I am so glad we chose this restaurant to go to It was our first time in chicago so ofcourse China town was a must. There were so many restaurants to chose from and the only reason why we chose this one was because of the hanging duck at the window. We were greeted right away and seated, lucky for us we arrived just at the right time before the lunch rush. The waitress did not know English but then found a waiter who spoke English to serve us. My husband and I weren't dim sum fans so we ordered pointing to what we wanted. He ordered the double lobster, I ordered pork belly with cauliflower and sweet pork on rice cook in a clay pot.. All the dishes were beyond expectation. My husband made orgasm sounds when eating his dish. I also tried it and thought it was also delicious.. I'm not big into shell fish btw. The clay pot rice didn't taste like it was cooked in the clay pot but the sweet sausage and pork complimented the plain rice. The cauliflower were crisp and had a slightly toasted taste like it had been scorch in a hot wok .. which adds flavor.. yum.. the pork belly was a huge surprise to me. I did not expect such flavors from it. I liked it.. The waiter was kind and he checked on us multiple times and refilled our water many times. He also brought us clean plates multiple times for the shells from the lobster. We will definitely be back soon.. read more

See all

Under new management, I figure I give them a try for lunch since the lunch menu shows a variety of dishes average around $5 (which is a bargain compared to other in the area). The first time I ordered three dishes and the food was decent and a great value. The second day I went there and ordered the same three dishes and what was different was the price. I asked and they told me that the menu changed and it changed a long time. I told him that I was here yesterday and today the menu changed over night. It was odd but the menu was the same but the prices was different (I was surprised). Beware to anyone who comes here, make sure you know what you are paying for. I probably won't come back here again only because of the inconsistency prices for food. read more

Seriously awesome place, food and staff Forget the tourist destinations go to where the locals go. I highly suggest the lamb dish read more

China Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Honestly best place I've eaten so far, I had the orange chicken and Honey Walnut shrimp which I've tried at the mall buffet before but this one tasted fresher and it had much more flavor. The orange chicken had a very great taste better than these Chinese takeout around he suburbs. Great service as well, the waitress kept coming around to bring us water and check up on us, I'd definitely come back here again. read more

China Cafe - Came to eat with friends and family :) first time here. - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

If I hadn't experienced utter duck BLISS at Sun Wah, I might have rated this place higher. As it is, this restaurant is very nice, very clean - and the duck is not that fatty! Delicious duck, served in a "3 Way". One of my dining companions was extremely adventurous, as he wanted to consume the duck HEAD. Realized quickly, that the head was just for decoration and abandoned that idea. We started with duck skin sandwiches, then Duck Soup (with apologies to the Marx Bros) and then a plate of duck meat with vegetables. The bathrooms are clean, and the staff is endearingly ESL. All in all, a fine little boite in Chinatown. This would be a good place for a big group. They don't serve alcohol - hey, you can take a break now and then, right?! read more

im not really a review giving person but this one has to make an exception, its not because of the food but of the place, of all the restaurant we went to this is by far the most unexpected, if i am the owner of this place i will make a plan on how to clean it little by little if its so really busy, man, floor is so sticky and and needs to be swept and mopped i mean needs a deep cleaning, the counter is so messed up and dirty, the restroom is so nasty really you can see how long it hasnt been clean just by the thick spider web, so just by looking at this place after i ate our food i realized how grossed, and not just that ha the gratuity is already added to your bill and still they tried to ask for a tip so pay attention to you bill, read more

The dim sum dishes are humongous especially the Ha Gao and Shiu Mai. All the dishes are pretty good but some dishes are bland. I don't think that's a big problem if you want to eat healthy lol. Prices for dim sum is generally $3.75 a dish. I'd come back because of the size of the dim sum when compared to other dim sum restaurants in Chinatown. This place got renovated and has a new name in Cantonese. It is now more lunch and dinner friendly and has more big round tables for big parties unlike back then where it was more like a diner. Dim sum are $1.50 each after 4pm based on the sign they posted on the entrance door. read more

They may currently have the cheapest dim sum around here (approximately comparable and competitive to New Furama on 28th street), and the quality is quite good. The dim sum is in the $2.75 to $3.50 range for their standard small and medium serving sizes, and our party tried a typical and varied assortment. They have a new owner here and the place has been nicely remodeled and modernized. There were no non-Chinese here, so it's mainly and typically a restaurant frequented by locals as opposed to tourists. Beware that it can get quite loud as the noise is trapped here in the new setting, and the aforementioned locals tend to be loud and animated anyway. You would have to be lucky to find free street parking within a couple blocks, but it is possible. Otherwise, they do validate for the main parking lot not too far away. We will likely be back again sometime. read more

See all

Visiting Chinatown to find a cheap place to eat that's good is like throwing darts at a board. I'm here to save you from throwing a dart. In a phrase, don't eat here. My fried tofu casserole was one of the most disgusting things I've seen in a restaurant, let alone eat. It was gloppy, soft tofu, with the consistency of jelly, lightly fried until the crust is thin, served with soft shrimp balls, and all swimming in an oily, sloppy brown sauce the color of diarrhea. The egg roll was greasy and flavorless with a fishy aftertaste to the point inedibility. I regretted my decision to eat here so much that half the meal went back uneaten. I gave them a last chance to redeem themselves by ordering crab rangoon, which ended up making me sick because they had a similar taste to the egg rolls. There's no reason anyone needs to suffer this kind of food. Save yourself and look elsewhere. read more

China Cafe - Fried tofu casserole. Absolutely disgusting. - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

One of the cooler places in Chinatown. Though the staff was sort of blunt to us, the food was great and the service was quick. The menu is MASSIVE, there is so much to choose from it was a bit overwhelming, but not in a bad way. The pricing also wasn't too bad, hell I felt that I got more than what I paid for. Overall a decent experience, I plan on coming back again when I get the craving for Chinese. read more

See all

We dined here late afternoon around 3:45pm. Although they answered our questions as first-timers, wait staff appeared hurried and were not helpful. We were asking for suggestions on what to order. They were just haphazardly suggesting items just to get as to order right away. As a result the items we ordered were not to our liking. The Seafood Chowmein was ok but the Mapo Tofu was not good. Never had it served that way - it had silken tofu sauteed in some kind of pickled veges. No pork. And we had to ask for the soup that was supposed to go with the order. Not sure what kind of soup that was. Bland and looked like they poured it out of some boiled meat. Realized later that shift change happens at 4pm and so obviously they were anxious to leave. Not a good experience overall. They could have just told us that the next shift starts in a few minutes and asked as if it was ok to wait so we can be served better. Why would we say no??? read more

Really bad and slow service especially for dim sum take out to go. Waited for 30 minutes for 5 orders of dim sum and each order came 1 at a time and the place was empty. The dim sum is mediocre. Don't get the egg tart it has a bad after taste. The food is bland. I felt bad for the 2 customers sitting on the table who was already there before we came in. There was no waitress taking their order or acknowledging them. I don't know how well thus place will compete with the other restaurants around. read more

Service is poor. Tasty food but disappointed with beef. It's very chewy and you can't eat it. Told the server and she didn't do anything. read more

China Cafe - Lunch price is $6 something with rice and soup. - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We stopped in while checking out China Town for the first time. We should have asked for recommendations because this place was not it. We were seated promptly in the back near the register. The place didn't look busy as their was many empty tables. We were a party of 6 so I do cut most places slack if the food comes out slow BUT 45 minutes?!? The shrimp steamed dumplings were way too salty. Not good at all. The lo-mein noodles were burnt on the bottom & the shrimp & veg were flavorless. I wouldn't recommend this place & will not return when there are plenty of other places in Chicago to eat at. read more

Ok. I guess I could understand the average 3.5 rating, the place is the ultimate definition of janky. Aged glass display cases and old school cash register when you walk in doesn't exactly scream five stars, I know. But this place does not mess around with their dim sum. The har gow is still the best I've had to date (and, trust me, I have had my fair share of har gows), shrimp crepes are always fresh with huge, flavorful shrimps, and that sweet soy sauce...oh my goodness, that sweet soy sauce, and the pan fried chive dumplings! AHHH! Sensory overload of deliciousness. Tables can be sticky, the carpet is pretty nasty-looking, and service is your run-of-the-mill Asian restaurant service, but the dim sum is phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I honestly believe that it is comparable with that Michelin starred dim sum joint in Hong Kong (and that place was pretty life-changing). How is that for a compliment?! You will definitely get a big bang for your buck here. If you can get past the unappealing exterior/interior, you will not be disappointed. read more

glory days may have left... for years, even though folks would bad mouth china cafe for its lack of interior, the restaurant still put out good, albeit usually really greasy fare that I frequently literally every day when I was in college. the ownership changed hands and the result is higher prices for family style set menus, and also smaller portions. in contrast, China Cafe used to have the largest portions and was generally considered as receiving good value for the price/portion ratio. we were the only party there on a Sunday night with four of their big tables. staff was quite small as I think i only saw one chef in the kitchen when i went to the bathroom. the all too familiar dishes were cooked well (nothing over done or underdone...). but lacking in seasoning from what I recalled. This restaurant is no longer my go to spot for family dinners. And based on changes for the night time quality, value...i am hesitant to go for dim sum either (which also happened to be my favorite dimsum spot in my youth). read more

See all

On a hot and humid summer afternoon, their air conditioning was clearly losing the battle. The two sorry fans they plugged in weren't of much help. In spite of recent remodeling, they use old chipped service ware, and the white porcelain bowls look alarmingly similar to the Kohler brand urinal in the men's room. And yet, they almost pulled off a four star lunch experience for me and the Chief of Staff. The dim sum is very good, good quality across a good variety of choices and cheaper than our other favorite dim sum places (which have better atmosphere and air conditioning). If they could keep the food quality high, switch to new Chinese style service-ware and fix the A.C., this would be a four star place. If the weather is cooler, this place becomes a very good deal for dim sum. read more

See all

Loved China Cafe. As per usual the dishes ordered were endless and more importantly GOOD!. Two whole Lobster's Spesh #yes BBQ pork App - compulsory Hot n Sour soup - GENEROUS portion and punch u in the face flav Crispy Fish - delicate Sole done to perfection Orange Chicken - see above / insert chicken A bevy of other excellent yet unremarkable dishes so you know what to do..... [X] GOOOO !!! read more

Totally disagree with the bad reviews of this place. All the entrees that we ordered were delicious. We had the shrimp with salted egg, salt n pepper soft shell crab and pork chop, fish fillet with garlic, walnut shrimp, and yang chow fried rice. Huge portion, reasonable prices, good service. Plenty of street parking. read more

See all

We are in Chicago for a few days and randomly decided to stop at China Cafe for lunch. This place is incredibly cheap in price and has great quality food. The salt and pepper pork was ridiculously good. My buddy Bassil got himself fish fried rice, salt and pepper shrimp, pork spare ribs, some garlic watercress, and sesame balls. He said it was as good and "good for you". Bassil is not a doctor so you should ignore his health advise but trust his palate. Anyway, I'm gonna need to be rolled or wheelbarrowed out of here. Come in and try this place. Peace y'all. read more

China Cafe - Salt and pepper pork, garlic watercress, salt and pepper whole shrimp, fish fried rice. - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I had the beef and mushrooms with chili oil on that side. It was fire. The assortment of mushrooms mixed with the beef was simply fantastic. read more

China Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

We came he twice for the amazing and fresh Dim Sum. They have some mouth-watering Turnip Cakes that we highly suggest you order. We tried many things and enjoyed them all except for the Potstickers (we ordered them fried and the bottoms were slightly burnt). Their Shrimp and Chive Dumplings are something you should order too. They have a huge menu and we tried their Shanghai Rice Noodles. On my first visit, I had their General Tso's (I know it's a silly American dish, but I get cravings for it and like to order it alongside more authentic dishes at restaurants) . Both were very good, but their Dim Sum just out-shined the dishes. The General Tso's sauce didn't have any spice (despite having some nice peppers in it), which was a shame (I like mine spicy), but the fresh veggies in it (no broccoli, but tons of amazing onions, green peppers, and snowpeas) really hit the spot. The prices are extremely in-expensive too. On average, each dish was only about $8 and was a huge portion. To top off their great prices, they serve free hot tea with each meal and give free refills too. The wait staff was very professional. Their English was hit or miss, but they were extremely patient and helped us the entire time with a smile. The place is very clean, comfortable, and well decorated. They don't have public restrooms. read more

China Cafe - Free pot of tea. Getting ready to try our Crab Rangoons. - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I like the newly remodel China cafe. It has a fresh coat of paint on it and I see the new decor is modern. I just had lunch with a friend and the food was good. My only little grievance was when the waitress tried to give me salt soy sauce for my beef funn roll crepes. Now, I am Chinese and I love my crepe dishes and that sweet soy sauce is important to me. The waitress looked at me for a second realizing she needs to get the right soy sauce for the dish because I wasn't having it. So other than that I was fine with the service, and food. Everything tasted fresh and delicious. I loved their chicken feet sparerib over rice dish, beef satay chow mein was spot on. The mango pudding was very sweet and calming for the end of a meal. Overall I was glad i waited almost a year and half before I tried the newly remodel China cafe. Well done and I will be back it was good. read more

I can only rate the smoothie not too bad. Not too sweet great for a hot day outside but only drawback is the boba here was kinda hard. I feel like they should boil the boba a little longer but I do like they do not add sugar to the boba. Some places you can tell because it's so sweet but it balance with the smoothie read more

China Cafe - Mango smoothie with boba - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

China Café has been renovated and has new ownership since my last review so I wanted to update my experience. Although it's no longer what I considered a corner hut, the food is meh. We shared the West Lake soup, Singapore noodles, fish filet with mushrooms and garlic eggplant. I've definitely had better versions of these in other restaurants at lower or comparable pricing. West Lake soup is made of simple ingredients: clear broth, minced beef, egg whites, cilantro, and white pepper, and they just needed more cilantro and spice in the soup. I thought it was interesting the mushrooms in the fish dish was bellas and oyster - more common Western varieties and wood ear, which I've only seen in authentic Chinese cuisine. The kicker is that they served mushy eggplant that had to be slurped like a soup - no, no, no. read more

This is very bad experience in here. We don't have enough time to eat in restaurant so we order something to take out, but the younger waitress ask for the 15% tips when we check out. She said we must pay the tips whatever in or out. It's unbelievable and unreasonable to do that. It's very annoying for me to treat us like this manner, I will not go to this restaurant ever again read more

See all

Dim sum was spoiled and the owner was extremely rude. He acted like I was crazy. He said "next time we won't give you a refund". There will be no next time. I'm never coming back. You will get sick eating here. read more

My three friends and I came here on Saturday at noon without a reservation. We were seated promptly, but that is when things started to go downhill. I would give the value and food 4-5 stars, but the service just brought down the ratings for me. My friends and I ordered about eleven different things, and had to repeatedly ask the waitress for water and tea and condiments. They had Pu Er, Oolong, chrysanthemum, or green tea available so I was impressed with the choices though. The waitress didn't say anything upon taking our order, but returned to tell us twenty minutes after we ordered that they were out of three things: roast duck, egg custard buns, and chicken feet. The fact it was still early on Saturday lunch and they were already out of these items as a dim sum restaurant was a bit concerning , but even worse was the amount of time that went by without us being notified. Then, the food started coming out slowly- one or two items at a time, every five minutes. This made it difficult to eat because we would finish a bamboo steamer's worth of food, then awkwardly wait for the next item to arrive. This also made it a longer lunch. Onto the value and the actual food itself: we loved the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, the Shumai, the fried chicken dumpling, and the preserved pork and salted egg congee. Definitely skip out on the pork belly- which we got to substitute the roast duck we originally ordered but they were out of. The roast pork belly was too fatty, but it was also cold, thick, and tough and gelatinous. Also skip out on the stuffed eggplant- it was too greasy despite the pork filling tasting yummy. Our party of four spent $44 including tax (but not tip). See itemized breakdown. Come here if you're not expecting great service (as is standard with Chinatown restaurants!) but come for the good food and generous portions. read more

See all

Thinking it was under new management, we decided to give it another shot. We were there on Sunday around 1 pm. The place was crowded but not full. The soiled, used dishes were dumped on one of the tables. We were told to sit at a table and finally got plates and chopsticks and tea, in a paper cup as they ran out of tea cups. We had to get our own menu and finally caught a waiter's eye to give him our checked off dimsum order. As we sat there waiting, more people came and then left after waiting for a few minutes without being attended to. That should have been our clue. It took us 30 minutes of waiting before we too finally left, disgruntled, hungry and unhappy ex customers. The dirty dishes were still on the table. Saw some of the people who left at the next door restaurant where we ended up eating as well. Disappointing as we had high hopes for this place under new management. Sign changed but service worsened even more. Too bad. I'll probably give it half a star if I could on account of their location. read more

came in for dim sum today. didnt have high expectations since it's "new" but they're below average. we ordered steam BBQ buns. they bought out the bun when it was still hard and cold. returned it immediately. the only thing that is acceptable was the rice roll noodle. read more

China Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I travel a lot and eat out a lot. This is my first time giving a 1 star to a restaurant. We were a group of 5 people dined here. Service was super slow even though we were the only customers. The three waiter/waitresses made eye contacts with us and saw us waving gently asking for them, they still were just wandering around. We ordered 5 dishes, they automatically put down large portion instead of regular and charged higher prices. Added 18% service fee automatically. Very bad experience. Avoid this place. read more

My wife and I went out to eat at China Cafe with some friends of ours - a couple from China who have been living in Chicago for 5 years. They were the ones who picked the place. Even prior to entering the restaurant, they reminded us that in China people choose where to eat based on the quality of the food alone, and that cleanliness and ambience are secondary. I thought, well, fine, I'm craving dim sum and am sure I won't even notice whether I'm eating at the majestic Forbidden City or at a sewer chamber. Boy, was I wrong. Upon entering China Cafe my wife and I couldn't help but to feel disgusted with the place. This is one of the dirtiest places I've ever been to in my life. And having been to the boondocks of Delhi, Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City and Shanghai, I can tell you I've been to some pretty dirty places in my lifetime. As soon as my partner and I arrived at the table, we noticed our chopsticks and plates were dirty, and the table was sticky. We had dim sum there, as well as noodles. Aside from the shrimp dumplings, everything else we had was disgusting both in looks and taste. The noodles were partly overcooked, partly raw/crunchy. The fish on the noodles was falling apart as a result of the chef having cooked the hell out of it. Some of the dishes that were supposed to be served hot were room temperature-cold. Heck, we arrived at the restaurant at noon, so it's not like they were serving us left over food... (or were they?). The food was so bad, even our Chinese friends started feeling embarrassed for having taken us to China Cafe. In fact, they were more disappointed with the food than we were. The worst part of it, my partner and I had an awful diarrhoea afterwards. On the positive side, the food was cheap. But definitely not worth it. PS: I see a lot of mixed reviews here about China Cafe, both from white and Asian-Americans. While they all agree that the ambience "leaves much to be desired", it may be possible that the quality of their food oscillates throughout the week and it may be better on some days than others. read more

China Cafe is one of those Chinese restaurants that focus on group meals (at least 2~3 person) as opposed to cheaper Chinese eateries that has a long list of a la carte offerings. On Thanksgiving night, I walked into China Cafe solo, and asked for something off-menu. It was served in 2~3 minutes and it was perfect. Generously portioned, flavorful but not too salty. Quality of ingredient is reasonable. The check came up to $4.40 including an unsolicited albeit welcomed dessert. I would definitely go there again and seriously recommends China Cafe to anyone who's looking for Hong Kong-/Cantonese-style Chinese food. read more

This place is horrible. Sat there for over 40 mins and didn't get any food. My husband and I arrived there before a concert show. We asked if it would take long and we were assured it wouldn't. We ordered really simple two dishes. But the table next to us ordered the same time and they already ate and ready for bill. Then when we asked to check, they said it's almost done. 5 mins after that, a girl brings out the wrong dish and only one dish. HORRIBLE. I've never walked out of a restaurant before but this place gave me no choice. Then I find out from my friends that they too had horrible experience from this place. A friend told me her family waited over an hour for food. I can't tell u how it taste but if u have time to wait around for it, guess you'll find out yourself. I do not recommend. read more

Tough call, but I just can't bring myself to rate this four stars. Clean, well spaced tabled, attentive service, broad dim sum selection, no problem getting a table at noon on Saturday. Tasty but not great food. By far the best, in my view, were the fried triangles with many layers of dough, a bit on pork in the inside, and sesame seeds on top. We had language issues with all the staff. The dim sum was warm, but never hot. General Tso chicken dish was good but nothing special. I'll be happy to go back, but I wouldn't consider this one of Chinatown's finest. "A-OK" as the 3 star rating says. read more

Maybe it was bad because we came at around 2pm when most of the food was gone, but this was some of the worst dim sum I've ever had - it rivals how bad the dim sum was at this place in DC that I went to where when we said that something we ordered was cold, they brought it back to the kitchen and microwaved it! The Chinese meatballs we ordered were still raw, and the ha gow (shrimp dumplings) had skins that were waaaay too thick. Yuck! The bathroom is also freezing and grungy. Wish I had Yelped a Chinese place to eat in Chinatown Chicago before I randomly (and wrongly) picked this place. read more

The food is neither outstanding nor inedible. It unfortunately rides the ramrod middle of mediocre. Pros: Service was great, bathroom is clean, dining space looks newly renovated, relatively clean, food came out in a timely manner Cons: Nothing bad to say about it. read more

We tried the Shrimp Satay with vermicelli, it came as a soup with shrimp and vermicelli. The shrimp had skin on. The broth was flavorful and aromatic, the Shrimp was fresh and creamy. A highly satisfying authentic meal. The owner herself comes and checks on you. The restaurant has a great vibe, a nice seating area and comfortable seating. You get a complimentary pot of green tea! The signboard outside is in Chinese so its a boy difficult to find this place. But once you get in, it's worth it even if there's a wait time! read more

When it comes to dim sum China Cafe is one of these all around places that is overlooked by it's neighbors, but can hold it's own once you get in the door. Despite being on the smaller side, I find this a plus when it comes to dim sum. You know the carts can't run and hide like they can at Phoenix or Furama. Also, a quick glance around the room can tell you which carts are carrying what. Then you can flag one over if you see something you like. If you are intimidated by Chinatown service or aren't traveling in the company of people in the know, at least you can see what's in the carts. Of course the unexperienced (and the non-Asian) will be the first targets of the cart servers pushing the unpopular food items, and then trying to explain what you are looking for is always a challenge due to the language barrier, but hey...this is Chinatown. Because of its prominent location you will see both locals and the more adventurous tourists (or suburbanites) come in. If they have an open mind and/or were referred by someone in the know, this is a good place to start. Have some adventure and try the dumplings, get the shrimp wrapped in noodles (aka 'fun'), covered with soy sauce (my favorite no matter what dim sum place I eat at). I was there last week and the bill came out to $13 a person, and we must've had at least 4 or 5 different selections before we filled up. China Cafe also serves regular lunch and dinnner items. The late lunch and dinner choices are good, but I tend to eat elsewhere for dinner, and half the time they are closed for the day when I arrive in the area anyway. Pros: Easy to find, small seating area makes it easy to find what you want during dim sum, selection and taste is good for the price. A good place to try if you are feeling adventurous, but not too adventurous. Central location in Chinatown makes it easy to walk off whatever you ate. Cons: Not limited to this restaurant, but language barrier may be a turn off if you don't know what you want (or do know, but can't explain it), expect to walk if you can't find parking, although not as bad as other places, this place does have a dingy look which may be a turn-off to some. To 'dim sum' it up: It's not Phoenix, it's not Furama, and it's definitely not Three Happiness (the unofficial tourist trap of Chinatown), it's just a small corner restaurant that serves good food at good prices. And you can't ask for much more than that, regardless of what and where you eat. read more

Pros: -None Cons: -Terrible customers services -Food ain't authentic -Somewhat cheap, but not too cheap If you want authentic Chinese food, please go to Cai, Phoenix and Minghin. They have the equipments and big chefs read more