Tony Cheng Seafood Restaurant

I was craving dim sum and found only a couple of more traditional places in DC proper. (Since we moved to DC several months ago, we’ve eaten at one other place which was pretty good but far — Gourmet Inspirations — in Wheaton, MD). Well we decided on Tony Cheng’s even tho it only had 3 stars bc from the pictures, they seemed to serve all of the main dishes we like, they do the traditional dim sum carts, and we had been wanting to check out Chinatown, which is where this restaurant is located.
The service, as others have mentioned, was superb. I’ve never dined at a Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant (my motherland) and expected or even hoped for good service. That’s just not their priority. But I’d give this place a 5. Our server was an older gentleman who checked up on us frequently with a big smile.
The food was satisfactory, a 3.5. The dumplings were moist and full of meat. Our favorites were the steamed buns (my hubby loved that the char siu wasn’t all fat) and the green beans with garlic sauce. However, everything else was under seasoned — all 4 types of dumplings we ordered, pork spare ribs, duck, and chicken feet were flavorless. I’m not sure if they changed their level of seasoning due to other’s reviews previously that the food was too salty. Personally, I prefer things a bit salty over bland.
Would I return? Likely not. For serving just adequate food, their prices are too high. Since moving here from SF, we’ve found food to be relatively cheap and were expecting to pay under $ 40 for dim sum (it’s dirt cheap in SF). Our bill was over $ 60 for 2 people. If we had known that, we would have tried one of the other more upscale, modern dim sum places. There seems to be a few of those. We were just looking for an old school, traditional, dim sum joint, which I’m really disappointed by the lack of options out here.

Came for dinner with a bunch of friends.
The Chinese food is Americanized to be honest. Everything is a little greasy and sweet. And the service may need some improvement.
I have to say, if you look for reuniting with some folks, his spot is recommended as they have huge tables and the menu is good. But if you come for real Chinese food, you may try somewhere else.

This is a review of their hot and sour soup, sweet and sour shrimp and the garlic spinach. The meal was proper. The shrimp was a considerable size, so don’t be concerned if it doesn’t look like much, the shrimp/​batter ratio was good and the spinach wasn’t too salty. The sweet and sour soup was standard. All in all the meal was good. I can’t speak for other dishes but I’d visit again.

I visited this place on a recommendation from a friend who says it’s the best Chinese in DC. Hmmm. not exactly. While the service was quite prompt, and the server was friendly, the food quality did not meet the standards that i was expecting. I was contemplating having dim sum but settled on ordering off the menu instead. I had the Human chicken and veggies & a friend who was with me had the combination lo mein. Had it not been so salty, i think my dish would have been a much bigger hit. And maybe this was just an off-​seasoned encounter — so I am not entirely ruling this place out, i would visit again.

We chances into the restaurant upstairs for A quick meal. Definitely all we could hope for at a really good price.

When I was visiting I went here and it was so delicious. Exceeded expectations. So many options and everything was great for what we got. Great customer service too and left overs were amazing. Can’t wait to come back and go here again.

Awesome!!! I would say this place has better atmosphere and better food than other Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. Definitely will come back again. Their cha shu bao is good,-well, maybe it is not the best for those Chinese tourists, but as an international student from China, I think this restaurant is doing well!

The restaurant

Awesome service, good food and many different options! This is a great option if you are looking for authentic Chinese food while in China town.
The place is huge, but very outdated and looked a little dirty. My glass had a lipstick stain on it, but our server was quick to replace it.
I would recommend ordering the dumplings, which can be split with a table of 4 comfortably. Their entrees are large, and you will definitely bring home leftovers.

Overall, I give Tony Chengs 3.5 stars but I will round up to 4.
Tony Chengs does a good job appealing to both traditional and Americanized Chinese food. The restaurant is on the second floor and is very spacious. I have never seen it more than ¹⁄₃ full, even during dinner prime time on the weekend. They can accomodate parties large (like 12+) and small pretty easily. The service is very quick and servers are attentive and love cracking jokes. :)
My favorite things on the menu are the kung pao tofu and vegetable soup. My friends seemed to like the cashew chicken and Singapore noodles as well. Overall, the food is solid and I’ve never had anything I didn’t like.
One thing I must say is the food is very expensive for Chinese food. An entrée will set you back $ 14 on average, which adds up quickly if you order multiple plates. The portion sizes are average with above average prices, but it is in Chinatown which is a touristy location.

Cheap, fast, and easy
A good option if you are time compressed and need a fast lunch.

This place was amazing. The best Chinese food that I have ever had. I tried their dumplings, crab wontons, egg drop soup, and honey walnut shrimp, and they were all delicious. The location was right next to the Verizon center. I am so happy that I stumbled upon this restaurant. I will be making the trip from Fairfax to DC just to eat here!

I go here a lot. My fave NY style Chinese place in DC for Dim Sum. Not as good as Vancouver but close. Dim sum is good but the basement is my spot for lunch. Cheap snd quick even get without Msg. Food is fresh veggies crispy and meat tender and taste is superb. Cleaner than ones across the street like Wok n Roach.

Firstly, Tony Cheng Seafood is not handicap accessible. The owner was very accommodating. They own the Mongolian BBQ restaurant also so they accommodated us downstairs with the upstairs menu.
I think that we may have come on the wrong day because
1) as I said before they are not handicap accessible,
2) it was hot that day and they had no air-​conditioning and no ice, and
3) the owner was great but the waiter was terrible.
4) Oh and the restrooms are up stairs, so if you are handicapped and unable to get up the steep stairs, you have no restrooms.
So I guess that I should talk about the food. It was a mixture of dishes that were ok or interesting along with others that were good. I would suggest the beef chow fun or the Singapore noodles with seafood. The other dishes we had were not memorable.
The next question is would I go back. Good thing I don’t live there because then I would have to decide and the answer would probably be no. There must be someplace better.

Haven’t been here in years as nowadays, there are plenty of places to go in the suburbs for dim sum.
Service is slow as always, however the radish cake is the BEST that I’ve had in years. The shrimp crêpe dish is pretty good as well! The waiter was pretty good about keep the water glasses filled, which is really strange for a Chinese restaurant.
This place loves to let everyone know that our «worthless» politicians have been here in the past… obviously because they have nothing to do, like work?

Its OK in a pinch when you are extremely hungry! Wonton was good and so was Chicken fried rice and pork was OK nothing to wrote home about.
The wait staff came around asking as for dim sum… all in all good for the money…

Walking thru china town we picked here to eat. As you walk in you realize it’s a bit dingy dark and a little dirty. Service was just ok. Almost seemed like they were annoyed that you were there. Some of our food selections were very good and others very bland. Portions are large and Prices are high. Just an ok place to eat. Will not return

I came for Dim sum on Sunday and everything was great. Walk upstairs
Large variet my of food, the typical carts, Chinese humming, the décor is typical and what I expected. Conforting
Our waiter Peter was really great. He was caring.
It is not the cheapest though but ok…

Typical Chinese food with too much MSG and grease. Be prepared to need a bathroom before you’ve even finished your meal.
I do enjoy their dim sum offerings on occasion, but those too, I“m sure come out of a frozen bag and are cooked in too much oil.
The atmosphere is fun, but don’t expect the best meal of your life.

Best Peking Duck I’ve had in the District so far! Crispy skin + house-​made wraps (very chewy) + huge whole duck portions made this a hit at our table of eight!
Went on Sunday so there were dim sum carts moving around. While the flavor on all the dim sum treats were good — some of the food was cold — that’s the main reason for the one-​star knock-​down.
Otherwise, a great no fuss place (a bit run down on the décor) for a large group jonesing for authenticity in China Town.
I would normally take it down another star for service but generally for a dim sum joint — service isn’t great since folks are just running around so keep that in mind. If you’re looking for attentive wait staff this isn’t for you — this is for the crowd that doesn’t mind being a little noisy to get the carts to come by their table. Part of any dim sum experience.
Bottom line: The food is good and worth a little bit of work to flag down.