Legend Upper West

Loved the food. Had an amazing scallion pancake. Crispy, flaky, fried goodness of a pancake. The pork dumplings in chili were good but forgettable. lunch special twice cooked pork w/​leeks & black beans was good. But they never brought us the soup. The beer was cold. Our plates were even colder.
What annoyed me was the service. When we walked in we were the only westerners. Which we took as a sign of authenticity. But I noticed asians got larger portions, tea and their service was not condescending.
Their Chinese food is the best on the UWS. Our food was appropriately spiced and delicious.
We liked it enough to order it as takeout later that night and it was great.
I would have given five stars but their Sinocentric behavior was baffling.

I’ve been here many times. Their food is OK, although Americanized for sure. It’s definitely better than many Sichuan restaurants in Chinatown which are run by immigrants from Canton or Hong Kong. If you want better Sichuan food in Manhattan I would recommend Savour Sichuan on 39 st.

Not very good. The beef had some strange taste. The service was horrible. I did not enjoy at all.

Ok, I know they taste good and probably is the more authentic Sichuan restaurant near Columbia. But I don’t know if it is the common thing for Chinese restaurants or something, they just shrink their takeout size dramatically. I have experienced a lot of issues with Chinese restaurants lately, which seem not long-​term sighted enough to keep regular customers. Just One time customers are good for them. I bought an appetizer to go which has been my routine there. However, the portion is half size as before. Really really interesting. So I decide not go at all.

Some food are very good. All foods are salty and taste the same from same sauce. However, they are good enough to try continuously.

I generally like this place but was disappointed in the last couple of meals I ordered.
Chinese joints in the U.S. have more items on the menu than they can handle. or that they think they can get away with things even if they don’t have the ingredients. I am disappointed to know that this is one of them.
Ordered:
Shrimp Wonton in Red Sesame Oil —
As you can see from the pic, it was just dough and the shrimp (minced) inside was less than ½ teaspoon-​ful inside.
If they don’t have shrimp wonton, why don’t they just call to let customer know they don’t have any? Chinese places do this all the time, to meet the order, they try to whip something up on the fly and end up delivering something mediocre.
*If I am completely wrong here and that’s the shrimp wonton that they prepare everytime, then that is even worse.
Sichuan Spicy Ma Po Tofu
Like the flavor a lot. But they were just so skimpy on tofu and ground pork, my dish was just some hot oil that has pieces of tofu floating on it. You’d get to taste the ground pork on occasional bite but it has virtually no pork in it.
Disappointed to know that this is another Chinese joint that you should only order «Most popular» items on the menu (seamless and other site tells you) to be safe.

Food was good but poor and rude sevice. Tables were empty but kept us waiting for 30mt. Staff were arguing in front of the customers. Big line to the bathroom infront of your table. Raw food being delivered from the front door in front of seated customers.

If you are ordering delivery from here. Don’t do it. RUDE delivery guys. He literally threw my food at the door and had the audacity to give me a nasty look.
First impressions are everything to me and I won’t be giving my business to them any longer.
Food was mediocre to less than average.

Chongqing diced chicken-​very good. Not too spicy. Very numbing. Pretty oily but tasty.
Fish fillet in red soup-​average. Tender fish fillets. The Napa and tofu taste old.
Spicy beef-​average.
Grilled lamb chops-​above average. Fresh and juicy lamb chops, but a bit raw and hard to chew. A variety of side vegetables: onions, bamboo shoots, garlic etc.
Fish stew fillets with pickled cabbage-​good. Tender fish fillets. Flavorful pickled cabbage. Tasty soup.
Sautéed string beans-​average. A little oily. Not too much taste.
Sautéed bean sprouts-​average. Fresh but a little old bean sprouts. Mild taste.
Rice-​bad. Dry.

I came here for the first time yesterday for lunch with one of my colleagues – it’s one of his favorite spots in the area, and now I know why. This is by far the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. Lunch specials are either $ 7.50 or $ 8.50 and they include soup (wonton, egg drop, or hot and sour), a main dish, and a side of white or brown rice. I got the hot and sour soup and Kung Pao chicken, both were absolutely delicious and filled with flavor. Service is fast too — great place for a quick bite if you’re in a hurry!

Horrible service. Worst I’ve experienced in US ever. I don’t understand why the service is so terrible, won’t come here anymore.

Friend and I were both craving Chinese food, so he suggested that we stop by Legend Upper West. We ordered mapo tofu and sliced beef in chili oil (水煮牛肉) to share over rice. I can’t really take spicy well and asked for the beef to be mild. I should have known better that there was no way a dish essentially made from chili oil could be anything but super spicy. Within two bites, my entire mouth and tongue were turning numb and eventually to the point that I could no longer taste anything. I chugged down cups and cups of ice water, but to no avail. I do remember both dishes being very flavorful and tasty though. My friend, who’s a huge fan of spicy, loved the tofu and the beef. He claims that this is one of the more authentic spots for Sichuan food in UW, which I’d agree.
We both left feeling pretty full, him satisfied and me with a tingling tongue.

I walked into this place to have some shrimp dumplings which are my favorite… I bought them cause I like em so much but if it were for they’re service I wouldn’t of and never again will I spend money here!!! The lady at the counter is RUDE AS F*** AND ALSO THE SERVER OR OWNER WHO EVER THE F*** HE IS!!! If your gonna order from legend order from the one on 72 street everything is better there from the food to the SERVICE!!! LEGEND UPPER WEST YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OR RUDE MISERABLE ASSHOLES! have a good one!

So we ordered this dish, and it was the worst dish I have ever had. I dont remember the name anymore but it was chicken with peppercorn. The peppercorn literally numbed my tongue for hours and left very sour aftertaste. It ended up ruining the bokchoy with mushroom (which was super nice!) :-(

Legend has great authentic Sichuan food. If you’re getting tired of Americanized Chinese food where the sauce for every dish is more or less the same, then Legend is the place to try.
It is on the spicy side and they frequently don’t mark on the menu if a dish will be spicy, so if you can’t take spicy well, be sure to ask before ordering. Their fish is fantastic, especially the sautéed fish fillet and the Chongqing fish in red sauce. The fish are very savory and fresh tasting. I would definitely recommend ordering fish when coming here even though it can be a little on the pricy side. The sautéed dry string beans are also very good and balance out the spicy dishes well.
Service is decent– I really don’t know why people keep complaining about that the servers seemed nice enough to me. Also food was served quickly which is good if you’re hungry. Definitely give this place a try if you want authentic Chinese food

I’m a little biased since this place took over the spot from my former favorite BBQ joint, Rack & Soul. This place serves Szechuan cuisine and the offerings seem fairly authentic.
The food is priced for students and the portions are decent. There’s a dearth of Chinese food (that’s not takeout) in the Columbia University area so it’s a welcome addition. It’s not the greatest food in the world but its decent.

The food was really so so, nothing special, but not bad either. The reason I give them one star is because of their rude delivery man. I tipped him $ 4 dollars and he said «Thats it? Pshh». Really pissed me off, especially since he wasn’t too proud to keep my tip. Will not be ordering again.

I ordered delivery from this restaurant a few times. One of the delivery men was very rude. He always asked for more tips even though I already gave him 15%. He’d give you the attitude even after you prove to him that the amount was enough. I called to complain about the situation, but the operator didn’t seem to care, said she needed to answer other calls, and hung up the phone.
I didn’t get good service the few times I went to the restaurant either.

Why does this place have such a low rating???
Legends is awesome. the food is great and comes out very fast. Its very authentic chinese and has another location near 70^th. Its also not too costly. They play soothing music in the background but the night staff switches it up to kpop.

My go-​to Chinese place in Morningside Heights. Usually get take-​out pretty often but have been there once in person. Delivery time is pretty good if you are thinking about take out (20 – 30 mins and I love 12 blocks away).
I usually get their string beans sautéed with pork and white rice. Chinese restaurants never mess that dish up but I find the one here particularly good.
Tried the chongqing chicken once here and was not impressed. A lot of chillies and not enough chicken. Plus the chicken was pretty dry.