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I've heard all the gripes people have with Chino Latino, I hear & understand where they are coming from but they haven't convinced me - I think this place is great. I'm a person who loves all things spicy, I love Mexican, and I love Asian food - that means Chino is right up my alley. Drinks are pricey, yes - have a fancy cocktail then move on to beer or wine. To sum up this restaurant I think you can group most Chino trips into two categories - special occasions and happy hour goers.
Special Occasions - I've been to a few bachelorette parties here, more than a few 21st birthday dinners (mine included), we've done the cuy (guinea pig) and the suckling pig most recently. My favorite thing to do is just give the server an idea of what the table likes (spicy, seafood/no seafood, etc...), maybe throw in couple things the group wants for sure then let the server order for you. Everyone will find something they'll like, you might try something and like something you wouldn't normally order, and everyone gets to relax and just worry about their next drink order.
Happy Hour Goers - For some reason, even though they are clearly not the demographic Chino is targeting, my parents just love this place. We often go to Happy Hour here for dinner on Sunday nights. Both of my parents LOVE the HH empanadas, my dad loves smothering the HH tuna roll in wasabi (I don't think he actually TASTES the actual sushi) and the drinks are really cheap. It's very low key on Sunday nights which makes it the perfect time to come and see a different side of the restaurant.
Side note: I love the tacos
Additional side note: Sign up for the rewards program already, if you go with a big group and nobody has a card for the rewards program they'll put the whole total of the bill on your card, that means free money for you. Last time I went with a group I got $50 from the points the table earned - probably means I need to buy the drinks next time though.
Here, you pay for the trendy location; Uptown.
Chino Latino has decent drinks but of course they come at a pretty cost.
I'm not big on Asian fusion meals so I don't find most of the dishes appetizing.
That said, I'll comment on the wait staff.
The last few times I was in, I had terrible service and even got attitude from the server.
What's up with Uptown? Their prices and unnecessary supply of 18+'s who think they're so hot they don't need to serve well to get tipped. Get over yourself 'oh-so-trendy', stupid-Ed Hardy-and-legging wearing girls with way too much make up and probably last night's look, too.
Learn to serve and maybe you'll get more than a 10% tip (from me!).
Not really sure how I feel about this place. I've been here a handful of times and don't really know what the big deal is. Just another trendy, overpriced bar/restaurant.
Happy hour isn't bad and the drink names are creative.
As a trend-seeking college student, I used to go to Chino Latino when it first opened in 2000. Attracted by their wordless gold lamé signage (I am queer, after all), innovative fusion cuisine and South Beach decor, I wanted to be part of the glam, and was, at least for a time. [Note: Even Senator Norm Coleman wanted in on the party. I saw him there on two or three occasions.]
But they couldn't leave well-enough alone, and embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign. Across Uptown, billboards along Hennepin were erected, and while visually captivating--the images loosely evoked Toulouse-Lautrec's show posters--to the conscious observer, their messages were overtly bigoted. Consider these slogans:
"Keeping the Riffraff Out"
"Third World Prices, Sally Struthers Portions"
"Happy Hour: Cheaper Than A Bangkok Brothel"
Keep in mind that Chino Latino is, as its name suggests, an Asian-Latino fusion eatery, serving re-vamped dishes originating from countries mired in poverty and--in the case of Bangkok, Thailand--a notorious sex labor industry that victimizes women and children. Some may explain these as mere jokes, but any humor derived from the plight of the defenseless is indefensible. And as someone who is, in fact, Asian and Latino, I deplored their exploitation of insidious racial stereotypes ("Mommy, Mr. Whiskers Didn't Come Home Last Night," read another slogan).
Of course, Chino Latino stood by their ads and refuted any group that complained about them. Eventually, and without warning, however, those ads seemed to tone down a bit. Had they finally seen the light?
Apparently not. Just as the dust settled on those early controversies, a few years later, Chino Latino happened upon another episode that would ultimately land them in court.
In 2007, they were sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of several former employees (who were Latino), accusing the restaurant of using racially abusive language. The case ended in a settlement with the plaintiffs, and management agreeing to hire a Spanish-speaking ombudsman to help work with Latino staff.
In the years since, I haven't heard of any new stories like these emerging from Chino Latino, so let us hope that they really are on the mend with issues of diversity. As I walk pass the restaurant on my way to Booksmart or the Uptown Theater, they are as busy as ever--perhaps an indication that they've overcome their ignominious past (or of an indifferent public). As I recall, a few of their dishes and cocktails were pretty good.
But I have a hard time forgetting about the past.
I've eaten at Chino Latino a couple of times and it has been so so..
But come on, Guinea Pig? That's just gross. When I saw that they make Guinea Pig, that made my decision to never go back.
When I think uptown, I think gutter punk, hip hop, colorful hair, tattoos, not suburbans with a trendy scarf, a Cuban dictator hat, and some loafers they bought at Marshal Fields. So negative one star for the douchebag clientele who would most likely criticize the same food if you put it in a TGI Fridays to go box (calling it mediocre...but a place in uptown has the best...) kinda like that pizza hut pasta commercial.
First off, if your going here for sushi your out of your F**KING mind!!! Sushi Tango is right across the street on the other side of Lake. So if your in the area and want sushi, hit up Sushi Tango and not this place, the Sushi chef I talked to was Latino and had no idea what Uni or Tobiko was so right there I blew the sushi bar off! I guess if you fit the stereotype clientele (who prolly only eat California rolls and think they're being CAAA-RAZZZY) eat sushi here and leave the cool people alone at Tango.
I think the half Italian part of me makes me really like the family style places like this. Everything comes in huge portions that could feed three to four people.
The Atmosphere is awesome, I really like the two floors, its sort of a night club atmosphere with a lot less dancing (Which is prolly a good thing) All the back lighting and techo music in the background allow for a fun high energy experience, but definitely don't come here if your looking to get the experience of a "family" meal, the simple fact they server everything family style doesn't mean shit at this place.
We had a huge group, which by the way Chino Latino is AWESOME for, we ordered several dishes so I'm only going to comment on the one me and my brother split...and a few of the pieces of the other dishes.
We split the Cornish Game Hen dish (I went to their online menu to find the actual name, but it wasn't on there for some reason) which was perfect to split because it came with two chickens. The two hens were standing upright, between the two was some sort of what tasted like a spiced soy sauce, then they surrounded the hen shrine with a brown rice spiced with a lot of ginger then garnished with pea pods, red and green peppers, and a mystery mushroom (I was convinced they were mini-portabellas bet everyone else disagreed) (I uploaded a picture of this dish)
The dipping sauce, like I said tasted like Kikkoman soy sauce spiced with who knows what, but it did accent the food nicely, especially the ginger flavored rice.
The hen itself, came with this very tasty glaze and the meat was just right!!! I better be for the amount of time we had to wait to get the things!
Before our birds came we were picking at everyone's food. The wings reminded me of Buffalo Wild Wings but lacking the thing called "spicy" (back to the stereotype clientele), the mussels were good but nothing to write home to mom about. There was some sort of chips and cheese dip, the cheese dip tasted like melted Velveeta with mushrooms. My favorite thing outside of the Cornish Game Hen was the Nachos Del Sol, I was skeptical of the crispy plantain chips it came with for dipping in the salsa, but it was awesome! I suggest this for a appetizer in a bigger group!
Happy Hour seems great, cheap taco's and fun looking drinks, but I hear the "fun" drinks are pretty overpriced just because it comes in a coconut or pineapple rather then a glass. But what do I know, I'm a teetotaler.
I'm taking another star away for the price vs. quality and the fact you have to call 48 hours in advance to order the guinea pig...and the fact that the information about the Guinea Pig dish is only in Spanish, that REALLY pissed me off, what, us ROUND EYE gringos aren't good enough for your dirty rodent food? I felt discriminated against. But someday I will be back here to eat their rodent's! (maybe they only serve it after the health inspectors come by and force them to clean their shit up) I'm writing them a email about this too!!!
Chino is a fun/different style of dining. The best way to enjoy Chino Latino is to go with a bunch of friend, and order a lot of different plates and to share. The menu has some staples, but also changes on a regular basis. I think that the food is better than average, and is a bit pricey for what it is, but again, I think that you are paying for more of the atmosphere and the different dining experience than the actual food. I recommend the Pu Pu Platter. You get to try a couple of different things such as potstickers, wings, and ribs, and you still have money and room in your stomach for more food. Chino has some fun drinks, but again they are a bit pricey for what you are getting. There is valet parking which might be your best bet, unless you bring a bunch of quarters and are lucky enough to find a meter, or if you don't mind a little bit of a walk. I recommend this restaurant if you are with a group of people, and want to try many different dishes. Also, if you just want to sit at the table for hours eating, drinking, and conversing, this would be a great place for you, but I would not recommend it for a couple looking for a nice night our and a good meal.
It's fashionable to disdain things that are popular. Indeed, many people build their entire "personality" around it. And it's really cute to watch a group of them, their fixies all chained together, drinking PBR and smoking Parliaments, "ironically" wearing the clothing Wifey and I unironically gave to Goodwill 3 years ago, talking about how crappy this and that and the other popular place is. The service at this place is a joke, the food at that other place is bad, the drinks over there are overpriced. Strange that they all have been to all of these places that they claim to hate so much, and that they know so much about them.
Chino is such a place. By virtue of being completely successful for over 15 years, it has spawned a subculture of haters who seem to self-identify by virtue of their dislike for this entirely fantastic place. I can't fathom what Chino would do to make certain people hate it so---I've never seen anyone get dragged into the bathroom and raped. I presume that all that has happened to anyone who has visited is that they were served food and drink. Seems innocuous enough.
And the food....oh, the food. Cuban pork and beans in a light au jus/gravy, just a few shades browner than translucent, that you can cut with a spoon. Argentinian radicchio---meat on a sword you could knight someone with, all rubbed in spices and dripping with juices. The sushi, well, Minneapolis is a long way from the ocean, so if you're expecting day boat stuff here, you need to go back to the farm and rethink your life.
The drinks are not really all that expensive ($8-$10 apiece, mostly), and they're fascinating and tasty and potent. They don't make my favorite anymore (the Bay of Pigs: two shots of rum, a bottle of Mexican Coke, and two scoops of lime sherbet, which melt to make a slightly fancier version of what you and I might call a Cuba Libre), but my sister-in-law turned me on to her favorite: the Reverse Cowgirl. As I left the restaurant loudly proclaiming my love of that drink, I got a lot of stares, from which I can only deduce that a lot of other people like that drink, too.
Say what you will, hate if you want, but there's a reason the wait list on Saturday night is already an hour long by 7:30, and it's not because this place blows.
If you want a table at Chino without waiting amongst the hoi paloi for an hour or two, remember one… Read more »
Remember that girl in high school who tried too hard to be popular? Chino Latino is the restaurant equivalent.
Examples:
- The jerk chicken is obscured by 50 pieces of fried plantain sticking out of it. Whimsical is one thing, but are they purposely trying to hide the food because they realize it's just mediocre?
- One of the drinks is served in an actual pineapple. This isn't Maui; it's Minneapolis. If the drink were truly great on its own, it would be served in a glass.
- The wings on a three tiered platter. The towering tower of wings is hard to eat, just annoying, and unnecessary.
- The menu has everything from Chinese to South American to Sushi. Gordon Ramsay would go ballistic if he saw this menu. What happened to "Do a few things and do them well"?
The food was fine (dare I say good), but I found the restaurant to be gimmicky -- and that's a big turn off.
I have been in on several occasions and had the same server give me TERRIBLE service. I have also been there on several occasions and not had a server greet me for over ten minutes. I've been sat in the area near the sushi bar on the main level and been "forgotten" by servers on some of those occasions.
My advice? Only go there during late night HH. Dollar Tacos and cheap drinks can't be wrong!
One star for a great happy hour, one star for tasty food. Negative three stars for service and attitude from staff.
My oh my...you cannot go wrong with Chino Latino. The menu is overwhelming and creative and the atmosphere felt a little like I was back home in LA.
What works:
-great for groups
-fun "chic" scene right in Uptown
-something for everyone on the menu, plus family style so you can taste a lot of different dishes
-SMORES tableside...so fun
-the "Got Bangkok" shirts the servers wear
-PEOPLE WATCHING
Clearly a hot spot...I recommend a reservation and to come with a group to make it more fun!
This is my favorite restaurant in Minneapolis, mostly because of the pococatepe (sp?); fresh, hot french fries piled with cotija cheese, guacamole, black beans, tomatoes, sour cream, yummo! Seriously amazing.
I also like the glittery wall outside, the candle wall inside, the pub glasses and the logo.
But yeah, the food is spectacular. Go.
I know there are mixed reviews for Chino's but I am definitely a fan! I love their Happy Hours - early 4-7 PM and late 9 PM-12 AM.
I always order the HH Sushi ($5!!) and a Donkey Punch.
It can become pricy when you do family style group ordering. But then again, it's always hard to split a bill. I've never experienced bad service or food, always up to my liking. I've gone with one person and large groups - works great for either. If you're planning on dinner, DEFINITELY get reservations or you probably won't get in.
Also - great for large groups (birthdays, anniversarys, work group, grooms dinners, etc...) but again, make sure you get reservations in and early!
Great Happy Hour spot. Fantastic people watching.
It's been a while since I have been here but it's good to know it hasn't changed much. Drinks are great, pricey but good and the food is about the same. Like the bar but the dinning area has about the most uncomfortable chairs anywhere.
Their Ribs are fantastic and the Jerk Chicken is very tasty. I would not order the Sushi there again. The rice was under done and kind of crispy (not a good thing) and there was a lack of any type of sauce served with it. For the price it was far off the mark.
KT
came to MN to visit some friends and they took us to this awesome, chic, trendy restaurant. Upon first glance, this looks like a very happening place. We came in around 10:30 on a Saturday night and it was PACKED- luckily we had reservations.
Didn't read any reviews on this place so i'll give my own critique.
HUGE menu for both food and drinks. since we had just eaten, the group of us got:
Jerk Chicken- HUGE portions. the chicken itself didn't have too much flavor but the meat was very juicy and well cooked. the rice and beans was pretty good. for taste, i probably wouldnt order this dish again, but for show i would because it comes in this ginormous platter with fried plantains sticking in every directions. very appetizing.
Curry- i forget what it was called on the menu- but it was very good. my hubby tried to eat it all before others even got a chance to try it! very flavorful but not soggy and overpowering.
Bulgogi lettuce cups- eh. a few pieces of meat that you wrap in lettuce. ok, could have been better.
sushi- i dont remember which rolls we got but they were all pretty good. good size pieces of fish, which is a huge factor when critiquing sushi.
drinks- the mojitos are pretty good as were most of the girly-fruity drinks. i've had better, but i've also had much worse.
i really liked this place because of the ambiance. my hubby kept annoyingly bugging me to show me cool things around the restaurant. they were very accommodating- a couple in our group at literally just gotten engaged like an hour before we got there and we had called to let them know it was a special ocassion. when we got there, the menus said on the bottom "congrulations mike & jeni!" it's probably something they do for special occassions, but it was a nice surprising touch. waiters were all very nice and patient with us as we had ppl arriving at different times and ordering at different times. seemed like a popular place to have celebrations at- i saw multiple bday parties, bachelorette parties, etc.
pretty cool place. parking was a little hard to find but definitely doable. i would definitely come back again next time i visit. there was a lot of food on others' tables that looked really interesting!
I have a love/hate relationship with Chino Latino. It's one of the better places to take out-of-towners for the Uptown "scene". On the other hand, the service is hit or miss, food is mediocre and the tab continues to get more expensive every time I visit.
2.5 stars but I'll give them the extra .5 because my service was actually spot on the other night. Until next time I have to take out youngsters...peace out CL.
If you're going to their happy hour, or people watching, or the ambiance, I think it's a great place.
However, if you have high expectations of the food, I would go somewhere else. The menu is over-priced and the food is just mediocre.
Well, the atmosphere can be fun if you're in a certain mood- as others have indicated, that would be the mood to drink and revel with a relatively young clientele. I'm not making a value judgment, I'm just sayin'.
I went here as part of a large group of folks and, as we shared dishes, I got a chance to sample a good portion of the menu. Overall, the food was OK but not too distinctive. We got a number of sushi rolls and small dishes. The chicken tostada was reasonably good, nothing else stood out. And the prices are relatively high, all things considered.
I did like the habanero-infused martini I had. I wouldn't mind hitting the bar if I returned, but I don't think I'd head back for the food.
I'm not even going to comment on their clientele.
The food is mediocre. After looking at the menu for about 2-3 minutes, it becomes immediately clear that they reuse the same ingredients in a lot of their dishes. The prices are astronomical.
The layout of the bar (the narrow aisle between the bar and the railing overlooking the lower level) is at best uncomfortable. It takes forever to get a drink there on a weekend night.
If you MUST go here, then get their late night happy hour. It starts at 10 or 10:30 and they have like $3 taps and $1 tacos. The tacos aren't bad. Definitely cheap eats.
On the other hand, if you're looking for an upscale, hip uptown bar/lounge, then head over to The Caterpillar Lounge/AZIA over at 26th and Nicollet. The $5 sushi and $3 taps are a lot better. The clientele is better too.
Ighhhhh....nobody in the world is as cool as Chino Latino thinks they are.
If you want to see a whooooole lot of 22-year-old girls wearing last season's daddy-purchased BCBG and too much perfume and a whoooooole lot of 40-year-old men wearing the paper headbands and pretending to be in college whilst ogling the aforementioned needy 22-year-olds, this is your place. Otherwise, jaywalk to Chiang Mai Thai and save yourself the obligatory eye-rolling and long, pointless waiting.
About 1% of me thinks their menu and marketing plan is funny and innovative and avant-garde, and the other 99% thinks it's wildly racially and sexually offensive. And I'm not usually overly touchy. This place tries WAYYYY too hard and realized that their food quality and service doesn't warrant their prices so they had to be controversial in order to attract a crowd.
In fairness, I look forward to my annual New Year's Eve trek to this place because it's a tradition, but I live two blocks away and you'd have to pay me to make an effort to go back during the rest of the year.
each dish tastes as good as it looks and the presentation is great!
My first visit to Chino Latino was unplanned, and it wasn't on the top of my list of places to try, but I was with a new friend, it was late, and sushi was the goal. So, there we were... sitting at the tall tables, perched on our tall chairs, looking at the menu. We settled on the sampler after ordering a few drinks.
Our maki was served on a metal serving tray and, from what I recall, we had 5 different rolls to choose from. First off, they were all theme rolls -- you know, like "stars and stripes roll", "minehaha parkway roll", or something like that -- which is an instant minus in my book, but I'm good to play along and just pretend it's something other than sushi. Each one had at least 4 different things going on beside the fish, vinegar, and rice. Not bad tasting, but very strong in the "mask the flavor of the fish" department. I universally defer to the sushi church of K.I.S.S. and this sheep had strayed from the flock. I can handle this for food but, if I'm looking for "sushi," I will have to search elsewhere. And, honestly, if you're just looking for good Asian food, you've got some of the best Vietnamese in the Midwest over on Eat Street.
I think they need to clean the taps too. I had a headache the next day after 2 pints... Not normal.
In summary: Company, Excellent. Food, just ok.
So tasty. Especially the smores for dessert. They bring a flame to your table! Sushi was good. Korean BBQ Seoul Food Plate was good too. It's pricey but you get a lot of good food. I also like the Hibiscus Iced Tea but they should have free refills on that. Actually maybe it's good they don't because I'd drink it all.
The worst thing about this place were the d-bags being loud and smoking next to us. I don't mind smoking that much but they were smoking right next to a pregnant woman! I was warned before I went that the clientele are often there to be seen. The "too cool" crowd. It's apparently true.
I'd somehow never been to Chino Latino until now, and now that I've been, I doubt I'll be back. If you're in a skirt with high heels, and will be going to the Warehouse District after eating, Chino Latino is for you. If you're vegan, vegetarian, or more interested in the quality of your food than the quality of the decor around you, Chino Latino is eminently avoidable.
I came here with a group on a Saturday night; the place is packed, so don't expect to be seated promptly if you don't have reservations. Even the bar area had limited standing room. Everyone there is in a group of twelve (myself included), so if you go by yourself or with only just one other person, be prepared to feel awkward and unloved.
The place is loud, so conversation is not easy, and there's always so much movement and noise that it's hard to relax in Chino Latino.
There were some good points: the waitstaff is friendly, attentive and helpful. The atmosphere is upscale and modern, though it treads facile (the crazy and confusing bathroom, however, puts the place back in edgy territory).
Now the not-so-good: there's not much cultural diversity at Chino Latino and, amazingly, it seems even more homogeneous than other places in Uptown proper.
The drinks are all extremely expensive at around $10 a piece. Yes, the drinks are strong, so you get your money's worth I guess, but it is still excessive. Also, none of the drinks I tried were particularly tasty or memorable (unlike the $10 strong drinks at Red Dragon, which are delicious). My caipirinha (Brazil's national cocktail) was totally off and not very appealing; I don't know what it was, but it wasn't a caipirinha (and I've lived in Brazil, so I know what it should taste like). My friend's margarita (~$10) was awful; five of us tried a sip and all of us recoiled in disgust. My friend actually sent the drink back and got a Budweiser instead (kudos to the waitstaff, who didn't argue or question anything, and promptly took the drink away and got him the beer).
Now onto the food. Make sure to ask lots of questions about ingredients, because even dishes that seem to be vegan/vegetarian are not, in fact, vegan or vegetarian. The stir-fried veggies ($7; side order) are cooked in oyster sauce. The vegetable potstickers ($9) have egg and oyster sauce. The spicy edamame ($9) has oyster sauce.
My vegan friend ended up with chips and guacamole ($9) which was tasty, but super-expensive (you could get superior chips and salsa/guacamole for FREE at most Mexican restaurants). I had a weedeater sushi plate ($14; modified to be vegan) that was okay, but not worth $14, and was akin to the quality of sushi you get at Whole Foods: edible, but nothing special.
In conclusion, Chino Latino is loud, expensive, homogeneous, and doesn't make good food or drinks. But the atmosphere is kind of fun (if you're in a group of twelve, which you will be) and the service is solid, which is why I give it two stars, rather than one. That said, I wouldn't come here again on my own accord.
This place has a fun atmosphere and some pretty tasty food. It's super loud so don't expect an intimate evening. Service was alright - and the prices could be a little on the high side, but it is a fun experience if you are out for a night of some drinking and revelry.
Love happy hour, cute place. DO NOT go there unless you are semi dressed up or very... you will feel out of place. The staff can either be really snobby or really nice.
On my first trip to MN, some of my buddies took me here as an intro to the city. So what did I think?
-Tasty food, decent drinks, modern environment and super hot people everywhere. wtf? This is in MN?
Not to hate on the MN folks, but this was a serious surprise. We arrived at Chino Latino on a Tuesday at like 8:30pm. Packed. We waited 40 min for a table. Honestly, I'm glad we waiting because the food was worth it! We split a bunch of appetizers highlighted by the empanadas and individual tacos. Drinks were good although the mojito's were all pretty darn sweet. Despite how crowded it was, the service was pretty good.
Overall I had a great experience and can't wait to try more from their menu!
The food here is fantastic, and not totally unreasonably priced considering the portion size and quality. Case in point: The barbacoa and chicken tinga platter, at $29, is a steal, considering it feeds five to six people. The sushi is great. In fact, I've never had a bad meal here. If you tell them it's your birthday, they will print your name on the menus, which is just cool. The Happy Hour menu is definitely the way to go if you're looking for low-budge eats, and the Donkey Punches are delicious and strong. And the bathrooms are awesome, assuming you don't mind dudes watching you wash your hands.
For all of Chino's good points, there are a few things that make me hesitate to go there. The service is spotty. A server once dropped a few pieces of sushi on my friend, and acted like it was no big deal. Also, this places more than a lot of others seems to be populated by total douche guys and Real Housewives type ladies. Getting here from downtown at 5pm is a bitch, taking about 40 minutes. Lastly, parking is limited to the Calhoun Square ramp, which is pretty annoying.
OK. Assuming you know this already, but the concept here is "Street foods of Asia and Latin America." Good idea, right?
Most dishes we had were tasty, aggressively seasoned, pretty fun for sharing. Drinks were potent.
Big problem, though.
I'm over 30. I don't own a shiny button-down "going out shirt." I wear a tie to work every day. My job has a 401K plan. I'm married, and my wife doesn't dress like a whore. I don't enjoy "club music."
You get the idea. If you can have an ironic appreciation for the environment implied above while swilling strong drinks and eating fried, garlicky food, jump on in.
I would also note that approximately 80% of the women in attendance appeared to be either having a "ladies night" or a bachelorette party. So if you're a single, horny guy, add two stars to the above rating.
At university, we had a 'fusion' restaurant called "chico and chan's" which turned out to be sub-par chinese and burritos.
This place in name made me think we were hitting the yuppie version of that - and yet again, Barney B was wrong.
The sushi rolls were inventive and interesting, if not 100% wowing - the jerk app was a little dry and chewy. The vibe is funky and the joint is popular - maybe too popular judging by the incessant gaggle of people directly behind our bar stools trying piss their territory on our seats they attempted to annoy us out of (Barney B knows how to milk a drink to drive you nuts too, douchenozzle) - but I'm not bitter,,,,,,,,,
Definitely a 3-star venue worthy of future visits on quieter nights. Once upon a time I nearly moved to this neighborhood - in that parallel universe, I likely would have been a regular here.
You know, I really love this place. And it is my choice of restaurant come birthday time every year. And the food is fantastic, especially the volcano cup dessert. The sushi is pretty good as well, and the montego bay jerk chicken my be my favorite food item in the entire city.
But they sandwiched seven of us in a booth in the corner of the top floor. Really, seven people in a booth? I'd much rather have waited for anything downstairs to open. Not one of the big cozy round booths, but the shitty ones across from the bar area. The ones they are apparently "renovating soon."
Well, renovate now. You can't expect seven people to eat their way to a two hundred dollar food bill without expanding their waistlines. Volume displacement, people.
Also, my coworker was served the worst mojito on the planet. Somebody behind the counter mistook the sugar for SALT. We agreed that it was undrinkable, even by poor college standards, and she sent it back. To which the waitress agreed -- but OMG IF THE ONE YOU GET NEXT IS THE SAME MAYBE YOU DONT KNOW WHAT ITS SUPPOSED TO TASTE LIKE AND YOU SHOULD PROBABLY ORDER SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Bitch, please. we've had more mojitos than you've done coke lines in the bathroom. The other four we had that night were fanfuckingtastic. This one was more like a margaritajo. And not in a crafty fusion sort of way.
Food was great, as usual. Service, though, was way sub-par.
This place is great if you know what you're getting in to. Chino is my favorite place to go with a… Read more »
Okay restaurant , good for a group
Went to the restaurant on warm April night. We ordered a few appetizers one of them being the habanero poppers - do not order these! I repeat do not order these, unless you enjoy being in the bathroom the following day sick to your stomach. They do come with a little sign warning you - please take caution!
The portions are huge, and I would recommend spitting the dishes.
Mojitos are good and the prices are cheap for all of the food!
Best way to experience Chino : in a large group that allows you to sample nearly everything on the menu, seated next to the people you want to actually speak to. Big bonus if someone else is paying.
I've been to Chino before for drinks, happy hour snacks etc, but it's never a place I jump on for all the reasons suggested by other reviewers. Often crowded, a little too meat market scene-y for my taste, expensive, LOUD, extra cutesy names on the drinks...
However, they do make excellent drinks and the majority of the food was excellent. I can now say I've sampled the majority of the menu and was really pleased. The swordfish ceviche dish, elotes, bulgogi, and spicy edamame were personal favorites. I didn't really get into the french fries with guac and salsa and other stuff on top. I couldn't figure out how to actually eat them. But the s'mores knock-off dessert was excellent.
On the downside you have to sit right next to people you want to talk to because it's so loud you'll never hear anyone else speaking. It also might be hard with only a couple people because the dishes are big and part of the fun is getting to try multiple things.
They get an extra star for service. A HUGE shout out to the waiter of our 18-20 person group. He kept things pretty much straight, was attentive, and went above and beyond finding out what the member of our group with a garlic allergy could eat. And they had personalized menus celebrating the guest of honor, which was pretty darn cool.
man was i ready to jump on here and share about my latest experiences at chino, but upon reading some of the rest of the reviews... it just looks like i was a little slow to catch on in this case.
it seems like chino used to be better a few years ago, and my most recent couple of experiences have been less-than-stellar. the sushi wasn't really sushi - if there wasn't raw fish on top, i would have argued it wasn't.
the past couple of visits, the small plates have been good but WAY too expensive for what you get. the large plates have left something to be desired. the past few times the food has been under-seasoned or over-cooked. i thnk i make better fish tacos than what we had and paid over $20 for.
oh, and eating outside? joke. i took a guest from out of town and we grabbed a table - on the sidewalk - and our plates were covered in grit from the buses and cars that had been driving by. GROSS.
it's always fun to watch other people get drunk and try to walk down the stairs to the bathrooms in dresses so short you'd swear they got dressed and forgot their pants!
i won't be back unless i'm forced to go, and even then, i'd try to steer us elsewhere. there are so many other MUCH better restaurants in the cities than this place.
I have to say, this place is fantastic! Their bento Box was phenomenal when I had it, and I enjoyed my time spent on the patio (sidewalk) while I ate my dinner.
This place is always packed, so if you are looking for a quick meal, and not a wait, don't come here. The prices a bit high, but you do get mounds of food to share with your table, so it makes up for anything! The drinks are always good, The Mojitos....YUM! Sushi..eh, and service...alright!
I came here with one of my friends, who is a bartender at Figlios, and we ended up getting a $47 discount because of it..So Make friends with Figlios's servers and you'll be golden when you eat here!
Chino is definitely nichey.
You take your buddies here to show them the mini-apple has a little OC flair to it. You walk in, greeted by a narrow walkway dimly lit in orange.
- Scene: Scene's fun and trendy. Personally, I love the Dos Equis on tap. Rare in the midwest ($3.50 to boot during Happy Hour). Always a young atmosphere and open floor plan.
rating: 8/10
- Food: The food's family style. For 11 people, we ordered 4 small dishes, 4 larges dishes, and a few side. I loved the banana boat chicken and smores. Tried the sushi, pretty terrible. Tried the Carne Asadaa and it was plenty of food but nothing special. Overall, you don't come here for the food.
rating: 6/10
I'll come here to hang with my friends and snicker from the fortune cookies (something about how Comcast is monitoring my websurfing). For a fantastic meal, stay away.
Isn't too much I can add. This place is my favorite. I love the unique food choices and the delectable drinks. I am satisfied with the prices, though you have to watch yourself with the family style dining. Chino's Happy Hours are pretty amazing ($5 Sushi=SUPER DUPER!). I go to Chino's with out of towners and they are impressed and I love to go with locals because it is a part off the Uptown experience. MMmmmm! Makes me hungry just thinking about it!
I love Chino Latino! I think the problem that some people may have is they go in thinking it will be one thing and then it's not what they expect. Go in with no expectations. And that includes the bathrooms. I have to say that I am grateful to all the men I walked in on the other night for not freaking out. I completely missed the second doorway for the women's bathroom area.
It's a little expensive and a very trendy and loud place to go. But it's fun. The staff all have suggestive or plays on inappropriate phrases on their shirts. The drinks are all named after something dirty. And this is the place where you can get your drink served in a coconut or pineapple.
This last time, I went for a friend's birthday. I don't know how he did it, but her husband had the restaurant print "happy birthday Meaghan!!!!" at the bottom of our menus. Some other tables clearly celebrating a birthday received headbands. I was a little jealous my party did not resort to such public humiliation.
For as small as the menu seems to be, there is a good assortment of vegetarian, meat, fish, spicy and mild foods to pick from. The plates are huge. Expect to share. I think my party ordered almost one of everything. There was a lot of food. We ordered enough so people could try a few bites of everything and it seemed to work well that way. We had no left overs. My favorites were the pot stickers, plantains and banana chicken. Everything is good though.
Also, if you go on a weekend, make reservations. It's in Uptown. Understand that there is no off street parking.
Totally dig the Sunday Happy Hour and the veg sushi roll is great- the Weed Eater I think?
Got there at 4pm last time...stayed thru Happy Hour #2 that started at 10pm, left at closing-lol
Ambience- la la la- whatever lots of people say they're trying too hard- I don't even remember when Chino opened- it's like an Uptown Icon for me- don't know how they are trying too hard when it's been around for so long looking the same... I like the orange glow besides it's a theme.
You can never please hipsters anyway, honestly, who even really cares to? They're really just hatesters anyway. yep I'm hatin on the hatesters. ha ha ha...
If you want any semblance of an original crowd, do not go to Chino Latino. It is loud, the cocktails are overpriced, and the crowd is an uninteresting mix of mid-20s trying too hard and mid-40s trying to look young. However, if you do most unfortunately find yourself there, do yourself a favor and order the Queso Fundido and the Hot Monkey Love (Chino's only redeeming qualities).
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Lounges
Minneapolis, MN
Category: American (New)
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Asian Fusion
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Lounges
Minneapolis, MN
Category: Thai
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