Szechuan Chef

Szechuan Chef is located on busy Convoy Street, the home of many Asian businesses and restaurants. The food here is very good, but the service can be spotty and is lacking any ambiance. We came early on a Thursday, a little after five. We had the pick of several parking spaces. A novelty, given how crowded Conroy can be around seven-thirty. The three of us found a seat inside and started reviewing their absolute massive Menu. It must have been over Forty pages long! I gave up taking photos after twenty-five pages LOL. See separate post. After having a snack at nearby IKEA, we ordered only two entrées and two appetizers. The Oolong tea was fresh and hot. We decided to share our food which came out Asian style. Meaning whatever the Chef decided to make, it came out first. We had, in order of plating...* Shredded Pork $16.99 京酱肉丝* Chicken Fried Rice $12.99 鸡肉炒饭* Dried Spicy Chicken $15.99 辣子鸡丁* 2 White Rice $4.00 米饭* Scallion pancake $5.99 葱油饼* Gyoza Pork Potstickers $10.99The portion sizes were huge and everything was great and very tasty. We had more than enough for leftovers the next day. We will definitely will be back.

Very good Szechuan and other Chinese cuisine and if you pay using cash then give you a 10% discount even. Their menus have pictures and vivid illustrations to facilitate decision making. Also spacious area for dining that accommodates larger groups. Recommended if you are ever in SD looking for higher quality Szechuan cuisine!

Perfectly 3.5 stars- lol- IYKYK. There is no host when you walk in and not all staff speak English so please be patient. I didn't want to risk ordering to-go over the phone so I ordered on site, and pointed at menu photos to make sure I ordered the correct dishes. 1. Fish soup with pickled vegetables: delicious- survived piping hot for more than 20 min. It was carefully packaged separately in 2 separate quart containers with a third container for the delicate rice noodles. You don't want them soaking for too long, so this was very thoughtful of them. As good or better than any I have had. Wonderful slow burn that grows in heat as you eat. The broth is so warming and tangy delicious. I assume the fish was tilapia but don't quote me- very mild flavored and cooked perfectly.2. Spicy Wood ear mushroom: the most powerful of the 3 dishes for flavor and heat intensity- be careful eating all those chilies! I could not get enough of the spicy garlicky seasoning and the mushrooms were perfectly tender. Must order for any mushroom lover.3. Pea Sprouts- I know this is supposed to be a balancing dish and milder than the others, but it tasted like it had absolutely zero salt. I felt like I could've made this at home for 1/4 of the price. I was shocked that this dish was $17.99. Yes, there was a large amount of it, with a lot of garlic, but I couldn't really taste it in the sprouts. I ended up mixing the sprouts with the wood ear mushroom sauce which made it much more delicious. I wouldn't order this one again.I can't wait to come back here to try more dishes!

I was recommended this spot by some of my friends and it's straight heat. Don't let the 3.5 stars fool you it's some of the most authentic Szechuan food you can get in Convoy. Service and ambiance is pretty standard of this type of restaurant. They'll take your order and leave you alone unless you wave them down. Interior decorations aren't super fancy. But if you're coming here the main thing you're worried about is the food. I've had a lot of the dishes but with how large the menu is it's hard to try it all. Some of my favorites are the mapo tofu and the spicy noodles in soup. Whenever I'm feeling szechuan this is my go to spot. Give it a try for sure.

Mongolian beef #21 I asked for only medium spicy. Large portion, comfortable environment although other conversations are heard. Service was fast but not too attentive, ask for water, a fork, extra napkin, soy sauce if needed. Good quality. Menu is large with pictures, honey walnut shrimp.

We were really craving Chinese food and this place hit the spot. I'd definitely go back to try their other dishes. We ordered the green beans, the honey walnut shrimp, and the chef's special chicken.The honey walnut shrimp was delicious. The shrimp was crispy and sweet and the walnuts were nice and crunchy. I also felt like they gave a lot more shrimp than I'd typically expect for the dish. The chicken was well seasoned. Had to sift through the bones to pick out the meat. But when I did, it was flavor packed. A bit spicy even after we had requested the dish to be less spicy but not so spicy that it hurt my stomach. The green beans were different from the garlic-y din tai fun style green beans I am used to but I enjoyed the spice it was seasoned with. Overall all the dishes felt clean, not too oily. And the portion sizes were large. I really enjoyed their food and would like to go back to try other items off of their huge menu.

Gotta keep these authentic Chinese restaurants at 3.5 stars on Yelp :')I'm a frequent flyer of Spicy City when it comes to Szechuan food in San Diego. This restaurant seems cleaner (maybe newer) but prices are comparable. They have a shared parking lot, but on a weekend night, it legit took 20 minutes to wait for an open spot. Beware!I was here with a party of 6 adults and 2 kids, so they gave us a round table in the back. The menu is so extensive, but so helpful that they have photos! The menu has both English and simplified Chinese. I came here because someone said orange chicken was good ......... It was not :') The chicken with lao gan ma sauce was much better. The "fish in thickening sauce" is like water boiled fish. Instead of bean sprouts, they had small pieces of cabbage. I enjoyed that dish. I'd order the sautéed pea shoots again. It's one of my fave veggie dishes. They charge like $2 per person for rice, but for our large party, they brought it out in a red tub. They take American Express!

Wonderfully great Szechuan food. I am big fan of spicy food and if you are then you cannot go wrong. I goto Shan Xi Magic Kitchen quite a bit and tried lots of Szechuan food, wanted to try this place and it was very good. I tried their pepper fried chicken cubes with rice, I loved it. Want to take opportunity to more dishes there.

I have been going here for a few years and it is hands down among the best asian food in san diego most especially if you like spicy food and the magic of Szechuan peppercorns. The diced chicken w red peppers is a dish i must have a few times a month. It's the best fried chicken dish ever. It's tiny pieces of diced up chicken that are coated w a Szechuan pepper batter and fried w lots of dried red peppers. It is amazing and is not something i could ever reproduce myself. You get the tingling sensation Szechuan peppercorns are famous for as well as incredible flavor. And while you may think it won't keep as leftovers the great surprise is that it stays crispy for hours! I eat it the rest of the day. The green beans are also a standout and while you may skip over the orange chicken thinking it will be like fast food trust me then i tell you it's delicious. I ask for a light touch with the sauce and hit it with some of their homemade chili sauce. Yum. The scallion pancake is a standout as are the wonton and hot and sour soups. If you are a lover of Szechuan go for the hot and spicy noodle soup. It will leave your lips tingling! Others in the family have enjoyed pork belly and the dumplings with pork, shrimp and chives.I was just here a few days ago as i could not think of a better place for my birthday dinner

Wow the parking lot was crazy busy for 5:30 pm, but the food was delicious! I was not expecting much as the ambiance lacked a little, but the food was surprisingly good. The menu is super confusing so you kind of have to pick by the pictures. Fun to go with a group so you can order a number of things. The service was prompt. Only complaint was the parking!