Canteen 82
“There are so few good Chinese restaurants left on the UWS, and I love that this one is not the usual, average, gloppy, oily restaurant.”
“A solid meal though, and hands down we will definitely be back for the xiao long bao!”
“Forget the excruciating wait at Joe's Shanghai and check out this lovely spot in the Upper West Side.”
Canteen 82
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
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
6 reviews
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I don't know about any former expats in NYC, but GOOD dim sum in NYC is hard to find unless you're going to Chinatown or Flushing (if you
know of somewhere, hit me up!).
I came here once last spring to get my gwai lo dim sum on. We were seated, and then ignored. Nobody came over to our table to take our order. After about 15 minutes we left a nasty tip on Foursquare (regarding the service being better in mainland PRC). Why they wouldn't serve two gwai lo, I don't know. I've been to some great dim sum places (Tim Ho Man in Mong Kok HK, the original Din Tai Fong in Taipei) and never had worse service.
Anyway, we were famished and walking around the UWS looking for food and passed over several restaurants for their B rating (no thank you!) until we got to Canteen 82 and decided to give it a second chance.
Walked in, seated immediately, drinks taken in an instant and returned quickly thereafter. Server was great and very friendly.
We got an order of cha siu bao (steamed pork dumplings) – delicious and fluffy, xiao long bao (steamed pork soup dumplings) – soup a little bland, and an order of Peking duck (way too much skin and way too little meat for me).
All in all, it hit the spot, but wasn't phenomenal and was on the pricey side.
Came here the Friday of 4th of July wknd. My one buddy always mentions Joe Shanghai's of which I've yet to try but went here with my cousins since this seems to be his spot for soup dumplings even tho he's on the Upper East side. We got one order of the crab soup dumplings and 4 orders of the pork soup dumplings. Our server was a half Japanese beauty with pig tails and nice. Each order comes in 4's and you can easily eat a few orders to yourself if you had to lol. Better we had only one of the crab soup dumplings Which were good but not on the same flavor level of the Lori soup dumpling. I liked that the dumpling was thick enough where it didn't just break apart. Tear off the top, put in a drop or two of soy sauce (or not), sip, and enjoy each bite that will leave you wanting to come back. Unsure how long of a wait it usually would be since city was dead this wknd but it sounds like it'd b less of a wait than Joe Shanghai's for a quicker access to some awesome soup dumplings!!
Still searching for good takeout Chinese food in upper west. This place is definitely less greasy but also very expensive. If I ordered again would stick to the scallion chicken, duck bun (best thing on menu), and soup. Mango is good but fried tofu is too chewy. The gailan (Chinese broccoli) is not overcooked but under seasoned. The soup is fresh but bit overly salty. The food is fresh and not greasy but not well seasoned and expensive.The pan fried veggie dumplings homemade but travel poorly (I should have known that). Finally the eggplant shrimp had delicious huge shrimp but the eggplant was undercooked and flavorless.
I was having a rare craving for cold sesame noodles and decided to check out Canteen 82. I'm so glad I did – the noodles were excellent (and cheap!). I'll definitely get them again – and I look forward to trying their soup dumplings!
Eating at Canteen 82 is like flying to Cleveland to catch a Broadway show. The food here is sadly mediocre, which is inexcusable when you consider that just a few subways stops away lies the culinary paradise that is NYC's Chinatown.
Dumplings were really meh, pork buns were sub par, Coke was flat and tasted funny– however, service was kind and helpful.
I was so excited to grab some dim sum style dishes closer to my neighborhood, but the shorter trip isn't worth it.
For a sort of homestyle quasi-pan-Asian place, Canteen 82 turned out to have terrific dishes across the board. We tried a little bit of everything (we didn't do family style, stayed ordering individually for a party of six) and it was all quite good. The very large tom yam was very nicely spiced, and the beef basil was awash with fresh basil and deftly done meat in a nice thin sauce. The pan-fried dumplings were excellent, as were the edamame we had done as a side/appetizer. Of particular note, while I'm not a martini guy and rarely order "shtick" drinks, the ginger and lychee martinis were both quite interesting and pretty original-tasting. You have to like ginger, or lychee, to order them, and ignore the rules of dry martinis, but they were fantastic starters. Service was friendly and prompt, and the dishes were brought out in the order they were cooked, not left under the heat lamp, a feature in our book. The decor and arrangement are a little odd but it's not at hole in the wall level, and I for one don't mind being able to see the kitchen (again, a feature, not a bug). For a neighborhood-style joint, well recommended (our host says the takeout is excellent too).