The Best Chinese Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
Chinese restaurants Chicago has cultivated over the decades make up one of the country’s most underrated regional scenes. The cooking clusters in two neighborhoods, the historic Chinatown south of downtown around Cermak and Wentworth, and the Argyle stretch of Uptown sometimes called New Chinatown, and between them you can eat Cantonese barbecue, Sichuan heat, hand-pulled noodles, dumplings, and dim sum without ever leaving the city.
Here are five Chinese restaurants Chicago counts on right now, spanning both neighborhoods and several regional traditions. Consider it a starting point rather than the final word, because the scene runs much deeper than any five spots.
Sun Wah BBQ
Uptown · 5039 N Broadway
The Cheng family has been roasting Hong Kong-style barbecue in Uptown since 1987, and Sun Wah is now a James Beard America’s Classics honoree (2018). The draw is the off-menu Beijing duck dinner: a whole duck carved tableside, then turned into duck fried rice and a closing duck soup. Call a day ahead to reserve the duck. It is a big, loud, family-style room near the Argyle Red Line stop, and it still permits BYOB.
Order this: the three-course Beijing duck dinner, plus char siu and a plate of greens.
Qing Xiang Yuan Dumplings
Chinatown · 2002 S Wentworth Ave #103
Better known as QXY, this Chinatown specialist has been the city’s dumpling benchmark since 2014. The handmade lineup runs deep, from pork and napa or lamb and coriander to premium fillings like crab roe and truffle, plus juicy soup dumplings and charcoal BBQ skewers on the side. Expect a wait, the line moves fast, and it is BYOB.
Order this: a mix of dumplings (get the lamb), the soup dumplings, and a few skewers.
YooYee
Uptown · 4925 N Broadway
The newest spot on this list and the one Chicago’s Sichuan obsessives can’t stop talking about. Just off Argyle, YooYee pulls its noodles in house and builds bold, peppercorn-forward Sichuan plates around them. The spicy beef brisket soup with hand-pulled noodles is the dish to order, but the green-peppercorn fish filet, cumin lamb, and sweet-skinned duck are all worth the trip north.
Order this: the beef brisket hand-pulled noodle soup, the cumin lamb, and the duck.
MCCB (Modern Chinese Cook Book)
Armour Square · 2138 S Archer Ave
Tucked inside Chinatown Square, MCCB has been listed in the Michelin Guide for years (recommended, not starred) for a Sichuan-and-Cantonese menu that reads like a book. The signature is the charcoal-grilled whole fish, fired tableside and finished in a chili broth, but the salt-and-pepper shrimp and the mapo tofu are nearly as good. Small room, big flavors, frequent waits.
Order this: the charcoal-grilled whole fish and the salt-and-pepper shrimp.
Wentworth Seafood House
Chinatown · 2229 S Wentworth Ave
For Cantonese seafood the way Chinatown regulars actually eat it, Wentworth is the move. Tanks line the entrance, the fish and crab are cooked to order, and the prices stay refreshingly reasonable. It is unfussy and not Americanized, with steamed fish, clams in black bean sauce, salt-and-pepper soft-shell crab, and a weekend dim sum spread that locals rate among the city’s best.
Order this: a whole steamed fish, clams in black bean sauce, and weekend dim sum.
More Chinese Restaurants Chicago Loves, by the Dish
Five spots barely scratch the surface. For dim sum with big-banquet energy, the multi-location MingHin Cuisine is the reliable crowd-pleaser. Hot pot fans should look to Qiao Lin in Streeterville, and Chinatown keeps minting new Sichuan rooms like Chef Xiong and Szechuan Bistro faster than any list can track. Mapping a bigger eating tour? See our guides to the best Vietnamese restaurants in Houston and the best Filipino restaurants in Seattle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the heart of Chicago’s Chinese community?
Chicago has two main Chinese communities, geographically distinct. Chinatown, located south of downtown around Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue, is the historical center and home to most of the city’s Cantonese, dim sum, and Sichuan restaurants. The second concentration is in Uptown along Argyle Street, sometimes called New Chinatown or Little Saigon, given its mix of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai communities. Both are essential to understanding Chicago Chinese food.
What dishes should I order at a Chinese restaurant in Chicago for the first time?
If it’s your first dim sum experience, start with har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork dumplings), char siu bao (BBQ pork buns), and pan-fried turnip cake. For a sit-down meal at a Cantonese restaurant like Sun Wah, the Peking duck is the obvious starting point. At Sichuan restaurants like YooYee, try the hand-pulled noodles and dry-fried green beans. At a dumpling specialist like Qing Xiang Yuan, mix three or four fillings to get a sense of the kitchen’s range.
What makes Chicago’s Chinese food scene distinct from other cities?
Chicago has a more geographically concentrated Chinese restaurant scene than New York or Los Angeles, with the bulk of activity in two neighborhoods (Chinatown and Uptown) rather than spread across the entire metro area. The city is also home to Sun Wah BBQ, a James Beard America’s Classics honoree and one of only a handful of Chinese restaurants in the country to earn that distinction, which speaks to the depth of Chicago’s institutional Chinese dining.
Are Chicago’s best Chinese restaurants kid-friendly?
Most are. Wentworth Seafood House’s weekend dim sum is great for families, with lots of small plates for kids to sample. Qing Xiang Yuan’s bright, casual dining room welcomes children. Sun Wah’s tableside duck service is enough of a spectacle that kids tend to enjoy the experience even if they’re not eating the duck itself. YooYee and MCCB skew slightly more adult, but neither is unwelcoming to families.
