Chef Zhao

It’s good food and pretty great considering the price

If you go, you're going to either have to love spicy or be ready to challenge yourself to love spicy. I'm not a huge fan of spice but they do their dishes quite well and it's quite unique compared to other Chinese restaurants. Dishes are always plastered with peppers but isn't too strong that it takes away the taste. Definitely worth a visit!

Couldn’t say enough good things about this place. They make the best big plate chicken with hand-pulled noodles in this area, the thick, juice chicken cut with on point seasoning, plus the big portion and pretty authentic metal plate, it’s the best comfort food I can think of. And their service is even better. They close at 2PM for lunch, and I walked in around 1:35, they greeted me warmly. They never rushed me even after their closing time, I felt bad so I asked for the bill and box, they just kindly let me know there was no need to rush and I could stay as long as I need. When I finally finished eating, they not only offered to box my left-over for me and gave me extra rice for free, it was at least 15 mins passed their closing time by then. What a hidden gem in San Mateo!

We have been looking for a Chinese restaurant that is good enough for us to often go to. We may have found it at Chef Zhao sichuan cuisine. The food came very quickly and every dish was excellent. The atmosphere was nicer than most Chinese restaurants.

Chef Zhao Bistro is authentic Sichuan cuisine. Period. We liked their Mountain View shop a lot, but that one was closed during COVID-19. Our first visit to the San Mateo shop didn't disappoint, followed by more. To my disbelief, this store serves 鱼腥草 (fish mint, Houttuynia cordata), my childhood favourite summer time salad. I immediately ordered it. Due to supply, their dish is mainly leaves when my hometown dish would come with lots of juicy stems. Their leaves are also on the dry side. Still, this was the first time I saw this outside Sichuan. (Other than dried plant in Chinese herb stores.) Because this plant has a very strong smell and after taste that people associate with fish, not many people order it. In fact, not many people from China even know that Sichuan people eat it in meals. My connaisseur order obviously struck a cord with the chef, who came out twice to chat with us. (We came before the dinner crowds.) Another lowbrow salad, 伤心凉粉 ("heartbroken" bean-starch noodles), was also very flavourful. (This is more of an Eastern Sichuan flavour.) When such household, lesser known dishes are on the menu, I always use them as an assay for authenticity. Chef Zhao's always delivers. The main dish we ordered, "water boiled fish", an extremely spicy dish, was much more authentic than many Sichuan restaurants in this area. Well, that we already knew from the closed store. Two people couldn't order a lot. But we have had various dishes from Mountain View over the years. I can confidently say that you can throw a dart at the menu and it will come out authentic and delicious. My daughter and I have since returned to Chef Zhao every time we travel to mid-peninsula. My heart skipped a beat when we saw their home made Sichuan sausages on the menu in a recent visit! Chinese sausage you can get from Chinese grocery stores here are mostly Guandong flavor. Even the occasional finds of Sichuan sausage is not the same.

Great sichuan restaurant. I came to this place regularly. Price did not go up for years. I hope they keep that way in the future.

Chef Zhao stands out for serving one of the most delicious and truly traditional Kung Pao chicken dishes around—perfectly balanced with spice, sweetness, and that signature wok aroma that many other places miss. 🐔🌶️ The soft tofu and crab meat is also a highlight, with a smooth, delicate texture and rich seafood flavor that’s both unique and satisfying. 🦀🍳 A must-try for fans of authentic Chinese flavors! 😋🥢 Plenty of free street parking behind the restaurant.

A really delicious gem of a place! My friend and I went here a few days ago and ordered the dumplings, eggplant, twice fried pork, and the spicy fish. The food was excellent and at a very reasonable price, and we had a ton leftover. The twice cooked pork was especially good. Service was quick and friendly, especially since it was a weekday lunch, and the place wasn't too crowded either. We found 2-hour street parking right around the corner by the Goodwill. Highly recommend!

Authentic Sichuan food for spicy food lovers! Highly recommend the spicy lotus root, lamb dish, and spicy wontons. Everything is very seasoned and super flavorful so you should get a bowl of rice to compliment the dishes. Numbing sensation (spicy) from the peppers are what makes the Sichuan experience amazing. Definitely a must-try.

I heard about this place one year ago, but I went there the first time today with my friends. Four of us ordered four dishes: 炒鸭条，剁椒牛蛙，藤椒双脆和蒜苔肉丝。except a little bit salty, I like all four dishes, all tastes are pretty close to what I have at home. BTW, I’m from Chongqing. Next time maybe ask for less salt.

Excellent selection of Sichuan dishes. One of our favorites is the boiled fish with flaming chili. Very flavorful, full of Sichuan peppercorns (*not* “spiced down” or sweetened like many other places). Iron pot fish, boiling beef and fish with pickles peppercorns are always great as well.

Huge portions, really authentic and hits all the spots if you’re craving that tongue numbing mouth watering Sichuan!

Very nice food Chinese. A lot of options for lunch and dinner. Some dishes a little spice. Very friendly. Good for a great time with friends.

Jack L

We have been looking for a Chinese restaurant that is good enough for us to often go to. We may have found it at Chef Zhao sichuan cuisine. The food came very quickly and every dish was excellent. The atmosphere was nicer than most Chinese restaurants.

Yuan LIU

Chef Zhao Bistro is authentic Sichuan cuisine. Period. We liked their Mountain View shop a lot, but that one was closed during COVID-19. Our first visit to the San Mateo shop didn't disappoint, followed by more. To my disbelief, this store serves 鱼腥草 (fish mint, Houttuynia cordata), my childhood favourite summer time salad. I immediately ordered it. Due to supply, their dish is mainly leaves when my hometown dish would come with lots of juicy stems. Their leaves are also on the dry side. Still, this was the first time I saw this outside Sichuan. (Other than dried plant in Chinese herb stores.) Because this plant has a very strong smell and after taste that people associate with fish, not many people order it. In fact, not many people from China even know that Sichuan people eat it in meals. My connaisseur order obviously struck a cord with the chef, who came out twice to chat with us. (We came before the dinner crowds.) Another lowbrow salad, 伤心凉粉 ("heartbroken" bean-starch noodles), was also very flavourful. (This is more of an Eastern Sichuan flavour.) When such household, lesser known dishes are on the menu, I always use them as an assay for authenticity. Chef Zhao's always delivers. The main dish we ordered, "water boiled fish", an extremely spicy dish, was much more authentic than many Sichuan restaurants in this area. Well, that we already knew from the closed store. Two people couldn't order a lot. But we have had various dishes from Mountain View over the years. I can confidently say that you can throw a dart at the menu and it will come out authentic and delicious. My daughter and I have since returned to Chef Zhao every time we travel to mid-peninsula. My heart skipped a beat when we saw their home made Sichuan sausages on the menu in a recent visit! Chinese sausage you can get from Chinese grocery stores here are mostly Guandong flavor. Even the occasional finds of Sichuan sausage is not the same.

Ruofei Du

Chef Zhao stands out for serving one of the most delicious and truly traditional Kung Pao chicken dishes around—perfectly balanced with spice, sweetness, and that signature wok aroma that many other places miss. 🐔🌶️ The soft tofu and crab meat is also a highlight, with a smooth, delicate texture and rich seafood flavor that’s both unique and satisfying. 🦀🍳 A must-try for fans of authentic Chinese flavors! 😋🥢 Plenty of free street parking behind the restaurant.

Jiangtao Li

Great sichuan restaurant. I came to this place regularly. Price did not go up for years. I hope they keep that way in the future.

Grace Li

A really delicious gem of a place! My friend and I went here a few days ago and ordered the dumplings, eggplant, twice fried pork, and the spicy fish. The food was excellent and at a very reasonable price, and we had a ton leftover. The twice cooked pork was especially good. Service was quick and friendly, especially since it was a weekday lunch, and the place wasn't too crowded either. We found 2-hour street parking right around the corner by the Goodwill. Highly recommend!

Kirstin Leigh

Authentic Sichuan food for spicy food lovers! Highly recommend the spicy lotus root, lamb dish, and spicy wontons. Everything is very seasoned and super flavorful so you should get a bowl of rice to compliment the dishes. Numbing sensation (spicy) from the peppers are what makes the Sichuan experience amazing. Definitely a must-try.

Jun Wang

I heard about this place one year ago, but I went there the first time today with my friends. Four of us ordered four dishes: 炒鸭条，剁椒牛蛙，藤椒双脆和蒜苔肉丝。except a little bit salty, I like all four dishes, all tastes are pretty close to what I have at home. BTW, I’m from Chongqing. Next time maybe ask for less salt.

Sylwia K

Excellent selection of Sichuan dishes. One of our favorites is the boiled fish with flaming chili. Very flavorful, full of Sichuan peppercorns (*not* “spiced down” or sweetened like many other places). Iron pot fish, boiling beef and fish with pickles peppercorns are always great as well.

Carol Lin

Huge portions, really authentic and hits all the spots if you’re craving that tongue numbing mouth watering Sichuan!

Really great authentic chinese food. I like the big plate chicken. Hilarious name for a dish but I think that's the literal translation.

Really great Sichuan food. The food here is authentic, they make their own chili oil in house. The spiciness was very well balanced with the flavor. Had the stir fried chicken with heavy peppercorn, green beans, and jelly noodles and it was all delicious.

This place is legit szechuan. All dishes are authentic and fresh. There are alot of szechuan restaurants in the bay area, and not all of them are created equal. Often at other restaurants I get stomach aches after eating the various spicy and oily foods which I know comes with the cuisine - because the quality of the ingredients others use are bad. But here, I have never had an issue with my sensitive stomach even consuming just about everything. Chef Zhao cooks not just great food at a good price, but fresh and with quality ingredients and does not cheap out like other places in the bay area. I probably order take out once a week here.

Jessie Lopez

Really great authentic chinese food. I like the big plate chicken. Hilarious name for a dish but I think that's the literal translation.

Andy Deng

Great dishes and flavor! Favorite spicy Chinese in the area

BC

This place is legit szechuan. All dishes are authentic and fresh. There are alot of szechuan restaurants in the bay area, and not all of them are created equal. Often at other restaurants I get stomach aches after eating the various spicy and oily foods which I know comes with the cuisine - because the quality of the ingredients others use are bad. But here, I have never had an issue with my sensitive stomach even consuming just about everything. Chef Zhao cooks not just great food at a good price, but fresh and with quality ingredients and does not cheap out like other places in the bay area. I probably order take out once a week here.

Jacob Sharf

Really great Sichuan food. The food here is authentic, they make their own chili oil in house. The spiciness was very well balanced with the flavor. Had the stir fried chicken with heavy peppercorn, green beans, and jelly noodles and it was all delicious.

Food is fine and fairly cheap comparing to other similar Chinese restaurants. However some of the dishes are really salty. We got the tofu with stir fried beef and only managed to finish half way.

We stopped in for lunch while in SM yesterday. Pleasant surprise to discover this tidy place just south of 92 on Camino Real. Food wise, one dish was enough for the two of us - a white fish and silky tofu in a sauce / liquid seasoned with mildly numbing peppercorns and Thai chilis. Despite how intimidating that sounds, it was not painfully hot at all - very subtle spice that was quite enjoyable. Tea and white rice, as per standard. Good, friendly and efficient service.

We went to eat there on Friday, before Gem Show. That is true portions are small, yet the taste and variety are pretty amazing. After eating the same food in many restaurants - we were very impressed.

Food was great, recommended for people who like spicy food

One of the best Chinese restaurants in the area. Not sure what Schezuan cuisine should be, but the dishes I ordered were good. Standout was cumin beef and pork fried rice, both came out piping hot within minutes. Soft tofu with crab tasted too eggy, and might have been better as a soup. Looking forward to returning.

I’ve been here a few times and the food is pretty consistent. I have tried a few different things and some of my favorites like the chicken wings and cumin spareribs The service is good they are very kind and accommodating. The food is delicious and pretty authentic for San Mateo area.

The quality of the food was excellent, and we loved the tasty dishes. They weren't overly spicy but had a wonderful savory flavor. Highly recommended!

Tom L

One of the best Chinese restaurants in the area. Not sure what Schezuan cuisine should be, but the dishes I ordered were good. Standout was cumin beef and pork fried rice, both came out piping hot within minutes. Soft tofu with crab tasted too eggy, and might have been better as a soup. Looking forward to returning.

Marcela Ma

I’ve been here a few times and the food is pretty consistent. I have tried a few different things and some of my favorites like the chicken wings and cumin spareribs The service is good they are very kind and accommodating. The food is delicious and pretty authentic for San Mateo area.

Lingling

The quality of the food was excellent, and we loved the tasty dishes. They weren't overly spicy but had a wonderful savory flavor. Highly recommended!

Taste is great and not Americanized, but the portion is too small! Better order take out - they have discounts on many platforms. Also no parking space in front of the restaurant, you need to find street parking nearby.

I had the beef noodle soup and it was...okay. The meat itself was fantastic, but the broth left a bit to be desired. I would not come here again unless in a very large group.

Spicy shredded potato was not much salted but the spicy hot boiled beef had so much salt! And the jelly noodles were easily broken down… even saw hair in the potato…

We had high hopes for chef Zhao but some of the food items were not up to standard. Interior is very clean and service is fast. Parking might be hard to find during busy dining hours. Food that we got: Stir fried pork kidney - this is really well done, well flavoured and kidney is tender with no weird taste Sichuan style spicy wonton - the wonton skin is so chewy and it didn’t feel fresh. The filling was also kind of flavourless and we had to really dip the sauce to get any savoury taste Pea shoot - pretty good, garlic stir fried and tastes similar to other places Glutinous rice cake - definitely would not recommend this. Instead of using glutinous rice flour which is where most places do, they just squished together a lot of glutinous rice and fried it. The texture and the syrup both are not great Fish filet and tofu in preserved pickle - I don’t understand why they added tofu in it besides to cut cost. I’ve never seen tofu added to this dish before. Makes it feel like they’re being cheap There are better Chinese places around here, we are a bit disappointed at the experience here.

We went during weekend for lunch. The restaurant was quite empty. The waitress was very friendly and checked on us a few times during the meal. I’d say great service. The food was however not really to my liking. The Chingqing spicy chicken 辣子鸡 was made with chicken wings cut in half. The wings didn’t taste fresh, but preprocessed somewhere. The dish also had chunks of undiscovered sugar clumps. The fish-flavored eggplant 鱼香茄子 was served with huge eggplant pieces, but the flavor was pretty good from the sauce. The cumin ribs 孜然排骨 also didn’t taste fresh, but flavor was good as well. Overall, it was ok. Price was pretty good. Maybe I didn’t order the right dishes, but I probably won’t return in the future.

James Zhong

We went during weekend for lunch. The restaurant was quite empty. The waitress was very friendly and checked on us a few times during the meal. I’d say great service. The food was however not really to my liking. The Chingqing spicy chicken 辣子鸡 was made with chicken wings cut in half. The wings didn’t taste fresh, but preprocessed somewhere. The dish also had chunks of undiscovered sugar clumps. The fish-flavored eggplant 鱼香茄子 was served with huge eggplant pieces, but the flavor was pretty good from the sauce. The cumin ribs 孜然排骨 also didn’t taste fresh, but flavor was good as well. Overall, it was ok. Price was pretty good. Maybe I didn’t order the right dishes, but I probably won’t return in the future.

Helen

We had high hopes for chef Zhao but some of the food items were not up to standard. Interior is very clean and service is fast. Parking might be hard to find during busy dining hours. Food that we got: Stir fried pork kidney - this is really well done, well flavoured and kidney is tender with no weird taste Sichuan style spicy wonton - the wonton skin is so chewy and it didn’t feel fresh. The filling was also kind of flavourless and we had to really dip the sauce to get any savoury taste Pea shoot - pretty good, garlic stir fried and tastes similar to other places Glutinous rice cake - definitely would not recommend this. Instead of using glutinous rice flour which is where most places do, they just squished together a lot of glutinous rice and fried it. The texture and the syrup both are not great Fish filet and tofu in preserved pickle - I don’t understand why they added tofu in it besides to cut cost. I’ve never seen tofu added to this dish before. Makes it feel like they’re being cheap There are better Chinese places around here, we are a bit disappointed at the experience here.

Spicy Chili Oil Beef is what I ordered. It lacks a lot of flavor in my opinion. It also is leaving a funny texture on my tongue. Service lady was very nice.

Matthew Arch

Spicy Chili Oil Beef is what I ordered. It lacks a lot of flavor in my opinion. It also is leaving a funny texture on my tongue. Service lady was very nice.

We stopped getting food here 3 years ago because we had food undercooked and some of the ingredients felt stale. I ran into this on DoorDash today and thought they must have improved since they’re still in business, but nope! The stir fried lotus root tasted like bread — not crispy like I’d expect from a Szechuan restaurant. The chili chicken was very, very, extremely salty and felt like two different chefs who didn’t communicate both put salt in the same dish. It was so salty that I got hangover from it. It’s hard to say for sure how fresh the ingredients were but the weirdly tasting lotus root as well as the overly salty chicken do match what I’d expect from dishes made with stale ingredients.

I ordered the Chongqing chili chicken. Positives: - marinade infuses a lot of good Sichuan peppercorn flavor into the food - chicken is moist on the inside, crispy on the outside. Not overcooked at all Negatives - far too much sugar. There were clumps of rock sugar in my food. Even without biting into them, the food was too sweet - not enough spice. There were a lot of dried peppers, but the flavor from them was not successfully imparted on the chicken - portion was so small!! For this reason alone, I will not order again. I can get a portion that is 3x the size for the same price at other restaurants - chicken is 60% bones, 30% meat, 10% inedible gristle Overall, although tasty and more authentic than other Chinese restaurants in the area, I do not recommend. It is not good value for the price + too sugary and unnecessarily difficult to eat due to the bones.

The dishes were excessively salty and soup was flavorless and bland.

Dine-in at 8:35pm on March 29th Food ordered: Yu Xiang Shredded Pork and white rice Result: experienced food poisoning symptoms in the night and next morning.

Really bad experience. Chong qing chicken is just 80% bones!!! When I asked, they said this is how its made which is untrue. Taste is good but you will just sit here picking bones. Bean curd and cucumber was tasteless without garlic and super expensive. Portion of fried rice was good. Never coming back here.

When my friend and I inquired about a certain dish, the hostess was very rude and kept repeating if we wanted our dish to be prepared a certain way, that we should do business elsewhere. We were ONLY INQUIRING about a specific dish... not committing some type of crime or attempting to insult these people. Her attitude was very DEFENSIVE and way out of line. Perhaps we came across as insulting, but we did not mean to. She must be very supportive of RETURN CLIENTS... Just "got off on the wrong foot." I will never make that mistake again.

Unauthentic, food not fresh, and bad service. We ordered 3 dishes - each was bad in a different way. Pork rib had gone bad. Spicy fish was unexpected sweet, and fried cabbage was boiled in water. The waiter tried to rush us out 10 minutes before close

NO. NO. We ordered 4 dishes (take out) and all of them went to the trash (and I so hate throwing out food) the Vegetable noodles was so salty and oily, the meat was aufel, the strifried rice was so bland and the cabbage was just bad. The worst thing is that with these prices and reviwws we were expecting something good. Why is this place getting good reviews?! Do your slef a fav and stay aways

I had order take out to go. But restaurant don’t put chopsticks ， I can no eat. Restaurant said. Need customer request, if no request. That will be no put chopsticks. That is really bad knowledge and service.

Please READ! I think they bought fake reviews or rewarded those who left 5stars( they actually put an announcement in the online menu saying they would reward clients with dishes/drinks if you leave good review). I’ve been in this place twice and every time it is so SLOW! Short of staff and never get helped. They never tell us they run out of what we ordered and always forgot to bring us food until we asked for it. The WAITER HAD HIS THUMB DIPPED IN THE DISH when bringing us food! I believe this place must have hygiene issues. Taste is below average. Won’t ever come back again.

TINY PORTIONS especially for $40! Flavor of the spicy wings and fried rice were good but feels like they’re trying to short change you despite high prices. They didn’t even include any chopsticks or condiments or anything. Do your stomach a favor and go to Noodle Shop down the street. You’ll thank me later

Tiffany Chen

I had order take out to go. But restaurant don’t put chopsticks ， I can no eat. Restaurant said. Need customer request, if no request. That will be no put chopsticks. That is really bad knowledge and service.