Cho’s Mandarin Dim Sum

Limited selection, but really good food. Don’t go thinking you’re going to eat there — there’s only one table and 2 chairs available — but you can order food and head home or go to a nice bench in downtown Los Altos and eat :). I didn’t have success ordering by phone, but my food only took 10 minutes of waiting when I ordered there, and I was picking up food for 6 people. But you might want to call if you’re in a rush and its closer to a meal time — I called at an odd time and there was only one guy there whose English was limited. Definitely worth the prices — food is authentic and tasty!

Here’s all I have to say… FIRST TIME AND MY LAST TIME. This place honestly sucks. If you’ve had real Chinese food, you’ll never go back to this place again. All of the food is stale and not fresh. Everything is frozen, and you can probably go to Safeway and buy better food than this.

I was thrilled when Cho’s opened, and finally made the time to come in today. I really, really, really hate to say it, but it was such a disappointment.
I ordered the shrimp dumplings and pork potstickers. The potstickers we super oily and bland. And to top it off… two of them were undercooked (I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t get sick!). My favorite shrimp dumplings were even worse. I was so excited that I ate the first dumpling practically whole! It too was bland and strangely chewy. Upon biting into the second dumpling, I realized that these were also undercooked!!! The dough was definitely not steamed through and it was clearly raw dough in the middle. Further inspection sadly revealed that there were no whole, succulent shrimp either… just mashed up bits (of shrimp, I hope) and two very small bay shrimps.
I wanted to fall head over heels in love with the dim sum here… it’s close to home, fast, and inexpensive. But I can not recommend it. The food wasn’t good, wasn’t even cooked, and has left this dim sum fan so very sad

They only have a few items on the menu, but they taste homemade and they are pretty good.
Service — It’s a bit strange, but the worker looks like the guy from Ticket to Ride Asia (take a look at my attachment) and he really won’t acknowledge anything you say. He just stands there with no smile and just looks straight at you, however he will get your order correct.
Environment — It’s unique. The kitchen is a huge part of the restaurant that you can look inside of while they are cooking. You are also surrounded by storage items (water bottles, sodas) around the restaurant. There are only two seats so you most likely will be eating outside.
Potstickers ($ 3 for 3 pieces) — I liked their pork over the beef. It’s very meaty and delicious.
Soup ($ 5) — I liked the wonton soup over the hot and sour soup.
Chowmein ($ 5) — It’s just noodles and vegetable but the noodles were very chewy. Maybe they could make some soup/​noodle soon?
Buns — They were sold out unfortunately :(
Egg Rolls — It’s a regular egg roll, but since they serve it to you fresh, you get this nice hot and crispy egg roll.

Cho’s is my favorite place to get potstickers! I love the pork potstickers!

I was on my way to a bakery when I came across this hole in the wall place. There were only two tables in the entire place and one gentleman who does everything. I want to say he is the owner. I purchased combo #4 which came with two BBQ pork buns, a veggie egg roll and three pork potstickers all for $ 6. The potstickers were the star of the place. Skin was crisp to the bite and the inside was so chewy and flavorful. It had the right proportion of skin to the pork filling. The BBQ pork buns on the other hand did not seem to have too much meat in them. I am definitely just going to order potstickers the next time I come here. Oh and it is cash only.

Whoohoo! As good as it gets!

Best cheap fast food in Los Altos. Love this place, such a hidden gem! Not a sit down place but great outdoor seating.

Not really dimsum quality… was a-​ok

This guy is the Dim Sum N@z! without the good food.
It’s close to our house and we love dim sum so we really wanted to give this place a chance. Hence, we were there 3 times– the first 2 he just had potstickers and asked us to «wait an hour» for dim sums (we were there at 1230). The potstickers were… ok. The third time we arrived at 130 and got the dim sums– really disappointing. It was really sub par– the pork buns were dry and flavorless– the worst I’ve ever had.
On top of that the place is a mess inside, has very limited sitting arrangements and the guy only takes cash.
Don’t believe the hype– stay away.

Loved Cho’s as a student decades ago in Palo Alto, and still love it. Not fancy, but oh so satisfying. Potstickers are the way to go (yes, the spring rolls are greasy). If you are the type that needs white table cloths and attentive service, then pass on by. That leaves more for us who enjoy the eccentricity of Cho’s. Also you need to be flexible, as he will often be sold out of certain items, and the hours are not very rigid. But whatever you can get… it will be worth it.

It really pains me to leave a mediocre review for this place because I really have a lot of respect for all of the mom and pop restaurants that are out there. I also seem to be in the minority clearly with this place but in all honesty, my summary of this place can be described with «this place is the Lucky’s of dim sum.»
Now… I’m very picky about my dim sum. As a Bay Area native, I love my Asian food and have high standards… And dim sum is probably my favorite. So when I heard about this place opening, which is essentially walking distance from my house, I was really excited. It’s a very small place with the kitchen occupying most of the space. I decided to sample almost everything: the dumplings, pot stickers, hot and sour, wonton soup, and the egg roll (I was REALLY hungry!)
My biggest problem with this place was taste, or rather lack there of… The egg rolls basically had steamed cabbage and that was it. I couldn’t taste anything in the dumplings and the wonton soup broth had NO flavor AT ALL. I had to put so much soy sauce and hot sauce just to get some taste! I know this sounds harsh but the pot stickers you get at Trader Joes taste better. I don’t know if that’s a key difference between mandarin and Cantonese dim sum but if so, I definitely prefer the Cantonese kind. Also another pet peeve, the fact that they are cash only… I’ve said it before, in this era of new technology, there is no excuse not to have a credit card machine or Square, unless you are trying to defraud the government, in which case, I don’t blame you… But that’s still illegal…
The reason I didn’t give this place two stars is because like I said earlier, this place is like the Lucky’s of dim sum… Because it’s nearby and convenient, if I’m craving dim sum takeout, I’ll probably be back here… But otherwise not my go-​to place, sorry!

Greasy oily food.
Their Spring Roll, not an egg roll as stated. It’s basically a Cabbage roll lightly wrapped and fried in Greasy oil with other menu items. This roll is not Vegetarians friendly.
They have vegetables dumplings on request. But sadly it is pan fried along with other menu items. Again, is not vegetarian friendly.

Mr. Cho is a Bay Area institution. I loved his dingy little shop on California Ave, and his new place in Los Altos has all the same fixings — handwritten signs, plastic silverware, watered down hot sauce. His pork potstickers are the BEST potstickers I’ve ever had (and my childhood was filled with pork potstickers as a Chinese-​American.)
Cash only! I always find that 9 potstickers fills me up exactly. Check out the cute ice cream shop next door for dessert.

Cho’s is a national treasure. I can’t believe that he came back after closing down the Palo Alto location, long regarded as the last legit place left in the city. But I digress. Enjoy it while you can before he retires again!
PS: As for the food, if you’re reading this, just go. For what it’s worth, the new location is bigger, cleaner, and he hasn’t missed a beat with the food. Dare I say it’s better than ever? Looks like these folks writing 2-​star reviews weren’t actually eating the potstickers, which are the thing to get. Don’t listen to them.

Cho’s has moved into my area! Am I dreaming?
My brother first brought me to Cho’s when he was on California St. in Palo Alto.
It was simple in appearance but absolutely great in food quality.
Now he’s move to Los Altos and he’s cranking out the best potstickers and pork buns he’s ever made! I’ll add that they are extremely affordable by Los Altos standards. Two people with big appetites fed for around $ 13.
I’ll be back for more!

Cho’s is small. Slightly larger than a walk-​in closet. Not very clean, but no indoor seating, so whatever.
The handwritten menu is quite small as dim sum goes, but what is offered is spectacular. The pork buns and dumplings kick ass. Certain items sell out before 2 pm, so try to be early.
The older man who was only person there was working his tail off, frying, steaming, and taking cash only and orders. He was a little gruff, but understandably so.
Kinda hard to find if you are hoofing downtown Shallow Altos, and feels slightly out of place. But I like that it’s there and will happily return.
The prices cannot be matched anywhere for a lunch this good.

Meat quality was poor, low on flavor, and the egg roll was soaked in oil. Didn’t like any of the 4 things we tried at all. They used dried shrimp for the shrimp potstickers, which weren’t really potstickers at all… The best thing was probably the pork potstickers and that was more because everything else wasn’t great. If you are going to come to Los Altos to dim sum, I would recommend driving the extra mile to Castro Street in Mountain View.
Stars given because of the mom and pop feel of the place– very cute area with Tinpot next door!

Easy to miss if you’re not familiar with the area.
However, the other businesses have large address numbers so the block where the restaurant is, easy to find.
Still has the same specials… #4 or #6
3 potstickers (pork for #4, chicken for #6)
2 pork buns
1 eggroll
worth the $ 6
tastes homemade
no seating inside, some seating outside
CASH ONLY

Went to the place with the ideal of dim sum and rolling carts but found a tiny mom and pop place, which was fine because I love going to the tiny stores. menu was on the small side with just dumplings and buns and eggrolls
Unfortunately when we ordered he didn’t take down our order or ask for names, just used his memory to remember all the orders and we had a huge order for three people.
Was told the wait time would be half an hour but time came and went and other people after us were receiving their food.
asked about our order and he totally forgot what it was and just took some prepared food and gave it to us. Had a horrible attitude and was like you want it or not?
Paid for it and ate on the patio outside. 3 pork buns, 6 pork dumplings and 6 chicken dumplings, not enough food for three people and not even our full order. Buns were a nice ratio of meat to bread (still could have had more meat) but dumplings had a bit to much dough.
will not come again with such horrible customer service and disregard to customers

I used to eat at the old locale years ago when i worked down the street. Always went with our office manager cause they loved her. I noticed back then if they didnt like someone they might not get served at all. Cut to present day and theyve moved due to losing their lease after 35years. Being on the renovated 1^st street corridor of Los Altos, next to Tin Pot i think they got an upgrade. Got the pork pot stickers and bbq pork buns, the potstickers are more like dumplings but have the right texture and salinity. Pork buns are a bit in the chewy side and not as flavorful as i remember. They were out of shrimp dumplings which were my first choice over the bbq buns. Id say stick to those when they have them and the pot stickers as their best selectins

Stopped by this new restaurant in Los Altos and was pleasantly surprised.
The food is really yummy in my opinion. It really reminded me of my mom’s cooking. Delicious.
I had the chicken dumplings and egg rolls. The egg rolls were crispy and delicious. The dumplings were pan fried and really flavorful.
Right now, there is a sign on the door that says «11:30– 5 p.m. Temporary». Since I think regular hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. you might want to plan accordingly so you aren’t standing around for a ½ hour.
This restaurant has no tables inside but has a few tables outside which are owned by Los Altos that you can sit at.
They only accept cash so make sure you can pay for the meal before ordering. The food is reasonably priced. Lunch for two was less than $ 20. The dumplings are really filling and so are the egg rolls.
Pork Potstickers are $ 3.00 for three, $ 6.00 for six
Chicken Potstickers are $ 3.25 for three, $ 6.25 for six
Beef Potstickers are $ 3.25 for three, $ 6.25 for six
Shanghai Pork Ball is $ 2.00 for three and $ 4.00 for four
When I was there, there was only one person working, who was very nice, but seemed to have limited English so communication can be a little difficult for some. I spoke with him in Chinese briefly and he seemed to understand Mandarin. I think till they get more employees, the weight for food might be about 10 – 15 minutes. That was fine with me and I thought the food was worth it.
Overall, I liked the food and would come back. Looking forward to seeing everything run smoother for this restaurant and hoping it takes off.