China’s Family Restaurant

Reviews

• Vivian L.

  star star star star star 8 June 2026

  I am astonished at all the horrible reviews. This is a quintessential Chinese restaurant, similar to the hole-in-the-wall shops you'd find in New York or San Francisco Chinatown. If you're looking for fine dining, there are plenty of other places to go in the city that cater towards a more "American" aesthetic (e.g. Ho Ho Barbeque, New Fortune, etc.)
  
  But if you want delicious Sichuan food, this is it. This is authentic. I'm in love.
  
  I went with a group of friends and we each choose a dish. We ended up getting orange chicken, chongqing spicy chicken, mapotofu (yes, that was mine), and griddle cooked beef. I don't eat beef, so I can't speak to that dish, but the others were AMAZING. The orange chicken was full of flavour, the spicy chicken was spiced perfectly and cooked to crunchyness (yes, that's how it's supposed to be!), and the mapotofu was made in the authentic style - silky tofu, oily sauce, and Sichuan peppercorn to create that tingly "ma la" sensation.
  
  There is not a lot of customer service: you get your own water and tea, and the waiter never checks on you. But personally, that's how I like it. They put down four steaming dishes and gave us each a bowl of rice, and then they left us alone to chat and have a good time.
  
  If you are looking for traditionally Chinese-American food staples like sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, lo mein, etc., then look elsewhere. This is not it. Go to Mama Fu's or Panda Express. If you want authentic Sichuan, though, this is as good as it gets.
  
  (To the reviewer who stated that all Chinese food needs to come with heaping portions of rice - no! The focus is on the dish, not the rice. You take a bowl of rice and self moderate. It is not meant to be eaten like "a spoonful of rice topped with a piece of meat". The dish is the main course. A place giving you just a bowl of rice is actually very "authentic". And if you're pacing yourself, you really shouldn't need more than 1 bowl of rice.)

• Danny L.

  star star star star_border star_border 1 June 2026

  Overall, this place is decent. I've been to a lot of similar Chinese restaurants, and I guess given the options in Austin, this is a good one to settle for.
  
  But in terms of the bigger picture, the food I got didn't have any wow factors. I ordered the beef lo mein, and there were just a couple things bugging me. For one, there's not a lot of meat that comes with the dish, and that's usually why you choose the meat that comes with the dish (in total, I counted about 8 smaller pieces). The noodles are a bit more oily than I would prefer, and the meat itself had a bit of a sour taste to it (usually meaning it's been out for a while). The good thing going for the dish is portion size - it's a lotta noodles! But for almost $12, I would've expected more than just a heap of noodles - more meat would've been nice.
  
  I heard the tofu here is good, so perhaps I'll come back another time to try it and see if I wanna update. But for now, in my books, this is just a more average place.
  
  PROS:
  - good amount of seating on the inside
  - even during hot Austin days, they keep this place nice and cool and give free cold water, which is always amazing
  - the staff seemed friendly, nothing that really stood out in a good or bad way
  - great portion size
  
  CONS:
  - not too much meat with the lo mein
  - bit oily for my preferences
  - some of the tables are unstable (wobble when you use them)

• Megan L.

  star star star star star_border 29 May 2026

  There aren't very many Chinese food options around campus, but this small Sichuan hole-in-the-wall restaurant is a good option to get some decently authentic Chinese food.
  
  My friends and I usually order eggplant and beef, fish, and some other dishes, and they're all pretty good! However, for a Sichuan restaurant, the food honestly isn't very spicy at all. That can be a good or a bad thing depending on your love for spice, but because I can't handle spicy food that well, I'm perfectly okay with the spicy level.
  
  The reason why I would give this place 4 stars is because it doesn't seem to be too sanitary. I've never seen any one wipe down the tables, and I always feel a bit sticky after leaving the establishment. You can grab a water pitcher from their small fridge and utensils nearby, but everything doesn't give you the impression that sanitation is their upmost concern. I'm also slightly disappointed that they give a single bowl of rice for every dish you order, and the bowls of rice are pretty small. Usually, Chinese restaurants allow you to order as many rice bowls as you want.
  
  However, I would still recommend C-Fam if you like Sichuan food. It reminds me of home-cooked meals, something that's rare on a college campus.

• Denise L.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 27 May 2026

  Felt hungover and craved soup and Asian food. Had it delivered through GrubHub and it came on time. The egg drop soup was good, but really oily. Was really glad it came hot for a 1.5 mile ride. I ordered a side of fried rice but I also got a side of white rice? So I was really excited to try the mapo tofu after reading all the reviews, but it had a spice that was unbearable for me. My tongue was left numb. I do wish there was a warning to it, and it was the oiliest mapo tofu I have ever had. I threw it away after two bites.

• Sara V.

  star star star star star 18 May 2026

  I love this place. The food is so good and the people who work here are really nice. It's definitely authentic and a great hiding place in the drag. I really feel like I live in the City when I eat here and this is my secret authentic local place that nobody else knows about.