A Chinese restaurant chain famous for its fiery wok technique and a strict no-takeout policy is about to open its first-ever U.S. location inside Westfield UTC. Chef Fei, known across China for viral wok-fired dishes and Hunan-style cuisine, has taken over the former space of The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar in University City, with a grand opening celebration planned for September 5.
The new restaurant sits at 4301 La Jolla Village Dr., Suite 2040, positioned across from Katsuya Ko and next to Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, according to Fox 5 San Diego & KUSI News. The 7,000-square-foot corner suite had been home to The Winery for six years before it closed in late 2024, and the space has since been redesigned by Los Angeles architecture studio Poon Design Inc., featuring a light-filled dining room with pale woods, green bamboo accents, and an exhibition kitchen showing off hand-cut meats, per SanDiegoVille.
Chef Fei was founded by Fei Lianghui in 1997 in Hunan, China, and the brand's roots run deep in the region's chili-heavy cooking tradition. The chain has since expanded to more than 200 restaurants across China, a growth trajectory that FoodTalks traces to a 2018 push that took the once-regional brand to nearly 200 stores across 13 provinces by 2025.
A Founder With Serious Culinary Credentials
Fei Lianghui's résumé reads like a highlight reel of Chinese culinary honors. He received the China Golden Chef Award in 2018, an honor described as the highest recognition given to Chinese chefs, earned the title of China's King of Stir-Fry in 2020, and became a Forbes China F&B Pioneer in 2024. SanDiegoVille further reports that Fei was named Leader of China's Restaurant Industry at the 2024 Forbes China Restaurant Industry Gala, cementing his standing as one of the country's most decorated chefs.
That pedigree has translated into serious commercial success. Chef Fei reported selling more than 5 million servings of its signature chili stir-fried pork across its China locations in 2023 alone, per the same SanDiegoVille report, underscoring just how popular the chain's wok-fired dishes have become before ever reaching American diners.
No Takeout, No Franchises — Even in San Diego
Perhaps the most distinctive part of Chef Fei's identity is what it refuses to do. Throughout its expansion across China, the chain has banned both franchising and takeout or delivery service, a policy meant to preserve the signature wok aroma known as guo qi along with the fresh texture of its dishes, according to Chef Fei's own account of its history. It remains to be seen whether that no-takeout stance will hold at a suburban mall location, where diners are often accustomed to ordering to go.
The San Diego menu will center on high-heat wok techniques, with stir-fried beef with peppers serving as the restaurant's signature dish, and the kitchen will serve authentic Chinese dishes meant for sharing among friends and family, according to Fox 5 San Diego & KUSI News. To adapt for its American debut, Chef Fei sourced high-end domestic ingredients including Snake River Farms American Wagyu beef, Kurobuta pork, organic eggs, and seasonal organic vegetables, the company says on its website. The menu also balances its chili-forward stir-fries with cooling options, including a handcrafted Da Wang iced lemon tea and crispy glutinous rice cakes, per a Toast listing for the location.
Betting Big on a San Diego Flagship
The investment behind the opening appears substantial. Job postings circulating in September 2025 for the San Diego store manager position offered an annual salary between $130,000 and $150,000 plus performance bonuses, a rate that workplace reports flagged as higher than the average restaurant manager listing in San Diego on LinkedIn, according to FoodTalks.
Chef Fei is taking a limited number of reservations through Yelp ahead of the September 5 grand opening, per Fox 5 San Diego & KUSI News. The chain's arrival adds to Westfield UTC's growing roster of internationally recognized Asian dining brands, joining Din Tai Fung, HaiDiLao Hot Pot, Menya Ultra, Qin West Noodle, and Katsuya Ko, a cluster Hoodline has tracked as the mall builds out its Asian dining destination reputation. That tenant mix has seen turnover of its own recently, from Qin West's original Chinatown location being ordered closed for vermin to Red O's closure amid a nearby housing redevelopment that cut 91 jobs.
