I went here after a show and couldn't have been happier with the experience. The restaurant was small, but clean and staff friendly. We chose the fish after seeing an interview with a Food Network chef say it's her favorite bite in Boston, and it did not disappoint. The fish was beautifully cooked, sauce a little spicy but not overly, and tasted amazing. Chicken and eggplant was in a sweet and sour sauce, which also was very tasty but sweeter. We asked for white rice as well and it was perfect to catch all the extra sauce. Crab Rangoon and dumplings were both very good also, though the fish was the star of the show. Food was delicious, fairly priced, and came out quickly. read more

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Decent enough Taiwanese cafe (as the name suggests); it's quite small (only seating about 20 people inside). There are bathrooms, though I can't say much for the cleanliness. Staff is efficient though not necessarily friendly. I'd recommend #7 (tomato beef egg rice), which was delicious, but #34 (Taiwanese noodle soup) was very disappointing, and I definitely wouldn't get it again. Portions are quite large and can easily feed two people per order. Prices are about $17 per entree. read more

We stopped at this restaurant for lunch on the recommendation of our food tour guide, and it did not disappoint. It's a small, cozy spot that was quite busy when we arrived--we waited about 5-10 minutes to be seated, but it was well worth it. We ordered the orange chicken, beef and broccoli, pan-fried chicken dumplings, and chicken fried rice. Everything came out piping hot and full of flavor. Each dish was delicious, with fresh ingredients and great seasoning across the board. If you're visiting Chinatown and looking for a satisfying meal, I'd definitely recommend giving this place a try! read more

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Came by Taiwan Cafe awhile back. Decent spot for some asian eats. They were able to host a larger party. I do think they were close to Taiwanese flavors but maybe at best 70-75%. But for the area, definitely one of the main spots. Hectic during peak hours. read more

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Dined in on Christmas Day. Service was faster than I expected. Got seated immediately and food came out promptly as dishes were ready. Lu Rou Fan - The minced pork with pickled cabbage was over rice was good, but not quite as fatty as I'd like it. The meat itself was a bit dry and flavors a bit off. This item is likely a pass the next time I dine here. Pork Dumplings - Dumplings were good and had plenty of pork and chives in it. Flavor is good and on point. Beer Noodle Soup - Plenty of meat and spinach in this dish. Noodles had bounce and soup had a slight amount of heat with good flavor. Tomato Egg Beef - This dish is served over steamed rice and was easily the highlight of the meal. I'd order this dish all day everyday. Solid flavors, flavorful tomatoes, and sauce had consistency of a runny egg. All in all, staff was friendly and food was delivered in very reasonable time. Most items were above average. read more

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Disappointed with the pork chop on rice dish. It was deep fried and didn't have the savory-sweet, umami-rich flavor. The tea egg is old. Skipping this restaurant on my next visit to the area. read more

Taiwan Café - Porkchop on rice - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I highly recommend the beef tomato egg. I tried some new dishes: -salt and pepper shrimp: I wasn't a huge fan of these because the breading was different to what I'm used to it's more like popcorn chicken breading. The shrimp did not seem super fresh -chive egg pancake: this one was pricy but was very thick. Not like the ones in New York -soup dumplings: just okay, this used to be the place I would go to instead of dumpling cafe. Service is good but I would only stick to the tomato egg dish read more

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Taiwan Cafe never disappoints! We got so many dishes and I think my favorites were the truffle soup dumplings and the salt and pepper chunky chicken with basil. But honestly loved everything! The service is very hands off and no fuss but very nice and friendly if you ask for anything! Very reasonably priced as well because we got all these dishes for $150 (including tax and tip) read more

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If you're looking for a restaurant with good value and solid food, I'd recommend Taiwan Cafe. The staff is always super friendly and will sometimes recommend dishes since there's so much to choose from. If you come during lunch, you can get a dish for just $12.95, which is insane. I really like the house special fried pork chop and the tomato egg with beef. Both are very comforting and remind me of Taiwanese food back in LA. I've tried a few other dishes as well, and none of them have really disappointed. The only real downside is that the food is a bit too oily. read more

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For a quick Friday lunch, I went to Taiwan Cafe. At noon, it was about three-quarters full. I ordered the pork with preserved mustard greens noodle soup / 雪菜肉絲湯麵 ($15.95), a Taiwanese staple. It arrived within five minutes. The noodle soup itself was fairly straightforward: shredded pork and preserved mustard greens sautéed and served over thin, flat noodles in a chicken stock-based broth. It was a bit oily, but the flavors were all there. Portion size was adequate. The dish alone would warrant a 3-star review. However, I had an unpleasant experience when settling the bill. I went up to the counter to pay, thinking it would be quicker. After receiving the physical receipt, I reached the "add tip and sign" step. The server pressured me to choose one of the preset 18%, 20%, or 22% tip options. She even kept her thumb covering the subtotal until I pushed back. Even after that, she insisted, saying "the preset options are more convenient." I declined and wrote in a custom tip. The minimal service certainly didn't justify such high gratuities, and being pressured like that has made me swear off this place indefinitely. read more

Taiwan Café - 雪菜肉絲湯麵 - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Maybe it was good 30 years ago during my college years but my recent experience was unforgettable in the wrong way. Tables are squeezed together so tight they ask you repeatedly to move your seat and stand up while you're dining, so they can squeeze in serve the next table. The a/c barely works so it's warm inside on hot days. You are served tap water at room temp and there's no ice. The dishes and tableware are so worned out, they likely haven't change them in years. Food are expensive for the portion you get. Quality is bleh...whatever... forgettable. Tip is added post-tax. The most overrated and overpriced restaurant in Chinatown. read more

vro this place is beautiful and joyous. the mall tofu was so good i would KILL everyone to eat the whole plate myself. but it was family style so i was generous and shared. if I was a real estate developer, I would call the place cozy. but it was cozy. mmmmmm EGG AND TOMATO RICE? Yummy. The duck was a little too chewy for my taste, but it was a good portion. Would've like more soup in the soup (ykwim) The staff were so nice and generous and we luckily had a mandarin speaking party member that made our whole order so great. Shout out Jennifer! Food was served quick, toothpicks available, be warned check splits are a bit hard but it's no matter in a world with zelle read more

Taiwan Café - 65. Ma Po Tofu 65. beautiful mapo tofu - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Five of us ate lunch there recently. The food was great. The service was fine, until they started hustling us because they had a big party waiting and wanted our table. When my wife went to pay, using cash, the hostess insisted that she owed the amount listed as the largest of the "suggested tips". My wife pointed out that that amount was only a suggestion, but the hostess again insisted "No. You pay this!" My wife paid an amount that she thought was fair, ignoring the aggressive hostess. We'll go somewhere else next time, as there are probably 20 other restaurants within a block . read more

I came here to try the pan fried pork buns before seeing a movie at the nearby AMC. The buns were pretty good, it was the first time I encountered ones that just had a ground pork filling and no vegetables. My only issue with this was how oily the bottom of the buns were as some of the ones I received were pretty greasy and heavy as a result. I haven't tried anything else on the menu yet, but I'm interested to give their other dishes a try the next time I'm in Chinatown. read more

Taiwan Café - 31. Pan Fried Pork Buns (5) $11.95 - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Very bad food here. Used to be mediocre to okay, but now it's just underwhelmingly tasteless. The beef chao he fen is an overpriced mass of mushy, overcooked noodles and excessive oil. The lu rou fan tastes like it was made with low quality meat and was very dry. Such a waste of money. If you really want good Taiwanese food, I would recommend going to Taipei Cuisine in Quincy instead. read more

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Food was perfect! Everything we ordered was made on the spot & was piping hot when it arrived to our table! Couldn't have had a better experience! read more

Taiwan Café - We cleaned off these plates & bowls!!!! - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The food was delicious and friendly service. Our big group came just before the dinner rush and it was worth it! Family style to share. Some dishes are better than others but overall would definitely return. read more

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I think Taiwan Cafe is known for their stinky tofu, but since I'm staying at a hotel and I don't want my room stink like someone died in the room, I didn't order it this time. I tried their watercress dish and beef and egg over rice. It's nice that they gave me an egg drop soup for free with my order. Unfortunately, the food I ordered didn't taste all that good. The watercress was very oily without much flavor. The beef egg over rice was a OK, not bad, but not out of this world either. Overall a very mid dinner experience. read more

DO NOT ORDER FROM HERE!!! The duck was MOLDY!!!! Absolutely disgusting and unacceptable!!!!!! The packaging also fell apart too!! read more

Taiwan Café - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Still the best stinky tofu! Stopped in here for a meal like every time I come to Boston, and they had my favorite stinky tofu. The size a bit smaller but that's not terrible, I still loved it and the preserved cabbage pickles that come with it. The salt pepper chicken was cooked right, but needed more salt/pepper. And the young bamboo sliced with pork was good, but a little more oily this time. Service wasn't as good as before, but the guy was busy. Weird water container, too, didn't want to pour very efficiently. Still have to remember to come for lunch! read more

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Came here on a recommendation from a friend. He suggested I get the crispy pork chop and he did not steer me wrong. I ate at a unthinkable amount of different places today and this dish was probably the favorite of the day. The pork chop itself tasted like it was marinated in soy sauce based marinade and it was fried to absolute crispy perfection. The cabbage was sautéed and braised to be beautifully tender and tasty. The rice was just plain ol' rice, but it was the base of the dish obviously. The sauce on top roped it all together. I thought it was great. My only 2 cons to the dish are that the pork chop was not boneless. This would take a very small amount of prep time to remove by the kitchen before frying. The other is that the rice was just plain medium grain rice. I would have liked a shorter grain rice that has more starch because it made eating it with chopsticks quite difficult for me. That could just be a personal problem though. I could have asked for a spoon but I was up for a challenge. Nonetheless, I'd go back. Also, the dish was like.. $15? Can't beat that. It was a good portion and came out quick! I learned a lesson today. Talk to your friends read more

Taiwan Café - 2. House Special Fried Pork Chop On Rice Platter Loved it. Be careful of the bones. - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Delicious pan fried dumplings and the best fried rice I've ever had. Yelp I don't know why you need more letters but here you go read more

It's a fair spot as far as Chinese restaurants in Chinatown go. Items are fairly priced. I've only tried one dish - if I'm back in Boston, I might try something else. read more

Taiwan Café - niangao - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Busy on a weeknight but no wait! Service is pretty quick and also very friendly, only thing is you have to actively ask for more water. Ambiance is nice wooden tables with plants and wall decor in a cozy space. Food is great! We got the pig ear and three essence chicken in hot pot with a side of rice. It was so much food! Had lots leftover for two people. The pig ear was great and chili oil flavor with the light crunch The chicken was very well flavored and savory umami herbally. It was also very tender. There were a lot of bones you had to eat around but worth the flavor. The rice was also good! A classic base read more

Taiwan Café - Pig ear - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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They charge a mandatory, minimum 18% tip, which I never seen in the US. Bad attitude.

bring back your prior soup dumpling recipe! they used to be top notch - a lot of juice, good portion of meat, great flavor, and the dough was slightly dense and at a good ratio. i got an order last night and i was disappointed to say the least. the size of them shrunk drastically (comparable to the trader joe size soup dumplings whereas before they were closed to 2 inches diameter), the dough was not good and too chewy/under cooked, the meat was nearly nonexistent, with none to minimal broth. recommend trying their pork chops, rice cake noodle dish, and schezuan style spicy fish read more

I was looking for some delicious really good Chinese food and I found it at Taiwan Café in Boston's Chinatown. The place is easy to find and nice and clean and has an extensive menu, and I mean extensive. I would highly recommend this place, if you're looking for a good old Chinese food. read more

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This unassuming restaurant has a huge menu full of so many delicious options. As someone who grew up with American Chinese food, I was so excited to see items that I'd never heard of before. As many people do, I have one dish that I judge most Chinese restaurants by - a dish that my dad introduced to me and we also share when we eat Chinese food together - ma po tofu. The ma po tofu at Taiwan Cafe was absolutely delicious over a bowl of white rice, but was different than many others that I'd tried. This dish was not as spicy as some, but was huge on flavor, and made me feel nostalgic and comforted. While wontons are pretty much universal, I still can't stop thinking of the chili peanut sauce that the wontons were covered it. It was sweet and spicy and everything one would want in a peanut sauce. The wonton wrappers were thin and delicate while the filling was hearty and full of flavor. Finally, I tried the roast beef in scallion pancake rolls. While I've had both scallion pancakes and roast beef before, I had never tried them together. The pancakes were firm with a hint of green onion, the beef was perfectly seasoned and tender, I believe I tasted a little bit of hoisin sauce (or something else sweet), and I know that this isn't everyone's gig, but the sprigs of cilantro brought the whole dish together, creating a third texture and flavor. I can't believe I ate all three dishes in one meal, but it wasn't hard considering how delicious each element was. The service was quick, the staff was super friendly from welcoming me in to the very end. This was hands down one of the best meals during my trip to Boston! read more

Buns are all pre packaged and delicious!!! Sweet and fluffy. Will be back. No places to sit, $10 minimum charge for credit cards. Pretty clean and everything looks delicious. Taro mochi buns and egg custard buns are what we tried. read more

Taiwan Café - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I came here for a weekend lunch to warm up after a few hours of ice skating at Frog Pond. We came in around 2pm and were seated immediately. The inside of the restaurant is a pretty typical vibe you would get from an authentic Chinese restaurant. The service was decent with a waitress being attentive to our party. The menu is massive and has many authentic dishes. We did family style and ordered the beef tomato egg over rice, fried jumbo shrimp in cream sauce, fried pork chop, and Sichuan chicken. We also decided to try something new and tried out the stinky tofu appetizer which was a new food for most of us - we weren't fans but this is definitely more on the dish itself than on the restaurant. My favorite was the beef tomato egg dish which was well seasoned with the perfect amount of sauce. read more

Cozy restaurant with quick service! Here are my go-to orders every time: House Special Fried Pork Chop Rice Platter Crispy, golden pork chop on a bed of fluffy rice. The pork was perfectly seasoned and crispy, making it a total comfort food winner. I LOVE the sour pickled mustard, the tea egg, and sweet dried shrimp, boiled cabbage served with this dish too - DELISH Scrambled Egg w/ Beef & Tomato Over Rice A classic which you would think "i could make this at home" BUT you CAN'T! The eggs were soft and fluffy, and the savory beef balanced out the sweet and tangy tomato - their chef's flavoring for this dish is something you can't replicate at home. Five Spice Cold Cut Beef Shank in Garlic Soy Sauce This dish makes a great cool, light, and spicy starter. The tender, savory beef shank soaked in that fragrant garlic soy sauce and five-spice blend? Flavor BOMB If you're in the mood for a mix of comforting and bold, these dishes at Taiwan Cafe are a must-try! read more

This place was one of my go-to restaurants whenever I lived in Boston during college, as well as when I visited a family friend on the weekend. I always come here for the pan-fried dumplings and the noodle dishes. Unfortunately, last night I came around 2130 PM and dined in the restaurant. I ordered three dishes and paid cash instead of a credit card. The server made me feel uncomfortable and obligated to tip based on the amount printed at the bottom of the itemized receipt, saying that people who live in Boston only tip after tax, which really left a nasty taste in my mouth. This is not my first time in Boston, nor my first time eating at a restaurant. My family has always taught me to tip only before tax and that the amount a guest tips is at their own discretion. Here's a tip: Why would I want to tip more than 15% when the staff puts a water pitcher on the table, takes your order, brings it to you, and sits on their phone waiting for you to call them? If they actually put in the effort to take care of the guests, I would definitely have left more for them. read more

The food was good and service was decent (drop off food, no talk or service beyond the drop off) I tipped on the bill which had a tip line for custom amount and after doing so the waitress came back and told me I did it wrong and told me that I had to tip the 18+% as if it were mandatory. From my perspective, tip is earned and discretionary, almost insulted that she felt entititked to any tip. Doubtful i'll go back read more

hands down my favorite spot in Chinatown--the food never disappoints, and the lunch special is an unbeatable deal. It comes with rice and a bowl of sweet and sour soup, making it both filling and affordable. This time, I ordered the pork belly with leek, beef with longhorn pepper, and fried chicken. Everything was packed with flavor, perfectly cooked, and had that deep, rich taste that keeps me coming back. The pork belly was tender and savory, the beef had just the right amount of heat, and the fried chicken was good. I often come here to treat myself after tough days, and it always hits the spot. The service is quick and to the point, which I appreciate, and the whole restaurant is filled with the amazing aromas of sizzling dishes. If you're looking for a go-to spot in Chinatown with consistently great fast food, this is the place to go, alone or with a friend. read more

Taiwan Café - Beef and longhorn pepper, fried chicken, pork belly with leek - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Friendly service. We were seated quickly when we came around 1pm on Saturday. They accept card payments, including Amex. We ordered the beef scallion rolls (my fave), oyster omelette, snow pea shoots, and the braised pork rice bowl. Everything was solid and I would come back again to try more dishes! read more

Taiwan Café - Roast Beef Scallion Pancake Roll - Taiwanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Top Taiwanese style eatery. Viva Formosa. They have an extensive menu with tons of spicy selections and all executed perfectly. I highly recommend this place. Give them a try. read more

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This is based on food delivery orders. They have a very diversified and wide variety of food choices. The food is high quality, very tasty, reasonable prices and large portions. read more

Family style dining on a work trip, made a reservation for 8 and they gave us the round table with the lazy Susan on it. We ordered several dishes from their big menu and honestly everything was a hit. Fan favorites included the spicy white fish with vegetables, noodles with shrimp, chicken fried rice, and chicken with eggplant. The black truffle soup dumplings in my opinion were just ok and not worth the price. All in all a great meal and at a very reasonable price point. Our whole group left stuffed and happy. read more

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It's been here / Chinatown for a long time. Fast service and decent food selection. Fairly authentic Taiwanese dishes given the facts that some ingredients are not easy to get in US, let alone to making the food correctly. The food takes me back home when I can't be at home! Skip the typical American Chinese dishes, please. Don't waste the dinning experience. read more

This restaurant in the middle of Chinatown was a great option. Food was really good and the food was delicious. They took a little to take the order but once they did the food came out fast and the server was super nice. She made good recommendations and was checking on us often. Some of the food was a little spicy but it was really good. The restaurant is located upstairs and it has several tables to choose from. Prices are good comparable to other restaurants in the area and the dumplings are highly recommended! read more

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