Peter Chang

For Unilocal,three stars is «a-​ok» but for me it is more like C– which is what I would have to give this place. I was in Williamsburg and have never been to a Peter Chang establishment. The hotel had a 10% off coupon card thing so why not give it a try? Especially since the card states that Travel + Leisure has called this «the best Chinese restaurant in the United States». Those are pretty big shoes to fill.
The restaurant is a bit run down. There are weird 80’s cube lights and it does have the ambience of a cafeteria as someone else noted in a previous review. Hard to believe that it opened in 2012 and not 1982. The entrance is plastered with old articles singing the praises of the chef, not the particular location. Not deal breakers if the food is great– which it was not.
We got some appetizers. The shu mai was more like a cross between dumplings and something else but was good with some hot chili oil added. Otherwise it was a bit on the bland side. The wontons in chili oil were not that spicy and not that great. I don’t know if the wrappers are pre-​made but the sure tasted like it. Hot and sour soup was good but again, not that great.
The entrees were ok but left a lot to be desired. I have a favorite local Szechuan place and this was far below the bar set there (Judy’s). Kung Pao chicken was soggy and not the best I have had– more like strip mall take out. The Three Gorges Chicken was good but the sauce tasted like (American) barbecue sauce more than anything else.
Overall, this is not the worst food but considering the hype, I honestly debated deducting a star off this already low rating because of dashed expectations. Also the pricing was high so the expectation is that the food will not taste like it came off a Mongolian grill.

I do not like the atmosphere and the place but the food is amazing. The best Chinese restaurant in town, I always order the mangolian beef and the ka pao chicken (or something like that!) both taste very good

The food was good. Our server, Alex was the worst. He forgot half of what we ordered and still never brought it. We had spicy food but he never offered more drink.
At least the other customers looks like they were being taken care of by their server.

Food was still tasty, but the service for our table (Alex) was just plain terrible. Firstly, I asked about an item previously on the menu, and was treated to a blank stare. Well, okay. I started to order for the table and was told «just give me numbers to avoid confusion», which would have been fine, but one of the dishes we ordered didn’t actually make it out with our meal. (By the end of the meal we told the server we had never received the dish and no longer wanted it.) The food– again, tasty enough– was cooling by the time it made it to our table, with the exception of one hot pot dish. Dishes came out bit by bit, which is typical for Chinese food, but why the heck wasn’t it hot if it was coming out a little at a time? Portions are still generous, and the staff did not rush our table out, allowing us to remain in the dining room and continue our visit after we had finished eating. The final downside to that, however, was that our server — after we wrapped our leftovers to go — did not remove a single dirty dish from the table after bringing and returning the check.
We will most likely return, but we will request a different server when we do.

The shaking beef is AMAZING!!! I would have this for my meal everyday twice on Sunday and my last meal would have to be this absolutely. Other than that the place is relaxing the staff is down to earth and the food is excellent. The one oyster point in the Tech center.

Thought we’d give it a shot since there were many wonderful reviews however my experience was horrible. We were seated, given menus and waitress took our drink orders in a timely manner but we would not see our waitress again. We waited and waited and waited. After numerous attempts to get our waitress’ attention, I finally went up to the cashier to get someone to take our order. The food was nothing special. I’ve had better Chinese.

We tried Peter Chang again on our vacation. It’s was still a solid Chinese restaurant. Their scallion pancakes were a huge favorite by our kids. Authentic Chinese dishes are pretty good. We tried their hot stone duck. It was spicy and excellent. It came with much duck meat and tofu noodles. If you don’t like spicy food, ask for less spicy. Their salt and pepper octopus was ok. Their doubled cooked pork was solid. Their sesame chicken for kids was too sweet. If you are in the mood for Chinese in Williamsburg, definitely recommend Peter Chang.

Pricey, but delicious. I really enjoy their dumplings. The service has always been good, even when they’re swamped which happens often. Def recommend.

After spending a full day at water country USA, we decided to get dinner at Peter Chang since it wasn’t too far away. The restaurant is by itself and has its own parking lot.
We went on a Sunday night and was told that the wait was 15 minutes, but it turned out to be over 25 minutes. However, there were a few empty tables and they wouldn’t put them together. We had a party of 8 with 3 young hungry children. I had to harass the hostess a few times before we got seated.
It took a while for the waitress to come to our table to take our orders. However, once we placed our order, the food and out pretty quickly.
I’m glad the food wasn’t as bad as I was expected. I enjoyed the fried fish appetizer but it was a little heavy on the salt. The three mushrooms with chicken was good. Other dishes are pretty decent but very saucy.
This is a second Peter Chang restaurant that I’ve been to and was not impressed with their services. If I wasn’t around the area, I wouldn’t drive just to come here.

We needed someplace to go on Easter Sunday night. Went in with nominal expectations. This place was AWESOME. Delicious food. Attentive service. Clean restaurant. Even though we are in town as tourists this was NOT a tourist trap restaurant. Plus — two entrees fed three of us perfectly. $ 35 for three soups & two entrees. Right on target.

BEST food ever! I am never disappointed by their service or food. I recommend Peter Changs to anyone who knows the difference between okay Chinese to authentic.

I wanted to give this place a 4-​star but the service killed it. I stopped by here with a party of seven after a long day at the water park. We were surprised to see a wait in the front when we walked in. They told us it would be 10 — 15 minutes. We still didn’t get seated after 30 minutes passed by. It turned out that they were having a big party in the back room and did not have enough servers for other tables. So even though there were many empty tables but no servers were available. My friend had to talk to the «owner» several times with hint that we’d leave if we don’t get served anytime soon. It was just ridiculous how they were so understaffed.
Fortunately, all the food came out pretty quickly after we finally sat down and ordered. Most of the dishes were pretty good, but everything that came with sauce was veryyyy saucy to the point of being overwhelming.
Overall, it was a decent Chinese restaurant considering it is in Williamsburg area. I honestly didn’t expect much, but it was pretty decent and nothing was «bad». I guess management could be improved with staffing appropriate amount of staffs when they have big parties.

This place is WAY passed its prime and needs a makeover stat. The ladies room plumbing was broken and the main dining area looks like a «cafeteria» according to my 10 year old.
Service was fine — very pleasant new server had been there all of 3 weeks.
Food? Yick. Sweet and Sour Chicken was loaded with ketchup-​y sauce.
Anything with 2 peppers or more next to it is too hot and numbing for us to eat.
My husband who likes hot & spicy did enjoy the 3-​pepper beef but it was flamin’ hot (to me). Beef was tender.
The fried rice (I got Young Chow) was great and the dumplings were standard.
I would NOT go back. There are better Szechuan places hear us in Philly.

Typical, Typical Chinese food. I can not see how this place won all the awards.
If anything, they act like their $het don’t stink.
The guy behind the counter completely ignored us. Wobbly tables, burned out light bulbs, flys.
Maybe in it ha day, it was nice. They’re now just trying to ride the coat tails of awards given to a guy who is no where to be found.
All you’re typical inspired USA invented recipes– orange chicken, General Tso chicken. But don’t ask for a fortune cookie.
They turn their noise up. PS– it was seriously the worst fried rice I’ve ever had.
It’s good food and you won’t get sick.
But with all the hype, don’t get yourself worked up, because you’ll just get let down.

The food here, today, was good — not great. The portion sizes are generous and the prices reasonable. All the «normal» dishes are represented. The staff was friendly and the service was quick.
I started with hot and sour soup which was both hot and sour. There was plenty of vegetation and egg (?) in the broth. I enjoyed it.
The spring roll was small but tasty. I wish they didn’t bring all the spring rolls on one plate as I dislike having to share my dipping (duck?) sauce.
I had Chicken in Spicy Garlic Sauce (my wife is going to love me when I get home). Spicy it was, with lots of what looked like slices of fresh jalapeño peppers. Served over plain white rice (fried rice is the other option) it was very filling.
Overall, your average American Chinese restaurant fare. It’s what I was expecting, so it did not disappoint.

Very authentic Chinese. Surprisingly good. Space is large and very comfortable. What made us decide to go is that they actually have Chinese dish names in the menu. Our food is delivered very quickly. We ordered:
Steamed soup buns: not the best I have had, but decent
Beef brisket noodle: mildly spicy, very good, recommended
Sautéed diced chicken w. Szechuan chili pepper: heaven sent, highly recommended
Tea smoked duck with deep fried onions: It is ok
Mapo tofu: very good, recommended
Some Fish fillet dish from the lunch menu: it’s ok
Clearly the specialty is Szechuan. All the hot and numbing dishes are worth of trying if you want to try authentic Chinese.

We had the spicy seafood pot — it came with a generous portion of fish, shrimp, scallops, squid & an abundance of button & abalone mushrooms. The mushrooms were delectably coated in the spicy sauce & particularly good (as these mushrooms by themselves aren’t known to be exceptionally flavorful). Be cautioned though, the chilli bits that came with it– the green ones are rather hot, though the red ones were really bell peppers. All in all– a great dish to go with plain rice!
The fried pork belly was a winner to us– so crispy & not oily at all– so you didn’t feel so bad eating it, although I did think I was munching on delicious bacon minus the salt content haha! The peppercorns, cilantro, scallions imparted nice aromas to the dish, & though we did think that the dish could’ve used Just a tad more salt. But it was a really good dish I’d recommend!
Service was prompt, friendly, helpful.
All in all, a great place for an authentic Sichuan meal. In fact, we think prob the best in the area! Thumbs up!

This is the best Asian food I have ever eaten! By a long shot. If you like spicy food this is the place! I’ve never left a restaurant looking forward to the next chance to eat here!
The flavors found in the hot and numbing selections are a delight to the palate that Americanese restaurants can’t duplicate!
Restaurants found out of town like this that are not available in your home locale are always a let down knowing you can’t get it at home!
I would recommend this place to anyone that likes food and likes to try different things in their culinary life!
Thanks again Peter Chang!!!

Peter Chang’s is so freaking good. It is really authentic Szechuan style food. We started off with the scallion pancakes which were good. I think the curry lol dipping sauce it is served with could be better. We also got the spicy wontons and crispy pork belly which were both delicious. For our entrees we had golden mountain beef and pan fired noodles.
The service is good nothing to complain about. I have been to my fair share of Chinese restaurant and if they are really good it always comes with a price. The price to pay at Peter Chang’s is the bathroom. It is kinda gross but the food is so good it makes up for it. It is by far the best Chinese in Williamsburg and they offer student discounts.

A couple years ago, we happen to be there for the opening night. We returned this past weekend… Because our son goes to college there. This past weekend, we went twice.
We had the Tea smoked duck, braised fish, braised seafood, chicken and ginkgo soup, the spare rib and mushroom soup, fried pork belly, garlic spinach, lamb chops, scallion pancakes, grandma beef with wooden ear fungus…
Everything was tasty and there was no msg (as far as my body told me) and I asked for light salt. It was still delicious.
My wife has determined we’ll go there everytime we visit our son who goes to William and Mary