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    Northern Cafe

    4.1 (317 reviews)
    ModerateChinese
    Closed 11:30 am - 9:00 pm

    Order Northern Cafe Takeout or Delivery

    Northern Cafe Photos

    NORTHERN CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Northern Cafe

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    Julie E.

    This place has been on my list for the longest time so when my husband and I were in the area and looking for a food spot I'm so glad we decided on this one. There's plenty of seating inside and out and oh my goodness, the food is freaking delicious! Our server was also a gem of a man! He was seemingly doing it all in the front end up of the restaurant - getting to go orders, serving our food, refilling our drinks, constantly checking on us. I didn't get his name, I wish I would've so I could properly sing praises for him. We got a little bit of everything and I don't think you could ever go wrong here. My husband and I usually rate things by our favorite to least favorite but we couldn't because everything was truly our favorite. The green onion pancake was super crispy and I loved dipping it into the chili oil that came with the chicken wontons. Also the noodles were flavorful and the veggies were cooked just right and sauce for the pot stickers was amazing - it was like a creamy soy sauce. I can't wait to come back here - still dreaming of the delicious food we had.

    Beef Pancake  (2), chicken dumplings with Chicken Wontons in Chili Oil 鸡肉红油抄手 (8), Sangria
    Anna G.

    Went here on a Friday night and it was amazing. I sat outside when the weather was nice and enjoyed not only the food, but the people watching lol. This place is located at almost the end of 2nd street and sits right in between a new açaí spot and a sushi place. To drink I ordered the lychee sangria. It was so pretty and packs a powerful punch. Be sure to mix it because all the sweetness sat at the bottom of the glass. It was refreshing and not too heavy. To eat, I ordered the beef pancake and that thing was sooooo juicy. Just from the outside you would not think that all that soup was in there but as soon as I cut into it you just see all this nice broth coat the plate. 1 order came with 2 pancakes. It came with a ginger? Sauce and it was amazing. I put some chili sauce on top of it and of course the black vinegar. The second thing that I ordered was the chicken chili dumplings and OMG can't go wrong with it. The meat to actual wrapper ratio was perfect. It was steamed perfectly, meaning that the meat was tender and the wrapper was not gummy at all. 10/10 would recommend. Service was amazing. There were plenty of folks working and they were all so attentive! Especially on a Friday night when total madness could ensue.

    Menu
    Anders Christofer C.

    Another nice place on second street. We went for lunch and they had a great lunch menu with many options. I tried the beef rolls which were basically pancakes with beef and green onion and lettuce with a dip sauce. They were delicious. We ordered some dumplings and we should have gotten them pan fried as they were just boiled. Great outdoor patio and great service. Very knowledge server that seemed to have tried many of the items on the menu. It felt like a bit overpriced food but definitely worth trying.

    Told my server Genesis to just surprise me. She smiled like she already had a plan and walked off. Came back with stir-fried noodles that hit different and a bubble tea I didn't even ask for but couldn't put down. Noodles were fire. But Genesis was the highlight. 10 out of 10. I'll definitely be back. Hopefully she remembers me.

    Inside chicken wonton in chili oil
    Tara F.

    Ambiance, service and food was on point! I ordered chicken wontons in chili oil (8 pieces) $13.50 Flavor flavor FLAVOR! They were juicy and packed with equal amount of ingredients top tier! These wontons are big too. The chili oil is perfect topped with chopped green onions a refreshing combo. All tables come with condiments such as chili oil, vinegar and soy sauce. I personally like to add vinegar and chili oil FLAVOR! Staff was amazing and attentive THANK YOU Street parking only its on 2nd street so IYKYK I highly recommend

    Patricia U.

    Wonderful menu, a really good variety. Customer service was on top of it, every minute we were there. We did mention it was our first time. We ordered way too much, but hey who doesn't enjoy leftovers?! Even better the next day. We Mongolian beef, house fried rice, crunchy chicken, shrimp fried noodles, and pork dumplings in chili sauce. Every dish was family style, packed with flavor and fire. We enjoyed everything we tried. Highly recommended. We will definitely return!

    Cocktails
    Javier S.

    Came here a few days ago with my friend . They have both indoor and outdoor seating. We sat on the patio because it was a perfect day to have a drink outside & people watch . Honestly, this place is so underrated every dish we tried was amazing such as the string beans. You must try the beef roll. It was so good. I packed it up to save it for later my friend, and I both tried the different noodles such as the golden beef soup, and the house special, which both were so delicious. Of course they're known for their dumplings so we had to try a few of them. My friend doesn't eat pork and they were able to accommodate which was lovely. They offer veggie and chicken in addition to the pork overall it was an amazing experience and the place was clean Service wise everyone was helpful and offer suggestions Thank you Crystal for your service. We will be back.

    Inside
    Norma S.

    Came here on a Saturday around 11:30am. No wait to be seated. Service friendly. They had the happy hour for dumplings. Ordered the pork soup dumplings it was warm and good. The chili oil wontons it wasn't spicy at all but okay. My first drink had a few pieces of powered something but they were quick to exchange it. The wait to get the items was slow. All in all okay for price to taste.

    Chicken Wontons in Chili Oil 鸡肉红油抄手 (8)

    Wish there was a way to give 0 stars.... Just left Northern Cafe in Long Beach with a harsh taste in my mouth.... The taste of the 100% RAW CHICKEN that I consumed in their "chicken wontons in chili oil."We informed the staff of the situation, and they failed to inform our waitress/shift-lead, who then tried to charge us for the food. Instead..., After the situation occurred, the person I believed to be the manager or MOD offered to bring us another batch, in which we declined, obviously. However if you serve RAW CHICKEN or chicken sashimi, you don't say sorry, you cover the WHOLE BILL without the customer having to ask. Our poor waitress/shift lead had no idea of the situation and was absolutely wonderful in taking action and discounted our meal. Unfortunately, we DO NOT PAY FOR SALMONELLA, so she let us leave free of charge. Pauline our waitress/shift lead who said works at another location was great, and professional. She informed us that Lydia was the regional manager, who I hope that this message reaches. To assure that you can train your staff better, not only preventing this from happening to anyone else in the future, but also training staff how to properly handle these situations.

    Pork & Cabbage Dumplings 白菜猪肉水饺 (10)
    Maryssa G.

    As somebody who has a severe nut allergy and has to worry about being told no accommodations can be made the host and my server Timothy went above and beyond for still being new to make sure my safety was important from double checking the food items I wanted to order to coming back and communicating what was safe and what wasn't made this experience 10 times better not only was the food well portioned and amazing,the staff was amazing. It was so fresh and filling the atmosphere alone was lively friendly and very comfortable! So thank you Timothy for a great experience!

    Amy T.

    Love their dim sum option menu. They offer a wide selection of Chinese cuisine. I had a few dumplings the one that stood out the most was the hot and soup soup and pork soup dumplings. Sad there wasn't shu mai option because that's one of my favorite dim sum items. I wasn't a fan of the crab dumplings and the spicy wonton wasn't too spicy but there is extra chili oil on the side to add to your liking. Service was good. Ambiance is causal. Price point was decent for being able to order multiple menu items. My favorite part of the day was eating my leftover hot and sour soup after a long night out.

    Romana P.

    Food was super good once again and Tim was fantastic! We had about 4 dishes: Dan Dan noodles, dumplings, green onion pancakes and wonton in chilly oil. We can't wait to return and try more items. We found our favorite Chinese spot in the middle of 2nd street

    Dan dan noodles and Sautéed Broccoli with Garlic
    King B.

    A Chinese restaurant in Long Beach...on 2nd st? My curiosity was peaked as well. Stopped in for a late lunch on a weekday to try out some dim sum and noodles. My hopes quickly met reality - rectangular tables hmm...no hot tea at the ready and I had to ask for water instead of it being offered. Misgivings I might have overlooked had the waitress known anything at all about the menu - she literally had no idea what they were selling. Menu items had no numbers at all, but had Chinese characters next to useless English descriptions - yeah, another red flag. I know enough Chinese to decipher xiaolongbao and jiaozi. Both dishes were fresh enough, but had some of the worst execution I've ever had - frozen from Costco would easily better these. The shrimp dumplings with chili oil faired no better - overcooked with a bizarrely sweet chili sauce. Hard pass. Picked garlic broccoli for some veggies. This was stir fried bulk broccoli florets - fresh, but panda express level "Chinese". The Dan dan noodles was only dish that approached tasting authentic, but only cafeteria level execution. There is a fairly large menu of other common Americanized Chinese dishes that I didn't try, which might hit the spot for Panda Express lovers, but I doubt many Chinese people eat here willingly. This is 3 star food for undiscerning palettes looking for Chinesesque fair. I'd score 3 stars for the food tasting fresh, but having such a clueless waitress is insulting to customers, hence 2 stars. If you're looking for dim sum, you'll find much better options traveling up the 605 to LA or down the 5 to OC.

    Pork wontons in Chili oil

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    1 month ago

    Although I haven't been into the restaurant yet, the food is delicious I'd recommend if you want good Chinese food

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    13 days ago

    Chicken fried rice looks microwaved it's probably the worst Chinese food ever. The dumplings are decent I guess

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    Ask the Community - Northern Cafe

    How are the scallion pancakes?

    I love them!

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