Chifa

Ceviche was very fresh (they had 3 choices of ceviche). Not sure what the butter is that they give you with the house made buns but I’d go again just for that magic spicy butter. Ambiance is kinda cool. Maybe could be toned back a bit but who doesn’t like eating in a booth with pillows. Best part is I just wanted a small meal and they still made me feel welcome even though I didn’t run up a large bill. Its a bit pricey so thats possible
Oct 1st, 2013

Good service and good food. This is a cantonese/ peruvian fusion food. The best things are the pork buns. I came here for restaurant week and nonrestaurant week. It is much more worth it for restaurant week because you can choose about 3 different dishes with dessert. I recommend the chifa rice and chifa chicken.
May 20th, 2013

this place is amazing. the food is better than morimoto. the staff is very friendly. shared four plates with my girlfriend and every plate was delicious and well worth it. bao bun pork belly, duck tacos, chaufa with scallop, tempura tofu.
Dec 11th, 2012

Having been a fan of Chifa since it's opening, I'm reluctantly downgrading the review by one star. I've been here many times, more so than I can remember. However, several things have changed here since the restaurant's grand opening. First, the good. The menu at Chifa has been constantly changing - this is good as it brings in the new flavors of Garces as he continues to grow as a chef. Second, the bad. Service here has no doubt gone down quite a bit since the restaurant's early days. Once upon a time we were indecisive about which of the entree-sized dishes we wanted, and so we asked the waitress to surprise us with one of them. She surprised us by bringing out both entrees and comped one of them. Nowadays, you'll be lucky to get a waiter / waitress who knows the menu. Hoping service will go back up - and that the same fate doesn't await Garces' upcoming Volver.
Apr 21st, 2013

I don't know if it's all the horrible weather we've been getting lately but, I've been feeling pretty down these days, and this has translated into disappointments in food . So, I wasn't expecting much when I dined at Jose Garces' Peruvian-Asian spot Chifa. To my delight, my expectations were not just met but completely exceeded. This was one of the best meals I'd experienced in a long time in terms of taste, presentation and atmosphere. Like Garces' other tapas eateries Tinto and Distrito, the interior of Chifa is modern, colorful, and suffused with dim lighting. My party and I were seated in a cozy booth cushioned with silk pillows and orange lighting, an appropriately exotic ambiance to complement the exotic cuisine we were about to enjoy. While waiting for our food to come out, we chowed down on the complimentary bread balls with spicy guava butter. With little hesitation, I would say the bread itself is worth a visit to Chifa. The bread was chewy, savory bursts of deliciousness. We ordered another serving before half our meal was done. The main dishes themselves deserve just as much credit, as they were all flavorful, well-portioned and beautifully plated. The first dish, the crab empanadas, was served with a chile reduction. The empanadas were crispy on the outside and tender on in the inside, with a generous amount of jumbo lump crap - simply perfect. Next up were the fried scallion pancaked with braised beef. Definitely yummy, but greasy, so the small portion was just enough. The Peruvian ceviche that our server recommended featured corvina fish, sweet and flavorful, and paired great with the side of corn nuts that came with it. The ceviche was a refreshing contrast to the other fried dishes and served to cleanse my palate for the next round of dishes. The lobster noodle bowl embodied the fusion element of Chifa, with a combination of flat rice noodles, lobster, bacon and a rocoto (a chili pepper native to Peru) cream sauce. The dish was sort of like a spicy, creamy Chinese fettuccine and was one of my favorites of the night. The succulent chunks of lobster paired with the rich, red-peppery sauce and the smoky bacon made for a creative, flavorful mix of ingredients. The star of the night though was the pork bao buns. The soft, airy buns stuffed with tender glazed pork belly were flavorful and perfectly balanced. The hoisin glaze was tangy, but not too sweet and doesn't overpower the dish, allowing the rich pork belly to shine - a melt-in-your-mouth kind of deliciousness. I really can't rave enough about my meal at Chifa, so I'll just let everyone go and experience the food for themselves. I promise you won't be disappointed; and if I can say that after trekking through the heavy snow and icy winds just to get there, then there's little doubt that you will love Chifa too. --Michelle
Dec 19th, 2012