The Best Chinese Restaurant Every State Has to Offer

Many people have a certain taste for one type of cuisine. Others need an endless variety. Whether you prefer Latin, Mediterranean, Japanese, French, Tex-Mex, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, and more, you are bound to find something pleasing to your palate in almost all regions of the United States, and in some cities, almost every few blocks.

But some cuisines are more popular than others, and in the U.S., Chinese food ranks as the number one food option for diners, as indicated by a 2021 survey by FoodFireFriends. The survey tracked monthly Google searches for Chinese cuisine and at 3.35 million hits, it far exceeds any other food genre (Mexican came in at number two with 1.22 monthly searches.)

A vast majority of these restaurants don't serve authentic Chinese cuisine, instead featuring dishes largely unknown outside of the PRC. You can find authentic establishments in many areas of your state, but most eateries offer adaptations like beef and broccoli, General Tso's chicken, chop suey, and kung pao chicken – dishes that have all been tailored to the American palate. (Other dishes that aren't "traditional" might be those served at Red Lobster, the seafood chain that may be revived thanks to a new owner.)

According to the Chinese Restaurant Association, there are more than 45,000 Chinese restaurants throughout the nation. This is more than the amount of four popular fast-food joints combined. Chinese cuisine has been in the country for centuries, first being introduced in the mid-1850s when Chinese immigrants came to the U.S. during the California gold rush. Whether authentic or adapted to America, one thing is for sure – it's a delicious offering

To determine the top Chinese restaurant in each state, 24/7 Tempo consulted and compared reviews and ratings on a wide range of websites, including Food & Wine, The Daily Meal, Travel & Leisure, Eater, Time Out, Gayot, Lao Sze Chuan, Food News, and Yelp, as well as state and regional restaurant listings for each state. Editorial discretion was used to decide on the final listing.

Many restaurants may offer a variety of cuisine at their establishments that represent a multitude of cultures – Thai or Vietnamese – but we have excluded those that are pan-Asian and offer cross-cultural foods from the same kitchen. Those that we have chosen are highly diverse.

Some of the restaurants featured here are simple and small-scale; others are expansive spaces with hanging lanterns, decorative screens, and lazy Susans on family-sized tables. Some specialize in Hunan or Sichuan regional cooking; others excel with live seafood tanks – fish and shellfish prominently featured in dishes. Whichever you choose, you are certainly in for a delicious meal. (Here is a list of the best seafood restaurants in America.)

• Location: Birmingham
• Culinary delights: General Tso's chicken and egg foo young; spicy pork intestines in hot pot, boiled fish with bean sprouts in chili oil, and mapo tofu

• Location: Anchorage
• Culinary delights: dim sum, jewel-like har gao, housemade siu mai, egg tarts, cakes, breads

• Location: Phoenix
• Culinary delights: Peking duck, chow fun, chow mein, kung pao chicken

• Location: Little Rock
• Culinary delights: sesame chicken, Mongolian beef, seafood clay pot, spicy beef tendon, Taiwanese-style braised pork, salted crispy frog legs

• Location: Rosemead
• Culinary delights: sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf, radish cake with assorted preserved meats, BBQ pork buns, with steamed caramel sponge cake, jellyfish with spicy sauce

• Location: Denver
• Culinary delights: Shanghainese street noodles, fried rice

• Location: West Hartford
• Culinary delights: mala bamboo shoots, braised beef tendons in soy sauce, sliced jellyfish with black vinegar, Chengdu pork dumplings in a spicy garlic sauce

• Location: Bear
• Culinary delights: pan-fried pork or shrimp dumplings, sesame chicken, scallion pancakes, beef short ribs, braised pork with preserved vegetables

• Location: Lauderdale Lakes
• Culinary delights: Hong Kong-style duck and chicken, dim sum, chicken and conch with ginger and scallions, hot and spicy squid with black bean sauce

• Location: Doraville
• Culinary delights: Taiwanese salt and pepper chicken with basil, clam and ginger soup, walnut honey shrimp, lamb with cilantro and leeks in hot bean sauce

• Location: Honolulu
• Culinary delights: mochi puffs, lotus seed buns, shrimp dumplings, seaweed seafood rolls, Peking duck, lobster with ginger and green onion

• Location: Idaho Falls
• Culinary delights: Hong Kong-style chow mein, fried wontons, General Tso's and kung pao chicken

• Location: Chicago
• Culinary delights: lamb with cumin, sole fish filet with mapo tofu flavors, Tony's special frogs' legs Zi Gong style

• Location: Fort Wayne
• Culinary delights: shredded fish fillet in ginger soup, Yushang pork, and sliced beef in hot chili oil

• Location: Iowa City
• Culinary delights: Chinese stews, preserved egg congee, cream custard buns, orange chicken, crab Rangoon, egg foo young

• Location: Overland Park
• Culinary delights: shrimp-and-pork-stuffed tofu skin, chicken feet with black bean sauce, ginger and onion salty chicken, salt and pepper soft shell crab, eggplant hotpot, spring rolls, egg drop soup, chicken or beef chow fun

• Location: St. Matthews
• Culinary delights: fried jumbo shrimp, pot stickers, BBQ pork buns, steamed spare ribs, duck braised in oyster sauce, whole crispy skin chicken, wok-seared whole flounder

• Location: Metairie
• Culinary delights: eggplant with pork in hot garlic sauce, crispy scallops in ginger sauce, China Rose special duck, crawfish fried rice

• Location: South Portland
• Culinary delights: seafood hot and sour soup, shredded chicken in spicy Szechuan sauce, ground pork in lobster sauce, chow mein, lo mein, chop suey

• Location: Bethesda
• Culinary delights: scallion bubble pancakes, cumin lamb chops, Peking duck, braised lobster with jade noodle, crispy pork belly, wagyu beef lo mein

• Location: Boston
• Culinary delights: pea jelly salad, Yunnan potato pancake, stir-fried beef with mint leaves, boiled pork in chili oil

• Location: Canton
• Culinary delights: pork rice noodles, fish with red chili, sesame tofu, spicy ginger and garlic vegetables

• Location: Minneapolis
• Culinary delights: hot and spicy baked lobster with five spice salt, deep-fried oysters, scallops with Chinese broccoli

• Location: Jackson
• Culinary delights: Roast duck noodle soup, whole steamed fish with black bean sauce, steamed head-on garlic shrimp, crystal shrimp dumplings, salted crispy oyster, Taiwanese-style wonton soup

• Location: University City
• Culinary delights: steamed ribs in black bean sauce, deep-fried salted meat dumplings, sticky rice in lotus leaves, Hong Kong-style braised noodles

• Location: Missoula
• Culinary delights: Hong Kong-style chow mein variations, noodle bowls, kung pao tofu or chicken, beef with oyster sauce

• Location: Omaha
• Culinary delights: scallion pancakes, hot and sour soup, sweet and sour pork, peanut butter chicken, shrimp and seaweed soup, Chongqing chicken with roasted chili, braised spare ribs in soy sauce, clams with fermented soybeans

• Location: Las Vegas
• Culinary delights: Imperial Peking Duck, poached Maine lobster, truffle soup dumplings, Japanese Wagyu with heirloom sweet peppers

• Location: Nashua
• Culinary delights: sizzling chicken pot (Shanghai), seafood in bird's nest (Canton), lilac spicy crispy whole fish (Hunan)

• Location: Hamilton
• Culinary delights: diced rabbit with Sichuan peppercorn vinaigrette and jellyfish with scallion oil, dan dan noodles, shredded tea smoked duck with onion and red pepper, fried yam cakes with sesame paste

• Location: Albuquerque
• Culinary delights: chilled mango pudding, pork sausage taro cake, shrimp and scallop dumplings, crab meat with fish maw soup, hot and spicy fried chicken wings, spicy shredded duck

• Location: New York City
• Culinary delights: "cold skin" noodles, pork and lamb "burgers," "hand-ripped" noodles with spicy cumin lamb or spicy and tingly beef muscle

• Location: Matthews
• Culinary delights: salted fish and diced chicken with eggplant, steamed salmon head with preserved chili, five-spice soy chicken

• Location: Fargo
• Culinary delights: pu pu platter, kung pao chicken, mapo tofu, Szechuan braised fish, beef brisket casserole

• Location: Mason
• Culinary delights: pot stickers, egg foo young, sesame chicken, red dry chili fish filets, beef tendon stew, stir-fried pork liver and kidneys, spicy sizzling tofu

• Location: Tulsa
• Culinary delights: home-style soups, double-cooked pork, ma la sirloin, salt and pepper squid

• Location: Portland
• Culinary delights: Xiao long bao, spicy hot pot, Chongqing prawns or chicken, twice-cooked pork belly, dan dan noodles, pork chitterlings

• Location: Philadelphia
• Culinary delights: prawn and squid in hot garlic sauce, pickled chili fish filet, deep-fried salted and spiced pork chops, oxtail with bean curd skin, braised black mushrooms with bamboo fungus, okra and eggplant in hot garlic sauce eggplant in hot garlic sauce

• Location: Providence
• Culinary delights: spicy cellophane noodles with minced pork, Sichuan pickled vegetables, Chongqing chicken, beef and ox tripe in chili sauce, hot sour shredded potato, spicy whole fish, fried lamb with cumin

• Location: Charleston
• Culinary delights: spring rolls, egg drop soup, kung pao chicken, salt and pepper shrimp skewers, garlic crayfish, sea oyster pancake, fish filets in chili oil

• Location: Spearfish
• Culinary delights: kung pao beef, shrimp and pea pods, fried wontons, cashew chicken

• Location: Nashville
• Culinary delights: pork or chicken siu mai, wontons in red chili oil, Xiao long bao, crispy Chongqing spicy chicken, honey walnut shrimp, Peking duck

• Location: San Antonio
• Culinary delights: Garlicky 'Not Dan Dan' Cold Noodles, Hands-Folded Sichuan Wontons, Twice as Nice 'Twice Cooked Underbelly Pork, The Tea Quacker 'Tea-Smoked Duck

• Location: Taylorsville
• Culinary delights: steamed BBQ pork buns, siu mai, turnip cakes, beef stew in Macau-style curry, deep-fried seafood in spicy XO sauce, deep-fried crispy chicken, sizzling pork chops in black pepper sauce

• Location: Burlington
• Culinary delights: mock eel (made with crispy shiitake mushrooms), crispy beef wontons in black bean chili sauce, and red oil chicken

• Location: Falls Church
• Culinary delights: Peking duck, Chinese winter squash and sea scallop soup for two, crispy Sichuan beef, Peking-style lamb chops, walnut chicken

• Location: Vancouver
• Culinary delights: General Tso's chicken, chow fun, Mongolian beef, beef tripe with chili oil, deep-fried fish fillet Sichuan style, cumin lamb, sticky rice balls in sweet rice wine with osmanthus flower

• Location: Charleston
• Culinary delights: egg rolls, wonton soup, General Tso's chicken, Mongolian beef, crispy chicken, roast pork lo mein

• Location: West Allis
• Culinary delights: dan dan noodles, mapo tofu, spare ribs in garlic chili sauce, cumin pork knuckle, pork kidneys with Sichuan peppercorns, sautéed pork intestines, ox tendon and maw in spicy chili sauce

• Location: Cheyenne
• Culinary delights: kung pao chicken, sweet & sour chicken, pork-filled fried wontons, pork fried rice, lo mein