Chef Chow's Closed, Hot Pot To Open In Brookline

BROOKLINE, MA — Chef Chow’s House, known for its white tablecloths and Americanized Chinese food, closed quietly recently after more than three decades on Harvard Street near Coolidge Corner. In its place a new Chinese hot pot restaurant plans to open in early fall.

Late last month, the owner of LaMei Hot Pot applied to put new signage over the business at 230 Harvard Street, where Chef Chow was since the early 1980s.

In recent years, Chef Chow's Yelp ratings had dropped though people giving reviews on Google seemed more kind. For many, there is nostalgia attached to the place. One person noted they used to be regulars at the restaurant 30 years ago, until they moved away, but were back in recent months and introducing their son, who lives locally, to it.

"I'm going to miss Chef Chow's" said Select Board Chairperson Bernard Greene at an April Select Board meeting when the new owner applied for a transfer of the license. "But this looks good."

The restaurant is the third in a family of restaurants. The owners of LeMei opened its first restaurant in New Hampshire and then a second in 2016 in Providence. The name translates to something like "hot girl," according to Providence Journal article then.

This is the second hot pot planed for the town. When Select Board member Heather Hamilton asked if that made shareholder Dong Pan concerned he brushed it aside.

"Brookline is a big town," he said. "Brookline needs authentic Chinese food. We have so many American-Chinese food [restaurants here]. We need one authentic Chinese food [restaurant]."

Don't tell that to Dragon Star, Golden Temple, Sichuan Gourmet or Mandarin Gourmet. There's also Bess's Cafe, Wu Er by WOW Barbecue, Xiang Yu China Bistro and the Kosher Wok. To name a few.

The Harvard Street spot will have 72 seats and an alcohol beverage license. In the next two or three months the plan is to renovate the seating space and redo the flooring.

Pan said he hopes to be open by late August or early September. And, he said, the plan is to be there for a while.

"The lease is through 2033," he said.

Pan said he's also planning fourth hot pot in Waltham.

Take a look at what the Providence restaurant serves.

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Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).