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Chau Chow City
Category: Restaurants Chinese Dim Sum Dim Sum [Edit]
83 Essex St(between Hersey Pl & Harrison Ave)
Boston, MA 02111
Neighborhood: Chinatown
(617) 338-8158
- Nearest Transit:
-
Essex St @ Kingston St (11, 7)
Bedford St @ Chauncy St (11, 276, 7)
Surface Artery @ Beach St (500, 501, 504, 505, 553, 554, 555, 556, 558)
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 4 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
210 reviews for Chau Chow City
Review Highlights
"It's the best lunch and late-night place to eat."
(in 38 reviews)
"I prefer CCC over China Pearl for the dim sum any day."
(in 18 reviews)
"Beware, steamed or baked, pork buns are addicting."
(in 12 reviews)
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210 reviews in English
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Review from Jamie R.
Boston, MA
11/16/2011
I have really fond memories of Chau Chow City as I've been going to Dim Sum there for as long as I remember. When I was kid it was a special treat once or twice a year that we'd all pack in and head into the city and eat all of this delicious stuff that I could just point too and it would be in front of me.
To this day Chau Chow is still a special place for me, as it's the only place my mother and I can go out to eat and not completely lose our minds with each other. The special sense of serenity amongst the silver push carts and Chinese women holding up metal trays and asking us shooooo-maiiiii? SHRIMPPPP ? CHICKEN FEET?!
Anyway the food has always been great, and it's dim sim so the service isn't first class but it's adequate.
The bathrooms are , unspeakable. Try to head elsewhere if you can. I've never tried their regular menu, but I can say their dim sum is my favorite in Boston for sure. -
Review from Pete J.
1/29/2012 3 Check-ins Here
This is my go-to late night Chinatown joint. The place is huge and I've never had a problem getting a table.
The menu is also huge, with most of the standards you would expect in a Cantonese Chinatown restaurant.
Decor is dated, the floor needs a good scrubbing, and the bathrooms! That smell is mothballs in case you weren't sure. I've got granny to thank for that memory. But at least the smell stays in the bathrooms.
Service is pretty poor also, but maybe that adds to the authenticity. If your expectations aren't high, then you won't be disappointed.
But the food is above average. The salt and pepper shrimp is the best in town and the main reason my friends and I keep returning. They also have a dish called Lovebird fried rice, which you have to try, if only for the novelty factor. I ordered it once with a guy friend, it's only awkward if you want it to be. We ordered the Peking Duck on our last visit and were disappointed that it wasn't carved table-side and was very dry. But that was the only off item during our many visits.
Pricing? It's cheap. Portions are huge.
I've never been in during the day for dim sum, but will probably try it. -
Review from Emily C.
Cambridge, MA
9/27/2011
Went here once for late night and the FBI definitely walked in with the canine unit and dragged some guy in a zoot suit out of there... it was like an episode of Law and Order: SVU... And we didn't get about half of our food until we threatened to leave without paying... Like I get that you're busy giving drunk people food but at the same time there are plenty of places that do it better...
Binary rating: 0 -
Review from Stefanie H.
South Boston, Boston, MA
2/7/2012
Horrible service, not clean, never got the waters or drinks we ordered... all of that I can typically "shelve" if the food is good. Sadly, it was not.
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Review from John G.
Camp Hill, PA
9/5/2011
Went to Chau Chow City Restaurant on Essex St. We were walking around Chinatown looking for a place and we really didn't have a clue. Another couple heard us discussing our choice while looking on YELP at recommendations. They suggested this place to us and told us how to get there. What a great place. Neat and clean, the wait staff were friendly and the food was hot and tasty.
My wife started with Egg Drop Soup which she said was delicious I ordered us the Crab Ragoon as an appetizer it came out hot and very tasty. For our entrees we ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken my wife's
Mainstay favorite and Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce of course we had plenty to share with each other.
The chicken was like normal sweet and sour chicken but the sauce was not the sickening sweet sauce a lot of places give you. It had a good balance of sweet & sour to it.
The shrimp w/ black bean sauce was delicious the vegetables were tender and the sauce was thick it had a few hot peppers in it which gave it a little kick and made it very flavorful but not hot or spicy.
No room for a desert here. the Tea was a little weak for my liking but nothing to complain about.
I would recommend this place to people visiting Boston especially if your staying at the Hyatt it's a real short walk. -
Review from Karen S.
Pembroke, MA
12/19/2011
Went again Sunday morning before The Nutcracker, our usual Dim Sum spot...it was not busy at all.... remember years ago waiting for at least 1/2 hour to get in. Love the carts and have our favorites down pat...the shrimp with rice noodle and yummy sauce is the best, and the steamed pork buns, always good. Love the yellow custard filled steamed buns too! Under 20 dollars for 2 for breakfast is a good deal, we were gonna try another place and can always count on Chau Chow City for getting yummy dim sum. Oh yeah, sure the bathrooms are not great, but we come for the food!
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Review from Sereia C.
7/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
Dare I say it...I found a dim sum place worthy of cheating on China Pearl!
Chau Chow City has lots of seafood and veggie options, which is important to me. I was there on a Sunday about noon. We got a table right away, and within 30 seconds had a table full of dim sum awesomeness. I will definitely go back. -
Review from Kenneth L.
Santa Ana, CA
9/1/2011
I'm from California but was in town visiting my family. They decided to take us here for some good ol traditional dim sum.
Upon pulling up and parking I thought to myself "wow this area is looking pretty dirty" but I hear this place is popping especially late night.
We got seated upstairs right away with a big part y of over 15. We ordered a bunch of food. This was probably my second time trying dim sum and this time I enjoyed it a lot more. Got the Shu mai, tripe, bun bao etc. all the goods except that chicken feet (not a fan)
The restroom were horrific! It literally looked and smelled like nasty stuff. I almost wanted to throw up what I just put down my stomach.
I give it a 2 star just because the food was great, other than that this place grosses me out.
tip: bring someone that's Chinese with you, it'd make ordering a LOT simpler. -
Review from Exsquid B.
Watertown, MA
Updated - 10/3/2011
Usually I give this place 4 stars for Dim Sum, yesterday was a bust.. Maybe it was the weather or that the Sox lost or something.. but it was below par. we got there early and there seemed to be more food for the cart ladies and bus people and the owners than for the diners. There were only two carts moving sporadically around the room and there were limited choices,,,, Of course there were the chicken feet and hargow and shu mei, but not much else.. By the time we left, the cart action was picking up a bit... but the slow start did nothing to quell our need for dumplings etc... We finally had to get some take out before we left.
We'll be back, but be warned... Hei Li Moon is not far away!2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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8/22/2011
A friend and I made the trip Sunday morning.... We got there about 9:00... That's the best time to… Read more »
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Review from Aimee G.
Salem, MA
7/15/2011
GROSS GROSS GROSS!!! I tried Dim Sum here for the first time and it was definitely the last time!!!
The place is a little dingy and I was a bit weirded out. No thank you! -
Review from Meghan C.
Boston, MA
6/23/2011
Okay, so I got takeout and maybe that was the problem, but this was the farthest cry from delicious cheap chinese I have ever tasted.
We got the scallion pancakes, which were so overdone that it felt like it was going to break teeth eating them, and General Tsao's... which I was under the impression was supposed to have chicken in it, but it pretty much tasted like they just deep fried batter and covered it in sauce. Also I have some pineapple chicken dish that wasn't half bad, except the chicken was rubbery and all in all, that makes for a very disappointed trip to China Town.
This was my first experience with China Town takeout and I can promise I will never again be going here when there are so many other places to chose from.
Truly Depressing ... -
Review from Lorenzo A.
Fremont, NH
7/7/2011
This place is about 1 block from the Boston Chinatown entrance so it's alone from the rest of the restaurants, which are all clustered on the other street. I thought I'd be doing myself a favor by getting away from the tourist traps, especially since this place was recommended in a travel guide I had with me. I made a mistake.
First, let me say the travel guide said to get their dim sum but, being that I wanted sweet and sour chicken, I went against their recommendation and the big sign outside the restaurant that says dim sum, so maybe that is what they're good at. The meal I had definitely was not what they were good at.
First, I was seated at a table facing their lobster and fish tank and saw that they had a dead fish, about 2 feet long, still in the tank, though separated from the rest from the partition but still sharing water with the other animals used for meals. It was right then that I was glad I didn't want to order seafood. The decor was seriously dated. The carpet had definitely seem better days, being dingy and well traveled on.
The sweet and sour chicken was not all batter, as some places tend to be. This was all chicken but it lacked flavor and the batter was dark brown and tasted overcooked. The white rice was fine. I originally wanted ice tea but they didn't have it so I went with the hot tea, which was fine.
When it was time to check out I waited for a while for someone to recognize that I was trying to get their attention. At first the 9 waiters were chatting near the kitchen and then, when I was ready for the receipt they were lined up against a wall, which could make your meal uncomfortable if they're watching you eat the whole time. 9 waiters were lined up and not one brought my check when I finally asked. I had to ask a couple of times before they found someone who could be bothered to print the ticket.
I'd say that if you like dim sum, maybe give them a chance but, considering how many places there are around, I'd say try some place else first. -
Review from Rachel C.
Boston, MA
4/23/2011
Once upon a time, my friends and I were at the world's shittiest club, Felt, where several patrons threw their drinks on one of my friends and the club did nothing about it. We left and hit up a few dives, since we felt more comfortable in our natural habitat. Then we decided it would be fun to go to Chinatown and order "cold-tea" even though we were all WELL above the legal drinking age and the bars were still open. But the prospects of cold beer and warm, delicious Chinese food were too tempting.
We entered the massive restaurant and were promptly seated at a table and placed our order for several dishes of food and a few pots of cold-tea, Heineken brand. We chatted about our adventures of the night and looked around noticing several police officers patrolling the entrance and floor. As soon as our food came out and we had had a few bites, several pitchers of ice-cold water were dumped on our heads.
It was our friends from the club. They were escorted out as our table was cleared off of the food we had two bites of and we were handed our bill. We didn't even have time to argue because we were being asked to leave. Apparently said club thugs were part of an Asian gang and the restaurant didn't want any trouble so we were to leave immediately because they would come back. Even though we literally had done nothing to these people on both encounters. I paid the bill because I just wanted to get out of there and end the night. We had to demand that the restaurant get cabs for us and to have a cop escort some of our group back to their car to make sure they weren't going to be followed. Maybe we were being a little dramatic, but after a night like that we had a right to be.
I'm still sore about this and will never return to Chau Chow City. The whole incident was not our fault, and I can't believe they had the nerve to hand us a bill and ask us to leave. And believe me, they made a stink about having to call us a cab. -
Review from Ning T.
Providence, RI
8/13/2011
Love the calamari or salty spicy squid here along with the phoenix's nest with stir fried inside. We used to always stop by after the clubs, now for birthdays, lol time has changed.
Never tried dim sum here... -
Review from Angie C.
Jamaica Plain, MA
4/12/2011
Great for early dim sum and after hours. Do not come here for anything else.
Experience:
The staff is super friendly, but I might be biased since I speak Chinese.
Food:
Dim Sum: I think they have the better dim sum dishes in comparison to the other places in Boston. I recommend the following:
1. Shui mai (pork dumplings)- yellow skin with diced carrots on top
2. Ha gao (shrimp dumplings)- white rice skin with shrimp in the middle
3. Chicken feet
4. Pork chops
5. BBQ Pork buns
... the list goes on and I don't remember the names. I'm sorry it's lame, but just about everything here is good. I don't recommend the Americanized dishes (ie. jello). Why would you go to a traditional Chinese brunch to eat jello?
If it's your first time trying dim sum, go with an open mind and try everything. If you're a regular, you know what to order.
After Hours:
This is the best place for greasy Chinese after the clubs. It's a great place to sober up and wait until the hunt for cabs ease up.
I recommend the following (my after hours staple):
1. Mayonnaise shrimp
2. Calamari
3. Beef Chow Fun- beef noodle dish
4. Pea Pod Stems
5. Pork Chops
Overall:
I tried coming here for lunch and dinner during normal hours and it was a disappointment. Clearly the food isn't that great unless you're drunk. Except their dim sum is decent. -
Review from Jacqueline C.
Scituate, MA
11/2/2011
I have been here many times because the location is so close to my office. It is definitely a little sketchy/gross inside and if I dropped my coat on the floor I would probably walk away and never pick it up. The food is pretty good. It's kind of fun to do something different for lunch every now and then. I also dont have much to compare it to, in regards to dim sum. What I've had has been good and good enough to have me go back from time to time - but not so awesome that I would go more frequently and the ambience kills it.
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Review from Erica G.
Manhattan, NY
6/23/2011
The best late-night spot!
First off the food was so greasy and yummy - we shared the scallion pancakes, crispy lo mein with garlic, general tsao's chicken, and fried calamari. And the people watching.... let's just say that the entire city of Boston seems to convene here at 3am, and the result is hilarious.
When in NYC, the only proper late-night eat is pizza, in Boston, it's Chau Chow! -
Review from Alesha S.
Royal Oak, MI
6/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
We went here for a late dinner after checking into our hotel, and the food was okay. We got the sesame chicken and vegetable lo mein. The chicken was tasty and the lo mein was noodly.
We wanted to try the dim sum here, but it's 8-3:30 daily, or something like that, so we missed it. Huge place, so it can probably accommodate enormous parties. There was a sign for karaoke upstairs, but I didn't hear any music. -
Review from douglas h.
New York, NY
7/8/2011
Late Late Night
It just didn't work for me -
Review from Carolyn L.
Boston, MA
9/4/2011
I'm Chinese. I eat dim sum. I've had it at other major Chinatown dim sum restaurants including China Pearl, Empire/Emperor's Garden (still not sure which one it is), and Hei La Moon. Chau Chow is the most flavorful, has a good selection, and the friendliest servers (relatively speaking). I also appreciate that the place doesn't have weird nooks, crannies or levels e.g. steps that prevent the serving carts from reaching you before all of the good stuff runs out. Thanks, Chau Chow.
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Review from Johnna M.
11/28/2010
So I'm chowing down at Chau Chow with four of the best and the brightest young men Yelp has to offer (we'll just call them the usual suspects) and apparently I am doing too much chow and not enough chew because my chicken gets lodged in my throat. Few take home messages from this near death experience.
1) I'm not entirely sure what we ordered but the Americanized, generic mixture of chicken, beef, and veggies is apparently worth more than my life. My dining companions were so intent on enjoying their food, not a soul jumped up to help. So much for Damsel in Distress-that goes out the window when delicious 2am Chinese food is involved. Good thing I know the Heimlich.
2) While I am glad my life didn't end at Chau Chow, there are certainly worst places to die. Who doesn't want a gang of Ed Hardy wearers, a gaggle of girls unable to speak coherently, half of BPD, and a family of seven there when you kick the bucket?
3) Chau Chow really should invest in knives.Listed in: Places to be silly., BYOS (Bring your own…
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Review from Janina T.
Chestnut Hill, MA
4/25/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This is probably the best dim sum place in the greater Boston area. They have an awesome selection (tofu fa included...i'm quite a fan), the service is pretty consistent in terms of our waiter coming back to us every now and then to make sure our drinks and any a la carte ordering is in order. They have dim sum run till 3 PM which is later than most other dim sum joints.
A huge plus is that I notice in most other dim sum restaurants, we are always bombarded with food names and others in Chinese....which we don't understand. Here, I've yet to experience that. The dim sum servers will at least try to say things in English, especially if they can tell you're not from their parts (being Asian does not = I speak mandarin), which is huge if they're not screaming it into my ear.
Another HUGE plus is that they're open till 3 AM, might only be on weekend nights but if you're cruising the town and need a midnight snack/chow, head on over and you wont be disappointed (this place gets ridiculously full/popping after 2 AM so try to get there a little before that!) -
Review from brian d.
Malden, MA
1/17/2011
chau chow city is one hell of a difficult place to describe. I can't tell you how many times i've sauntered over to this place after drinking one too many mongolians at estate, royale, underbar, whatever other horrendous club i was at that night. BUT- i've actually come here stone cold sober as well and i will just say that the food is FANTASTIC with or without seriously questionable judgement thanks to my good friend johnnie walker. Not only that- but the wait staff gets you in and out of here faster than you can say 'table for 3'. One minor issue is that i've never once seen a knife in this place. Not that the food there really needs a cutting utensil... but sometimes, itd be nice to be able to cut your beef & broccoli.
also, just because I was raised to be a nervous nelly- i LOVE that there is police detail here late night. if anything were to ever happen (you never know with drunk people, shit can go down)... at least the rest of this fine eatery wouldnt be SOL.
minus one star because i'm pretty sure their bathroom was dirtier than the homeless man i gave my doggie bag to on the way out.
(SPEAKING OF- this place has massive portions, if they ask if you want to take any home- just say yes and give your leftovers to somebody who probably needs it more than you. god knows theres always a good 2-10 homless people on the walk from this place to the garage at the common.) -
Review from Mike K.
Manchester, NH
8/23/2011
Cool place, but they have the oddest return policy.
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Review from Perry F.
Newton, MA
5/10/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Dim sum in Chinese restaurants is becoming more and more common for weekend mornings. One of the best places in Boston's Chinatown is Chau Chow City. I've been going here for years, left to venture to other dim sum restaurants and have made my journey back. The food comes out hot, the dim sum waitresses are friendly (and sometimes very forceful for you to take what they are peddling!), and the prices are reasonable.
I would suggest the following: shrimp dumplings (ha gaus), beef or pork shu mais, beef or shrimp rice noodles (cheung foon), spare rib foon, the ginger beef dumplings, braised tripe, chicken feet, egg tarts and the BBQ pork buns. I stay away from the fried foods as they don't really interest me but they do look wonderful.
Come early (before 11) as the weekends bring out Asian families for dim sum and the restaurant fills up pretty quick. And for the rest rooms...eh. I haven't found a decent rest room in Chinatown! Chau Chow City's are par for the course! -
Review from Lauren S.
Boston, MA
1/19/2011
My companion put it best when he described it as "an uninspired and greasy take on Chinese food."
I didn't go for dim sum, but there was nothing memorable about our trip to Chau Chow City that would bring me back there to try. So unmemorable, in fact, that I can't even think of anything more to say about it. -
Review from Bao H.
8/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Chau Chow that's a breed of a dog right? Ooooo! Yep, I went there so whatcha gonna do!? My first visit to Boston and my first restaurant stop had to be in Chinatown! Yes, indeed dark, dirty, and smelly, just the way I like it! I wanted something authentic and boy did I hit the jackpot (or the steamed chicken pot...get it?....errr) Well I don't know what my friend ordered, but it was magnificent! (I only knew 2 dishes -- Chinese Broccoli & Mapo Tofu) However, I will describe the rest - Ground Beef in vegetable stew and steamed chicken hotpot (see I wasn't lying!). We scarfed it down since we had a long flight and the place was opened pretty late. Service was good. The place itself was your typical Chinese Restaurant. The decors were simple fashioned to make sure you knew that it was a Chinese Restaurant. (As if you'd mistaken this for a Wendy's or something!) - Enjoy!
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Review from DJ N.
San Francisco, CA
3/22/2011
Can't go wrong when it's 2:30 AM and you're craving Chinese food. Beef teriyaki and garlic shrimp are the way to go. The only issue is that this place gets a bit overcrowded after the club scene shuts down and you get to deal with drunks acting like fools.
The food is good. The price is decent. The parking can be tough. -
Review from Sheila S.
1/24/2011
This review is for late-night deliciousness ONLY. When you arrive after 12am, you are greeted by BPD at the hostess stand. You are seated promptly and in the perfect position to see the 2am rush of scantily clad lady-beasts and Ed Hardy-wearing Yeah Dudes. We've see SWAT escort people of the premise and patrons throw 2 liter bottles of coke at the walls/their dates. It's an interesting place, and the food is decent - really good if you're really drunk or really tired. Honestly, you should be both.
I recommend the house fried rice and the pea pod stems (which they charge something like 12 dollars for at night bc it's not on the menu). It feeds two. Even better, order ahead and eat it at home while snuggling and watching TV. Who wants to be featured on cops anyway? -
Review from Laura B.
Concord, CA
2/27/2011
Pretty on-par with my experience at China Pearl, although Chau Chow seemed a bit cleaner. Gotta say it exceeded my expectations going in, since it isn't always easy to enter a Chinese restaurant that phonetically sounds like a dog-enthusiast theme park.
Went for Monday afternoon dim sum with a group of 9, we ate enough for everyone to get full and came out at ~ $11/head with tax and tip.
Sitting far off to the side of the giant dining room, the cart ladies must have found us to not be worth the journey, and we even waved our hands around a few times to get them to come over, only to shoo them away when they were carrying tofu soup. So fickle we are.
The pork buns were good, the dumplings good, and the sticky rice in banana leaves made my day. I loved that our tea was consistently refilled, and that the host came by a few times to smile silently at us: + 1/2 star
for looking like John Waters.
If peer-pressured by a friendly group (or unwillingly forced by a threatening one), I will most definitely return. -
Review from Caroline S.
Baltimore, MD
7/18/2010
This is my go-to place for dim sum, and I love it! I think that the sheer size of this place adds to the experience. Especially in the upstairs dining room, you are constantly barraged by cart after cart of yummy looking things (as well as some dishes for more adventurous diners). Everything that I have tried has been excellent, but there are a few things that really stand out. Their cha shu bao (steamed bun with bbq pork inside) is addictive. I am also pretty obsessed with their turnip cakes. They take a little bit longer to get, as they heat them up to order by your table. However, the taste of the cakes, especially with the sauce that comes with it, is so worth the wait.
I do have two warnings. One is to be careful coming here if you aren't used to getting dim sum. Many of the ladies pushing the carts do not speak a lot of English, and they can get pushy. Warning number two is to be careful if you have food allergies or other restrictions. I've gone with vegetarians and people with allergies before, and it's often hard to tell exactly what ingredients are in the food that you are getting. To quote one of the employees when we asked for vegetarian dishes: "This one has shrimp."
However, if you want a fun time eating fantastic food and are fairly laid back in terms of ingredients, you should DEFINITELY check out Chau Chow City for dim sum! -
Review from Kza W.
Boston, MA
9/9/2011
When its late...take this place for a ride and satisfying factors make this place the shat
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Review from Mikhaela K.
Brookline, MA
9/8/2011
I only come here for dim sum. The variety is incredible, the food is fantastic and the service is fast. You've got to be relatively adventurous because sometimes it's unclear as to what's in the dumplings but its always yummy. Fun to go with groups so you can get your hands on more dishes and try bites of absolutely everything.
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Review from Rob F.
Reading, MA
8/11/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I'm safe from vampires and I'll have plenty of personal space on the elevator this afternoon. Sauteed Pea Pod Stems in Garlic Sauce are the reason why. Pea pod stems? Yeah, I never heard of them either. My friend Fred lead me here for lunch today and ordered them, promising that they were something special. They are. Somewhere between Broccoli Rabe and Broccolini, Pea Pod Stems are a tender leafy green with a crunchy stalk. The leafy part soaks up the garlic laden oil and the stalk adds a delightful crunch to each bite.
We also had the Roast Pork with Fried Bean Curd. Lot's of garlic there as well; big fresh slices of it. Very, very good.
Not so good is the service. I know I'm in Chinatown and I cut them some slack on what is clearly a cultural difference in the expectation of hospitality, but our first serving person just walked away from us in the middle of taking our order. She also came back and tried to take away a plate that I was still eating from.
Bring a patient acceptance of the culture clash, a toothpick or floss and a toothbrush.
4 star food + 2 star service / 2 = 3 stars. -
Review from Ploy K.
Concord, MA
9/12/2010
I came here a few months ago for dim sum and was very impressed. It was delicious, but this review is for dinner. I'd heard that they had the best roast duck around, so I headed to the Orange line to find out.
Since I'm Asian, I'm familiar with the Chinese culture of really good, authentic Chinese restaurants; the staff can't speak much English, the premise is tidy but not immaculately clean, and the food is delicious. Chau Chow fits the bill exactly.
Unfortunately, I only went with one other friend, despite my belief that you should go to a good Chinese place with lots of people so you can order a huge variety of dishes. We decided to give it a try anyway; we ordered Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, sole with black bean sauce, and, of course, the roast duck. I wasn't a huge fan of the broccoli, but not because it wasn't prepared well, I just wasn't a fan of the taste. The sole wasn't the dish I was expecting, but it was delicious; it was served with onions and green peppers, which complimented it nicely as well as added some color. The duck was not as fabulous as I was expecting, but it was pretty damn good. It was roasted well and the sauce it was served in was delicious. I will definitely be ordering it again when I go back!!
The atmosphere was pretty busy, with a large screen showing a football game and a lot of large tables accommodating large parties. It's definitely not a place for a romantic date; it's more for a fun dinner out with friends. Definitely get a ton of dishes to try. I want to try the lobster and the squid. Can't wait to go back!Listed in: Wine and Dine
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Review from Theresa N.
Boston, MA
5/16/2010
From 8am-3pm, the dim sum is amazing. Everything is delicious and whenever we're away from Boston, we miss this place terribly. I actually prefer this place to any other and being from CA where I've frequented many of the countless dim sum places out there, it's huge. Trust me.
There's two floors and we always go to the second floor for dim sum. (the first floor has some dim sum but seems mostly geared towards parties who want to order off the menu) For dim sum, ladies walk around with carts of steaming goodness and for about $4 a serving, you can pick whatever you want. We go here at least one Sunday a month for brunch and always get xiu mai and ha cao and whatever else we feel like that day. It's all your typical dim sum fare: an assortment of dumplings, steamed buns, tripe, chicken feet, calamari. The servers/cart pushers don't really speak English and are somewhat dismissive but that's almost expected at typical Asian restaurants.
Complimentary tea is always served and you can request either jasmine or chrysanthemum tea. They also have soda and if you and maybe two or three other people want the same soda, order a liter and save yourself a couple of dollars.
This place is open late so it's a delicious end to a fun night out but beware: they inflate the prices immensely to take advantage of the inebriated party crowd. -
Review from Polina B.
Tucson, AZ
2/6/2011
I came for lunch with a relatively large group (6 people total), but we were seated immediately. Prior to this, I've only gone to Winsor Dim Sum Cafe for dim sum in Boston, but there is usually a considerable wait.
The service was great. I liked being able to see exactly what I could order as the servers wheeled their carts around and offered us various treats. Compared to the places where you have to fill out your order on a slip of paper, Chau Chow City is great if you (like me) don't know exactly what you're doing when ordering. The food carts arrived quickly and, with the exception of the elusive tofu cart, showed up consistently.
The downside was the taste and quality of the food. We got two kinds of dumplings, but they tasted very similar. We got chili paste, mustard, and some strange pickled vegetable mixture for dipping, none of which were ideal.
All in all, I would come here again if I wanted to receive quick seating and service. Otherwise, I'll stand in line for Winsor Dim Sum and its delicious food. -
Review from Howe L.
Cambridge, MA
5/2/2011
We've all experienced it before: dancing till the AM when the clubs close, yet we're still full of energy, drunkenness, and hungryyy. So we venture out to Chinatown! But I gotta say..the food here is far from authentic and anything but delightful. Two stars since the waiter let me skip the line (probably b/c I'm Cantonese). And he even admitted that the food here is targeted at Non-Asians (aka fried chicken and rice).
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Review from Leighann F.
Astoria, Queens, NY
10/21/2008
"Yo bro, I'm gonna eight ball you in the face."
It's 2:30am. I am sitting in Chau Chow for the very first time, stuffing my tipsy little face with sweet and sour pork (delectable), seafood udon (not so much) and a plate full of leafy greens that resembled broccoli rabe. The conversation overheard from the table behind us was like an excerpt out of that spoof Douchebag Beach.
Our table, facing the front of the restaurant, situated about 10 feet from the front door, was prime real estate for the show that goes on there every night. Once the clubs close and the bars are tapped, the long strip of carpet that leads from the front door of Chau Chow and into the dining room is transformed (by way of the late hour, a good amount of alcohol and who knows what else) into a virtual catwalk of hilarity.
Some factual data you may be interested in: Two out of every four people stumbled at least one time on the way in. Four out of every five women were wearing open-toed shoes (in the 30 degree weather, in late October). One out of every four men had a popped collar. The table behind us said "eight ball" approximately 20 times in a 45 minute period.
If you are out late, and the club is closed, and you've obviously got no prospects for the evening, Chau Chow is like dinner theater for the drunken masses of downtown Boston. The food is good enough, the prices won't kill you and the entertainment is absolutely priceless. -
Review from ricky w.
Dallas, TX
7/15/2011
Not a bad lunch experience but the dim sum was nothing extraordinary. I'd try a different place before this one were I to go back.
