No photos to go with this review because I was too excited and didn't realize until after I started tucking in.Very close to campus, so a convenient lunch spot.I was introduced to this restaurant by a labmate of mine from China. I'd never had Sichuan/ Chengdu style food before then, since my family is from Guangdong. Love the tingly sichuan peppercorns! I'm a big fan of spicy food, so this is one of my favorites places in Davis.My favorite is their toothpick lamb dish, literally lamb pieces skewered on toothpicks, fried, dressed in spices, and topped with chilis and cilantro. Super good!Mapo tofu is a more common dish, but I love it.Jelly noodles are great! Love the flavoring and the texture. YMMV depending on how you feel about a jelly noodle.The stir fried potatoes are great.The bing fen dessert is good too! I'd never had it before. Nice on a hot summer day or even after a spicy meal here.
Jennifer F.
hot and sour noodles are the best!!! can get a bit pricy but worth the money for authentic sichuan food :)
Dilys S.
Delicious, authentic, affordable. Chengdu Style Davis tastes even better than the Berkeley one. And yes they are sister restaurants. Highly recommend the Ma La Tang, and any mix and match with spicy sauce (ban cai). This place really needs your support during COVID as business as suffered due to an empty campus. The price is very affordable. Best part? It is on the way back from Tahoe ski trip. Highly recommend as a Sichuanese foodie.
Yao L.
One of my favorite restaurant in town. Very authentic chinese food! Love the boiling fishing and griddle beef. The owner is super nice! Great for group gathering or take out
Bhandari A.
First time, Good Sichuan food, Glad we found this place! Will definitely go back again!
Asher Lazarus
Best Sichuan food I've had! Super friendly staff too. My favorite restaurant in Davis
Mason Kaneski
I ordered a duck dish, girlfriend ordered an eggplant dish (gross I know). Mine was mostly inedible bones and scraps with a few pieces of boiled skin. Hers gave her food poisoning. They gave us attitude for coming in 50min before closing, so I’m wondering if it was sabotage. You’ve been warned.
Jessica H.
Very good food and service. My neighbor who is Chinese American recomened this place as authentic Chinese food. I see what she means. We mainly played it safe with dishes like Mongolian Beef and Hot and Sour Soup. It all tasted fresh and light but also filling. We got 7 dishes and filled up 6 hungry people for about $80. Not bad really. I will be coming back.
Yong Su
A little bit salty for some dishes, others are delicious
James Hatfield
Real deal! Try the onion and black fungus (cold dish). Excellence.
Wasn’t expecting much when I ate here and somehow they failed to even those low expectations... food Came out fast but it was pretty underwhelming and after we paid for the bill the person who took our money essentially demanded for a tip... overall pretty bad Chinese place to eat. Much rather just make my own Chinese food
Ruwan T.
Maybe I just don't understand authentic cheng du, or don't have a palate for it, but I did not like the food here. My family and I came for lunch for my brother's birthday. The ambience was satisfactory, nothing special about the design or style of the interior. The place was practically empty when we arrived and we were seated immediately. We ordered the green beans, eggplant in garlic sauce, stir fried crispy chicken with ball pepper, and chicken with taro, along with a couple orders of white rice. Note, they don't offer brown rice, for those of you trying to be healthy. I'll start with the good. Our favorite was easily the green beans, which flavorful, a little crispy, and not too oily. The eggplant was also well liked - good flavor! No issues with the rice. The chicken dishes really missed the mark. The chicken with taro was basically chicken skin and taro in a large pool of oil - it was a little gross and we barely touched it. Most aspects of the crispy chicken were tasty actually, but its fatal flaw was having what felt/tasted like a small pool of oil in each piece. The taste of plain oil remains in ones mouth for minutes after, and can't be washed down with water. Oh and the hot tea was pretty watery. I may come again for the dishes other reviewers claim to enjoy, but otherwise I see no reason to come back. Just not my kind of food I guess!
Isabel O.
Terrible. Do not do a pick up because they will just give you old food. So gross and nasty. Go to four seasons if you want Asian food. You're better off getting subway next door.
Janice Hsu
Food is always so delightfully delicious. The only thing I would change is the speed the food comes.
Mingming C.
Update: TOOTHPICK LAMB is juicy and flavorful! They nailed it this time!! Again, not too salty so the cumin and pepper can shine. No-frills, authentic and delicious Sichuan food. This is our go-to restaurant PERIOD in Davis. I love their TWICE-COOKED PORK with a passion. It's juicy and well spiced here. Other favorite dishes: -Wonton Soup -Hot Steamed dumpling appetizer -Braised pork with potato (juicy and flavorful!) -重庆辣子鸡(This is the Chongqing Spicy Fried Chicken...bone-in, always!) -Black chicken soup (like home, not too rich or salty. very nourishing) -Tantan noodle -There's a fish and pickled veggie stew in numbing pepper (in lieu of the well-known red chili pepper). I recommend trying this if you've never had numbing pepper. it's an odd but great sensation. Contrasts red chili well. I am going to try the toothpick lamb again tonight, since I only got it once.
No photos to go with this review because I was too excited and didn't realize until after I started tucking in.Very close to campus, so a convenient lunch spot.I was introduced to this restaurant by a labmate of mine from China. I'd never had Sichuan/ Chengdu style food before then, since my family is from Guangdong. Love the tingly sichuan peppercorns! I'm a big fan of spicy food, so this is one of my favorites places in Davis.My favorite is their toothpick lamb dish, literally lamb pieces skewered on toothpicks, fried, dressed in spices, and topped with chilis and cilantro. Super good!Mapo tofu is a more common dish, but I love it.Jelly noodles are great! Love the flavoring and the texture. YMMV depending on how you feel about a jelly noodle.The stir fried potatoes are great.The bing fen dessert is good too! I'd never had it before. Nice on a hot summer day or even after a spicy meal here.
hot and sour noodles are the best!!! can get a bit pricy but worth the money for authentic sichuan food :)
Delicious, authentic, affordable. Chengdu Style Davis tastes even better than the Berkeley one. And yes they are sister restaurants. Highly recommend the Ma La Tang, and any mix and match with spicy sauce (ban cai). This place really needs your support during COVID as business as suffered due to an empty campus. The price is very affordable. Best part? It is on the way back from Tahoe ski trip. Highly recommend as a Sichuanese foodie.
One of my favorite restaurant in town. Very authentic chinese food! Love the boiling fishing and griddle beef. The owner is super nice! Great for group gathering or take out
First time, Good Sichuan food, Glad we found this place! Will definitely go back again!
Best Sichuan food I've had! Super friendly staff too. My favorite restaurant in Davis
I ordered a duck dish, girlfriend ordered an eggplant dish (gross I know). Mine was mostly inedible bones and scraps with a few pieces of boiled skin. Hers gave her food poisoning. They gave us attitude for coming in 50min before closing, so I’m wondering if it was sabotage. You’ve been warned.
Very good food and service. My neighbor who is Chinese American recomened this place as authentic Chinese food. I see what she means. We mainly played it safe with dishes like Mongolian Beef and Hot and Sour Soup. It all tasted fresh and light but also filling. We got 7 dishes and filled up 6 hungry people for about $80. Not bad really. I will be coming back.
A little bit salty for some dishes, others are delicious
Real deal! Try the onion and black fungus (cold dish). Excellence.
Restaurantji Recommends
Wasn’t expecting much when I ate here and somehow they failed to even those low expectations... food Came out fast but it was pretty underwhelming and after we paid for the bill the person who took our money essentially demanded for a tip... overall pretty bad Chinese place to eat. Much rather just make my own Chinese food
Maybe I just don't understand authentic cheng du, or don't have a palate for it, but I did not like the food here. My family and I came for lunch for my brother's birthday. The ambience was satisfactory, nothing special about the design or style of the interior. The place was practically empty when we arrived and we were seated immediately. We ordered the green beans, eggplant in garlic sauce, stir fried crispy chicken with ball pepper, and chicken with taro, along with a couple orders of white rice. Note, they don't offer brown rice, for those of you trying to be healthy. I'll start with the good. Our favorite was easily the green beans, which flavorful, a little crispy, and not too oily. The eggplant was also well liked - good flavor! No issues with the rice. The chicken dishes really missed the mark. The chicken with taro was basically chicken skin and taro in a large pool of oil - it was a little gross and we barely touched it. Most aspects of the crispy chicken were tasty actually, but its fatal flaw was having what felt/tasted like a small pool of oil in each piece. The taste of plain oil remains in ones mouth for minutes after, and can't be washed down with water. Oh and the hot tea was pretty watery. I may come again for the dishes other reviewers claim to enjoy, but otherwise I see no reason to come back. Just not my kind of food I guess!
Terrible. Do not do a pick up because they will just give you old food. So gross and nasty. Go to four seasons if you want Asian food. You're better off getting subway next door.
Food is always so delightfully delicious. The only thing I would change is the speed the food comes.
Update: TOOTHPICK LAMB is juicy and flavorful! They nailed it this time!! Again, not too salty so the cumin and pepper can shine. No-frills, authentic and delicious Sichuan food. This is our go-to restaurant PERIOD in Davis. I love their TWICE-COOKED PORK with a passion. It's juicy and well spiced here. Other favorite dishes: -Wonton Soup -Hot Steamed dumpling appetizer -Braised pork with potato (juicy and flavorful!) -重庆辣子鸡(This is the Chongqing Spicy Fried Chicken...bone-in, always!) -Black chicken soup (like home, not too rich or salty. very nourishing) -Tantan noodle -There's a fish and pickled veggie stew in numbing pepper (in lieu of the well-known red chili pepper). I recommend trying this if you've never had numbing pepper. it's an odd but great sensation. Contrasts red chili well. I am going to try the toothpick lamb again tonight, since I only got it once.