Hunan Taste Restaurant

Have been coming here since I was a kid. Hole in the wall spot that is also the best takeout. Spicy, delicious, savory food with a bunch of vegetarian options. Their spicy green beans, kung pao tofu, and chow mein are my favorites.

We've lived in the area for quite some time, and just now tried Hunan Taste. This spot has been here for over 30 years! We tried the onion cake, meat pie, kung pao beef, and curry eggplant.Warning, make sure you like spicy if they ask to make it spicy cause it has HEAT. Flavor was good on everything, my favorite being the meat pie and the eggplant. We will come back to try more dishes on the less spicy side. Service was quick and always checked in on us.

So I've been periodically going to Hunan Taste ever since my business attorney turned me on to this family owned restaurant 8-10 years ago. I wrote a review many years ago but felt compelled to write a new review since I mostly see the next generation (daughter?) taking orders and running the front-of-house, and not the older parents. I ordered 5 dishes to go a few days ago after not eating at the restaurant in over 6 months. Once again, I was reminded of the unique and authentic flavors of Hunan food. These guys masterfully use spicy and fresh hot wok cooking that is not being done elsewhere. The flavors are pronounced and spicy. We ordered fish fillets in back bean sauce, basil beef, kung pao chicken, hot & sour soup and a meat pie. All dishes, except the soup, were so delicious. I was reminded how special this place is. The soup was just okay, not as flavorful as the rest of the dishes. If you haven't tried Hunan Taste, and you appreciate fresh hot wok cooking and spicy flavors, you have to try this place. You'll thank me!

Food: 4/5 Good food for the priceAmbience: 4/5 Clean, neatService: 4/5 Prompt, helpfulOur first time here. We were craving Chinese food and found this place nearby.

I'm sorry to report that I cannot recommend this place, although I am willing to give this place another shot. My review is limited to just the food as I did not dine inside the restaurant (I had a take out order, and the electricity was out the day I visited). While the limited service I had interacted with was just fine, it was the food that really disappointed me. The hostess was nice, the gentlemen in the back--maybe also the chef, seemed nonchalant about things. The decor inside the restaurant seemed old and dated, but hey, it looks like a small hole in the wall Chinese restaurant, right? So fitting?Okay, let's get to the food. We ordered the Onion Cake, the Kung Pao Chicken, and the Basil Eggplant. The Kung Pao Chicken was inedible. So let's talk about the Onion Cake. It was fine, a bit surprising that it wasn't called a deep fried Onion Pancake, because that's exactly what it was. I've yet to encounter an onion pancake that's a deep fried, but it wasn't too bad. The onion to pancake ratio was also rather low. While I wouldn't order this again, it wasn't bad. The Basil Eggplant was actually fairly decent. I am a fan of eggplants and basil, and this dish was done rather well. Flavor was decent, but could have done with more basil. This dish left more to be desired. Now, the Kung Pao Chicken was inedible. Regardless of all of the ingredients I was able to pick out, all I could taste was salt. It was simply much too salty for any good and we ended up throwing this dish away. There wasn't any vibrant spicy or umami flavors. No hints of peanut flavors, although plenty was used (old peanuts?). It was just simply too salty and overbearing where eating this dish with rice was unpleasant. I would honestly give this place a try again, but I'd be cautious with my second visit.

Ordered kung pao beef and was not impressed. The all vegetable plate was not of my liking either.

Absolutely obsessed with their garlic chicken over rice lunch plate. If it's dinner time you must buy a la cart but it comes with a lot of meat for the dinner portion. Love to order it spicy which means they toss it in their chili paste oil. It has bamboo shoots mixed in with other veggies like carrots and green peppers.

The food is exceptional and has been 35 years. For 20 years I visted bi-weekly and NEVER had a bad meal. I stop by annually now and nothing has changes. Same great menu with a few specialty additions including Curry Chicken and lamb dishes. The service is veyr fast as the venue only holds about 30 people.The ambiance takes a while to get used to as it is a high pace environment at lunch, dinners are a little relaxed. If I had to guess I would say it is a converted dry cleaner with a window providing a view into the kichen. It has been in the same circle and family/friends so sole ownership allows very consistent food.Here are my favorites, should feed four easily. Enjoy!Meat PieChicken SaladCurry chickenString beans with meatSmoked ham and chicken

Love the generous portion, great taste/sauce, and the affordable pricing for lunch special. We loved the hot and sour beef over rice at $12.50

This restaurant serves up delicious family Hunan cuisine recipes with many vegetarian options and enjoys a very quaint atmosphere....it's a hidden gem.You can order any dish on their menu to different levels of hot. Many delicious options to choose from. Service is amazing and all dishes are cooked to order. You can even watch your order being prepared!Our favorites include: Hot & Sour soup, dumplings or onion cake as an appetizer. Dinner always includes chicken fried rice, green beans with Tofu sometime we add chicken, our other favorites are: sesame chicken, curry chicken, chicken w/aspargus, honey walnut prawns & Kung Pao.Try it you'll LOVE it!