Shanghai Cafe

NYC Health Violations

by johnny newyork at Citysearch

Used to love this place. Now it's nasty and gone downhill. I found a roach in my water the other day. My friend found hair and in his soup dumpling. He missed work for 2 days de to food poisoning. The NYC Health department just cited this place for 20 health violation twice.

Violation points: 20

Violations were cited in the following area(s).

Sanitary Violations

1) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.

2) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.

3) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

4) Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared.

5) Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.

great place; one stupid rude waitress

by framura at Citysearch

This is my favorite Chinese restaurant, been going there for over 10 years.

Check out their cold appetizers, smoked fish, preserved duck, spicy five jewels, vegaratarian mock duck,..black mushrooms wrapped w/ bean curd skin.

There is one stupid rude waitress...she's short (around 5 feet) and wears a ponytail...the rest of the staff is pretty good.

• Pros: best soup dumplings , cheap , great food

Have right attitude, get good service

by ccfoodie at Citysearch

Note this is now called Shanghai Cafe, not Shanghai Gourmet.

Despite all the comments I've seen about unpleasant servers here, I decided to give it a try, as the food itself seemed quite compelling. I've found that if you approach the customer-restaurant relationship with the right attitude, people that might usually tend to crankiness will actually warm up and be relatively pleasant. If you are quiet and courteous, servers will respond in kind. I also recommend being ready to order when the server first comes, not ordering off menu, eating all or nearly all of the food, and waiting patiently when things are busy. Also, don't skimp on the tip because of perceived injustices.

Anyway, I ordered the spicy stewed beef with noodles in soup ($4.95), the steamed tiny buns with crab meat and pork ($6.95), and a hot ginger tea ($2.25). The stewed beef and tea arrived within five minutes. The beef broth was delicious, spicy/salty/sweet, and the beef itself very flavorful. The noodles weren't that exciting, but they just seemed like an accompaniment anyway, so no big deal. The ginger tea arrived very hot and was a good level of gingery zinginess but not overwhelming.

A few minutes later, the buns arrived. These "tiny" buns were actually pretty substantial--way too big to fit into my soup spoon--and there were 8 of them. The waitress thoughtfully reminded me that they were very juicy and that the juice was hot, so I should be careful. I was careful and avoided any juicy disasters. As for the filling, the flavor was quite good and the texture was exemplary. The meaty part avoided the hard ball you can often get, and instead was tender to the teeth but held together well so you didn't have to eat it all in one bite.

Everything was good enough--and not overly heavy--to motivate me to eat all of the buns and 90% of the soup.

The waitress brought me the check within a couple minutes of my finishing and she even smiled when she thanked me--admittedly a rarity there. Others thanked me as well when I left. Overall a very satisfying experience.

• Pros: Really tasty food and nice decor
• Cons: Bad background music

NEVER GO HERE, MOST HORRENDOUS SERVICE EVER

by californiagirl6641 at Citysearch

The food was decent, but nothing to laud over. The service on the other hand was the worst I've ever had the misfortune to experience. When I asked them to take out eggs out of a vegan dish because one of my friend's had to fast for Lent, they threw a fit. They also decided that it was their moral duty to give all of us a lecture on ordering dishes afterward. Finally, the cherry on top of the icing came in the form for an avid demand for more tip, even though we gave them 12%, which was generous considering their treatment of us. NEVER AGAIN WILL I OR ANY OF MY FRIENDS GO TO THIS PLACE. IF YOU WISH TO BE ANGERED BEYOND ALL MEANS, THEN PLEASE VISIT THIS PLACE.

• Pros: Example: best croissants in town
• Cons: TERRIBLE SERVICE, GREEDY SERVERS

Amazing soup dumplings and more!

by goldbug at Citysearch

Carb lovers take note, this is your paradise. Shanghai cafe's soup dumplings are among the best I've ever had and they are constantly being made fresh. The restaurant's various noodle dishes are awesome and their wine chicken is a treat with a kick. Service is prompt and the decor is nice enough for a date or just hanging out with friends. For a reasonable price ($10-15 a head) you'll walk out stuffed silly.

• Pros: Excellent food, good service, great value
• Cons: Can get very crowded in the evenings, get there early!