Liu Fu

We were seated right away when we arrived after 7 on Sat night. But we waited 1 hour 20 minutes till they brought our food while half of the restaurant was empty. And the server manually calculated our bill incorrectly — $ 12 extra because their computer was down. I gave it 2 stars because the food was good, but not worth over 1 hour waiting.

This is top level Chinese restaurant in metropolitan Atlanta area. Real Sichuan style foods. Food quality is wonderful. The foods cooked are much better than most other Asian restaurants in metropolitan area. The price is not expensive. Only issue I got recently is waiting time so long in weekend because so many customers in the house in the same time.

Poor service. My wife and I were sited in a very small table even though they were several bigger tables available. We should have left intermediately. The food was okay, but my wife food came 25 minutes before my food came. Terrible experience for an expensive Chinese food, I will not go back ever.

Terrible service. After we sat down at our table, we waited 15mins to get water. The worst part is that the table that came in after us had their orders taken and gotten their water before us! We asked the sever in two occasions if we could get water. They also separated our three orders of black bean noodles into 8 smaller bowls. We never asked them to do this. What really got to me was that while we waited 25mins (from when we sat down at our table), the party that came in after us were served before us. I felt it was because we were non-​Chinese and the other party was Chinese, along with the server. Felt a bit of a racism.

Great food! Servers are very nice. Best Chinese food in John creek. LiuFu Chicken is a must try.

This is where my family comes to eat a lot for convenience. I can’t complain, as the food is usually pretty good, but home cooked mommy made food is always better, eh?
I can see how sometimes the service is lacking, but to be honest, I have better service here at most Asian owned and run restaurants (exception is Korean BBQ… because they’re always hovering) so I have no complaints. My family comes here whenever there’s a relative or friends in town, and my folks are pretty particular about their Chinese food. Even my picky grandmother will eat here! Specifically, she’ll eat their friend buns until you forcibly remove the plate from her hands, but that’s beside the point.
I must try some of their other dishes. I’ve gotten so used to ordering the same things, mostly because they’re consistently good, that I’ve only tried a small portion of the menu.
Will definitely return. Dad has a work discount. No way to avoid coming back even if I wanted to avoid it (which I don’t).

There should be a few things said about the service of Liu Fu, but I’ll get to those last.
— we frequent here often. This is the one Chinese restaurant in Johns Creek with an elegant and sophisticated interior setting. Authentic Chinese restaurants have a reputation for being noisy, rowdy, and dirty at times. This is not the case with Liu Fu. The interior is warm and settling, with booths and tables as well as dim lighting. If you’re looking for decent authentic Chinese food in a quiet and intimate setting, you may consider this restaurant.
–next, the food. The food has its moments– sometimes it’s bland, other times it’s just the right amount of flavor. I think Chinese restaurants always tend to use the same sauce for many dishes. In this case, Liu Fu caters to that trait. It’s not a bad thing, the food is filling and is good. White rice is refillable and pairs well with most of the dishes. We usually get the Mongolian beef, walnut shrimp, pocket tofu, and Kung pao chicken – I believe these are all of their more popular choices. The food is not AMAZING, as stated. It’s decent, filling, but should not cost as much as it does.
–the food and ambiance meet standard expectations, but the service needs help. We have visited here on occasions where it was both packet and during its empty, weekday noon times. They are lacking in servers and waitresses. There is this one woman who, I believe may have a manager or owner role, but she waitresses and takes orders most of the time. Those who frequent Liu Fu may know who I’m referring to. Besides her, I’m pretty sure the staff in charge of cleaning are also serving dishes. This is not how it should go. Additionally, it takes FOREVER for your food to arrive. This has probably occurred for us ²⁴⁄₃₀ times we’ve been here. Food is so slow, even when there is NOBODY else in the restaurant. Oh, and another thing. One time we visited around 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon – probably not a busy period, but most definitely are they open at this time. That woman mentioned earlier who is always here rushed us to make our orders because it was the chef’s lunch break. Apparently you can’t eat here from 1:30 — 2:30 because no one would be here to make your food. Why are you still open at this time? Get a second chef! Shouldn’t be your customers problem– they just want to eat. This makes no sense and says a lot about how this place is run.
*Liu fu is well known to the Chinese community of johns creek and reviews will fluctuate due to others’ experiences. In a nutshell, food and ambiance is fine. Service needs HELP.

Liu Fu is a Chinese restaurant that has a decades old history in the Atlanta area. The restaurant originally opened in 1980. Most people know it as the old China Inn on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in Chamblee. In late 2011, the restaurant relocated and opened with the name Liu Fu. The Chinese name of the restaurant has always been Liu Fu. After moving to Johns Creek, the owner decided to drop the English name and use just the Chinese name, Liu Fu.
The restaurant is now located in its own big standalone building. The interior is spacious and elegant, almost upscale. The space is nicely decorated — lots of dark woods, traditional Chinese art and architecture, waterfalls, a bright fish tank with colorful fish, and stylish light fixtures. There’s a bar and several different areas of seating. This place works well for groups with plenty of round tables, some outfitted with convenient lazy Susans. The atmosphere is casual and at night, the ambiance is dimly lit and romantic.
Liu Fu serves authentic Shanghai, Szechuan, and other regional Chinese cuisines (e.g. Peking duck from Beijing). The owner is Chinese-​Korean, so there are some Chinese-​Korean dishes (such as jjajangmyeon) too. However, one problem is many of the items on the English menu are Americanized Chinese dishes that aren’t as good as the authentic items found on the Chinese menu. Unless you can read Chinese or know what to order ahead of time, you may be limited to what’s shown on the English menu. The «Liu Fu Special» section of the menu is a good place to start. The dinner menu is where the good stuff is at. Expect to spend about $ 7 – 8 per appetizer and $ 10 – 18 per entrée.
Appetizers I’ve enjoyed both here and at the old location are the marinated flounder and the wood ear fungus. Another good one is the soft tofu and celery app. All three of these dishes are served cold. The flounder is served in fillets. After marination, the fillets are brown in color. They are tasty and served with a bit of sesame seed and napa cabbage.
The fluffy wood ear fungus (a.k.a. cloud ear fungus) is served with sliced red and green bell pepper along with hot chili peppers. Therefore, this dish is spicy. Since it’s served cold, the fungus actually has a crisp bite to it. This same fungus is typically served in soups, where it becomes a lot more soft and mushy after boiling.
In the tofu and celery app, both the tofu and celery are julienned into similar sized pieces and placed atop a napa cabbage leaf. This dish is very light, healthy, and refreshing.
Entrees I recommend include:
Mandarin ribs
Pocket tofu
Szechuan hot boiled fish
Double-​cooked pork belly
Sweet and sour spare ribs
Mussels with black bean sauce
Pork with baby bamboo shoots and cloud ear fungus
Sauteed string beans with ground pork
Chinese broccoli
The Mandarin ribs are essentially Korean galbi or marinated short ribs. They are served on the bone in small pieces on a sizzling hot iron skillet. The oily meat glistens and is delicious. It’s cooked with white onion.
The pocket tofu is served in a shallow bowl. There are about 10 – 12 dumplings made with tofu and chicken served in a garlic sauce. This dish is light and mild. The dumplings are served with veggies such as bell pepper, bok choy, mushrooms, and baby bamboo shoots.
The Szechuan hot boiled fish is a spicy dish. It’s like a stew. It consists of flounder fillets in a chili oil broth with veggies such as cabbage and mushrooms. To add to the heat, they add copious amounts of dried red chili peppers on top. Intense.
The double-​cooked pork belly is great. It’s very hard to cook this dish the right way and the chef (s) at Liu Fu have done it right. In some parts of Asia, this dish is known as «pork with three levels,» the three levels being the skin, fat, and muscle. This dish is essentially thick slices of bacon cooked to a consistently soft finish throughout in a rich savory sauce.
The sweet and sour (pork) spare ribs is a Shanghai dish. It’s a bit spicy too. It’s hard to go wrong with this dish and I think even the pickiest of eaters would like it. The battered exteriors are crispy and the ribs are simply delicious.
New Zealand mussels are used in the mussels with black bean sauce dish. This dish is very flavorful and the portion size is generous. The mussels are plump and fresh.
The pork with baby bamboo shoots and cloud ear fungus is another light dish. The chopped pork is tender and the bamboo and fungus are soft, almost velvety.
Both the sauteed string beans and Chinese broccoli are good vegetables to order. If you want more flavor, order the string beans. The bits of ground pork served with are very flavorful and a fitting complement to the dish. Chinese broccoli is a dark leafy green vegetable with thick stems. It’s cooked with garlic and is relatively healthy.
Service is excellent.

This is usually the place my family goes to when we go out to eat on weekends since we live in Johns Creek and the quality of other Chinese restaurants like Café Q has gone down these years. Starting off with food, we pretty much get the same thing everytime (but I’m not complaining): pocket tofu, szechuan beef, a seafood soup, seafood clay pot, and this vegetable that’s like sauteed lettuce. ⁹⁄₁₀ times we go, service is amazing. There’s a Shanghainese waitress there who is so accommodating and sweet. She gives us their little fried buns at dinner for free every time we see her.
The only reason I docked a point was because I was there for service on New Year’s Eve and we got a pig’s blood hot pot but the blood wasn’t cooked all the way. I know they were really busy, so I’ll be nice and just take one point off.

My favorite dish–
Name: Double Layered Skin? @_@ (两张皮)
Cost: $ 19
Rating: 4.5÷5
Comments: you can’t see the wasabi, but man, you can feel the kick a really unique and fresh dish with all kinds of goodies – seafood, eggs, veggies, noodles, basically everything you need in a hearty meal. Really refreshing as well!

I came here today with my co-​workers since our boss was holding our company christmas party lunch here. Normally I’m suspicious of too nice and clean chinese restaurants located in mainly white populated areas but this place is decently authentic! Fast service and good authentic northern/​szechuan style food. Nice to know there is authentic chinese food in alpharetta/​johns creek area (since we are starting too house hunt) :).

Re-​rating is due. I’ve been back at least 3 – 4 times since the review and I’ve decided that the food is spotty. Sometimes it comes out very good but sometimes it’s just mediocre. However, the service just gets worst.
This last outing was the nail in the coffin. The mediocre food combined with absolutely no service did it. It was a really quiet night but somehow these non-​servers messed it up. How can you not get menus? How can you not get a server assigned to you? How can you not get any refills of tea/​water? Why do you have to get up and go find servers who are just congregating around the water hole chit chatting just to get the bill? Well, that was our service tonight; really pathetic.
No doubt, no more patronage from me.

Mixed review. Positives:
We had a party of four and ordered two of the house specials, schezwan boiled fish and the shrimp with candied nuts, sorry I do not recall the specific menu titles. The food was tasty and the portions generous. The fish was labeled as spicy and may be to some but well within acceptable tolerance of the general public, in my opinion. The others in my party had the shrimp and were very pleased with the flavors in that dish as well.
The restaraunt had a nice ambience.
Bright spot on service (opposed to below), one of the servers provided a can of Cokeout of their own private lunch, which goes above and beyond, in my opinionm
Detractors:
At the time we dined there was an issue with fountain drinks, to the point soda pop was unavailable. This was disappointing as there was no real non alcoholic alternatives other than water (see above for resolution).
Beyond that service was a mixed bag, at times, especially at the outset, our party felt ignore. It was difficult to get our servers attention despite a fairly light crowd.
There was also some confusion on our orders initially, but once we got rolling the meal and service settled into a decent cadence.
This was our first time at this restaurant and we will return to give it another «go as the food won the day.

Always got mixed reviews so decide to try it. First time i went there the experience was okay but this time was worst.. I ordered Liu Fu Tofu (Lunch Special) specifically said no Broccoli and was told it doesn’t come with Broccoli.
The food came with Broccoli before I could say anything she left rather ran away. They took my plate away and she was back in less than 5 mins. I knew it, all she did was remove my broccoli and bring it back. I was like whatever so started eating and guess what again broccoli. Two pieces or broccoli.
I spoke to the manager and he was asking me if I was allergic to broccoli.seriously.
If you or your kids have serious allergy to food items I would stay away from this place.
Service:
All service staff is grumpy
Dont interact
Don’t care
Have attitude
Food: is not very impressive at all.
The silk roll they give with food is mind blowing. ONLY GOOD THING there
Ambience: Clean and nice

Food was not very good and expensive Chinese for what it was. We knew we were in trouble when you walked in and there was one Chinese family eating there and the rest of the clientele were not Chinese.
What went wrong.
the tea was weak (mostly water), even after we requested a new pot. Ordered the half duck there was no breast meat no wing totally skimped on the duck. That was not a half duck at all. More lettuce on the plate than duck. They probably used the best parts of the duck in another dish somewhere else. Service was terrible — owner hostess boss lady completely ignored us and was sooo rude. She just dropped the menus on the table and skedaddled off while we were still talking to her. Also we thought we ordered something as an appetizer size but then when the bill came it was far more expensive than what was written on the menu. We didn’t ask cuz we just wanted to get out of there but I think they charged us for the entrée size which I didn’t notice on the menu initially don’t know if it was bait and switch pricing?
What went right — calamari and the walnut shrimp were good. Got oranges at the end of the meal.
I think you’re paying for the upscale Decour and the location food is not that great and service is terrible
Would rather have good authentic Chinese food at Green China Café — yes it lacks the elaborate décor of Pearl lian or this place but it’s good and you aren’t overpaying for Chinese food.
Would not recommend this place and would not be going back.

It’s difficult to pinpoint specific characteristics of Chinese food since the cuisine varies vastly depending on region. The north has a heavy use of black vinegar and flour. The south is a champion of rice dishes. Coastal cities love seafood. Inland provinces use land animals and a good amount of vegetation in their dishes. More humid areas such as Hunan and Sichuan see an emphasis on spices, and colder, drier areas such as Xinjiang use lamb and yak in their dishes. This place make me feel like visit all over China :) I went there with my friends and it was evening around 7.30, we where seated right away the waiter was nice the music was calm; definitely one of my top favorite restaurants, the décor here is incredible. The food doesn’t disappoint, the Phoenix & dragon was my favorite.

Long time user but first time poster!
Good: I went here based on a recommendation and must say that the food was delicious. Certainly some of the better Chinese restaurants that I’ve been to. We ordered the Velvet Fish and the Spicy Crispy Shrimp along with basil fried rice and the chicken hot and sour soup. I was not so thrilled with the look of the Velvet Fish, as it looked bland but the taste was on point! Mix in a little bit of hot sauce, and it was delicious. The Spicy Crispy Shrimp and the Hot and Sour soup were even better!
Bad: The service was a bit sub-​par. One of the managers came and joked with us while taking the order, but I felt that everything else was slow. Our dishes came out one-​by-​one, and the fried rice came out at the very end, which was not ideal since I like to mix in my other dishes with the friend rice.
Overall, I would certainly come back and would recommend this place to others with the caveat that the service may be a bit slow.

My colleague recommended this place and the dishes which he enjoyed. I tried the below.
Szechuan Hot Boiled fish: was great and quantity matched the price, all together it served me for 3 meals.
Spicy Crispy Chicken was really yumm, has a kick to it and the dry chilli tasted like south indian fried chilli. I would order this as an appetizer coz its dry and dosent go well with rice.
Ambience/​service were good and served great food even when we just entered during closing time.

[TL;DR] Decent Chinese fare. Pretty good jajangmyeon.
Everything was decent here. The shrimp fried rice packed pretty good flavor. The pork potstickers were as good as any I’ve had. No real highlights with the Mongolian beef but no detractors either. Little sweet rolls they brought out were UHHHMAZING. Turned to sugar the instant it hit your tongue.
Jajangmyeon was good. Plentiful too. Noodles were thick and sticky. The only real detractor about this place was the service. Off and on. Mostly off. The tea carafe got filled up with amazing efficacy. However, forgetting things like… oh I don’t know? Silverware?
My parents mentioned the taste of things aren’t consistent either. I don’t know that I’ll be going back, but that’s mostly because it’s not near me, and I cannot live on jajangmyeon alone without a premature death.
HOW TO READ MY REVIEWS:
1 Star — Not edible.
2 Stars — If I’m in the area, I’d pick something else.
3 Stars — I would stop by if I happen to be in the area.
4 Stars — I would pick this place out of other places nearby.
5 Stars — I would go out of my way to dine here.

What makes a restaurant experience memorable? Food? service? Perhaps. Then What makes it unforgettable?
Liu Fu is one of my two most favorite Szechwan restaurants (other is Lin’s) in Atlanta OTP. I have been going here for few years now, introduced to me by my partner and his mother. So needless to say, it holds special place in my heart.
I was told Liu fu has been in service for 30+ years now but they were originally on peachtree industrial blvd just right inside the perimeter. And moved to this current location in Johns Creek few years earlier.
The interior is quite elegant with tall ceiling and beautiful chandeliers. And also big enough to host larger parties as well. And that makes this place perfect for celebrations with families or friends. In fact, over the years I have introduced this place to many of friends and every time they went back raving about the food.
As for menu, they have menu in both Mandarin and English. My partner told me that both menu shares a lot of dishes in common but Mandarin menu has more traditional items. So it would indeed be beneficial to take someone who can read mandarin. But if you don’t, I recommend trying items from ‘Liu Fu Special’ part of the menu, instead of ordering just General Tso’s chicken. Seriously, why order these items you can get anywhere else when there are so many better items to order?
Some of my favorites here are,
1) Szechwan Hot boiled fish
2) Pocket Tofu
3) Spicy crispy Chicken
4) Pork with chives
5) Snow pea leaves
6) Chinese broccoli
7) Szechwan Ma Po Tofu
Szechwan hot boiled fish is their signature dish. It’s basically Fish filets (usually Basa but any flaky fish will do — here they use flounder or Orange Roughy based on availability) and vegetables in hot red pepper broth. Probably the best szechwan hot boiled fish I have tasted at any restaurant. Also note that, this is not tongue numbing boiled fish you get at restaurants like Gu’s Bistro. MUST TRY.
Pocket Tofu is another dish we order every single time here. It’s a dumplings made with minced chicken and tofu cooked with fresh veggies in a light garlic sauce. This is not spicy item but very tasty and flavorful. If you aren’t into spicy food, I highly recommend this. MUST TRY.
Spicy crispy chicken — fried chicken, stir fried with different peppers and celery. Just when they bring this item you can smell red hot pepper and tell this is one spicy dish, yet delicious.
Pork & chives — we only tried this dish first time when we went here last time. And it immediately became our new favorite. Thin strips of pork stir fried with some sauce and again stir fried with chives. Simple but extremely delicious. And they will make this with just about anything, instead of pork — tofu, chicken or beef.
Sauteed Snow pea leaves brings nice balance to all other dishes with it’s simplicity — snow pea leaves simply sauteed with oil, garlic and salt. But snow pea leaves are not always in season and fortunately they will tell you that. At that time we usually order Chinese broccoli.
Ma po tofu is a popular szechwan style dish (roughly translates to pockmarked grandma’s beancurd — not so appetizing, is it?). It’s usually cooked with tofu, bean paste, fermented black beans, szechwan peppercorns, chili flakes, chili oil, garlic, green onions, pork (sometime beef). Again, if you have a taste for spice this is another dish you may want to try. Make no mistake, this is not a toned down version so it will be spicy as it should be.
In contrary to other reviews, service has been very good here and my experience with the head waitress has been very good too. She remembers our favorites from previous visits, suggests some new items and always very direct.
Also, this place is better enjoyed with group of people than just two — it’s a family styled restaurant, so the portion size is generally big. And you get to enjoy more dishes family style. And based on my past visits, we spend about $ 20 per person including tips.
They also have lunch menu from 11 am to 3 pm.
5 stars.