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Chinatown Cafe

3.8 (244 reviews)
Closed 9:30 am - 7:00 pm

Chinatown Cafe Photos

Business Info

CHINATOWN CAFE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Chinatown Cafe

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Reviews With Photos

Tal O.

I was so excited to try this place because the reviews are awesome and prices online looked really affordable! It's cash only and pick up only. I called to place my order and was told my total was $25. I even repeated it back to her once she told me it was cash only because I wanted to make sure I had enough cash. Once I got there and handed her the money, she told me it's not enough and showed me the receipt. The total was $35... I told her that doesn't make sense because it doesn't match the prices on their website or what they told me over the phone. She picked up the sesame chicken and told me this isn't $9. It is a huge portion, I'll give them that! But I didn't want $20 worth of sesame chicken! I even showed her the website and their own prices and she told me no. Bad attitude about it too. I walked out with $36 worth of chinese food when that's not at all what I had planned to spend. Luckily I had an extra $10 in my wallet otherwise I wouldn't have been able to pay for it! I got home and was excited to try it because if Im gonna spend almost 40 bucks on chinese it better be heaven. I kid you not, mall food chinese is better than this and a quarter of the cost. Overall I'm so disappointed because I was excited to find a locally owned, hole in the wall that could become my regular chinese takeout to go. After eating about 3 bites it's obvious I won't be coming back. Chinatown Cafe, please please please update your website with accurate prices!!

1lb of roasted pork
Oanh K L.

A very local & favorite to Chinese people. My stepmom always loves this place. Every time I visit her (from out of state), I always stop here to get them 1 lb of roast pork. If you can eat when they are still warm, it is flavorful, crispy & make my heart happy :). They don't speak English so well except 1 lady can communicate in English a bit, please tell them not to get you the fat pieces if you don't eat fat. Cash only place so be prepared. They also have other dishes that you can order to go or eat right there at the cafe. Big portion & pretty authentic.

Naaz A.

They were so good freshly made and price is reasonable tooo I would go there again!!service was good . Ambiance was good.

Menu + Price
Benny D.

Chinatown Cafe has a large menu with a really good price. All of its item is pretty good and it's hard to beat its price. I come here quite a bit to order something to bring home. The ambiance makes it feel like a hole in the wall because the restaurant lost a lot of the seatings. That makes me order things to go most of the time. It's also cash only. Here is my thoughts on what to order: Rice plate if you are ordering for yourself. For a family: Order a protein such as chicken, duck, or pork. Vegetables are a good add on and lastly, a side of your favorite carbs.

I ordered mock chicken w/ cashew. They gave me chicken w/ peanuts!

I ordered a chicken with cashews yesterday for takeout. Why it turned out to be chicken with peanuts? Peanuts is much cheaper than cashew. This is a scam in Chinatown!

Crispy pork belly on rice
Brian W.

This is THE place for Chinese BBQ in Boston. I used to go here when I was a kid with my parents and get pan fried noodles every time, but I never truly started to appreciate Chinatown Cafe until I started going here on my own and ordering their Chinese BBQ. Their Roast Duck, Char Siu, and Crispy Pork Belly are absolutely amazing, and they always give a huge portion for the amount of money you pay. HOWEVER, you never want to order a rice plate with more than 1 meat. We've noticed that if you order something like rice with roast duck and crispy pork belly (2 meats or more), you may get some off-cuts of the meat with a lot of bones in the duck or the ends of the pork belly. If you want to get a reliably consistent good quality cut, it's best to order just a 1-meat rice plate (or multiple, but always stick to 1 meat per dish). The most recent time I was here, I ordered the crispy pork belly on rice and (see picture) it came loaded with meat. I've been to other places around Boston that charge upwards of $15 and only give you 8-10 pieces, but there were 15 or so chunks of juicy, fatty, and crispy pork belly in this order. While we didn't eat in the restaurant because it was so crowded, there is a park right next door where we sat down on benches and were able to have a nice lunch. There was also enough rice and meat that we had a second helping for dinner! All in all, I will ALWAYS come back to Chinatown Cafe for Chinese BBQ. There really is no better place in Boston in my opinion, and the value is unbeatable.

Food is the best! Servings can feed at least two people! Service great and quick! Have also had the crispy pork and chicken plate and the best beef chow foon!

Exterior
Charlie T.

This place is where you go if you want large portions at a very reasonable price. We ordered a combo meal, and it literally was packed to the top, and they needed a rubber band to keep the lid shut. The container had to be at least 5 lbs of food. They do only take cash, so be prepared. Our combo dish included bbq pork, roast duck, and soy sauce chicken that came with some steamed veggies and rice. This one dish was enough to feed at least 2 people.

barely cooked pork 10/26/24
HeyYou W.

This place is a hit or a miss. Today we bought some roasted pork and when we got it home realized it was barely cooked. I know it wasn't bc they marinated it I looked at the meat and the bones - all pink. We had to take reheat it in the oven. Mind you, this was pricey. We called them and the woman who answered didn't believe us. Like, ma'am whoever chopped the pork should've seen how pink it was. They need to use their meat thermometers! Perhaps the health dept should get involved.

beef brisket lo mein.
Francisca W.

the love-hate relationship with this place. LOVE: convenient location; 15-min parking right out front. HATE: spots are always taken; I even got ticketed slipping in the hydrant spot for a quick pickup ~7pm when the street was practically empty LOVE: quick service (esp if you order ahead + beat the crowd) -- food is usually there by time I hang up and walk over. HATE: lines are always long - glad that they have added a second register mostly just for pickup. LOVE: value for money - portion is still big even at post-pandemic pricing. I'm always full when about 2/3 way into any of their noodle or rice dish. HATE: cash only LOVE: food is mostly consistent HATE: odd balls and "fake" items -- most recent being the Shanghainese style noodle. It was supposedly dark brown from dark soy, but it came as pale as Shanghainese people's skin. My Shanghainese friend is not impressed. Please, take it off the menu!! p.s. They recently re-opened limited seating for eat-in.

Soy Sauce Chicken & BBQ Pork With Rice

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

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REDWHITE - Boston - No 5 Yuzu Sesame Ramen Spicy Version

REDWHITE - Boston

4.2(570 reviews)
1.1 miBack Bay
$$
Casual dining
Vegan friendly

Redwhite was the best sushi I have had this year, while it seems like just 4 pieces, they're dense…read moreand heavy! Absolutely delicious though, we paired it with a No 7 Japanese Curry Ramen which was splendid too. It is a self service restaurant that has limited seating so just a heads up that you may have to wait, but trust me it's worth the wait!

RedWhite is a vegan Japanese restaurant on Newbury Street known for its flavorful ramen. The…read moreambiance inside is pretty cramped and dark, plus our wait time was long. We also had to wait outside since there wasn't room inside the restaurant. Additionally, they have a policy where you must order 1 dish per person or they will not seat you. You order at the front and then are seated with a beeper to pick up your food. The menu is pretty limited, but the dishes was overall seasoned nicely. The Spicy Roasted Miso Avocado Sushi Roll was better than the roasted miso avocado sushi since the best part of the dish was the spicy crumble on top. However, the sushi was oddly sized (too big for one bite, but too small and fell apart for 2 bites). The ramen was also differently flavored. The garlic was too overpowering and the texture of the noodles to other vegetables in the dish was offputting to me. However, all the dishes were presented/plated well. I probably wouldn't go back, but it was conveniently located.

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REDWHITE - Boston - Roasted Miso Avocado Sushi

Roasted Miso Avocado Sushi

REDWHITE - Boston - "S" No 7 Ginger Curry

"S" No 7 Ginger Curry

REDWHITE - Boston - No 5 Yuzu Sesame Ramen Spicy Version

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No 5 Yuzu Sesame Ramen Spicy Version

Santouka Back Bay

Santouka Back Bay

4.1(843 reviews)
1.2 miBack Bay
$$

Oh my deliciousness!!! I've passed by this place for years while visiting BOS ! I noticed that…read morethere was a line outside to dine. The foodie gods must've sent me over cause I actually waited in line Today was a bit cold and a good day for ramen! Waited for about 15ish minutes.... a spot opened up for us and we were ready to order!!!! My friend ordered the TONKOTSU CHA-SHU RAMEN Flavor choice: Shio Cha-shu Ramen comes with 5 pieces of Cha-shu (Braised pork belly). I ordered the VEGETARIAN RAMEN Soy based vegan broth with menma, kikurage mushrooms, soy sauce marinated fu (wheat gluten) and umeboshi. We both added to our ramen... AJI-TAMA* Marinated soft boiled egg. I added ... GREEN SALAD Fresh mixed greens served with original salad dressing. and SHIYAKE IKURA GOHAN Rice bowl topped with grilled salmon & salmon roe. Service was fast and friendly. You can order your ramen size bowl in small, medium and large. We both chose medium size. It was plenty! I ate my leftovers for dinner! I definitely recommend this place. The food is flavorful and delicious, service is fast and food portion for the price is great!

Santouka Back Bay is a small little ramen shop tucked away on a side street, right by Newbury St!…read more They've got 2 others locations in MA, one in Cambridge/Harvard Sq. & another in Allston. Looks like they have a couple of other locations in other states, 2 in WA & 1 in VA. This one is VERY SMALL... I would say only two tables that are suitable for parties of 4 & ~4-5 bar seats. The line is often pretty long here & people often are already standing in line outside half an hour to an hour before opening. Sometimes you can get away with just waiting for 5-15 minutes if you show up before opening. I personally think they make a decent bowl of ramen! They've been around for quite some time now & even with the dozens of new ramen shops popping up in Boston left & right, I'd still say they are in my top 5 in the city. I'd honestly come here more often if it wasn't for the line hahaha. I think the prices are reasonable & competitive w/ nearby shops. I like that they offer three different sizes for the ramens! Typically don't see that. I love getting the black garlic ramen, tantan ramen, & the miso ramen! But you honestly can't go wrong with any of the ramens they have. Highly recommend!

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Santouka Back Bay
Santouka Back Bay - Shoyu Cha-shu

Shoyu Cha-shu

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Interior

Soup Shack - Brookline - Black Tonkotsu

Soup Shack - Brookline

4.5(244 reviews)
3.3 mi
$$

Went to Soup Shack with some friends because I was craving ramen and this place did not disappoint…read more Everything was so flavorful, fresh and comforting. Such a good spot for a cozy filling meal. STEAMED CHICKEN GYOZA Soft tender and packed with a juicy chicken filling. The wrapper had the perfect bite and dipping it in the ginger sauce made it even better. A great starter. FRIED PORK GYOZA Crispy outside juicy inside and so flavorful. The pork filling was seasoned well and the crunch made each bite so satisfying. These were gone instantly. DAC BIET A rich beef broth loaded with rare steak brisket tripe tendon and meatballs. So much flavor and such a generous portion. Comforting, savory and the kind of bowl that warms you instantly. MI WONTON Light clean and comforting. The wontons were stuffed generously and the broth was flavorful without feeling heavy. A great balance to the richer bowls we ordered. SPICY MISO BEEF STEW This was incredible. Spicy miso broth with tender slow cooked beef and all the toppings. The spice level actually enhanced the flavor instead of overpowering it. Deep savory and so satisfying. TAN TAN MEN One of my favorites. Spicy creamy broth with ground pork bok choy and bean sprouts layered over chewy noodles. Rich bold and full of flavor in every bite. We also added marinated soft boiled eggs to our ramen and they were perfect. Soft jammy and full of flavor. Highly recommend adding one to any bowl. Overall Soup Shack really hit my craving. Everything tasted fresh portions were generous and the spicy bowls had so much depth. Loved this visit and will definitely be back.

The food is so good, sometimes can be a bit salty. I would go not during dinner because the place…read moreis small. The people that works there are super nice

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Soup Shack - Brookline
Soup Shack - Brookline - Red Ramen

Red Ramen

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Spicy miso ramen

Chinatown Cafe - chinese - Updated May 2026

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