Really good food but really bad service which was a first for me. Literally everyone else got their food and I had to struggle to get the employees attention
I then just asked for my money cause my appetite was gone.
I'm sad cause I really enjoy their food
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jei Marie
Now I’m from St. Louis and in my opinion we have the best signature chop suey style Chinese food. I’ve been craving it and when I saw they had bean sprouts I knew it might taste just like the rice back home. I was so excited because their fried rice was so similar, I ordered the house special fried rice and it came with soup broth. All of it was delicious, I was impressed. I will say I had to add soy sauce to jazz it up a bit but overall I will be back. This my new spot when I’m craving St. Louis style fried rice. Oh and I don’t know why the comments are saying the ladies are rude and there’s a long wait because that wasn’t my experience. The waitresses were sweet to me and my food was ready in like 10 minutes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adrian Ispas
Small honest place, located within a bid food market, close by downtown LA. They been there for a very long time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mina Copado
The food was not good at all. We waited a long time for crappie food. We ordered the sweet and sour chicken with fried rice and a side of chow mein. The chicken had so much fat we couldn't eat it. The fried rice was just not good and had no veggies in it. The chow mein was some kind of noodle with not veggies either. Do not come here, you will be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jenniee Rodriguez
It’ll be great if you guys work with uber eats :(
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Cam Collins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ China Cafe – Grand Central Market, Los Angeles
Walking up to China Cafe feels like stepping into a living time capsule — one that’s been simmering since 1959 with the kind of quiet confidence only true institutions carry. You can feel the history in the air, from the clatter of woks to the comforting rhythm of chopsticks tapping bowls.
The food? Simple, soulful, and exactly what it should be. The wonton soup is a hug in a bowl — delicate, deeply flavorful, and unapologetically old-school. The chow mein hits that perfect balance of crisp edges and soft noodles, coated in a sauce that whispers of another era, before everything went “fusion” and “conceptual.”
But what really seals it is the people. There’s warmth behind the counter, the kind of easy friendliness that reminds you why communal markets like this matter. It’s not just a meal — it’s a snapshot of LA’s cultural heartbeat, where old and new collide in the best possible way.
In a city obsessed with the next big thing, China Cafe stands proud in its authenticity. It’s the kind of place Bourdain would have loved — no frills, no pretension, just honest food and real people.
Highly recommended. Come hungry, come curious, and leave with your soul just a little more full than when you arrived.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: House Fried Rice, Chicken Noodle Soup, Fried Rice
JP
I had the mixed wonton soup and it was delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gene A.
I ate here for lunch, just before the rush. Located inside the iconic Grand Central Market, I finally gave China Cafe a chance. The open-air food court style seating is spacious during off-peak hours and patrons have an option to dine at their bar area.
I ordered a Chicken Chop Suey that comes with steamed rice, bok choy, mushrooms, diced chicken in savory sauce. My order was less than $15, which is farily reasonable. I was not expecting the portions to be larger, but thankfully I was hungry and craving Chinese food today. My order was ready in 5 minutes. The entree is freshly tossed from the wok, on top of a bed of steamed rice. It comes with a side of clear soup with sliced green onions.
The steamed rice was okay and not fluffy as they used long grain rice. On the other hand, the Chicken Chop Suey was savory, tasteful, authentic and not greasy. The chicken thigh meat was tender and the bok choy pieces were still crisp. I was not expecting to finish the entire bowl. So far, China Cafe is my favorite spot inside LA's Grand Central Market
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Rodica “Rachel” Carroll
Very friendly. Hearty soups & Chinese food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Logan
If you asked me to describe the fried rice I got here probably the best word I could use would be bland. And yet, in my week and a half in LA I came back here to get it two more times.
In a hectic city full of so much excess and loud flavors it kind of became my comfort food. Whenever I wanted to destress the simple dish loaded with the freshness of bean sprouts and as much chili crisp as I could handle was exactly my ticket to unwind.
And I also found the woman working the register very charming, even when the place got hectic in the early evening rush.
I have a fairly high standard for Chinese food due to my background and decided to try China Cafe for lunch. Went for their house chop suey - the portions can definitely feed two average eaters.
The service was friendly, food took about 10 mins to be ready and it came with soup however it was a bit too salty. The portions were a bit too large for my liking, so I decided to finish most of the meat only. It's my first time having Chinese food in America and the taste is definitely interesting. Thanks for the lunch China Cafe.
Mogliest Regards, Your Mog Champ
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Heather Shaikh
Guys, I live across the street from Grand Central and I eat there all of the time. This is the worst Chinese food I’ve ever had. Don’t do it!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Dave Lapham
I swear this place had to be a Mexican restaurant 2 weeks ago. Food is absolutely horrible. Mongolian beef is for the senior center for those without teeth. It’s complete mush. The egg rolls had the same texture inside as warmed baby food. My fortune sucked too!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Nancy Hall
It will prevent starvation. That's about all I can say for it. I ordered chicken wonton soup; it was flavorless. Took 18 minutes to come.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 2
Sunshine Day
So heated. Just ordered shrimp fried rice and the shrimp are the same size as the grain of rice!!! This is sooooo messed up!!
Really good food but really bad service which was a first for me.
Literally everyone else got their food and I had to struggle to get the employees attention
I then just asked for my money cause my appetite was gone.
I'm sad cause I really enjoy their food
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Now I’m from St. Louis and in my opinion we have the best signature chop suey style Chinese food. I’ve been craving it and when I saw they had bean sprouts I knew it might taste just like the rice back home. I was so excited because their fried rice was so similar, I ordered the house special fried rice and it came with soup broth. All of it was delicious, I was impressed. I will say I had to add soy sauce to jazz it up a bit but overall I will be back. This my new spot when I’m craving St. Louis style fried rice. Oh and I don’t know why the comments are saying the ladies are rude and there’s a long wait because that wasn’t my experience. The waitresses were sweet to me and my food was ready in like 10 minutes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Small honest place, located within a bid food market, close by downtown LA. They been there for a very long time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was not good at all. We waited a long time for crappie food. We ordered the sweet and sour chicken with fried rice and a side of chow mein. The chicken had so much fat we couldn't eat it. The fried rice was just not good and had no veggies in it. The chow mein was some kind of noodle with not veggies either. Do not come here, you will be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
It’ll be great if you guys work with uber eats :(
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ China Cafe – Grand Central Market, Los Angeles
Walking up to China Cafe feels like stepping into a living time capsule — one that’s been simmering since 1959 with the kind of quiet confidence only true institutions carry. You can feel the history in the air, from the clatter of woks to the comforting rhythm of chopsticks tapping bowls.
The food? Simple, soulful, and exactly what it should be. The wonton soup is a hug in a bowl — delicate, deeply flavorful, and unapologetically old-school. The chow mein hits that perfect balance of crisp edges and soft noodles, coated in a sauce that whispers of another era, before everything went “fusion” and “conceptual.”
But what really seals it is the people. There’s warmth behind the counter, the kind of easy friendliness that reminds you why communal markets like this matter. It’s not just a meal — it’s a snapshot of LA’s cultural heartbeat, where old and new collide in the best possible way.
In a city obsessed with the next big thing, China Cafe stands proud in its authenticity. It’s the kind of place Bourdain would have loved — no frills, no pretension, just honest food and real people.
Highly recommended. Come hungry, come curious, and leave with your soul just a little more full than when you arrived.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: House Fried Rice, Chicken Noodle Soup, Fried Rice
I had the mixed wonton soup and it was delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I ate here for lunch, just before the rush. Located inside the iconic Grand Central Market, I finally gave China Cafe a chance. The open-air food court style seating is spacious during off-peak hours and patrons have an option to dine at their bar area.
I ordered a Chicken Chop Suey that comes with steamed rice, bok choy, mushrooms, diced chicken in savory sauce. My order was less than $15, which is farily reasonable. I was not expecting the portions to be larger, but thankfully I was hungry and craving Chinese food today. My order was ready in 5 minutes. The entree is freshly tossed from the wok, on top of a bed of steamed rice. It comes with a side of clear soup with sliced green onions.
The steamed rice was okay and not fluffy as they used long grain rice. On the other hand, the Chicken Chop Suey was savory, tasteful, authentic and not greasy. The chicken thigh meat was tender and the bok choy pieces were still crisp. I was not expecting to finish the entire bowl. So far, China Cafe is my favorite spot inside LA's Grand Central Market
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Very friendly. Hearty soups & Chinese food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If you asked me to describe the fried rice I got here probably the best word I could use would be bland. And yet, in my week and a half in LA I came back here to get it two more times.
In a hectic city full of so much excess and loud flavors it kind of became my comfort food. Whenever I wanted to destress the simple dish loaded with the freshness of bean sprouts and as much chili crisp as I could handle was exactly my ticket to unwind.
And I also found the woman working the register very charming, even when the place got hectic in the early evening rush.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The Mog Champ sends his regards.
I have a fairly high standard for Chinese food due to my background and decided to try China Cafe for lunch. Went for their house chop suey - the portions can definitely feed two average eaters.
The service was friendly, food took about 10 mins to be ready and it came with soup however it was a bit too salty. The portions were a bit too large for my liking, so I decided to finish most of the meat only. It's my first time having Chinese food in America and the taste is definitely interesting. Thanks for the lunch China Cafe.
Mogliest Regards,
Your Mog Champ
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Guys, I live across the street from Grand Central and I eat there all of the time. This is the worst Chinese food I’ve ever had. Don’t do it!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I swear this place had to be a Mexican restaurant 2 weeks ago.
Food is absolutely horrible. Mongolian beef is for the senior center for those without teeth. It’s complete mush.
The egg rolls had the same texture inside as warmed baby food.
My fortune sucked too!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
It will prevent starvation. That's about all I can say for it. I ordered chicken wonton soup; it was flavorless. Took 18 minutes to come.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 2
So heated. Just ordered shrimp fried rice and the shrimp are the same size as the grain of rice!!! This is sooooo messed up!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Loading...