This is truly a hidden gem of New Haven! My colleague who went to Yale told me about the place and he said Yale's Chinese students love this place. I was impressed by the food. They have very authentic Chinese food, featuring northeastern Chinese cuisine. They also have the classic American Chinese options for those who want it but honestly ask the owners for recommendations and give the Chinese options a try! They're so much better. The owners are incredible and warm. The place is small and low key but the food is absolutely delicious by Connecticut standards.

The food was beyond delicious. I just ordered the same dish from a take out and it tasted like water in comparison.as the only ones at the restaurant at the time we had the pleasure of getting to know Linn. We will return soon.

This indeed is the best authentic Chinese restaurant you can find in the New Haven county. I have been there several times rand have never been disappointed. Every dish was to the best standards from the taste, presentation, and quality. The husband is the chef who I heard used to be a chef in a 5 star hotel restaurant. The wife is the only one takes care of everything else in the restaurant . Although it is a small restaurant, the food is definitely much better than any other bigger ones in town. The owners are very personable and we always enjoyed their delicious dishes. Highly recommended!

This is THE best Chinese food we have had in years! Have eaten there twice and both times they were able to accommodate my gluten free needs - I am celiac, but have had no problems with cross contamination - and served us some GF crispy chicken that was so, so, so good that I just kept eating until every delicious morsel was gone. I have not had anything like that since I was diagnosed 10 years ago. Unlike a lot of laces, they didn't;t make it seem like I was asking for a blood donation when I expressed the need for GF. Nice people and FABUOUS food!

This is the best authentic Chinese food in the area. Reservations only in the family business. It's best if you preorder because everything is prepared for you. Friendly no-frills service. It's all about the food.

After hearing great things about Lin's, I was excited to give it a try! It was a major holiday so we called at 6pm to check if they were open, and we were asked to place our order ahead of time (for a seating at 7pm) to give the chef time to prep. When we arrived, the door was locked and there was a note to call to be let in, which took a few minutes. In terms of the food, I was impressed by the quality and flavors of the dishes! The veggies were so flavorful, and the wonton chili oil was delicious. However, I was majorly disappointed by the rice - it was room temp when served and didn't taste fresh. They also charged us for the rice (which is really unusual for most chinese restaurants!). The service is expectedly slow - the dishes came out one at a time and the wife of the chef was the only one attending to the customers. There were only two other parties when we arrived and our meal still took 1.5hrs from start to finish. I'd would recommend dining in (and calling ahead to pre order) if you are in the mood for authentic Chinese food at a very leisurely pace. But next time I'd probably order take out and make my own rice at home!

Just want to update my review to reiterate that the food is excellent. I also am dismayed by some of the more entitled reviews about the place. Here's the thing: this is a very small operation. I believe it's just husband and wife. Food is made from scratch with love. It takes time. Also, culturally I believe the owners are very cautious of Covid. That situation should be respected. I find the owners very sweet. You have to treat others with respect and have patience, and respect cultural differences. Also, empathy. It is difficult to run a restaurant that makes everything fresh with limited staff--hence their preference to take reservations. I suppose Americans demand to be served and coddled without restrictions, so that has resulted in some negative reviews. This place is a gem. Very few spots like this serve authentic food with pride, in a very old school family run matter. Have some patience, some open mindedness, and you'll be rewarded with some excellent, authentic Chinese food.

So full. So happy. I've finally found a Chinese restaurant in the area that I adore. My friends and I got quite a few items - some off a special secret menu - and it's impossible to pick a favorite. We started with the Chengdu dumplings in red oil, scallion pancakes, and soup dumplings. Dare I say that the xiaolongbao were the best I've had in CT - perfect amount of soup, great meat flavor, and not scalding. Even the scallion pancakes were particularly good, I think because it was a bit thinner than others. TJs eggplant special with pork was delightful. I loved the textures and mix of the two main ingredients, and the sauce was sweet without being saturated. The three cup chicken also really nicely seasoned and moist. And lastly, the squirrel fish was excellent. Great crispness and gooey sweetness. I'd order everything again, but there were also so many other items I want to try. I can't wait to come back.