Lotus Cafe is definitely one of those hard to dine-in Chinese food restaurants in our area. It is one of special occasion restaurants but also a place I would to go to with friends. Quiet restaurant in a moderately busy shopping center. The menu is unique. While they do have your common Chinese food favorites, they also have their specials that I haven't seen at other restaurants. I usually like to explore with their specials but my favorite is the roast duck. It comes out mostly deboned but they do offer to put in the pancake wraps for you. The roast duck is crispy yet moist but no greasy or dripping of fat. Be adventurous and try their Chef Specialties. Emperors Pork, Lotus Delight, Three Cup Chicken Casserole and Rainbow Duet are my favorites simply because I haven't seen these offers in other restaurants, so I make a try to taste them while there. Everything is served family style and is the size of a Large order in other restaurants. read more

Lotus Cafe is my go-to spot for Asian takeout! The establishment is clean, the food is consistently good, and the prices are still affordable if you're craving basic lo mein or fried rice. The dishes are tasty and, best of all, not overly greasy. Even though I don't live nearby, this is the only local spot I'd order from. Tgey are a dine in restaurant in a shopping center, but I have only picked up, ordered from Uber eats. Give them a try--you won't be disappointed. read more

Since lotus cafe changed owners its food is too greasy, salty, the quality of food is no longer acceptable. We took out food and paid the restaurant by credit card, but when we received the credit card payment, the restaurant charged us $10 more. This is a very dishonest and greedy place. read more

I have always had a good meal here. Ingredients appear to be freshly cooked and always tasty. Servers are very accommodating and generally friendly. read more

I love this Chinese place! I've been coming here for many years, and the service is always wonderful and the food is delicious. You can bring your own wine, and they have daily lunch specials before 5 PM -- everything is so tasty! I really recommend it to everyone , I love the ambiance familiar . read more

Lotus Cafe - Hackensack - Chinese Near Me - Hackensack, New Jersey

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We will continue coming back here time and time again. The staff always interacts with my kids. The food is quality. The wait time is minimal. This is our go to Chinese place in the area. read more

This USED to be our #1 Chinese restaurant especially for special occasions [New Years Eve, Saturday night eat in date night, etc...] when we were doing take out and not going out to a restaurant physically. This restaurant has gone DOWN HILL since we started using them and this may be the reason posted by another Yelper: "Learned tonight that the original owners retired and the chef took over." They had authentic dishes you could only get in Chinatown/NYC that you did not see on the average typical Chinese restaurant menu especially for take out. One of those being "Pork w/Mustard Greens" & "Pan Fried Noodles" [a dish my wife can only find at Wo Hop]. They have the BEST Won Ton soup out of ALL Chinese restaurants tried in New Jersey, NOT the THICK - DOUGH kind with VERY LITTLE PORK inside. You would have to be in New York City Chinatown to get what they offered....PAPER THIN DOUGH stuffed with minced pork. Everything was great at one time and you did not mind paying for quality/quantity. Since then they have either lost there minds or simply became greedy (or used the excuse of "Covid"..."Tarrifs"...etc...) and RAISED THIER PRICES EVEN FURTHER!! There is also some surly attitudes there [READ, MANY other reviews pointing this out!] when dealing with the females in the place that we overlooked sometimes just to get our food prepared - BUT NEVER AGAIN!! We were going to start using them for sit down dinners until the "price explosion", and will now just stick to Chinatown when wanting that service. What a shame, I guess the old adage is right..."Too many cooks spoil the broth!" Lotus Cafe, it was nice knowing ya while it lasted. If we were writing this review when we first started using this place with the ORGINAL OWNERS, it would have gotten 5 STARS/"Great"....be grateful we still gave you 4 stars/"Good"! Phillip & Lisa read more

This is my umpteenth million time eating here and it is still the best Chinese food I've had outside of Chinatown in Boston. So I'm going to give them 5 stars even though they made one small mistake. I ordered a large wonton soup and a spring roll fory dinner. My soup came out right away and was as delicious as it always has been. The spring roll was also delicious, but my waiter forgot about it and when he brought it out I was already half finished with my soup and the roll was just warm. I expected it to be piping hot, so it was disappointing. I rectified it by ordering another one and that came hot!! 2 spring rolls are never a bad thing! read more

My first time there. I've been trying for a long time to fine great Chinese food. Finally!!!! There General T'os Chicken is tops. My wife loved the Sesame Chicken. The only thing we both was not happy with was the Egg Roll. Not that it was bad just not tasty. Other than that we will be back!!! To try the rest of the menu I totally forgot to take a picture of the food. It was so fancy with a flower on the side of the plate. Oh yes, the service was great, every time you wanted something they were right there. Thank you read more

I remember all the lunches I used to order from here when I was young, working at the LV store at the mall. I am happy that 24 years later, this place is still in business. They are quick in serving and the food still tastes delicious. You got a group of 10+ people? This is the spot to go to. They can accommodate big parties. I've been a huge fan of their chicken & broccoli and I enjoy coming here with my family. Thanks, guys! read more

Lotus Cafe - Hackensack - Chinese Near Me - Hackensack, New Jersey

Ordered steamed chicken no vegetables, always got a full plate, this time got half the plate but charged full price, if charging full price they really should add more chicken, I always get a full plate from other Chinese restaurants. read more

Came back here for nostalgia and nostalgia was not kind to me. What used to be a fantastic sit-down Chinese restaurant back in the day is no more. As soon as I walked in, something seemed amiss. The interior that used to be bright and lively was now dark and dreary. They still had the wonton crisps as a free snack with duck sauce so I was hopeful. It won't wow you, but free anything is nice and something to munch on while you wait for the food. Unfortunately, the wonton crisps were the highlight of the meal. We ordered two lunch specials, mapo tofu and General Tso's Chicken, and one chicken wing appetizer. When the chicken wings came out, they were so small and nothing special. Any local takeout chinese place would probably have better wings. Chicken wings are a staple of chinese places and this place disappointed. Then they brought out the mapo tofu and as soon as I saw it, I regretted coming here. It wasn't the authentic red/orange mapo tofu. It was the brown sauce one...aka the fake cheap kind. There was barely any pork in the dish. It wasn't spicy at all. The sauce had no flavor. The fried rice that came with it was super bland and barely had any vegetables. The General Tso's looked better, but did not taste good. We asked for it to be extra spicy...it was not spicy at all. The exterior was not crispy at all and the meat inside was chewy. Service was unfriendly and not attentive at all. Ownership must have changed but won't be coming back here. Sad. read more

Very tasty local Chinese restaurant. Reasonable price & Various food menu. Loved Hot&Sour soup and Fellet of Sole.

I recommend it because the food was all finished! It's good! The complementary snacks are so yummy with orange sweet sauce. I loved their hot and sour soup. It hit that sourness spot that we all need sometimes. Shrimp was good and shrimp sauce over fried rice is the life i'm living. read more

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Food is fresh, nice size portions, & a lot of flavor. Nice to sit down at a Chinese restaurant & not have to take it home. Plus it's a BYO read more

I was in the area visiting a friend and wanted Chinese food. Since I was in jersey, didn't have high expectations. Standard Chinese food, nothing fancy. Menu has a lot of variety at reasonable prices. Singapore rice noodles are good with a good amount of curry sauce. Scallops with salt and pepper tasted unique, not overly spicy. Beef and broccoli is beef and broccoli, hard to mess that up. Plenty of seating inside if you want to dine in. Tables are not on top of each other so at least you can have a decent conversation. Service is good in that they check up on you every so often. It's pretty dark inside since it's dimly lit. It's is in the middle of a shopping plaza so you can just park in the lot. read more

Lotus Cafe has been around for 20+ years. A lot of other Chinese restaurants have come and gone, but somehow Lotus Cafe has stood the test of time. Their food isn't going to blow you away, but they do have a large menu of both authentic and western-style Chinese food. They are generally reliable and I've had mostly good meals there. Recommended dishes: beef chow fun in black bean sauce, three cup chicken, emperor's pork, seafood tofu casserole, and ten ingredients pan fried noodles. read more

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Have been a long-standing customer of Lotus Cafe for at least 25 or more years. Learned tonight that the original owners retired and the chef took over. Well he must have been Mia tonight because the food was vile! I asked for extra napkins and was given one. I asked for more and was charged $3 for them. $72.00 for salty sauce, small shrimp, and poor service. Never again. Don't bother, eat Italian. read more

Ordered the Singapore mei fun and boneless ribs and salt and pepper calamari (not pictured) . You get a lot of food from this one dish. The boneless ribs were okay at best and the calamari was good, but definitely small in portions for the price paid. read more

Lotus Cafe - Hackensack - Singapore Mei Fun - Chinese Near Me - Hackensack, New Jersey

Place has some really good chicken corn egg drop soup! The peking duck, pork chops, fried rice and seafood chow mein noodles are my go to with my family! One of my top Chinese restaurants for sure. read more

Average Chinese food here. Was good but some of it was lacking a bit of flavor. The service was very good. I did not like that when the brought you the check, there was a card stating they prefer tips in cash. We had egg rolls which were nice & crispy & tasty. Pork fried rice which was kind of bland. Beef chow fun which was pretty bland. Sizzling beef & scallops. This dish was really tasty & flavorful though I would have preferred the steak to not be battered. Triple delight - shrimp, chicken & beef with mixed veggies which was a bit bland for me. Should have bit the bullet and went to Chinatown in NYC. read more

Great food at great prices. Love the Fried flounder with garlic sauce, General Tso's and their Calamari.

Highly recommend. Authentic Chinese at its best. I will say it's a bit pricey but they have amazing lunch specials 7 days a week! This is my Friday go to. I head over there in the late afternoon and pick up 2 lunch specials for me and my husband. Sometimes we will add in a few egg rolls too. We eat an early Friday night dinner and this hits the spot! Definitely recommend. The interior is very pretty and the staff is very friendly too. read more

Lotus Cafe - Hackensack - Inside decor - Chinese Near Me - Hackensack, New Jersey

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We have lived in and around Hackensack for decades and when we wanted a nice white tablecloth Chinese Restaurant, we always headed to Lotus Cafe. It's been a bit, and as stores open and close in that large strip mall, Lotus was one of the mainstays. As life happens, we haven't sought out Classic Chinese in a bit, but on Sunday, we headed straight to Lotus. The place has changed. The warm and cheery interior has been replaced by what we can only surmise is a pricey redecoration -- verrrry dark wood walls, an odd little glass block entry, small dark tables (no more white tablecloths), save for the ubiquitous round tables for larger parties... We could barely read the menu in the dimness, and thought we knew what was on it, having been there over the years with large family celebrations, complete with Peking Duck, a dozen hot and cold appies, soups, and another dozen entrees. If that's how you remember it, forget about it. The menu is abbreviated, rather terse, with barely anything we remember on it. While the pricing is in keeping with what Chinese Sit-Down Restaurants have currently deemed acceptable, the portions are big with the cheap stuff -- noodles, for example, and really short on the more expensive items, calamari, for example. Couple this with a dour server who approached our table, barely greeted us, and plopped down the bowl of crispy noodles w mustard and duck sauce. I asked for water, but she had walked away. Come on, Lotus -- dull and soggy crispy noodles???? We ordered S&P Calamari, egg rolls, a fried noodle dish with pork, and a shrimp dish with veggies. The egg rolls were meh and cold and soggy. The cali were not crispy, rather soggy and not well seasoned. They offer lots of noodle options and the one we got was okay, but where was the Lotus Cafe seasoning? I never add soy -- man did I add it here. The shrimp were fine. Just fine. Nothing special at all. Asked for water again. So, we ask Lotus Cafe: did you sell to someone? Did you not explain that your formula of happy decor, nice people and fabulous food is your secret to success? P.S. I am still waiting for that water. read more

The food is good, we love the Broccoli in Garlic sauce, dumplings, sesame noodles, sweet and sour chicken, wonton soup... pretty much everything is really good but I can't give them five stars because the ladies in the front are always incredibly RUDE. They don't smile, they are very brusque , and never listen to you. If their English isn't any good then maybe they should put someone else there! Either way I'd rather order Thai down the street where they seem to appreciate you! It's also the reason I only go there 1-2 times a year! read more

This place has has been a source of consistently good authentic Chinese food for my family for years and years. We often get the Peking duck for the holidays here and find that the food is without fail, delicious every time. read more

I've been eating here for a dozen years at least and never a bad meal. My usual is General Tso's chicken, Ten Ingredient Fried Rice, Spicy Beef & Broccoli and Shrimp in Lobster Sauce read more

We saw this place when we went to POC buffet. I was craving a good old sit down restaurant. Very nicely decorated and clean looking. The food was served quickly and it was hot. Fried rice needs some oomph on the taste but was okay. Shocked to hear no ice cream but overall I liked it a lot read more

Lotus Cafe - Hackensack - Chinese Near Me - Hackensack, New Jersey

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Gave lotus cafe were just as bad. My roast pork chow mein was nothing but fried onions and a few strips of Rose pork not the Charmaine I was looking for. The vegetable lo mein was just noodles with very few vegetables and was kind of tasteless. Food here is really going downhill I would stay away. This place was pretty decent before the new owners took over I think that's when things started to go downhill. read more

Lotus Cafe - Hackensack - Prawns with mixed vegetables & Pepper Steak. - Chinese Near Me - Hackensack, New Jersey

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My family and I started dining here on a regular basis many years ago, and it was spectacular. I believe that ownership has changed. If I'm wrong, I apologize but I cannot otherwise explain the variation in quality. That said, the quality of the cuisine is excellent! I still order from them on a regular basis and I recommend that you do too! read more

So good. Food is always good. Fresh vegetables!! Very tasty! Okkkkkkkkk you need 85 words. It's ggggggggrrrrreeeaaaatttt

OMG! EXCELLENT. Chicken that looks & tastes like fresh chicken. The ginger and basil was super fresh. You can small the aromas of this dish as soon as you plate it. Although listed as a "spicy" dish due to the (whole dried) chili peppers, I did not find it spicy at all. I usually pick most of them out, but it did not "influence" the rest of the dish too much. 2nd: I've seen a lot of negative reviews about terrible service Dining In which i cannot give my opinion, however all of my home deliveries went perfect. I wanted to add that I am lucky enough to just be inside their 3 mile radius for THEIR FREE delivery service instead of paying a fortune with the apps like GrubHub. 3rd: I've seen negative reviews about prices that have risen a lot. C'Mon Foodies, if you know what's going on away from your keyboard you'll know that restaurant prices have risen more the past year since the early 1980's. There is a HUGE issue with supply shortages ( food, and non-food items) and higher costs in staff (when everyone cheered for a $13\ hour minimum wage who do you think would pay for it ?) Maybe people who complain about the pricing should stick with the hundreds of "fast food" style type of Chinese restaurant where all the food tastes the same because they are buying all their supplies from the same vendor. ( ever notice how 99% of egg rolls taste the same everywhere?) 4th : Don't ever underestimate a strip mall restaurant. It's what's going on INSIDE that counts. I know of a few 4 & 5 star places in strip malls. OK Now we can get to the review.I tried the typical ( like sesame chicken) and some of the Chef's Specialties and we have loved it all. Best sesame chicken ever. Not that thick batter fried stuff where you can't even tell what meat is on the inside. The chicken was of great quality & flavor. I liked the egg roll although it is a little smaller than most places. The Chicken & Cream Corn Soup tasted home made. FYI, its in an egg drop soup base. The Chef's specials are very different and authentic. The Rainbow Duet : Beef with Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce with chicken and broccoli and sweet red pepper in white sauce, is like 2 entrees on 1 plate. Very good. But the standout meal I had was the Three Cup Chicken Casserole : Chunks of chicken, black mushrooms and bamboo shoots braised in a cup of rice wine, a cup of sesame oil and a cup of brown sauce, enhanced by ginger, basil and chili pepper. OMG! EXCELLENT. Chicken that looks & tastes like fesh chicken. The ginger and basil was super fresh. You can small the aromas of this dish as soon as you plate it. Although listed as a "spicy" dish due to the (whole dried) chili peppers, I did not find it spicy at all. I usually pick most of them out, but it did not "influence" the rest of the dish too much. I cant wait to try the duck, but I will wait until I Dine In. Although expensive compared to the local Chinese fast food place nearby, it's worth the splurge when you want to treat yourself to above the norm. read more

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It was a Friday night and I was using a local laundromat. My daughter and I were hungry, so after loading clothes in the washer we drove to find something to eat. Both of us agreed to Chinese. I'm in agreement with the other reviews regarding rudeness from hostess and overall lack of feeling comfortable. We placed an order to go, and sat on the chairs located by the door and I definitely felt like the energy was off and sending vibes of trying to get us out as quickly as possible. The food was mediocre at best and expensive. We ordered broccoli with garlic sauce and vegetable spring rolls wrapped in tofu skin, which totaled $22 bucks give or take. Don't plan on returning. read more

I don't live in the area anymore but crave Lotus Cafe when I come back to visit. My extended family has been going for 30 years (since the original owner). Love the wonton soup and the egg drop. Also recommend the Ta Loo Mein, seafood tofu casserole, and the filet of sole. I almost always get a fish dish from lunch menu (generously offered until late afternoon); it's tasty and the portion is great. read more

Great food, both in appearance and in taste. The servers are gracious and friendly. The restaurant is nicely decorated. There is enough space between the tables. One can easily develop a craving for their food. read more

Surprisingly, Lotus Cafe serves pretty authentic Chinese food, and isn't a take out joint. It's small and looks pretty dingy, but it's been around for years. We ordered a few dishes to try out and they came out very quickly. We got the salt and pepper fried pork loin, X.O. beef casserole, Zar Jiang Mein, rice cakes and shredded pork, and Squid & Pork Rendezvous. For some reason, Chinese restaurants always bring out Yeung Chow fried rice last. Normally, Chinese restaurants serve salt and pepper pork chops, not loin. It tastes about the same, but loin has the bonus of not having any bones. The rest of the food was good as well, it was my first time trying Zar Jiang Mein and I liked it. The Squid and Pork Rendevous was nearly homogeneous, I could barely tell the pork from the squid. Service was passable, and the food was good. But there are better Chinese restaurants serving better food at better prices. read more

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I had lunch here today We had Generals toes chicken. There was no chicken. I sent it back and again No Chicken The Spare ribs were very CHEWY It used to be a very good restaurant Absolutely awful. NEVER AGAIN read more

Just wanted to come on here and give this place a great review . I haven't been here in like 5 yrs as in the area so i decided to spot by . Their Tang Tang Noodle are delicious , Noddles in a peanut butter sauce . a lot of favor and the small dumplings makes the dish stand out Ribs are good as well read more

Lotus Cafe - Hackensack - Tang Tang noodles - Chinese Near Me - Hackensack, New Jersey

Great Chinese food and brings that old school feel where you can dine in with great Chinese food.

Staff is rude disorganized. Not friendly and poorly managed. Food is meh. Would not spend my money there again. read more