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China Doll
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
1246 N Wells St(between Scott St & Goethe St)
Chicago, IL 60610
Neighborhoods: Old Town, Near North Side
(312) 943-9300
- Nearest Transit:
-
Clark/division (Red Line)
Sedgwick (Brown Line, Purple Line)
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 10 am - 11:30 pm
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
28 reviews for China Doll
28 reviews in English
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Review from omar w.
Chicago, IL
12/10/2011
China Doll is one of my favorite spots for Chinese cuisine..I've known the owner for years...Pepper steak is real nice!!
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Review from Diana P.
8/18/2011
Hands down, one of the worst fast food establishments on the planet...that's right, I've been all around the planet (ok not really, however this is Bad with a CAPITAL B).
They try to be a jack of all trades (greasy fast food American and Chinese) but a master of none.
Skip it and grab a snickers bar from the Walgreens down on North and Wells instead. -
Review from Mark D.
Chicago, IL
12/29/2011
I've ordered from this place twice. The first order was gross.....shame on them. I ordered again and the second order was absolutely revolting....shame on me for giving this place a second chance. I ordered the crab rangoon (arrived cold) and the orange chicken.....ugh, I cannot put into words how disgusting this was. I'm pretty sure it wasn't actually chicken and it was soggy and the sauce tasted like body odor. I've never tasted body odor but if I had I am sure it would taste like their orange chicken sauce. Never, ever, ever order from this place.
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Review from Ting C.
Chicago, IL
1/23/2012
Yeah the chicken dishes are hit or miss but the moo shu pork and the beef dishes seem pretty consistently acceptable. Ordered from there 3-4 times since finding them about 2 months ago. Personally I think it's better than Empire Kitchen as they over soy sauce everything to make it more tasty.
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Review from Kane K.
Chicago, IL
1/2/2012
Yikes... the whole order was gross. At least the rice was tolerable, but the rest was prison-grade bad. I got the beef broccoli, and the whole thing tasted burnt and I'm pretty sure the meat was expired. As for the hong sue chicken, it was bland and the veggies were all a shade of tan, which concerns me. I also got egg drop soup which was a total bummer-- watery and flavorless are the only appropriate descriptors. At least the free fried rice was decent, but it may have been the copious amounts of soy sauce I preemptively layered on it, since everything else sucked. I'm out 20 bucks but hopefully bitching about it here will save somebody else some cash.
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Review from Susan D.
2/28/2011
I so wanted to like this place. I'd passed by it several times. Stopped in to pick up some chop suey and fried rice to go. Mistake.
I've never had such bad fried rice in my life. Any Chinese fast food chain rice would have been better. It was very dark looking, but I was open minded. Awful, Just awful. The veggie chop suey wasn't so bad, but if you're a Chinese restaurant and you can't even have decent fried rice -- why bother? That's a staple. Shameful.
Now I know why it's empty a lot of the time. It's convenient and the only Chinese in the area, so maybe people have gotten used to the mediocrity.
I will not be back. I'm moving anyway, so it will not be a loss! -
Review from Stephanie B.
Chicago, IL
10/19/2011
I just moved into the area and went there with my boy friend. The lady at the counter was very friendly (That's why I gave it 2 stars instead of one). The food tasted like crappy chinese food. Made both my boyfriend and I sick within 20 minutes of leaving. Will not go back!
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Review from Penny S.
9/28/2010
... was that chicken...?
Grub Hub, Sunday night, who's delivering and doesn't have a $15 minimum? Ok China Doll, it's go time.
40 minutes, a confused delivery driver and $14 later, I opened my half order of orange chicken, small rice and egg roll to find orange chicken and small rice. Phone call to China Doll and rather than have the driver come back for a measly egg roll, I asked for a refund to my card. I was told that was Grub Hub's duty so I decided to have them bring it (because something told me that would be a bigger hassle and I probably wouldn't be ordering from them again anyway, just a hunch).
Hunch turns to fact. Three bites of "spicy" orange chicken yielded whatever the chicken equivalent is to gristle, some grease and not much orange. 20 minutes later, the buzzer rang and after some more confusion, the egg rolls arrived. They were tasty, the guy brought them back without any attitude and for that, they get another star. No way I'm ordering from there again though, sorry. -
Review from Yessica B.
Chicago, IL
5/3/2011
Terrible customer service. I'm not sure if it's the manager who handles delivery calls or if it's someone else, but they're extremely rude.
I don't mind the food, but they should really reconsider the way they treat their customers. There are a ton of restaurants in the loop (and much, much better at that!) who are cost effective, offer delicious food, and not r-u-d-e. -
Review from Yoie L.
12/4/2010
I'm not sure why people gave this place such bad reviews. Obviously this is not high-class or authentic Chinese food, but since I moved downtown this has been my go-to place for fast, cheap Chinese. Being Chinese myself, I do get a little embarrassed ordering Americanized Chinese food, but I have to admit that it usually tastes pretty good! China Doll fits this niche pretty well.
This place is always fast, and the delivery guys have always been nice and courteous. I have ordered crab rangoon, sesame chicken, chicken chop suey, and chicken chow fun from here. I think that the crab rangoon and sesame chicken are both delicious. I like how the sesame chicken is not your typical greasy, syrupy sweet sauce used by most Chinese restaurants. It's a unique sauce that is actually a little spicy, which was a pleasant surprise.
Skip chow fun and chop suey--they are both horrible. -
Review from Nathan F.
Chicago, IL
11/4/2010
To be fair, I have only had delivery menu items, but China Doll was quite good. Of the items I tried -- Pork Fried Rice, General Tsao's Chicken, and Crab Rangoon -- all were above average.
In particular, the Crab Rangoon had a large amount of crab, which is a phenomenal deal and exceedingly rare among "cheap" Chinese places. Most places simply stuff Crab Rangoon with cream cheese, so I was quite surprised. A+ for value on this aspect...
Of note -- the delivery service was particularly slow (over 1.5 hours), but this may have been an isolated incident.
In sum -- don't expect fireworks, but if you're looking for a good value for very tasty chinese, then China Doll is a great pick. I will certainly be back for more! -
Review from ron h.
Chicago, IL
8/21/2011
Nice place to get quick lunch very nice staff
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Review from Carson K.
Chicago, IL
9/7/2010
I'm kind of, what you'd call a "moo shu guru" because that's usually my favorite thing to have when I'm choosing my Chinese food... However, China Doll probably had the worst moo shu chicken I've had in a long time. There was barely any chicken and it was super saucy...BEFORE the plum sauce.
I'm sure other things on their menu are great, but moo shu is not their forte. -
Review from Sara W.
Chicago, IL
10/16/2007
I ordered from them on GrubHub, and it came quickly and I loved it.
I got the chicken fried rice and sesame chicken, both which were delicious. A friend of mine got crab rangoon and loved it too. I'm giving it three because I haven't tried much off of the menu and have never actually been into the restaurant. -
Review from Joe M.
Chicago, IL
8/15/2010
Kind of a 'fast-food' Chinese joint in southern Old Town. I used to order from here before I lived in the area, and now that I can see it from my balcony, I'm obviously there a little more.
The food is great. Crab Rangoon is one of the best I've ever had. Not bad on the price either. And the portions are pretty big-- I'm not one to eat a great deal in a single sitting, so I've always got leftovers no matter what I get.
Why only 3 stars? Well, this place is great as a delivery or carry-out joint; but I wouldn't necessarily recommend dining in. Not very clean looking inside; definitely has the 'fast-food' esque vibe. -
Review from Andrew T.
12/11/2008
Recently had this delivered via Grub Hub, and I'm pleased. For your standard Chinese place, this is a safe bet. It was a big order - I personally had the Szechuan Chicken (tasty, but...missing...*something.* Can't put my finger on what). Others had the Pepper Steak (which is pretty awesome), Sweet and Sour Chicken, and Pineapple Chicken. Both mentioned they were good.
Their Crab Rangoon is also pretty decent. One thing to mention - ordering from Grub Hub meant we got a coupon special, either some fried rice or dumplings with the meal. We got the dumplings...which were OK. Not sensational. Also, crazy massive portions. A half order, and I was stuffed. The full order of Pepper Steak required two people to transport from the delivery person to the office.
I'd go again - this seems like a fine addition to the endless list of Chinese places for lunch. -
Review from Lara E.
Chicago, IL
12/6/2010
horrifying. to echo yelper penny s: WAS THAT CHICKEN!?!?!
i write this review after just receiving my delivery order. it arrived prompty. within 50 minutes. i'm just so seriously disappointed with the quality of chinese food available through grubhub. i always check yelp ratings before a grubhub order and they are always between 1 - 3 stars for restaurants that grubhub lists as 4's or 5's.
regardless, i decided to try china doll for the first time.
ordered a half order of sesame chicken, half order of kung pao chicken and crab rangoon.
cheap enough.
where do i start? maybe with the fact that the entire order smelled like soap. yelper yoie l. writes "the crab rangoon and sesame chicken are both delicious." did we order from the same place? the sesame chicken had nothing to do with sesame or chicken. rubbery, so so so dry (i chewed for minutes) and a vague, bland brown sauce.
threw that away immediately.
crab rangoon was edible but no sauce?
and kung pao chicken tastes like how a tire smells.
i'm still starving. -
Review from Brittany B.
Chicago, IL
1/22/2010
Run-o-the-mill Chinese food. Hot, cheap, and on-time. I'll keep looking til I find THE place for Chinese takeout in my new neighborhood.
TIP: Order from Grub Hub for coupons! -
Review from Stephen Z.
Chicago, IL
2/19/2011
The food wasn't bad, it kinda stunk bad when I was in there but besides that there were no other complaints
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Review from bobby e.
Chicago, IL
11/14/2009
I have had food from here delivered twice while at work and both times the experience was completely awesome.
The portions are really generous for how cheap it is, and it still tastes really good and hits the spot. Both times I ordered the chicken and broccoli and both times it was delicious.
Also, everyone I've interacted with there was really friendly and the delivery time was AMAZING for being delivered downtown.
Both times I have been completely impressed by this place. -
Review from Paul L.
Chicago, IL
1/14/2011
I've lived in Chicago for 3 years and have yet to find a kung pao chicken similar to what I consider to be the best in this country (in another city). I've eaten at likely 12-15 different Chinese restaurants in Chicago and have not found one I like (in chinatown, downtown, lincoln park, lakeview, edgewater, etc). It is often greasy, lacking flavor (and very often not spicy), mystery chicken, gross vegetables, etc.
My point is: The Kung Pao chicken I had from this place last week is the best I've found here so far (not my favorite ever, but the best out of 12-15 chinese restaurants in Chicago. The chicken was good (no fatty, weird parts), it was nicely spicey (and not just loaded with peppers where the sauce has no flavor), and good vegetables. A solid kung pao - and I'm no amateur when it comes to kung pao haha.
Delivery was also quick - but that's just about any chinese restaurant I've tried. -
Review from Dan E.
Chicago, IL
5/23/2009
I was waiting for my car at the garage across the street so I thought I would get me some Chinese carryout. I did a double take when I looked at the printed menu because I saw chicken, beef and hamburgers. But I was in the right place because when the menu was fully opened there was a generous choice of selections. I got standard items plus some chicken curry. Dining area is rather small, spartan and busy. A good place for carryouts, delivery or if you want to get something really quick.
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Review from Richie D.
3/14/2008
I had a pick-up order as well here at China Doll. I can't speak for the interior of the restaurant but the food was pretty good. I had General Tso's Chicken (very yummy) along with Beef Chow Mein (it was average). I'd recommend this place, especially for a quick eat.
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Review from Brittany C.
Chicago, IL
4/11/2008
Ordered from Grub Hub, delivery was fast. I had the broccoli beef, too much sauce and not enough beef. But for the lack of knowing where else to order from near me, I'd probably try it again. Does the trick, nothing special.
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Review from Jeff N.
Chicago, IL
6/17/2009
Hey! The food here is pretty decent. I have ordered from her 3-4 times this year and it is consistently good. Not as great as some of the gourmet Chinese places, but worthy of my repeated business.
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Review from Cupcake C.
IL
5/22/2008
Cheap and Yummy Take Out-Clean packaging. Also, featured in the movie "Return to Me" ...really.
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Review from Bobby D.
Chicago, IL
10/11/2010
A long time ago, This was a great Chinese restaurant. But the one on N.Milwaukee was far from pleasing. I had an Egg Foo Young dinner sans the classic gravy. WHAT???????, No Egg Foo Young without gravy??????????????. Gee whiz.......
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Review from Justin S.
Madison, WI
1/18/2008
Unacceptable quality for a major urban area. Sesame chicken had no sesame. Spicy hunan beef had no flavor and little beef. Kind of expensive for low quality food.
Delivery was speedy but the taste was reminiscent of that cartoon about the mall food court: lots of options but everything tastes the same and comes from the same batch out of the same wok.
Gave it two stars because it wasn't inedible.
