Chengdu Gourmet: Authentic Sichuan Cuisine Minutes Outside of Downtown

By Olivia Miller

It’s no stretch to say that Downtown Pittsburgh has some of the best restaurants in the area. From Turkish cafes and Japanese izakaya style restaurants to Italian and Chinese eateries, a visit Downtown is sure to satisfy any culinary craving you may have. However, the best Chinese restaurant in the area lies just 10 minutes outside of the Golden Triangle.

Chef Wei Zhu established Chengdu Gourmet after moving to the US from China in 2005 and has since grown it to include two locations in Squirrel Hill and the North Hills. Chef Zhu, who comes from a long line of chefs, initially opened his restaurant in response to the lack of authentic Sichuan cuisine in Pittsburgh. He has opened up a new avenue of cuisine for Pittsburghers and it's safe to say they love it. In the past few years, the restaurant has been named to Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants and was named one of the Best New Restaurants of 2022 by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

With over 300 items on the menu including sushi, dim sum, boba, and both traditional Chinese and americanized Chinese dishes, picking a dish or two to try may seem daunting. But fear not, Chengdu Gourmet has an army of friendly and helpful staff ready to walk you through the menu and suggest their favorite dishes.

We recommend starting off with some dim sum to wet your palate, particularly the crispy yet chewy leek box or their melt-in-your-mouth pork soup dumplings. Then, venture away from the General Tso’s chicken or lo mein that we all know and love and try their cold chicken and vegetable dish topped with spicy chilis and peppercorns. A Chengdu Gourmet favorite is their chongqing style chicken, which features bites of crispy chicken with dried chilis which provide the perfect kick of heat. We also recommend the dry sauteed green beans which take the mundane vegetable to a whole new tasty level. To end your meal, make sure to ask for their ci ba, which are fried rice cakes topped with soybean powder and brown sugar syrup. These crispy, chewy rice cakes are the perfect way to end your meal with just the perfect amount of sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth.

To try our recommendations or order any other dishes off their vast menu, you can find their hours on their website. You can also sample Chef Zhu’s best dishes at Pittsburgh’s first Asian food festival, Taste of Asia, which will take place on May 25th from 3-8:30 pm at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. You can secure your taste of their chongqing chicken and so much more by buying tickets here.