Hours
| Friday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Monday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Tuesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–9 PM |
Address and Contact Information
Address: 2450 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94403
Phone: (650) 345-6288
Website: https://www.chefzhaobistroca.com/
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Order: Order online
Photo Gallery
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Reviews
Jack L
We have been looking for a Chinese restaurant that is good enough for us to often go to. We may have found it at Chef Zhao sichuan cuisine. The food came very quickly and every dish was excellent. The atmosphere was nicer than most Chinese restaurants.
… moreTom L
One of the best Chinese restaurants in the area. Not sure what Schezuan cuisine should be, but the dishes I ordered were good. Standout was cumin beef and pork fried rice, both came out piping hot within minutes. Soft tofu with crab tasted too eggy, and might have been better as a soup. Looking forward to returning.
… moreYuan LIU
Chef Zhao Bistro is authentic Sichuan cuisine. Period. We liked their Mountain View shop a lot, but that one was closed during COVID-19. Our first visit to the San Mateo shop didn’t disappoint, followed by more.
To my disbelief, this store serves 鱼腥草 (fish mint, Houttuynia cordata), my childhood favourite summer time salad. I immediately ordered it. Due to supply, their dish is mainly leaves when my hometown dish would come with lots of juicy stems. Their leaves are also on the dry side. Still, this was the first time I saw this outside Sichuan. (Other than dried plant in Chinese herb stores.) Because this plant has a very strong smell and after taste that people associate with fish, not many people order it. In fact, not many people from China even know that Sichuan people eat it in meals. My connaisseur order obviously struck a cord with the chef, who came out twice to chat with us. (We came before the dinner crowds.)
Another lowbrow salad, 伤心凉粉 (“heartbroken” bean-starch noodles), was also very flavourful. (This is more of an Eastern Sichuan flavour.) When such household, lesser known dishes are on the menu, I always use them as an assay for authenticity. Chef Zhao’s always delivers.
The main dish we ordered, “water boiled fish”, an extremely spicy dish, was much more authentic than many Sichuan restaurants in this area. Well, that we already knew from the closed store.
Two people couldn’t order a lot. But we have had various dishes from Mountain View over the years. I can confidently say that you can throw a dart at the menu and it will come out authentic and delicious.
My daughter and I have since returned to Chef Zhao every time we travel to mid-peninsula. My heart skipped a beat when we saw their home made Sichuan sausages on the menu in a recent visit! Chinese sausage you can get from Chinese grocery stores here are mostly Guandong flavor. Even the occasional finds of Sichuan sausage is not the same.
… moreTo my disbelief, this store serves 鱼腥草 (fish mint, Houttuynia cordata), my childhood favourite summer time salad. I immediately ordered it. Due to supply, their dish is mainly leaves when my hometown dish would come with lots of juicy stems. Their leaves are also on the dry side. Still, this was the first time I saw this outside Sichuan. (Other than dried plant in Chinese herb stores.) Because this plant has a very strong smell and after taste that people associate with fish, not many people order it. In fact, not many people from China even know that Sichuan people eat it in meals. My connaisseur order obviously struck a cord with the chef, who came out twice to chat with us. (We came before the dinner crowds.)
Another lowbrow salad, 伤心凉粉 (“heartbroken” bean-starch noodles), was also very flavourful. (This is more of an Eastern Sichuan flavour.) When such household, lesser known dishes are on the menu, I always use them as an assay for authenticity. Chef Zhao’s always delivers.
The main dish we ordered, “water boiled fish”, an extremely spicy dish, was much more authentic than many Sichuan restaurants in this area. Well, that we already knew from the closed store.
Two people couldn’t order a lot. But we have had various dishes from Mountain View over the years. I can confidently say that you can throw a dart at the menu and it will come out authentic and delicious.
My daughter and I have since returned to Chef Zhao every time we travel to mid-peninsula. My heart skipped a beat when we saw their home made Sichuan sausages on the menu in a recent visit! Chinese sausage you can get from Chinese grocery stores here are mostly Guandong flavor. Even the occasional finds of Sichuan sausage is not the same.
Jiangtao Li
Great sichuan restaurant. I came to this place regularly. Price did not go up for years. I hope they keep that way in the future.
… moreJames Zhong
We went during weekend for lunch. The restaurant was quite empty. The waitress was very friendly and checked on us a few times during the meal. I’d say great service.
The food was however not really to my liking. The Chingqing spicy chicken 辣子鸡 was made with chicken wings cut in half. The wings didn’t taste fresh, but preprocessed somewhere. The dish also had chunks of undiscovered sugar clumps. The fish-flavored eggplant 鱼香茄子 was served with huge eggplant pieces, but the flavor was pretty good from the sauce. The cumin ribs 孜然排骨 also didn’t taste fresh, but flavor was good as well.
Overall, it was ok. Price was pretty good. Maybe I didn’t order the right dishes, but I probably won’t return in the future.
… moreThe food was however not really to my liking. The Chingqing spicy chicken 辣子鸡 was made with chicken wings cut in half. The wings didn’t taste fresh, but preprocessed somewhere. The dish also had chunks of undiscovered sugar clumps. The fish-flavored eggplant 鱼香茄子 was served with huge eggplant pieces, but the flavor was pretty good from the sauce. The cumin ribs 孜然排骨 also didn’t taste fresh, but flavor was good as well.
Overall, it was ok. Price was pretty good. Maybe I didn’t order the right dishes, but I probably won’t return in the future.
Helen
We had high hopes for chef Zhao but some of the food items were not up to standard.
Interior is very clean and service is fast.
Parking might be hard to find during busy dining hours.
Food that we got:
Stir fried pork kidney – this is really well done, well flavoured and kidney is tender with no weird taste
Sichuan style spicy wonton – the wonton skin is so chewy and it didn’t feel fresh. The filling was also kind of flavourless and we had to really dip the sauce to get any savoury taste
Pea shoot – pretty good, garlic stir fried and tastes similar to other places
Glutinous rice cake – definitely would not recommend this. Instead of using glutinous rice flour which is where most places do, they just squished together a lot of glutinous rice and fried it. The texture and the syrup both are not great
Fish filet and tofu in preserved pickle – I don’t understand why they added tofu in it besides to cut cost. I’ve never seen tofu added to this dish before. Makes it feel like they’re being cheap
There are better Chinese places around here, we are a bit disappointed at the experience here.
… moreInterior is very clean and service is fast.
Parking might be hard to find during busy dining hours.
Food that we got:
Stir fried pork kidney – this is really well done, well flavoured and kidney is tender with no weird taste
Sichuan style spicy wonton – the wonton skin is so chewy and it didn’t feel fresh. The filling was also kind of flavourless and we had to really dip the sauce to get any savoury taste
Pea shoot – pretty good, garlic stir fried and tastes similar to other places
Glutinous rice cake – definitely would not recommend this. Instead of using glutinous rice flour which is where most places do, they just squished together a lot of glutinous rice and fried it. The texture and the syrup both are not great
Fish filet and tofu in preserved pickle – I don’t understand why they added tofu in it besides to cut cost. I’ve never seen tofu added to this dish before. Makes it feel like they’re being cheap
There are better Chinese places around here, we are a bit disappointed at the experience here.
Grace Li
A really delicious gem of a place! My friend and I went here a few days ago and ordered the dumplings, eggplant, twice fried pork, and the spicy fish. The food was excellent and at a very reasonable price, and we had a ton leftover. The twice cooked pork was especially good. Service was quick and friendly, especially since it was a weekday lunch, and the place wasn’t too crowded either. We found 2-hour street parking right around the corner by the Goodwill. Highly recommend!
… moreMarcela Ma
I’ve been here a few times and the food is pretty consistent. I have tried a few different things and some of my favorites like the chicken wings and cumin spareribs The service is good they are very kind and accommodating. The food is delicious and pretty authentic for San Mateo area.
… moreLingling
The quality of the food was excellent, and we loved the tasty dishes. They weren’t overly spicy but had a wonderful savory flavor. Highly recommended!
… moreKirstin Leigh
Authentic Sichuan food for spicy food lovers! Highly recommend the spicy lotus root, lamb dish, and spicy wontons. Everything is very seasoned and super flavorful so you should get a bowl of rice to compliment the dishes. Numbing sensation (spicy) from the peppers are what makes the Sichuan experience amazing. Definitely a must-try.
… more