Where to eat Chinese food in Austin.

Start here when the meal you want is built around Sichuan fish, chile-fragrant chicken and vegetables. The menu makes a useful distinction between dry pots, broth-based dishes and cold appetizers, giving a group several directions beyond ordering three similar stir-fries.

Build an order. Try Jumping Fish, Sichuan Dry Stir Fried Chicken and garlic baby bok choy. The chicken is listed as boneless. For a meat-free menu option, choose the explicitly named Vegetarian Mapo Tofu; the regular version contains ground pork.

Before you go. Closed Monday. Published lunch and dinner hours conflict on the website, so check before a special trip. The current menu allows heat adjustment but no substitutions; it notes a possible 15% service fee for parties over six and includes one 12-oz rice with each main entrée.

For a change of pace from Sichuan cooking, build this meal around roast meats, greens and a clay pot. The menu works at two scales, with noodle soups for one and set dinners when the point is a full table of different dishes.

Build an order. For a first shared order, choose the Two Choice BBQ with roast duck and char siu, then add gai lan and a clay pot. Eating alone? Char Siu Wonton Noodle Soup puts roast pork and shrimp-and-pork wontons in one bowl. Beijing duck is a separate menu choice from roast duck.

Before you go. Closed Tuesday. The online reservation request starts at five guests and asks for two days’ notice; call for shorter notice. A submitted request is not a confirmed table. Ask about duck availability when planning a group meal.

Choose Julie’s when noodles and dumplings are the meal, rather than one course in a banquet. It shares the 8557 Research address with Din Ho and House of Three Gorges, making this center a useful place to choose among three very different menus.

Build an order. Pair Beef Stewed Noodle Soup with pork soup dumplings, or split the beef burrito and pan-fried pork-and-shrimp dumplings. The crab-and-pork soup dumpling is another option; crab in the name does not mean the filling is meat-free.

Before you go. Closed Tuesday. The operator offers dine-in, takeout and online ordering. Soup dumplings are a dish here, not evidence of a full Cantonese dim sum service. Website prices below differ from some delivery platforms; check the chosen ordering channel.

Make this a deliberate duck outing rather than assume you can add a whole bird to any takeout order. Peking duck is the draw for that kind of meal; the wider Sichuan menu gives the table other directions, including fish in chile sauce and vegetable dishes.

Build an order. Confirm duck availability first, then consider Spicy and Crispy Chicken or the green bean, eggplant and potato stir-fry, which the menu marks vegetarian. The latter offers a vegetable choice alongside the meat alongside a duck order.

Before you go. The operator’s undated notice says no duck to-go and limits parties of three or fewer to a half duck, and six or fewer to a whole duck. It ties those limits to kitchen capacity. Call to confirm current rules, availability and hours before going; no duck price is quoted here.

Use the Highland branch’s Foodie Chef’s Specialties section to find its Sichuan direction. The broader menu also has familiar Chinese-American choices, useful when a table wants both chile-heavy dishes and a different starting point.

Build an order. Build around Chongqing Spicy Chicken, Beef in Chili Oil or Fish Fillet with Pickled Mustard, then add a vegetable dish. Vegetarian Mapo Tofu is listed separately from Mapo Tofu with Meat; choose the explicitly meat-free item.

Before you go. This listing is specifically for Airport Boulevard. Use the branch’s linked ordering menu for pickup or delivery; menus and logistics from other China Family locations do not automatically apply here. Call for current dining hours or a large-group plan.

Stay near Spicewood Springs when a broad Sichuan menu suits the table. Start with the operator’s named signatures rather than treating the long list as interchangeable: Chong-Chin Chicken and Spicy Fish Fillet point toward its Sichuan cooking.

Build an order. Choose one of those two dishes and add Szechuan Style Cucumber for a contrasting cold plate. Salt and Pepper Tofu is another listed option, but dietary needs deserve a conversation: mapo tofu contains pork, home-style tofu contains beef, and the house fish-with-tofu dish lists peanuts.

Before you go. This is Asia Cafe at suite 114a, not adjacent Asia Market or the unrelated Asia Chinese Restaurant on Ben White. Tell the cashier about ingredients you need to avoid before ordering; the menu says orders cannot be changed afterward.

Put Lin on the plan when Saturday dim sum matters, or when you want to reserve a weekend meal near West Sixth. Its brunch menu ranges across steamed, pan-fried, fried and baked dishes, so a varied order can go well beyond soup dumplings.

Build an order. Begin with soup dumplings, shrimp har gow and greens; at brunch, add something from a different preparation section. Har gow and siu mai are different dumpling styles, not alternate names for soup dumplings. Let that variety guide the order.

Before you go. Weekend dim sum is Saturday and Sunday, 10:30am–3pm. Reservations are offered for brunch as well as lunch and dinner; daily walk-ins are welcome. Vegan symbols on the brunch menu mean vegan by request, and the scallion-pancake dip contains chicken. Check the operator’s parking diagram before leaving the car.

Choose downtown Wu Chow for Sunday dim sum when staying central is part of the plan. The broader restaurant menu draws on several regional influences; a brunch order and a dinner here are different decisions, so use the menu for the service you intend to visit.

Build an order. The Sunday menu offers a clear first order: pork soup dumplings, Gulf shrimp har gow and turnip cakes. The cakes have sausage or shiitake options. Mixing steamed dumplings with a pan-fried item gives the table more variety than another basket of the same style.

Before you go. Sunday dim sum runs 11am–3pm; this is not a Saturday dim sum recommendation. The operator links reservations, and the brunch menu warns that items may sell out. A vegetarian symbol can mean an item must be adapted; ask. Use the downtown address shown here.

The Chinese-American lane deserves its own place in the guide. Old Thousand makes the Austin connection explicit with brisket fried rice; choose it when that crossover is the point of dinner, rather than expect the same meal as a Sichuan specialist.

Build an order. Consider brisket fried rice and chili wontons. The rice also contains Chinese sausage and egg, and the wontons use chicken. For a different route, Buddha’s Delight is marked vegan and gluten-free on the ordering menu and uses sweet-potato noodles.

Before you go. Use the East 11th address shown here. The currently linked SpotOn menu is pickup-only. Call for dine-in arrangements.

Sweet Chive is a practical East Austin choice for a table mixing pork-dumpling cravings with vegan diners. Its named vegan dishes make the first menu decision clearer, although ingredients and kitchen handling still need confirmation for specific dietary requirements.

Build an order. Try pan-fried pork dumplings or vegan steamed dumplings, then beef noodle soup or vegan zha jiang noodles. The latter uses bean curd and mushrooms. The chive pocket contains shrimp and egg, so it is not a substitute for the vegan dumplings.

Before you go. Closed Tuesday, with a break between lunch and dinner on the published schedule. The menu says steamed dumplings take 20 minutes to prepare; that is preparation guidance, not a promise about the queue. Pickup and delivery are linked. The menu also includes Japanese dishes; this listing focuses on dumplings and Chinese noodles.

A South Austin option matters in a city where many Chinese restaurant choices cluster north. If your evening is based around Westgate, Sichuan River offers dry pots and chile dishes without making a trip to Research Boulevard the default.

Build an order. Start with a chicken or lamb dry pot and a contrasting vegetable dish, or choose Chongqing mala chicken with chile-oil wontons. The dry-pot section includes white rice. Mapo tofu sits in the vegetable section but explicitly contains ground meat; the section heading does not make it vegetarian.

Before you go. The operator lists dine-in and takeout, with carryout ending earlier than dining service. Call the restaurant for delivery or a large-group plan. Confirm heat level before ordering rather than assume every dish has the same intensity.