I call before my lunch break - when I go on break, I take a quick walk and my food is ready. Always fresh!!
Michael G.
China town... Understand the culture. The value, the history...sooooo When you go to a rib joint, or mexican Or Texas steak house or Something Everyone tips!!!!!. Kenmore ball park Restaurants overpriced etc..no one complains they get force fed Garbage. At high prices. Language Tradition, culture enjoy it. Plenty of value. Next time walk about with both Cash, and card. Spend a whole day. See how others live . Its a hetertopia. But a very beautiful Wonderful place if you allow yourself The chance and opportunity to understand this community.
Jeffrey Kawalek
This would have been a 5-star review, except for a couple of details.First and foremost, as many others have noted, the food is very good, the portions are HUGE, and the prices are reasonable. However, the price that was charged ($14.70) for an order of Sesame Chicken was about $5 MORE than the price listed on the shop's own online menu page. It was still worth it, but you start off dinner with a bad taste in your mouth. The menu has a disclaimer that "prices may change" but when you get a dish for 1/2 again what you thought you'd pay, it rankles.***NOTE TO RESTAURANT*** Update your price information on your website!!Second, this is a real Chinese restaurant, like I'd find in NY's Chinatown.The roasted duck/pork/chicken is hanging in a case just inside the door, and there are plexiglass barriers separating customers from staff as COVID protection. Unfortunately, the barriers also separate customers from wait staff who do not speak English. I understand that many if not most of their clientele is Chinese, but for English-speaking customers, ordering and paying (especially when the prices don't agree with expectations) can be difficult at the least. It's much like walking into a restaurant in Beijing and trying to order in English. It also doesn't help that the staff's conversation level is loud and non-stop, and they don't make an enthusiastic effort to communicate with non-Chinese speaking customers.As to the food:Wonton Soup is absolutely amazing. It's a meal for 3-4 people. The liquid portion is given separately from the wontons and vegetable (looked like spinach, probably was some sort of cabbage). The wontons (12 of them) were the size of golf balls, and were stuffed with shrimp, pork, and maybe chicken. Whatever the combo was, it was excellent. Any one on a low-sodium diet should skip the broth. It was salty and savory.Sliced Roast Pork over rice was just that, but a TON of it, maybe a half a tenderloin or more. That dish alone weighed a good 2 pounds , maybe more.Lastly, the Sesame Chicken was served with broccoli and had a honey/soy sauce that was delicious. The chicken was coated with a breading or flour coating and dusted with sesame seeds. And again, the portion was huge, good for probably 3 hungry people.My advice is to go for the food and value, and put up with the attitude.Enjoy!!
June K.
I love their wonton noodle soup with charsiu. It looks a little sketchy when you walk inside because there is a yellow police line next to the dining area. Probably they don't want people to dine in due to covid... lol But the food is really great. I feel like they could do a better job with cleanliness.
Kevin S.
Food (1/2): Tried the crispy pork (got the 1 lb.) after this place was recommended by a friend. It was ok but probably attributed to me having this for to-go. The skin wasn't as crispy as I expected but it's definitely very salty (to my liking). You'd have to pair this with normal, unflavored, white-rice or something to help mellow out the saltiness. Service/wait-time/cleanliness (1.5/2): There were language barriers but despite that, I was able to order without issues. Wait-time is relatively quick for to-go (I waited ~5 minutes). Cleanliness is so-so for the typical type. Price (1/1): EDIT: I was recently told by my friend that it's also possible that they didn't measure exactly 1 lbs. and gave me slightly more instead. As such, I revised the pricing and giving them the benefit of the doubt for now and changed price rating from 0 to 1. Old comment below --- This section is my biggest gripe/concern/frustration. Having tasted the crispy pork, I'm sad to say that it's incredibly expensive for what they are. When I asked the price, they said it was $13.50 for 1 lb. of crispy pork (which was relatively reasonable) but then they gave me back ~$2.50 after I gave them my $20.00 bill (cash-only, mind you). I asked what was the extra $4.00 for and they said "tax". If you do the math, I was basically charged a 30% tax for this. For a first-time, this certainly leaves an incredibly poor reception but I personally am "used to it" from the various, similar places that did this. Nevertheless, if you care about these kinds of stuff, just double check on what they charge you.
Serena C.
An authentic Hong Kong style eatery. It's no frills fyi but with the continuous flow of patrons, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. It's authentic so be warned that it's not American Chinese
Judy T
I love their roast duck, roast pork, and chicken combo plate!! This place is a gem! I would be coming back next time!
Brian S.
I walked past Chinatown Cafe a half dozen times before I finally decided to try it, and I'm not sure why it took me so long to finally do so. There always seems to be a lot of people coming and going - they are only doing takeout right now, but even with that, it's usually pretty busy. This is an old-school, Cantonese style restaurant with dishes that you might find in Kowloon. I really like the tomato beef offerings, and while I wish they went a little heavier on the meat/veggies and a little lighter on the rice/noodles, they are quite good. Prices are extremely reasonable for the portions, and your food will be ready in 5 minutes or less. They are *cash only*, so be sure you have some on hand. I'll definitely be back soon!
C M.
I get takeout from here often. I've tried this place ever since the new owners took over, the food has been so disappointing. The noodles were covered in oil. I did NOT like how they added the gross inedible duck mouth into my container to charge me the "extra weight" AND a huge pork bone that probably weighed a pound into my crispy roast pork container. Wtf. The staff are also rude- I was ordering over the phone the lady told me to hurry up because they were busy.
Jay M.
I went To try as saw good reviews on Yelp . Initial appearance is dirty inside . No indoor seating, all taped off still? Ordered side of chicken wings, roast duck, roast pork ... was R6 on menu... 6 bucks for wings and reasonable. Wings looked good and were good but were cold . The Roast duck and roast pork was fair price at 11 or 12 bucks and was awful. Roast duck wasn't crispy at all and all dark meat and bones ... poor duck died for bad reasons. The roast pork all fatty and little meat... whole container piled with a rice serving for 12 people... White rice, no flavor... I wanted to like place as cook was hanging 2 more fresh crispy roasted ducks... Maybe I got the ugly duckling one? I would not go back and cold , semi cold temperatures may send my digestive track for a marathon tonight... I feed the pics of remains of food to yard animals....
Lots of menu items including bbq Lots of classic authentic Cantonese dishes you can't find even in Chinatown Made to order and Piping hot Not overly salty but tasty Huge portions busy with local lineups Affordable prices Outside main area of Chinatown but not too far No parking
Carol Zahra Lee
Authentic home style food. Lots of Chinese families get take out which is always a good sign. Pretty good and fast! My dad is picky about authentic Chinese food and orders from them. Only take out now with Covid. Loved the original owners and miss them!
Natcharee Siriamnuaylap
Yummy! White rice with roasted duck & pork and chicken. Only $13
Edward Tong
Highly authentic Cantonese cuisine. Recommend the roast duck. May have long lines and it only takes cash.
Zhibin D.
Like everyone has already said - a true, classic 'hole in the wall' restaurant. Cash only. Super large portions. Super delicious. No frills. Would recommend taking take-out as they are still not doing dine-in. $60 fed 4 of us and left leftovers for another meal. We'll definitely come here again!
I call before my lunch break - when I go on break, I take a quick walk and my food is ready. Always fresh!!
China town... Understand the culture. The value, the history...sooooo When you go to a rib joint, or mexican Or Texas steak house or Something Everyone tips!!!!!. Kenmore ball park Restaurants overpriced etc..no one complains they get force fed Garbage. At high prices. Language Tradition, culture enjoy it. Plenty of value. Next time walk about with both Cash, and card. Spend a whole day. See how others live . Its a hetertopia. But a very beautiful Wonderful place if you allow yourself The chance and opportunity to understand this community.
This would have been a 5-star review, except for a couple of details.First and foremost, as many others have noted, the food is very good, the portions are HUGE, and the prices are reasonable. However, the price that was charged ($14.70) for an order of Sesame Chicken was about $5 MORE than the price listed on the shop's own online menu page. It was still worth it, but you start off dinner with a bad taste in your mouth. The menu has a disclaimer that "prices may change" but when you get a dish for 1/2 again what you thought you'd pay, it rankles.***NOTE TO RESTAURANT*** Update your price information on your website!!Second, this is a real Chinese restaurant, like I'd find in NY's Chinatown.The roasted duck/pork/chicken is hanging in a case just inside the door, and there are plexiglass barriers separating customers from staff as COVID protection. Unfortunately, the barriers also separate customers from wait staff who do not speak English. I understand that many if not most of their clientele is Chinese, but for English-speaking customers, ordering and paying (especially when the prices don't agree with expectations) can be difficult at the least. It's much like walking into a restaurant in Beijing and trying to order in English. It also doesn't help that the staff's conversation level is loud and non-stop, and they don't make an enthusiastic effort to communicate with non-Chinese speaking customers.As to the food:Wonton Soup is absolutely amazing. It's a meal for 3-4 people. The liquid portion is given separately from the wontons and vegetable (looked like spinach, probably was some sort of cabbage). The wontons (12 of them) were the size of golf balls, and were stuffed with shrimp, pork, and maybe chicken. Whatever the combo was, it was excellent. Any one on a low-sodium diet should skip the broth. It was salty and savory.Sliced Roast Pork over rice was just that, but a TON of it, maybe a half a tenderloin or more. That dish alone weighed a good 2 pounds , maybe more.Lastly, the Sesame Chicken was served with broccoli and had a honey/soy sauce that was delicious. The chicken was coated with a breading or flour coating and dusted with sesame seeds. And again, the portion was huge, good for probably 3 hungry people.My advice is to go for the food and value, and put up with the attitude.Enjoy!!
I love their wonton noodle soup with charsiu. It looks a little sketchy when you walk inside because there is a yellow police line next to the dining area. Probably they don't want people to dine in due to covid... lol But the food is really great. I feel like they could do a better job with cleanliness.
Food (1/2): Tried the crispy pork (got the 1 lb.) after this place was recommended by a friend. It was ok but probably attributed to me having this for to-go. The skin wasn't as crispy as I expected but it's definitely very salty (to my liking). You'd have to pair this with normal, unflavored, white-rice or something to help mellow out the saltiness. Service/wait-time/cleanliness (1.5/2): There were language barriers but despite that, I was able to order without issues. Wait-time is relatively quick for to-go (I waited ~5 minutes). Cleanliness is so-so for the typical type. Price (1/1): EDIT: I was recently told by my friend that it's also possible that they didn't measure exactly 1 lbs. and gave me slightly more instead. As such, I revised the pricing and giving them the benefit of the doubt for now and changed price rating from 0 to 1. Old comment below --- This section is my biggest gripe/concern/frustration. Having tasted the crispy pork, I'm sad to say that it's incredibly expensive for what they are. When I asked the price, they said it was $13.50 for 1 lb. of crispy pork (which was relatively reasonable) but then they gave me back ~$2.50 after I gave them my $20.00 bill (cash-only, mind you). I asked what was the extra $4.00 for and they said "tax". If you do the math, I was basically charged a 30% tax for this. For a first-time, this certainly leaves an incredibly poor reception but I personally am "used to it" from the various, similar places that did this. Nevertheless, if you care about these kinds of stuff, just double check on what they charge you.
An authentic Hong Kong style eatery. It's no frills fyi but with the continuous flow of patrons, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. It's authentic so be warned that it's not American Chinese
I love their roast duck, roast pork, and chicken combo plate!! This place is a gem! I would be coming back next time!
I walked past Chinatown Cafe a half dozen times before I finally decided to try it, and I'm not sure why it took me so long to finally do so. There always seems to be a lot of people coming and going - they are only doing takeout right now, but even with that, it's usually pretty busy. This is an old-school, Cantonese style restaurant with dishes that you might find in Kowloon. I really like the tomato beef offerings, and while I wish they went a little heavier on the meat/veggies and a little lighter on the rice/noodles, they are quite good. Prices are extremely reasonable for the portions, and your food will be ready in 5 minutes or less. They are *cash only*, so be sure you have some on hand. I'll definitely be back soon!
I get takeout from here often. I've tried this place ever since the new owners took over, the food has been so disappointing. The noodles were covered in oil. I did NOT like how they added the gross inedible duck mouth into my container to charge me the "extra weight" AND a huge pork bone that probably weighed a pound into my crispy roast pork container. Wtf. The staff are also rude- I was ordering over the phone the lady told me to hurry up because they were busy.
I went To try as saw good reviews on Yelp . Initial appearance is dirty inside . No indoor seating, all taped off still? Ordered side of chicken wings, roast duck, roast pork ... was R6 on menu... 6 bucks for wings and reasonable. Wings looked good and were good but were cold . The Roast duck and roast pork was fair price at 11 or 12 bucks and was awful. Roast duck wasn't crispy at all and all dark meat and bones ... poor duck died for bad reasons. The roast pork all fatty and little meat... whole container piled with a rice serving for 12 people... White rice, no flavor... I wanted to like place as cook was hanging 2 more fresh crispy roasted ducks... Maybe I got the ugly duckling one? I would not go back and cold , semi cold temperatures may send my digestive track for a marathon tonight... I feed the pics of remains of food to yard animals....
Restaurantji Recommends
Lots of menu items including bbq Lots of classic authentic Cantonese dishes you can't find even in Chinatown Made to order and Piping hot Not overly salty but tasty Huge portions busy with local lineups Affordable prices Outside main area of Chinatown but not too far No parking
Authentic home style food. Lots of Chinese families get take out which is always a good sign. Pretty good and fast! My dad is picky about authentic Chinese food and orders from them. Only take out now with Covid. Loved the original owners and miss them!
Yummy! White rice with roasted duck & pork and chicken. Only $13
Highly authentic Cantonese cuisine. Recommend the roast duck. May have long lines and it only takes cash.
Like everyone has already said - a true, classic 'hole in the wall' restaurant. Cash only. Super large portions. Super delicious. No frills. Would recommend taking take-out as they are still not doing dine-in. $60 fed 4 of us and left leftovers for another meal. We'll definitely come here again!