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Lan's Old Town
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese
1507 N Sedgwick St(at Blackhawk St)
Chicago, IL 60610
Neighborhoods: Old Town, Near North Side
(312) 255-9888
- Nearest Transit:
-
Sedgwick (Brown Line, Purple Line)
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 5 pm - 12 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Jacques M. said: "This place is quickly becoming my lunch time addiction. For about $7 they give me (what I'd estimate to be) about a pound in a half of chicken,beef or shrimp fried rice. Despite being my lunch time addiction, it's also somewhat of a…" read more »
103 reviews for Lan's Old Town
Review Highlights
"Also, who can beat it being byob for now."
(in 25 reviews)
"Jimmy is very proud of his cuisine, and it shows."
(in 18 reviews)
"The spinach egg drop soup is oh so delicious."
(in 4 reviews)
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103 reviews in English
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Review from Lauren K.
Chicago, IL
1/10/2012
This place was great! The only thing that's a bummer is finding parking around here.
Delicious, hot crab rangoon - light and delicate. You can actually taste the crab and cream cheese.
We tried the orange chicken (they went easy on the batter so you actually got tons of chicken) and the peking chicken which came in a tasty hoisin sauce with onions and water chestnuts.
It's not super cheap at first glance, but the portions are large enough to make a second meal of it, and everything tastes very fresh. Friendly service too. -
Review from Aminda S.
Chicago, IL
1/7/2012
Jimmy (or as we call him after a couple bottles of wine down the hatch...JimMMAAYYY) took me in the back to show me his cucumber. It's not what you think. He is literally growing cucumbers in the back and they are HUGE.
I like a place that doesn't take itself too seriously, and you can't get sillier than passing the mic' while passing the pot stickers. Who doesn't like singing karaoke with their mouth full of fried rice? Seriously though, this place is not for those short on sense of humor.
The food is legit, the atmosphere casual, it's BYO and the owner - Jimmy - well, there really are no words for this guy...
Whenever I'm in the mood for Chinese or simply organizing a BYO night out with friends, Lan's is always on the list because it's sure to be a crowd pleaser. -
Review from Miranda W.
Chicago, IL
12/29/2011
Hoisin the mood for delicious Chinese food? Me!!! I love Lan's. If you want the most spectacular and fresh Chinese food, you need to order the chicken Moo Shu from Lan's for delivery or pick up. If you do these things, you should be delighted. The Moo Shu is a sure thing, no kidding! I suggest the delivery/pick-up route because my dine-in experience has been only so-so. This is a BYOB which is awesome and I love that, but I don't like the area or general feel of eating at this place. It isn't dirty or anything, it was just, well..., weird.
I have gotten other items from the menu including the potstickers and rangoons. The rangoons are good and the potstickers were sensational, but my guarantee only extends to the chicken Moo Shu. -
Review from Hill P.
Chicago, IL
1/29/2012
I had a birthday party for my friend at Lan's last night. It was a large group and Jimmy and his son Jeff were so helpful on the phone getting the reservation organized and menu organized. All of the food we had was delicious and we LOVED the karaoke. Most of all the service was the best. Friendly and accommodating to the many requests of our group, I was so impressed. This place is a gem.
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Review from Therese O.
Oak Lawn, IL
1/11/2012
It was a really bad dinner. I have eaten Chinese all over the country and in several countries. Pot stickers were just down right tasteless and chewy. The orange chicken was extremely orangey when normally it has some spice to it.
I will say it was extremely clean and they were polite. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing but I won't be going back there again.
I'm still looking for a good Chinese in the near north area. -
Review from Brian M.
Chicago, IL
1/20/2012
Easily one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city! Friendly witty service makes this place tops!
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Review from H E.
Chicago, IL
1/22/2012
So glad that we have finally found a good Chinese restaurant near us! Despite the wait to get a table, with a reservation, we had a wonderful experience at Lan's. The people were very nice and the food was great. The dine-in experience had a casual, yet fun and energetic atmosphere, with many birthdays and special events being celebrated. They were also very accommodating to everyone's BYO choice... We will definitely be back!
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Review from Melanie S.
Chicago, IL
5/24/2011
Okay, so it's not Yu's, but it's a hell of a lot closer and there's never a wait for a table.
My friend and I had dinner there and we enjoyed it. Our waiter (who also seemed to serve as the carry-out person, the maintenance guy (he was frequently carrying around a mop) and possibly even the chef) was quite amiable and clearly a renaissance man.
We started with an order of vegetable egg rolls, which weren't that great. While they were crispy, they were also greasy and rather tasteless.
Moving on to entreés: we ordered the manchurian beef, fried chicken with garlic, and chicken fried rice. Everything was decent, but overall they could have jacked up the flavor more. The manchurian beef was described as being cooked with ginger and garlic so I expected it to tantalize my taste buds and it didn't, but the chicken fried rice was delicious. And the fried chicken with garlic? Put those two things together and you have a winner in my book. We didn't really know what to expect with this dish based on its description, but it ended up being small pieces of boneless chicken in a light garlic sauce. Again, they could have used more garlic, but that could just be me since I love garlic.
We were also pleased that they serve Coca Cola products in cans (because nothing tastes better than coke right out of a can). We also had a coupon so we saved some dough, and that's always a good thing.
I would definitely give Lan's another go.Listed in: Dim Sum Lose Some
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Review from Jennifer I.
Chicago, IL
5/25/2011
I always get the lamest fortunes in my fortune cookies. Once, it read, "You like Chinese food." While this was maybe the worst one yet...well, yeah, damn straight I like Chinese food! Bring it!
I doubt my first visit to Lan's will be my last. I have said this many times, but a lot of Chinese restaurants aren't much on decor...I get the impression that most people eat Chinese food in front of the TV, wearing jammies, so why bother. However, it is still nice to find a decent eat-in Chinese place...and Lan's is pretty nice. My DC and I enjoyed our entrees (Manchurian beef for her; fried chicken with garlic for me)....although we weren't too keen on the veggie eggrolls...they were just kind of small and low on flavor. I want to go back and try the spinach egg drop soup, and definitely the duck.
Our waiter seemed to have his hands full...not only was he the server, but he also was answering the phones, cleaning, and helping the carry-out customers. He was always smiling, despite being pulled in a different direction every 2 minutes.
Yep, I like Chinese food. I'll be back.Listed in: Enjoy yourself. It's later…
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Review from tatiana c.
Chicago, IL
8/28/2011
I decided to try Lan's after reading some reviews on Yelp! I've been craving Chinese food for months. Ever since my dad moved away from my childhood home in Northbrook, I haven't been able to find any decent Chinese in the hood. Chinatown is a totally different experience. I wanted "Americanized" Chinese.
So, I ordered vegetarian egg rolls and the mushroom, pea pod and bamboo shoot dish and raced home to eat it. A little salty, but tasty. The veggies are fresh and good quality and the egg rolls were a little bland but hit the spot. I generally don't order and chicken or seafood until I've seen the restaurant and once I walked in to pick up my dinner, I was pleasantly surprised by the decor and cleanliness of the restaurant. The gentleman who brought me my order was super nice. I'll definitely order from Lan's again, next time ordering a chicken or shrimp dish to see how I like it!
If you're in the mood for some good Chinese, try Lan's. I don't think you'll be disappointed. -
Review from Carol J.
Chicago, IL
4/4/2011
As a long time fan of the original Lan's, the true early 90's birthplace of the Stoli-Sake-Cucumber Martini that is all the rage now, I was thrilled to learn that they took over the old Heat space and are doing what they do best, real deal Lan's Chinese.
Hospitality at its finest ala the amazing Jimmy Ma who recalled the pack of wolves I used to run with back in the day, graciously leaving out any recollection of my misbehaving ways (hey those martinis were lethal).
The menu is streamlined and features all the standbys, pretty good potstickers, nice egg rolls and the usual suspect of apps and soups.
The killer Cashew Chicken is a def hit and the Mongolian beef is exactly how I remember it and have searched far and wide to fine a suitable replacement. Moo Shu and Chop Suey were spot on and the portions were huge. I missed the boat on not knowing it was a BYOB and almost offered a bribe for someone else's vodka to try and replicate the martini of yesteryear but I withheld.
Weeknight it is the perfect place good for a group of 6-8 but perfectly fine for dinner a deux. When I asked for a to go container for the mammoth portion, I was presented with a complimentary box of fresh rice and a quickie cooking instruction. Same as it ever was.
Only wish you were still across the street from my place! -
Review from Morgan V.
Chicago, IL
8/8/2011
I've lived literally next door to Lan's for the past 13 months and have only eaten there twice.
Last fall I ordered a beef and veggies dish and remember being disappointed by the lack of flavor and overall lack of portion size for the price. It was an absolute turnoff that kept me away until last night. After a twelve mile run, I had zero easy food in the fridge and didn't want pizza. Lan's was the closest, easiest option.
I ordered the General Lan's Chicken to-go and picked it up at the restaurant (obviously not paying for them to deliver it ten yards). Instead of a nice, delicious stir fry meal, it was completely parted out. My bag had a container of rice, a plastic thing of deep fried chicken, and a bucket of sauce/veggies. The sauce was very watery and there was no convenient way to get the flavor into the chicken. I ended up dipping each bite in the sauce and getting a dry chicken flavor on the inside. The veggies had been soaking in the sauce for who-knows how long and were not even remotely appetizing. They ended up in the garbage.
The only saving grace was the chicken egg rolls I ordered with the meal. Two decently sized egg rolls with a tasty dipping sauce for $4...I should've called it at that.
My entire meal was $17 and it was definitely not worth it. If you want Asian cuisine, head to Thai Aroma around the corner. I know it's a different nationality, but the food and the prices are both significantly better.
Cheers -
Review from Greg B.
Chicago, IL
11/6/2011
Food is ok
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Review from Sam Z.
Chicago, IL
5/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
I went into Lan's with my buddy because he lived by there and he's always wanted to try it out.
When we were there, we just went in there for take-out. The staff there is friendly and offered us a table to wait until our food was ready. It didn't take long to get it. The place is not that big but it was a cozy place.
The food was ehhhhh (I had the orange chicken) but maybe I'll try something else next time. -
Review from Katelyn E.
Chicago, IL
2/24/2011
Five people and seventy dollars down, Lan's Old Town arrives at my front door. For about $15/meal, I'm thinking it has to be pretty good. On a never-ending search for delicious Chinese delivery, my friends and I decided to try this new place. The first place I called (and admittedly had better reviews) estimated a 1.5 hour delivery time and so we crossed them off the list and moved on to Lan's, which promised a 30 minute delivery. The man who showed up at my door step was such a sweet old man (aren't they always?!) and I just couldn't help giving him an extra big tip after he kept peering around the door and mumbling about my "wolf" (aka German Shepherd).
We ordered: Sesame Chicken, Kung Pao, Chicken Fried Rice, Orange Chicken and Veggie Fried Rice. These are our general ratings on a scale from 1-5, with a 5 being the highest.
Sesame Chicken: 2...I have a thing about only eating white chicken. This was NOT white chicken. It was dark brown and gross. After biting into one and seeing the color, I tried to cut open all of them, like some bad Valentine's Day box of chocolates. I ended up eating all my rice only, fyi.
Kung Pao: 4- take this with a grain of salt. My fiance would pretty much eat anything.
Orange Chicken: see "sesame chicken"
Chicken Fried Rice: 5...have to give props on this meal. Very delicious.
Veggie Fried Rice: she ate it all...so... 5 I'd say?
Needless to say...the search continues on. -
Review from scott g.
Chicago, IL
2/15/2011
I will forever be a loyal patron of Lans Old Town. Food is awesome, let's get that out of the way first. They dish up some mighty fine Szechuan cuisine, always hot and always tasty.
But what's even better is the showmanship of Lans owner, Jimmy. The man is a born-entertainer. He is the reason why I come back to Lans.
You should too. -
Review from Lauren P.
Wood Dale, IL
10/9/2011
Love this place! It was delicious food and so much fun! We stayed around long enough to enjoy the karaoke too! The wait staff was so sweet and so nice to our really large group. Since our group was so big, we did the family style for dinner and it was perfect! They gave us a great variety of all of the food and also gave us lots of spring rolls!! I would definitely go back!
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Review from Andrea R.
12/28/2010
On Christmas Day we planned to do what all good Jews do...movie and a Chinese food! While we usually go out for Chinese food on Christmas we figured it was easier to order in this year with a newborn at home.
I've yet to find many good restaurants for Chinese food in Chicago (sigh), but I called a few passable options. Unfortunately, all of them were closed for Christmas (oy vey!) or we were out of their delivery range. And so I turned to Yelp for help...and discovered Lan's.
An hr later we had won ton soup, kung pao chicken and sweet and sour chicken (we were in a chicken kinda mood) at our door. The won ton soup was good, but the rest of the meal failed to impress. It was very greasy and didn't taste very good. We helped ourselves to a bit and threw out the rest. We're very big into leftovers these days, but opted for a frozen meal the next night over Lan's leftovers.
It was a Merry Christmas, but would have been even merrier with good Chinese food. Perhaps next year! -
Review from Rid H.
Chicago, IL
2/18/2011
The spinach egg drop soup is oh so delicious! I love the fried rice here too!
Great atmosphere and service! Keep it up! :) -
Review from Stephanie S.
Chicago, IL
1/3/2012
Fuck this place. This place has fell off, Lan's has been around a while and back in the day it did seem like they cared about their food and service. I am so disappointed in Lan's Old Town. My husband and I always order delivery for this place but one night we decided to go and eat there. We stood in the the front of the restaurant for at least 5 mins and no one came by to greet us. We noticed in the time we were standing there the tables were dirty and there was no one cleaning tables or taking care of the people that were in there eating. So we left and thought it was more of an order in kinda place. Well tonight was the nail in the coffin for us. Jimmy, the guy who we spoke to tonight and other nights to order delivery told me he will not deliver to me. I found this to be very strange because we have ordered from here for delivery at least 10 times before. I know I am 1 block out of the delivery zone but it has always been ok in the past. I normally don't write reviews but I thought this was necessary tonight. The food has gotten worse and now they treat their customers like shit. Not ok in my book! I will never be back.
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Review from Justin T.
Chicago, IL
9/4/2011
Whole thing was a complete debacle.
Five of six items were inedible. The dumplings were awkward, crab rangoons dry and uneventful, and the noodles were so bad that we actually could not even eat one bite (not only were the noodles themselves bad, but when chewing into our first bite of pork, I hit bone!).
The only saving grace was the pepper beef, which was actually quite nice, but the fact that everything else was so miserable was tough. -
Review from Jon P.
Chicago, IL
9/18/2010
First, let me list a few of the interesting things that happened while I was at Lans:
- Owner (?) poured some incredibly strong Chinese booze on the bar and lit it on fire---twice
- Same owner explained how he tried to smuggle a tiger bone into the country
- Patron brought a 24 pack of Heineken in and passed a can out to everyone in the restaurant.
Ok, now that I have your attention, let's get into my review. A friend and I were completely stumped about where to eat. We didn't set out for Chinese food, but after stumbling upon Lan's on Yelp, the reviews made it seem interesting enough to try out. We were being lazy and decided to drive even though we assumed that parking would be hard---it was. We eventually found a metered spot though and walked into Lan's.
Walking into this place, I was immediately interested. Let's break it down: first, the restaurant has huge, red gimmicky doors. Directly behind the door is the host stand sporting a giant pig statue and on on the floor is a giant floor mat with dogs on it. Looking around, I quickly noticed a big fish tank on the left in front of a bar extending the length of the place and floor to ceiling mirrors on the right wall. The decor is a weird mix of tacky 80's and faux Chinese. Anyways, the most important part of this entrance is that when we got there, a man who I assume was the owner (who I later learned was named Jimmy) was standing behind the bar with a flaming puddle of Chinese liquor in front of him with the only 2 patrons in the place sitting there taking pictures. Uh, what? Jimmy looked over and said, "sit where ever you want. The place is yours." Ya, I think we'll be taking the bar.
Jimmy stayed and talked with the 2 men there who seemed to be regulars while his son (?) came over and gave us some menus. We looked it over and ordered some crab rangoon, Cokes, pork moo shu for my friend and Szechuan beef for me. (When I asked the son how hot the Szechuan beef was he said "you know, white people spicy".) While we waited, we talked, watched some Chinese tv on a humorously small tv on a stand behind the bar and eavesdropped on the conversation the between Jimmy and the men next to us. Pretty funny stuff. That's when Jimmy explained how he tried to smuggle a tiger bone through customs and that he's Irish and Jewish (if his name threw you off, Jimmy is very, very Chinese.)
Eventually the appetizer came and Jimmy came over to show us the best way to mix the sauces together. The crab rangoon was good, but not great. Eventually our entrees came out and we chowed down. We both enjoyed our respective dishes a lot. Midway through, Jimmy popped over to talk with us a bit, introduced himself and asked our names. We asked about all of the martial arts trophies in front of us and he explained that they were his sons'. He also explained that he used to have a big flat screen behind the bar, but someone stole it so that's why we were treated to the glorious 15"er.
Speaking of the bar, it isn't really a "bar" per se. This place is BYOB. We didn't know that before we came, so we were bummed out we didn't bring anything. Jimmy said he'd like to get a liquor license sometime in the future. Seems to me like it'd be a good idea, but on the other hand it might take away some of the charm of this place. As we ate, more and more people filtered in, including a couple of cops who were regulars. Jimmy kept trying to give them free shots of that booze, but they declined. Eventually, the original group of two guys that were there when we first walked in grew to 4 and they brought a 24 case of Heineken. After realizing that they had far too much beer for just themselves, they offered everyone in the place a can. Most accepted. Situations like these would be gone if Lan's sold alcohol.
Through all this we kept eating. Jimmy gave me more free rice and reheated my friend's pancake without us even asking. He came over one more time to show that he remembered our names. We eventually got the bill, only to realize that we weren't charged for the Cokes or the appetizer. Split in half, I paid $12. I've never left a place so full.
Wow, I wrote way too much. But I think that speaks volumes about this place. It is an experience. The food wasn't amazing, but it was good. Everything else, however, was amazing---fun and interesting. We'll definitely be back... if only to see if Jimmy remembers our names. -
Review from Keun L.
Chicago, IL
9/30/2010
This is my first yelp ever. I've been on yelp for a year now (I think)... and this stuff was so bad, I was compelled to write something. It was evil!!!!
I ordered for delivery. Here's my summary:
- overcharged me by 10 bucks ( i should've paid cash instead of using credit)
- a can of pop is 3 bucks
- the orange chicken was was soggy like a sponge soaked in orange syrup. The chicken tasted like it was precooked 2 months ago and left to sit in the walkin too long.
- the pot stickers, well, that was probably the best food item i ordered from them. But then again, I think you've gotta try really hard to screw up pot stickers.
You know, i read all the good reviews here and I was sold. I really was. I wanted it to be at least descent. I'm sorry, but that food was "baaaaad". I'm not generally a picky eater, as I'll eat or try anything atleast once.
I've got a hunch, that this place may have been very good at some point in time. Unfortunately, I'm afraid to try anything else from this establishment. -
Review from C T.
Chicago, IL
11/28/2011
Lan's is the best Chinese food ever. Jimmy has been serving the same delicious food in Chicago for more than 25 years.
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Review from Aaron L.
Chicago, IL
2/21/2011
4* Szechuan Beef
3* Kung Po Chicken -
Review from Bangner, J.
Chicago, IL
5/16/2011
The picture says it all!
JIMMY makes this place one of my new favorite spots!
Extensive menu and great prices make this place a must go-to.
Karaoke on some nights or when the owner is feeling good and wants to party!
Not to mention it's BYOB! -
Review from Mickey A.
7/22/2010
Whenever I'm in need of comfort food, Lan's is one of my places I can count on for delivery (via Grubhub or restaurant website).
My favorite dish to order is the pepper steak. This is the first place where there is more meat than green pepper. With a lot of places, I'm usually disappointed to find more side vegetables than the main dish (uh, ingredient?). I mean, come on. If I wanted a veggie dish, I would have one. This place gets 5 stars for that...annnnddd I hope I didn't just jinx myself.
Runners' up so far include: sweet and sour chicken (can be hit or miss), vegetable egg rolls, and almond chicken.
Note: main entrees come with a side of white rice. If you want brown rice, it's $3.00 and is plentiful for at least 2 people.
PS: I'm hoping to bump this up when I can take advantage of the BYOB. Who doesn't love that?Listed in: Be Bo Be Beep Beep Beep
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Review from Kerry M.
6/2/2011
Great chinese delivery. Food isn't drowning in sauce, and the veggies were very fresh. Meat was great quality too. The food arrived really fast, and I had tons of leftovers!
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Review from Lover of Dogs H.
Chicago, IL
6/8/2010
If I get Chinese food, I typically order from Lan's. The food is solid and the service is good. I've dined in a couple of times - it's nice that it's BYOB. The vegetables always seem fresh and the owner seems to be accomodating to any requests that you may have.
Stacey E says how it is... "a very unassuming place on a street which was fairly quiet at the time...but once we walked in I was pleasantly surprised at the inviting interior, and the warm welcome we received." -
Review from Stacey E.
Naperville, IL
5/17/2010
A friend and I were wandering Old Town a few evenings ago when a craving for Chinese food descended upon us. You know the one. Resistance is futile. SO, we had heard good things about Lan's, and decided to walk over. I have to admit that I didn't have high expectations of Lan's when it entered my line of sight...a very unassuming place on a street which was fairly quiet at the time...but once we walked in I was pleasantly surprised at the inviting interior, and the warm welcome we received from the staff.
Had I been aware of the apparent renown of the Hot and Sour soup, I definitely would have tried it, but as I was uninformed of it's cult status at the time, we went with steamed fish dumplings as a starter. They were absolutely delicious. Enough said. Our server was extremely helpful in our struggle to decide on entrees, and gave us patient explanations of the menu items as well as his recommendations. They will also prepare any meal to your specific "spiciness" preference, which is awesome. I opted for the black mushrooms with bamboo shoots and found it to be just lovely. Portion size was generous, the sauce was rich and had wonderful depth of flavor without being overpowering, and the pea-pods were actually crisp, and not stringy/overcooked. My friend chose the Szechuan Beef, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Truly some of the best Chinese fare I've had in a long time. It's a little off the beaten path, but the delicious food and excellent service make it worth venturing in. I recommend, and will most definitely return when I'm in the neighborhood again. -
Review from Jeanus T.
5/5/2011
Been passing by this place for the longest time and never got motivated to go here. At last, I tried last night unexpectedly. Yes, it's American Chinese, don't expect authenticity! American Chinese can be good or bad too and I think this is one of those better American Chinese places. It's cheap, the owner is friendly and the place looks pretty clean. What else can you ask more when you feel like American Chinese? It's an easy and don't-feel-like-cooking-but-don't-want-to-spend-al ot-of-$$-for-dinner place. Try it! P.s. It's BYOB.
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Review from Steve D.
Chicago, IL
4/30/2011
This place is always amazing.
Byob!
The food is fabulous, my fiancé and I always get the orange chicken and the cashew chicken and share.
I am lucky to live within walking distance of here! -
Review from Cari B.
Woodridge, IL
5/30/2011
We had a dinner with close to 20 girls here for my bachelorette party last month, and it was great. It was a perfect location for us, since our next stop was Second City. The food was delicious and reasonably priced, and the BYOB bit didn't hurt either. In fact, it saved us a ton of money and definitely made the dinner that much more enjoyable. The staff was very accommodating of our group, especially the owner Jimmy, who my maid-of-honor tells me was wonderful to work with in planning the event and took all of the bachelorette-party ridiculousness in stride. I would definitely go back here, either for a normal dinner or larger group event!
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Review from Melissa M.
Chicago, IL
6/6/2009
Woo hoo! BYOB Chinese place in Old Town -- nice!
The chicken egg rolls were fantastic -- as was the spinach egg drop soup (I've never had spinach in my egg drop soup before -- pleasant surprise).
I had the mongolian beef which was pretty average -- but good.
I'd visit again -- glad to see something took the place of that old sushi resto. -
Review from Nicole C.
Denton, TX
10/23/2009
Lan's has decent Chinese food and very warm service. In another city I'd give them 3 stars but as Chicago is so lacking on the Chinese food front (even the super Americanized version), I have to bump them up. I went on a Friday night with a gaggle of 8 gals and we were treated very well by the father and son proprietors, shared multiple appetizers and entrees, brought our own wine and sake so for $20 our Friday night started on a great note. (Papa Lan kicked back a glass of sake with us in fact :^).
The Mooshoo chicken was probably the favorite of the night. The Garlic Shrimp was recommended and though it did have nice meaty shrimp and a tasty sauce I was dismayed that the shrimp were deepfried in a breaded coating (totally unecessary)...but perhaps that's what people want. Garic eggplant was wonderful (take heed that we ordered it "medium", which most thought was pretty hot...would go mild next time.) Health nuts like me can appreciate the (Japanese?) seaweed salad, tofu/veggie soup and brown rice option.
I would recommend going with 5 or fewer people if dining in because Lan's really isn't geared toward groups and the large table we were at required awkward foot/leg placement. Luckily we were a fairly young and flexible (in multiple senses of the word) bunch. -
Review from Mihir S.
Chicago, IL
11/10/2009
I have to agree with Nicole below. The food here decent but not great (in Chicago but outside of Chinatown that is). The atmosphere is simple and there's probably about 30 seats.
My friends and I came here on my birthday and Lan himself served us. What a warm, personal and funny guy. For food I recommend (in order):
- The duck - crispy, juicy and served with a Chinese mustard, soy sauce (I think that's what it was).
- Shredded pork and green beans.
- Manchurian Beef
- Shrimp Toast - appetizer
- Garlic Chicken
The other items - noodles dishes, rangoons, potstickers and egg rolls were pretty standard.
It was hilarious - at the end of the meal, Lan came out and quietly crouched beside me and asked whispering "Whose birthday is it?" I broke out laughing informing him that it was mine. He started to laugh as well. He brought out the cake singing Happy Birthday. At the end of the night, Lan took pictured with and of us - remind me to post them.
I normally would have given this eatery 3-stars but Lan's warmth bumps it to five. -
Review from diane c.
Chicago, IL
9/27/2010
From all the reviews, I was pretty excited to try this place. It's just impossible to get good Chinese if not in SF or NY, especially a place that delivers.
The wonton soup - good, but not great. The broth was good, but the dumplings were mushy.
Shrimp fried rice - good, not great. It was too wet and limp for my taste
Spicy Basil Chicken - great! I selected "very spicy" and it came out just as expected.
General Lan's Chicken - poor. There was no flavor and the breading was this wet clump, dripping off the chicken pieces. This dish will never be ordered again. I just hope it's not an indication of their other fried dishes.
Not sure I will be ordering from this place again. -
Review from Ryan H.
Chicago, IL
8/19/2009 5 photos
I am generally not a fan of Chinese cuisine. That was before I dined at Lan's Old Town. At the behest of my finance we elected to try Lan's based on the reviews and proximity to our home. I was very pleasantly surprised. The food was delicious; fresh non-frozen vegetables, meat cooked to perfection, wonderful house-made sauces.
The staff was very attentive and thoughtful. The owner, Jimmy, is quite the character! For example, a wine glass slipped off a serving tray and smashes into the floor. He reaches down, picks up what is left of the stem, shakes his head while examining the remnants and exclaims in a conciliatory tone while the all the patrons are watching, "Figures....made in China." (he is Chinese). The whole restaurant was in hysterics.
We later toured the kitchen which was extremely clean and organized which was somewhat surprising since it was later in the evening and quite busy. The restrooms at a restaurant can provide a good indication of how serious the management is about cleanliness. I am happy to report that the restrooms were spotless during each of my two visits. That evidence, combined with my analysis of the kitchen operations gives me great confidence in the food quality, handling, and safety at this establishment.
Lan's is BYOB so don't forget to bring some wine/beer/cocktails. The waitstaff encouraged us to bring in a keg if that is what we desired. Lan's has a delivery arrangement with a liquor store down the street in case you forget about the BYOB policy.
4/5 stars: Recommended -
Review from Sanket K.
5/20/2010
This is my go-to Chinese restaurant. Yes it's a block away from me in Old Town but the food is really solid. The owner, Jimmy, is always friendly and provides great service. I've dined in a few times but usually take my food to go. If you do dine-in, it's BYOB.
To the food: I'm a vegetarian so I eat those dishes only and the Family Bean Curd is really really good. The portions are huge and everything from the tofu to all the veggies included are fresh. The Garlic Spicy Eggplant is really tasty. The Ma Po Tofu is pretty good though it wasn't that memorable for me. I also really enjoyed the Moo Shu Veggie Wraps. They are outstanding. The pancakes (crepes?) that they come with are made at the restaurant and are perfect.
This place rivals anything Chinatown has and if you live on the north side, it'll save you a trip down there. -
Review from Kelsey G.
Chicago, IL
7/22/2009
I am reviewing this place strictly on delivery. I have never been to the physical restaurant.
I had been looking for my staple Chinese-delivery spot since I moved to the city. I have tried so many and found most to be: terrible food or grossly overpriced.
I tried Lan's based on Yelpers reviews - and have never turned back! You can order online on http://GrubHub.com, they always deliver earlier than their estimated time, the food is great, and the price is reasonable!
So far I have tried the Chicken Fried Rice, Pepper Beef, Orange Chicken and Crab Rangoon - all very large portions and very tasty!!
I am so happy to have finally found my staple Chinese-delivery spot!
