Listen up guys, I am so picky when it comes to Chinese food. And lets be real, there are hundreds of Chinese restaurants in the Syracuse area. Needless to say, I've eaten a lot of sub-par Chinese dishes in my life time. HOWEVER, a meal at China Cafe is not one that you will forget. If you are looking for authentic and affordable Chinese food...you have to come here. I'm not just talking about typical american Chinese food (although their sesame/sweet and sour chicken is BOMB), I'm talking about the real deal, traditional dishes here. After eating at China Cafe, every other restaurant will just be "blah" and you will probably refuse to order from any where else. Unless you are actually in China. Then maybe it wouldn't be worth it to order all the way from Manlius, New York. This place is so legit that my friend straight from Hong Kong even approves of it being absolutely delicious. I have probably eaten close to everything on the menu, but upon my most recent visit I had the beef stew casserole. Don't let the word casserole fool you. It was basically a beef stew with vegetables. AND BOY WAS IT GOOD. The beef was so tender it low key melted in my mouth. All of their ingredients are 100% fresh and its obvious. The service is always phenomenal and the family run business has been goin since 2005. So if you are a fan of hole in the wall restaurants that are dishing out fresh and authentic classics, China cafe will definitely be your go-to when you are feeling its going to be a Chinese take out night. read more

8/17/2015; i have to update my review. My previous review is still valid. it's very close to my house so we get food from them very often. tonight i found a cockroach in my food which killed my appetite and my faith to this restaurant, so i changed my stars from 4 to 1. 12/22/2014; The food is really good, it was very hard to order the food over the phone, but recently it's much better. price compare to food portion and quality is very decent. Tri-flavor chicken and fried dry beans are my favorites. the atmosphere is not good, but for a take out it's awesome. read more

Great chinese restaurant that serves really good traditional chinese and american chinese food. Food is great while the prices are super affordable. My only complaint is that it's so far from our place but that's a personal issue. read more

FWIW, at any given time there may be as many, if not more, Asian patrons dining as there are non-Asians in this family operated establishment. The focus is primarily, but not exclusively, take out, which explains a previous reviewers experience of feeling ignored while dining in. The reality is that if they are really busy with take out orders, those dining in may have to either be patient or do for themselves. In my opinion, the quality of the food far outweighs the occasional shortcomings relative to service. If you are in a hurry, get take out. If you order take out, make the call at least 45 minutes prior to pick-up. I've been ordering from this place for years and have NEVER been disappointed. I just wish I were more Chinese food savvy so as to feel comfortable ordering something more exotic. read more

China Cafe is our go- to place for Chinese food. My husband and I order one main dish (Sesame Chicken, Orange Chicken, etc) and a large veggie lo mein every time and it feeds us for two meals. Prices are low but food is excellent. The only time I had a problem was when they said the order would be done in 30 minutes but it took over an hour. There were many people waiting in the little restaurant with me a bit impatient because the estimated time was so wrong. But the food was worth it, and I don't want that one time to overshadow the food and value. read more

I've tried several items off of the menu (my go to is the Kung Pao chicken) and everything has been delicious. The staff, prices, and selection are all amazing. I have to cut back on how often I go, because otherwise I'd probably be getting food here every night! read more

First time eating, ordering takeout, loved it, just yummy. Most of the time I've ever had Chinese food, I'd feel very sluggish/tired but these guys obviously are cooking different (i.e. fresh). read more

I won't leave any star. They sent my order wrong and food had no taste. It was like eating oil. Everyone has a bite on the 3 different meals we order and we couldn't eat. So $60 on the trash. Every single plate. read more

My favorite new take-out place back home! It's not really an eat-in spot, there is very little seating and the decor is pretty nonexistent. But for a spot in a small strip mall down 173, I was impressed by the food and timeliness of having my order ready. I had sesame chicken and pork gyoza, both were very tasty. My parents weren't overly impressed with their orders, General Tzo's and Orange Beef, I believe. But that didn't stop them from nomming on my dish! Pretty sure my brother ate half my gyoza. Not cool. All-in-all, a solid take-out spot with fast service for the Fayetteville-Manlius area. read more

Great place. Good menu will all the traditional favorites. Easy to understand and Responsive order takers on the phone. She allows me to add/take away items and my food always is cooked as I wanted it to be. My favorite is the General Tso's chicken read more

Terrible customer service, the server never smile at me when I came in to the store to pick up my food, just like the food I ordered piss her off, and the food quality is bad too, rice taste like not even fully cooked, or over cooked, I cook rice at home so I know how rice should taste like when I cooked properly. Would rate zero if possible. read more

Very yummy Moo Shu Vegetable! Highly recommend trying this dish from them if you like seasoned veggies! I got take-out and just had to supplement my all-veggie w/ some protein at home. The cafe itself was relatively small, so I personally wouldn't plan to sit down there if I were want a full "restaurant experience". However, it was entirely perfect for take-out without question! Friendly staff and yummy food, that was ready at the time they promised. Yay for a quality Chinese food take-out dinner! Far better than other places I've tried. read more

Really nice staff, cute little strip mall Chinese place. Food wise my date (aka esppsita) asked how I would rate it 1-10. I felt good about a 5 because it wasn't too salty or greasy but it also wasn't too flavorful or authentic. For Manlius it might be an 8 or 9 but for me, a 5 is as high as I am willing to go. read more

Really great, fresh Chinese food here and the menu is very diverse allowing you to create all sorts of combos. There is a healthy menu option with steam cooked selections which is what my family and I always do when we get takeout. I'd definitely recommend to anyone who lives in the area as I feel it's the best Chinese takeout place in Manlius. read more

Bland, flavorless. Got chicken with broccoli extra spicy. They also don't give you anywhere enough rice. I have yet to find decent Chinese food in CNY read more

Another yelp recommendation I am so grateful for... this place really is the best chinese in the area. Who cares that you have to drive all the way out to Manlius! totally worth it!! read more

We dined in and had higher expectations. The food was forgettable and apparently so we're we. We had to go to the counter three or four times to request silverware napkins, the check and then to actually pay the check. It's supposed to be full service but I'm not so sure. read more

I went to china cafe just last night and it was adequate, the ambience was poor because it felt like I was in a shower with those wall tiles. The food was good, I had the sesame delight with a side of a small order of low mein noodles, even though there are a lot of chinese restaurants out there. I do not plan on coming back. read more

I have generally been happy in the past with the food and the service here. However the last few times, I have been less so. Recently, the food as been very late being ready for pick up, I have been greeted in a less friendly, more gruff manner, the food containers are no longer filled to capacity as they had in the past, and of course the prices seem to keep going up. The food itself is still very good. But in my opinion, the overall value has declined. read more

I moved to Manlius in 2008. I tried these guys out and have been hooked ever since. I pass 2 other Chinese restaurants to get there. It used to be 3, but one was so horrible they didn't last. I have tried the rest and China Cafe is the best. On top of having the best food they are friendly, fast, and in a decade of ordering once or twice a month, they have NEVER gotten my order wrong. read more

The 'pick your own' veggies and sauce is always SO good! Fresh veggies and tofu. They'll cook it any way you like. Very small place with a lot if take out, but we eat in. Yum! Great value, too! read more

Very good Chinese food for CNY. Happy we tried it out. A "take out" spot that seemed clean and bright- very friendly staff, and fine for "sit down" dinner. Not fancy, but delicious- not too salty or greasy like most CNY Chinese food spots! read more

Good food. Not great. Not amazing ... but good. Their ability to manage the counter, meet estimated times and communicate with customers leaves MUCH to be desired. It's solid strip-mall Chinese food, but plan accordingly--take out orders are routinely 15-20 minutes beyond their estimated time. read more

Our first attempt at eating their food was not a great experience. General Tso chicken was flavorless, wonton soup was also flavorless and the wontons were mush. Our next experience was not much better. We waited over an hour for our food. Was supposed to be a 45 minute wait, which is crazy!! I went there and had to wait another 20 minutes. She never apologized for letting me sit there like a fool. This time around, husband had boneless spare ribs, which he said was not good. I had chicken lo mein, which was also not good. We will not be going back. Chinese food is NOT worth this much of a hassle. read more

No joke. This is probably the best Chinese food I have ever had outside of San Fran and NYC Chinatowns. I got the triple pepper chicken, not for the meak. They nailed it. Just delicious and seriously hot. Tons of flavor. We got the black pepper short ribs, and honestly the ribs were a bit tough for my taste, but again the flavor was amazing. General Tso's was great, a little darker than what you usually see, and very flavorful. Appetizers were good. I just moved to the area recently and was nervous about finding good Chinese food, this is really a diamond though. Now if only they would deliver to Fabius. read more

This is definitely the best Chinese food in the F-M area. As a plus, they do well with authentic Sichuan on the limited Sichuan menu they offer. I've had a variety of dishes here and most of them range from good to excellent in quality, with the worst of them still being at least slightly above average for a takeout spot. That said: holy mother of god do not ever, ever, even try to dine in. The service is so bad, it's hard to fathom why they offer it, instead of just letting people order at the counter and take it to a table like a normal Chinese restaurant that specializes in takeout. They told us to sit when we tried to order at the counter and then didn't make it to our table for maybe 10 minutes? They brought out dishes randomly and after being there for an hour and not getting half our orders we insisted they be packed for takeout and finally escaped. So to summarize: fantastic for takeout. Really good food. Do NOT eat in. read more

Great chinese restaurant for all the essentials. Great dumlings, very good egg rolls/spring rolls. The chicken lo mein and garlic with beef dishes were decent. Exceptionally good won-ton soup! WIll definitely be back! read more

Best Chinese take out in the area. I gave it four stars because you can sit down to eat but the restaurant is not very nice. Food is the best though!! read more

Our regular Chinese restaurant. Pretty good food. Big menu. Speak fairly good english. Nice diet menu.

Bern going to this place for years! The staff is courteous & willing to work with your dietary needs! Decent food, all in all it's the best Chinese food in Syracuse, NY! read more

Great restaurant, great food. Quick take out, and affordable. Best Chinese in the area.

This my shit right here! Love them all they live above it and they devoted their lives to making everything so good the hipster cute girl with her Hollister shirts makes my day she will be head grand ruler one day of the china cafe I honesty think they put crack in the food I can eat it honestly 10 days in a row and I have have considered seeking treatment for an addiction and I get very embarrassed going in there day after day but I cannot help it I love the Chinese food is forever the best Chinese food dab on read more

I have gone to many chinese style restaurants but China Cafe is the best by far. Every item on their menu is perfect. I love their sesame chicken and salt and pepper chicken because the flavor in those items are incredible. I really recommend this place who love to eat delicious food! read more

First time trying this place, and man was I impressed. Our family ordered 4 different dishes, and each one was superb. The dumplings were also amazing, very meaty. read more

We've been eating here for years and the food is always good, very consistent. I've always assumed egg rolls came pre-made and frozen to Chinese restaurants but while in for lunch one day I saw one of the cooks hand rolling a big tray of egg rolls. Made me appreciate these guys even more. read more

Amazing! If you are looking for Americanized Chinese food they have the best. Also, if you are looking for something authentic just flip the menu over. I've been sampling the items on the back, under the heading "Chinese Classic Specials", and they are to die for! I love this place. Just a word of warning, if you do order something from the back make sure you do it with authority. My first order from the back of the menu was the Szechuan Twice Cooked Pork. They tried talking me out of the traditional cut of meat for something leaner. At first they got me but I called back and requested that they make it the way they are supposed to. I got it and was not disappointed. It was spicy, rich and full of complex flavors. Now I make sure to order everything on the back as if I know what I'm doing and I have yet to be disappointed. I have nothing but good things to say about this place!! read more

We have had take out in the past that was decent but after a 40 plus minute wait (on a 20 minute promise) we receive the wrong order (not rice noodles - asked for extra spicy and no spice - used same wok that did duck so anise flavor dominated the dish). Crispy duck was duck destroyed. Hard and dry and no flavor but the anise and fennel used. Dry fried rice. Dry white rice. Threw most of the meal in the garbage. read more

After 6 tries, my family has decided to give up on the China Cafe. Each time we found that the food was overcooked to the point of dryness and/or over breaded. Disappointing. read more

The food is great, you can watch it being made. Very authentic American Chinese food. On part with NYC. The wait staff is a little temperamental but worth the visit. read more

The people are very nice but it is typical OK chinese food. I've been a few times and it is the best place in Manlius but sometimes is hit or miss. read more