If you are looking for Szechaun and you don't want the traditional greasy Americanized Chinese this is place for you. The salt and pepper pork is to die for. The tang-tang noodles are a necessity. It takes a mere sesame noodles and adds excellent dumplings. If you go here don't order the usual fare try something new and you won't be disappointed. read more

I absolutely love it when people say Asians get preferential treatment in Chinese food restaurants. Why? Because it's absolutely ridiculous. If anything, they may know what's good there and what's also quick to put together. If you've never worked in a restaurant, the line is broken into several sections. If you order food from the same section you'll get it out much quicker than say 1 order from 3 different sections. It's not just about when you ordered it, but where you ordered the dish from. So that's one tip. Tip 2 would be to order something that didn't end with "& Broccoli" or start with "Orange or Sesame." Try a fish dish here, you won't be disappointed, but make sure its a dish where the whole fish is served. There's also this beef bone marrow soup that is off the meat rack here. I'll admit the Salt & Pepper Squid, while good, is over-priced for the amount you're given. The Chow Fun is also good here. I'm not a fan of the Egg Foo Young or Fried Rice. Do try the Buddha's Feast and Ma Po Tofu, whether you're a vegetarian or not. The key to any Chinese food restaurant is to order items that you can't find in the mall or at Panda Express. That's like going to an Italian restaurant and ordering spaghetti. Be adventurous, you're at a restaurant for crying out loud. The prices have gone up. I'm thinking this is so because of the economy that we're in. The irony of a recession/depression is that goods don't become cheaper, just the consumer. Oh and one last thing, this place is BYO--which I find spectacular!!! You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't... read more

While this isn't the best Chinese food in the Bergen County, I've never had any complaints about their food, AND they are still open during the pandemic, working hard to promptly fulfill orders. Given how small the space is where you pay and pick up your order, I would strongly prefer if they would do curbside. read more

Chinese places are a dime a dozen. While they do offer take out this place is a restaurant. I've learned over the years that the best Chinese food comes from restaurants not take out joints. Lotus is one of the best Chinese places in Bergen, easily the top 5. Whenever the Mrs and I are considering Chinese it is a very short list and Lotus is usually at the top of that list. Soups are great and their fried rice is very tasty and moist. I love their beef with garlic sauce and Szechuan beef. My wife likes the shrimp dishes and pork dishes. The seating is limited as it's a small place so we usually take it to go but the place is always packed which is a good sign. And there is the constant river of people taking it to go. I will not eat Chinese at the local take out only place. Lotus is pricier than most Chinese places but you get what you pay for. If you want good delicious Chinese then you can't do much better than Lotus. The only place in the area that would give them a run for their money would be The Seasons in Clifton. They are Zagat rated and rightfully so. Excellent place. read more

I gave it 4 stars for the excellent food and service. I took one star off for atmosphere. I went on a Thursday night after 7 pm. No wait. Restaurant was half full. Awesome smell coming from kitchen. Place was clean just outdated. Light brown/beige tablecloths. Wooden chairs. Dark walls. So it seemed not so appetizing and even dirty. I almost left. But when I looked closer I saw it was in fact very clean and the tablecloths and napkins were clean and pressed. We sat down and ordered. I used the ladies room. Needs updating but again very clean. I sat down and ordered Scallion pancakes Szechuan dumplings. Chicken and broccoli and pork fried rice. The portions were huge. Hot and EVERYTHING was probably the BEST I have EVER tasted!!! I'm not kidding. My son was with me and we couldn't stop eating. You know when you are so full but everything is so good you keep shoveling in more anyhow?!!! That's what we did. The sauces that the dumplings was in was spicy and a rich red in color and the dumpling shell was a super thin soft dough. A pleasure to eat!! The garlicky sauce the chicken and broccoli was served in had such a nice smell to it. The broccoli and the chicken was cooked to perfection and soft. The chicken was real chicken not a chewy pressed chicken that you get everywhere else. The good Asian restaurants have disappeared and all serve subpar ingredients. THIS place is still the real deal and I will definitely be back!!!! Ps. My bill came to a total of $41. I added $9 for the great gentle service I received. Our waiter even wrapped our leftovers for us to go. I didn't read the negative reviews on here until I went to post mine. And I can tell you right now. $41 is not overpriced AT all. It fed us 2 full dishes each. My son is 36 and I took the extra to a freind who is raving about it right now as I post this. He wants to go there next week himself now. Bravo. I found a new place for my dinners!!! read more

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

My favorite Chinese restaurant in NJ located in a strip mall near Home Depot. Unpretentious but rock solid food. Great bok choy. Great soups, meals are consistently marvelous. Ribs, shrimp dishes are very nicely done. Chinese the way Chinese is supposed to be. read more

My Chinese coworker and a big foodie showed me the place in 2000 or so. It's as authentic as Chinese gets in the area. If you also don't think that food in typical Chinese has nothing to do with real food in China than you will appreciate this place. On other had if you never tried nor wanted to try anything beyond you neighborhood crappy take-out place then you might give Lotus Cafe only 3 stars. RECOMMEND: - Noodle shop is what they are famous for - Any dish, even something offered elsewhere here is better. - Tendon soup is my all time favorite - General tso Chicken is great GOOD: - Choose the noodles of your liking regardless of the menu - Parking right there and no wait time most of the time - Quite and great for business lunch Needs improvement: - Service in times can be better, but times better then in Flashing or China Town - Wish they would deliver to Fair Lawn :) read more

Sorry they should have No star! really bad experience! after we opened containers the room filled with rancid oil smell! Especially the string bean it taste nothing but greasy and rancid oil! read more

fixed my craving for a meat in curry sauce... the sauce wasn't too heavy and had a nice little kick to it. their salt and pepper squid + scallops was delicious but there could've been more for the price we paid ($13! for such a teeny plate!). all-in-all a tasty meal w/ ok service... we asked for an extra bowl of rice and the guy forgot but i guess it was pretty busy that night. their portions are kind of teeny but the space is nice and neat. i like it here since it's definitely one of the better chinese places around here that doesn't serve pure, greasy, nasty take out. read more

It used to be much better, but the meal I got tonight mostly went into the garbage. The pork dish which was supposed to sweet and tart was not good. The egg rolls were really greasy. read more

Quality is going downhill. For the second time in the past few weeks, I ordered delivery including hot & sour soup. Both times mostly liquid, very little else. Yesterday was worse. Mostly tofu. read more

Let me begin by saying, I'm from San Francisco where the Chinese food is so good it will make your head explode. Whenever I visit New Jersey to see my parents I will trade down and go out to eat Chinese food with them. For weeks, they had been raving about Lotus cafe and the veggie menu. I'm a vegetarian so I don't exactly benefit from most eateries in New Jersey, nevermind Chinese food. Lotus cafe is located in a strip mall and was very busy,loud and stuffy around 6 :30 pm. My parents called for a reservation for 4 and they said , "No, we are too busy" When my mom pressed the issue and said we came all the way from SF to eat there, they said, " ok , no problem" . Uh? So whats the deal there? We were seated at 6:30 and did not recieve our food until 7 :30. we waited one hour while people of Asian decent were waited on, served and left having eaten food that wasn't even on the menu. My wife is Japanese and noticed that Asians seemed to be getting very prompt service. So, whats this about? At 7:30 when we finally got our food, I was not at all impressed. Once again, Chinese food in NJ just plain sucks. It's ok for my parents, they don't know better. My standards are too high I guess. My vegetarian dish was a bunch of stir fried crap served in a head of lettuce. Blegh! The prices are high. The service sucks. Bring your own alcohol. Be prepared to drink all of it before your food arrives. read more

Our long-time favorite Chinese Restaurant has recently been raising prices and lowering portion size... we've switched to Lotus and LOVE IT!! read more

I am very impressed with Lotus Café tonite. Brought my family here on a recommendation from a friend. The beef chow fun was delicious! Light and delicate. My go to Chinese restaurant for quality good was the well know shop in Englewood. I liked Lotus Cafe so much better. Also had the soft shell crabs-yummy! read more

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

Awesome place. Great food, very fast takeout (sometimes less then 5 minutes) and they have a number of Szechuan items. I've only actually eaten there once (every other time was takeout) since I used to live within walking distance but it was a pleasant experience. Some interesting points others have mentioned: lunch hour lasts till 5pm (it's a good deal) & it's full of Asian patrons usually (so you know it's good). read more

Great Chinese sit down. The food is delicious and the menu has some different interesting dishes along with the classics. The din in the dining area gets somewhat loud when it's crowded. Very hard to get in on a Friday and Saturday evening without a reservation, so be weary of that. I've been going to Lotus for close to a decade now and would wish they added a few more menu items or at least a specials list. I would highly recommend this place. Also very good for lunch. Lotus has a large reasonably priced lunch menu. read more

Ordered takeout last Sunday. It was perfect. The wait was minimal. The food was good. No problems. Nothing close to the complaints of others. Give them 5 stars during this pandemic. read more

We went to Ranch 99 for grocery shopping and saw the restaurant was open for takeout only. From the menu some special dishes were available so we assumed it must be an authentic Chinese restaurant. We were wrong! We ordered three dishes, fried pork chop with salt and pepper, "three-cup" chicken, and beef with sha cha sauce. The pork chops were very dry and hard, not tender at all. The chicken dish was made totally wrong. I doubt if the chief knows this is a Taiwanese dish that should not have corn starch in it? And the beef dish has brown sauce but no "sha cha" taste. If this is a typical Chinese fast takeout place with cheaper price, we probably will lower our expectation and be over with it. The three dishes cost us $60, then the food quality and taste should have been above a certain level. We will not come back! read more

I came here not long ago and expected this place to like before (generic Chinese restaurant dishes), but I discovered otherwise. Food is right on, better: very flavorful, yet not too greasy. Restaurant's cleanliness is acceptable and the dining experience is pretty decent. The restaurant caters to diverse crowds. Cozy place for family gathering. I would return again. read more

Place has been in same location for at least two decades, so they must be doing something right. Pretty much standard and authentic(i.e. not too adventurous), extremely well prepared chinese food. Egg rolls and scallion pancakes taste fresh, crispy, and not the slightest bit greasy (have been getting their scallion pancakes for the aforementioned two decades). Went with a group of 7 on Christmas Eve, and the place was packed. We were seated promptly, and service was excellent, especially with some of our picky eaters who wanted items added/removed from dishes. Also had lo mein, sesame beef, spare ribs, dumplings, un-fried sweet/sour shrimp. Not a morsel left on the table... read more

I'm picky about Chinese, because it's my favourite comfort food. This place makes the cut. FOOD: The prices are better for lunch than for dinner. Their lunch special runs about $15, but eat-in dinner for two cost us $50 (one order each of lo mein, fried rice, General Tso, and eggplant), because the portions are sized for family take-out. Their lunch special has generous portions, especially if you get soup. The hot and sour soup is the best I've had, and their dumplings have perfectly thin wrappers, not doughy at all. Best dishes: wontons in Szechuan sauce (fiery and outstanding), Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce (oily, but delicious), beef with pepper and mustard greens (tasty!), and the cold jellyfish appetiser. Good dishes: Lo mein, spring rolls, shredded Szechuan beef, and shredded pork with squid (a little light on the squid, but quite good). Oolong tea and chocolate fortune cookies come with all meals. It's a nice touch. ATMOSPHERE: They're a step above the average local Chinese takeout joint. White tablecloths, waiters dress nicely, the place is quiet and clean. They're accommodating and polite. The delivery guys are always friendly. Service is always prompt. LOCATION: It's in the strip mall near the exit onto Route 4. Plenty of parking, very convenient. read more

Just picked up curbside. Delicious food, great service, friendly people. I will be back!

once very good but now not so good. chicken was chewy and almost raw. sesame shrimp wasn't shrimp! awful imitation not shrimp. over priced and terrible service. what happened to this once good example of Chinese food. yuck! don't go there! read more

prices at this place have gone up for 2009 - up $1.00 for EVERYTHING, unbelieveable. I cannot believe I spent $10.50 on a miesly chicken and broccoli, c'mon???!!! Talk about stereotypical asian rip off (and I'm asian!!!) NJ needs some good chinese food - time for me to open up competition...right next door to these guys! read more

This place has been always the bast Chinese restaurant in Bergen county in my 15 years of new jersey life. Their hot and sour soup is great, lotus delight is a must, and fried shrimp with pepper source is the best of all. Since I know this place I do not want to eat any other local Chinese take out places never and ever. The owner is very friendly and polite but other servers need smile and more friendliness then they get 5 stars. ####update 10/14#### Their TOFU was spoiled!!!! read more

This used to be one of my favorite Chinese places. After my lunch today I won't be back. The lunch specials are usually the way to go. Good price good portion good value. Today I ordered chicken in black bean sauce. The vegetables were raw. So I asked them to cook it more, again raw vegetables. So I said forget it I'll take the ribs...twenty minutes later I was served the worst looking overcooked ribs you could imagine. To the point that I couldn't even bite the meat off the bone. It was a royal disappointment. read more

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

I love this place...everytime I go shopping in NJ which is often, I make a point to eat here. For those looking for basic American Asian food...might not agree with my 5 star review.. This place has some really good authentic Asian fondant if ask the recommendations are great. I enjoy the lotus delight and some of their seafood dishes. If I want something good I usually ask for a recommendation and so far haven't been disappointed. This place has great authentic Asian food...you just have to ask for it... read more

Reservations recommended. Take credit cards now. Servers-Not polite, except 1. No smiles, we asked for chopsticks, given to us with sullen face. Told to pack our leftovers, gave us another sullen face. Yikes! Spring rolls- very oily, I mean oil was dropping from rolls. Food was ok. Nothing special, New cooks? Honestly, not worth the money. Place needs updating, looking rundown. read more

I went back after hearing on Yelp that their chef came back after 2 years. I had high expectation - as I ordered for my house guests and extended family for dinner with a take out order of over $200. My mistake was that I did it on a Sunday evening and most main chefs were off that day. The food was unimpressive even it was better than your "neighborhood small take out only" places. Some of the signature dishes were really bad and some were okay. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed and probably will not repeat my mistake. I will update my point of view again when I get the "real" head chef's food during a weekday and eat-in. read more

Went here for Father's Day dinner with the entire family. Price-wise, the place is very reasonable. The dishes are the right portion for a large family. If you're eating with a group of 8 or more, its ideal to order at least 8 dishes, so you can try a lot from their menu. Their service was top-notch: very attentive, and my water was always filled to the brim. The waiter was so eager to point out to us which dishes were the most popular, so that helped narrow things down for us. Maybe I'm being biased since I'm chinese, but the food itself is just ok. I wasn't completely amazed by the taste. They seem to put a lot of corn starch in their dishes, giving them a gravy-like consistency, which I'm not particularly a fan of. The sizzling beef and scallops had a very miniscule amount of meat... I was left to cut up a portion of my steak to share with my sister. All in all, it wasn't a mediocre experience, but with all the chinese restaurants I've been going to my entire life, this one doesnt stand out in my mind. read more

we had lunch ! knowing the dishes was different taste, soup tasteless ! portionand ingredients are cutting . it must be change of ownership and new chef. service are same ! very disappoint ! loosing another lunch place to enjoy ! read more

got takeout the other night. they must have a new chef. all of the dishes were bland and tasteless except for the pork loin w salt & pepper. we don't go here often but now i'm not going back. read more

I moved up to hackensack about 6 years ago.... i have to say the chinese food up in bergen county SUCKS.... Plenty of good korean places but no great chinese food. This place has okay chinese food. I sometimes order from here and sometimes i order from taipei noodle house depending on what kind of chinese food i want to eat. so if you are needing some chinese food and can't stand chinese take out this is an okay place to go.. not the greatest but not too bad. I will still order from here. read more

Barely so-so food. I can NOT believe my husband is always raving about this place when the hot & sour soup tastes disgustingly of black pepper, some shrimp dish was gloppy, and everything else is blah. On top of that, there's attitude from the people running the strip mall joint. read more

Love this place. Though the rice could be improved. Original, creative and tasty. Definitely will go back. read more

The food was fantastic and the service was wonderful and consistent. Some of the best pork fried rice and sesame chicken I have ever had! I recommend ordering dishes to share amongst the table. read more

We enjoyed our delivery of chinese broccoli and boiled noodles and chicken dish. Everything had a fresh taste. Delivery took one hour which was as promised. read more

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

Been coming here for years and they never disappoint! The beef chow fun in black bean sauce is my go-to.

I was in the restaurant on Saturday night to take some order to go. I did it several times and the food is average. This Saturday I wanted to order some food to go and asked the cashier about this dish. She got very upset about this question and really started to yell at me in front of everybody. It was very rude and upsetting and it is the first time some thing like this happen to me in any restaurant.. Even the people around said that it is very rude the way she spoke to me. I cancelled my order and will never ever come again. read more

was there last night-chicken was not cook properly-stom ache - inconsistent-quality is going way down.avoid it.