50 Best Chinese Restaurants near La Jolla

“It's been a while since I last visited Fan-Fan. The menu here has changed, and it feels a bit like Panda Express, probably to cater to foreign tastes. At noon, the place is crowded with people waiting in line—it almost feels like a Chinese canteen for international students. You grab a plate, choose your favorite dishes, and pay by weight. They also have bubble tea you can order. My meal cost 23, which isn’t exactly cheap but is acceptable. The bubble tea was nothing special, so you can skip it. The food was okay, but I still prefer the old Fan-Fan, which served more authentic Chinese dishes.“

“Best Chinese and Mai Tai's in San Diego or maybe the US“

“This place was excellent. Substantial menu and can pick you heat level. Service was great but this place is small. 6 booths inside and 3 small tables outside facing the street. Waiter was very informational and all the food great. Located uptown from the Cove near the Bishop School. I will be going back“

“Our server Cam was awesome and food was great! Got to try it. Great dumplings!!!“

“First time here, was pretty good. You get assigned a table; then you go up and grab your bowl to make your hotpot (at least a pound) . You can get a second bowl for skewers and hand it to the counter , I would recommend getting all your hotpot stuff first then going back for the skewers so its easier on your hands. Would go back again.“

“We had to wait a bit for a table for two, but it was absolutely worth it. The scallop with shrimp and pork dumplings, along with the chicken and pork dumplings, are must-tries! We sampled three different types of dumplings, plus the green onion pancakes and the beef noodle soup — all were outstanding. By the end of our meal, we couldn’t leave without calling over the waiter to compliment both the excellent service and the incredible food. Everything here is top-notch! Such a great find…“

“We usually enjoy the food, but some of it was not hot. Our waiter was terrible. We had to ask him several times for items, he didn't clear the table, and when asked, still left dirty dishes. It was one of our worst experiences at PF Chang's. Service has always been very spotty.“

“delicious food! all of it“

“Took me 15 years to discover this restaurant, love it here! Our go to is 100% soup dumplings, do not leave here without trying them. Broccoli/scallion beef and Kung pao chicken are our favorites but I haven’t had anything I haven’t liked yet. They also have homemade noodles here, pay a little extra for those for your noddle
Dishes and soups. My favorite part about eating here is there is no “food hangover” or energy crash after eating. You feel light on your feet when you leave. Also they have a great beer menu! Pricing in the image below, it’s very fair, and that might be the best part!“

“My 2nd time dining in, (3rd if you count a delivery). Skewers are great not only in price but in quality and amount of meat. I didn't know they have a special on Saturday lamb skewer for $1.50 each! My friend her first time here she said 12/10 and she wants to come back. The scenery is beautiful and yes I said scenery, the vibes are great and staff is awesome!“

“This is one of my favorite restaurants for noodles. I've tried several of their dishes (biang biang noodles, liang pi noodles, big chicken plate, stewed beef noodles, and stewed lamb noodles) and all of them were delicious. I love how the noodles are made from scratch, it's just a completely different taste and texture compared to dried noodles.“

“we've been 3 times in the past few months and every time was great. we went the day after my wife's birthday, the same day our pet passed, and the staff made it a very special experience and distraction from our loss. absolutely recommend 110%. great food, great people, great experience overall.“

“Bomb food 🥘 clean dining area good service“

“Braised beef noddle soup, dumplings in chili oil, house made dumplings, everything was fresh and delicious. The spice amount was on the mild side but adding chili oil provided at the table can take the heat to another level. Definitely a winner!“

“The BEST noodles shop in San Diego....Period.
Super friendly and welcoming staff no matter how busy they are, and they're always busy.
The Food is excellent and different than other Chinese restaurants because it's from a different region.
Halal meat served which is a Huge plus.
Clean and organized dinning room every time we come. They have a glass window where you can see the chefs making your noodles fresh right in front of you. We always comes here and the kids love it.“

“We came for my husband’s Birthday dinner & everything was so delicious. Andy and his team were super attentive. Not our first time here and definitely not our last.
If you’re looking for great authentic Cantonese food - this is a must - you won’t be disappointed!!!
We came from north county - soooo worth the drive“

“The Best Ever Chinese Restaurant I Have Ever Been To. My Tita's Loved It So Mucho!!!! 5 star Rating“

“Best sushi in San Diego at reasonable prices! Delicioso!!!“

“We just celebrated our daughter's birthday and the service was really great!!! Our Server Nicolas R. made extra sure that we had everything and even went above and beyond with getting the food out hot and fast. This establishment needs more hard workers like Mr. Nicolas and the hostess that seated us Alicia. Thank you PF Chang for ensuring that our daughter's birthday celebration was a major success.“

“Very nice restaurant with a big menu. The tea had chrysanthemum and goji berries and was delicious. Shanghai rice cakes are always a good option and the dessert sesame balls were tasty. Highly recommend. There's also plenty of parking in this small shopping district.“

“The server was the only one working but she got our order out fast and was so nice. The food was absolutely delicious.“

“It was my first time trying Hot Pot, the food was excellent. The experience was also great. Lots of options and everything was fresh.“

“Fried garlic pork with steamed rice 😍“

“Came here recently with a large group and was very impressed. All the food was delicious and came out very quickly. Excellent dim sum options and dinner dishes. Will come again when I visit again!“

“We had the Mongolian beef, pan fried potstickers, long bao sampler, and bbq pork bao buns. And it was delicious! It was very flavorful and the Mongolian beef chow main was my favorite. Everyone was very nice and quick and it was reasonably price for the amount of food and quality. The broth that the dumplings was cooked in was very savory and I wanted to keep eating even though I was very full. We will be coming back!“

“Chill, friendly, good food & reasonable price.“

“The best place in San Diego for tasty, authentic dim sum from push-carts!🥰😀“

“TOO GOOD ! It's been way too long since we have eaten here...close to 21 months. Even though there are heaps of Asian eateries around Irvine where we moved to in Nov, 2022 no one serves authentic Chinese food like this place. Forget about the cheesy ambience inside an old movie theater that is mostly an Asian supermarket...it's all about the incredible food. WEEKEND GETAWAY ! My wife and I hit the road at 10.30am on Friday to kick off our fun packed weekend down in San Diego. We hit heavy traffic as expected but better earlier than later. FIRST STOP ! We arrived here for lunch around 12.30pm. While my wife parked our car I headed inside to the restaurant....to my surprise Joe the long time manager recognized me straight off and showed me to a vacant table in the corner. TOO EASY ! When Joe popped over to say hi I gave him our lunch order. We knew exactly what we wanted...1 x Kung Pao Shrimp and 1 x Honey Walnut Shrimp. Joe came back with a pot of Jasmine tea and 2 tall iced waters. IT WAS PACKED ! Before too long Joe brought out my wife's huge serve of Honey Walnut Shrimp. Within 2 or 3 minutes my delectable looking Kung Pao Shrimp hit the table. MOUTHSATIONAL ! Trust me no one serves authentic Chinese food as good as here. My Kung Pao Shrimp tasted amazing...no tails on the shrimp and it was kicked up just enough. My wife was in gourmet food heaven enjoying her Honey Walnut Shrimp but I did have to pinch a few of her juicy shrimp with walnuts. THE BEST ANYWHERE !“

“Best BBQ Pork and the Lomein is great. Been coming since they opened and never disappointed.“

“I ordered the clay pot rice, which is very fragrant. The roast duck is a must as the marination is just perfect. Shrimp was on the greasy side and I’ll avoid next time. Turnaround time could be improved as I arrived at 4pm when they first opened up and didn’t get my complete order until 515.“

“First I just want to say that it is not necessarily expected for Chinese service staff to be really friendly or accommodating, especially to white English speaking people...not because there is any intended rudeness, but because of language or cultural differences when it comes to restaurant etiquette, etc.

Having said that, the two waitresses that were on staff today were so nice and attentive and thoughtful. We loved their vibe.

This was my first time trying proper authentic Sichuan food after doing a ton of research on what to order (years of research technically, watching tons of channels on YouTube that cover this style of food), and although not every single item was made exactly as it might be traditionally made (the Fu Qi Fei Pian didn't have tongue, heart or tripe for example...it only had the thin slices of beef flank), I found that everything was very close to how it is made in China, or exactly as it should be.

We had the following (See pics with captions), and I recommend everything besides the stir fried potatoes (maybe there is a better way to get them than we did):

1. Mao Xue Wang
2. Shao Bai
3. Stir Fried Potatoes with vinegar
4. Fish & Tofu Mala (not sure of menu name)
5. Fu Qi Fei Pian
5. Special Sweet Rice Ball Soup (Dessert)

Everything tasted high quality and truly awesome. The portions were gigantic and definitely intended to be family style. We went crazy and spent $100 for the two of us, with drinks, and still had so much food left over that they had to put everything in a big cardboard box lol.

Oh and the weird looking fish eyeballs/egg soup looking thing is so strange but so lovely. We asked for a dessert and we were thinking we would get some kind of small piece of Chinese dessert like they do in America and other countries, but instead they brought out a steaming hot bowl of something I can barely describe (see pictures), but it was genuinely awesome and such a new experience for sure. Highly recommend trying it. You'll just have to see for yourself.

Can't wait to go back and try more. They have a gigantic and intriguing menu.“

“Eating a lot of their food past four months through Grub Hub due to being unable to walk. It’s always excellent. Tonight’s was super excellent, chop suey with beef extra snow peas and Napa cabbage. Been cooking for over 60 years and this is one of the best and healthiest things I have ever eaten.
Also a bargain…one order is enough for three meals!!!
Thank you Chins!!!💥“

“The food was delicious. The music and the vibe of the place was amazing. The staff was attentive and on point!“

“Lunchtime specials are where it’s at! There is no place in Hillcrest with this portion, quality, and variety for under $10. You’ve gotta try the chicken teriyaki!“

“A friend and I decided to try this place for lunch.
The server was Excellent. I think her name was Jenny. My friend had Orange Chicken.
It was a large portion and the lunch came with either Egg Flower soup or Hot & Sour.
Both were very good.
It also came with delicious Egg Rolls, crispy Won Tons as well as steamed or fried rice.
I had Pork Egg Foo Young and it was Excellent.
Hard to find Egg Foo Young on menus.
Extremely clean and pleasant atmosphere.
I can hardly wait to go back and try other items on their large lunch menu.“

“I saw online that this shop serves Northeast-style spicy hot pot, and when I arrived, I discovered they also have a newly launched surprise blind box of marinated dishes. I bought the large box for $10, which contained beef shank, chicken gizzard, pork head meat, pork ears, duck liver, and more. By the time I took the photo, I had already eaten most of it. The price and portion were truly surprising, and the taste was excellent. The Northeast-style spicy hot pot was also very good—you pick your own ingredients, they’re weighed, and then freshly cooked. The broth had a sesame paste flavor, which I really liked—it was delicious. Additionally, I ordered some fried skewers, and I highly recommend the chicken gizzard. The seasoning on the fried skewers was fantastic.“

“What a bargain for lunch! I was in the mood for lo mein and came upon this restaurant in my search in the area.
I didn't know how much their lunch special were until I sat down and looked at their menu. Wow! You cannot beat $11 for lunch these days and the food was served on a huge platter! I almost laughed when the waitress brought it out to the table.

This is a small restaurant with a few small patio tables in front. It was a weekday and it wasn't busy. The cashier/waitress was really friendly and nice. She had a ready smile for everyone who came in.

I wanted shrimp lo mein for lunch but only chicken or pork lo mein were on the lunch menu. I paid $2 more for shrimp and there were a lot in my dish. It was really good.
The side salad was plain and just mainly iceberg lettuce but the egg roll was good.“

“5 stars
I used to come to Imperial Express all the time after college, and after all these years, it’s still just as amazing—if not even better. The orange chicken is next level—crispy, flavorful, and perfectly balanced. The service is always friendly and fast, just like I remembered. It’s a true hidden gem that stands the test of time. Bring cash, eat well, and leave happy. Highly recommend! Muy rico 🤘🏻🙏🏻gracias!“

“Well organized, very clean. You order on a little screen and have many options to choose from. Tasty food and seasoned well! Very satisfied I recommend“

“I loved 🥰 best place more more“

“Today I had their $13.99 lunch special and it was excellent! It was the lunch special board outside while I was walking dogs that made me think I haven't had Chinese food in a long time.
I remember I went when they first opened for dumplings and they were just okay.
Be careful of their front door because it is super heavy and it closed on the back of my healing hurt me and I remember that from the last time I went as well they really need to get that fixed before somebody gets really badly injured.
It definitely hurt like hell and I have a bruise there now.
Anyway back to the lunch special...
I got the walnut shrimp with fried rice you have a choice of fried or steamed and then you can choose soup or veggies chose the veggies but I thought it was going to be veggie soup so I was a little bit confused when I looked in my container and it was broccoli I'm like oh I love broccoli so that was fine.
I basically she pointed out that there was a spicy sour soup and then the veggie and I thought it was veggie soup so that was my bad.
So I never write a review that fast unless I'm really impressed and that was the tastiest broccoli I've ever freaking had and it just looked like steamed broccoli! It had a sauce on it and it was so good I ate all my broccoli first. In fact it was so good my dog who hates veggies ate some broccoli.
The walnut shrimp was really good and crunchy as well. The fried rice was typical fried rice nothing special but Lee was more impressed with the place the second time around with the lunch.
I might go back and retry the dumplings maybe it was an off day on that first visit of mine.“

“Overall: The food was good, very authentic, and it took 20 minutes for the food to come out.Fish with sour soup: The flavor is strong! But it was the perfect mixture of spicy and sour. I would highly recommend it pouring over and eating over the rice.Spicy Noodle Soup: Again, more spicy than sour. However, it was the perfect Mala spicy-nessLocation: Its in a plaza lose to the Qualcomm work place with a lot of the other places to eat. The parking might be limited if it is a busy day.Service: Food came out fast. You know its authentic when you see a lot of Asian people eating there too. The ambiance was nice too, clean and minimally decorated.Price: It's a little pricy for my taste. However, the quality is good.“

“I love this place! I was having a real hard time finding decent Chinese food here in SD until I discovered City Dragon. OMG! So good! And they are so nice every time I call for delivery which is free! The food is so delicious and so fresh tasting!“

“To go buffet review only: I’ve been here several times and swap between the 99 Ranch buffet. Ultimately, Woo quality, portion size is better than 99 even though it’s $2-3 more. Had the beef with broccoli, chicken with mixed veggies. Both very good and tender meat. Rice was good also. So, today not bad as it’s been less satisfying other visits.“

“I wish I had the time to try each and every dish…what devoured was absolutely amazingly delicious“

“Absolutely delicious! The Peking duck was crispy and tender, and the pickled cabbage pork stew was so comforting. Loved the salted egg yolk pumpkin — creamy and rich. The stir-fried pork with peppers and boneless spicy chicken feet were super flavorful. And the sweet and sour fried pork had the perfect crunch. sooooooooo gooood!!!“

“This restaurant used to be Zen Asian Bistro. Some of the items, such as the Taiwanese Beef noodle soup, is still on the new menu. We don't know if it's the same cooks.
The portions are on the small side. They were a little bland but that might be because we ordered unbreaded chicken and vegetables as our proteins. Seems like quality and fresh ingredients were used.

Service from the older gentleman was good. He was very nice and attentive to our group.“

“Wonderful dummpling place all freshly hand make. We cannot wait to bring them home, so we order one juicy pork xioa lang bao to eat there and one to go along with 2 pork bun to go. The place is mainly for take home but there are few tables for eat it also. You want to eat the xiao lang bao nice and hot, so be careful because there is hot soup in the bao. I put the bao on the soup spoon bite the tip of the bao to make a small hole on top so I can suck the soup first before eating the bao. 😋“

“The best chinese food in San Diego...“

“Good fun but a $10 cover charge“