House of Chao Restaurant in New Haven

In my opinion, the Best Pan-Asian food in CT.

Best Chinese in New Haven! I’ve been eating there since I was 16yrs old….I’m 51 now lol.

Excellent Chinese food with quality ingredients.

The food tasted fresh and not greasy. The steamed dumplings were some of the best Ive tried in New Haven.

My GOLD standard for Chinese food for almost 40 years... plus their hot and sour is to die for

The food is absolutely amazing every single time!

My partner & I used to come here to eat because the way they pan fry chicken is THE BEST we have ever had. I am not sure if the old man still works there, but as a chef of 25+yrs myself, I was so impressed that I walked straight back into the kitchen & handed the old man a cash tip & thanked him. We used to order the general tso chicken combination. The rice was good, a little Plain but good, & the egg rolls were also good.... But that CHICKEN, WOW.

Wow absolutely 💯 % delicious scrumptious delectable delightful meals from House of Chao restaurant 😋Exceptionally fresh ingredients thank God they were still open at 9pm Friday night knowing your food will still be made right and fresh even though they will soon be closing exceptional extraordinarily great, thank you tremendously. This is definitely the go to excellent food and great and friendly service (chef)🤗😊

Back when my fiancée was doing her PhD in New Haven we ate here all the time. Now we live in Portland Oregon and I miss this place so much. Over the last three years I’d guess we’ve tried a couple dozen Chinese restaurants in Portland and every one is terrible. I could go on and on about what’s wrong with them, but I don’t want those negative words on a review of this fine establishment. All I’ll say is, enjoy this place while you can, residents of New Haven, because if you leave you might not be able to find something as good again.

Excellent as always. Home style Chinese at its best. Portions are excellent. Very consistent high quality. High quality ingredients.

Best Chinese food in New Haven!! Very clean restaurant and great quality of food. I have been a happy customer for years!!

Our go-to take out option, not just for Chinese food, but in general. We love the Three Delight with shrimp, scallops, chicken, and a bunch of veggies… but everything else we have tried has been great, too. Not very convenient parking for quick pick-up, but that’s no fault of theirs. We’re big fans!

Food quality is very good. Fresh chopped veggies and good quality meats. Good portions. Soups very good flavor broths and lots of stuff in the broth. Overall the best take out in ct I have ordered maybe twenty times here.

Picked up take out today from here for the first time...the food was delicious! Will definitely be back.

Love it! Old schoolHas been around for 40 years. Nelson and Thai are the owners. Everything is fresh.Homemade dumplings!Try the General Tso chicken (its not sweet),Kung pow chicken, or whatever you like.

We always love House of Chao. The service is good and the food is amazing! We always try to make a trip here when we can. The jasmine tea is spectacular and keeps me coming back for more..yum!

I love this place. They are friendly, popular and the food is amazing. My family and I have been coming for over 20 years

Great food! Owners have been on site every day for decades cooking and making great food!Try Kung Pow chicken, Chicken Chow Mei Fen, and General Tso chicken (Tso is not sweet like other places make). Good homemade dumplings and soups.BYOB (they give plastic cups).

Best quality takeout Chinese food in the area. Portions and pricing is fair, but its the taste due to better quality ingredients that stands out. Small location, plenty of room for dine in. These guys have been in the same location forever, Westville Village, and they remain in business because they do what they do well.

Ok so I hate breading on chicken dishes. U guys do so well with not having a bunch of breading how ever maybe cook in Sauer or add Sauer I dont know but texture was good but it was so dry . I do like that it isnt an inch of breading but it was do dry n the veggies were not cooked. Service was great. Deffinetly the best so far in West Ville just pay attention to the veggies n the chicken being dry.

Probably the best chinese food around. Reasonably priced and super fresh. Try the sesame chicken :-)

Native New Havener and never visited the House of Chao before, now I know why this place gets such rave reviews. Had dinner with a friend and tried the House of Chao chicken and it was delicious! Service was good and the price was great; will definitely be back again.

Food was completely americanized Chinese food, and wasnt even good for that matter. If you are looking for authentic Chinese food, this is definitely NOT your spot. The menu doesnt have Chinese on it, and you even need to ask for chopsticks.. The service is also poor. My wife and I waited for an hour for our two dishes to come out. When we inquired 40 minutes into the wait, the server simply told us "the chef had to cook the dishes in the order it was placed".. like other restaurants dont do that.. Thats simply not a good excuse and not the right attitude to have when you make customers wait 40 minutes for a dish. Were giving two stars instead of one only because the poor server seems overwhelmed with the amount of customers and deserves the benefit of the doubt.

I went because of the reviews, I will go back because EVERYTHING was DELICIOUS! I was told that sometimes the wait can be long, but I tell you its definitely worth the wait. Everything was fresh and made with quality ingredients. Cant wait to go back.

I lived in San Francisco for 16 years where asian food is abundant and really good, as the population of the city is a majority of asian ethnicity. But House Of Chao, to date, has some of the best Chinese food I have ever had, period. And specifically, with out question, the BEST dumplings ever. You will not be disappointed by anything you order!

Service was slow, but they were very busy when we got there in their defense. Everyone was extremely polite and professional. The food was excellent, with generous portions. The shredded pork soup was one of the best soups Ive ever had.

Great neighborhood hidden gem. Lots of great American Chinese options. Perfect for families looking to explore a new option. Highly reccomend the cumin lamb.

Last night want first time eating there. I heard about it from my Cousin and Aunt. They both suggested that I try the fried dumplings. Boy was I not disappointed. The taste was outstanding a perfect blend of pork ginger and scallion slight hint of garlic wrapped up in a light as a cloud hand made dumpling wrapper. They are made fresh daily. The other offerings we partook in where the lamb and scallions dish and the Kung Pao chicken. Both fantastic dishes. We also enjoyed the cabbage soup. The aroma and flavors in that soup where subtle and warming. They also serve a delicious jasmine tea upon your arrival. While the decor doesn’t scream fine dinning the food speaks for it self and say’s otherwise. I will happily be returning again and also I will be sure to pay it forward and tell my family and friends how delicious everything was.

Very good food. Ive been going here for 15 years. The General Tsos Chicken is unlike any other. Very crispy with good sauce and veggies. The veggie lo mein is also very good. 👌

Best restaurant around for delicious Chinese food!!! It surpasses all the others. Win is wonderful and always pleasant and friendly.

Been coming here for 30+ years. While the wait is , at times, maddening and the service atrocious by normal standards. Their style of Chinese food and the consistancy of cooking style has kept me coming back for decades.

Love this place. Tried this place when we first moved to the area from out of state and still come back though we’ve relocated to Hamden. I recommend the Young Chow rice, the sesame chicken, and the chow fun chicken (rice noodles with some vegetables and chicken).

Amazing place! Small and relaxed casual. The food is fantastic. Cooked fresh, served hit. Large portions, reasonable prices. Best Chinese food you will ever eat.

Egg drops pup was good. The cold sesame noodles tasted strangly. Like they had vinegar. Fried and steamed dumplings were subpar. We ce in and we were told that the food will take at least 35 min. Too many take out orders. That was the first for me. Overall, blah..

My favorite restaurant. Great food thats very reasonably priced. Only downside is they dont open until 4 so I cant get lunch there.

Some people the best Chinese food Ive had in New Haven. Get the orange chicken and the egg drop soup and thank this review later

I’ve been eating for years and I can honestly say it’s the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. It’s not just deep fried covered in sauce- it’s real meat with fantastic flavors, vegetables, etc and cooked to perfection.I can (highlyrecommend the General Tso’s chicken, the House of Chao chicken, Mandarin Fish and anything with the garlic sauce.The downsides of this place have little to do with the food but more with the wait (call ahead - sometimes it’s an hour!and they’re open very sporadically.

Amazing food.... But never sit down and eat there when they’re busy... they can’t handle the rush... they actually prepare the call out orders before serving seated customers.....! If the food wasn’t so good I’d Ex the joint... but the food is Amazing!!!

Its not authentic but its damn good for what it is. Lunch specials are a great deal. No decor. One waiter. But its perfect just the way it is.

So let me start with the good... the food is awesome however the server that works there often SUCKS... hes a young kid that seem to really dont care... ask for water... he forgets since he fraternizing with co workers... the wonton with duck sauce we have to ask for when its suppose to be given upon being seated... smh I feel hes bringing the business down

Excellent chinese food and service. The complimentary pot of hot tea was fragrant and delicious. It was no pleasant but pedestrian oolong as you find at many chinese and mixed-asian-menu restaurants when you order hot tea. This tea moved me. It was the perfect drinking temperature, and after a big sip, I recalled the odor of May flowers in my mothers New England garden as I let the flavors permeate my senses. If I hadnt been trying to cut back and caffeine and couldnt deduce or inquire the caffeine content, Id have downed the whole pot before my meal was through.I wanted to get acquainted with the staples of American Chinese restaurants and how well they matched up, as Ive eaten a lot of chinese food in my brief life.I ordered hot and sour soup, a plate of fried pork dumplings (gyoza), and an entree of General Tsos Chicken.The hot and sour soup was PERFECT. A delicious blend of flavors, lots of novel textures among the vegetables, soothing and spicy without being overbearing, and the broth was just thick enough. At $1.95 for a bowl that size, the price could not be beat, besides it being the best hot and sour soup Ive ever found.The gyoza were another slam dunk. Perfectly fried dumpling, with a pleasant flakiness that I seldom find; it was approaching the quality of a more glutinous pie dough in its nicely chewy and flaky texture. The contents were well seasoned and cooked well, with the garlicky dipping sauce offering a perfect zest to the mildness of the dough and meat.Finally, when the chicken was served, I balked. Many chinese restaurants throughout Connecticut get away with putting out rather sad tasting, gristly popcorn chicken, swimming in a too sweet, boring sauce that masquerades as its namesake, and they offer you one or two sad flourettes of broccoli that are soggy with the sugar sauce by the time you get to bite into them. This dish had nothing in common with that sad fair. House of Chao prepares and serves by far the greatest General Tsos chicken I have ever eaten. The chicken was in large pieces, with an obviously fresh batter fried light and crunchy, cooked to perfection, with a "just enough" glaze of a zesty and garlicky, semi-sweet sauce on them. The presence of well sauteed broccoli, red bell peppers, and water chestnuts in such quantities was exceptional. With the freshness of the green broccoli, the fruity bite of the peppers, and the refreshing crunch of water chestnuts, to counterpoint the large chunks of fried chicken, all in a more savory and complex sauce than a sweet sauce, it was out of this world. Rice was cooked perfectly as one would assume, for white sticky rice in the context of so much find cooking. I cannot wait to dine here again.

Basic neighborhood atmosphere with friendly staff. Nice dumplings and Moo Shu beef - the chef makes the moo shu "pancakes"/wrappers himself; the freshness and texture really add to it.

Food is amazing. As more than one reviewer pointed out, best Chinese in New Haven. The negative reviews here are about the service, which has been absolutely fine the few times Ive sat down here to eat. Some people expect the world to wait on them, I suppose.

11- 11- 2016 ~ went to the house of chao on friday evening @ 6 pm.. there were @ eight guests sitting in booths. the waiter addressed us and told us it would be at least an hour and a half to get a meal. we sure were confused, there were maybe 4 tables occupied. the owner was present.the food is usually pretty good. the service is usually poor. they sure need a better system . the wait staff and kitchen both need to be improved.-not a good way to run a business. ids

This neighborhood Chinese restaurant is authentic and very delicious. Last night, I ordered steamed pork dumplings, shrimp lo mein, moo shu chicken, and hunan beef. First, the steamed pork dumplings were tasty! They have the perfect thickness and the dipping sauce is spot on. The shrimp lo mein was great but to be honest, it was just lo mein..nothing super special like the dumplings that I crave almost every day. I do love that their lo mein noodles are thicker than most other noodles. The moo shu chicken comes with "pancakes" on the side. They are like thin crepes..super tasty and whatever the brown sauce is is delicious. The hunan beef was great as well...although I wish the broccoli was a little softer...I personally hate crunchy broccoli. Other than that, there were no more complaints. P.S. Order takeout...their service is slow and their is basically no decor. Ive only sat in to eat once and that was the last time. Order takeout and enjoy amazing Chinese food!!

Very bad chicken. Very bad wonton soup. The fried rice was just fried white rice with no vegetables or egg or pork. The egg roll was just fried lettuce. Very disappointed because they have a good location and a nice clean restaurant.

Dont waste your time. They werent busy. We got seated immediately. Got tea and menus quickly... 30+ min later and they wouldnt come take our order.

House of Chao has been one of my two favorite restaurants for almost 25 years! I loved it for fifteen years before trying the General Tsos Shrimp;the dish was so good it was another five years before I ordered anything else. And the steamed vegetable dumplings are untouchable!

Excellent food & serviceWonton and egg rolls are amazing. Ryan the hottess always pleasent. I highly reommend this for your next outing fpr food.

The food here is pretty great, but the service ruins it. The waiters here seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what it is to be a server. They are pretty good a conveying the idea that YOU are no more than an inconvenience to them. Heres a tip, guys... If you have a family with young children come in and they want to have you put the entree order in for the kids first so the kids wont spin out of control, its not their problem that "the kitchen is really busy tonight." Thats your problem. You are the diners representative in the kitchen. You job is to make sure that you do everything you can to help your diners have a good experience. Thats what you are getting paid for... get it? Not for being as fabulous and above everyone else as you obviously believe you are, but for serving your customers. The food here is great (4 stars). The service blows (-1 star). Get takeout.