The 10 best Chinese restaurants in Charlotte

Charlotte’s Chinese food goes well past the lunch special. Within a half-hour drive you can eat Sichuan boiled fish, Beijing street snacks, Hong Kong roast duck, Lanzhou-style pulled noodles and soup dumplings folded while you watch, plus a few Chinese-American kitchens that have earned their regulars over decades.

This list covers that range across the metro, from South End and SouthPark to University City, Matthews and Fort Mill. It’s built for anyone who wants to know where to go for a specific craving, whether that’s numbing heat, a family-style banquet or a reliable takeout order. Dim sum gets its own guide, so only one dim sum-heavy kitchen appears here.

How we chose

We started with restaurants that show up repeatedly across independent local coverage, including Axios Charlotte, CharlotteFive and the Charlotte Observer, plus Charlotte’s Got A Lot, then checked each against its own website or ordering page where one exists. We looked for cooking with a clear point of view, whether regional Chinese or Chinese-American, and for consistency over time. Every restaurant was checked for closures, moves and ownership changes as of October 2026. The list is unranked and appears in alphabetical order.

Baoding

SouthPark · 4722-F Sharon Rd.

Sharon Corners has had a Chinese dining room since 1993, and the current version leans into its retro side, with black lights, neon and a bar that glows after dark. Jenny Kwon took over Baoding in 2017, and CharlotteFive reported in September 2025 that the restaurant counts regulars across several generations of the same families.

This is Chinese-American cooking with real care behind it. Kwon told CharlotteFive the best sellers are the Beijing duck ($37), General Tso’s chicken and chow foon noodles. The pineapple fish, breaded fillet in a light sweet glaze, arrives with a small LED light on the plate. Baoding also topped a 2018 Axios Charlotte reader survey of favorite Chinese restaurants. Go on a weeknight if you can: holiday weeks bring long waits, and to-go orders slow down at peak hours.

The Dumpling Lady

South End · 327 W. Tremont Ave.

A family from Chengdu moved to Charlotte in 2015 and started selling dumplings outside bars and at farmers markets. A food truck followed in 2016. Today The Dumpling Lady runs a sit-down restaurant on West Tremont Avenue in South End, a counter in Optimist Hall and a Latta Arcade spot Uptown called Nana Li’s, named for the family’s grandmother, with a rotating Sichuan menu built for quick takeout.

Everything starts from scratch and by hand: the noodles, the dumplings and the Sichuan dishes, which lean on layered spices and oils. The family says plainly on its website that this is not a typical American Chinese restaurant. Order a round of dumplings and a bowl of noodles, and ask about heat before you order if numbing peppercorn is new to you. South End is the best bet for a relaxed meal, while Optimist Hall works for a group that can’t agree on dinner.

Juicy Dumpling

University City · 8933 J.M. Keynes Dr., Suite 1

The newest name here held its grand opening in September 2026 at The Boardwalk at University Place, across from The Wine Vault, in the space Crafty Crab used to occupy. Owner Fahong Zhang put the dumpling station right at the front, so you can watch the crew roll and pleat wrappers while you wait. Juicy Dumpling makes soup dumplings, pan-fried and steamed dumplings, plus noodles that run from Sichuan dan dan to braised beef.

In its first look, Axios Charlotte priced the chicken xiao long bao at $12.99 and the spicy brisket beef noodles at $16.99. Get a few dumpling fillings for the table and split them; Axios Charlotte’s reviewer also tried the beef and onion. The restaurant says regulars often add the beef roll pancake, braised shank wrapped in a flaky scallion pancake. Late hours help in this part of town: the kitchen stays open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Lam’s Kitchen

Matthews · 3016 Weddington Rd.

Out on Weddington Road, the menu runs long, with section headings in English and Chinese: Hong Kong-style roast duck and honey roasted pork, claypots, Dungeness crab with ginger and scallion, cumin lamb and Sichuan boiled fish. Lam’s Kitchen also keeps a separate dim sum menu.

CharlotteFive writer Shindy Chen, who grew up in her family’s Charlotte Chinese restaurant, orders mostly from that dim sum list: radish turnip cakes, soup dumplings and pork and shrimp shu mai at $8 to $13. She pairs them with the curry or mala beef brisket and daikon claypot, about $20 each. This is the place for a big table that wants to share. The restaurant takes reservations and has a private room for larger parties. Mind the schedule: closed Tuesdays, with an afternoon break between lunch and dinner on other days.

LanZhou Hand-Pulled Noodles

Matthews · 929 Park Center Dr., Unit 101

Hand-pulled noodles are the whole point at this Park Center Drive shop, which opened in April 2025. The order is beef brisket noodle soup, and you pick the shape: thin and round or wide and flat. CharlotteFive praised the tender brisket and the chew of the fresh noodles, and a spicy beef version is there if you want more heat.

Named for the capital of Gansu province, LanZhou Hand-Pulled Noodles cooks in that northwestern style, with long-simmered broth and an open kitchen where you can watch the dough being pulled. Save room for sesame balls filled with red bean paste if they’re out that day. Lunch tends to be the liveliest time to watch the noodle work.

Lee Cafe

Fort Mill · 1046 Regent Pkwy., Suite 107

South Carolina earns a spot thanks to a shopping strip on Regent Parkway (Highway 21), a short drive over the state line from Pineville. Lee Cafe has been a regular stop for Sichuan cooking in the south suburbs for years. Axios Charlotte readers named the restaurant in a 2018 roundup, and CharlotteFive writer Shindy Chen described the restaurant as her family’s go-to for takeout in 2025.

Order from the eat-in menu, where dishes run about $16 to $32. The Sichuan spicy fish fillet is dry-fried in bite-size pieces under a pile of red chilies, and the spicy chili chicken follows the same idea. For something milder, try shredded pork with bean curd or the salty fish, chicken and eggplant clay pot. There’s sushi too, which helps if someone in the group skips spice. Bring a crowd and order family style.

Open Rice

Midtown · 1100 Metropolitan Ave., Suite 100

Hong Kong cafe cooking is the draw at this Metropolitan dining room, the second branch from a team that first opened in Blakeney in 2019 after running Pisces sushi. Axios Charlotte reported that the name comes from a Hong Kong expression tied to family and togetherness, and the menu fits: roast duck by the half or whole, char siu, beef chow fun, clay pot brisket and Singapore noodles.

For dessert, Open Rice makes bubble waffles, the egg-puff treat sold on Hong Kong streets, topped with ice cream. Boba tea, wine and sake round out the drinks. Charlotte’s Got A Lot puts the typical spend at roughly $8 to $30 a person. Weekday lunch is calmer than dinner. Note that the restaurant is closed on Tuesdays.

Riceblossom

South Charlotte · 8418 Park Rd.

The Chinese name on the sign, 川王府, tells you the focus: this Park Road dining room cooks Sichuan food. Charlotte’s Got A Lot points diners to the Chongqing-style fried diced chicken, a dry-fried dish buried in chilies, and to the grilled whole fish, which feeds a table.

Don’t let the gentle English name throw you. Riceblossom bills itself as authentic Chinese cuisine, and Sichuan cooking leans hard on dried chilies and the tingle of Sichuan peppercorn, so ask which dishes run mild if your group is mixed. The restaurant takes reservations through its website, which is the easy route for a larger party. Saturday is the simplest day to drop in, since the kitchen runs straight through from 11 a.m. without the weekday afternoon break.

Sun’s Kitchen

Lower South End · 3216 South Blvd., Suite 105

Brian Sun grew up in Beijing and worked as a product designer before he and his wife, head chef Mandy Kuang, launched a delivery-only kitchen in 2020. In April 2024 they moved into a dine-in space on the ground floor of The Platform at LoSo, near Seaboard Brewing. Sun told Axios Charlotte the idea is the food Chinese families eat at home every day.

At Sun’s Kitchen that means lamb skewers, dumplings made daily (there’s a five-flavor flight), Beijing-style ja jang noodles, ma-la wontons and braised beef noodle soup. CharlotteFive’s Shindy Chen goes for the oversized egg tarts and a jian bing folded around a crisp you tiao. The online menu lists the egg tarts as a weekend-only item, so aim for Saturday or Sunday. Ordering happens at a kiosk, and the restaurant is closed Mondays.

Taipei Express

Eastover · 731 Providence Rd.

Turning out Chinese-American takeout that tastes the same every time is harder than it looks, and this Providence Road kitchen has been at it since 2001. The family that owns Taipei Express also runs Taipei South on Johnston Road and a second Taipei Express in Indian Land, S.C.

The sa cha chicken or shrimp is the order for CharlotteFive’s Shindy Chen. The dish is made with a savory Chinese barbecue sauce built on dried seafood, and she noted that this kitchen goes lighter on sauce and salt than its sister restaurant. The eggplant with garlic sauce has its own fans; one customer review the restaurant posts on its site says the writer drives across town monthly for it. Axios Charlotte readers put Taipei Express in their top five in 2018. The lot is small, so call ahead and grab your order on the way home.

Also worth knowing

• The Imperial Treasure in Matthews’ Windsor Square has one of the area’s more polished Chinese dining rooms and a long dim sum menu, with a second location in Ballantyne.
• Taipei South on Johnston Road shares owners with Taipei Express and is a strong value for dinner combos and crab rangoon.
• Honey Bun’s Cafeteria on East Independence Boulevard is a casual counter for dim sum, fried rice and boba in east Charlotte.

Last checked October 13, 2026. Spot something out of date, or a place we missed? Send us a correction.