Chef Lee's Element

Chef Lee's Element, located in Gaithersburg, MD, is garnering praise as a premier destination for Asian fusion cuisine. Customers rave about the diverse menu that transcends traditional Chinese offerings, making it a must-visit for food enthusiasts. Manisha Sabat highlights the scrumptious orange chicken and eggplant with basil, praising their unique takes on classic dishes. Similarly, Zihao Wang declares it "the best Chinese restaurant" he's encountered in the U.S., emphasizing the remarkable quality of the food compared to popular fast-food chains.

Claire Chen, a fan of authentic Sichuan cuisine, celebrates the use of genuine Sichuan pepper in dishes like 水煮肉片 and Mapo Tofu, delivering an experience reminiscent of the streets of Chengdu. Yet, she notes room for improvement in some dish textures. Eason Cai supports the overall high quality, though a biting experience with service during peak hours might dampen the mood for some diners. On the other hand, Billy Tu appreciates the wait, indicating that the delicious, filling portions make it worthwhile.

Chef Lee's Element is a riveting blend of flavors and cultures, making every dish a celebration. With fair prices and hearty servings, it’s clear that diners not only find satisfaction in the food but also enjoy the communal experience of dining together.

Accessibility
- Has wheelchair-accessible car park
- Has wheelchair-accessible entrance
- Has wheelchair-accessible seating
- Has wheelchair-accessible toilet
From the business
- Identifies as veteran-owned
- Identifies as women-owned
Service options
- Offers delivery
- On-site services available
- Offers takeaway
- Serves dine-in
Highlights
- Has fast service
- Has live music
Popular for
- Popular for lunch
- Popular for dinner
- Good for solo dining
Offerings
- Serves alcohol
- Serves beer
- Serves comfort food
- Serves happy-hour drinks
- Serves healthy options
- Serves small plates
- Serves vegetarian dishes
- Serves wine
Dining options
- Serves lunch
- Serves dinner
- Has catering
- Serves dessert
- Has seating
Amenities
- Has gender-neutral toilets
- Has toilet
- Has Wi-Fi
- Free Wi-Fi
Atmosphere
- Casual
- Quiet
Crowd
- Family friendly
- Good for groups
Planning
- Accepts reservations
Payments
- Accepts credit cards
- Accepts debit cards
- Accepts NFC mobile payments
- Credit cards
Children
- Good for kids
- High chairs available
Parking
- Free of charge street parking
- Free parking lot
- Plenty of parking

Manisha Sabat

Jul 1,2025

We tried this Chinese fusion place, and it is superb. All the food entries were good, so I definitely recommend this place. We ordered orange chicken, eggpant with basil, green beans, and whole fish, and they were all delicious. They do have different menus than regular Chinese food, so it was good to try these entries. I definitely recommend this place.

Claire Chen

Jun 14,2025

My go to place for authentic Sichuan cuisine. More authentic than Lao Sze Chuan. And this is may be the only Sichuan restaurant that uses the appropriate type of Sichuan Pepper/花椒 generously in cooking. This time I ordered 水煮肉片,松鼠鱼片,and Mapo Tofu. 水煮肉 is very good. If you get on the street of Chengdu, this is pretty much the taste you'll get. But the 芡勾的有点太厚 in my opinion, the soup has lost the original "water" like quality. 松鼠鱼片 is surprisingly not bad. The sweet and sour taste reminds me of 锅包肉. If you like 锅包肉 and would like to try a fish version of it. This is it! And, this is one of the few meat dishes that's not spicy....very kid friendly. Mapo Tofu.....how do I start. It's hot and tingling on your tongue. It tastes good but slightly 偏甜. And 芡 is too thick. I'm not digging it too much.

Zihao Wang

Jun 8,2025

Super excellent food; THE best Chinese restaurant I’ve ever visited in this country. Great price too. You get 100x better food compared to Panda Express with BASICALLY THE SAME PRICE. See my pictures it’s awesome.

Eason Cai

May 25,2025

An amazing authentic Chinese restaurant. Their food was really good and served fast. The boiled blood curd and the two fish dishes were my favorite. The duck soup was good but too salty. There was a lot of people waiting for tables and thankfully we reserved a table in advance. Because of traffic, we were late by 10 minutes, and a waiter called us 5 minutes after the reserved time, and she was so mean! She said that if we didn't get there right away, she would give away our table! Aside from the poor service, the price was fair. We bought 6 dishes for 7 people, but all the left overs was enough for a family. Overall great place and food! Highly recommend!

Billy Tu

Apr 19,2025

Ironically, even though I'm Chinese, I don't go to Chinese restaurants as frequently as one would expect. However, I'm happy I came here with my family because it was a good time. We had to wait for about 15-20 minutes to get a table, as it was a Saturday evening (12/30 actually). However, once we got seated, everything was super smooth. I really wish that I knew the English names for a lot of the dishes we ordered (I know their Chinese ones), but I've attached some pictures of everything we got below. Honestly, it was all great and the portions were also super filling.

Edward

Apr 13,2025

The service was distinguishably friendly and polite. I didn’t have to wait long to receive my food. When I did, I enjoyed every bit of it. I ordered from a tablet that was brought to the table. As someone who struggles with menu options, I liked that they had visuals to make it easier on me. Yes, I know, I’m a kid at heart.

Willie Morales

Apr 3,2025

The food was superb. The environment in the restaurant was clean and quiet. We had spicey wonton soup, kung pao chicken, chef fried rice, and combination fried rice. The food was very good with fully developed flavors that married sweet notes, heat, and smoke. The star of our meal was the spicey wonton soup. This dish had a robust complexity of flavors that started with an intoxicating aroma and finished with a taste and texture that was satisfying but not heavy. We highly recommend this restaurant.

Rushad

Mar 8,2025

Insanely tasty Sichuan food place. Don't be fooled by the 1 star reviews those people had a singular bad experience. This place is quite consistently amazing. All the food is unique and well prepared. The beef noodle soup is god tier. Also the cauliflower is unlike any other Chinese place in the area.

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