Page Sponsored by Ellen's Cafe Reviews      Profile      Menus      Website

Chinese Cafe

MY REVIEW: I was very sad when I found out that the Chinese Cafe on Bellaire recently closed. I have been going there for almost 20 years. I'm glad the Richmond Ave branch is still open, but it is like losing an old friend.

NAME: Dick
SUBMITTED: 11/2/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: Nov 2 2012
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I have always heard a lot of good things about this restaurant (the one on Richmond Avenue), so I thought that I would give it a try. What a mistake this was.

I visited the restaurant at about 12:30pm on a Friday, I ordered the "P-12" (Sweet and Sour Pork), to go. And, a couple of eggrolls.

The food was INEDIBLE. The pork "nuggets" tasted as though they were made of cardboard, and smelled funny. I had to throw the container into the trash after a few bites. The egg rolls smelled vaugely of ammonia or some other cleaning substance and were mushy, tasted bitter.

I have had better egg rolls at J*ck-In-The-Box - at least those are crispy and don't taste like cleaning fluid.

Bottom line: These people might have been having a bad day, but there is no excuse for serving substandard -- read: INEDIBLE, food to people. If you are operating a restaurant, then act like it!

A good waste of $15, I will never go back.

NAME: Frank W.
SUBMITTED: 8/17/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: You know a chinese restaurant is good when it is filled with chinese people. This is one of those few places outside of the several miles on Bellaire. And since it is so "ethnic", don't expect friendly service, because that's how old school is. I go there for the food, and that's it. Another thing, this is a place to go to for chinese food. Kung pao chicken ain't chinese food. A fortune cookie ain't chinese food. Egg drop soup ain't chinese food. If you go for the chinese food, you're solid. If you go for friendly service and kung pao chicken, well, you've got a lot to learn about chinese food, so go get yourself some education. I can't believe I'm reading reviews about someone's bad experience there with their order of beef with brocolli. Give me a break.

NAME: chris
SUBMITTED: 7/28/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: Today
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Did not enjoy. I ordered the General Tso's chicken and 2 egg rolls, total came to almost $12. 1.) Chicken was all dark meat 2.) Chicken had bone fragments in 2 different pieces. Maybe it's traditionally supposed to be made with dark meat, but I prefer white. I bit half of three chunks, and my appetite was ruined as the sauce was just blah and the breading was soggy. On the other hand, egg rolls were decent. But for $12, I could've eaten at P*F Chang*s. Will NOT return.

NAME: SLStar1
SUBMITTED: 5/23/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: May 2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I read about this place in the Houston Press and reluctantly went in to try it. It EXCEEDED my expectations by far! It was great! I ordered the kung pao shrimp, which was very spicy just like I like it! I also ordered the sweet and sour chicken for my husband and the sauce was so different from normal s & s sauce, but in a good way. I also got shrimp fried rice which was pretty good as well. I will definitely return to try some of the other dishes that are pictured on the wall. Try this place, you will love it!!

NAME: Stacie
SUBMITTED: 4/24/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 4/24/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I've been going to Chinese Cafe for at least 8 years now...though the ladies who work there aren't the nicest, the food more than makes up for it. I recommend the beef with green onions, double spicy chicken, and the shrimp with peanuts (pretty much what I order every time). An odd thing though: I once asked for an extra bowl of rice, and they charged me a buck. Another time, I asked again and they just gave it to me. Maybe it depends on the cashier and the mood they're in...? They always give me a fortune cookie when I ask though ^_^

NAME: Sara
SUBMITTED: 4/8/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: March 2007
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: ... But the lady at the counter gets my significant other confused with a coworker all the time. :P But she's still REALLY SWEET. Always smiling, and so pleasant to us. They must have hired her after the last reviews.

Coworkers and I always eat lunch here. At least 2-3 times a week. AWESOME food, and a great place to hang out and chat over a good meal. Not a lot of seating, so its always packed, but we manage to always get a table (we always take the big ones, we have a big group).

They don't fuss over cooking per request, friends love really spicy food, and add lots of spice to their dishes. We keep to a lot of the same meals, and since we go at lunch, its a select menu anyway. Prices are very good, very cheap for a lot of food (and always extra rice!).

I almost always get the sweet and sour chicken. Their version contains a lot of ginger, but its good that way, gives it a good punch. The green beans with pork are truely delicious. The sauce with this dish is very savory and salty, pairs well with the green beans, and they are sauted just right for the crunch. We always order a big plate of pork dumplings to split among everybody, they are awesome. Well seasoned and fried just right, and the ginger/soy sauce they serve with it pairs well.

They have a lunch combo special that pairs two meats with a veggie and soup. Hot and sour soup can be substituted. I have tried this combo once, and it was decent. The hot and sour soup has a good balance, would have liked to see more bamboo (I think that's what it is) in there though...but that's just what I prefer. I say decent on the combo because on the day I chose this, one of the meats was one I wouldn't normally get. Curried chicken. I'm not big on curried anything, but again, that's just me. The beef and brocoli was very good though.

Definitely recommended to anybody in that area, its very close to lots of work places. I go with a group from work, but I have seen lots of my other coworkers eating there, so its a popular place.

Service is fast as well. Free tea too, well its included with the meal.

Will definitely be back. See you next week!

NAME: Mindi
SUBMITTED: 10/7/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/06
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: During my 9 yrs away from Houston, I dreamed about their twice-fried pork. It was as good as I remember. Lady on counter (it was a sunday) was friendly for a change, but that's just part of the deal here. Food is GREAT, authentic and inexpensive, who cares about the rest? If you're used to buffet versions of cantonese cuisine, you may not like some of their more northern-style intense flavors. Be adventurous, follow the pictures on the wall!

NAME: garywise
SUBMITTED: 5/4/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: April 2006
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: It had been about 5 years since I moved to Austin, and one of the things I missed a lot was this restaurant. It was a true delight to go in to order Hot and Sour soup, Kung Po Chicken and get the best quality and the flavors that were exactly as I remembered. I was traveling on business and could have gone anywhere on the company, but for two of us it was the best $13 you could ever spend. The treat was to let the lady who was managing that afternoon know how good the food was...she was wonderful...now if I can just get them to open a location in Austin! Cheers...

NAME: Paul W
SUBMITTED: 2/26/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 02/2006
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Strong points: the food is good.

Weak points: the lady that takes the orders is unfriendly. I requested a substitution for the hot and sour soup and she yelled at me! "NO! NO Substitutions!" she yelled. I don't think it is necessary to yell at the customers when they are simply requesting a substitution because they cannot eat spicy foods. I have been to this location several times and every single time the people behind the counter are rude and seem hostile. I will never return here again.

NAME: Jen
SUBMITTED: 2/11/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/2006
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: At this place you can get delicious food with cheap price. It is a self served place that is why the food is cheap so you can not expect good service. Their food are not consistent but most of the time they are good. I notice that they give you less food for to go order. This place used to be visited mainly by Chinese, but lately I notice a lot of American visit there as well. Like I said for cheap and delicious Chinese food, this is the place.

NAME: JoAnn
SUBMITTED: 7/15/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/03/2005
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: This place used to be really good! But the other day I was in the mood for some Pork Fried Rice so I stopped by around 1 PM and ordered...The food came up as ordered and when I sat down I went to get some soup spoons and they were totally out..I went back to the counter and mentioned to the lady at the front that the soup spoons were out and she yelled something back to the kitchen and seemed annoyed that I had made the request..I waited around for 10 minutes as my food is getting cold and still no spoons! I asked her again and she screamed back in the kitchen and the cook screams back at her as if he's annoyed..in the meantime I accost a busboy and point out that there are no soup spoons and he darts in the back and 5 minutes later emerges with a handful of them..OK..15 minutes after I picked up my food I have spoons..I proceed to start eating and promptly bite into something gritty..like sand or a piece of glass..yuck..that kind of turned my stomach but I decided not to complain as they seemed like they were getting busy and I didn't want to deal with the attitude infected front counter person..Needless to say..I picked at my cold food for a bit and walked out disgusted...

A very negative experience..It seems as of late that the quality has suffered..I wonder if they changed ownership or something..anyways..beware!

NAME: CFL
SUBMITTED: 4/29/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: April 2005
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I've been a regular at CC for about 15 years running. I order the same thing everytime, the chicken, spinach, and black mushroom dish. Their other dishes are good, but I can't get enough of that same plate I've been ordering since I was 9 year old.

NAME: Stephen Kim
SUBMITTED: 3/25/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: March 2005
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: My favorite is the double cooked chicken (spicy!) OR the lunch special (one meat entree, steamed rice, garlic sprouts and 3 fried wings) served on what reminds me of elementary school lunch tray! It's fast, affordable, and good authentic Chinese food. I usually go once a week.

NAME: ChineseCafe Regular
SUBMITTED: 3/16/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 3/15/2005
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I have been going to Chinese Cafe on and off ever since they opened their first location in Chinatown (Bellaire Blvd) 20+ years ago. The food is cooked to order and served quickly..It's always fresh and you get generous portions! I work in the Galleria area and have visited the Richmond location numerous times..but beware..during the lunch rush the lines go out the door some days..in other words..get there early during the weekdays..They move people through pretty quickly though!

Some of my favorites are the Pork fried rice..every time I order it I roll out of there..the Kung Pao Chicken..very tasty over steamed rice..and many others. What's nice is if you don't know what to order they have pictures of the dishes on the wall and the food does come out looking like the pictures! It's a great operation and they have 3 locations..the Richmond one, Chinatown (Bellaire) and Sugar Land.

The food is pretty consistent and has hardly changed over the years..the dishes have their own uniqueness and the original owners still run the place..I have talked to "Mike" the owner many times and he is pretty cool!

So if you're looking for some good Chinese food cooked to order and don't mind self serve..water..tea..etc. (no tip needed..) this is a place to check out!

NAME: AJT
SUBMITTED: 2/25/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: Jan 2005
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

If you don't agree with these comments, agree with them or have additional comments,
click here to Add Your Review.