Fantastic authentic food, they've done everything right w the Peking duck, which needs reservation 3 days ahead, totally worth it.
Giannina S.
Terrible service. Had a reservation, however, when they saw kids would be present two employees provided two different stories as to why we couldn't be seated. A table for 6 was a possibility, and reserved, however when they saw the kids they stated it was a fire hazard to seat 6. Another employee came to the front and knew nothing about the fire law. Terrible human beings to turn away children who were hungry and waited for a 9:15 reservation. Worst attitude and absolutely willing to do nothing to accommodate.
Nhi Ngo
This restaurant looks really posh, but don't worry, the food is good ?I'm Asian and have a bias that the nicer an Asian restaurant looks, the less likely the food will be good (iykyk). Came across this restaurant by accident and when I saw that it's from Din Tai Fung alumni, I tried it. Everything was...perfect. I liked this restaurant way more than I thought I would.Eggplant with long peppers: best dish of the night. How did they cook the eggplants such that they were both melt in your mouth but still had a pleasantly firm texture?Taiwanese beef noodle: not on the menu but ask for it! I might like it even more than Ho Foods! The broth had the tiniest hint of spiciness, and was deep without being heavy. The noodles had a great texture as well.Zhajiang noodles with Peking duck ragu: noodle texture was perfect again. I'm not a big fan of duck but if you are, you'd love this. The duck was very flavorful.Pork soup dumplings: thin skin like it's supposed to be. Juicy!Crispy pork belly: it's not too crispy but it's still so good. Soft and melts in your mouth with an amazing aroma and really good sauce. The outside was well caramelized.Seared octopus: perfect texture, the light broth was very flavorful, and the leeks were soft and sweet.Sticky toffee donut: not too sweet (best compliment for a dessert in the US from an Asian person), not too dense, bready just enough, with the silkiest toffee sauce and creamy buttercream on top.I did not regret eating Chinese food in Soho today!
Daniel S
Come here if you like poor service! Food was decent but service could be much better.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Max Blaushild
Tries a bit too hard to be trendy, but the food was top notch. Order the specials (especially the duck) in advance!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mark Z.
The Michelin guide is not kidding around when it raves about the soup dumplings here. They carried the show, although everything else was pretty good too. And service was on point (Sunday afternoon, operating at half capacity). Pork Soup Dumplings - just as good as Din Tai Fung in Taiwan (which I've had on two separate occasions). Thin-skinned and able to withstand chopstick pressure, with flavorful soup. If I wanted to be annoyingly nitpicky, maybe the inner pork could've been more tender, but that was the last thing on my mind. Ma Po Tofu - Great version, but I would've preferred even more mala numbing, compared to the hint of spice expressed by this version. The softness of the tofu is perfect. It's as silky as possible without basically falling apart upon contact with mouth surfaces. There's a decent portion of pork in here. Please order a side of white rice with it. Pea shoots - Pretty good. As oily as other versions I've had, but there was a pleasing garlic flavor. This is my standard veggie to get at Chinese/Szechuan places, and this will not deter me from doing so again. Zha Jiang Noodle - A fine dish, but I wouldn't order again in the future. I'd prefer some a thicker zha jiang sauce, with the noodles slicked in it. Here, the noodles were bare, albeit perfectly cooked. The marinated tomato was definitely a nice touch.
Daniel Chen
Walked by this restaurant many times. It seems that this place is always busy and packed with people. Tried it this time for dinner. The menu choices, for a Chinese restaurant, were not expansive. This could be a good thing, especially for folks that don't know what to order. Value wise, some of the dishes were overpriced, especially for a Chinese restaurant. Taste wise, the pork/chives dumplings were good, but not the best dumplings I've eaten. The crab clear noodle and free range wind sand chicken were tasty, but way too salty. I had to drink way more water than usual to flush the salt. The wine list had some interesting, albeit never heard of wines. Tried a Chardonnay, it was okay; but certainly not at $88/bottle level. Service was timely and attentive.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Magdalena Lussier-Gan
One of my favorite restaurants in NYC, one I return to over and over again. Delicious soup dumplings, cucumbers, ribs, fried rice and on and on. They also have a great wine program.
My friends and I went to Pinch because of the recent buzz around the xlb that was made from a dtf (din tai fung) trained chief. Xlb is one of my favorite dishes, and I love the nyc scene for it. This xlb is very similar to dtf, which is wrapped tightly with thin skin and is small compared to its nyc counterpart. This size is the normal size in dtf/Taiwan, so I loved that I was able to find it in the city! Be warned, this xlb is on the pricier side, though it's worth a try if you've never had it before. We got a couple of other dishes, and everything was good, but nothing really stood out. The dishes were well done, but with nothing really different, I felt that I could get similar quality in chinatown for cheaper. But, I did like the atmosphere and vibe of the place. Our waiter was super nice and attentive, always coming by and refilling water. Oh, and the cocktails looked interesting, but we already had drinks beforehand.
Kristen W.
Feeling very torn on this review. I had been here about 2 years ago on a normal Saturday night (forgot to leave a review) - but would have been 5 stars. From the food, to the service, ambiance, and sommelier, it was fantastic. But we recently when this past Saturday night, on Lunar New Year for their celebration dinner and was very disappointed. I'll start by saying the food was still absolutely fantastic. This is a higher-end, modern Chinese restaurant and I believe they have a Michelin Bib Gourmand. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Their Peking duck is a stand out and truly some of the best you can get in NYC! But the rest of the experience that night left a lot to be desired. To start, we were seated in a room within an apartment building next door to the restaurant that we had to walk outside and take an elevator to get to. It was very odd. I know this is becoming more and more of a thing in NYC as a way to allow smaller restaurants to seat more parties. But part of the reason I enjoy going to some restaurants is for the ambience of the restaurant that is advertised. The service: wow. We were a party of 7 and interested in ordering a few bottles of wine, one bottle is typically 4 glasses, so we asked to get 2 bottles at a time. They were basically refusing to give us more than one bottle and then took so long to bring out the next one, meanwhile the 7 of us basically had a half of glass. Service was also just very sporadic and really slow and hard to flag down. We basically had to beg for our check to leave. I understand it is one of their busiest nights of the year, but this was wild. Overall, I do recommend this place of a regular night for a great meal. Won't be coming back for Lunar New Year thought.
The food is good, but the owner has a really horrible attitude in the beginning, the staff said they mixed up different bill for different tables then I check it. The numbers is different so I ask again the owner the owner become really angry and not even apologize for their mistake, just say Edison Tai, his staff adding a different stuff to the bill, I think it is important for me to understand the situation but the owner is really impatient to explain anything even said do you want to go to the cashier to see the computer?From the beginning to the end, the owner didn’t Even say a word of sorry, but instead just using a very bad attitude to us, I’m sure I will never come back to this restaurant.The food are not really amazing, but combine with the owners attitude. It become really, really bad. if you have friend and family want to have a gathering, don’t pick here
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Katherine Sun
great for people who love overpriced american chinese food!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
lukewoj
Was looking for a good Chinese restaurant around the Soho on Michelin that would get my brother and I quality food for a good price and Pinch Chinese was a great decision. Their soup dumplings are savory. I had the snow crab which was amazing and my brother had the wagyu fried rice which he loved. Affordable good chinese. Would recommend. Place is also aesthetically very nice.
Modern Chinese spot made be an alum of Din Tai Fung. Pinch Chinese and as a result, the soup dumplings at Pinch Chinese are the star of the show, filled with flavorful broth and wrapped by thin skin. The rest of the menu is still pretty strong, with well executed renditions of "three cup chicken," a Taiwanese classic, and eggplant cooked in a garlic sauce. Pricing is a little upscale but not excessive. The vibe of the restaurant is pretty modern and loud, with a crowd that reminds you that you're dining in Soho. The wall we were sitting next to was decorated with instructions on what to do when someone is choking which is a little...odd but fun I guess? The wine menu is pretty large and a welcome sight for a Chinese restaurant. Service was good, no complaints in that department. While the soup dumplings are a standout, the rest of the food offerings are still pretty good. Not a bad Chinese spot to check out if you somehow have a desire to pair your dumplings with a white wine.
Jessie Tang
Our recent visit to the restaurant left us with mixed feelings. While the ambiance and food were enjoyable, the constant rushing by the waitstaff significantly impacted our dining experience. Despite arriving on time and being aware of the table turnover, we felt hurried, with dishes being cleared without our consent multiple times. A more considerate approach to pacing would greatly enhance the overall enjoyment for guests.
Fantastic authentic food, they've done everything right w the Peking duck, which needs reservation 3 days ahead, totally worth it.
Terrible service. Had a reservation, however, when they saw kids would be present two employees provided two different stories as to why we couldn't be seated. A table for 6 was a possibility, and reserved, however when they saw the kids they stated it was a fire hazard to seat 6. Another employee came to the front and knew nothing about the fire law. Terrible human beings to turn away children who were hungry and waited for a 9:15 reservation. Worst attitude and absolutely willing to do nothing to accommodate.
This restaurant looks really posh, but don't worry, the food is good ?I'm Asian and have a bias that the nicer an Asian restaurant looks, the less likely the food will be good (iykyk). Came across this restaurant by accident and when I saw that it's from Din Tai Fung alumni, I tried it. Everything was...perfect. I liked this restaurant way more than I thought I would.Eggplant with long peppers: best dish of the night. How did they cook the eggplants such that they were both melt in your mouth but still had a pleasantly firm texture?Taiwanese beef noodle: not on the menu but ask for it! I might like it even more than Ho Foods! The broth had the tiniest hint of spiciness, and was deep without being heavy. The noodles had a great texture as well.Zhajiang noodles with Peking duck ragu: noodle texture was perfect again. I'm not a big fan of duck but if you are, you'd love this. The duck was very flavorful.Pork soup dumplings: thin skin like it's supposed to be. Juicy!Crispy pork belly: it's not too crispy but it's still so good. Soft and melts in your mouth with an amazing aroma and really good sauce. The outside was well caramelized.Seared octopus: perfect texture, the light broth was very flavorful, and the leeks were soft and sweet.Sticky toffee donut: not too sweet (best compliment for a dessert in the US from an Asian person), not too dense, bready just enough, with the silkiest toffee sauce and creamy buttercream on top.I did not regret eating Chinese food in Soho today!
Come here if you like poor service! Food was decent but service could be much better.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Tries a bit too hard to be trendy, but the food was top notch. Order the specials (especially the duck) in advance!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The Michelin guide is not kidding around when it raves about the soup dumplings here. They carried the show, although everything else was pretty good too. And service was on point (Sunday afternoon, operating at half capacity). Pork Soup Dumplings - just as good as Din Tai Fung in Taiwan (which I've had on two separate occasions). Thin-skinned and able to withstand chopstick pressure, with flavorful soup. If I wanted to be annoyingly nitpicky, maybe the inner pork could've been more tender, but that was the last thing on my mind. Ma Po Tofu - Great version, but I would've preferred even more mala numbing, compared to the hint of spice expressed by this version. The softness of the tofu is perfect. It's as silky as possible without basically falling apart upon contact with mouth surfaces. There's a decent portion of pork in here. Please order a side of white rice with it. Pea shoots - Pretty good. As oily as other versions I've had, but there was a pleasing garlic flavor. This is my standard veggie to get at Chinese/Szechuan places, and this will not deter me from doing so again. Zha Jiang Noodle - A fine dish, but I wouldn't order again in the future. I'd prefer some a thicker zha jiang sauce, with the noodles slicked in it. Here, the noodles were bare, albeit perfectly cooked. The marinated tomato was definitely a nice touch.
Walked by this restaurant many times. It seems that this place is always busy and packed with people. Tried it this time for dinner. The menu choices, for a Chinese restaurant, were not expansive. This could be a good thing, especially for folks that don't know what to order. Value wise, some of the dishes were overpriced, especially for a Chinese restaurant. Taste wise, the pork/chives dumplings were good, but not the best dumplings I've eaten. The crab clear noodle and free range wind sand chicken were tasty, but way too salty. I had to drink way more water than usual to flush the salt. The wine list had some interesting, albeit never heard of wines. Tried a Chardonnay, it was okay; but certainly not at $88/bottle level. Service was timely and attentive.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
One of my favorite restaurants in NYC, one I return to over and over again. Delicious soup dumplings, cucumbers, ribs, fried rice and on and on. They also have a great wine program.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Creekstone Steak Fried Rice, Fermented Black Bean, Niman Ranch Cumin Ribs, Marinated Cucumbers, Pork Soup Dumplings, Sichuan String Beans, Soup Dumplings
My friends and I went to Pinch because of the recent buzz around the xlb that was made from a dtf (din tai fung) trained chief. Xlb is one of my favorite dishes, and I love the nyc scene for it. This xlb is very similar to dtf, which is wrapped tightly with thin skin and is small compared to its nyc counterpart. This size is the normal size in dtf/Taiwan, so I loved that I was able to find it in the city! Be warned, this xlb is on the pricier side, though it's worth a try if you've never had it before. We got a couple of other dishes, and everything was good, but nothing really stood out. The dishes were well done, but with nothing really different, I felt that I could get similar quality in chinatown for cheaper. But, I did like the atmosphere and vibe of the place. Our waiter was super nice and attentive, always coming by and refilling water. Oh, and the cocktails looked interesting, but we already had drinks beforehand.
Feeling very torn on this review. I had been here about 2 years ago on a normal Saturday night (forgot to leave a review) - but would have been 5 stars. From the food, to the service, ambiance, and sommelier, it was fantastic. But we recently when this past Saturday night, on Lunar New Year for their celebration dinner and was very disappointed. I'll start by saying the food was still absolutely fantastic. This is a higher-end, modern Chinese restaurant and I believe they have a Michelin Bib Gourmand. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Their Peking duck is a stand out and truly some of the best you can get in NYC! But the rest of the experience that night left a lot to be desired. To start, we were seated in a room within an apartment building next door to the restaurant that we had to walk outside and take an elevator to get to. It was very odd. I know this is becoming more and more of a thing in NYC as a way to allow smaller restaurants to seat more parties. But part of the reason I enjoy going to some restaurants is for the ambience of the restaurant that is advertised. The service: wow. We were a party of 7 and interested in ordering a few bottles of wine, one bottle is typically 4 glasses, so we asked to get 2 bottles at a time. They were basically refusing to give us more than one bottle and then took so long to bring out the next one, meanwhile the 7 of us basically had a half of glass. Service was also just very sporadic and really slow and hard to flag down. We basically had to beg for our check to leave. I understand it is one of their busiest nights of the year, but this was wild. Overall, I do recommend this place of a regular night for a great meal. Won't be coming back for Lunar New Year thought.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food is good, but the owner has a really horrible attitude in the beginning, the staff said they mixed up different bill for different tables then I check it. The numbers is different so I ask again the owner the owner become really angry and not even apologize for their mistake, just say Edison Tai, his staff adding a different stuff to the bill, I think it is important for me to understand the situation but the owner is really impatient to explain anything even said do you want to go to the cashier to see the computer?From the beginning to the end, the owner didn’t Even say a word of sorry, but instead just using a very bad attitude to us, I’m sure I will never come back to this restaurant.The food are not really amazing, but combine with the owners attitude. It become really, really bad. if you have friend and family want to have a gathering, don’t pick here
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
great for people who love overpriced american chinese food!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Was looking for a good Chinese restaurant around the Soho on Michelin that would get my brother and I quality food for a good price and Pinch Chinese was a great decision. Their soup dumplings are savory. I had the snow crab which was amazing and my brother had the wagyu fried rice which he loved. Affordable good chinese. Would recommend. Place is also aesthetically very nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak Fried Rice, Soup Dumplings
Modern Chinese spot made be an alum of Din Tai Fung. Pinch Chinese and as a result, the soup dumplings at Pinch Chinese are the star of the show, filled with flavorful broth and wrapped by thin skin. The rest of the menu is still pretty strong, with well executed renditions of "three cup chicken," a Taiwanese classic, and eggplant cooked in a garlic sauce. Pricing is a little upscale but not excessive. The vibe of the restaurant is pretty modern and loud, with a crowd that reminds you that you're dining in Soho. The wall we were sitting next to was decorated with instructions on what to do when someone is choking which is a little...odd but fun I guess? The wine menu is pretty large and a welcome sight for a Chinese restaurant. Service was good, no complaints in that department. While the soup dumplings are a standout, the rest of the food offerings are still pretty good. Not a bad Chinese spot to check out if you somehow have a desire to pair your dumplings with a white wine.
Our recent visit to the restaurant left us with mixed feelings. While the ambiance and food were enjoyable, the constant rushing by the waitstaff significantly impacted our dining experience. Despite arriving on time and being aware of the table turnover, we felt hurried, with dishes being cleared without our consent multiple times. A more considerate approach to pacing would greatly enhance the overall enjoyment for guests.