EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A new restaurant wants to bring authentic Chinese flavors, food and atmosphere to growing Northwest El Paso. China Town opened in September 2024 at 7451 Paseo del Norte. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m to 10 p.m. daily, with their lunch menu being served from 11 a. m. to 3 p.m. and cocktail hour from 9:30 p.m. to close. Once you walk into the doors of the restaurant, you are instantly transported to a 1970 Chinatown-themed alley, with a bodega-styled bar, street signs, wall art, and rooms each individually styled with signs to look like different businesses. China Town restaurant. Photos taken by Jocelyn Flores/KTSM "You're sitting within a business and you're gonna see your red lanterns, your string lights, your signage, the neon signs. It's supposed to be a little bit more of an immersive experience in comparison to our dining experiences," Samuel Escobedo, assistant manager of China Town, said. The little atmospheric details continue throughout the restaurant, with larger tables having turntables, 70s music playing softly and a window looking into the kitchen to see the chefs at work making your food. China Town restaurant. Photos taken by Jocelyn Flores/KTSM Escobedo said China Town is a partnership restaurant between the owner of Sunny's Sushi and the owner of The Grove. The "primary" owner of China Town is a born and raised El Pasoan, much like Escobedo himself. The cooking staff all originate from China and help elevate Chinese authenticity in their dishes. "At China Town, we aspire to bring, quite frankly, some of the most authentic Chinese food that you can find in El Paso. We cater to the classics that everyone knows, of course, because you can't have a Chinese restaurant without the classics. Your kung pao chickens, your orange chickens, your Mongolian beefs. But we also wanted to bring forth some of my owner's Chinese heritage. "We brought in dishes that are truly authentic to China. We aspire for a lot of authenticity," Escobedo said. On China Town's menu, they offer soups, noodles, dumplings, classic Chinese foods and even Peking duck, a delicacy not many El Paso restaurants offer. Xiao long baos and hot and sour soup from China Town. Photos taken by Jocelyn Flores/KTSM "We are one of the few restaurants that make a Peking duck. It takes an act of Congress to get one, but if you do, it is definitely worth it," Escobedo said. The staff also recommends first-time guests to try out the black pepper tenderloin, the xiao long baos (soup dumplings) that are made in house and the honey glazed orange chicken. The portions of the food come in family-style servings, meaning you can share them with other people in your group, but Escobedo jokes some dishes will make you want to eat them all by yourself. "We do family-style serving, but I always say, 'You will not share that dish (black pepper tenderloin).' You just won't. I have never seen a group of people successfully share some dishes," Escobedo said. Although China Town is a bit more elegant in its presentation and atmosphere, Escobedo says he wants patrons to feel at ease and enjoy themselves. "We wanted it (China Town) to be more Asian, a little more elegant, a little more white glove, if you will. We want to serve you your glass of water from the carafe, but we wanted to keep it a little more playful so you don't feel like you have to come in a suit and tie," Escobedo said. Outdoor art of Chinese mythological character Sun Wukong. Photo taken by Jocelyn Flores/KTSM In addition to its ambience and food, China Town also wants guests to come in for a drink or two. "You don't necessarily think, 'I'm going to go to the Chinese restaurant and have a couple cocktails.' We're really aiming to make it live. We still want to provide a fun experience, a little more unique interior and we do handcrafted cocktails. So it's really like our love letter to the individuals that like a drink," Escobedo said. Even though China Town hasn't hit its first anniversary, they are already making changes to its menu to add more authentic flavors. "We do want to cycle items. We don't want anyone to come and taste the same stuff every time. So, we offer a chef's special menu that also features an addition to our house cocktails. We want to keep continuously cycling, not only for our cooks to not get bored, but for our customers," Escobedo said. Some of the newer items they plan on introducing soon are their Singaporean street noodles and Cantonese-style lobster. Escobedo recommends that guests book a reservation by visiting China Town's website. To learn more about China Town or to keep up to date with the latest, you can visit China Town's Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. ...read more read less