Spicy City Chinese Restaurant
4690 Convoy St Ste 107
(between Engineer Rd & Opportunity Rd)
San Diego, CA 92111 (858) 278-1818
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
39 Reviews for Spicy City Chinese Restaurant
Really good chinese food! It seems like there aren't that many good chinese places around Convoy, but this place is great. In my opinion it isnt too spicy either. My only complaint is that the restaurant is kinda small.
Not bad. Obviously, some stuff is spicy. Most of the dishes are good, but a few of them made me go HUH WHAT IS THIS. For the most part, it was good though.
An authentic Chinese restaurant that is not cantonese...these are hard to come by. This is one of those restaurants where the food is outstanding, but the whole experience is extremely user-unfriendly to westerners. It's hard to know exactly WHAT some of the items are, how big they are, and how to combine the various items to make a meal. Also, this is one of those places that really works best family style. It's best to wait until you can come here in a group of 4+ people so that you can share and get the full experience.
Some of the dishes here are so spicy that it can be difficult to eat them. Picture a combination of different types of (all hot) peppers treated as vegetables rather than seasoning. Some of the dishes will inflict pain on the first bite. If you're a masochist when it comes to hot foods, like myself, you'll be in heaven. And it's not just "hot hot" but it's very flavorful...lots of garlic, ginger, and other "hit-you-in-the-face" spices. Some of the meats here (such as frog) come on the bone, which can be annoying. I'd rather pay more and have it be de-boned.
I haven't had the best experiences with the noodle soups here. Maybe I just like Cantonese soups more? The casseroles and stir-fried dishes are outstanding though. Even if you order the more "boring" dishes, everything is very flavorful. One last comment about the food: the rice here is outstanding...very moist and aromatic.
Service is good, but they're not always good at explaining exactly what the various dishes are.
Bottom line? Go here when you want to have a weird or new experience in food, go here in a large group, and then come back. Preferably go with someone who is Chinese or who has been here before. This place is so alien that it's hard to just walk in and get the full experience out of it.
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It might just be that I don't like this regional style of Chinese cooking but I didn't really like this place. I thought kung pao chicken would have been chicken with some peppers and some peanuts. This dish came out with deep fried sweet tasting chicken (think sweet and sour batter style), you could barely find the chicken bits hidden in mounds of peppers. Every bite I took, I felt bad for my stomach and downed some more hot tea. The soup special was decent, it helped counter the other foods. We also got the mapo dofu and did not like it at all. It was diced tofu with some green onions drowning in some crazy bright red/orange sauce.
The place was pretty packed though so that's why I think it's just not my favorite regional cooking choice. I've had better chinese food up north though.
The title of the restaurant suits this place perfectly. I don't know if I've had spicier food than I have here without ordering it extra spicy. When I go to restaurants I usually order a 7/10 for spicyness. I had the dried beef pot and kung pao chicken.
The kung pao is done a litle bit differently here, the chicken is in a batter and has a bit of sweetness to it. It comes with lots of peppers, peanuts and chicken.
The dried beef pot was probably an 8 or 9 as far as hotness goes. But it was quite tasty and had some bean sprouts, 3 or 4 types of peppers and some other assorted veggies in there.
I'll probably go back again with some other friends that like spicy food. This place is definitely worth checking out if you like your food hot.
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Oily Cty is a more accurate description for the food served. Extremely thirsty after the meal.......MSG maybe ?? No reason for me to go back.
I am always the skeptic when trying new Chinese restaurants, especially those specializing in certain dishes from specific regions of China. Although the name Spicy City suggests that the food is from areas such as Sichuan, Yunnan, Hunan, Chongqing, Chengdu, etc, its name in Chinese "Guo Qiao Yuan" tells me that the restaurant specializes in Yunnan cuisine.
So for the sake of this review, I'm going to compare Spicy City to its peers -- the other Yunnan style restaurants -- and not say, Cantonese, Mandarin, or even Shanghainese restaurants because there is just no comparison. The cuisines are so very different!
We arrived around 8pm to a very full restaurant. There was only one table available and thankfully, it was a table for 4. After perusing the menu and seeing a few things I wanted to try, I walked over to the cold appetizer table and selected 3 items (3 items for $5.50): spicy beef slices, tofu noodles in spicy sauce and celery/carrots in sesame oil.
Hubby was reluctant in the beginning to order too much, whispering that perhaps we could eat somewhere else afterwards, but after sampling the cold appetizers his confidence grew, hence, giving me the 'O-K' to go ahead and order.
I got 2 items for lil guy: his favorite scallion pancake ($2.95) and fried tofu in brown sauce ($6.99) because the dishes I wanted to order would be WAY too spicy for his 7 year old tastebuds. However, the little trooper even took a taste of the spicy beef dish.
I ordered the Yunnan house special noodle -- #1 on the menu ($6.99) -- which is a Yunnan specialty. There is also a spicy version and the name of this dish is also the name of the restaurant "Guo Qiao" which means "crossing the bridge".
As legend has it, this dish came about because the wife had to deliver lunch to her husband who was working across the bridge in the woods. In order to maintain the temperature of the noodles on her long journey, scalding hot oil was poured over the noodles keeping it hot as she crossed the bridge to deliver the meal. Hence, the name of the noodles "Guo Qiao Mian" which literally means "Crossing the bridge noodles".
The noodle soup arrived with a bowl of soup, a plate of noodles and a plate of poached pork, chicken and a selection of vegetables. The server combined it together when he brought it over to the table. The broth was incredibly flavorful with hints of white pepper. It is ideal to eat this before the spicy stuff starts to pour in because once your tongue starts getting numb from the Sichuan peppercorns, you won't be able to taste the subtlety of the broth.
Beef in dried pot (#108/ $9.99) is the recommendation of the server who took our order. It arrived in a little wok with a flame underneath to keep it hot. Beef, soy bean sprouts, celery, onions, fresh green and red chili slices and dried chili peppers donned this extremely flavorful dish. Do not attempt if you can't tolerate the heat. I can eat habaneros and this dish made me sweat like I had been on the eliptical for 15 minutes. However, if you love this sort of food, it's addicting and it will leave you wanting more. The dried chili peppers made the other peppers (couldn't tell if they were jalapeno or serranos) taste like bell peppers!
The other 2 things we ordered were for lil guy: scallion pancakes were okay, but this isn't something you order at a restaurant like this even though it's on the menu. The fried tofu in brown sauce was very nicely done even though it's not a Yunnan/Sichuan specialty. I thought it was prepared better than some Cantonese restaurants I've been to.
For Yunnan food, this is the best I've had outside of Asia. The spice level as well as the flavors were spot on.
I saw some people eating sweet and sour shrimp. C'mon people!! If you want fried rice, sweet and sour, whatever the hell you find on Chinese fast food restaurant menus, you DON'T come to a Yunnan/Sichuan style restaurant to eat that sort of Chinese food. Would you go to a French restaurant to eat pasta? Or tamales at an Italian restaurant?
On another note, service was very good as well. Maybe because I spoke Chinese to them -- I dunno -- but the man (the manager? owner?) was very attentive and especially so towards hubby constantly coming back to ask if he was enjoying the food.
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YUMMY cong you bing (well, if you know me you'll know I love cong you bing), yummy tofu (well, I love tofu also).
I loved the noodles in soup. Soup was so good. I could taste the pepper in it, I even said that to mommy. Mommy said 'smart boy!'
Daddy made me taste the spicy beef which was good, but a bit spicy. I had to drink lots of iced water.
I still think it's 5 stars!
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All the Pickled Peppers Peter Piper Picked must have been in my Beef with Pickled Peppers dish at Spicy City. Cause it was Nuclear Hot.
I had to get my Mapo Dofu as well just cause it's my thing. Both were Very Good. The Mapo Dofu here is vegetarian so I asked for it to have some minced pork. I actually got to try both versions because the chef forgot to add it at first. I must say it was very flavorful either way and I wouldn't have missed it (even if the waitress didn't come by kindly apologizing). Which reminds me, despite that, the service was spot on and extremely friendly.
Spicy City may lack the space and ambiance of Ba Ren but they more than make up for it with the great service. One thing Ba Ren really needs to work on.
Anyway, next time I want to try the Lamb with Cumin and anything with Frog! The menu is mindbogglingly long! Mindbogglingly!
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I love the spicy foods of China, especially from these provinces which uses the numbing Sichuan peppercorns. In fact, I love this taste so much I even have a jar of this special chili sauce in my fridge to put on whatever I feel like adding a kick to.
I've only been to a few of these sorts of restaurants and according to my wife, none have been super authentic -- until now!!
After tasting the food here I can tell you that the flavors are completely different to what I've ever had before. The amazing tingling sensation of the Sichuan peppercorns on your tongue is intoxicating, however, not everyone likes it. Personally, I love it! I like this heat the best out of all the different spicy cuisines: Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian etc.
The beef dish with the fresh and dried chilis was so addictive. I couldn't stop eating it and drinking Tsingtao. The guy recommended a beer to me and I complied, but I don't usually drink beer with my meals. However, I was amazed at how well it complemented the spiciness of the food I ended up having 2 bottles of Tsingtao. The other thing is, I felt like I was eating in someone's home because they didn't bring me a glass! I just drank out of the bottle.
Food was awesome and from my wife's reactions, this is probably the best we'll ever get around here (and I'm talking about within an hour or two's driving distance) so it's really not too bad.
Excellent food, great service! We tried to eat here over the weekend but the line was so long we didn't even bother to wait. We went again a bit later on a weeknight and it was still pretty packed so be prepared to wait for a table.
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Dude... only one word...
SPICY!!!!
Spicy hot pot and other dishes are WAY too hot for me, but as I've tasted, it is prepared well, with good SD prices..
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This is a great place to eat some traditional Chinese dishes. They have decent prices (ranges from 5-10 dollars) for a San Diego restaurant and the quality of the food is outstanding. This restaurant offers dishes both from the Yunnan and Szechwan provinces of China, and thus they offer both subtle and very spicy dishes.
I would recommend the Yunnan Noodles (number 1 on the menu) and the Yunnan beef jerky as they are specialty dishes that can't be found in just any Chinese restaurant.
My friends and I had a very good experience here and the service was great and attentive and our food came out very fast. The reason why I can't give this restaurant a 5 is because the ambiance is not that great as it is small and cramped and the ice water is some real nasty tap water. However, I can say that their restroom is very clean especially for a small Chinese restaurant, which usually has dirty ones.
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Seems like the place just got new blood. It was its first opening yesterday (since Chinese New Year). Not only the place looks different, and also has a very different menu.
The owners look different, very talkive and friendly. Came by and talked to us. The Chinese name of the restaurant has changed to a place in LA that's quite popular with the locals up there. The inside of the place also got some touch ups.
The food. Very authentic Szechuan/Yunnan cuisine, kinda on the spicy side (hence the name). They also bought in some Chinese specialties that's I have never seen in SD before --- Yunnan Rice Noodle, which kinda taste like a more solid version of Pho.
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if i had written this review a couple of months ago, i'd give four stars. buuut then i went here for one of my last meals in san diego, and was really disappointed. my coworkers and i are pretty frequent spicy city visitors, and have always loved it.
we normally order the chef's string beans, the cubed fried chicken, spicy garlic shrimp, and one of the spicy fish fillets. and normally, everything is excellent. this time... they didn't have the shrimp dish anymore, and nothing was spectacular. they must have gotten another chef? or changed hands?
oh oh, and here's the kicker. our server came to take our order. we started to order, and had a question. she left us and ignored us for 10 minutes. wtf?! she wasn't busy. she wasn't seeking an answer to our question. she just... bailed on us.
i'd give two stars, except... there have been fond memories here. so a bonus star for a memorable past.
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A recommendation found four of us here for lunch.
We eagerly ordered off of the menu without really understanding what we were going to get. I suggestion from the waitstaff is recommended.
I ordered the mapo tofu with minced pork. It was tofu and pork bathed (and I'm not using this term kindly here) in some strange red sauce, which I can only guess was chili oil. The strange thing is, the food was flavorful, but not to spicy. But it gets weirder! My mouth and tongue started to get mildly numb, possibly from this chili oil?
Another one of us ordered the Spicy Chicken. I think we had a good laugh when about 15 pieces (SMALL pieces) of fried chicken (think the size of grapes) came out on a plate COVERED with dried red chilis. Again, not spicy, but were you supposed to eat all of those peppers?
Two others got the Walnut Shrimp... COVERED in mayo! Batter dipped shrimp swathed in mayo.
I wouldn't recommend this place, unless you know what you are doing, or have a seasoned professional in tow. Or ask for some recommendations from the folks that work there.
I liked this place.
Like Dumpling Inn, it's small. Not as cozy-feeling, though.
There are mirrors everywhere. It's really bright inside.
But the food is delicious. You've GOT to order the crispy fried beef.
We overate (when do we not?) and walked out of the restaurant very slowly and very satisfied.
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You know this place has to be good because when you go there all the other restaurants adjacent to it have no one inside and the line for this place spills out to the parking lot. Instead of going to the closest restaurants the people waiting in line decide to go to China Max instead.
If you want spicy Szechuan food this is the place to go. Order the fried intestines with the peppers, or boiled beef w/peppers. Classic 4 village style spicy dishes made close to perfection.
The people who used to come here for dan dan mien or non tripe items are accustomed to taiwanese style food not szechuan so they might be giving lower ratings. But if you are for spicy authentic regional food this is the place to go to in San Diego.
Some of the faults on a busy night are long waits for seating and for the food. It's not a big area, so larger parties will wait longer. While our party did not get any mix up in food orders, we did witness a couple of other tables get the wrong order or an order so late that they were done already and decided not to keep that dish.
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good chinese food, decent portion, decent price. keeps my belly happi :) this is the place i go when a bunch of friends and i want chinese..spicy chinese! come here with a group so you can try out a variety of dishes!
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they're not kidding about how spicy their food is!! good thing our server keeps refilling my water after my Tsingtao.
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This is the only Chinese restaurant in San Diego that my family is willing to eat at. We've tried a few other Chinese restaurants (they haven't been to Ba Ren yet -- which seems to be extremely popular on yelp), and they have never liked the Chinese food. We always go to LA/OC for Chinese food, where it is authentic and good.
I've only eaten the vegetable dishes here, but my brothers and parents all really like everything that we've ordered here. The dishes are plentiful and spicy, and is ideal for family sharing. The servers were all very nice and helpful in suggesting dishes, and my family left, satisfied.
They would still go to LA/OC, though, for Chinese food, but if they had to choose in San Diego, they would come here.
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I like spicy food. I like Chinese food. I like Spicy City. The only complaints I have is the service is not very good and the food is a little on the oily side.
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Until recently, I have LOVED Spicy City. The usual order is the Husband and Wife, and dan dan noodles(spicy peanut noodles). I'm guessing they have new owners and new cooks to come with that since they closed down to "remodel". I'd have to say the food tastes very very different and I really don't like how it tastes now. But those two things are the only meals I've tried since the new ownership, so I can't say the restaurant is bad.
I was in for such a surprise when I opened the menu - I didn't recognize anything. There were plenty of dishes that feature tripe and kidneys that I'm not accustomed to.
I ordered the shrimp in garlic sauce, house chow mein, and spareribs in sweet & sour sauce. Everything was decent - nothing to write home about. Shrimp in garlic sauce just wasn't good - I've had better at Panda Express. The chow mein was the worst - bland, the noodles were smooshy, and it had spam-like meat in it - weird. The spareribs in sweet & sour sauce tasted like Panda Express' Orange Chicken, but with spareribs. There was nothing spicy about the dishes.
The place was clean & the service is pretty good compared to other Chinese restaurants.
I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't think I'll return because I don't like the food and there wasn't anything on the menu that enticed me.
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Good heat, a little on the gloppy side. Apparently very authentic Szechuan (i.e. chicken feet on the menu and no crepes for the mu-shi, you whitebread bastard).
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Yummy!! I came on Yelp the other day looking for a good chinese restaurant. I live around the corner from Ba Ren and I'm not a big fan. I don't understand the hype about that place. Anyway... I decided to try Spicy City and I was very pleased with the food AND the service.
First, we started with the Husband and Wife app. It was pretty good. I could take it or leave it. We also had some Hot and Sour soup. That was excellent! For the entree we had spicy beef and the garlic chicken. The beef was way better!
They don't have much for alcohol, but they do allow you to bring in your own beer or wine for a $5 charge. AWESOME!!!
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Man, I'm freakin' hungry right now. That being said, let me tell you how I throughly enjoy Spicy City.
Up until sometime last year, I'd never really understood the difference between Szechuan, Shanghainese, Hong Kong, Cantonese cooking. It was all CHINESE FOOD to me. Just put it on a plate and feed me goddammit. I've had Szechuan before, I just didn't like it too much because whoever ordered the food went for all the crazy spicy foods and I'm not a big fan of spicy hot.
With a name like "Spicy City" I was already a bit apprehensive. But I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of the food available to you here. Things also went smoothly because I was there with people who knew what to order. That isn't to say that you are at a great disadvantage if you head here with little to no command of Mandarin. You can always ask the friendly staff for what to order and they'll happily guide you along the way to Spicy happiness.
I could really use some Husband & Wife right now =/
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OK, I haven't eaten here yet..but my Chinese (from China) co-worker swears by it. She says the food is very authentic, and unlike some other authentic Chinese restaurants, it is very clean.
I know secondhand information, but I promise I will update this review after I eat there for myself...hopefully toNITE!
UPDATE: I tried to go tonight, but Spicy City was closed until September 4. Vacation! If I had a restaurant I would close and go on vacation, too, but I can't help but get annoyed when that happens. So we went to Sipz instead.
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I love love love this restaurant. So good.. The only downside is that you need to go with someone who speaks Mandarin or Taiwanese to get the good stuff. Most of the stuff on the menu that's translated into English isn't very good. Their hot pot is out of this world.. so good even though you end up paying for it the next day. Go with a big group of people on a chilly day and ask for the hot pot. Make sure to order pork, tofu skin, cilantro, glass noodles, tofu, all kinds of veggies and meats and have a go at it. You won't regret it.. Also some other menu items that are good are the spicy tripe and chef's special green beans. Mark my words, those 2 dishes are the best. I went to college in San Diego and this was my favorite restaurant, the only place besides Extraordinary Desserts (see review) that I always stop by whenever I'm back in the area.
**Update**
Sadly, Spicy City no longer offers Hot Pot on their menu. Boooo...
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No more hot pot... what the heck....
do order the string beans and the husband and wife dish..
Price went up significantly over the years but still one of my fav restaurants.
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Spicy City is one of my favorite Szechuan restaurants out there. I don't let the 120 miles nor the 2 hours deter me from getting my spicy pork belly in chef's special sauce, nor the husband and wife. Don't worry they're not cooking up their spouses. The husband and wife dish is a perfect pairing of beef and beef tripe in... again... chef's special sauce. As many restaurants as I have been to who have dishes in "special sauce" this is the only one which has lived up to the name being truly "special". Although the food may be a party in your mouth, the garlicky guests will linger around for days. Be prepared not to go near anyone for 3 days.
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My favorite place for Chinese food in San Diego with a friendly staff and courteous service -- a rarity in Chinese restaurants.
Despite the name, a drop of sauce off the food won't burn a hole through the floor. They've got a great variety of food; something for everyone. There are the more typical dishes - like the orange chicken, mongolian beef, and kung pao chicken - and many other less common but equally tasty Szechuan delicacies.
Spicy City never disappoint me in the taste department. The hot plates and clay pots are my personal favorites. The spiciness is well balanced as to preserve and not overpower the original flavor. But I would stay away from the twice cooked beef... too watery and salty.
If you can't decide what to eat, just pick a category (ie, poultry, clay pot, etc.) and ask the waitress for recommendations.
My recommended course:
1. start off with a Spicy Wonton Soup (ooo yes, it's spicy!)
2. get a hot plate
3. get the pork belly with glass noodles clay pot
4. throw in a veggie dish
Whola, a meal for 4 or even 5 and with a couple extra dollars in your wallet to boot!
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One of my favorite Chinese restaurant in SD. Good God, there Mapo Tofu is unbelievable! As well as there Sizzling Chicken (sooo goood!). I hightly recommend this place to anyone who are looking for a good Chinese food.
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UGH! Absolutely the worst restaurant you can go to in San Diego for "szechuan!" We had a beef noodle dish that was watered down and the noodles weren't cooked all the way. The soup was cold and the waitress was rude, not to mention, there was a certain 6 legged creature taking a bath. For szechuan food, definately check out Dede's. We had ordered a meat dish, and the edges were piping hot but the center was frozen! You can definately see the chunks of solid grease and fat accented by the meat. YECHE! I guess they precook a lot of the stuff and freeze it and reheat it right before serving.
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Ordered the Spicy Chicken Tofu for ~$13. Delicious and easily enough for two (if you include rice). It was spicy, but not to the extent that it burns.
I came around lunch and the place was pretty empty. So, service was prompt. I can't really think of any complaints, aside from their slightly steep prices.
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The food is alright, but I didnt see the dishes I normally see at Sichuan restaurants. The service was better than other Chinese places. However, this place is super expensive! It's about $8-12 per everything! Appetizers, entrees... not sure, but most Chinese places don't do this to you.
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I ate lunch here with a some coworkers a few weeks ago. The food was very good. We had selection of some more Americanized dishes such a broccoli beef for the less adventurous as well as some of their great spicy dishes...gotta love feeling that burn. Everyone in our group liked the food and this place was very clean. The service was also fast and friendly.
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i drove to san diego for the sole purpose of eating at spicy city today, that's how freaking gooooood this restaurant is!!! we went specifically to gorge on the cold pork belly with spicy garlicky sauce...but ended up ordering the amazing green beans, the garlic eggplant, the husband and wife(spicy beef and tripe), the corn with pinenuts, the twice cooked noodles with pork, and the wintermelon with dried shrimp. the pork belly is still my favorite...and the greenbeans. we ordered 8 orders of porkbelly togo. i love spicy city!!!!
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This restaurant sounds popular for the people from Shanghai, while the people from Szechuan or Taiwan have a preferred one somewhere else, to me. I go there with the Spicy city lovers for lunch, but I have never found a dish to go back for. I enjoyed the hot pot, though.
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I prefer Spicy City over Chongching Ba Ren. I wish I could remember the names of the dishes, other than the Husband and Wife one.
