Chez Chili invites you to discover China's authentic delights. In the Northern provinces of China, where the temperature is always low, people warm themselves up with spicy meals filled with flavours. We offer you the 5 main flavors present in Chinese cooking: sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty. Let us take you on a traditional Chinese culinary experience right in the heart of Montreal!
Overall, reviews describe Chez Chili as a reliable source of bold, authentic Sichuan and Chinese flavors in Chinatown, with generous portions and good value. The atmosphere is cozy and casual in a basement setting, and service is usually friendly and efficient, though a few readers note moments of rushing or occasional lapses. The menu is wide and varied, offering dishes from Sichuan, Hunan, and other regional styles, with frequent praise for General Tao, eggplant dishes, mapo tofu, and spice that appeals to heat lovers while some items can be a tad salty. Takeout and delivery are consistently praised, and many guests say the food is consistently delicious, making Chez Chili a go to for those seeking spicy, flavorful Chinese cuisine in Montreal.
Great food! Lots of flavour & authentic. Lots of garlic & sauteed goodness, major downside is that they make you give them a 5 star review to get their deal on a free Coke. Attention to service is average at best. Quoting the server'give us five star review'. Some of the dishes had too much ginger if you're not into that but the fried shrimp was excellent 👌🏽
yesterday
on Google
🍽️
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I was in Montreal yesterday for a work meeting, & a colleague recommended this place. The food was actually really good - especially the fried shrimp & the General Tao chicken.
But the service yesterday really ruined the experience. The staff didn't feel very friendly, & one male server in particular was quite rude. He looked like he hadn't slept much - low energy, uninterested, & pretty careless when taking our order. The way he spoke felt dismissive, like he didn't really care, & it honestly seemed like he'd rather be chatting with his coworkers than doing his job.
Also, I think the female server brought us the wrong dish at one point, but we didn't bother saying anything.
What made it more noticeable is that we came back again today, & the two servers we had were great - friendly, attentive, & professional. The difference was very obvious.
If someone doesn't feel like working, they really shouldn't be on shift, because it directly affects the customer experience.
Overall, great food, but the service quality is inconsistent & needs improvement.
I was looking online for good eats in Chinatown for my upcomjng visit to Montreal, & this name kept on popping up so I thought I'd give it a try. I see why it's a local favourite. The general tao chicken was tangier than I expected, but the batter had an amazing crunch juxtaposed with tender & juicy meat. I paired it with a Cantonese sausage fried rice, which was just as good as it smelled. Definitely a good place for food after an evening exploring the port, it's well worth your money.
An amazing Expierence. Staff extremely friendly & very welcoming. Great at suggesting good options. The food was quick & tastes outstanding by far the best Chinese food I have had in a long time. Incredibly fresh. I highly recommend to anyone looking a great meal. It was not too expensive & the portions were a good size.
Great service & quick to get our food out. General Tao chicken was good & crispy but heavily breaded. Broc & beef was delicious as were spring rolls. Dumplings & chicken fried rice were ok.
used to come here pretty often, but after this last visit, I'm done.
The food has seriously gone downhill. What used to be a decent spot is now completely inconsistent - the same dishes taste different every time we come. One day it's acceptable, the next day it's bland, greasy, or just off. At this point, it feels like there's no consistency in the kitchen at all. For a restaurant that expects repeat customers, that's a major problem.
But honestly, the bigger issue is the way this place is run.
There's a short male staff member who appears to be the owner, & he clearly has a habit of treating customers differently depending on how he judges them. If he thinks a table is'worth more,' his attitude suddenly changes. It's very obvious, & it makes the whole experience uncomfortable.
What pushed this to a 1-star review was what happened with the seating. Two white customers came in about 5 minutes after us, & the owner personally chose to seat them at a large table, even though they only ordered 2 dishes. Meanwhile, there were two of us, & we ordered 4 dishes, but the owner still put us at a small, cramped table. That wasn't an accident, & it wasn't a space issue - it was the owner's decision. If you're going to run a restaurant, at least treat customers fairly instead of making your favoritism so obvious.
On top of that, the owner keeps coming over to the table again & again, asking unnecessary questions & interrupting people while they're trying to eat, but he doesn't actually do anything helpful. Instead of improving the service, he just makes the experience more irritating. Hovering around customers is not good hospitality - it's just intrusive.
Ironically, the actual servers were much better than the owner. The short female server was warm, attentive, & kindly refilled our water, & the male server was polite & helped pack up our food. The service staff were doing their jobs well. The problem is clearly with the person in charge.
To make it worse, the whole restaurant was filled with a strong greasy smoke smell, which made the entire place feel stuffy & unpleasant.
So overall:
the food is noticeably worse than before
the taste is inconsistent from one visit to the next
the owner personally gave later-arriving customers a large table while squeezing us into a small one
obvious favoritism in both seating & attitude
constant interruptions from the owner that add nothing to the dining experience
greasy smoke smell throughout the restaurant
There are way too many good restaurants in this city to waste time on a place run like this. Won't be coming back.
