Mrs. Ou's Restaurant, a new 110-seat Chinese restaurant on Main Street, opened Saturday for sit-down service and will begin carry-out and delivery Wednesday.
The restaurant, located on the second floor of the New Dartmouth Bank building, is owned by Cynthia Ou (pronounced oo), who also operates a takeout Chinese food stand in the Dartmouth Medical School.
Mrs. Ou's Restaurant is now the third Chinese restaurant in a two-block radius in Hanover. Panda House, located in Hanover Park on Lebanon Street, seats almost 200 customers and offers takeout and delivery service. Mei Mei Chinese Food Take Out, located on Main Street across from Food Stop, offers only carry-out and delivery.
Saturday's grand opening of Mrs. Ou's Restaurant was busy but low-key, said Emily Ou, the owner's daughter.
"We didn't advertise because we didn't want to be swamped our first night," Ou said. "We want to slowly build up to handle more people so that we can coordinate our staff with the kitchen."
Cynthia Ou said she was very happy with the opening, but that "it will take us a few days to put everything together."
The restaurant, with a modern black, grey and soft turquoise's decor, has windows that overlook Main Street. Ou said the table settings are elegant and the wine list is extensive.
The menu features typical Chinese dishes, like sweet and sour chicken, but also has unique items such as 1,000-year-old egg with pickled ginger.
Steve Fagell '95, who ate at the new restaurant Saturday, said it was better than Panda House in nearly every way.
"The food was really delicious. The soups were much bigger portions and the won ton soup was definitely better because it had more stuff in it," Fagell said. "The service was fine, although they don't fill your water as much as they do at Panda."
But Panda House Manager Dennis Lee said he is not worried about the new competition.
"This is just one more Chinese restaurant. Everywhere in the United States has a lot of Chinese restaurants," Lee said.
Ou said she will continue to run her medical school carry-out operation. "It is a completely different thing. It is for med students and people who work in the building," Emily Ou said. "The [Main Street] restaurant is a much more upscale version of the [carry-out] one."
Lunch is served daily from 11:30-3 and includes the choice of hot and sour soup or wonton soup and fried or white rice. Entrees range in price from $4.75 to $6.45.
Dinner house specials range from $9 to $24 and the restaurant remains open "until the last person is done eating," Cynthia Ou said.