Café China

This is my favorite Chinese place hands down. I’ve always left happy from this place. Typically I’ll order just about every item from the dim sum menu and share with 3 – 4 other people. Pork buns awesome. Scallion pancakes awesome. Everything was great except that the past time I was there the service seemed very inattentive. I was without water for most of my meal which would have been fine had some of the items not been spicy. All in all I am still going back because there’s no other Chinese place I’d go to.

Super authentic and really impressive Chinese food. There are so many subtle ways the quality of the food is so amazing, it’s hard to describe.
I ordered the Kung Pao Chicken, just to gauge the aptitude of the chef, and it was likely the best I’ve ever had, including in China and Taiwan. The sauce was so complex and deep, the chicken was tender and well cooked, the peanuts were fresh, it was really really good.
Very reasonable prices. It’s been discussed how it could be somewhat expensive, but that’s really not taking into account that this is Manhattan, tip is already added into the cost, and this isn’t Chinese takeout, this is high quality (apparently Michelin star worthy) authentic Chinese food. For the quality of the food, it’s well worth the cost.
Service was good, waiters spoke both English and Mandarin proficiently. Atmosphere is good too, not gaudy but not cheap. The tables are mostly 2-​people and 4-​people, so be wary if you have a large group.
Definitely recommended, if you think Chinese food only has a ceiling on quality and just plateaus, I’d say Café China offers a definitive counter example. Give it a try.

I have only given 5 stars to one other restaurant ever.
This restaurant had super fresh food and EXCELLENT service. I mean 5 star service. OH YEAH — NO TIPPING POLICY.
This is a more upscale version of han dynasty
I get it– they raise prices on some of their items (10−20%) in lieu of this but still — well worth it.
The dan dan noodles were ¹⁄₃ the size of that at han dynasty (no doubt were just as good) but NOT worth the $ 8. Tiny bowl.
The LUNCH SPECIAL is $ 12 and incudes a soup or spring roll and main meal.
THey do not skimp on the portions.
I got the three pepper chicken and it was the best Ive ever had. along with the brown rice.
If i go back will try the kung pao. again, excellent lunch special.
Dont know if I would go there for dinner — prices are high.

This restaurant scores high in my book as normally I don’t like to eat Szechuan given many times, almost all things on the menu are spicy. While I do like a kick and can eat some spice… I am not a die hard spicy eater. So keep this in mind upon reading my review.
When I first arrived, not knowing they don’t generally take reservations I was a bit panicked that we’d have to wait over an hour for a table. There was definitely a fan base for this place as I overheard many people saying they are regulars or «just had to try it» given it’s fantastic Unilocal reviews. The wait ended up being ½ an hour (when we were first quoted 1 hr./1 hr. 15 mins). Phew!
I must say, what a superb Szechuan experience. I really liked the ambiance of the place, the 1930’s Shanghai décor reminiscent of old classic Asian films and the backdrop of everyone’s typical living room (Asian rustic with Western influences). The dinner menu was fun to read as well and I got a few laughs from the cocktail menu. Each drink was given cool names — all references to popular Asian Cinema. The drink I ordered was called the «2046»…excellent film and an excellent drink. I like my liquor what can I say.
Onto the food dishes, this was a seating for 5 — all «Foodie» adults, so we tried to order something from every category to get a real «sampling» of their food.
Cold Dishes:
Dan Dan Noodles — very good but not enough pork for me. Each resy makes it different. Can’t complain, we made up for the meat in every other dish. Keep reading.
Dim Sum category:
Steamed Soup Buns (comes with 4 only!) — sadly not much soup but the pork inside made up for it in taste. I still missed the soup so this missed the mark as it’s called «soup» buns!
Pork Dumplings in Chili Oil (I think it’s my favorite of the night) just the right amount of hot oil, the dumplings were bathing in and yet you can still taste the pork contents inside. The meat stood out on it’s own despite the oil. This is a must try.
Spicy Pork Chengdu Wonton, this dish had a two chili pepper rating and yes — spicy for my taste but it was well worth the tongue burn. LOL Another must try.
Vegetables:
Sautéed Loofah — simple and very classic Asian cooking, mild flavors and helped to clean my palate in between tastings of spicy and more spicy. It was good to have a balance in between.
Entrees:
Tea Smoked Duck — definitely smoky in flavor, you can taste it/​smell it. The duck was not as tender or smooth as I would have liked but it was smoked so it was likely meant to be drier than say a chicken dish. A little too dry but still worth the mention. If you like smoky and like duck… order it.
Spicy Cumin Lamb — as it says, cumin, chili pepper, and onions dominated this dish alongside the yummy lamb. The lamb was super delicious. It was really tender and I love cumin… more than I thought. You will too! This dish was a stand out w/​my group. I think it was the favorite of the night.
Steamed Spice-​Coated Beef (aka Spicy Beef over Squash) — the red chili and peppercorns made this dish so attractive and so spicy (looking and taste). It definitely had some heat but very easy to eat. I enjoyed this one a lot — again, not usually a spice eater but it went down fine. The squash gave me the break I needed from the peppers all around.
Chungking Chicken (the name of the dish, yet another reference to a classic film «Chungking Express») — the chicken was fried, had a very crispy texture, and the flavor combination makes this a stand out dish. Nothing like you’ve had before … all of the stuff you like about Szechuan is embodied in this dish. The four chili pepper rating is true… spicy lovers rejoice. It’s a must try!
Overall a fan… I may try other Szechuan places now… if only this is the standard. I’m betting this place raises the bar. Good eats to all.

This is the only Michelin start restaurant I’ve seen where the price on Unilocal is only 2 dollar signs instead of 4! Want to try a Michelin star restaurant that doesn’t break bank? This Chinese/​Szechuan restaurant has you covered.
Personally, I’m not very tolerant of «ma la» (Chinese spicy), so below you will find dishes which cater to those who similarly prefer only lightly spicy dishes. I recommend each and every one of them!
Sautéed String Beans — You can find this dish in almost every Chinese restaurant but you can’t find one as tenderly cooked as this. I never thought I’d be impressed by a green bean dish, but none of the other Chinese restaurants I’ve ever been to has come close to how this one has been made. The next time you try this at another restaurant, you’ll definitely notice that most other restaurants will prepare this dish slightly overcooked.
Tea Smoked Duck — Very similar to the Beijing roast duck in that the skin must be crispy, yet meat has to be tender. However, compared to the Beijing roast duck, there’s not a lot of fat at all so eating it is more «comfortable» than the Beijing roast duck. Cooking for this is also much different from the Beijing roast duck. Beijing roast duck’s cooking method means the duck cannot cook all the way through on its own, so water is added to speed up the cooking process (either inserted directly through the ducks butt or some sort of sponge through the ducks mouth — like a steam bun drenched in water). For this particular dish the cooking takes longer (not too familiar with how it’s specifically cooked though), it cooks all the way through without extra steps, and is thus much, much harder to cook.
Kung Pao Chicken — Short of going to China you won’t find one as tasty as here. The chicken was super tender and juicy!
Steamed Soup Buns — This is actually Shanghai-​style dish and you judge this based majorly on the quality of the soup inside. You have to eat this while it’s hot, because of the way it’s made. Part of the soup comes from fat melted… So once fat cools it solidifies. Obviously high quality soup has less fat in the soup. Yeah… Sorry if you didn’t want to know that you’re basically drinking fat.
Pork in Garlic Dressing — This dish tastes different at every restaurant because the house sauce is different, but the style of the pork is cooked the same. The slices are thin and the cooking process must be very precise and it’s easy to mess up. Think bacon, but cooked thoroughly, yet still soft like a piece of noodle.
All in all, these dishes were delicious and I am glad I came here while visiting NYC! Highly, highly recommend!

This place blew my mind. Can’t believe I’ve been working a block away all this time! Had a business dinner there tonight and split a ton of appetizers (pork dumplings in chili oil /​soup dumplings /​pickled veg were all AMAZING). I ordered the spicy whole baked fish for my entrée and hardly looked up from my plate until I had picked the entire thing clean. To die for!!! Crispy skin, tender juicy flaky meat, an intoxicatingly fragrant spicy garlicky sauce… hhnnnnngggghh. Did it have to end???
Service is what you’d expect from a bustling restaurant. Décor is adorably retro chic. But come here for the FOOD. If you appreciate good food but have to wait a while for a table, trust me, it’s worth the wait.

The best Chinese restaurant in NYC, the food really good that’s is really Chinese food! Love it!

This place has a Michelin star and it was well deserved. I’m a frequent visitor of Café China’s sister restaurant China Blue which has very similar classy 30’s Shanghainese vibe to it.
Food ⁵⁄₅
Overall very good. With the exception of the food being a bit too salty sometimes. Note that this is a Szechuan restaurant so they are known for their spicy foods. My advice when eating here is to ask for mild unless you very high tolerance for spicy food. Even dishes with 4 peppers can be cooked less spicy and be very delicious.
Service ⁵⁄₅
No complaints here. Just another great example of no tip restaurants being superior.

Café China is a few blocks away from my office, so I’ve come here several times with my coworkers. I’ve dined here for both lunch and dinner, but the best time to come is before 12pm on weekdays to avoid the midtown lunch rush. Also, there are really great lunch special deals that is essentially a choice of appetizer (spring roll or hour and sour soup) entrée and white or brown rice for only $ 12. The best thing is that there is NO TIPPING and you will see «No tipping» throughout the menu. This is because the prices already reflect tips.
My favorites that I highly recommend are:
1. Pork dumplings in chili oil
2. Twice-​cooked pork belly
3. Fried rice with shredded duck
4. Eggplant in garlic sauce
Café China is 1-​star Michelin rated, and it’s hard to believe because the food is actually really affordable! It’s also much more clean and modern than your typical Chinese restaurant, but it’s nothing too fancy at the same time. I’ll keep coming back!

visited here on a sunday evening, was difficult to get a spot bc it was reserved all the way from 4 pm to 9 pm! we came to see what a budget 1-​star michelin restaurant would look like and were pleased with our experience.
the food is very savory and up to par compared to west coast or dirtier more «authentic» sichuan places. wouldn’t say it has the best of quality in terms of taste or labor in preparing the food (e.g. how thinly sliced can you make the tofu and meat), but certainly excellent for midtown location and will satiate your craving for numbing spicy (peppercorn) food. the menu is pricey but certainly not unreasonable — our group came out to about 30 per person without drinks and were quite full at the end.
the food is on the greasy side (as all good chinese food is) but slightly less so than Ollie’s.
the setting is 1930s shanghai as described by other Unilocalers and quite charming, appropriate for families, friends and even dates if you choose a spot towards the bar.

I really tried to like this place, I’ve now ordered from them twice — and to start with the positive — delivery has been prompt both times and I am a big fan of the scallion pancakes!
The positivity stops there though — I’ve tried two of the chicken dishes: the chunking chicken which was almost inedibly spicy, I enjoy spicy food but when the pepper and seeds overwhelm the dish (that was also very dry) it ruins the experience. I also tried the three pepper chicken and this had the same dryness problem — very little sauce and the chicken was tough. I was also disappointed with the edamame — no salt whatsoever (I don’t like too much salt on my edamame, but none? it needs something).
After giving it two chances, I don’t think its worth it to give it a third attempt.

There was over an hour wait for this place. We took it as a good sign; if people were willing to wait that long, it must be good.
The menu is unique and diverse, so you’ll be able to find something you like. Every dish has a lot of flavor. We all felt like the portions were a bit small for the price.
Overall, it’s a great, authentic restaurant. We liked that the tip was included in the price. It’s a unique experience. I’d say it’s worth visiting once, but I don’t think I’ll go back again. In the city that never sleeps, there are too many other options out there worth exploring.

I was curious to see what a 1 Michelin star Chinese restaurant entailed. We came for a group work lunch. Most items on their lunch menu range from $ 12 – 18 and comes with your choice of an egg roll/​hot & sour soup. I was not impressed with the Kung pao chicken. It is hard to mess up Kung pao chicken, it is a very basic dish. The chicken did not pack any heat and contained hidden peppercorns.
**Tipping has been eliminated**

NOTE: These are old prices, before they went tip inclusive.
I organized a team lunch here for my mostly non-​Chinese coworkers and it was a hit. Even if they keep on referring to this as the dimsum lunch. It was a tight fit for our reserved table. I want to say we had about 12 people. We ordered the following and it was about $ 22/​pp. And for the sake of saving time, I had my order typed and printed so we were ready to hit the ground running. I purposely went with less adventurous items (no tripe or super super spicy!) for the sake of the coworkers and ordered enough items for anyone who doesn’t eat beef, pork, or wasn’t in the mood for meat. We would come here more item if it wasn’t a slight hike from our office.
口水鸡 a2 Mouth Watering Chicken $ 9
蒜泥白肉 a10 Pork in Garlic Dressing $ 9
川北凉粉 a21 Mung Bean Jelly $ 5
葱油饼 b4 Scallion Pancakes (6) $ 5 x 2
锅贴 b6 Pork Pot Stickers (6) $ 6
素蒸饺 b8 Vegetable Steamed dumplings (6) $ 6
担担面 b10 Dan Dan Noodles $ 6 x 2
麻辣抄手 b12 Spicy Chengdu Wonton $ 6×2
小笼汤包 b13 Steamed Soup Buns $ 6×2
芹黄香干 a18 Savory Tofu with Celery Shoots $ 7
水晶虾饺 b9 Crystal Shrimp dumplings (6) $ 8
樟茶鸭丝炒饭 c32 Fried Rice with Tea Smoked Duck $ 14
蒜炒豆苗 v12 Snow Pea Shoots with Garlic $ 15
清炒丝瓜 v5 Lightly Sautéed Loofah $ 12
鱼香茄子 v4 Eggplant in Garlic Sauce $ 12
麻婆豆腐 L11 Ma Po Tofu w meat $ 9
江北水煮鱼 (白汤) c1b Chungking Braised Fish in White Soup $ 25
三椒煸鸡 c27 Three Pepper Chicken $ 14
宫保鸡丁 c30 Kung Pao Chicken $ 12

This is the last and the only one of Michelin starred Chinese restaurant in New York. Once there was a Hankassan. Now Han was downgraded.
This place is over priced. Food was mediocre with little portion. The table was greasy. Waiters were always busy.

Wow, I randomly went here a few months back and just found out Café China has a Michelin star. Hahahahah, what!!! I mean, it’s a good option for Chinese in midtown, perhaps even the best??? But only because there are basically no options for good Chinese in midtown. But the food here is nothing extraordinary, for sure. Can barely remember my meal. I think I had the mapo tofu and string beans. Michelin… y’all lazy. Much better food can be found in Chinatown and Flushing, for the low low. But I guess those places don’t fit Michelin’s profile? Disappointed, of all the Chinese joints in all the boroughs of New York you choose this… real talk though I probably would come back here next time I want Chinese in the city since the location can’t be beat.
Yo but also what kind of Chinese restaurant serves tiramisu + vietnamese coffee lol
(A bougy michelin starred one, I guess)
—–
LOL manager @ café china has no chill. Relax, I mean I gave you 4 stars…

I am so conflicted about this place. Café China offers delicious spicy Sichuan food, but absolutely horrible service.
Wait time for dinner on a Thursday at 7:20pm was about 40 minutes. OK, fair enough. A friend in the know recommended Café China as a remedy for my perennial craving of Sichuan Chinese food, a craving that has not been assuaged since I moved to the City (I’ve tried a handful of places in Flushing and in Manhattan, and really haven’t been satisfied).
Did Café China meet my expectations? Yes. It didn’t blow me away, but it met my expectations. It was the standard Sichuan dinner I wanted, and I got to have some familiar favorites just as I planned. We had the spicy cumin lamb and the steamed duck.
Service… oh man. So Café China is a no tipping restaurant, not that it really matters, because if tipping was the policy here, I wouldn’t have left a cent. I’ve been in NYC for 3 years and this has been one of the most negative service experiences I’ve had in a restaurant.
My cousin and I had put our names down, and decided to check in at the 40 min mark quoted to us. Whoops! The hostess actually didn’t take our names down. Fortunately she felt bad and was able to seat us right away.
The staff is so harried here, it’s ridiculous. We waited for about 30 minutes for a food, and they never came to check in to apologize for the delay or even let us know when it was coming. You’d expect that from a standard restaurant, but come on, Café China has a Michelin star!
I wanted to show my waiter the Unilocal check in so I could receive the free ice cream scoop upon check in (see if the promotion is still active), but he vanished as soon as he picked up our food, and wouldn’t hear me as I loudly said «Sir, sir.»
Would I go back? That is the question. I’m still curious about some of the items, and if I could go form a group of 4 or more (the minimum for reservations) before 6pm, I might. But that’s the thing. It asks of me to be extremely accommodating to a place that wasn’t mind-​blowing in my opinion, or even cognizant of having provided extremely lackluster service. So, probably not. However, I’d be open to getting delivery from this place if I was craving Sichuan food again.

Ordered delivery from here not too long ago. Got the wontons in hot oil and the three pepper chicken.
The wantons in hot oil were good, but the oil was surprisingly bland, considering how flavorful the rest of their food was. Had a bit of a kick, but a little lacking other than that — still good though.
The three pepper chicken certainly did not lack flavor, however. Very hot and a really wide range of flavors. Not a bad dish, however was a tad on the dry side. Don’t know if that’s the intention with it, but it made for a less than desirable texture at least for me.
Want to try some more menu items, and want to dine in so I can try some soup dumplings!

The décor reminds me a lot of Chinese movies set in pre-​war Shanghai, but the food is all Szechuan. I think purely in terms of aesthetics, Café China is miles above your average midtown Chinese restaurant: instead of the gaudy red chandeliers and gold trim and the gruff middle-​aged staff, you’ve got an almost library-​like atmosphere of Chinese novels stacked on bookcases, fancy lamps, and waiters dressed from the latest Banana Republic catalogue.
I still think you get a much better deal for the food from somewhere like one of the many Szechuan Gourmet’s and its ilk. You don’t have to give any tip at China Café, but the prices are pretty high for the portion size. Dan dan noodles and cold Szechuan noodles came in the same bowl that they use for rice. Usually, I’m a mess at trying to mix the noodles together with the sauce at the bottom and the veggies on top, but this time everything was perfectly contained within that dainty, tiny bowl. Same for the mouth-​watering chicken.
Mapo tofu was a bit of a mystery. Slathered within an inch of its life with red chili oil, it promised plenty of punch but when we started eating it, we could taste a ton of the numbing peppercorn oil, yet with none of the heat that this dish usually delivers. Also sad to say that the dish was maybe 80% oil and giant chunks of green scallions, and maybe 20% actual tofu.
I think this place is good for taking family and others who like to chow down in a beautiful midtown setting and don’t mind paying a little extra, but it’s not a coincidence that the best Chinese food in this city actually comes in dirt-​cheap, bare-​floored Chinatown dumpling and noodle shops.
Café China is definitely not hurting for business, as the place filled up within minutes for Sunday lunch (when all the other nearby restaurants were either completely empty or closed) and the first thing the hostess said was whether we could finish eating in two hours. But I might try some of the other Szechuan places (yes, the ones with the gaudy chandeliers and glaring waitstaff) before I come back.

Café China has been my favorite Chinese restaurant in midtown east. Usually there is a long wait for weekend dinners. A very long wait. Like one hour or more. So I rarely try my luck on weekend or I will end up to give up and eat at Korean town.
Their food is true to the root, service is attentive. I must order food no cilantro and MSG/​chicken powder free because of my personal diet habits. Nine out of ten times the braised white fish soup would still come out with cilantro and I had to send it back (fingers crossed no MSG or chicken powder). Also it’s a Michelin starred restaurant. However the bowls and plates they use usually have cracks. It makes me wonder it must be very hard on financially to maintain a restaurant since they have to recycle a dollar less worth cracked utensils…
Talking about the food, my favorite is braised white fish soup. It’s a little bit sweet but my taste bud loves sugar. Sometimes the chef forgets some ingredients like tofu cubes or bean sprouts (good thing that he never forgets fish fillets which is the main ingredient). After complain I always get my tofu cubes and bean sprouts back. I also recommend three peppers chicken, pork dumplings in chili oil and scallion pancake. In those dishes I haven’t found any missing ingredients, yet those dishes are amazing.

Came here on that freezing weekend in February (when it was 0 °F!) and thought it would be deserted. But nope, it was packed, and we sneaked onto the last free table without a reservation. Win!
This place is pretty cramped, but the atmosphere inside is great. We all shared a pot of the Chinese tea which was a great kick start to the night.
I ordered the pork dumplings in chilli oil (you get about eight huge dumplings — this could almost be an entrée). It can be pretty spicy so if you’re like me try to avoid the whole pieces of chilli and also try to get some of the soy sauce involved (which floats hidden underneath the dumplings). These were pretty good dumplings although I was expecting the fillings to be a little fancier. It pretty much tasted like high quality sausage inside.
For main course I had the tea smoked duck (comes with hoisin sauce and your choice of brown or white rice). I would have preferred this to have been pre boned before it was cut — the bones in it are quite annoying and easy to accidentally chomp on. Though the quality of the meat was great and you can really taste the tea smoked flavour.
In all, this was a cute spot for a quirky Chinese meal (as opposed to cheap and tacky takeout Chinese — which has its own time and place). It’s cool to say you’ve dined at a Michelin starred restaurant — though I can’t say that I tasted the difference.

We had a very good lunch here, although I’m not sure we really did this place right. We got the wonton soup, pork dumplings in chili oil, scallion pancakes, kung pao chicken, and soup dumplings. The dumplings in chili oil were fantastic. I thought everything else was very good, but not as memorable as I figured they’d be after hearing all the hype about this place. The soup dumplings were the only thing I found somewhat disappointing — they’re very expensive relative to other dim sums, which is fine if they’re worth it, but I don’t think these even compared to what you’d get at some of the places that are specifically known for soup dumplings. I don’t think I’d get these again.
That said, I don’t want to sound overly negative, because I did really enjoy this place — next time I’d just get some of the other really popular dishes that people rave about on here and elsewhere.

I am on the fence to see if I will try this restaurant again. I ordered the 3 pepper chicken which i assumed would contain some sort of sauce. Unfortunately, it did not and was superdry which is not good for such a spicy dish. However, I really enjoyed the soup and the freshness. I may want to try the restaurant again and choose another dish to decide if I am really going to be a repeat customer.
This is my second time coming here but the first time I actually received my food. The first time I ordered onine and dropped by to pick up my food. I told the counter girl that I was picking up an online order placed 30 minutes prior along with my name. She took a quick look and said none of the names were mine. I stood there for 10 minutes while countless orders came out. I asked her to check. She did and said it’s not yours it’s coming out. After another 15 mnutes I asked her to go to the kitchen and check. She came back and said sorry we don’t have your order. i was a little annoyed that she concluded this after 25 minutes instead of having common sense after 15 minutes to ask me for my order again and just putting it in with the kitchen. I would say that they should train their staff to use common sense and courtesy especially when it gets busy otherwise they will lose customers.

I’ve had the spicy diced rabbit as the cold dish. The name sounds horrifying but It’s really worth trying. You won’t feel like you are eating rabbit at all. For main dishes I ordered a steamed spicy coated beef and a steamed squash with ginger and scallion. A little heads up– there is squash in the steamed spicy coated beef so order another squash dish is unnecessary. That was a mistake that I made and the waiter did not kindly point out. The style of the restaurant is 80a modern Shanghai style. So it’s very classic and vintage. A very good date choices however for weekends night it always gets crowded and noisy. So make a reservation at the booth.

I’ve been to a lot of Chinese restaurants to have Xiao long boa and I would not recommend this place to go to for that or Szechuan food… the Xiao long boas were suck together and when you tried to pull them apart they ripped and the juice never made it onto the spoon or in my mouth. They didn’t take the time to make sure the baos didn’t stick together when they were cooking it. The flavor of the other dishes were ok but I except some spice in Szechuan food and the numbing spice just didn’t exist. The service was slow and they were not attentive. The ambiance was nice. Definitely could get a lot better food for a cheaper price in Chinatown.

It was my first time to eat real Chinese food. I ordered Pork dumplings in chili oil, Duck fried rice and Kung pao chicken. Dumplings were firm but soft and juicy inside. Chili oil was not that spicy at all, good to dip dumplings in it or enjoy with rice. Chicken was perfectly cooked but I was embarrassed when I chewed the peppercorns in it. I don’t really like any strong smell or taste of spices. If you are okay with spices, it won’t matter but if you don’t like them either, be aware not to chew them. All food was great. delicious! Portions are not big. Interior was perfect. I definitely love this place and will visit again.

Stopped in for a late lunch. It was cold, and soup sounded great. Admittedly I chose based on location, I walked past, it looked decent.
The soup was great, lunch special looked wonderful. Now for the not so wonderful: The guy working the counter, who I presume is the manager of sorts was rude. Not in the respect that it was busy, he was tired, or otherwise. Rude in the sense that he either lacked human-​socialization, or just chooses to be an ill-​mannered ass. I didn’t once see him actually speak to a customer. He would bring food, make feign attempts to refil drinks, return bills, etc. All of this done without once speaking to a human. When he refilled my water glass, the pitcher ran out. Instead of searching for another pitcher, he simply walked away leaving my glass half-​full; again without ever speaking, making eye contact, or any other proclivity that would elude to his desire to act like a human being.
That in and of itself is enough to keep me from returning. I can easily place myself in the company of jerks without having to pay for it.

On a cold night, I was too lazy to venture out for food so I got delivery instead. I love that the food was still hot despite the cold weather.
Pork Dumplings in Chili Oil — After a few bites, I came to realize that I didn’t like the chili oil sauce. It was a little too sweet for me, but I also got really thirsty afterwards. The skin on the dumpling is really thick. I kinda prefer a thinner skin but again, these were boiled dumplings so they tend to be thick-​skinned anyway.
Duck Fried Rice — This was actually better than I thought.
Honestly, the food would probably be better if I ate it there. Everything was only A-​OK.

When it comes to Chinese food, I’m very particular about it.
Café China is one of few Chinese restaurants has authentic chinese food, decent environment and good price. I was pretty happy with the dishes we ordered: gong bao chx and cumin lamb. I ordered the first home made cocktail: lust, caution which was so so. Feels better just with a bottle of fresh Tsingtao beer.
I would like to to back for my Chinese mood again. Lol

I think they can mention each plate comes with a rice !!!
Or at least the ones with rice?

I’ve ordered from here on Seamless a number of times and I’ve been twice, always getting the same thing. Others I’ve been with have gotten other entrees and they’ve all been happy with them. I’ve also gotten my office addicted to these things (#sorryimnotsorry).
Things you need to eat:
1. Spicy Chengdu Wonton (so spicy, so tasty)
2. Tea Smoked Duck Fried Rice (you can literally taste the smoke. Yum)
They always deliver in significantly less time than Seamless estimates and the delivery guys are all SO NICE! The food is really tasty and consistent. It’s not what you often think of as «Chinese food» where it’s greasy, Americanized and doesn’t have any flavor. The Spicy Chengdu Wontons are what I consider medium spicy (a little burn, but not painful) but not too greasy and amazingly flavorful.

1. Sweet and Sour Baby Ribs
2. Lightly Sautéed SHREDDED Potatoes
3. Pork Dumplings in Chili oil
It’s a good place to eat. Nice food and nice waiter. Chinese food in this restaurant is fancy and characteristic.

Worthy of its reputation, the food is excellent although very spicy, attentive and correct service. I would recommend only ordering food about 15 seconds before you are ready to eat it since the service is PROMPT. Decent wine list to accompany the food.

Michelin star rated. Prices are great considering that it has 1 Michelin star, but not so great considering Chinese food usually costs less… but then again, this is NYC, and the Chinese restaurants in UES cost around the same, but don’t taste as good. Been here 3 times. The first time, someone in our group ordered way too much alcohol, and then we ended up paying like $ 20 pp for food, but $ 46 pp for alcohol. o_​o. The other two times with family ended up being around 15 – 20 $ pp, so not too shabby.
We usually order the kung pao ji ding (fiancé’s favorite dish); have yet to find a place that makes it authentically (sweet, spicy, sour), but this place comes pretty close. Other things we have ordered: potato slices (a little on the too salty side), beef and peppers (so flavorful!), dumplings in chili oil, sui zhu yu. The best thing is that the stuff tastes cleaner than your traditional Chinese places. That and the nice atmosphere.

The most authentic Chinese food I’ve experienced since immigrating here nearly 20 years ago. Overheard from a friend that this place had a Michelin Star, and in my head I was thinking… let’s be real, Chinese places don’t get Michelin Stars.
A few glances at the menu and their Unilocal page got me curious — they had some dishes I’ve only had growing up, so I was pretty excited. We made a reservation for 5 for a Saturday night dinner the week of. We ordered a handful of dishes and the few that stood out were the pork belly over pickled mustard greens and sweet & sour pork chops. These two dishes reminded me of the way they were properly done back in China — the pork belly soaked up all the flavor of the pickled mustard greens and the pork chops were properly infused with the sugar and vinegar (not that red pineapple-​y sauce.) We went with a diverse group who had multiple dietary restrictions, so I didn’t get to try as many authentic dishes as I had hoped. I did, however, notice the whole fish dishes being quite popular on many other tables!
I don’t know how Michelin Stars are given, but this restaurant sure takes me back to the 90s.

If I wanna eat Szechuan meal at nice modern atmosphere, this is my go to place because I always enjoy their meal! My favorite so far is «three pepper chicken» and «beef with butter nuts squash».
Honestly speaking, their soup dumplings are okay but not the best. I feel their dough is bit thick.

3.5 stars with the potential for 4 if and when I eat in the restaurant. Upon entering, this place didn’t exactly strike me as a restaurant with a Michelin star. The interior is meant to evoke a 1930s China feel, which I personally liked. For my takeout order, the place was all but empty on a Sunday afternoon around 3 PM. In about 20 minutes, I had my order of the husband & wife special, ginger flavored bittermelon, three pepper chicken, and savory tofu with pork.
The food may have stayed fresher if I’d lived closer, but by time I got home I was too hungry to care if the three pepper chicken wasn’t as crispy anymore. I enjoyed everything with the exception of the bittermelon (exclusively ordered for my Taiwanese husband). The three pepper chicken definitely packs a kick, and I bet it is just awesome fresh out of the fryer. I appreciated that it wasn’t overly battered, unlike Han Dynasty’s version of the same dish. Husband & wife special was a nice combo of thinly sliced beef and tripe in chili oil — not too spicy and not too oily. The tofu and pork worked well with the celery that was mixed in, and the subtle black bean flavor was nice.
I would gladly eat food from Café China again. However, for the portion size, I think $ 14 is pretty steep for the chicken and pork entrées, even if they did come with white rice. The potential for 4 stars for me definitely hinges on whether or not dining in allows for bigger portions, but the photos on Unilocal aren’t too promising.

I am a huge fan of China Blue, and I love Sichuan cuisine, we had dinner here on Thanksgiving, the house was quite full but the wait was pretty much about 5 minutes.
The snack dishes were so good, I think we ordered about 10 of them, and had spicy fish filet and stir-​fried beef as entrees, the pan fried sweet potato cakes were so crispy and sweet but not too heavy, the spicy chicken starters were also great.
I had a very bad experience with the waiter that night, I asked for sparking water like Pellegrino, he offered me a Perier at the table and gave an attitude, I said it’s fine since I absolutely didn’t want tab water. And then he never came for table service. It was a holiday and I felt that I wasn’t treated the way I would have liked.

In NYC for the holidays as a treat to my mum (her first time here). She wanted to get Chinese one night, so went here based on the proximity to our hotel and the Unilocal reviews.
Thankfully we were not disappointed ! They don’t take reservations for less than 8, so we had a 20mins wait. After a quick walk around the block we were seated.
The service was friendly and prompt. Very efficient, but yet relaxed.
The food was really nice. Definitely recommend the tea smoked duck — really nice!
Would definitely go back when in town — either with other people or even on my own.

Chinese food is one of my favorite ethnic cuisines in the world. I love it!
That being said, I rarely have it. Why, it’s my wives least favorite ethnic cuisines in the world. Oops, grounds for divorce; hardly.
She will eat it solely in the Mother Land: Hong Kong. Other than that city, forget about it.
We are here in New York for the holidays and I have eaten at the China Café before. It is truly a cut above most Chinese restaurants. The bar mixes great concoctions, the kitchen is so creative and spot on making some very eclectic dishes. This is Chinese food fine dining at its best without the white table cloths and tuxedo’ed waiters.
We had tripe in chili sauce, Dan Dan Noodles, sweet and sour baby back ribs, tofu dish some snow peas and rice. Wow, what a feast. I loved everything we ordered and would have liked 3 dishes more (to try) but I was stuffed.
More importantly my wife loved the food and the restaurant as a whole. That was huge endorsement just how good The China Café is. It was so good, as we were walking out, she asked, when will we be coming back.
Bravo!

3.5 stars: but I reserve the right to round up if we ever actually dine in the restaurant. We ordered takeout and had the fried rice with tea smoked duck (delicious– clearly their tea smoked duck is a stand out on their menu), zha jiang noodles (lazy, throw away dish), bang bang chicken (just OK), chungking spicy chicken (above average), and snow pea tendrils (pricey but fresh and well done).
I feel like we’ll either order from here or again or visit the restaurant soon. In any case, try their tea smoked duck– it’s really tasty.

Café China is a one Michelin star restaurant styled like a 80’s Shanghai café that serves top notch Szechuan food.
I arrived early with two people and spent some time at the Cosmetic Market next door.
While waiting outside for our party, an elderly man told us the food was amazing and he was mad that the restaurant has become so popular.
He also complained that the food has gone downhill since their opening. His adorable little wife shushed him and told us to ignore him.
She was right.
The interior is Beautiful with 30s posters of Shanghai stars.
Soft yellow lamps with lime green and robin blue walls with beaded curtains.
Feels vaguely familiar and slightly exotic.
There is something slightly forbidden with low lighting and clashing bright colors and chandeliers.
And The Food.
Perfect Szechuan. Its Legend on their best day.
Ma La is this lip numbing addictive spiciness from wok sautéed peppercorns and chile peppers.
The Ma po tofu and Spicy Diced Rabbit have the perfect amount of heat and salt. You feel so happy because the heat and spice meld with the lean rabbit and scallions and peanuts. You want more!
The double cooked pork is pork belly with leek and chili peppers.
The pork belly’s fat calms your burning lips.
Sauteed loofah was a tender sweet squash, melting in your mouth.
Perfect service!
And such great food for reasonable price was amazing.
I had a wonderful time and can’t wait to come back!