I really want this place to be a five-star restaurant. First, it's the closest Chinese restaurant to my home. Second, the staff is very friendly and do their darndest to satisfy the customers. But I can't. First, there's the decor. The restaurant seems to be in a state of redecoration, with odd things left in odd places. When we walked in we weren't even sure if they were open for dine-in as most of the orders seemed to be to go. The food is OK. It's not spectacular, I think Ming Yen and China Palace are far superior. Green bamboo was better too, but alas they closed last year. The dishes we had - soup, cashew chicken, prawns - were all fresh for sure, but the flavors weren't there. It somehow tasted a bit inauthentic (not as bad as Panda though!) Overall, I have to say it was "OK", and that translates to 3 stars. We have decided to give it one more try for dinner, maybe the experience will be different. Let's hope so! read more

Delicious home made Chinese food close to home. A lovely couple owns, serves, cooks, and operates it and the food is always fresh. It has a no frills sitting environment but is reliably tasty and great for takeout. read more

Dragon Cafe - Dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

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Wonderful flavors and especially wonderful service! Our group ordered the large wonton soup, bbq pork fried rice, the bean curd with mixed vegetables and the mu shu chicken... All delicious! read more

Very generous portions of very fresh ingredients, very well prepared. The service is very polite and friendly, with dishes brought to your table within (and often considerably less than) a minute after leaving the wok, often too piping hot to eat right away. The prices are very modest, indeed - an absolute bargain in the overheated world of Marin restaurant prices. There are only 5 tables, and the decor is somewhat spare in the tradition of small restaurants in China itself. The emphasis and attention here are on the food and the service. Just what you want in a neighborhood restaurant of outstanding quality, hence 5 well-deserved stars. We go there about once a week, simply because we greatly enjoy it. Before I wrote this, I read other reviews and noted that the negative ones are from many (in one case, 15) years ago. I was last there an hour ago. read more

I am not sure what happened in 8 months but this place looks nothing like the website nor here. Decor is not very good... I had to sit at the employee table with a pot of tea, newspaper, and reading glasses Food was NOT very good at all. The rice was cold and orange chicken was way over cooked. Lastly, I could not believed I was charged $1.25 for a craft of tap water... read more

To go order- combination chow mien. Had very little beef, chicken and only 1 shrimp. Haven't been back but may try again.

Literally, the only good Chinese food to be had in Novato. Don't even bother going anywhere else. Small mom and pop shop and they do the food with care and can even order some things off the menu. We had sworn off Chinese food since moving to Novato, but then found this place and now we can indulge once in a while. Food is yummy and not greasy. Best walnut prawns and vegetables are neither overcooked nor undercooked just perfect. Not to mention they are not overpriced. read more

The service here is outstanding. Very friendly and welcoming staff. In the 22 yrs I've lived here this was only my 2nd time here. My favorite Chinese place has closed down, so we tried it here again. I find the food kind of greasy and bland. But love the staff and service. read more

I was excited to try a new place for Chinese. I ordered orange chicken, won ton soup, broccoli beef, and kung pap chicken. Portions were very good, orange chicken was good but VERY sweet, broccoli beef was grayish.... and I had to throw it out. Why the three stars you ask? The man who helped me was very nice. The woman who actually gave me my food, sucked. I asked for more soy sauce. Keeping in mind I had four entrees. Her "Really? How many? Me "Four or five" She comes back with three. "You already have two in there" Yes she did. This is an absolute HUGE pet peeve of mine. Placing a large order and then have them give you shit for asking for condiments. I spent $40 and you can't give me soy sauce packets that probably cost maybe 5 cents? I left without saying anything I was so pissed. Didn't even get a "thank you". Really really stupid business practice. I won't be back. read more

I got to try Dragon Cafe today. For a quick Chinese lunch, it's pretty reasonable. I rate these guys higher than Happy Garden on Bel Marin Keys, mainly based on taste. Unlike Happy Garden, Dragon Cafe didn't do the soy sauce overload, making the food much more palatable. Both establishments have pretty meager interiors, it doesn't seem to dissuade Dragon Cafe's customers. The place was filling up pretty quickly by noon. The Lunch specials are priced at around 7 dollars, and come with a bowl of soup. read more

Dragon Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

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Totally respectable Chinese food. Veggie spring rolls were delicious. I had mixed vegetables with tofu. It had good veggies in it, not the all too often over abundance of onions one sometimes gets. Fresh asparagus --lots -- bok choy, mouth-sized broccoli, and a few carrot slices. It was very soft tofu though. The brown rice wasn't very good. Probably don't serve much here. It was too wet. Prices were fair. Definitely worth a stop. read more

All of the food we ordered was great, but the salt and pepper shrimp was by far my favorite.

I love having lunch here, I have the best potstickers for lunch. I love the braised bean curd with mixed vegetables. Today I bought prawns with mixed vegetables. Superb service is provided by the friendly staff. read more

Very good food, went out of their way to help me. Added vegetables to my BBQ pork Chow mein for a small charge. Very small area to eat about 5 or 6 Tables. They have been at this location for about 34 yrs. Very friendly people, Asked for our names and How far away we lived. read more

I've been coming here for a long time and have yet to post a review, my family loves to come here and the owners are always so friendly and welcoming. Definitely give it a try next time you are in the area to support this local business! read more

Dragon Cafe - Chicken Lo Mein (the chef can make it if you ask!) - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

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Overpriced,tasteless,small portion,went their several times before quality went down hill,s 3 strikes your OUT

Was looking for some good Chinese locally for lunch and this place was a great find! Super polite owners, fast service, and overall good food. This review is based off pickup but every lunch plate to go has been consistently good. Comes with fried rice and noodles and choice of main entree. I've had a few chicken options and all were good, portions are generous too. read more

My Points Index {100}: Authenticity 40% Food 30% Service 10% Price 10% Ambient 5% Cleanliness 5% Authenticity 3.5/5 Food 2.5/5 Service 2.5/5 Price 3/5 Ambient 2/5 Cleanliness 2.5/5 59 points Remark: More real foods than Panda Express. read more

Aside from being understated, thoughtful of our environment and incredibly polite...WHY DON'T WE HAVE AWARDS FOR MANNERS? Why do we call traditional behaviors such as manners "old school"? Dragon Cafe represents what is all traditional, naturally cultural and good. I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to the young man that took my order last night! He's a superb first impression - coupled with honesty and detailed in his order taking! He's going places! I've been dining here for 10 years and they've provided consistency and a delicious meal every time! read more

Dragon Cafe - Sucky Soup: WORKS EVERY TIME! - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

Craving good old American Chinese comfort food like crab Rangoon and chow mein? This is the place for you. Food is tasty and have the appropriate seasoning. You could hear the chef Woking which is pretty cool. Nice people. I will be back. read more

It's just hiding in plain sight. Nice potstickers and a great Hot and Sour Soup--well balanced with the pork and firm tofu and lily flower and so on. Props go to the thick-cut still-crisp celery in the Kung Pao, damn. And a deeply savory soy chicken Chow Mein. For this area, as far as American Chinese take-out food goes, Dragon Cafe is a cut above. read more

We keep coming back to Dragon Cafe for delicious Chinese! We've tried other places nearby, but they're just not as good. Dragon Cafe is friendly, fairly priced, and delicious. We've been coming here for years now and have no plans to change. read more

I have been coming here for years and the quality hasn't changed for what is in my opinion the best Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese) food in Marin. It's clean, tastes fresh and homemade. I usually get the Beef Chow Fun, BBQ Pork Fried Rice, and the BBQ Pork Buns...and let me tell you about those buns, order some! They are so delicious! You will not go wrong with other dishes you order here. The food is fairly priced and you get big portions of food for every order. Go support a family business and amazing food! read more

Very good. Fast. The muscles are amazing and worth every penny. The beef n broccoli was a meat I can't figure out, maybe chicken? It was pale white. Lol But i love seafood and appreciate that the muscles were plentiful and cooked well. read more

We had Mu Shu Pork and Crab Rangoon. Quality of ingredients was good, but was really unhappy about the dishonesty. I specifically called to ask if Mu Shu "pancakes" were regular flour tortillas. I was told they are "Chinese, special-made pancakes". Then, I asked, "So they're not like Mexican flour tortillas?" The lady said "No, what?.... Hold on. What are you trying to figure out?" I gave up and just ordered them, but really didn't want flour tortillas, per previous reviews. However, that's exactly what we got...not Chinese, and not special-made. I would guess from the grocery store next door, which is fine, but don't dupe people about it. Mu Shu itself was really good, however. Crab rangoon was your basic fried glob of cream cheese sans crab...crispy/fresh/hot, though. read more

This has been our go to for Chinese food for years. We get the pot stickers, pork buns, and pork fried rice. They are reliably good and they know who we are. read more

I'm sorry but this is mediocre Chinese cuisine at best. My grandmother had been raving about this place and wanted to take my mother and I. Granted, my grandmother rarely eats out and we differ greatly in taste, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. The restaurant is a small little place with about five or six tables and its decor needs improvement. The menu had all the usual plates: chow mein, soups, vegetables, seafood, beef, chicken, etc. We ordered kung pao beef, sweet and sour shrimp, and fresh vegetables. We were under the impressions that we would all share the three entrée's just like at other Chinese restaurants. After we put our food order in, we were served soup, which was a little odd, but we didn't question it. Then I realized, we were eating during the 'lunch hour'. What does this mean? Well, you get a cup of soup and your entrée isn't a entrée per se, your "entrée " order includes chow mein and fried rice. This put a damper on our food sharing, but we still managed to try each other's plates. The food? Greasy and unflavored. If there's one thing I hate about Chinese food - greasy Chinese food. The noodles were as shiny as a car, fresh off a dealership. Furthermore, the noodles and rice lacked flavor and just tasted, well, average. The only thing I enjoyed was the soup and the kung pao beef. Even so, the soup and kung pao barely made my taste buds go in awe. Furthermore, I couldn't help but feel bad for the server and cook, who were sitting at a table and hoping for additional customers. I hope Dragon Cafe has enough customers to keep it standing because it would be a shame if such nice people go out of business, but with food like this, I wouldn't be surprised. read more

Dragon Cafe - Mongolian Beef Lunch Special - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

Completely bland and overpriced. Got the lunch special with that is supposed to come with chow mein and fried rice. The chow mein was just dry noodles, the fried rice was just brown rice. No veggies or anything. Their Mongolian beef was extremely salty. All around disappointment. read more

Dragon Cafe - Mongolian beef with "fried rice and chow mein" - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

Found the place through yelp. Me and the old Lady were hungry and wanted something quick but filling. Never been here before but I know usual Chinese take out. ALWAYS CALL AHEAD. Looked over the menu found our items and Wall-Ah. Amazingness. We live in Vallejo so we aren't too familiar with the Chinese food spots in Novato but this one was the best of the 3 I have tried. Portions were good sized. Ordered 5 items a la carte and total was rounded $50 add tip & I spent about $60 which isn't that bad too me considering it could feed 4 people. Chicken chow & broccoli beef was GREAT. I am very picky about my broccoli beef and theres did not disappoint. The lady had salt n pepper wings with recommended shrimp fried rice and it was pretty tasty. We also got an order of their potstickers. Overall was not disappointed, will be back again in the future. You've earned a new customer Dragon Café. Oh and FRIENDLY service. Can't forget that. They even waited after 3pm to let me come pick up my food. read more

Such great food and service! I highly recommend this family run business! Love the fried rice and prawns with mixed vegetables.

YIng served me and Larry an incredibly delicious fresh lunch! A generous bowl of yummy hot and sour soup for Larry. Prawns and snow peas lunch special with chow menu and fried rice for me. So fresh and delicious with the perfect amount of seasoning. We also shared big flavorful potstickers. Highly recommend this Chinese restaurant!!!! read more

Gotta love family ran places-Very friendly Decent price and huge portions. Even the kiddo likes everything here. read more

Dragon Cafe - Kung Pao - Chinese Near Me - Novato, California

Tried their Hot and Sour Soup today.. and it was great!! Have tried the same soup in multiple places but so far, this place has the best in Marin. read more

The best Chinese food in Marin County! The food is consistently outstanding and the Singapore rice noodles are phenomenal. You just won't find better food or better service anywhere. read more

This is a great spot! The best crab Rangoon and chow Mein I've ever had. Also some of the friendliest people in the world. Cute chef too ;)

It's a damn good greasy spoon Chinese spot, and you the flavors are Come and get it, ask for more and spare no expense (even though it's quite inexpensive for what you get). Don't deny yourself a visit read more

We stopped by for some takeout. We got beef chow fun, bamboo and mushroom, bbq pork fried rice and crab Rangoon. The Rangoon was stuffed with a lot and yummy. I liked that all the food tasted fresh and not too salty. I had it with some good olé sriracha sauce at home which made it really good read more

Best Chinese place In Novato, delivery was fast and food was hot and tasty. Try it and you won't regret it read more

Absolutely delicious food and very kind people! I am so happy to discover this place and will go again!

I like their lunch special here, any meat plus chow main or fried rice, both are better than average and it has the flavor that makes you go 'yes'! There might be a hint of MSG, just not sure but you can't get so much flavor without something to enhance it. Certainly the cheapest way to accomplish that and to those who doesn't have any reaction to it, you are in for a treat! My favorite happens to be either the general taos chicken or the beef asparagus that has the IT factor. Nothing like going back to work with a silly smile after eating here for a reasonable price. The service is adequate, in and out within an hour. This place and another Asian restaurant close by has what it takes the satisfy the locals who knows a thing or two about how it should be done! read more