The Best Restaurants to Eat in Chengdu

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in western China, is home to food that is popular the world over for its bold, spicy flavors. However, Chengdu has a lot more to offer than just Sichuan pepper.

Chengdu is a world-class city, offering foreign foods, Sichuan specialties, Buddhist-style vegetarian, as well as Islamic Halal options.

Chengdu Flavors

Sichuan’s widely-varied features have resulted in an equally wide array of different foods. The province’s fertile basin is the rice and vegetable basket, where the cash crops come from. The forested mountains provide mushrooms, fungus, and herbs.

The many borders of Sichuan have provided it with spices as well. Bordering both northwest and southwest China, as well as Tibet and many of China’s central provinces, Sichuan has acquired the tastes of many different lands. With Xinjiang to the North, there is the Turkic Arab/Muslim influence, so Halal food is prevalent; with Tibet to the West, Buddhist temples proliferate the plateau and many vegan/vegetarian restaurants can be found in Chengdu as well; finally, as the capital of the province, and one of China’s most important cities, Chengdu has also accrued a large population from other countries, so there are Indian, Thai, Western, and more options.

The lemony, spicy, numbing sensation (ma in Chinese) is the famous effect of Sichuan’s peppercorns. Other popular spices in the region include star anise, salt (from local salt wells), garlic, chili oil, ginger, and doubanjiang (a broad bean chili paste).

The heavily-spiced, bold flavors of Sichuan cuisine are reflected in its capital Chengdu, where diners can find the best of what Sichuan has to offer.

Hot Pot

Perhaps no dish is as famous in Sichuan-or all of China for that matter- than hot pot. Hot pot is a self cooked meal consisting of 2 separate broths cooked by a burner on the table. One of the broths is a spicy, red one, full of the “ma” flavor (Sichuan pepper), while the other is a more mild, white broth. Diners cook their meals in these broths, taking them out with chopsticks and dipping them in various sauces for more flavor. The sauces are a made-to-order type thing, usually composed of about 5 ingredients but selected from an array of over 20. The hot pot dipping sauces include chili oils, chili flakes, crushed peanuts, sesame oil, green onions, diced garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, and more.

Some restaurants to sample the best of Chengdu’s hot pot are as follows:

Shu DaXia Hot Pot

• Name in Chinese: 蜀大侠火锅酒楼
• Address: Chunnan Shopping Mall 2nd floor, No.6 Shangdong Street, Jinjiang District. In Chinese: 成都市锦江区上东大街6号春南商场2楼(西南书城) 邮政编码: 610011
• How to get there: Walkable from many of the major hotels in the city, as well as the city center, the easiest way to get to Shu Jiuxiangis is to take Metro Line No.2 (Longquanyi termial) to Chunxi Rd Station get off, follow the east of station walk about 500m to get there.

AKA. Xi Yu Long, this hotpot restaurant is a great taste of the city, located within walking distance of the city center. This place gets busy, so it’s best to make a reservation, or go during less busy times (like weekday afternoons).

Shu JiuXiang Hotpot

• Name in Chinese: Chinese: 蜀九香火锅酒楼
• Address: Renmin South Road South Extension Line Leisure Catering Yitiao Street. In Chinese: 成都市武侯区人民南路南延线休闲餐饮一条街 邮政编码: 610041
• How to get there: Walkable from many of the major hotels in the city, as well as the city center, the easiest way to get to Shu Jiuxiangis is to take Metro Line No.2 (Longquanyi termial) to Chunxi Road Station get off, follow the east of station walk about 500m to get there.

For a taste of classic hotpot in a traditional Chengdunese restaurant setting, look no further. Shu JiuXiang is less busy than Shu Daxia, so don’t expect to have to wait for a table during the 9-5 working hours, but it does get busy on the weekends.

The area around these 2 hotpot restaurants are loaded with good places to have China’s most famous style of dish. Walk around the Yulin neighborhood and Jiusheng temple- you are bound to find something that suits you.

Sichuan Specialties

From Dan Dan Noodles to Husband and Wife Lung Pieces (yes, really), Chengdu of course has plenty of native Sichuan food available. It’s up to you to try what you like. You could eat noodles every meal for a week in Sichuan and not have the same dish twice. Sichuan’s noodles range from refreshing Liang Mian (cold noodles) to warming, sour and spicy Suan La Fen (sweet potato noodles served with pickled vegetables). Other local delicacies include stinky tofu, flat bread sandwiches, and spring rolls.

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Locations:

Noodles are a street food in Chengdu- available cheaply and everywhere. Rather than a list of over-priced touristy restaurants, here are some of the best places to get noodles of all kinds, available from many vendors.

Huaxing Street

This is the place for fried egg and noodle soup. Huaxing St. has more to offer than egg noodles though, it’s one of Chengdu’s most popular food streets.

Getting There:

Head to Tianfu Square Metro Station (天府广场站) and walk east on Zongfu Road. Soon the Huaxing road will be all around you.

Jinli Ancient Street

For traditional Sichuan and Chengdunese food, visitors can do no better than Jinli street. The street is touristic, and can get busy at times, but it’s a perfect place for finding a wide variety of local cuisines.

Getting There:

The second-best way to get there is to stop at Huaxiba Metro Station ( 华西坝) and walk west for about 20 minutes. That will take you to the Wuhuo Temple (成都武侯祠博物馆) area, which will in turn put you at Jinli Pedestrian Street.

Western Food

The large population of foreign professionals that have emigrated to China since the early 2000s economic boom have brought some slices of home with them. Chengdu has a few foreign bars and restaurants, for a visitor whose feeling a bit homesick, or who maybe just wants a break from Sichuan spice.

Kathmandu

• Address: 99 Huan Jin Road, Qing Yang District, Chengdu. In Chinese: 成都市青羊区浣锦路99号
• How to get there: About a 20 minute walk from the Tonghuimen Subway Station (通惠门站), Kathmandu is right off the Jinjiang River, very close to the Sichuan Museum.

For great Indian, Western, Tibetan, and Nepali food, great service, and value for your money, Kathmandu is the place to be in Chengdu.

Shamrock

• Address: 15 Renmin Nan Lu, Section 4 . In Chinese: 成都人民南路四段15号附1号
• How to get there: Shamrock is easy to find, located right next to the American Consulate. Via metro, get off at Ni Jiaqiao Station (倪家桥) on line 1, and walk north for about 200 meters.

For an Irish pub experience in Chengdu, Shamrock is the place. There is a wide selection of Western food, pool tables, and occasional live music.

Vegetarian

Chengdu’s Buddhist culture dates back to its spread from Tibet centuries ago. To this day there are still functioning Buddhist monasteries within the city and a strong tradition of Buddhism. The Buddhist principle of non-violence is reflected in the diet of a practitioner, and Chengdunese restaurants are happy to serve.

All of the foreign restaurants (including the aforementioned Kathmandu and Shamrock) in Chengdu are also vegetarian/vegan friendly, and have meat/animal-free options. Almost every hot pot restaurant is also vegetarian friendly, as diners can select whatever they want to eat, including vegetarian/vegan food only.

Zaozishu Vegetarian Restaurant

• Address: 27 Qinglong Street, Qingyang District, | 4th Floor, Platinum Age City, Chengdu, China. In Chinese: 四川省成都市青羊区青龙街27号铂金大厦4层
• How to get there: From Luo Ma Shi Metro Station (骡马市) on line 1, walk north on Renmin Middle Road, then take a left onto Qinglong St. The restaurant will be on the right.

With great value for your money, as well as a 100% vegetarian menu, Zaozishu is one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Chengdu.

Yu Su Ge Vegan Cafeteria

• Address: 4/F, Shunong Hotel, No.67 Qingnian Road, Jinjiang District, Chengdu, China. In Chinese: 四川省成都市锦江区青年路67号4层
• How to get there: From Tianfu Square Metro Station (天府广场) on lines 1 and 2, walk east on Renmin East Road until you get to Shun Cheng Street and take a right. Take a left from Shun Cheng to Qingnian Road, and its in Kowloon Plaza to your left.

For an amazing Vegan/Vegetarian buffet that’s cheap and full of Sichuan specialties, Yu Su Ge is the place to be.

Halal Restaurants

Western China borders central Asia. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of India are closer to some parts of Sichuan than other parts of China. Additionally, the northern provinces bordering Sichuan- Gansu and Xinjiang are largely Islamic-the Uighurs, and they have a much different diet than the Han Chinese, and even natively speak a Turkic language. Chengdu’s nexus in western China, bordering so many different places and cultures has resulted in a large Muslim population, which means Halal food. Lanzhou, Xinjiang, and Yunnan-style halal food proliferate in Chengdu.

Chengdu Tianfanglou Restaurant

• Address: 6 Xiyu St, Luo Ma Shi, Qingyang Qu, Chengdu Shi, Sichuan Sheng, China, 610015 In Chinese: 四川省成都市青羊区骡马市西御街6号 邮政编码: 610015
• How to get there: From Tianfu Square Metro Station ( 天府广场) on lines 1 and 2, walk west on Xiyu street until you see either the Tianfanglou Hotel or the Huangcheng Mosque. The restaurant is on the 1st floor of the mosque.

Located right at the 1st floor of Huangcheng Mosque in the center of Chengdu, this restaurant is conveniently located in the center of the city and specializes in Sichuan-flavored Islamic cuisines.

Yue Xiang Cun Restaurant

• Address: 66 Dongchenggen South Street, Qingyang District. In Chinese: 青羊区东城根南街66号
• How to get there: From Tianfu Metro Station (天府广场) on line 1 and 2, walk west on Renmin E Road. Take a left on Dongchenggen St, and the restaurant is right next to the Yijia hotel.

Popular on account of its old-style Muslim dishes and authenticity, this restaurant has a history of over 60 years.

Dining at Chengdu Restaurants with China Travel

Chengdu, one of UNESCO’s Creative Cities for gastronomy, there are bunch of restaurants in every streets and back alleys, it is hard to design what type of food should try for the first-time travelers. China Travel offers you a knowledgeable English-speaking guide to transform your food ideas into stunning experiences. Just book a private Chengdu food tour with us!