Maybe it's because I haven't eaten all day or maybe it's because I caught this place right before closing time. I don't know, but I'm stoked I found it because it's awesome! Since I stupidly waited until 8pm to eat my first meal of the day, I got really excited and got both the soy sauce chicken wonton noodle soup and a rice plate with pork belly (it usually comes with roasted pork, but they were out), soy sauce chicken, and roasted duck. For portions, I'm only halfway through my noodle soup. I haven't even touched the rice plate yet; it's still in the bag. Yeah, that's how good this place is. I stopped eating to review this place - that's pretty serious. And I feel confident reviewing first because I don't even have to eat the second item to know it's gonna be great. How? Because this wonton noodle soup is crazy good. The wontons are a combo of pork and shrimp and are like little gems, hidden in pockets among greens and noodles and cowering under the hearty whole leg of chicken, cut into large hunks of golden brown, salty, succulent goodness. I dumped a container of "hot oil" into my bowl and each bite has a spicy kick that coats the mouth in different levels of savory fattiness. That's how. Even though I only got take-out, the man who took my order was friendly and the food was in my hands quickly. He knew enough English to answer my questions and offer suggestions, so that was helpful. I'm taking off one star for two reasons: they don't take cards and were out of roasted pork when I showed up, so naturally, I am personally offended. JK - I'll just have to show up sooner. read more

Don't know how some one could not like this place. tasty food at excellent prices. the price of ~50 feeds a family of four with leftovers of noodles, chicken and roasted duck/pork for another meal. read more

Got duck, chicken, and pork over rice. The duck had good flavor, but the pieces were a bit bonier than I would've liked, making it hard to eat. The chicken was okay in terms of flavor and juiciness. The roast pork was definitely the best meat out of the box. It had a nice smoky flavor and a good balance between savory and sweet. The prices here are very cheap and the portions are enormous. One box is enough to last two meals. Cash-only so bring the greens. read more

Terrible service!!!! Not surprising. Never would come here ever again. The new and previous boss is so disrespectful. Patrons come in here to give you business and money but all of you like to say disrespectful things to all customers!!! Complained that my mom is too clean. So I guess all Chinese restaurants likes to be dirty. Very rude Chinese people. Told the current boss to have the table clean but he just stood there and give dirty looks to my mother and I. My mom saw the chefs picking their nose and teeth and hey won't wash their hands. Told the boss and the boss didn't tell his workers not to do so but started trouble that my mom is the trouble maker. This is why a few months back they had to wear mouth masks to serve people. The bulging eyes boss looks like he wants to punch my mom in the face because the lady that chopped BBQ meat wiped the table then the chopping board and my mom thought it was very dirty. The old boss just stand at the cashier line like someone will not pay their bill or the employees will hide some money from the registers. So I guess the boss of this restaurant previous and old just like to complain about customers even the customers that calls in to order. read more

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HUGE menu. I got the Rice Combo #1 which normally comes with white rice, roast duck, roast pork, and soy sauce chicken, but I substituted the roast pork for crispy pork and got brown rice for an extra dollar (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/g3OJi94JTYhIoEwqNfhI8g?select=vfgi6A7unnpigMyBDnl-ig). As you can see from the picture, they give you a BUTT TON OF FOOD, and they dont skimp on the meat either! Definitely enough for two meals! I was a devoted fan of wai wai down the street, but I think I Chinatown Cafe might have topped it.. especially since its so close to tufts med! AND they let you substitute brown rice instead of white rice for only ONE bone just so we can feel kinda healthy as we eat GREASY ass roast meats. All the roast meats were freakin tasty, and the CRISPY FRIED PORK was SUPER moist, but still really crispy on the outside! ahh so freakin good! HIGHLY recommended! read more

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This place has been here as long as I can remember. They can make things that are not on the menu, they serve up rice, noodles, chow fun, and many meats as well. It's a quick service restaurant that turns it food fast with space to dine in as well. Service can be better but I'm not surprised. read more

This place really rocks. It's a restaurant in a Chinese community center off the beaten path of chinatown. Past the Tufts Medical Center T stop on the Orange line. Their wonton noodles covered with your choice of protein is what steals my heart every time. They give you 7 GIGANTIC wontons that are overfilled with shrimp and pork. Seriously some of the best wontons I've had. They have a slight sesame oil flavor to them and OMG, just so good. Their soy sauce chicken, bbq pork and duck are all delicious. You can get the combo over rice and the special soy sauce that gets smothered on the rice with the meats is lusciously delectable. It's cash only which can be a pain but it's so worth it! read more

Chinatown Cafe - Soy chicken over wonton noodle soup - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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This is one of my favorite places for Chinese food in Boston. This is very authentic and reminds me of the places I miss in Chicago and NYC. The portions are huge and the prices are very reasonable. I like to get the shrimp and lobster sauce with fried rice. The lobster sauce is the old school Cantonese style. It's a darker sauce with pork and black beans. I also love their barbecue items. The pork and chicken are excellent. See my pics. The place is considered fast food-ish. You get in line and order at the register, and your food is packed up to go or served on a tray at the end of the line. Then you find a seat in the dining area if you want to eat on the premises. The place is in Boston's Chinatown. Like in a lot of areas in the city, parking and traffic is bad. I would recommend getting here via public transportation. I can't wait for my next meal and Chinatown Cafe!! read more

Chinatown Cafe - Chinese soy sauce chicken and bbq pork... So good! - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

My family has been coming here for many years and it's very solidly a 4 star place. It's decent, not great, cantonese food but it's a great value as well. Recommend: wonton noodles with soup, the seafood chow mein, the flat rice noodles with beef, and the sea bass casserole. The wok is a little short on wok hei. The roast meats here are also pretty good read more

Chinatown Cafe - Big portions - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Two words: BBQ pork (char siu). I was recommended by my non-Asian colleagues to try the Chinatown Cafe. The hanging ducks (and other assortment of meat) always intimidate me, but I decided to give this place a shot. The first time I came here, I ordered pad Thai - huge mistake. I should've known that a small cafe tucked away in the Chinatown residential area would not excel in non-Chinese cuisines. The majority of the dish was rice noodles. In comparison, there were very little shrimps, peanuts, and vegetables (bean sprouts etc). The noodles were dry and bland. Upon my return, I ordered BBQ pork over rice. The BBQ pork was just a little dry but very flavorful. It was sweet and savory. The sauce penetrated the rice underneath and gave the otherwise plain rice a rich flavor. I'm not Cantonese so I can't say this with 100% confidence - but their Cantonese dishes seem very authentic. The portions are huge and inexpensive. Definitely a great option for those on a budget. Whenever I get take-out from here, I'm all set for the next 2-3 meals. The ambiance is casual and the restaurant itself is not very nice. Most people get their food to go. Like many other place in Chinatown, it's cash only. So make sure you hit up the ATM before coming here. In summary, this place is definitely a gem. If you aren't a fan, you probably didn't order the right dish! Can't wait to try the wontons next time! read more

Chinatown Cafe - Roast pork over rice - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Really disappointed with their preserved egg/pork congee. The entire thing was 95% white rice and a small 5% pork which was bland. The preserved egg part only seemed to contain the jelly part, which had zero flavor. I felt like I was just eating watery rice. Huge waste of money. read more

Restaurant is located outside of Chinatown in a quieter residential area. You'll know you have arrived by all the roasted meats they have on display. Having heard how much food they serve, I only ordered the roast pork as I was by myself and could not take leftovers with me. Otherwise I would have also tried the chicken and duck...maybe next time! After ordering, the meats are freshly cut and put on top of a huge serving of white rice. The food was hot and there was plenty of seating space inside. Prices are very affordable for the amount of food you get. Not sure if it's still cash only as I automatically pay in cash when in a Chinese restaurant. read more

Chinatown Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Forget about the printed menus and the giant menu board inside the restaurant. Those prices are out of date. Just pay whatever you're told. That's how Chinatown Café operates now. For the longest time we thought we were being charged extra because we had called in to place our orders using one of their printed menus. The charges never totaled up to what we had calculated beforehand. When we finally approached the cashier during one of our pickups, all she said was that the pricing on their printed menus were out of date. Said printed menus can be found inside their restaurant. Yeah, no. Chinatown Café food quality has gone downhill since they switched owners. If you think their food is great now, it was even better before. read more

Was craving roast pork rice so decided to give this place a try after looking it up on Yelp. It was super crowded around 11:30am Sunday morning - all the locals were here getting their "brunch" meal in. Ordered a roast pork rice - which as many review says, it is very big, but really only rice. It was tasty and did the trick. After reading other reviews about the wonton soup noodles, decided to try one of those too. It definitely had some good size wontons and quite a few but the wontons are pork wontons, so if you are looking for full shrimp wontons, this is not the place. But if you are looking for big portions - come here. read more

Yummy yummy in my tummy. Cheap and good! My bf's favorite when he's looking for the roasted duck and charsiu! read more

Chinatown Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I would like to preface this review by saying that I love siu mei (Chinese roasted meats), hence growing up my parents would order siu mei for lunch or dinner from time to time. Over the years, they would order from various siu mei restaurants, sometimes it would be great other times it would be shitty leftovers that are overly fatty and inedible. I can gladly say that in the recent years, we have found a fantastic siu mei restaurant that is Chinatown Café - it's the best in Boston, really. The roasted meats are consistently fresh, tender, and delicious & there's the nice barbeque flavor in the meat. The other siu mei joints, or at least most of them (not to name any names), it's almost a lottery system where one may get the fresh siu mei if he/she is lucky, but if not then he/she will end up with the shitty stuff. In some of these joints, they give all the fresh siu mei to regulars and customers that employees personally know, saving the inedible for the average customer. Chinatown Café does not gamble in their business like that, they actually care about the customer by providing quality siu mei. Though I sometimes wonder what they do with the crappy pieces - it would make sense to sell it at a discounted prices, given most of the patrons are Chinese, you know there will be ones looking for a bargain! There's typically a line here and can get hectic, but it's nice to know that you'll get great siu mei each and every single time. read more

You know that feeling of disappointment when you've been craving something for hella long and when you finally get it, it sucks balls?!!! Well that's me right now!! Got a plethora of cbbq--roasted duck, cha Sui and white chicken w ginger scallion. All badddd!! The roasted duck was bland and texturally wrong.. Meat was a bit mushy! The cha Sui had absolutely no sweetness and was just salty. The chicken was rubbery and lacked any chicken flavor. Prices were not particularly cheap compared to other cbbq prices. Service was your typical Asian attitude. Major disappointment today.. Def Won't be back for the cbbq, but maybe their menu stuff is better.... read more

Chinatown Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Alright, alright. I'm gonna update this and give them a littttttle bit more of a boost. I've read some of the other reviews, I'll be honest, and I think maybe getting/trying other things on the menu would be a step in the right direction. So here's what's changed since my last visit: I came here two days ago - I was sick with some kinda feverish fluish strep thing (I'm a future doctor - not actually a doctor yet haha) that was eating away at me for the past several days. I needed food, and Chinatown Cafe was the closest thing besides May's Cake House (which is good, but not real sustenance in my time of need). I ordered two items because I wanted to have food for the next couple of meals (and because I wanted to have cause to write an updated review, if it was warranted). I ordered the Roast Pork Wonton Noodle Soup and the R1 (Chicken, Roast Pork, Duck over rice). I got both to go. Plus: It was quick. Ridiculously quick. I guess the soup and the wontons are basically premade, and the meat is all just being chopped right in front of you, but nevertheless it was very quick. The soup was separated from the noodles and the wontons, which I thought was classy. The wontons were pretty packed and tasty. The soup was perfect against my inflamed/ill throat (and also flavorful). The noodles were decent, and the soupy roast pork was good - better than the roast pork I had last time for certain. The one order of soup was more than enough for one meal. The R1 was enough for 1.5 meals or more - I split it into 2 meals, and they were decently filling. Minus: The meat was just ok-tasting. I still don't recommend the freshly cut hanging bbq meats. I don't know why it is not that great. Ok - the chicken was kind of dry. The roast pork - unless it is the fatty variety - is also rather dry. The duck was ok, actually, but it's hard to go wrong with duck in my opinion. Verdict #2: as with my previous review, do not get the bbq meats - there are far better places in Chinatown to get them - FAR better. Try the Roast Pork Wonton Noodle Soup - it's pretty decent and filling. read more

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Although I only have one check-in here, I have been coming with my family since I was a kid. So many childhood memories among those burgundy booth seats! This place is well-known for amazing Chinese BBQ. We typically get their roast pork. The crispy skin and layer of fat underneath is deliciously indulgent. I am also a HUGE fan of their wontons! The most plump and flavorful I've ever had (but beware the occasional shrimp shell). Another warning - this place can get crowded around lunch and dinner rush. If you do not want to sit in, just take the food to go. However, if you do choose to dine in, you will be immersed in old-school Chinatown ambience! read more

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The reviews on here is deceiving. I don't know if the cook was having an off day but my beef and mushroom and my chicken lo mein lack flavors. My husband took 2 bites from the beef and mushroom and decided to go to bed hungry after that. My daughter did not even finish half of her lo mein. I had the ginger and scallion chicken which you can't go wrong with and the char siu pork. I will probably not order anything else but the bbq stuff from here in the future. read more

The food is decent to good and the portions are huge. I live really close to Chinatown Cafe so when I'm lazy to cook (which is most of the time), I'll buy 1-2 entrees and can easily make several meals out of them to last the week. It's your typical hole in the wall Chinese restaurant so don't expect the place to be clean, accept credit cards, or employees to be polite. It's comparable to the other places in Chinatown- cheap, quick, and most of the time tasty. My only complaint is this place gets so busy on the weekends, especially mornings to lunch time, that there are always cars double parked outside, causing a traffic jam and loud and extremely annoying honking. Not their fault in any way. If anything, it just shows how popular they are. read more

Good price with decent amount of food and is very tasty love this place ! Their BBQ is awesome

Huge portions for simple, very authentic food and a fair price. I had the roast duck and wonton noodle soup. The soup was very flavorful. The wontons were nice and plump and there were a lot of them. The roast duck hits the taste perfectly but is slightly mushy. Again, the portion size was huge and I could have split it with another person and still been full. read more

Chinatown Cafe - Roast duck and wonton soup - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Still going strong got two roast duck wanton noodle soup, salt and pepper pork chops, yang chow fried rice , noodle with veggies and Chinese broccoli. All very delicious and worth the trip. read more

I took my two teenage sons to the Chinatown Cafe and was so happy about it. They both got dinner that was very good and filling!! I got the fried rice and it was amazing! One of my sons got the beef wonton noodle soup and it was delicious. My other son got the chicken lo mien and that was the best he has ever eaten. We highly recommend going. read more

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 read more

It pains my heart to have to give it 2 stars. As I grew up eating here as a child while visiting my grandma at tai tun. I am not sure if it was during closing, but the food was soo bad. I ordered 2 soy sauce chicken legs and salt and pepper pork. Both were soo salty that I couldn't eat the rest of it. There wasn't any flavor and the pork was stale. I give it 2 stars because In the past they were my go to. I am hoping this is a off day. read more

This place is cash only!! The restaurant had a pretty good seating area (many tables). In general the restaurant didn't feel very clean and the restroom was broken when we came. My chicken and vegetables (with rice) had good flavor, but I thought the chicken had a very odd texture. My dad thought the wontons were pretty good and my mom enjoyed her congee. read more

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We have been long & old time Customers. I order a half chicken the other day from here. When we got home we open the box to look and notice the thigh and wing of the half chicken we're missing. This will be our last time buying from this place. read more

This place is a great cheap eats location in Chinatown. They have a wide selection of food items to choose from, ranging from noodles to rice places, to chicken and duck. The prices are incredibly cheap, although this is a cash only place. No frills at all, but the food is tasty! My friend and I got a rice plate with roast pork, duck, and pork, a beef noodle soup, and scallion pancakes. All of the meats were cooked to perfection and had great flavor to them. The noodles had a great chew and the scallion pancakes were standard. Will definitely come back here in the future! read more

Food: 4/5 I went there with my fiancé and his friend for lunch. As other Chinese places for lunch, it's cheap and a portion is gigantic. I ordered a wonton soup with soy chicken. As I said the portion is HUGE, with only wonton and chicken with some veggies. The bowl is filled with stuffs and the broth is in separate container. We said we gonna eat there but they still packed as we would take out. And of course we did because non of us could finish our food, even my fiancé and his friend usually eat a lot. The wonton is not so great compared to other places I have been but with that price, I'm happy with it. The chicken is same thing. Atmosphere: 3/5 It's loud and look not so hygienic. Price: 5/5 For a person like me, that portion can keep me full all day and it's less than $8 with tax included. I'll definitely come back here for lunch, the problem is it's kinda far from a Chinatown center and my workplace. read more

Chinatown Cafe - Soy chicken and wonton soup. The portion is HUGE for $8 only wonton and chicken no noodle - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

On 12/20/20 abut 12:30pm I Specifically ordered 2 pounds of lean roast pork belly to the male cashier at the counter and when I got home it was all fat and I mean all fat. I try to support this business due to covid, but get screwed because the lady bbq cook wants to get rid of bad cuts of meat. By the way I also ordered a whole roast duck and roast pork for a total of $62.30. I would of brought it back but I live 23 miles away.I hope the owner reads this and does something. read more

What I ordered wasn't even Chinese food. Quite frankly, I don't know what it was. My friends and I ordered a few meals for dinner: Chicken and Broccoli, General's Tso, Chicken with Garlic Sauce and Lo Mein. We saw the great reviews and for $10 the portions were huge! Win-win, in my opinion. Preface: All of us do not like mushrooms and clearly asked PLEASE no mushrooms in the dish. They acknowledged it and when we opened our meals, what do we see? Mushrooms. Strike one. Second, the dish although it looked like a large portion was clearly 3/4 white rice. Strike too. But the last straw was the actual meal itself. Since we had several chicken dishes we tasted each one to determine which was which considering they all looked the same. Well, you know what? They all tasted the same. I couldn't distinguish the chicken and broccoli from the garlic chicken. And the food was so so bland. No flavor whatsoever. That lo mein needed a serious dose of soy sauce or something! And last but not least, we didn't get any fortune cookies, womp. Needless to say, when I'm back visiting my friends in Boston... I won't be eating here! Such a bummer. read more

Service With A Stare "Thank you for coming to my tour! Please look to your left at Chinatown Cafe. Notice position relative to Tai Tung Village housing community. Ah yes, basically restaurant lives under 700 or more low-income inhabitants. This is the Harrison Ave, this is where most of Chinese lives, not the retail Chinatown over there! This is real Chinatown, but B.R.A. come to buy it for yuppie devils soon, so anyway. So! What you infer? Nothing? (Inscrutable Asian Stare.) OK! This Chinatown Cafe--we feed thousand of working class people, even we roll up sidewalk at 8:30PM. When you come to slurp on the noodle sometime, you watch many a double-parked Honda from 5 to 6PM. Mommy and daddy rush home to feed suburban A.B.C. kid, ha ha ha! I tell you story..." http://www.bostonchinatown.org/archives/2005/12/the_soohoo_family.shtml What's in those bags full of take-out? Solid family fare, roast meats, char siu, chow fun, even the most humble but awfully sustaining congee. I love the congee. What else do you really need to live on? Robert Capa, my favorite photographer, used to live on a little sugar dissolved in water once a day. Congee is manna from your fellow man, man. Check out the photos on the wall. Local politicians, sports figures, community and school events. This place means something. It's not quite the Bahston institutions that (former) Amrhein's or Doyle's are perceived to be, but it deserves a more vaunted reputation. Think about the name, "Chinatown Cafe". After you realize "cafe" is, by accident or by design, short for "cafeteria", it's suddenly apropos, not generic anymore, right? The link explains the real story. Again, http://www.bostonchinatown.org/archives/2005/12/the_soohoo_family.shtml True to community service, no bragging, you would never know by eating here that this is a real community center. Chinatown Cafe, we just serve, food and elsewise. read more

I'm confused. Granted, most times I can walk around with a blank look on my face, but this is a REALLY blank look. My friends and I were craving some Chinese food and passing by here every day and seeing the rave reviews, we thought Chinatown Cafe to be a solid option. I've never been so wrong. Ex-boyfriends - be grateful. You've officially been overshadowed. We ordered four very basic meals - chicken and broccoli, garlic chicken, general's chicken, and pork lo mein - and the only request we made was that there be no mushrooms in any of the dishes. Our hungry tummy's were more than excited for what was to come that even I was content with walking to the biz to pick it up. I picked up a rather heavy bag full of food, and my excitement increased. This must be these massive portions people speak of, and for only $10/person! WHAT?! When we opened our containers, that's exactly what we asked ourselves - what is this?! 85% of each meal which came with rice was just that. The additional 15% consisted of flavorless chicken (legit all of our meals tasted exactly the same) and MUSHROOMS! When I tell you I repeated "No mushrooms" four times, I'm probably under-exaggerating. We continued to take bites and pick at each other's meals in search of some sort of meal-inspire miracle, but lo and behold, there was none to be found. Chinatown Cafe ended up being that ex who left a bad taste in your mouth. I mean, I can't even say they left a bad taste; that would be too generous. read more

I'm almost hesitant to write a review on Chinatown Cafe, simply because it's a hidden gem that's so precious that I want it to be mine, all mine! But no! This place is far too good and amazing to hold keep to myself. So here it goes: Toward the end of Harrison Ave, a little walk away from the center of Chinatown, sits Chinatown Cafe. It's been here for years now and has great credibility. The place is relatively clean for a Chinatown establishment, which is a huge plus. There's a good amount of seating here as well, with various booths and tables to eat at. The menu is also pretty extensive, including different types of BBQ meats, soups, noodles, rice plates, pork, chicken, and seafood. What's even better? It's cheap and the portions are HUGE! Scenario #1: When I ordered my beef chow foon [wide white rice noodles] with black bean garlic sauce and broccoli to go (~$7.00), they warned me to hold the bag upright because the food and sauce was overflowing from the styrofoam container. Scenario #2: My friend ordered salt and pepper fried pork chops over white rice (~$7.00). There was so much food in his styrofoam container, causing them to use a rubber band to hold it all together. There's complementary hot tea, hot water, and regular water that you can help yourself to. Smoothies and other canned beverages are also available to purchase. This place takes CASH ONLY, and parking around the area sucks butt, so take the train and walk instead [Orange and Silver Lines to New England Medical Center]. Chinatown Cafe is definitely a family and friend favorite and I know I will be back for a countless number of times. read more

I've been going here since I was a kid. At a low cost, you get a lot of decent quality Chinese food. I love all their dishes, except the wonton mein - which comes off as fishy to me. Also, their meat is not the greatest quality and cutlets, but for the price, I won't complain at all. I noticed they are really cheap with the condiments, napkins, bowls, etc., so be sure you ask if you get take-out! I always have to hound them for their hot sauce, which tastes unique (I always try to bring some home). There's free hot tea, but don't knock your cup over, as I did ALL the time as a kid. They will be pissed off. read more

Shitty consumer service but food is good. What sucks is that first time I ordered 3 meal combo this August it costed me 9.45$. I liked it so much I returned that August couple of days later and got charged 11.45$... read more

Got the duck, pork, beef dish on rice. Tasteless even with six packets of duck sauce. Perhaps another dish would be tastier? Disappointed, even for the price not worth it. read more

My mom used to own a salon at Tai Tung Village and I used to go to BCEC (Boston Chinese Evangelical Church) across the street so I have been a steady patron of CC for many, many years now. I remember when the church used to let out, there would be a mass migration straight to CC for lunch. My mom would also often send me to CC to get their roast pork, char siu, or roast duck for dinner takeout. This place is a classic. The portions have remained pretty much the same since the 90s except they might have cut down on the meat/veggies/seafood a bit with each order. The rise of food prices is to blame as most places do that now. Their Chinese BBQ is still the highlight of their menu. I like to get a mix of BBQ meats on either rice or noodle soup. You can get the duck and chicken on rice, char siu and duck on noodles, and whatever combination strikes your fancy. They also have a large variety of rice plates and noodle dishes so there is something for everyone. All in all, this place is a safe bet for a value lunch or dinner. They do not open for breakfast and they accept cash only. read more