Northern Cafe continues to have me in a chokehold. The juicy pork soup dumplings are packed with flavor and easily one of my favorite things on the menu. Pro tip: don't bite in too fast unless you're looking for a first-degree tongue burn from the delicious soup explosion. We also ordered the Kung Pao Chicken and Beef & Broccoli--both loaded with flavor, perfectly cooked, and definitely not the sad takeout versions we've all suffered through before. Came hungry, left happy, and already planning my next dumpling fix. read more

I had a good experience eating at their Cerritos location so I decided to take my mom and family here for Mother's Day. Parking was easy and as we walked in, I noticed it was a fast food set up where you order at the counter and seat yourself. I was disappointed that it wasn't a full service restaurant like in Cerritos but I still decided to give it a try though. We ordered a bunch of dishes and most of the dishes were served on plastic to go trays. Unfortunately all of our dishes tasted mediocre and greasy. The only item we liked were the beef rolls. I ordered the Dan Dan noodles and it did not look like Dan Dan noodles. It was very soupy and barely had any meat. Overall, I won't come back and will go to the Cerritos location instead. read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Rancho Palos Verdes, California

This is a chain restaurant that seems to have recently expanded quite a lot. This location is on a Main Street, so it gets busy at times. Service and food were both good. My husband and I are a fan of the noodle dishes and the scallion pancakes. read more

Really good, been to the one in Gardena but I prefer this location. Service is great food quality is better.

The restaurant is very bare bones. You order at the counter, get your drinks and utensils, and find your seating. The only thing they do is bring the food to you. I would reconsider tipping the usual 15-18% if that's all they do. The food was okay, but what made it worse was that everything was served in plastic containers! It was like having takeout at a dine-in restaurant. They couldn't have considered investing in some proper dishes? My favorite item was the chive pancakes, which were hot and lightly crisp on the outside, and had a good amount of eggs and chives inside. The mapo tofu was quite bland, which is odd for mapo tofu. It should be spicy or, at the very least, have some kick. Lastly, we sat by the restroom, and I saw the cook go in, flush the toilet, and immediately come out. I did not hear any water running or the hand dryer going, which is disgusting and a big red flag. I will not be returning here. read more

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First time here, Shrimp fried rice 4 stars, good not great, Fried Eggplant 5 stars, very good, Crispy chicken 5 stars, excellent Shrimp and pork dumplings 5 stars, excellent. Service 3.5 stars You pay before you sit down, which is fine, but I think they would get better tips if they took your order from the table and checked on you, but the person who took the order was nice enough. Ambiance 3 stars Very basic inside with absolutely no frills, I guess good enough, looked somewhat clean. Overall 4 stars because of the food, will come back to try something else. Sorry, we ate some of the food before taking pictures. read more

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We ordered take out. Beef rolls, scallion pancakes, Dan Dan noodle and bok choy. I was craving beef rolls. Definitely hit the spot. Everything is flavorful but not oily. I was a bit surprised by The Dan Dan noodle since it was very soupy. I thought it was more of a dry noodle but I like the Szechuan peppers. Definitely will order again. read more

I have been frequenting this establishment since they opened. I will no longer be a patron of this company. My update: the woman who works here is incredibly rude. TORE UP loyalty stamp card in my face because "my boss said no more". Couldn't elaborate, started screaming, & told me "I don't know when my boss is back" & hung up on me. Food is still lovely but not worth getting things torn up & screamed at when asking for further explanation. read more

I decided to give northern cafe another try after so many years since i ate here. Ordered the juicy pork dumplings but find the wrappers too thick. I offered too the beef rolls. Same different. Th dough is to think. Decided to take most of the beef rolls Togo. It's a mom and Pop place with the wife taking the orders s and waiting on the customers. I guess this is the nearest Chinese restaurant in the South Bay Area. Hardly any service and they wanted the customers to pay first. Overall it's not bad but I can't sayi I like the place. read more

A decent meal. Three of us shared the pork dumplings, sauteed string beans, and dan dan noodles. No dipping sauce for the dumplings was provided so we made our own. The broth on the noodles was quite tasty. The beans were fine but not outstanding. I'm sure we'll go again but this was just average. read more

Lady in front is always In a bad mood or very rude. Chow mein is way to salty never consistent

While the food is good and satisfies the craving for beef noodle soup and dumplings in the area, this place is not equipped for dine in customers. All dishes are served in plastic takeout ware; you are only given very small appetizer plates which was difficult if you are sharing your food family style with your party; they do not offer any water cups, even for tap water; while this place had 1 booster seat for older kids, they did not have any highchairs for younger kids. Overall, I would recommend only take out and only if you are really desperate for some Chinese comfort food. read more

I have been here twice and I highly suggest the beef roll and the dumplings for a good experience. I got the beef noodle soup on my last visit and I was a bit dissatisfied. There are only a few chunks of beef and bok choy with a ton of noodles. The soup gets boring fast or ends up just being broth. This spot is good for quick Chinese food but nothing too fancy. read more

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Best Chinese food in the South Bay IMO...plus the people are nice, which is always a plus. Made fresh with fresh ingredients, not overly greasy. Would reccomend. read more

One of the most flavorful and absolutely satisfying meals we've had in a long time. Service is quick and the staff is friendly. Very clean and quiet inside. You can go through the whole menu and never be disappointed. Highly recommended!!! read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Ordered delivery from this location for the first time tonight and was absolutely disappointed. I have eaten at other Northern Cafe locations many times, but this dinner actually made me upset. I had the chicken noodle soup and the chicken in it was inedible. Somehow it was extremely dry, tough, and very gamey. I actually spat it out because it was too tough to eat. I'm not that sensitive to the smell of chicken but this chicken smelled like the toughest, driest Thanksgiving turkey in the world. The gamey flavor seeped into the broth and overwhelmed everything. It honestly made me lose my appetite. The spicy wontons are a go-to order for me at other locations, but these were also tough and the wrappers were too thick here. The seasonings were fine. Husband said dan dan noodles were fine but not as good as usual. Overall, if you're coming here expecting Northern Cafe quality or even just regular decent quality Chinese food, I do not recommend. read more

Took out an order of the Shrimp wontons in spicy sauce and the boiled shrimp, pork, egg and chive dumplings. The shrimp wonton filing was good but the "wonton" wrapper was super thick similar to the dumplings...maybe even a little dryer and thicker..which is not typical of this dish. The sauce was also not good at all nor was it spicy. Usually you get these for the sauce and it did not deliver. Would not recommend. The boiled shrimp pork egg and chive dumplings were really good. Flavor and texture were all there. Hit the spot for my craving luckily after the let down of the shrimp wontons. I'm sure this place has some other good dishes. But for now I can only base it off of those two. Decent option in the Pedro area that has little to no good asian options. If you want legit spicy wontons and other bomb Sichuan dishes go to ruiji in lomita... SO good. read more

Food - pretty good but not great Service - nice people but minimal service Ambiance - clean and comfortable I have been to many Northern Cafes and have been looking forward to this one. I noticed most of the reviews were about dumplings and realized this one is more specialized for dumplings (boiled, pan-fried and steamed XLB varieties. I was hoping for the noodle specialties like the one in Gardena (which is my favorite in the region, 10 min more drive for me). We ordered: - crab dumplings- steamed, XLB style, it was pretty good - lamb dumplings- pan fried, it was ok, a little oily - beef noodle soup- it was ok, they only served with thin noodles, we preferred other handmade varieties at the Gardena store We also ordered the beef rolls to go, it looked exact like the ones shown on the poster, ha ha. Overall, pretty good if you are hungry dumplings! read more

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We've had a history of bad service with this restaurant, but we hadn't been in a while so we decided to try again. We ordered five items to be delivered by Postmates, and only two of the items were correct. When we called to try and have the order corrected, they claimed not to have our order, effectively ending our efforts. We are done with this location for good, and will continue driving to the wonderful Gardena location. read more

First time here and oh we will be back for sure, so so good. When you do stop by and try this place I got you Beef roll Pork Dumpling read more

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The beef rice was really good.The employee was also very nice and hard working food was fast. The food was great and maybe come back again read more

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Pretty good Chinese food near home. I'm not sure if they offer diner in service since I've only ever ordered delivery or picked up food in person and when I've done the latter they seem to only be open for pickup and delivery orders. I like their beef wraps and various dumplings on the menu. Even the XLB is solid. read more

Northern Cafe - Chinese Near Me - Rancho Palos Verdes, California

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This one has been along time coming, finally hit up Northern Cafe. It did not Disappoint as far as flavors, portions could have been a little bit bigger for the price. Service was good for a sit your self type place. This place could be a lot better if they had waiters attending to you, they have good amount t of room for it. I'm wondering why they don't have waiters. Not a lot of options for drinks, it's either soda or water and a couple of drinks from there region. They were really busy so I cleaned my own table not a big deal since it was only 3 paper cups left behind. So we started off with spicy shrimp wantons, green beans, spring rolls, shrimp fried rice, chicken chowmein, orange chicken, and beef roll. This was all for a family of 5 two adults 3 kids. My kids loved all flavors so it's y my rating is high, kids these days don't want to try new places and as a parent I push the bar high. The food was amazing all of it and we even said by to all the staff and cooks. We will continue to go back it's saved on my yelp list for sure. No pictures this time around I was really hungry and just wanted to enjoy a good dinner with my family. read more

Kung pow chicken was really good. Just got takeout, so only reviewing the food, not the service.

Es una de los mejores platos que eh probado si lo pruebas no te bas a desecionar y querrás más read more

Northern Cafe - Confía en nosotros tenemos los mejores macarrones en pasta - Chinese Near Me - Rancho Palos Verdes, California

I'm a big fan of Chinese take out food. This place has pretty good Chinese food. Each portion is a shareable portion. If you plan on feeding a family, like I do, then this place works perfect for Chinese food for the family. I enjoyed their crispy chicken and orange chicken the most. The service was pretty good and quick. I called about 35 minutes before I picked up my order. The inside is nice and clean. I'd recommend people in the area try this place out. You won't be disappointed. read more

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The restaurant seems to have changed ownership since we last visited many years ago. Now it is run by a couple (very friendly) and started to offering sit-in dinning option again after long period of takeout only due to Covid. The restaurant is small but clean and well lit, with seating for around 20 people. The menu is similar to other Northern Café's with some local variations. We ordered dumplings, beef noodle soup, green onion pancakes and sautéed eggplants. The dumpling wrappers were nicely cooked, slightly form and not soggy, and the fillings were very well seasoned. The beef noodle broth was on the spicy side for me (tongue numbing kind of spicy), the noodle was nicely cooked with firm texture and the beef pieces were tenderly soft. But I was not expecting the taste and flavor of the sautéed eggplants. Personally, I am not a big fan of eggplant, but they were cooked with perfection, melting soft flesh in wonderfully seasoned garlic sauce. What a pleasant surprise. For sure we will stop by again soon to try other dishes. read more

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I only gave Northern Cafe a one, because there are no lower numbers. Ordered lunch online with delivery. Watched the driver arrive at NC, pick up my order and drive to my house. Four of the six items were wrong. I called NC and they told me they could not find my order in their system. They cooked it, charged my cc, delivered it based on no order? They suggested that I am calling the wrong restaurant! They are consistently rude and offer terrible service, and I am never going back again. read more

Food look awesome and spice good!! Service was great and the guy help us out on one of the items I had a question on!! The ambiance was quite and few table to sit to eat at. Service for the food was fast for each dish we ordered as well. Recommend to everyone that like a good warm comfort food!! read more

Delicious and consistent! I love their beef rolls, lamb dumplings and beef noodle soup. The service is also great. Check them out!

I've been here a few times and the food is not terrible but also does not stand out. For example, I just got the beef rolls and the roll/wrap was not crispy or seem freshly fried like other beef rolls I've had in the past. The roll also did not have the beef evenly distributed so some pieces were basically all roll. It did not stand out and was similar to something microwaved given the lack of crisp. Seating is limited and they blocked off more than half the place for I'm not quite sure what. read more

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I do still miss the Mongolian bbq place, but the mourning period is over, I think. Northern Cafe is on our regular restaurant rotation; so much so, I think they know my phone number better than I do! The juicy pork dumplings are consistent (I would like them scalding, but I don't drive home quick enough). The crispy spicy chicken hits about every time. The string beans go from "YES" to "I'm being healthy." You want to know what makes this place exceptional? It's in San Pedro. I don't need to drive up to some expensive place that is more show than function. Give me good food from a family whose kids have had to ring me up. Nothing beats it. read more

The food was good and service was fast. That said, I'm not a fan of the order-at-the-counter setup. I would prefer a traditional approach where you're seated and your order is taken at the table. It would improve the overall atmosphere. read more

Best and most fresh Chinese food around. We love the chicken noodle soup, juicy pork dumplings, beef roll & orange chicken (make sure add rice to the Orange chicken & any side sauces you may like). The staff is very kind, service is amazing! read more

I just spent over $40 on 3 plates of food and when I asked for paper plates and bowls to go the lady was very rude and refused to give me these things. She wasn't even apologetic or gave me a reason, she simply said my food already came in containers. At this point even if the food is good, which I haven't tasted, the service is horrible. It's as if they're doing you a favor by making food you pay for even though it's the customers that keep their restaurant in business. I will not be returning, first and last time customer. read more

Pretty sure just ate dog food. Got the beef soup . That is not real meat . We got several dishes and we left them all on the table . Just had a couple bites. Disgusting. The noodles were so slimy . Not for human consumption read more

I got the pot stickers and chicken chow mein. The pot sticker wrapper is a medium texture. The pork was sweet and just the right amount of ginger. The noodles had a good balance of sugar, garlic and oyster sauce. However, I'm going to hold the sugar next time since I'm not a big fan of sugar in most of my food. Service was friendly and prompt. read more

Northern Cafe - Pot Stickers - Chinese Near Me - Rancho Palos Verdes, California

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Everything is always fresh and delicious. The owners are very friendly and the prices are reasonable. It's my favorite Chinese restaurant in San Pedro and the South Bay! read more

Good selection of Chinese dishes. Especially like the soup dumplings and the chicken noodle soup.

I had tried Northern Cafe in Gardena many years ago and thought it was just ok. Fast forward to 2023 and I wanted to give this place another try. This time I checked out Northern Cafe in Rancho Palos Verdes. This location currently is pick up and take out only. For my visit here I chose to get their Chongqing Crispy Chicken for $12.50 and their Pork Wonton Soup for $10.50. The Chongqing Crispy Chicken house entree was well worth the price. For $12.50 they give a pretty generous portion. The chicken is nice and crispy. It also has a bit of a spicy kick to it. It's not super spicy but one can taste the fire. The pork wonton soup was $10.50 and came with 10 pieces of pork wonton. I originally thought the portion of this was on the small side as it looked like there was only little bit of broth and there was not a lot of bok choy either. It turned out it be quite filling and I loved how packed the wontons were with ingredients. Overall flavors were good and I do want to try more of their dishes in the future. I do want to try their other house entrees as well as their famous beef rolls. I will be back for more soon! read more

Northern Cafe - Chongqing Crispy Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Rancho Palos Verdes, California