Shen’s Szechuan & Sushi

We decided to try Shen’s on a limb, being new to the area and trying to find a decent sushi place that we can frequent as often as we did the ones back home in Richmond, Virginia. Reading the reviews, I figured I could get fairly decent vegetable sushi (how hard is it to mess up a cucumber avocado roll, right?) and that my protein-​loving friend could get something good too.
Boy, were we wrong.
Our first warning should have been the fact that the restaurant was completely empty. At 5 in the evening on a Saturday no less. We were seated, our order was taken, and we waited. Our waitress was kind enough, if not a big prickly and seemingly callous, she answered my questions in a bored, «please hurry up» tone. I asked if they could steam the sweet potato roll and she rolled her eyes, said «I don’t think so», and didn’t even bother to ask or even check if it was a possibility. It bummed me out and I think we may have caught her on a bad day. I ordered the Very Veggie roll and the Futo Maki with no egg. My friend got a tuna roll with black pepper tuna, and asked for no spicy mayo/​sauce to be on the roll. We split an order of the vegetable steamed dumplings, which were very nice and light. My friend loved the vegetable spring rolls, and had two orders.
The sushi itself? Disappointing. My vegetable rolls were alright, made fine, but nothing noteable. My friend’s roll came covered in sauce, despite even the receipt stating she had asked for no sauce. Bummer.
All in all, Shen’s is pretty lacklustre in food and service. The restaurant itself is very pretty on the interior, and clean. The exterior has some pieces falling apart and needs some paint. I’d come here for the chinese food maybe, but definitely not the sushi. We managed to cross this restaurant off our list after an 80 $ hole was burned into our pocket. A price that in no way matches the quality of what I could get at Kroger for 5 bucks. Oh well, you live, you learn right?

We love this place! We eat here quite frequently and are never disappointed. We love to go with a few people and eat family style. Appys: hot and sour soup is amazing it’s become my comfort food when not feeling well. Shanghai rolls are great and if you like spicy mustard that burns your nose like hell theirs is the best! Lettuce wraps are fabulous and are a great no carb option for those wanting that. Honorable mention crab Rangoon… I’m told they are amazing and have a nice wonton to filling ratio. Sushi is great with so many rolls to choose from also the sashimi is always fresh and velvety. I’ve had so many entrees here it’s hard to say what my favorite so I’ll just try and keep the list small… Moo shu combo awesome! Schezwaun beef hello yummy! It has sliced jalapeño so if you like spice you will be happy. Pad Thai has the best flavor around even better than most of the Thai places I’ve had. Grand Marnier chicken is so unique it will surprise you. I would recommend this as a sharing dish it is on the sweet side and has pineapple, kiwi and strawberries but seriously is so good! If after all that you need dessert the lemon cake is so delicious and refreshing it’s a nice cooling off after some of those spicy dishes! Enjoy you won’t be disappointed!

Looking for good sushi in Dayton Shen ‘s will not disappoint. First time there and the sushi was great. We were first seated in a corner not the best place to sit and to be able to see so we moved ourselves to the bar which was perfect. We odered two draft beers and three rolls which came to a $ 55 bill not including tip. A little high but the food was great. Mr. Shen was our waiter and bartender very friendly. We would go back if we lived closer and would recommend to our friends.

I was stunned to find such a delightful sushi/​Chinese restaurant in Ohio. This is the real deal!
We tried the crispy rice soup. It’s different and definitely made for more than one person. We asked for it without seafood which they gladly accommodated. The device was great throughout the evening!
I ordered the gran marnier chicken dinner with brown rice. Yum yum and yummy! It’s slightly sweet, but not over powering so. The fruit was delicious, best kiwi I’ve ever had. I couldn’t eat it all and took home leftovers. They cooked up well with the sauce, which helped to re-​crisp the outer shell of the chicken.
I am looking forward to my next visit and a second round of the chicken! The man classified the sushi as wonderful as well for seafood eaters.

Good thing they have a huge sign as property is set back from the I75 frontage road. Would have been challenged to find when dark.
Inside of this property is quite spacious, wait staff very accommodating. Hot and sour soup was hearty and complex, not watered down. Spicy eggplant entrée could have fed two hungry adults.
A very pleasant surprise amongst the plethora on chain restaurants along the highway.
W.ill definitely come back the next time I’m in Dayton.

Been coming here for years. Chang du pork and peppercorn fish are still amazing. You have to have the Yummy roll. The sushi here is outstanding. Service was good but they seem to have new servers all the time, high turn over. Couple that was sat right next to us didn’t receive a server for 15 min and she was confused as to where her section was. Couple seemed to be OK with it after they finally got service. Need to try the Green Tea ice cream for a refreshing palate cleanser.

Great restaurant! I’m a vegetarian and I ordered Very Inari rolls — absolutely wonderful! Vegetable Fried rice and it was great! The serving size for the Fried rice was enough for two.
My husband ordered Chicken Lo Mein and Calamari as an appetizer. He liked his entrée. The Calamari was made different than he was used to. The breading was light.
We both enjoyed dining here. The atmosphere was very nice. The waiter was great and perfectly attentive!

Super awesome food. Great and spacious place. Very quite and relaxing. Huge parking lot. Allover very very good. Five star for everything.

Awesome food !!! Awesome place !!! Awesome Service. Better than PF changs. The only bad thing is i am on a road trip so i dont know when i am going to visit this place again. Other than that Dayton ppl. Dont lose this restaurant from ur neighbour hood

They have the best sashimi ever ever ever. Their services are very good. But I do love their food.

I was in Dayton for a business trip and decided to roll the dice on Sushi. I was very impressed by the décor to start out with. The sushi was delicious. I felt like I was in a metropolitan city with such quality of sushi. I would recommend this place to anyone.

Quality of food and service has not changed in our multiple years of eating here. I am not a kinda-​sewer (I have no idea how that is spelled) of Chinese food, but I am told this is good quality fare.
Our large party was served, attentively, by multiple servers. Our meals were hot and enjoyable (although mine gave me days worth of heartburn).
We’ll be back next year.

Stop by to check it out. Was very clean, beautiful, and the food was great. We only managed to have soup and appetizers, and got very full. Our waiter Alex was very nice. Bathrooms were very clean and nice as well.

Excellent Chinese food, as well as sushi. I know, the two don’t ordinarily go together, but this is a hidden gem in north Dayton.

This place has always been fabulous except for a couple menu items.
I would not recommend:
–the noodles with brown sauce (way too sweet with little flavor)
–ma bou tofu (good and spicy, but too many pepper seeds that make it difficult to eat)
Otherwise everything has always been good!
The décor, ambiance, music, and service are top notch.
Sushi, pepper steak, seafood delight, fried rice, and wonton soup are excellent choices and I highly recommend them!

We have been customers of Mr. Lee’s for several years, eating there with friends, special occasions, and just when we want to treat ourselves. Mr. Shen bought out Mr. Lee and we have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. It is just time to give up
Appetizers were the Schezuan Steamed dumplings. Awesome. Those were awesome.
And the vegetable rolls. The outside of the rolls were exquisite, the inside left a lot to be desired.
Tonight My partner had the Garlic Eggplant — The eggplant was cooked to mush and the sauce was tasteless. There was not even a hint of garlic.
I tried the sweet and sour chicken with the sauce on the side. I was told that the chicken was fried in a tempura batter, mixed with lightly sauteed vegetables and you could add the sauce as you liked it.
It was not a tempura batter. It was a regular batter fried with no taste. It did not even taste like chicken. The vegetables appeared to be coated in oil but were cold as ice. The sauce, was cold and congealed enough that the spoon sat on the top of the stuff and did not sink. Even after adding three tablespoons to the one in the bowl, they did not penetrate the goopy sauce.
Now for the rest of the restaurant:
Party of two went in on 2÷16÷2014 at 7:00 PM.
There were 4 other occupied tables in the room, three tables with only two people seated and one table of four. There were two wait staff in residence.
First thing I noticed that was out of place was that the steps and stoop were covered with ice and snow. The rugs were not aligned, some of the chairs had been recovered in a cheap knit fabric that was pulled out of place. The front inner door (etched inner door) was sprung and did not close all the way. There was dust everywhere. The dividers between tables, light fixtures, mirrors, table legs, everything visible had dust or a film of something on it. All of the flatware had spots and the service was mismatched.
The second thing I noticed was that one of the urns had been broken — lovely oriental oversized urns on stands stood in strategic spots. That urn had been replaced with a clear glass jar filled with pickled peppers that was so out of place.
All of the flatware had spots and the service was mismatched. Another big no-​no was in the bathroom. There was a ring about 4 inches up the wall from where someone had carelessly mopped. And the bathroom was not clean.
We grew accustomed to certain standards when we dined at Mr. Lee’s. When he retired and Mr. Shen took over, we were assured that things would remain the same and that the standards would be maintained. Well, they have violated every rule of restaurant management that Mr. Lee had in place. What was once a well respected fine dining established has turned into a run-​of-​the-​mill, just another Chinese restaurant.
We are greatly saddened and we will not be wasting our money on this place.

Always great when we come here. Nice service, fresh sushi, and Mr. Shen is always there keeping an eye on everything.
You might be tempted to skip right to the sushi, but don’t pass up the entrees! The Pad Thai, Schezuan Beef Noodle Soup, and many others are delicious. Get one and share with the group.
And while the entrees are wonderful, the sushi is definitely the shining star. I’ve never had a roll I didn’t love, but the new Golden Eye is AMAZING. The Yummy and Spicy Dragon are also crowd favorites. Long story short: you really cannot go wrong. Fresh. Delicious. Consistent.

Came here for dinner while on a business trip.
Service very slow. Order doubles for drinks… their drinks are watered down.
I will give their food a 2.5.

What a nice find. My colleague, also a regular Unilocaler, found this place on an impromptu road trip a bunch of us had to make in the dead of winter. This is a great Szechuan restaurant in the middle of Vandalia, with an interior décor reminiscent of the fancy gold and glitz Chinese restaurants that I’d see in Southern California. I got a little tear of reminiscence in my eye at the sight of all the polished chrome, onyx trim, and tube lighting that made me feel like I was at a fancy place in Chengdu.
The lunch special was great – nicely priced dishes with a soup, rice, and small eggroll. It may or may not be Americanized Chinese food (I haven’t traveled in China to know), but as a veteran of many Szechuan places in LA and Orange Counties, I can definitely give this place a big thumbs up.

I was originally charmed by this place… I first came here last night.
I had a wonderful waitress… and amazing food. My original review was 5 stars… and it was a long rant about how fantastic this place was. I was charmed.
Well, today, I persuaded my boyfriend to go with me for a light dinner… and whatever the ‘charm’ was wore off. The food was delicious… we ordered the sizzling rice soup, calamari, and the scallion pancakes.
The waitress only had a few tables… but she was barely attentive to us. She had a stand with a tray on it nearby, with a pitcher of water. We refilled our own glasses and cleared our own table. She tried to make it into a joke when she finally came back, but you know, we shouldn’t have to wait on ourselves at a restaurant this nice.
I was going to order an entrée, but we decided to leave early on.
I’d rate this second visit 3 stars… but it won’t let me write an update review (probably due to my last review only being a day old) so I just edited my first one.
I really enjoy the food here I’ve had so far… but I think that all the waitresses here should be as attentive and friendly as the first one I had. I am a waitress myself, and I understand that it’s a bit difficult sometimes to establish that with every table… but there was barely anyone at the restaurant at the time. You are representing a fine dining establishment, and you should look and act the part.