Great Szechuan in NYC’s Theatre District

We visit New York City a lot, usually to catch a Broadway play or two, or an exhibit at one of the city’s great museums. However much we love doing this, dining in the theatre district can be challenging. There are a lot of tourist traps – pricey places with truly awful food, a canteen or two (like Shake Shack or Pret a Manger), and of course a Starbucks on every corner. We sometimes hit Sardi’s – where old New York dines before the theatre. The food is adequate and not too expensive, but the whole restaurant is frozen in time in the 1970s. Its more about atmosphere than food. Recently, however, we found a really good Szechuan restaurant with a diverse menu only a few blocks walk southwest of Times Square.

Ollies Sichuan Restaurant (411 West 42nd, at 9th Avenue) is a great place to eat before or after the theatre. It boasts authentic cold dishes rarely seen outside of Chinatown, such as pig ear with cucumber, ox tongue with tripe spicy sauce, and an ultra-hot noodle dish called Tears in the Eye.

For our main dishes my daughter and I split a Lobstertail with Peppercorns which was laden with chili peppers like a Mala Chicken dish. It was fabulous, with the chili peppers mixing with the Szechuan peppercorns in a dark, savory sauce, but I recommend it for spice lovers, not for the faint of heart. My son had an order of dumplings followed by some Pan-Fried Noodles that he enjoyed, and my husband went in for the western-inspired Silk Road Chinese dish Cumin Lamb. Also on the table were some Prawns with Yibin Chili that was redolent with chilis as well as preserved mustard amongst the prawns and asparagus.

The food at Ollies is great, the prices are reasonable, and the service, while not particularly polite is extraordinarily efficient. The first of our dishes were on the table about 10 minutes after we ordered. Our waitress asked whether we were happy and kept the water and tea flowing, which was important given the spicing of the food. We also lingered for a while after dinner for tea and oranges, without feeling rushed, despite the line of people waiting to get in.

In short, I highly recommend Ollies for a good and quick dinner before or after theatre, or anytime you are in NYC. It has a great and authentic Szechuan menu that is well prepared, and lines of locals waiting for tables. (Words and photos by Laura Kelley.)