Chef Zhao Bistro

2450 S El Camino Real, San Mateo - 94403
132 reviews
Chinese Szechuan
(650) 345-6288

The Mongolian beef was superior. Their chef really knows how to handle a wok! And nice and spicy. The place is new and clean. And the wait staff was attentive and friendly. First visit. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Excellent food, good service, nice environment with relax music, my first time here, strongly recommend to people like authentic spicy Chinese food

⚠️WARNING!⚠️ Extremely dishonest! Ordered tofu&beef in spicy boiling oil, and whether you believe it or not, they used PORK to cook BEEF dishes!!! If you want more money, increase the prices, which is absolutely fine. But plz don't fool your customers.

I used a coupon provided by a food delivery APP, and The Lady who works there at dinner time CANCELED my order twice in front of my face.She said she didn't see it right after she deleted my order on her device( I know cuz it showed on my APP as she was cancelling).Don't expect any SERVICES there. She will just ignore you.

Taste is great and not Americanized, but the portion is too small! Better order take out - they have discounts on many platforms. Also no parking space in front of the restaurant, you need to find street parking nearby.

I ordered the Chongqing chili chicken.Positives:- marinade infuses a lot of good Sichuan peppercorn flavor into the food- chicken is moist on the inside, crispy on the outside. Not overcooked at allNegatives- far too much sugar. There were clumps of rock sugar in my food. Even without biting into them, the food was too sweet- not enough spice. There were a lot of dried peppers, but the flavor from them was not successfully imparted on the chicken- portion was so small!! For this reason alone, I will not order again. I can get a portion that is 3x the size for the same price at other restaurants- chicken is 60% bones, 30% meat, 10% inedible gristleOverall, although tasty and more authentic than other Chinese restaurants in the area, I do not recommend. It is not good value for the price + too sugary and unnecessarily difficult to eat due to the bones.

Food not as spicy as other Sze Chuen dishes, but still only. Seated on main Street no parking spot, must park in Street, may be far away

Super authentic and doesn't cater to any American taste buds for sure. They have genuine dishes with ingredients you don't usually see (I'm talking specifically about the beef aorta) but even more reason to try something new! I loved that dish and how flavorful and unique it was. If you a fan of spicy and powerful, flavourful dishes, then this is the place to try. Portions are small for the price but they're worth a try!Pro tip: Order online for pickup! If you Google them it should be the beyond menu link under the place an order section. You pay in store and they do take credit cards.

Authentic sichuaness food! I am from Sichuan and this really reminds me of my home dishes!

We went to eat there on Friday, before Gem Show. That is true portions are small, yet the taste and variety are pretty amazing. After eating the same food in many restaurants - we were very impressed.