Shun Lee West

I have eaten at Shun Lee several times, usually for special occassions. Recently (Dec. 28) my family made reservations prior to the theater at 5:30pm. We ordered promptly and waited over 45 minutes for our apetizers! I approached a manager at 6:15pm to request that at least our spring rolls arrive and we received a second waiter who promised to look into it. Then he never came back! I approached the manager again who sent a THIRD waiter who finally serviced our table. By then it was over one hour from when we ordered and our main course didn't come until after 7pm and we ended up missing the 8pm show! As if that wasn't bad enough, they didn't give me back my credit card and I didn't notice until we left the restaurant. I was shocked that with such poor service, the manager didn't even comp us dessert or a drink! The whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth and I will not eat there again.

The elegant surroundings make you feel special. This place has professional service and some of the tastiest Chinese food around. Always great.

This is by far the most hyped up Chinese restaurant in NYC. I am Chinese and was so looking forward to spending a lot of money for authentic, upscale Chinese food. I have to say I was disappointed-- not only were the doors locked on a Saturday evening, when we had reservations, the service was slow and unattentive, and the food, especially the dim sum was bland and flavorless. My parents were visiting from Hong Kong, where they have the most expensive restaurants in Asia, and my fiance had wanted to impress them. They thought it was American Chinese food, and I had to explain to them that American Chinese food has much more flavor and is much cheaper than this. Oh well-- it was recommended to me by several different people at ABC studios, and I realized it was because it was next door and convenient, and that's why after a long, hard day at work, it was the nearest restaurant to eat.

Yes, you can get cheaper Chinese food in Chinatown, and if it's cheap you want, you should stop reading this and take the subway down to Canal St. But if you want to have a delightful evening in a lovely and comfortable room, with ultra-attentive service and delicious food, then GO TO SHUN LEE! I've been a regular since they opened over 20 years ago, and have never had a bad dining experience there. Their menu has expanded over the last couple of years to include more authentic Chinese fare to go along with the Americanized standbys; I've tried almost everything they've got to offer, and rarely come up with a dud. In short, one of my favorite places in the city. An old standby which hasn't lost its luster.

We have eaten Dim Sum all around the world and seldom been disappointed. The dim sum here is unappetizing and unappealing. The dishes were not even steamed hot, just lukewarm and tasteless. The price that you pay (3 times more than chinatown or anywhere else for that matter) is definitely not worth it.

Service is always great and the manager of the cafe gives personal attention to customers. Favorite dishes include Shun Lee bean curd, schezuan salmon, hunan broccoli, veg spring rolls, stir fried string beans, hot spicy noodles

If this is upscale Chinese food, I don't think I like upscale Chinese food. The atmosphere is cool, the service is good, but the food was surprisingly unappetizing - especially for those prices! Spring rolls and dumplings are ordinary, even a bit greasy, but they cost twice as much as at an "everyday" Chinese place. My "crispy duck" managed to be heavy, greasy and bland; the Grand Marnier prawns were in a weirdly un-Chinese cream sauce; the vegetarian "duck" was extremely greasy; and even the alligator was amazingly boring, coming with nothing but broccoli. The desserts seemed mass-produced, like an afterthought.