Great Sea Chinese Restaurant

Fantastic! Chicken wings, dumplings/​pot stickers and Mongolian Beef were all amazing. By the way, Google was saying this place is closed but it is OPEN! They changed ownership but it’s the same staff, cooks, menu and food! Amy and Lilly are making this place even more warm and welcoming, go and say hi!

So this spot has been on my list for a very long time and I’m glad I tried it before it changed ownership. This spot is know for their wings and they were definitely good. We tried the other Chinese dishes and it was perfect for a large group as family style. The bill ended up being my bad per person. I don’t think I’d go back but I’m glad we finally checked it out. I did see that the Take Me Out in Pilsen is the same owner and I liked their wings also.

I love the chicken here! The prices are right and the service is good. No complaints!

This place is pretty good. They are known for their spicy lollipop chicken and those things are great. There is even competitions on who can eat the most: O
If youre a fan of smelt I highly recommend it as well because we have tried smelt from other places and this is by far the best. Im not giving it a 5 start because if you go during busy hours they get packed and its a very small place for the amount of service they get. People have to wait by the door and there can be a line if its very busy. Great food.

*UPDATE*they are changing management May 31^st. No one knows yet for sure if they will be changing the food, the name, etc. Word of mouth is catching around and it was insanely packed this weekend. They ran out of potstickers which was a let down and service was ultimately shitty. They forgot about our silverware and plates and barely filled our water. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt given their situation because the food is still amazing and you’re definitely not going for the service. They have a black noodle dish (jja jang mhuen) that is to die! Ask for them to cut the noodles so it’s easier to eat. Really hope if they plan to make the same food that it still tastes the same cause their wings are seriously outrageously delicious! Chances are slim to none so I made it here one last time :(

A lot of people give this restaurant great reviews but coming here twice I can’t say that they are true. The first time the service was horrible the waitress was very rude and we only had credit cards BUT YOU CAN’T TIP ON CREDIT CARDS and after they harassed us my friend went through their wallet and found a crumpled up 5 dollar bill which they grabbed and didn’t even thank them for. Don’t come here unless you want to be unappreciated and treated like dirt. A tip isn’t a guarantee unless you give good service
Keep in mind that they didn’t even deserve a tip in the first place. The food was ok at best. The second time i went with my boyfriend thinking maybe they had changed their attitude and the food got better since they still got good reviews on here. NOPE very disappointed!!! The waitress was even ruder than the last she basically dropped our food on the table and walked away. I was very angry but my boyfriend is very nice so i didn’t walk out. We did not enjoy our food. My boyfriend got the Mongolian beef and i got the orange chicken lunch Specials. It was very bland and mine wasn’t even hot the rice was cold! But anyways we get the check and pay and YOU STILL CAN’T PAY ON YOUR CREDIT CARD. My boyfriend and i have bad luck carrying cash so we just get up and leave they don’t deserve a tip anyways. I realize that i forget my sunglasses so my boyfriend goes back for them and they harass him for a tip! To which i respond we don’t carry cash and they look at us like dirt they roll their eyes and walk away with an attitude! They didn’t deserve one anyways. I’m glad they are closing.

FAMOUS FOR
— GGampoongi (Spicy Chicken Wings) (¹⁰⁄₁₀)
BUZZ
— Jjajangmyun (Black Bean Noodles) (⁸⁄₁₀)
I ALSO TRIED
— Kkakdoogi (Spicy Pickled Radish Cubes) (¹⁰⁄₁₀)
— Par Bo Chae (Happy Family Seafood Delight?) (⁹⁄₁₀)
Little history lesson. Lawrence Ave. was straight up Korea Town in the 70’s through about 2000. There were restaurants, laundromats, tailors, plumbers, bakeries, salons, barbers, travel agents, real estate agents, insurance agents, pharmacies, gift shops, grocery stores, and everything in between, all owned and operated by hard working Korean immigrants.
The majority of the Korean immigrants arrived in the 70’s with very little money, because the Korean government restricted how much cash they could take. You could take enough for a nice vacation, but not really enough to start a living. Many of these families were wealthy in Korea either because of political status or professions that require higher education, like doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, etc.; however, due to credentials not transferring and the language barrier, many were forced to leave their professions behind, and take up a trade, like cooking, for instance. They all set up stores right along Lawrence Ave. and if you were Korean, no matter whether you lived in the burbs or in the city, when you needed anything Korean, you went to Lawrence!
Just a little after 2000, there was a great exodus from Lawrence Ave to the burbs (i.e. Glenview, Northbrook, etc.). Mainly, this was because all successfully raised their families and made enough money to retire, or they had kids that were about to go to high school and wanted them to go to the best ones. This unfortunately left a big hole in the Korean Restaurant scene in Chicago. Very few if any restaurants that popped up in the burbs (the new Korea Town) can match what we used to have on Lawrence.
I tell you this story, because this is one of the only old school K-​Town restaurants that, despite that great exodus, still exists today!
GGAMPOONGI
Since I spent so many characters on the intro, I’m gonna have to keep this short. THIS, my friends, is what keeps us coming back for 30 years! Our family ate here almost every weekend when we ran Korean errands, and after getting my license, I’d make the trip to Chicago to get this every now and then with friends.
These are bone in chicken thighs/​legs, but they’re very small. 2 – 3 bites (or 1 big bite) and you can leave nothing but the bone. The meat is like Chicken McNugget moist and tender! Little bit of deep fried batter, which mainly acts like a sponge to contain the 8^th wonder of the world, which is their sauce. It’s a salty, sweet, spicy sauce consisting of soy, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, and sweetness. If you ask for «extra spicy» today, you get the level of spice that used to be on these wings back in the day, but I think now, in order to market better to non-​Koreans, their standard level is a very mild blend, which I think sucks. I don’t call this «selling out,» though, because if their clientele was based solely on Korean patrons, this place wouldn’t have survived the exodus.
When you get extra spicy, or if your tolerance isn’t high, this dish defines masochism. The wings are so hot and juicy, and the sauce is so unbelievably delicious, you can’t help but eat more (and drink more water). You start sweating, your nose starts to run, your scalp gets so itchy, but instead of stopping, you bury your tongue in hot rice to scald away the heat, which is almost painful enough to make you faint, but for some reason, the wires cross in your brain, and the burning, piercing sensations register as pleasure as opposed to excruciating pain… and then you go for another.
KKAKDOOGI
This is another locked away treasure that this place holds. Their kkakdoogi, which is basically spicy pickled radish, is so unique, I could pick them out in a blind taste test for sure. If you know anything about Korean food culture, kimchi (or kkakdoogi too) is a family recipe, kind of like tamales to Mexicans or meatloaf to Americans. Their cubes have a soft outer 1 mm layer, but the inside still remains crunchy, but all the flavors are infused throughout. They have an innate sweetness to them too, which is difficult to do. These are so good, I can happily (and I have before), eat just this and rice.
Here’s why it’s so impressive. Radish is super crunchy and has a taste of its own. The spicy/​pickling agent obviously has a flavor of its own, and we want this to taste like the pickling with only a little bit of original bitter radish flavor. So you need time. The longer you soak, the more flavors you infuse into the radish, but then you lose crunchiness. I’ve had kkakdoogi that tasted as infused as these, but then it lost all of it crunchiness — like a bruised apple. But Great Seas’ kkakdoogi somehow maintains most of its crunchiness while tasting like it’s been pickling for months. Don’t know how they do it!
NO SPACE
More to say, but no room. Just go here!

I had a good time eating here and the food was delicious. I should have requested extra sauce on the wings, but overall a solid chinese restaurant.
Sidenote: There was a group celebrating a bday and while the group was singing happy birthday to a set of candle lit cupcakes, the staff turned down the lights and some of the other customers joined the singing followed by a series of claps! I thought that was pretty nice of them.

A hidden gem. My friend took me here and told me of the fond memories he had going here as a kid. He said it was definitely a go to spot to check out.
We started off with 2 orders of the sweet and spicy wings. Oh my goodness gracious how great the wings were here. Let’s just say when you look at all the tables at the restaurant also have an order of the wings at their table, you have to give in to the peer pressure to the curiosity and boy I was not disappointed.
I also had quite possibly the best Mongolian Beef I’ve ever had. Let’s just say, when you gotta make up phrases up like, «Yo, that Mongolian Beef was hella buttery man!»…to describe your food– you know it’s something special. A must have if you are unsure of what to get on the menu.
Overall great local spot to check out. I would recommend it if you’re around the area!

I’ve been coming here with my parents and siblings for years and now I come with my husband and kids. We love the food i’d give it a four out of five, for the wings of course! So delicious! They are serving typical fruit smoothies with tapioca so I decided to try my favorite pineapple but they were out so I asked what else they had and ordered mango. A little disappointing first there were like 6 or 7 tapioca things at the bottom and when I tasted it all I could taste was the freezer burn from the mango and the tapioca was still super frozen. Please just stick to the wings.
The atmosphere is kinda depressing and dark but overall ok. My only thing about this place is that you have to have cash for the tip otherwise they call you from across the room and embarrass you to death. I usually don’t carry cash and have my card on me and most places (just about every where else in the city) can add the tip to your card. Before they screamed across the room I went to the cashier and told her I only had my credit card and if she could charge the tip she said she can’t to use the atm. Except I’m not gonna pay a four dollar fee to give them a 5 dollar tip plus the interest are super high on cash back on my card. I apologized and said I didn’t have anything then but next time I would compensate she kinda waived me off.
As I headed towards the door the other women yelled something and said «where is tip» again I had to explain but this time everyone in the room was staring at me. I love their food but it may be a good while before I can show my face there again. They need to seriously modernize the place to keep more people coming back.

Okay let’s start this off by saying the atmosphere is meh. The walls are white and mirrored. The chairs are barely staying together and the floor is spotty.
BUT those chicken wings!!!
That’s why everyone goes there. They’re phenomenal! Literally finger lickin’ good.
Was here over the weekend bc of the rave reviews. So glad I go to experience this deliciousness. We ordered a plate of non-​spicy wings. I would have preferred spicy but it’s ok. The non spicy was really good. They were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. They were well seasoned with a sweet sauce. I was not disappointed in the least. Also ordered a plate of beef fried rice. That was not my favorite to be honest. It had too many peas and not enough flavor. The sauce from the wings was tasty on the rice though.
I would highly recommend stopping to get wings to go if you’re craving wings.

Very good place to eat. I had the wings and they were fantastic. Unfortunately the service is horrid. Never before have I encountered a restaurant where the food is fantastic but the staff and venue are dirt. Prepare to barely be waited on if your eating in, oh and prepare to be treated poorly. There staff treats you like a tool for money, not a customer. Prepare to have a 20 dollar minimum with card and NO SPLITTING CHECKS or else they will verbally harass you. One more thing I should say is that they only accept tip in cash, expect to be verbally pushed into there indoor atm or just harassed if you only have card.
It is such a shame. For the most part the food is fantastic. I recommend you only take-​out if you eat here.

I’ve been here countless times with the family. It’s a great family chinese food place. Mom and Dad have been going here since they started dating back in 1995, so it’s great to see the owners recognize us every time we come.
Our traditional order: kam-​pung-​gi (spicy chicken wings), egg drop soup, mongolian beef, jja-​jang noodle, jam-​pong noodle, sweet and sour pork, and sometimes fried rice. But all orders include rice and kimchi and pickled onion side dish so it’s not necessary to order fried rice.
This has to be the best chinese place in all of Illinois.

Lollipop chicken wings is really the only thing you want to come here for. And I recommend you get them as take out to enjoy in your own home.
I brought the whole family one snowy miserable night and had to pay the meter to park down the block. There is no private parking. Place was packed and a little claustrophobic. No windows. Not that one would like the view of Lawrence Ave anyway.
The neighborhood is not a bad area but on the night we were here some of the patrons, and most notably the take out patrons, looked like they were here after a visit to a methadone clinic.
Friendly service with limited English. We ordered a selection of entrees and also had to try the wings as an appetizer. We clearly ordered soup, then wings, then entrée. I was actually very clear about this. They forgot the soup, then wings and entrees came all at once.
Wife said the wings were good but everything else was the worst Chinese food she ever had. I’d probably agree.
We tried this place because of the great Unilocal reviews. I try not to nail places with one star but Great Sea failed us terribly.

My friend took me here since I was craving fried chicken for the longest time. We got here pretty early around 5 pm, so plenty of parking /​seated right away.
This restaurant is located in a ghetto er area, and you would never have guessed that a restaurant located here would have such delicious food. Definitely hole in the walll with the most minimal decoration, but super clean restrooms !
We ordered the chicken lollipops extra spicy, and the spicy seafoood soup. We could have done without the seafoood soup and just ordered the chicken. The chicken & noodle soup came out in less than 10 min. The chicken was so fresh and steaming. The sauce was thick and vinegarry sweet and also deliciously spicy. The bones were fried to a crisp! Just the way I like them. They also serve rice with the wings as welll. The noodle soup was passable but it was nice to order something that wasn’t just wings. They also give a side of radish kimchi.
$ 15 for wings $ 10 for noodle soup. Portion size is huge !!!
Next time I’m coming I will order the plain wings as welll.

Literally the best. Great Seas is my go to place for Chinese-​Korean food. Most people know great seas for being the originator of Lollipop Chicken Wings in Chicago, but to me, Great Seas is way more than that. They have traditional Chinese dishes, but what my family and friends go for are the Chinese-​Korean dishes. These dishes bring fond memories of visiting South Korea and in Korea they deliver these meals in proper plates, bowls and dishes and when you are done you just leave it outside you house and they pick it up. (Crazy I Know!)
At Great Seas, We order family style and share. Some of our must order foods are the
Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour crisy pork, this is not your usually sweet and sour dish as its a bit brighter and lighter),
JJampong (spicy seafood noodle sou),
Lollipop Chicken Wings (we only get it Korean Spicy style)
And to finish we get jjajangmyeon (black noodles).
The only other places that I know that serve this style food is Yu’s in Schaumburg and a wack version at H-​Mart. A few tips are that they take credit card, but only do cash tips, which means it is always a good idea to bring a few bucks to tip the servers. Also, they sell the sauce in bottles for the Chicken Wings, so you can use it at home.

Their wings are divine! In my opinion they are just completely crave-​able and memorable. They are unlike any other wings I’ve tasted before and I’m not even a wing person. They’re fully coated with the reddest sweet and savory sauce and they’re crispy on the outside yet perfectly cooked inside. Portion of wings for the price was good. Had the fried rice and rangoons and they were ordinarily good but you won’t forget those chicken wings!

I’ve heard about this Korean Chinese Restaurant in Chicago and I decided to check out for lunch when I had quick trip up to Chicago with my mom lol. I parked on the street and we had a quick lunch. The chicken wings (Kang Poong Gi-​korean way of saying it) here have had a of buzz for awhile and we started off with that. They were good and I like the way they cut the wings-​really unique, but I wish they were spicier. We also got the Jjampong (spicy noodle seafood soup) it was good but could of used possibly a little more variety in seafood (other than shrimp). I would go here again for the wings and it’s definitely a hole in the wall place.

Great Sea is located at the end of the Kimball brown line. I have a friend that rides the brown line from the Loop to Kimball just to eat these wings. I have had the wings courtesy of fellow Unilocaler Eva S, and I was excited to share this with two visitors from Seattle.
We ordered the wings ($ 15.95) for takeout, and there was only a ten-​minute wait time. One can choose from three spice levels. I opted for medium spice, which is a balance of sweet and heat. The wings come with a takeout container of white rice.
I reheated the wings and rice for dinner that evening (350 degrees for 15 minutes), and the girls and I finished the wings in minutes. My visitors had never had Korean chicken wings before, and these wings hit the spot. Sweet with just a little kick, the medium spice wings are recommended for those with a lower spice tolerance. Like B-​Dubs, Great Sea also sells bottles of its wing sauce.

Come for the wings. Spicy, tangy and sweet. The cost seems pricey, till you see the portion size, then it is actually very reasonable! Seriously, get the wings as carryout, and skip the dine-​in experience.
Waitstaff was so-​so. The waitress tended to interact with my husband, rather than both of us, which I found a little annoying. The menu was fairly small and the quality was mediocre at best. Also, this place had the worst tea I’ve ever had at a Chinese restaurant! Tasted like there was only one teabag used in the whole pot. I’d come in hoping for some pan-​fried noodles and pressed duck, but didn’t see it on the menu. I had the shrimp & scallops which was extremely bland. (However, mix a bit of the left over wing sauce in, and it is MUCH better!)

Fried chicken to die for. Amazing!!!