It's been ~4 days since we ate at Lao Peng you, and I still can't stop thinking about it. We heard about this place through watching The Bear, and it definitely lived up to the hype! We ordered the pork & dill dumplings, and the Dan Dan noodles, and it's honestly hard to pick a favourite. One thing to be mindful of is that the dill flavour was very strong in the dumplings (I love dill so this wasn't an issue, but thought it might be worth mentioning). My husband and I shared these two dishes and found them to be more than enough for the two of us at lunchtime. I wish I lived in Chicago so I could come back more often and try more of the menu!
Autumn Elizabeth Clark
When I die bury me here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork and Dill Dumplings in Broth, Pork and Chive
Erika Werth
The dan dan noodles are state of the art.
Hyunseob Kim
Good food but super loud both in terms of music and people dining shouting and not being conscious of others dining there. Service is
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 3
Meralis Alvarez
It was our first time here, and I really wanted to love this place, and I’m willing to try again but……We expected more….and it just missed the mark. Upon walking in the interior looks as if you will enjoy a calm, cozy, and family friendly atmosphere.It was hard to tell what kind of restaurant experience we were supposed to enjoy. I think a carefully curated playlist that speaks to the identity, brand, and story of the restaurant would make the atmosphere gel a little better with the menu and dinning style.To add a bit of context. You come in and are put down on the wait list, where you can expect to wait for at least an hour. The music is a mix of house, pop, and jazz. Which I generally love but it was so loud it was hard to hear myself in conversation. The dining space is so small you can hear everyone’s conversation, we’re all speaking loudly, because the music is loud, so we speak even louder over each other to hear each other, and it was overwhelming.There are servers on the floor but you walk up to submit your order as if it’s a dinner, and everything else is self serve. A dinner, walk-up-to-the-counter-and-order-experience could’ve been great, but for the price point, and the wait time, I expected… more.It’s a challenge to get around the front of house if you’re a thicker girly or bigger person; family with small children; or would generally need accommodations. The chairs are wobbly which made me feel as if I was one wrong move from falling and tipping over. This isn’t the kind of dinning space that would be able to accommodate large parties. I saw a family with a young child and stroller, as we were signing up for the wait list, struggling to move around the space, by the time they were leaving.For the price point the food was ok. There isn’t anything that particularly stood out to me. It was generally enjoyable, but I left unsatisfied. For reference we ordered the pork and dill dumplings and the beef noodle soup. The noodles were really thick but didn’t hold too much flavor. The beef was good. The dumpling were ok, but at one point all we could taste was dill. The broth with the dumplings was alright.I think a far better place, worth the one hour wait time, and the price point is Hing Kee dumplings in China Town. They never miss, and we’ve been going there for years. It’s food that hits the soul and is good medicine!For how much I spent at Lao Peng I expected more, instead I left with a headache, and still hungry. Hoping it’ll be better next time.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
April Bell
Super good but I feel like the menu is missing something that would make it feel more well rounded. Will keep trying to find out!!!
Sam Elijah Lien
Coming from a Taiwanese-The dumplings and the beef noodle soups were not authentic at all. They were bland and the soup was soaked with vinegar. I highly doubt an actual Asian made the food. Totally not worth the one hour wait and I would not come back to get food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Jake Liu
Was very excited about this place since it was on "the bear". Was told it was 25 minutes wait so we went to another place and grabbed a drink first and wait, right when we sat down they told us we are next. The time estimate was absurd, you cannot trick your customer like that.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Linda Kraiko
We were a party of six, it was a very busy Sunday lunch crowd. Had to wait 40 minutes, but waited across the street at Starbucks. Everyone got a drink. After 40 minutes, they seated us at the restaurant and explained the menu. You place your order at the counter. We ordered the mushroom salad, two soups, and three different dumplings. Excellent food. A bit spicy for our grandkids, but they still said it was good. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork and Dill Dumplings in Broth, Beef, Pork and Chive, Teydet Wood Ear Salad, Chicken Noodle Soup, Beef Noodle Soup 13 Beef & Cilantro, Noodle Soup
Molly Chamberlin
Definitely try their beef noodles! Spicy perfection. We also loved the green onion bing.
Recommended dishes: Pork and Dill Dumplings in Broth, Pork and Chive
Meghan Hanrahan
The best of the best! I’ve had everything on the menu multiple times and not a single thing has ever disappointed. I swear by the Cold Noodles (please bring back the wider noodles for it!) and order them at least once a week. Such a cute, cozy spot to dine in but so great for pick up too. Lunch or dinner, you can’t go wrong.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cucumber Salad, Silken Tofu Appetizer, Pork and Dill Dumplings in Broth, Dan Dan Noodle, Pork and Chive, Cong You Bing, Salads, Xian Bing, Teydet Wood Ear Salad, Onion Bread, Chicken Noodle Soup, Beef Rou Jia MO, Beef Noodle Soup 13 Beef & Cilantro, Green Onion, Sliced Beef, Noodle Soup, Mushroom Noodle Soup, Cucumber Cilantro, Pork and Chive Dumplings, Eggplant Salad
kevin braverman
Cute spot with good food and really great vibes. Music was really nice and all the servers had great energy and Che? gave us perfect recommendations. Definitely going to be coming back.
It's been ~4 days since we ate at Lao Peng you, and I still can't stop thinking about it. We heard about this place through watching The Bear, and it definitely lived up to the hype! We ordered the pork & dill dumplings, and the Dan Dan noodles, and it's honestly hard to pick a favourite. One thing to be mindful of is that the dill flavour was very strong in the dumplings (I love dill so this wasn't an issue, but thought it might be worth mentioning). My husband and I shared these two dishes and found them to be more than enough for the two of us at lunchtime. I wish I lived in Chicago so I could come back more often and try more of the menu!
When I die bury me here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork and Dill Dumplings in Broth, Pork and Chive
The dan dan noodles are state of the art.
Good food but super loud both in terms of music and people dining shouting and not being conscious of others dining there. Service is
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 3
It was our first time here, and I really wanted to love this place, and I’m willing to try again but……We expected more….and it just missed the mark. Upon walking in the interior looks as if you will enjoy a calm, cozy, and family friendly atmosphere.It was hard to tell what kind of restaurant experience we were supposed to enjoy. I think a carefully curated playlist that speaks to the identity, brand, and story of the restaurant would make the atmosphere gel a little better with the menu and dinning style.To add a bit of context. You come in and are put down on the wait list, where you can expect to wait for at least an hour. The music is a mix of house, pop, and jazz. Which I generally love but it was so loud it was hard to hear myself in conversation. The dining space is so small you can hear everyone’s conversation, we’re all speaking loudly, because the music is loud, so we speak even louder over each other to hear each other, and it was overwhelming.There are servers on the floor but you walk up to submit your order as if it’s a dinner, and everything else is self serve. A dinner, walk-up-to-the-counter-and-order-experience could’ve been great, but for the price point, and the wait time, I expected… more.It’s a challenge to get around the front of house if you’re a thicker girly or bigger person; family with small children; or would generally need accommodations. The chairs are wobbly which made me feel as if I was one wrong move from falling and tipping over. This isn’t the kind of dinning space that would be able to accommodate large parties. I saw a family with a young child and stroller, as we were signing up for the wait list, struggling to move around the space, by the time they were leaving.For the price point the food was ok. There isn’t anything that particularly stood out to me. It was generally enjoyable, but I left unsatisfied. For reference we ordered the pork and dill dumplings and the beef noodle soup. The noodles were really thick but didn’t hold too much flavor. The beef was good. The dumpling were ok, but at one point all we could taste was dill. The broth with the dumplings was alright.I think a far better place, worth the one hour wait time, and the price point is Hing Kee dumplings in China Town. They never miss, and we’ve been going there for years. It’s food that hits the soul and is good medicine!For how much I spent at Lao Peng I expected more, instead I left with a headache, and still hungry. Hoping it’ll be better next time.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Super good but I feel like the menu is missing something that would make it feel more well rounded. Will keep trying to find out!!!
Coming from a Taiwanese-The dumplings and the beef noodle soups were not authentic at all. They were bland and the soup was soaked with vinegar. I highly doubt an actual Asian made the food. Totally not worth the one hour wait and I would not come back to get food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Was very excited about this place since it was on "the bear". Was told it was 25 minutes wait so we went to another place and grabbed a drink first and wait, right when we sat down they told us we are next. The time estimate was absurd, you cannot trick your customer like that.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
We were a party of six, it was a very busy Sunday lunch crowd. Had to wait 40 minutes, but waited across the street at Starbucks. Everyone got a drink. After 40 minutes, they seated us at the restaurant and explained the menu. You place your order at the counter. We ordered the mushroom salad, two soups, and three different dumplings. Excellent food. A bit spicy for our grandkids, but they still said it was good. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork and Dill Dumplings in Broth, Beef, Pork and Chive, Teydet Wood Ear Salad, Chicken Noodle Soup, Beef Noodle Soup 13 Beef & Cilantro, Noodle Soup
Definitely try their beef noodles! Spicy perfection. We also loved the green onion bing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Something special and unique.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork and Dill Dumplings in Broth, Pork and Chive
The best of the best! I’ve had everything on the menu multiple times and not a single thing has ever disappointed. I swear by the Cold Noodles (please bring back the wider noodles for it!) and order them at least once a week. Such a cute, cozy spot to dine in but so great for pick up too. Lunch or dinner, you can’t go wrong.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cucumber Salad, Silken Tofu Appetizer, Pork and Dill Dumplings in Broth, Dan Dan Noodle, Pork and Chive, Cong You Bing, Salads, Xian Bing, Teydet Wood Ear Salad, Onion Bread, Chicken Noodle Soup, Beef Rou Jia MO, Beef Noodle Soup 13 Beef & Cilantro, Green Onion, Sliced Beef, Noodle Soup, Mushroom Noodle Soup, Cucumber Cilantro, Pork and Chive Dumplings, Eggplant Salad
Cute spot with good food and really great vibes. Music was really nice and all the servers had great energy and Che? gave us perfect recommendations. Definitely going to be coming back.
Chill vibes and good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef, Noodle Soup
The Beef and onion dumpling soup changed my life.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef