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Hutong
Photograph: Jason J Bonello

The 29 best Chinese restaurants in NYC

The best Chinese spots in NYC include classic dim sum destinations and speakeasy-style venues.

Written by
Amber Sutherland-Namako
,
Christina Izzo
&
Dan Q Dao
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New York City has a long lineage of excellent Chinese restaurants showcasing the culinary traditions of nearly every province in China, as well as the fusion fare created by immigrants in the United States. Whether you're looking to visit one of NYC's several Chinatowns, grab a classic dim sum brunch at an area icon, or check out sensational newcomers, these are the best Chinese restaurants in NYC.

RECOMMENDED: See all of the best restaurants in NYC

Find a Chinese restaurant in NYC

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Chinatown

New York's first dim sum house opened in 1920 and developed a devoted following for its almond cookies and moon cakes. In 2010, the stalwart went through a remodel. The most important tweaks, though, were behind the scenes. Now, the charming old-school institution prepares each plate to order, unlike some of the busy banquet halls that dominate Chinatown's dim sum scene.

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Midtown East

A spectacular, glittering dining room with Art Deco style for days and peripheral design elements like a long glass hallway with rows of wine bottles illuminated like heist-worthy works of art make Hutong an impressive address. Thankfully, the menu lives up to the aesthetic. Rosé Champagne shrimp dumplings sparkle, too, the mapo tofu has a welcome heat and roasted Peking duck skin crackles like it should. Hutong also serves special flaming Peking duck that’s only available to pre-order, and only on a limited basis. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • East Village
  • price 1 of 4

Chinese hot pot, customarily stewed with thinly sliced meats, vegetables and stock, gets a brothless showcase at this East Village restaurant from owner Ning Amelie Kang and chef Qilong Zhao. Named literally for “numbing" and "spicy" qualities, the restaurant’s starring dish is a variation on Chongqing-hailing dry pot, a stir-fry-like spread built with a choice of myriad add-ins. Meat options include beef tenderloin, pig ear, fish fillets, squid balls and frog. Beyond the pot, diners can pull up to a 15-seat communal table or a marble-topped counter for snacks like steamed egg custard.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Chinatown
  • price 1 of 4

This Hong Kong–style institution is a favorite for its consistently good eats. Choose from dozens of noodle variations—available pan-fried or in broth with add-ons like seafood, beef, pork and duck. And don’t overlook the rest of the menu: One signature stir-fry features Chinese flowering chives sautéed with your choice of duck, scallops, fish or squid.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Chinatown
  • price 2 of 4

This 1963-vintage Chinatown eatery reopened in 2011 with the original owner's grandson at the helm. Most of the menu's Shanghai classics remain the same—like soup dumplings, crispy whole fish and cold sesame noodles. There is also an extensive array of dim sum and lunch specials.

Lan Sheng
Photograph: Lindsay Taylor

8. Lan Sheng

A newer addition to midtown's roster of superior Szechuan eats holds its own next to stalwarts Szechuan Gourmet and Wu Liang Ye. Lan Sheng delivers on spice and complex seasoning in dishes known to include toothsome dan dan noodles topped with wilted spinach and a savory crumbling of pork and Szechuan peppercorns. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Sunset Park

This 450-seat Sunset Park palace is one of our favorite spots in the city for dim sum. Everything is made to order in the open kitchen, including previous hits like pork and shrimp shumai, crab soup dumplings, crispy suckling pig and soy-sauced duck tongues.

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Chinatown
  • Recommended

Chinatown local Louis Wong's Uncle Lou is large, lively, and feels very familial. Gather around a large table or cozy up to the bar for dishes like the lamb or oxtail stew, half chenpi duck and Buddha’s delight, all abundandly plated. 

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  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Carroll Gardens
  • Recommended

New to Brooklyn's Smith Street since 2022, Shan can truly bring the spice to items like Chongqing chicken, though you can also order that particular item a lot milder. The mapo tofu and cumin lamb are among our other faves in the comfortable, inviting spot. 

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Chinatown
  • price 1 of 4

This Chinese chainlet highlights the mouth-tingling cuisine of Xi'an, an ancient capital along China's Silk Road. This location offers the same short menu of spicy noodles and cumin-spiced burgers in roomier digs. Unlike its sparely appointed siblings, a mix of antique touches and modern effects decorate the 40-seat restaurant.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Sunset Park
  • price 1 of 4

This mom-and-pop takeout spot was first started by a couple hailing from Kunming, the capital city of the southeast Yunnan province. The local cuisine borrows from the citrus and herb focus of nearby Southeast Asia. Best-sellers have included hot-and-sour soup with pork dumplings and skinny house-made rice noodles served cold with ground pork, roasted peanuts, and a bracing, sweet mix of chili oil, vinegar and soy sauce. More noodles might appear in a light bone broth, topped with goodies like crispy pig skin or braised chicken.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • East Village

Known for his fiery Szechuan food, Taiwan native Han Chiang has earned a cult following in the City of Brotherly Love and since expanded to NYC. Han Dynasty's cheery yellow walls and oil paintings surround spiced chicken wings and delicate pork wontons. The much-discussed dan dan noodles are springier than most and with a deft balance between hot chili oil and cool sesame paste.

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Lower East Side
  • price 1 of 4

The best dishes at this noodle-based operation pack the heat and deep, complex flavors of Henan. In a spicy beef brisket dish, a tangy sauce bathes a pile of noodles all topped with chopped cilantro. In the aptly titled big tray chicken, a bright-orange, chili-spiked pool of broth is rich with star anise and cumin. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • East Village
  • price 2 of 4

This is Szechuan Mountain House's first expansion outside of Queens, and its ambiance is above-and-beyond. On previous visits, the chili, garlic, fermented vegetables and pork on the string beans were a hat trick of flavor—freshness, spice and umami. The jellyfish salad had a dazzling, refreshing crunch. And overall, if Manhattan won’t go to the Mountain, we’re lucky the Mountain has come to Manhattan.

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Chinatown
  • price 1 of 4

Your waiter parades the roasted duck past your party before placing it on the center show table. A chef brandishes his knives, then slices the aromatic, crisp-skinned, succulent meat with flair. Folks at other tables drool with envy. (Don’t they know that this establishment doesn’t require you to order the specialty in advance? Pity.) Select the “three-way,” and your duck will yield the main course (complete with pancakes and plum sauce for rolling up the goods), a vegetable stir-fry with leftover bits of meat and a cabbage soup made with the remaining bone.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Chinatown
  • price 1 of 4
First opened in 1938, this basement spot serves what they call "old-fashioned chop suey style food." Wo Hop has an adjacent operation upstairs and an even more recent outdoor seating area, making it easier to nab a spot at the super-popular NYC classic. 
  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Flushing
  • price 1 of 4

Spartan furnishings focus all attention on Little Pepper’s stunning, spicy Szechuan fare. The braised sliced fish comes simmered in a radiating scarlet broth reminiscent of a Thai curry. Dan dan noodles take on new life here, buoyed with fiery minced pork. Come prepared for the Szechuan pepper: Even simple appetizers like the sliced beef blister with firecracker heat.

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • East Village
  • price 2 of 4

Artist and Hunan native Chao Wang opened this slurp shop to bring a taste of his home to NYC. Upon arrival, you'll hear the symphony of slurping noises in the dining room. Join in the chorus with a bowl of braised beef lu fen, with braised beef shank, cucumber, crushed peanut and minced garlic

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Lower East Side
  • price 2 of 4

Dozens of congee varieties aren’t even the tip of the iceberg at this sprawling, delightful LES spot. Order a couple of colorful cocktails and choose from page after page of menu items like sea cucumber preparations, several soup varieties, all manner of seafood, and plentiful beef, pork, poultry and vegetable entrées. 

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Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles Inc.
  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Chinatown
  • price 1 of 4

Yes, the noodles are hand-pulled at this tiny Chinese eatery, and yes, they're mighty tasty. Strands are served in the broth of your choice, with a laundry list of options like fish balls, Fujianese wontons and fried tofu. 

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Lower East Side
  • price 2 of 4
Hot pots are the raison d'être of this bi-level locale, decorated with black-lacquered tables and red banquettes. There are oodles of protein and vegetable options to choose from, and dishes like curry chicken breast and beef in black-pepper sauce are also on the menu.
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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Williamsburg
This Sichuanese spot in Williamsburg—from Xian Zhang and Yiming Wang, the restaurateurs behind Midtown's formerly lovely Cafe China—is as excellent and popular as the duo’s original operation. The menu here does not miss, and favorites include the mapo tofu, three pepper chicken and the tea smoked duck. 
  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Greenwich Village

This East Village spot serves vegan fare like mapo tofu, General Tso's mushroom and dan dan noodles made with a meat substitute. The cozy 6th Street spot has other locations on Bowery and West Third Street. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Upper West Side
Atlas Kitchen serves what it calls "new contemporary Chinese cuisine," including Xiang-style stinky tofu, spicy duck tongue, multiple soups, and noodles and mains like fried whole fish in sweet and sour sauce.
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See the best Chinese restaurants in America

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