Liu Brothers Asian Bistro

Ok so it’s not the easiest place to find, it’s in a strip mall on the north side of Main St. But it’s worth finding.
It could use a little more ambiance, the décor is kind of plain if you’re eating in, but here’s the best part, the service was really good, you can bring your own beer or wine & the entrees were great. She has the chicken veggie steamer which she really enjoyed & I had mooshu chicken which was delicious. You don’t see that much anymore.
The only disappointment was that we had chicken satay as an appetizer & it was on the dry side.
Their portions are large, we both got to go boxes & their prices are good.
Go & enjoy!

Have lived in the St. Charles area for 22 years and thought we would try a new Asian place since our norm has been Silver Lake. We picked up take out which included beef fried rice, egg rolls, crab wonton and sweet/​sour chicken. It was all horrible. Bland, bland, bland. Will not go back and waste my money for food like this. Don’t waste your time.

Absolutely love having this place nearby. Super quick and extremely convenient! Does Asian food sound good? Yeah!
A ton of it together around lunch time sound remotely appetizing? Yeah!
General Tso’s EVERYyday? Don’t mind if I do.

Had we never ate here before, I would say the food was very good. However, we have been regulars since they opened and the food is just not the same since new ownership. Still very good… Just not the same. We miss Kevin!

I was sad to hear the old owners were gone, but I’m happy to report that the fried fish and eggplant dishes were just as lovely as ever. Basil chicken was also quite good with lots of fresh basil.

Hands down best Chinese food in the western burbs. Won
Ton soup was bursting with flavor. Pot stickers devine. Chicken was fresh, all white meat, and spicy! Will return ASAP.

Awesome Fresh Food
We go here a lot and love the fresh, generous portions. I am still dreaming of the succulent juicy shrimp my husband ordered. I also love the fried rice, it is simple and tasty and the rice sings!
Do go check out this hidden gem, such places are hard to come by in the suburbs.
Can’t wait to go back

Bland American Chinese. I had the Kung Pao shrimp. Large nice shrimp with a sweet peanut, carrot, and celery sauce. The hot tea was insipid.

Time for an update since there’s been a change of ownership.
Just before year end, the brothers, Kevin and David, and their partner, Kevin, sold the business. The brothers stayed on until mid– to late-​January to teach the recipes to the new owners/​cooks.
We have gone in and carried out a couple of times since the new ownership took over, most recently last week. I ordered dishes I was more than familiar with to gauge the kitchen’s performance.
The crab rangoons were good. They were cooked differently and had the look of something that had been fried in a tempura batter. The result was a delightfully crispy and flaky, but light, shell which I thoroughly enjoyed. The filling had a dominant flavor of something akin to green onion. Could have been an under-​mixed batch of filling. The rangoons never had a strong crab flavor to begin with so that wasn’t missing, but I’d have liked a bit more balanced flavor. The accompanying sweet sauce is the same– a little thicker perhaps– which is fine, but still fresh and bright. So the jury is out on these depending on the filling.
The chicken fried rice was definitely a disappointment. The chicken was not browned and the rice was very pale. Overall the dish was just very bland and had a greasy quality. Definitely a step down here.
Lastly we had the honey walnut shrimp, which I must say was better than ever. The shrimp were just perfectly cooked– and that wasn’t always the case when David and Kevin were in the kitchen– they had a tendency to overcook the shrimp by a minute or two and the shrimp got a little rubbery. These were perfect. Again, the sauce was perhaps a little thicker, but that was just fine by me as it coated the shrimp and walnuts perfectly. Speaking of the walnuts, they had a much better candied crunch than I remember, so perhaps the new cooks are paying more attention to the walnuts too. The dish was the best example of this Liu Bros classic that I have ever had. An improvement here.
So the new ownership is batting .500 for us right now… I’m a long-​time regular customer and I will not be too quick to dismiss the new iteration of this restaurant. Based on what I have seen thus far I am willing to give them some time to refine their approach.

I’ve been to this place 6 times. The first 2 times I was amazed at how delicious and fresh my dinner was. It has gone down hill since then. They have apparently gotten busy because tonight my dinner was not good. Slabs of under cooked, chewy chicken floating in oily sauce. It’s sad.

Let me start by saying that I used to l o v e this place. I hadn’t been in awhile because I had a run of eating there way too much and I had to take a break. So my friend (Who was also a big fan) and I decided to go back tonight. There was a new person who seated us, but that’s no big deal. Walking to our table we saw into the kitchen and saw it was different people too. Uh oh.
So we order and the food comes… not quite the same. Especially the fried rice, which we sent back. I loved their fried rice previously! They didn’t use a lot of soy sauce and it was lighter and tastier. This one had a lot of soy sauce and also had a curry taste to it. So they went from having the best fried rice I’d had to the worst. Very unfortunate.
The most frustrating thing though was the fact that they have kept the name and the menu… so you walk in thinking that you’re going to have the solid meal that you’re accustomed to having at Liu Brothers, when in fact it is not Liu Brothers, but a cheap imitation. I actually felt duped. Funny, somehow they feel ok about charging what Liu Bros charged for a meal that was far inferior to the original. Which actually makes me angry. They cut corners that Liu Bros didn’t cut but still charge the same?! Not ok.
They may have the name but this IS NOT the Liu Brothers I used to enjoy so much. Too bad.

We went to one of our favorite St. Charles’ restaurants this evening. We often have recommended Liu Bros to friends.
But not any more. What was once the freshest and best prepared food has become run of the mill. We knew immediately when we got our meals that something had happened. The quality of the ingredients and the preparation was not the same.
When paying the bill we asked if there had been a change of ownership. There has been. New owners. And it shows in a decline to the average from the exceptional.
If you are a regular, you are in for a disappointment. If you are here based on recommendations, you are about to wonder what the fuss was about.
Sad

Food was full of flavor, portions were generous and the staff was super friendly. Only downfall was the wait, it took 45 minutes for a to go order.

Outstanding! We have been in the Tri-​Cities for 15 years and consistently disappointed in the options for Chinese food, until we found Liu Brothers.
We started with Egg Drop and Hot & Sour soups — both were fabulous. Entrees of Cashew Chicken and Mongolian Beef were top notch, and the Orange Chicken was incredible.
Service in the dining room was a little slow, but not too bad since everything is made to order. Definitely worth the wait.
We will be back again & again!

Excellent food, super nice owner, byob, I love it all! I’ve been there twice and intend to go back many more times.

Amazing! For months I thought this was a casual sandwich shop… then I found out… it it an outstanding 5 star Chinese restaurant/​hidden treasure in St. Charles. My friend had me try the to die for Honey Walnut Shrimp infused with a light coconut sauce. I will be dreaming about that one. For an appetizer we had the salt & pepper calamari which was not your out of the frozen bag icky parts… perfectly cut and seasoned with fresh green and white onions… yummmm! My ultimate favorite Chinese Restaurant now. Plus they had great music and the highest rated excellent service!

They’ve updated their menu a little and have a few more choices now. They have a wider variety of appetizers as well as a few vegetarian-​friendly options. Wait staff is great and the atmosphere is usually pretty quiet. I highly appreciate that they don’t have a TV running in there like most restaurants and they keep their music pretty quiet so you can actually talk to the people you’re with!

When it comes to authentic Asian cuisine, this place is as good as it gets. Relocated to the Fox Valley 2 years ago, and I’d been searching for a real good Chinese restaurant in the area, but had yet to locate one, when some friends at the local dog park recommended this place.
Quality is definitely the main priority. Since July, I’ve been there at least a half dozen times for dinner and twice for lunch. The Szechwan and Mushu are superb. I haven’t had comparable, in years. The soups and noodle dishes, made with homemade chicken broth are some of the best I’ve had. Lunch portions are of decent size. I haven’t been disappointed with any entrée.
The only issue I have is with the size of the appetizers. They’re very good, but smaller than some I’m accustomed to. Used to have Sunday brunches of Chinese appetizer plates and soup. Unfortunately, I cant do that here! They don’t even offer an appetizer plate.
Nonetheless, service is great and the owners are very friendly. The place isn’t overcrowded, so there is generally no wait. I’ve found a new favorite restaurant!

Liu Brothers Restaurant !! Class act ! Had a mishap at restaurant today at lunchtime (not necessary to go into details) … But needless to say the owner and server made it right !!! Will be happy to go again… The food is fabulous and the experience turned out to be amazing ! Well done !! This was not the first time Ive been there. I return over and over for the Crag Rangoon ! I already knew that the owner was a great guy !

5 stars for the food. 0 for the service.
So Liu Brothers quickly became my favorite Chinese cuisine in town shortly after their arrival to our tin cup pass… I have eaten here dozens of times, mostly take out and the cuisine is fantastic. No complaints there… However tonight, I tried to order for the umpteenth time my dinner, to go over the phone, and was declined due to the fact that they «close in an hour.»
I am in utter disbelief. Just how long does it take to cook dinner? 15 minutes is usually the answer when I order here. I am SO disappointed in the customer service. As someone who has frequented and recommended this restaurant as much as I have, I expected them to at least serve food during their posted hours.
I think the owner should be ashamed of the young lady I just spoke to on the phone and whoever it was telling her in the background to tell me no. If you don’t want my business, I will certainly take it elsewhere.
AN HOUR BEFORE YOUR DOORS CLOSE. ??? Still confused…
You lost my business.

My husband and I went here for an early dinner last Saturday. It was us and another table at about 5pm but by the time we left an hour later, the place was filling up. I can definitely say that overall, it was delicious. My husband got egg drop soup, which he loved and said it was probably the best he’s ever had, as well as the Mongolian beef, which he loved even more than the soup. I had the garlic scallops and holy cow, they were amazing. The garlic sauce is incredible and the scallops were cooked perfectly.
Our only complaint was with the crab Rangoon. My husband and I are crab Rangoon junkies and we were disappointed because there was hardly any crab in each one. I noticed it when I first took a bite and from then on, my husband and I were pretty much having a search party to find crab lol. If you’re not going to put more than one or two VERY small pieces of crab in them, you should call them cream cheese Rangoon instead. But overall, it was very good and we’ll definitely be going back.

Unexpected find of excellent Asian food in this quiet strip mall on Route 64. I had sizzling rice seafood soup which was excellent and my wife thoroughly enjoyed the spicy pan fried chicken noodle dish. The veggie egg rolls were the thinner style that I love. Staff were very attentive and service was great.

This is the BEST Chinese place I have found so far; I mean seriously, everything is delicious and you can tell that it really is made fresh, which is unfortunately unusual for Chinese food in the US. I highly recommend the vegetable tofu soup, fried Shanghai egg rolls and the Szechwan eggplant dish.

After hearing about Liu Brothers, husband had early dinner on Sunday afternoon. We were on our way to a concert at Arvada Theater and had only 1 hour to dine. We were the only customers.
Had Chicken Wings, Hot & Sour Soup, Orange Beef, and Schezwan Shrimp. Wings were so-​so. Everything else was WONDERFUL.
Will go back soon. I’m especially anxious to try the soups and noodles.
Got to the concert with plenty of time to spare.

The wife found this place on Unilocal and we needed a restaurant in the middle of nowhere to take the mother in law, who lives out there.
The service was excellent. However, we we were the only people there. At least two phone orders came in while we were eating and didn’t seem to stress the staff. Some people picked up carry out as well, but that was it. Otherwise, this is a pretty dead restaurant in a strip mall.
More importantly, the food was delicious. We had the hot and sour soup, egg drop soup, sizzling seafood soup, spicy tofu, and fried egg noodles with shrimp. All were good. The hot and sour soup was a little too gelatinous and the broth tasted as if it were slightly burnt.
The wife said the opposite about the egg drop soup. She really liked it and the broth was not gelatinous. I had to agree that her soup was better than mine.
We all agreed we would come back for more.

I am always in search of authentic Chinese restaurant, i.e. the ones don’t feature General Tso’ Chicken, Sweet & Sour Anything, Chop Suey, etc., which are far and few between in many suburbs. When Liu Brothers popped up on my Unilocal search with almost perfect rating, I was very skeptical: the quite town of St. Charles is an unlikely place to harbor an authentic Chinese restaurant and «Bistro» doesn’t necessarily convey authenticity either, but I wanted to give it a try.
As we walked into the restaurant, my heart sank: the waiter is not Chinese, there are no Chinese patrons and there are only knives and forks on the table! Shoulda brought my own chopsticks…
I took a deep breath and scanned through the menu. The menu is not as lengthy as many Chinese restaurants, and there is no two-​menu system (you know, one for Chinese expats, and one for locals). Most of the items listed are typical Americanized Chinese dishes but we quickly decided on two of the few atypical ones: Szechwan Eggplant and Liu Brothers’ Crispy Duck.
It turned out the waiter is the owner of the place and he is knowledgeable about the food. He had me when he brought us two pairs of chopsticks, as well as authentic Chinese chili paste without us asking.
10 minutes later, I was a total believer of the five star rating. The Szechwan Eggplant was the best I have had in a very long time: the eggplant is well-​cooked and tender, which is hard to come by when it’s cooked to order. The sauce was reminiscent of the classic Szechwan «Yuxiang» sauce, sweet, a bit tangy, slightly spicy all at once. The duck was not Cantonese or Peking style roast duck, but Szechwan style tea smoke duck. I think the name Crispy Duck is a bit of misnomer as the skin was not particularly crispy but who cares when the flavor and the tenderness of meat was awesome? Needless to say, we devoured the food.
In case you are wondering, the kitchen staff are Chinese (the Liu Brothers?) and I am pretty confident they are trained chefs. Finally, a Chinese restaurant that emphasizes quality over quantity and it’s not too far from home. My taste buds are in luck.

Fantastic service and the food was unbelievably delicious! We were just driving through the area looking for Chinese and were pleasantly surprised by this hidden gem. We loved how the food was made to order even the soups.

Slowly but surely hitting some of the places in our new area. I needed soup, the 6YO just needed edibles, husband was craving Asian. Ended up here and think we’ve found our new Chinese spot.
Can I rave about the wonton soup for a second? It was EXACTLY what I wanted — and super fresh — and then I wanted more so I ordered some to go.
Everything on this menu is made fresh to order. Every single thing. I thought that might take awhile (and I’m wary of things taking awhile after six weeks on Miami Time) but it really didn’t… so it was fresh AND fast. Sold.
The crab rangoon was light and crisp, and a new favorite of the 6YO, who pretty much wanted to eat until she burst.
For entrees, we ordered honey walnut shrimp, orange chicken, and combination chow mein. And all were obviously fresh — and delicious.
The staff was friendly and attentive, and the little kids’ chopsticks (topped with a bright yellow VW Bug) kept the child occupied while we waited for our order.
Will definitely return. Soon.

UPDATE: New owners. We’ve been here twice since they took over and gotten takeout a couple of times as well. Food is still good, and they’ve added some new dishes to the existing menu, too. Personal touch pretty non-​existent now, but the food is solid.
Slowly but surely hitting some of the places in our new area. I needed soup, the 6YO just needed edibles, husband was craving Asian. Ended up here and think we’ve found our new Chinese spot.
Can I rave about the wonton soup for a second? It was EXACTLY what I wanted — and super fresh — and then I wanted more so I ordered some to go.
Everything on this menu is made fresh to order. Every single thing. I thought that might take awhile (and I’m wary of things taking awhile after six weeks on Miami Time) but it really didn’t… so it was fresh AND fast. Sold.
The crab rangoon was light and crisp, and a new favorite of the 6YO, who pretty much wanted to eat until she burst.
For entrees, we ordered honey walnut shrimp, orange chicken, and combination chow mein. And all were obviously fresh — and delicious.
The staff was friendly and attentive, and the little kids’ chopsticks (topped with a bright yellow VW Bug) kept the child occupied while we waited for our order.
Will definitely return. Soon.

I can’t imagine giving this place anything less than five stars. I have eaten out at many Chinese restaurants and this place far surpasses any that I have ever been. I was pleasantly surprised at the freshness and quality of ingredients in everything placed before me. You don’t see that in many local Chinese restaurants.
Our meal started with a tasting plate which consisted of a choice of fish cakes, edamame, and small slices of savory beef. All were very tasty and warmed my palate up for the soup we ordered. The hot and sour soup was the best I have ever had! Then came the entrée which was the Kung Pao Chicken. I was able to choose how spicy I wanted it, which was very spicy. I was happy to see that they were generous with the chicken. My husband ordered the Szechwan Eggplant. I had a taste of his and it was out of this world!
The staff was friendly and the price was definitely reasonable considering the freshness and quality of food. Everything is made from scratch as you order them, including the soup. The atmosphere is pleasant. I look forward to trying other items on the menu. We definitely will be back!