China Cafe

Probably one of the best Chinese places in DTLA. Their orders are big and have the best prices. I come here a lot and never have to wait long to get my order. There's a lot of tables around and they have a counter that goes around that you can sit at. I pretty much tried everything on their menu. This time I tried the house noodle soup but didn't like it because it had no flavor. Their wonton soups are much better. They also serve few types of different beer.

I had the mixed wonton soup and it was delicious

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.

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.

Artyom Medin

Probably one of the best Chinese places in DTLA. Their orders are big and have the best prices. I come here a lot and never have to wait long to get my order. There's a lot of tables around and they have a counter that goes around that you can sit at. I pretty much tried everything on their menu. This time I tried the house noodle soup but didn't like it because it had no flavor. Their wonton soups are much better. They also serve few types of different beer.

JP

I had the mixed wonton soup and it was delicious

Junior Rodriguez

Great customer service and great tasting food at an affordable price. I highly recommend this place located inside the Grand Central Market.

Exelent service delicious food and good prices I really recommend this restaurant

Adrian Ispas

Small honest place, located within a bid food market, close by downtown LA. They been there for a very long time.

Pretty good Chinese food; however, they gave what I ordered to someone else and I received something similar (but not what I ordered). I recomend if you want Chinese food but not what you ordered due to mismanage customer service.

Stop for appetizers. Pot stickers are my fav. They did a good job too. It was more fried than I expected. But taste good. My wife liked the vegetarian egg roll very much from them.

I wanted to leave a bad review! The waitress wasn’t really friendly wouldn’t add eggs to my fried rice unless I paid for more expensive meal! Then the presentation of the food wasn’t the best! But it taste amazing! I can put up with a little bad customer service if the food is good ! Lol

Cashier has bad habit of leaving credit cards exposed for anyone to view on counter. I consider this as bad business with these times being as hard as they are. Trust is not easy to come by nowadays. The food is good, don't get me wrong but management should know of this discrepancy.

GET THE SOUP!!! I was so excited for the BBQ Pork Chop Suey but when I ate it, I needed all of the hot sauce in the world. While the pork tastes good and the fried rice add-on was adequate I couldn’t help but wonder — where was the flavor? I then sipped the broth they provide with your meal and THERE WAS THE FLAVOR!! It was peppery and filling and honestly the best broth I’ve ever had. No wonder everyone around me drank theirs first! Even though I didn’t finish all of my rice and chop suey, I made sure to bring home the broth. Otherwise the service is adequate. Maybe they were rushed during a Friday lunch but it seemed chaotic and disorganized. Go with patience and you will be rewarded. Trust.

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

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

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.

Mom's fav House wonton at China Cafe has become our go to place for the crave. I had never thought of putting lime on wonton or avocado till mom took me to eat here and it works! You get 8 big wontons along with bbq pork, chicken, bok choy, that you have 2 meals if you eat small (pic of mom making her 2) or 1 if really hungry. You also get that chili oil and lime so give it a try. Lunch time and weekends gets busy so the wait will be a while, so take a walk around Grand Central Market while your food is ready.

Where else are you gonna get Chinese food served with a scowl and in plastic ware? No where. So drop what you’re doing and head over to China Cafe. I’ve recently started coming here to decompress after work. I usually order an appetizer and stay for the ambiance of the market. It’s relatively well-priced. Haven’t tried any other dishes, but if you’re looking to get out of the house or you’re getting off of work and want to hang out somewhere and enjoy the atmosphere, this place is it.

This food won't change your life. It was a well-sized portion at an acceptable price. The food itself was a touch bland, but nothing intolerable. I see a lot of reviews found the service terrible, but maybe I just caught them on a good day as I found them if not bright and friendly, at least welcoming and polite. While there are certainly better options in Grand Central, when the itch for this food hits, nothing else will hit the right way, regardless of quality.

Went to Grand Central Market and my granddaughter wanted Chinese food, so here we are. I got the Beef Chow Mein and I'm glad I did because I loved it. I'm a noodle guy not a rice guy. The noodles were cooked great and had lots of flavor. The beef was good tender and also had great flavor. I was very happy with this dish. The chicken fried rice was good, but I thought the rice was a little dry and not enough chicken. But it definitely wasn't bad. Their Miso soup is great! I think it is the best Miso soup I've had in a very long time. Overall I was glad my granddaughter picked this place.

What's there to say about this place, it's been here forever. The wonton soup isn't the best I've ever had but it's pretty good for the price. It's. It just chicken beast so if you don't like dark meat maybe pick something else There's nothing wow about this place other than its location inside the grand. Enteral market. The rice is good. Soup is good, they have beer.... I think it completes the market, it's the only Chinese food there. I would eat there again if I was around and felt like eating there. But I don't see it as a MUST try this food now kinda place

April 2024 My Kung Po Seafood with rice was fairly nice, although it was a bit too sweet for me. The quality of the squid was questionable. The complimentary soup on the side was good.

Decent Chinese food option; friendly staff; generous portions; reasonable prices; taste tailored towards Americanized palette; quality ingredients; very popular, expect wait 👍

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

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.

The Mog Champ

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

Irma S

Mom's fav House wonton at China Cafe has become our go to place for the crave. I had never thought of putting lime on wonton or avocado till mom took me to eat here and it works! You get 8 big wontons along with bbq pork, chicken, bok choy, that you have 2 meals if you eat small (pic of mom making her 2) or 1 if really hungry. You also get that chili oil and lime so give it a try. Lunch time and weekends gets busy so the wait will be a while, so take a walk around Grand Central Market while your food is ready.

Rebecca Rodriguez

Where else are you gonna get Chinese food served with a scowl and in plastic ware? No where. So drop what you’re doing and head over to China Cafe. I’ve recently started coming here to decompress after work. I usually order an appetizer and stay for the ambiance of the market. It’s relatively well-priced. Haven’t tried any other dishes, but if you’re looking to get out of the house or you’re getting off of work and want to hang out somewhere and enjoy the atmosphere, this place is it.

Ian MacDonald

This food won't change your life. It was a well-sized portion at an acceptable price. The food itself was a touch bland, but nothing intolerable. I see a lot of reviews found the service terrible, but maybe I just caught them on a good day as I found them if not bright and friendly, at least welcoming and polite. While there are certainly better options in Grand Central, when the itch for this food hits, nothing else will hit the right way, regardless of quality.

Jerry L

Went to Grand Central Market and my granddaughter wanted Chinese food, so here we are. I got the Beef Chow Mein and I'm glad I did because I loved it. I'm a noodle guy not a rice guy. The noodles were cooked great and had lots of flavor. The beef was good tender and also had great flavor. I was very happy with this dish. The chicken fried rice was good, but I thought the rice was a little dry and not enough chicken. But it definitely wasn't bad. Their Miso soup is great! I think it is the best Miso soup I've had in a very long time. Overall I was glad my granddaughter picked this place.

Tiff

What's there to say about this place, it's been here forever. The wonton soup isn't the best I've ever had but it's pretty good for the price. It's. It just chicken beast so if you don't like dark meat maybe pick something else There's nothing wow about this place other than its location inside the grand. Enteral market. The rice is good. Soup is good, they have beer.... I think it completes the market, it's the only Chinese food there. I would eat there again if I was around and felt like eating there. But I don't see it as a MUST try this food now kinda place

Simon NUTT

April 2024 My Kung Po Seafood with rice was fairly nice, although it was a bit too sweet for me. The quality of the squid was questionable. The complimentary soup on the side was good.

John Kim

Decent Chinese food option; friendly staff; generous portions; reasonable prices; taste tailored towards Americanized palette; quality ingredients; very popular, expect wait 👍

I only made a side order of fried rice here and honestly can say that I have never tried such badly cooked fried rice. I would not order here anything else

I finally decided to try this place because it’s supposed to be iconic. But truth be told it’s hard to believe it’s been here this long, while the far superior Sari Sari across the way is closed. I had the chicken chow mein, and while it was flavorful, it was hard to believe that there was not a single vegetable in it. How can you serve chow mein without vegetables?

It used to be a great place to have chinesse food. The new owner changed many costumes of the place. Instead of real plates, now the food is served in plastic containers, even the hot soup. The credit card machine is configured without the option to skip the tip. Some food dishes are done differently without improving it.

I like chinese foods. I tried chow mein and specials. Photo shows beef special, which I felt the beef was not so much and rice was plenty. But, considering the location, the price may become higher.

N T

I like chinese foods. I tried chow mein and specials. Photo shows beef special, which I felt the beef was not so much and rice was plenty. But, considering the location, the price may become higher.

So salty that food server and my pork egg fo is salty too and when I ask her for a lemon and she didn’t give my soup too so mean lady chola

Easy why a two stars. The food is good when you get it, if you get it. It took more than one hour to get my food without exaggeration and when I ask one the ladies for my food (the one with dye blonde hair), I told her that I have been there for 45 minutes, she told me if I wanted to cancel my order and get my money back ( easy way out). Many people was angry ad hungry. It wasn't like that before these people took over the business.

Just awful food and service, save your money and go somewhere else

I had just opened up my plate to see this bug. I think it’s a cockroach. The establishment said it was a bug from the veggies what do you think!?? I ordered beef broccoli

Ordered a chicken ramen…literally took 45 minutes for boiled chicken and pasta… tasted like a .59 cent gas station Maruchan with boiled chicken breasts. Basically water and noodles with chicken… no egg no onions ..nothing just water, noodles boiled chicken breast… there’s another ramen location in the market …

Don’t waste what could be an amazing food experience here…..: there are tons of good options at this marketplace. If I could give zero stars I would. The women that work here were incredibly rude and over worked. They were not very busy and yet they seemed like they were absolutely frazzled and annoyed by being spoken to. After I ordered to go I left to buy a beverage next door and came back to check after. My pickup order was sitting unbagged next to the register. I asked if my order was ready and I was told no. I stood there waiting for an additional 10 mins while they chatted it up with their dine in guests. After they left they bagged up the food and called out my name. Excited to finally try the Chinese food stall at this wonderful marketplace I sat down and grabbed a fork. It was literally the worst Chinese food I’ve ever had. Bland, salty and tastelessness all at once. It was all cabbage and rice hardly any chicken. The chicken was dry chewy and fatty. Rice was bone dry and the little soup was just salt. Sad to say I paid $18 for rude service and terrible food. Never again….. trust some of these reviews and save yourself money and a sad time

If you want bad service and food that will make you sick, this is the place. The cashier, woman with blonde highlights named Martha is incredibly rude and racist. Food gave me food poisoning and fans blow dust all over the food in the kitchen. I ordered my food and was at the counter, she told me the restaurant was closing soon so I had to eat at the outer sitting area. There were other people sitting there eating and I said, what about them. The cashier said she would tell them to leave too. For almost 15 min she had not asked the other people to leave and I was watching from a distance. I happened to be the only person that was not of the same race as the cashier and the other patrons. She was not asian. That is modern day racism and discrimination. I have never experienced this before, especially visiting from NY. I confronted her about this and she was stuttering over her own words and went silent. She didnt have a good reason for what happened. Despicable. Dont give this place your money

The lady taking orders displayed an unexpectedly high level of rudeness for no apparent reason! When I arrived, I found myself as the only customer waiting while she was talking to her friend, who happened to be seated right next to me. Despite standing directly in front of the POS, she seemed completely oblivious to my presence. I politely asked her if this was the right place to order, and she curtly told me to wait. Even after her friend left, she continued to be distracted by a personal phone call that had no relation to online orders or work-related matters. Ignoring my presence, she proceeded to prepare upcoming orders, leaving me feeling invisible for more than seven minutes. It was only 10 am, and the restaurant had just a few customers! I noticed a sign at the counter stating, "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone," but I hadn't said anything rude; I was simply waiting to place my order. While I understand that there may be disrespectful customers, if dealing with "normal" or any customers is not your preference, it would be more appropriate to consider seeking an alternate job or other business.

If I was able to give this location zero stars I would! I came to this location literally two hours ago and the two waitresses were very rude! I came to the grand central market very happy this morning until they I came to this spot, the waitress who took my order put my order to go without even asking me. She never greeted me, just asked me what I wanted. But before she got my order she was “very friendly” with the men that were eating there! I’m a very nice person and treat people how I wanted to be treated. I am VERY upset how they treated me in this establishment. On the other hand I ordered a wonton soup, love the idea of separating both broth and the wontons! But I give them a decent five out of ten. Thank you I won’t be coming again!

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!

The cashier ignored us for several minutes before taking our order. She was extremely unfriendly and got in a fight with another customer. She left our food sitting on the counter while she took a personal call. The food was terrible. The Mongolian beef had maybe 5-6 pieces of meat in it and was filled with onions and green peppers. The Hong Kong style pan fried noodles had a congealed substance on it and were hard and dry. The fried rice was tasteless. The soup looked like dirty dishwater so we didn’t even try it. Would never go back and don’t understand why so many people were waiting in line for bad service and bad food.

The place I wanted in Grand Central Market was closed so I headed over to China Cafe, BIG MISTAKE. Also first of all, could you come up with a less creative name? Now after many people staring at me as I am waiting at the register, a woman finally takes my order. Already awful service. Now I’m waiting for at least 25 minutes. I was thinking to myself, I can’t remember a time I wasn’t waiting for my Mongolian Beef. After the longest wait of my life for a place that’s supposed to be grab and go, THE MOST BELOW MID MONGOLIAN BEEF EVER. Im literally throwing this away right now to go buy a coffee and call it a day. Waste of 15 dollars today.

I have to say I enjoy Chinese cuisine very much but China Cafe is ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!! I ordered 2 Mongolian Beef, 1 Kang Pao Chicken, 1 Pan Fried Noodles, and 1 Choe Mein. ABSOLUTELY no MEAT!!! All veggies. Disgusting I would NEVER purchase here again. 70% white rice, 28% veggies, and 2% meat. Absolutely terrible!! Frustrating and disappointing. Chinese food ata disgrace!!!!

Horrible customer service. The staff here lacks the basic skills needed to interact with human beings. My close friend waited patiently for 45 minutes for her food (which was bland, overpriced, and mediocre) and paid for a water. When she asked for said water, the cashier told her another employee would get it for her. And when my friend politely asked the employee for the water, the woman snapped at her unprompted, and then proceeded to begin screaming at her and cursing at her in Spanish, to the point where she made a paying customer cry. This behavior is unacceptable. A customer paid for food and water and waited patiently only to be treated horribly and given sub-par food. This place fails to train their employees to respect customers and take their job seriously. Would not recommend this place to anybody. Food was mediocre, looked like it just came out of a freezer bag and the microwave, and the horrid customer service on top of that.

I wish I would have read the reviews first. Everything I’ve read so far aligns with my experience at this restaurant. I ordered the sweet and sour chicken and updated my rice to chicken chow mein (extra $3.50). Food was bland, noodles were hard, sweet and sour chicken is mostly breading. On top of this, the customer service is abysmal. I thought it was weird that between me and the cashier I was the only one saying thank you during the transaction. Even when my food was ready, she called my name came over to me, dropped the bag and left. I’ve read reviews saying the people who work here are racist and I believe it. Also, it’s sooo gross and dusty in the whole entire kitchen area! I’m seriously surprised the health department hasn’t stepped in. They literally keep the sauce containers uncovered and within customer reach. I could have easily sneezed, sprinkled dirt, scratched my head etc and would have contaminated the whole thing. I will never be back. Honestly seems like they should get shut down. So gross.

Waited well over 30 minutes for our food, despite sitting 8 feet from the order location. I finally went to ask, when asked if my order was ready, one lady replied "I don't know," and did nothing further. The lady who took the order went to the kitchen and came back and said we'd be up next. Waited, waited, went back up, then turns out it was an order sitting there all along. The one I asked initially if it was ours. They were so rude, then thr food was lukewarm and they said "well it should be hot." It wasn't even good, very bland.

Destinye McGill

I wish I would have read the reviews first. Everything I’ve read so far aligns with my experience at this restaurant. I ordered the sweet and sour chicken and updated my rice to chicken chow mein (extra $3.50). Food was bland, noodles were hard, sweet and sour chicken is mostly breading. On top of this, the customer service is abysmal. I thought it was weird that between me and the cashier I was the only one saying thank you during the transaction. Even when my food was ready, she called my name came over to me, dropped the bag and left. I’ve read reviews saying the people who work here are racist and I believe it. Also, it’s sooo gross and dusty in the whole entire kitchen area! I’m seriously surprised the health department hasn’t stepped in. They literally keep the sauce containers uncovered and within customer reach. I could have easily sneezed, sprinkled dirt, scratched my head etc and would have contaminated the whole thing. I will never be back. Honestly seems like they should get shut down. So gross.

Sheryl Sofia

Waited well over 30 minutes for our food, despite sitting 8 feet from the order location. I finally went to ask, when asked if my order was ready, one lady replied "I don't know," and did nothing further. The lady who took the order went to the kitchen and came back and said we'd be up next. Waited, waited, went back up, then turns out it was an order sitting there all along. The one I asked initially if it was ours. They were so rude, then thr food was lukewarm and they said "well it should be hot." It wasn't even good, very bland.

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.

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

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.