Cafe Evergreen
“One thing to note however, is that the prices for delivery is cheaper than that of eating in the restaurant itself.”
“On the UES I see mediocre restaurants packed and some of the real gems (e.g. Sables sit down service on 2nd Ave) half empty.”
“New location but still on the Upper East Side.”
Cafe Evergreen
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Mediocre at best. I decided to eat here given the good reviews. However, I was not at all impressed. Not the quality I was expecting for the price tag. Wonton soup seemed fresh but not a fan of seafood dumplings (where was the pork?) and nothing accompanying the broth. BBQ spare ribs were fatty, and while meaty, lacked flavor and a high price tag for the size. The dim sum soup dumplings were all flour and little pork and could have used more liquid. NOTHING near as tasty as you would find in chinatown. The brown rice was overstated. The biggest disappointment was the sesame chicken. It was all breading and slimy. I don't understand how one could even argue that this is the best Chinese on the UES. Sorry. I will not be returning. I wish I could get a full refund!
My family has been ordering from Evergreen for many years, since it was at it's former location. I have never even eaten in the new location, but whenever I am in NY, we get delivery.
Although I now live in South Florida, I grew up in NYC, so it is such a treat to get good Chinese takeout. Cafe Evergreen's fare might be pricier and not as "authentic" as Chinatown (or even parts of Queens these days) but it quite tasty. It certainly is good enough to give me my "fix" after the vast Chinese food wasteland in South Florida.
Cafe Evergreen has many types of dim sum: Har Gow, Shrimp & Scallop, Shu Mei, Veggie, Pan Seared Pork, Shanghai Soup, etc. Evergreen has a great variety and they are all tasty & delicious ($6.50). Most of the time they are delivered steaming hot to your door.
I have tasted more of the menu than I could ever describe. I particularly love Evergreen's veggie dishes. My favorite is the Dry Sautéed Eggplant and String Beans (12.50) soft eggplant and greens beans with massive flavor and just the right amount of heat. It also does not have gloppy sauce…..perfection. I also like the Moo Shu Vegetable ($13.50….make sure they do not forget the plum sauce!)
Every shrimp dish we have had has been good. Tonight for the first time in many years we ordered Prawn with Lobster Sauce & Minced Pork. At $19.50, this was not the Shrimp & Lobster Sauce of my youth. These prawns were huge and the "sauce" was thick & delicious.
Tonight we also had Beef & String Beans which was quite good. This is not on the menu but you can ask for it.
Cafe Evergreen, can you please open up a southern location? South Broward County is beautiful in the winter…..
Ordered 6 party trays to be delivered for a hospital party and was extremely impressed by the service. Monique is very willing to be negotiable and will help cater to your needs. We ordered quite a spread for approximately 30 people, and because we were hospital employees, she lent us serving platters and warmers, which was then picked up by their delivery person after the party. Monique was very knowlegable and provided dish recommendations and reasonable pricing for catering. I actually shopped around a few other restaurants too, and found Cafe Evergreen to offer the best service and pricing in the area.
Highly recommended for catering.
Deduct 1 star because it was extremely oily/greasy.
I was craving dim sum and so we decided to eat here for lunch on a rainy day. Instead of hiking it up to Flushing for legit Chinese food, we caught an Über ride from Manhattan to Cafe Evergreen in hopes that the Yelpers were right about this place.
First impression: looks clean and updates with modern design and amenities. Must be a hip joint.
Upon ordering, we find out that dim sum is ordered via menu on weekdays… No carts. (Weird.) Not only that, but I had to ASK to be served tea… (Very unlike other dim sum places that I am used to.)
Alas, we ordered:
– Shanghai soup dumplings – these were pretty awful and had a strange sour taste to them
– Sticky rice – very small portion. Not sure why it was served unwrapped from the leaves
– Crab claws – tiniest f*cking crab claws I've ever had…
– Scallion pancake – oily mess
– Shrimp dumplings (har gow) – these were the only thing on the table that was edible and it took probably half an hour to come out of the kitchen
All in all, the bill was about $50 including tip. This was the WORST dim sum I've ever had.. Let alone the most ridiculously expensive. Bad decision on my part – we should've gone to Flushing. Everything we ate was disappointing (minus the saving grace of the har gow). Service was mediocre but not good enough for me to give them the third star…
Listen carefully:
hard to find AUTHENTIC Chinese restaraunt w/o the messy Chinatown setting.
For those of you crave sesame chicken, you'll be home too.
WoW factor? not much, considering the suspicious neon-light decor…. However, when in doubt, listen up:
hard to find AUTHENTIC Chinese restaraunt w/o the messy Chinatown setting.
Skip the lunch specials and all other dishes and go straight for the dim sum. Seriously. The dim sum at Evergreen gives the top Chinatown joints a run for their money. Granted, you won't find Chinatown prices here, but it's still worth every penny. Service was quick and friendly.
I would order all of the below dim sum plates again in a heartbeat. Our favorites (in order):
– cilantro shrimp dumplings
– green chive/pork dumplings
– seared turnip squares
– scallop dumplings
– steamed, shredded duck rolls
– eggplant/shrimp sandwich
Evergreen, I love you but I hate you. I ordered something new for delivery two nights ago: Mongolian lamb with ginger and scallions. It cost $18.50, which is on the high side for Chinese food even on the Upper East Side.
With that being said, I'm willing to pay it if the quality is there and it's a decent portion. It tasted delicious! Even my boyfriend (who is very discerning about Chinese food and claims there is no exceptional Chinese food on the UES) liked it.
But the portion size was just ridiculously small. I held a standard size plastic fork up next to the entree for scale.
I mean, even if Evergreen is trying to be the Shun Lee of the UES, it's actually not the best strategy.
The portion size made me wonder what families do if they want to order Evergreen. You'd need 4 of those to feed a family of two parents and two kids, totaling close to $80?? They'd probably just order Szechuan Kitchen or Six Happiness at that point, even if it meant sacrificing some quality.
The portion size is the only thing stopping me (and my boyfriend) from ordering from Evergreen all the time. Instead of ordering 20 times a month, I order two or three times a month. And I love the food at Evergreen!
And I know from reading the other reviews that I'm not the only one who feels this way.
So in case you're wondering, the rating breakdown for that delivery meal is as follows:
Lamb with scallion: 4/5
Portion size: 1/5
Average of both ratings: 2.5/5
I'll round it up to a 3 because I like the food but come onnnnn with the bite-size, rip off portions.
We were really impressed with Cafe Evergreen. I was in the mood for dim sum even though it was dinner time. Shrimp dumplings (har gow) – excellent, soup dumplings (shang lo bow) – excellent, steamed pork dumplings – excellent, scallion pancakes – excellent but the shredded duck rolls – were absolutely phenomenal!
We did order soup, a noodle dish and one entrée which were very good as well. Granted the bill was more than what you might pay in Forest Hills or elsewhere but we didn't mind. The wait staff was attentive and cordial. Even a gentleman in suit and tie (owner?) inquired our level of approval which we replied positive.
We will definitely be back.