NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Chinese Tuxedo
Being a location scout seems like a fun job. As far as I can tell, your life entails knowing about assorted cool random old-timey theaters and scary-looking alleyways, but also sometimes convincing penthouse-dwelling people they should take money to let an actor shoot a movie in their penthouse.
Why are we telling you this? Well, first of all to tell you that Chinese Tuxedo would be a great place to film a certain kind of movie. It's also a nice way of getting to our main point, which is: we like things about this restaurant (the space in particular), but it's not a home run.
Located in an old opera house on Doyers Street in Chinatown, Chinese Tuxedo is a big space with unfinished concrete walls, a lot of plants, and a generally club-ish feeling room. It looks like the kind of place you'd see in some HBO version of 21st century New York, but which you don't actually end up at all too often unless you're a model or magazine editor. The whole windy alleyway of Doyers Street, actually, feels like it was made for a movie set version of New York: right next to Chinese Tuxedo is Apotheke, a "speakeasy" with an old European pharmacy theme that people line up for on weekend nights, and next to that is Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a dim sum place dating back to 1920 that people line up for on weekends during the daytime. Chinese Tuxedo could feel a little like it was trying too hard, but actually, the service is friendly and welcoming, and it's a good, unpretentious time here.
The food, which is a modern take on Chinese, is what we haven't been totally amped about on our visits. Almost everything is tasty, but lacks that f*ck yes factor that makes us truly excited about our favorite restaurants. Things also get pricey, and not just in comparison to the excellent but cheap food you can get throughout Chinatown - a few orders of $20+ noodle dishes and $30+ entrees mean it's easy to have one of those nights where you're not sure how you ended up with an $85 per person check.
Chinese Tuxedo might be a fun suggestion for a group that's looking for a party-time dinner, without the terrible-ness of the places you might end up at in Meatpacking or the Lower East Side for such an affair (though it's worth noting they don't have a license for hard liquor yet). We just wouldn't tell you coming out of your way here was a total must. Unless you're a location scout.