For haute Chinese cuisine, it’s among New York City’s best. Regional offerings include crispy Grand Marnier prawns with honey walnuts (Canton), braised sea bass in hot bean sauce (Hunan) and shredded beef with leeks and hot peppers (Szechwan). Specialties include beggar’s chicken baked in lotus leaves and clay (requires one day’s notice), Hunan tripe, sweetbreads with black mushrooms and of course, Beijing Duck.
Menu
It is not the same as it used to be. The food was awful
Outstanding location and very nice food
Best Chinese on Upper West Side -- filled with families, birthdays and crowds really enjoying huge amounts of decent Chinese foods. Not too greasy and very accommodating waiters who are happy to give you chicken moo shu and only 2 delicious bbq ribs. Ribs are SOOO good here. Reservations advised as the place often cannot squeeze one more person in. Everyone I saw was really enjoying and gobbling up huge platters of tasty looking veg and shrimp and duck and everything possible item! YUM. I also heard 3 happy birthday songs sung by waiters so out of tune as to be almost good singing because they were at least INTO the spirit.
The service is great it is just that they may need more waiters as the huge parties -- tables of 8 are normal -- require a huge time commitment as they order 10 dishes. My dinner for 2 still took a good amount of time because the waiter had a bout 20 other customers ordering at the same time, but he always had a smile and was very helpful.
Love the food and great intimate booths. We have been coming tor over 20 years
The Maitre ‘d knows his clients and greets them warmly
Perfect pre Lincoln Center dinner .
I’ve been going to Shun Lee West since the early 80’s. I like the decor - dragons around the ceiling, red colors, black seats.. maybe it’s a throwback to an earlier time, but i think the ambience is both a little formal and fun. We started with steamed pork buns that they brought in from the Cafe, which were delicious. My pomegranate margarita was quite good and my husband enjoyed his mango mojito, though I found it wasn’t my “cup of tea”. The chicken with three nuts was fine, though a bit heavy on the sauce, but the Beijing duck, the main purpose of the meal, was very good. Recently we tried the Peking Duck House, and the duck there was fatty, and very strong tasting, which was unappetizing to my palate, and in sharp contrast to the Beijing duck at Shun Lee West. We tried The Peking Duck House after seeing the rather mediocre comments about Shun Lee, but we were definitely sent on a fool’s errand. Our mixed vegetables were also fine, with a light sauce. And, yes, the meal was expensive, but it’s also not a local Chinese restaurant found on every corner in the city with a fast food quality about them. It’s just different. And, it’s not easy to find a nice place for Beijing/Peking duck. We found the service to be very attentive and friendly. And while there were many additional staff on the floor, I suspect they have their own stations to attend to, but we weren’t lacking in attention. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed our dinner.
kitchen has remained strong for decades. Not many New York restaurants can claim that.
Excellent food & service.
Service was sub-par - waiter didn't pull the table out from the wall for us to get in, asked if we could switch tables and Maitre'd was very arrogant and rude. I've been here many times and after this incident will NEVER go back.
I have been going to Shun Lee for over 30 years and it seems to have lost its luster a bit. The food seems a bit tired.
Service was excellent. James was waiter and was very good. Food was phenomenal. A little overpriced but consider location. Decor was higher end. Relaxing. Menu selection was large. Wine selection extensive.
I have been to Shun Lee West many times but I was disappointed last week. The soup was lukewarm and the food was fair but not worth the price. I do not think I will return.
A rare find in the Lincoln Center area because it has lovely ambiance and is relatively quiet. Service is attentive, friendly, helpful but not overbearing. The food is excellent. After discovering it acfcidently, have not only recommended it, but returned several times and will continue to do so. Peking duck and drinks are special, and other food is very good.
Was a regular patron of this restaurant in the 80s and 90's, when it was a wonderful dining experience.
The room is no longer elegant, it's just stale. The food presentation was pedestrian and the taste was unappealing. Very expensive (expected) and very disappointing (unexpected).
Excellent meal, excellent martini, gracious service.
Always consistently good!
Over priced okay food. Service is frenetic and disorganized considering half of the tables were empty.
A good option when attending Lincoln Center.
Everything was excellent!! Couldn't ask for more. Will definitely go again
The place looked a bit outdated but the service was excellent and the food
delicious as ever. We ate dim sum at the bar and it was very good.
I understand that this establishment has been shut by health authorities before. My guess is it won’t be long before it’s shuttered again. Filthy is the first word that comes to mind. Rude (describing every member of the staff we encountered) is second. Overpriced is third. Slow and indifferent are fourth and fifth. The food tasted pretty good, but some things - particularly the Lo Mein, were exceptionally greasy. And really? $25 for sautéed green beans? $9.50 for a cup of egg drop soup? I do not understand why anyone would ever go here twice.
Outrageously overpriced for mediocre Chinese food. You can get similar quality food at your local take-out place. Service is gruff and decor is outdated.
Mediocre at best. I think they had their day some time ago. Now it seems over-priced and nothing special.
One of the best Chinese restaurants on the West Side and the only one near Lincoln Center that is worth mentioning.
Food, service and ambiance were universally excellent. Staff is very accommodating on tailoring dishes to specification.
The standards are high and so are the prices. The West Side Shun Lee is pretty. There seem to be plenty of waiters standing around elegantly yet the service is very slow. The food is very good.
This place has markedly declined.
Food had to be sent back. Rubbery.
Shun Lee West is one of my favorites restaurants for casual dinner. It's always a guarantee.
The food at Shun Lee was amazing. They took the time to divide the appetizers before serving them to us. We sat at a round table which made for great conversation. The wait staff was very nice and accommodating. Highly recommend.
The Cold Sesame noodles were delicious, but overpriced. Peking Duck was wonderful. The wait staff were efficient, but not overly friendly. We had a good meal but it could have been more fun if the staff was a little more friendly!
Peking duck was badly overcooked, service was poor. Low sodium dishes were bland.
They had trouble locating my Open Table reservation, fortunately I had a copy (although the restaurant was less than half full). Not what it once was.
Lovely, Delicious. Wait staff a bit bossy.
Great for family dining. Service was outstanding.
The wonton soup had absolutely no flavor. No broth, no salt, just thin warm water. It was as if they'd forgotten to read the recipe and make the soup!
Consistently wonderful! Best hot and sour soup in the world. Moo shu pork is superb. Perfection!
This was the perfect meal before theatre and opera. Food was delicious and fast service without being rushed. We'd definitely eat here again.
We have found this to be a very dependable place to eat in the Lincoln Center area. The food is excellent and the service is very prompt, an advantage when we are going to a show there. If I have any complaint, it is that the portions are larger than I would prefer. We strongly recommend this restaurant.
We ordered Prawns in XO sauce and what we got was deep fried prawns sautéed in onion with a little oil. When asked, the manager told me that proper XO is too expensive to be expected at their prices!!!
We were given a back server rather than a regular captain. He was ok but not much else.
Great food. Cool but dated space. Service too rushed which I don’t like.
I was struck by how poor the service was. When we were shown to our table, there were still used napkins sitting on it. The waiters seemed grumpy and impatient, and really rushed us through dinner. Finally, at the end of the evening, I left a 15% tip, and the waiter returned to the table to ask me to increase it to at least 18%. I've never had a waiter do this. The food was mediocre at best and not particularly authentic, e.g., the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) were overly doughy. The Peking Duck was not served in the traditional style, and all of the other dishes were comparable to those you might get at a Panda Express. I would not recommend Shun Lee and would not go back, myself.
