CHIReview

Lao Sze Chuan review image
7.7

Lao Sze Chuan

$$$$

2172 S Archer Ave, Chicago
View WebsiteEarn 3X Points

Located on the edge of Chinatown through one of the side gates off Archer, the original Lao Sze Chuan - a member of Tony Hu’s Chinese food empire - is a casual Chinese restaurant, with great Szechuan-style dishes.

This place serves comforting Chinese food, and the menu offers everything from dry chili chicken, to hot pot to Szechuan green beans. We generally like to stick with some of our favorites, while always ordering something new from the long menu.

While Lao Sze Chuan is reliable for its food, the atmosphere isn’t always so easy to pin down. We’ve been on a number of Friday and Saturday nights when it’s crowded, likely due to the fact it’s BYOB, but we’ve also been at similar times when it’s dead. We honestly can’t figure it out, but what we do know is you can make the mood whatever you want. Show up in sweat pants and a hoodie, or come with a group of people ready to drink and hit the bar. Nobody will judge you, and at Lao Sze Chuan you shouldn’t care either way.

Sign up for our newsletter.

Be the first to get expert restaurant recommendations for every situation right in your inbox.


By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Food Rundown

Spicy Cabbage

A nice spicy side to have around for snacking.

Szechuan String Beans

You need something green, so vegetables mixed in a black bean sauce are a good way to go.

Chef’s Special Dry Chicken Chili

This dish is like 60% Szechuan peppers and 40% chicken, and a fantastic option if you’re a fan of the mouth-numbing spice.

Tony’s Chicken With Three Chili

There’s a reason this is a standard menu special and also our favorite. The lightly fried chicken comes in a well-balanced sweet and spicy sauce, highlighted by peppercorns and chili peppers. Order it.

Shrimp Lobster Sauce

A thick lobster based sauce with shrimp that’s meant to be eaten over rice. We dig the seafood flavors.

Hot Pots

We are fans of Lao Sze Chuan’s hot pots, particularly for lunch. Mix and match the available meat, seafood, veggies, and noodles that you like best in a spicy or non-spicy base.

Featured in

The Best Restaurants In Chinatown guide image

The Best Restaurants In Chinatown

The Chicago Neighborhood Delivery & Takeout Directory guide image

The Chicago Neighborhood Delivery & Takeout Directory

The Chicago (Quarantine) Dinner & A Movie Guide guide image

The Chicago (Quarantine) Dinner & A Movie Guide

5 Chicago Restaurants With Lunar New Year Specials guide image

5 Chicago Restaurants With Lunar New Year Specials

Suggested Reading

Emilio’s Tapas review image
Review
Emilio’s Tapas

This is a case of tapas done right. Head to Emilio’s for some authentic Spanish eats, and maybe a bunch of drinks.

Imperial Lamian review image
Review

A trendy, high-end Chinese restaurant in River North that serves good soup dumplings and lamian noodles, but falls short everywhere else.

Tank Noodle review image
Review

Tank Noodle is a casual Vietnamese restaurant that serves great pho, among other traditional dishes.

MingHin Cuisine review image
7.6
Review

Minghin is a Chinese restaurant with a long dim sum menu.

Infatuation Logo
2023 © The Infatuation Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FIND PLACES ON OUR APP

Get it on Google PlayDownload on the App Store