Lychee Cafe

So this has become my parent’s to-​go place when they get lazy to cook. With 3 dishes for $ 18 dinner deal what more can you ask for?
FOOD:
They have a wide variety of foods mostly originating from Guangdong, China. Many typical dishes you can find at chinese restaurants. Dishes from the dinner special menu ranges from pork, chicken, beef, seafoods and veggies. Claypots, satay to deep fried. They also have individual dishes if you’re coming with a smaller party. Rice is not included, but pretty cheap to pay for. According to my parent’s — their dishes are fresh and authentic especially for the price they offer.
Complimentary soup is also included with each dinner special (3 dish for $ 17.95).
SERVICE:
Very attentive waiters and waitresses. Three times we’ve been here on a weekday we were seated immediately and given tea — which is refilled ever so often. Food comes out pretty fast too.
AMBIANCE:
Bright and clean. They have tables to accommodate small parties 1 – 2 to as large as 8 – 10. And of course everything in between.
I’m pretty sure we will be back for dinner on another lazy night xD

Average, very average. Prices are «good» because the portions are very small. Quality of food not impressive by any means. Would not go back.

We came here for the first time the other night with my grandparents and they didn’t make a single complaint! The food was decent enough and made my grandparents happy as the price was great and the flavors and portions were just about right though on the smaller size. It was $ 17.95 for three entrees with Soup of the Day and $ 6.50 for an additional dish. We got seven: Pork Belly Clay Pot, Salted Fish and Steamed Pork Patty, Pan Fried Flounder, Beef Stew with Radish, Fish with Bok Choy, Steamed Tofu with Shrimp and Salt & Pepper Pork Chop. The five of us finished it all. The Pan Fried Flounder was drenched in Black Bean Sauce which wasn’t shown in the picture or description. I didn’t care for the sauce because I personally don’t like Black Beans but it was still prepared well. Usually the fish at other places doesn’t come with a thick sauce. I’m used to the light soy sauce. I was excited to see so many home style dishes on the menu and had to get the Steamed Pork Patty. My grandma made it for us growing up but she used ground meat or she’d chop it up more. It was lumpy pieces of meat here and tasted OK but they did give us a decent amount of Salted Fish. We enjoyed the Fish with Bok Choy, Pork Belly, Beef Stew, Pork Chop and Tofu. It was 7pm and we were able to get a round table with a Lazy Susan which according to my grandpa is a must for dinner. Since it was dinner time, the place got packed and the service got worse as all the tables filled up. It wasn’t good to begin with when we sat down, though I can’t really judge a Chinese family restaurant on service but it still should have been better. We will return for their value proposition, round tables and dishes that my grandparents will eat and not complain about. They also had many menu options with Spaghetti like places in HK and Rice Plates plus Sandwiches. I’m sure this place can please many palates.

Really affordable and good food!
I will definately come back due to the cheap, good tasting hk-​type food. I got the baked chicken with rice and loved it. It was $ 6 or so i think. My family and I got 4 dishes and 2 hot milk teas for $ 36. Not bad at all!
1 star taken away because the service was lacking and at one point when my dad asked for our drinks (our meals had arrived already), they talked back and screamed that it was coming. Was a really uncomfortable experience. I think it was really busy and they were stressed but its always a bad time when the waiters bark back at you while asking about your order. Like i said, I will still go back just because the food is good and not expensive, but will have to keep in mind, that the service may be less than par and probably typical of most chinese restaurants of the same level.

Food was pretty bland. We got the Mongolian beef and it was basically onion with beef. We got a couple of sweet and sour dishes and those were bland. All the food seemed low quality. Add one star as the service was decent, actually pretty good for Chinese restaurant. But I don’t come for good service but bad food. I didn’t choose this place nor will I in the future.

If you have a lot of free time and likes to wait 40mins plus for your food then this is your restaurant. Otherwise, skip it. I got better things to do with my time.

Happy hour at $ 2.75 a plate is the best deal on this block. Happy hour is from 2−7pm which is a long time and they have a lot of items to choose from. The potstickers and noodles were good and the potstickers are homemade. A very good deal for a snack. The beef noodle soup had tender beef and a good amount of noodles, all under $ 7. The best deal on this block.

Don’t expect too much from this place. They have good food for a very reasonable price. Décor was not their first priority. This is the place to eat if you’re on a budget.

I went to this café with my family and my family was done eating already and yet my INSTANT RAMEN didn’t show up yet!!! Then my dad complained and they didn’t even start making it! My family also ordered a chow mein and yet the people that came later than us got it first. They just give the orders out randomly. And when we called the waiter for us to pay, they came faster than the ramen. Also when the ramen was here, it had no FLAVOR!!!

2.75 per plate hell of cheap salt peeper chicken wing and roti prata to die for. For the price I give 5 stars

Horrible service and mediocre food –avoid and try other places
We stopped in on a late afternoon and waited and waited. Stupid waitress would ignore us and take orders from others who arrived after Us. I can understand mistakes when it’s busy if if they overlook for a few minutes but this was very long and they chose to ignore us when we were waving and calling out to them. Plenty of other choices in the area.

Today I came back here for lunch. I ordered pork dumplings and noodle soup. There were no noodles. I wondered if they made the dumplings in house or got them from a frozen pack. I realized this place isn’t that great. The milk teas never taste pleasant. I think there are better restaurants on Irving.

I don’t know if I can be loyal to Lychee Café anymore. Having lived in the neighborhood for the past few years, we would often go to their previous humble, smaller location. Then, they had it right. No (noticeable) cutting corners in cost or quality or portion size.
Since the expansion, things have changed quite a bit. Although prices are still the same, you can easily see how everything has gone downhill. Fried rice, for instance, tastes like a cheap frozen meal. Our favorite, orange peel beef, has literally been halved in portion size and no longer had the saucy yet crispy characteristics it once had. Seasonings in their soups and other dishes also are poorly done, making the food not taste full-​bodied, and somehow «fake.»
I hate to say it, but you’ve lost me and my partner as customers.

Found a cockroach in one of their dishes (tofu casserole clay pot), and the server said it was just a vegetable bug. Although they refunded the dish, I don’t think we’ll ever be stepping in again.

My first time eating here today. Wished I took pictures to post. First thing I noticed was the red wine vinegar bottle on the condiment tray. Why isn’t it a rich red color? It’s light pink. When I eat noodles, I like using red wine vinegar. Well, when I used this «Red Wine» vinegar, I tasted a small hint of the red, but guess what… The restaurant diluted it with cheap white vinegar. It was very sour and I can definitely taste the difference. A small bottle of red wine vinegar at stores usually cost a little over a few dollars. A full gallon of white distiller vinegar is only $ 3. They were diluting the expensive red wine vinegar with white distiller vinegar. Cutting cost. Better off not having that bottle at all than to dilute it. Next time your in the restaurant, take a look at the go what bottle and taste the difference.
Then I ordered the «House Special Chow Mein». When this arrived, what a mayor disappointment! Everybody knows what «Chow Mean» is supposed to look and taste. The «chow Mein» they used were spaghetti. Seriously. Those $ 1 a package at supermarkets spaghetti noodles. How do you get spaghetti noodles when you order chow mein. Disappointment again.
Next. The protein in the fake chow Mein were chicken, beef, and ham. HAM??? Flat rectangular pieces of regular ham. Isn’t it supposed to be Chinese BBQ pork?
Talk about skimming here and there. Yes, I understand the plates are less costly than other restaurants. However, the portions are LESS! The porcelain square play is big, but the portion is small. So your paying for LESS food.
The above wasn’t the only thing that annoyed me. We went in as a party of three. Ordered three dishes. Once for each of us. When originally got two of the dishes and I noticed that each of the dish was very small in portion. So I asked my table mates, should we order another dish? I don’t think this would be enough. Look how small these portions are. So we waved the waiter and order another dish. while the three of us finish up the two dishes that we got. 20 minutes has passed and we still didn’t get the original third dish we ordered. When the next plate arrived, it was the FOURTH dish that we ordered later. Where did the third dish go??? We asked the waiter, «we also order this other Singapore dish» and the waiter said «did you really order the Singapore dish?, I don’t see it on my printed check». Then we said «Okay, if it’s not there, then lets cancel it» and the waiter said «okay, I’ll cancel it». Then we finished that fourth dish, the FAKE House Special Chow Mein I reviewed about earlier in a matter of minutes because the portion was so small. We asked the waiter for our check and guess what! The bill was for FOUR different plates. WTF!!! We only got three of the four items we ordered. When we asked where the other dish was, the waiter said he didn’t hear us order it. But when we got the check, there it is! All three dishes and the Singapore dish. You have got to be kidding me! If you «never heard» us order the dish and say there’s nothing for us, why the hell was it on the bill?
Another thing. While we were waiting on the third and fourth dish, the boss walked to the kitchen, saw us sitting there for a good 20 minutes and asked the waiter «did that table get all their orders?» and the waiter told her «Yes, all their orders they got». WTF?!
I’m never coming back here again. Fake food, skimming on the customers, making us wait for nothing, and overcharging us for things we didn’t get. Oh… one more… Lying to customers saying he never hear us order the food when it never showed. Then lying to his boss, then giving us the bill with the food we indeed ordered, but never got.

Eat all the the here and they are good
Good food and good service
They have lots of loyal customers so come earlier is better

Decent food for the price. Décor is work in progress but for a quick lunch I have no complaints

Good service, and food are good for the values. If you are an Asian who lives in SF, then you know it is very hard to find a good Asian restaurant which has good service. This one has good service at least. It is a new location, last one was few blocks down which I didn’t try. I will try more for the dinner.
If you want to see what is bad service, go to ABC bakery on Noriega Street. You can stand 5 to 7 minutes at the door, and sit another 5 to 7 minutes at your table and no one cares to come to take your order.
Luckily, this is a better choice for me now. No more black faces from those old women at ABC bakery.
BTW, their utensils are not clean enough, hope the owner see this and make an improvement.

Expansion is not always better.
Came because we heard about their $ 18 for 3 entrees dinner. I like cheap eats as much as the next person, but this one was totally misleading. $ 18 only gets you the entrees… no rice. Rice is an extra $ 1 per person.
In regards to the food we ordered…
The salt and pepper pork chops was a lot of bones. Awesome. The sauteed rock cod had a fair amount of fillets but all the supporting veggies were canned — canned baby corn, canned umbrella mushrooms, canned water chestnuts… come on! The best dish was probably beef stew and tendon, came out sizzling hot… but a lot of the pieces that looked like tendon was just fat. Bleh!
In regards to ambiance, it’s terrible. There is no wall décor anywhere which makes the restaurant feels so empty/​cold. And the only illumination comes from some fluorescent bar lights on one side with no cover to diffuse it. It was a real pain to look at our waiter because of it. It’s a complete waste of the vaulted ceiling.

Been here some many time on happy hour.
There so many items on there happy hour and for the price of $ 2.75. And is hella good too.
P.s.
House hot sauce must try…

Same owners, new location. The business has moved a few doors west to a larger location. Same good food, although I detect a shrinkage in the serving size, especially in the 3 dishes for $ 17.95. Menu is the same as before.