Sumiao Hunan Kitchen

We were excited to try this newly minted Michelin Bib Gourmand Chinese restaurant in Cambridge. The service was nice, space clean, and vibe was chill. We love their fish in foil, duck egg yolk coated shrimp, and beef on fire. Their tieguanyin tea was whole tea leaves so it helped cleanse the palette between bites very well. Highly recommend this place!

TL;DR: If you're here because of the Dine Out Boston, ASK FOR THE MENU! No one would mention it or give this menu out. Although the food was really good, we left this place feeling cheated. Long version: When we saw that this place participated in the Dine Out Boston, we were very excited because their tasting menu looked very good! We arrived a bit before our reservation, and the staff was very nice. Once seated, we only got their regular menus and were very confused. When we asked the waitress about the Dine Out Boston menu, she looked a bit upset and brought us a separate menu card. We looked around, and no other table had this Dine Out menu either. No one mentioned anything about the Dine Out Boston menu at any table as well. Not even a sign. It was as if they were trying to hide it.

The food is good, but I’m not sure it rises to a “special” level because it tastes similar to the solid, average dishes you can find at any Sichuan or Hunan kivhens. We were not raving about the food. Still, it’s enjoyable, and the portions are generous. Prices aren’t cheap cheap (all above $20), but they are reasonable. The service was slow for us but I am not sure if that was the case on every table. It gets quite crowded, so I recommend making a reservation. Overall a good place, spicy flavors! A good place to try and you haven't missed anything if you did not.

The cucumber appetizer was great but getting the regular spice level for spicy made the dish sweet. I wish I listened and got the authentic spice level. But the fish and rice we got was great. The service was great too.

Great ambiance and service, but PSA to other ethnic folks: there are more authentic spots in Boston. When they warn you how spicy the food is here, it is white people spicy. (Edit: if you look through other reviews, you’ll see I’m not the only one saying this so it doesn’t seem to be a personal palette issue.) Everything came out hot and freshly made, but items were blander than I expected and also could’ve used more seasoning beyond spice (except the wings - those were spot on). In hindsight, I should’ve been able to tell by the other clientele in the restaurant and the fact that a tea pot for 2 people is $16.