Chin’s Szechwan Restaurant

Excellent dinner, Ku Ting chickens, crunchy rice soup, shrimp and egg roll. Outstanding!

Had lunch yesterday with family. We ordered a la cart as we usually do. When the hot and sour soup arrived, I knew right away that the rest of the meal was going to be disappointing. The soup was a light tan color, it should have been dark brown, and it was tasteless and watery. It seemed like they tried to doctor up another type of soup and sell it as hot & sour. The Mongolian beef was bland and over salted. The sweet and sour chicken was bland and the soft noodles with shrimp was flavorless. It’s too bad because the service was very good and the restaurant was nicely decorated and pleasant. I would pass on this place.

If you enjoy Food Service type Chinese food, this is the place. Ordered S&S pork; batter-​fried (a first!) and a side liter of Lee Kum Kee S&S Sauce! Wife ordered Kung Pao Shrimp; shrimp were clearly not fresh in any sense of the word (frozen or just caught!) and sauce was again, a commercial «broth» purchased via Sysco or perhaps Vons! Don’t waste your money!

Being from NYC, I’ve been craving some pan fried pork dumplings. You don’t normally find them here in SoCal, but Chins has them and they are amazing. They’re on the menu as potstickers and remind me of home.
I also order the Ku Ting Chicken which is delicious, I just wish it was spicer. I ordered it with a level 5 spicy and it was still mild.
Overall, a great place for Chinese food. The best I’ve found in SoCal.

Not bad, I would definitely come back.
I’ve only gotten takeout here, which has been fine. Tonight we dined in. The décor is so «haunted mansion». But I like it lol
The food was excellent. The service was great as well. But the men at the desk were laughing about someone who had called in, so that was lame. Especially because they weren’t quiet about it.
But overall, it was excellent.

Server was rude whwen my 22 year old daughter order from the childs menu the server said in a harsh voice and stern look, you obviously not under 10. We askeed for fried rice instead of steamed and were told sternly no substitutions. The food came out quickly but not very hot. At one point there were three flies landing on my food.

Excellent service. Good food. We chose to eat family style, which was nice for all. A little pricey. I’d eat here again.

Ordered for delivery on a Tuesday afternoon as I was feeling lazy and craving Chinese food since I smelled someone order it at the office that day. Good to know, delivery started at 5pm. Even though I ordered at 4:30 it didnt arrive until 5:20 which I didn’t really mind. I got the house special fried rice, chicken lo mein and egg rolls. I was suprised to see they threw a free pint of white rice in there as well. Nothing crazy but hey it was nice to see. I dont really know many other chinese food places in Encinitas but I would defintaely give this place another go even thought the prices for the main dishes seem a bit much. I would stick with the rice and noddles.

The food was pretty much exactly what I expected of a Chinese place in Encinitas.
I was greeted promptly when I walked in a seated right away. I paid my visit on a Monday at 1pm for lunch. There were a few people in there but plenty of tables available. My server was friendly and attentive and my water was filled no less than 4 times.
The lunch special started with the soup of the day (Hot and Sour). I have a feeling it was the soup of everyday. It was ok. Plate came out with basic salad with iceburg lettuce, shredded carrot and a sweet and sour vinaigrette; 1 fried chicken wing; fried rice; a half an orange and then my chicken dish and then a small piece of chocolate cake. I ate about half of it. Took the rest back to the office for dinner. Great deal for $ 9.95
I ordered the Hunan chicken which off the menus is chicken, green peppers and onions in a black bean sauce. I paid $ 1 extra for them to add broccoli to the dish and asked them to make it spicier. I thought it was pretty good. There were a few reviews that complained that the dishes weren’t very authentic and too westernized but I enjoyed mine. I would really love to try some truly authentic Chinese food at some point BUT its no surprise to me that the owner/​manager of this place caters to the western palate. Encinitas is 86% Caucasian and only 0.84% Chinese. Seems like a good business decision to me. Chicken, veggies and a nice savory sauce, yum.
Food was 3 stars — ok
Portion size for price was 5 stars
They took my custom order without a word and service was good so I gave them an overall 4 stars.

Man I left my friends down by asking to come here. It was on a Sunday afternoon and we were in the area and I was hoping they would have the same menu as the Miramar location but nope! No Taiwanese menu. We were stuck with Westernized Chinese food which consisted of a salad, fried cheese dumplings, random square chocolate cake, and egg drop soup. I ordered the beef and scallop with rice and let’s just say I think I would have preferred food at Panda Express over this. It was so expensive for what you get. I also tried the dumplings which I thought shouldn’t be too hard to screw up but nope they did. It was very soggy, oily, and very unappetizing to eat. All were different shapes and sizes. Note to self never come here to eat.

Located next to the holiday inn, this place is more of an upscale Americanized Szechuan Chinese restaurant. Once in a while it’s nice to eat at fancier Asian restaurant rather than a hole in the wall and this would be the place to go. This time around I ordered the lobster with noodles, walnut shrimp, Lo mein, a tofu plate, and chicken plate. Forgot what the last two were called but the Lobster here was AMAZING. I am a huge fan of house special lobster and there are lots of places in the oc that make it well, but this place makes it pretty dang bomb as well. Haven’t been to the other locations but I love This one. Service was good and It seems like all the bad reviews about service were either during Christmas or years ago lol. Anyways definitely come back if I’m in town! God I love lobster.

I have given this place one too many chances.
From the uncomfortable, odd customer service you receive when you dine in or to the numerous times your to-​go order was given to another guest.
But frankly, their greatest fault is their customer service. The incident I experienced with «Chris» this evening while simply trying to place a to-​go order was the last straw.
It is such a bummer, because their food is somewhat good.

Ordered delivery and when I got the food there was a piece of metal or something in my soup… meh
Food is good but I guess not as clean? As what I’d like…
[update] Manager contacted me and said they think they know what the issue was and sent me free lunch vouchers. Good customer service! Upgrading my review to 4 stars

My family and I have been coming to Chin’s for almost 10+ years and each time has been a pleasant experience.
Location:
Upon entering, one can see the restaurant’s well-​thought out design. It provides a very classy ambiance and makes people feel very welcomed. This well decorated restaurant has the flexibility of being a great place for a family gathering and/​or a romantic dinner for two, making it a go-​to place for dinner.
Service:
By far one of the most welcoming, professional, and most of all happy workers and hosts which not only make you want to come in but also want to come back. People who work here are always on their toes and always doing their best to ensure you have a great experience. One of the top reasons why I always come back and stay a regular.
Food:
Truly the place to go for amazing Chinese food. You cannot go wrong with the Lo Mein and any of the fried rices. As well, Chin’s Hon Hon Shrimp are glorious and absolutely a must for anyone who loves shrimp. For a more peppery type of dish I always go with the Black Pepper Beef and regardless of the dish I order, I always get a bowl of soup to help bring down the food.
Overall, there is a big reason why I always go back to Chin’s even after so long. My family love coming here and I can most definitely see why. Their other locations are great as well, and consistent with food and service.

I gave an extra star for the good service and prompt delivery of the food. The waiters are nice and answered the questions my friend and I had about the dishes. Décor is bomb-​diggity nice, too.
So: I had a lunch combo with the Hunan fish dish, and that included 2 fried wontons, a small salad, half an orange cut into 4ths (very convenient), about a bowl of fried rice, and a small square of cake. Oh, and a small bowl of egg drop soup that had tomato and tofu added. Lovely. All for $ 11 including tax, excluding tip.
My friend ordered a plate a fried rice, a lunch combo with some type of chicken, and another fried chicken (pepper chicken?) dish. His bill was about $ 35 total including tax, excluding the tip.
As far as authenticity goes, this place is half a step above Panda Express and not much more. Let me give you a tip, as an actual ethnic Chinese person, who has grown up eating home cooked Chinese food, gone around to authentic Chinese restaurants where I grew up (N. Suburbia of Chicago) and lived in China as well: no real, authentic Chinese food will have that weird, gooey sauce thing smeared all over a dish as the flavoring. You know what I’m talking about. That «orange» sauce on orange chicken? That type of texture.
Well, what about teriyaki sauce, you might ask? Teriyaki sauce is Japanese, and Korean BBQ sauce is obviously Korean. Those are the only gooey Eastern Asian sauces that I’m aware of.
The fried rice is pretty «legit» as far as fried rice can be, but let me inform you that fried rice is basically peasant food and my mom makes better fried rice with week-​old rice and leftovers. Which is probably what it was originally made with. But then, my mother is a great cook.
The egg drop soup was a bit odd in a good way, since I’ve never had it before with tofu and tomato added, but it’s similar to a very basic tomato-​egg soup (sometimes tomato-​egg dish) that I’ve had at home a lot so I guess their chef mixed up the two recipes to create something new. Nice.
Salad? Eh. Wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s so small that you can ignore it. It comes with the combo anyways. Has bits of fried wonton skin in it for crunch, some lettuce, and a sweet-​and-​sour sauce that just didn’t do it for me personally. You’re welcome to try it and give your own verdict.
The tiny piece of chocolate cake was pretty good. As was the orange. I took a piece of my friend’s fried chicken wing and it was pretty good as well.
TL;DR —
As far as taste goes, everything except the main entrée part of the lunch combo was pretty good. The Hunan fish I had was spectacularly average. Their fried chicken isn’t bad. And the fried rice tastes pretty good.
If I’m going to recommend something to try? I didn’t order them here, but a must-​have at any Sichuan/​Szechuan restaurant are the regional string beans. And maybe the fried rice, if you’re not watching your weight too closely. Their egg drop soup was pretty good as well, definitely try that. Those are probably the most authentically Chinese dishes they have, but I haven’t had the entire menu so I can only day that with 90% certainty.
There doesn’t seem to be anything truly Chinese in this immediate area, but for something to satisfy your Chinese food cravings, at a great price (especially their lunch combos!), come to Chin’s.

Awesome food with a great lunch special.
I got honey walnut shrimp, 12 $ and included a salad, soup, friend rice, 2 wontons and the walnut shrimp!
Great deal. Tasted great also.

Went here for dinner with my family. We ordered the black pepper beef,
hunan chicken, pao hu, and chicken fried rice. The black pepper beef came
out with a hot sizzling skillet. If you like crispy, definitely try the
pao hu. The ambiance is relaxing and filled with Chinese decorations. Must
try! I also order delivery for dinner sometimes. Excellent food, will
definitely be back.

One of my favorite North County Chinese restaurants.
I miss the Carlsbad since it closed some time ago and turned into a sushi place (which I need to write a review for too). Chins is always consistent with their food and service, it’s great! The quality is what you’d expect it to be for the prices you are paying which can be a little above normal but again, you get what you pay for.
When I want upscale, delicious Chinese food — I come to Chins.

Despite my previous one star review, we have gotten Chinese here twice in the last couple weeks.
Once was take out and I have to say, our experience was fine. Called it in at 4:00 for a 6:30 pick up and it was ready right when we got there.
Also came in for dinner with friends last night. First time that I have dined in at this location and it was nice & quiet (except for our loud laughing table ;). Our server was nice and attentive and she was quick to get refills and bring the check.
We ordered two different appetizers — cream cheese wontons and spring rolls. Both were out quick. The spicy yellow mustard sauce is strong! Also ordered a bunch of different entrees to all share — tangerine crispy beef, hon hon shrimp, sweet and sour pork, garlic szechwan chicken, kung pao chicken, spicy honey chicken. steamed veggies. Everything tasted great! Favorites were the tangerine crispy beef and hon hon shrimp. Neither the kung pao chicken or spicy honey chicken were spicy, but did have good flavor.
Overall, if you want good Chinese, Chins is a good bet, but just maybe not for take out on Christmas Eve.

best chinese around! I love this place. I have been going here for over 15 years and am always taking people in. My go to dish is the tangerine crispy chicken.
Love the interior– its decorated so cozy. dim lighting perfect for date night. The staff is always friendly and tentative. Honestly I find this a relaxing place to eat after a long day.