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    Northern Cafe

    3.9 (434 reviews)
    ModerateNoodles, Chinese, Izakaya
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Order Northern Cafe Takeout or Delivery

    Northern Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    NORTHERN CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Northern Cafe

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    Braise Spicy Beef Noodle Soup
    Leech U.

    The service was amazing and the food taste really good and the place itself is very clean and well decorated meow meow food was good

    Marie C.

    Nice and clean local spot. Plenty of seating and friendly service. The staff were attentive yet the restaurant was freezing. I ordered orange chicken and shared dishes with friends at my table. We shared fried rice and braised green beans. The portions were decent. The food was fine no issues just for what the prices were I expected a different approach to Chinese food. Price: $$

    Isabelle S.

    Took a trip to this establishment while in town for a work trip. I loved this place so so much! Service was quick and friendly. Food was delicious!

    House entree menu
    Eric P.

    First time here and it looks like a nice place to eat. There were plenty of seating and the parking lot is fairly big. We had an easy time getting a spot. we tried the Yang Chow Fried Rice and the Chongqing Crispy Chicken. Fried rice was good. Soft and not dried out. It was delicious. The Chongqing Crispy Chicken was spicy and savory. A tad salty for my taste buds but it paired well with the fried rice. I would definitely return to try the other items. The staff was helpful and friendly. The menu was clear with pictures. Love how they have allergens marked for the items. Thank you!

    Shrimp fried rice
    Melissa O.

    Had lunch here today on a whim. I ordered shrimp fried rice and a side of cucumber salad with a passion fruit green iced tea. Everything was great! The portions are pretty big, I ended up taking more than half of the fried rice to go. I've had their soup dumplings and noodles before and everything has always tasted great. Service was very friendly and the ambiance was lovely.

    Shrimp Wonton in Spicy Sauce(8pcs)
    Adriana G.

    Welcoming, spacious restaurant with plenty of seating and great parking. Our server was really kind and explained the menu since it was our first time. We really enjoyed the shrimp wontons with spicy sauce -- delicious! And the beef roll, which was my favorite! Great spot to check out in Northridge!

    beef roll
    Jessica G.

    I was craving a beef roll and happened to stumble upon Northern Cafe while looking for nearby spots. They have a small parking lot and the space itself is spacious. My sister and I were greeted right way and got to choose our booth. There were a few people dining in, but they still had plenty of seating available. Our server was super kind and attentive. I ordered the beef roll and was pleasantly surprised by the portion size. It tasted great and the chili sauce on the table made it even better. By the time we were leaving, it started to get busier. Good spot to check out if you like beef rolls and wontons in spicy sauce!

    Menu
    David M.

    This was our second time at Northern Cafe. Wow, great service, great food. We went with two couples. We ordered the hand-cut noodles, stir-fried with shrimp. Outstanding. The appetizer was their juicy pork dumplings. Just wonderful. Service was super friendly, efficient, and organized. They also reworked the menus, which are much better organized than the old ones. This place is great.

    Braise Spicy Beef Noodle Soup
    Adonis M.

    Ordered takeout from the place because the food presentation was good online. I haven't been to the physical location but I live a mile out and its raining - so I can't speak to the ambiance or service in store. I ordered the Spicy Braised Noodle Soup which was a bit of a disappointment. There were three beef slices with one being pure ligament which was inedible. The broth didn't have any flavor, it tasted like hot water with chili oil. What I did like were the thick cut noodles and its texture but they still missed something that I can't quite figure out. We also ordered orange chicken which had a good flavor but the texture was mushy rather than having an enjoyable crunch. We also ordered chicken chow mein which was decent. Overall, for the price I paid, I was expecting more. The portion sizes are good though. If you try them out I hope you have a better experience than me.

    Sautéed String Beans
    Kevin P.

    I ike this Northern Cafe food location food way better then the one that use to be LA that changes it name to IHome Kitchen Chinese Dumpling House. Which still serves that same food. Anyways. This was was our second visit during lunch hour and both time the food has been consistent. Their portions for each dish is good enough to share for 2-3 people and the prices are very reasonable. We ordered the following this past two visits. Sautéed Green Beans. Chongqing Crispy Chicken. House Special Beef Noodle Soup. Pork and Crab Dumplings. Shrimp Pork Egg and Green Chives Pan Fry Dumplings. Sauerkraut Beef Noodle Soup Everything was good and tasty and made fresh to order. Service was quick and friendly. Until our next visit.

    Michele L.

    This was our first time at this location. They didn't have some menu items that we have seen at other locations. It's a nice big open place with plenty of seating. Be aware of the tables where the air blasts down on it. They had plenty of staff. Good customer service. The best thing was the pork dumplings, which did come hot! Tastes delicious with soup inside. The fungus salad was a little too vinegar tasting. The seaweed salad was a good size. Tastes crisp and yummy! Chongqing Crispy Chicken was very spicy, even at medium heat!! Eat with rice...the perfect combo!!

    Menu 1/3 10/22/25
    Hannah L.

    A solid spot when I'm craving chinese beef noodle soup or soup dumplings in the valley. - Braised Beef spicy noodle soup $14.99: this time, could've used more beef slices and spice. Knife cut noodles have a nice al dente chew but are a little harder to eat since they're uneven/harder to use chopsticks with. Will opt for the large or flat noodles next time. Def shareable between SO and I. - Pork Dumplings $11.99: flavorful, soupy bites with the hint of ginger and mix of vinegar/soy sauce/chili oil to dip in? count me in coach, yummy!! - Oolong Tea $2.99: strong taste - will def be coming by more for these!! Since the last time I've been here, they've taken off the skewers as well as the option to order using the phone. They have added an authentic tea menu which I really like! There's usually little to no wait when I come here and there's ample parking. Service is nice, friendly, and quick.

    Braise Spicy Beef Noodle Soup
    Emily P.

    Everything was good, service was fine. Braised beef soup 4/5, takoyaki 5/5 I like the vibes, everything is clean and spacious.

    Chicken chow mein.

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    Page 1 of 11

    Ask the Community - Northern Cafe

    Hi. Do you serve alcohol?

    yes,we sell beer in our store.

    Do they have Mao Xue Wang?

    I thought this place CLOSED for good. Is it open again?

    Yes, we have reopened. Everything is the same. Now add the handmade noodles. Small hot pot. Skewers

    Do they serve dim sum all day or during a specific time?

    They have dumplings all day.

    Do it take reservations?

    I do not think they have reservations but you can call and ask them they would know better than me

    Do you serve beer snd wine?

    They serve beer but not wine.

    View All 10 Questions

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    If you're ordering skewers, the scallop, sea bass, and prime beef kushiyaki are absolute standouts…read more The scallop is incredibly tender, while the sea bass is the must-order. Even if don't like seabass, you must try this one! it's buttery, perfectly charred and melts in your mouth. The prime beef is equally impressive: tender, packed with rich umami flavor, and cooked to perfection. For a larger dish, you can't go wrong with either the sea bass or blue crab hot pot. It's so rich and comforting, the fish is always perfectly cooked, and it's more than enough food for two people. Be sure to order a side of seaweed and make your own hand rolls at the table. The kabocha salad is also unexpectedly delicious and pairs well with the other indulgent items in this order. They recently moved next door and they may be overbooking themselves so expect to wait quite a while- even if you have reservations.

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    Taberu

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    Definitely would not recommend coming here, especially if you are in a bigger party. We had 9…read morepeople here for a birthday celebration - food and drinks were really slow and came out staggered. Almost 1.5 hours before all the dishes finally came out. And service was also not great - the server brought out a drink that we didn't order by mistake, told us we could have it on the house, but ended up charging us for it anyway. Had already left when we noticed it. Also told us cake fee was $10, but ended up charging us $20. Food-wise, very hit or miss. The unadon, hamburger steak, and curry udon were all really good, but the yakitori skewers tended to be disappointing. The Tsukune was dry, the Negima was quite bland. The Miso Black Cod was also quite overdone, became quite rubbery when served and also was cold. Overall, I would not come back again, or recommend it. Given the price point, I expected that the food and service left much to be desired.

    Taberu is no longer Taberu…read more With new management, a new kitchen, and a completely new menu, it honestly feels like a totally different restaurant--and I think they should consider changing the name because it's pretty misleading if you're expecting the old experience. The menu now leans much more toward fine dining, and the prices definitely reflect that. As someone who's more of a casual diner and really enjoyed the previous menu, this new direction just wasn't for me. The staff were very kind and took the time to explain all the changes, which I appreciated. However, we ordered about six dishes and were surprised at how small the portions were. On top of that, most of the items were unfortunately pretty bland. Sadly, I won't be returning, and I really miss the old menu.

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    Tsubaki

    4.1
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    My precious friend Amelia G. treated me to dinner at Tsubaki for my 40th birthday last month. I…read moreloved this place went I went before kids and pandemic, apparently almost a decade ago. It was as good as I remembered, and probably even better. I can't imagine letting another eight and a half years pass without going back. The only negative is that parking is either difficult or $15, which feels bad in a pretty quiet residential area. Better to take a car in any case, so you can enjoy the extensive selection of sakes. We shared a full-sized bottle, I forget which but I think it was a junmai daiginjo, and it was lovely. Tsubaki is such a nice, welcoming little izakaya. Service is great, the atmosphere warm and easy. You just want to sit back and drink at a leisurely pace. The food is excellent, with a robust menu of creative Japanese food. We shared everything, starting with a stellar kanpachi crudo with ume ponzu, shiso, sweet onion and habanero pickles, and furikake. My favorite dish of the night was the tsukune katsu. I love tsukune, the tare-glazed chicken meatballs you'll find in any yakitori place. This was my first time having them in katsu form, panko-fried and served over cabbage with Kewpie mayo and tonkatsu sauce. The chawanmushi was delicious, silky steamed egg custard topped with Dungeness crab, truffle salt, and mitsuba. Likewise the kinoko tempura, an array of maitake, shiitake, and enoki mushrooms fried light and crispy, with yuzu shichimi and tentsuyu for dipping. We got a skewer of bonchiri from the yakitori menu, delightfully chewy bites of charcoal-grilled jidori chicken tail. Finally, a plate of yakisoba, pan-fried noodles with house-cured Peads & Barnetts char siu, pickled green garlic, and cracklin. We got the hojicha parfait, and it was more or less my ideal dessert. Roasted green tea soft serve with sesame black sugar burnt miso and candied walnuts with cornflake dust. Cold, light, sweet. I could eat a whole one by myself pretty much any time. After nine years in business, Tsubaki feels like an Echo Park institution, and the kitchen is as strong as ever. This was a wonderful dinner, one I hope to repeat soon, with more sake, more yakitori, and more hojicha parfait.

    Wow, this is the best izakaya in LA. Though the prices are quite high the food is very high…read morequality! Interior is nice and feels intimate, almost reminds me of restaurants in New York. It's quite small inside and they happen to have a few tables outside. I have mixed feelings about the service though but it is what it is, just feel like we weren't attended properly and service was slower. The menu has tons of options, there is something for everyone. Unfortunately the rice balls I wanted to try were sold out for the night- which how do you run out of something popular at a 7 PM dinner? Anyway, we had the fried tempura, garlic fried rice, short ribs, and chicken oysters. Everything was delicious and I would get these dishes again. But my standouts were the short ribs, they were tender and the marinade was light and fresh. The fried tempura was another standout for me because the sauce paired so well with the lightly friend asparagus. And I'm going to to say the chicken oysters- I think they were grilled to perfection with a tiny bit of wasabi. It's so hard to pick, everything tasted amazing and you can tell everything is thoughtfully prepared and well crafted with a beautiful presentation. I really enjoyed the food here and will be back to try more items.

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    Tsukune - chicken meatballs
    Tsukune - chicken meatballs
    Fruit tomato kimchi
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    Budonoki

    Budonoki

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    (343 reviews)
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    The food, the ambiance, the drinks...all of it so well curated at Budonoki…read more This restaurant offers Japanese style bar foods with an elevated twist. Everything we ate was delicious. My favorite dishes were the zabuton and sweet potato. For dessert you can't skip out on the soft serve.

    spicy tuna handrolls ($15) - im usually not a big tuna lover…read morebecause it's less juicy and fatty than a good old salmon but this was surprisingly REALLY YUMMMY - tuna was well seasoned with spicy mayo and the chili crisp added a fun, crunchy texture - i like the diy hand roll concept - every bite was with a nice amount of flavor, refreshing, chewy from the rice, and crunchy - a must! charred sweet potato ($12) - flavors and texture were not what i expected! - it was nicely mushy, blended with miso butter; abundance of chives on top - sweet and savory - not too heavy and i enjoy it as an appetizer or snack negima 2 skewers ($17) - this was BEYOND my expectations because i always feel like skewers are so expensive for something so short, tiny, burnt, and mid - HOWEVER, this was exactly the opposite; while it is still expensive, everything on the stick was juicy whether it was the jidori chicken or the scallion - skewer itself was already flavorful so i avoided the sauce on the plate as it was a bit too salty for my liking - a must order! It was just so impressively juicy and tender with great flavors scallop crudo ($24) - juicy! Solid appetizer although i feel like the cuts can be thicker and more fresh - i especially liked the slices of citrus pairing; it didnt feel extra but a nice complement to the smokey, strong green sauce on the side - ive had better crudo but this was pretty good still yakisoba ($19) - i love noodles omg although i dont know why the noodles here were cut very short LOL and it is on the softer side - the sauce was really yummy; sweet and savory; i believe it's okonomiyaki sauce or something similar; on the saltier side so itd be nice if they just lessen the amount of sauce - the texture was slightly crunchy with cabbage and veggie which i liked - wagyu was tender - not a must order because you can make this easily at home and for way cheaper! 6 pcs wings ($15) - i got enticed by the soy garlic hot honey flavor but the wings from bbq chicken are lowkey better - still a good, tender, juicy wing, but nothing memorable or impressive than your average wings that you can make at home rating: 4.5/5 - ordered 6 items and everything was solid! Of course there are areas for improvement but they're not anything jarring that would lower my rating for this spot - it is also extremely rare for me to like everything i order at a restaurant so the quality is definitely there - super friendly and genuine service! Server took her time to explain and accommodate us - casual date night tapa vibes; not your typical bright japanese izakaya spots but more so a dark, moody bar vibe, which is cool - would recommend and come back to try other items! IG: @nom.noms.only

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    kodo

    kodo

    4.3
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    22.6 mi

    The inside is low lit & gives an elevated ambiance. Service was fantastic and very attentive. We…read morestarted with the pacific oysters & spicy tuna crispy rice. The pacific oysters are a good size and I really enjoyed the yuzu-kosho ponzu sauce on it. The spicy tuna crispy rice have a good amount of spicy tuna on top & I loved how crispy they made the rice underneath. The Kodo trio comes with uni, toro, & wagyu and the Toro sampler comes with o-toro, chu-toro, akami. All of these handrolls were phenomenal & just left you wanting more. The Wagyu katsu you cook on a hot stone at the table which I liked as an interactive dish. The Wagyu cheeseburger was dripping with juice but still had those crunchy edges. The Uni pasta was beautiful & delicious. The Chimichurri prawns I could eat multiple plates of- the shell comes sliced down the middle so you just have to peel it off. For dessert we ordered the Kodo basque cheesecake & Miso chocolate torte. I love a basque cheesecake & the sesame crumble added great texture. The miso chocolate torte made me wish I ordered my own. Everything from start to finish was amazing, it's hard to pick favorites. Parking- valet $13

    I really enjoy eating here because service is fast and friendly. You get a lovely meal and every…read morestaff member you meet is always so friendly. Food is delicious, drinks are good, and parking isn't hard to find if you're willing to walk a little. The design kinda dark inside, but the patio is always nice. The best part? I can be in and out in less than an hour if I wanted!

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    Inside Dining Area
    Inside Dining Area
    Toro carpaccio
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    Entrance Seating

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    Entrance Seating

    Northern Cafe - noodles - Updated June 2026

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