Chef Tan East Village

I really wanted something spicy and Chef Tan's is the perfect place! There are lots of spicy dishes on the menu and I had a hard time choosing. I went with green peppercorn hot sauce fish and a side of rice. I received a huge bowl of food! Their portions are definitely made to share. The spice level was perfect and flavor was authentic - loved it!It would be perfect for a big group to try a few different dishes. I will be back.

Really disappointing spot and unfortunately also my first one star review. I came here with family after a show in Astor Place as we eat Chinese food pretty often together, and we left with such a bad taste in our mouth. We walked in with no reservation and were able to get seated fairly quickly despite the weekend rush. The interior is nice, but the quality of the food and service was paltry. Reading the other reviews of this place, it feels like the experience can be pretty hit or miss. Firstly, it was constant battle to get the waiters attention. Secondly, there were huge delays in receiving the food (a braised fish dish in particular) and we kept being assured it was come out. It probably took over an hour and when it finally arrived, it was completely flavorless. It was actually shocking and was as though someone forgot to add salt or the sauce? I eat Chinese food pretty often, including at more upscale places, and this place just wasn't it. We had pretty much finished eating and were just picking at the plates at this point when the fish arrived, and it was just unappetizing to eat. The prices are also very high, so the standards for food quality should be commensurate but fell so short. This was one of the earlier places I took my family when showing them around and left just disappointed and regretful.

Soooo, kid is back at NYU. Moving her into her apartment down by South Street Seaport. We have 2 meals in NYC, and the wife chooses here. Why?? .. because it's excellent.Every dish we've ever tried has been great, and while the Chinese food in Dallas is fantastic, we both crave Chef Tan when we're home.I'm shocked to see the reviews that have brought this place down below a four star restaurant. I suspect some are bots or haters. This place is classy, tasty, and the service is definitely on the friendlier side for Chinese restaurants.We came this far and bypassed tons of other places in NYC to get here. Give it a shot, let their flavor do the talking.

Have revisited it once or twice since the original review but stopped in again few days ago. still the same. Noticed majority of the patrons were 20 & 30 somethings ABC's (American Born Chinese), probably NYU studentsOrdered Fried Rice & braise Pork belly (30 minute wait)I love this place

First off, food was pure crap. To start with, the Mongolian beef was very salty. I had to drink lots of water to eat it. The dry hotpot was salty as well, so I told the waiters to give us a new one. Most of the broth came out of the soup dumplings which totally defeats the purpose of having soup dumplings and therefore they weren't juicy. The only food that was actually yummy was the noodles but even so the other food disgusted me too much to even enjoy it. As for pricing, this restaurant is very tricky. After spending $100, they add on tax and tip which came out to $29 extra. I don't think it was worth it at all and it was a total rip off. I wouldn't come back here ever again. I'd rather go around and find something better to eat.

We ordered two fishes, one sour, one hot. Both were really good and came out super presentable. The sour one was a tad better imo because the fish was super soft. We had cucumber but it wasn't that flavorful. We also ordered white rice but couldn't finish it.The wait staff also came out with dessert soup with rice glutinous balls and they were soooo good. They came out with two bowls for four people which was a bit weird. Why would they assume that we can share the bowls? But I appreciate the gesture either way.

Got takeout from here and it was really solid. Took one bite and it reminded me of home right away. I really enjoyed the sauces and seasoning in every dish, and I liked how even the mixed vegetables were quite flavourful. My favourite dish was the cauliflower, but I will say there's not that much pork in it.

Since the pandemic shut down our favorite Chinese restaurant in the West Village, we've been searching for a replacement. But like many other Chinese restaurants we've tried, the dishes at Chef Tan's Sichuan and Hunan Cuisine were tasted with Msg.We were impressed by the restaurant's light-colored chairs and wooden tables. The front glass wall retracts in nice weather.The menu, like many Americanized Chinese restaurants, offered English translations with colorful pictures. The restaurant isn't currently serving alcohol, and the staff seemed unsure whether it was BYOB.We started with wanton soup and xiaolongbao, but the broth in the wanton soup was too salty for our taste. We then ordered Chongqing-style chicken and fish fillet with shrimp fried rice. The dishes were delicious and served in large portions.The staff were polite but lacked adequate restaurant service training. I hope they will improve on this. I'll probably return to try other dishes, but I'll ask the chef to go light on the salt.

I will need to come back and try more dishes, but based on the three dishes ordered from the last visit, I'm in love with this place! The food is so good!Hot and Sour Gizzards: if you're a fan of gizzards, this is definitely a must order! The sour ness comes from the pickled long beans and flavor wise, such a good addition to the dish. The gizzards are chopped up well, hot and sour flavors spot on, and just soo delicious lathered over rice. YummmSpicy Crispy Short Ribs: eaten fresh and hot, sooo crispy and juicy and flavorfulSauteed Pig Intestines: everything is just so flavorful here! Same goes for this dish, has a really good spice level. I love pig intestines when done right, and this was insanely crispy and thin like chips. When it cools down though, it's a little hard to eat because it's so crispy that it'll cut your mouth haha

My meal at Chef Tan was unexpectedly delightful, and turned what I thought would be a run of the mill dinner at a Chinese restaurant to a meal I'm still talking about many months later. This might be partially due to my love for any dish made with salted yolk and the prevalence of that ingredient on the menu, but I'll credit the presentation and flavor of the everything we ordered, made with salted yolk or otherwise.Our large group tried a healthy smattering of dishes on the menu, and our spread included the following:Braised chili fish: lightly battered and fried to a gentle crisp, made with size-able pieces of fresh fish and dusted in a potent savory mala seasoning. Spice level is a 2/10.Century egg cold eggplant: This might be an acquired taste for the uninitiated palate but the flavors don't lie-- this cold dish was so savory. The pot looked deceptively shallow, but this was the dish that kept going, to my dining companion's delight.Meat floss with salted egg tofu: Salted egg is a savory seeker's dream, and this dish fulfilled mine with the promise of an amazing sauce that paired so well with the silken tofu. Eat this with a side of white rice for the perfect bite.Scallion fried rice: I loved this as an alternative to white rice because it had just the essence of scallion and oil, which made every bite of food just a little better. The blistered string beans, spare ribs with corn, and salted yolk shredded potatoes weren't executed as well and were the last to go at my table. But the first few dishes I listed were good enough to have us planning a return.