Awesome food. Sushi is incredible and service is great. Try the authentic foods especially the spicy veges and fish or Szechwan beef (from the Szechwan menu. read more

Lee Cafe is an unassuming restaurant located in a strip mall next to a Food Lion off of Highway 21. Whoever said "location, location, location" is key has never been to Lee Cafe. It's simply amazing. In reality there are 2 Lee Cafes. There's the Americanized Chinese food version on the front of the menu. Pretty standard fare. And then there is the authentic Chinese version in the back of the menu. And my oh my is it authentic. When the waitress (who was PHENOMENAL) saw my wife and I perusing the dishes in the back of the menu she brought us a tablet where we could scroll through a TON of "real" dishes (photo and English names for each). When the waitress learned we both spoke Chinese it got real and we started talking about the different dishes. My wife and I picked three dishes for lunch: Seafood and Tofu Claypot, Spicy Fish, and Chinese Water Spinach (kongxincai). The third dish wasn't on the menu but when we talked with the waitress we learned it was in season and available. At her suggestion we also had it prepared the Southern Chinese way. The flavor of each dish was incredible. It felt like we were in Taiwan or Southern China instead of South Carolina. My wife, who was born in Taiwan and grew up in the US, said it reminded her of her father's home cooking. The claypot had flavors I haven't tasted since my last trip to Taiwan in 2011. The spicy fish was epic; just the right flavor and spice. My wife and I didn't talk too much during lunch as we were busy stuffing our mouths. Each bite tasted better than the last. It's pretty rare to find a good Chinese restaurant in the States. I had Lee Cafe bookmarked on Yelp for a year but slept on it until today. I have a lot of time to make up for. My tummy is already thanking me. I'm stingy on stars but this one deserves five of them. Highly recommend. read more

Lee Cafe - Spicy Fish and Seafood and Tofu Claypot - Chinese Near Me - Fort Mill, South Carolina

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Gave this place a try tonight since we are still trying to find a great Chinese restaurant for takeout. We ordered crab rangoons, which were pretty good. A nice balance of crab and cream cheese in the filling. The chicken lo mein was very bland. I didn't taste any flavor in there. The shrimp tempura was also good, not greasy. The egg rolls are very small....almost bite-size. The smallest egg rolls that I've ever seen. The beef and broccoli had a nice flavor, but the broccoli was a bit undercooked. Overall, the food here did not weigh me down like some Chinese places do. read more

Service could have been better, expected better tip for a carry out order, food was not spicy as requested

found this place on Nextdoor on reviews and thought we would give it a ty. So far it's the best place around and we will be back. The order was fast and was ready when we pulled up. A good thing to note is this place is actually a restaurant and you can sit down and have dinner, just just a take out joint. read more

Really bad service... One of us ordered a hot soup as a side for his lunch and a Chinese waiter with glasses brought a wonton soup, we told him this is not what we ordered, the Chinese waiter got upset and said "Speak English!! Do not speak Japanese English!!!" WTF?!?!?! We couldn't even understand his English but be nice to him... We will never go back to Lee Cafe and wouldn't recommend it. read more

I have stopped by here many, many times to grab their sushi lunch special since they are so close to work but had been meaning to go for dinner because I have heard they have some authentic Chinese specialties. Don't get me wrong, the sushi lunch special is great, 100% order accuracy and friendly service when I pick it up (keep in mind as the door states no sushi on Tuesdays) but the dinner service was the real star. We were promptly seated and given menus. Our waitress was so excited to tell us all about the food and then she brought over an ipad with pictures so we could see everything. She enthusiastically gave recommendations that we took her up on. First we split the Szechuan dumplings. They are listed on the cold appetizers menu but came out hot when we ordered them. They were phenomenal! They are pork filled dumplings with a shrimp each served in chili oil. My favorite item of the meal. Fiancé ordered the Szechuan beef which is a huge soupy bowl of beef and cabbage and a delicious blend of spices. I ordered the spicy veggie & shrimp which came in a heated wok that our waitress lit at the table. It was delicious and had abundant amounts of shrimp. On one of her passes by our table to deliver someone else's meal the waitress stopped for a second to show me the dish if I had ordered the fish instead. How great is it that she was so excited about the food that she wanted to show me the other option that I was thinking of? Everything was enjoyable from the food to the service, we will definitely make this a regular stop! read more

We can looking for sushi, but the sushi chef takes off on Wednesdays. That was my luck:/ Sweet servers none the less! They were very kind and it was a very clean restaurant. Down to the fans and walls! I tend to take a look at these things as it reflect the state of the kitchen. We received the food quickly and it was warm! Pretty good. I would have like to more vegetables in the fried rice, but none the less it was yum. read more

I know that comparing Charlotte (technically Fort Mill) Chinese food to New York is a little unfair. There are just more Cantonese people up there so the options are endless but after eating at Lee Cafe I will no longer need to wait until my trips up north to get good Cantonese/Szechuan style dinner. My suggestion is to go in a larger group so you can order entrees and do it family style. If you have never had Szechuan before, Most dishes come out with a ton of Szechuan peppercorn but they are thicker and harder to chew so if you don't want it spicy they are easily avoidable. When we sat down, we got a ton of menus. We got a sushi menu, a Chinese menu, and a regular menu. I strongly think you should go out of your comfort food when you try this place. There are not a lot of places in the area that have authentic dishes. So if you see a dish that you could get in a food court in the mall, try something else! Not because it wouldn't be good at Lee Cafe but because your taste buds will be in for a treat! The Szechuan Wonton (Which was pork and had pieces of whole shrimp, not minced) were delightful. The best part was the sauce the wontons were in. Super flavorful!!! We loved it so much in fact after we finished the wontons we saved the plate of sauce to pour over our white rice. Dry-fried Green Beans Hands down! The best garlic green beans I have ever had. I don't know what dry fried means but the green beans were bright and plump and had a crisp bite to them but were not oily. They came out with a ton of garlic and everyone at the tables loved them!! We also got the Beef Chow Fun which is a guilty pleasure for me, I personally always love any kind of fat noodle so it's really hard for me to review this because I'm biased. But guys at the table after the fact said we should have opted for a more traditional dish. We also got the Spicy Chili Chicken which is also dry fried. It was a little tough for me but still tasted good. So long story short, I will be coming back. There are SOO many things I want to try like MAPO tofu, the sushi here and basically all the things that say Szechuan in front of it! Enjoy!! read more

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RUDE service, RUDE Owner, and ZERO regard for food allergies and cross contamination!! Will never be back and I suggest anyone with any food allergies to not risk it!!! Definitely should lose SafeServ certifications!!! Oh, and the server actually huffed when I refused to tip her for her incompetence. read more

Pretty good menu with all the usual suspects. Food looks and tastes very good. Nice inside but have never sat down to eat. Prefer cash and offer discount. read more

We hit the Chinese food restaurant jackpot! This place is located in a shopping center, very unassuming and "in the cut" but boy oh boy, after your 1st visit, you won't have any trouble finding it...just lead with your stomach! I have been fortunate enough to have "Jenny" as my server on both visits. The visual menu on a tablet is extremely helpful but Jenny's clear explanation of the dishes was even better! She encouraged us to go outside of our comfort zone and not order "typical Chinese food". So yeah, there's like an entirely different menu for the more traditional Chinese dishes...don't be scuurd, you'll only be disappointed if you don't give it a shot! :) We ordered the Szechuan Wontons...OMG...soooooo good! They are pretty spicy so beware if you're sensitive to spicy and bold flavors. The lettuce wraps were also very good! Servings are made for sharing so keep that in mind if you go solo. read more

Lee Cafe - Szechuan Wontons: I can't even do this dish any justice, just order it! - Chinese Near Me - Fort Mill, South Carolina

One of the best authentic Chinese food restaurants I have found in the Charlotte area. Have throughly enjoyed everything I have tried, especially the more authentic Chinese dishes. Have never tried the sushi but have a dedicated sushi chef on-site. Great lunch specials during the week. Online ordering is also an option for takeout. read more

Hands down the best Chinese food I have ever had. As soon as you walk in, all you can smell is the delicious food. There was quite a bit of a wait and lots of people waiting, but my mom and I are patient people and waited, and let me just say, it was well worth it. The hostess was welcoming, despite being flooded by the number of people at the door. The menu had some classic American style Chinese food, but had plenty of authentic Cantonese options as well. They also served sushi, although I didn't get a chance to give any a try. Our food was served hot and was very fresh and was bursting with flavor. Our waitress, although very busy, was kind and courteous and checked on us often and answered any questions we had. We aren't from the area, but would recommend this place to anyone looking for a twist on a classic. read more

Best Szechuan spot in town. It's a small place and it gets really busy. They have the best fried intestines. It's perfectly fried with tons of heat as in plate full of red peppers. The lobster was very succulent full of flavor. Fried crab was delicious. They have your regular Chinese food items too but definitely check out the menu and try something you haven't tried before. Everything we got was delicious even the veggies. read more

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Came here after all of the great reviews. On balance this place is good, but not great. The positives: - Service. My server was very helpful and very attentive. Checked back frequently but not too much. Excellent -- Food was served piping hot. It looked fresh as well. - love that they have brown rice as an option. Not everyone does. It was delicious. -- Steamed veggies were really good. Fresh broccoli, carrots, zukes, pea pods, mushrooms, nappa cabbage. All steamed perfectly. Definitely a highlight. The not as good: -- I had the kung pao chicken. While the flavor was good, some of the chicken was a little fatty which was weird since I was told it was all white meat. I stopped eating it and focused on the peanuts and cashews only. -- they don't have sushi! It's in the name, yet they didn't have sushi so if you are looking for that, find another restaurant. I'd be back for sure, but wasn't blown away and would probably not order a chicken dish again. read more

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Went to the place after a great reviews by couple of friends about traditional Chinese food / menu with large group of people. Started off with unfriendly wait staff (a lady) with a comment we thought you aren't coming. Ahhha good welcome :). They struggled with arrangement for a seating, we pulled tables and finally got seated. Then they were so worried how we are going to pay - with a q, separate checks or same check?...even before giving the menu. By the way they didn't give all of us a menu. Finally the wait guy asked for drink order, one person said water and they assumed we all are going to get water - wow!. Another fact...the water was dirty with something floating on the top, we have ask for new set of water for few of us. The owner who was walking around us, never came to our table. So the attitude starts from the top. Now to some + stuff...2 stars for the food. Food rescued this place or we might have walked out of that place...think about losing 20+ orders on a Saturday afternoon if you are running a business. Clay pots, eggplant dish's were excellent. Fried rice mediocre. They served faster for a large group. Some food excellent, decent price, with unfriendly & rude wait staff...is it worth you decide. I am not going back. Cheers! read more

Absolutely love this place! This is our second time here and it looks like this is our new favorite spot! The atmosphere is very friendly and welcoming. All the dishes we tried were all 10/10, and the portions of hot meals were huge! read more

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I just got back from a trip to nyc where i ate very authentic, delicious chinese food for the entire time and I've been craving some ever since. Lee Café did not disappoint! I ordered rather light as I had a cold, so I got the szechuan wontons, cucumber appetizer, and then hot & sour soup (probably wouldn't have gotten the soup if I hadn't been feeling under the weather, tbh). It was all delicious, but the wontons were hands-down the best -- as I had anticipated. Can't wait to go back and try other dishes! read more

Lee Cafe - Szechuan Wonton - Chinese Near Me - Fort Mill, South Carolina

The general Tso was decent. We ordered the dinner portion which was smaller than expected for $10.95. There was nothing overly exciting about the general Tao. The fried rice was sub par at best. The crab rangoons were absolutely delicious! Not sure I would recommend in good conscience. read more

I've eaten here many times, and I've never had a bad experience. The cafe is always very clean, the staff does there job exactly like they should, and the food is very good. I recommend it to others based on my great experiences! read more

This is my new favorite local Chinese restaurant in South Charlotte. (Fort Mill, really) They serve authentic Sichuan Chinese cuisine with the proper málà spice levels and flavor along with a nice Cantonese selection and the more classic Chinese-American options along with a sushi bar. The phone number never seemed to work so don't bother trying to make reservations, but judging by the crowd on a Saturday night, expect to wait for a table if you show up after 7:30pm. read more

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My favorite Asian restaurant in the area. Everything from sushi, Chinese food, Thai curry dishes and specialties I haven't seen anywhere else. I've never had a bad meal here. Service is fast and friendly. read more

Having lived in Charlotte for over 8 years and being Chinese, I can say with some authority that Lee Cafe is hands down the most authentic Chinese food in Charlotte. From the moment I walked in, I could tell this is the real deal. All the customers seated at that time were Chinese and if you are looking for authentic food, then that's a telltale sign of a great place. As with any Chinese restaurant, all food is served family style so bring as many friends and/or family as you can rally! Food: I went with my mom and sister and since it was my first time there, we ordered an aggressive amount of food for a small family. Like champions, we basically ate everything it was so good. For appetizer, we started off with the Szechuan wontons (sorry I'm not sure of the exact translations of the foods) and it was amazing. The wonton was firm and filled with meat and shrimp and the chili oil was flavorful and reminded me of when I actually visited Szechuan. For the main dishes, we ordered Szechuan fish fillet, garlic eggplant, mapo tofu, and Beef chow fun (gan chao niu he). Every dish was flavorful, delicious and most importantly, very authentic. We loved spicy food so all our dishes were spicy, but they also have a large selection of non-spicy dishes. I would highly recommend what I ordered as they are very traditional Chinese dishes. All in all, I am excited to finally have a great authentic Chinese restaurant in Charlotte. Pro tip: Make sure to ask for the Chinese menu if you want the authentic dishes. Don't worry if you can't read Chinese, there is English translation on it. read more

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Looking for some authentic Chinese food? Lee Café may be the place for you, if you don't mind a short trip to Fort Mill. One menu is all in Chinese and the other Chinese with English translation. That tells me that people who can read Chinese eat here. Which further tells me I'm in the right place for the "good stuff". So far, my favorite dishes are the Szechuan Spicy Beef, Mapo Tofu and Twice Cooked Pork. The flavors were spot on and reminded me of places I frequented in NYC; the portions are also very generous. The Appetizer Section has cold items that you would not expect, like Saliva Chicken, that I was admittedly not brave enough to order. Of course they have hot appetizers and soup. There's a sushi bar, but why get sushi when there's so much else to order? So in the ongoing search for good Chinese in Charlotte, put this one on your "to do " list. read more

Best dishes around, would say that this is the most authentic eating around if you want to know what real Chinese dishes are all about. So happy to have discovered this place. read more

*****AUTHENTIC CHINESE FOOD***** So happy to say there is finally a great Chinese restaurant near Charlotte! It is located right near Carowinds (same exit). Menu has a good variety of different Chinese foods- esp. different styles. Portion size is decent, but the best part is that the food came so fast even when it was fairly busy! Random tidbits: 1. I love twice cooked pork but this one was more fatty than usual. If that's what you like, then go for it! 2. Please try the drunken chicken, it was so tender and delicious! 3. It seems like it can get busy fast due to limited seating, so it would be safe to make a reservation. 4. Servers seem to really care about the needs of the customers, even if it's like getting me a water in a timely manner. Can't wait to come back and try other dishes on the menu! read more

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I always love a great authentic sushi restaurant and Lee's is a great one! I drive an hour both ways just to get a great meal and great service! read more

Lee's Cafe is the best Chinese restaurant in Fort Mill. They're super fast with take out orders and always nice. We called for a take out order last night while when were only about 3 minutes down the road and when we got there we only had go wait maybe 5 minutes before our food was ready. And you could tell it was super fresh. When I ordered fruit as the dessert for our dinner combos I thought it'd be like mixed melon and/or berries but it ended up being slices of orange. I wasn't upset about it because they were very sweet and ripe. In normal Chinese take out fashion it was more than enough food so I filled up fast. This is a must go for good Chinese food at a really great price. read more

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I have been searching for a decent Szechuan Chinese restaurant in Charlotte ever since Dynasty Cuisine in Matthews closed a couple of years ago. My search is now over - and they really exceeded my expectations. I'd say that my review is based on the traditional Chinese menu, with many traditional Szechuan offerings and also a few Cantonese items such as the beef chow fun as well. The two dishes I had were both very authentic. No corners were cut (see pics I posted), and i dare say that they are the only Chinese place in Charlotte I know of so far who knows how to cook Chinese/Szechuan dishes properly. I can't wait to go back to experience their other offerings on the traditional menu. read more

Lee Cafe - Double Cooked Pork - very authentic - Chinese Near Me - Fort Mill, South Carolina

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Best Chinese restaurant around PERIOD. Ask for the authentic Chinese menu. This place is new and has been updating their menu quite often. The flavor is overall pretty authentic. read more

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Food 7/10: 1. Salted fish, chicken and eggplant in a clay pot 2. Oysters, tofu and baby bok choy in a clay pot. (The tofu was the star of this dish) 3. Lobster sautéed in a ginger sauce 4. Grilled shrimp in a ?black soybean sauce Served with jasmine rice. Service 5/10 Our 'assigned' waitress brought out the dishes, but no rice. We waited, but did not see her. So we tried to ask another waitress about it she scoffed and walked off saying she wasn't our waitress. Pretty rude. Even if that were the case she should have said let me send your waitress to help you. Cost: 1-3 Were $18-22 per dish and 4-$35. Not bad, but if you want the most food for your $ this isn't your place. Overall pretty tasty food, but not quite as delicious as Wan Fu (my fave Chinese restaurant in 704) was back in the 90s-00s. Worth a try though. Planning to return and try some of the more classic Szechuan dishes. read more

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The food is excellent. The service is good. The ambience - meh. Unless you're out for a romantic evening you won't care about the ambiance once the food arrives. read more

What a great place to eat! Having just recently arrived from the West Coast we are still trying to find good places to eat and this is definitely one of them. The food on the menu is a great sampling of authentic Chinese food both Mandarin and Szechuan, then there's the back side of the menu featuring some great looking sushi rolls and other Japanese cuisine. The food we received was excellent served very hot and the service was outstanding. I would recommend Lee's Cafe to anybody that enjoys really good and authentic Chinese food! read more

Great Restaurant! Awesome service! Tastey Food! Now about the experience.. 50s diner like feel with the decor. The restaurant is clean and that's what really matters when you sit down to eat. Negatives: I am not a fan of the schezuan wontons. Everyone else said they were amazing however there is a taste of seasonings that did not go well with my palette. No one's fault, just not a fan. Positives: From my sushi roll to the peppered steak, everything was superb. As everyone else has commented, I walked out with my tummy completely full. I am thoroughly impressed and will be eating here again! read more

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Always busy and so good if you like Chinese. Egg rolls chicken fried rice were spot on.

On a take out order she got offended when I asked her to read back the order. First, I do that whenever I order take out. Second, her English is telegraphic with an accent When I went to pick up the food I told her as much. Literally turned her back to me. read more

Good quality food and nice portion size. Would recommend. Price a little on the high side.

I am happy to finally find an authentic Chinese restaurant with decent Sichuan food in Charlotte. I've been coming g here for a year and it's my favorite Chinese restaurant in town. I always ordered from their Chinese menu. All of their hot pot dishes (seafood, salted fish, tofu and chicken and the salted fish, chicken and eggplants) are great. I always couldn't decide which one to order since I like all of them. The dry chili chicken, salt and spices tofu, black and pepper beef, salt and pepper soft shell crab are all delicious. read more

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For years, Chinese restaurant after restaurant cycled through this spot. Lee Cafe, however, has broken the curse, and it's not hard to see why. I came here with two friends on a Friday night. The restaurant was pretty busy but we were nonetheless seated quickly. The waitress who helped us throughout the night--and I say this as a person who dines out almost every day--has to be the most accommodating and personable server I've ever encountered. From the moment we sat down, she was on hand to answer every possible question. She clearly knew the menu well, and--unlike a lot of other places--was more than willing to give her honest opinion on who should be trying what. The restaurant offers authentic Sichuanese and Cantonese food; I didn't order any of the authentic dishes because, per the waitress's recommendation, they're best eaten family style (and my friends, alas, did not prove receptive to the idea). Instead, I opted for the hot and sour soup (good, but not the best I've had--I would have liked it a bit more sour), the octopus nigiri (fine, but my least favorite order from the night), and the eel nigiri (excellent, with wonderful flavor and texture). I ordered the orange chicken as my entree. At first, I wasn't crazy about it, but it rapidly grew on me. All in all, I can say that this has to be the best easy sit-down Chinese place of eaten at in the Charlotte area. It avoids the greasiness a lot of other places seem to embrace while delivering hearty flavors and the service is truly exceptional, and I cannot wait to return (with better company) to sample some authentic dishes. read more