I usually never write reviews, in fact this is my first review on yelp, but I decided I should say something. So the employees are very nice, they don't feel fake *if you know, you know* and there was no rush. But here is where I have a problem, 1 hour, 1 HOUR for out food. And if you reading this you might thing I'm over reacting but OTHER PEOPLE got their food BEFORE US AND they ordered AFTER US, but the food was good, it messed up my stomach though. But other then that I think it's good, but try to be faster, I would come back.(Also y'all get a plus for giving out free mints and smarties lol) read more

I was absolutely dumbfounded when I was told mine and my husbands order was $52 for two entrees, eggrolls, drink, and an app. So disappointing, I will not waste my money here again. On top of the outrageous prices, they added a to-go charge, the soda was flat, they hardly filled the sauces at all. read more

See all

Absolutely not the Mathis cafe of old. Not authentic Chinese food. You don't want to waste your money here.

First time since under new ownership. Sadly very disappointing. Ordered the sweet and sour shrimp . It was all batter and grease with overcooked shrimp in the center. The fried rice had no seasoning or flavor. My husband ordered the lomein supreme Which was also very greasy and under seasoned. They were out of egg rolls which was a disappointment. The portions were much smaller than the previous owner and the prices have doubled. i don't think we will be back. read more

One of my favorite places to eat. I get the Kung Bao Chicken every time and the sauce is amazing. The fried noodles are the bomb too. The servers are really friendly and I'll definitely keep going here once a week. read more

Sorry! This place has such a great reputation in town. Enough so that we drove out to the airport just to experience it. Szechuan chicken: the chicken was tender and the freshness and variety of vegetables was nice. It was drowning in so much sauce, i thought that they'd given me a soup by mistake. Mildy spicy even though we asked for extra hot. My husband felt the same about the Hon-sil chicken. I like it better than other Chinese restaurants because of the vegetable selection, but if i went again, i'd order my food without sauce on it, just served on the side. read more

We decided to try Mathis Field Cafe based on several positive reviews. We assumed that the negative ones were just outliers. Were we ever wrong! This was the worst "Chinese" food either of us has ever tasted or seen. The only appropriate term for it is SLOP. The service was indeed fast -- unbelievably fast, in fact. He ordered Sesame Chicken; I ordered Kung Bao Chicken. The waitress returned his chicken to the kitchen where they sprinkled sesame seeds on top. That was his so-called Sesame Chicken --- slop with sesame seeds on top. But he couldn't find chicken in his Sesame Chicken. The peanuts for my Kung Bao Chicken were served on the side. Odd. The chicken in my dish was akin to shaved chicken -- very very thin pieces. The sauce was icky sweet and gelatinous. No spice whatsoever (despite the pepper beside the name on the menu. In fact, my sauce tasted like the same sauce as the Sesame Chicken sauce. Both were served with "fried rice," which was not at all fried rice. Perhaps they added some soy sauce to make it brown? No egg, no scallion, no nothing. Just tasteless rice. The only reason this place gets one star is because I can't give a negative one. Also, don't expect any ambiance here. The place is brighter than a Denny's -- no adornment, nada. Never again. Utterly disgusting. read more

So for a small cafe conveniently located next in the terminal at the airport this place served us a 5 star meal yesterday. My husband and I were served a patty melt that was so perfect it would merit a special trip to eat. The salad that accompanied it was fresh and lovely as well. It was quick service with a smile and everything was made fresh to order. We will stop in here again read more

We went in on a Friday evening. There were about 15 people in the cafe. We were seated and ordered our drinks and a couple eggrolls. They came in just a couple minutes and were OK. We ordered our food and waited for about 30 minutes. We noticed that none of the other people were getting their food either. We did see about 10 to go orders go out. We asked when our food would be coming out. Our waitress checked and said that we would be after a large group seated across the room. We paid for the drinks and 2 eggrolls ($12) and left. This used to be one of our favorite places to eat. It's now under new ownership and management. I hope things get better. read more

We have enjoyed dining at the Mathis Field Cafe for several years now and have enjoyed each and every dish we have tried. The Egg Rolls are excellent, (I prefer to eat these with 'sticks, they keep the sauce off your fingers.) the selections numerous and the portion sizes are more than plenty to split and save for later if you like, and you can always request a half-order if you're not that hungry. Just don't expect koi in fancy fountains, jade green walls, and waitresses in black silk dresses -- the focus here is great, inexpensive food served up in plentiful portions that will leave you feeling wonderfully and pleasantly overfed. However, if you are into aviation, don't be surprised at what you might see parked outside the windows, I've seen just about everything from a Pitts to a Galaxy, an F-117, F-14,15,16, P-51s, T-38s, Tweets, Warthogs, Herky Birds, and Drones. I have read where other guests were expecting the dishes to be fast-food style Americanized Asian food, and were disappointed by the casual home-style Asian comfort food they received. The secret here, and I suspect the reason why so many people fly in for lunch and dinner, has to do with how accommodating the staff is, and how well they take care of their patrons. Iff you are friendly and courteous, and let them know about any special dietary restrictions, tastes or preferences when you order, they've always been taken care of. Always, if you need your dish served over a specific style of rice, or if you want extra peanuts in your Kung Bao Chicken, instead of occasionally on the side (because of potential peanut allergies), or if you really do like munching those red chili peppers and want your dish Szechuan Spicy Hot -- tell your waitress how you want your favorite dish prepared! And, about the generous portions of sauce, clear/white or sweet/hot brown reduction, slowly stir in your choice of rice, (I prefer the white rice for this, especially if it's sticky rice.) problem solved! Remember, "You Have not, because you Ask not." Unless of course, you're eating prepackaged and franchised fast-food, in that case you are on your own. Happy Dining! read more

I was told by a lot of people that this was the best Chinese place in town. However, it is what you can really expect from a small Texas town. It was pretty average. I ordered a half an order of the Sweet and sour pork with fried rice and a half an order of the lemon shrimp with fried rice. I ended up paying about $13 and it was not bad. It's a really quiet restaurant and the service isn't bad. You can either go for take out or dine in. For those looking for Chinese food, it's definitely not a bad place to visit; however, if you're looking for something to just quench the craving, it does the trick. read more

Worth the drive to the airport! Went here for a family dinner and they accommodated our group of 10 really well. All of our food was hot and great. The portions were huge! Don't skip the egg rolls or the fried noodles w/sweet and sour sauce as appetizers. The fried noodles are SO addicting! Prices are very reasonable. Highly recommend! read more

This is your idea of good Chinese food San Angelo? Blech. Get a clue. I'm no stranger to Asian dining so when we moved to town and asked about good Chinese places, a lot of locals mentioned Mathis Field Cafe. Eventually we gave it a try and I have to say I'm disappointed. I guess from a town that specialized in Tex Mex & BBQ, this is what locals consider as good, but I beg to differ. The flavors were either lost in some dishes or way too overpowering in others. And that brown "gravy" sauce they drench on almost every dish? Ewww, hold the sauce please. If you're stuck in the airport and you're starving, it wouldn't be an awful place to get a meal, but I would say hold out until you get to the DFW airport or your next destination. read more

Not very good. Like someone said earlier, feels like homemade Chinese..just not in the good way. Underpowering taste in the sauce. Mushrooms definitely seemed like the canned pre-sliced kind. This may not be the city for Chinese food. I had the Hon-Sil fish, and everything was just very bland. It needs more salt, soy sauce, MSG, or whatever makes Chinese take out taste like Chinese take out. It is very cheap, though. read more

See all

First time we have been there since new ownership and Covid-19. We were the only customers there about 4:00 on a Wednesday. Everyone was friendly and gracious. Food was great like it used to be in years past, just a slight increase in price for half-orders. Our main concerns were the facts that no staff personnel wore masks!!! Not good for my husband and I since we are in that critical age with underlying health conditions. read more

I grew up here and Mathisfield Cafe is a local favorite. We have a lot of Buffets in town and there's only a a couple of place that you can go to get Chinese Food. It is at the Airport, so it's far but it's definitely worth the drive. If those Black Hawk pilots fly all the way here to eat at Mathisfield, then it' definitely worth the drive out, plus you can watch the planes take off while you eat. Ms. Rita and Ms. Kyong have been on the waitstaff forever and I love them. You can request which waitstaff you want if they are not busy. Rose and Sam, the owners, comes out to greet people whenever they can, they're so nice. Food, totally awesome, not like the buffet and they have American food too if you bring a friend that prefers it. read more

This place was great when ran by Rose, now it has gone downhill badly!! Went to pick up food and got home with it, opened it expecting it to be a great addition to this special occasion, and it was cold and dried up, like it was yesterday's leftovers!! This was way before the pandemic. Loved it before!!!! Now it's under new management and new ownership!! Called them about it and most places will say we will replace it, but not them!! They were so rude and unfriendly, will never go there again!!! Please beware!! I can't even give this place even one star!! read more

Just been back after Mathis field cafe. It was awesome and a great portion, great prices. I will be back.

Food was decent but costumer service and wait time was atrocious. Ordered pickup and took nearly hour and half and once we got our food, majority of our orders were wrong. So we told the lady who works there and she said oh well this is good anyways. That's not the point, the point is that's not what we wanted, and we never got our original order. Only reason it gets a star was food was decent but service was unacceptable. read more

Best Chinese in SA. I've been eating here since I was a kid and 2 things have never changed....the decor & the almond chicken & egg rolls kicking ass! They have hard hours to keep track of & probably need a better answering machine/system (and a website/social media presence), but the food is great. Large portions considering the low prices. Great value restaurant. Wish they would jump on board w/ new delivery sves. Would benefit them based on our-of-the-way location (the airport). Still worth the trip for me though! read more

Orange chicken non-spicy steamed rice and like 10 egg rolls with plum sauce! Every time for 20+ years. Hands down my favorite Chinese food ever and I am a Chinese food connoisseur. read more

We are not full time here in San Angelo but we have gone to this restaurant several times because it is local. It was ok in the past but we thought we would support the new owners especially due to businesses being closed due to Covid 19. My husband ordered the Combo Lo Mein and was very disappointed. No veggies and very little meat. I ordered the Sesame Chicken and spoke to the owner to see if I could have reg. chicken and not the breaded hard kind. She was very nice and said she would do that for me. I was so looking forward to it. Even told the neighbors we were excited to try it again. My Sesame Chicken was nothing but sauce, a tiny bit of veggies and only (seriously) a couple of slivers of chicken, that I had to dig through to find. I was so disappointed and we will probably not return. It really makes us sad because we wanted to support the new owners on their new adventure. Apparently someone in the kitchen was trying to skimp on food but they have skimped their way out of our business. So sorry to write this. read more

This is the worst Chinese food that I have ever had. Seriously, the worst. I got sesame chicken and it was just plain chicken with some sesame seeds thrown on top. It was not fried nor did it appear to be cooked in a wok - it almost look boiled. Then it was swimming and I mean swimming in some disgusting sauce. It was just gross. I cannot put into words how bad this food was. Then to add insult to injury it had a big sign by the cash register that said San Angelo best Chinese food of 2014. What??? Was there no other Chinese restaurants in town? Was it best Chinese restaurant in the airport??? I just don't get it. read more

I ordered the Hon-Sil Fish described as cod battered and fried and served with baby corn, broccoli, mushrooms, and other veggies served in a spicy brown sauce. After waiting for over 30 minutes for our food, I was served 2 cut up frozen fish filets with canned mushrooms, about 2 pieces of limp broccoli and some cut up corn. The sauce was bland, no heat at all. They don't offer any type of condiment such as sriracha chili sauce or anything. I was pretty surprised other reviewers gave such high ratings. I usually don't say this but it was horrible. I'm certain the waitress didn't return to check, because she probably was ashamed to serve it. Ugh! read more

The food is okay. Everything is drenched is sauce. Kind of reminds me of the cheap mall Chinese food. The egg rolls are really good though!

Great Chinese Food. Great Prices. This local place where the locals go. I've been going just about weekly since they opened in the 1980s. Food is what I consider "home" style Chinese. It's not your typical like a chain place. read more

This isn't really a Chinese restaurant so I'm not sure why it's categorized that way. It's more like a bad cafeteria that's inside the San Angelo Airport. The food was extremely bland and despite the fact that I was starving, I still couldn't finish it the food was so bad. We ordered lo mein and beef with broccoli - two things I would consider pretty typical (American) Chinese dishes and yet they were both horrible. We will never get food from there again despite the fact that we live right by the airport. If you are wanting Chinese food go some place else or you'll be disappointed. read more

This is the best Chinese food in town , they have some of the best sweet and sour chicken and the best lomein . The best Chinese food that you will ever eat in your whole life read more

This place has been a long-time favorite. We've been eating hear for something like 15 years. The portions here are really generous. The egg rolls are outstanding. I'm brave and eat them with the spicy mustard. I also love the wa-sil shrimp and the shrimp lo-mein. (I don't know how to spell these items. I don't look at the menu.) read more

I loved this place until I found a big, long black hair mixed in with my food. None of us could finish our food. They did not charge me for my meal, but didn't do anything for the 3 other people who were disgusted and could not finish their meals. Sadly, I now feel like gagging when I think of going there. I know it could happen anywhere, but people, wear hair nets! read more

I love Mathis Field Cafe! Super tasty Chinese food at great prices make this eatery a go-to dining-out staple. Efficient service - the food comes right to you! read more

Best Chinese you'll find in San Angelo. Inexpensive, good quality, and speedy. Large portions for low cost.

I have eaten at some very expensive Chinese restaurants in the big cities and have yet to to find better Chinese food than offered here at Mathis Cafe. No matter what we order we always get a side order of lo mien noodles as theirs are the best! read more

Most airports have a place within their terminal that serves bad food at a high price. This is not the case for this place. Opened several years ago, this place rapidly became well known to not only the locals, but to professional pilots and crews from across the country. They serve both Chinese and American food. They have built a reputation for their great food to local customers who drive the 15 minute plus trip to eat lunch or dinner. Airline crews often request this location for their flights due to the great food. Airforce bad other armed force members often make San Angelo part of their flights plan to come eat at this great restaurant. read more

My husband and I love eating here! The food is always good and portions are generous. Waitresses are always friendly. Best place in town!

Pretty good. .Love the eggrolls and General Chows chicken. Been going there for years and always get the same thing.