Shanghai Cafe
12708 SE 38th St, Bellevue, WA, 98006
Shanghai Cafe Menu
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Address :
12708 SE 38th St
Bellevue, WA, 98006 - Phone (425) 603-1689
- Website https://www.shanghaicafebellevue.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 2:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Dogs Allowed : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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Thomas M.
We get the same thing here. Every time. Shaved barley noodles with chicken, and a spicy tofu dish. Highly recommend both. Great takeout. Only issue is it is a very, very small waiting area, and once you get over two people waiting for takeout it is quite crowded.
(4)Donald H.
The restaurant is pretty small and intimate and since I was feeling pretty lazy, I ordered take out (so I can eat watching Netflix in my pjs ) The green hand shaven noodles (I got chicken) were ready when I got there about 20 min after I called. It was delicious!! For $10.90, I thought it was worth it Definitely ordering again when I need another lazy night!
(5)Mason L.
Food was okay but I found most of the items are a bit salty especially on the fried rice dishes. Not a lot of speciality shanghai food choices to choose.
(3)Sarah R.
Wow! The food was great! Fried brown rice was amazing. Green beans with garlic had whole cloves with it! Portions were very generous. All of the food was flavorful. One has to be careful to actually order vegetables; this is an issue in a lot of Chinese, I have noticed. The black mushrooms dish was the only heavily veggied dish other than the green beans. The serving staff was terrific and patient with us as we asked questions about sauces and differentiated between egg and spring rolls (they call them egg rolls but serve spring rolls). My son managed to spill the end of his lemonade by racing his matchbox car off the menu with energy, and someone appeared right away and courteously helped put things right (btw, it was the powdered Country Time lemonade mix from my childhood, mixed to perfection and served with submerged sliced lemon). Thanks for a wonderful meal. We will be back.
(5)Hui-yu Y.
Overly sweet cucumber. House special shaved noodle has so so sauce and good noodles. Xiao Lon Bao is mediocre without soup I the bun. The pan fried bun is nothing like what it's suppose to be in Asia.. The string bean is grossly salty.. My in-laws from Vancouver said this place is gross, I guess I have to agree with them ..
(1)Vince N.
It's not your everyday Chinese Restaurant. The Chewy noodles are pretty special and the hand shaven green noodles is a nice change of texture and flavor to your meal. You would never think this place existed as it is tucked in a small shopping strip on the side of Factoria Mall. Service was good and the restaurant was very clean. I'd return here.
(4)Smaly K.
When we decide to eat out for lunch, we often come here for our lunch break. Tried a few things off their lunch menu and dinner menu, and all are pretty good. My favorite is the Kung Pao Squid. The Szechuan Hot Garlic Sauce entrees and Black Bean Sauce entrees are pretty tasty too. Customer service can be iffy sometimes. Some staff members are friendly and some are not as friendly. Lunchtime can get busy, so sometimes the staff are not as attentive. But overall, a great place for lunch,
(4)Gabriel C.
Back again to try out a few other dishes, I do plan to come by and try the XLB (xiao long bao aka soup dumplings) at some point. B17 Happy Family 12 - 4/5. Combination of shrimp, beef, chicken, and squid in hot bowl (metal, lit from underneath). Definitely my favorite of the night! Has some rice cakes thrown in as well and everything is smothered in a thick sauce. Perfect to eat over rice or on it's own. SA4 Spicy Beef Tendon 5 - 3/5. Typically I eat tendons when they are served with a braised beef noodle soup, pho or some kind of noodle soup. However, this dish is a chilled appetizer where the tendon has the texture/consistency reminiscent of jello and a slight hint of spice from the red pepper flakes. Tasty! N17 House Special Fried Rice Cake 9 - 3/5. Rice cakes that have been cooked with napa cabbage, shrimp and chicken before being smothered in a thick sauce (similar to the one for the Happy Family dish).
(3)Monica C.
My father in law has cooked here for nearly fifteen years and apparently my husband has NEVER stopped by. We've had the luxury of eating family dinners every Tuesday so I guess that's our excuse... Anyway we came here with my cousin in law & his lady friend to try out the food after hitting the gym. Let's just say that we should have went BACK to the gym because I was soooooo full I couldn't move. Service was nice: my husband and cousin in law went into the kitchen to say hi and it wasn't an issue. We were trying to scope out whether or not it would be allowed LOL the owner also came by to say hello--- very very nice people. Everyone eating seemed happy and were enjoying their lunches. There was this cute girl who got a seat for her American girl doll and the waitress was sweet and got a chair for "her." Tea served very quickly, thumbs up for the nice service. Our gym habit is fueled by our constant eating... We ordered honey walnut prawns, crispy orange beef, special hand shaven noodles and got hot and sour soup and salt & pepper prawns on the house. My favorite dish was the crispy orange beef. To be honest, I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. Usually, fried beef is stringy but man this dish came out SOOOOOO CRISPY. Crunch crunch crunch! I would order this again for myself HAHAHAHA. Beware of the orange slices, they are not edible. I thought it was a piece of burnt beef so I got real excited and took a bite...it wasn't horrible but yes looks are deceiving. I also loved the hand shaven noodles! Fresh noodles are always delicious, the light gravy complimented the noodles. Not too salty, not too overpowering, it tasted delicious with hot sauce. We killed this dish within a few minutes, yum yum! The honey walnut prawns were good, crispy and the sauce wasn't cloyingly sweet. Lots of glazed walnuts, I would order this again. The price for this is slightly higher than other places at $15.50 but it's Bellevue so I think this is normal. I'm use to Chinatown prices but I would recommend this dish as well. The salt and pepper shrimp didn't have its head on like other places. I'm commenting on this because usually this is how it comes out. This place does it differently, it's more like popcorn shrimp style. It's not as crispy as the shrimps with shell and head but the flavors melted in our mouths. I liked it actually, it was easy to eat and I'm sure kids wouldn't mind this version either! The hot and sour soup was awesome!!! I love enoki mushrooms and there was plenty of it! Spicy, sour, with a ton of ingredients. I think I had two helpings with my friend. Ever had hot and sour sour with too much soy sauce?! Not here, very balanced and comforting. I think we'll come here more often, the crispy orange beef is calling my name!
(4)Polly C.
Great Chinese food- and I don't say this very often when I'm eating at a Chinese restaurant since most places pack on tons of grease and sodium. The seafood bisque actually had real crab and was light and tasty. I especially enjoyed the steamed cod with black bean sauce. It was very delicious and not too salty, and the fish was light and flavorful. I saw other people order dishes that I would like to try so I will definitely return again. Highlight of the night: There was a table of older people in the back poppin' bottles and being obnoxiously loud. Guess that's where the party's at on a Saturday night! ;) Also, it's not a typical Asian restaurant unless you see the employees eating at a table near you when they're not even done serving you.... but the food was great! :)
(4)Mayank V.
Loved the chicken and corn soup and the shezwan chicken in hot garlic sauce. Definitely will come back.
(4)Vanna P.
I like to come here occasionally for lunch. Some of my favorites is the appetizer Vegetarian Goose and the spicy beef tendon. The dishes I usually like are the crispy orange beef and the Shanghai style chow mein. The noodles are so chewy! I've lately been liking a lot of tofu and they have some good tofu/bean curd dishes. I would've given another star, but my husband and I went just recently and the waitress came to take our order without writing it down and I ordered 3 things and she said ok. A few minutes later, she came back with a notepad and said "oh, what was it that you ordered again?" Really....why didn't you just write it down the first time instead of trying to remember it when you knew you couldn't. smh.
(3)Chris A.
Yum. I'm gonna keep this one short and sweeeeet. Honestly I'm pretty critical of Chinese restaurants, but I honestly enjoy eating here. I think the go to dishes are the Hand shaven chow mien, almond chicken, and mushu pork. Happy eating my friends!
(3)Lisa M.
We lived in Bellevue for 10 years, just up the hill from this location, and never tried it. A few months ago I was wanting to meet one of my clients for lunch and asked her to pick the place. She told me she loved this place. We met there. OMG, this is so amazing and I'm mad that we didn't try it while we lived there. We missed out on 10 additional years of yummy goodness. We enjoy the calamari so much that my son and I always stop in for some when I run to pick him up from UW to come home for a weekend. I like the Crispy Shrimp and Veggies. Never thought of doing shrimp in General Tsao's fashion but that is what this is and it's so good. Definitely at the top of our list for area Chinese. We are big Szechuan First fans. Totally different types of food/style, but the quality factor is very similar.
(5)Thomas L.
Love the beef handshaven noodle here! The kungpow squid wasn't too bad and the beef fried rice is good as well. I heard to not try the XLB because they are on the thick side (compare to DTF and Dough Zone). Definitely recommend this place!
(4)Katie B.
The service was alright but the waitress seemed to be rushing my table despite having an almost completely empty house (strange since it was lunchtime). The food itself was great, not too greasy or salty. My family ordered a bunch of food to share and still wound up taking a lot home. The prawns here are great and the sweet and sour pork is on point. Very good. If you're looking for Chinese food in Centralia, this is the place to go.
(3)Victoria H.
This is the place you can order beef noodle soup. Braised beef hand shaven noodle soup. You could pay $1 more to get barley green hand shaven noodle if you want to. Cold appetizers at counter. You can try Drunken Chicken or Vegetarian Goose. They have green mung bean sheet. We tried Green mung bean sheet with chicken. It was tasty. In a cold day. We order casserole. If you want to order braised fish head casserole ask price first. I always order salted pork with bamboo shoot casserole.
(4)Ivan W.
It is a bit salty. I end up drink lots of tea. If you are looking for shanghaiese style, you might be disappointed like us.
(2)Shilps S.
I've now been here 2 days in a row bc their food is sooo good. The staff is very friendly and the food comes out fast (although at random times but that wasn't too big of a deal). Over 2 days this is what we've tried: * Beef with hand shaven chow mein - WOW was this amazing. Huge portion, the noodles were perfectly chewy, lots of tender meat, and it all had a great flavor * Crispy beef with orange sauce - 5/5 stars it was actually crispy and sooo good. It wasn't spicy but it wasn't super sweet either. The toddlers had no issue with the spice level. * Crispy shrimp with veggies - 5 stars, gave you lots of shrimp, it had a little heat but wasn't super spicy. It had a really good flavor - sauce was similar to the crispy beef with orange but spicier * Kung Pao chicken and beef lunch special- it was ok, nothing special, not spicy at all (2 stars) * pan fried dumplings - standard fare. They were fresh and good (4 stars) * egg flour soup with the lunch specials was decent (3 stars) and had a good amount of chicken * hot and sour soup - hubby loved it, gave it 5 stars, but I thought it was a bit vinegary Overall, we will be back A LOT!
(5)Ben W.
Just came back from a birthday dinner. I have been having dinner at this restaurant for many times, just never left a review for it. The restaurant tonight is not busy. The service: It is pretty good, the girls always came to check with us and never let the iced water cup empty. The food: We got the first item very soon after ordering, the taste was just right. I have to mention that the foods sometimes were not fresh in the past visit, but they were just right tonight. The bathroom: It was clean. The reason I didn't give the visit tonight a 5 star was because we got the smell, we sat right outside the bathroom. The parking: It was easy tonight. We will come back!
(4)Jan C.
The hand shaven noodles are great and the portions were large. Have to figure out what else is good.
(4)Michelle L.
The food is delicious here, and the prices are low. HOWEVER, the portions are so small. Between me and my friend, we ordered 4 dishes and 3 orders of steamed rice because when we first ordered 3 dishes and 1 order of rice, they weren't enough...so we had to keep ordering. Other than the portions, there wasn't much else that I could complain about. Service was friendly and fast as well. Order the pan fried pork dumplings, string beans with pork, hand shaven noodles with chicken, and mapo tofu. My friend and I ordered those and we were more than happy to finish every single bite. De-lish!
(3)Valeria C.
Barley, hand-shaven noodles with chicken is simply to die for! Imagine, noodle heaven with perfectly cooked large pieces of fried eggs and chicken. Yum! Mouth watering at the simple thought of this delightful dish.There are NO better asian noodles in town. In fact, I am the type of person that NEVER selects noodles at a Chinese restaurant. Simply not my thing, but there is no way I would ever come to this place and not order the noodles. They are simply that great. The Kung Pao Tofu is also delicious and I highly recommend it as well. Vegetable fried rice is also very tasty. I like to get these dishes to go, they are fast and since Shanghai is a pretty small place, it makes it easier to have it to go. If you live in the Factoria area and have not tried these noodles, you should definitely give it a go!!!!
(4)Krystine M.
Wow, where do I start? We've been to this restaurant a few times and had a pretty decent experience with their food. This last trip, however, was the turning point. We stopped in last night to have our usual Mongolian Beef and Pan Fried Dumplings with fried rice, but when we got our food, it was a huge difference from the previous times we went. First off, the Mongolian Beef was about half the portion size as normal, and the meat was completely different from the other times we've ordered it. It wasn't crispy or flavorful like usual, and we only got half the size of food. Different chef maybe? I don't know, but it wasn't good at all. Next was the Pan Fried Dumplings....they were out. OK, not a big deal. We ordered the Barley Pot Stickers instead. They were decent, but I felt like they were previously frozen, not fresh like the dumplings are. That was a miss. The fried rice was mediocre. Not a lot of flavor, and not as sticky as it usually is. We had ordered the shrimp fried rice and got about 6 tiny baby shrimp, the size of my thumb. That was it. Definitely not what we were used to, but hey, maybe they had a different Chef. We overheard the table next to us actually mentioning the same sentiments about the food. Plus, they served us dirty water glasses and no tea! The service was not good at all that night. Well, that wasn't all. When we got the check, it was way more money than it usually is. $42 to be exact. That's a lot for 2 people, and definitely a lot more than what we usually pay but we paid it because we just wanted to get out of there at that point. THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART: We didn't leave a tip. We gave them our card to be charged for the $42, but we decided not to leave a tip because the service was just not up to par. The next day I check our bank statement and to my shock I see we were charged $48.30. WHAT!? That is absolutely NOT what we paid, and that's definitely not what our receipt says. It looks like they ADDED their OWN tip. Can you say FRAUDULENT? Now I have to work with my bank and get that taken care of ASAP. I really wanted to like this place, but after they committed fraud and attempted to add their own tip to our bill, I will never be going back to this place again, or recommending it to anyone.
(1)Jay D.
Decided to try a new Chinese restaurant for takeout. Cantonese style this time. So far my worst experience with Chinese food out on the East Side. Total fail on basics here. Dumplings were just "meh." Spring rolls were soggy and oily, not crisp at all; such a lousy taste we had to toss them. Fried rice should be fluffy, but ours came a bit heavy with oil. Just an ok taste. The saluted spicy eggplant with pork was totally out of place. The menu claimed spicy but ours came sweet. I would expect this to be similar to Ma Pao Tofu as in other restaurants.
(1)Lynn C.
For you haters who experienced bad food and bad service at this place, please don't go to this place because sometimes there is a wait for dinner. Waiting for a table sometimes is the worse thing when you are hungry. For someone who grew up in Taiwan, this is my go to place for Chinese food. Everything I have tried at this place was good, other than the soup dumplings, but then that was over 10 years ago when I had it. I would recommend green barley hand shaven noodles, happy roll, and lamb casserole just to name a few. They also offer brown rice for a healthier choice!
(4)Wing L.
TOOO MUCH SALT AND MSG/CHICKEN POWDER IN THEIR FOOD!!! I DON'T RECOMMEND EATING HERE!! I have been to here several times and every time I left with disappointment. First, the food is quite oily for a health-conscious Chinese. Second, the waiter doesn't really care about the customers. Of course that is my personal opinion. One time I went with my partner and we already ordered an appetizer and a noodle bowl. My partner wanted to try the casserole dish which was like $1x-$2x. I worried that it might be tooo big for the two of us so I asked the waiter is it's too big, She said it's not too big and we should be fine. Turns out she served us a HUGE casserole with like 8 people serving.... I seriously couldn't believe it!!! It was the same waiter who took our order and she was completely oblivious of what we're ordering. We ended wasting money on what we couldn't finish. We didn't take it away as it was a huge casserole dish and it didn't even taste good. I am extremely disappointed and annoyed. Third, huge amount of MSG/chicken powder and salt in their food. I instantly felt very thirsty and uncomfortable after eating there. Fourth, overpriced food. There are a lot other Chinese places in Bellevue that have better food but cheaper overall. For example, Facing East, Boiling Point, Mongolian Beef, Yoe's Noodle, now with the new Dough Zone, and YPin. I would rather go to any one of them then coming here. I have decided not to go there again. Please, owner of Shanghai Cafe, put some heart into what you sell but not just care about how much you make please!
(1)Elina K.
This place right here. This place is home for me. I ALWAYS crave their green barley hand shaven noodles and chicken and corn soup. Always!!! The soup is simple yet oh so satisfying to me and piping hot. The noodles are thick yet soft, flavorful yet not too salty, and come with EGGS (yall know about my love for eggs) and chicken and carrots AND you don't have to feel bad about yourself for eating it because they're good for you!! Lol the service is average but what more can you ask for from a Chinese restaurant. I normally just order take out anyways to savor this magic in the comfort of my own home.
(4)Miles A.
Top notch chineese food, always kills the craving. Orange beef, mongolian beef, stir fried hand cut noodles made in house quite delicious. Service is great! They cater well to the customer and you feel valued tey their combo dishes!
(5)Alex B.
The food is delicious. The style is light and delicate, not greasy. It feels like a mix between more taiwanese cuisine and cantonese cuisine, with really good hand shaven noodles thrown in from the northern Chinese cuisine. Try the hand shaven noodles, one of the soups, and the vegetarian goose (even if you eat meat generally).
(5)Jess L.
We used to come here a lot because of the great food and service. However, for some reason the service has significantly gone downhill. Waitresses have a cold face and they refuse to accommodate a simple order modification request. The last two times I came here, they completely ignored my request so it was super frustrating. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! Also, the service is extremely slow and they act as if you're not there. Will never be coming back to this restaurant.
(1)K B.
Service was not very friendly. I've been here before as a group to dine in and this time ordering a carryout for my party. Their website menu and the yelp menu are very different in items and price. Although yelp is probably the one not updated on the yelp menu. I called in to order quite a few dishes for my big party. They tried to tell me that 9pm was a bad time to pick up food and that they can only carryout at 8pm. I insisted that I will order the dishes and be there at 9. When I gave them my last name, they said that my name was invalid, that I have to give them a different name. I have friends with their first name the same as my last name, but I didn't want to argue so I gave them my first name, which seemed to also confuse them. It's a typical American name... I went to get my order, when I went in, no one greeted me, there were 3 people chilling at the front while a few worked their way around the restaurant. They rolled their eyes when I said I'm here for a carry out. I wonder how much they hated their jobs. One of the younger ones that were running around came to the front to give me my order, it looked like something was missing so I confirmed the order with them. One of the ladies that was standing around came over and said in a fierce voice that the order was right, she sounded like the one I was on the phone with. I paid out left them a small tip and went home. I got home, opened it and surely I was missing a few dishes. I called back and they handed the phone to the manager, it was nice and apologetic about the incident, but nothing could be done, he made sure I wasn't overcharged, but no other action will be taken. I drove a city away since I've heard good things about it, but I probably should have went to the one 5 minutes away from my house. The food was not worth it. There wasn't enough for the guests, but the food wasn't great, so the guests that arrived later didn't even bother taking a quick taste.
(1)Trent H.
Great food! Seriously one of my Go-To spots when I'm in the area. Get that barley noodle soup special with no squid unless you like it, some Mongolian beef, triple delight and your night is set. Waitress had a great dry sense of humor which made the experience even better. Don't just take my word go and try it for yourself.
(4)Nicholas T.
This place was delicious! I've eaten a lot of Chinese food, and tried Shanghainese food in Toronto, Shanghai, and now Seattle. I will easily admit to not being a stickler for authenticity, but if it tastes good, it is good to me. Had the hand shaven noodles with chicken and egg, they were delicious. Mongolian Beef was really good as well, and their tofu dish (with some dark-ish sauce) was excellent. Xiao Long Bao were lacking in the soup department though., and stuck to the dish. I have no grounds to judge on authenticity, but the meat and noodle dishes are definitely delicious.
(4)Carolyn T.
This place has the best braise beef soup hand shaven noodles! This time, we ordered a lamb hot pot and a seafood rice cake. Both delicious! I always come back for more :)
(5)Nina H.
In my last review, I said that I'd be back for hand-shaven noodles... unfortunately, we didn't get to order them that time, but we did try their juicy pork dumplings aka XLBs... they weren't good at all. I thought the skin was too thick and there was no soup in them! :( I was pretty disappointed... The other dishes were great, but definitely HUGE portions... and the prices are a bite expensive for what we ordered. We had the green onion beef which was tasty, but pretty salty and sweet... but we had rice to wash it down. We came with my aunty who's a vegetarian so we didn't get to order as much meat dishes as we would've liked. We got their vegetarian version of mushu pork but it was mushu veggies... and it really only had two ingredients... shredded lettuce and mushrooms... REALLY? They couldn't have added any other veggies? Maybe even carrots, eggplants, or spinach would've made it more colorful and tasty. Maybe I should stick to ordering the hand-shaven noodles next time since I remember those being good.
(3)Lauren S.
I ordered Veggie LoMein and it was so oily and loaded with noodles with not many vegetables. I ordered this as a "healthier" option, but know it wasn't healthy at all. I'm pretty sure I ate MSG. I didn't see "no MSG" on the menu anywhere. I was starving and ate everything, not to waste, but won't be coming back.
(2)Mary A.
My friend who is orignally from Shanghai, and I enjoyed our lunch at Shanghai Cafe. The restaurant was small and clean. The waitress was quick to take our order. The food came quickly, and the food was very yummy. We got soup with our meal. We had a traditional soup with Bok Choy, bamboo pork, tofu, and much more. My friend told me it was very authentic. We also had cashew chicken. It was a smaller order than I normally get, but it was just chicken and cashew. We also had honey prawn. I cannot wait to go there again.
(5)Yuanjia Z.
Born and raised in Shanghai, I decided to give it a try cuz I was curious what shanghainese food tastes like in the U.S. in summary, this is not a terrible place to go at all. I would say, if you just expect to have some chinese food, it is a pretty decent place. But if you are going for some shanghainese food, then you will probably get disappointed. Anyways, I would highly recommend their hand shaven noodles with kale and pork. THis is the only dish that tasted very similar to what I had at home. Although hand shaven noodle is probably not a shanghai thing? but no complains. We also ordered this wine chicken, which is a very shanghainese dish, but I think they marinated the chicken with too much alcohol and it overpowered the rest of the flavor. The chicken was also overcooked - not recommended. Most of the dishes on the menu are pretty generic chinese food, not necessarily shanghainese.
(3)Masa M.
Hands down, THE best Chinese food on the east side. Nothing fancy, just tasty and straight-forward Shangai and "Americanized" dishes. Great variety of menu selections, awesome noodles and fair prices. Nice mixture of meat and vegetarian dishes. Only complaint would be that I wish they had more seafood choices other than just shrimp and sea bass items -- but they don't advertise themselves as a seafood restaurant nor anything remotely Cantonese (as their name specifies), so no big gripes here. Great balance of spicy and savory dishes. We will miss this place after we move back to Cali!
(4)Paul L.
Don't expect to be serviced like it's John Howie or anything, but the Chinese food is among the best here in all of Seattle in my opinion. I'm originally from NY and went to NY's Chinatown often for the best Chinese in NY. When I arrived here, I looked for some good Chinese food and after a few years I simply gave up. What I experienced was not authentic Chinese food, but food that was bastardized so badly that I couldn't even call it American. It was basically Chinese that was reduced to something that fit the local, unworldly, provincial tastebuds. Therefore, if you moved here from a big city, this place will serve your palate for Chinese...just about the only place in the Seattle area with the exception of a few in the International District. Even 99% of the bad reviews here admit that the food is good. Lots of Chinese people eat here...that should say something.
(5)Catherine B.
We tried four different entrees and it was all incredibly bland. The service was on the edge of unfriendly. I could also could have done without someone from the kitchen rolling a large, completely full trash can through the restaurant while people were eating.
(2)Phil F.
Actually this place is not bad. I know its a white boy dish but I like the orange fried beef, very very good!
(5)S.Y A.
Thought to give this place a try...since I always drive by but never stopped in. Went in on a Friday night for dinner around 8pm. The restaurant was busy and was asked to wait a bit to be seated. My husband and I waited 5mins and opted to do take out instead. After taking our order the waitress said it'll take about 15mins for our order to be ready. We decided to walk around outside and pick up a drink in the mall across the street while we wait. Took us about 25-30mins before making it back and thought our meal was waiting for us. Once we got got back, the waitress said another 10mins. Finally after about 45mins, we were heading home with our meal...the wait didn't seem that long because we went for a long stroll and grab drinks but honestly 45mins seems far too long to be waiting for take out. I could of eaten there and left in 45mins. Now for the food, we ordered the mongolian beef...the meat was tough and chewy but flavours of the sauce was delicious, garlicy, and mildly spicy. Same goes for the sweet and sour spare ribs. The meat was chewy and tough, it was boneless but the sauce was perfect. The chow mein was good, nothing spectacular. Don't think I'll returning, food was subpar and the service just seems to be slow.
(2)Godwin M.
Having come here so regularly for the past 3 years now, i finally decided to take advantage of Yelp and share with my friends what i love about these guys (+ other restaurants i'm fond of). my family and i ordered practically the same dishes every time, and the staff pretty much don't have to ask anymore. but they never fail to surprise me with yet better flavors and service each time. great family-run business for 10+ years, and their energy never seems to fade. the dining room is always packed, usually with regulars that are treated just like family here. no fancy decor. simply great food, authentic flavors, and tons of joy to go with each meal. great venue for vegetarians any day. THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THEM: _ great family-run business _ very attentive staff with great service and the warmest greetings _ fresh ingredients; dishes never greasy. _ No MSG _ tons of vegetarian options _ authentic Chinese/Taiwanese flavors RECOMMENDED: _ Tofu Sheet Roll / Happy Roll _ Sauteed Sugar Pea Vine _ Fried Brown Rice with Shrimp _ Three Cup Chicken _ String Green Beans with Dried Tofu _ Wuxi Braised Spareribs TO DIE FOR: _ Barley Green Hand Shaven Noodles _ Hot and Sour Soup, Vegetarian (truly unique) _ Sautéed Eggplants with Basil (not on the menu; only regulars know.) _ Tofu Sheets with Soy Beans _ Tofu with Crispy Bean Sauce
(5)Aina S.
Love this place! Amazing food; especially ADORED the fried tofu with special sauce. Yum!!!! Also, the pork fried rice was so good, as well as the snow pea vines. We had wait a couple of minutes for a table, but once we ordered the food came out quickly. Our entire family really likes this place, and would definitely recommend it!
(4)James K.
I'd like to say, this place ain't worth to come. We ordered 4 dishes here and it was all tasted really bad. I don't know it just happened to me or someone had same problem. One of the dishes even was not ready. Alright, it's my first time here; also gonna be the last time here.
(1)Jenn R.
Totally agree with some reviews. The food is good but the portions are WAY too small for the price!
(3)Giulia C.
Shanghai Cafe, I love you. The first time I came here I was not super happy, I think I ordered the wrong thing. I came back because my boyfriend LOVES their hand-shaven noodles to death, I ended up ordering the hand-shaven barley noodles with chicken. My mother and I got multiple dishes, which were all good! But WOW. I MEAN WOW, I would die happy if those were the last things I ate. So flavorful, cool, I wouldn't change anything about his recipe, ever. Honestly I'd PAY for the recipe!!! The servers are nice and helpful, the restaurant isn't beautiful or anything but who cares, it's a great place to go if you're craving well priced Chinese food in Bellevue! WHATEVER YOU DO, order the hand-shaven barley noodles. Seriously.
(4)Jenn W.
I was super excited for the home made Shanghai rice cakes but was sorely disappointed :( I think they were overcooked so they were super soggy and just ok. The other dishes we got were also just ok, nothing special that I wouldn't be able to make at home by myself. The knife-shaven noodles (their specialty) are also kind of soft, I hear, so maybe that's just what people like? But not me!
(2)Amanda K.
I like the soup here, as well as the appetizers. The Shanghai nian gao is not bad, but a bit salty. Really tasty veggies :)
(4)Sin-Yaw W.
This review is for Chinese. I wish that yelp would allow Chinese characters. I love ShangHai foods and pretty much grew up with them. There are traditional dishes that every restaurants that claims to be ShangHai must carry and be reasonable at. Then there are generic Chinese foods for Americans. This is the latter. The menu carries standard Chinese foods from pretty much all regions: Canton, ShiChuan, etc. Of course there are some ShangHai dishes too. But shaved noodle is from ShanXi and ChangWang is from I-really-don't-know-but-not-ShangHai. I don't mind modern dishes that are not regional, such as Walnut Shrimp which they did well. It is a very reasonable generic Chinese restaurant. I would definitely come again when I am in the neighborhood. For that, "I am a fan."
(4)Amanda G.
My husband and I had been coming to this place just for the green hand shaven noodles!!! We had tried hand shaven noodles at other Chinese restaurants but felt that Shanghai Cafe is the BEST! we used to order 1 plate each BUT learnt that we could order 1.5 portion of the hand shaven noodles. 1.5 portion is just enough for 2 ( if u r not ordering any other dishes) We finish every single bit of the noodles without fail. It is THAT good.. serious! :D We love the texture of the hand shaven noodles, it is chewy (QQ) and yet not oily. the seasoning was just right ( not too salty) ! Besides that, they are super generous with the eggs added into this dish. The prawns and squid fried together with the noodles taste fresh too! Gosh.. writing this review just got me hungry! We also love to order the mushu chicken. Love it when they wrap the rolls in front of us. These rolls really fills you up! and it is another must try ( other than the hand shaven noodles) when u visit here! Other than the delicious food, the servers are friendly and attentive. The restaurant is also very clean and well-lit. At the end of the meal, we will get fortune cookies together with the check.. I love these cookies and the little msg inside them! Dine here if you haven't!! What are you waiting for?!
(5)Robbie K.
We just split a hot and sour soup and a crispy chicken with vegetables. Both were less that we had hoped for, especially given the number of Chinese folks shopping in Factoria mall. The soup required us to add black pepper and even then was less than expected... though not thickened with starch. The chicken was in sweet/sour gloppy sauce that was disappointing in every respect. The composition (including the batterless fried pieces of boneless chicken was just fine. This sauce wasn't. We won't be back to this place and regretted not trying the teriyaki joint next door. ...oh, and the tea wasn't hot!
(2)Sunny H.
Great food here. Just decided to try this place out one day because I was curious. Such a great find. I love their hand shaven noodles. All their dishes are pretty good, a bit on the salty side but good nonetheless. I am a fan and will return.
(4)Stanlo S.
Came for lunch and got beef with a spicy garlic sauce. Beef was pretty good but would have enjoyed more, a few too many water chestnuts and the sauce was both a bit too sweet and salty. Next time I'll get a noodly dish? Service was fine, kind of a plain place.
(3)Lydia N.
Kinda hit or miss with most of their dishes, but one thing we do love is getting the noodles in soup bowl. My family calls in to order takeout and someone goes down with one of our own pots. I don't think the normal servings in the restaurant are super-sized, but we get a large potful of soup noodles (+ veg & seafood). Now that the weather's turning again, I'm pretty sure we'll be getting this more often.
(3)Rex H.
The food is good, especially the hand shaven noodle. BUT, as others point out, portions are small in proportion to prices. And, if you can make it to go, DO IT!! Last night we called ahead and was told there will be a table ready in 20min. so we put in the reservation; we ended up waiting for 50min.! The place is really small so if you have a group of more than 4, you will have to wait...
(4)Hao Z.
My review is just about xiao long bao, or shanghai soup filled dumplings. I've been here before and remember them being ok, but the last time I was here, there was no soup in the dumplings! Worse, the meat in the dumping was dry, and the whole thing tasted very poor, worse than Din Tai Feng! I rarely complain at a resturant, but seeing as the whole of these dumplings was to have soup in the them, I told the waitress, and she shrugged and said the dumplings were made in the morning and may have dried out. That was the explaination, and there was no offer to replace them with something else. Well, I don't care if you make them fresh or make them in the morning, but make sure they are up to standard when served to customers!
(2)Kozby E.
You will never be disappointed! Great food, friendly service and well priced!
(5)Wina B.
I have forgotten about this place until recently. Used to go here all the time when I lived in Bellevue. I love their pan fried bean curds cooked in chef sauce, and the crispy beef dish. Comes in really good portion and the flavor was excellent! Prices is a little on the higher end but who cares?! It was so good. Been hearing a lot about the hand shaven noodles, I think we might try that next time. I'll update this when we get a chance to try it.
(4)Jon L.
First visit in 10 years! This was one of the first places that I tried out on my first trip ever to Seattle way back in '01. I don't really remember too much of that meal other than I had a likable dish of fu pi that I wanted to try again. Wait...what did I just say? |insert toilet humor| Fu pi (pronounced foo pee) is the Chinese name for bean curd sheets. I was looking for this appetizer version that they have of this. The place was really busy on a late Sunday afternoon. The space is not all that big, but the ambiance is surprisingly pleasing. However, since it was crowded, I decided to get lunch takeout. There were two versions of fu pi that I found on their menu. I went with the Happy Roll version which consists of mushroom, chicken and other fillings stuffed in the bean curd sheets ($10.95). Also got the specialty barley green noodles w/ chicken ($8.95), which seem to be popular here. The wait was a little on the long side. There is no priority system for takeout. Since there was a lot of people dining in, the wait was reflective of this. So the verdict? Well, it was no contest. The dish that I got was bean curd, but not the one that I remembered from all those years ago. The fu pi offered here are like larger versions of the bean curd rolls found at dim sum places. I did like them, just was not expecting this to be what I got. As for the barley green noodles, they were good too. Hand shaven noodles are pretty dependable. The chicken was lean, but tender. The interesting thing was the use of egg strips in the dish. Not sure how authentic the use of that is, but so what? Solid to be sure. Overall, I thought Shanghai Cafe for the most part was good. Not a home run, but an infield double. Just don't come here starving like I did. Call your order in or prepare yourself.
(3)Jon A.
Was anticipating a 4 Yelp star restaurant. Place was clean, staff was friendly. So far so good. Servings were so-so. The fried cabbage was excellent, and so were the beef brisket noodle soup and chicken chow mein. The pork fried rice was just okay, and so was the orange beef. Never seen orange beef with the orange peel breaded and fried like beef. Initially excited for the red bean cake as it had a lot of red bean, but the crust was chewy and needed water to push down. Unfortunately the waters weren't filled timely, even though there were only 3,4 sets of costumers out of the almost dozen other tables there. I guess 15% gratuity for parties of six just means we don't have to work hard for your business? Would have been 3 stars except my wife's stomach is now upset.
(2)James S.
The absolute worst customer treatment I've ever experienced. Arrived at the half full restaurant and told the hostess who was seating us that we are a party of five. Three of us were together and we were waiting for two more who signaled they were on their way and would be there in 10 minutes. We were quickly seated at one of the two large round tables. After 5 minutes the waitress came by to take our order. We mentioned again that we were still waiting on 2 more to come and assured her they would be arriving very shortly. She then promptly told us we had to leave because now the table was reserved for another party in 40 minutes. I was shocked and when I asked about the second large empty table she told us that one was reserved too. So basically we had no option but to leave and find another place to meet. We went to Facing East in Bellevue instead which turned out to be a much better experience and a great restaurant choice! I will never enter the Shanghai Cafe again.
(1)Chrys B.
Went in for a late lunch today with a friend.. It was nearly empty and the two waitresses there were both very short with us and had no customer service skills that we could detect. The food was okay, but I won't go back due to servers lack of effort just to be pleasant. The only time we got a bit of a smile is when we were handed the bill. Maybe in hopes of a good tip? Not a great experience.
(1)Jens J.
Astoundingly large quantities in their lunch specials. Yowza! For $7.65 I got a huge and delicious plate of almond chicken, automatically served with rice and soup. Adorned with plenty of sliced almond and just a bit of green onion, the dish had a perfect sauce - not too sweet, not too salty. It made me want to lap it up like a cat does with cream. The egg flower soup was also especially good, imparted with a slightly smoky flavor. A little bit different from other Chinese restaurants is that Shanghai Café has a cold food display case by the front door containing take-out items such as "drunken" chicken and vegetarian goose. However, I don't think the half-empty orange soda bottle in there was for sale. Though the service was rather perfunctory, it was still good. The interior, done in peach, brown and black colors, was understated with nothing on the walls other than sconces. One note of caution: the parking lot that Shanghai Café shares with several other businesses is small and there is always a near-fight over any slot that is open or about to open.
(4)Yumiko K.
I LOVED the green barley hand-shaven noodles (chewy, wiggly goodness!!) with eggs and shrimp. The green beans with dry sauce (without pork) were a bit too salty but delicious nonetheless. I totally didn't think this place would rock my socks off, but I was pleasantly surprised. I must add that I was pretty starving when I was seated and ready to eat the menu (hunger is indeed the best sauce). The service was friendly and prompt. The portion size was good, and the price was right. I now have another favourite restaurant on the Eastside!
(4)Matthew D.
I love Shanghai Cafe! I ordered the San Bei Ji, or you can call it "three cups of chicken". That is definitely one of my favorites. Also we ordered pork strips with bean curd sheets. Those were also good. Everything was good! We finally ordered the Hand Shaven noodles. The noodles were good, because the noodles were their "specialty". So basically, everything about this restaurant is good!
(4)Claire T.
I've been to Shanghai Cafe many many times, obviously I like their food a lot. I normally don't like to order lamb in the restaurant because most restaurant don't cook their lamb right, they all have gamy taste which I hated. However, I gave this place a try last night, and was amazingly yummy, they cooked their lamb hot pot perfectly, without a singe hint of gaminess. OMG... If you like lamb without any gaminess, you MUST try their lamb hot pot... you won't regret !!!
(5)Norman L.
I've been wanting to try this place for a while now because I've been on the look out for some good Shanghainese food. The food is great. The xiao long baos here are not like Din Tai Fungs. They have a bit thicker of a skin. Still very good. The food came out quickly and the service friendly. they're very helpful with making suggestions and explaining what everything is. I will definitely go back again.
(4)SonyA C.
Food is good and servers super friendly
(4)Stacie S.
Not sure what's going on with the takeout here--be prepared to wait 10-30 minutes past whatever time they tell you it will take. We walked out one night after waiting an hour for a takeout order they said would take 30 minutes.
(3)Zoey S.
One of our family's favorites! Spectacular service, great food, and a clean, festive environment. Shanghai is the only Chinese food we consistently return to. Even while living in Kirkland (20-30 min drive away) we would make the trip over to Bellevue, with our tummies rumbling and mouths watering the whole way over. The waitresses and waiters make an effort to remember names, memorize orders, and simply provide excellent hospitality. Also, there is a beautiful and clean fish tank with seemingly happy, well-cared for fish. Woohoo! Some favorite dishes include the Crispy Shrimp with Sweet Chili Sauce, Pork Green Beans (better without the pork), Mushu Vegetable, Fried Rice (can be ordered with brown rice instead of white), and Barley Green Noodles. Ask for a side of their jalapeno pot sticker sauce too, it's awesome on anything. Watch out! They are closed on Tuesdays. A terrible fact to forget when you're craving some Chinese eating... Open Christmas though :)
(5)Alex K.
The place is good, In my experience the service is fast and the food is good. The portions are big also, but overall it just feels like a normal Chinese restaurant to me.
(3)Holly B.
I've never had anything bad here. But what's better than not bad? Look at all the reviews--hand shaven noodles! They are so delicious! An order of House Special Hand Shaven Noodles gets you a ton of these wonderful thick noodles with the perfect texture in absolutely delicious sauce. The Orange Crispy Beef is great too. It's sort of like the Beijing Beef at Panda Express, except that it's good. It's very orangey and not greasy and, as with the noodles, has just the perfect texture for what it is. The service is fast, the servers are friendly and helpful, and the prices are fair. This place is great.
(5)Sharlen H.
It's one of the best Chinese restaurants in Bellevue, or I should say, in this state. (the other one is Yep's Wok in Bellevue). It's not a dark, cheap, greasy and yucky Chinese restaurant in a hole, they have decent, fresh and quite authentic dishes. It's a family owned business and all the waiters/ waitress are friendly. I like their hand-shaved noodles, seafood-tofu hot pot soup is a must. Actually, every item on the menu is good, there is no real bummer. BTW, I'm Chinese from Taiwan, just like the owner and his family. Compare with Yep's Wok, this place is less salty, the menu is smaller as well, but come on, how many dishes we can order each time anyway? I used to come here when I couldn't book a table at the always-busy Yep's Wok, now, I usually just come here without even think about Yep's. You still have to wait if you come here at the rush hour, this is not a big place, but other than that, you can get to eat your food pretty quick. I still love Yep's, but this place is also a pearl.
(5)Steven F.
Saturday night visit. Packed house, there was a 10 minute wait...no complaints. Sat down and was ready to eat..my review could be slightly on the high end cause I was starving but I enjoyed the food and ate everything ordered. Yes everything tastes dope when your hungry. Ordered the hand shaven noodles of course. Good noodles, with chicken...etc. Forgot to order barley though. Crispy beef with vegetables. I believe there are a couple variations in sauce or with or without vegetables. This was under the meat section not the veggie section. Damn good. Super crispy and loved the sauce. We did ask for light on the sauce, not to over power the food. Last dish was tofu in special sauce. Not on the menu and I don't know the Chinese name. But the server did say tofu in special sauce. Blocks of tofu in a coating layer kinda tasted like cinnamon to me. I'm not the best at describing. I like tofu and I liked this dish. Left stuffed and satisfied. Jussayin
(5)Lan N.
Overall dishes were pretty tasty for a Thursday evening dinner, however nothing overly spectacular. I've attempted to have dinner here on a weekend & the wait was about an hour as the restaurant is pretty small, glad there was no wait. We ordered the Shanghai Dumplings, Triple Kung Pao (beef, chicken & shrimp), Shanghai Barley Noodles. The Triple Kung Pao has more peanuts than meat but was very tasty.
(3)Kevin E.
I like this place for their hand-shaven green barley noodle dishes. I wouldn't recommend this place for Americanized Chinese food. This place is authentic so I like to take advantage of this rare opportunity. After living in two small towns in Oregon where authentic Chinese food didn't exist this place is a blessing. Unlike other posts commenting about the poor service here I've always found the service to be good.
(4)Bao N.
Came here for dinner and noticed that their prices were a bit more than other comparable places. Don't let that deter you because their portions more than justify the price. That being said, there are plenty of other things that should deter you from coming here. 1. Service was slow. Everybody has a bad night now and again, but we waited 40 minutes for our food to arrive after we ordered. 2. Food overcooked. Both the beef and chicken dishes we ordered were overcooked. The chicken was so tough, it wasn't edible. Both were deep fried. We expected the sesame beef to be deep fried, but they also fried the chicken dish which we had seen pan fried in other restaurants. 3. Recipes just not tasty. Of the 3 dishes we ordered, none of them impressed us. Even the never-fail, Shanghai hand-shaven noodles were overcooked and bland. We wanted to like this place because it's so close to us, but there was no redeeming quality enticing us to return.
(2)Kayan H.
Probably not a great spot for large groups, but food is great! Try the tofu soup thing, any noodle dish is excellent, any dumplings/potstickers dish will be yummy as well.
(4)Dean T.
A co-worker order the kung pao chicken and it looked really good, so I ordered some. Where's the "pow"? I've had more flavorful unseasoned tofu. The white rice was obviously old and starting to dry out. It wasn't worth the walk across the parking lot.
(2)Le M.
I so want to fist bump the hand that shaved my noodles!! Puh-leeze, just once... WHY GO THERE? Hand Shaven Noodles! Barley green or plain jane, the noodles are awesome. It's probably Shanghai Cafe's signature, if not most popular dish that makes diners cross the street from Factoria. There's parking outside Shanghai Cafe, but limited. Lunch specials are great and offered until 2:30 pm. Is hand-shaven noodles in the lunch special you may ask? Of course...NOT! WHATCHA GOT? Other than noodles, I've tried pretty much all that's in the lunch specials. I used to work for a bank that had a feast-or-famine operations. When it was famine and coworkers were axed, I'd take my sorry bum to Shanghai for a lunch special. Feast time? Bring out the noodles! Bring out the pot stickers! The squid, prawns and pea vines! I'm gonna fatten myself like a brown bear who woke from a deep slumber. Tea is always free. YOU GOT SERVED. Let's get one thing clear...Chinese waiters are not known for small talk. They won't ask about the weather, your day, or mutter "how's it going?" with an Orbit gum white smile. And I like it like that. But one of these days, I'll grow a bigger cojones, chit chat a little, and ask if I can fist bump the cook. Puh-leeze, just once. TIP: Any food with black bean sauce is on the salty side.
(4)Ryan C.
4.5 i think... had the beef hand-shaven noodle, shanghai style. yum yum.. noodles came out firm and they are tasty too. soup was sour, salty, and tasty! yum! beef cubes were ABUNDANT AND TENDER! yummm! did i say YUM!?!?! next comes the xiao long baos.. ain't superb.. tastes like yang's XLBs.. with thinner skin but about the same taste... lastly, the barley hand shaven noodles.. had the house special chow mein style. that's great too! came with a SERIOUS DOSE OF FRIED EGGS, squids, and prawns. only 2 prawns however... taste was mild as in not too salty or tasty (not enough MSG? ahahha) but still good! waitress speak perfect english so everything's good! will visit again to get family style dinner food!
(4)Richard U.
hand shaven noodles..How have I never had this before? Very Yummy. The version here is green barley hand shave noodles so it has a green color but the flavor is pretty mild. Also got the salt and pepper squid which is covered in cilantro and garlicky goodness. If you are into eating tendon, they have a nice spiced variety served chilled (yum). This place is tucked away in a small strip mall in Bellevue. The very affordable. I think the hand shaven noodle soup was $8 dollars and was enough for 3-5 people. I was eating it for the next 3 days. The place is small so they can fill up pretty fast. The service was prompt and friendly. Quickly realizing there are some really good asian joints over on the eastside!
(4)Kat L.
Their Hand Shavian Noodles are AMAZING! They are yummy soft noodles that soak up the sauces so well. They have a barley version that is green, it taste just as yummy as the plain. I would also recommend their spicy beef tenderloin, the sauce is yummy and i love how it feels in my mouth..., yum! All the other food I have gotten has never disappointed me, but nothing spectacular, but since no one can beat their noodles they get 4 stars!
(4)erick n.
Great service with a smile. The barley noodles are my favorite for when I have an out of town guest or work colleague. They are fairly unique and almost always get a good reaction. Hot and sour soup is done right here as well.
(4)Sammy A.
What a treat this place is! Hidden in a strip mall near factoria mall is one of the best chinese food restaurants in the seattle-metro area. Been going here for years and try to talk new friends into trying out as often as possible so I can get back there soon :-). Out of all the chinese restaurants we've tried in seattle there are only 2 standouts for me and my gal. This place and Great China. They both use only the best and freshest ingredients all the time. Every time I bring someone new leave saying something like "Wow, you built this place up and I didn't think they'd live up to it .. .But, wow, I've never had such good fresh food". You've got to try their green barley shaved noodle soup. We always get the vegetable with tofu soup. Now, you'd think: soup, great appetizer. But, if you wanted, this could be your meal! It actually comes in a huge bowl, so don't plan on finishing it yourself. You'll need to bring a friend or 2 to help out. But, I never mind ... I love taking this leftover soup home and it tastes so good nuked the next day (with a little tapatio hot sauce in it too!). Definitely add a little chili sauce to it for kick (and only a little bit ... because that chili sauce only needs a dab for a kick). If you like Kung Pao ... I dare you to try their Kung Pao with Bean Curd and tell me you didn't love it! If you love broccoli, ask them to add it to this dish. It's our favorite. Enjoy!
(5)Char S.
It has been several years since we have visited this location. We remembered quickly why we have not been frequent diners here. Start with our service. Teapot, 2 cups and 1 water were brought to our table when we sat down. However, our order was taken within a reasonable amount of time. Beef with Orange Flavor - Nice and crispy as mentioned by other diner reviews, however, when picking up a slice of beef with chopsticks there is the expectation that you can take a bite of the piece. The beef was tough and chewy, consequently I had to stuff the whole piece in my mouth. After this happened a couple of times I decided to cut the beef using the spoon! Fortunately, the spoon had a sharp edge and could cut the beef into bite size pieces. (real issue was beef was not tender enough to bite!) Pork with dried tofu and pickles - This dish looked good, but was rather salty. I think it was the pickles. The pickle saltiness made the whole dish too salty. No idea what the sauce tasted like because of it. Brown rice ($1.40) served individually in one cup serving. They should have served it in a teacup, it was that small. I am not talking about a mounded rice serving, but only filled to level with the top of the bowl. It was good while it lasted to help cut the saltiness of the food. After finishing our rice, we stopped and waited to see if a waiter would come by so that we could ask for more rice. That was a long wait. More people seated, orders taken, food served and finally 10 minutes or so later, we got a waiter to stop. She asked whether we wanted to have our leftover food packed to go. Instead, we asked if we could have more rice and if it was "no charge" and she said "yes". Walked away and came back a minute later to say, "no", it would be another charge. At that point, our Beef with Orange Flavor sauce had congealed over and was very cold..... So we said "no" and asked for boxes to wrap up the leftovers. This visit on 7/31 reaffirms why we stopped going to this restaurant. Service is mixed. Food flavor is good, but could be better. Serving size could be bigger, especially the serving of rice. Chintzy. Bottom line is that another Chinese restaurant on Coal Creek has way better service (definitely serves MORE rice) and similar dishes that taste better, so we will keep going there instead of Shanghai.
(2)Ken L.
3.75 Stars. With a mere 30 mins for lunch, we did a swift stop into Shanghai Cafe. Hot and sour cup of soup, crispy shrimp and veggies, bean curd and veggies put on the table in less than 10 minutes. Not greasy, healthy, and actually taste great with good value. Say yes to a fine Chinese lunch in Factoria. BTW, I did have the hand shaved noodles and didn't see what the hype was all about. Taste a bit like a thicker Chow Fun noodle.
(4)Jane D.
My daughter and I came here for lunch after going to nearby West Coast Armory. The hand shaven noodles are to DIE for! I got mine with pork. My daughter got a chicken chili flake water chestnut dish- yum!- that she devoured. We split some green potstickers and another kind of dumpling. Complimentary tea came quickly. This place has a strong lunch following- we got here right before people started waiting! People were eyeballing our food when it came out. A solid, good priced lunch and dinner spot on the East side.
(4)Tom C.
This place continues to be consistent. Try shaved noodle and tofu hot pot.
(4)Bye Y.
Damn hype machine! I might have given them 4 stars had I not read all the recommendations and raves about the hand-shaven noodles. Unlikely, but possible. I had the barleygreen house noodles and they were quite good. Not mind-blowing or moan-worthy but very good. It wasn't greasy, there was a good proportion of chicken, seafood and egg to noodles. A lot of the seasoning was in the shrimp. Overall, the flavor was delicate, bordering on bland for some. It was all cooked to the perfect texture. For the Shanghai steamed dumplings, I was expecting those soup-filled dumplings so I was a little disappointed that they were just regular meat-filled ones. Granted, they had a nice hint of sweetness but they weren't as hot as I would have liked. They made me wait about 25 minutes for them so I don't understand why it wasn't piping hot. The dipping soy sauce served with the dumplings was mighty spicy. It did seem to have an excess of pepper seeds. It wasn't a craving-inducing experience. Their dishes were well executed and avoided the gut bomb greasiness of other Chinese places. I'd probably visit again with someone who is more familiar with their areas of expertise.
(3)Sheila L.
Love their food. For appetizer, their vegetarian goose (bean curd wrapped with two kinds of mushrooms and tofu), and spicy beef tendon is so good.. it may sound different but very delicious. Their noodles dishes are yummy too. The shanghai style chow mein and braised beef noodle soup is the best ! You can also try the chow mein with their barley noodle version which is supposedly better for you but tastes the same to me. Also their shanghai style dumplings is soo good when its pan-fried and it comes with a spicy vinegary dipping sauce that's so wonderful together. :)
(5)Patrick L.
Go here for the noodles, specifically the hand shaven noodles that you'll read about in all the other reviews too. It's a family owned business and I've been going there since they first opened years ago. Awesome.
(3)lux l.
We went at a non rush hour time as we were seated quickly when we arrived. Tea was brought to us within a few minutes of sitting down. Must try the hand shaven noodles. Noodles were flavorful and cooked just right. The portions were good and when the bill comes, remember to eat the fortune cookies. This restaurant, by far, has the best and freshest cookie.
(4)Susan W.
We came on a Friday night for the first time, and it was not crowded. We wondered why. No atmosphere, tasteless,under seasoned and overcooked fried rice, the shaved noodles were overcooked and bland, and the Hot and Sour soup was neither hot or sour. Service was inattentive and slow. No reason to come back here.
(1)Tracy S.
Oh, my. Noodles = happiness. I believe that technically, they equal long life, but here at Shanghai Cafe, they are the root of happiness. The place is small, clean and tidy. There's a couple of large tables with lazy susans on them, but otherwise, the place has about eight two- or four-top tables. If you prefer to clean your plate rather than take home leftovers, here's my new strategy: order one plate of house special handshaved noodles AND one order of potstickers to share with another person. That's all you really need and it'll be filling and tasty. Mmm!
(4)N J S.
this was the first time my husband and I came here for lunch. it wasn't our original choice since the other restaurant that we wanted to try was pretty packed. as we entered, we didn't get a good vibe since the waitress didn't seem friendly, nor even smiled. She showed us to our table with her back to us, placed the menus down and walked away without saying anything. As my husband and I sat, we just gave a look at each other and kind of shook our heads of the lack of customer service or etiquette. when the waitress came back to take our orders, my husband ordered mongolian beef from the lunch special and had wanted some green beans as a separate entree, and I was going to order something else, but the way the waitress was talking to us, she said it would have to be charged as 3 separate lunch specials, meaning, 3 bowls of rice and 3 bowls of soup, when obviously there is just 2 of us. She just shook her head, giving us a bit of a stoic look, when my husband asked if we can just order green beans as a single entree. I was a bit annoyed since I didn't think what the big deal was for just giving us plain green beans, and just canceled my own order. when we got our food, the green beans were under cooked, if cooked at all, and the mongolian beef was a bit tough. Doubt we'll come back here...
(2)M T.
This place was great! My husband and I came here on a whim on Sunday evening at 7pm and the place was packed! To me, the quality of service is just as important as the food - and this place nailed both! Despite the crowd, the staff maintained a great sense of humor and politeness - hard to do after what I'm sure was a long day of work and the place is so crowded you could barely walk! They managed to seat us with only about a 10 minute wait and our food came pretty quickly as well. The food was great - not overly salty but full of flavor. The hand shaven noodles were amazing as was our shrimp with black bean sauce. We will definitely be back again and highly recommend it!
(4)Derrick W.
Love the shaved noodle. We always go a little early for dinner so no problem with seatings. I can see that if you go during peak hours, you may have to wait since the place isn't too big. Staff are very accommodating. And it seems like every time we go there, we always run into someone we know. How weird is that!
(4)HsinYen L.
I love the food here. Although my friends waited about 30 mins, it's worthy. By the way, I went there several years ago and found the restaurant by accident.
(5)Tyler P.
The best Chinese I've had in the in three countries (USA -- OH, DC, WV; Britain; and Kenya). Take the hand-shaven chow mein noodles, for instance, or the mu-shu, or the beef with vegetables, or the egg rolls; I've never had something here I didn't like. The friendly staff greet us like regulars (well, okay, we WERE regulars when we lived near there, but still...). And, it won't break the bank. Dollar for dollar, I don't know how it could get any better.
(5)Julia Z.
MMMMmmmmmm! Even the kid liked it; she said it was "complicated but tasty" -- that's high praise from the 6.5 year old, especially since she's going through a really picky phase right now! We had hand-shaven noodle chow mein (one chicken, one shrimp) which is delicate and tasty with the nice contrasts of the bok choy and scrambled egg to the tender meat and noodles. We all shared the chicken and corn soup which is basically a deluxe egg drop; super-tasty and a very ample portion. We all ate a ton of it and I was glad there wasn't more because I couldn't stop. My sweetie had sesame beef which he really enjoyed, and we had the pan-fried meat dumplings too. Things were brought to us out of order... chow mein, then soup, then sesame beef, and then finally the dumplings, but everything was hot and delicious when we got it, so who cares? It was just the family, it's not like we were trying to impress anyone. I'd rather get it as it's ready than let something sit and get cold. The service is friendly and efficient and the place is clean. The restrooms reveal that the restaurant's been around for a while as they could use a little renovating, but they were functional so why complain? The prices are good and I loved that it's not super-Americanized in terms of the menu. You're not going to see spicy beef tendon or some of the seafood choices on too many fried-rice emporiums' menus!
(5)Nicole W.
Oh my secret shame! This is the best food ever! I now live in Seattle and sometimes have to drive to Factoria to get my Sweet Chilli Chicken fix. Also their green hand-shaven noodles are to die for! Their crispy shrimp rock as well. Pretty much the only place worth eating!
(5)Esther L.
LOVE the food here ! The House Special Fried rice is delicious. Egg Drop soup is the best. The hand shaven noodles rock!
(5)Mimi S.
I went there and had take out order. reason why i can't stop go there, because they have wonderful food and with fair price. definitely will go back again!!!
(5)Ali S.
The Orange Beef was great, albeit they brought a tiny cup of white rice for $2 more. The green noodles were a novelty but not tasty. The atmosphere and service were fine and basic. Lots of local customers. Great menu, with reasonable prices.
(4)Stephanie B.
Delicious delicious food. Terrible service. The chicken dishes are fresh and lots of perfectly cooked breast. Yum. The staff is always rude. It's unfortunate, but if you expect it, it's not so bad.
(4)Alexander Z.
This is one of the better and more authentic Chinese restaurants in the Seattle area. The hand shaven noodles are good, although not as good as what my wife makes at home.. the happy family pot our favorite here.
(4)Ivan M.
i come here with my folks all the time. hand shaven noodles are bomb! i likes the mushu and the chicken w/garlic and wine (i'm not sure of the name for the latter but it's something like that). also they have a lot of great soups there. their cold plates are wonderful. mmmm, can't wait to go back ;)
(4)Anand K.
Wow this place does not know what customer service means. All we wanted was to substitute chicken with tofu in Kung pao and make it Kung pao tofu lunch special. We were told NO then when we insisted we were told extra $1.50 for the tofu, we agreed and asked them not to put the chicken and just charge extra for the tofu, we were told NO, so we asked for the chicken on the side, we were told NO, and when we insisted the waitress said she will talk to the kitchen and come back to let us know what can be done because they are not allowed to substitute anything on the lunch specials. The waitress comes back with the food and says it's Kung pao tofu, great!!! Take one bite and this is the 1st time we have eaten Kung pao without peanuts and it had no flavor either. We ask the waitress & we are told they took a different veggie lunch special removed the veggies and the substituted the original sauce with Kung pao sauce. Not sure how they were allowed to substitute on a different dish. Ended up paying and leaving the place hungry went across the street for a 2nd lunch. I am rating this place 1 star because yelp does not have an option for zero.
(1)Olivia M.
Pretty decent chinese food. Portions are relatively decent. The place is a little skinny, but still a good place to come.
(3)Aram M.
Went there today for a lunch and I think I found the best Chinese, at least for me. Mushroom soup was creamy and very flavorful. I am not a big tofu fan but their vegetarian goose was awesome. Beef in garlic sauce was perfect. Service was good, too. I highly recommend them.
(5)Veronica S.
I come here for the hand shaved noodles. It's good either pan fried or in soups (especially with beef). The braised ribs (ask for the one with bones) are good, too. I love a simple plate of sauteed pea vines, but they charge $12 for it. Good grief. I normally get things to go. Have dined in 2 or 3 times. During my most recent visit, the waiter tried to seat us at the tiny table for two (right by the fish tank) and I refused. I had already spoken with a waitress (young, soft spoken) and requested to wait for one of the bigger tables. The waiter argued with me, but his boss (the lead waitress) told him to go ahead and seat us at the bigger table. I like variety at my dinners, and I order at least 3 dishes, usually 4. There's no way all those plates would've fit on the tiny cafe table.
(3)Tiffany W.
I love this place mainly for their hand shaven noodles. To be honest, I haven't tried any other entrees here since many of them are pretty Americanized.
(3)Price T.
My family and I have been going to the Shanghai Cafe for over a decade. While the ambiance is okay (although a fairly recent paint job/bathroom overhaul helped), the food is fantastic! Lunch is good, dinner is better. Our favorites are Moo Shu chicken, the green beans, chicken fried rice, sesame chicken and my favorite, the sweet shrimp! I drool just thinking about it. I believe they are family owned, and are always friendly and accommodating to us who are clumsy with chopsticks. Can be crowded any night of the week. Closed on Tuesdays!
(4)Joe Y.
We've been coming to this place for years and I've noticed a decline in the quality. I loved their hand shaven noodles and shanghai dumplings. Did I mention they were barley hand shaven noodles? It was so tasty- just the right texture and cooked perfectly. On a recent visit, things were less than memorable. The noodles were a little bland and it was a bit tougher in texture. Their dumplings tasted like they were left-overs from the night before because the dough part was dry and it didn't 'explode' in my mouth with brothy goodness. We gave them another chance. I came here on a Friday night and waited for about 10 minutes which seemed like a long time when you are hungry. As soon as we were seated, we ordered sesame oil chicken casserole, crispy beef with orange flavor, and green beans with pork. The casserole dish was not what we were expecting. It is a misnomer. They should call it a soup. The soup was good and had a fragrant gingery taste but It didnt have the sesame taste. The beef was alright. It was too overcooked for my taste. The beans were good but nothing to shout about. I wish it wasn't deep fried. I would have given them 3.5 stars but I averaged it out with my previous visits.
(4)Sheryl T.
Absolutely horrible. I was on my way to a different Chinese restaurant, but traffic was bad so I stopped here. Big mistake! The staff was so rude. The food was unflavorful and not worth the $9 for a lunch special. They brought me the wrong food and didn't apologize at all. When I got back to work and told my co-workers how unimpressed I was, they already knew, and said they experienced the same thing there.
(2)Allon F.
After coming to Shanghai Cafe for the first time a few years back I stopped going anywhere else when I was in the mood for Chinese food. They have a loyal and courteous staff who are extremely knowledgeable about the menu. I'm surprised to read other reviews that claim to have experienced rude service. The price point might be slightly higher than other local Chinese restaurant but you truly get what you pay for. If you want the cheapest orange chicken possible then go to Safeway.
(5)Brian P.
This place is great! I live and work nearby so Shanghai Cafe is always a great choice for dinner when my girlfriend and I are craving some good traditional Chinese food, Their hand shaven noodles are unmatched and the Honey walnut prawns are the best around. (I'm talking early 90's Honey Court Good!) Won't be disappointed in service or food, but make sure to call in if you're doing take out, they get quite busy at times and may take a little bit to prepare your food.
(4)Todd D.
Always incredible! My favorite is the General Tsao Chicken, Mu Shu Pork, Hand Shaved Noodles, and Green Beans. I've never had a bad meal here. My only complaint is it's too difficult to decide what I want since I have so many favorites.
(5)Sami H.
We went there for lunch on a Saturday. Suprisingly, there were only 2 other parties there. (The previous time, we had to wait for 30 minutes to get a table.) We ordered the "green" noodles soup, fried noodles, and some dumplings. The noodles tasted good. But the serving was small. Overall, not as good as before.
(3)Marti O.
After trying unsuccessfully to find another restaurant close to our hotel, we happened onto Shanghai Cafe near Factoria, on a sunny Friday night. Wish I'd read about this place ahead of time & I would have tried the noodles. The large number of Asian diners appeared to be a good sign that the food would be good. We waited about 30 minutes for a table, but the wait was worth it. We ordered cashew chicken which was a large oval plate of all white chicken and cashews - no fillers. The brown sauce was slightly sweet - maybe hoisin - and delicious. My dining companion said the plate looked like "caramel corn". Their brown rice was the healthy whole grain type, not the converted rice served in the Midwest. The vegetable eggrolls were served on a napkin to help soak up the grease, but were crunchy and the veggies were fresh and tasty. Their sweet & sour sauce was pale pink and very thin. One entree & one app. was more food than the two of us could finish. Great value and very good. Young staff was friendly. Tables in the dining room were small and really packed into the space & there was a strong fried smell. Would recommend. Limited parking, but plenty of space across the street at Safeway. A friend told me that they have a location in the International District as well.
(4)Kim O.
so after reading these reviews raving about how the house shaven noodles are soooooooo good and its a must order, i decided to go here to try the food. ordered the house shaven chow mein, house shanghai noodles and house special fried rice to share with two of my friends. we weren't looking for a big meal just a bite to eat. of course the fried rice is a gimme as far as it's not the best. the shanghai noodles were more flavorful than of the house shaven noodles... which was a disappointment by the way... it was bland and could have used more veggies and more meat. i've had better noodles and the food there was just mediocre. the restaurant is nice and clean but it seems to target more of the "american white folk crowd" than of the asian people... maybe it could be due to the location. is it one of those meals that you find yourself eating again? my answer is "no. not at this restaurant".
(2)Jeremy M.
I used to love coming here for one reason, hand shaven noodles! It was the only reason I would come back, but now after having it for the first time in a long time it just doesn't taste the same. However the steam pork dumpling was still good and the casserole bowl was ok.
(3)Foodie G.
Ugh! The hand shaven noodles were really bad. The xiao lung bao was equally as bad. The place did nothing for me.
(2)Jarrod L.
People raved about the hand-shaved noodles, so I tried them. They are cut a little thicker than the other places that have hand-shaved chow mein, but the recipe of the noodles tastes the same. The meats, vegetables, and sauce with the hand-shaved chow mein was simply not as good as I've had elsewhere. This place is nothing special.
(2)Rocky L.
Really good shaved noodles. Always get the xiao rong bao, but the noodles are the best here.
(4)Aline P.
This place is a little too small and a little too pricey; however, the food is amazing. We usually come here for family meals. You know, we've been here so much we've been thinking about other places to go for family meals but if we can't think of anything, we always end up going to Shanghai Cafe anyways. It's the best restaurant on the Factoria strip.
(5)Jesse W.
love shanghai cafe!! food's great... usually get the fried dumplings, pea vines, hand shaven noodles, steamed cod, and sometimes sesame chicken... all are wayyyy good... dumplings and pea vines are my FAVORITE! only drawback is the price.... don't go expecting a cheap chinese food dinner... you pay for quality, but you don't feel ripped off..
(4)V M.
If you've eaten at either one of the Shanghai Gardens restaurants (ID or Issaquah), don't expect anything different from the menu or the preparation. The food was good, the service friendly and warm (they'll steer you towards the more expensive dishes, I noticed), but not *any* different. This was a disappointment to me since I was looking for an additional Shanghainese restaurant in the area - not just another door of an existing one.
(3)Mel S.
I ate here a few years back and I remember it being pretty good Shanghai noodles where handmade. I hear that Michael Chang eats here when he's in town. Yes the tennis pro.
(3)Craig H.
My hands-down favorite chinese place so far (its International District cousin Shanghai Garden Restaurant II is worthwhile but somehow not as good as this one). True, it's across the street from the Factoria Square Mall, and from the outside looks like your standard divey strip-mall chinese restaurant with the slimy hot-and-sour soup in the buffet, but inside are delectable hand-shaved green noodles and salt-n-pepper crispy squid. I've yet to eat anything there that was disappointing.
(5)Mariani A.
One of my Chinese take-out places, as it is very close to where I live/work. The place is quite small, so for dining in, it can feel a bit cramped. I like their hand-shaven noodles, both the regular and the barleygreen versions. The nit-picky thing about the noodles is that they put way too much egg -- I like things in moderation :) They serve brown rice, both plain and fried. Other dishes I like: braised pork pump (expect to wait long for this) and happy roll.
(3)Thomas S.
My first review on the West Coast and my first Chinese experience since moving here. The food was great...especially the green noodles. It beats all Chinese food I've had living in Hartford. Service also very good. Very glad I stumbled upon this place.
(5)Su Kyeong K.
Other than Hand shaved noodle, other dishes are not something I'd rave about. Granted we did take out but it seems like a very standard chinese restaurant. Next time I am in Seattle, I would go and look at ttheir menu. I might change my rating.
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