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    Joys' Cafe

    3.4 (70 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 9:30 pm

    Joys' Cafe Photos

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    JOYS' CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Joys' Cafe

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    hainanese chicken rice
    Simon P.

    2nd time having lunch at this relatively new hong kong chachantang style restaurant. Generally okay, but the rice dishes came a bit colder than expected. The hainanese chicken is very tender - the rice can be a bit more flavorful though. The imitation shark fin soup is really watery although the flavors are actually okay. Iced milk tea is okay. Overall a nice addition to the neighborhood but have rooms for improvement.

    Olivia S.

    Your standard HK cafe. The bolo burger is worth the money (also comes with fries). Everything is pretty much the same. It's a good option though to have in Chinatown for a quick lunch!

    Tea
    Karen Y.

    Food: 3/5 Service: 3/5 Value: 3/5 Basically, a solid 3. Food was average, compared to other Cha Chaan Teng,, the "company sando" was blah. Wouldn't get again. The pineapple bun with pork chop was decent. The baked chicken over rice was just "ma ma day"... French toast was just "ok la". best thing was the iced lemon tea. Very busy around lunch time. If you end up in the back tables in the little nook by the bathroom, you will need to physically stand up and wave for service. Really odd and not the best seats. They pretty much forgot about us after bringing us our food. Not one person came over to refill our tea/water. Will most likely stick with our usual spot down the block. This place didn't bring us joy. On to the next one.

    Jenn C.

    Food: This restaurant is a Hong Kong-style cafe in Manhattan Chinatown. I tried the pork chop baked with spaghetti in white sauce. It was overall delicious but very salty. Even so, I would recommend this dish and order it again. Their menu offers a wide variety of baked rice and pasta dishes, desserts, drinks, appetizers/small snacks, pineapple buns, and much more. I look forward to coming back here to try more dishes. Service: Service is so so here. It took a while for someone to come take my order even though multiple staff members walked by. They don't really circulate to see if you need anything and are either talking amongst themselves or doing their own tasks around the restaurant without checking in on customers. I also needed a water refill for a long time before I could get a hold of someone. Other customers were also waving for a server to come over before they were seen. There is also a strange dynamic between the staff members; when I flagged someone over to take my order, there was a brief back and forth between two servers about who would come over to take my order as if neither of them wanted to come take my order. Staff members might need some retraining. Ambiance: Ambiance is nice, and seating is comfortable. The place is clean and newly renovated. Both large and small groups can be accommodated. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant!

    Ham & egg sandwich
    Isabel H.

    We stopped by Joy's Cafe in Chinatown after running some errands and ordered the tomato with beef over rice, baked signature seafood with rice, fried toast with peanut sauce & butter, a guava smoothie, and a ham & egg sandwich. Overall, the food was good. Our favorite was definitely the fried toast with peanut sauce and butter--it came in bite-sized pieces, making it easy to share, and the combination of the crispy toast with the peanut butter and butter was delicious. The guava smoothie was also refreshing. The portions were on the smaller side compared to other Hong Kong-style cafes in the area, so keep that in mind if you're arriving hungry. The seating is a bit tight, but that's pretty typical for many Chinatown restaurants. I'm taking off one star because the timing of the dishes could have been better. The ham & egg sandwich took much longer than expected. We had already finished the fried toast and the baked seafood rice before it arrived. We asked about it and were told it was coming, but we still ended up waiting another five minutes. For a simple sandwich, I would have expected it to come out much sooner. Despite the smaller portions, tight seating, and the wait for the sandwich, the food itself was enjoyable, and I'd be willing to come back to try more items.

    wonton soup
    Cindy C.

    Ambiance - is decorative and comfortable. Sit comfortably - not tight. Service - friendly but not attentive, there are a moment there was no server on the floor - all of them huddle at the entrance area , hard to ask for anything. I was constant on a look out to get their attention. Food- I would say it can be a hit ot miss experience. The toast was very creative and unique - one bite, easy to eat. Nice to look and fun to eat. As for the wonton and noodle was the missed part - it was bland. hoping they will improve their broth base in the future.

    Mike Z.

    Another choice for a HK style cafe in the area, and another good contender at that. The food is similar in quality and price to the very popular Kong Sihk Tong across the street, but since it is new, it is less busy this far. Have also stopped here for take out egg tarts before, which were tasty. They aren't as good as the NaiSnow ones, but at lhalf the price!

    Portuguese egg tart, Singapore Chow Mei Fun, Beef Chow Fun
    Lila L.

    Came on a Saturday for two people at 11:20am and were seated immediately. Food came out fast. Prices are cheap for the quality and portion. Definitely will be back! We got: Singapore Chow Mei Fun- flavorful and lots of protein/noodles Beef Chow Fun- wok hei strong and plenty of beef. I used the chili sauce on the table and it gave it a nice kick Portuguese Egg Tart- crispy, flaky buttery exterior and caramelized eggy interior. A tad sweet for me. FYI- there is a discount on the bill if you decide to pay cash.

    Spam & egg with instant noodle
    Christine L.

    Tried the breakfast at Joy's since I saw they are introducing the breakfast recently. Ordered to go and the restaurant wasn't crowded. Got the A3 which is the pineapple bun and ham and eggs. Can get hot or iced drink. Drink is $1 extra. I liked the breakfast overall. Eggs were buttery and meal was filling. Hope to try other options soon.

    Amanda W.

    Review only for egg tart takeout ! I did not try the food I loved their egg tart. And definitely one to go back many many times for. The egg tarts remind me of my childhood. It has and will always be my favorite food of all time. Even hubby loved this egg tart and declared it the best. Perfect flaky crispy crust with a buttery egg center! Absolute perfection. Plotting our return back.

    Melanie W.

    This is the newest restaurant in Chinatown that is in my list to try. The place was definitely cleaned and came during lunch before the peak time. It was not too crowded. The weather was too hot that I did not have much appetite. We ordered the signature Thai beef chow fun, shaved ice with red bean and coconut juice, and wonton soup. The chow fun is definitely less oily compared to other restaurants. Highly recommended if you like the regular beef chow fun with a little spice. For the wonton soup, the wonton is definitely small, and it has soup in the filling, but nothing really special. The shaved ice with red bean and coconut juice is refreshing, but I wish the ice were more on the slushy side instead in crush ice. Highly recommended if you like coconut milk with red bean, they cooked their red bean instead using the red bean paste in the can, which makes the drink not too sweet, but I wish they had the classic red bean milk instead.

    Beef chow fun
    Sheena T.

    Surprised they have only 3.5 stars! This is one of the better HK style cha chaan tangs with reasonable prices and fast service. Almost everything we ordered was a 5/5. 1. Beef chow fun - 4/5: it had the nice Smokey "wok hei" flavor atypical of Hong Kong wok cooking, though I've had better elsewhere as well 2. Mini pineapple bun with butter - 5/5: the buns were not too sweet and the butter melted (not the hardened thick butter I sometimes see in the buns) 3. French toast - 5/5: a nice touch of the HK style French toast drizzled with chocolate, condensed milk, and peanut butter layer. Yum! 4. Hong Kong Milk Tea: 5/5: super smooth and silky, it feels thoughtfully brewed and traditional. 5. Portuguese egg tart: 5/5: not too sweet with a delightfully crispy exterior! 6. Baked pork chop rice: 5/5: came out piping hot with tender pork chops. Just right in terms of sauciness! Would definitely return! All of this was $55! Love Chinatown prices.

    Lemon ice tea
    Johnny Y.

    Joy Café is a Hong Kong style restaurant in Chinatown. They definitely have a lot of classic Hong Kong dishes that many Will like, they also have some of their own signature dishes such as the black cha siu. We ordered the lemon iced tea, the French toast, the baked chicken over rice, the beef stew lo mein, and the beef and tomato over rice. We also ordered their signature black char sui and some chicken wings, but they never came nor did our waiter ever bother to tell us. The service here was par. The one serving us clearly didn't want to be there that night which was unfortunate. She didn't even bother to inform us that the 2 dishes weren't coming. Instead she just refunded us without even telling us that was the situation. Overall the food was good. It's hard these days finding legit hk food in NY. Most of the time they're fusion of some sort or mix Asian of some other region. This place kept it with the classics and added some new ones on the menu. Just wished we got to try them. I still will come back and try their other dishes. Just hope we don't get the same server.

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    Ask the Community - Joys' Cafe

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