The "new" Grand Cafe really needs to work on its recipes-- it lacks flavor and the cooking is poorly executed. Egg rolls are very similar, but the seasoning (and PB haha) are less than they used to have. I've eaten there a handful of times since its reopening, as well as the new location on Market street, and the quality has been consistently poor. Service itself is great, but the fact that both places have underseasoned food makes me think that the problem is more than just individual cooks who need practice. The worst element has to be the shrimp dishes! They don't drain off the water that comes off when cooking the meat, so you're served this grey, soupy, grimy dish that has shrimp and veggies floating in it. I truly want this place to be good, especially with the new location where Yen Ching used to be, but it's no where near what it should be, especially for the price. read more

I like the Special Fried Rice, Egg Rolls and PC Tray. When I've ordered other dishes like a beef dish it tasted heavily of soy sauce, which I don't really care for. That should be mostly a condiment to me. I stick with what I know I like here. Very good service. I recommend the house hot mustard. read more

There are people who love Grand Cafe and people who despise it and not many in between. This was the third time I have had Grand Cafe in 15 years and the 1st time at the Oakland Ave address. I gave you a fair shot GC and I have to take allegiance to the despising side. . Today ordered Garlic Shrimp. Sauce was flavorless and congealed. White rice was minute rice. Mushrooms were from a can. I don't quite understand the appeal for people that say they love this place. read more

We eat at Grand Cafe Express on Oakland almost weekly and are never disappointed. The egg rolls are outstanding along with many of their other traditional Chinese and Filipino dishes. This past weekend I had them cater for a 70th Birthday Party. There were 40 people in attendance. I worked with Jhun Medina in putting together the menu and getting the correct amount of food order. He was outstanding and the event went beautifully. Everyone at the party raved about the food. I recommend using them for your next event. read more

Dear god, this place is disgusting. The worst possible food I've ever had. Not just the worst Chinese food or the worst sort of chinese food but THE WORST THING I'VE EVERY ATE kind of food. I refused to eat any of it after one bite. Please help me start a petition to close this place down forever. read more

This is not chinese food. It has been so american-ized its a crime. The sauces are too much and over the top. If you're looking for authentic then you're at the wrong place. read more

I hadn't been to the Grand Cafe in a while but decided to stop in before a show at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts next door. I have to say I was deeply disappointed. The decor is tired, the service is subpar compared to most other restaurants in town and the food not only didn't make up for those other faults but really may have been the worst aspect of the visit. I think there was a time when this was one of the better options (maybe the best option) for Asian food in Bloomington-Normal -- then only referred to as "Chinese" food. However, since then many more choices have popped up across the spectrum of Asian food. And based on this recent visit I can pretty confidently say that the Grand Cafe is in the running for the least attractive choice for Chinese or any other Asian food in town. read more

Nope thought i would give it a try but never will i go back and will direct people to other places. Blew it.

Grand Cafe may be "americanized" chinese food, but it's very GOOD americanized food! As everyone says, they have the best egg rolls in town - homemade, hot, and delicious. I also like their wonton soup and wish I could take a quart of the broth home. We often get the meal for two as it's very economical and gives us more food than we can eat. It includes soup, egg roll, a couple of wontons, pork, an entree each, and dessert. We especially like the beef chop suey and the pineapple chicken. Their fried rice is delicious! Everyone is very nice. Now I'm hungry for chinese so I think I'd better go pick some up! read more

This is some god-awful chinese food. Chinese food at the mall is probably better. Very low quality ingredients throughout every dish. I would give this place 1 star but the egg rolls are absolutely top notch and could compete with any places egg roll. If you plan on just having some egg rolls and tea but nothing else for lunch come here read more

One of our favorite Chinese places!! The Sichuan chicken is wonderful and the garlic pepper beef is great! The house fried rice is good but the special fried rice is even better. read more

Came to Normal, IL for a baseball tournament and found this place by accident. Being Filipino, we were pretty curious to try this restaurant. Brought half our team with us who have never had Filipino food before. They loved it and so did we!! Service & food were great! Loved the food so much we came back the next day. read more

This place is amazing! Best egg roles in town and the best fried rice. Dinner for 2 is an amazing deal. Always awesome service. Never had a bad experience. read more

This was awhile back, but I was taken there when I was house hunting, and it was pretty bad Chinese food. I think it's because the family has been there for many generations and forgot how to make Chinese food. Let's put it this way, I ordered funn, but was given mein. read more

We have eaten at Chinese restaurants all over the world. Our goal: to find egg rolls and wonton soup as good as Grand Cafe's. Our conclusion: Grand Cafe has the best!!!! Now to be honest, the place desperately needs remodeled. My husband has been eating here for 30 years and says it hasn't' changed a bit...but neither has their egg rolls and that's why I love it!!!!!!!!!! read more

Grand Cafe may have been a fine establishment, back in the day. That is not the case in 2014. From the atmosphere, or lack thereof, to the unprofessional (diners do not need to know their server has been a surrogate mother, twice!) yet nice enough, staff to the way sub-par food, the experience was a total waste of time, money and calories. For some reason they no longer have a bar. This place is a dive. There is absolutely not one reason to dine at this restaurant. Go to Mandarin Garden, or ANYWHERE else for dinner! read more

First of all, the new filipino owner is rude and only concerned about stuffing his pockets with your money. The food is horrible. Worse than what it was previously on Main St. Old, tasteless, and just bad. read more

I am tottaly addicted to the PC Tray. This is the Tuesday and Thursday lunch special with pork fried rice, fried won tons, a few pieces of steak, and the best egg-roll I've ever had. Definitely in my top ten meals of all time. I love this place. read more

While some people have some things to say about the majority of the fare, I've had nothing from this place that I've disliked. The one thing it has going for it that no one in the greater central IL region seems to have though is GREAT egg rolls. This place has the best egg rolls in the region. What has happened with all these chinese restaurants serving deep fried crappy cabbage rolls? Not here. If you appreciate a good egg roll, you'll want to eat here for that alone. read more

I was not impressed with this place at all. Food was bad, but I like decent Chinese food. Maybe I'm just spoiled because I'm from Chicago and lived in Champaign for three years. If you like greasy Americanized Chinese then this is your go to place. I give it two stars because the waitress did her job well and wasnice. read more

I'm so excited to have the original Grand Cafe Egg rolls available, but it's the new Filipino menu items that get me really excited. Lumpia(like small egg rolls), BBQ pork skewers are amazing, and today I'm trying Bihon. Don't forget to order sides of sweet sour/ mustard instead of using the packets for your original egg rolls. Makes all the difference. read more

Grand Cafe - Here is the lunch buffet bar which dinner to this location - Chinese Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Hands down the best Chinese I've ever had. I know, it's a very subjective thing, but I was raised on it, and I've never come close to having it's equal in the EGGROLL category and everything else has a uniqueness all it's own. Seriously good. read more

I love Grand Cafe. I nearly always get the same item -- PC tray. I'm never disappointed, and it's really enough for two meals. The tea you get when you eat inside is excellent. I always get good service, but maybe it's because I come in all the time? Nah, I don't think that's it. I guess I just always get good servers. :-) The only negatives: soda is not free refills (this is a note from a friend -- I never order soda with Chinese food, yuck!), and if you want tea for carry-out, you need to bring your own travel mug. Then again, if you order carry-out and DO bring a travel mug, the tea is free, so you really can't compain! Decor? Eh. But I don't go for the decor so, again, not factored into rating. read more

The Grand Cafe? More like The Okay Cafe... The food and the service were both mediocre. The Beef Lo Mein tasted terrible. The meat was gristly, the noodles were overcooked, and overall tasted like it was heated up in the microwave. Someone in our party is allergic to shrimp, and did not realize that there was shrimp in the egg roll because it was not listed in the menu. We will not return. read more

The only place in town we walked out and left most of what we ordered on the table. This is not Chinese food. This isn't even good Americanized Chinese food. This is bad cooking in any culture. read more

PC Tray in Tuesday's and Thursday's. Only thing I order. Don't know about anything else on the menu.

Probably the best South Indian cuisine in Illinois. The owner does a fantastic job with his demeanor and the food is just fantastic, fresh and authentic. The biryani is a don't miss also. Have not had better since my honeymoon in Bangalore. read more

We have been to many restaurants in the the area in search of good egg rolls and Fried Rice. Being new we tried em all and have not found a place with the same service or flavor as we found at the Grand Cafe! Their house fried rice is addicting...the egg rolls are flavorful and not too big...and the service??? wonderful!! When you dine in, they provide a yummy hot tea and the we have found we go back because of how great they are not to us but the kiddos! We have one picky eater who got a special plate of sweet and sour chicken (served to her as special chicken nuggets) with a few fries and a little bowl of rice -- she ate it all up! The sweet and sour sauce has big chunks of pineapple and goes really well on the fried rice! OH and they have fried chicken -- it takes like 30 minutes but its pretty tasty all things considered....They have really reasonable prices, when you dine in they have super generous portions and did i mention they deliver??? Been around for a long time, not far from us and definitely on the top of our list of places to eat!! Give a try...go on! read more

great service, great atmosphere, great eggrolls, and reasonably priced. read more

Grand Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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Great food for a B/N staple! Best egg rolls in central Illinois. Good memories of when I lived in Bloomington. Can't go wrong at this place. Really good Chinese food. read more

Hours say open till 9 pm. Called to place carry out order at 8:20 and they said they are done for the evening. If you print information with your hours on them, you need to stick with them. Also stopped by on Sunday to get a menu and they said they were out. read more

I don't know... Blah is the best description for me. The new owner is as friendly as an old, dirty shoe. He seems to have taken the historicity Iconic Bloomington tradition to a disappointing low. Absolutely not the same as before... there's no charm or appropriate decor similar to the old Grand Cafe. The food is definitely not as good as the old location. It seems to have lost the uniqueness, flavor and appeal as it had in the past. For me It's too bad really. After being a VERY loyal customer for over 20 years, I've simply written of my previous experiences to a faded memory. I wish the previous owners would assume operation of the restaurant as this guy is systematically ruining what was once a good thing for BN. read more

I headed to Grand Cafe a couple of weeks ago with a friend. We both love Asian food and thought it was cool that this place has been there for 90 years. Well... they haven't updated their menu or ingredients in at least 50 years, so if you like truly old-school Americanized Chinese food, this is the place for you (trying to be positive here). We did not like anything we got (sesame chicken, General Tso's shrimp, and egg rolls), with everything being really salty, oily, and flavorless. The staff was really nice, however (not a Chinese person in the place, though). There are better options in town (Imperial Buffet, Great Wall, Thai House). read more

Don't believe the haters. Although the interior hasn't changed much since the 70's, that's part of it's charm. Egg rolls to DIE for. Service with a smile!! Great Generals Chicken, all white meat. No nasty greasy pieces. If you want snobs, socialites, academia and over priced meals.... go somewhere else. If you want to leave happy, hit the Grand. read more

Prime location. Interior is in desparate need of a makeover. Potential "Restaurant: Impossible" candidate. Service is very friendly. GET THE EGGROLLS! The Vegetable Subgum lunch special was recommended to me and was very good. I noticed lots of people doing take out. Hot tea and ice water brought immediately - a plus! read more

Pros: Excellent Value - Got a ridiculous amount of food for a very low price Cozy atmosphere - Dim, but very friendly Service - We had one of the nicest servers ever!! Cons: Tasted like cheap Chinese food read more

I just love the lunch-style beef lomein! Kind of like beef and noodles but better than the normal American kind.

Absolutely disgusting. I cant figure out for the life of me why people like this place. I have tried it a couple times, the first I ordered general tso's chicken for carry out. It was disgusting! It smelled like wet dog food. Didn't eat it. Second time same thing. Absolute garbage. read more

Only giving a 1 star because the food is okay, but their "delivery" service is pathetic. 1.5 hours to get food and it doesn't give the estimated delivery time online when ordering is AWFUL. How you can sustain a business that offers delivery service like that is a miracle. The lack of getting that taken care of before opening (taking over ) a business is completely irresponsible. If I could give 0 stars, I would. read more

Excellent food. Best hot and sour soup ever!