This is a restaurant that is NOT friendly or welcoming to minorities. My wife and I visited during our stay in NYC in January 2023 and the staff could not have possibly been more rude. We asked for a substitute for a dish that had pork and were looked at as if it were sinful to make such a suggestion. We also noticed how the same waiter engaged other customers sitting across & behind us and how those interactions were quite different. On top of that, the food is below average based on other NYC Chinese establishments. Best advice, stay away! read more

Can't beat a combo roast duck and roast pork on rice and cabbage for $6.50! Free hot Chinese tea when you sit down and food comes in 2 minutes. No frills and no fillers! Gets the job done and curb the cravings! read more

218 Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - New York, New York

The "Peking Duck" is just a regular roast duck that cost twice as much but you do get a few onions and a few burrito wraps and sauce. The Young chow fried rice is rice mixed in soy sauce and canned peas with frozen shrimps for $10. Total rip off read more

Delicious, easy, cheap Cantonese food. Normally best for take out and the portions are huge for the price!

Chinese cuisine A quick eats chinese place. I've eaten here for several years now, even through it's last incarnation and renovation. When I want to have a quick rice dish, I usually always come here first. Their prices are very good and their portions are just right. A nice menu full of different choices of rice dishes and noodles. If you are not feeling rice or noodle dishes, you can always order any of the menu items as a rice dish. You can also go up to the front and choose from the many laid out dishes that have been prepared for take out, to have on your rice dish, varying from tofu, sweet and sour pork, buddhist delight and various amounts of veggies. I normally order the roast pork and roast pig over rice. I've had the salt and pepper pork and salt and pepper squid here and it's good too. And for those who like wonton noodle soup, it's good here too! There isn't anything on the menu that I can complain about. There is a waiter here that is very friendly and chatty with you, even with non-english speakers. Mind you, I eat at this place alot because a distant uncle of mine works here, but it's not like the food is cooked special for me. read more

I ordered a Peking duck and fried rice and let me tell you that this is no Peking duck. Just an ordinary roast duck presented as Peking duck. The pancake was dry and the fried rice was bland AF. I do however give thumbs up for the service that was given. The waiter was attentive and really kind to us. Pity about the food. Won't be coming back. read more

Whodaheck put a space between the O and the K? So obscure I almost had to add a business. Since I had a Curry Don for lunch today and BonBon Chicken for dinner the previous night, I needed some roughage. On the way back home, I glanced through the window here and saw some Jai laid out. Jai is what Chinese people call Buddhist food, as it's all vegetarian. Just what I needed..BINGO! They also sell some authentic Cantonese dishes such as sliced taro and fatty pork. Considering the fact that in the immediate area you can get 4 combos + soup for $4, this wasn't THAT cheap. -Jai ($4) - wood ear mushrooms, cabbage, tiny mushroom caps, sliced carrots, baby corn, broccoli, fried tofu, water chestnuts, vermicelli, snow peas, it wasn't gourmet but it got the job done, at least it wasn't as greasy as I had imagined a la seeing my own reflection on the tofu. read more

Maybe I was just really hungry, but damn, that was some serious five star food. My brother dropped in here a couple of weeks ago to grab a bite to go, and when he got a pile of deliciously fatty duck slices over a generous mound of sticky white rice for only $4.50, I knew I would have to come back. We got: Peking style pork chop -- crispy but melt in your mouth tender, with a sweet red sauce. The perfect pork chop. Deep fried crab -- small hard shell crab, but with plenty of meat. Crab innards are delicious. Just enough crispy batter. Hot and juicy. Yummy greens and peppers to go along with. Shrimp fried rice -- Succulent baby shrimp and plenty of egg. Tasty enough to make me almost like peas. The service was actually pretty great too. Prompt, but appropriately so. Friendly, even. This place isn't much to look at, but it's clean and the front kitchen is bustling, which is fun. Highly recommended for a meal that is super cheap, incredibly tasty, and totally filling!!! read more

This place has the best roast meats in Chinatown. Go with the roast duck, soy sauce chicken, or roast pork. The fried rice is a staple and they have a wide array of seafood dishes as well (fresh steamed fish, cantonese style lobster). If you go for dinner, you get the daily soup on the house. read more

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHICKEN THIGH??? =/ I ordered half a chicken to go and when I got home, I realized there was no chicken thigh. How can the chicken thigh be gone?? Did the person chopping the chicken eat it?? Damn this!! I love dark meat too!! Where is the ethics here?? How can they chop the chicken in front of you and not place it in the container?? This is soooo messed up!!! Never ever will I be coming back here!! read more

If I can give this place 218 stars I would! The food here is what my people say 平靚正. Super cheap as the one dolla sign suggests, food is pretty, and damn delicious. This place doesn't sugar coat anything so don't expect white glove service nor clean utensils. Just expect 平靚正! read more

No frills classic Cantonese restaurant! They have been around for a long time and have had kept its menus for years. Always come here when I need my fix of sam bo fan (three meats over rice) or any other Chinese food I may be craving. They are opened for dine in again which is a great plus! Nice and decently spaced area with plastic separators. read more

I can actually call this place my second dining room! I've been coming here w/ my family for years and it never disappoints. The service is exceptional; the staff treats us like we're part of their big family. There is a pretty good selection of entrees and rice dishes. And right after they take your order, they will first serve you their daily soup --- just like a good home-style Chinese meal should be.. If you want something quick and cheap -- you can do a Pick 3 from their hot buffet-style trays out by the front window or roast meat over rice. Fresh steamed fish is always good too! If you crave a specific fish that they don't have fishing in their tanks, the waiter will actually go out to the fish markets on Mott Street to get it. My mom loves their Peking pork; my dad is all about the steamed fish and my sister - loves the black bean snails and the scallion chicken. As for myself, I enjoy their salt and pepper squid and pork... They also offer breakfast now... you can get congee, rice rolls, fried rice and noodles and macaroni! and the pricing is just right for any sized wallet... read more

Service is soooo bad here. They charge extra for everything and don't even tell you before they charge it. How do you NOT have a portion of rice when ordering a dish of chicken or pork???? We had to ask for water 3 times before getting it and then when I asked for a straw, he have me a look and walked away. HOW RUDE???!??!! I guess thats just how they roll here in New York. So on to the food: Our food plates are tossed onto our table, I mean they might as well just throw it to our table from the kitchen. We ordered the spicy roast pork and they brought out a cold plate of bbq pork drenched in table soy sauce. We ordered more things but told them to hold the rest and asked for the check. This review started with 2 stars but unfortunately ended with 1. read more

I ordered a sliced fish congee today since it was across the street from my dentist and it cost me $1.80 more than it does at my usual congee spot. Plus, it only tasted half as good. If you asked me, $1.80 is a big deal if you're buying food in Chinatown. That's practically half of how much my congee would've costed if I went to my usual spot. Absurdity. Never coming back here for congee again. read more

I've been eating food here for nearly fifteen years and without this place, I could not have become the healthy and strong adult I am today. Here is why you should eat here: - Menu is very diverse, ranging from seafood to Congee to Peking duck. The food here is very traditional; exactly the same as the food you would eat in China. - Clean establishment. - Waiters are very friendly and professional, fluent in English and Chinese. One of them is also fluent in Spanish. - Lighting is bright and air conditioning is great. - Prices are very reasonable. These are just some of the reasons that make this place one of the best in my book so what are you waiting for? Come and try it out! read more

It's been over six years since I first reviewed this place, and I am happy to note that OK 218 has been extremely consistent over the last six years. The owner, two-person regular waitstaff, the lady behind the take-out counter, and from what I remember, even the cooks have all not changed. In fact, this restaurant has got to be one of the few in Chinatown that has not changed much, if at all, during the last ten years. Most importantly, however, the food has largely remained unchanged over the years. My favorite, the beef, egg, and tomato on rice, is, in my opinion, still the best of its kind in Chinatown. Their "Beijing-style" fried pork chops and salt and pepper crispy squid are also quite good. Even the "Western-style takeout" dishes, such as the iconic General Tso's chicken, are well executed. The waiters also do not forget a face. While I am pretty much a regular, eating with family friends here several times a year, I once came in with a friend originally from Toronto who had only been to their restaurant once before, and the waiters remembered him. In fact, they found it profoundly humorous that two guys they've met on separate occasions, the guy who frequently eats with a family that speaks Cantonese but cannot really speak it himself and the guy who stopped by a month prior that originally hails from Canada, are close friends. As a bonus, one of the waiters is a polyglot and speaks Spanish fluently. All of the above adds to the homeyness of this establishment. If you have never been to this restaurant or the area in general, I think it is nigh time for you to walk the extra 10 or so minutes from touristy Canal Street and grab a table at OK 218. read more

Came here alone for a quick sanbo fan meal. Seated with another stranger in a round table while there were other empty tables in the small restaurant. Served a glass of hot tea and received a bitter melon and pork bone soup with my order of a sanbo fan(Three meats with rice). The meal itself wasn't bad, roast pork was slim and meaty, duck wasn't very fat, chicken was good but I got a lot of the rather bony pieces. The complimentary soup was great as I tasted a very mild bitterness which was something I unexpectedly enjoyed. read more

The people are super friendly and the service is so fast. Best of all is the value and it cannot be beat. Where're you going to get dinner for Kessler than 5 $ bucks in NYC? The location on Grand St on the direction of the Williamsburg Bridge makes this a perfect pick up and go spot on the way home! read more

We met some friends for lunch after a previous appointment in SoHo, and one of them was craving Chinese so we ended up at OK218. The place was bustling, at any given time while we were there the tables were either completely filled or only one was available at a time. Once seated, we perused the menu and decided to order several entrees to eat family-style. We decided on hot and sour soup, chicken lo mein, beef with broccoli, orange flavor chicken and clams with black sauce. All were delicious, especially the clams! The service was swift but good and while it felt just a bit rushed, we'd happily come back anytime for lunch. read more

just went here tonight while looking for a good place to get some roast pork on rice. we went in and got just what we were looking for: slices of tender and juicy pork with just the right amount of fat and crispyness laid out over some greens and white rice. with tea was $4.25 per person this was a little better than where i used to go near my old house (wing shoon.) read more

We came here from time to time for BBQ items. I remembered coming here for their three treasure rice lunch. Now we go to the Food Deluxe for BBQ items. read more

Quite decent chinese food at a great price.

This is definitely one of my go-to places in chinatown for many years. The staff alone makes the experience more enjoyable. The pricing is definitely reasonable and the lunch specials are a great deal! My favorite is the steamed fish with black bean sauce. Their scallion chicken is one of the better ones around chinatown and also their peking style pork chop is top notch. read more

This place is terrible they served me raw chicken! I went back to inform them and they just gave me back my money and just looked at me. I mean I have seen raw chicken before but this kind of raw chicken was BAD! I'll be posting photos to show. Terrible cook and service . read more

218 Restaurant - They served me Uncook Raw chicken! - Chinese Near Me - New York, New York

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extremely cheap and that is great in chinatown. the only thing that scares me away from little italy right around the corner is the price. why get italian food when i can spend 3/4 the price less on some chinese food? the food here is very authentic and ranging from 4.25 to 10 for almost anything you want. you cant get that value a lot. the restaurant is very small, 1/4 the size of a regular restaurant and has only 1 unisex bathroom. read more

Excellent salt and pepper squid coupled with friendly quick service and copious amounts of tea.

great lunch spot, we were conducting roast pork soup comparison from another place.. though the broth did not stand up.. the veggies and the roast pork itself was very well prepared. Cash only. read more

Truly excellent BBQ pork and duck here. And The fried smelt Omelet is a great comfort food. While really authentic, it won't intimidate first-timers to Chinatown. read more

I love this restaurant. The front entrance is where you get all your roasted meat and then further in is the seated restaurants. Whenever my dad comes to visit me in the city, we always go here and ham it up with the waiters who are very friendly and chatty. We always get the sautéed pea shoots, daily medicinal soup, snails in black bean sauce, hot chili frog legs, and this casserole that has fried fish and tofu. This place is classic Cantonese. Cash only. read more

I used to come here all the time for the roast pork on rice. it used to come with a free soup. it's been a long time since i've gotten my free soup. recently they have also been scaling down the portions. the first time i noticed it was smaller, i thought it was a fluke then again and again i get baby portions. (no longer like the picture posted by reviewer Nat B) it is a good deal compared to some other places but.... i don't know.... also the guy who i guess is the owner or manager is not big on customer service. i'm pretty sure he doesn't do it on purpose but the way he talks to people is very brut and aggressive. read more

My apologies on a mistaken review. I found this place to be an old style rice shoppe a la Full Kee in DC Chinatown. The noodle soups were inexpensive. I had the fish ball noodle soup. I need to try a few other dishes. I am sad that many of these old school Cantonese restaurants are becoming obsolete. read more

Best Chinese in the area. Great duck, hot and sour soup, and the chicken with diced peppers is addicting! I will miss this place when I move

One of the best meals that we had in NYC and the service is excellent. Everything had a great flavor. The Peking Duck was excellent as well as the steamed dumplings and spring rolls. read more

The carrots in my beef w broccoli was tasted awful. Beef and broccoli was good. Wait staff made me feel rushed to eat my food and it was kind of rude. read more

It's not the most delicious, but a place I go back to when I'm looking for a quick (and I mean QUICK) and cheap meal this is the place. You can get the barbecue items with rice, or you can choose from the rotation of entrees they have in the front. I don't really understand the pricing because I've been charged anywhere from $5.50 to $7 for food here but I can't really complain. Haven't had sit down here but looking at the pictures I imagine it's pretty standard fare. A lot of OG Chinese people come here and they look like regulars so it ain't bad. read more

Perfect steamed fish. 'Nuff said. Fun to talk with the waiter too, knew we were out of town, treated us well.

Great resto for affordable food. Menu not too pricey, and food per serving is a lot! Very very courteous and polite waiter, even gave us a lot of free tea and also some orange slices and fortune cookies for free. Place was also clean. Would love to dine here at this business again. read more

Just walked out of this restaurant feeling very angry. This review is for that women's terrible customer service. There is a shorter women at cashier section who had this attitude like everyone owe her lots of money. I ordered stir fried noodle to go. When the dish came out, I realized it's too crispy for my 1 year old toddler. So instead of wasting money to order another dish, I asked if she could combine the 2 boxes together and hoping the heat will soften up the noodle. This women first completely ignored my 10 times requests, then finally throwing all the lunch at me on the counter and said" no, we can't do that. I said I ordered this for my baby and don't think he could eat this way. She started bitching like crazy in Cantonese again. Finally another guy came out and took my dish in to remake it. read more

Been here twice. Once I just walked in with a friend had a nice tastey simple cantonese style dinner. 2nd time I bought some Cha Sui and the front guy was super helpful. Considering I am terrible in chinese he was able to help me order what I wanted the moment I walked into the door. Though I did manage to say 1 lb of cha siu in canto, everything else he asked me was a blur. They'll ask if you want the lean or the fatty parts. Just remember it can be crowded in the BBQ meat area just gotta keep your eyes open and be prepared to be touching elbows. Classic Chinatown style. Cha Sui was delish. Be back again read more