Chinese Takeout on Amsterdam Avenue With Generous Lo Mein

For Chinese takeout on Amsterdam Avenue, Grand Great Wall Restaurant Inc at 1588 Amsterdam Ave is the uptown counter that keeps the order simple: vegetable lo mein, boneless spare ribs with fries, chicken wings, and a total that stays in the cheapest price band the asset records. It is a takeout-first kitchen in Hamilton Heights rather than a dining room, and the whole point of it is a decent, quick meal for the money.

The useful decision is when to order, not what. The kitchen is often busy, so food can take longer than the phone call suggests, and calling ahead on a weekday evening is the difference between waiting in the doorway and walking in as the bag reaches the counter. Reviews describe a friendly handover on delivery and no complaints about portion size, which is why the lo mein and the wings stay the two safe orders.

Expect a plain, functional room with no atmosphere to speak of and a rating of 3.8 from 133 reviews, which is honest for a counter at this price. If you want a table and a slower meal, Ocean Chinese Restaurant and Oriental Chinese Restaurant are the two uptown alternatives worth comparing below.

Address: 1588 Amsterdam Ave, New York, in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 AM–10:30 PM · Friday 11 AM–11 PM · Saturday 11:30 AM–11 PM · Sunday noon–10:30 PM
Phone: (212) 283-7223
Rating: 3.8 out of 5 from 133 reviews
Price: the lowest band in the asset, listed simply as $
Delivery: the asset records meal delivery, and phone orders are handed over with a friendly manner
Watch for: the kitchen is often busy, so food can take a little longer than expected

Order inside the two plates the kitchen is known for. The vegetable lo mein is the dish the asset names first, and the boneless spare ribs with fries is the pair it puts beside the noodles; both are pitched as generous for the price rather than refined. Chicken wings round out the usual takeout order and belong to the same category of food: fast, salty, and built to travel a few blocks in a paper bag.

The price band is the reason to choose this counter over a sit-down room. The asset lists a single dollar sign, which puts it in the cheapest tier, and reviewers do not argue with the portion size. What they do flag is timing: the kitchen runs busy, so a phone order placed at peak dinner can sit longer than the estimate you were given. Ask how long it will be when you call, and treat anything under half an hour on a weeknight as normal rather than slow.

The schedule moves later as the week goes on. Monday through Thursday the kitchen runs 11 AM to 10:30 PM, Friday opens the same hour but stretches to 11 PM, Saturday starts at 11:30 AM and also closes at 11 PM, and Sunday is the outlier, opening at noon and closing at 10:30 PM. That Sunday noon start is the one time a late-morning plan will find the counter closed.

Dinner service is the pressure point. The asset says the kitchen is often busy, so the reliable play is to call before the rush, place the order, and arrive to a bag instead of a queue. Phone orders come with a friendly reception according to the asset, which makes calling the better channel than walking in cold. Late evening is the quieter end on weeknights; Friday and Saturday keep the extra half hour for exactly that reason. There is no published online ordering path in the asset, so (212) 283-7223 is the number to use.

Two uptown counters are worth knowing. Ocean Chinese Restaurant at 393 Malcolm X Blvd, about two kilometres east, is rated 3.4 from 52 reviews and is known for crispy, honey-dipped chicken wings; it also stays open to 11 PM on Friday and Saturday, the same as Grand Great Wall. Oriental Chinese Restaurant at 3774 Broadway, roughly three and a half kilometres north, is rated 3.5 from 82 reviews: a straightforward takeout counter for noodles and fried rice that runs to midnight on Friday and Saturday, the latest of the three.

Grand Great Wall carries the best rating of the trio at 3.8 from 133 reviews and the cheapest price band, which makes it the default when the order is lo mein, ribs and wings. Choose Ocean when wings are the whole point of the order, and Oriental when the night runs past 11 PM and you need the extra hour. None of the three is a dining room you would cross town for; the decision is proximity, price and closing time, in that order.

Where is the Chinese takeout on Amsterdam Avenue?
1588 Amsterdam Ave, New York, on the Hamilton Heights stretch of Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan.

What are the hours?
Monday to Thursday 11 AM to 10:30 PM, Friday 11 AM to 11 PM, Saturday 11:30 AM to 11 PM, Sunday noon to 10:30 PM.

What should I order?
Vegetable lo mein and boneless spare ribs with fries are the two plates the asset names, with chicken wings as the usual third.

Does it deliver?
The asset records meal delivery, and it notes that phone orders are handed over with a friendly manner.

How long will the food take?
The kitchen is often busy, so it can take a little longer than expected; ask for an estimate when you call (212) 283-7223.

Is it expensive?
No. The asset lists a single dollar sign, the cheapest price band, and reviewers do not complain about portion size.

How is it rated?
3.8 out of 5 from 133 reviews, the best of the three uptown counters compared here.

Can I eat in?
The room is plain and functional, the asset describes a takeout-first kitchen, and the counter is built for pickups rather than a slow dinner, so plan on carrying the bag out.

What is the cheapest order here?
The lo mein with an order of wings stays inside the single-dollar price band that the asset records for the whole menu.

Keep eating uptown. 4 Hamilton Heights Spots on Amsterdam Avenue runs a brick-lined Indian bar, a neighborhood pizza joint, a Chinese takeout standby and a Harlem Italian dining room along the same avenue, and Manhattan Chinese Takeout With Thick Dumplings and Big Portions is pickup-only with no seating. Chinese Takeout Classics Start with Sesame Chicken covers counter ordering with tables and delivery, New King Wok in Manhattan stays with Singaporean noodles and generous portions, and Manhattan Chinese Takeout With Vegetarian Favorites adds boneless spare ribs and late hours on Saint Nicholas Avenue. Every one of them is within two kilometres of this counter, so the fallback is a short walk away.