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    Alhambra Garden Café

    3.0 (1.2k reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Alhambra Garden Café Photos

    Business Info

    ALHAMBRA GARDEN CAFÉ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Alhambra Garden Café

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    Minced Beef Rice with Egg
    James C.

    This is my go-to place for Hong Kong style breakfast - jook and chow mein with nai cha We've been coming here for years and the servers know us so well now - we've become family! The menu has a variety of selections for everyone, just come hungry and explore the menu! Enjoy!

    Reggie R.

    Our first time here, we actually enjoyed it! The place was a little busy when we got there but we were seated quickly. At first we didn't know what to get and decided to go with the steak with shrimp and it didnt disappoint! Flavor was there, tender, well seasoned, and the portion was really big for a fraction of a price I would pay for a steak in a steakhouse. Their congee was excellent. What I was looking for a real chinese congee. The eggplant with meat was really good too. However the noodle that comes with the steak was mediocre in taste so skip the noodle. Also had one of their appetizer, a bread wrapped in flat noodles with oyster sauce i guess with peanut sauce, weird taste but very good! Price wise very cheap and very affordable especially with the amount of food you're getting. The place was clean enough and organized. Our server was very nice and explained the menu properly. Overall good experience

    Minced beef and fried egg over rice and fried chicken w garlic sauce
    Sean K.

    Love these cafes for their variety and daily specials. I haven't had the minced beef gravy over rice w/ a fried egg in a while so I decided on that. Of course, as I glanced over the menu again, I saw the chicken w/ garlic sauce ( or onion, black pepper, etc). Now I'm torn deciding between the two. And lo and behold, they had a combination of the two. Portions and flavor were satisfying, especially if you are craving two flavors. I also ordered a milk tea and it was reasonably strong. I hate weak tasting tea. Definitely be back. Food, choice, beverage and cost is a factor these days and I'd say they covered it.

    Can see kitchen partially through the glass window.
    Agnes Y.

    Have been coming to this Garden Cafe for almost 30 years. My family used to love coming here for breakfast, the selection was great. The kids really enjoyed the ribeye steak with eggs, hash brown, and toast for just under $10; while the parents loved the congee and chow mein. It has been years since our last visit and we decided to come here for lunch. The two of us shared the Baked Pork Loin in Tomato Sauce with Fried Rice, Baked Portuguese Chicken with Taro with Rice, and Ox-Tongue Curry with Pasta. Everything was delicious. The Baked Pork Loin in Tomato Sauce came with two big pieces of pork chop and the fried rice and tomato sauce were very tasty. Portions were generous. The Baked Portuguese Chicken with Taro was made with plenty of boneless chicken meat. The coconut taste was distinct. The Ox-Tongue Curry came with four big pieces of ox tongue and the curry sauce was awesome. I was so anxious to eat that I forgot to take pictures of two of the dishes before digging in! The ambiance is very casual but comfortable. It's pretty typical of a Hong Kong style cafe. Service was good, all three ladies on the floor were really friendly and helpful. They all had a big smile and seemed like they were enjoying their work. Prices are very reasonable especially with the lunch specials and weekly specials. Food quality seems very consistent. I highly recommend this Garden Cafe.

    Everett L.

    No Frills Hong Kong Cafe the combo meal is amazing. It gives you lots of food. I would recommend ordering their porridge. It's flavor.

    Look at all that pasta
    Mike L.

    Don't trash on this place, it's been here for decades. This review is only for the 3-5:30pm afternoon tea time . I like the diversity of the menu for their afternoon tea time compared to Delicious Food Corner, Tasty Choice, or Alice's Kitchen (limited menu). My go-to is the grilled chicken steak because it's damn big for a tea time vibe. The spaghetti ain't bad at all. The baked spaghetti is also another one of my favorite. Only the lemongrass pork chop is on my not recommended since it's tiny and salty. I even get their porridge for the tea menu. The hot milk tea is great and they don't really tell me no on 2nd-3rd refills. It's an excellent value for being complimentary. Service is good, I don't know why people are so shy to ask for service. It's a Chinese/Cantonese spot, you ask for service not expect it. They don't scrowl or groan when you ask for a refill, they rather do it quick actually. Stop saying the service sucks because you're used to other kinds of hospitality, you don't go to burger joint or shawarma shop and ask them to come refill your soda do you? Highly recommended for a quick afternoon lunch or 1st meal of the day.

    Chris C.

    Chinese American diner, or hong style diner. Amazing for breakfast, really good for dinner and lunch too. They used to be open really late after COVID things changed and they adopted normal hours. Highly recommended, can't go wrong with the weekly specials. Id go with pork chops or chicken steak.

    Baked Bolongnese
    Yela M.

    Love Garden Cafe!! Whenever I'm craving comfort food or want something reliable, this is always my first choice. The quality has stayed consistent over the years, and the food just tastes good. You also get great value especially now that so many other cafes have raised their prices while their quality has gone downhill. If you're craving Hong Kong-style cafe food, this is the place to go! My go-to order is the grilled chicken steak with mushroom sauce and spaghetti. It's always delicious and satisfying. The chicken is juicy, the skin is perfectly crispy, and they know how to make it right. Baked bolognese pasta is also a classic dish to get. It's spaghetti covered in a rich meat sauce with baked cheese on top! You also can't forget to get their lemon iced tea or iced Hong Kong milk tea! Super yummy This restaurant is pure nostalgia for me; it truly tastes like home. The food is flavorful, portions are solid, and service is quick. Customer service is decent and very straight forward and honestly, I think their food speaks for itself! Please come support Garden Cafe! They deserve way more recognition!

    porkchop ... and what should have been a chicken steak but came out as a chicken steak and porkchop
    Van D.

    My boyfriend and I came to Garden Café in Alhambra because we wanted something quick and easy, without a long wait. If we weren't in a rush, my preferred local Hong Kong Café is JJs. This location of Garden Café has a small parking structure in the back or street parking nearby. When we entered, we were surprised at how busy they were. We got one of the last remaining tables at the time we came. My boyfriend ordered a Grilled Chicken Steak ($13.50) with black pepper sauce and pasta. I ordered the Grilled Pork Chop ($15.50) with garlic sauce and the pasta. I also added a Lemon Iced Tea ($4.95). My food came out first and it took a while until they brought out my boyfriend's food, but they brought a chicken steak and pork chop plate, missing pasta. They said they would bring the pasta later. At the point my poor boyfriend had waited so long he didn't want them to go remake it, so he just ate the incorrect order. We double checked the receipt and the correct item was entered, but the plate brought to us was incorrect. I'm wondering if the swapped 2 of the orders. And then remember the pasta that was suppose to come?? They might have forgotten because we had to remind them, and it didn't come until the end of the meal. I was sharing my pasta with him during the meal so he can have a more balanced bite. As for my food I felt like the portions are huge and the pricing is reasonable, as it is with similar business types. My pork chop was sufficient and I had leftovers to bring home for a subsequent meal at a later time. I still definitely rather go to JJ's but I guess this would suffice if I'm in a rush and don't care if my order is accurate and complete.

    Sunday Funday FEB2026
    Franklin M.

    It's been over a decade since I last ate at this restaurant. My friend and I wanted to eat dinner but didn't want to order a lot of food. The menu is extensive and covers Chinese, Thai, and Japanese dishes. We ordered House Seafood Fried Rice and that was it nothing else. The plate was big and the rice was delicious with the perfect amount of seafood bits in it. We could barely finish this one plate of food and for under 20 bucks it was the perfect amount.

    Combo
    David W.

    I was there for breakfast and noticed all of the chairs had been changed and were more comfortable. I found out that this location changed ownership. It was not all of the Garden locations, just the Alhambra location. The cooks and servers are still the same, and nothing has changed. I love the food, and the servers provided excellent service. I hope this will not change.

    Baked pork chop with rice
    Janet L.

    My loooooong overdue review. I have been coming here for 30 years. It was the first Hong Kong style my auntie took me when my family first immigrated to the US. So we know what a true Hong Kong cafe should taste like and this is the place for it. You get the authentic taste. They have innovative flavors and probably got the new inspiration from Hong Kong. Service is fast and friendly as always. I love they have TVB shows playing on TV. I always love their hot fruit tea. Now I get to take my kids and my daughter orders what I ordered as a kid, 冬檬樂 (iced lemon coke). And the classic tomato baked pork chop rice.

    Grilled chicken steak was so good
    Christy C.

    A pretty solid Hong Kong-style Chinese cafe with big portion sized dishes for reasonable prices! Parking can be difficult since there isn't a big garage lot and it's shared with other businesses Service was not attentive AT ALL and not too friendly. It took many attempts just to request water refills and even when we got the staff's attention, it took a long time just to get it refilled. It's pretty small inside so not much seating and it can get pretty loud when it's busy. Menu offers so much variety, whether you want noodles, rice dishes, porridge, seafood, grilled meat dishes, they've got you covered! Pricing is pretty reasonable ($15-20+/dish and they give you BIG portions! Grilled Chicken Steak ($14.95) was so delicious and HUGE! So crispy and flavorful without being too greasy and overly salty! It comes with some veggies and option of mushroom and garlic, or tomato sauce on top! I went for the mushroom sauce and it was so yummy! This was 5/5 for me Would recommend and return

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    Alhambra Garden Café Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Alhambra Garden Café

    Do they have a parking lot? I really hate street parking.

    Yes. It's in a shared plaza with one lower floor and one upper floor parking lot

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    Tea Modern Chinese

    Tea Modern Chinese

    4.3
    (263 reviews)
    25.3 mi
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    Celebrated our girls birthday here!…read more I love how well taken care of we were. Our tea options are available to smell and taste as we curated which tea cakes and sandwiches to order. Don't forget to do your nails, it makes for a cute pic!

    BUSINESS PERMANENTLY CLOSING 6/28/26…read more Came here with some gals for afternoon tea. It's a cute little restaurant in Old Towne Orange. It's decorated really cute inside and out! Everything was creatively planned and decorated. It was also very clean and spacious inside and out. When you go in, there's a tea sampling station with the menus so you can see which tea you would like to order. Our server was really sweet, but she was the only one serving all of the tables, so she would come by every 10-20 minutes to check on us and some things we asked for didn't make it to the table. If they had more servers, customers would be happy with quicker service. The food and tea were delish! There were 6 of us so we shared a bunch of different teas. I really enjoyed the teas they had. The sweet and savory treats were really yummy! I really enjoyed them. Each person got 5 little savory treats and 4 sweet treats. I kind of wish we got one or two more for $45, but either way they were delicious! We had a great time and were sad to learn that the business will be permanently closing down tomorrow (6/28/26), I would have loved to continue going back!

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    Sample the teas
    Sample the teas
    Potato Chips (on the house)
    Potato Chips (on the house)
    Sweet and savory items

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    Sweet and savory items
    Bone Kettle

    Bone Kettle

    4.1
    (2.9k reviews)
    5.0 mi
    $$$
    Family-owned & operated
    Happy hour specials

    Bone Kettle has become one of my favorite restaurants, and it's one of those places I keep coming…read moreback to because it's consistently amazing. If you come for dinner, do yourself a favor and order the Brussels sprouts, they're only available at dinner, and I genuinely get them every single time. They're that good. The noodle soups are always incredible too. The broth is rich and flavorful, the noodles are perfectly cooked, and no matter how many times I've been, the quality has never changed. That kind of consistency is hard to find and really keeps me coming back. The service is always friendly and the food comes out surprisingly quickly, even when they're busy. I also appreciate that they're a tipless restaurant with a 20% service charge already included. It's nice knowing the staff is taken care of without having to think about calculating a tip at the end.

    Most of the food was amazing, though I did not try the papaya salad. The sisig is a bit too sour…read moreand salty than I expected, but the pork belly in the sisig stood out greatly. As for the pork ribs, the tamarind sauce gave it a big boost. Beef rendang and the carbonara were also great. Service was gracious to us, as we arrived early before our reservation time and the rest of our party did not arrive until five minutes later, they let us in early, though one of the servers gave the rice bowl I ordered a bit later than expected, since I thought it was going to come out as soon as the sisig came. They also gave a drink that one of my party ordered a bit too slow. Atmosphere-wise, we dined al fresco or outside, and it was pretty cool outside, so everything was good. This was my second visit to the restaurant, and overall, I would highly recommend this place if you want to look for fine dining in Pasadena!

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    Bone Kettle, reservations highly recommended, indoor and outdoor dining available
    Bone Kettle, reservations highly recommended, indoor and outdoor dining available
    Loco Moco w/ Garlic Rice, available only at weekend brunch
    Loco Moco w/ Garlic Rice, available only at weekend brunch
    36 hour Bone Kettle bone broth w/ Top Sirloin & noodles, 100% organic beef broth

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    36 hour Bone Kettle bone broth w/ Top Sirloin & noodles, 100% organic beef broth
    Star Leaf

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    4.0
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    25.3 mi
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    BUSINESS PERMANENTLY CLOSING 6/28/26…read more Came here with some gals for afternoon tea. It's a cute little restaurant in Old Towne Orange. It's decorated really cute inside and out! Everything was creatively planned and decorated. It was also very clean and spacious inside and out. When you go in, there's a tea sampling station with the menus so you can see which tea you would like to order. Our server was really sweet, but she was the only one serving all of the tables, so she would come by every 10-20 minutes to check on us and some things we asked for didn't make it to the table. If they had more servers, customers would be happy with quicker service. The food and tea were delish! There were 6 of us so we shared a bunch of different teas. I really enjoyed the teas they had. The sweet and savory treats were really yummy! I really enjoyed them. Each person got 5 little savory treats and 4 sweet treats. I kind of wish we got one or two more for $45, but either way they were delicious! We had a great time and were sad to learn that the business will be permanently closing down tomorrow (6/28/26), I would have loved to continue going back!

    I was super excited to try this spot, but it was a bit underwhelming. Service was a bit slow and…read morethe food was okay. Nothing super memorable. Server was very nice though. I would recommend for them to upgrade and get new menus as the ones I got were all stained and in bad condition. Small details like this is important and easy to fix. Total was about $112 for 2.

    Photos
    Star Leaf
    Lovely high tea
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    Business front, rebranded/renamed

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    Business front, rebranded/renamed

    Alhambra Garden Café - chinese - Updated July 2026

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