21 Essential Cincinnati Chinese Restaurants You Should Have Tried By Now

Shanghai Mama’s

216 E. Sixth St., Downtown
Shanghai Mama’s menu gives you the option of mixing and matching proteins with starches. The noodles are homemade, thick and rustic and very delicious. And Mama’s is very vegetarian-friendly. There are several seitan dishes, including veggie cashew chicken and the Happy Buddha. Open late on weekends to accommodate the post-hours, after-bar crowd.
Photo: Adam Doty

KungFood Chu’s AmerAsia

521 Madison Ave., Covington
Quaint and comfortable with a huge beer list, AmerAsia offers all the usual Chinese dishes and chef specialties, but the food is anything but the usual. Chef Chu makes it all from scratch. His motto: “Do not take short cuts and do everything with passion and love.” Enjoy it all while taking in the eclectic décor of Kung Fu movie posters and paper lanterns. Favorite dishes include the inferno-hot Dragon Breath wontons and General Chu’s orange and sesame street chicken.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Shanghai Mama’s

216 E. Sixth St., Downtown
Shanghai Mama’s menu gives you the option of mixing and matching proteins with starches. The noodles are homemade, thick and rustic and very delicious. And Mama’s is very vegetarian-friendly. There are several seitan dishes, including veggie cashew chicken and the Happy Buddha. Open late on weekends to accommodate the post-hours, after-bar crowd.
Photo: Jesse Fox

Fortune Noodle House

349 Calhoun St., Clifton Heights
You know your noodles are made with love when a restaurant dedicates an entire employee just to their production, but here’s the thing: Everything else at Fortune is delicious, too. Inspired by classic Chinese noodle houses, Fortune serves a La Mian-style of handmade noodles, a practice that dates back to the 1500s. The noodles are hand-pulled and stretched out into strands, then paired with everything from vegetables to squid and shredded pork to tripe.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Yum Yum Chinese Restaurant

909 Race St., Downtown, 513-721-7705
This classic eatery is owned and operated by an older couple who haven’t changed its decor and menu since they opened it in 1975. Yum Yum Mein, Sichuan Pepper Steak and Ding Dong Chicken are still crowd favorites, and the prix fixe dinners haven’t gone out of style just yet. Dessert is, as expected, a fortune cookie for each guest, and after-dinner coffee will run you 40 cents, if you can spare it. Cash only.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Chung Ching

5842 Hamilton Ave., College Hill
The mom-and-pop dining experience, Chinese style. To start your meal off right, try the Hot & Sour Soup along with the Governor’s Chicken with stir-fried mixed vegetables for your entrée. Tasty alternatives include the beef with broccoli, the Szechuan crispy duck or the Szechuan crispy shrimp.
Photo via Chung Ching’s Facebook

Oriental Wok

317 Buttermilk Pike, Fort Mitchell; 2444 Madison Road, Hyde Park
Transcending the typical Chinese American menu since 1977, Oriental Wok and the Wong family offer upscale, innovative, fresh and delicious chef-prepared cuisine that’s never boring — from five-spice tofu over stir-fried greens to pepper steak in a black bean sauce. Serves excellent beer and wine selections, and their annual Chinese New Year party is a blast.
Photo via Facebook.com/OrientalWok

Sichuan Chili

10400 Reading Road, Evendale
Located in Village Crossing, Sichuan Chili opened in 2013 and features a menu dedicated to traditional Chinese and Sichuan meals. The fully-stocked menu offers Sichuan classics like Kungpao Chicken and Bo Bo Fish, as well as a wide variety of appetizers. New specialties like Ma La Rabbit and Golden Sand Corn are introduced nearly every month, so be sure to put this spot on your must-visit list.
Photo: Christian Gill

Noodle & Hot Pot

4750 Fields Ertel Road, Landen
Yuke Qiu and Jennifer Niu opened Noodle & Hot Pot in 2018. Hot pot is kind of like fondue dining meets a hibachi grill — everyone at the table cooks their food in the boiling soup at the center of the table. The restaurant offers seven different soups: nine boxes spicy, spicy, bone, wild mushroom, tomato, tom yam and curry. They also have a hot pot buffet special, a Thursday lunch special and bubble tea.
Photo via Facebook.com/HotPotOhio

Yat Ka Mein Noodle House

2974 Madison Road, Oakley
This Oakley staple offers up a wide-range of traditional noodle dishes from Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Hong Kong including favorites like pad Thai and Catonese pan-fried noodles. The menu also includes soups, salads, appetizers and “fun dishes to share,” like lettuce wraps and calamari.
Photo via Yat Ka Mein Facebook

China Gourmet

3340 Erie Ave., Hyde Park
China Gourmet has been serving fine Chinese cuisine since 1977. The menu at China Gourmet is divided into classics, what’s new and traditional favorites, with highlights including wok-seared sea scallops, moo shu pork and Yang Chow-style fried rice.
Photo via China Gourmet’s Facebook

Bao Bun Bowl

4752 Fields Ertel Road, Landen
Hand-pulled noodles. Need we say more? Bao Bun Bowl is one of the newest restaurants on our list and has already received a ton of attention. It features an open kitchen where customers can view their soup or dumplings being freshly prepared. While they specialize in soups and bao, the menu does feature other unique dishes like the cumin lamb burger or the spicy pig ear.
Photo via Facebook.com/BaoBunBowl4752

Tea ‘n’ Bowl

211 W. McMillan St., Clifton Heights
Tea ‘n’ Bowl is a Bearcat favorite — if you go to the University of Cincinnati, you either know or will know this place by graduation time. Students and Cliftonites alike go crazy over Tea ‘n’ Bowl’s famous bubble tea. Bubble tea is tea and flavorings poured over tapioca balls or “bubbles” to create a delicious, fun drink. The tea is not their only specialty; they also offer authentic and americanized Chinese food.
Photo via Facebook.com/TeaNBowl

Great Tang Chinese Restaurant

7340 Kingsgate Way, West Chester
If you’re looking for variety, Great Tang Chinese Restaurant’s incredibly generous menu is broken up into 13 sections, including dim sum; lamb, duck and bullfrog; authentic Chinese soups, American Chinese entrees and more. Yelpers rave about the restaurant’s quick service and large portions.
Photo via Great Tang Restaurant Facebook

99 Restaurant

11974 Lebanon Road, Sharonville
If you’ve got 99 problems, finding a restaurant for great Cantonese food in Cincinnati is not one. Located right off of Interstate 275 in Sharonville, 99 Restaurant provides authentic Catonese and Szechan dishes. If you’re looking for affordable, quality seafood, look no further. Mention you saw their website and you can get two lobsters for $24. The restaurant also doubles as a karaoke bar.
Photo via Facebook.com/99RestaurantKaraoke

The Pacific Kitchen

8300 Market Place Lane, Montgomery
This place is called The Pacific Kitchen for a reason, they feature food from over 22 different pacific countries and regions. This diverse eatery has a massive menu of Asian fusion and is friendly for everyone featuring a variety of vegetarian and gluten-free options. The menu also features the flag of each country or region that the dish is from so you can easily pick out some of your favorite kinds of food. Pacific Kitchen also serves dim sum from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Photo via The Pacific Kitchen Facebook

Blue Gibbon Chinese Restaurant and Lounge

1231 Tennessee Ave., Paddock Hills
This unassuming gem serves up quality Chinese cuisine, fast. The restaurant has been around for over 30 years and was created by Frank Kok, a famous Southeast Asian and New York City restaurateur. Expect a variety of traditional dishes, plenty of options for vegetarians and a busy lunch.
Photo via Google Street View

Uncle Yip’s

10736 Reading Road, Evendale
Nestled in the Evendale Plaza, Uncle Yip’s serves authentic southern Chinese cuisine with full dim sum service during weekend brunch. Dim sum consists of small portions of food delivered in steamer baskets. Dumpling dishes like shrimp dumplings, barbecue pork buns and chicken sui mai are popular — and only $3.95 each.
Photo via Facebook.com/UncleYips

Hidden Dragon

56 Martha Layne Collins Blvd., Cold Springs
Cold Springs’ Hidden Dragon serves some of the best Chinese cuisine in Northern Kentucky. Most Chinese restaurants have the signature newspaper-sized menu, but not this family-owned eatery. They have a rather petite menu, focusing on Cantonese and Cambodian dishes like Dragon Rangoons and Green Dragon Curry. According to the restaurant’s website, dining at Hidden Dragon isn’t just an edible experience, it’s a “cultural dive into our family and daily atmosphere.”
Photo via Facebook.com/TheHiddenDragonRestaurant

Grand Oriental Chinese Restaurant

4800 Fields Ertel Road, Landen
It is easy to pass by an unassuming strip-mall Chinese restaurant — especially one that is tucked behind a carwash like Grand Oriental. But Grand Oriental is worth the added effort. The restaurant’s tableside dim sum service is excellent — servers have certain dishes (shrimp dumplings, steamed barbecue pork buns, scallion pancakes, chicken feet with black bean sauce) on carts that are wheeled to each table, and you simply point at which dishes you want. Items are priced a la carte and the bill is tallied at the end. If you have never experienced a dim sum restaurant, Grand Oriental is a must. A standard Chinese menu is served throughout the week and dim sum is available 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Photo via Grand Oriental Chinese Restaurant Facebook