Wu Chow-Downtown

Review summary

1. L

   Lainey

   VIP

   Austin

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   We love Wu Chow, but this time we had a poor experience with the service. We sat outside and were told the wait staff operates on a team basis, meaning we have an assigned server, but anyone can help us. We only saw our assigned server once right at the beginning. After that we had to flag someone down to help us, and even when we did that, the server forgot to help us and we had to flag someone down again for the same reason. We love the food, but very disappointed in the service for the price point of the food.
   

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2. N

   Nicole

   VIP

   Austin

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   One of my favorite places in Austin! Can’t recommend enough.
   

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3. M

   MYLES

   VIP

   Austin

   34 reviews

   3.0

   34 reviews

   Dined on December 10, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   It had been a while since we dined at WUCHOW until last night which had mixed results yet with reason to return. There were winners and some flaws in food and service. The evening's outstanding dish was the SALT AND PEPPER SHRIMP ($22) with very tasty shrimp under a cover of minced onions with a great tang to it. Well prepared. Also pleasing everyone's palate was the Dried Fried Local Green Beans ($16). Somewhat disappointing was BEEF CHOW FON ($23). It is enigmatic why the kitchen prepares it by chopping the broad rice noodles into small patches, something I've never seen in China or in the States. Very difficult to pick up with chop sticks and belies the claim of "authentic" (just like the mayonnaise does in a shrimp dish on the menu). Some but not all beef pieces were a touch overcooked. Flavor was good though. We were told there was only one 1/2 Peking Duck ($40) remaining and it was a bit scrawny but tasty and they get points for serving it with traditional pancakes instead of buns. Accompanying hoisin sauce was fine but the duck can't compare to BAMBOO HOUSE in Central Austin. The hot chili oil I added to every dish was delicious and aromatic. The restaurant environment is pretty and it was quiet (what a relief). But the server lost points when she interrupted us working on the last dish by asking if we wanted dessert. Bad training or they just want the table empty. It happens a lot in Austin.
   

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4. C

   Cori

   VIP

   Austin

   13 reviews

   4.0

   13 reviews

   Dined on December 8, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Honestly not as good as I remember it being. Soup dumplings lacked flavor, chicken was too spicy, one dish was forgotten…I good go on. It was fine, but not at that price point.
   

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5. C

   Cindy

   Austin

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on December 7, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Food , Drinks Service were all Great ! I would definitely go back worth the drive to downtown Austin ❤️
   

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6. L

   Lindsay

   Portland

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on December 1, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Wu Chow has a great Sunday dim sum menu offering. A number of very tasty selections and always made fresh to order (not off a cart). Definitely worth going if you are looking for good dim sum!
   

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7. D

   Douglas

   Austin

   5 reviews

   5.0

   5 reviews

   Dined on November 30, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   I appreciate the consideration of food allergies in preparation of the meal.
   

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8. A

   Anneliese

   VIP

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on November 24, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Their food never disappoints! Sunday Brunch Dim Sum is always awesome. We love the soup dumplings.
   

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9. K

   Kenneth

   Austin

   7 reviews

   1.0

   7 reviews

   Dined on November 23, 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   Here is a case where reputation does not match the experience. Someone needs to tell the chef that adding buckets of cumin to soy sauce alone does not make a dish special in any way. While the restaurant looks nice, the food was not very good. The fried dishes were fried to death and could have been alligator skin rather than the lamb or beef ordered. The stir fry dishes were so incredibly salty that you couldn't taste anything other than soy sauce and cumin. In addition, the menu descriptions don't really match the delivered dishes to the point that we had to ask the server to identify the dishes served. We just don't understand why this restaurant is mentioned as one of the best in so many articles.
   

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10. T

    Tauseef

    Austin

    2 reviews

    1.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on November 23, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2

    Flavors of the food we ordered is nothing to write home about. It was very pretty average. We have had better tasting Asian food at other restaurants. This experience will not bring us back to this restaurant.
    

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