Szechuan House

This is probably one of the best Chinese restaurants I have ever eaten at. The tables were clean, atmosphere is amazing (maybe a touch loud when crowded), and we were seated promptly upon walking through the door. We got our orders in right away and the food took surprisingly less time than we were expecting due to the high volume of customers. They give you a free bowl of rice with every meal too which is brought out prior (no need for appetizers! But the potstickers and rangoons are to die for) The waitstaff was extremely polite and cleared tables quickly and efficiently. Overall I will probably never go to a different Chinese place without comparing it to this one :)

It is the largest Chinese restaurant in Ames, I think. But, there is no surprise. A little sweet Sezchuan dish and rude service are ridiculous. Expensive price with low quality, don’t waste your money.

This place used to be good when it first opened. The quality of food has declined and the food now does not justify the rather expensive prices. They used to give extra bowls of rice free of charge but they apparently have stopped. Our bill for 3 people was around 50 dollars, I figure that at least warrants an additional bowl… When we asked why there was an extra charge, the server was very rude.
The food is alright, but more expensive than many other places with the same quality, not to mention almost all other Asian restaurants have extra free rice or soup. I would pass on this place as it has greatly declined in the quality of food and service.

First time back to the ISU stomping grounds and finally an authentic Chinese food place! Serv s family style so f you go with a huge group order several plates and share!
Fried rice is fragrant!
Beef hot pot was delicious!
The lamb with buns… not going to lie the seasoning was like tacos so you don’t taste lamb… you taste taco mushu.

I heard about this business from a colleague of mine when I lived and worked in Georgia. He knows the family who opened the restaurant and told me it was authentic Chinese food. Naturally, I was looking forward to trying Szechuan House.
The restaurant is a nice space with lots of seating. Menus on the wall are in Mandarin (I think) but the printed menu has both English and Chinese characters.
Now, I only got take out for lunch so I can’t comment on wait staff or service, but my order was ready in less than five minutes after ordering. That’s pretty impressive.
I ordered the broccoli with beef lunch special. The meal was very tasty, but there were a few minor areas that could be improved. First, the beef is sliced very very thinly. That’s nice, the beef is very tender and not chewy. Sadly, that meant I couldn’t really taste the beef under the flour coating. I also got a lot of fat. The broccoli though was nice and crisp, just as I like it. The sauce has soy and garlic, as you would expect, and isn’t overly salty or sweet. It’s nicely balanced.
In addition to the bits of gristle, I’m deducting one star because my to-​go package didn’t include any sauces, chopsticks, or a fortune cookie. Also, the lunch special isn’t what I would consider a traditional lunch special. The «special» is the price; the meal does not come with anything other than the main and rice. No eggroll, soup, or drink.

I was bummed when Cazador closed, but happy that the space was renovated as something else and after eating at Szechuan House, thrilled. The menu is expansive and the food is fantastic — this may be the best Chinese food in Ames, and it’s worth the slightly higher prices. The best news of all is that they deliver, and in a town severely lacking in good Chinese delivery, that’s huge.

Hands down the cleanest looking Chinese restaurant in Ames and get this … even their food is great quality! The higher prices are well worth the quality of the food.
I have been here a few times and have tried the Mao Po Tofu (spicy tofu with pork bits) and Sichuan Eggplant. Both were great but the best menu item I have had is the Shredded Beef with Spicy Capsicum. The serving sizes are large and I have never left without a to-​go box!

I greatly anticipated the arrival of this Iowa City restaurant expanding to Ames and it did not disappoint!
Warning — they weren’t expecting the heavy traffic on the first day of their opening and there is a wait. They probably had no clue how desperate people living in west Ames are for good Chinese. There were nearly fifteen tables not even an hour into opening. We arrived ten after eleven and there were already five tables.
Our food did take awhile, but once it arrived it did not disappoint.
The shrimp lo mein was almost as good as the lo mein I’ve had in Austin, TX Chinese restaurants. The shrimp kung pao was so savory and the pork in black bean sauce was so spicy and flavorful!
They tried to keep up with the traffic but they were seriously short staffed. The waitstaff was kind and courteous.
The menu is crazy huge. The traditional items you know in addition to food only known amongst Chinese people. Real food like rabbit, frog, duck, tongue, and pork stomach.
The menu and website for the Iowa City location is here:
The décor is really beautiful. If they hire more staff and maybe another cook, they’ll be in Ames to stay.
Taste Place quality but more affordable and the waitstaff are fluent in English. There’s also a full photo menu in addition to the regular menu they hand to customers.
Oh, and the lunch special from 11am — 3pm is phenomenal!

Wow – finally a good Chinese restaurant in town. There’s stuff on the menu I haven’t seen since I lived in the SF Bay Area and was able to go to Chinatown for my Chinese food fix. I’ve tried several things here now (it’s the first Chinese restaurant in town I’ve been to more than once) and I haven’t been disappointed yet. The food that is marked as «spicy» is more midwest spicy than authentic spicy, but last time I asked them to bump it up and it was great.
They do have a picture menu, but it’s not as robust as the actual menu and it seemed to include more common dishes rather than the more unusual ones. The service has been good both times I’ve been here, but I guess I’ve gone at less popular times because the restaurant has never been full (as reported by some other reviews). Yes, the food here is a bit more expensive than some of the other Chinese places in town, but the quality and portion sizes are worth it.
Try it – you won’t regret it!