Little Sichuan Restaurant in San Mateo

Horrible service, I asked the server if a lunch special dish is available, she acknowledged and sat me down. Without clarifying whatsoever, she ordered the non-lunch version (costlierwhen I had no idea there’s a distinction. While it’s a small price difference, when I pointed out at checkout that as a solo diner in a hurry it’s obvious I wanted the lunch special, and as a first time customer I expected them to correct that, she complained “how do I know you’re a first time customer”. Mind you that this location just opened weeks ago. Food was ok, but what pulled the last string was when I told them I’m fine not taking out the remaining portions because they claimed the “lunch special” has smaller portions, they said it’s fine and packed me the leftovers. But the portions was significantly smaller than what I’d left on the plate, who knows what they’d done with the difference, concerns me with food safety if they’d served it to someone else.

Stop by for quick dinner. 1st time here, they just open in this location not long ago. Definitely a spot for spicy Chinese foods. Make sure you have the phone with you you need it to place orders.

Little Sichuan from San Mateo has relocated to its new location in Millbrae by Ben Tre. The item is diverse with several Chinese staples but the stars of the show are their spicy and numbing Sichuan fare like dumplings in chilly oil, mapo tofu and boiling fish in chilli oil. The portion sizes are meant for family style serving and we ended up with a lot of leftovers. Service is quick, friendly and attentive.

Sichuan flavor，Its the best Chinese food Ive ever had.

This location is no longer open. Unfortunately, it closed due to the pandemic.

Extremely aweful! They used really cheap pickles instead of fresh vegetables to cook. Nothing like what was shown on their picture. Noodles were too sweet.

Very good food, friendly service. Love their green onion pancake, beef noodle soup, tea smoked duck, and spicy stir fried cabbage.

A great authentic spicy experience. Lots of tasty spicy and mala dishes. Highly recommend their Sichuan cold noodles and the "water boiled beef".

Excellent authentic shiquan food! Hope U like spicy! Excellent service by sweet waitress.

My wife is from Shenzhen and this is her favorite authentic Chinese food place. Take note of covid hours now... 1130am to 3pm, 5pm to 830pm. 7 days a week. Enjoy

Food quality was a bit disappointing. I guessing the original chef is no longer there woking. They cutting corners on ingreadients.

I am not happy camper at all, wanted to try new Chinese restaurant tonight and this was on Grubhub; so I ordered in the mid afternoon pre-order in time to have delivered by 6:30pm.Then I got text from Grubhub that my order was coming at 7:10-to 7:30pm, got busy with the husband and still the order was not here at 10 minutes to 8:10pm, the driver texted me and told me that my order was cancelled to contact the restaurant. So I did and then at 8:00pm the order was still at the restaurant, for there was no driver, so I told them that was not true the driver told me that you the restaurant cancelled my order, I said to the restaurant why cant someone at your restaurant deliver it to me and they said since came from Grubhub. I said this is pretty lousy if there was no one to deliver my order to me, I should have been called earlier, to make other delivery arrangements, so I said to cancel my order then or else! And then Had to go Carls Jr for my dinner, and had my dinner through the drive thru less than 10 minutes. Shame on you Sichuan Restaurant!

Ordered through Doordash tonight and was very pleased with my first try of this restaurant. I first tried the pork dumplings, and was pleased to see that the dipping sauce was half full of chopped herbs and spices, and was really fresh and flavorful when I ate it.The dumplings themselves were tender and delicious as well. I also tried the sesame chicken - it was quite good as well, versus other restaurants that taste like they just fry up the remnant chicken pieces they want to get rid of.Ill note that unlike a previous review, I received two sets of utensils (spoon and fork wrapped in a napkinwith my order. Do be aware that you need to order rice separately, but Ive noticed thats fairly common for Chinese restaurants in this area.

ok, ordered through doordash. great food. NO napkins, chop sticks or utensils, none. Usually, well always when I order Chinese while on the road they usually include a small white rice, nothing.

The taste of the dishes in this restaurant is close to ones in actual Sichuan. I recommend the water boiled beef, Hunan smoked pork, cold noodle and the cumin lamb. The beef is tender and spicy, the smoked pork is my personal favorite because of the vegetables, the cold noodle is exceptional (just remember to take out the sauce if you prefer it plain, they will automatically add it), and the cumin lamb delivers a powerful yet delicious numbing sensation.

If you’re looking for a good Sichuan style restaurant. Give this a try. We took the family here.Food:We ordered-Hot N Sour soup. It was more sour than I am used to but still good.-Hot Oil Dumplings: This was good but a little more soupy than most places I’ve had.-Shrimp and Chives dumpling - This was delicious. Big pieces of dumpling too!-Spicy diced chicken: It was good, like popcorn chicken.-Ma po tofu with Pork: This good but too spicy for most our family.-Sizzling Seafood Combo: Delicious.- Hot N Spicy whole fish: Meat was good, sauce was ok. Came with tons of veggies.-Beijing family style eggplant: Good and not spicy.-Beef with Snowpeas: good and not spicy.-Sizzling lamb with fried rice: good and tender.Price:Reasonable pricing.Good amount of food for the price.Ambience:looks likeTraditional Chinese restaurant decor. A little older and looks like it belongs in China town.Overall, it is a good place to try if you are looking Sichuan dishes.

The service is pretty good and food is authentic. But some dish does not taste very good.

Delicious Sichuan food with nice service. Had cold noodles and dumplings. Quantity was massive, which is great - but something I should’ve considered before ordering.Went on a Saturday for lunch - didn’t have to wait.

Mapo tofu had really good flavor, and I would recommend it over many Sichuan places in the area. The chongqing chicken was okay but not my favorite. Didnt have a chance to try much, but other dishes on other tables looked pretty good too. Rice costs money but theyre not skimpy with it. There is free soy milk that you can help yourself too.

No waiting line. But I think the food was great and authentic

this place should get ZERO stars. Tasteless boiled food. Kung Pao chicken that the chicken was clearly boiled and tossed and not wok fried. Fried rice that tasted of rancid grease. Service that didnt exist. if you asked for a plastic fork for a toddler they looked at you and paused and didnt say a word. If you where part of there community u were served promptly and with enthusiasm. If you werent then your service was POOR. AVOID!!!

Authentic Sichuan food that can be adapted for anyone of any spice level. One of their specialities is their cold noodle dish（凉面), which I highly recommend. The food is always prepared really quickly and the service is incredible!

Great food, wonderful service. Quaint, relaxing experience. Nice visit for my that gave me a smile when I remember that trip. I will be returning when I am traveling there again.

Great authentic Sichuan food. Must haves are the cold noodles and the pickled green beans. Water boiled beef is very skippable here.

Growing up in Chengdu, Id say this is the best Szechuan restaurant I could find in the area. The numb spice they use cant be more authentic. Better

Food was good, but the service was amazing! Went in for lunch, it was fairly crowded, but the server made us feel like we were the only ones in the building. Will definitely be back.

Service was horrible and upon only eating a bite or two of my chicken fried rice found part of a metal sponge that was mixed in with my rice. The one they use to clean the the utensils and plates. Absolutely a horrible experience and all they could say was “SORRY”. Also to add I was with my one year old and wife who were eating the same rice. I will never step foot in this place again and if I could I’d give a half a star. EAT HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Decent food, but not as good as Sichuan Chong Qing cuisine 2 blocks away. Better for larger groups, though.

Small vegetarian menu. The spicy shredded potatoes had an excellent presentation but they were raw. The deluxe vegetables looked and tasted okay. The dinning area looked nice and the service was very good.

There were cockroaches running all around the walls! Then we saw one on a chair and another one on our table! My wife shrieked. We pointed them out to the water and he just killed one with a napkin and shooed the others away. We just flat out left the place. That was our 1st and last time there.

Dont even bother to go to this place.Horrible customer service. The person at the front desk did not have the courtesy to give directions when called since google maps did not indicate the right location.They asked me to pay while eating even though there was 25 mins to close.The server was coughing and spot in a trash can which could be seen from the tabke I was sitting. It was disgusting and unappetizing!Lastly, the food was terrible. I hope I dont fall sick.

Nice staff, food is delicious. I had the combination Chow Fun and Egg Rolls. Was some of the. Best chow fun I have had.

service is okay, and the building/furnishings are quite old (which isn’t necessarily bad, but it does affect the ambience). however, the food is very good and pretty authentic Chinese, so if that’s what you’re looking for, I highly recommend :)

Very authentic restaurant. Good food with very reasonable price. Short on parking space. For the best result go as a group so that you can have verity of foods shared.

Great place to find authentic spicy Sichuan style cuisine. They also serve your standard Chinese Restaurant food if you dont like the spice. The cold noodles and the Sichuan Spicy Beef are my favorites here. Staff ia friendly.

Best Chinese I have ever had, anywhere. Used to come here years ago, so made a special trip down to San Mateo when I was in town, and it is just as amazing as I remember.

Taste of the food is good. Waiters who can help vegetarians would have been better. We were served shrimp momo which they called it as vegetarian.Service was decent. Tea was excellent.

Havent been here for at least 10 years. The very very spicy dishes were still very good. Loved every single plate I ordered. Highly recommend for anyone whos craving for great spicy food. The service staffs actually improved a lot, but not every one of them though.

Awesomeness all around. You cant beat it in terms of the portion sizes. Old vintage decor brings you back to the 70s. Will see many immigrant families from China dine here, which is a seal of approval that the place is excellent. Pumped to go back.

My family usually prefers our native Cantonese cuisine when we go out to eat, but sometimes its nice to switch it up a bit every once in a while. Weve been coming here since I was a little kid, and its still our go to place for Sichuan food. It used to be one of the very few Sichuan restaurants around San Francisco. Nowadays, it seems like a new Sichuan place pops up every few months. Im an ABC whos never been to that region, so I cant tell how authentic it is, but I think they make some pretty delicious food here.We always start with an order of Spicy Beef Tendons and Garlic Pork Belly. The tendons are thinly sliced and have a firm chewy texture. Its lathered in an oily chili dressing with ground Sichuan peppercorns to give it a citrusy highlight and numbing sensation. I like that they dont make it extremely spicy so you can get the tingly numbing experience without mistaking it for hot spices burning off your taste buds.The pork belly is similar. Its thinly sliced and has a smooth tender texture. The sauce has a more soy sauce savoriness and garlicky flavor to match the rich meat. Z&Y in Chinatown makes a good version of this also. Theirs is more sweet, but its equally delicious.Our meals always include the Tea Smoked Duck. When its good, its heavenly. The luscious pink meat shows that its thoroughly infused with smoke. The flavor is different from hickory or mesquite. Whatever they use for smoke is more fragrant, sweeter, and slightly floral. A lot of other places dont make it smoky enough, but Little Sichuans is consistently flavorful. Sometimes, it comes out on the dry side so we usually order half first. If its good, then well think about ordering another half.We also always order the Sichuan Family Style Noodles. The noodles get too soft, but the broth is really delicious with many layers of flavor. The soup base is enhanced with hot chiles, ginger, and garlic, while the finish is highlighted by the lemony and citrusy notes of the Sichuan peppercorns. The signature numbing sensation lingers around as you slurp some noodles and sip some broth. Its kinda like soupy Dan Dan Noodles.I havent tried many of the newer Sichuan/Szechuan restaurants yet, but so far, this place and Z&Y are my favorite.

I got a veggie rice that had a sauce consistency of dumpling sauce. My spouse had the beef rice which was decent but also a strange texture. They served green tea as a drink, but never offered anything else. The server was nice, but didnt speak any English. It was a lot a food, but just okay taste.

Awesome Chinese food at a fair price. The interior is a bit dated, but the spicy food is worth it. One of the rare business in San Mateo downtown with a parking lot.

Super friendly service. Great food! "Small" won ton soup enough for 2 people. Our group had 5 entrees which were all excellent.

I would have given it 4 star if its name didnt have sichuan in it. The food is decent, but is not authentic sichuan. You can have a good meal here if you dont care much about real sichuan food. Hardcore sichuan food lovers will be dissapointed.

The restaurant lost its head cook. The food quality has nose-dived. The menu is radically different. Chinese people have stopped coming here. Saturday night and the place was pretty empty.

We go back time and again.Pay attention to the strengths of the menu: Szechuan. The staff takes us seriously because we order from the Szechuan part of the menu, such as twice cooked pork and smoked pork with Chinese broccoli. These are acquired tastes, yes, fatty, smoky, real regional peasant food. I also love the complimentary spicy pickled daikon and five-spice peanuts that meet you on arrival.We have never had any misses on the regular menu, either. General Chos Chicken is a crowd pleaser - sweet, sticky sauce. Cashew Chicken is delightful. Really good potstickers. Exploring, we found a treasure - Mu Shu Vegetables.I dont ask a lot of service, expecially in Chinese restaurants. The staff is always rushing to and fro. I take it on myself to wave them down for water, forks (!?), to-go boxes, and the check and they respond very well.I have hosted group dinners here with success. I ordered the menu in advance and found dishes to everyones taste. We ate well with smooth service.

Gotta get the cold noodles. Everyone says that this food is numbingly spicy, but I didnt even break a sweat during dinner at all (there might be something wrong with me). Loved the twice fried tofu, although there seemed to be a lot of filler vegetables. Everything is deliciously red and spicy.

It is good spicy Chinese food. Get the cold spicy noodles. This is numbing spicy, not the Mexican hot spicy. You can also get non-spicy dumplings & onion pan cakes.

Excellent food, lacking service. Ive been here for lunch twice, and the food is excellent. The cold noodles are simple and sublime, and the lamb is addictive. The service is deeply lacking at ordering and ticket time, but the food arrives quickly and is definitely worth putting up with the service.

This place used be be good but something has happened to it. Saturday evening at 7 pm and 2/3 restaurant was empty. That was the first clue that something is not the same.The food was just bad. It was way too salty. Ordered the cold noodles, Kung pao chicken, hot and sour soup, dry spicy beef, sautéed green beans, and pot stickers.Cold noodles, had some ingredient, which made the tounge feel numb.The beef had chunks of their salty seasoning fried along with the beef and every time one of those exploded in the mouth, I had to spit it out. The beef was fried beyond recognition. It was dry like leather.The chicken was too salty. Beans were good. Pot stickers were okay. Soup was the only thing I had to add salt to. It was neither hot or sour.For the four of us the bill was $70, including tax and tip. There was a lot of left overs but we left everything.