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California Cafe offers western and Chinese delights at a great price. Located in Lansdown Park Shopping Center in Richmond.
Mrs. C and I went here because the giant orange sign outside commanded us to. Maybe we should have thought twice. The place is nicely decorated, and it does indeed have a big piano in the middle, but it was also somewhat dirty.
The service was okay, and we had our menus after a brief wait. Since they had a lunch set, I ordered satay beef noodle with borscht and dong cafe. My lunch buddy had Indonesian rice. The rice was tasty and the raisins (yes, raisins) actually complemented the curry flavor. As for the noodles, the sauce had no flavor, but strangely the texture of the noodles was good. The borscht was merely okay, but I would prefer if it had even a few molecules of beef. The iced coffee was weak, and that was a total letdown.
Overall the food just wasn't that good, and we left with scowls of disappointment on our faces. At least it was cheap.
Not Recommended.
Food: Ordered a mini set meal for lunch. I had the Malaysian fried noodle and it was ok - lots of shrimp but really quite bland. I've def. had much better fried noodle elsewhere. Steaks do not look very appetizing. Sauces taste like it came out of a can.
Service: Not very organized and spotty at best.
Ambiance: Quite nice on the inside and if we hadn't been in a hurry, we couldve stayed and talked for a while.
I never liked HK style Cafe's and this place reinforced my opinion. The menu has lots to chose from but it tells me that they don't do anything well. Had the beef with egg. For $8.95 it was not that inexpensive. I left half on my plate as it was just bad. Companions had the pork chop on rice which was also bad and not finished. Baked seafood rice was average if you like the wet creamy sauce on your food. Cash only and food came in dribs and drabs. Just stay away and don't waste your time or money.
If I could give zero stars for service and ambiance, I would.
We had lunch here a while back and it was just OK. The room is dark and in the air lingered a faint odor reminiscent of smelly feet or salted fish. Service was surly, food decent and portions small. Food came quick, though.
Last weekend we were in the area and wanted a quick lunch. We chose the California Cafe.
We walked in and waited to be greeted. We continued to wait with a bunch of other people. The staff at the counter ignored us. In zooms an elderly lady who shoulders my husband out of the way and asks for a table of 4. The staff accommodate her and ignore the rest of us. Hmm...I nudged my husband not so gently to walk to the counter and put our name down. We wait for another 10 minutes. The "hostess" finally deigns to start showing people to tables (even though many tables have been empty).
When she gets to us, she tries to give us the table right by (almost in) the waiting area. Since we have waited for so long, I felt slightly indignant but said to her politely that we would prefer a table inside, and motioned to a few of the empty tables. She screeched in reply that the table wasn't set yet. I said we would wait. I also pointed to another table that was empty and set.
She again screeched that she has 3 people waiting and wanted to give that table to them. I said to her that we could take this set table now and when she finished "setting" the other table, she could give that table to them. She then screeched that there were two tables of 3 waiting. There was no 2-sets of 3 people waiting.
My husband and I were of the same mind because we both then turned around and walked out. We went to a pretty cool new restaurant around the corner in the mall.
Not only do I vehemently urge everyone NOT to dine here, I also want to point out that the outrageously good review the previous reviewer gave this restaurant is highly suspect.
California is a great place to go if you wanting some fast good eats for a really good price. It's even better for stopping that night time craving. They have these mini set meals and for under $10, you get a nice sized entree and a drink. If you're starving, opt for the soup and add $2.
The cafe is well-staffed, so flagging someone down isn't too bad of a task. And unlike many chinese establishments, they accept credit cards!
The interior is well decorated and something you wouldn't expect for a cafe. Walls are draped with sheers, nice looking wine cabinets and a baby grand in the middle of the restaurant. I've heard it used to be a high class steakhouse before that didn't make it.
Favorite items on the menu: Singapore curry rice noodles, ginger fried rice, roast chicken on noodles.
I've been here several times. My mom really likes the place.
They have pretty good prices for the amount of food they give you. It is a typical HK cafe. I think that some of their dishes are pretty good, while others should be taken off the menu. Watch out for any "tomato sauce" dish, because that is just ketchup and water. Also, sausages = hotdogs. And be aware that the pasta will be overcooked, like in most HK cafe style restaurants.
I wouldn't rave about this restaurant, but I will probably be going back there. It is in a convenient location, and there is lots of parking available.
Terrible restaurant. We've been to numerous HK cafe-type restaurants and this one is by-far, one of the worst. I had spaghetti with fried pork chop, the pork chop was not so great and the spaghetti tasted spoiled - as they were a week old! The service is slow and poor and the waisttress gave us lousy attitude. Anyway, as there are so many better HK cafe's in Richmond, we are definitely not going back to this one.
I don't recall having a bad experience at this establishment.
the ambience is high end (although admittedly it's overdue for renovations).
in terms of the food, for the most part it's good comfort food and one certainly can't complain about the price.
the only confusing thing is why a baby grand piano is located in the middle of the dining room...................but is always mute
the prices are very affordable, and the sets are a great catch. but there is nothing really special about this restaruant that would want me to go back again and again. though the atmosphere is great, the waiters are always really busy. but that does not make the food come slower at all, in fact, the order is faster, if there are a lot of people that order the same thing as you ( the chef makes a big batch all at once).
it is not one of my favourite resturaunts because it is pretty plain and simple, all the dishes you can find elsewhere. but the prices are something i do look forward to, and the decor is worth the wait.
Food and price-wise this cafe is very standard. I don't really have any sort of real positive or negative impression about this place - it just sort of exists.
The menu is huge, as with any other HK cafe and there is the standard "Soup+Entree+Drink" for 6.99 special during the afternoon.
The resaurant itself is very clean and comfortable. Service is quite slow everytime I've been there, especially if you pay with anything besides cash.
Again, no real positives or negatives. Not my personal favourite in the HK Cafe category but would probably go again if I happen to be shopping at Lansdowne mall.
It was ok before, but now since it's closure last year, it just went downhill bad in a fast way. The past 6 times I got sick from eating there. Can't say much worse than that. And I didn't even want to eat there. You know how it is. You go there trying to give them another chance and you still end up sick from their food.
I'm sorry to say, it's just not the same. Is it new owners?
My problem is I'm now afraid to eat out at places like these cause they cheap out on the food at the expense of their customers.
Another one of the many HK cafes out there. Namely good value, huge menu selection served up quick. The look of this place is better than most of the competitors though and it is a pretty comfortable place to dine, on par w/ some slightly more upscale restaurants. Food is quite delicious, and again, all the options are big on value. The mini meals, the sizzling plate combos etc. Service is what you'd expect from this type of restaurant, nothing noteworthy, there when u need it. I'd say this is one of the better HK cafes out there.
Came here on a Saturday night. Ordered a sausage, crab meat pasta with tomato sauce. When the pasta came, it had some canned corn and peas on it, sausage (just the skinny wieners- not even "hot dog" stand sausages), overcooked pasta way past al dente, and the sauce tasted like ketchup / tomato paste mixed with cream (there were hardly any tomatos in it). Also, the crab meat was missing, and when we told the server about it, she took the plate back to the kitchen, (without any apologies). Another server then took the same plate back out, still crab meat less. When we told the server again, the plate again went back to the kitechn. When it came back out the second time, it was the same plate of pasta with some like 5 pcs of crab meat on it. By then it was cold. This incident speaks for itself in terms of food and servicE!
I've only been there twice and one was a good experience and one was a terrible experience. The first time I went it was about midnight and there was pretty much nobody there and our waitress happened to know one of the people in our group so it was good. The second time I went there was only one server and she ignored us for most of the time. It took forever just for her to take our order and when it we were finished we sat around for a long time before we could get her attention to get us the bill. She was also very attitudey. The food and pricing is typical of an HK style cafe. The decor is nice with the piano in the middle and what not. Overall, I wouldn't bother with this place again after my last experience.
i came here after snowboarding w/ some friends. we were looking for typical HK cafe-style food and that's what we got. i was kinda confused by the semi-fancy decor and the grand piano in the middle with apparently never gets played. also there's a fancy wine shelf just inside the entrance with wine on display under lamps. isn't light exposure bad for the wine? oh well
the food was ok, but in large portions. we all got a "daily special' which contains a fish, pork, and chicken fillet/steak with rice and all the regular combo fixings, all for $10. pretty good deal.
oh and the air conditioning was on at full blast. middle of winter and the air con is on. how stupid is that? i had to eat dinner with my winter jacket on.
Returning to this restaurant has made me realize that my first review was not accurate. This is why:
We were seated quite promptly by the hostess and our order was taken within a timely manner. However, there was a different story for our food. My mom ordered her own mini meal and it came 10 minutes after ordering. That seems fair and it is indeed. My sister and I had already waited 40 minutes for our 2 dishes and the dishes STILL did not appear yet (by the way, the restaurant had only a few tables) We watched our mother eat her dish and she finished the dish before our food came. (Of course she finished her dish in 40 minutes, who wouldn't).
When we told the waitress A to check on our order, she rolled her eyes at us and gave an annoyed sigh. We did not hear back from her.
We then waved at waitress B and told her that we had been waiting 40 minutes for our food, she said (and I quote, from waitress B) "Kitchen wery busy. Dey haf to wash wok afta make 1 dish." I told her that do they not do that regularly? Then, I told her I wanted to speak with the manager. The manager said pretty much the same thing. After waiting an hour, we finally got one of our dishes. As we ate hungrily, our second dish came 20 minutes afterwards.
I was obviously unsatisfied with the service I received from their low class and ill trained waitresses. I was also not pleased with the way the manger handled the situation because when I left, I told her which waitress did what and she just nodded her head and said “Ok, Ok” which made me realize that she was not going to address what had went on that day.
Do not come to this restaurant. I am not the only person who is telling you this; the person below me is too. If two people are telling you not to come to this restaurant that is already too many. You should take our advice.
Used to come here a lot because of ample parking and convenience. Food and service was average. What stopped us from going was the news that it was shut down by food inspectors several times because of pest infestation! Heard someone found a bug in their food.
Makes me cringe but i still see lots of people eating there. Now that its under new ownership, we might give them a 2nd chance.
I've been there twice since it changed ownership recently. Compare to the time with the previous owner, the food/drink is way better than before and that's why I went for a 2nd time. They offer the same menu during lunch and dinner, and there are quite a lot of selectoins on the menu, just like any other Hong Kong sytle cafe restaurant. You're looking to spend ~$10 per head including tips, which is okay for dinner. Just give it another try.
Been to this place a couple of times. Convenient because of location and proximity while shopping at the Mall. I'm pretty sure the idea of the interior design and lighting plus seating are designed to provide a more upscale feel. But really, the food is very mediocre and still searching for some better flavour. Prices are okay if you're dining light and on a date where you're planning to hit a dessert place elsewhere.
I've been to this restaurant twice. The first time was not bad, but I'm definitely not coming back after the second experience. I find both the hostess and the waitress to be extremely haughty. The hostess didn't even greet us with a "hello". She just showed us to our table and took our order quickly as if she had better things to attend to even though the restaurant wasn't even that busy. During the entire time, our waitress only came to serve us our food and truly said absolutely nothing to us. (If I didn't see her chatting w/ her co-workers, I would have thought she's mute!) We were definitely not rude to them because we thanked them a few times for bringing our tea, food, and bill but they never even bothered to say anything courteous back to us. Even when we left, neither of them said "good bye" or "thank you". Considering the food is nothing special, I'm definitely not coming back here ever again, even if it's free!
(FYI, this is the first time I've written a restaurant review. I normally don't bother with this sort of thing because I find that most restaurant services are tolerable no matter how bad it is. However, I found this experience to be terribly unpleasant because my mom and I certainly don't deserve to be treated this way and I only want to inform others who may actually want to try dining here to avoid this place.)
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