If you put your name on the yelp page waiting list it gives you a time to show up that is pretty close to sit time on a weekday at least.
I heard it is not as accurate on a weekend night.__
I would guess Tuesday is not that big a deal.
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Shouldn’t be too bad on a Tuesday night. There was no wait for a table around 7pm last Monday.
Had another amazing meal yesterday for lunch. Fried chili chicken and Kung Pao chicken were as good as before. Also tried their toothpick mutton for the first time and loved it too.
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WTF??? I had no idea such a thing existed… This may be a game changer for me…
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Thanks, you two. Ended up not needing the Yelp Waitlist function. There was no wait at any point in the evening. It wasn’t empty, but it never got terribly busy either.
I’m not a great reporter, plus reports on Sichuan Impression abound, so I won’t say much here except the food was very good.
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Au contraire, mon frère… You just gave us some great “boots on the ground” intel on the Tuesday wait time at this establishment!
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They now deliver! Just posted on Instagram! Postmates, Cavier and Doordash. Happy, happy news for those of us on the westside! Bestside 
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Great advice. This really kicked up the spice in a good way. More hot than numbing though.
Anyone tried the rabbit yet? The table next to me got it and it looked good.
Btw, no takeout on weekends for the time being 
No wait at noon on a Sunday though.
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ya its not numbing…maybe next time we should ask for extra hot with Ma la ? 
You are welcome.
Glad it worked out so well!
From our December 2018 dinner (4th time at the Westwood location):
Back for a 2nd Dinner at Sichuan Impression 錦城里 in Westwood/West Los Angeles, December 2018
Posted by LAFOODIEPANDA on JANUARY 15, 2019
Back for a 2nd Dinner at Sichuan Impression 錦城里 in Westwood/West Los Angeles, December 2018
After an initial dinner at Sichuan Impression during their grand opening, friends wanted to go back to celebrate a December birthday with a feast. So, of course, we ordered an array of dishes for a party of 8.
This time around, the dishes were, for the most part, well prepared. Spice level is not as high as those served at the Alhambra location, and I felt that it should offer a bigger kick.
Feel free to reference my October 2018 post on Sichuan Impression for pictures of the menu: https://lafoodiepanda.com/2018/10/05/dinner-at-sichuan-impression-锦城里-in-westwood-west-los-angeles/#jp-carousel-3334
Steamed Pork with Rice Flour
Impressive Bean Jelly
Tea Smoked Pork Rib, sliced tableside
Stir Fried Mustard Greens with Garlic
Stir Fried “A” Choy with Garlic
Mao Cai
Boiled Fish with Rattan Pepper
Stir Fried Chili Pork Trotters
Original Kung Pao Chicken
Impressive Dumplings (wish they would sauce them a bit more)
“Xi-Zhi” Wok-Fried Crab
Toothpick Mutton
Impressive Cold Noodles (requested by others; it’s my least favorite dish here)
Griddle Cooked Shrimp (with head and shell on)
“Big-Mouth” Ginger Frog of Zigong
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Got food delivered from here. Got tofu with intestine. It was excellent, meltingly tender intestine, nice kick to sauce. I said very hot but it was more like mild/medium. The only thing was that it had more tofu than intestine, and I would have preferred the other way around.
Got the twice fried street potatoes, which were like french fries with chile. Good.
Got the lamb with cumin, which is husbands favorite dish. He liked it, but I think he felt that he prefers the versions at Guyi or even HopWoo. That said, there were no leftovers of that dish.
I got the duck tongue dish, which only I ate because it turns out duck tongues have bones. I was expecting something more like lamb tongues, which I love. It was a bit much to spit out a bone with each little tongue, even for me.
We got the stir fried pork trotters. They were chewy, and I was expecting more meltingly tender. They were good, though. But I was the only one to eat them.
We got the cold beef with tendon and tripe. I was hoping it would be like the dish at Fey in Menlo Park but it was a dry chile rub on it, as advertised. I also wish it only had tripe and tendon, which I searched out. Husband really enjoyed this dish, also. I ordered it medium and it came hot. I’m not sure how accurate the mild/medium/spicy selections are based on this experience, but luckily, we can tolerate high heat levels.
I’m looking forwarded to trying more dishes!
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Is blasphemy to say that I thought it was merely alright? We had the impressive sausages (which were tasty but would’ve been more impressive had they been less chalky and dry), mama’s noodle stew (or something like that), and the boiled fish in chili sauce.
We enjoyed the food, but I didn’t get the same delighted feeling I had from the food at Best Noodle House (v.1). The flavors weren’t as vibrant and the prep didn’t seem as precise. I’m happy to go back, but I’m not in a rush to return. Dining partner commented that he was surprised the food wasn’t more refined.
I think it was @skramzlife who said that he prefers Northern Cafe in terms of QPR, and I kinda/sorta have to agree. I just feel more satisfied w/ the food at Northern Cafe , although I only have the one trip to Sichuan Impression.
BTW, many thanks to @CiaoBob for mentioning the Yelp waitlist! Fantastic!
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Opinions vary on SI, but I think it may have been a self fulfilling prophecy with what you ordered.
What do you recommend (if you’ve mentioned it above, just reference and I will check).
My favorite dish last night was Mama’s noodle stew. I had been thinking of getting the toothpick mutton and the mapo tofu (and will certainly get one of them the next time). Table next to me didn’t seem particularly happy w/ their tea ribs.
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The Kung pao chicken is drive-worthy, to me.
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Sichuan impression isn’t at chengdu taste level but I think it’s pretty damn good for west of downtown.
Try the mapo tofu, tea smoked ribs (I’ve had these really good but also really dry), saliva chicken, toothpick lamb, and the Kung pao (I had this good in Tustin but just ok in Westwood)
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According to the owners of SI, they said their Tustin location is the best of the 3 locations. 4th location in City of Industry will be the next to open.
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Was it because of chef or is there another reason?
It’s usually the chef/kitchen staff.
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Yes, absolutely. We’re lucky that the level of Chinese food in West LA has risen to the point where I feel like I can be a little critical, even when the food is quite good in many ways. 
Part of the issue w/ my first visit is that it was just the 2 of us, which makes it hard to sample a huge variety of dishes.
But, if and when I’m next in the SGV, I might like to try Chengdu, as well. 
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