Lao Sze Chuan

(312) 326-5040

2172 S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60616 41.8534 -87.634

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Neighborhoods: Armour Square (Chinatown), South Side, Armour Square

Hours:

Monday 11:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Tuesday 11:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Wednesday 11:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Thursday 11:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Friday 11:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Saturday 11:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Sunday 11:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Last updated 10.14.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, Diners Club, MasterCard

Cuisine:

Chinese

Smoking Permitted:

No

What People Are Saying About Lao Sze Chuan

Featured Review

Valerie Moloney

Contributor

The Scene – The single, peach-hued dining room focuses little on decor, with simple white paper topping tables, plants hanging from the ceiling and a few floral prints on the wall. A Mandarin-speaking crowd sits on white metal chairs--mostly at tables for four--waiting for vest-wearing servers to bring out hot tea and pickled cabbage appetizers. Music is missing from the scene, but the attention is on the food. – – The Food – Locals order without looking at the menu, but for newbies, the task can be daunting. A lengthy list of Szechuan dishes, coded for spiciness,…

Editor's Tips

The Extras:
Try family-style hot pot specials available each day for $14.95; bubbling broth cooks fresh meat and vegetable ingredients along with noodles in an experience akin to fondue. You can also host a private party in the upstairs dining room. Call for details.
Parking:
The lot in front on Archer is always busy and fills up quickly. Either allow time to prowl or try your luck up one of the side streets.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. studied abroad in Beijing for over a year and tried multiple hotpot establishments and loved every single location that I had ever been to.
  2. The atmosphere is nothing to speak of, but if you like spicy food you should definitely try it.
food quality
52.3799991607666% positive
  1. The favorite in almost every table in this szechuan spelicialized restaurant is their chili chicken, although they have many other excellent.
  2. Great salt and pepper shrimp, mapo tofu, yu shiang pork.
  3. Disappointing meal
  4. We went to this restaurant in downtown hoping for some decent Chinese food.
  5. After the incredibly rude service and cold food (that we couldn't enjoy after we had been treated so rudely), next time, I'm going to Joy Yees.
  6. Keep away from this place as much as you can, if you want an enjoyable meal.
  7. Though off the beaten track, this IS the place to go for very authentic Chinese food (tending on the spicy side -- which is good by me).
  8. When the meal came, a big party (around 16 people) stood waiting for the round table next to us.
  9. The atmosphere is nothing to speak of, but if you like spicy food you should definitely try it.
  10. the fishballs and shrimpballs were mediocre at best and the meats were not that great.
  11. The MaPo tofu had a flat taste to it and the greens were limp, oily, and salty.
  12. Terrible service, rude boss, so so food,
  13. We spoke to the owner, and he told us the difference is the authentic chili powder from China.
  14. Best spicy, sichuan food in Chicago.
  15. they have okay food but they have bad service and they will try to cheat you.
  16. The stew was mediocre, the beef cut into thick pieces that made it difficult to handle in one or two bites, and it tasted a bit crude.
  17. They will blatantly give away tables to white patrons over asian's with reservations), the food isn't as good (after waiting 1 hr to sit down, almost all the dishes were served cold) and frankly, after you had to fight to get your table, the mood for the
  18. The food is OK, but the service is unbelievably poor.
  19. The $50 bill on top of my disappointing meal was also.
  20. Probably the best dishes are the "soups" or actually broth-based Chinese-style fondu, where you boil various meats and vegetables in broths and suaces.
  21. It used to be a great place to catch a simple spicy Sze Chuan meal, even despite the wait.
overall
100.0% positive
  1. It used to be a great place to catch a simple spicy Sze Chuan meal, even despite the wait.
  2. The favorite in almost every table in this szechuan spelicialized restaurant is their chili chicken, although they have many other excellent.
service
12.5% positive
  1. they have okay food but they have bad service and they will try to cheat you.
  2. When the meal came, a big party (around 16 people) stood waiting for the round table next to us.
  3. The food is OK, but the service is unbelievably poor.
  4. Now, the service is rude (if you have a reservation for a large party and you aren't WHITE, don't expect to get seated ANY TIME soon.
  5. unbelievablely poor service
  6. After the incredibly rude service and cold food (that we couldn't enjoy after we had been treated so rudely), next time, I'm going to Joy Yees.
  7. Terrible service, rude boss, so so food,
  8. poor service
value
100.0% positive
  1. Lots to eat at very reasonable prices.
1 Star Rating: Poor

01/27/09

STAY AWAY

by josephbbl at Citysearch

Last night we went to Lao Tze Chuan restaurant. We learned they had changed ownership, and wondered what the new management would be like.

We arrived around 6:15, placed our order around 6:25. The food didn't come until 7:00 p.m. When the meal came, a big party (around 16 people) stood waiting for the round table next to us. Obviously, it wasn't big enough, so the management "borrowed" the table next to ours, and put it next to the round one. The took all the chairs except for the two we were using. It was still not enough for the big pary. Next thing you know, the manager said they were moving us.

I had chopsticks in my hands while sitting in my chair when our table

suddenly was removed from underneath us. I was shocked, and the rest of the patrons grew silent and stared at me, expecting something to happen. I continued to eat the food still in my chopsticks as I sat alone in the middle of the open space. I finally got up and walked to our new table location, hearing "Sorry" and "Bu Hao Yisi."

Then, our final dish came--sweet and sour pork. I was basically a breaded, fried pork chop with bones. My guest took one bite and coughed it out. The meat was spoiled. They offered to re-cook the dish. It was 7:15, and we about had enough. They took the dish back, and refused to take the order off the bill.

  • Pros: It used to be a good restaurant, I suppose
  • Cons: It changed ownership, and offers a negative dining experience
1 Star Rating: Poor

11/02/08

One Very Disappointing Overpriced Meal

by aaperez85 at Citysearch

"Now let me establish that I love my hotpot!

I studied abroad in Beijing for over a year and tried multiple hotpot establishments and loved every single location that I had ever been to.

When I showed up to Lao Sze Chuan the waitress was quite unfriendly (which I was accustomed to in Beijing but not USA) and she Immediately took note that I was not Chinese so when I said I wanted hotpot she said OK you want buffet and just walked away. I had to go get her and tell her I wanted to pick the items myself.

Once the hotpot arrived i was thoroughly excited but the hotpot which I asked to be spicy was not even near spicy....It also lacked the tongue numbing flower pepper that every hotpot place I had ever been to had in the broth. The pig stomach and intestine were not the Chinese style I was accustomed to and tasted like a local packaged variety...the fishballs and shrimpballs were mediocre at best and the meats were not that great...This restaurant was the biggest letdown of my life and for me that does not happen often. The $50 bill on top of my disappointing meal was also....great.

Not recommended...I will continue my search for great hotpot in the US."

  • Pros: Very Friendly Host
  • Cons: Disappointing Food and wait staff
2 Star Rating: Below Average

07/07/08

Disappointing meal

by missmimimao at Citysearch

I was so very hopeful when I walked into Lao Sze Chuan. My mother is from Sze Chuan, and though she grew up all over Asia and cooks more southeast Asian food, a few key szechuanese dishes inevitably make their way onto our dinner table. It's not that I wanted instant Mama's food, but I was hoping for the same earthy, spicy, flavor-busting experience that describes szechuanese food. We had garlic stir-fried greens, MaPo tofu, and chili beef stew. The stew was mediocre, the beef cut into thick pieces that made it difficult to handle in one or two bites, and it tasted a bit crude. The MaPo tofu had a flat taste to it and the greens were limp, oily, and salty. Perhaps we ordered the wrong dishes?

  • Pros: Easy location, fairly quick getting food to table
  • Cons: Food below avg, service mediocre
1 Star Rating: Poor

01/11/08

unbelievablely poor service

by yinjin at Citysearch

The food is OK, but the service is unbelievably poor. They will repeately ask you whether you have finished your food as soon as you finish one half of your food. I feel extremely bad every time after I eat there.

3 Star Rating: Average

12/02/07

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by maporestaurant at Citysearch

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  • Pros: 
  • Cons: 

The Details on Lao Sze Chuan

Place Categories:

  • poor service
  • disappointing meal
  • authentic chinese food
  • great hotpot
  • reasonable price
  • cold food
  • favorite chili chicken
  • rude boss
  • big pary
  • best sichuan food
  • authentic chili powder
  • great pepper shrimp
  • loved single location
  • flat taste
  • great mapo tofu
  • like new management
  • mediocre fishballs
  • mediocre shrimpballs
  • mediocre stew
  • best spicy
  • fairly good hole in the wall chinese restaurant
  • like spicy food
  • big party
  • great place
  • great salt

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