I thought it was bad before they closes to remodel this summer after health code violations, but now it is worse. They have added Vietnamese food, so I tried a chicken pho bowl. It was plain chicken broth with no flavor. My husband ask for shrimp to be added to the sesame chicken and they made a huge deal out of it and basically didn't want to do it because it would cost $2 more, which we said we would pay. Stay away, not what is used to be years ago. read more

I easily ordered a cup of egg drop soup, a pork egg roll, and a side of fried rice online. The food was delicious for the price, but when I picked up the order I had white rice rather than fried in my bag. It was frustrating to make it home with the wrong rice, but they did correct the order with no hesitation or question. read more

This used to be our favorite Chinese place. They have really gone downhill. Over the past 6 months the quality and taste of the food is really bad. I have ordered twice in the past two months and was sorely disappointed. read more

Landed back here after only two days from my previous visit. This time chips and eggroll were tasted fresh and great. Wonton soup was AWESOME! Simple yet so tasty. Sweet & sour chicken was good and lomein was really good, but not the best. read more

Cathay House - Sweet and Sour chicken with vegetable lomein. Greatness!! - Chinese Near Me - Waco, Texas

The sesame chicken prepared under the former owners was crispy and delicious. While the current owners say they are using the same recipe, the chicken is gummy and tough. The only dish I would get there is there is the beef egg foo yung which is still pretty good. read more

Best Chinese food in town! Definitely recommend ordering off the traditional Chinese menu.

My FAVORITE Asian food in Waco!!!! Now if you are hankering for Pho go to Cajun Craft(I know right?) but yes!!! Otherwise this is THE PLACE!!! Reasonable prices, quick service, and DELICIOUS, hot food read more

I don't understand the negative reviews. Yes, the place is old and shopworn but it was clean and the staff was friendly. We ate during a slow time on a Sunday afternoon and although the service was leisurely, we were in no hurry and we were there at a time when not much staff was needed. My husband had the "Assorted Wonton Soup" and he said it was the best he'd ever had. In fact, we got an order to go to take home. I had Egg Foo Young, something I'd not found at other oriental restaurants, and it was also very good. My husband also had Moo Shu Beef and he raved about it. It was all piping hot and delicious. We will DEFINITELY be going back!!!!! read more

See all

Best Chinese food in Waco!!!

I ordered this after reading the gleaming reviews on here. Unfortunately this meal immediately ended up in the garbage (bad smell, taste, overall preparation). I rarely review places but felt compelled to make sure others don't waste their money on this place. read more

My review is for today! Not the glory days when the original owners took pride in the restaurant and food preparation. The service, ok.. the food not good at all. I was so disappointed in the pepper steak and broccoli beef. We were not able to chew the meat. How embarrassing to have a piece a meat in your mouth that is like rubber. I know it is flank steak.. but someone did not know how to cut it or prepare it! The egg roll was greasy. Probably cooked in old grease that was not hot enough. The soup.. it was ok. Sadly, one of my favorite restaurants in Waco is no longer. The food bad, the building falling apart from termites, the restroom dirty... No pride, so sad. read more

I've stopped by here every time I come to Waco. One of the best family run Chinese restaurant I've tried for the cheap price. The atmosphere is pretty quiet here. They offer a variety of dishes, super cheap lunch specials, and $5.99 buffet on Sunday. My favorite dishes include the sesame chicken and fried cream cheese wonton! read more

I've eaten to-go twice and it's delicious! My new fav Chinease place seems like a hidden gem. I got the chicken fried rice and fried noodles. Both great. I get an egg roll the first time I ate there but I didn't care for those as much. The restaurant looks nice, it'd be nice to dine in one evening read more

Not impressed. Was looking for some decent Chinese food and was disappointed. I had a typical beef/vegetable dish and my wife had a chicken/veggies. Meat was gummy and soft. It didn't taste like real meat. Not to be confused with tender. When we arrived for lunch around 1:30 there were only two other tables . The place needs some cleaning. Floors were incredibly sticky under our table like someone spilled a sugary soda and it never got cleaned up properly. This was our first visit having moved here this past summer. Probably won't be back. Still in search of a decent Asian restaurant in Waco. read more

The place didn't look great on the outside, but the food was excellent. They had $6.00 lunch specials with great choices. I got the broccoli beef which came with rice, egg drop soup, and egg roll. I could only finish half of it. I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Cathay House - Chinese Near Me - Waco, Texas

I love the chicken and rice soup at Cathay House. I buy it by the quart to go and as far as I'm concerned it is the ultimate comfort food. Although it's not on the menu, I always order chicken with mixed vegetables and white sauce and the staff is happy to accommodate. The chicken is all white meat and the vegetables are varied, fresh, and crisp. The service is prompt and friendly. My only criticism is that the building is dark and the decor is very dated. This makes Cathay House unappealing for date night or as a place to take out of town guests. read more

I am a delivery driver for Favor. I called in my order ahead of time. Gentleman advised me would be a 20 min wait time. I was ok w that. As I waited for my order , several customers were there for pickup. All seemed to be irritated w their wait time. Couple of customers were asking for refunds , asking how much longer. I waited for 45 mins when I finally asked could he go back and check on my order. The answer I got was this teenager who made a real big sigh and went to the back ...came back and just sat back down to continue playing his game on his phone. He never told me if my order was coming or anything. I waited a lil bit longer ...well into an HR. Finally asked for a refund and he advised he didn't know how to do that. Asked him to get the manager and he again let a big sigh & roll of the eyes to get the manager. Boy had to be about 15-16. Very unprofessional. He was dressed in a DBZ t shirt , shorts and flip flops w earbuds in his ears . Obviously they were behind w orders ....the whole situation was unpleasant for me. read more

[Most prominent thing about my dining experience: this place was super quiet, like really awkwardly quiet. No music, no waterfalls, just strained conversation in a half full dining room. My date and I really wanted to talk about some deep stuff and we didn't feel comfortable to do it because the other guests could definitely hear our conversations.] Ahem. While this place is no Bangkok Royal, it was tasty and really cheap. Even the specials are under $10. The guy I was with got some kind of pork stir fry that was ok but overly salty. I got the Five Flavor Shrimp which turned out to be fried shrimp in a sweet sauce surrounded by broccoli.. It was designated a "spicy" dish but had no heat at all. However, it was succulent and plentiful (~12 shrimp; easily enough to save half for another meal), and the broccoli at least was fresh and steamed well. Service was brisk and amenable, no complaints. So was it quality food? Not really. I just have to tell you my leftover shrimp didn't last long. It called me from its styrofoam home three hours after dinner ... "eeeeat me". And I did, and I'm happy to report Dinner Round 2 was just as good as the first. Every town needs a cheap Chinese food place. Eat. Enjoy. Conquer the earth. read more

The resturant atmosphere was okay, I highly recommend the orange beef and the family special (seafood dish). Do not get any kind of lo mein dish, my beef lo mein sauce was so water down and you can still taste the raw noodles. However, the orange beef recovered it and makes my eating experience very positive. From my perspective, this is the first chinese resturant I have ever seen that only have english writing on the menu with no translation to vietnamese or mandarin. However, the orange beef makes up for it. Lol read more

Cathay House - The front of the resturant - Chinese Near Me - Waco, Texas

Just not good. The building was nice and clean, but the food was some of the worst chinese food I have ever had. Do not recommend.

Do not recommend the buffet. Buffet = o star. Sizhuan dishes on the back of the menu = 5 stars Note - mapo chicken and number 1 on the menu are cold . In case you don't like cold food like us . read more

This is the best Chinese food in Waco. I love their General Tao's chicken and broccoli. My wife likes their sesame beef. Their egg rolls are great, but today we tried their crab puffs and they're my new favorite. read more

It's off the beaten path, and the building needs a renovation. But they offer good, inexpensive Chinese food with full waiter service, and it's maybe the best Chinese I've had in Waco. Of note are the Sichuan offerings towards the back of the menu. read more

I came here with friends yesterday and brought my girlfriend again today for lunch. We enjoyed the dumplings, fish soup, eggplant, pork belly, and spicy chicken. These are authentic and really tasty. Also their soups are really yummy! Best Chinese food in town. read more

25 years ago today my now wife and I had our first date at this restaurant. We've brought our children here over the years and it's always been a special place for us. They also have great food and good service too. Highly recommended! read more

Only in Waco, with its poverty of ethnic restaurants, Cathey House can get such good reviews, and be so busy all the time. Why do I think so? Let me explain. We gave this place two tries - one dinner, one Sunday lunch buffet. Both times (and especially at the buffet) there was an over-abundance of greasy fried (and over-battered) food, and not nearly enough of anything else. The egg drop soup is decent, but that's all. The worst of all, some of the food smells just like pee. I'm not joking. The first time we came was at dinner time, so you order from the menu. Both of our plates came out with a distinct pee smell. It was so strong, that we even wondered whether we somehow offended our waiter and ... you know. Needless to say, we didn't eat any of our food. I talked my husband into giving it a second try - during the lunch buffet so as to eliminate the possibility of the offended waiter. Turns out that the waiter was innocent all along. The smell is just a regular part of some dishes - we could sense it as we went along the buffet line. We ate whatever dishes that lacked it, and were so underimpressed that, given our alltogether experience are never going to be back. read more

What happen to this place! Used to be one of my top 5 picks, just got done from there, won't be going back. Wonton chips tasted old, everyone who had fried rice sent it back, moo moo ga pan was some of the worst I ever tasted, and egg roll tasted freezer burnt!! The egg drop soup was on point, but the rest was a major disappointment!! Sizes are also Much smaller! Bring back the old recipes! read more

1st time, last time!! The one star is for serving great Guo Tieh (pot stickers); 8 per order & great wine-vinegar sauce. Those I'd take anytime. I ordered sichuan chicken, and First bite, "uggghhh" I spit it out, literally. It was laced with SALT; the chicken was boiled (pre-cooked) apparently with salt; the chicken is always stir fried so it was chewy; the sauce - awful and not spicy; I could not eat it - I kept waving at the waiter and he ignored me. As the plate sat there uneaten I looked more closely - it was swimming in oil; after a while, it congealed. No one came to the table to ask how was my meal. Fortunately, I was quite full from eating the guo tieh and I started waving.neither waiter came (too busy texting) and finally a woman came over and took my check - no question like did I want a box - totally oblivion. STAY AWAY11 read more

Service was terrible and the food wasn't much better! It took over an hour and a half for mediocre food. We (and the table next to us) had to get up and search the restaurant to find our server to ask for our check after waiting for 20 minutes for him to come back with it. Don't eat here! read more

Food was bland, no flavor at all! The restaurant on the outside was run down, and the interior was ok. Service was good, but the food was so disappointing. I asked for spicy, not even close to any spice, just a clear gravy sauce over mixed vegetables and tofu, with plain steamed rice, again no flavor!! Really disappointed, I wanted to like this place. I will stick to my go to Chinese place in Waco, Magic China!! read more

Not a bad little place, but definitely not the best. Probably too used to big city Chinese restaurants. Need to have someone at the front ready to greet guests instead of having people wait for 10 minutes. Buffet food took a while to come out every time they ran out of a dish. Overall, not bad, but definitely room for improvement. read more

Since I've moved to Waco I've had a very hard time finding a Chinese restaurant I like as much as the one I ate at where I used to live but Cathay House was the closest I've found. The food was pretty good and the service was friendly. My only complaint is how quiet it was in there! I wen't at 6 excepting to be with the dinner crowd because I was worried it might be quiet but there was only one other couple in there and they had the lights off in half of the restaurant. I guess their main thing is take out orders. It was definitely to quiet to hold a conversation. I will go back but will probably be order take out next time. read more

This place has been Waco's Chinese go to since I can remember and that's over 23 years. This a place the locals go to and it's just overall good. The best time to go is in Sunday's from 12-2 they have a lunch buffet and it's not just any old buffet it's legit. But if you don't get there early good luck finding a table. I recommend the sesame chicken or beef broccoli the lo mein is also great read more

Updating a previous 5-star review now that I know a little secret that goes with the lunch specials! For $1 you can upgrade your soup to a "medium" which is about four times as big as what they normally give you... there is also a "large" option for $3 more and I can only imagine how big that is! All this food, a rather significantly sized bowl of soup and a drink and you still come in at under $10. One of the best deals in town. read more

FANTASTIC AND CHEAP place to eat! Tucked away in a Waco neighborhood, its a fantastic hole in the wall. Would definitely support this family owned venture again and again. read more

I have been going here for years as well as my family. The service is always great and the food is by far the best Chinese Food in Waco.

Only chinese restaurant I would eat in town, the restaurant has been around for decades. Service is always decent, love the food and how quiet the place is. For the price tag of under 9bucks on most of the dishes, you can't go wrong. My family been eating at Cathay house for generations, we will keep coming back! read more

The food is great, with very little wait. I will say that the atmosphere is very quiet making it hard to converse without whispering. Main dish, fried rice, soup, and complimentary appetizer for around $8 read more

Best in Waco. It's not a big feat to be best in Waco when it comes to Chinese food. It's good food but compared to places I have been in other states and cities, It's ok. The service is pretty friendly when they are not busy, when they are busy they are efficient but not friendly. The orange chicken can be a little chewy. The szechuan chix is REALLY good! If you can travel to another city with known good chinese, go there but for Waco, this is the BEST read more

This is one of the (if not the best) Chinese food restaurants in McLennan County. You can go order for about $8 and get a Drink, Soup, Complimentary Appetizer sticks, Egg Roll, and Main Dish. The quantity is BIG and the quality is good. The lady (I assume the owner) who is always working the cash register is very nice. I do not care for the restaurant itself, in regards to the decor and just construction. The place looks like its not very well kept and has a very dark atmosphere. This is why less 1 star. I mostly order to-go anyways, so I'm very satisfied with this place. read more