Sesame Chicken Near Me: 9 Real Restaurants, How to Judge It, and a Home Recipe

Sesame Chicken Near Me: 9 Real Restaurants, How to Judge It, and a Home Recipe

Sesame chicken is one of the most ordered dishes at American Chinese takeout counters. It is crisp fried chicken in a sweet, sticky, soy-based sauce with sesame seeds on top. Almost every Chinese menu in the country lists it. That is the problem. When nearly every place sells it, how do you find the one that makes it well? If you typed “sesame chicken near me” into a search bar, this guide gives you named places to try and a simple way to sort the good from the soggy.

A note on method: we did not visit or taste at these restaurants. Each pick below appears on a menu page, an ordering page, or a published review that names the dish, checked in early October 2026. Menus, prices, hours, and even addresses change, so check the current menu and call before you go.

What Is Sesame Chicken?

Sesame chicken is an American Chinese dish. You will find it at Chinese restaurants across the United States and Canada. It is not a traditional dish from China. It grew up in takeout kitchens here.

The basic method is simple. The cook cuts boneless chicken into bite-size pieces. Thigh meat is the usual choice, though many places offer white meat for a little more money. The pieces get a light batter and a deep fry. Then the cook tosses them in a hot wok with a semi-thick, reddish-brown sauce. Sesame seeds go on last. Some kitchens toast the seeds first. Many serve the dish with steamed broccoli and white rice.

The sauce is the heart of it. Most versions use soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, a little rice wine, chicken broth, and cornstarch to thicken it. The result is sweet first, then salty and a little tangy. It is not spicy. That is the main thing that sets it apart from General Tso’s chicken, which looks almost the same on the plate but carries dried chilies and heat.

You may see other names on menus:

• Sesame chicken (white meat)
• Honey sesame chicken
• Crispy sesame chicken
• Sesame chicken with broccoli
• Zhima ji, the Mandarin name, written as 芝麻鸡 on some menus

Sesame Chicken vs General Tso’s vs Orange Chicken

These three dishes share a fryer, a wok, and often a sauce base. Menus place them side by side, and photos can look nearly the same. Here is how to tell them apart.

If you cannot decide, ask the restaurant which one its cooks are proudest of. Some kitchens make one of the three far better than the others.

Quick Comparison of the Picks

No list can settle where to get sesame chicken near me for every reader, since the answer depends on where you live. This table covers nine restaurants in seven metro areas where the dish appears on a menu or in a review we could read.

The order is not a taste ranking. It runs roughly from west to east.

The 9 Picks

These are real places, not paid placements. If your sesame chicken near me search brought you here from one of these cities, start with the matching pick.

1. House of Nanking, San Francisco, CA: Best Twist on the Classic

House of Nanking sits at 919 Kearny Street, on the edge of Chinatown. It has drawn lines onto the sidewalk for years. In March 2025, Axios San Francisco named its crispy sesame chicken the best thing one writer ate that week. The writer described a tangy sauce served with glazed sweet potatoes and lightly sauteed chayote.

• What to order: Sesame chicken, which Axios listed at $17
• Good to know: Axios listed hours of 11am to 9pm daily. Go off-peak to skip the line.
• Best for: Anyone who wants a version that is a little different from the standard takeout box.

2. Genghis Cohen, Los Angeles, CA: Best New York Style Version

Genghis Cohen opened in 1983 and serves New York style Chinese American food. In 2025 it left its longtime home at 740 N. Fairfax Avenue and moved a few blocks south to 448 N. Fairfax Avenue. A third-party menu listing at the new address shows Sesame Chicken under chicken entrees. The Infatuation updated its review in March 2026 and said the menu carried over largely unchanged.

• What to order: Sesame chicken, with New York style egg rolls to start
• Good to know: The move is recent, so confirm the address and menu before you go.
• Best for: East Coast transplants who miss old-school Chinese American food.

3. Peter’s Chinese Cafe, Denver, CO: Best Takeout Version

Peter’s has served the Congress Park neighborhood at 2609 East 12th Avenue since 1985. It is mostly a takeout operation. Westword called its sesame chicken the best in Denver and said it stays crunchy instead of gloppy. A former cook told the paper the secret is double-fried chicken and a sauce that caramelizes in the wok. In December 2025, 303 Magazine said Peter’s is “famous for its sesame chicken.”

• What to order: Sesame chicken, with the scallion pancake
• Good to know: Westword listed hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
• Best for: A crisp version that holds up in a takeout box.

4. Chinatown Bistro, Denver, CO: Second Denver Option

Chinatown Bistro is at 1789 Ogden Street. 303 Magazine included it in a December 2025 guide to Chinese food in Denver and said it serves classic dishes like sesame chicken and Mongolian beef. We could not find a full menu from the restaurant itself, so call first.

• What to order: Sesame chicken, with Mongolian beef for the table
• Good to know: It is a short drive from Peter’s, so you can compare the two.
• Best for: Denver readers who want a second opinion.

5. Royal China, Dallas, TX: Best Choice of White or Dark Meat

Royal China has been a family restaurant in the Preston Royal shopping center since 1974. It is at 6025 Royal Lane, Suite 201. The Gayot review says its sesame chicken is “light, crispy and flavorful,” unlike the sticky-sweet versions at many delivery spots. The restaurant’s own online ordering menu lists sesame chicken with dark meat or crispy white meat chicken breast, in a sweet, tangy sauce with roasted sesame seeds.

• What to order: Sesame chicken, white meat
• Good to know: The menu calls its spicy version General Kao’s chicken, not General Tso’s.
• Best for: Diners who want to pick their cut of chicken.

6. Chinatown, Austin, TX: Best in Central Texas

Chinatown has two Austin locations: Westlake at 2712 Bee Caves Road and North at 3407 Greystone Drive. The restaurant’s own site gives sesame chicken its own page. It describes chicken that is lightly battered and fried, tossed in sesame sauce, and topped with sesame seeds and green onions. It also lists a featured Westlake Sesame Chicken.

• What to order: Sesame chicken
• Good to know: Ask whether the Westlake version differs from the standard one.
• Best for: Austin readers on either side of town.

7. Lao Sze Chuan, Chicago, IL: Best Bet in Chicago’s Chinatown

Lao Sze Chuan is a well-known Sichuan restaurant at 2172 S. Archer Avenue in Chinatown. Sichuan food is its focus, but its online ordering menu also lists sesame chicken. The large-portion version is described as crispy chicken in a sweet sesame sauce, garnished with sesame seeds and served with broccoli.

• What to order: Sesame chicken, plus one Sichuan dish to compare
• Good to know: If you want heat, the rest of the menu delivers it.
• Best for: Groups where some people want spice and some do not.

8. Sesame Gourmet, McMurray, PA: Best Near Pittsburgh

Sesame Gourmet is at 2975 Washington Road in McMurray, south of Pittsburgh. Its own online ordering page lists sesame chicken at lunch and dinner. The menu describes marinated chicken fried until crispy and tossed in a spicy sesame sauce. The dinner version comes garnished with fried bean noodles.

• What to order: Sesame chicken, dinner portion
• Good to know: This version is listed as spicy, which is unusual. Ask for mild if you prefer.
• Best for: People who want a little kick in their sesame chicken.

9. Tsingtao Chinese Restaurant, Rochester, NY: Best in Western New York

Tsingtao is at 2831 W. Henrietta Road. On its Uber Eats store page, customers single out the sesame chicken. One calls it “Best sesame chicken ever,” and another praises the fry and the sauce. We could not load the full menu, so call to confirm it is available.

• What to order: Sesame chicken
• Good to know: Delivery reviews are the main source here, so check the latest ones.
• Best for: Upstate New York readers who want a delivery pick.

Cities We Could Not Confirm

We looked for picks in New York City, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. We could not confirm a current menu listing or recent review that we trusted for each. That does not mean good sesame chicken is missing there. These cities have deep Chinese restaurant scenes. Use the search steps below and call ahead.

Chain Restaurants That Serve Sesame Chicken

National chains are easy to find and consistent from town to town. Here is what their own websites showed in early October 2026.

Panda Express

Panda Express lists Honey Sesame Chicken Breast with its chicken breast entrees. The nutrition page does not mark it as regional or limited time. It does say that entree choices vary by location and that some items may not be at every store. Check your local store’s menu before you drive over.

P.F. Chang’s

P.F. Chang’s lists Sesame Chicken as a main entree. Its site describes lightly breaded chicken with broccoli, bell peppers, and onions in a sweet and savory sesame sauce. A lunch special version comes with a starter and rice. The chain also offers Korean Sesame Chicken under house specials, with green beans and pickled cucumber. The site lists that one as dine-in only.

Pick Up Stix

Pick Up Stix, a West Coast chain, does not list sesame chicken on its current menu. Its chicken entrees include Orange Chicken, Crispy Honey Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken. The site notes that it wok cooks with trans fat free oil. If you want something close to sesame chicken there, Crispy Honey Chicken is the nearest match by name.

How to Find Sesame Chicken Near Me

A search app will show you dozens of Chinese restaurants. The trick is narrowing them down. These steps help.

Use the Right Search Terms

Start with the dish name and your neighborhood. Then try related terms. Some menus file the dish under house specials or chef’s specials, not chicken.

Know Which Places Tend to Do It Well

• Long-running neighborhood takeout spots. These places have made the dish thousands of times. Peter’s in Denver is a good example.
• Family-run sit-down Chinese American restaurants. They often offer white meat versions and cook to order.
• Regional Chinese restaurants with a takeout section. Sichuan or Cantonese places sometimes keep American classics on the menu, like Lao Sze Chuan in Chicago.
• Chains. Panda Express and P.F. Chang’s are steady and easy to find.
• Buffets. These are hit or miss. Sesame chicken softens fast under a heat lamp.

Read Reviews and Photos the Smart Way

Star ratings for the whole restaurant tell you little about one dish. Search the reviews for the word “sesame.” Look for comments about crunch, sauce, and freshness. Check recent photos. Good sesame chicken looks glossy, with distinct pieces and visible seeds. Bad sesame chicken looks like one sticky clump.

Call Ahead

A short call can save a wasted trip. Ask three things:

1. Do you make sesame chicken with white meat, dark meat, or both?
2. Is it spicy or mild?
3. Do you fry the chicken to order?

Try Other Chicken Dishes

If you love chicken in a rich sauce, you may enjoy dishes from other parts of the world too. Peru’s creamy chicken stew is worth a look in our guide to the Best Aji de Gallina Near Me. For a bright, herby chicken and rice soup, see the Best Aguadito de Pollo Near Me. And if garlic and parsley are more your style, read our guide to the Best Pollo a la Provenzal Near Me.

How to Judge Good Sesame Chicken

Star ratings will not tell you which result for sesame chicken near me is worth the drive. Your eyes and teeth will. Check these points.

• The coating is crisp. It should crunch when you bite, even under the sauce. A soft, doughy coating means the chicken was fried too early or fried once at too low a heat.
• The coating is thin. You should taste chicken, not just batter. A thick shell hides dry meat.
• The chicken is juicy. Thigh meat stays moist. White meat should not be stringy.
• The sauce coats, not floods. Each piece should be glazed. A pool of sauce at the bottom means too much cornstarch slurry or too long in the box.
• The sweetness is balanced. It should taste sweet first, then salty and a little sour. Candy-sweet with nothing else is a weak version.
• The seeds are toasted. Toasted sesame seeds smell nutty. Raw ones taste flat.
• It comes out fast and hot. The final chicken wok toss should take only seconds. The longer the chicken sits in sauce, the softer it gets.

One tip: crunch fades on the ride home. Steam in a closed box softens the coating within minutes. Crack the lid during the drive, or eat at the restaurant when you can.

What to Order With It

Once you find a spot for sesame chicken near me that you trust, build the rest of the order around it. The dish is rich and sweet, so pair it with something plain or fresh.

• Steamed white rice. It soaks up the sauce. Brown rice works too.
• Steamed broccoli or mixed vegetables. They cut the sweetness.
• Hot and sour soup or egg drop soup. A brothy starter balances the meal.
• Egg rolls or scallion pancakes. These are classic sides for sharing.
• A second entree with heat. Try one of the other chicken wok dishes, like kung pao chicken or General Tso’s, so the table gets both sweet and spicy.
• Something green and crisp. Sauteed green beans or bok choy add crunch.

For one person, a single dinner portion with rice is usually a full meal. For a group, order one sesame chicken for every two or three people, plus other dishes.

What Sesame Chicken Costs

Prices vary by city, portion size, and whether you choose white meat. Here are prices we could confirm from menus and reviews read in 2025 and 2026. They may have changed since.

Lunch specials are often the cheapest way to try a new place. Several restaurants on this list include soup, a spring roll, or rice with the lunch portion.

How to Make Sesame Chicken at Home

If no place near you gets it right, you can make it at home in about 40 minutes. A wok is best, but a large, deep skillet also works.

Ingredients

For 4 servings:

Chicken and batter

• 1 and a half pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Half a cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Neutral oil for frying, such as canola or peanut oil

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon ketchup or hoisin sauce
• Half a cup chicken broth or water
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

To finish

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
• 2 green onions, sliced
• Steamed rice and broccoli for serving

The Chicken Wok Method

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry wok over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until golden. Tip them onto a plate.
2. In a bowl, mix the chicken with the egg and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the cornstarch and flour in a second bowl. Toss the chicken in it until each piece is coated. Shake off the extra.
4. Heat about 2 inches of oil in the wok to 350 degrees F.
5. Fry the chicken in small batches for 4 to 5 minutes, until light golden and cooked through. Drain on a rack.
6. For extra crunch, raise the oil to 375 degrees F and fry everything again for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain again.
7. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds.
8. Add the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, ketchup, and broth. Bring to a simmer.
9. Stir the cornstarch slurry, then pour it in. Stir for about 1 minute, until the sauce turns thick and glossy.
10. Turn off the heat. Stir in the sesame oil. Add the chicken and toss fast to coat.
11. Top with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve at once with rice and broccoli.

Air Fryer Option

Coat the chicken the same way. Spray the pieces with oil. Air fry at 400 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking the basket halfway, until crisp and cooked through. Times differ by machine. Make the sauce on the stove and toss just before serving. The coating will be lighter and less crunchy than deep-fried, but you use far less oil.

Tips That Help

• Use thighs. They stay juicy through two rounds of frying.
• Do not crowd the oil. Too many pieces drop the temperature and make the coating greasy.
• Make the sauce before the final fry, so the chicken goes straight from oil to sauce.
• Toss, do not simmer. Cooking chicken wok-style means high heat and a fast finish.
• Want it like the takeout version? Add more honey. Want it more balanced? Add a splash more vinegar.

Storage and Reheating

Sesame chicken is best right away. If you have leftovers, a few steps keep them tasty.

• Refrigerate promptly. Move leftovers into a shallow, airtight container soon after the meal and eat them within a few days. Follow USDA guidance on leftovers for exact limits.
• Store sauce apart when you can. At home, keep extra sauce in its own container. The chicken stays crisper.
• Reheat dry heat first. Use an oven or air fryer at about 375 degrees F for a few minutes, until hot and crisp. Warm extra sauce in a pan, then toss.
• Use a wok or skillet in a pinch. Heat a little oil, add the chicken, and stir until hot.
• Avoid the microwave if you can. It makes the coating soft and chewy. If you must use it, heat in short bursts and eat it right away.
• Freezing is possible but not ideal. The coating loses its crunch. Freeze plain fried chicken, then reheat in the oven and add fresh sauce.

Dietary Notes

• Gluten. Most versions contain gluten. Soy sauce is usually made with wheat, and many batters use flour. Some restaurants make gluten-free versions. Ask, and ask about shared fryers.
• Sugar. This is one of the sweeter dishes on a Chinese menu. Ask for light sauce or sauce on the side.
• Allergens. Sesame is a major allergen. Many batters use egg. Some sauces include peanut oil or hoisin. Tell staff about any allergy.
• Vegetarian. Some places offer sesame tofu. Check that the sauce does not use chicken broth.
• Calories. It is fried and sweet. Share it as one dish among several, or make the air fryer version at home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is sesame chicken? It is an American Chinese dish of battered, fried chicken pieces tossed in a sweet, sticky soy-based sauce and topped with sesame seeds.

Is sesame chicken spicy? Usually not. It is sweet and savory. A few places, like Sesame Gourmet in Pennsylvania, make a spicy version, so check the menu.

What is the difference between sesame chicken and General Tso’s chicken? They look alike, but General Tso’s has dried chilies and real heat. Sesame chicken is sweet and mild.

Is sesame chicken white meat or dark meat? Most restaurants use dark thigh meat. Many offer white meat for a few dollars more.

How do I find good sesame chicken near me? Search the dish name in a maps app and a delivery app, read reviews that mention it, look at recent photos, and call to ask how it is made.

Does Panda Express have sesame chicken? Yes. Its site lists Honey Sesame Chicken Breast, though entree choices vary by location.

Does P.F. Chang’s have sesame chicken? Yes. It lists Sesame Chicken as a main entree, along with a lunch special version and a Korean Sesame Chicken.

Is sesame chicken gluten free? Usually not, since soy sauce and batter often contain wheat. Ask the restaurant.

How do I keep takeout sesame chicken crispy? Crack the lid on the way home, eat it soon, and reheat leftovers in an oven or air fryer.

Can I make it without a deep fryer? Yes. Shallow-fry in a wok or skillet, or use an air fryer.

Final Thoughts

Sesame chicken is everywhere, which makes the good versions easy to miss. Start with the nine places in this guide if you live near one. House of Nanking and Genghis Cohen cover California. Peter’s and Chinatown Bistro cover Denver. Royal China and Chinatown cover Texas, and Lao Sze Chuan, Sesame Gourmet, and Tsingtao cover Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Rochester.

Everywhere else, the sesame chicken near me search works best when you read dish-specific reviews, look at photos, and call ahead. Judge each plate by its crunch, its sauce, and its balance of sweet and salty. If nothing nearby measures up, a wok, some chicken thighs, and a jar of sesame seeds will get you there at home.

Key Takeaways

• The best sesame chicken near me search combines a maps or delivery app search with dish-specific reviews, recent photos, and a quick call.
• Sesame chicken is battered, fried chicken in a sweet, sticky soy-based sauce with sesame seeds, and it is usually not spicy.
• Nine restaurants in this guide list or are praised for the dish, from House of Nanking in San Francisco to Tsingtao in Rochester.
• General Tso’s chicken adds dried chilies and heat, and orange chicken adds citrus, while sesame chicken stays sweet and mild.
• Panda Express and P.F. Chang’s list sesame chicken on their sites, but Pick Up Stix does not.
• A good plate has a thin, crisp coating, juicy chicken, a glaze that coats without pooling, and toasted seeds.
• At home, fry thigh meat twice, toss it fast in a hot wok, and reheat leftovers in an oven or air fryer, not a microwave.