Lotus Cafe
“My good to place for take out and delivery, it is hard to beat if you live in the Hackensack and Teaneck area!!!”
“I'm not Chinese so I don't know what I'm talking about but this place is best of the lot in Bergen County.”
“Lotus Cafe was a pleasant surprise since its location is a small store front in a strip mall adjacent to Home Depot.”
Lotus Cafe
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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The Story: Had Lotus cafe a couple years ago – decided to check it out again.
Food:
Not good at all. Nothing is seasoned correctly. I feel like this place is catered to people with no taste buds.
Decor: Okay size dining room but it has a musky feel to it.
Price: $60 for a casserole dish and a beef stir fry. Not worth it.
Service: Service is average.
Parking & Finding the Place: This part is easy at least. Located in the same shopping center as the Home Depot, Port of Call, Staples and Applebees.
Additional Thoughts/Tips:
When we came in, they seated our table of 5 people quickly.
It's BYOB so that's awesome. We had our bottles of wine ready.
The food was pretty good. I let my parents order since they know which dishes to order that are best. Everything we had was decent. Not the best authentic Chinese food I had but it will do.
However, the waiter seemed a little annoyed with the fact that we didn't order a vegetable dish. We had ordered about 4 large entrees to be shared in the middle. He kept trying to push another dish on us. We asked if we had to order an entree per person – he said no, it's not a requirement. But kept pushing us to order another.
We said we'd order an additional dish if we're still hungry. He seemed so annoyed by that! I don't know what his problem was?!
But the rest of the staff seemed decent. I may go back but I'm not rushing to do so.
I went to Home Depot tonight with hubby and we decided to come to Lotus Cafe to eat because we were very hungry after shopping, and Lotus Cafe is right at the same plaza. Big mistake!!!!
We walked in at the restaurant around 8:30pm and we were greeted immediately by the host. She was a very pleasant lady and the restaurant is spacious and looks very clean.
We ordered calamari with salt and pepper and KaoFu ( this is made of gluten and a very popular cold dish in traditional chinese cuisine) for appetizers, and hubby order beef stew noodle soup, and I ordered a similar version of beef stew noodle soup but had beef tendon and Chinese vermicelli instead.
The fried calamari is not bad, this was the only dish we ordered tonigth eatable.
Our beef noodle soups were a big MEH, the soup broth is bland with no flavor, the beef and tendon were overcooked, and the noodle and Chinese vermicelli were really soggy and had no chew at all.
The KaoFu I ordered was served last, and while I put it into mouth I was very surprised that it was really hot!! It was not supposed to be hot as this is a "cold dish plate", it was not supposed to be hot.
When our check came, I asked the waiter why was my KaoFu dish served hot and he told me because not a lot of customer ordered this dish so they have it frozen and microwave while people ordered it. Can you believe this? The cold dish is supposed to be made fresh daily and served fresh. Serving cold Dish hot and charged $8.95 is beyond ridiculous.
This place probably serves fine Americanized Chinese food, but they don't know how to make authentic Chinese food, if you are looking for authentic Chinese food, please don't come here.
I gave it 2 stars because the restaurant is clean and the host makes you feel very pleasant, but the food was a big disappointment and over priced.
I will never return.
When I was younger this was one of my favorite spots to come eat lunch with my mom. This restaurant is also BYOB which is a nice added touch and is located in Hackensack where the Home Depot shopping plaza is. I remember eating their golden sesame chicken and thinking it was the most amazing thing in the world, unfortunately my last nights ordering experience is leaving me to feel differently. (also my first time every ordering out from here, I always dine in usually)
We placed an order for one golden sesame chicken with white rice, beef and mixed veggies with white rice, sweet and sour chicken with pork fried rice, 2 spring rolls, and a singapore mei fun. Everything arrived in about 30 mins from the time I placed my order. As we divided out the order between everyone I could already tell that my experience wasn't going to be the same as all my other experiences with lotus cafe. My golden sesame chicken was more soggy than crispy.. the spring rolls were amazing though along with the singapore mei fun that my friend let me try. The sweet and sour chicken was nothing to brag about and the beef and broccoli was just alright from what I was told. I feel it would of been way better eating at the restaurant fresh and crisp but I have learned my lesson about take out from here.
I am going to try Lotus Cafe out again but I will definitely be enjoying it in the restaurant this time around.
I can't rave about this place enough. Their menu is extremely extensive and everything on it is amazing. It's typical Chinese food but a step above Chinese takeout. It is such a hidden gem in Hackensack. I have been here a few times with my boyfriend. He is from Hackensack and used to come here all the time. Their wonton soup is really tasty-the wontons are very thinly wrapped so they are not too doughy. This was the first place my boyfriend tried scallion pancakes and he was HOOKED after that day. Their general tsos is such a tastier version of the standard you'd expect from a takeout place. I recently ordered the beef and mushroom casserole and it was a humongous portion of tasty goodness. I was so pleased. The staff is also really on point with refilling waters and just their level of attentiveness in general is worth noting. Excellent restaurant.
My first visit to Lotus Cafe. The staff was very friendly and the service was good. It is usually a good sign when all the diners are Asian.
The lunch specials were a great bargain and they are available on Saturdays (12-5) also, a big plus.
A hidden gem in Hackensack, literally. Unless you know where Lotus Cafe is or have someone tell you to check it out, you will probably never stumble upon this place in your travels, but it is definitely worth stopping by. This hole in the wall is in the lot next to Riverside Square and behind the Avalon. You can't go wrong with any dish you have there, the food I've gotten has always been pretty good. If I had any compliant, it would be the service. Not that the waitstaff isn't attentive, just a little abrupt. I can deal with that for this delish food though 🙂
This is the fastest Chinese food place that you can stop in for lunch in the area. The have a decent lunch menu where most items are under $9. They are quick to bring out your drinks followed by soup and the entrees arrive as soon as you are done with your soup. The food is pretty good and their fotune cookies are chocolate, yum.