SGV’s Sichuan Impression Expands With a Fast Casual to Chinatown

It’s getting crowded at Far East Plaza in Chinatown, the open-air mall that currently holds LASA, Endorffeine, Chego!, Lao Tao, and of course Howlin’ Ray’s. Next up is a fast casual offshoot of Sichuan Impression, the impossibly-popular spicy Chinese restaurant.

Per Food & Wine, Sichuan Impression will be partnering up with Ivy Wei of Fat Dragon (who, before that, spent years at Yang Chow) to move into an unknown and still-unnamed space at the plaza, with a slated opening to happen later this year. The team is keeping the full concept close to the vest for now, but did tell writer Andy Wang that there will be some classics from the Sichuan Impression repertoire, like those famous tea-smoked ribs. Otherwise expect noodles, rice dishes, and other menu items meant to please the multi-cultural crowds.

Sichuan Impression is largely considered to be one of the best Sichuanese restaurants in all of America. Its legions of fans certainly know it, as the company has been able to expand somewhat quickly to Orange County and, soon, even to the Westside. That said, they’re keen to move beyond the usual customers and into a wider audience base, hence the push to a more straightforward menu and this new Chinatown location. The fast casual model could also become easily replicable, meaning it’s possible there would be multiple locations in just a few short years’ time.

Far East Plaza
727 N. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA

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