Lotus Cafe

Yes we’ve all heard the stories of dirty cooking and dining. Yes we’ve seen all the demerits and even proof of rats and roaches on channel 4. The thing is we all keep on going and we just have to look the other way because it is the best Chinese restaurant here plain and simple, it’s delicious. The only complaint i have is that I noticed they are sneaking in dark meat chicken instead of white learn into their dishes (tso, Kung pow, Etc). A big no no for me, but they still have my business

Disappointed…
Ordered the kung pao chicken which came with steamed rice, an egg roll, and their soup of the day (which was chicken with vegetables) only it was broth with a chunk of cabbage. The Kung Pao was sweet. Like someone messed up the sweet and sour with the Kung pao. Not a please taste. The egg roll was doughy and the white rice was way undercooked.

Got delivery to my hotel and have zero complaints. Said it would be 35 – 45 minutes. Food was here in 25 minutes.
Bill was $ 27 and got enough food to feed 4 – 5 people easy.
When im in town ill call them again. ;)

I try to make it to Lotus Café every sunday. My daughter and I have made it somewhat of a tradition. I love asian food. This Chinese is very good. Very good. I have nothing bad to say. Great atmosphere. The food is excellent and prepared fresh. Dim sum oh yeah very good. The service has been spot on. Just great. Our favorite guy here, Kevin. Ask for him he is one of the best servers i have ever delt with. I have been i. the restaraunt and bar business for almost 15 years. I have traveled some of the west coast and all of Texas and this place is very good.

Let’s start with the nice comments: the atmosphere of this restaurant is pleasant enough and the staff is fairly friendly, but the food is just plain bad. The vegetables are overcooked, the fried rice tastes dirty, the soup is flavorless, the eggrolls are greasy and I don’t think they have realized that Chinese food is seasoned with more than just soy sauce! Seriously, there is NO complexity to the food here at all. All you taste is soy sauce. I’m sure there’s probably a hefty dose of MSG thrown in there as well. Yum.
I’ve come here a handful of times and never remembered it as being anything special, but my lunch the other day was SO BAD that I could hardly eat it. I took a few bites then left the rest. I will certainly NOT be coming back.
The funny thing is that I was debating between coming here or going to Mr. Taco, but I finally settled on Chinese because I figured that a few vegetables would be a healthier option than beef tacos. Right. With sodium content that high, I would say that I was sorely mistaken.
Do yourself a favor, forget about Chinese if you are in Brownsville. Skip this place and go down the street to Mr. Taco.

Chinese food? In the Valley? Oh, yes, my friends. It is good.
Looks and smells like your typical Asian restaurant when you walk in – mmm, fried rice. After being seated, our waitress was quick to get our group’s drink and soup orders (we all ordered off the lunch special menu, which comes with soup, egg roll, and fortune cookie for around 7 bucks). While those were being worked out, we were free to dine on bowls of fried wontons and hot or sweet dipping sauce — essentially, Chinese chips and salsa. Fifteen bowls of hot and sour/​egg drop/​cabbage soup later, the food arrived. Standard Asian options like General Tso’s and Hunan Beef were available, plus the most awesome and delicious Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, which about half of our table ordered. Don’t want steamed or fried rice? They have Lo Mein. Don’t want a lunch special? They have three other pages of menu options if you want Crab Rangoon, a seafood mix, family platters, or whatever else your appetite may desire.
Our waitress was very accommodating of our large group, and the food was out relatively quickly for how much they had to cook. If you’re looking for non-​Tex Mex while in Brownsville, this is an excellent choice.

I ate at the Lotus Café today for lunch and was very pleased. It is a very clean restaurant with excellent service and very nice décor which included fresh flowers at every table. The restrooms are also very clean. This restaurant is not a buffet as a lot of them here in the valley seem to be.
I ordered the General Tso’s Chicken which came with steamed rice, Broccoli, and Chicken & Cabbage soup. Everything was cooked to perfection with generous portions provided. I have had better General Tso’s chicken at other restaurants in California, but this one was slightly different. It was more like fried chicken in the sauce and with less garlic and peppers. I will try them out again but will try a different menu item.