Northern Cafe

Very family style, large portion and authentic Chinese food featuring various Chinese food options. The cold dishes are good choices. You sit yourself, choose from the menu, and order from the front. They will deliver food for you. You may need to get your own utensils at very busy times. Portion size may be too large for 2 people, so expect to get a take out box (or get your own box).

Review based on our pick up/to-go experience. The food at this location is just okay, especially compared to other Northen Café that we’ve been to. Located at UTC near the back. Parking can be easy or difficult on time of day. The place is a bit dark, but kept clean. Food was ready on time and ready when we came and picked it up. Staff kind of just waits until you approach them rather than trying to be welcoming. It was a slow period too around 3PM. Can't say how the service would be if we ate there. Some foods were better than others Chongqing Crispy chicken was delicious. Good spice, and stay crispy through the drive home and was even great the next day. I’d get this dish again when I’m in the mood for that mala spicy flavor. Sautéed Bok Choi with garlic was fine for what it was. Nothing special, but a solid vegetable dish. The Zha Jiang Noodles were the most disappointing. The cucumbers really should’ve been put in a separate container for a to-go order, When it’s packaged with the noodles and meat, it just looks sad. The meat wasn’t well minced, I’ll get lumps of meat even after mixing. Some of my problems with this dish is that the meat was basically a salt bomb. Almost impossible to eat, especially when you’re getting huge lumps of overly salted meat. The dish itself has a very strong ginger flavor. It’s not well balanced so you feel like you’re eating Salty Ginger noodles some cucumber. Overall, this Northern Café is just okay. Some good and passable dishes, but a poorly executed dish soured our opinion of the place

Wowwwww… tried this place for the first time tonight for dinner and I was blown away!! I ordered the Chongqing chicken and spicy pork wontons with white rice and loved everything. Service was fast for dinner time and the cashier was so kind and helpful and even gave me some recommendations too. The chicken was just the right amount of spicy and the wontons were some of my favorite I’ve had. Portions are also big enough to share. I wish I lived closer so I could come here more often. Easy parking too. I will be back…

I had zero expectations for this place in all honesty. But the hotpot was actually really deep and very filling even for my fat ahh and tasted great with a lot of variety. The portions are great for a decent price, they have a table with water and utensils and stuff, and their beef noodles were insanely tender. Highly recommend!

I had a disappointing experience during my visit, rating it a 1 out of 10. The staff seemed disengaged and inattentive, requiring me to get up three times just to ask for basic items like napkins, salt, and a spoon. Additionally, when I requested another item, they simply ignored me. This was my first visit, and it was far from enjoyable; I felt overlooked and unvalued. To make matters worse, I had to call for assistance twice just to place my order. Given the tipping culture, it’s frustrating to feel obligated to tip, especially after such a lackluster experience. I won’t be returning.