Lao Ma La

This place is permanently closed, at least for the moment — I read that they’re in talks to see if someone wants to buy it. I hope it gets re-​opened, because this is some of the best food I’ve ever had. It’s a Szechuan-​style hot pot place using a special «fragrant broth.» I’m not sure what all goes in the broth, but the Szechuan peppers are a big part of it. The ma la broth is great with things like cabbage and lotus root which I probably wouldn’t normally eat.
The service was always incredibly friendly, too. This was a go-​to place for me when I had out-​of-​town guests.

I’ve been here multiple times and have tried various dishes but the reason I come back is for their noodle soups. The noodles have a really good consistency and are just the right amount of chewy. Their food gives credit to their name. Mala is a way to describe a type of spicy in China and the dishes here basically all have some level of spice. If you’re not one who likes spicy, be sure to specify. But if you are, this is the place to try.

I first ate here in August 2014. Maybe because the restaurant was near empty, we had excellent service. I have not dined in since.
My favorite dishes are the wood ear salad with wild chili, the pork belly with mashed garlic and never forget chicken. all spicy, so if you’re not a heat seeker, make sure to clarify. i.e. the pork belly with mashed garlic was a yummy spicy surprise (they should probably list that the third main ingredient is chili).

Best food in Chinatown! The drinks are made perfect and the service is impeccable! Rebecca is especially the best. Ask for her if you come by

Gave this place another try and had a better experience. Servers were polite and helpful. Also the food was good! But I made the mistake of getting an Americanized dish: p but I love the Chengdu noodles

This place seems like a stanky open dishwasher. Ugh. Walked in and wanted to walk straight out but I really wanted some hot pot. Hot pot here was mediocre and definitely nothing to rave about. And service at Chinese restaurants is never phenomenal so no point elaborating on that. Just another meh restaurant.

The food was okay. Service is terrible. My friends and I went there once to eat all-​you-​can-​eat hot pot and we apparently ate a lot. The second time we went there, the waiters said hot pot is not available that day. I asked why and they said they didn’t know. That’s impossible. They were obviously kicking us out. I looked around and I saw a few tables eating hot pot. I’m never going to that place again.

It really takes so much for me to write a bad review! I am familiar with Chinatown and knew that this restaurant has been dead! Regardless I was willing to try given the fact that my co-​worker recommended me to buy the discounted coupons from
. I bought 3 a few months back. Took my mom there. We ordered 3 dishes, Twice Cooked Pork, Salt and Pepper Shrimps, and some kind of spicy chicken were ordered. Everything was so salty that if you have high blood pressure, I can almost guarantee you that you will drop dead right there! The shrimps had black heads which tells you that it was not fresh. Okay, I am not about to send anything back and I was not even going to mention anything.
I asked for the check and to my surprise they tagged on 18% of gratuity which I was not going to walk away without tipping the waiter/​waitress anyway. It really upset me that they did such a thing when the food was not even closed to edible!
I told the waiter that I was not aware of the tagged on gratuity policy. He asked for the manager to come over. I questioned her if she has the policy posted on her menu or anywhere in the restaurant. She said no but because she has a bar, she has to tag that expenses on. Really??? Remind you that we did not have any alcohol ordered. We had nothing but water since all the stuff is high in sodium!
She finally agreed to take it off but we did leave them gratuity. I also told the waiter that it was not his fault but will not go again!
Just to be fair, I saw most people had hot pot there and they seemed to be okay with it. Not sure if they tagged on 18% though.
Agreed with some of the reviews here, the worst in Chinatown!

Have only been here for the lunch specials, but boy are they special. As good as it gets flavor-​wise in an area with a lot of competition. At $ 5.99, I feel like I’m stealing from them, getting an entrée, rice, soup, and occasionally they throw in an appetizer for good measure.
It’s enough to get me to jump on the red line quick and come out from the loop for lunch – since the Chinese food in the loop is terrible. Hope to make it back soon.

If you want hot, this is the place for you!
Service: Most of the waitresses here are really nice, except one lady. That lady gives terrible service.
Atmosphere/​décor: pretty nice, but the bar is in an awkward location, and it rarely seems like it gets any use. However, the general seating area is nice and large, and open, which I like.
Food: Spicy! I especially like the spicy sichuan beef noodle soup. I prefer the ordinary noodles as opposed to the special hand pulled noodles (which are available on the weekend only anyways). I’ve had a couple of their hot pot varieties, which were not really worth it. Not enough food for the money. And ordering the hot pots are kind of confusing. Everyone else’s hot pot always seems tastier than mine, so I stick with the spicy beef noodle soup.
This is definitely my go-​to place when I want to eat anything spicy, and feel it the next morning. Fun!

So this was the worst meal I’ve had in a long time. We ordered the hot pot, a few skewers, flat rice noodles and fried beef noodles. When the hot pot arrived, it had a metal slotted spoon, which was a huge problem. Hot boiling water flying everywhere and it was impossible to get the noodles out since they were slippery when cooked and the chopsticks were plastic. Between 2 burned hands and the overly salted fried noodles, this was a miserable dinner.
To add to the list of issues, the place was rundown. One of the dining chairs literally had duct tape holding the back slats together.
Never again.

In my opinion, this was the worst restaurant I’ve been to in Chicago. The hot pot was bland and served with a metal slotted spoon, which burned our fingers. Between that and the plastic chopsticks, and lack of large dinner plates, eating was a challenge. The meat portions were small. The cellophane noodles made a mess. The service was beyond awful. I asked to speak with a manager and was told «there is no manager.» No more Lao restaurants for us. Shame on you.
We also ran into a
coupon conflict which we are attempting to resolve.
I have witnesses that will verify all of the above facts.
Beyond awful.

Food was GREAT! The service wasn’t so great. Our waiter was inconsiderate and didn’t explain to is what the items were. He didn’t even ask is what kind of soups we wanted or rice will be included. We drank our drinks at a rapid rate and it didn’t get replenish until after we have drank it all and waved at the waiter. Other than that the food is awesome and LUNCH SPECIALS are at great prices!
P. S. The service was poor so we didn’t leave a tip. As we walked out of the restaurant, the waiter CHASES us down for a tip! WOW THE NERVE OF POOR SERVICE AND DEMANDING A TIP!

I tried the Spicy Sichuan beef noodle soup and boy was it spicy! I am glad to have asked for it to be mild/​medium, but even with the «less spicy» option, this restaurant made sure I had 3 cups of water in one sitting. Thanks for reminding me to drink my daily 8 cups of water today!
The ambiance is trendy and the wait staff is friendly and attentive. Will definitely come back again– but will try the less spicier options instead! Haha

I wanted to like this place alot, and maybe it had something to do with someone working here telling us to come and eat here as we were walking along looking for a lunch spot. I love spicy and Szechuan food, and this just wasn’t as spicy as I was expecting. We ordered the Sauteed Pork Strips and Bamboo Shoots, Chengdu Dried Chili Chicken, and the House Special Spicy Boiled Fish. The pork dish was best, the chicken was too salty for me, and the fish tasted kind of plain. The prices were ok. The service was slow, and I’d probably choose another spot before this one with all the options in Chinatown.

Have you ever walked into a restaurant and wondered if you missed the main entrance and thought the trip whimsical?
Do you enjoy passing by scattered crap and dirty dishes in bins on carts before you ever find a greeter?
Should pork belly only be cooked using methods that give it zero crispiness?
After chewing on some very, very well-​done skewered beef, can you justify spending $ 1.50 for a slice of bacon on a metal stick?
If your answer to any of those questions is YES! then I unfriend you.
I don’t get this place… but I do get why it is usually void of customers. All the newspaper clippings in the world cannot hide the fact that Szechwan street food isn’t selling well in Chicago’s Chinatown.
Rip-​off Report: Hot Pot is $ 2 more on weekend with same menu… just because they are busier… even if only 2 tables have customers. Get over yourselves!

If you are an American, do yourself a favor and order from the American section of the menu. I am a very adventurous eater, but I could not handle how spicy this was. And I did not even order one of their spicy dishes!
This is so authentic that you probably will not be able to eat it.

My boyfriend and I came here today during a busy busy day in Chinatown (case in point: it took us almost half an hour just to find parking!). All of the other restaurants seemed to have long waits, but Lao Ma La didn’t. And perhaps there was a good reason.
The service was abbbbsoooolutely terrrrrrible! Every server seemed apathetic and lackadaisical, and nobody seemed to have any sort of organizational skills. The table next to ours, which had been vacated prior to our arriving, was not cleaned until the end of our unfortunate hour-​long stay at Lao Ma La. During our meal, we had to sit next to a half-​empty hot pot, spilled water, and empty shrimp shells and noodles on the table. It was disgusting. The servers all seemed overwhelmed but were all inefficient and inattentive. Never once were we asked how our food was, and never once were our water glasses refilled.
We ordered the tan tan mien, the «never forget» chicken, stir-​fried pea shoots, and the pig’s feet in a mini wok. We waited about 20 minutes for the first three dishes to come out. The food was admittedly not that bad, but the tan tan mien and the «never forget» chicken came out in bowls that were CHIPPED. Not just a small chip, but each bowl had two or three large, noticeable, stained-​looking chips on the rims. GROSS.
At the end of our meal, we had not yet received the pig’s feet. I flagged down a waitress and requested that our order be canceled. The waitress apologized and said that they were making the food at the moment, so instead I asked for it to be put directly in a to-​go container since we were finished with all the rest of our food. However, we had to wait another 15 – 20 minutes for the pig’s feet to come out in the mini wok, NOT wrapped to-​go, so we had to wait ANOTHER ten minutes for the food to be packed. My boyfriend explained politely to the waitress at the end of our meal that we did not want to pay for the pig’s feet due to the appalling service. I feel as though anywhere else we would have been comped, but the waitress just shrugged and said, «okay,» and took the food away.
I left a really shitty tip (was debating whether I should have tipped at all), but I don’t care because I’m never coming back here.

Wasn’t awful. I’d still f— with it if I was in the mood for some crazy spicy eats and a laid-​back karaōke floor ambiance. Got the combination hot pot, every kind of skewer and spicy cauliflower. Pretty solid, wasn’t as much diversity or innovation as I had hoped. Someone try the pork intestine and let me know how it is, please.
Still gonna have to go with Tony’s Lao Sze Chuan as my go-​to, though. Nothing beats a classic.
Shane-​O, out.

I can’t handle spicy food. It annoys me to no end that I hark from a land that boast the spiciest food in the world and yet my body rebels at the mere scent of spicy. I am an embarrassment to my people.
Given my inability to tolerate spicy cuisine, I probably had no business convincing a group of friends to dine at Lao Ma La. After all, Ma La is Chinese for «numbingly spicy.» I am no sadomasochist; I just happen to like spicy food even if my body can’t handle it.
The day of the dinner I armed myself with a towel to sop up the inevitable streams of sweat and a pack of tissues to combat the likely runny nose. I was ready to take on Lao Numbingly Spicy.
The restaurant was fairly empty on a Thursday evening. Most of the other patrons seemed to be eating the hotpot. We opted to do a family style meal and ordered three appetizers and four main courses.
The food proved to be as spicy as advertised and my towel came in handy. I enjoyed the meal despite enduring merciless ribbing from my friends. I was able to take solace in the fact that the best received dish of the evening was my choice: the House Special Fish with Green Chilies. The Stewed Pork Belly with Dried Bean Curd
was a close second. From the appetizers, the Wood Ear Mushroom with Wild Chili
and the Never Forget Chicken
were also standouts. The bizarrely named Husband Wife Lung Slices, thin slices of beef brisket and tripe coated with a spicy Szechuan sauce,
was also surprisingly good.
The Hot and Sour Vermicelli
had the distinct honor of being the spiciest dish of the evening. The one forgettable order was the Ma Po tofu. It was the only dish that remained unfinished at the end of our meal.
A return trip to Lao Ma La is inevitable for me. Next time, however, I’ll probably just wrap a towel around my head and dine there by myself.