out of it tomorrow. All were well marinated with the perfect amount of spice. The meat, especially, the lamb was very tender. The only complaint from husband was too much flour on the lamb dish and not enough bean sprouts in the fish dish.

This was my preferred Szechuan spot in Denver - everything is excellent. Don't expect much in terms of appearances - do expect top notch Chinese. Do expect meat in many veggie dishes, it's not been Americanized and the meat adds flavor. If you don't want it, specific so or go elsewhere.

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to experience a very authentic Szechuan gem located in Southwest Denver. Bear and Troy met us out for dinner. Ambiance and decor: what you would expect for really authentic food. This is not a place you go for the decor. Menu: it is full of extremely authentic Szechuan cuisine. Some you will find somewhat familiar, but most will be a brand-new experience! We started with the fried pork dumplings. They were mouth-wateringly delicious! The dipping sauce was bright and fresh and not too hot. We also ordered garlic chicken wings. They were unusual. The garlic flavor had been baked or infused, and there was no sauce; they were extremely garlicky! Then we ordered a large bowl of hot sour soup! For $8.95, this is an extreme bargain! This adequately fed all four of us! It was rich and flavorful, and not too spicy! Honestly, I would go back just for the soup. Bear has tried the egg drop soup and said how amazing it was in an earlier review. We each ordered an entree which is a huge amount of food!!! I would recommend one entree per two people. Because they were so large, and we were already getting full from our appetizers and soup course, we decided to eat the four entrees family style that in order to try more flavors. Troy ordered the most mild dish, Hunan style pork. Bear ordered the most rich dish, called twice cooked pork with Chinese chili sauce. The pork was what westerners would call pork belly. It was very rich. At first we didn't think we would be able to eat very much, but Troy and I kept digging-in. Bob ordered chicken slices in cumin. It was exactly that. Very cumin-forward. I ordered the Chong Qing spicy chicken. Bear and I found this to be the most complex of the dishes, and was his favorite. Troy especially liked the cabbage from this dish. The consistency of the chicken reminded me of popcorn chicken, but the spicy heat factor was a little too much for my American taste buds. All of the food was cooked fresh to order by a female chef in the back. It was definitely like taking a trip to Szechuan! Although I am not fully immersed in that particular region of China, Bob and I have both traveled to China several times and found this cooking to be extremely authentic. Don't get me wrong, I love American-style Chinese food, but if you are in the mood for trying something really authentic, definitely go support this local establishment!

My partner and I love this place! Our favorite dishes are the sesame balls, the sesame tofu, the Mapo dish and the Home Style dish. All the quantities are quite large too. Even with the changes to the menu the food is still really good. They are a small local business, so don't expect to get your food instantly. Good food takes time after all! Give it a try.

It's not Panda Express or PF Chang's. What you get here is real authentic experience. They have 3 different menus which makes it more confusing but ask for the one with Chinese and English on it. Szechuan is known for spicy and hot pot. Get some!

We brought our nephew here for a dinner out last weekend. I was really excited for another delicious authentic Szechuan experience which we did not get. There is an English and a Chinese menu. We used a google translate app to help us navigate the Chinese menu and then ordered Ma-Po tofu and Szechuan chicken from the Chinese menu and won ton soup, cheese wontons, steamed dumplings and another chicken dish from the English menu for my husband and nephew who don't like as spicy as I do. I was expecting to see Szechuan peppercorns in the Szechuan chicken which there were none. I had also expected the dish to be spicy which it was not. The flavor was quite good but not what I have had in by way of previous Szechuan, mouth numbing flavors. The Ma-Po tofu was also not hot in the least. The tofu was also watery and lacked in flavor. I thought if I put some of the sauce on the rice (which arrived twenty minutes after all of our food), maybe that would help transport flavor to my mouth which again it did not. The steamed dumplings were also drizzled with chili oil which again, was not hot and the dumplings themselves didn't have much flavor in the meat. The staff was really friendly to us but we just didn't have a mind blowing experience with the food overall.

I did the Peace Corps in China so I've had plenty of incredible Chinese food. Szechuan Tasty House is the most authentic Chinese restaurant I've found in Denver. The food is delicious and the staff is super nice. I love this place!

First time here , recommended by friend . Great food , great atmosphere . Friendly staff . Definitely recommend this place for Any visiting Denver and looking for good and spicy Chinese foods :)

We were not sure if we were driving up to another incarnation of the Bates Motel, but with a rather unpromising exterior, this place had authentic Sichuan food and it was pretty good. The water boiled fish and beef was excellent, but no numbing peppercorns :( You may have to ask for that to be added. The spicy wontons were home made, a little bland for me, but very palatable. The fried chinese water spinach, convulvus or morning glory was on point; not a Sichuan dish but it hit the spot for my fried Chinese veggies. There were two menus. One in Chinese only and that was where the authentic Sichuan dishes were found. The English menu was for the American Chinese dishes. Ugh! Might be great if you don't like spicy. Comparatively this place beat out most of the authentic Sichuan restaurants in Los Angeles. I would rate it a 4 star in LA, but in this windy corner of Denver it deserves a 5 star.

First things first, the menus. The items on the English menu is prepared the American way. The ones on the Chinese menu(or the menu that they have now translated from Chinese to English) are prepared the traditional Chinese way. So if you, like me, make the mistake of thinking 'eggplants with basil' on the English menu is same as 'eggplants with basil' on the Chinese menu, nope, you are so wrong! Secondly, if you think you could just ask your server and clear your doubts, that may not be possible either as not everyone there is fluent in English. I had to repeat 'vegetarian' thrice, before our server understood me. I then went on to make sure if the things I wanted to order didn't have fish sauce, oyster sauce and the likes and yes, you guessed it right, of course I failed to make him understand! Thankfully am blessed with a sharp nose and tastebuds so I think I can be positive that what I ate was vegetarian! Well, we actually went in to try some authentic Chinese food but made the mistake of ordering from the English menu. Authentic or not, thumbs up to anything that tastes good! Our vegetable lo mein and Thai basil eggplant were both delicious! You also get a massive portion of jasmine rice. The prices are reasonable too. All the customers who came in while we were there were of Chinese origin. So I bet the food from the Chinese menu is pretty legit! Talk about being legit, they don't even have a signage in English! How I finally got to know these things about the menus? Once we were done with our meal, i saw another guy working there and it was he who enlightened me. Service was friendly and kind except for the language barrier one might face. Our food came out pretty quick too. Even with all these problems with communication I think I will definitely risk another visit to order from the Chinese menu. **musing** Maybe I could write it down for them - no fish sauce please!

Best food in the area! It's always fresh and the staff is extremely nice! They're always opening the door for you, giving out a free drink or dessert, and once delivered the food to our car! Definitely a business worth supporting and the food is excellent!

Nice little Mom & Pop place. They appear to have taken over a Chinese restaurant that used to be called Fu Hao Cafe, as the signage on the pole closest to the sidewalk still reads that. Their name of the restaurant is currently only written in Chinese above the main entrance. There is a regular menu with lunch specials. However, there is a menu written in Chinese only that offers an array of Szechuan specialities, which are the highlights of this place. If you're unable to read Chinese, some of the very same dishes are on the regular menu. Just ask the server. Dishes such as Mapo Tofu, Eggplant in Spicy Garlic Sauce or even Kung Pao Chicken are on the regular menu. We ordered the Wontons in Chili Oil, Water Boiled Fish & Beef, and Stir Fried Water Spinach (convolvulus). The wontons weren't prepared well. The ground pork filling was not seasoned nor marinaded. Dousing it with a few drops of chili oil wasn't suffice as well. Better were the Water Boiled and Water Spinach dishes. Flavors were good, as were the preparation. Despite not having Szechuan peppercorns, the water boiled dish had a good kick them. In a city where Szechuan is not easily found, this should be a place to be embraced by the locals seeking their spicy kick. The owners are very friendly and attentive here. Just need to be a little patient because this is a true Mom & Pop operation.

Great spot for Chinese takeout. The food is very authentic. The flavors are outstanding. The service is ok.

I definitely judged the book by its cover with this place. The outside of the restaurant is not the best, a bit shabby and worn down. I was afraid this place would be a crappy Americanized Chinese takeout place but BOY was I wrong! The interior of the restaurant was simple and plain but was VERY clean and a cute cozy fireplace with a tv made it felt sort of like a cabin. The food was exceptional! Very authentic and flavorful. The portion was big and we definitely had some leftovers to keep my belly happy for an extra day or two. The servers were also very attentive and friendly, something you don't always get at Chinese restaurants. I will definitely revisit this place and try out other dishes on the menu! Super glad we found this place to cure our cravings for authentic Chinese food.

This is a great hole in the wall Chinese place. Would recommend. We got the spicy fried chicken which was really good. Would love to come back and try additional stuff

I heard a lot of great things about this restaurant on Szechuan food and how great it is from other fellow Asians in various FB Groups. I've also had close friends who's had it and thought amazing things.... I love the flavor of everything. We got some stir fry veggies, the spicy Szechuan mini nuggets, the Pork Rib Stew, chili oil beef/fish and the stir fry eggplant. All the food tastes amazing, but for some reason, my friend who've had their food before, and I, both had crazy runs even before we left the restaurant. We didn't get sick, but maybe the oil they used that day was extra oily.... it was a few trips to the restroom before even leaving the premise and on going for an hour or so there after. I must say I've never had that happen to me ever even eating at some sketchy restaurants before that's too oily or salty or loaded with MSG.... This place, I felt fine, and no illness otherwise, the food ran through me within 45 mins. I don't know if I dare to come back again, but don't let my 1 time experience deter you from getting their food, especially it was delicious... just not for my intestines that day.......

Dumpling came out cold, mapo tofu was under seasoned, the noodles were decent but everything was overpriced, likely due to lack of customers

This place is as good as it gets. Don't waste your time or money on other Americanized Szechuan spots - this place is the real deal

Holy moly. I don't ever write reviews but I've been on a dumpling kick for the last two months and the only thing I thought to take a picture of was the dumpling sauce because it was the best I've ever had. Fresh green onions, fresh garlic. This is definitely a "don't judge a book by it's' cover" kind of place because of the outside but the food is so so good.

The outside doesn't look like much but the food more than makes us for it! I lived in China so I know the difference between authentic and American Chinese food. When I first called, the lady on the phone (I found out later that she is the chef) did not speak English so I went to the restaurant and the owner was there and spoke English. They have a Chinese and an American menu so check on their website so you can see what you are ordering. I definitely suggest the Chinese menu but you have to like authentic Chinese spices and flavors. By far the best Chinese food I have had in the U.S.

Our new go to Chinese food spot even though they need a new phone to take orders on. He always complains he can't hear you. They're only doing takeout right now. Spicy shrimp, hot and sour soup, mayo tofu (just ok), fish boiled in oil, and especially the friend rice was amazing.

The exterior of this restaurant is nondescript and looks like a slaughter house, but the interior houses some of the most authentic and delicious Sichuan food I've ever had the pleasure of stumbling upon on Yelp. Twice Cooked Pork (回锅肉) was amazingly mouth-watering and flavorful. Boiled Fish (水煮鱼) came in a HUGE oven pan, filled with plenty of Sichuan peppercorns that left our mouths tingling. We had originally requested for the peppercorns to be left out in fear for our future BMs, but we decided to take the plunge(r) anyways. Chili Oil Wontons (红油抄手) were not very spicy. This was one item we could have done without, as we had ordered so much already. Plus as a dongbei girl, I like my dumplings much meatier. We were given a large bowl of rice for sharing, which was so fluffy and perfect for soaking in the chili oils. Great hidden gem of Denver!

This place is horrible. first, don't go off their online menu... I guess all the prices are different. I got coconut shrim which was just 8 breaded shrimp. beef lo mein (super greasy) and dumplings which were stuffed into a container and looked more like meatballs with noodles. online this would come to $28 but I get there to pay and it was $42....wtf very disappointed